GLBT DIGEST - July 04, 2008

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.


=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Gay-Marriage Opponents To Boycott McDonald's
A group that opposes same-sex marriage has called for a boycott ofMcDonald's, saying the fast-food giant has refused "to stay neutral in thecultural war over homosexuality." The American Family Association (AFA)launched the boycott yesterday because McDonald's joined the National Gayand Lesbian Chamber of Commerce several months ago and placed an executiveon the group's board of directors, in addition to donating to the chamber.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303769.html


=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-'Pregnant man' gives birth to baby girl
A transgender man who made national news earlier this year when he revealedhe was pregnant has given birth to a girl, ABC News reported on Thursday.Thomas Beatie, 34. who became pregnant through artificial insemination, gavebirth Sunday to a healthy baby. The Oregon man was resting and healthy,according to ABC. The birth was natural.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-73pregnantman,0,2641456.story


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

-Anti-Gay Adoption Initiative Faces Names Crunch
An organization collecting signatures to place an initiative on the Novemberballot to ban unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children inArkansas said Thursday it will submit its petitions by Monday's deadline butwill likely need more time to get the number required.

-Firebomb Attacks In Advance Of Budapest Gay Pride
(Budapest) For the second time in less than a week a gay business has beenfirebombed.

-Teens Arraigned In Taped Assault On Lesbian Classmate
Two female Michigan high school students who were videotaped attacking aclassmate have been formally arraigned on charges of aggravated assault.


=
Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-UK: Teacher's diary of gay taunts
A newly qualified teacher from Manchester has kept a diary of the abuse hehas suffered from pupils for being homosexual. An actor reads from the diary.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7488012.stm

-Team Florida swims to gold
"TAKE YOUR MARK."
The three most revered words in competitive swimming command silence fromswimmers of all ages and orientations, and at the recent Intern ational Gayand Lesbian Aquatics championships (IGLA), they sparked record-settingperformances from a strong South Florida contingency of both gay andstraight adult swimmers.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/2008/7-3/locallife/sports/4840.cfm

-Arkansas: Partial victory for anti-adoption group
The group that wants to make adoption and foster parenting in Arkansas moredifficult (and punish gay people in the process) has announced that it hasenough signatures to qualify for an extension in signature gathering for itsproposed initiated act. This is to say that, with almost 62,000 signaturesneeded, the group has obtained that many, but knows that many will bedisallowed, either as improperly gathered or not those of registered voters.Every signature must be individually witnessed. A petition can't be left ina church vestibule for unmonitored signatures, for example.
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2008/07/partial_victory_for_antiadopti.aspx

-Having A Gay Husband Is Kind Of.Queer
Last night, BBC America aired the documentary My Husband Is Gay. I thoughtit would be about straight women and gay men who make the choice to getmarried and start a family together, kinda like that Next Best Thing movie.But it was actually about women who married men who were pretending to be orbelieved at one time that they were straight. Anyway, most of the couplessplit amicably, but one couple, Sam and Dave, decided to create a marriageon their own terms, in which they raise their daughters and live as man andwife in every aspect - even still share a bed - except sexually. You know,to each his own, but I came away from it thinking that Sam was settling fora raw deal, since Dave is going out having gay weekends in Brighton, andshe's at home with the kids and celibate. Clip above.
http://jezebel.com/5021856/having-a-gay-husband-is-kind-ofqueer


=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

- Police Woman
Long before Sam Adams made waves as Portland, Ore.'s gay mayor, the machoworld of Oregon police enforcement was crashed by lesbian Jennifer Bills.Oregon is becoming one of those places, like California and New York, thatis known to look beyond gender and orientation lines. Last month Portlandelected openly gay Sam Adams as mayor of the esteemed Rose City, but longbefore that -- 14 years, to be exact -- lesbian Jennifer Bills became policelieutenant of Oregon's second largest city, Eugene. Strangely enough, Billsgained a reputation as an anti-authority figure who often clashed withpolice while attending the University of Oregon in Eugene as a young woman.
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid56517.asp

-Arizona Governor Opposed to Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona announced her opposition this week to aconstitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, according to The ArizonaRepublic. While Napolitano made it clear that she believes marriage is aunion between a man and a woman, she is not in favor of the proposal andfinds it unnecessary at this time.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid57038.asp


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

-NC: Anti-marriage constitutional amendment sought
Excerpt: Opponents of same-sex marriage are making another attempt to amendthe state's constitution to ensure such unions do not become law in NorthCarolina. On Wednesday, they announced new legislation that gives votersthe opportunity to vote for a constitutional amendment that defines marriageas "the union of one man and one woman at one time." Several Republicanlawmakers at a news conference said the recent court decision in Californiathrowing out that state's ban on marriage of same-sex couples makes iturgent that lawmakers here take up the legislation. North Carolina lawalready prevents such marriages.

-Oklahoma Supreme Court Sends Mixed Signals on Same-Sex Divorce Dispute
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has unanimously upheld a trial judge's decisionto vacate his order granting a divorce to a same-sex couple, but ruled thatthe party who had petitioned for the divorce, Cait O'Darling, is entitled toa hearing before her case is dismissed. The July 1 ruling reversed the trialcourt's action in dismissing the case upon learning that Cait and StephanieO'Darling are both women. O'Darling v. O'Darling, 2008 Westlaw 2600682. Thefacts of the case as set forth in the opinion by Justice Rudolph Hargraveare rather sketchy.


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

-Tories will walk with Boris at their first Pride London
Up to 20 young members of the Conservative party will be accompanying theMayor of London on his first Pride march tomorrow.

-Australia's gay Olympian attacks PM over same-sex marriage
A 20-year-old diver set to represent Australia at the 2008 Olympic Games inAugust has said that the country's Prime Minister is "narrow-minded" foropposing marriage equality for gay couples.

-Tabloid attack on Armed Forces at Pride London is "misinformed"
A Royal Navy officer has said a story in The Sun that claimed servicepersonnel will be paid travel expenses to attend Pride London when they aredenied them when attending Royal garden parties is inaccurate.

-Amid petrol bomb attacks, 400 police committed to gay beauty pageant
While gay activists in Budapest are complaining that the police are notprotecting gay businesses in the city, the organisers of Mr Gay Europe haveannounced they will have "400 policemen and women to protect them during thefinal."


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

-RWANDA: Military to lead the way in male circumcision
The soldiers in the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) will be the first men tobenefit from a government policy to use male circumcision as a tool in thefight against HIV/AIDS, according to senior health officials. Early in2008, the Rwandan Ministry of Health declared its intention to includecircumcision - scientifically proven to reduce a man's risk of contractingthe virus from an infected sexual partner by as much as 60 percent - in itsHIV prevention programmes. The voluntary circumcision programme is expectedto start in August.
http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79085

-Ugandan Lesbian Prossy Kakooza today won the latest fight in her battle forasylum in the UK.
A senior immigration judge dismissed a previous Immigration Tribunal ruling,denying Prossy asylum, calling the judgement "a mess". Prossy fled Ugandaafter being tortured and raped by police officers. Her family haddiscovered Prossy and her partner in bed together and had marched them,naked, to the police station where they were detained. Prossy was subjectedto horrific sexual attacks and physical torture. She escaped to the UK afterher family bribed the guards to release her - as they wanted to deal withtheir family shame by having Prossy killed.
http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2008/07/prossy-kakooza-wins-latest-fight.html


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

-SAS Scandinavian Airlines has launched a gay site on its internationalwww.flysas.com website, thereby becoming the first European airline with awebsite dedicated to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender/transsexual(GLBT) market. Even more unique, the website builds on SAS' popular crewtips, providing tips from its own gay crew of the best that Stockholm andCopenhagen has to offer. The new site, www.flysas.com/gay, has been launchedin time to celebrate EuroPride, which is taking place in Stockholm July 30 -August 2. And next year, Copenhagen is hosting the World Out Games 2009,once again bringing a major gay event to Scandinavia, SAS' home market. SASis the proud Strategic Partner of the World Out Games 2009 and also itsofficial airline.
http://www.boarding.no/art.asp?id=32162

-Does Germany Have a Problem With Gay Hate Crime?
Migration to Germany from countries including Turkey and Russia, wherehomosexuality is taboo, has led to a rise in crime against gays. Gay-bashing hip-hop music isn't helping, either. So how shouldliberal-minded Germans deal with less tolerant immigrants?
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,562638,00.html


=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if can't access the article

-Last August, the Lambda Literary Foundation launched its most ambitiousproject to date: a week-long intensive residency for emerging writers. Thisyear, 32 carefully chosen and highly promising students will participate inworkshops with Rigoberto Gonzalez, Claire McNab, D.A. Powell, ElanaDykewomon, Katherine V. Forrest, and Eloise Klein Healy. In addition, theywill benefit from presentations by literary agents and publishers. We havemore requests for financial aid than we are able to grant. We have raised$6,000 to date for scholarships, and our goal is to raise an additional$10,000 by July 15. A full scholarship is $1,500.

-"Intergroup demands Hungary to properly protect Pride participants."
On 5 July a Pride parade will take place in the streets of Budapest. TheEuropean Parliament's Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights supports theevent and requests the government of Hungary to provide proper and fullprotection to all people taking part in Pride events. "Violence as seen lastyear must not be repeated", said Michael Cashman, President of theIntergroup. "Police forces must be able to protect people exercising theirdemocratic rights to peaceful assembly." Sirpa Pietikäinen, Vice-Presidentof the Intergroup for the EPP-ED added, "Last year, because of negligenceand inactivity of police, people were attacked before, during and after theparade. This year we will closely watch the ability of Hungarian police toprotect every citizen against violence."
http://www.lgbt-ep.eu/


=
From Transgender Equality
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article

-Transgender woman murdered in Memphis
TEP and TTPC warn against increasing 'transphobia'
Memphis (Tenn. ) - Memphis Police are investigating the death of Rodney Whitaker, age 20, an African American transgendered woman who was found on July 1, just steps away from a daycare, an abandoned apartment complex and a strip club. WREG-TV in Memphis broke the news and reported that Whitaker was left naked and that police were investigating the crime as a possible murder. A daycare worker discovered the body around 7 a.m. Tuesday and WREG said that parents at the daycare say this is the second murder there in a year. One man said he heard a gunshot early in the morning, but police are not providing any details about this case other than to say an adult male was dead on arrival, according to WREG.
http://outandaboutnewspaper.com/article.php?id=2732


=
Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrier
http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Trevor Project offers lifeline to LGBT youth
The work of The Trevor Project, the only national 24-hour suicide preventionhot line in the U.S. for LGBT and questioning youth, is highlighted in thisarticle. "There's a high level of stress that youth face in the transitionfrom youth to adulthood," said Charles Robbins, executive director of TheTrevor Project. "Add on top of that the challenges of sexual orientation orgender identity and we get 15,000 calls a year." CNN (7/2)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/07/02/trevor.project/

-Better gay than grey, say EU citizens
European Union citizens would prefer to elect a gay leader than have onethey consider too old, a study released in Brussels has revealed. Accordingto the Eurobarometer study of 27,000 EU citizens across the bloc, just 17per cent of Europeans would be totally comfortable with someone over the ageof 75 in their country's highest elected post.
http://news.theage.com.au/world/better-gay-than-grey-say-eu-citizens-20080702-305n.html


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

-They swim, they dive, they kiss!
Take a look at the incredible athletes at this year's International Gay andLesbian Aquatic championships! You won't want to miss the next one. Puthundreds of men in tiny bikinis and try not to have a good time!
http://gay.blogs.com/gaysportsblog/2008/06/put-hundreds-of.html

-Swimming: 152 records fall at IGLA!
Hundreds of men and women descended on Washington, D.C. this past weekend toattend the 2008 International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championships (IGLA).The IGLA is always an exciting time with a lot of fun events taking placebut don't let the atmosphere fool you. These are true athletes who takethis event and their sport very seriously. To put to rest any doubts ofthat, an incredible 152 U.S. Masters and FINA world records were brokenduring this years events.
http://gay.blogs.com/gaysportsblog/2008/06/swimming-152-re.html

-The Gay.com college sports challenge!
When Gay.com ran an exclusive coming-out interview with college diving champ Greg DeStephen, we knew it would be a big deal. And it was: This story of a strong young student athlete bravely coming out was Gay.com's most popular feature of all time. Not only did you read it, your comments of thanks and congratulations were immediate -- and amazing.
http://www.gay.com/content/slideshow/?coll=7736&navpath=/channels/fitness/sports/

-We've got gay sports covered!
If you haven't seen the Gay Sports Blog, you're missing out! From breakingsport news to hot athletes, it's all here waiting for you.
http://blogs.gay.com/gaysportsblog/

=

[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####