GLBT DIGEST February 17, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
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BELIEFS; Religious Right May Be Fading, but Not the 'Culture Wars'
...religious right's ability to mobilize voters around abortion or gaymarriage. But, in fact, significant cultural flash points like those overabortion rights and gay marriage have not gone away. They may be eclipsed in2008 by national...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/us/16beliefs.html?_r=1&sq=gay&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=3&adxnnlx=1203213790-61KjNYeDzJCisglbM1xDmw
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Anglican Leader Warns Conservatives
TORONTO (AP) -- The head of the Anglican Church of Canada has warned memberswho split with the church over its decision to bless same-sex unions thatthey will lose their church buildings and funds. ''In our Anglicantradition, individuals who choose to leave the Church over contentiousissues cannot take property and other assets with them,'' Archbishop FredHiltz said in a letter released Friday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Canada-Anglicans.html?scp=9&sq=gay&st=nyt
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Report Finds Problems With NJ Gay Unions
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- A commission established to study same-sex civilunions in New Jersey has found in its first report that civil unions createa ''second-class status'' for gay couples, rather than giving them equality.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Marriage.html
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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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2 Guys and a Chick Set Off Loudoun Library Dispute
A children's book about two male penguins that hatch and parent a chick waspulled from library shelves in Loudoun County elementary schools this monthafter a parent complained that it promoted a gay agenda. The decision bySuperintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III led many parents and gay rightsadvocates to rush to the penguins' defense. Many say that the school systemshould not have allowed one complaint to limit children's literary choices.
Some are calling for an overhaul of the book review policy. Besides, manysay, what could be wrong with a book about penguins?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/16/AR2008021600749.html
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Jesus, the Candidate, Gives Politics a Different Perspective
He walked on water; he turned water to wine; and now he wants to be yourcandidate for president. That's right, it's Jesus, ready to lead the freeworld after President Bush leaves the White House next year. There's onlyone hitch: He doesn't have a platform. Or, for that matter, a running mate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021503273.html
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Senegal police fire tear gas at anti-gay protesters
DAKAR (Reuters) - Police in Senegal fired tear gas to disperseanti-homosexual demonstrators outside Dakar's main mosque on Friday afterthe publication of photos from a gay wedding in the mostly Muslim nation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021501926.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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Kenya's bishops join boycott of Anglican meeting
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Anglican bishops will join the boycott of amajor church gathering this year because of a rift over gay clergy andsame-sex unions, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said on Friday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021502799.html
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Vaclav Klaus Re-Elected Czech President
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus won a secondfive-year term Friday when lawmakers chose him over a University of Michiganeconomics professor
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021503017.html
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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DeLand High club 'singularly important' for gay students
DELAND, Fla. -- One boy whose hair reaches halfway down his back wore acamouflage tank top, light blue nail polish, blue eye shadow and a thicksilver chain around his neck. Another boy with a hint of a Marilyn Mansonlook donned bracelets, a ring and jet black nail polish that matched hisebony hair. A girl sported blue and purple hair, striped leggings, a redplaid skirt and a T-shirt with pastel-colored hearts.
http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/421641.html
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
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Former NJ's gov's split from wife drags on Without resolve, trial will be in May
They've bickered over whether she knew he was gay, whose tell-all book wouldsell better, whether a poster of a nude man hanging over his new lover's bedhad to come down before she'd allow their 6-year-old to visit. Divorce hasbeen exceptionally bitter for former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey and hiswife, Dina Matos McGreevey. Unless they can resolve the custody and moneyissues that have arisen since their acrimonious parting, the state'sestranged former first couple is heading for a May
trial.http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=16656
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Presbyterian court rules gays can't be ordained
The top court in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has issued an unexpectedlyearly and decisive ruling upholding the Louisville-based denomination's banon ordaining non-celibate gays and lesbians.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/NEWS01/80215027
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Barney Frank: Matt Foreman is 'protecting his ass'
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) appeared on Sirius OutQ's MichelangeloSignorile Show, to respond to accusations made by outgoing National Gay andLesbian Task Force executive director Matt Foreman in the legislativestruggle over inclusion of 'gender identity and expression' in theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act, passed last year by the House ofRepresentatives.
http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/barney_Frank_Matt_Foreman_is_protecting_his_0215.html
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HIV vaccine research hits impasse
Scientists are no further forward in developing a vaccine against HIV aftermore than 20 years of research, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist has said.Professor David Baltimore, president of the American Association for theAdvancement of Science (AAAS), said there was little hope among scientists.But he said that they were continuing efforts to develop a vaccine.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7246117.stm
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
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Hate Crime Teen Victim Taken Off Life Support
(Ventura, California) A 15-year-old boy who was shot at his junior highschool died of head wounds, an autopsy showed.
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Anglican Gay Feud Widens
(New York City) Leaders from five Anglican provinces say they will boycott aonce-a-decade world Anglican summit because the U.S. Episcopal Churchordained a gay bishop.
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Anglican Leader Warns Conservatives
(Toronto, Ontario) The head of the Anglican Church of Canada has warnedconservative members who split with the church over the issue of blessingsame-sex unions that they will lose their church buildings and church funds.
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Egyptian HIV Arrests Mount
(Cairo) Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected ofhaving HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basichuman rights, two international rights groups said.
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State Dept Ends HIV-Pos Ban
(Washington) After a five-year long Lambda Legal lawsuit, the U.S. StateDepartment has revised its rules so that people who are HIV-positive are nolonger automatically disqualified for the U.S. diplomatic corps.
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Service Employees Back Obama
Sen. Barack Obama won the support Friday of the 1.9-million member ServiceEmployees International Union, his second endorsement in as many days fromlarge labor organizations and a fresh sign of momentum in the Democraticpresidential race with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
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Rehberg Meant No Offense
Montana's gay and lesbian community is calling on Rep. Denny Rehberg,R-Mont., to apologize for a gag he recently played on one of hiscolleagues.On a congressional trip to the Middle East last month, Rehbergleft an "Idaho Travel Package" on the airplane seat of Rep. Mike Simpson,R-Idaho.The contents included a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it, aVillage People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirtthat reads, "My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch."
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Virginia: Gay Couples are Again Refused Licenses to Wed
Carl Franklin and Brenda Minns marked Valentine's Day by getting a marriagelicense yesterday.The happy couple left the Richmond Circuit Court Clerk'soffice shortly after noon with license in hand.
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Nashville Public Library and the Brooks Fund Announce Agreement to HouseGLBT Oral Histories
The H. Franklin Brooks Philanthropic Fund of The Community Foundation ofMiddle Tennessee has donated the first phase of The Brooks Fund HistoryProject to the Special Collections Center at the Nashville Public Library.
The History Project is an ongoing multimedia archive of gay, lesbian,bisexual, transgender (GLBT) life in Middle Tennessee. In the first phase,local producers will interview 25 GLBT community members who have first-handknowledge and experience of GLBT life in Middle Tennessee before 1970, somegoing back as far as the 1930s.
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Friends of the Court: Cities, Counties Push For Change
In his campaign two years ago, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders stated hissupport for domestic partnerships, not marriage. He consistently indicatedhe would veto the City Council's resolution for San Diego to sign onto thecities and counties' amicus brief that urged the California Supreme Court togrant same-sex couples the right to marry. What happened once the resolutionlanded on his desk, however, has become one of the most moving andunforgettable moments in this marriage equality movement.
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Clinton Leads Among Gay Super Delegates
Twenty-one openly gay Democrats have been identified as super delegates tothe Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer, and 12 havedeclared their support for presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton. Asof this week, just two of the gay super delegates had declared their supportfor presidential contender Barack Obama, while seven were listed asundeclared.
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The Con Artist Lives Again
Bill Ash Re-Emerges With a New Tale of Lies and Lust
By Norm Kent - Publisher, www.nationalgaynews.com
It is a story that could only have South Florida roots. It is September of2007, and Seth Tobias, 44, a multi millionaire hedge fund investor, knownnationally for his appearances as a respected financial commentator for CNBCis found very dead in the swimming pool of his Palm Beach Estate, a 5million dollar, 6,700 square foot mansion.
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Will Voters Pass Florida's Marriage Amendment?
By William Butte
Now that the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment - a constitutionalamendment targeting the rights of all unmarried couples - will be on theNovember ballot, what's the chance it will get the 60 percent voter approvalneeded for passage? Unfortunately, the probability is too high to ignore.
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Washington state: The House has approved an expansion of the state's domestic partnership law.
The bill passed on a 62-32 vote after very little debate, and now goes tothe enate.It would grant same-sex couples more than 170 of the benefits andresponsibilities given to married couples, including property andguardianship rights.The measure adds domestic partners to sections of laws where previously only spouses were mentioned, including areas referring to probate and trusts, community property and homestead exemptions.
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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
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Supporters of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages likely will have towait at least another four years after a key House leader decided he won'tconsider legislation that passed the Senate. Conservative activists andlawmakers expressed frustration today with the decision by Rep. ScottPelath, D-Michigan City, not to hear Senate Joint Resolution 7, thelegislation that included the constitutional ban. Pelath's decision did notcome as a surprise because earlier this session, he refused to hear a Houseversion of the legislation in his Rules Committee. His decision not to hearthe Senate version of the proposal, however, is significant because itlikely wipes out a decision by the General Assembly in 2005 to pass themeasure.
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Oregon: Jet Harris admits she noticed the discrepancy as she and KatherineSwem waited in line with dozens of others to register as domestic partners aweek ago Monday: so many women, so few men. "It seemed par for the coursefor Eugene," said Harris, an attorney. "There are just a lot more lesbiansthan gay men here." In the first seven days they could do so, 142 same-sexcouples have registered in Lane County as domestic partners. Of those, 112 -nearly 79 percent - are female couples.
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When about 100 black gay and lesbian leaders gathered in Los Angeles lastmonth for a first-of-its-kind presidential forum entitled "It's a BlackThang: The Black LGBT Vote '08," the disconnect between the crowd andmainstream gay rights organizations was almost instantly obvious."Same-sexmarriage, as far as I'm concerned, isn't in the top five concerns for me asa black gay man," said panelist Jeffery King, founder of In the Meantime, aLos Angeles group for black gay men. "And I believe that also speaks for alot of other people as well."
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
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Human rights groups protest at HIV arrests in Egypt
Cairo police have arrested four more men suspected of having HIV, signalinga wider crackdown that endangers public health and violates basic humanrights in Egypt, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today ina joint statement. The recent arrests bring to 12 the number of men held ina campaign against people police suspect of being HIV-positive. Four havealready been sentenced to a year in jail and eight are still in custody.
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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
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INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Dispatch from Bauchi, Nigeria, Regional Update: Africa
Eighteen men arrested on charges related to sexual orientation in Bauchistate, Nigeria faced an adjournment today, as the government continued tostall given the weakness of their case and lack of evidence, according tothe International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). The nexthearing will be held on March 24, 2007. The men, all between the ages of 18and 21, were arrested on August 5, 2007, at a party at Benco Hotel alongTafawa Balewa Road by the Hisbah, the Islamic anti-vice squad. According tothe charge sheet, at the time of arrest "the suspects were all dressed infemale attire organizing a gay wedding which contravenes section 372subsection 2(e) of the Islamic Sharia penal code." The men deny that theywere dressed in female clothing or that they were organizing or attending agay wedding.
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Christian Leaders Call on the Government of Uganda to Protect the Rights ofGays and Lesbians
(New York, February 15, 2008) -- A coalition of 120 Christian leaders hascalled on the government of Uganda to protect the human rights of lesbians,gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) citizens in the East African nation.
In a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (full text below), thefaith leaders call for an end to government sanctioned verbal assaults andlegal attacks that abridge the human rights of LGBT people.
According to The Rev. Nancy L. Wilson, moderator of Metropolitan CommunityChurches, the international faith communion that organized the clergyletter, "We are especially concerned that members of the Museveni governmenthave recommended criminal penalties against LGBT people based solely uponwhom they love and have censored attempts by LGBT people to speak freely ontheir own behalf."
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Fight Out Loud
www.fightOUTloud.org
by Waymon Hudson
Where's the Outrage??
With the announcement of the shooting death of Lawrence King, just 15, onehas to wonder-- where is the outrage and outcry from the public and media?
King was, by all accounts, a young man who was teased at school for hisfeminine characteristics and sexual orientation. He was brutally gunneddown in school by a fellow student, Brandon McInerney. Police are stillinvestigating, but have charged McInerney with a hate crime. I can't helpbut notice, however, that no media outlets really seem to be covering this.
The LGBT blogs are buzzing and angry, but the 24 hour news stations arestill focusing on anything but the violent loss of this young man.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
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NBC Apologizes For Jane Fonda Saying "C**t" On "Today" NBC News isapologizing again - this time for Jane Fonda. The70-year-old actress used avulgar slang term on the "Today" show Thursdaywhile talking about the play"The Vagina Monologues." Fonda is appearing ina 10th-anniversaryperformance.Fonda said she was asked to perform a monologue with a slangterm for vagina as the title - and Fonda used the term itself on theair.About 10 minutes later, co-host Meredith Vieira told viewers that"Today"and Fonda apologized for the remark.
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We were headed to trial in less than two weeks, set to challenge the U.S.State Department's blanket ban on hiring people with HIV to be ForeignService Officers. But today the State Department has lifted the ban.
It has issued new guidelines for people living with HIV under which it willevaluate them on a case-by-case basis, as the law requires. This is a hugevictory for people living with HIV. "At long last,the State Department istaking down its sign that read 'Peoplewith HIV need not apply,'" says Lambda Legal's HIV Project Director, BebeAnderson.
http://www.lambdalegal.org
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Herpes Treatment Fails in Preventing HIV
Having herpes nearly triples the chance of catching HIV, and researchershave long believed that lowering herpes outbreaks would also lower thechances of getting HIV. Despite hopes, HIV/AIDS researchers have found thata common medication used to treat genital herpes had no impact on reducingsusceptibility to HIV infection. Results of this study were released at thefifteenth Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
To view the complete study, please see here
http://mcsv.net/cgi-bin/redir?MCid=gLiVScb1U0OBQsIVfhLM
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The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an African-American literary and culturalmovement that began after World War I and ended during the years of theGreat Depression of the 1930s. The movement was greatly influenced by themany black glbtq writers and artists who contributed to it.
http://www.glbtq.com/literature/harlem_renaissance.html
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Gay and lesbian artists of the African Diaspora have recently begun toexplore issues specific to gender and sexuality; often relying onself-portraiture, they address homophobia and racism as well as desire andlonging.
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/af_am_diaspora_art.html
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The African-American gay male literary tradition consists of a substantialbody of texts and includes some of the most gifted writers of the twentiethcentury.
http://www.glbtq.com/literature/african_am_lit_gay.html
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Most African-American lesbian literature is as concerned with racism as itis with sexuality, causing many writers to construct Afrocentric sexualidentities that affirm the power of black women.
http://www.glbtq.com/literature/african_am_lit_lesbian.html
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Glbtq African Americans frequently experience racism in predominantly whiteglbtq communities and homophobia in heterosexual black society, but themultiple oppressions faced by black glbtq people are now being recognized.
http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/african_americans.html
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Egypt: Spreading Crackdown on HIV Endangers Public Health
Rights Violations Drive Those in Need Underground
(Cairo, February 15, 2008) - Cairo police arrested four more men suspectedof having HIV, signaling a wider crackdown that endangers public health andviolates basic human rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watchsaid today in a joint statement.The recent arrests bring to 12 the number of men arrested in a campaignagainst people police suspect of being HIV-positive. Four have already beensentenced to a year in jail and eight are still in custody. The twoorganizations called on Egyptian authorities to respect the men's humanrights and to immediately release them so as not to cause lasting damage to the country's HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.
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Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrier
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
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Teen faces hate-crime charge in shooting of classmate
A 14-year-old student at a junior high school in Oxnard, Calif., has beenaccused of a hate crime in the shooting of a 15-year-old classmate. LawrenceKing was declared brain dead on Wednesday; Brandon McInerney is accused ofshooting King because he was gay. Prosecutors didn't provide details on thereason behind the shooting or its classification as a hate crime.
Google/Associated Press (2/14) , Los Angeles Times (free registration)
(2/15)
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Column: Teen's death hits close to home: The shooting of California teenagerLawrence King, who was allegedly attacked because he was open about beinggay, resonated with John Ireland, an out elementary-school administrator inLos Angeles who was able to carefully conceal his sexual orientation untilhe was almost through college. "Every gay person remembers his firstcorrective message -- being gay is not OK," Ireland writes. "It sneaks up onyou when you least expect it. The lucky among us get bruised. Some of us getkilled." Advocate.com (2/14)
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Is New York's out council leader "ready" to run for mayor?
Out New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn's second State of theCity address was interpreted by some as an indication that Quinn plans toseek the mayor's job in 2009. Quinn opened the speech by saying, "I wantevery New Yorker to hear me when I say: We are ready." Gay City News (NewYork) (2/14)
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May to run for House seat representing Arizona
Steve May, an openly gay Arizona Republican and former state lawmaker who in2006 helped defeat the state's proposed marriage ban, reportedly will make arun for an open U.S. House seat now held by Rep. John Shadegg. 365Gay.com
(2/14)
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Senate panel reprimands Craig over arrest, legal defense
The Senate Ethics Committee has reprimanded U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho,for his actions that led to last summer's arrest in a restroom-sex sting andhis subsequent handling of his guilty plea and appeal. The committee alsoquestioned Craig's use of more than $200,000 in campaign contributions forhis legal bills, but did not recommend he be expelled from the Senate. TheNew York Times (2/14)
Other News
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Will Md. pastor-turned-lawmaker back marriage rights?
The Sun (Baltimore) (2/14)
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Bill to be proposed to allow for same-sex divorce in Rhode Island
The Boston Globe/Associated Press (2/14)
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Victory's Champagne Brunch is a spring tradition
The 8th annual Victory Fund Champagne Brunch marks the start of spring inWashington, D.C. Join us and special guest Rep. Tammy Baldwin at thehistoric Mayflower Hotel on Sunday, April 6th at 11am. To become a sponsoror table captain, or simply to purchase your own tickets, go here right now.
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Wolfson: Words matter in marriage discussion
When discussing the marriage issue with family, friends and co-workers, it'simportant to talk about the same "freedom to marry" enjoyed by straightcouples, rather than gay or same-sex marriage, according to longtimeactivist Evan Wolfson. The Huffington Post (2/12)
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Column: Law should protect all couples, families
Society would benefit if the legal system were amended to grant the rightsand benefits of marriage to all unmarried couples, as well as singleparents, according to Nancy D. Polikoff, a law professor at WashingtonCollege of Law at American University and author of "Beyond (Straight andGay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law." "Valentine's Day canvalue romance; the law should value the families and relationships thatpeople value," Polikoff writes. The Philadelphia Inquirer (2/13)
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