GLBT DIGEST February 15, 2008

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From Libby Post
www.proudlyout.com
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Feel the Love
Yesterday was Valentine's Day. My partner Lynn and I can tell each all daylong how much we mean to each other, that we love each other, that we'recommitted to each other for the long haul. But, the two words we can't sayin any legally binding way are "I do." I turn fifty next week and I'd reallylike to be able to get married to the person I love before we're both tooold to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities that come with legalmarriage. With the Presidential race dominating our collectiveconsciousness, we need to watch out for stealth campaigns to make marriageequality a wedge issue in various states. Now, these may be states that willgo to the Republican candidate anyway-like Arizona which is quite likely tovote for its favorite son, John McCain.
www.proudlyout.com

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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full articles
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Second Moscow Gay Pride Ban Appealed to the European Human Rights Court
Compensation of 36 million roubles sought for breach of rightsOrganisers ofMoscow Gay Pride have today sent the case that their human rights werebreached when the Mayor of Moscow banned the Pride march lastMay to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. It is the secondapplication to the Court from Gay Pride organisers in Moscow - a similarcase following the 2006 ban is awaiting a hearing.
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Gaining the right to speak in our own name at the United NationsLesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups still face discrimination in
accessing UN consultative status
February 11, 2008 - New York, U.S.A. The United Nations Committee onNon-Governmental Organizations refused ECOSOC status to three lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender groups. In a tie vote, the committee recommendeddenial of ECOSOC consultative status to the Spanish LGBT federation,Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGTB).
It also deferred consideration of two other LGBT national federations: COC(Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum) from the Netherlands and ABGLT (AssociaçãoBrasileira de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais) fromBrazil which was deferred for the second time. Both NGOs will be thereforereconsidered in the upcoming NGO Committee session of May.
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Sexing the future - The evolution of human sexuality is likely to involvemore people having gay sex but fewer people defining themselves as gay
By Peter Tatchell
February is LGBT History Month, with hundreds of events taking place acrossthe country to promote awareness of the contribution to society of lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
In a culture that has, until recently, persecuted queers and suppressed usfrom public life, this reclamation of hidden LGBT history is a welcome andmuch needed historical correction.
But history is about the past. What about the future?
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2008/02/sexing_the_future.html
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
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Contact rays.list@comcast.net if can't access the article
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Kansas City Law Enforcement Seeks "Eyes" to Combat Sex and Drugs
KANSAS CITY - It's not a new concept. Totalitarian governments both ontheleft and on the right have utilized it to great effect in the past: ratoutyour fellow citizens and create a utopian society. Heck. it's evenbeentried here in the good, old U.S. of A. in the past as anyone whoremembersthe '70s and the We T.I.P. (turn in pushers) hotlines canattest.Now the Wyandotte County district attorney is asking neighborhood"leaders"to act as the eyes and ears of the police to help identifybusinesses thatmight be violating laws on obscenity and the sale of drugparaphernalia.
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Atlanta: William & Mary President Gene Nichol Resigns Amid Controversy
The College of William and Mary president Gene Nichol resigned Tuesdaymorning amid 16 months of controversy over a sex show scandal.The Board ofVisitors for the institution decided not to renew his contract.
His tenure at William & Mary is the shortest since the Civil War in school'shistory. Nichol has been president of the College since 2005. Prior to hispresidency at the College, he was the dean of the law school at theUniversity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. ..... Four decisions led to theBoard of Visitors' final decision: his decision toremove the Wren cross, hisrefusal to ban the Sex Workers' Art Show, hissupport of the College'sGateway Program and his commitment to the College'sfaculty diversity.
http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=36265&cat=14
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LGBT Health and Wellness at the University of Pittsburgh
The need for researches and public health providers trained to deal withLGBT
communities continues to grow. In response to this need, the UniversityofPittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health now offers a certificateprogram in LGBT Health and Wellness.
This special program is designed for post-baccalaureate students,graduatestudents, and professionals who have an interest in LGBT communitiesand areseeking to develop skills necessary to effectively address LGBThealthdisparities and related issues. Course work topics include thehistoricaldevelopment of LGBT health, a review of community-basedhealthinterventions, and cultural competency skill development related toLGBThealth care delivery.
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Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp
Finally the camp you have been waiting for! Campus Pride organizes thesecondannual Summer Leadership Camp for LGBT and Ally college students.
Thefive-day camp experience works to develop stronger undergraduate studentleaders and safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities.
Participants have the opportunity to learn valuable campus organizingskills,coalition building and strategies for creating change at collegesanduniversities.
WHEN Saturday, July 19, 2008 10:00 AM -
Thursday, July 24, 2008 1:00 PM
WHERE Glen Complex
Towson University
8000 York Road
Towson, Maryland 21252
Check In: Saturday, July 19 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Glen Complex
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Fees.aspx?e=3d4ed649-baed-4cac-a38d-80f3c986c95b
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Judge Asked to Rule in Library Internet Filter Case
SPOKANE, Washington - The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against theNorth Central Regional Library system could be resolved in April if afederal judge decides to forego the trial scheduled for June.
Filed in 2006 on behalf of three north-central Washington residents and aSeattle-based nonprofit organization, the suit claims the library system'sInternet filters violate the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights.
Summary judgments were presented by both sides last week to request that afederal District Court judge make a ruling without trial. A hearing isscheduled for April 15 in Richland.
http://www.avn.com/index.cfm?objectid=14F36C51-BC96-27A9-7BD545DA1F2AB677
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Sexual Vigilanteism at the 'New York Post'
Paying for erotic favors is okay, as long as your tastes are generic. That,in a nutshell, is the sexual ethic of the New York Post.
How else do you explain a paper where the top editors hang out at stripclubs at night and spend their days shaming fetish-club patrons by name?I refer to coverage of the 67-year-old man who had to be hospitalized afteran accident at the hands of a dominatrix in a Manhattan establishment calledthe Nutcracker Suite. Today, the Post crossed into ethically murky territorywith a story that named the man (citing "law-enforcement sources"), anddescribed his professional history, hometown and family situation. For goodmeasure, the Post's reporters also took it upon themselves to phone theman's wife and fill her in on the details.
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/02/12/sexual-vigilanteism-at-the-new-york-post
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From Scott Hall
Gay Hate crime Murder in school, openly gay student ,15 year-old LawrenceKing, the next HERO to be remembered on the Gay American Heroes NationalMemorial?
A National Memorial honoring all LGBT persons who have been murdered becauseof their sexual orientation and identity. All people who live honestly abouttheir sexual orientation or gender identity are heroic, as it takes greatstrength and courage to face the daily struggles for personal freedom in theface of enormous opposition; to utimately give their life for said freedommakes them...HEROES.
Gay student in Oxnard, California declared brain dead. Hate-crime chargeshave been filed
www.GayAmericanHeroes.com
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California: Yesterday, February 13th 15-year-old Lawrence King was declaredbrain dead after he was shot by a fellow student on Tuesday at OxnardJunior High School. King, an openly gay student, was shot during his firstperiod English Class in front of twenty four other students. According toclassmates, King was known to wear makeup and feminine jewelry to schooland was in conflict with other boys for his open display.
"He would come to school in high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and paintednails -- the whole thing," said Michael Sweeney, 13, an eighth-grader. "Thatwas freaking the guys out." As of today King is being kept on life supportfor possible organ donations after being declared brain dead byneurosurgeons at the St. John's Medical Center in Oxnard California.
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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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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. The site isthe first public forum in the Jewish state where gay members of the Orthodoxcommunity can seek support and advice.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-israel-religion-gays.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=gay&st=nyt&oref=slogin
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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
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Church Criticized Over Gay Services Plan
A conservative Christian group yesterday criticized a large Methodist churchin the District for planning to offer services that recognize gay andlesbian relationships, saying they violate the United Methodist ban onsame-sex unions. Foundry United Methodist Church, which Bill and HillaryRodham Clinton attended when he was president, decided last month to supportits senior pastor's decision to lead services that "recognize and honor"committed gay relationships. Foundry clergy, however, do not perform unionceremonies, the local bishop said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/14/AR2008021403323.html
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Two Sides Testify on Same-Sex Marriage
Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage clashed before a MarylandSenate committee yesterday, with traditionalists invoking religiousconvictions and gay rights advocates describing their cause as a civilrights struggle.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/14/AR2008021403655.html
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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HUMAN RIGHTS
Jamaicans pressured to halt attacks on gays
Religious leaders expressed to Jamaican officials in Miami their concernsabout violence against gays. Two weeks after one of their church membersbecame the latest victim in a mob attack in Jamaica, leaders of a SouthFlorida church are calling for a public awareness campaign in the Caribbeannation to encourage a more gay-friendly environment.
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/420079.html
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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Lawyers propose legal clinic for gay, transgender clients
FreeState Law Project opens this fall
A group of Maryland lawyers hopes to start a legal clinic that would servegay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders -- underserved groupsthat advocates say have special legal problems.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=16630
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Supervisors: Santa Clara County should oppose FDA ban on blood donationsfrom gay men
Santa Clara County should formally oppose the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration's ban on blood donations from gay men, a board ofsupervisors' committee agreed today.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8262469
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Gay Calif. Couples Make Symbolic Valentine Protest
In county clerks' offices all over California Thursday, same sex couplesplanned to ask for, and be denied, marriage licenses. The couples' requestsare in commemoration of the thousands of same sex weddings performed at SanFrancisco City Hall four years ago.
http://cbs5.com/local/gay.marriage.protest.2.654305.html
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Uganda boycotts Anglican meeting
The Anglican Church in Uganda is to boycott the Lambeth Conference, ameeting of the world's Anglican bishops held once every 10 years. The moveis in protest at invitations being sent to bishops who condone activehomosexuality.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7244196.stm
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The fundies on Hillary's Blade interview
Lifesite.net, one of my favorite sites for distorting news to make it seemlike gays are going to take over the world and eat your children, posted astory in response to Blade editor Kevin Naff's interview with HillaryClinton.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=2/9/08&end=2/16/08#16603
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Time to get serious about gun control
This week brought a devastating reminder of the risks inherent in livingopenly - or even just dressing differently from other kids. Lawrence King,who is just 15, was shot in the head in front of fellow students at a juniorhigh school in Oxnard, Calif. He was declared brain dead Wednesday. Thesuspect is only 14 years old and now faces a first-degree murder charge.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=2/14/08&end=2/16/08#16602
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Fla. school's ban on pro-gay symbols shreds the First Amendment
Students should be taught value of individual expression in a free societyFor gay and lesbian residents, living in South Florida is a bit like livingin the Green Zone in Iraq. Our little enclave of gay-friendliness issurrounded by hostile, anti-gay hordes that pervade most parts of Florida,with the exception of a few enclaves of tolerance in cities such as Tampaand Orlando.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2008/2-14/view/editorial/4410.cfm
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
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Romney Endorses McCain
(Boston) Republican campaign dropout Mitt Romney endorsed John McCain forthe party's presidential nomination and asked his national conventiondelegates to swing behind the likely nominee.
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Gay Former Lawmaker Steve May Seeks Shadegg's seat
(Phoenix, Ariz.)Steve May, a former Republican Arizona lawmaker who isopenly gay, announced he will seek the seat being vacated this year by Rep.John Shadegg.
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Evangelical May Be Key Pro-Gay Vote in Md.
(Annapolis, Maryland) C. Anthony Muse, a Democratic state senator andevangelical bishop, may be the key vote in Maryland's struggle over same-sexmarriage.
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Bill Would Allow Gay Divorce in RI
(Providence, R.I.) House Majority Leader Gordon Fox says he'll file a billin the General Assembly that would allow married gay couples to divorce.
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Pittsburgh Episcopals Favor Break Over Gays
(Pittsburgh) Nearly 100 lay leaders in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburghsigned an open letter supporting their bishop's plan to split the diocesefrom the national church.
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Student, Possibly Gay, Brain Dead After Classmate Shooting
(Oxnard, Calif.) A brain dead 15-year-old boy was on a ventilator Thursdayfor possible organ donation, and a classmate suspected of shooting him inthe head was under arrest on investigation of attempted murder, authoritiessaid.
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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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Gay-Themed High School Play Draws Protest, Support
A group has formed to support next week's staging of a gay-themed play atKalamazoo Central High School after a Kansas church vowed to picket the showon opening night. The Stop the Hate in Kalamazoo Coalition began a week agoin response to the possible protest from Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro BaptistChurch, which is known for picketing gay-pride events and military funerals.
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Cycling to Make a Difference
When callers to the National Gay Youth Hotline share their fears aboutcoming out to their families and friends with Alper Oztovi, he knows exactlywhat they are talking about. He knows all about how much they stand tolose - and all about how much they can gain by that breakthrough in candor.
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Man Found Guilty in Gay "Therapy" Case
A minister and former Christian college instructor has been found guilty ofsexually assaulting a young man who sought counselling after he feared hewas homosexual. A jury returned with the guilty verdict early last nightafter only a few hours of deliberations. Terrance Lewis, 60, will besentenced at a later date.
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New Bodybuilding Supplements Increase Strength and Muscle Without Steroids
Every week the media comes out with a new story of another amateur orprofessional athlete using steroids muscle strength. For athletes andbodybuilding fanatics it seems they are willing to do whatever they believeis necessary to get results, and ignore the risk involved in using illegalsubstances.
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Attorney Laura J. Maechtlen Elected President of National Lesbian and GayLaw Association
Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America's leading full service law firms,announced that Laura J. Maechtlen, an attorney with the Labor and EmploymentDepartment in the firm's San Francisco office, has been elected President ofthe National Lesbian and Gay Law Association.
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Noah's Arc Announces Spin-Off Movie
A full-length movie based on the Logo TV show Noah's Arc has been given thegreen light for production, the cable network announced Thursday. Noah'sArc: Jumping the Broom (working title), like the series, will revolve aroundfour black gay friends living in Los Angeles.
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Gay Softball League Out $2K
The governing board for Dallas' 400-member gay softball associationsreviewing its accounting procedures after former recruiting coordinatorJaymee Johnson admitted to misappropriating $2,000 in league funds.
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Studies Indicate Hispanic Same Sex Television Soap Operas Depict Realty
While Spanish-language soap operas may not conjure up images of real life, aSan Francisco professor believes the depiction of same-sex couples adoptingchildren in telenovelas is dead on. Recent studies show Hispanic gay andlesbian couples have a higher rate of adoption than other same-sex couples,according to Alliant International University.
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Ban on Gay Sex is Still on Books
Finney County Attorney John Wheeler Jr. recently informed an audience ofGarden City Community College students that homosexual sexual relations inKansas are a crime. Arguing such a case in court, however, would provefutile, according to the Kansas attorney general's office.
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In Romance, Looks Matters Most to the Beautiful
In the world of romance, we seek out partners who are just as "hot" or "nothot" as we are. A new study supports the idea that super models flocktogether while individuals lacking the perfect face and body also sticktogether. "Beautiful people marry beautiful people and less beautiful peoplemarry less beautiful people," said Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioraleconomics at MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences and Sloan School ofManagement.
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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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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
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Ireland: Government asked to outline plan in Foy case
The High Court yesterday gave the Government two months in which to outlinehow it proposes to rectify breaches of human rights in the case of a dentistwho underwent a sex-change operation and official recognition of her newfemale identity. The High Court yesterday made formal declarations thatcertain provisions of birth registration laws here - the Civil RegistrationAct 2004 - violate the right of Dr Lydia Foy to respect for her private lifeunder Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) becausethey do not provide for "meaningful recognition" of her new female identity.
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From Jon Hoadley, Executive Director
National Stonewall Democrats
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Join Us for our Oklahoma Regional Training next weekend February 22-24. Thisevent will draw on the media expertise of GLAAD to help prepare you, andyour chapter, to grow your media exposure and organizing skills.
Registration is $50, but only $25 for students and members who book theiraccommodation through our host hotel - the Skirvin Hilton. Note: To receivethe $25 registration rate, you must have a valid room night at the SkirvinHilton under the National Stonewall Democrats block for either Friday,February 23 or Saturday, February 24. We are proud to offer a reduced rateat this luxury hotel for only $138/night. To receive your special StonewallDemocrats rate, mention code SWD when calling the hotel at (405) 272-3040.Please take a moment to register today. This is a dynamic opportunity that Idon't want you to miss.
www.stonewalldemocrats.org/okc
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Intern with Stonewall Democrats this Spring/Summer
We are seeking talented and excited interns to round out our team on staffat the National Stonewall Democrats. Positions will include opportunities atour headquarters in Washington as well as our convention site in Denver. Youcan learn more and apply at:
www.stonewalldemocrats.org/intern
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With the nation focused on the Democratic presidential contest, we areworking hard to use the intense media attention to publicly promote issuesimportant to LGBT Democrats. This week alone, we have been able to featurethe work of our members on CBS News, ABC News, XM, Sirius Satellite Radioand in publications across the country including the Associated Press.
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Will You Be Our Valentine?
We are currently ramping up efforts to place programs, staff and interns onthe ground alongside many of our chapters in 2008. This is an unprecedentedshift forward in resources, and one that we are already seeing produceresults (South Carolina: We were able to amend state party rules to make ourparty more inclusive, District of Columbia: On Tuesday, our chapter helpedto elect the most diverse slate of delegates to date for both SenatorsClinton and Obama).
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to the link for the following article:
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Valentine's Day Forbidden by Islam
The odds are stacked against Valentine's Day in Hamas-ruled Gaza: Theholiday is considered haram, or forbidden by Islam, most residents don'thave money for frills, and the requisite red roses are grown only beyond aclosed border with Israel.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52227.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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Two women who were joined in a civil union in Vermont are seeking a courtruling to dissolve their union in West Virginia. The women, identified onlyby their first names, filed a complaint Jan. 18 in Jefferson Circuit Court,seeking uncontested declaratory judgment for termination of their civilunion so they can settle financial and personal affairs.
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Valentine's Day in Annapolis marked an afternoon of high emotions as bothsupporters and opponents of same-sex marriages crowded a Senate committeehearing room to tell their side of the story. "Mark is 'just' my partner -even the term cheapens our relationship," Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr.,D-Montgomery, who is gay, told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
"It sounds like we're just in business together." Madaleno is sponsoring abill that would define marriage as simply between "two individuals." Thebill does not require a religious official to sanctify the union. Madalenowas co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt, who died of heartfailure a month ago.
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As California's highest court prepares to take up a case seeking to legalizesame-sex marriage, two groups that failed to get gay marriage bans on thestate ballot two years ago are trying again, one with backing from aprominent Christian conservative organization. The groups,ProtectMarriage.com and VoteYesMarriage.com, have filed ballot language withthe California Secretary of State that would, if approved by voters, amendthe California Constitution to limit marriage to one man and one womanregardless of how the Supreme Court rules. They have until late April togather signatures from 694,354 voters to qualify the measures for theNovember election and have begun circulating petitions, fundraising andrecruiting volunteers through Southern California churches.
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Massachusetts has a law that they will not recognize marriages betweennon-residents if their marriage would not be recognized in their home state.
Because of a plethora of anti-gay amendments and the peculiarities of statelaws, only Rhode Island's gay residents may marry in Massachusetts.
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In preparation for hearing oral arguments March 4 in the same-sex marriagecase, the state's Supreme Court justices had to digest more than 90 briefsfiled by the parties to the six consolidated lawsuits and from amici curiae,or "friends of the court," with an interest in the case. The task was sodaunting that the court had to delay scheduling the case in order to allowenough time for the seven justices to read through the mountain of legalarguments the court received.
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Weddings are giddy affairs, but marriage is an institution: a legal joiningof assets and a lifetime practicing unromantic skills such as communicationand compromise. Although many think marriage is a flawed model forrelationships, in 2004, San Francisco saw gay men and women queuing up atCity Hall for the right to enter into that sacred union. But what happensafter the Champagne wears off?
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Maryland: When the captivating Rev. C. Anthony Muse took the pulpit at thefuneral of a fellow state senator last month, he repeated a phrasethroughout his eulogy like a gospel choir singing a refrain: "Well done,Senator Britt, we'll take it from here." To many listeners in the pews thatday, the phrase was a poignant way for Muse to pay tribute to the late Sen.Gwendolyn T. Britt and her long history as an activist. But the gay andlesbian attendees, who were shifting in the pews to exchange knowing looks,hoped the phrase meant something more. They hoped that Muse might literallytake up Britt's latest civil rights struggle: legalizing same-sex marriage.
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
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Police warning on crystal meth use
A report from the Association of Chief Police Officers predicts a rise inthe number of people taking methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth.
An ACPO spokesman told the BBC that at present it is still a "relativelyminor" problem in the UK but there has been a "gradual rise in the reportingof the use and manufacturing of the drug." Research published in July 2006claimed that up to 20% of gay men questioned at sexual health clinics andgyms in London had taken the drug.
click here for the full article
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Romney endorses McCain for Republican nomination
Mitt Romney, the former Governor of Massachusetts who abandoned his run forthe White House earlier this month, has endorsed Senator John McCain.OnSuper Tuesday, when almost half of the states chose a Republican candidate,he was roundly defeated by Senator McCain and lost a string of Southernstates to Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas.Romney hadaccumulated an estimated 285 delegates by the time he suspended hiscampaign.
click here for the full article
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No hope for HIV vaccine claims expert
A Nobel Prize-winning scientist has said that the HIV virus cannot becontrolled by vaccines and immunisation and efforts should be focused onstem cell and gene research. Professor David Baltimore, president of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), was speaking atthe assocation's annual meeting yesterday. His work has made a majorcontribution to the discovery of HIV. In 1975 he won the Nobel Prize forMedicine. click here for the full article
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Irish judge sets resolution deadline in landmark trans case
The High Court in Dublin declared yesterday that birth registration laws inIreland are in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.Mr JusticeLiam McKechnie has given the Irish government two months to decide how toresolve the issue. His ruling follows the case of Dr Lydia Foy, a dentistwho underwent gender reassignment surgery.click here for the full article
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Obama leads Clinton and McCain in national polls
Illinois Senator Barack Obama's impressive sweep of victories over the pastweek has put him ahead of rival New York Senator Hillary Clinton indelegates, making him the frontrunner for the first time in the DemocraticPresidential race. Obama also now leads Clinton in several national voterpolls. Among the 21 LGBT super delegates, over half of them still supportClinton, according to the Washington Blade. click here for the full article
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Government funds gay sauna training scheme
The Department of Health is funding a new "code of good practice" scheme forgay saunas and other venues where sex between men occurs. Play Zone: Codeof Conduct has been developed by HIV an d sexual health charity TerrenceHiggins Trust as part of the national HIV prevention programme. "TheDepartment of Health gave £20,000 of funding," a THT spokesperson toldPinkNews.co.uk. click here for the full article
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Australian government objects to same-sex ceremonies
Gay rights advocates in Australia have asked the country's Attorney-General,Robert McClelland, explain why same-sex couples in the ACT (AustraliaCapital Territory) should not be allowed to officially solemnise theirunions. Responding to the ACT government's renewed commitment to its civilpartnership law, Mr McClelland yesterday said the ceremonial aspects of theACT model are "inappropriate." ACT Liberal party Senator Gary Humphriesattacked the Labour government's position on the issue. click here for thefull article
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