In Holland, Michigan, a coalition of pro-gay community activists will meet Wednesday to determine how best to respond to a full-page advertisement that ran in the July 23rd edition of the Holland Sentinel sponsored by the Family Research Council and Request Foods (a corporation that counts Campbell Soup among its clients) warned of “pro-homosexual activists” who were attempted to allocate “special protection” under employment discriminations laws. The ad also argues that homosexuality is a choice, a “voluntary sexual” behaviour that is “harmful to individuals and to society.” Worse, the ad actually says that homosexuals can be changed into heterosexuals “sometimes spontaneously, and sometimes as a result of therapeutic interventions.”
In Madison, Wisconsin, despite the deeply violent rhetoric of an anti-gay marriage audience estimated to be in the fifties, the National Organization for Marriage summer One Man, One Woman Tour failed once more, an estimated 500 pro-gay supporters effectively drowning out NOM’s message of hate, although according to Katie Belanger, the executive director of Fair Wisconsin, who organized the counter-NOM movement, the idea was not to disrupt, but to demonstrate that the citizens of the state care about the conceit of marriage. Belanger said that “the purpose of the rally was really to show the LBGT community supports marriage too, and to really highlight the need for marriage equality in Wisconsin. We want to show that people in Wisconsin are fair-minded and marriage is something we agree with (NOM) about – it is important and it does provide caring couples with the legal protections and respect we think everyone deserves.” Among those supporter s of NOM was Julaine Appling, the CEO of the Wisconsin Family Council, who, in thanking anti-gay marriage proponents, said “you have real jobs, you have real lives. Marriage is under attack in Wisconsin. Standing for marriage as God designed marriage is not easy.”
Nathan Quinones has died. The 79 year old suffering a stroke Sunday. Quinones was the New York City school system chancellor during the mid-nineteen eighties, and among his accomplishments, which included reducing the city’s drop rates and raising achievement standards, he help found the Harvey Milk High School in lower Manhattan, the first safe space LBGT school in the United States.
The undercover officer who fatally shot 49 year old DeFarra Gaymon in Newark’s Branch Brook Park has been identified. He is 29 year old Edward Esposito, of Morris County, New Jersey, an award winning detective, who was given a medal of merit in May for his role in attempting to break up an attempted carjacking in November, 2009. Esposito has been a sheriff’s officer for eight years. He shot Gaymon Friday, July 16th, around 6:00 pm, alleging that the married father of four Atlanta CEO who was attending a high school reunion was soliciting sex in the park, known as a gay cruising area, and that while struggling to arrest Gaymon, Esposito was forced to discharge his gun in self-defence. There were no witnesses to the shooting.
Bruce Weber photographs Jose Maria Manzanares for the August issue of L’Uomo Vogue. Weber also directed the accompanying film, seen below.
Doug Inglish photographs the deeply dreamy Evandro Soldati for GQ Germany.
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