**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.
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flphate1120pnnov20,0,2790895,print.story
Florida hate crimes fall to lowest level since '98; Palm Beach County instate's top five
Report: Palm Beach County in top five statewide
By Akilah Johnson
November 20, 2007
At a time when national civil rights leaders are calling for a renewedfederal focus on hate crimes, Florida reported the lowest level in nearly adecade, according to a report released Monday by the state AttorneyGeneral's Office.
Broward County had the most incidents statewide, however, with 50 crimesmotivated by hatred of the victims' race, religion, sexual orientation rethnicity/national origin. Palm Beach County, with 15, was in the top fivestatewide.
According to the report, the number of cases dropped by one last year to259, the lowest since 1998. The nation, however, saw an 8 percent increasein hate crimes. Florida usually averages about 277 hate crimes each year.
And so days after demonstrators descended on the Justice Department inWashington, demanding the federal government respond more vigorously tonoose hangings and other instances of racial antagonism, Florida AttorneyGeneral Bill McCollum said his office will do its part.
"Our Office of Civil Rights is committed to fighting any hate-motivatedinjustices as part of its mission," he said in a statement.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-flaboyscouts1120sbnov20,0,4128104,print.story
Philly gives Scouts ultimatum on gays
By Dafna Linzer
The Washington Post
November 20, 2007
PHILADELPHIA
This may be the last free Thanksgiving dinner for the Boy Scouts ofPhiladelphia.
Citing a local 1982 "fair practices" law, the city solicitor has given theScouts until Dec. 3 to renounce its policy of excluding homosexuals orforfeit the grand, Beaux-Arts building it has rented from the city for $1 ayear since 1928.
"While we respect the right of the Boy Scouts to prohibit participation inits activities by homosexuals, we will not subsidize that discrimination bypassing on the costs to the people of Philadelphia," the solicitor, RomuloDiaz, said last week.
The city has yet to complete an official assessment of the property. But ithas tentatively placed the market value at $200,000 a year and has invitedthe Boy Scouts to remain in the nearly 100-year-old building as payingtenants.
The confrontation between the city and the nation's third-largest Scoutschapter has been building for four years, with each side blaming the otherfor backing out of previous agreements and for escalating tensions.
more . . . . .
=
Sun-Sentinel.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-hate-crimes,0,3563595,print.story
Hate Crimes Rose 8 Percent in 2006
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press Writer
4:46 AM EST, November 20, 2007
WASHINGTON
Hate crime incidents rose nearly 8 percent last year, the FBI reportedMonday, as civil rights advocates increasingly take to the streets toprotest what they call official indifference to intimidation and attacksagainst blacks and other minorities.
Police across the nation reported 7,722 criminal incidents in 2006 targetingvictims or property as a result of bias against a race, religion, sexualorientation, ethnic or national origin or physical or mental disability.That was up 7.8 percent from 7,163 incidents reported in 2005.
More than half the incidents were motivated by racial prejudice, but thereport did not even pick up all the racially motivated incidents last year.
Although the noose incidents and beatings among students at Jena, La., highschool occurred in the last half of 2006, they were not included in thereport. Only 12,600 of the nation's more than 17,000 local, county, stateand federal police agencies participated in the hate crime reporting programin 2006 and neither Jena nor LaSalle Parish, in which the town is located,were among the agencies reporting.
Nevertheless, the Jena incidents, and a subsequent rash of noose and otherracial incidents around the country, have spawned civil rightsdemonstrations that culminated last week at Justice Department headquartershere. The department said it investigated the Jena incident but decided notto prosecute because the federal government does not typically bring hatecrime charges against juveniles.
more . . . . .
=
MiamiHerald.com
http://www.miamiherald.com/889/v-print/story/313881.html
Sex scandal hits Atlanta-area megachurch
By DORIE TURNER
Posted on Tue, Nov. 20, 2007
The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch is at the center ofa sex scandal of biblical dimensions: He slept with his brother's wife andfathered a child by her.
Members of Archbishop Earl Paulk's family stood at the pulpit of theCathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church a few Sundaysago and revealed the secret exposed by a recent court-ordered paternitytest.
In truth, this is not the first - or even the second - sex scandal to engulfPaulk and the independent, charismatic church. But this time, he could be introuble with the law for lying under oath about the affair.
The living proof of that lie is 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years wasknown publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew.
"I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and thefamilies hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and oursinfulness," said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a yearand a half ago.
more . . . . .
=
ExpressGayNews.com
http://business.mainetoday.com/newsdirect/release.html?id=5113
University of Southern Maine Sanctions Transgendered Public Bathrooms
Released 11/19/07
In honor of the 4th Annual Transgendered Day of Remembrance, the Universityof Southern Maine (USM) sanctioned "gender neutral" public bathrooms onFriday, November 16, 2007.
University announcements were taped over the traditional 'men' and 'women'bathroom designations announcing the change. According to the USMannouncement:
"To ensure that there are safe and accessible bathrooms available for allparticipants of the [University of Southern Maine's] 4th AnnualTransgendered Day of Remembrance event, these restrooms have been designatedas gender neutral.
"...transgender individuals and those whose gender may not conform withsocietal stereotypes associated with their birth sex may be subject toharassment or violence when using male- or female-specific restrooms.
"For these reasons, these bathrooms will temporarily be gender neutral. Allother bathrooms in the [University of Southern Maine's] Glickman FamilyLibrary will remain sex-segregated."
more . . . . .
=
ExpressGayNews.com
http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/2007/11/uk-govt-shares-efiles-on-executions-of.html
UK Govt Shares eFiles on Executions of IranianGays, Women, Others
Monday, November 19, 2007
Less than a week ago I filed a request with the UK government for copies oftheir papers on executions of gays, which were the basis for a story in theTimes of London. I am very pleased to share with you all of what wasprovided to me today, including the paper's original request for documents,in this unusually long blog entry.
Reading the documents gave me a sense of how at least one part of theBritish government monitors the death penalty in Iran, how and why it ismeted out, and also raises important human rights issues about theexecutions with the Iranians.
We need more interest and pressure like this from governments aboutexecutions in Iran and the plight of its gay population, because it can leadto more respect for the human rights protections of gay Iranians and allIranians.
-
19 November 2007
Dear Mr Petrelis
I am writing to confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hasnow completed its search for the information which you requested on 14November 2007.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.wnbc.com/news/14630717/detail.html
Police Arrest 2 In Anti-Gay Beating Of 'Top Chef' Contestant
POSTED: 9:22 am EST November 18, 2007
SEA CLIFF, N.Y. -- Two women have been arrested in an anti-gay attack on a former "Top Chef" reality show contestant and her friends, police said.
Nassau County police announced the arrests Saturday, a day after victimJosie Smith-Malave's attorney said she had filed a complaint accusinginvestigators of not pursuing the case energetically enough. Police saidFriday that an arrest had recently been made and another was imminent.
Smith-Malave, who is openly gay and appeared on Season 2 of the Bravochannel show, and three other women were assaulted by about a dozen peopleafter being thrown out of a Sea Cliff bar on Sept. 1, according to police.The attackers hurled slurs about the women's perceived sexual orientation,spat on them and hit them, police said.
Melissa Trimarchi, 21, was arrested Saturday night on a misdemeanor assaultcharge, police said. She was released on an appearance ticket until a Nov.30 court date. No working telephone number could be found for Trimarchi atthe Sea Cliff address police gave, and they didn't know whether she had anattorney.
Police also said Saturday that Elizabeth Borroughs, 20, had been arrestedTuesday on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment. She also wasreleased on an appearance ticket and is due in court Friday.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/367799.html
Did Dems avoid gay candidate?
MARK JOHNSON
Posted on Sun, Nov. 18, 2007
Former Wall Street investor Jim Neal of Chapel Hill announced he was runningfor the U.S. Senate.
N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro declared a week later that she was notrunning for the U.S. Senate.
Both are Democrats. Guess which one received a phone call from U.S. Sen.Chuck Schumer, who heads the Democratic Party's efforts to recruit Senatecandidates?
Schumer and the national Democrats, who boast of their party'sinclusiveness, effectively ignored Neal, who is openly gay. After heannounced his campaign in October, he telephoned Schumer. The call wasn'treturned. Neal was the first Democrat to step up to challenge RepublicanU.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.
Instead, Schumer, of New York, called Hagan, who had taken herself out ofthe race, and encouraged her to jump back in. She later did.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975948.html?categoryId=2834&cs=1
PTLesbian politics more than marriage
Today's issues transcend personal rights
By DAVID MERMELSTEIN
Posted: Tue., Nov. 13, 2007, 7:20pm
When it comes to politics, what do lesbians in the industry want? The samethings many of their straight peers crave, it would appear.
"I'd say civil rights, health care, relief from poverty -- the basics," saysNina Jacobson, former prexy of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group and now anindependent producer at DreamWorks. "I've always seen gay and lesbian lifeas part of a larger civil-rights conversation. But I that think as alesbian, you may be more attuned to such issues and not take civil rightsfor granted."
Melissa Etheridge, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning rock musician and singer,echoes that view, noting: "I don't think it makes a difference that one is alesbian. A lesbian is a woman who is concerned for her country and fellowcountrymen and women."
And Christine Vachon, producer of the landmark gay-themed pics "Boys Don'tCry" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," expresses similar feelings. "It's hardfor me to think in specifically gay-oriented terms," she says. "Whatmotivates me more than anything is this war, and the administration's waginga cultural war on anything deemed different ... including homosexuals. Andthat applies just as easily to people of different colors and creeds."
Yet not all industry lesbians choose to raise their voices or flex theirpower, including several key players who refused interview requests for thisarticle specifically because they wanted to remain out of the spotlight."Being a lesbian doesn't make one inherently political, though I wish itdid," suggests Ilene Chaiken, creator of Showtime's "The L Word."
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071116/30115_Judge_Declares_Hate_Crimes_Amendment_Covering_Gays_Unconstitutional.htm
Judge Declares Hate Crimes Amendment Covering Gays Unconstitutional
Fri, Nov. 16, 2007 Posted: 15:09:13 PM EST
A state court struck down amendments to Pennsylvania's version of a hatecrime law Thursday, declaring the statutes that cover crimes committed withbias against sexual orientation unconstitutional.
A state court struck down amendments to Pennsylvania's version of a hatecrime law Thursday, declaring the statutes that cover crimes committed withbias against sexual orientation unconstitutional.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled 4-1 against the enactment of the2002 amendment because it did not retain the original purpose of a bill thataddressed agricultural vandalism and crop destruction.
Judge James Gardner Colins wrote in the majority opinion that the courtagreed with petitioners that HB 1493 "did not retain its original purpose asit moved through the enactment process," thus violating Article III of thestate Constitution.
He declared the provision "unconstitutional and therefore null and void."
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/17/18461915.php
Marriage Equality Movement Flourishing in the Capital City!
by Christine Allen
Saturday Nov 17th, 2007 8:09 PM
The marriage equality movement in the Sacramento area was not derailed bythe Governor's veto of AB 43 - new documentary to be shown at CSUS thismonth!
Contacts:
Kinna Crocker 916-284-3680 ca-sacramento@marriageequality.org
Christine Allen 916-455-4256 coordinator@marriageequality.org
Matt Kennedy, Production Assistant, 917-548-3087 matthewjkennedy@mac.com
Nicole Scanlan, Coordinator, PRIDE CENTER 916-278-8720
WHAT: Sacramento Premier of Pursuit of Equality
http://www.pursuitofequality.com/
Hosted by: Sacramento Chapter of Marriage Equality USA
http://www.marriageequality.org/meusa/ and the California State University
Sacramento PRIDE Center http://www.csus.edu/pride/
WHEN Friday, November 30, 2007
TIME: 6:00 PM
WHERE: Hinde Auditorium, University Union, CSUS, 6000 J ST, Sacramento, CA
95819
WHO: Open to the Public
Admission and parking in Lot 8 FREE.
Filmmakers will be present.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gaylesbiannews.blogspot.com/2007/11/gay-somalis-in-london-launch-community.html
Gay Somalis in London Launch Community Website
Saturday, November 17, 2007
A new website, Somali Gay Community, has been launched to serve the smallgay Somali community in London - and beyond.
It is believed to be the first of its kind in Somali history and cultureanywhere in the world.
"Somalia is an Islamic country and, as they think that homosexuality is aWestern illness, we do not exist in their eyes," said Muraad, one of theSomali gays in London behind the website.
Muraad is the name used within the London gay Somali community.
"Though we live in the West, we still fear of our families and what theSomali community in general could do to us."
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/world/middleeast/16saudi.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Ruling Jolts Even Saudis: 200 Lashes for Rape Victim
By RASHEED ABOU-ALSAMH
November 16, 2007
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 15 - A Saudi court on Tuesday more than doubledthe number of lashes that a female rape victim was sentenced to last yearafter her lawyer appealed the original sentence. The decision, which manylawyers found shocking even by Saudi standards of justice, has provoked arare public debate about the treatment of women here.
The victim's lawyer, Abdulrahman al-Lahem, a well-known human rightsactivist, drew the court's ire because of his strong public criticism of thehandling of the case. He has called his client's conviction unjust and saidthe sentences of the seven men who raped her were too lenient.
He is also known for his past defense of critics of the monarchy.
The victim's name has not been released. She was raped about 18 months agoin Qatif, a city in the Eastern Province, and has become known in the Saudimedia as "the Qatif girl." She was 19 years old at the time of the assault.
Her case has been widely debated since the court sentenced her to 90 lashesa year ago for being in the same car as an unrelated man, even after itruled that she had subsequently been raped. For a woman to be in seclusionwith a man who is not her husband or a relative is a crime in Saudi Arabia,whose legal code is based on a strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islamic law.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-scripture_thinknov18,0,6677080.story
Bible study: The relevant Scriptures on homosexuality
Bible study, circa 2007
By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune religion reporter
November 18, 2007
It's easy to look at homosexuality as the dominant issue dividing Protestantdenominations today. But a deeper look shows that the debate overhomosexuality goes beyond whether it is morally wrong.
A more profound question is at stake here: How should people of faithinterpret the Bible?
What the Bible has to say about anything is a code that sleuths and scholarshave been trying to crack for centuries. That the latest riddle concernshomosexuality does not set it apart from previous debates about otherbiblical missives and mandates. It's just that this one threatens to tearapart the Episcopal Church.
Ever since the denomination consecrated an openly gay man as bishop of NewHampshire, conservative Anglican leaders have led a charge to disown theAmerican arm of the Anglican Communion. They say liberal Episcopalians havedisregarded the authority of Scripture, succumbed to the whims of secularculture and mistakenly embraced modern biblical scholarship.
Those who support ordaining gay and lesbian clergy insist that Scriptureremains the authority in their lives, but that it is open to interpretation.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_daniel_g_071113_save_a_soul_3a_nip_a_g.htm
Save a Soul: Nip a Gay in the Bud!
By Daniel Geery
November 13, 2007
". I have done such acts as looking (maybe lusting, I pray so hard that Iwasn't) at my self in skimpy underwear. Whenever I wear it I feel like asexual sensation.
"Yesterday in the bathroom (in front of the mirror), I wiggled my body veryrapidly, making my genitals bounce up and down. I get a little bit of thatfeeling mentioned above as I write this. After I did this, I immediatelyasked forgiveness of God, went in the shower but did it again there."
According to that guru of purity and bastion of right-wing morality, JamesDobson, the teenage "prehomosexual" who wrote the above words is"representative of many other preteens and teens around the world who haveawakened to something terrifying within-something they don'tunderstand-something that creates enormous confusion and doubt. These kidsoften recognize very early in life that they are 'different' from otherboys."
I learned all this in Dobson's book, Bringing Up Boys (Tyndale HousePublishers, 2001), in Chapter 9, "The Origins of Homosexuality." I'd heardmuch over the years about James Dobson, and the wonderful advice he gives toparents about how to raise kids. And given that as a parent and as aprofessional educator, I disagreed with everything I read or heard from him,I had long contemplated buying one of his books, in an attempt to see wherethis revered author was coming from, and maybe in the process get a handleon some of my own faulty thinking. After all, I suspect that he and I mightactually agree that raising kids is the most important single thing we cando for the future of the human race.
As it turned out, this one chapter, which I flipped to for a preview, got meup to speed pretty quick. In an attempt to spare you from buying the wholebook like I did (or possibly send you to it, if like millions of others youinherited the Dobson Worship Gene), I herein share some Dobsonian wisdom onthe topic of homosexuality.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7100295.stm
Tutu chides Church for gay stance
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church andits leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he said the Archbishop of Canterbury, DrRowan Williams, had failed to demonstrate that God is "welcoming".
He also repeated accusations that the Church was "obsessed" with the issueof gay priests.
He said it should rather be focusing on global problems such as Aids.
"Our world is facing problems - poverty, HIV and Aids - a devastatingpandemic, and conflict," said Archbishop Tutu, 76.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/16/wmicro116.xml
Pastor in Microsoft 'gay rights' share bid
By Toby Harnden in Redmond, Washington
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 16/11/2007
A black conservative Christian pastor of an evangelical megachurch has vowedto take over Microsoft by packing it with new shareholders who will voteagainst the company's policy of championing gay rights.
The Reverend Ken Hutcherson, a former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, heads theAntioch Bible Church in Redmond, home of Microsoft.
He told Microsoft executives at a shareholders' meeting last week that hewould be their "worst nightmare" if they continued to defy him.
Antioch Bible Church attracts around 3,500 worshippers for its services andMr Hutcherson is a powerful figure in the Christian conservative movement.
His church, which emphasises racial diversity and a strict moral code, grewfrom a bible study class for just 15 people in 1984.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.charlotte.com/409/story/368073.html
N.C. Baptists clash over gays and the church
ED WILLIAMS
Posted on Sun, Nov. 18, 2007
Well, we've done it again.
The "we," in this case, is Myers Park Baptist Church, where I've been amember for a couple of decades.
What we've done this time is get kicked out of the N.C. Baptist StateConvention.
This is not the first time the church has been at odds with a Baptistorganization.
Back in 1967, the Mecklenburg Baptist Association decided to excludechurches that accepted members who had not been baptized by immersion. Amongthem was Myers Park Baptist.
Our first senior minister, George Heaton, considered baptism a reveredtradition but not at all essential.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071106/29979_Christian_Students_Fight_Homophobic_Label,_Promote_Campus_Safety.htm
Christian Students Fight Homophobic Label, Promote Campus Safety
Students nationwide kicked off a campaign Monday aimed at ending the culturewars over issues like homosexuality that have divided Americans.
Tue, Nov. 06, 2007 Posted: 15:18:58 PM EST
Students nationwide kicked off a campaign Monday aimed at ending the culturewars over issues like homosexuality that have divided Americans.
The annual "Allies, Too" campaign is rallying Christian students this weekto commit to making their campuses safe and harassment free and to advocate"true tolerance" and diversity, particularly when it comes to differing -and sometimes opposing - views on homosexuality.
"It's a chance to throw off the dishonest, unfair labels of bigotry andhatred that some people use to silence others' points of view," according tothe campaign, which is spearheaded by Exodus Youth, a ministry of ExodusInternational. "It's a call to your community to engage in honest reasoningand debate, not a culture war."
Exodus is one of the largest outreaches to those struggling with homosexualattraction.
"Allies, Too" participants commit to the belief that "sexuality waspurposefully created for marriage between a man and a woman" and that "ahomosexual, bisexual or transgender identity and/or behavior are outside ofthe intentional design of human relationships and sexuality, and thereforearen't what's best for us, regardless of whether we are drawn to them,"according to the campaign's core principles.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.pauza18nov18,0,136893.story
Chasing HIV, one failure at a time
UM scientist and colleagues press on for vaccine
By Stephanie Desmon
Sun reporter
November 18, 2007
One thing that Dave Pauza drills into his graduate students is theinevitability of seemingly endless, maddening failure in the work they do inthe lab. He refuses to give pep talks, telling them they should quit if theycan't handle the frustration.
But if you get the sense that Pauza is a pessimist, you get the wrong senseof the man.
He and others at the University of Maryland's Institute of Human Virologyare testing what could be a vaccine to halt the spread of HIV -- or whatcould just as easily be another setback on a path already lousy with them.
The absence of a vaccine more than two decades after the discovery of HIV --despite the considerable investment of money and intellect -- disturbs Pauzain that it continues to devastate the lives of millions across the planet.
Yet the way Pauza sees it, failure simply means the possible ways to conquerAIDS have been narrowed down. More is learned about what doesn't work,leaving valuable clues to what someday will.
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.showbizspy.com/2007/11/17/simon-cowell-me-dear-gay-dear-no-dear/
Simon Cowell: Me Dear? Gay Dear? No Dear!
Posted by: Paul Millar @ 17 Nov -
Simon Cowell has slashed (and probably blushed) at reports suggesting thatthe X Factor judge was G-A-Y, stating that he was "absolutely baffled" atthe recent speculation.
Some fans have said for a long time that Cowell is too effeminate to bestraight - however this week the music mogul has responded.
"It's probably my mother's influence," Cowell told the Daily Mail. "If Iwas, why hide it? It's not as if the music business would be an odd placefor a gay man to work. And anyway, if I was trying to hide the fact that Iwas gay, I would be off playing rugby every Saturday, wouldn't I?"
Then again, Cowell did tell the press that he was scared of theresponsibility of kids, perhaps suggesting he was indeed a homosexual.
"I love kids - at least when they are old enough to talk," he said. "But myown? No. I'm terrified of the responsibility. Where would they fit in? Ihave to be able to fly to Los Angeles at a minute's notice."
more . . . . .
=
Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gaylesbiannews.blogspot.com/2007/11/world-cities-invited-to-outgames-2009.html
World Cities Invited to Outgames 2009 to Promote Gay Tolerance, Diversity
Saturday, November 17, 2007
COPENHAGEN, November 16, 2007 - Eleven cities from around the world havebeen invited by the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen to participate in an exhibitionpromoting urban diversity and tolerance during the World Outgames in 2009.
The World Outgames is an international sporting, cultural and human rightsevent organised to celebrate and recognize the roles of lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in society.
Several hundred thousand participants, guests and visitors are expected toattend the games in Copenhagen from July 25 to August 2, 2009.
The Out Cities project is the brainchild of the World Outgames organisers inCopenhagen and cities invited include Berlin, Istanbul, Madrid, Melbourne,New York, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Tokyo and Århus in Denmark.
"We have invited cities with concerned LGBT populations to create a forum inwhich to discuss and present the impact of diversity and tolerance on urbaneconomic growth and social well-being," said Michael Steensgard, director ofthe cultural program for World Outgames 2009.
more . . . . .
=
To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
Information, news, and discussion about the legal recognition of same-sexcouples and their families, including marriages, domestic partnerships,civil unions, adoptions, foster children and similar issues.
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
The Anglican bishop of Niagara, in southern Ontario, has given his approvalto allowing clergy to bless same-sex couples who have had a civil marriage.Gay marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005. The Niagara diocese synodvoted on the weekend to support blessing civilly-married gay couples, "whereat least one party is baptized" but left the final approval up to BishopRalph Spence. Of the 294 clergy and lay delegates, 239 voted yes, 53 said noand two abstained. Spence refused to implement a similar vote three yearsago.
--
Ohio: A governor generally viewed as a supporter of the gay communitysidestepped a potentially divisive issue going into next year's presidentialelection. Strickland, the first Democrat elected governor in 20 years,signed an executive order in May that banned workplace discrimination in theexecutive branch based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The orderspecifically banned state agencies from offering a "rate of compensation"that was different for gay and straight employees. But Stricklandinterpreted "rate of compensation" as only salary, not benefits, frustratingsome in the gay community. "It looks to me that this is more of a politicaljudgment than it is a principled judgment," said Marc Spindelman, an OhioState University law professor and gay rights advocate. "It may be that thegovernor doesn't want to arouse a sleeping giant." Spindelman's sleepinggiant is the specter of a fight over gay rights heading into the 2008presidential election. Democrats need only to look back to 2004, when theproposed gay marriage ban was credited for helping turn out culturalconservatives whose votes swung the state to President Bush.
--
New Jersey: Eight years ago, it would have been unimaginable. But overbrunch on a warm Sunday morning last fall, Micah Mahjoubian leaned over andasked his boss a question. "I told him Ryan and I got engaged to be married,and I'd like him to consider whether he would officiate our ceremony." JohnStreet, once regarded as Public Enemy No. 1 of the gay community, did notflinch. Yes, he said. So on Saturday, as the clock winds down on his time asmayor, Street will preside over his first same-sex commitment ceremony, inCity Hall. With 125 guests expected, it will resemble in every way atraditional wedding but will have no legal standing, since Pennsylvaniaprohibits gay marriage.
--
Sacramento city leaders have joined the pitched political debate over gays'rights to wed, filing a legal petition in support of same-sex marriages aspart of a landmark case to come before the state Supreme Court next year.Council members voted 8-1 in a closed session Nov. 6 to join an amicuscuriae, or friend of the court brief, on behalf of plaintiffs in SanFrancisco seeking to void parts of the state Family Code that do notrecognize marriage rights for same-sex couples. "This is very much a civilrights issue," said Sacramento Councilman Ray Tretheway, who first asked thecouncil to consider the legal brief last month. "This (position) definitelyreflects what the city of Sacramento is - progressive, addressinghuman-rights issues that absolutely affect many of our citizens."
--
The Student Coalition for Marriage Equality, equipped with fliers andposters, stopped students walking through Bruin Plaza on Friday and asked,"If you were president, would you support same-sex marriage?"The organization's event, "If I Were President," sought to educate studentsabout same-sex marriage legislation and other pieces of legislation thattouch on civil rights issues.
--
The leader of the Toledo Catholic Diocese yesterday urged parishioners tooppose the city's creation of a domestic-partner registry, but the onlything that can slow the legislation now is a mayoral veto.A statement issuedby Bishop Leonard P. Blair, read at Sunday Mass, said: "We ought not to beencouraging cohabitation by giving it legal recognition as an alternative tomarriage."The bishop asked parishioners to "join me in opposing measureslike the domestic-partnership registry, particularly when there has beenlittle time for public discussion."Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has until the endof the day Friday to act on legislation approved by City Council on Tuesdayin a 10-2 vote. The legislation allows same-sex or heterosexual unmarriedcouples to register as domestic partners, providing employers who want tooffer benefits to unmarried couples a way to check their relationshipstatus.Mayor Finkbeiner's spokesman, Brian Schwartz, says the mayor has notdecided what he will do.
--
(Chicago, Illinois) Jen Rude has become the first lesbian pastor to beordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America since thedenomination voted last year to temporarily leave it up to individualbishops whether to maintain the ban on clergy in same-sex relationships.
The measure - the product of three years' work by a special church taskforce - was meant as a compromise that will satisfy both those who supportgay clergy and those who regard gay sex as sinful. A final decision will bemade in 2009. Nevertheless most Lutheran bishops require gay and lesbianpastors to make make a vow of celibacy before they can be ordained.Heterosexual ministers are not required to make a similar vow. Rude, whosaid she is not in a relationship, refused to make the vow because sheconsiders it discriminatory and he suburban Chicago church, ResurrectionLutheran Church in Lakeview, stood behind her.
--
Five years after the University System of Georgia Board of Regents ignored adrive to obtain domestic partner benefits for unmarried couples, theUniversity Council at the University of Georgia has renewed the call. Lastmonth, the council voted to join Georgia State University in asking theregents to extend the benefits to unmarried workers, allowing them the samehealth insurance and other benefits given to the partners of marriedworkers.
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment