GLBT DIGEST - June 15, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Gay Couples Find Marriage Is a Mixed Bag
Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay couplesto marry, there have been blissful unions, painful divorces and everythingin between. Some same-sex couples say being married has made a bigdifference, and some say it has made no difference at all. There are devotedcouples who have decided marriage is not for them, couples whose lawyers oraccountants advised them against marrying, and couples in which one partnerwants to marry but the other does not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/15marriage.html?scp=7&sq=GAY&st=nyt

-Generations: In Harmony With His Daughter, in Song and in the Dugout
THE day I auditioned for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus, I thought itwould be fun for any number of reasons. Chief among them: I'm a gay rightsactivist who loves to sing. But over the past three years, during which Ihave been the group's only female singing member, one reason more than anyother has given it a special meaning. Surrounded by 249 talented men, I findmyself remembering my favorite Irish tenor. My dad.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/15Rdad1.html?scp=11&sq=GAY&st=nyt

-Questions For Gore Vidal - Literary Lion
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Q: At the age of 82, you will be publishing your new collection of essaysthis week, which seems likely to confirm your reputation as one of America'slast public intellectuals. Why do you think that critics have traditionallypraised your essays more than your fiction, which includes "Burr," "MyraBreckinridge" and 20 other novels?
Vidal: That's because they don't know how to read. I can't name three
first-rate literary critics in the United States . I'm told there are a fewhidden away at universities, but they don't print them in The New YorkTimes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/magazine/15wwln-Q4-t.html?scp=13&sq=GAY&st=nyt

-Letters: Gay Marriage
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/magazine/15letters-t-004.html?scp=12&sq=GAY&st=nyt

-Larry Levine, with Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis Law Professor, Universityof California; Newlyweds Monday, June 16, 2008; 1:00 PM
University of California law professor Larry Levine, a frequent panelist,lecturer, and speaker on legal issues involving torts and sexualorientation, will be online Monday, June 16 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss theimplementation of the recent California Supreme Court ruling in favor of gaymarriage, and the fight ahead. He'll be joined by Stuart Gaffney and JohnLewis, plaintiffs in the Supreme Court lawsuit who have been partners for 21years and will get married early Monday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/06/13/DI2008061302905.html


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Hundreds attend prom for gay youths
At FIU's Wolfe Center, Pridelines hosts the 13th annual prom for lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgendered youth
Dressed in a black tuxedo with a silver vest and a crisp white shirt,15-year-old Elyssa Einhorn recalled how she was the first girl to bring asame-sex date to her school's prom.
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/570702.html

-Pridelines Goes Green -- 13th annual GLBTQ Youth Prom (& straight allies)
Here are photos taken Saturday night during Pridelines Youth Services' 13thannual gay prom at Florida International University's Wolfe UniversityCenter in North Miami.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Move To Broaden Chicago Gay Partner Benefits
An openly gay Chicago alderman is proposing changes to the city's domesticpartner benefits plan to ensure that the partners of city workers remaininsured if they marry in California.

-Bingham Cup Attracts Gay Teams From Around The World
Hundreds of sports enthusiasts from around the world are in Dublin thisweekend for the gay rugby world cup.


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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Go to this link for the following articles:

- Paws and Reflect: Exploring the Bond Between Gay Men and Their Dogs
Both puns and pets can be fun. Put them together, and voila. The editors ofPaws and Reflect claim that gay men, "seem to have a gift for the specialdetails of dog parenting," and they set about verifying that claim byincluding dog-rearing anecdotes and narratives, both fun and poignant, fromseveral well-known gay men. No matter the type of home - single parent,two-dad or some other sort - gay men welcome canines into their tidy nestsin a special way. Dogs don't have gaydar as far as we know. They give loveunconditionally to men whose love society often disregards.

-GLAAD Urges Fair, Accurate and Inclusive Media Coverage of CaliforniaWeddings
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today urged the mediacovering the weddings of gay and lesbian couples in California - slated tobegin on the evening of Monday, June 16 - to do so in a fair, accurate andinclusive manner. "This is a very personal, joyful moment for thesecouples," said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano, "and the reporters andproducers who are offering a window on their commitment have an importantresponsibility to do so in a way that is in keeping with the significance oftheir special day." Giuliano added that media should take care to avoidsensationalistic coverage.

-New Portland Mayor Breaks Another 'Glass Ceiling'
He doesn't like to boast, but Sam Adams acknowledges that his election washistoric. It's the first time an openly gay person has been elected to leadone of the nation's 30 largest cities. And he's excited about what hisbecoming mayor of Portland, Ore., represents. "Hopefully, it's a sign thatwe've broken through another glass ceiling," Adams said. "We still haveother glass ceilings to go, but hopefully people are getting encouragementto pursue their dreams."


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-For many gay and lesbian couples, the chance to marry is nothing short of adream come true. Some have been together for decades and never thought thisday would come. They, at long last, hear wedding bells.
But those aren't the only stories. Some couples will be holding back fromthe rush of nuptials expected after gay marriage becomes legal in Californiaon Monday evening, even though their window to wed might be short-lived.

-AS A ONE-TIME government appellate lawyer, I've had to read a lot ofjudicial nonsense by which judges justify their own obviously personalbiases by way of superficially lofty legal reasoning. At first glance, that's how I saw the recent opinion in which Maryland's highest court refused togrant visitation rights to a lesbian, "Margaret K." Despite the fact thatMargaret concededly had forged a parental bond with the child in question,the ruling called her a mere "third party," a legal stranger, and held thatthe "best interests of the child" were irrelevant. My initial reaction wasthat the court had adopted the doctrine so dear to the hearts of religiousextremists and anti-gay folks in general, namely, that where same-sexparents are involved, the welfare of their children be damned.


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Controversy as two Anglican clergy "marry" in church
What is in effect the first gay marriage to be held in an Anglican churchtook place last month, it emerged today. The fact that the men involved areordained ministers has caused some controversy within the Church of England.

-Gay artists faces deportation after asylum claim is rejected
An openly gay artist could face torture after his claim for asylum has wasdismissed by the Home Office.
Babakhan Badalov (Babi) from Azerbaijan arrived in the UK in 2006 afterbeing repressed and persecuted in his home country. Azerbaijan legalisedhomosexuality in 2000. However, the Muslim country is still a veryconservative society and homosexuality remains an extremely taboo subject.

-EU may rebuke Ghanian president over threats against gays


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Lambda Legal
http://www.lambdalegal.org/

-On June 26 Lambda Legal marks the fifth anniversary of Lawrence v. Texas,our landmark Supreme Court victory that struck down all remaining statesodomy laws and launched a new era in the LGBT civil rights movement. Tocommemorate this historic event, we are releasing a short documentary aboutthe case: "Overruled!" "Overruled!" premieres in New York City on June 24and in living rooms nationwide this summer with our Screening in a Box!
[...] By hosting a Lambda Legal House Party, you are supporting our sharedmission by spreading the word about the ongoing fight for the full equalityof LGBT people and those with HIV and supporting the work Lambda Legal does.Host a screening in your home!
http://www.lambdalegal.org/take-action/donate/hosting-a-lambda-legal-house.html


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

-British army to allow uniforms at gay pride march
Britain's military says soldiers and airmen will be allowed to wear theiruniforms to this year's gay pride march in London. The military saidSaturday it would permit British Army and Royal Air Force personnel to showoff their military affiliation in the July 5 parade. The decision bringsthe forces in line with the Royal Navy, which already allows sailors toparticipate in uniform. Britain began allowing gay men and women to serveopenly in the military in 2000. While military personnel have been able toparticipate in the pride march since then, soldiers and airmen have done soin civilian clothes. Gay rights groups welcomed the decision.
http://tinyurl.com/4yxlag

-Scans find gays' feminine side is in the brain
Scientists investigating human sexuality have found that the brains ofhomosexuals have structural and functional differences from those of"straight" people. Lesbians appear to have a lower proportion of greymatter in their brains than straight women, giving their brains a more"male-like" structure. The brains of gay men appear to have structuralsimilarities to those of heterosexual women. They also exhibit the samepowerful response as straight women to the sex hormones released in malesweat. The research comes amid growing interest in how variations in brainstructure are linked to human behaviour. It is known, for example, thatthe greater size of male brains and the higher proportion in females of greymatter - the cells that process signals from the senses - are caused partlyby sex hormones released during foetal development. These hormones are alsoinvolved in determining sexual orientation.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4138245.ece

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