Mecklenburg County Commissioners Censure Anti-Gay Bill James Who Appears Unfazed, Openly Gay Former Enterprise Sailor Defends Captain Honours Saying He Was Not Homophobe But Comedic, 21 Year Old Arrested In Florida For Killing Two Says He Had To Murder The Men Because They Had Homosexual Tendencies, Northern Trust Tries To Secure Gay Market, David Cicilline Sworn In

The Charlotte Observer reports that Tuesday the Mecklenburg County Commission and members of the public censured Bill James over recent comments the commissioner made categorising homosexuals as “sexual predators.” Later, James joined commission colleagues in unanimously adopting a resolution pledging support for diversity, inclusion, and tolerance in the community, while opposing inflammatory speech that could damage others, James saying he supporting the resolution in part, he said, because he is not named in it and that “it won’t really accomplish anything.” He added that the measure was a means to put a “nice, glossy, fancy facade” on the issue as the community bids to bring the Democratic National Convention to town, and that if fellow commissioners were serious about standing up for sexual rights, they’d try to get state laws revised.

A former Enterprise sailor, openly gay since leaving the Navy, is defending Captain Owen Honors Jr. and his questionable judgement in creating and distributing homophobic, racist, and sexist videos, WTKR reporting former Petty Officer Eric Prenger is heading an effort to organise with other former gay Enterprise sailors to support Captain Honors. Prenger says that “Myself, nor the other gay crew members that I knew of at the time, were ever offended by those videos,” adding that depression set in because of the long deployments in 2006 and 2007 aboard the Enterprise, and that the videos represented an attempt by Honors to boast morale. “Obviously my initial reaction was a little bit of a shock to see a Commander, a person of such high ranking doing the things he was doing,” Prenger saying the videos were comedic not homophobic. “To see them call him such names as anti-gay or gay basher or homophobe, for people to say that who didn’t even known him or weren’t even there to serve him, it’s pretty frustrating,” said Prenger, adding “He was a great man to serve under and this was an unfortunate circumstance and if I can do my part in any way, I’d be more than happy to do so.”

Miami-Dade Police arrested 21 year old Matthew Guzman, and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder, WSVN reporting that according to police Guzman shot and killed 46 year old Paul Barrow, and confessed to killing his neighbour, 64 year old Harry Ray, one month earlier. According to the arrest affidavits, the 21 year old confessed to hunting down his victim, shooting and killing them because he believed them to be gay and to making sexual advances on him. The police report states “His motive for committing the murder was due to his belief that the victim had homosexual tendencies. (The suspect) further stated that the victim had recently looking at him in an inappropriate manner of which (the suspect) felt was loaded with homosexual connotations, thus causing him to kill the victim. The subject confessed ... eventually claiming that the victim made homosexual advances towards him, leaving him no choice but to shoot the victim.” Guzman is being without bond.

Northern Trust Company announced the launch Tuesday of a practice catering specifically to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, the Chicago Tribune reports. John McGowan, an openly gay employee of Northern for 13 years, said “Northern Trust recognises the definition of family has evolved,” and that gays “have unique financial and estate planning challenges that people who don’t have the benefit of marriage face.”

David Cicilline, the former mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, has become the fourth openly gay member of Congress, Cicilline sworn in along with other members of the 112th session of Congress, reports the Providence Journal. Cicilline joins three other openly gay members of Congress, all of whom are Democrats in the House: Jared Polis of Colorado, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.