Rodger McFarlane, Death Without Dignity For Gays Without Basic Civil Rights, John Eichelberger, Patrick Swayze Alive, Marc Sanchez Is No Tom Brady

Last week, on Friday, long time HIV/AIDS activist Rodger McFarlane died in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where he had been travelling. Mr. McFarlane, 54, was ill, and took his own life. He helped create the Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, the Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center, and Bailey House, a service providing housing for the homeless living with HIV. A statement by Rodger’s friends was released Monday by GLAAD, detailing the incredible and incalculable contributions he made during his lifetime for and to the gay community at large.

As though another reminder on the inequality of gay men and women were required, the New York Times reports on the story of Janice Langbehn, a social worker from Lacey, Washington, who, on vacation in Florida with her partner of eighteen years, Lisa Pond, and the couple’s three adopted children, were all denied access to Pond, who, having suffered an aneurysm, was admitted to a Miami trauma center where she soon died. Langbehn, aided by Lambda Legal defense, is suing the hospital. Of interest – both women had prepared living wills, advanced directives, and power of attorney documents, all of which was ignored by hospital officials and staff.

Pennsylvania Senator John Eichelberger, a Republican, surprisingly, is making plans to introduce legislation that would amend the state constitution so that no court could legalize gay marriage, adding to the burden faced by gay activists, who are still aiming to gain workplace protection for gays and lesbians in Pennsylvania, a state that despite appearances and expectations, is woefully unprogressive on social issues.

Like last week’s erroneous report that the California Supreme Court had overturned Proposition 8, Twitter and those who recklessly tweet spread another fallacious rumor rocketing through the world wide web internets – this time wrongly detailing the death of Patrick Swayze. He is alive, reports his publicist, very much alive, thank you.

Is Mark Sanchez, the rookie New York Jet quarterback who skipped his senior year at USC to enter this year’s NFL draft, the next Tom Brady? Um, no, he is not, but he is cute and he photographs well.