GLBT DIGEST February 14, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Love In The Air From Bondi to Bangkok to Beijing
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians seeking love on Valentine's Day speed-datedin deckchairs on Bondi Beach, while Japanese trekked through snow in searchof romance and Filipinos sang syrupy ballards.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-valentine.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=gay&st=nyt
&oref=slogin
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Bomb in Syria Kills Militant Sought as Terrorist
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A top Hezbollah commander long sought by the United Statesfor his role in terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of Americans in the1980s, died Tuesday night in Damascus, Syria, when a bomb detonated underthe vehicle he was in, Syrian officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/world/middleeast/14syria.html?scp=3&sq=gay&st=
nyt
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2 Sue to Void Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
DENVER - A lesbian couple from nearby Englewood are seeking to overturnColorado's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, in what is thought to bethe first challenge to the 2006 ballot initiative that established it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/us/14gay.html?scp=5&sq=gay&st=nyt
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Orthodox Gays In Israel Find Support In Web Site
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An underground movement of gay Orthodox Jews in Israelhas created a website to help homosexuals cope with living in a strict,religious community that is often hostile to their lifestyle.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-israel-religion-gays.html?scp=6&s
q=gay&st=nyt
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Senate Ethics Committee Admonishes Larry Craig
WASHINGTON - Senator Larry E. Craig was admonished by his colleagues onWednesday for conduct that reflected poorly on the Senate as the result ofhis arrest and guilty plea last summer in an undercover sex sting in a men'sbathroom at the Minneapolis airport.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/washington/14craig.html?scp=7&sq=gay&st=nyt
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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Browns QB Brady Quinn Denies Altercation
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn denied that he wasinvolved in an altercation on New Year's Day in which a man claimed on anemergency phone call that Quinn made a slur at him. On a 911 call earlyJan. 1, Seth Harris told Columbus police that Quinn was with a group at LaFogata Grill and that they were insulting gays outside the restaurant.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302865.
html
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Valentine's Day, marriage and politics Residents tire of public policiesA group of social conservatives, seeking social conservatives, is blowingFlorida same-sex couples a raspberry instead of a kiss for Valentine's Day.
After a stuttering three-year effort, the dealers of direct democracy havecollected signatures needed to prompt a statewide citizen's vote. They hopea constituent initiative will chisel into our state's constitution words notcarved into the stone tablets - language to specifically define marriage asthe exclusive union of one man and one woman. Their gesture is a departurefrom traditional holiday activities where children are encouraged to delivervalentines to classmates universally, without regard to gender.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-forum14plakassbfeb14,0,372903.story
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Rally to protest attacks on gays in Jamaica
South Florida religious leaders and others plan to rally at the JamaicanConsulate in downtown Miami Thursday in an effort to draw attention torecent attacks against gays, lesbians and transgender individuals on theCaribbean island.
http://www.miamiherald.com/466/story/419135.html
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Zoo show explores animals' sex lives
Metrozoo's 'Sex and the Animals' show describes the ins and outs of naturalintimacy. Flamingo voyeurism. Tiger birth control. Frog three-ways andpanda porn. Everything was on the table -- more accurately, on a videoprojector -- at Miami Metrozoo's Sex and the Animals event, a Valentine'sDay tradition.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/west_kendall/story/418581.html
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Former Heat star Hardaway apologizes again
Former Miami Heat player Tim Hardaway, who believes some fans are stillangry at him for making anti-gay comments, apologized again for the commentshe made during an interview with 790 The Ticket last year.
http://www.miamiherald.com/593/story/418674.html



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Palm Beach Post
by Donald Cavanaugh
Opposing amendment fine, but anti-gay laws no better
I was saddened by The Post's editorial "Same ol' same-sex ban" with thesubhead "No need to amend Florida's Constitution" (Feb. 6). It was as ifThe Post were endorsing legislated second-class citizenship for the state'sgay residents - as long as the bigotry is not enshrined in the constitution.
Where is the outrage that in the 21st century, 41 states and the federalgovernment have the equivalent of Jim Crow laws against an entire class ofcitizens because of who we are and whom we love? Where is the horror thatour citizenry not only has stood by while "they came for the homosexuals,but I wasn't a homosexual so I didn't say anything," (to paraphrase MartinNiemöller) but has even encouraged our legislatures to discriminate againstus? Who is next?
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2008/02/12/a21a_edle
tters_0212.html
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Retired Kolbe backs McCain for president
Presumptive nominee's record sparks debate among activists
Former Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), who is gay, voiced his support for thepresidential candidacy of Sen. John McCain in an interview with the Bladethis week.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=16584
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Oxnard student declared brain dead
An Oxnard junior high student who was shot in the head by a classmateearlier this week was declared brain dead Wednesday, and the 14-year-oldmale suspect now faces a first-degree murder charge, authorities said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-oxnard14feb14,1,955781
.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
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Church Split Over Gay Bishop Invites Gays To Attend
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A bishop came to Bakersfield to talk about thedivision of the Episcopal Church over the appointment of a gay bishop. InDecember 2007, numerous churches within the San Joaquin Archdiocese voted toleave the national church after a gay bishop was appointed.
http://www.turnto23.com/news/15292562/detail.html?rss=bak&psp=news
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Capitol Hill sees spike in malicious harassment attacks
"Humiliating." "Embarrassing." "Terrifying." That's how a transgender womandescribed being accosted by a man who she says called her names andthreatened her as she walked down a Capitol Hill street in the middle of theday.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004180221_webgays13m.html
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Know thy anti-gay Florida residents
Know Thy Neighbor, an organization that wants to "protect marriage for ALLfamilies" in Florida, has published a list of the names of people who signedthe petition to get the gay marriage ban on the Florida ballot in November.
There are over 92,000 names, which is pretty scary. Florida4Marriage, theorganizers behind getting the signatures, also have a list of the prominentendorsers on their site. It's chock full of lawmakers and ministers. Checkout the list, as there are some stories of potential fraud.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=2/8/08&end=2/15/08#
16577
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Reasons why I don't like "marriage equality"
Evan Wolfson has a letter up about this year's Freedom to Marry Week andFreedom to Marry Day telling everyone, for the love of Christ, stop saying"gay marriage."
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/02/reasons_why_i_dont_like_marriage_equalit.php
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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Poway Again Wins Free Speech Decision Over Anti-Gay T-Shirt
A federal judge ruled - again - that Poway school officials did not violatethe free speech rights of a student whom they pulled from class for wearinga T-shirt with an anti-gay slogan. The decision Tuesday by U.S. DistrictJudge John Houston is the latest win for school officials in a long-runninglegal battle with students Tyler Chase Harper and his sister, Kelsie.
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One Love?
Maxine Clarke looks at the challenges of being queer in Jamaica. The firstin a series of articles on GLBT life around the world. Jamaica. Even thesweet, cool sound of the island rolls easily off your tongue like icedcoconut. What an idyllic place to visit. Twenty-four hour party peoplereggae-dancing long into the night. Short-shorted, coconut-oiled beach boysand beautiful, brown, bikinied babes playing cricket on the beach andserving pina coladas from sundown to sunrise in a rum-soaked ganja haze. Allbeautiful smiles and laid-back, open-hearted friendliness. No worriesrastaman, right?
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Poway Again Wins Free Speech Decision Over Anti-Gay T-Shirt
A federal judge ruled - again - that Poway school officials did not violatethe free speech rights of a student whom they pulled from class for wearinga T-shirt with an anti-gay slogan. The decision Tuesday by U.S. DistrictJudge John Houston is the latest winfor school officials in a long-running legal battle with students TylerChase Harper and his sister, Kelsie.
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Anna Nicole's Bodyguard Takes Aim At Larry Birkhead
Last week marked the first anniversary of the death of Anna Nicole Smith.Though the former Playboy playmate died in Hollywood, Florida at the age of39, the interest surrounding her hasn't. Now, in a new interview, Anna'sbodyguard, Big Moe takes aim at Dannielynn's father, Larry Birkhead.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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Bullied Student Shot at California Junior High School
A 15-year-old who boy was shot and wounded in an Oxnard, Calif., junior highschool computer lab Tuesday was declared brain-dead on Wednesday at 2:30p.m., according to the Associated Press. The Oxnard medical examiner saidLawrence King was declared brain-dead by two neurosurgeons and is clinicallydead but remains on a ventilator for possible organ donation.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52197.asp
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Federal Appeals Court Overturns Texas Sex Toys Ban
A federal appeals court has overturned a Texas statute outlawing sex toysales, essentially leaving Alabama as the only state with such a ban. Thefifth U.S. circuit court of appeals ruled that the Texas law making itillegal to sell or promote obscene devices, punishable by up to two years injail, violated the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment on the right toprivacy.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52203.asp
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Obama Partly Blames Clinton, McCain for Weak US Economy
Hillary Rodham Clinton, struggling to stop the momentum of new Democraticpresidential front-runner Barack Obama, is testing a line of criticism thataims to portray him as a smooth talker who is short on details. The formerfirst lady, considered the overwhelming Democratic favorite just a few weeksago, has now lost eight straight contests with her defeats this weeks inVirginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52211.asp
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Federal Court Rules Against Homophobic T-Shirt
A federal judge ruled that officials from the Poway school district near SanDiego did not violate the First Amendment rights of a student they punishedfor wearing a homophobic T-shirt to class. Tyler Chase Harper sued theschool district in 2004, arguing that his rights were violated when he wasremoved from class for wearing the antigay shirt on the Day of Silence,which is intended to promote tolerance of gays and lesbians. The shirt read"I Will Not Accept What God Has Condemned" on one side and "Homosexuality IsShameful, Romans 1:27" on the other side.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52202.asp
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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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The state attorney general's office has issued a nonbinding opinion that thedecision by the Moscow City Council in north-central Idaho to extenddomestic partner benefits to city employees violates the Idaho Constitution.
Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian, requested the opinion soon after Moscowapproved extending the benefits in December.
"I would just like to see them follow what the voters of the state of Idahosaid when they passed the marriage amendment," Fulcher told the IdahoStatesman.
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Rhode Island:
Like many people diagnosed with a serious illness, Susan Heroux spent a lotof sleepless nights.
It wasn't the fear of her own mortality that kept her awake - though therewas that - it was the nagging worry of what would happen to her wife, StaceyHeroux, and their 12-year-old daughter, Lena, should her congestive heartfailure worsen.
Would Stacey be allowed to take a leave of absence from her job to care forher? And worse, would her wife be permitted to make her funeral arrangementsshould it come to that?
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Colombia: Norberto Salamanca might not be a gay but he's certainly seen hisshare of same-sex couples come through his office doors to request hisservices.
Norberto is a notary public in a country that relies on notary offices for awide assortment of legal agreements and Notary Office 76 - which heoversees - happens to be in the heart of the Chapinero neighborhood which isgay central in Bogota.
It's been a year since Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled "that gaycouples in long-term relationships should have the same rights to sharedassets as heterosexual couples" (AP, Feb. 8, 2007).
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Patricia Nell Warren:
As I said in my recent post "Gender, Gay Marriage and Galileo" -- we have toget past the mental obstacle that marriage is for specifed categories ofpeople. We have to stop tying it to notions of gender or chromosomes orsexual orientation. The noisy political arguments always develop around howto define these categories....which is how the religious right wind upwanting to deny marriage rights to the "gay" category. It's also how LGBTpeople wind up arguing whether it should be called "gay marriage" or"same-gender marriage." Instead, we could be talking about "universalmarriage." This is a far more human, and user-friendly idea, with a clearprecedent in American history.
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In an hour-long call-in show called "Vox Pop" on WAMC Northeast Public Radioin Albany, Governor Spitzer talks about marriage equality. You can hear this
three-minute discussion with "Vox Pop" host Alan Chartock beginning at 2'45"on the audio clip. The Governor share his views in response to a callernamed Phil who identified himself as man in his upper 70's who has been in arelationship for over twenty years. He said about his partner and himself:"We Pay taxes, we vote, we pay our dues to our community." His question forthe Governor: "Do you have any sense that within our lifetimes the statewill recognize our relationship so that we can benefit from the privilegesand responsibilities that other married couples enjoy in New York State?"
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They were playing in a movie, but marchers who gathered in San Franciscolast week to recreate a 1970s gay rights protest were not just acting.
Hundreds of people came to the Castro district, long favored by homosexualresidents, to be extras in a movie that stars actor Sean Penn as HarveyMilk, the country's first prominent openly gay leader, who won election tothe San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.
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This year's state budget is a billion dollars short, and the number isgrowing. Fortunately, our legislators are taking bold and decisive action tostaunch the considerable bleeding. They're proposing a ban on gay marriage.
That's right. On Monday, top Republican leaders in the Arizona House andSenate introduced a bill to put a constitutional amendment on the Novemberballot, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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Jamaican activist seeks asylum in Canada
A prominent member of gay rights group J-FLAG, Jamaica's Forum for Lesbians,All-Sexuals and Gays, is claiming refugee status in Canada. Gareth Henry,who spoke at Pride London last year about the plight of lesbian and gaypeople in his country, told CBC News that 13 of his friends have been killedin the last four years. On this day last year Mr Henry was one of three gaymen stoned by a huge mob in a homophobic attack.
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Crackdown on gays proposed in Bahrain
MPs in the Gulf state of Bahrain are calling for a range of measures to betaken against gay people in the country, including deporting foreignerssuspected of being gay. The foreign affairs, defence and national securitycommittee has backed proposals to tighten immigration checks to stop foreigngay people entering the country. "The Interior Ministry has told us that italready bans suspected homosexuals as they try entering the country fromBahrain International Airport," committee secretary Jalal Fairooz told GulfDaily News.
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Gay groups' observer status at UN blocked
LGBT rights groups from Spain, the Netherlands and Brazil have been refusedobserver status that allows Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) toparticipate in United Nations business. The UN Committee on NGOs was tied,with Columbia, Dominica, Israel, Peru, Romania, UK and the USA voting yesand Burundi, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Sudan voting no.Angola, Guinea, India and Turkey abstained while Cuba was not present. TheUK representative on the committee said they were discriminating againstLGBT NGO applicants.
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England vs Scotland in gay football match
The first LGBT football team north of the border are to take on London'sLeftfooters FC this Sunday, the first time gay teams from England andScotland have clashed.HotScots FC was founded last year with the aim oforganising socials and regular kick-abouts and to provide a social outletfor LGBT people who wish to watch and participate in football with otherlike-minded people. the club now boasts more than 75 members and holdkickabouts every Thursday and Sunday.
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Ugandan bishops will boycott Lambeth conference
The Archbishop of Uganda said today that bishops from the country will notbe attending the Lambeth conference later this year.The conference ofAnglican church leaders from across the world is held once a decade. The2008 gathering has been dominated by fights about the place of gay andlesbian people in the Anglican church. The Archbishop of Canterbury saidthat 70% of bishops had already accepted invitations to attend.
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Sex sting Senator "acted improperly"
The US Senate Ethics Committee has criticised Senator Larry Craig over inincident in an airport bathroom which led to him being arrested forcruising, but has decided to take no further action against him.The Senatorfrom Idaho, who married with three children, denies he is gay. He wasarrested on June 11th by an undercover police officer in a Minneapolisairport toilet.
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Irish gays picket parliament over marriage equality
A recently former pressure group will protest at the Irish parliament todayand present the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) with 1,000 messages demandingfull civil marriages for gay people, something the Irish government hasruled out as contrary to the country's constitution.Lesbian Gay BisexualTransgendered (LGBT) Noise is highlighting the lack of rights gay coupleshave in relation to care of children, inheritance, pensions and wills.
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Moscow Pride ban challenged in human rights court
The organisers of the banned Moscow Pride have sent an application to theEuropean Court of Human Rights claiming the ban breached their rights andseeking compensation of 1 million euros.
Documents were sent to the court in Strasbourg today. Last year Moscow Pride organisers, MEPs and prominent British gay activists were among 31 peoplearrested as they attempted to deliver a letter of protest about the ban tothe mayor's office.
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Gay-friendly US cities are "miserable"
According to a new survey by Forbes Magazine, some of the cities mostpopular with American gays are also among 'the most miserable' places tolive in the US. It used the economic indicator most often referred to asthe 'Misery Index,' which adds the unemployment rate to inflation, alongwith the 'Misery Score' which measures the sum of corporate, personal,employer and sales taxes as well as factors including commute times,weather, crime and the number of toxic waste dumps in proximity to a givencity.
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Same-sex couples to stage St Valentine's Day protest
Getting married has been a goal for long-time partners Robin Tyler and DianeOlson for each of the past six Valentine's Days, and this year will be nodifferent. They'll be turned away, of course, since their home state ofCalifornia doesn't allow same-sex marriages, but Tyler hardly seemsheartbroken by that inevitability."It's all about raising awareness," saysthe Los Angeles-based activist, comedienne and producer.
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Rainbow flag flies over police headquarters
A police force named as the best employer for gay, lesbian and bisexualpeople in Scotland is celebrating LGBT History Month by flying the rainbowflag.The public display of support at Lothian and Borders Policeheadquarters in Edinburgh has been welcomed by gay rights organisationStonewall, who compile the list of top employers. However, not everyone waspleased.
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Census question is about sexuality not sex
A proposal to include a question on sexuality in the next UK-wide census hasbeen backed by trade unionists and the Green party, but caused confusionamong some people.A senior researcher who is an expert on LGBT issues toldPinkNews.co.uk that any question must focus on sexual identity and notorientation.The academic, who asked not to be named, explained: "Some haveput forward the argument that such a question involved someone's privatesexual behaviour.
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Copenhagen Pride threatened by financial crisis
The city authorities in the Danish capital Copenhagen have turned down afunding application from gay Pride organisers, which could threaten theweek-long event. "We need to find a more suitable solution, a spokesman forthe mayor's office told leading Danish LGBT media outlet PrideRadio.dk. "Wehad to turn down the Copenhagen Pride 08 application due to new procedures.It is important that no-one sees this rejection as discrimination towardsthe Danish gay community."
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Heavy metal star encourages fans to come out
The lead singer of legendary British heavy metal band Judas Priest hasspoken about being a role model to his gay fans.Rob Halford came out in 1998in an interview with MTV. The band, nicknamed "Metal Gods," have sold morethan 35 million albums. Halford left Judas Priest in 1993 after 20 years,but rejoined in 2003. He said coming out was like "freeing yourself" andsaid that his action had helped other metal fans to do the same.
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Germany criticised by EU over gay discrimination
The European Union commissioner for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities has started an infringement procedures against Germany andeleven other member states for failing to implement EU equal opportunitieslegislation correctly. Vladimir Spidla said that the German government hasfailed to bring provisions on equal treatment of gay and lesbianpartnerships in line with EU directives. He said that the partnershipregistration scheme available to German same-sex couples do not representequal rights.
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