Bank Of America Announces It Will Reimburse Gay Employees To Cover Federal Tax Inequalities, Tory Councillor Suspended For Tweeting That Since Party Supports Same Sex Marriage It “May As Well Legalise Marriage With Animals,” Church Of Ireland Suggests Support Of Same Sex Relationships Will Lead To Erosion, Harvard Men’s Wrestling Team Comes As Gay Allies On National Coming Out Day, University Of Iowa Considers Creating Gay Fraternity

Bank of America will soon reimburse gay employees who insure same-sex partners for the extra federal taxes they pay on health coverage. The Charlotte Observer reports that the program was announced as part of the company's open enrolment for health, medical and dental insurance this month, and will go into effect next year, said company spokeswoman Ferris Morrison. For heterosexual married couples, employer-paid health benefits for spouses are non-taxable, and employees can use pre-tax dollars to pay premiums. But for gay couples, the benefits are taxable and premiums must be paid with after-tax money. The Bank of America program will make up that tax difference. Large companies have long offered coverage to domestic partners. Bank of America has offered the coverage since 1998. The Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for issues important to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, reports that the majority of employers with more than 5,000 workers now offer health insurance to employees' same-sex partners. Tax-reimbursement programs are much more recent, and are only offered by a handful of employers, including Bain & Co., Barclays Capital and Facebook, according to the Human Rights Campaign. "It's fairly new and we see it growing. With each major corporation that adopts this practice, we hope that the rest of the corporate world will see this and follow suit," said Human Rights Campaign spokesman Paul Guequierre. "It's about basic fairness." Morrison said the bank does not have an estimate of how much the average employee who insures a same-sex partner pays in extra taxes, or an estimate of how much the new program will cost the bank. The Williams Institute, part of the UCLA law school, has pegged the average cost at $1,100 a year, Guequierre said, though the figure is not specific to any employer.

In Britain, a senior Tory councillor has been suspended after suggesting his party "may as well legalise marriage with animals" after David Cameron declared his support for same sex marriage. The Guardian reports that party chiefs took immediate action against James Malliff, a cabinet member of the Tory-controlled Wycombe council in Buckinghamshire, who is in charge of "big society and localism". A party spokesman said, "These comments are completely unacceptable. Councillor Malliff's local party association has suspended him with immediate effect." The London Evening Standard reported that Malliff tweeted to Paul Goodman, a former Conservative MP, who asked whether legalising gay marriage could lead to multiple sharia marriages being made lawful. Malliff wrote, “There is no doubt the PM is wrong on this issue. We may as well legalise marriage with animals, crude I concede but no apology." Another tweet on his feed read, "Great keynote address by David Cameron, not sure about legalising gay marriage though, what happened to sanctity of marriage #odd." The tweets have since been removed. In a statement to the Press Association, Malliff admitted his comments were "ill-conceived and crude,” adding, “I am deeply, deeply sorry for the offence I have caused. I was not intending to be offensive. It was much more a comment to try to establish where we draw the line on these things. My comment [on Twitter] was there is no doubt the PM has got this wrong and you may as well legalise marriage with animals. It sounds terrible now, but it was not meant to be anti-gay. I am not anti-gay and I respect people's views on this issue. The comments were ill-conceived and crude, but I want to know where we are going on this – it needs to be discussed." The gay rights group Stonewall said, "We warmly welcome the decision of the Conservative party to suspend Councillor Malliff. It's extraordinary in 2011 that he is prepared to insult so many of his council taxpayers in this way."

The Church of Ireland Gazette has expressed concern that plans by bishops for a study of same-sex relationships in the Church “could be a charter for years-long argumentation.” According to The Belfast Telegraph, the Gazette, which retains an independent stance in the Church, also expressed fears that the issue could “imperil” the very unity of the Church of Ireland itself. The current controversy arose after the disclosure that the Dean of Leighlin, the Very Reverend Tom Gordon, entered into a civil partnership this summer with his companion of 20 years. Evangelicals are also concerned that the Dean was appointed by Bishop Michael Burrows with full knowledge of the relationship. Last week the House of Bishops issued a statement and a pastoral letter after a private three-day meeting. They agreed to consider the issue further, and urged Church members to refrain from actions or words which might exacerbate the situation. However, the Gazette pointed out that the controversy has faced the worldwide Anglican Communion for over a decade. It said that while consultation during this period bought more time, the availability of more time “turns out to have been precisely not what was needed” with the Anglican Communion having reached “breaking point”.

Before their Tuesday afternoon practice, members of the Harvard varsity wrestling team posed for a picture on the steps in front of the Malkin Athletic Center. But, reports The Crimson, instead of sporting their team uniforms in this photo, the athletes came in gay pride attire and rainbow pins that read “Proud Ally.” In honour of National Coming Out Day, the men chose to wear the pins in solidarity with the BGLTQ community. Harvard College Queer Students and Allies co-president Emma Q. Wang ’12 said that this year the student group wanted to emphasize the importance of coming out as an ally. “Sometimes it’s difficult to be very vocal as an ally,” she said. “We want them to feel included because they play such an important role.” According to wrestler David J. Lalo ’13, it was a non-resident tutor in Lowell House, Robert Joseph “R.J.” Jenkins, who inspired the team to participate in National Coming Out Day. “[R.J.] has made a tremendous impact across our team,” Lalo said. “We wanted to show him we support the LGBT community.” Jenkins, who is openly gay, said that he casually brought up the idea of wearing the pins one day while speaking with several athletes in the Lowell dining hall. He said the men responded positively to his proposal. “I started to imagine it as an opportunity for them to come out as allies,” he said. “To think about a day for allies to come out and say, ‘I accept these people in my life. I accept them for who they are.’” The athletes said their close relationship with Jenkins compelled them to show support for the BGLTQ community. “He’s been a mentor and an advisor,” said wrestler Steven M. Keith ’13, who wore a shirt that read, “Some Kids R Gay. That’s OK.” Timothy P. McCarthy ’93, director of the Sexuality, Gender, and Human Rights program at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, remembered that when he was an undergraduate, BGLTQ-identified individuals faced a stigma in the Harvard community. “A lot of us wanted to distance ourselves from those courageous souls,” McCarthy said. While House tutors and other faculty members provided a support system for BGLTQ students, McCarthy said solidarity was not as public then as it is today. Jenkins said the athletes are leaders in the effort to combat discrimination against BGLTQ-identified individuals. Wearing a shirt that said, “Some Dudes Marry Dudes. Get Over It,” Anthony J. Buxton ’13, a varsity wrestler, said he had received smiles from people on the street, adding “There is a much larger community of allies who are willing and ready–even eager–to stand with their LGBT peers.”

The University of Iowa is gauging interest for a potential fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men, The Iowa Press-Citizen reports. Kelly Jo Karnes, associate director for the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership, said it’s the latest effort by the organization to expand the Greek community “We’re trying to build up our offerings and grow our community, so we want to see what the interest is on campus for this,” Karnes said. UI has 40 fraternities and sororities, including several geared toward specific cultural groups. Specifically, Karnes said UI is interested in starting a local chapter of the Delta Lambda Phi fraternity, a national organization for gay, bisexual and progressive men, founded in 1986, according to its website. A Delta Lambda Phi chapter opened at Iowa State University in 2005 and Chris Celania, an ISU junior and president of the chapter said Tuesday it provides a good option for men who feel like they might not fit in with other groups on campus. “I’d always been kind of interested in fraternities but was concerned that, as a gay individual, others wouldn’t be accepting,” Celania said. “Delta Lambda Phi is a safe environment.” The ISU chapter has four active members and recruited 12 new members this semester, Celania said. For the most part, other students at ISU have been welcoming of the chapter, he said, adding “It’s a very open campus. There really isn’t any opposition, and people aren’t outwardly saying anything. I feel safe on campus, and I think the others do, too.” Karnes said it is unlikely that a UI organization would have an actual house in Iowa City because space for fraternity and sorority houses is limited. None of the multi-cultural Greek organizations at UI, which vary in size from two to about 20 members, have houses, but Karnes said they still can participate in the same Greek activities and many still live together in apartments or on campus. “We tell the chapters all the time they don’t need walls to have a great chapter experience,” Karnes said. “The University of Iowa is a great place to start any kind of new interest group that is progressive and forward thinking.” UI senior Thomas Arce, president of the Multi-Cultural Greek Council, said he’s heard from a number of students who are interested in the new fraternity.