The Hattiesburg American reports that the Forrest County Sherriff’s Department says that no state or federal laws were broken when a former gay employee was fired, Sherriff Billy McGee and the his department sued by Andre Cooley in October after the former jailer was fired, Cooley claiming because of his sexual orientation. Bear Atwood, an attorney for the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who filed the suit on behalf of Cooley, says that there exists laws meant to protect public workers, and that the department has failed to provide any legitimate reason why Cooley was fired, other than he is openly gay. However, defense attorney Jim K. Dukes, in an answer to the lawsuit given Friday, counters that there is “justified ground for his termination that has nothing to do with his sexual orientation,” adding that Cooley was an at-will employee who worked “solely at the pleasure of the Forrest County Sheriff.” Cooley was terminated following a domestic violence incident in June between himself and his boyfriend, Forrest County deputies responding to the call, Cooley listed as the victim; an important detail since Sherriff McGee had said in an earlier interview that Cooley “got into a fight with his boyfriend and the police were called to his house for a domestic disturbance. Those kinds of incidents don’t speak well for people in law enforcement.”
Monday, California state Senator Mark Leno (Democrat- San Francisco) proposed new legislation to ensure that the historical contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals do not go unnoticed by California students, according to a report from News 10. Leno proposed SB 48 – the Fair Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act – designed to prohibit the exclusion of LGBT individuals in school curriculum and instruction materials in grades kindergarten to twelve. Leno said that "Current law requires social sciences instruction to include a number of groups such as men, women, African Americans, American Indians, Mexicans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, as well as other ethnic groups. The new bill would insert LGBT individuals into that list." Carolyn Laub, the executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance, which is co-sponsoring the act, says that the law is important since “"Often students say the only time they hear about LGBT individuals is when they learn about AIDS. This kind of learning perpetuates stereotypes about gay men without explaining their positive contributions to society." Leno echoed Laub’s sentiment that often the distortion of LGBT history leads to harassment, which the bill aims to eradicate. "We want to make sure that schools are not breeding grounds for the feared ignorance that fuels bullying, which can lead to hate, violence and suicide," Leno said.
The 68th Annual Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, The King’s Speech earning the most nominations for a motion picture with 7, followed by The Fighter and The Social Network, each earning 6. The Kid’s Are All Right earned 4 nominations. Glee was the most nominated television program with 5, Hawaii Five-O inexplicably earning 1 acting nomination for Scott Caan.
An assortment of actors grace the newest covers of W magazine for an editorial titled Generation Now, including new objection of desire Garrett Hedlund, donning a white tee shirt, tucked into tight leopard print pants.
Ryan Gosling, meanwhile, covers the newest issue of GQ magazine, his bright blue bedroom eyes beckoning all.
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