GLBT DIGEST - April 28, 2009

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

-A Quiet Day in Iowa as Same-Sex Couples Line Up to Marry
By MONICA DAVEY
In a way, life looked unexpectedly ordinary here on Monday as Iowa began allowing same-sex couples to marry. The large, angry protests some had imagined never materialized in this city, the state's most populous. Neither did the crowds of couples from all over the nation that some feared might create a carnival-like atmosphere captured in earlier images from other places.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28marriage.html?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse


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

-Catania Says Clinic Is Poorly Managed
Handling of Retirement Funds at Issue
By Tim Craig
D.C. Council member David. A. Catania said yesterday that Whitman-Walker Clinic's leaders might have committed a federal crime by mishandling employees' contributions to their retirement funds, highlighting the continuing hostility between clinic officials and some council members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042701869.html

-Personal Low, Career Peak
After Drug-Fueled Crash, Patrick Kennedy Turned Focus to Mental Health-Care Reform
By Vincent Bzdek
Political aides counseled Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to mention the incident when he was campaigning for reelection in 2006. "Don't bring it up," they insisted, as Kennedy recounts their reaction. "Everybody already knows about it." Talking about it only reminded Rhode Island voters of other Kennedy family misdeeds and misfortunes, they said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800059.html

-Same-Sex Marriage 'Armageddon' in D.C.?
By Marc Fisher
Proponents of the District's move to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages sanctioned by four states were thrilled last week when a planned anti-gay marriage demonstration in front of the D.C. Council's offices didn't come off. But organizers of that rally say that was just a scheduling glitch and that the real thing is happening today at 10 a.m. on Freedom Plaza. The rally, according to lead organizer Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Bowie, "will launch the Armageddon of the marriage battle in this country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042703196.html


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

-Pageant PR rep accuses Miss California of lying
By LISA LEFF
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.

-Branding Perez: Polarizing blogger has big goals
By ERIN CARLSON
Perez Hilton is still poking fun at celebrities. But as a blogger, radio host, author and now highly publicized advocate of gay rights, he's also become one - and not just as a famous person, but a powerful and wide-reaching brand.


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

-Hundreds to push for gay marriage in Albany today
Gov. Paterson will address group this morning
About 2,000 people are expected at a lunchtime rally outside the Capitol today in support of gay rights legislation. The bills would allow same-sex marriage, protect transgender civil rights, and provide safe schools for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual youth.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25194

-Pro-gay marriage groups spent more than $228,000
Most money came after Gov. Douglas veto announcement
Supporters of Vermont's new gay marriage law spent more than $228,000 lobbying for it in the three months before the historic April 7 votes to pass it over Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Lobbyist disclosure forms filed at the secretary of state's office on Monday show that the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task force spent more than $168,000 on advertising and lobbying on the issue from January through March.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25193


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

-Gay Clergy Amendment Fails
The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted over the weekend to reject an amendment that would allow openly gay clergy. As of Sunday, said the Presbyterian News Service, the unofficial count was 69 presbyteries in favor of the amendment, and 88 opposed - enough to reach the simple majority needed among the 173 presbyteries voting nationwide this spring.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81010.asp

-Newsom to Maddow: Prop 8 Would Pass Today
By Julie Bolcer
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom dropped into the Rachel Maddow show on Monday night for his first interview since formally declaring his candidacy for California governor last week. The pair traversed a wide-ranging discussion about the state's mounting challenges, with Maddow approaching the subject of marriage equality toward the conclusion of the seven minutes, noting the legal same-sex marriages that began yesterday in Iowa.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80985.asp

-Gay Gang Member Gets Life for Killing Boyfriend
By Michelle Garcia
A member of the Latin Kings gang who killed his lover was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, according to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in North Andover, Mass.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80912.asp

-16 Arrested in Oklahoma Sex Sting
Sixteen men, ranging in age from 20 to 61, have been arrested after a four-day sting to squash gay sex in a public park in Oklahoma City. According to The Oklahoman, Hobie Point has been a hotbed of activity for men hooking up with other men for at least a decade.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80836.asp


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

-Magnitude of VA hospital HIV, Hep infections unknown
By The Associated Press
Thousands of veterans were at first shocked to learn they should get blood tests for HIV and hepatitis because three hospitals might have treated them with unsterile equipment. Now, just a couple of months after the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the dire warnings, veterans are growing frustrated by the lack of information from the tightlipped federal agency.
http://www.365gay.com/news/magnitude-of-va-hospital-hiv-hep-infections-unknown/

-Miss Calif. could lose crown
By The Associated Press
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.
http://www.365gay.com/news/miss-calif-could-lose-crown/


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

-Faith schools to be allowed to tell pupils homosexuality is wrong
New plans to force all schools to teach sex education will allow faith schools to educate pupils in line with their religious beliefs. This will allow schools to tell pupils that homosexuality, sex outside marriage or using contraception is wrong.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12195.html

-Gay monks told to stop wearing makeup
Gay and trans Buddhist monks in Thailand have been given a new set of guidelines aimed to curb "flamboyant" behaviour such as wearing makeup.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12189.html

-Authorities 'must protect' nine Senegalese men from homophobic attacks
Amnesty International has warned that the nine Senegalese men released from prison last week after being jailed for "indecent conduct and unnatural acts" are at risk of homophobic attacks.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12191.html

-Turkish LGBT activists await ruling on closure of legal group
Turkey's leading gay rights group Lambda Istanbul will soon hear whether a local court ruling will uphold a Supreme Court decision to safeguard its freedom.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12194.html

-Controversy at Yale University's first LGBT reunion
Ivy League university Yale held its first LGBT student reunion last weekend, although the event saw controversy when a former student attacked the institution over its treatment of gay history.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12188.html


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

-NY: Insanity Defense in Manhattan Murder?
DUNCAN OSBORNE | Gay City News
Jeromie Cancel, the accused killer of Kevin Pravia, a 19-year-old gay man, wants to use a psychiatric defense at trial that could reduce the charges against him or acquit him entirely if the jury believes he was insane when he killed the Pace University student in 2008. "There was a prior history at Bellevue and also subsequent to his arrest," said Michael Alperstein, Cancel's attorney, at an April 24 hearing. "There are substantial records at Bellevue." Cancel, 23, was apparently hospitalized at an institution in Queens prior to his arrest, but Alperstein said he had not yet found the institution or records of that episode. Cancel has met once with a psychiatrist, identified only as Dr. Siegel in court, who is working for the defense and will see him again. "He's going to continue to see him," Alperstein said. Cancel is charged with second-degree murder. Allegedly, he met Pravia in Union Square early in the morning on August 30 and Pravia bought some cocaine from Cancel. They walked to Pravia's Chelsea apartment, used some of the drug, and Cancel allegedly strangled Pravia to death after the younger man fell asleep. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6734/

-Facebook Rejects Lesbian Movie Ad
Bil Browning | Bilerico Project
The social media giant Facebook recently rejected an ad for the lesbian flick "And Then Came Lola" for what it's deemed is an inappropriate image. (And, yes, ladies, you can clickety to embiggen the ad.) David at QueerMusings has the scoop:
The reason Facebook gives for rejecting the advert is as follows: "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate. Per sections 3 and 8 of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines, the image on your ad should be relevant and appropriate to the item being advertised. Make sure your image is directly relevant to what you are advertising. Images that are overly explicit, provocative, or that reveal too much skin are not allowed. Images that may either degrade or idealize any health condition or body type are also not allowed. If you choose to submit this ad again, please use an appropriate image that adheres to all of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines." Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6732/

-Tennessee Schools Ban LGBT Website
Legal Treal
Public High Schools in Tennessee are filtering out access to LGBT websites like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and many more. However, websites that claim to "cure homosexuality" are not being filtered out. Unlike the recent "computer glitch" excuse used by online book retail website Amazon.com when gay and lesbian titles were filtered out of their sales rankings, that is not the case here. The Knox County and Metro Nashville Public Schools are claiming the existence of the filter yet blaming their filtering service for the blockage of the websites in question, while the school district's internet filtering service, Education Networks of America, says that schools using their service choose which websites to block.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6730/

-Is Hungary Ready for Same-Sex Unions?
Translation: Alexandra Baxter | Cafe Babel
Although four EU countries have already agreed to legalise homosexual marriage, Budapest, despite having initially given it the green light, has rejected the legislation. Now Hungary, and the 10% of its population who live with a long- term partner, are awaiting the national and European elections for an answer. The debate first began in 2004 when Péeter Gusztos, a member of the liberal party alliance of free democrats (SzDSz), first proposed the idea of legal registering same-sex unions, a move which would give homosexual couples equivalent rights to those enjoyed by married couples. On 17 December 2007, a few months after extreme right-wing groups caused disturbances at the gay pride celebrations in Budapest, the centre-left coalition government adopted Gusztos' proposals. Everything seemed to be going well and the proposals were to be put into effect from January 2009. However on 15 December 2008, just two weeks before the legislation was due to come into force, the supreme court ruled that it was in fact unconstitutional. The court threw the legislation out on the pretext that the procedure of the civil partnership was far too similar to the inviolable and sacrosanct convention of marriage.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6728/


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Inside Higher Education

-Larry Kramer Questions Gay Studies
Author/activist offers scathing critique of Yale program he helped build and of discipline, arguing that history would have been a better focus than theory and gender studies.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/kramer

-Bypassing Controversy
Graduates of Oberlin College -- a cradle of social justice movements like abolitionism -- have never had to look very far for activist opportunities. Indeed, the college's commencement ceremonies actually seem tailored toward students who want to make a political stand. The processional has traditionally run beneath Oberlin's Memorial Arch, a controversial structure that either symbolizes the sacrifice of missionaries killed in China or the repression wrought by American imperialism, depending on one's point of view. For those who take the latter position, bypassing the arch -- and breaking with the established processional route -- has become something of a tradition
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/oberlin


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

-'TAMPER WITH MARRIAGE & WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE'
By DAN MANGAN
Archbishop Timothy Dolan yesterday said advocates of gay marriage "are asking for trouble," arguing that traditional, one-man/one-woman marriage is rooted in people's moral DNA. "There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA," Dolan told The Post in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, a week after becoming the New York Archdiocese's new leader.

-ACLU lobbying for changes in nudity laws
Forum asks: Pranksters and protestors or criminals and sex offenders?
BOULDER, Colo. - A 69-year-old man is caught masturbating behind a Dumpster at the University of Colorado in 2006. He was ticketed for public indecency, a petty offense carrying a punishment slightly harsher than littering. A 46-year-old man was found shirtless, drunk and urinating on the side of the road in east Boulder County the same year. He was ticketed for indecent exposure, a class 1 misdemeanor that carries mandatory registration as a sex offender if convicted. Public nudity in Boulder isn't exactly uncommn: Last year, more than 60 cyclists biked bare to protest oil-burning cars; a CU student ran naked across campus while tripping on acid, and another, also tripping, jumped naked out of a car and rolled around in the street; a 55-year-old man took several nude jogs along Folsom Street; and a teenager streaked the Boulder-Fairview football game.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/apr/26/aclu-lobby-nudity-laws-sex-offender-naked-boulder/

-Craig Newmark: I'm Not Planning To Close Craiglist's 'Erotic' Section
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The founder of Craigslist does not plan to close the "erotic services" section of the Web site despite criticism that has intensified after a medical student was accused of killing a Boston masseuse who advertised there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/25/craig-newmark-im-not-plan_n_191350.html

-I'm Gay and Iraqi: Please Help Me!
The situation for gay Iraqis has never been more dire: With reports of torture, "anal gluing," and murder coming out of the Middle East, is the U.S. surge to blame for this sudden explosion of antigay violence?
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid80106.asp


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

-Become Member of IRanian Queer Railroad Refugee Sponsorship Plan - RSPV
Please visit our website to find more information about this humanitarian
plan. You can find RSP link in our left side navigation bar or type this address:
http://www.irqr.net/RSP.htm

-The Romanian LGBT group ACCEPT and IGLHRC responded jointly to a proposed amendment to the Romanian civil code that would prohibit adoption of children by same-sex couples. The two organizations wrote to the executive government and the special parliamentary commission for the civil code. The letter included legal and other arguments against the proposed amendment. The legislative process includes the revision of the civil and penal codes and procedure codes.
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/893.html

-Austrian Administrative High Court
lifts Mandatory Surgery for Transsexuals
Rechtskomitee LAMBDA: "A historic decision"
As just announced the Austrian Administrative High Court in a landmark judgment of 27 February 2009 declared mandatory sex change surgery for transsexuals unlawful. Rechtskomitee LAMBDA (RKL), Austria's civil rights organisation for homo- and bisexual as well as transgender women and men, speaks of a historic decision. Austria, different than other countries (Spain, United Kingdom, Hungary, Sweden and Estonia) only recognized the new gender of (male-to-female-)transsexuals if they let remove their genitals. Not all transsexuals however are able to fulfil this condition, be it for their age, their health or their social situation.


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