GLBT DIGEST - September 29, 2008

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Truth Wins Out
http://truthwinsout.org/
DumpDobson.com Calls On The Radio Hall of Fame To Withdrawal Honors From Focus on the Family's James Dobson

Coalition To Protest Awards Dinner If Undeserved Award Is Not Rescinded

NEW YORK - TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) launched a new website today, DumpDobson.com, that calls on the Museum of Broadcast Communications to reverse its decision to honor Focus on the Family's James Dobson in its Radio Hall of Fame. Unless the museum withdraws its pledge to induct Dobson, TWO will join Equality Illinois, SoulForce and the Gay Liberation Network to protest the awards ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 8, (5:30 PM - 7:30 PM), at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel. "There is still time to reverse the reckless and irresponsible decision to honor James Dobson in the Radio Hall of Fame," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "It is unconscionable that the Museum is giving its imprimatur to a demagogue who has profited from divisive and discriminatory rhetoric. If the museum wants to regain its respect and credibility, it will dump Dobson." "We believe that you and your associates at the museum must be aware of Dobson's contribution to anti-gay hate, and yet you chose to ignore, or perhaps even applaud, his harm to our community," wrote Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network (GLN) in an open letter to Bruce DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications. "Museums should be places that celebrate the best of human endeavor, not the worst." To fight back against this offensive decision, DumpDobson.com is asking fair-minded people to take four actions.
1) E-Mail Radio Hall of Fame CEO Bruce Dumont, brucedumont@museum.tv, and urge him to withdraw Dobson's honor.
2) Sign our letter to the Radio Hall of Fame urging them to reverse their foolhardy decision to celebrate Dobson's shameful and ignoble career.
3) If you live in the Chicago area, please sign up to participate in our protest.
4) Donate to Truth Wins Out or GLN to help us fight back
Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org

Contact: Andy Thayer, Gay Liberation Network
Phone: 773-209-1187
E-Mail: LGBTLiberation@aol.com
http://truthwinsout.org/


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

-Preserving California's Constitution
California voters will have a chance in November to protect the rights of gay men and women, and to preserve the state's Constitution. They should vote against Proposition 8, which seeks to amend that Constitution to prevent people of the same sex from marrying. [...] To his credit, Mr. Schwarzenegger is now among those opposing Proposition 8. To his discredit, John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, is in favor of restoring marriage discrimination. Barack Obama opposes the initiative, as do California's senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/opinion/29mon3.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse&oref=slogin


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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Matthew Shepard Memorial unveiled in Wyoming
'Memorial bench' dedicated at university in Laramie
University of Wyoming in Laramie has dedicated a memorial to Matthew Shepard, the former student of the university who was beaten and tied to a fence on the outskirts of the town because he was gay. The memorial has opened almost 10 years to the day he was killed.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#21291


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

-Anti-gay pastors in civil disobedience protest
Pastor Luke Emrich prepared his sermon this week knowing his remarks could invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. But that was the whole point, so Emrich forged ahead with his message: Thou shalt vote according to the Scriptures.
http://www.365gay.com/news/anti-gay-pastors-in-civil-disobedience-protest/

-Vancouver police mull hate crime charge
(Vancouver, British Columbia) A 20-year-old Vancouver man faces a charge of assault causing bodily harm in connection with an incident that police are calling a gay bashing.
http://www.365gay.com/news/vancouver-police-mull-hate-crime-charge/


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

-Genre Cover Model Sues Magazine for Gay Harassment
A cover model for Genre Magazine who claims a series of provocative photos intended for his personal use were reprinted without his permission is suing the magazine after he says he was subjected to unwanted advances and harassment from gay men.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid62540.asp

-18,000 March for Gay Rights in Taipei
An estimated 18,000 people marched in a gay-pride parade in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday in what's being called the largest such march to take place in Asia. The event was Taipei's sixth and occurred despite rain showers associated with nearby Typhoon Jangmi, Australian newspaper The Age reports.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid62574.asp

-Critics: Proposed "Provider Conscience" Regulation Threatens Public Health
A proposal by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand federal protections for health care workers' religious beliefs could threaten the care that patients receive, several organizations are arguing. LGBT people are at particular risk if the proposed "provider conscience" regulation goes into effect, the groups assert, because the rule would allow workers, on the basis of their faith convictions, to refuse care to patients.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid62434.asp


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

-Deliberative Democracy Poll: Nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania poll participants support the legal recognition of same-sex relationships Link: Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy Nearly 70 percent of Pennsylvania voters who participated in a statewide Deliberative Poll® support the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, either through marriage or civil unions. The poll was conducted Sept. 27 at Carnegie Mellon University and three other higher education institutions across the state. But the situation is more complex than this headline implies. Among those who support legal recognition of same-sex relationships, participants split with approximately 35 percent supporting same-sex marriage and 35 percent supporting a version of civil union. Interestingly, participant data also showed 50% support for the PA Marriage Protection Amendment. Initial analysis suggests that those who supported versions of civil union did not carry that support to an opposition to the Marriage Protection Amendment.

-NH lawmakers face more debate over marriage
Link: Boston Herald
New Hampshire lawmakers will be debating at least two bills dealing with gay marriage when they return to Concord in January. Portsmouth Democrat Jim Splaine, who sponsored the state's winning civil unions law, is now backing a bill to legalize gay marriage. He says winning enough votes will be tough but he thinks the conversation needs to start. Meanwhile, Deputy Republican Leader David Hess is sponsoring a proposed repeal of part of the civil unions law. He wants to strike out the language that recognizes another state's same sex marriage as a civil union in New Hampshire.

-Washington state bar association supports marriage equality
Link: Seattle Times
The Washington State Bar Association is now on record in favor of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples as a matter of practicality for lawyers and of fairness in society. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the group's 14-member Board of Governors despite considerable opposition from association members, board president Mark Johnson of Seattle said.

-FL: Editorial--Kick Jim Crow Out Of Constitution And Don't Put Marriage In
Link: Tampa Tribune
The most notable of the proposals, Amendment 2, is the citizen's initiative that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. It reads: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." Backers of the amendment shouldn't expect Florida voters to get exercised about this issue during an election year in which there are so many more important matters to weigh.

-Activist at center of Utah gay rights battles to depart
Link: Salt Lake Tribune
Before the gay rights movement found its footing in Utah, it found its voice in Laura Milliken Gray. In 1996, she opened her own law practice, and within a year was fighting alongside students at East High School for a Gay-Straight Alliance club. A few years later - after conservatives found out she had helped same-sex couples to adopt - she fought alongside Rep. Jackie Biskupski, then Utah's only openly gay legislator, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop a ban on unmarried Utahns adopting.

-FL: Commentary--Chink in pointless law gives kids hope
Link: St. Petersburg Times
by Sue Carlton
If you are qualified to be a foster parent in Florida, willing to take in one of our many kids in need, and you also happen to be gay, no big deal. Our state could use the help. But try this on for hypocrisy.

-WI: Lesbian school board member sponsors DP measure despite warning from city attorney
Link: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
School Board member Jennifer Morales was the sponsor and a key figure in pushing for a change in MPS policy that was approved on a 7 to 2 vote of the board Thursday night. The action gives general approval for Milwaukee Public Schools to offer benefits such as health insurance to domestic partners of non-union employees and almost surely will lead down the road to offering that to unionized employees. It turns out that Morales kept pushing the issue even after an opinion from the city attorney's office clearly urged board members who are themselves in domestic partnerships not to take part in the issue.


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

-Google opposes ban on gay marriage
Internet company Google will publicly oppose an attempt to ban same-sex marriage in California.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9140.html

-Greeks protest for same-sex marriage ahead of trial
The case of two same-sex couples who took advantage of a loophole in Greek law and got married on the island of Tilos will be heard by a Greek court later this week.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9146.html

-EU equality summit meets in Paris
Diplomats, gay rights advocates and equal opportunities experts are meeting in France today to discuss how to apply the principles of non-discrimination in the European Union.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9145.html

-Malawi's gays hope new High Commissioner will help their cause
The Malawi Gay Rights Movement (Magrim), which was launched earlier this month as a public campaign group after six years underground, has sparked a political row.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9144.html

-Morocco may give gays some rights 'within fifty years'
An international congress on gay rights in Muslim countries has been told that the north African nation of Morocco may grant rights to homosexuals "within fifty years."
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9143.html

-Danish man sought embassy protection after Sarajevo violence
One of the people injured when a homophobic mob attacked the opening event of Bosnia's first gay festival has spoken of his ordeal.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9139.html

-Pepsi risks boycott with donation to gay support group
A leading soft drinks manufacturer has decided to donate $500,000 (£277,000) to a programme for workplace equality. PepsiCo Foundation's gift to Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will be used to develop and support the Straight for Equality programme.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9138.html


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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Fired Choir Director Retains His Faith
By Jim Stingl | Journal Sentinel
How does it feel, I wanted to know, to be tossed out of your job as a church music director and choir leader because you're gay? It happened this summer to Charles Philyaw. After four years at St. Andrew Catholic Church in the Dane County community of Verona, he was fired for living an openly gay life - monogamously, I would add - with his partner, who also was an active member of the parish. The story was told last Sunday by Wisconsin State Journal writer Doug Erickson, who found that five of the congregation's 1,600 adult members complained about Philyaw, who made no secret of being gay when he was hired.

-Exodus Speaker Joins Trail of Lies over Human Genome Project
by Michael Airhart | Truth Wins Out
Longtime Exodus International member "minister" and speaker Bob Stith on Sept. 25 became the third ex-gay activist entity in recent times to falsely imply that the Human Genome Project or its director support ex-gay ideology. In April 2007, A. Dean Byrd of the ex-gay advocacy group National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality cherry-picked partial statements by Francis Collins, Ph.D, of the Human Genome Project, for an article which falsely implied that Collins supported NARTH's ideological position opposing the existence of sexual orientation as a biological phenomenon.

-Political Humorist Bill Mahr Interviews 'Ex-Gay' John Westcott
By Michael Airhart | Truth Wins Out
The website for the upcoming documentary Religulous describes Bill Maher as "known for his astute analytical skills, irreverent wit and commitment to never pulling a punch." While I'm eager for documentary filmmakers to expose the self-contradictory fictions and power-grabs that corrupt religious institutions, I'm afraid I see little insight or humor in the following short excerpt, which is courtesy of AfterElton.com:

-Wall Street Woe's Blamed on Gays
By Carlos Santoscoy | On Top Magazine
Christian fundamentalists are suggesting gays and lesbians are to blame for Wall Street's woes, a frequently made charge in the wake of national calamities. In a September 25th blog post titled The Nation Will Right Itself If It Fixes Sex, Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions. "Our crisis is a symptom, not the cause," writes Michael Heath. "I am not saying I know whether this financial crisis is God's judgment or not. It is not for me to know that definitively."

-Ohio University Student Joins Bus Tour of Anti-Gay Campuses
by Eric Resnick | Gay Peoples Chronicle
Frankfort, Ohio-When this fall's Soulforce Equality Ride departs Washington, D.C. to engage in dialogue about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people, an Ohio University student will be aboard. Zak Rittenhouse, 21, will be one of the 18 riders attempting to engage students and faculty at 15 mostly southern colleges when the tour sets off on October 1. Soulforce challenges homophobia at its source, religious bigotry, through non-violent civil disobedience in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi.

-FL: Police: Teen Admits to Killing Man Over Homosexual Comments
News 4 Jax
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 19-year-old who turned himself in to police on Thursday says he killed a man he believe was spreading rumors about homosexuality. Police said Hector Sanchez is accused in the shooting death of 24-year-old Levi Rollins, whose body was found inside a car parked in a Westside cemetery in July.Detectives were called to Riverside Memorial Park on Normandy Boulevard on July 25 by employees who saw a man's body slumped over in the back seat of a car that had been parked there for two days. Homicide investigators later said Rollins was shot several times.

-PA: Gay Man Takes Bias Claim to Appeals Court
By Paula Reed Ward | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Brian Prowel is effeminate. He crosses his legs and swings his foot. He files his nails if one has a snag. He has a high-pitched voice. He is also gay. He has a rainbow decal on his car and he talked about the men he was dating at work. On Feb. 23, 2006, Mr. Prowel filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer, Wise Business Forms Inc. in Butler County, alleging sex discrimination.

-Warner Wins Support Despite Silence on Gay Issues
CHRIS JOHNSON | Washington Blade
Former Gov. Mark Warner is winning the support of gay Virginians in his bid for the state's open U.S. Senate seat, despite the perception among some that he is reluctant to publicly address gay issues. Warner, 53, a Democrat, is presenting himself as a centrist and has so far largely avoided gay issues as he courts voters in Virginia. He's also touting his bipartisan efforts as governor from 2002 to 2006, work that helped create a state budget surplus by the time he left office. Tom Osborne, treasurer for Virginia Partisans, a statewide gay Democratic group, said Warner's record as a moderate governor is "why he has such high approval ratings in the state."


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

-Amy Goodman, a veteran progressive journalist who along with Juan Gonzalez hosts the daily TV/radio show "Democracy Now!," spoke with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week and asked him aboutthe July 19, 2005, hanging of two gay teenagers in the city of Mashad. He denies they were hanged for anything to do with homosexuality. As one of the organizers who has helped organize annual commemorations about the hangings, I'd like to extend deep thanks to Goodman for raising the hangings and Iran's treatment of gays in her talk with the president. Here is their exchange, excerpted from the full transcript:
AMY GOODMAN: July 19th is a day that is honored around the world, where two gay teenagers, Iranian teens, were hung. This is a picture of them hanging. They were two young men, named Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni. Do you think gay men and lesbians should die in Iran?
PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD:
[translated] No, there is no law for their execution in Iran.
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2008/09/iranian-president-no-executions-of.html

-Belarussian Green Party support LGBT
Belarusian Green Party reaffirmed its decision to establish the LGBT Commission within the party. BGP became the first party in Belarus, which officially endorsed the movement of gays and lesbians. In the next two months will be made to establish a commission on LGBT rights and to give it official status. During the talks, the representative of the party, and activists of Belarusian Initiative for Sexual and Gender Equality had reached agreement on joint action in the next two to three months and the official launching of the Commission on LGBT rights.

-FRA Director Morten Kjaerum on the eve of the 2nd EU Equality Summit
"For millions of people in the EU, discrimination and inequalities remain daily experiences. This is a disgrace EU governments must address head-on", said Morten Kjaerum, Director of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), ahead of the European Union's second ever Equality Summit (Paris) on 29-30 September. "This Summit sends a powerful political signal that the EU will work together to root out discrimination. Determined action must follow the Summit in order to put ideals into realities." Morten Kjaerum added: "The European Union can take pride in its existing equality legislation. However, the best legislation is useless if people are not aware of it.
http://fra.europa.eu


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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

-Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" spoke with the president of Iran last week about gays in his country:
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2008/09/iranian-president-no-executions-of.htm

-Gay Film Festival Coordinator Among Those Injured in Attack on Sarajevo Queer Festival
UK Gay News has just published an interesting story from the Sarajevo Queer festival.
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Sep/2801.htm

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