GLBT DIGEST May 27, 2008

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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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-Can women alone make 'Sex and the City' a hit?
Can a pure chick flick become a hit? Yes, if it draws a diverse enough swathof female moviegoers. For "Sex and the City," that will be the big question.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052700618.html?sub=AR

-Official: California gay weddings a go for some
Same-sex couples in some California counties will be able to marry as soonas June 14, the president of the California's county clerks associationsaid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052700677.html


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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-California court overstepped its bounds in gay marriage ruling
The recent decision on gay marriage handed down by the California SupremeCourt will have long-lasting and widespread effects far beyond the issue athand. It creates a dangerous precedent justifying judicial violation of theseparation of powers and demonstrates the increasing inclination of somejudges to usurp the lawmaking powers reserved for the legislature and thepeople.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-gaymarriage27forumsbmay27,0,7186405.story

-Fort Lauderdale: Stonewall Library to mark new location Wednesday
The Stonewall Library and Archives will have a ceremony from 6 to 7:30 p.m.Wednesday to celebrate its new location.
The library is one of the nation's leading centers on gay, lesbian, bisexualand transgender history and culture. The groundbreaking will take place at1300 E. Sunrise Blvd.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbdig05272sbmay27,0,2569987.story


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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
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-TBI and FBI Asked to Help Solve Warren County Gay-Hate Crimes
The ACLU of Tennessee has asked the Warren County District Attorney's officeto request assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) ininvestigating hate crimes against a gay Warren County man. Neal Anthony, whohas been the victim of at least three attacks on his home, remains concernedfor his safety and told Out & About Newspaper that he "dreads the nights andweekends" because he is afraid of another attack.

-Gay Diver Breaks Australian Sporting Taboo
Australia's cities all boast thriving gay communities, and the Sydney Gayand Lesbian Mardi Gras, which recently celebrated its 30th birthday, hasbecome a mainstream cultural event. Yet Australian sport remains a bastionof heterosexuality - on the surface, at least. Now a diver, Matthew Mitcham,has taken his first cautious steps towards dispelling that myth. Mitcham,20, who will be competing in Beijing, will be the first openly gayAustralian to take part in an Olympic games.

-Hiding in Plain Sight
Raymond Burr, who played Perry Mason in the wildly popular television show"Perry Mason" and later in "Ironside," lived a secret gay life in Hollywoodwhen such a revelation would destroy a career. Burr invented a biography forhimself that included a wife and son who'd died, and used his busy scheduleas a way to explain why he wasn't married. But Burr and his partner, RobertBenevides, had a relationship for 35 years that was secret to most of theworld except for a handful of close friends.


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
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-More changes at The Advocate as new editor appointed
Jon Barrett has been named as the new editor in chief of leading US gaypublication The Advocate. He was formerly senior news editor at the magazinefrom 1997 to 2003.

-22% of American gays have no health insurance
Nearly one in four gay and lesbian adults in the US lack health insuranceand are nearly twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to have nohealth insurance coverage.

-Ballot measure could threaten gay marriage in California
Human Rights Campaign, America's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, andtransgender civil rights organisation, has pledged an initial contributionof $500,000 to protect marriage equality in California.


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Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com
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-California gay marriage ruling isn't seen as trend
The state Supreme Court's decision to strike down a ban on such unions isnot likely to have a national ripple effect, experts on both sides of theissue say. As the nation's most populous state, California often sets inmotion social and political trends that sweep across the country. But legalexperts on both sides of the fight over same-sex marriage say that theCalifornia Supreme Court's ruling giving gays and lesbians a right to marryis not likely to have a ripple effect.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-marriage26-2008may26,0,6007635.story?track=rss


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Forwarded from Paul Harris

-The California Supreme court decision on gay marriage was historic, a longtime coming, hard fought and about time. Unfortunately and not surprisinglyGovernor Arnold Schwartzenegger is receiving large numbers of phone callsfrom the supporters of 'Limits on Marriage' (The constitutional amendmentbanning same sex marriage in California) about his comment to a group of LogCabin Republicans that he wouldn't support a constitutional amendment. Wedon't want him to go back on his word. He must hear from us too. Now it isautomated and you will not talk to anyone, just push the number for proSupreme Court decision. To vote in support of the Supreme Court's decisionon LGBT marriage: call 1-916-445-2841 and press 1, 5, 1, 1 After you've donethis send it on to all supporters you know. It couldn't be easier to vote...it doesn't matter whether you are in or out of state... please take 15seconds right now to do it!
Do it! Call 1-916-445-2841 and press 1, 5, 1, 1 (takes 10 seconds)


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Sunshine Cathedral
http:\\www.SunshineCathedral.org/
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-Memorial Day Reflection by Rev. Durrell Watkins
Canon Pastor - Sunshine Cathedral, Ft. Lauderdale
Memorial Day is observed in the United States on the last Monday of May. Itcommemorates U.S. men and women who died while in military service. Firstenacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expandedafter World War I to include casualties of any war or armed conflict.
I find myself thinking today about the many people who have fallen in onekind of war or another.
I think of the Native inhabitants of this land who died in the evolution ofwhat would become the United States.
I think of people who were enslaved to help build fortunes of people in thiscountry; of course, many of those people died in slavery and died resistingthe evils of slavery.
I think of women who had to fight for the right to vote, many of whom diedbefore the battle was won.
I think of heroes who put their lives on the line, and sometimes lost theirlives, to promote the cause of civil rights in our country.
I think of the many beautiful people who fought on the viral battlefield ofAIDS and who lost their courageous struggle.
I think of those who continue to fight against heterosexism and homophobia,risking life and limb so that there will one day truly be "liberty andjustice for all."
And, of course, I think of soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen and womenwho have given all that was possible to secure the interests of theircountry. I especially want to honor those LBGT people who had to serve insilence. I think not only of the American lives that have been lost, butalso of the lives of "enemy" combatants. Every person who fell in battle wasa child of God, and God was surely the first to cry for each one slain.
In the history of the U.S., there have been many wars, and fightingcontinues on several fronts. This Memorial Day, I honor the lives of thosewho have died in any war, and I also use this occasion to pray for peace andfor justice in all the world. I remember the heroes, and I wish for a daywhen we will "beat our swords into ploughshares" and peace will prevail onearth. Amen.


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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:

-"You Do Not Deserve to Live"
Egyptian and US Activists Discuss HIV, Sex, and Politics
San Francisco LGBT Community Center - Monday, June 2, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
In recent months, Egypt has seen a wave of arrests based on men's HIVstatus. Police have jailed at least a dozen men. Courts sentenced many toprison terms, under a law on the "habitual practice of debauchery," which inEgyptian law means consensual sex between men. Ministry of Health doctorssubjected all the men to forcible HIV tests; those who tested positive wereheld in hospitals, chained to their beds, for months. Police torturedseveral in detention. A prosecutor told one of them that he had testedpositive for HIV by saying, "People like you should be burnt alive. You donot deserve to live." [...]
Speakers include:
Mazen: At 21, Mazen was convicted in the "Queen Boat" case in 2001. Afterhis eventual release, he settled in France. His story is prominentlyfeatured in the new film "Jihad for Love."
Maher Sabry: In Cairo in 2001, Maher Sabry helped break the story of the"Queen Boat" arrests to the world. A director and filmmaker, he is nowcompleting a film centering on the story, called "All My Life."
Scott Long: founding director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and TransgenderRights Program at Human Rights Watch, Scott Long researched and authored HRW'sreport on the 2001-2004 arrests in Egypt, "In a Time of Torture." SanFrancisco LGBT Community Center (Room Q11) - 1800 Market Street, SanFrancisco, CA 94102 Tel: 415.865.5631 - June 2, 2008, 7pm-9pm

-Latvia: The LPP/LC faction of the Riga City Council calls upon the peopleand guests of Riga to refuse to take part in the so-called sexual minoritiesmarch and to ignore it. "We oppose the presentation of intimate issues inthe public space," said faction chairman Andris Ameriks. "People who findit acceptable to demonstrate their sexual needs do not deserve publicattention. We believe that they are purposefully provoking a counteractionto their provocative behaviour, and if we bow before their provocations,that will only increase their self-satisfied delight. I hope that our viewswill be heard by the Latvian mass media."


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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Palermo: Gay son is stabbed.
"It was a disgrace." Father arrested.
For a 53-year-old ex-offender, having a homosexual in the family was"intolerable." The 18 year old, attacked during an argument, is treated atthe hospital. He says: "My father has never accepted me. It's not a illness."
PALERMO, SICILY - "I was in the shower when I suddenly saw my fatherstanding in front of me, holding a knife." The reason? A question "of honorand of family shame." Knowing he had a gay son was intolerable for a53-year-old ex-offender in Palermo. He attacked his son, Paolo, 18 yearsold, during a furious argument in their apartment in the Brancaccioneighborhood in the city's eastern suburbs. The police arrested the man, whowas charged with domestic violence and assault. He is now behind bars at theUcciardone jail.
"My father has never accepted me," the young man says. "He couldn't toleratethe fact that I'm gay. I tried to convince him that I'm not sick, that it'snot something dirty, but it wasn't any use. I realized I was gay a year ago,and I told my mother. She understood. She tried to help, to stay close tome, and to convince my father to get used to the idea, but the last year hasbeen hell in our house. This is the way I am, though, and there's nothing Ican do about it."

-Pride Marches in Latvia Should be Declared Unlawful
Friendship Days or Pride marches in Latvia must be seen as unlawful and impermissible, Cardinal Janis Pujats and priests from Roman Catholiccongregations have said in an open letter to government officials.
The letter was signed at a conference of priests from the Riga Archdioceseby the cardinal and 26 priests, and it was sent to Prime Minister IvarsGodmanis (LPP/LC), Interior Minister Mareks Seglins (TP), and the Riga CityCouncil, LETA was informed by the Roman Catholic Church in Latvia. TheChurch argues that although the Latvian Constitution states that "humanrights shall be implemented without any discrimination", it also says thatrights "may be limited in those cases prescribed by law in order to protectthe rights of other people, a democratic system of state, the safety ofsociety, and welfare and morals."


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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

-Yesterday, the LA Times released an amazing poll of Californians' views onsame sex marriage. One startling fact--from the gay point of view, atleast--was 58 percent of female registered voters would vote "for" theanti-gay marriage ballot measure to ban queer unions. But only 43 percent ofmale registered voters made up that same response. Gay activists areprobably shaking their heads right now, wondering if the pollsters at theTimes got these numbers turned around--women are often assumed to be moregay-friendly. Apparently not in California.


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From Mark's List
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com

-Wilton Manors Stonewall Street Festival
LGBT Pride 2008
Stonewall Street Festival is less than a month away and big changes are in store for this year's festival. This year's event changes to two days and will include the first ever night time parade. Don't miss this incredible annual event. Traveling to Wilton Manors (WilMa) from outside of South Florida? For hotel reservations, use the following link:
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com/gay_hotels.htm

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