GLBT DIGEST - October 28, 2009

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

Being Gay in the N.F.L.: ‘The Only Thing We Need Is a Hero’
Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is awaiting word from the N.F.L on whether he’ll be suspended for using slurs referring to gays in communicating with a Twitter follower and in talking to reporters.
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/being-gay-in-the-nfl-the-only-thing-we-need-is-a-hero/

Focus of Gay-Marriage Fight Is Maine
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
Less than a week before Maine voters decide whether to repeal the state’s new same-sex marriage law, donations and volunteers are pouring in to sway what both sides call a nationally significant fight.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/us/28maine.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:

Harry Reid: crazy like a fox
PostPartisan
Not many people remember this, but the hate crimes bill headed for President Obama's signature this afternoon was supposed to ride there on a rather innocuous piece of tourism legislation earlier this year. Instead, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) changed tactics and attached it to the defense department reauthorization bill, ticking off the White House -- and me.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/10/harry_reid_crazy_like_a_fox.html/

Should student drama productions be restricted to PG themes?
You would think people have better things to fight about, but across the nation people are arguing--and even going to court--over high school plays. Yes, the drama productions that high school kids stage for other high school kids. The latest instance occurred this week at Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., when administrators abruptly cancelled a production of “Chicago” three weeks before it was to be staged because it is too racy, my colleague Nelson Hernandez reported.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/arts-education/should-student-dramaproduction.html/

Giving democracy a dose of clarity
By Michael Gerson
There have been various attempts over the decades to bury moral philosophy -- to dismiss convictions about right and wrong as cultural prejudices, or secretions of the brain, or matters so personal they shouldn't even affect our private lives.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102702841.html/

A civil rights advance
A federal law targets violence based on sexual orientation.
PRESIDENT OBAMA is scheduled to sign Wednesday what is being described as the nation's first significant pro-gay rights legislation. Attached to the defense authorization act, the measure would add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the list of protected classes under the 1969 federal hate-crimes law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102703166.html/

A marriage equality bill that respects religious objectors
By Robin Fretwell Wilson
Lexington, Va.
The hearings are beginning on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, and the D.C. Council is on track to vote on a final bill by December. Will it take the steps necessary to protect religious people and groups from any unintended consequences from this act?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102601653.html/

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Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

Obama Is Right About Fox News
But the criticism was clumsy.
By thomas@wsj.com
Journalism has a special, hallowed place for stories of its practitioners' persecution. There is no higher claim to journalistic integrity than going to jail to protect a source. And the Newseum in Washington, D.C., establishes the profession's legitimacy with a memorial to fallen scribes, thus drawing an implicit connection between the murdered abolitionist editors of long ago and the struggling outfit that gave you this morning's page-one story about cute pets in Halloween costumes.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574499671746743510.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories/

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

International Olympic Committee to hold meeting on ‘ambiguous’ gender cases
By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
LONDON -- The International Olympic Committee will convene a special conference of medical experts to draw up guidelines for dealing with "ambiguous" gender cases in the wake of South African runner Caster Semenya's sex-test controversy.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/international-olympic-committee-to-hold-meeting-on-ambiguous-gender-cases.html/

More immigrants cite sexual orientation for asylum
By RUSSELL CONTRERAS, Associated Press
For weeks, Nathaniel Cunningham and his boyfriend secretly lived together in rural Jamaica. They showed no affection in public and rarely spoke to neighbors.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/more-immigrants-cite-sexual-orientation-for-asylum.html/

Chiefs' Johnson apologizes for comments; club investigating
The Sports Network
Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has issued an apology for remarks he has made since Sunday's loss to the San Diego Chargers. The Chiefs are also investigating the matter and have told Johnson to stay away from the team.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/chiefs-johnson-apologizes-for-comments-club-investigating.html/

Brother, sister-in-law of gay man slain in Florida will attend White House signing of Matthew Shepard Act
From the family of Ryan Skipper, a young gay man murdered in March 2007 in Winter Haven, Fla.:
The White House has confirmed that Damien Skipper, Ryan Skipper's brother, and Damien's wife Tricia, will be in attendance at the White House signing ceremony of the Matthew Shepard Act on Wednesday afternoon, October 28.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/10/brother-sister-in-law-of-gay-man-slain-in-florida-will-attend-white-house-signing-of-matthew-shepard-act.html/

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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

Party trumps country?
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
You figure the White House is probably feeling pretty good about itself right now. After spending much of the summer as a punching bag for conservatives, Team Obama has begun throwing punches of its own. It has unleashed its marquee figures to tee off on high profile GOP personalities and institutions in a coordinated effort to marginalize the opposition.
http://www.miamiherald.com/285/story/1303812.html/

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

Bea Arthur leaves $300k to Ali Forney Center
Organization provides shelter and services to LGBT homeless youth
From Washington Blade staff reports
Late "Golden Girls" star Bea Arthur has left $300,000 of her estate to the Ali Forney Center, an organization that supports homeless LGBT youth, according to a press release from the organization.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=27813/

End of HIV travel ban 'imminent'
Official announcement could come Wednesday
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade
The Obama administration will soon officially announce a change in rules to allow HIV-positive foreign nationals to enter the country, according to Immigration Equality. Steve Ralls, an Immigration Equality spokesperson, said the final rule change has moved from the Department of Health & Human Services to the White House Office of Management & Budget, which will officially announce the change.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=27810/

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

Did Arnold Say F--You to Gay Lawmaker?
By Julie Bolcer
Sacramento circles are buzzing with speculation whether California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a coded message of “F--you” in a veto letter to a lawmaker who allegedly told him to “kiss my gay ass” at a recent fundraiser in San Francisco.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/28/Did_Arnold_Say_F-You_to_Gay_Lawmaker_/

Seventeen Slammed for Transphobic Article
By Julie Bolcer
A young LGBT activist has launched a Facebook campaign against Seventeen magazine in response to its publication of an article that portrays transgender people in a highly negative way.
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/10/28/Seventeen_Slammed_for_Transphobic_Article/

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

Tenn. Appeals Court rules for Bible Park rezoning
By The Associated Press
The Tennessee Court of Appeals at Nashville has ruled in favor of a rezoning that would allow a Bible-based theme park to be built in Rutherford County.
http://www.365gay.com/news/tenn-appeals-court-rules-for-bible-park-rezoning/

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

Vigil to be held for gay trainee policeman beaten in Liverpool
A vigil is to be held in Liverpool this Sunday for James Parkes, the trainee police officer who was beaten by a gang of up to 20 youths last weekend. His parents have spoken of their disbelief he was attacked for doing nothing wrong
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/27/vigil-to-be-held-for-gay-man-beaten-in-liverpool/

Maine governor announces support for gay marriage
John Baldacci, the governor of Maine, has given his support for gay marriage in the state and urged voters to do the same on November 3rd's referendum.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/27/maine-governor-announces-support-for-gay-marriage/

US Army Secretary says military is ready to lift gay ban
US Secretary of the Army John McHugh said this weekend that the military is ready to lift the ban on openly gay personnel. He is the highest-ranking Army official to show his support for repealing the ban.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/10/27/us-army-secretary-says-military-is-ready-to-lift-gay-ban/

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

The Case for Marijuana Legalization and Regulation
Paul Armentano, AlterNet
The following is the testimony NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano will deliver on Oct. 28 to the California Assembly Public Safety Committee’s special hearing on “the legalization of marijuana: social, fiscal and legal implications for California.” Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, sponsor of AB 390, The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, is the chairman of the committee.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11022/

Working While Transgender or Gay
Deb Price \ Creators.com
Life journeys often begin with secrets, ones that children sense they mustn’t share for fear of ridicule — or worse. For Vandy Beth Glenn, the secret was an “overwhelming awareness” growing up in Atlanta of being a girl inside a boy’s body.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11021/

Obama’s Hate Crime Laws are ‘Hate Christian’ Laws
MEDIA ADVISORY, Oct. 28 /Christian Newswire/ — The following is a statement by Dr. Gary L. Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission: “In other nations, like Canada, where hate crime laws have been enacted, it is Christians, specifically conservative Christians who hold to the historic Christian faith and it’s values, that become the object of institutionalized, governmental hate.”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11020/

IA: Dems, GOP Differ on Plans for Same-Sex Marriage in 2010
Bret Hayworth - bhayworth@siouxcityjournal.com \ Sioux City Journal
If opponents of same-sex marriage want to push the Iowa Legislature for changes, they may find their efforts fruitless.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11019/

Specter Calls for Repeal of Marriage Act
Kate Phillips \ New York Times
Updated: First, he spoke on the Senate floor Monday evening and then put out a bulletin on Twitter. And on Tuesday morning, Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican-turned Democrat who is running for his sixth term in the Senate, posted a short piece on the Huffington Post’s Web site in which he says it’s time to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11018/

GLBT History Month 2009–Yves St. Laurent
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/11017/

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