GLBT DIGEST December 11, 2007

**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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A note from Ray and Michael:

Due to pressures on our time, we will not publish National/World and the Florida Digests today.

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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-AIDS.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Lawmakers Protest HIV / AIDS Travel Rule

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 11, 2007
Filed at 3:17 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- On World AIDS Day last month the White House said newrules would make it easier soon for people with HIV/AIDS to travel to theUnited States. Democratic lawmakers and gay rights groups are complainingthat the regulations proposed by the Homeland Security Department couldactually create more barriers.

Gay rights advocates have long opposed a 1993 federal law that strictlyrestricts travel and immigration to the U.S. by HIV-positive people, arguingit's outdated and discriminatory. Foreigners with the virus can obtain visasonly after receiving a waiver from the Homeland Security Department in acumbersome process that requires approval from DHS headquarters.

Activists say this can lead people to lie on visa applications about whetherthey have HIV, then travel to the U.S. without needed medication to avoidbeing found out by Customs officials.

The White House says it wants to make the process easier for HIV-positivepeople seeking 30-day stays for business or pleasure. As part of PresidentBush's observance of World AIDS Day on Nov. 30, the administration announcedthe publication of regulations meant to speed up the process.

''The administration is working to end discrimination against people livingwith HIV/AIDS,'' said a White House fact sheet. ''A 'categorical waiver'will enable HIV-positive people to enter the United States for short visitsthrough a streamlined process.''

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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/us/politics/11poll.html

Poll Finds G.O.P. Field Isn't Touching Voters

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN THEE
December 11, 2007

Three weeks before the Iowa caucuses, Republican voters across the countryappear uninspired by their field of presidential candidates, with a vastmajority saying they have not made a final decision about whom to support,according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Not one of the Republican candidates is viewed favorably by even half theRepublican electorate, the poll found. And in a sign of the fluidity of therace, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who barely registered in earlypolls several months ago, is now locked in a tight contest nationally withRudolph W. Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

By contrast, Democrats are happier with their field and more settled intheir decisions. For all the problems Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton appearsto be having holding off her rivals in Iowa and New Hampshire, she remainsstrong nationally, the poll found. Even after what her aides acknowledgehave been two of the roughest months of her candidacy, she is viewed byDemocrats as a far more electable presidential nominee than either SenatorBarack Obama or John Edwards.

Not only do substantially more Democratic voters judge her to be ready forthe presidency than believe Mr. Obama is prepared for the job, the pollfound, but more Democrats also see Mrs. Clinton rather than Mr. Obama assomeone who can unite the country.

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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Huckabee-Ryan-White.html

AIDS Comments Alarm Ryan White's Mother

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 11, 2007
Filed at 3:23 a.m. ET

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The mother of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whoselife-ending battle with AIDS in the 1980s engrossed the nation, wants tomeet with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to discuss hiscomments 15 years ago that AIDS patients should have been isolated.

The former Arkansas governor and GOP front-runner in the important Iowacaucuses said Sunday that he stood by the comments.

That has infuriated Jeanne White-Ginder, who said: ''It's so alarming tome.''

In a telephone interview Monday with The Associated Press from her home inLeesburg, Fla., she said: ''It's very important to me that we don't live inthe darkness'' when people thought AIDS was transmitted through casualcontact, such as by ''kissing, tears, sweat and saliva.''

''We have to treat this disease like a disease, and like Ryan always said,not like a dirty word,'' she said.

White was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS in December 1984, havingcontracted the disease from the blood-clotting agent used to treat hishemophilia. He was barred from school the following year out of fear thedisease was spread casually. He died in 1990 at age 18.

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Forwarded from Michael Rajner
merajner@gmail.com

NAPWA urges presidential candidatesto oppose aids stigma and discrimination

National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA)
8401 Colesville Road, Suite 750
Silver Spring, MD 20910

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: Kali Lindsey
December 10, 2007 Director of Federal Government Affairs
Office: (240) 247-1019
Cell: (301) 768-2663

NAPWA urges presidential candidatesto oppose aids stigma and discrimination

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Raising deep objections to Republican presidentialcandidate Mike Huckabee's un-recanted support for such stigmatizing andill-informed policies as "quarantine" for persons living with HIV/AIDS, theNational Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) urged all presidentialcandidates today to denounce AIDS-related stigma and discrimination, whichonly helps to fuel the HIV/AIDS pandemic around the world.

NAPWA fears that Huckabee's refusal to denounce his 1992 comments couldgenerate a new wave of stigma and discrimination against people with HIV inthe U.S. and around the world. "Twenty six years into this epidemic, suchoutrageous ideas as quarantine for all people with HIV/AIDS have no place inserious public policy debates of a free and enlightened society," said FrankOldham, Jr. NAPWA's Executive Director. "This rhetoric only serves toheighten already severe stigma and discrimination against HIV-positivepeople and deter our collective efforts to engage the community in voluntaryHIV testing, treatment, and other vital services."

In light of recent articles discussing the soon to be released updated HIVincidence numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),many wonder when our country's leadership will pay attention to and provideincreased resources for HIV prevention education and interventions whichhave proven to be effective.

"CDC has estimated that the majority of sexual transmissions of HIV in theUS are from persons living with HIV but who don't even know they areinfected. Further, once someone learns that they are living with HIV, thetransmission rate drops dramatically," says public health expert and NAPWAboard member David Holtgrave, Ph.D. "The majority of persons living with HIVdo not engage in behavior that puts partners at risk for infection. Clearly,the public health answer to prevention of HIV transmission is not isolation,but rather is a combination of awareness of one's HIV status, linkage toprevention services, and if diagnosed positive, access to necessary HIV careand treatment."

Many believe that this development could be very dangerous for people withHIV as well as for the work being done to stop the spread of the disease. Inthe nation's capital, HIV is being discussed as a "modern epidemic" whichhas disproportionate impact on African American, gay male, and injectiondrug using communities.

"Sentiments such as Huckabee's that suggests isolation of persons with theHIV virus, further illustrate a clear disregard for the humanity of thosecommunities who have experienced the greatest impact by this disease and thelack of a true investment in making a difference," said Kali Lindsey, NAPWA'sdirector of federal government affairs.

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Miami Herald

www.miamiherald.com/gay

Steve Rothaus' blog for and about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgenderpeople throughout Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Gay South Florida

Log Cabin: Huckabee's AIDS comments 'deeply disturbing'

From Jimmy LaSalvia, grassroots outreach director for Log Cabin Republicansin Washington:

1992 GOP Platform Called for Compassion, While Huckabee Wanted to QuarantineAIDS Patients

"Mike Huckabee's 1992 comments on HIV/AIDS were far outside the mainstreamand inconsistent with public health standards from that time," said LogCabin President Patrick Sammon. "While we are encouraged that Gov. Huckabeewants to develop a comprehensive plan for fighting HIV/AIDS, he needs tooffer a more credible explanation for his comments than what he has offeredso far."

In 1992, Mike Huckabee, then a candidate for the U.S. Senate, advocatedisolating AIDS patients from the general public. Here's what he wrote in aquestionnaire for the Associated Press at the time. "If the federalgovernment is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, weneed to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague. It isdifficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first timein the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plaguehave not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadlydisease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issueinstead of the true health crisis it represents."

He also opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and saidhomosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk."

In sharp contrast, the 1992 Republican platform said, "We are committed toensure that our Nation's response to AIDS is shaped by compassion, not fearor ignorance, and will oppose, as a matter of decency and honor, anydiscrimination against Americans who are its victims."

In attempting to explain his 1992 comments, Huckabee said in a statement,"We didn't know as much as we do now about AIDS." But as early as 1986,U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop stated that AIDS was not spread bycasual contact.

"I've been treating people living with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of thisepidemic and have lost a partner to the disease," said Dr. David Reznik, LogCabin's healthcare policy advisor. "We knew a great deal about HIV and AIDSby 1992-certainly enough to know there was no need to isolate those who areinfected.

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Care Resource's 3rd Annual Holiday Stocking Affair

This Wednesday, December 12
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
at Bill's Filling Station

2209 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL



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Irish Independent, 10 December 2007

Curbs on partners a barrier for gay exiles hoping to come home

Edel Kennedy

A GROWING number of Irish emigrants are being put off returning toIreland -- because they can't bring their gay partner with them.

The Gay Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) said the issue of foreign partnersof Irish nationals not being allowed to live or work here is their biggestproblem area.

Spokesman Eoin Collins said the number of calls to the organisation on theissue in the past two years has doubled.

"Irish people who have a partner from outside the EU, such as Canada or theUS, are having huge problems," he said.

"We are working with somebody at the moment who is employed as a softwareengineer in Canada. He has been with his partner for 10 years and they'remarried.

"The Irish man wants to return to Ireland but if he does, his partner canonly work if he gets a work permit. And the employer can only get him one ifhe proves that he offered the job to almost everyone in Europe."

It is also problematic for Irish people who are still living here but haveentered into a relationship with a foreign national. Often their partnercannot remain here as they cannot climb the career ladder.

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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

(Monday December 10, 2007) - Human rights activists in France, South Africaand the United States descended on Cameroonian embassies in these threecountries today to express their anger at a pattern of arrests andharassment of gay men and lesbians in that country. More than 30 people havebeen arrested in Cameroon in the last two years on charges of homosexuality,despite an October 2006 ruling by the United Nations that termed sucharrests to be arbitrary and unfair. Dozens of students, particularly girlsand young women, have been expelled from schools as result of their real orperceived sexual orientation.

"Challenging the legal system that continues to criminalize homosexualitymust be a top priority for all human rights organizations," said PaulaEttelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian HumanRights Commission (IGLHRC). "We hope these actions will draw attention tothe blatant abuse that occurs not only in Cameroon but in countries all overthe world."

In France, LGBT groups led by Les Pantheres Roses stood in solidarity withAlternatives-Cameroun, a Cameroonian LGBT rights group, in front of theParvis des Droits de l'Homme in Paris, to protest the human rightsviolations. They also delivered a letter of concern to the Ambassador of theRepublic of Cameroon. In Washington, D.C., Amnesty International andLiberation for All Africans, an African LGBT Diaspora group, also delivereda letter of protest to the Cameroonian diplomatic representation. And inPretoria, IGLHRC led more than 100 protesters in a demonstration outside theCameroon High Commission.

In May 2005, 17 men and women were arrested at an open-air bistro inYaounde. Eleven of them spent more than a year at the Kondegui CentralPrison before seven of them were convicted.

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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Spiegel - Germany

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,520601,00.html

GROWING HATE
Amsterdam to Study Gay Bashers

With the number of homophobic attacks rising in the Dutch metropolis,Amsterdam officials are commissioning a study to determine why Moroccan menare targeting the city's gays.

Amsterdam is considered one of the most gay-friendly cities in Europe -- andit has long flaunted it, with bars sporting provocative names like the"Cockring" snuggled comfortably within major tourist areas. Recently,though, gays and lesbians living in the city have begun to ask how safe theyreally are in one of the continent's greatest bastions of tolerance.
In 2006, the city registered 32 hate crimes directed at gays. During thefirst half of 2007, 26 had already been reported, including an attackperpetrated during the Dutch city's annual gay pride parade in August. Theattack against a British gay couple generated headlines around the world innewspapers catering to the gay community.

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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

http://www.gayindy.org/index.php?id=news&item=83

Indiana School of Medicine Library Launches HIV/AIDS InformationOutreach Project

Indianapolis - The Indiana University School of Medicine Library has beenawarded an HIV/AIDS information outreach grant by the National Library ofMedicine. The SHINE Project (Statewide HIV/AIDS Information Network) websiteincludes links to selected resources aimed at Indiana clinicians, publichealth professionals, and citizens.

The SHINE team will also provide document delivery, and research thebiomedical literature to support projects, reports and grants. The team alsooffers specialized workshops on accessing HIV/AIDS information resources.These workshops can be tailored to the needs of the workshop participantsand are free of charge.

SHINE team members are Kellie Kaneshiro, AMLS, AHIP; Peggy Richwine, MLS,AHIP; Michael Wilkinson, MLS; and Beth Whipple, MLS. The grant is currentlyfunded through March 2008.

The Indiana University School of Medicine Library, also known as the RuthLilly Medical Library, was established in 1908 and is the only academicmedical library in the state. It provides information resources and accessto the biomedical literature to the Indiana University School of Medicine,School of Nursing Graduate Program, School of Health and RehabilitationSciences and Wishard Hospital. The Library also has an outreach program forlicensed Indiana health care professionals.

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Salon

http://www.salon.com/politics/roadies/index.html?source=whitelist

Mike Huckabee's gay and lesbian thing

Monday, Dec. 10, 2007 12:41 EST

The first thing you tend to hear about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee isthat he is a new kind of evangelical political leader -- he's not mad, helacks the fire and brimstone of damnation, and he tends to speak more aboutalleviating suffering than identifying sin. Furthermore, he is able to pulloff this new attitude without abandoning the core values of his conservativefaith. He remains adamantly against abortion, he favors teaching creationismalongside evolution, and he supports a federal amendment to ban gaymarriage.

How does he pull this off? Mostly with sympathetic, inclusive rhetoric. Atthe Values Voter debate in September, for example, Huckabee took time in ananswer about gay marriage to express his tolerance for gay people. "I wantus to be very careful that we don't come across as having some animosity orhatred toward people, even [those] whose lifestyles are inexplicable to us,"he said.

But there are now sufficient reasons to question whether Huckabee meets hisown benchmarks of tolerance when it comes to gay and lesbian issues. Overthe weekend, the Associated Press disclosed a questionnaire Huckabee hadfilled out as part of a failed 1992 campaign for the U.S. Senate.

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Times - UK

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3022254.ece

Men are 'made gay by the child within'

Richard Brooks Arts Editor
From The Sunday Times
December 9, 2007

DESMOND MORRIS, who became a bestselling author by applying zoology toexplain human behaviour, has now utilised the techniques to put forward anexplanation for homosexuality.

In his latest book, The Naked Man, he concludes that men are "made gay"because they retain infantile or juvenile characteristics into adulthood - aphenomenon known as neoteny.

According to this theory, gay men also tend to be more inventive andcreative than heterosexuals because they are more likely to retain themental agility and playfulness of childhood.

"Gays have in general made a disproportionately greater contribution to lifethan nongays," said Morris, who is also a noted artist. "The creative gayhas very much advanced Planet Earth."

"The playfulness of childhood is continued with certain people intoadulthood. This is very much a positive. Adult playfulness means thatcertain people, often a fairly large proportion of them gay, are moreinventive and curious than heterosexuals."

His theory was, however, attacked by Steve Jones, professor of genetics atUniversity College London. "It's arts faculty science to say that gays areneotenous," he said. "It's a stupid idea. Where is the real evidence?"

Morris points to work done by Clive Bromhall, who produced some of histelevision programmes. "Gays do infantile behaviour in the extreme," saidBromhall, who after gaining a PhD in zoology from Oxford, left academia toform a company making educational films.

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The Michigan Daily

http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/12/10/Viewpoints/Transgender.Issues.Unfairly.Downplayed-3140745.shtml

Transgender issues unfairly downplayed

By Brett Beckerson on 12/10/07

There has been much talk of late about issues affecting the gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender community. Events like Congress's signing of theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act - which bans workplace discriminationbased on sexual orientation - and the Transgender Day of Remembrance - whichreflects on the lives lost in the transgender community - are making peopleaware of GLBT problems. Both of these events occurred recently, but didstudents know about them?

These topics are important to the GLBT community. Unfortunately, they do notseem to be as important to those outside of the community. But they shouldbe because they concern the lives of people who live in the same dorms andsit in the same lecture halls as everyone else on this campus.

Cayden Mak wrote in a letter to the editor recently about the lack ofvisible support and acknowledgement of transgender issues at the Universityand in its media (Daily fails to do its part for awareness, 11/26/2007). Makspoke about feeling disheartened, understandably, because the Daily did notrun any stories about the Day of Remembrance. If no one on the Daily's staffknew about the event, they cannot be at fault, but if it was purposefullyleft out, then that is discrimination and it should not be tolerated.

In looking through the Daily's archives online, there were no articles aboutCongress passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in November, exceptone editorial. A major issue with this bill was that it was not ransgenderinclusive. As a result, there were protests all over the country. This topic
was talked about heatedly for weeks at every GLBT organization in thecountry, but was barely mentioned in the Daily. Is the Daily staffuninterested or unaware?

Katherine Gallagher wrote in her letter to the editor the same day as Makthat the

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The Bilerico Project

http://www.bilerico.com/2007/12/rudy_on_homosexuality_its_the_acts_that.php

Rudy on homosexuality: It's the acts that are sinful

Filed by: Alex Blaze
December 9, 2007 9:09 PM

Here's my quick transcript of Rudy on Meet the Press this morning:

Russert: But You don't think homosexuality is aberrant, unnatural, orsinful.

Giuliani: No, no, no. No, I don't believe it's sinful. My moral views onthis come from the, you know, from the Catholic Church. And I, I believethat, um, homosexuality, heterosexuality as a, as a way somebody leads theirlife is not, isn't sinful. It's the acts, the various acts that peopleperform that are sinful, not the orientation that they have.

Russert: The Congress is discussing-

Giuliani: Which includes me by the way. Unfortunately I've had my own sinsthat I've had to confess and deal with and try to overcome, and so I'm veryvery empathetic with people. We're all, we're all imperfect human beingsstruggling to, uh, to try to be better.

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Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-6/news/localnews/4239.cfm

Local bust highlights medical marijuana debate
Wilton Manors man says drug relieves his HIV symptoms

Thursday, December 06, 2007

It was a warm day Jan. 9, 2007, when police came to Robin Redman'sapartment. It was so warm, in fact, that Redman was sunning himself by thepool of the complex of his former residence in Wilton Manors.

Police had received complaints that Redman was dealing narcotics. For almost20 years, Redman, 48, has been using marijuana to alleviate symptoms relatedto AIDS.

Wilton Manors Police officer Robert Rohr approached Redman with an agentfrom the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. The officersescorted Redman from the pool to his apartment, where they told Redman thereason for their visit.

According to the police report, detectives had been observing Redman fordrug dealing, but when detectives found no suspicious activity, police wentto his residence. He remembers police looking inside drawers and siftingthrough pockets of his jacket and jeans.

Once inside the apartment, the agents began searching the apartment, Redmanrecalled.

"They told me they were looking for meth," he said. "What they found was alot of little nuggets (of pot), and they put it all together."

After nearly 90 minutes, the police found 56 grams - nearly two ounces - ofmarijuana in Redman's room.

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Express Gay News

http://www.expressgaynews.com/2007/12-6/view/editorial/4250.cfm

Tourism events showed gays have a seat at the table
New upscale hotels reach out to gay visitors during conference, fam tour

by Phil LaPadula
Thursday, December 06, 2007

As anyone who lives here knows, the hospitality industry is the backbone ofgreater Fort Lauderdale's economy. In recent times, the area's tourismprofile has been changing as several upscale hotels, including the St.Regis, and the soon-to-open W Fort Lauderdale and Trump International hotelsare poised to make their mark.

Some people have raised questions about whether or not gay tourism willcontinue to play a vital role in this new ritzier Fort Lauderdale. Thosequestions seem to have been answered this past week when Fort Lauderdalehosted three events that made it clear to everyone that the area is a topgay tourism destination.

The Eighth International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism was held at thebrand-new St. Regis Resort in Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 2 to 5. Before theconference, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau hosteda familiarization tour for gay writers, who came from all over the countryand Canada. And this past Tuesday, the Gay Life Travel Expo was held at theWar Memorial Auditorium in Holiday Park.

All three events were well attended and offered an opportunity to showcasethe Fort Lauderdale area to influential out-of-town guests. The events werealso a chance to show outsiders that Fort Lauderdale has not devolved intosome kind of fundamentalist fiefdom since Mayor Jim Naugle made nationalheadlines with his anti-gay remarks last summer.

The prestigious W Fort Lauderdale Hotel hosted a reception for the gaytravel writers on Friday evening, Nov. 30. Members of the hotel's staff werein attendance and made it clear that the hotel intends to maintain agay-friendly profile. A source at the W reception told me that she hadfirst-hand knowledge that Donald Trump chose Fort Lauderdale for his newinternational hotel because of the area's reputation as a gay resort town.So it appears that all three of the new upscale hotels are interested in thegay market.

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365Gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/12/121007obama.htm

But Did Oprah Deliver Votes?

by The Associated Press
Posted: December 10, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Des Moines, Iowa) Even before Oprah Winfrey had left the building duringthe weekend's big campaign rallies for Barack Obama, the candidate's teamhad begun an intensive follow-up effort - trying to turn tens of thousandsof Oprah fans into Obama voters.

Celebrity endorsements are typically used by campaigns to draw large crowdsand drive media coverage, but the Obama campaign is taking Winfrey's supportto another level by trying to reach everyone who came to see her within 48hours and get them on board.

It's especially important in Iowa, where the race is tight and just about7,000 votes decided the winner in the last presidential caucus.

"This is going to be a margins election," said Democratic consultant JennyBackus. "This race is going to go to the campaign that finds new voters tobring into the process."

At least 66,500 people attended the weekend Oprah-Obama rallies across threepivotal states, the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign saidMonday. Admission didn't cost any money, but it wasn't free - everyone whoentered had to fill out a ticket stub with information on how they could becontacted.

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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 folks at Focus on the Family are once again working that tired line thatone can measure the need and desire for marriage equality by examining howmany gay couples have signed up for civil unions in the locales where suchare available. After quoting some short-sighted numbers regarding who in VT,CT, and NJ have entered into such a union, FOF CitizenLink says thefollowing: "There are actually only a very small percentage of homosexualcouples that desire that type of legal union, so once that demand is met, itdrops off significantly," said Jenny Tyree, associate marriage analyst forFocus on the Family Action Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at theFamily Research Council, said he questions the argument that gay couplesdesperately need such legal benefits. "This puts the lie to all of that," hesaid, "because if it really was such a hardship to live as a partneredcouple without the benefits of marriage, then you would think they would allrush out to sign up as soon as those legal benefits were available to them."

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Few people took Bill McConkey seriously when he filed a lawsuit in Julytrying to overturn Wisconsin's new ban on gay marriage and civil unions. Therelatively unknown University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh political scienceinstructor was acting as his own lawyer and didn't have the backing of thestate's major gay rights group.
But his challenge to the amendment -- approved by 59 percent of voters lastyear -- has picked up steam in recent weeks.



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National Gay News

http://nationalgaynews.com/

Go to the website, above, for the following articles:

--
Debbie Woodell
Give 'Don't Ask' The Boot
Somewhere in my ancestry is a Revolutionary War hero. Samuel Chew was a Navyofficer killed in battle while fighting the British. Other ancestors servedon both sides of the Civil War, as well as during more recent times. Ilearned all this while researching why I'd received a high school graduationaward from the Jewish War Veterans.I found no Jewish war vets. But whowouldn't be proud to learn of such distinguished service? That's what makes"don't ask, don't tell" so shameful. This nation should be proud of anyonewho puts on a uniform and serves honorably.

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Gay Rights Advocates Expect a Productive Session
Gay rights advocates and leading lawmakers expect to expand the list ofcivil rights for gays and lesbians with new protections for same-sex coupleswho register as domestic partners.However, the ultimate goal -- fullmarriage rights for gay people -- will most likely have to wait as electionyear politics make such a push very unlikely during the 2008 Legislature.

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Transgender Issues Unfairly Downplayed
There has been much talk of late about issues affecting the gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender community. Events like Congress's signing of theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act - which bans workplace discriminationbased on sexual orientation - and the Transgender Day of Remembrance - whichreflects on the lives lost in the transgender community - are making peopleaware of GLBT problems. Both of these events occurred recently, but didstudents know about them?These topics are important to the GLBT community.
Unfortunately, they do not seem to be as important to those outside of thecommunity. But they should be because they concern the lives of people wholive in the same dorms and sit in the same lecture halls as everyone else onthis campus.

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Is Ricky Martin Gay?
A close friend of Ricky Martin has once again stirred the debate about theLatin heartthrob's sexuality by commenting that he is gay. Skin carespecialist Ole Henriksen in an interview with a gay Swedish magazine 'Salonk'
said that the 'Livin' La Vida Loca' hitmaker has become quite open with hissexual preference.

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Scientists Make Fruit Flies Gay,Then Straight Again
While several studies find homosexuality in humans and other animals isbiological rather than learned, a question remains over whether it's ahard-wired phenomenon or one that can be altered.A new study finds that bothdrugs and genetic manipulation can turn the homosexual behavior of fruitflies on and off within a matter of hours.



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From ACLU

When a defendant admits to destroying key evidence, it's typically called "obstruction of justice." When the Bush administration admits to destroyingevidence of wrongdoing, it's called business as usual.

Last week, the head of the C.I.A., Michael Hayden, announced the agencydestroyed tapes of what he called a "harsh interrogation" and what you and Iwould call torture. The reason? To protect agency operatives from legalconsequences.

We want to get to the bottom of this and the only way to do that is toappoint an independent prosecutor.

Sign our petition: Demand Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independentprosecutor to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute wrongdoing. https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageServerpagename=cia_petition&s_s=email&JServSessionIdr012=vr8hbq05y2.app23a

The C.I.A. withheld knowledge of the tapes' destruction from the House andSenate intelligence committees who oversee the C.I.A. They also withheld thetapes from federal prosecutors and the 9/11 Commission even though they werespecifically asked for depictions of interrogations. According to the formerdirector of the 9/11 Commission, this could amount to obstruction ofjustice.

Thankfully, members of Congress are already expressing their outrage overthis action. On the Senate floor, Senator Kennedy warned his colleagues, "Wehaven't seen anything like this since the 18 and a half minute gap in thetapes of Richard Nixon."

Sign our petition: Demand Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independentprosecutor to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute wrongdoing.

This is a cover-up of epic proportions. So far the attorney general hasresponded by launching a "preliminary inquiry." But the Justice Departmentand the C.I.A. cannot be trusted to investigate themselves -- they are thevery agencies that authorized and carried out the government's tortureprogram. Only an independent prosecutor can get at the truth.

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