GLBT DIGEST - August 20, 2009

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

California: Trial Date Set in Same-Sex Marriage Fight
By JESSE MCKINLEY
The highly anticipated trial of the legal challenge to California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage is to start Jan. 11, a federal judge announced. The judge, Vaughn R. Walker of Federal District Court in San Francisco, said arguments would begin then over the fate of Proposition 8, which Californians passed in November with 52 percent of the vote, prompting protests across the country. Supporters of the proposition had hoped to avoid a trial, but both sides said they were eager to get started.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/us/20brfs-TRIALDATESET_BRF.html


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

Transplanting our hearts
There is an old fable of a dying man who was in need of a heart transplant if he was to stay alive. There was a big problem though because this man lived with deep prejudice all his life, and when word of the availability of a heart came to him, he wanted to know who the donor was. The first time he was told it was from a gay man who had died in a car accident, but his heart was very strong and the match would be perfect.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/coral-springs/sfl-flcspfjack0820dffaug20,0,6430824.story


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

‘Queer as Folk’ co-star Thea Gill tells why she supports Gay American Heroes Foundation
From South Florida-based Gay American Heroes Foundation:
On Sunday, Aug. 23, Judge David Young and Stuart Milk will host a Wilton Manors wine-tasting fundraiser for Gay American Heroes Foundation:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/video-queer-as-folk-co-star-thea-gill-tells-why-she-supports-gay-american-heroes-foundation.html

Fort Lauderdale travel guru Richard Gray honored with ‘Gay+ Award for Achievement in Making Our World Gayer’
News release from Logo: Logo, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), announced today that TripOutGayTravel.com, its comprehensive travel site dedicated to the LGBT traveler and MTV Network's first stand-alone, travel-focused site, will present its first ever "TripOut Gay Travel Awards." The awards honor the most stylish, exciting and hottest destinations and services that attract, pamper and market to the LGBT traveler.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/fort-lauderdale-travel-guru-richard-gray-honored-with-gay-award-for-achievement-in-making-our-world-gayer-award.html

North Miami man to sue Veterans Administration over HIV infection
BY FRED TASKER, ftasker@MiamiHerald.com
A 55-year-old North Miami man who claims he was infected with HIV during a colonoscopy at the Miami Veterans Administration hospital has filed notice he will sue the federal government. Juan Rivera charges that he was infected by improperly cleaned equipment in a colonoscopy around May 19, 2008, at the Miami VA facility.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/north-miami-man-to-sue-veterans-administration-over-hiv-infection.html

Lutherans move toward more open view on gays
By PATRICK CONDON
Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have agreed to disagree on homosexuality, endorsing an official statement on human sexuality that says there's room in the church for differing views on an issue that's divided other religious groups.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/lutherans-move-toward-more-open-view-on-gays.html

Florida: 2010 South Florida Firefighters Calendar to be unveiled Thursday at Hard Rock in Hollywood
From The Miami Herald’s People page:
Sixteen new hunks of burnin' love will heat up the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 6:30 p.m. Thursday, when South Florida firefighters unveil the smoking pages of their 2010 calendar. They'll paint their bods with Woodstock-inspired body paint (don't worry; there's still a lot to see). The unveiling/after party at Passion Nightclub (10 p.m.) will benefit various charities. More info on how to get the $17 calendar: 954-583-3250. Get a sneak peek at the guys at www.firefighterscalendar.com.
-- MADELEINE MARR
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/2010-south-florida-firefighters-calendar-to-be-unveiled-thursday-at-hard-rock-in-hollywood.html


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

Wilton Manors Merchant Bazaar draws big crowd
Estimates of over a thousand shoppers
By BOB KECSEMETY
Over 1,000 people attended and seven puppies were adopted at last weekend’s Merchant’s Bazaar, “Woodstock” at the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. This was the second monthly festival at the shopping center that doubled in size to 85 vendors since it’s first bazaar in July. The bazaar is a large community yard sale where almost everything and anything is available for sale. Business owners in the Shoppes developed the idea of the bazaar to increase foot traffic during the summer months, which has been especially problematic during the current economic downturn. More
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6188.cfm

Florida: New Copa Club opens Friday in Hallandale Beach
By DAN RENZI
“Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl, but that was 30 years ago when they used to have a show…”well the show is back! Just like the bar in the hit Barry Manilow song, “Copacabana,” a new Copa Club is opening in Hallandale Beach, 1484 E Hallandale Beach Blvd, with a gay night every Friday beginning August 21.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6189.cfm

O.U.T. comes to Fort Lauderdale, recruits political groups
Florida-based gay rights group O.U.T., Organizations United Together, has moved into Fort Lauderdale to better utilize local political activism in state-wide efforts. The first organizing meeting will be held this Saturday, August 22, at the Stonewall Library and Archives, 1300 East Sunrise Boulevard, at 10:30 a.m.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6184.cfm

Justice Dept. hires former Fla. staffer for GLBT outreach
By DAN RENZI
After angering the GLBT community by comparing same-sex marriage to incest and pedophilia, in a legal brief written in June, the United States Justice Dept. has hired Matt Nosanchuk as a Senior Counselor who will also serve as a liaison with the gay community.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6185.cfm

Wilton Manors: Poverello Bowl-A-Thon nets appx. $50,000 for AIDS org
By BOB KECSEMETY
The 19th Annual Poverello Bowl-a-Thon raised an estimated $50,000 for the Poverello Center, which provides food for those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. At press time, $40,000 has already been deposited with another $10,000 expected.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6186.cfm

Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit
By BOB KECSEMETY
The eighth Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit is being held in Fort Lauderdale August 28 through 30, 2009 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1100 SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6187.cfm

Medal of Honor on display in Wilton Manors
Only Florida appearance before joining museum
By BOB KECSEMETY
On Sunday, August 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., The Naked Grape Wine Bar on Wilton Drive will offer the first public viewing—and the only viewing in Florida—of the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded posthumously to Harvey Milk, former San Francisco city supervisor and gay rights activist. The award was accepted by his nephew, Fort Lauderdale resident Stuart Milk.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-20/news/localnews/6181.cfm

Anti-gay gangs terrorise Iraq
Militias are targeting gay men in a killing campaign, ignored by police and prosecutors, that belies promises of security
By Scott Long
Who rules Iraq? If you ask Baghdad officials or the Obama administration's proconsuls, they will tell you: a democratically elected Iraqi government, a triumphant product of the "purple revolution" that reflects the will of Iraq's people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/19/iraq-anti-gay-gangs-killing-campaign


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

Maine Marriage Equality Ad Debuts
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Julie Bolcer
As Maine braces for an expected November referendum on the new marriage equality law, the first television advertisement urging voters to uphold the law began airing across the state on Thursday, reports the Associated Press.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid106415.asp

Gay Apt. Residents Claim Discrimination
By Julie Bolcer
Gay and lesbian residents of an apartment building in Queens, New York claim their co-op board called them antigay slurs and refused to make repairs to their apartments, reports the New York Daily News.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid106385.asp


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

Runner’s father, grandmother dismiss gender uproar
By The Associated Press
(Berlin) A day after winning her first 800-meter world title amid a gender-test controversy, the father of South African teenager Caster Semenya dismissed speculation his daughter is not a woman.
http://www.365gay.com/news/runners-father-grandmother-dismiss-gender-uproar/


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

Kylie Minogue: My gay fans looked after me
By Jessica Geen
In an interview with gay magazine Instinct, the star said her gay fans "adopted" her and defended her from criticism. She said: "When I started out in music, going from acting to singing, that transition was very successful, but I also got flack for it. Many hurtful things were said. It wasn't easy." More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13747.html

Lesbian couple protest after being asked to leave Maryland restaurant
By Staff Writer
A lesbian couple who were asked to leave a Maryland restaurant have held a small protest outside it. Aiyi'nah Ford and her partner Torian Brown said they were ejected from the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, Montgomery County, last Wednesday night. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13744.html

Jerusalem gay community centre hires armed guard
Following a fatal shooting at a Tel Aviv gay youth venue several weeks ago, Jerusalem's only gay community centre has now employed an armed security guard. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13735.html

California judge sets January court date for Prop 8 trial
A California judge has set a date in January 2010 for a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on gay marriage. The case, brought by two gay couples who argue the ban violates their constitutional rights, will be heard on January 11th. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13734.html

New Zealand moves to abolish gay panic defence
A bill to abolish the so-called 'gay panic defence' has passed its first reading in New Zealand's parliament. The Crimes Provocation Repeal Amendment Bill was unanimously passed on Tuesday night. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13743.html

Gay Mad Men episode under fire from parents' group
An episode of TV drama Mad Men which featured a gay scene has been attacked by the Parents' Television Council which says it should have been given a higher rating. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13745.html

MP calls for halt on deportation of Iraqi gay man
An MP has said that a recent report on the plight of gays in Iraq means a gay Iraqi man living in her north London constituency must not be deported. More
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13740.html


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

Rep. Frank Lashes Out at Protester for Nazi Remark
Associated Press | 365Gay.com
Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform. “On what planet do you spend most of your time?” Frank asked the woman, who had stepped up to the podium at a southeastern Massachusetts senior center to ask why Frank supports what she called a Nazi policy.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9075/

A Library’s Approach to Books That Offend
Alison Leigh Cowan | City Room | New York Times
Ruby Washington/The New York Times The vault-like room in the Brooklyn Public Library where “Tintin au Congo” was reshelved after a patron took issue with the book. The cartoonist Hergé is popular again, as is his adventurous reporter Tintin, who will be featured in a Steven Spielberg movie due out in 2011. But if you go to the Brooklyn Public Library seeking a copy of “Tintin au Congo,” Hergé’s second book in a series, prepare to make an appointment and wait days to see the book. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9072/

Homeless Gain Further Hate Crime Protections
Newsdesk
Homeless people are gradually being included in hate crimes laws, as the number of fatal attacks on the homeless remains steady even as overall attacks decline. Last November, Newsdesk.org tracked reports of sometimes deadly attacks on homeless people around the nation, and noted both skepticism about claims of a trend in hate crimes, as well as new protections against such attacks. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9070/

How the National Equality March Could Undermine LGBT America
Diane Silver | Bilerico Project
There are no villains in this post. Please note that fact before reading farther. I don’t believe that the wonderful folks who are organizing the national march are evil or stupid, but I am worried that we could be marching ourselves right off a cliff. I’ll admit that I’ve never been a fan of this particular march. I wrote about my worries in Political IQ. I shared many of Bil’s concerns. Today, I will also for the first time share his endorsement of the march, and I may well find myself in DC in October. I have to admit, though, that I can’t give the wholehearted endorsement Bil makes. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9069/

Split on Health Care Goes Beyond Public Option
Teddy Davis | Visit article original @ ABC News
Senate’s number two Republican opposes guaranteed issue and community rating of health insurance. If you were to listen to most coverage of the health-care debate, you would be excused for thinking that the public option is the only significant difference between the parties. It’s not. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9067/

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