Friday morning, twenty-eight year old Sahand Mahmoodi appeared in a Toronto, Ontario court where he was formally charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault for having unprotected sex with another man and failing to disclose his HIV positive status, after meeting the man on an internet site.
This Tuesday, the New York State Assembly is scheduled to vote on and pass legislation put forward by Governor David A. Paterson that will legalize gay marriage in the state, but with only six weeks left till the Legislature recesses for the summer, it is likely or even possible that the bill will become law? It is possible, given the support available by Democrats, but likely is a tougher call, as proponents and opponents launch an intense battle of lobbying, both sides trying to convince potential Republican swing votes like Senator James S. Alesi of Rochester to sway their way. Most interesting: the Senate minority leader, Dean G. Skelos, has informed Republicans that they are not mandated to follow the party line on the issue of same-sex marriage, and have been instructed to vote following the personal line.
Senator Tom Duane, who is carrying the gay marriage bill into the New York Senate says he believes the momentum from recent victories in both Iowa and Maine will carry over into the debate in New York, and he firmly contends the legislation will be passed; in fact the Senator is making the bill’s passage a priority, wanting to compete with neighboring New Jersey, a state expected to legalize same-sex marriage by the end of 2009.
Utah meanwhile continues to provide fertile ground for gay activists eager to see same-sex marriage legalized in that state, which, under the progressive tutelage of Governor Jon Huntsman, whose own political aspirations tend to make him more daring, has seen a sea change when it comes to the increase and strengthening of gay rights, gay marriage being the ideal.
Kirby Dick’s Outrage opened Friday in an limited engagement in selected cities, the documentary examining a number of prominent politicians who supported anti-gay legislation while themselves were closeted, with the director adamant that outing is not only necessary, it is the responsibility of the media to do so whenever it can. Dick contends hypocrisy makes for fair game, and that outing is in the rule book.
A twenty-four year old Metro Boston Transit Authority trolley operator, who had been employed for a little less than two years, was sending a text message to his girlfriend moments before he rear-ended another trolley Friday evening, injuring at least forty-nine passengers.
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