**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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NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-logo.html?pagewanted=print
Gay Channel Logo Launches Weekly Newscast
By REUTERS
November 6, 2007
Filed at 2:35 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Gay-lesbian network Logo is moving into thenetwork news business, planning to televise a half-hour weekly newscastproduced by CBS News.
"CBS News on Logo" will premiere next Monday at 7 p.m. EST. The newscaststems from a two-year partnership between the MTV Networks channel and CBSNews. A dedicated CBS News crew working out of its West 57th Streetbroadcast center had been producing three-minute interstitials that aireddaily on Logo.
Those interstitials will be replaced by the half-hour newscast.
Brian Graden, Logo president and president of MTV Networks Music GroupEntertainment, said Monday that Logo had gotten to the point where it hadthe distribution and roster of advertisers to take things to another level.
"It seemed like there was enough news to sustain that (half-hour) format andthen some, and that the audience had a concentrated interest" a year outfrom the 2008 general elections, Graden said. He didn't rule out furthernews programming based on how things go.
The new show will focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issuesincluding the 2008 election, HIV/AIDs and entertainment, sports and sciencenews. The newscast will be available on Logo as well as streamed at365gay.com (http://365gay.com), a Logo-owned Website.
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INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Iran: Stop the Execution of Child Offender Convicted of Sodomy
Summary
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) haslearned that Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen of Kurdishorigin from the city of Paveh, in the Western province of Kermanshah, hasbeen sentenced by the government to execution. Makvan has been convicted ofmultiple counts of anal rape and sentenced to execution for crimes allegedlycommitted when he was 13 years old. IGLHRC calls for an internationalresponse to stop this scheduled execution.
Imposing the death penalty for crimes committed by juveniles is prohibitedunder international law as well as by the Iranian legal system. In addition,IGLHRC calls on the international community to condemn the use of the deathpenalty as a punishment for any sex or morality-related crime, whetherconsensual or non-consensual, as unnecessarily extreme. In this case, sincenone of the alleged victims ever claimed to have been raped, and all of themadmitted to the court that their initial accounts of sexual intercourse withMakvan were false and had been acquired under coercion, the imposition ofthe death penalty is especially objectionable.
As an organization dedicated to defending the rights of sexual minoritiesworldwide, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission(IGLHRC) objects to any law, policy or ruling that penalizes consensualhomosexual relationships among adults.
Action
IGLHRC requests that you send letters in English or Persian to the followingIranian officials, demanding that the order of execution in the case ofMakvan Mouloodzadeh be withdrawn:
a.. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His EminenceAyatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,: istiftaa@wilayah.org and info@leader.ir andinfo@khamenei.ir
b.. The Honorable Chief Justice, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyed MahmoudHashemi Shahrudi: Shahroudi@Dadgostary-tehran.ir and ijpr@iranjudiciary.org
c.. Iranian President, His Excellency Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad:dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
d.. Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Council (Parliament), HisExcellency Dr. Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel: hadadadel@majlis.ir
e.. Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Manuchehr Motaki:matbuat@mfa.gov.ir
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From Gays Without Borders
The political situation in Poland was formally changed after the election on21st of October, but not for all. Civic Platform declared, that they are notliberals in gay matter, in equality and tolerance. We can feel it today inPoznan. There are still a lot of homophobia in winning party. Politiciansfrom Civic Platform in Poznan declared, that the Equality March can notstart from Adam Mickiewicz Square, because it is the saint place for peoplein Poznan, not good for Equality March at all. We do not agree for suchlocal and general politics. This is our idea to fight with all signs ofdiscrimination. If You could show to the new polish government that gaysaround the world are still thinking about Poland will be great. Meeting withpolish Consul and solidarity demonstrations will be significant event forpolish authorities.
The government was changed, the parliament was changed, but there are stillstrong homophobia among polish authorities.
Best Regards
Lukasz Palucki
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18978548&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
Gospel Preacher's Anti-Gay 'Rant' at Obama Concert
By: DOUG IRELAND
11/01/2007
The controversy over what Mother Jones magazine called Senator BarackObama's "pander-to-black-hatred tour" featuring homophobic "ex-gay"preacher-singer Donnie McClurkin continued this past week.
An Obama gospel concert was held on Sunday, October 28, in Columbia, SouthCarolina as the final stage in what the presidential candidate billed as a"Forty Days of Faith and Family" tour of the Palmetto State. A Septemberpoll conducted by Winthrop University and ETV showed that 74 percent ofSouth Carolina African Americans believe homosexuality is "unacceptable."
In an attempt to mollify the widespread protests by the LGBT community overMcClurkin's appearance, the Obama campaign had hastily arranged at the lastminute for an openly gay South Carolina pastor, Andy Sidden, to join theroster at the concert. But Sidden's appearance was notably brief andanti-climactic; he said a short prayer to the auditorium at the verybeginning of the program, when the arena was only about half full, and thenhe left.
The Obama campaign had assured members of the LGBT community thatMcClurkin - who has told the Washington Post that he's in "a war" againstwhat he calls "the curse of homosexuality" - would not use the event tospeak against what he claims is "the choice" of homosexuality.
Instead, McClurkin delivered what outspoken Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan,who is openly gay, afterward described on his blog as a "rant."
more . . . . .
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.sovo.com/2007/11-2/news/national/7640.cfm
Clinton supporters downplay ties to anti-gay ministers
Some say Obama 'crossed a line' with gospel event
By JOSHUA LYNSEN
Nov. 02, 2007
Just one week after criticizing Sen. Barack Obama's ties to an "ex-gay"minister, supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) are downplayingher connection to anti-gay figures.
Obama was assailed last week for allowing gospel singer Donnie McClurkin toappear at a South Carolina campaign event, but the endorsement of Clinton byat least two anti-gay black ministers has so far not generated similaroutrage.
"I don't know if that's the same as, 'Here's a microphone - you can speakfor my campaign,'" said Ryan Wilson of the South Carolina Gay & LesbianPride Movement.
Some of Clinton's gay supporters, along with unaligned gays such as Wilson,said they're generally unconcerned that anti-gay ministers Bishop Eddie Longand Rev. Harold Mayberry are supporting the campaign.
Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta once marchedagainst gay marriage and hosts an "ex-gay" ministry. Mayberry has preachedagainst homosexuality to his First African Methodist Episcopal Church inOakland, Calif.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=15075
Michigan case centers on gay workers' benefits
They could keep them despite ruling
LANSING (AP) | Nov 5, 11:35 AM
The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin weighing whether stateuniversities and other public-sector employers can provide health insuranceto the partners of gay workers.
But even if gays lose the case, they ultimately could still get theirbenefits despite a 2004 state constitutional ban against gay marriage thatthreatened those benefits.
Universities and local governments have rewritten their domestic partnershippolicies in light of the measure.
END Inline Ad The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domesticpartnerships but make sure "other qualified adults" -- including gaypartners -- are eligible for medical and dental care. The adults have tolive together for a certain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances andbe unrelated.
"It's a temporary, stopgap method. It's certainly not a panacea," said JayKaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.While no same-sex partners of employees have lost their health insurancewhile the legal battle continues, many now are getting health insurance onlyon a pilot basis, he said.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=2066&viewarticle=1
the bible knows nothing of homosexual orientations, says bishop generobinson
Nigel Collett
The man at the centre of the storm which is currently tearing apart theworldwide Anglican Communion, Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire - theworld's first openly gay bishop - made a surprise visit to Hong Kong lastweek. Nigel Collett reports.
This guest column was written by Nigel Collett for Hong Kong's Civil Rightsfor Sexual Diversities (www.cr4sd.org), a NGO working for the rights ofpeople who may be disadvantaged by the law, policies and social prejudicesin Hong Kong because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and sexualexpression. The column will be written by founding member Roddy Shaw andvarious writers.
Bishop Gene Robinson's election in 2003 set off the latest round in thestruggles being waged inside the Anglican Church (also known widely as theEpiscopalian Church) between a coalition of homophobic conservative andfundamentalist clergy and their liberal opponents. It led, in February thisyear, to an ultimatum being presented to the American province of the Churchby the Anglican primates assembled in Tanzania, who called upon theirAmerican colleagues to stop appointing openly gay clergy and to ceaseallowing church blessings of same sex couples on penalty of expulsion fromthe communion. This lamentable piece of blackmail was committed largely atthe urging of a few bigoted African archbishops who claim that homosexualityis a sin and threaten schism, a split in the church, if toleration is shownto it, and who will not even bring themselves to sit in the same room asfellow priests who are gay.
[PIC]The fall out from this will doubtless cause further conflict at thisyear's forthcoming meeting of all Anglican bishops at Lambeth, a gatheringto which Bishop Gene Robinson has the sad distinction of being the onlybishop in the Communion who has not been issued an invitation.
So, in the present circumstances where the Anglican Communion is too rivento have yet established a workable approach to its gay clergy, mostAnglicans are either chary of meeting Bishop Robinson or are directlyopposed to what he stands for, and it is not surprising that his visit toHong Kong was not an official one. But enough of a programme had beenarranged for him to make a local mark. He had been invited by a group ofliberal Christians (the Hong Kong Christian Institute, the Hong Kong Women'sChristian Council and the [interfaith] Spiritual Seekers Society) plus theHong Kong University's Faculty of Education, to bring his experiences offighting homophobia and discrimination to Hong Kong and to meet some of thelocal gay Christians and hear their stories.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5960.html
Gay teen couple made to sit apart on bus
5th November 2007 15:13
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
Two gay teenagers from Scotland are considering legal action after beinghumiliated on a late-night bus journey.
Steven Black, 16, and Mark Craig, 19, were told to get off the bus by thedriver and then forced to sit in separate seats, according to the SundayMail.
"If we had been all over each other, I could understand - because thatbehaviour in public is not appropriate whatever your sexuality. But Markjust had his arm around my shoulder," Steven told the paper.
"I have never been so humiliated in my life. I just can't believe we arestill made to feel like second-class citizens."
The couple chose to sit separately because they had no other way to gethome.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5962.html
Lesbian group's transgender ban challenged
5th November 2007 16:01
Maryam Omidi
An Australian transgender psychotherapist has taken a lesbian support groupto an equal opportunities tribunal on the grounds of discrimination.
Tracie O'Keefe in Sydney, claims that she was refused an invitation to anevent organised by the gay organisation Sappho's Party because of theirstrict policy excluding transgender people.
The group only allows those who were female at birth to join.
"I sent an email to them saying that I would like to go and they sent me anemail back saying it would not be appropriate for me to attend," Ms O'Keefesaid, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Sappho's Party told the tribunal that Ms O'Keefe's attendance at the eventwould impinge on the organisation's "intimacy, level of trust anddiscussion".
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama
Is Iraq Vietnam? Who really won in 2000? Which side are you on in theculture wars? These questions have divided the Baby Boomers and distortedour politics. One candidate could transcend them.
by Andrew Sullivan
December 2007
Goodbye to All That
The logic behind the candidacy of Barack Obama is not, in the end, aboutBarack Obama. It has little to do with his policy proposals, which are veryclose to his Democratic rivals' and which, with a few exceptions, existfirmly within the conventions of our politics. It has little to do withObama's considerable skills as a conciliator, legislator, or even thinker.It has even less to do with his ideological pedigree or legal background orrhetorical skills. Yes, as the many profiles prove, he has considerableintelligence and not a little guile. But so do others, not least hisformidably polished and practiced opponent Senator Hillary Clinton.
Obama, moreover, is no saint. He has flaws and tics: Often tired, sometimescrabby, intermittently solipsistic, he's a surprisingly uneven campaigner.
Listen to an excerpt from his interview with Andrew Sullivan. (Audio playerwill pop up in a new window.)
A soaring rhetorical flourish one day is undercut by a lackluster debateperformance the next. He is certainly not without self-regard. He has moreexperience in public life than his opponents want to acknowledge, but he hasnot spent much time in Washington and has never run a business. His leanphysique, close-cropped hair, and stick-out ears can give the impression ofa slightly pushy undergraduate. You can see why many of his friends andadmirers have urged him to wait his turn. He could be president in five ornine years' time-why the rush?
But he knows, and privately acknowledges, that the fundamental point of hiscandidacy is that it is happening now. In politics, timing matters. And themost persuasive case for Obama has less to do with him than with the momenthe is meeting. The moment has been a long time coming, and it is the resultof a confluence of events, from one traumatizing war in Southeast Asia toanother in the most fractious country in the Middle East. The legacy is acultural climate that stultifies our politics and corrupts our discourse.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2007/11/if-a-cross-dres.html
November 03, 2007
If a cross-dressing Republican speaks.
.will anyone listen?
OK it's a strained version of that old metaphor about a tree falling in aforest when no one's there to hear it, but you get the point.
Washington state Rep. Richard Curtis, who resigned his seat after the mediapublished details of an alleged blackmail scheme against him, says he knowshe needs to explain his previous votes against gay rights legislation. Whenhe finally gets around to talking, it will probably be way too late.
In an interview with the local Columbian newspaper, Curtis says now thathe's lawyered up he can't talk about the case until it's resolved, seeing ashow he still faces the possibility of being charged himself withsolicitation. "He said if I spoke publicly, he would drop me like a hotpotato," Curtis said, referring to his attorney.
That's too bad, since explaining his votes against domestic partners andbasic civil rights might help to remind the eager gossip blogger-mongers outthere that this man is the alleged victim here. I'm not sure what form theexplanation would take, although I can imagine that he viewed his ownsame-sex urges as wrong and a threat to his marriage -- so maybe he viewedothers the same way.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=10853
Suit by homophobic high schooler given go-ahead
Court upholds Christian's right to express anti-gay beliefs
Published Thursday, 01-Nov-2007 in issue 1036
The Associated Press - A high school student can pursue nominal damages froman eastern Kentucky school district over its required antiharassmenttraining, an appeals court ruled Friday.
The U.S. sixth circuit court of appeals ruled 2-1 that the Boyd Countyschool district's policy imposed a "chill" on student Timothy Allen Morrison's ability to profess his Christian beliefs and opposition to homosexuality.The ruling sends the case back to U.S. district judge David Bunning for ahearing on damages. Judge KarenNelson Moore, joined by Judge John R. Adams, wrote that the allegation of apolicy stifling free speech isenough to allow Morrison to seek damages. To make his case, the judges said,Morrison must show that thepolicy would "deter a person of ordinary firmness" from exercising freespeech rights.
Messages left for the Alliance Defense Fund, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-basedChristian legal group that represented Morrison, as well as the AmericanCivil Liberties Union, which represented the school district, were notimmediately returned. Morrison sued the school district, claiming that themandatory antiharassment training threatened him with punishment forexpressing religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality. Morrison is aprofessed Christian who believes his religion requires him to speak outagainst what he sees as behavior that doesn't comport with his understandingof Christian morality.
The policy was later changed to allow students to opt out of the trainingand exempt speech that would normally be protected off campus. In thedissent, Judge Deborah Cook said Morrison chose not to speak out againsthomosexuality and thus didn't risk being punished. Cook said that Morrisonsuffered no actual harm from the policy and that holding a trial for damagesto award "a single dollar" serves no purpose and "trivializes" the businessof the federal courts in protecting the Constitution.
"We cannot find a school district constitutionally liable for chillingstudent speech every time a student chooses caution over risking possiblediscipline," she wrote.
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Today is the Day for which the whole LGBT community in Poland and Europehas been waiting for last two years - Poland's Prime Minister JaroslawKaczynski has handed in the resignation of his cabinet to the President(his twin brother Lech), officially bringing an end to the Law and Justicegovernment, in power since the autumn of 2005.
Earlier President's Palace declared that President Lech Kaczynski is toaccept the nomination of Donald Tusk (Civic Platform) as the new PrimeMinister this week.
The first test for the a new government will be November 17th when theMarch of Equality in Poznan (Western Poland) is planned. In 2005 the policein Poznan detained and interrogated 65 demonstrators during the March ofEquality organized by organizations of leftist and gay activists in Poznan.
Tonight in my organization we will celebrate the end of Kaczynskis' era!
Bottoms up!
Tomasz Szypula
Campaign Against Homophobia
ILGA-Europe
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The Detroit News
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071105/OPINION03/711050303/1007/OPINION
Obama's mistake raises questions on gay commitment
Deb Price
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sad, disappointed and more than a little hurt. That's how many Americans whoare both black and gay sound when they talk about Barack Obama.
What's upsetting them is that the Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois,despite stellar gay-rights positions, sat back and allowed a gospel concertfor his presidential campaign to essentially spiral into an anti-gayrevival.
How? As part of wooing black evangelicals in high-stakes South Carolina, hiscampaign gave star-billing at an event to Grammy-winning gospel singer andpreacher Donnie McClurkin, a self-identified "ex-gay" claiming to have beensaved from "perversion."
When the announcement of McClurkin's inclusion sparked an understandableuproar in the gay and progressive faith communities, Obama issued a big tentstatement that condemned "homophobia" and stressed he "strongly" disagreeswith McClurkin's views.
But sadly Obama stood by the choice.
Making matters worse, the Obama campaign then tossed in a white gay preacherto open the event rather than add one of the black gay or gay-friendlypastors who offered their voices.
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
I feel for Bruce Bawer ...but try coming back into the US from Europe withyour partner and your adopted child. DJ is, as you know, a quick kid. Hespends a lot of time around adults, he's not oblivious, he can read adults.And we go to Canada and/or Europe at least twice a year. I can't tell youthe number of times we've had passport and/or customs officials literallyand audibly scoff when we tell them DJ is our son -- you know, that"uusssggghhhh" sound people make when they're told something they don'tbelieve or are offended by, a cross between groaning and clearing yourthroat. We've had passport control officers roll their eyes, glare at us,look down at DJ and slowly shake their heads. And DJ understandseverything -- these people, these people in US government uniforms, think wedid something wrong by adopting him. That there's something illegitimateabout his family. The worst part, of course, is that we can't say anything.We can't defend ourselves or him or his family as we're insulted anddemeaned because God only knows what will happen if we get into an argument.
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BRUSSELS - The number of same sex couples getting married continues to soar.More and more gays, lesbians and bisexuals are tying the knot according tonew figures. Last year there was a nine percent surge in the number of samesex unions in Belgium. Same sex unions are especially popular amonglesbians. Yves Aerts of the Flemish gay association says that many lesbianshave children from an earlier marriage. They often want to give thesechildren the security that only a marriage can offer. This is why they optfor a second marriage. New adoption legislation also allows people to adopttheir partner's children. The number of children being adopted by gaycouples continues to rise as well. Last year 1,124 gay marriages wereconcluded. The figure for 2005 was 1,027.
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On questions relating to the Bible's treatment of family and morals, onemight expect assurance, if not rigidity, from Evangelical Christianity. So,it may surprise many to learn how "live" the topic of divorce remains inEvangelical circles. Last month, the cover story of the monthly ChristianityToday was titled "When to Separate What God has Joined: A Closer Reading onthe Bible on Divorce." The heated controversy provoked by the story showedhow Biblically flexible some Evangelicals can be - especially when God'sword seems at odds not just with modern American behavior, but also withsimple human kindness.Still, the controversy suggests that even thecountry's most rule-bound Christians will search for a fresh understandingof scripture when it seems unjust to them. The implications? Flexibility ondivorce may mean that evangelicals could also rethink their position on suchthings as gay marriage, as a generation of Christians far more accepting ofhomosexuality begins to move into power. (The ever-active Barna folks havefound that 57% of "born-again" Christians age 16-29 criticize their ownchurch for being "anti-homosexual.")
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Making a commitment to another person, as a partner or a parent, is thefurthest thing from "shutting out a world of trouble," because it meansmaking yourself even more vulnerable to an already troubled world; somethingthat really comes home to you when you're loved one's walk out the door togo to work, school, etc., and you realize how vulnerable they are, how muchcan happen "out there," and how little you can do to protect them. It means,or it can mean, committing to making the world you and your loved onesjourney through each day a little less troubled if you can. By extensionthat means, or can mean, doing the same for and alongside the families inyour community.
--
My partner and I got a taste of this flying back to the US fromJohannesburg, South African to JFK. During the 1 hour refueling break inDakar, everyone had to take all belongs out of the overheads and hold themin our lap while the plane was inspected ("In order to prepare to enter USAirspace").. as if passengers spent the last 8 hours of the trip assemblingbombs and putting them in the overheads for safe keeping. Then upon arrival,my partner and I went up to passport control (The US citizen line) and wereyelled at as we were not family so we were not to come up together (not anissue in the 3 countries visited on our trip..nor any other country we havevisited and we have traveled extensively around the world). I know this doesnot compare with non-residents but we both felt anything but a nice welcomeback to our own country.
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NationalGayNews.com
http://chicagoist.com/2007/11/05/glbt_suicide.php
Conference Addresses GLBT Suicide
November 5, 2007
Aside from small-scale studies linking sexual-minority youth with highsuicide attempt rates, there isn't a ton of concrete information about thehigher risk of suicide among GLBT youth - U.S. data does not track sexualorientation as a factor in suicides. Still, there was a study in New Zealandthat showed that they were six times more likely to commit suicide thantheir heterosexual peers, and it seems generally agreed upon that the riskis much higher. That's why experts from around the country are coming toChicago for a two-day discussion on the higher risk of suicide that GLBTyouth face growing up and what can be done about it.
In order to address "disproportionately high" rates of young GLBT peoplecommitting suicide, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention isco-sponsoring the event with the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and theSuicide Prevention Resource Center. The groups hope that bringing togetherthe top minds in all fields related to the issue, they will be able todevelop a "consensus statement" offering recommendations that could helpspur education and suicide prevention interventions related to the GLBTcommunity.
One of the main things it will do, hopefully, is simply raise awareness,especially among those who are in a position to help the young peoplestruggling with their identity and are able to offer a helping hand.
more . . . . .
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NationalGayNews.com
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5954.html
Howard declines to say who would "turn him" gay
5th November 2007 12:32
PinkNews.co.uk staff writer
The Prime Minister of Australia was asked an unusual question on theelection campaign trail yesterday: Who would you turn gay for?
68-year-old John Howard was campaigning at a shopping mall in Gosford, NewSouth Wales, when "jeans shop worker" Danielle tackled him about thatparticular big issue.
The PM laughed off the question, but his consistent refusal to grant equalrights for gay and lesbian Australians has been less easy to avoid.
He has been accused of pandering to homophobia to win votes, and despiteopinion polls showing 71% of Australians favouring equal rights for gaypeople, he is still opposed.
In 2004 he passed federal legislation banning same-sex marriage and earlierthis year said that HIV positive immigrants should not be allowed into thecountry.
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ExpressGayNews.com
http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=14827
House vote on ENDA set for Tuesday
Trans amendment likely to be introduced, withdrawn
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Nov 6, 6:23 AM
Democratic leaders have scheduled a vote in the House of RepresentativesTuesday morning on a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act thatlimits its protection against job discrimination to gays and bisexuals.
The decision to bring the bill, known as ENDA, to the House floor comesafter weeks of behind-the-scenes debate among Democratic leaders overwhether to allow a vote on an amendment to restore protections fortransgender persons to the bill.
News that House Democrats had decided to move ahead with the legislationsurfaced late Monday afternoon, when the House Rules Committee announced itwould meet within a few hours notice to decide on ground rules for thedebate and vote on the bill.
In the hastily called meeting, which drew protests from Republicans, theDemocratic-controlled rules panel approved a rule allowing threepre-arranged amendments to be introduced during the debate on the bill. Oneof the amendments calls for adding transgender protections to thelegislation.
The rule states that the trans amendment, set to be introduced by gay Rep.Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), "may be withdrawn by its proponent" before it comesup for a vote.
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ExpressGayNews.com
http://www.news-journalonline.com/scripts/printme.asp
Ex Daytona commissioner, teacher charged in sex sting
By KARI COBHAM
Staff Writer
November 02, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH -- A former Daytona Beach city commissioner and a local highschool teacher arrested Thursday during a sex sting at a Volusia mallbathroom were released from the Volusia County Brach Jail today, authoritiessaid.
Former commissioner and mayoral candidate Mike Shallow and David Behringer,an athletic trainer and teacher at Seabreeze High School, posted $1,000 bailtoday after midnight, a jail spokesman said.
Behringer resigned today, according to officials with the Volusia CountySchool District.
Shallow and Behringer were among nine men charged with lewd and lasciviousconduct and exposure of a sexual organ, both misdemeanors, police said.
"The reason that we did this sting is we all go to the mall; our kids gointo the bathroom," Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "That they could besusceptible to this kind of behavior is absolutely a disgrace."
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365gay.com
http://365gay.com/health/fitness/Sports/110507sports.htm
Autopsy Inconclusive on Olympic Runner
by Rachel Cohen, the Associated Press
An autopsy of elite runner Ryan Shay was inconclusive Sunday after the28-year-old collapsed and died in Central Park at the U.S. men's marathonOlympic trials a day earlier.
"We want to take a closer look at the heart tissue," said Ellen Borakove,spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. She said the officelikely would reach a conclusion in a week after examining Shay's tissue onmicroscopic slides.
Shay collapsed about 5 1/2 miles into the race Saturday, and later waspronounced dead at a city hospital.
"They know how he died ... of a cardiac arrest. What caused it is what's inquestion," his father, Joe Shay, told The Associated Press. "We certainlywant to know that as soon as possible. When we know that we'll release thatto the public as soon as we can. We're patient."
Joe Shay said Saturday that Ryan was diagnosed with an enlarged heart at age14. But doctors had repeatedly cleared him for competition, because having alarger than normal heart is not unusual among elite athletes. Training hardin aerobic sports, such as cycling, running or swimming, tends to result ina bigger heart that pumps more blood throughout the body.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110507thompson.htm
Thompson Advisor Quits Over Drug Conviction
by The Associated Press
Posted: November 5, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Washington) An adviser to Republican Fred Thompson quit the presidentialcandidate's campaign Monday, one day after a report about his decades-oldcriminal record for drug dealing.
"I have decided to resign my position as chair of 'First Day Founders' of'The Friends of Fred Thompson,'" Philip Martin said in a statement. "Thefocus of this campaign should be on Fred Thompson's positions on the issuesan his outstanding leadership ability, not on mistakes I made some 24 yearsago. I deeply regret any embarrassment this has caused."
The campaign issued the statement.
Thompson has flown around the country in a private jet borrowed from Martin,a businessman and co-chairman of Thompson's campaign, The Washington Postreported Sunday.
Martin pleaded guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979, but thecourt withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. In 1983, he wascharged with violating probation and multiple counts of bookmaking, cocainetrafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-traffickingand conspiracy charges, and was continued on probation, the newspaper said.
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365gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110507jersey.htm
Burger King Workers Charged In Gay Couple's Beating
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 5, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Union City, New Jersey) Two workers at a Burger King in Union City havebeen charged with assault and a hate crime in connection with the beating ofa gay couple outside the restaurant.
Christopher Soto and Angel Carbaballo, who have since been fired by thechain, are scheduled to appear in court this week.
The victims, both in their 40s, have not been named.
When the couple asked for a refund for a menu item that the counter persondiscovered was not available, another counter person then asked who wantedthe refund - "The faggots over there?"
The couple left the restaurant, but a group of Burger King employeesallegedly followed them to a side street and beat them mercilessly, thoughnot fatally.
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http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/11/110607eadv.htm
Vote Expected Today On ENDA
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: November 6, 2007 - 7:30 am ET
(Washington) The House of Representatives is expected to vote late Tuesdaymorning on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act but the future is unclearabout an amendment to include protections for trans-workers.
ENDA, as currently worded, would make it illegal for employers todiscriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring, firing, promotingor paying an employee.
It is sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) one of only two openly gaymembers of Congress.
There are, however, some notable exceptions. It does not cover smallbusinesses, churches and the uniformed members of the armed forces.
The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to send ENDA to a vote, alongwith three amendments.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50231.asp
Conservative Pittsburgh Diocese Votes to Begin Episcopal Split
November 06, 2007
Representatives from the Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh votedoverwhelmingly Friday to approve constitutional amendments that are thefirst step in leaving the national church in a widening rift overhomosexuality and interpretation of Scripture.
Pittsburgh joined dioceses in San Joaquin, Calif., and Quincy, Ill., ingranting preliminary approval to separating from the national church, whichthe dioceses contend have wrongly abandoned Scriptural authority andtraditional teachings on truth, salvation, and the divinity of Jesus Christ.
''As a diocese we have come to a fork in the road,'' Pittsburgh bishopRobert Duncan said before lay delegates approved the measures 118-58 andclergy voted 109-24. ''Indeed, it has become clear that our understandingsare not only different, but mutually exclusive, even destructive to oneanother.''
The division between conservatives and the Episcopal Church, the Anglicanbody in the United States, has sharpened since the denomination consecratedNew Hampshire bishop V. Gene Robinson, who is gay, in 2003.
Duncan is among the leaders of the conservative U.S. movement.
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50251.asp
Kentucky GOP Warns Voters of State Becoming Gay Mecca
November 06, 2007
Kentucky's Republican Party funded an automated telephone call to votersstarring the voice of crooner Pat Boone, who warns that the election of theDemocratic nominee for governor will make Kentucky like San Francisco.
Polling suggests that Democrat Steven Beshear is positioned to win, withpolls showing him 25 percentage points ahead of Republican incumbent ErnieFletcher, according to PageOneQ.com. His campaign Web site also showssupport and endorsements from several local media outlets.
The audio, acquired by the Web site, GoodAsYou, reveals the antigay messagefrom Boone.
"Ernie Fletcher is a typical Kentuckian, he's worked long and hard for thestate, its people, and its traditions," Boone says. "And of course, he hascome under attack by political opponents and now he faces a man who wantshis job who has consistently supported every homosexual cause: same-sexmarriage, gay adoption, special rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual, eventransgender individuals."
The message goes on to say that Beshear has been endorsed by gay advocacygroups and implies that the candidate would nullify a voter-approvedamendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. Boone endedhis message by asking, "Now, do you want a governor who'd like Kentucky tobe like another San Francisco? Please reelect Ernie Fletcher." (TheAdvocate)
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Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid50237.asp
Study: Same-Sex Couples Migrating to the Heartland
November 06, 2007
The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, released a report Monday documentingwhat it called "a gay demographic explosion" in some of the country'sreddest of regions. Using recently released data from the U.S. CensusBureau's American Community Survey, the analyses show that the number ofsame-sex couples in the United States has quadrupled since 1990, growing ata rate 21 times that of the population. But increases have been the mostdramatic in the Midwest, Mountain, and Southern states.
"Clearly, more same-sex couples are willing to openly identify themselves assuch on government surveys," said Gary Gates, senior research fellow at theWilliams Institute and author of the study. "A combination of growing socialacceptance and migration to the South and West means that same-sex couplesare becoming increasingly visible in the most politically and sociallyconservative parts of the country."
Conservative regions where George H.W. Bush's support in the 1992presidential election exceeded his national vote average all hadabove-average increases in same-sex couples since 1990. Conversely, regionswhere Bill Clinton's support was above his national vote average all hadincreases of same-sex couples below the national average.
The Williams Institute study also found that state recognition of same-sexcouples was inversely related to increases in the number of same-sex couplesreporting their relationship. From 2000 to 2006, states that created formalrecognition of same-sex couples had below-average increases, while statesthat prohibited marriage between two people of the same sex experiencedabove-average increases in same-sex couples.
Utah typifies this demographic pattern. In rankings of states by theirconcentration of same-sex couples, the study finds that Utah is the biggestmover, from a ranking of 38th in 1990 to 14th in 2006.
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http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5944.html
Dead parents better than gay ones says Romney
2nd November 2007 17:20
Tony Grew
A candidate for the Republican party nomination for President of the UnitedStates has said that he thinks a child would be better off with a deadparent rather than a gay one.
Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts, was speaking at a collegein rural Iowa.
Asked what he would say to a gay couple wanting to get married, he pointedout his support for a change to the US Constitution to bar gay and lesbianAmericans from marriage.
"I believe that maintaining the strength of the marriage relationship, thefamily relationship, is critical to the strength of an entire society," hesaid, according to Rocky Mountain News.
"And I believe that the development of children is enhanced by having a maleand a female as part of their upbringing in their home.
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http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-48/119418324533370.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Gays fight for benefits in court, could keep them despite ruling
11/4/2007, 8:25 a.m. ET
By DAVID EGGERT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court on Tuesday will beginweighing whether state universities and other public-sector employers canprovide health insurance to the partners of gay workers.
But even if gays lose the case, they ultimately could still get theirbenefits despite a 2004 state constitutional ban against gay marriage thathas threatened those benefits.
Universities and local governments have rewritten their domestic partnershippolicies in light of the measure.
The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domestic partnershipsbut make sure "other qualified adults" - including gay partners - areeligible for medical and dental care. The adults have to live together for acertain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances and be unrelated.
"It's a temporary, stopgap method. It's certainly not a panacea," said JayKaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.While no same-sex partners of employees have lost their health insurancewhile the legal battle continues, many now are getting health insurance onlyon a pilot basis, he said.
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http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13485.html
Far-right group targets porn on military bases
Posted November 5th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
It's been a while since we've last heard from the American FamilyAssociation's the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon. Every once in a while, Wildmon andthe AFA will draw headlines for attacking a group or company for beinginsufficiently "pro-family," though most of their complaints come across asbizarre rants from extremists.
The targets from recent years include, but are by no means limited to,Wal-Mart (for selling Brokeback Mountain DVDs), Target (for not havingSalvation Army bell-ringers during the Christmas season), Ford Motor Company(for purchasing ads in gay-oriented publications), and the movie "Shark Tale" (which the AFA believed was intended to "brainwash children" intoaccepting gay rights).
Now, Wildmon and the AFA have a new concern: U.S. troops' access to adultmaterials.
Ten years after Congress banned sales of sexually explicit material onmilitary bases, the Pentagon is under fire for continuing to sell adultfare, such as Penthouse and Playmates In Bed, that it doesn't considerexplicit enough to pull from its stores.
Dozens of religious and anti-pornography groups have complained to Congressand Defense Secretary Robert Gates that a Pentagon board set up to reviewmagazines and films is allowing sales of material that Congress intended toban.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
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dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://pageoneq.com/news/2007/Pat_Boone_Kentucky_GOP_Electing_Democratic_governor_will_make_Kentucky_like_San_Franci_1105.html
Pat Boone, Kentucky GOP: Electing Democratic governor will make Kentuckylike San Francisco
by Michael Rogers
The Republican Party of Kentucky has created a robo-call advertisingcampaign featuring singer Pat Boone warning that the election of Democraticgubernatorial nominee Steven Beshear will put a governor in office whosupports "every homosexual cause."
Polls in the state predict an easy win for Bashear, with some placingBeshear as much as twenty-five percentage points ahead of Republicanincumbent Governor Ernie Fletcher. The calls, being placed to residents ofKentucky in anticipation of Election Day tomorrow, feature the singer askingresidents of Kentucky to support Fletcher.
In response to the calls and to an anti-gay, anti-Muslim mailer sent by theRepublican Party of Virginia last week, Brad Luna, a spokesman for the HumanRights Campaign said, "The radical right continues to try and use the KarlRove playbook of gay bashing to court a base group of voters."
"In the 2006 elections," continues Luna, "that strategy's effectiveness loststeam. Let's hope these off-year elections in the moderate to conservativestates of Virginia and Kentucky continue that trend."
Andi Johnson, Republican Party of Kentucky spokesperson, told PageOneQ thatthe ad was produced and paid for by the Kentucky GOP. When asked if shethought the ad was a way to, as President Bush has made a goal, "uniterather than divide" the country, Johnson explained that she would "need tospeak to the party chairman before answering any more questions."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
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http://pageoneq.com/news/2007/ABC_News_secretly_catches_reactions_to_men_kissing_in_pub_1104.html
ABC News found to be secretly taping reactions to gays kissing in public
by PageOneQ
ABC is conducting a social experiment gauging the reactions of the generalpublic to displays of affection between members of the same sex.
An actor inside an RV parked in the area confirmed a witness account ofABC's week-long project. According to a police officer, "three or four" hadcomplained about men kissing in public, but nothing illegal is going on. Theactor told Fox6 that "Yes, we are working for ABC News."
The story was first reported by MyFox Birmingham.
ABC has been known in the past for controversy surrounding homosexuality.Earlier this year, Grey's Anatomy's Isaiah Washington came under fire whenit was discovered he had used the word "faggot" during a heated exchangewith co-star T.R. Knight.
Earlier this year, Media Matters, a media watchdog group, highlighted thecontroversy around a haircut obtained by candidate John Edwards as it waspresented on the ABC News Blog: "The hair cut revelation did little tominimize what some call Edwards' 'Breck Girl' image."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/11/05/skorea17234_txt.htm
South Korea: Rights Bill Excludes Many
Re-Introduce Comprehensive Language Into Non-Discrimination Legislation
((New York, November 5, 2007) - The South Korean cabinet should re-introducecategories protected from discrimination that the justice ministry this weekdropped from a proposed federal law, Human Rights Watch said today in aletter to the cabinet. In particular, Human Rights Watch highlightedlanguage the Ministry of Justice withdrew from the non-discrimination billthat extended protection to sexual orientation and urged the cabinet to makeexplicit that the proposed law covers discrimination based on genderidentity.
The draft legislation, Announcement No. 2007-106, was announced on October2, 2007, by the Ministry of Justice. It included sexual orientation alongwith a range of other categories as prohibited grounds of discrimination.According to Democratic Labor Party officials and news reports, the currentversion of the law excludes protection from discrimination on the basis ofmilitary status, nationality, language, appearance, family type, ideology,criminal or detention record, sexual orientation, and educational status(Christian Today 11/2/07).
The existing National Human Rights Commission Act addresses discriminationon the basis of all the categories that have been excluded from the proposedlaw except language and military status. However, the proposed federal lawwould have strengthened those protections. It would require that every fiveyears the president develop and implement a national plan to eliminatediscrimination and that every level of government implement their ownversion of the presidential plan. The law would reinforce the National HumanRights Commission's capacity to investigate and remedy the cases ofindividual petitioners.
"The current version of the bill is a disappointment," said Jessica Stern,researcher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender program of HumanRights Watch. "What could be a landmark non-discrimination law has beenhollowed out to exclude Koreans who are in need of protection."
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/07/Nov/0401.htm
PAKISTAN: Gay, Lesbian Rights Supporter Detained in Pakistan PoliceCrackdown
LAHORE, November 4, 2007 - Gay rights advocate Asma Jahangir, formerUnited Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and nowspecial rapporteur on religious intolerance, is among the many who have beenarrested in Pakistan this afternoon following the suspension of the country's constitution and the imposition of emergency rule by President PervezMusharraf.
Asma Jahangir "is an incredible activist and together with her sister, HinaJilani, has been one of the strongest forces pushing LGBT issues in the[United Nations] system," Scott Long of Human Rights Watch in New York saidby email.
Ms. Jahangir has been detained along with other members of the PakistanHuman Rights Commission. The BBC is reporting that 400 to 500 "preventativearrests" had been made so far.
Despite severe restrictions on the media, reports of the arrest of AsmaJahangir are filtering out.
The following is a report, as received, from Pakistani journalists on thearrests at the Pakistan Human Rights Commission:
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2007/11/06/news/nebraska/doc472f5bc737a28216601490.txt
Kansas church member demands details of criminal charges
By JOSH FUNK / The Associated Press
Monday, Nov 05, 2007 - 12:19:27 pm CST
PAPILLION - Shirley Phelps-Roper and her attorney want to know exactly whyshe has been criminally charged for protesting at a Bellevue soldier'sfuneral in June.
Her attorney, Bassel El-Kasaby, says he needs to know exactly what hisclient did to violate Nebraska law so he can defend her.
The case raises constitutional issues, because Phelps-Roper is charged withdesecrating the American flag, among other things. She says authorities arerestricting her free speech rights.
Phelps-Roper is a member of Westboro Baptist Church, whose members believethat U.S. troop deaths in Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance ofhomosexuality. Followers say they are entitled to protest at soldiers'funerals under the First Amendment.
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Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-whitman/watch-out-here-come-the-_b_71204.html
Watch Out! Here Come the Queers!
Posted November 5, 2007 | 02:21 PM (EST)
Gary J. Gates, Senior Research Fellow, Williams Institute, UCLA School ofLaw has released a study, "Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples" in theU.S. Census and the American Community Survey, showing a massive increase insame sex couples especially in the Mountain, Midwest and Southern regions.
And massive is being gentle. Try an 863% increase from 1990 to 2006 Alabama,Kentucky and Tennessee. A 698% increase in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, NewMexico, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming.
Utah? Kentucky? Maybe I was sleeping but I did not see a stylish, yetcomfortable covered wagon train of LGBT folks heading out to the range.Gates acknowledges in his report that couples who have been historicallyleast accepted are in fact coming out and identifying themselves ingovernment surveys.
I have always questioned the one in ten formula for gays and lesbians, thenotion that one person in ten is gay. Sexuality is too fluid for thatnumber, and according to Kinsey more people live in the middle of the bellcurve than on the extremes. Now, it seems, people are more willing to talkabout it, say it out loud and scribble in the appropriate bubble on thecensus forms.
In fact, as The Economist reported as recently as 1982, only 34% ofAmericans thought homosexuality should be considered an acceptablealternative lifestyle. Now, 57% do. Since young Americans are far morerelaxed about homosexuality than their elders--three-quarters of18-34-year-olds think it is OK to be gay, whereas half of those over 55think it is not--this trend is likely to continue.
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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1107/110607op.htm
Far Right Revolt?
By Charlie Cook National Journal November 6, 2007
If Rudy Giuliani were to win the Republican presidential nomination, wouldthat trigger a significant third-party effort by social and religiousconservatives, potentially costing the former New York City mayor thegeneral election? Don't expect an unequivocal answer here. I, for one, amstill trying to get my arms around the fact that Giuliani is doing so welland appears to have a 50-50 chance of clinching the Republican nomination.Those odds perplex me, especially given his fairly liberal stands onhot-button cultural issues and his tangled personal life.
An argument can be made that if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York isthe Democratic nominee (as seems very likely), many Republicans -- eventhose who are far more conservative than Giuliani on such issues asabortion, gun control, and gay rights -- would hold their noses and vote forhim anyway if he is the GOP's standard-bearer. One can argue that inpolitics, hatred of the enemy is as strong a motivator as love of an ally.
Contrary to popular belief, turnout did not kill Republicans in last year'smidterm elections. Yes, Democrats turned out a bit more than usual andRepublicans a bit less. And, yes, both parties pretty much held on to theirown registered voters; relatively few defected on either side. The lopsidedelection result came from independents siding with Democrats by a 16-pointmargin. Republicans had plenty of reasons to stay home in 2006, but theydidn't end up doing so.
Of course, 2008 might not follow the same pattern. And a good case can bemade that Giuliani would lose too much of his base to win the generalelection.
Social conservatives have pretty much run the Republican Party for a longtime, at least 20 years. The assumption has been that no one who opposesthem on any key social issue can win the party's presidential nomination.Outside of the Northeast, that has also been true in most House, Senate, andgubernatorial contests.
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Daily Queer News
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http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2007/11/05/Rabbi.ART_ART_11-05-07_B4_DN8CHSP.html?sid=101
EPISCOPAL LECTURE SERIES
Gay ban isn't from Bible, rabbi says
Monday, November 5, 2007 3:33 AM
By Josh Jarman
Author Steven Greenberg is the first openly gay Orthodox Jewish rabbi in theUnited States.
With a bit of characterization and Jewish witticism, Rabbi Steven Greenbergmade his point clear: You shouldn't use the Bible to pass judgment onothers.
Greenberg shared this belief during a sermon yesterday at St. Stephen'sEpiscopal Church on the campus of Ohio State University.
Greenberg, who was raised in Bexley and is in Columbus for five days, isAmerica's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi. He spoke yesterday abouthomosexuality in the context of traditional faith as part of a lectureseries sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. He will speakabout same-sex marriage at 7 p.m. today at the church, 30 W. Woodruff Ave.
He wasn't saying that the Bible is not the revealed word of God. Butaccording to Jewish tradition, he said, God gave that word to man andentrusted him to decipher it.
"No one can say, 'It says in the Scripture,' to ground any policy,"Greenberg said. "All we can say is, 'My community says this.' "
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http://vegassyndicate.blogspot.com/2007/11/las-vegas-goes-all-out-to-attract-gay.html
Las Vegas Goes All Out to Attract Gay Travelers
Monday, November 5, 2007
On a recent night at the Palms Resort and Casino here, young men in fittedshirts and an abundance of hair gel clamored to get into a Playboy Clubparty featuring female card dealers in bunny costumes. Steps away at anotherclub, hundreds of shirtless men crowded a roaring dance floor at a partybilled as a "non-stop weekend of sensual sizzle and decadence" for the gaycommunity.
The juxtaposition of such divergent groups is likely to become more commonas the gambling mecca, after years of ignoring the gay and lesbian market,courts it with vigor. Major properties on the Las Vegas Strip are nowoffering lavish commitment ceremonies to same-sex couples (though same-sexmarriage is illegal in Nevada), as well as special hotel and entertainmentpackages geared specifically toward gay and lesbian travelers. Some resortshave mandated sensitivity programs to teach employees how to make gay andlesbian travelers feel welcome.
Las Vegas began courting the gay community a few years ago as part of abroader effort to target a range of minority audiences. But the gay-targetedcampaign intensified as casino-commissioned market studies showed the gayand lesbian travel market to be among the most lucrative. According toresearch from Community Marketing Inc., a gay and lesbian market-researchcompany, gay and lesbian travel accounts for $55 billion of the overall U.S.travel market.
Harrah's Entertainment Inc. started marketing to the gay and lesbiancommunity 18 months ago after research showed gay men spend an average of30% more than their straight counterparts when traveling. "That was a keystatistic that caught our attention," says Michael Weaver, vice president ofmarketing for Bally's, Paris Las Vegas and the Rio -- all owned by Harrah's.
Now, Vegas casinos, clubs, hotels and spas are marketing themselves as "gayfriendly," with ad campaigns in gay media such as OutTraveler and TheAdvocate magazines and cable channel Logo featuring images of same-sexcouples holding hands at romantic dinners, and checking into hotel roomstogether.
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http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-gaytherapy_27met.ART0.North.Edition1.4259d92.html
At Irving conference, therapists weigh theories on homosexuality
Therapists meeting at Irving seminar say it's not innate, not chosen
By JEFFREY WEISS / The Dallas Morning News
jweiss@dallasnews.com
12:00 AM CDT on Saturday, October 27, 2007
Mental health therapists gathered at a conference in Irving this weekend aretrying to chart a middle course between commonly heard views abouthomosexuality.
The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, whichclaims 800 members, holds the official position that people who are gay orlesbian and want to change can be helped by counseling.
Leaders of the group say that nobody is born gay or lesbian. But they alsosay that nobody chooses a sexual orientation.
About 50 people showed up for the conference Friday morning and heardspeakers who asserted that:
. Innate biological tendencies unrelated to sexuality combine with perceivedchildhood rejection from the same-sex parent or peers to create apsychological need for same-sex acceptance and affection.
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http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_309014726.html
Film on families with gay children coming
By Donna Hales
Phoenix Staff Writer
- Eleven years ago Joyce Rock had never knowingly met a gay person.
She was standing in her kitchen when her son Jimmy, then the vice presidentof the Oklahoma Baptist University student body, came in during a collegebreak looking very serious.
"Mom, can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Are you going to tell me you're gay?" she asked, trying to make light ofwhat appeared to be a tense moment for her son.
"And he said 'yes,'" she recalled this week.
"It was one of the defining moments of my life. And I saw such a look offear and anguish in Jimmy's eyes that night."
Her head started spinning, and she managed to say, "That's OK, son."
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