Sad news, Denis Simpson has died. He was 59, just shy of turning 60, Simpson succumbing to a sudden brain haemorrhage Friday in Toronto. The CBC reports that Simpson was originally from Jamaica and grew up in Scarborough, making a move to New York City in his early 20’s. He was an original member of the Canadian a cappella group The Nylons, and, most memorably, was one of the hosts the popular TVO children’s series Polka Dot Door.
The Globe and Mail reports that several hours before a municipal election in Toronto, an anti-gay advertisement appeared on a Tamil radio station Saturday, in which a man is asked who he is voting for. The other man answers “What kind of question is this? I am Tamil. We have religion and culture. Take Rob Ford: His wife is a woman,” an obvious reference to Ford’s rival George Smitherman, who is openly gay, married, and raising an adopted child. The ad prompted several complaints, and was quite quickly taken off air. Ford issued a statement saying “I do not condone the recent Tamil radio ad. I support diversity and have no issues with others’ lifestyle choices.” Sunday, flyers with an anti-gay sentiment appeared over posters for city council candidate Rasal Rahman, a Muslim and Smitherman supporter, who said “I don’t like dirty politics. Islam may say homosexuality is not for Muslims, but it doesn’t say don’t vote for these people.”
In Australia, Labour secretary Senator Doug Cameron said that is inevitable that laws will be changed to allow gay marriage in the country, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Cameron added that voters are right to express concern that the federal government and the coalition have silenced debate on same sex marriage, Prime Minister Julia Gillard consistently saying that the Labour party has decided that the Marriage should not be amended and that marriage must be defined as that existing only between one man and one woman. Cameron, however, believes different, saying “I just can’t understand why a party that calls itself progressive can’t allow two people who love each other, who are committed to a long-term arrangement should be treated differently. My view is this is absolutely inevitable and I think we should reconsider our position.”
The New York Times reports that there are a number of transgendered individuals who are viable candidates for public office this fall, including Teresa Sparks. A decade ago, Sparks had successful gender reassignment surgery, and she is running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisor on a sort of surprisingly conservative platform – pro-development and anti-loitering – and she has been endorsed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the city’s firefighter’s union and the country deputy sheriff’s association. “This district really needs someone with a strong business background, a strong economic background and a really wide diversity of experience,” says Sparks who is an experienced engineer, a Navy veteran, and the former chief executive of Good Vibrations, a sex toy company. If she is elected, Sparks will become the first transgender supervisor in San Francisco.
In Massachusetts, Republican House candidate Sean Bielat – running against Barney Frank – told the Boston Herald editorial board last week that he believes openly gay men and women do not have the right to serve in the military, I think. “There’s no absolute right to serve,” said Sean. “Men under the height of 5 feet, 2 inched can’t serve – I don’t see anybody protesting. Where are the people standing in front of the White House, the short guys standing in front of the White House? You don’t see it. We understand that there’s no absolute right to serve in all these other areas.”
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