GLBT DIGEST November 25, 2008

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

-California to Investigate Mormon Aid to Prop 8
California officials will investigate whether the Mormon church accurately described its role in a campaign to ban gay marriage in the state. The California Fair Political Practices Commission said Monday that a complaint by a gay rights group merits further inquiry.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Marriage-Mormons.html

-Op-Ed Contributor: Anti-Gay, Anti-Family
COUNTLESS Americans, gay and otherwise, are still mourning - and social conservatives are still celebrating - the approval last Tuesday of anti-gay-marriage amendments in Florida, Arizona and, most heartbreaking, California, where Proposition 8 stripped same-sex couples of their right to wed. Eighteen thousand same-sex couples were legally married in California this past summer and fall; their marriages are now in limbo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/opinion/12savage.html?scp=7&sq=GAY&st=cse

-Nepal Jumps Ahead on Gay and Transgender Rights
After California voters passed the proposition to ban gay marriage in the state, gay and transgender rights is back on the headlines in America. While the debate rages on there, Nepal - a faraway country, much smaller and often ignored on the world stage is now being looked upon as an example on how to handle the gay and transgender rights issue. [link]
http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/nepal-jumps-ahead-on-gay-and-transgender-rights/?scp=2&sq=GAY&st=cse

-NYC: Naming a Senator to Follow a Tough Act
How difficult can it possibly be to find a new junior senator for New York once Hillary Rodham Clinton takes charge at the State Department? Gov. David A. Paterson will get to pick her successor. It should be a breeze. We are a large state, with roughly 11 million people who are at least 30 years old, the age threshold that the Constitution sets for United States senators.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/nyregion/25nyc.html?scp=2&sq=GAY&st=cse

-Editorial: California's Legal Tangle
The approval of Proposition 8 in California, a constitutional change designed to prohibit marriage between couples of the same sex, was not just a defeat for fairness. It raised serious legal questions about the validity of using the Election Day initiative process to obliterate an existing right for a targeted minority.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/opinion/25tue4.html?scp=4&sq=GAY&st=cse

-Editorial: California's Legal Tangle
The approval of Proposition 8 in California, a constitutional change designed to prohibit marriage between couples of the same sex, was not just a defeat for fairness. It raised serious legal questions about the validity of using the Election Day initiative process to obliterate an existing right for a targeted minority.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/opinion/25tue4.html?ref=opinion


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

-Disgraced pastor returns, as Christian businessman
Earlier this month, a guest took the pulpit at Open Bible Fellowship in Morrison, Ill., a 350-member church surrounded by cornfields. The speaker was an insurance salesman from Colorado named Ted Haggard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/23/AR2008112301073.html?hpid=sec-religion


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

-Partners in abusive same-sex relationships less likely to reach out for help
Victims less likely to seek help from available sources
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpsamesexboxpnnov25,0,7014038.story

-Use a different word, like 'garriage'
A gay letter writer, angry that most people voted to keep marriage between a man and a woman, threatens that "Gay marriage is coming. You don't have to like it. You just have to accept it." Really? It is precisely this attitude from militant homosexuals that is backfiring. Gays are doing their best to portray the vote as hate-based. It was not. Gays want to change the definition, and purpose, of what marriage has been since the beginning. As a union of man and woman, marriage, more often than not, results in children. Those children, hopefully, are raised with a mother and father as role models. This is the natural order of things, and to many people, also coincides with their religious beliefs. While I believe that homosexuality is biological (in the animal kingdom as well), I don't believe 1 percent or 2 percent of the population should be able to ram their agenda down the throats of the other 98 percent. I don't think anyone has a problem with gay couples having the exact same legal rights as married couples. Put that up for a vote and it will pass overwhelmingly. Call it by a different name. Call it a civil union. Call it "garriage" (gay marriage). Just leave marriage alone.
Mary Eiland, Boca Raton
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-pbmail191pnnov25,0,753320.story


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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:

-South Florida Blade Publisher Kevin Hopper promoted to new position
Kevin Hopper, publisher of the South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine has been promoted to a new position at parent company Window Media, in which he'll also be publisher of Southern Voice and David Magazine.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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

-Video: Time for 'Milk' on David Letterman
James Franco on kissing Sean Penn in tale of openly-gay San Francisco city official.
http://www.floridablade.com/blog/index.cfm#22594


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

-NYS insurers ordered to recognize same-sex marriages
The New York State overseerer of insurance companies has told companies they must treat legally married same-sex couples the same as they treat opposite-sex married pairs.
http://www.365gay.com/news/nys-insurers-ordered-to-recognize-same-sex-marriages/

-Boy George pleads not guilty to chaining, imprisoning gay hustler
A trial began in London on Monday for singer/DJ Boy George on charges he shackled a male escort, chained him up, and assaulted him.
http://www.365gay.com/news/boy-george-pleads-not-guilty-to-chaining-imprisoning-gay-hustler/

-Gays told to remember gay-friendly merchants this holiday season
The Human Rights Campaign on Monday released its 2009 "Buying for Equality" to help consumers identify hundreds of businesses and brands that support equality and fairness.
http://www.365gay.com/news/gays-told-to-remember-gay-friendly-merchants-this-holiday-season/

-Conservative groups begin battle to preserve federal DOMA
Socially conservative groups have begun mounting a campaign to pressure incoming members of Congress to resist efforts to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
http://www.365gay.com/news/conservative-groups-begin-battle-to-preserve-federal-doma/

-Australia approves rights for gay couples
The Australian government has passed legislation recognizing same-sex couples under a large number of laws, but the measure falls short of granting either marriage or civil unions.
http://www.365gay.com/news/australia-approves-rights-for-gay-couples/

-Protest calls for repeal of Arkansas anti-gay adoption measure
Opponents of a voter approved measure banning unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children in Arkansas are calling on lawmakers to overturn it.
http://www.365gay.com/news/protest-calls-for-repeal-of-arkansas-anti-gay-adoption-measure/

-Microchips for PWAs in Indonesia
Implanting small computer chips beneath the skin of "sexually aggressive" patients.
http://www.365gay.com/news/microchips-for-pwas-in-indonesia/

-Gay Performer Boy George Denied Entry To.U.S.
http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-performer-boy-george-denied-entry-to-us/


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Human Rights Campaign
http://www.hrc.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Buying for Equality Guide - Support Businesses that Support Us
Buying groceries? Planning a trip? Making investment decisions?
With the economy as it is, the need to ensure that every dollar spent counts has never been more important. This year hundreds of businesses have earned the right to call you a customer with the commitment they have made to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Buying for Equality guide will help you easily support companies that support equality for LGBT Americans.
Ratings in Buying for Equality are based on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual report card, the Corporate Equality Index. A record 260 businesses scored 100 percent on this year's report, which is a significant increase from the 195 businesses that earned a perfect score last year. From enhanced domestic partner benefits to transgender inclusion in non-discrimination policies, we are seeing a revolution in the American workplace. More than 300,000 people have used Buying for Equality to make informed choices about their purchases. This year, you can do your part to support fair-minded businesses by requesting or downloading Buying for Equality 2009. Get the Buyer's Guide on your phone. Text SHOP and the name of the company to 30644. Or download the guide:
http://www.hrc.org/buyersguide2009/hrc_buyersguide_09.pdf

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

-Dianne Feinstein Does About-Face on Same-Sex Marriage
Though California senator Dianne Feinstein has long been a supporter of gay rights, she's stopped short of supporting full marriage equality. But an interview for NBC Nightly News with Maureen Dowd suggests she may well have done an about-face. In the interview, Feinstein discusses finding the body of Harvey Milk and her involvement in Focus Features' forthcoming biopic. She also talks about her decision to speak out against Prop. 8 in California and her evolving views on same-sex marriage. "I think as more and more people have gay friends, gay associations, see gay heroism, that their views change," Feinstein said in the interview. "I think people are beginning to look at it differently, I know it's happened for me. "I started out not supporting it. The longer I've lived, the more I've seen the happiness of people, the stability that these commitments bring to a life. Many adopted children who would have ended up in foster care now have good solid homes and are brought up learning the difference between right and wrong. It's a very positive thing." Feinstein had previously said that while she would not endorse a statewide ban on same-sex marriage, she supported civil unions over "redefining" marriage. (The Advocate)
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid67008.asp

-No Milk for Cinemark, No Twilight for Gays
Cinemark theatre chain CEO Alan Stock shelled out $9,999 to pass Prop. 8 in California, but will his theater chain profit from ticket sales for the forthcoming release of Milk. Not if a group of people on the Web have anything to say about it. NoMilkforCinemark.com is dedicated to convincing ticket buyers to see Milk at a competitor's theater. The idea is that if the gay community agrees to buy tickets to see the movie somewhere else, Cinemark will lose revenue from what promises to be one of the most profitable pictures of the holiday season. California's Briggs initiative, which would have resulted in the firing of gay and lesbian teachers throughout the state in 1978, plays a prominent role in the film. But LGBT moviegoers are faced with another tough decision this holiday season. Twilight, based on the best-selling novel by Stephanie Meyer, opened in theaters this weekend. And if Meyer is to be taken at her word, 10% of all monies she makes off the movie will go to the Mormon Church. Meyer has made no public statement regarding her feelings on California's Prop. 8.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid66939.asp

-Separation of Sundance and State
In 2009, Sundance will celebrate 25 years of bringing together international cinema and a variety of cultures in Park City, Utah. But with California's gay community reeling from the passage of Prop. 8, activists and filmmakers are suggesting a boycott of the festival and theater chain Cinemark, whose CEO donated a substantial sum to the marriage ban's campaign. But just how realistic is a boycott of an entire state?
http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid66959.asp


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

-Obama Names 7 Gays to Transition Team
Officials with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team this week named at least seven openly gay people to transition panels assigned to review federal departments and agencies. Three of the seven gays named to the transition panels - businessman Fred P. Hochberg, former San Francisco Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg, and labor attorney Elaine Kaplan - held high-level positions in the Clinton administration. The Obama officials also named President Bush's former ambassador to Romania, Michael Guest, to a transition panel assigned to review issues pertaining to the State Department. Guest became the nation's second openly gay ambassador when Bush appointed him to the Romania post for a term lasting from 2001 to 2003.
http://washblade.com/2008/11-21/news/national/index.cfm

-Next State to Usher in Gay Marriage May be Iowa
Only weeks after a ballot initiative put marriage rights for gay and lesbian families in California to a vote--with families in that state losing the right to marry being the outcome--families in the state of Iowa may see the way cleared for marriage parity. A Nov. 21 story in the Iowa newspaper the Press-Citizen detailed how a ruling from that state's Supreme Court is poised to determine whether or not marriage equality will be permitted there.
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=83811

-Why Are There No Openly Gay Leading Men in Hollywood?
With Sean Penn starring as Harvey Milk, the openly gay San Francisco supervisor who was gunned down along with Mayor George Moscone in 1978, the movie (which opens Wednesday) makes its message clear: Gay people must be "out" to be counted. This theme is particularly timely given California's passage of anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8 this month, but there's also a certain irony:
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_popmachine/2008/11/gus-van-sants-m.html


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Day Without a Gay
www.daywithoutagay.org

-We are calling for a nationwide strike and economic boycott by all members of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered community AND OUR STRAIGHT ALLIES on December 10th, 2008, International Human Rights Day.

WHY SHOULD WE DO IT?
-Because LGBT workers, business owners, consumers and taxpayers contribute over $700 billion to the U.S. economy each year and should not be treated as second class citizens. See www.witeckcombs.com/news/releases/20080602_buyingpower.pdf
Because general strikes and economic boycotts are a powerful weapon in the history of non-violent protests. See http://www.pbs.org/now/society/boycott.html. For many of those protesters, their actions came at a cost, but they understood that we must be willing to make sacrifices to fight for equal rights, including the right to marry.
-Because Civil Unions are only legal in the state that offers them. Civil Unions don't include the 1100 marriage rights and benefits provided by the Federal Government. Separate but not equal is discrimination.
-Because every couple in America has to get a marriage certificate from their state, whereas religious ceremonies are optional. No church or religious institution has or ever will be forced to marry anyone.
-Because marriage should be a Right for all Americans, regardless of gender, race OR religion.
-Because until ALL are equal, NONE are equal.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
-Strike: call in gay, shut down your business, take the day off.
-Boycott: don't buy anything or spend money.
-Participate: visit www.daywithoutagay.org for a list of volunteer and/or protest opportunities.
Communicate: we need everyone's support!
Our co-sponsors include:
JOINTHEIMPACT.COM
DAYWITHOUTAGAY.ORG
DAYWITHOUTAGAY.NET


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Detroit News
http://detnews.com/

-Despite challenges, savor this year's blessings
Deb Price
President-elect Barack Obama's great love of Abraham Lincoln has me spending chilly evenings curled up with a history book or two. Turns out that honest, sad-eyed Abe knew the importance of staying in close touch with gratitude, of giving thanks even in the midst of turmoil and disappointment. In October 1863, President Lincoln was locked in the middle of the terrible Civil War that was "testing," as he would put it a few weeks later in Gettysburg, whether a "nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal ... can long endure." In other words, not only was victory nowhere in sight, he didn't even know whether the nation would survive.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081124/OPINION03/811240323


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]

-LDS political activism on gay marriage could impact Romney future
Source: Salt Lake Tribune
The key role played by the LDS Church in passing California's gay marriage ban could have long-lasting consequences - good and bad - for the future of the nation's highest-profile Mormon politician: Mitt Romney. The LDS effort could give Romney a crucial boost among evangelicals who wield great power in choosing the Republican presidential nominee. But it might leave the former Massachusetts governor an even tougher slog among a broader electorate.

-Commentary: Why Gay Marriage Is an Asian American Matter
Source: AsianWeek
When the San Francisco Chronicle ran a Nov. 7 article exploring why Asians were the only ethnic minority to produce a majority of voters against Proposition 8 and its ban of same-sex marriage, a reader commented on the Chronicle's website: "Why in the world would the Asian American community ally itself with the gays? The Asian American community [has] virtually nothing in common with the gays except maybe being minorities." This comment would be cute in its naiveté if we weren't at such a critical juncture in American history. This kind of dangerously insular thinking has no place in a nation on the brink of tremendous political and social change, ignited by the election of President-elect Barack Obama.

-Massive Prop 8 Protest Targets Cinemark Theatre in Evanston, IL
Source: Towleroad
A massive protest targeting Alan Stock, the Mormon owner of the Cinemark theatre chain who donated $9,999 to the Proposition 8 campaign, took place in Evanston, Illinois over the weekend. the protest was organized by Chicago's Gay Liberation Network and its organizer Andy Thayer, who speaks in the video below.


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

-Interview: Bishop Gene Robinson on prophets, Prop 8 and progress
Gene Robinson is a calming presence. The world feels less dangerous when you talk to him, and evils such as racism and homophobia seem less threatening and somehow distant.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9666.html

-EU Commission reports on gay rights in candidate countries
A leading gay rights group has praised the European Union for raising the human rights of LGBT people in this year's progress reports on candidate countries.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9664.html

-Burundi MPs vote to criminalise same-sex acts ahead of UN appeal
An African nation has become the latest to criminalise homosexual acts, just weeks before France will plead for universal decriminalisation at the UN.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9662.html

-Gay Mayor of Paris distances himself from Socialist party infighting
The French Socialist party has been left in chaos following the narrow victory by Martine Aubry in the election for leadership.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9661.html

-Police continue inquiries into MP who thinks gays can be cured A DUP MP who caused outrage among Northern Ireland's gay community with her homophobic outbursts may still face charges.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9660.html


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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Rachel Maddow Goes Soft on Anti-Gay Huckabee
By Pam Spaudling | Pam's House Blend
I'm starting to think that Rachel Maddow has an issue or professional discomfort with taking on publicly anti-gay figures on her show. It's an oddity, given 1) she's out and has a high-profile; and 2) her fellow MSNBC host, Keith Olbermann, has been extremely forceful as an ally on the issue by comparison. She's spoken at length about the debacle of Prop 8, so one would assume that if given the opportunity, Maddow would address the issue with well-known homophobes. The reticence to take on agents of intolerance surfaced in a recent interview with former GOP clown car occupant, rapist/murderer-releasing Baptist minister-without-a-theology-degree Mike Huckabee. (Think Progress):
Read more

-NE: Westboro Protest Draws Student Counter Protes
BY ANDREW J. NELSON AND KATIE FRETLAND | WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS | Omaha
World Herald
Members of a Kansas church that protests at the funerals of slain service members fled the right-of-way near Omaha Central High School on Friday because police said they could not protect them from hundreds of student counterprotesters. Students threw hamburgers and bottles of lemonade and milk at several members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., students said after the protest. A video of the protest - recorded by 16-year-old student Mason Hartwell - showed one counterprotester on the ground, seated with his hands behind his back and flanked by two law enforcement officers. Students chanted "Diversity," "Obama" and "Gay is OK." At one point, they broke into a chant of the Pledge of Allegiance, yelling, "Liberty and justice for all," according to the footage. After students dispersed, a flier remained on the ground reading "Zona libre de odio" - Spanish for "Hate-free zone." Read more


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