Saturday, August 29, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 29, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
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Texas: Agents in Raid Are Fired
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
The Texas liquor authorities fired two agents and a supervisor for their involvement in a raid on a Fort Worth gay bar in which the agents roughed up several people and put one man in the hospital with a head injury. The dismissals were a victory for gay rights activists in Fort Worth, who had campaigned for the officers to be held to account after the violent incident, on June 28 at the Rainbow Lounge. “People wanted to make sure that it wasn’t swept under the rug,” said Todd Camp, the director of a gay film festival who was at the club that night. “I hope this gives folk a little hope.” A separate investigation into the actions of six Fort Worth police officers during the raid has not yet concluded, a police spokesman said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/us/29brfs-AGENTSINRAID_BRF.html?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse


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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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Motive Still Unclear in Fatal D.C. Attack
D.C. police said they have interviewed the survivor of an attack on two transgender people in Northwest Washington and remain uncertain whether bias was involved. The two, biological men living as women, were stabbed in the 200 block of Q Street NW. Joshua Mack, 21, of Clinton died. The other, whose stab wounds were not life-threatening, told police shortly after the stabbings that the assailant might have used an anti-gay epithet.
-- Paul Duggan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/28/AR2009082803723_pf.html


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

New GOP senator, George LeMieux, supported gay adoptions and domestic partner benefits in ‘98 campaign
By BETH REINHARD, breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
Eight years ago, the young chairman of the Broward Republican Party appealed to his cohorts to stay out of a divisive petition drive to overturn the county's gay rights law. ``GOP UNITY'' read the banner he unfurled as he walked through a hushed crowd, arguing that the petition would distract from the party's true goal -- electing Republicans.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/soccer-tarnished-by-cold-shoulder-to-gays-writes-associated-press-sports-columnist.html


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

State is inconsistent
It is interesting that the state of Florida did not appeal every one of the gay adoption cases decided in favor of gay adoptive parents. Can this be consistent with its current appeal of the Frank Gill case? How can the state defend its inaction on one case and defend its current action on another? If the ban on gay adoptions is absolute, then the state should have appealed all cases in which gay parents won the right in court to adopt children in Florida. That inconsistency should enter into the deliberations of the appeals court in the Gill case.
BRUCE HOGMAN, Fort Lauderdale
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/1207538.html


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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
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Hugh Hefner, Gay Rights Pioneer
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Michelle Garcia
An upcoming documentary about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner reveals information about his earlier years, including his early advocacy for gay inclusiveness.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid107932.asp

Gay Candidates to Watch
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Neal Broverman
The Victory Fund, a group that works to elect LGBT people to public office, has identified eight more aspiring politicians they hope to see sworn in shortly.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid107993.asp


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

Congressman demands Obama end ban on gays in US military
A veteran Democratic member of the US House of Representatives has said he is "deeply disappointed" in President Obama's failure to deal with the ban on gays in the military.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13851.html

LGBT rights group's conversations with the faithful now available online
America's largest LGBT rights organisation has announced the release of a unique online collection of meditations on religious belief.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13852.html

Britain among countries backing Budapest Pride
The Budapest embassies of the UK, US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, France and Germany have expressed their support for Pride events in the city.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13855.html

Gay bishop Gene Robinson to appear at Christian festival
A controversial gay cleric will be one of the attractions a Christian music and arts festival being held in Cheltenham this Bank Holiday weekend.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13853.html

Live Nation cancels concerts by homophobic Jamaican singer
A series of US concerts by reggae star Buju Banton have been cancelled after protests from LGBT groups. Banton was due to perform in Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13850.html


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

Linda Ronstadt’s Gay Mission
Jenny Stewart, PlanetOut | Planet Out.com
You’ve had the fantasy as a teen: You’re in a room with your favorite rock star — someone whose every hit you know by heart, whose voice made you close your bedroom door and turn the music up as you hold a hairbrush up to your mouth as a microphone and sing along with them. In the dream they’ll share their most intimate thoughts with you. For me, that singer was Linda Ronstadt, who cut me to the quick with her heartbreaking “Different Drum,” roused me with her sexy, soulful “You’re No Good,” and, at 14, made me dread the heartbreak I would eventually experience with “Blue Bayou.”
This isn’t a dream, though it’s utterly surreal – 25 years later, Ronstadt and I are actually sitting in beach chairs in the otherwise empty master bedroom of her newly-purchased, still-unfurnished San Francisco home. We’re surrounded only by her freshly painted swatch samples on the walls, as the rest of the house is being renovated. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9443/

Church Festival Draws Criticism
John McManus | BBC News
Traditional Anglicans have criticised the UK’s major Christian arts festival for inviting a gay American Bishop to speak. Among those addressing the Greenbelt festival this year is the Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson, a gay man whose ordination by the Episcopalian Church was greeted with both outrage and celebration in various parts of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Many people did not welcome his elevation, and the issue of gay clergy has become so contentious that it threatens to divide global Anglicans - some say it has already begun. Last month, the Episcopal Church voted to end a three-year moratorium on electing gay Bishops, a move which may ultimately push the US Church out of the Communion. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9440/

Bridging the Gay-Evangelical Divide
DAVID G. MYERS | Wall Street Journal ‘Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm.” So says a new American Psychological Association report affirmed by its governing body in a 125-to-4 vote. No surprise there, given the past advice of the APA—and of other mental-health associations—against sexual-reorientation therapies.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9439/

Christian Organizations Shame and Coerce Women Into Giving Up Their Children
Kathryn Joyce, The Nation | AlterNet
Carol Jordan, a 32-year-old pharmacy technician, was living in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1999 when she became pregnant. She’d already decided against abortion, but she was struggling financially and her boyfriend was unsupportive. Looking through the Yellow Pages for help, she spotted an ad under “crisis pregnancies” for Bethany Christian Services. Within hours of calling, Jordan (who asked to be identified with a pseudonym) was invited to Bethany’s local office to discuss free housing and medical care. Bethany, it turned out, did not simply specialize in counseling pregnant women. It is the nation’s largest adoption agency, with more than eighty-five offices in fifteen countries. When Jordan arrived, a counselor began asking whether she’d considered adoption and talking about the poverty rates of single mothers. Over five counseling sessions, she convinced Jordan that adoption was a win-win situation: Jordan wouldn’t “have death on her hands,” her bills would be paid and the baby would go to a family of her choosing in an open adoption. She suggested Jordan move into one of Bethany’s “shepherding family” homes, away from the influence of family and friends. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9435/


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Friday, August 28, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 28, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Kennedy's Catholicism Source of Comfort, Conflict
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Edward Kennedy was raised from birth to cherish his Catholicism, and it became both a source of comfort and conflict throughout his life. The son of the country's most famous Catholic family defied church teachings when he divorced his first wife, then was granted an annulment only after he admitted he wasn't being honest when he promised her he'd be faithful. His most significant and public break with the church came with his support for abortion rights.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/28/us/AP-US-Kennedy-the-Catholic.html?scp=8&sq=gay&st=cse


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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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Opposing Gay Unions With Sanity & a Smile
NOM Head Moves His Cause to D.C.
By Monica Hesse
The nightmares of gay marriage supporters are the Pat Robertsons of the world. The James Dobsons, the John Hagees -- the people who specialize in whipping crowds into frothy frenzies, who say things like Katrina was caused by the gays.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082704139.html


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

Bridging the Gay-Evangelical Divide
Extreme opinions move toward the middle.
By DAVID G. MYERS
'Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm." So says a new American Psychological Association report affirmed by its governing body in a 125-to-4 vote. No surprise there, given the past advice of the APA—and of other mental-health associations—against sexual-reorientation therapies.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574372772855461440.html


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

Aqua Foundation for Women honor outgoing chair Alison Burgos with party at Halo
Aqua Foundation for Women honored chair Alison Burgos with a party and a glass plaque Thursday night at Halo Lounge in Miami Beach. Burgos, whose company Pandora Events produces major parties and events for women, retired as chairwoman and has been succeeded by Miami financial advisor Laura Steckler.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/gallery-aqua-foundation-for-women-honor-outgoing-chair-alison-burgos-with-party-at-halo.html

Transgender Vermont teen wants genderless bathrooms
By WILSON RING, Associated Press
A transgender teenager is lending his voice to a movement in Vermont to require the state's middle and high schools to offer genderless bathrooms.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/transgender-vermont-teen-wants-genderless-bathrooms.html


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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
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Gay man wins $45,000 after false arrest
Plaintiff claimed police targeted him for being gay
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Claude Lessard, the plaintiff in a 2003 case of false arrest at John U. Lloyd State Park in Dania Beach, is taking home $45,000 from the state of Florida.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-27/news/localnews/6206.cfm

Vigil for Israeli gay youth attracts supporters to GLCC
Supporters mourn attack on Tel Aviv gay center
By BOB KECSEMETY
Wilton Manors, FL: About 125 people attended a special vigil last Tuesday night honoring those killed in an attack at a GLBT center in Tel Aviv, Israel. On August 1, 2009, an unidentified masked man entered the center shooting at a mostly teen gathering at the Agudah Gay Community Center. Police have not made any arrests yet but believe the shooter to be an Israeli. The vigil was sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida, Congregation Etz Chaim and the Gay American Heroes Foundation.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-27/news/localnews/6210.cfm

Manor Inn of Wilton Manors
Great things come in small packages
By BOB KECSEMETY
In October 1999, Kip Wargo made local history when the Wilton Manors City Commission granted him a zoning variance to have the first “bed and breakfast” in a residential area—the first in the city’s history. The Manor Inn was born.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-27/news/localnews/6223.cfm


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

Uruguay lawmakers OK gay adoption
By The Associated Press
(Montevido, Uruguay) Lawmakers in Uruguay have approved a bill allowing gay and lesbian couples to adopt. Despite opposition from Uruguay’s Roman Catholic Church and some of the political opposition, the 99-seat Chamber or Representatives on Thursday passed the bill 40-13, with the remaining members absent.
http://www.365gay.com/news/uruguay-lawmakers-ok-gay-adoption/

Utah governor: No special rights for gay people
By The Associated Press
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that discriminating against gay people shouldn’t be illegal, although he would prefer it if everyone were treated with respect.
http://www.365gay.com/news/utah-governor-no-special-rights-for-gay-people/

Gay luxury hotel for Wilton Manors?
Developers seek approval for 172-room complex
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Although South Florida’s gay guesthouses are currently the only place to stay with an all-male crowd, that may change if plans for G Resorts, a 172-unit hotel and timeshare complex, is approved by the Wilton Manors Planning and Zoning board and City Commission. The proposed development would be located at a 6.04 acre property at the corner of NE 24th St. and NE 13th Ave. between Dixie Highway and NE 15th St.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-27/news/localnews/6205.cfm

Lawsuit challenging gay adoptions moves forward
Court hears oral arguments
By BOB KECSEMETY
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Wednesday on behalf of a gay man who is looking to fully adopt two children he has fostered for five years.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/8-27/news/localnews/6214.cfm


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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
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Live Nation Cancels Antigay Artist
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Julie Bolcer
Concert promoter Live Nation cancelled a series of upcoming shows by Jamaican dancehall star Buju Banton (pictured) on Thursday after gay rights activists pressured the company to drop the antigay performer through an e-mail campaign, reports Change.org.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid107880.asp

School Protects Gay Student After Suit
Click the byline to view more stories by this author.By Michelle Garcia
A school district in Herkimer County, N.Y. has agreed to take immediate action to protect a gay student before the academic year begins in September.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid107766.asp


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

VIDEO: Bucharest crowd boo Madonna's defence of gays and Roma
Romanian fans of singer Madonna showed their displeasure during a concert yesterday when she condemned discrimination against Roma people and gays.
Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13846.html

CPS brings domestic violence message to Soho
A Crown Prosecution Service Community Prosecutor spent last Friday night in London’s West End. The visit aimed to raise awareness of domestic violence and homophobic crime. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13844.html

Whoopi Goldberg records message of support for Budapest Pride
Hollywood star Whoopi Goldberg has recorded a special message of support for a Pride event marred by violent attacks in recent years. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13849.html

Docs on Queer as Folk and Harvey Milk for launch of Fruit TV
An online channel for the LGBT community due to launch next year has revealed some of its schedule highlights. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13845.html

Germany's highest court confirms adoption by mother's lesbian partner
The Federal Constitutional Court in Germany has confirmed that gay and lesbian people can adopt their partner's children, overturning a previous court ruling. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13841.html

22 police forces to march at Manchester Pride
Police officers and staff from all over the UK will be in Manchester this weekend for Pride. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13840.html

Lesbian ex-soldier "disgusted at MoD" over payouts to injured
A lesbian former soldier who was awarded £187,000 in compensation for sex discrimination, victimisation and sexual harassment has said she is disgusted at the low sums paid to servicemen and women injured in action. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13839.html


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

GA: Mayoral Race Heats Up as Official Qualifying Nears
MATT SCHAFER | Southern Voice
City Council President Lisa Borders gave a colorful campaign speech to the gay Atlanta Executive Network on Aug. 20, where she promised never to wear anything similar to Mayor Shirley Franklin’s trademark flower, told how late gay activist Allen Thornell had once assumed she was a lesbian, and laid out her plans to fix the city in a tightening race for mayor. “Atlanta can no longer stand as an island, whether she’s trying to talk with the state leaders or with our sister jurisdictions,” she said. “We are at a very interesting place in our development — we are at a crossroads, where we have to decide and understand at points there is infinite need but finite resources.”
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9421/

CONGRESSMAN LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART IS FIRST FLORIDA MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO SIGN ON TO LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS ACT EXTENSION
Miami, Florida - On Monday, August 24, 2009, three members of Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart’s staff met for an hour with C.J. Ortuno, Executive Director for SAVE Dade, Georg Ketelhohn, Vice-Chair for SAVE Dade and chair of Organizations United Together (OUT) Advocacy Network, and Michael Rajner, South Florida OUT member living with AIDS. The meeting was a dialogue on various issues of importance to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Miami-Dade.Michael Rajner provided the Congressman’s staff with a proposed letter in support of the Ryan White program and requested the Congressman’s support. The day after the meeting, Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart’s office made known the Congressman’s decision to sign on to the letter. The letter callson Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Member Barton of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to swiftly pass athree-year extension of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment ModernizationAct. The current law expires on September 30th, 2009, and, without anextension, countless low-income Americans living with HIV/AIDS would losecritical benefits.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9420/

The Kids Are All Right
Will O’Bryan | Metro Weekly
It’s been about six months since Andrew Barnett was appointed executive director of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League — though he’s been filling the spot as acting director since May 2008. Even with his months of experience helming the area’s primary nonprofit organization supporting GLBT youth, the 26-year-old Barnett doesn’t look that much different than the kids he’s supporting.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9419/

Just Say NO to NARTH
A Former Patient of NARTH’s Founder Speaks Out
Over the weekend of November 20-22, 2009, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) will converge on West Palm Beach, Florida for their annual antigay conference. This year, their theme is “Preventing & Treating Sexual Identity Confusion in the Lives of Children, Teenagers, and Adults.” NARTH frequently distorts and misrepresents the social science research and rejects the findings of the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, to name just a few. While NARTH’s membership represents a minuscule percentage of the millions of health care professionals in this country, their false antigay rhetoric is promoted widely by Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and many religious groups and websites that oppose equality for LGBTQ people.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9418/

Health Care Bill Has Curious Coverage for Illegal Immigrants
Mariano Castillo
Immigrants living illegally in the United States could be mandated to have health insurance under the proposed health care reform bill but would be ineligible to receive subsidies to afford such coverage, a report from the Congressional Research Service says.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9417/

Gay Group Widens Probe of Illegal Fundraising Reporting
By Carlos Santoscoy
A California-based gay rights group has asked Maine officials to investigate the financial background of the coalition of groups behind an effort to repeal gay marriage in the state. Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger has contacted campaign ethics officials in Maine and asked for an investigation. Karger alleges the group Stand for Marriage Maine of illegally shielding the names of individual donors.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9416/


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Thursday, August 27, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 26, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Fla. Gay Adoption Ban Goes to State Appeals Court
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida's strict ban on adoptions by gay people is going before a state appeals court. The state is appealing a Miami-Dade County judge's November 2008 ruling that the law is unconstitutional. The ruling came in the case of Martin Gill, who along with his partner has adopted two young boys. The appeals court is hearing arguments Wednesday in Miami.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/26/us/AP-US-Gay-Adoptions.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=gay&st=cse

Drama in Moscow Court Over Lesbian Marriage
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW (AP) -- The debate over whether to allow a lesbian couple to marry in Russia sparked an angry exchange inside a Moscow courtroom Wednesday, while outside the women locked lips to protest a holdup in proceedings. Homosexuality has been decriminalized in Russia but there is little support for gay rights.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/26/world/AP-EU-Russia-Gay-Rights.html?scp=4&sq=gay&st=cse


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
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Anchorage Assembly not moving to overturn gay rights veto
By Don HunterThe first opportunity for the Anchorage Assembly to override Mayor Dan Sullivan's veto of an ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation went by Tuesday night without action.
Sullivan vetoed the anti-discrimination ordinance a week ago. Under city law, the Assembly has 21 days from that time to consider an override.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1202820.html


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

Deputy accused of sexual assault collected photos, data of more than two dozen men
A Broward sheriff's deputy -- jailed on charges that he stalked and sexually assaulted men -- searched police records to obtain photos and personal data on more than two dozen men and five prisoners whom he met while on duty, court documents show.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/deputy-accused-of-sexual-assault-collected-photos-data-of-more-than-two-dozen-men.html

Task Force: Sen. Edward Kennedy ‘spent life fighting for justice’
From the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force mourns the loss of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who died after battling a brain tumor. Kennedy was a champion of many progressive causes. He was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He played a central role in enactment of legislation outlawing discrimination in housing, prohibiting gender discrimination, the Age Discrimination Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He also authored amendments strengthening enforcement of key provisions of the Civil Rights Act. Kennedy was the original sponsor of hate crimes legislation in 1997. Since then, he fought tirelessly to secure repeated successful votes on the legislation, ultimately wholeheartedly supporting and securing several successful Senate votes for the version of the legislation that included both sexual orientation and gender identity. In 1994, Kennedy was the original Senate lead on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and, in his later years, championed the expanded version that would protect all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/task-force-sen-edward-kennedy-spent-life-fighting-for-justice.html


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

Gay orgs, bloggers react to death of Sen. Kennedy
By 365gay Newswire
Sen. Edward Kennedy died last night at 77, after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. This morning, several gay organizations released statements and a few bloggers commented. We’ll add more as they come in. From HRC: Human Rights Campaign Statement on the Passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, issued the following statement today on the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).
http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-orgs-bloggers-react-to-death-of-sen-kennedy/

Gay leaders recall Kennedy’s impact
By Lisa Keen
The man whom many in the LGBT community consider their greatest friend in the U.S. Senate has died. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who fought for equal rights for gays on many fronts and was an early defender of people with HIV, died in the early hours of Wednesday, August 26. He had been suffering from brain cancer.
http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-leaders-recall-kennedys-impact/


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

Christians begin drive to "reclaim" Iowa from gay marriage
A group that opposes marriage rights for gay people has said its intervention in a state election in Iowa is just the start of their campaign. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13814.html

VIDEO: Athlete at centre of gender row given hero's welcome in South Africa
More than 3,000 people were at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg yesterday to welcome home athlete Caster Semenya. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13812.html

Lutheran decision on gay clergy welcomed by LGBT group
America's largest LGBT rights organisation has welcomed the decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) to lift its ban on noncelibate lesbian and gay pastors. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13808.html

Gay legal group calls for an end to America's HIV travel ban
Lambda Legal, a group that pursues litigation in support of LGBT rights, has called on the US government to end a ban on living with HIV from travelling to or taking residence in the country. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13805.html

US court rules "ex-gays" are protected by discrimination laws
A group that supports "ex-gays" and their families has welcomed a "precedent setting" decision by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on sexual orientation laws. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13803.html


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

New Chief for Obama HIV/AIDS Council
Kerry Eleveld
Dr. Helene Gayle, the president and CEO of CARE USA, a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty, is likely to get the nod to lead the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, which is tasked with studying and making recommendations on HIV/AIDS prevention and research, and distribution of services for people living with AIDS. Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference that she intended to appoint Gayle to chair President Obama’s council. Once the nomination is made, no confirmation hearing will be required. “Dr. Gayle is an internationally acclaimed leader with a long history of working to end the epidemic both around the world and here at home in the United States,” said Secretary Sebelius. “We are hopeful that the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, under her leadership, will serve a platform to share our plans and insights with the public health community and the public and serve as a vehicle to carry their ideas and input back to the Administration.” Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9326/

Local Librarians Watching West Bend Book Controversy
SHARON ROZNIK | The Reporter
Librarians are watching a battle over books in West Bend that cost library board members their positions and prompted a call for public burning of a so-called offensive book. The targeted subject matter, found in the library’s young adult section, includes sex scenes thought by some to be too graphic, and gay story lines.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9325/

The Pathology of Purity
Wayne Besen | Truth Wins Out
In observing American fundamentalism for more than a decade there is one common thread that runs through the movement. It is the romanticized idea of purity, particularly sexual and doctrinal. While the idea is ostensibly innocuous, in practice it can be insidious and always threatens to politically spin out of control. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9322/

More Evidence That Marijuana Prevents Cancer
Bruce Mirken
Among the more interesting pieces of news that came out while I was on vacation the first half of August was a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, which found that marijuana smokers have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than people who don’t smoke marijuana. Alas, this important research has been largely ignored by the news media. While this type of study cannot conclusively prove cause and effect, the combination of this new study and existing research — which for decades has shown that cannabinoids are fairly potent anticancer drugs — raises a significant possibility that marijuana use is in fact protective against certain types of cancer. More . . .
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9321/

PFOX Victorious in Gaining Protections for Ex-Gays?
Austen Crowder | Bilerico Project
Well, isn’t this just special? In a precedent setting case, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia has ruled that former homosexuals are a protected class that must be recognized under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws. The Court held that, under the D.C. Human Rights Act, sexual orientation does not require immutable characteristics. More . . .
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9319/

How Much of Obama’s Approval Rating Dip is Because of the Gays?
Alex Blaze | Bilerico Project
While I was gone for the latter part of last week (thanks for filling in on QMF, John!), two interesting polls came out and I couldn’t let them go without mention on this site. Both a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll and a Washington Post/ABC poll found that Obama is starting to have trouble among Democrats. While the Research 2000 poll compares with the past week, the WaPo/ABC poll compares with his approval ratings back in April. More details on the numbers after the jump. More . . .
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9317/

CIA Documents Provide Little Cover for Cheney Claims
Spencer Ackerman | Visit article original @ The Washington Independent
Documents fail to exonerate “enhanced interrogation” techniques. For months, former Vice President Dick Cheney has said that two documents prepared by the CIA, one from 2004 and the other from 2005, would refute critics of the Bush administration’s torture program. He told Fox’s Sean Hannity in April: “I haven’t talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw, that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country,” Cheney said. “I’ve now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so we can lay them out there and the American people have a chance to see what we obtained and what we learned and how good the intelligence was.” Those documents were obtained today by The Washington Independent and are available here. Strikingly, they provide little evidence for Cheney’s claims that the “enhanced interrogation” program run by the CIA provided valuable information. In fact, throughout both documents, many passages - though several are incomplete and circumstantial, actually suggest the opposite of Cheney’s contention: that non-abusive techniques actually helped elicit some of the most important information the documents cite in defending the value of the CIA’s interrogations. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9315/


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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 25, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Large US study finds circumcision doesn't protect gay men from AIDS virus
By Mike Stobbe
Circumcision, which has helped prevent AIDS among heterosexual men in Africa, doesn't help protect gay men from the virus, according to the largest U.S. study to look at the question. The research, presented at a conference Tuesday, is expected to influence the government's first guidance on circumcision.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sns-ap-us-med-aids-circumcision,0,7310651.story

Jailed Broward deputy faces additional sexual assault charges
Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss, accused of preying on homeless men and illegal immigrants, remains jailed without bail.
By Sofia Santana
A Broward sheriff's deputy currently jailed on charges he sexually assaulted and stalked a man while on the job today faces new criminal charges relating to a second alleged victim.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/sfl-broward-bleiweiss-charges-bn082509,0,1176461.story


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

US judge nixes marriage suit that split Obama, gays
By LISA LEFF, Associated Press
A same-sex marriage lawsuit that created a public rift between President Barack Obama and his gay supporters was dismissed Monday on a technicality. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled the case - the first of several pending challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act - must be refiled in federal court.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/us-judge-nixes-suit-that-split-obama-gays.html

View the program book: Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit Aug. 28-30 in Fort Lauderdale
From Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit:
The Southeast Regional Gay Men’s Health Summit will host its eighth annual conference Aug. 28-30 at Embassy Suites Hotel, 1100 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale. Workshops include Community Building, Health/Prevention, Personal Development, and Relationships. Here’s the complete program book:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/view-the-program-book-southeast-regional-gay-mens-health-summit-aug-28-30-in-fort-lauderdale.html

Miami gallery exhibit: ‘Achilles at Troy’ by artist Andy Armano, featuring model Matt Stone
Artist Andy Armano will present his new exhibit, Achilles at Troy, 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at A. Dale Nally Gallery in Wynwood.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/miami-gallery-exhibit-achilles-at-troy-by-artist-andy-armano-featuring-model-matt-stone.html

Harvey Milk, Carol Burnett, bodybuilder Joe Weider, others named to California Hall of Fame
News release from the state of California:
GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND FIRST LADY MARIA SHRIVER SELECT THE CALIFORNIA MUSEUM’S CALIFORNIA HALL OF FAME 2009 INDUCTEES
The California Hall of Fame Committee Chair Pat Splinter Announces Names of Inductees on The California Museum’s Web Site at CaliforniaMuseum.org
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/harvey-milk-carol-burnett-bodybuilder-joe-weider-others-named-to-california-hall-of-fame.html

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

New Chief for Obama HIV/AIDS Council
By Kerry Eleveld
Dr. Helene Gayle, the president and CEO of CARE USA, a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty, is likely to get the nod to lead the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, which is tasked with studying and making recommendations on HIV/AIDS prevention and research, and distribution of services for people living with AIDS.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid107244.asp


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

California Senate calls for end to military ban
By 365gay Newswire
From Equality California:
(Sacramento) The California Senate officially endorsed a resolution calling for the repeal of the discriminatory federal policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
http://www.365gay.com/news/california-senate-calls-for-end-to-military-ban/

Lesbians claim assault at Memphis church
By The Associated Press
Monique Stephens and her partner were called “devil worshippers” and “gay” after not bowing down to the ground to blow kisses to God at Memphis’ New Olivet Baptist Church, reports the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
http://www.365gay.com/news/lesbians-claim-assault-at-memphis-church/


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

Gay legal group calls for an end to America's HIV travel ban
Lambda Legal, a group that pursues litigation in support of LGBT rights, has called on the US government to end a ban on living with HIV from travelling to or taking residence in the country.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13805.html

US court rules "ex-gays" are protected by discrimination laws
A group that supports "ex-gays" and their families has welcomed a "precedent setting" decision by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on sexual orientation laws.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13803.html

Government to make "party drug" GBL a controlled substance
The Home Office has announced that it will ban a drug which has become popular on the gay club curcuit.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13795.html


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

Separate Sleeping Quarters for ‘Gay’ GIs?
Les Kinsolving | World News Daily
In its Page One story in the Sunday New York Times on Aug. 16, headlined: “G.I. Jane quietly breaks the combat barrier,” reporter Lizette Alvarez notes in her ninth paragraph: “Women need separate bunks and bathrooms.” Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9290/

His Truth Will Prevail
David Welch | World News Daily
It is easy for non-mainline evangelical Christians to view the struggles within the traditional mainline denominations with a condescending eye. Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and now Lutherans have wrestled and split over various issues of biblical orthodoxy – particularly in recent years regarding the ordination of homosexuals. However, the root of the issue is not uniquely contained in those circles. The battle now raging above the surface of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, or ELCA, over ordination of “sexually active, monogamous gays and lesbians” is just the latest chapter in the decline of biblical orthodoxy in mainline Christian denominations and the evangelical church in America at large. The ELCA’s vote (559-451) at its national assembly displayed a deep division that has already provided fuel to the fire for many pastors and churches considering leaving the denomination. The more conservative Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod have both held the line on ordination of women as well as gays and lesbians and the WELS has issued a statement opposing the ELCA’s decision. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9289/

The National Organization for Marriage Cooks Up an Iowa Strategy to Defeat Gay Marriage
Michael A. Jones | Change.org
Iowa’s Supreme Court may have ruled earlier this year that the state’s constitution requires the recognition of same-sex marriage, based on an equal rights clause that provides for basic fairness and equality for all of Iowa’s citizens. But that’s not stopping the National Organization for Marriage, the radical anti-LGBT group hell-bent on repealing the rights of gays and lesbians, from pouring loads of money into the state and working behind the scenes to ignite a political movement that will strip marriage rights from same-sex couples. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9288/

NC: Wilmington Rallies for Hate Crime Law
Matt Comer | Q-Notes
Aiming to spark community discussion on hate crimes after an anti-gay attack last month, a dozen people gathered today outside the New Hanover County Courthouse for a morning rush hour rally.The group organizing the event, Safer Communities Action Now! (SCAN), said the demonstration’s intent was to raise awareness of hate crimes legislation that would protect victims on the basis of sexual orientation and gender-identity. Such legislation has stalled in the North Carolina legislature for years, but the July 17 attack on two gay men on a riverfront street in downtown Wilmington has brought a renewed focus on the issue of hate crimes and community safety.The two men, recent University of North Carolina-Wilmington graduates, were punched and kicked repeatedly. Both will need several surgeries and one is suffering from brain injuries causing impaired motor functions. The four accused of the crime face felony assault charges. Link
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9287/

Lutheran Gay Rights!
BeliefNet.com
Timothy Palmer is the Director of Policy and Communication at the Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion
Those of us who are both openly gay and openly Christian (and happily reconciled in the two) are used to the deliberate pace that many Christian denominations have taken toward fully embracing their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) congregants. Having consecrated one openly gay bishop in 2003, it took the Episcopal Church another six years to give itself permission to (maybe) doing it again. The Lutherans approved a progressive statement on human sexuality by the slimmest of margins last week, while the Presbyterians narrowly defeated a measure in the spring that would have permitted the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9286/

LGBT Community & Trans Politics
Leslie Davis | Examiner
Wikipedia defines human communities as being based on common intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness. Based on that definition:
1) Are gay men and lesbians really a naturally cohesive and cooperative group? Whereas there are common concerns that blanket the community, there are many variations on how the list of issues should be prioritized and issues unique to various groups within the community.
2) Each individual brings a unique perspective to the equation. We are not all inherently open-minded. Some people are not prepared to embrace the full spectrum of human sexual and gender diversity as part of coming to terms with their own identity as a homosexual (bisexual, transgendered). Individuals seeking legitimacy are not inherently inclined to grant legitimacy to others. There is a tendency to initially focus on one’s personal identity and issues. Awareness of the variations within the ‘community’ only occurs once you are involved in the community.
Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9284/

WA: Anti-Gay Ref. Signature Check Tops 100k
Seattle Post Intellegencer
Elections officials say they’ve now checked more than 100,000 signatures for Referendum 71, an attempt to overturn Washington’s new “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law. The totals as of Monday evening are: 103,898 checked, 91,716 accepted and 12,182 rejected. R-71 sponsors need 120,577 valid Washington voter signatures for the measure to be placed on the November ballot. “The overall error rate is 11.72 percent, barely up from 11.68 percent, which we reported Friday,” Brian Zylstra of the secretary of state’s office said in a blog post. “In order to make the November statewide ballot, the referendum’s overall rejection rate must not go over 12.4 percent.” The secretary of state’s office hopes to finish the count by the end of this month. Link
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9280/

Harassment Case
TIM KLASS | Associated Press Writer | Seattle Times
SEATTLE — Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse Inc. has agreed to pay $1.7 million to settle in a sexual harassment case brought by three employees in Longview, including one who said she was sexually assaulted in 2006.Under the three-year consent decree signed Thursday by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, Lowe’s also must revise policies on discrimination, harassment and retaliation; provide training on those concerns to all employees at the company’s 37 stores in Washington state and 13 stores in Oregon; and report regularly to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which filed the lawsuit. “Severe sex-based harassment of young workers was permitted to run rampant at one of the nation’s largest retailers,” Acting EEOC Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said in a prepared statement. “It is shocking that Lowe’s store managers actively engaged in and even encouraged such blatant unlawful conduct and then retaliated against the victims for objecting to it.” Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9279/

TN: 2 Women Claim Assault at New Olivet Baptist
Juanita Cousins (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Police responded Sunday to a 911 hang-up call at the church of a mayoral candidate where two women said they were assaulted because of their sexual orientation. Monique Stephens, who is a lesbian, said she and her partner were attending the 11 a.m. service at New Olivet Baptist Church because they wanted to meet the Rev. Kenneth Whalum Jr., who they intended to support in the Oct. 15 mayoral election. An hour into service, Whalum told the congregation to bow to the ground and blow kisses to God, Stephens said, but she and her partner, who are agnostic, did not move. She said Whalum and church members began calling them “devil worshippers” and “gay,” among other derogatory names. Security guards surrounded and pushed them out of the sanctuary. Stephens said her glasses were broken and both she and her partner of three years have bruises and scratches from the altercation. No arrests were made, police said. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9278/


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Monday, August 24, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 24, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Death Panels Smite Journalism
By Howard Kurtz
For once, mainstream journalists did not retreat to the studied neutrality of quoting dueling antagonists. They tried to perform last rites on the ludicrous claim about President Obama's death panels, telling Sarah Palin, in effect, you've got to quit making things up. But it didn't matter. The story refused to die.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082400996_pf.html


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

Photo gallery | Harvey Milk’s Presidential Medal of Freedom displayed at Gay American Heroes event in Wilton Manors
Stuart Milk, nephew of slain pioneering gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, shows off his uncle’s posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom at a Wilton Manors fundraiser Sunday night for the South Florida-based Gay American Heroes Foundation. Former Miami-Dade Judge David Young and Broward Judge Judge Robert Lee also attended the party at Naked Grape Wine Bar. President and Mrs. Obama honored Harvey Milk, Billie Jean King and 14 other heroes at a White House ceremony on Aug. 12.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/photo-gallery-harvey-milks-presidential-medal-of-freedom-displayed-at-gay-american-heroes-event-in-wilton-manors.html

Lesbian Cambridge, Mass., mayor to marry in African-American church
From OnTopMag.com:
By On Top Magazine Staff
Openly lesbian Cambridge, Massachusetts Mayor E. Denise Simmons will marry her longtime partner Mattie B. Hayes Sunday, August 30. The couple will exchange vows in a predominantly African-American church, a possible historic first.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/lesbian-cambridge-mass-mayor-to-marry-in-african-american-church.html

Miami’s Keith Meinhold on gays in the military: ‘We serve this country honorably, too’
Here’s an op-ed piece today by retired Naval Petty Officer Keith Meinhold:
BY KEITH MEINHOLD, keithmeinhold@gmail.com
Don't you think it's time for those who defend our freedoms to finally be able to exercise them? I do. And after 16 years during which thousands of careers and families have been destroyed, and the strength and readiness of our military compromised, there is a burgeoning consensus that the time has come to end the discriminatory ``don't ask, don't tell'' law, which prohibits gays, lesbians and bisexuals from openly serving in our armed forces.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/gays-in-the-military-we-serve-this-country-honorably-too.html

Reader hopes Tim Hardaway ‘doesn't pass along his same hatred of homosexuals’ to son Tim Jr.
Letter to the Editor in Monday’s Miami Herald:
I learned from the Aug. 16 story Tim Hardaway bonds with son on, off the court, that, among other things, the relationship between former Miami Heat great Tim Hardaway and his son ``has never been better.'' I truly hope that Hardaway doesn't pass along his same hatred of homosexuals or any other group for which he has no tolerance.
MARK EIGLARSH, Miami
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/reader-hopes-tim-hardaway-doesnt-pass-along-his-same-hatred-of-homosexuals-to-son-tim-jr.html


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

Porn makers challenged for not mandating condoms
By The Associated Press
An AIDS advocacy group filed complaints with state officials against 16 production companies that show unprotected sex in porn movies.
http://www.365gay.com/news/porn-makers-challenged-for-not-mandating-condoms/

Gay clergy: Where large Protestant churches stand
By The Associated Press
A look at where the largest Protestant churches stand on the issue of gay clergy:
- UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: 7.9 million U.S. members. The most conservative of the largest mainline denominations on gay clergy. An effort to repeal a ban on non-celibate gay clergy failed at the church’s last General Conference, in 2008.
http://www.365gay.com/news/gay-clergy-where-large-protestant-churches-stand/


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

MEPs complain to Lithuania about proposed criminalisation of gay "propaganda"
The European Parliament Intergroup on Lesbian and Gay Rights has written to MPs in Lithuania about new legislation that aims to criminalise 'propagation of homosexual relations'. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13774.html

New research finds 33% of Brighton's LGBT population have used cannabis
New research has revealed that gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people in Brighton are much more likely to use illegal drugs than the general population. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13784.html

Serbia's Interior Minister promises police protection for Pride parade
Police in Belgrade will ensure public safety during next month's Pride events, a senior politician has said. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13783.html

Gay news anchorman wins restraining order against former partner
An American TV news presenter at the centre of allegations of workplace discrimination has been granted a two year restraining order against his former boyfriend. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13781.html

Activists push for top level domain dedicated to the gay community
Gay groups in the US and South Africa are backing a campaign to establish a new top level domain for the LGBT community. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13780.html

Gay Congressman praises "positive" appointment of LGBT activist to Justice role
The appointment of a prominent gay rights advocate as an adviser to the US Justice Department has been welcomed. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13778.html

Irish cardinal renews attack on civil partnerships
The spiritual leader of Ireland's Roman Catholics has said that civil partnerships undermine marriage. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13776.html

X Factor favourite tells tabloid he is bisexual
A contestant on ITV1 show X Factor has told a Sunday tabloid that he is bisexual. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13775.html

Men charged after eggs thrown in Manchester's gay village
Two men have been charged for throwing eggs and shouting homophobic abuse at members of the public in Manchester's gay village. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13773.html

Scottish police force holds gay and trans recruitment day
Strathclyde Police, Scotland's largest police force, is holding a special recruitment day in an effort to attract new lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans officers. Click here for full article
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13772.html


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

NJ Activists Ready for Battle Over Gay Marriage
Geoff Mulvihill | Associated Press | EDGE Chicago
In a pew of the Chestnut Assembly of God on a Tuesday night, Pat Mannion decided that for the first time in her 58 years, she would get involved in politics. She would call lawmakers and tell neighbors about her cause: Keeping New Jersey from becoming the next state to recognize the marriages of gay couples. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9199/

Request an Early Ballot to Vote No on 1 in Maine!
Queers United
Mainers don’t have to wait for the November 3rd referendum election to cast their vote for marriage equality. People can vote as soon as September against referendum 1 which if passed will eliminate same-sex marriage. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot via mail and cast their vote early. Please fill out the form via Equality Maine for their tracking purposes, and to be re-directed to the Secretary of State’s form for ballot requests.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9197/

Ted Haggard’s Wife to Release ‘Tell-All’ Book
KRDO
The wife of former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard wants to tell-all. Gayle Haggard says she plans to write a memoir detailing her relationship with her husband, title “Why I Stayed.” Ted Haggard resigned as pastor of the church in 2006, amid allegations of drug use and a sexual relationship with a man. In a statement, Gayle Haggard says the book will tell of her decision to love her husband through-quote- “the most difficult challenges an marriage could face.” The book is scheduled for release in January.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9196/

Dying for Affordable Health Care–the Uninsured Speak
Ed Pilkington | Visit article original @ The Guardian UK
In a week of claim and counter-claim about the merits of healthcare provision in the US and UK, Ed Pilkington travelled to Quindaro, Kansas, to see how the poorest survive. In the furious debate gripping America over the future of its health system, one voice has been lost amid the shouting. It is that of a distinguished gynaecologist, aged 67, called Dr Joseph Manley.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9195/

Officials Weigh Circumcision to Fight HIV Risk
RONI CARYN RABIN | New York Times
Public health officials are considering promoting routine circumcision for all baby boys born in the United States to reduce the spread of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The topic is a delicate one that has already generated controversy, even though a formal draft of the proposed recommendations, due out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the end of the year, has yet to be released. Experts are also considering whether the surgery should be offered to adult heterosexual men whose sexual practices put them at high risk of infection. But they acknowledge that a circumcision drive in the United States would be unlikely to have a drastic impact: the procedure does not seem to protect those at greatest risk here, men who have sex with men. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9186/


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Sunday, August 23, 2009

GLBT DIGEST - August 23, 2009

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

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

Two years after ‘I hate gay people’ flap, former Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway continues to rehabilitate himself
Former Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway has worked hard to rehabilitate himself after telling a local radio host in 2007 that “I hate gay people'' and wouldn’t be happy having a gay teammate.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/two-years-after-i-hate-gay-people-flap-former-miami-heat-star-tim-hardaway-continues-to-rehabilitate-himself.html

Dethroned Miss California Carrie Prejean to Florida Young Republicans: I’m ‘sick and tired of being called a bigot’
Associated Press
Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean says losing the Miss USA pageant and later her state crown was part of God's plan.
Prejean also told a group of young voters at a Republican Party of Florida event Saturday that she was "sick and tired of being called a bigot." She believes she lost her title because of her opposition to gay marriage. California pageant executive director Keith Lewis has said that Prejean was skipping Miss California USA events while speaking out against gay marriage at unsanctioned appearances. Prejean says she knows God wanted something different for her than a materialistic crown. She says she is now able to travel the country and speak about issues that she is passionate about.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/08/dethroned-miss-california-carrie-prejean-to-florida-young-republicans-im-sick-and-tired-of-being-called-a-bigot.html


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

Mixed Orientation Marriages–Fraud, Failures and Family
Peterson Toscano
On this blog and my Spanish blog I have highlighted the stories of straight women married to gay men. In some cases the woman knew in advance that the man she was going to marry “struggled with homosexuality.” The marriage may have been a direct product of the Ex-Gay Movement, which offered all sorts of promises of change to men who exclusively fancied men. The union may have come about as an outgrowth of religious institutions that placed a high premium on marriage and family. Or both. Add to the mix the pressure from family and society to marry. Many gay men I have met have desired to be parents and 20 years ago and even less than that felt their only means was through heterosexual marriage. In many cases the woman has no clue that her husband likes men and may be exclusively orientated that way. (I recognize there are bisexual people out there who have been successful in marriage. I also do not write here about mixed orientation marriages between a lesbian woman and a straight man. I don’t have much firsthand knowledge of these, so I will stick with what I know and seen.)
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9170/

A Church Divided–God is With Us in the Mist of Our Struggle
Allisyn Thomas | Sign On San Diego
Several actions taken last month at the Episcopal Church’s 76th General Convention resulted in a profound change in the church’s official policies regarding full inclusion of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) members. A majority of deputies — four lay people and four clergy elected from each diocese — and bishops present voted both to affirm the church’s commitment to the broader Anglican Communion through the passage of a budget that funds mission work throughout the world and to affirm the principle that sexual orientation by itself should not be a bar to full access to the church’s sacraments.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9169/

Lutheran Apostate Church
Drew | Pursuing Holiness
Yesterday the Evangelical Lutheran Churches of America decided to okay the ordination of homosexual pastors. This toleration does not simply extend to celibate pastors who have an a inward “orientation” toward their own sex. On the contrary, it actually means that practicing homosexuals may now lead churches within this denomination. The vote ended with 68% in favor of the proposal.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9168/

Exodus “Troubled” by ELCA’s Acceptance of Gay Clergy
Ex-Gay Watch
Exodus expressed dismay at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s decision to allow partnered gay clergy to serve in the church.
Orlando, FL. Exodus International, the world’s largest interdenominational ministry helping those conflicted by same-sex attraction to live a life that reflects the Christian faith, is troubled by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s vote today to allow congregations to hire clergy involved in same-sex relationships. Exodus says this is a clear move away from biblical teaching on sexuality and a disconcerting approach to this issue. An Exodus ministry leader named Nate Oyloe presented “his personal testimony of leaving homosexuality” to the ELCA conference in Minnesota. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9167/

ID: Gay Boise Air Force Pilot ‘Outed’ by False Accusation
DAN POPKEY
On April 3, 2003, Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach flew his F-15E toward an Iraqi ambush site about a mile from U.S. Army troops advancing on Baghdad airport. Fehrenbach faced anti-aircraft fire, surface-to-air missiles and a mechanical problem on his wingman’s plane. Still, he destroyed the enemy position and helped clear the way for the Army to take the airport that night. For his heroism, the Notre Dame grad won an Air Medal with a valor device, one of his nine Air Medals.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9166/

David Letterman Supports Marriage Equality
Queers United
David Letterman in an interview with Donald Trump has come out in favor of marriage equality. This is a clear turn from his earlier transphobic commentary on the “pregnant man” and his mockery of the movie MILK. During the interview the subject of Carrie Prejean comes up and Trump says he doesn’t think that a “man marrying a woman is a controversial subject” in which Letterman replies saying “let’s just go right on the record and say that anybody who wants to get married ought to be able to get married.” Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9165/

Brinca Brings Out the Young LGBT Latino Community
Marques Daniels | Examiner
Club Papi Productions and Frisco Robbie hosted Brinca at Mist, Friday, August 21. Brinca is a latin party for the 18+ LGBT community of the Bay Area was attended by over 600 people. Mist is an amazing venue. The two story club hosts two bars, two separate dance rooms, lounging space and plenty of room for dancing. DJ’s Mike from Los Angeles and Carlitos from San Francisco mixed the best in Latin hip-hop, pop, and today’s R&B. The party is usually hosted by the scandalous Miss Lolo but sadly she was not in San Francisco. Instead, 18+ party specialists Frisco Robbie keep the party going along with the sexy Papi Dancers. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9164/

NC: Triangle Judges Aid Gay Adoption
MANDY LOCKE | Staff Writer | News Observer
Hundreds of gay couples in North Carolina have turned to judges in Orange and Durham counties to give them what most courts won’t: the legal right to be a parent to their partner’s child. The discreet and little-known practice came to light this week in a state Court of Appeals ruling on a custody battle between a biological mother and her estranged partner, a state senator. Now that the practice has been exposed, some lawmakers and legal experts say the adoptions should stop. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9161/

CA: Parent and Lawyer Say Lawsuit Against District is Question of Parental Rights
Keith Gleason | Correspondent | Mercury News
The attorney and one of the parents who filed a lawsuit last week against the Alameda Unified School District spoke out this week about why they took the action. Kevin Snider, chief counsel for the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit, conservative legal defense organization in Sacramento, said he filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 20 Alameda school parents to protect the parents’ rights to opt out their children from the new Alameda Unified School District-approved supplemental curriculum that will teach about gay alternative families to all elementary students. More . . .
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/9159/


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