They call themselves Safety In Numbers, or The S.I.N. Patrol. The volunteer group's primary function is to provide protection on the streets and sidewalks outside of Salt Lake City's gay nightclubs, reports Fox 13 Now. Beatings of gay men in Utah have made headlines in recent months, most notably Dane Hall, who was assaulted outside of Club Sound in the early morning hours of August 26th. No suspects have been named or arrested in the incident. In weeks since, fear has persisted within Utah's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. "There have been a lot of people complaining there's not enough police coverage or security in the clubs," said Joshua Barnes who started S.I.N. "The police do a good job, but they can't be everywhere. We thought rather than just complain; we'd just do something. And the simplest thing we could do is just be here. Be an extra set of eyes, an extra body." The organization has over 140 members who connect through Facebook, go out in small groups and keep a blog of their activities. Most are gay men in their 20's like Chris Deuel. "I was looking for ways to give back to the community and I like that this was a sensible way to prevent a major problem," Deuel said. A typical night for S.I.N. starts with something resembling a small party. They meet at a member's home. There's music, laughter, and decisions about what to wear. "We dress up just to draw attention away from other people, we can handle it better than they can," said Deuel. In a matter of moments the men transform into what looks like a cast of discarded Disney characters. One guy looks like an overgrown leprechaun, one squeezes into a black and white leotard, and another emerges from the bathroom wearing an ugly green dress with shoulder pads. Joshua dons thigh high boots, shorts, a robe, and a headdress. Someone asked why he was wearing so many belts. "In case all this fashion busts loose" he joked. As he shows off his ensemble, he points out an accessory. "A little pepper spray just in case." Then it is off to the clubs.
Andries Coetzee has already started looking for a new job. The University of Michigan linguistics professor is afraid he’s going to lose benefit allowances for his domestic partner of seven years, who is in remission after an exhausting battle with soft tissue sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. A recurrence is an all-too-real risk, and good health care is essential, argues Coetzee, who has been with partner Gary Woodall for seven years. But, reports Ann Arbor.com, domestic partner benefits for state employees —including staff at Michigan’s 15 public universities— are in jeopardy due to a bill that seeks to save approximately $8 million a year by eliminating the benefits. House bill 4770 was approved by the Michigan House of Representatives in September in a 64-44 vote and is currently under consideration by the state senate. Coetzee, who moved to Ann Arbor from South Africa ten years ago, said he is frustrated that rights for same sex couples in Michigan appear to be “moving in the opposite direction” of most communities. This year alone, five states have passed or enacted legislation allowing civil unions between same sex couples. “I question my decision to come to Michigan,” Coetzee said. When Coetzee accepted a job at U-M, he also turned one down at New York University. “I chose Michigan because it just seemed better. But now New York just made same sex marriage legal and now in Michigan… they want people like my partner to not get treated.” U-M Latin professor Sara Ahbel-Rappe said that if bill 4770 passes there will likely be a large exodus of professors who leave the university. “It’s a total slap in the face. It tells me that I don’t deserve the same consideration” as heterosexual couples, she said. “People will leave.” Ahbel-Rappe and six other professors authored a letter to Gov. Rick Synder asking him not to sign bill 4770 if passed by the senate. The letter calls the bill discriminatory and says it will negatively affect staff recruitment at the university. U-M officials are also concerned about the bill’s effects. Nearly all of U-M’s competitors offer benefits to same-sex partners. So do most Fortune 500 companies. “These benefits are important for the successful recruitment and retention of our top-flight faculty and staff,” said Cynthia Wilbanks, U-M’s vice president of government relations. “We’re in competition on a lot of levels; this would be an added competitive disadvantage.” Wilbanks said the university is actively lobbying politicians in Lansing. Will it be enough? “If the bill gets to the senate floor there will be a vigorous debate ..." she said, "but over a long career, I have learned not to speculate.” But the uncertainty is too much for some professors, who do not want to be left in the lurch if the bill passes. “The consequences of this is that I am actively applying for jobs elsewhere… at universities that don’t have these limitations,” Coetzee said. “I don’t want to leave the University of Michigan, I am really happy here. It’s a great school to work at, but I have to take care of my family.” Scott Dennis has been a librarian at U-M for 14 years. His partner of 10 years originally moved to Ann Arbor after being lured by the school's domestic partner benefits (that partner now runs his own business). Dennis says, if passed, the bill would be an insurmountable blow to U-M. “I am concerned for the university as a whole,” Dennis said. “It would be a really damaging blow to the university’s reputation as a fair and humane employer. I think it would cause us to lose faculty and never get them back,” adding that “It would just be tragic for the university.” Representative Dave Agema, a Republican who sponsored the bill, contends that there are 618 individuals —at a cost to the state of $7,000 to $10,000 per person— receiving benefits through U-M’s domestic partner benefits program. The program allows the non-biological children of a staff member’s domestic partner to also receive benefits. Currently domestic benefits extend to both heterosexual and homosexual domestic partners. "It is not the responsibility of taxpayers to support the roommates and unmarried partners of public employees," Agema said in a statement. "Providing benefits in this way is not the role of the state, especially when tax dollars are in short supply and there are critical programs being affected by the decrease in revenue.”
Will Kurt and Blaine’s first time also be their last? TVLine.com reports that McKinley High’s trailblazing twosome are to consummate their relationship in Glee‘s November 8 episode titled, appropriately, The First Time. But, the outing also marks the introduction of the first significant obstacle for the happy couple: a scheming, Blaine-crushing gay Dalton Academy Warbler Sebastian, played by the very sexy Grant Gustin.
Model Andrej Pejic is named Out magazine’s Stylemaker of the Year, the accompanying photograph a tribute to the famous Richard Avedon picture of Nastassja Kinski and a snake.
Calvin Klein and boyfriend Nick Gruber spotted at the Standard Hotel’s Saints and Sinners Halloween party, the 67-year-old Klein and 21-year-old Gruber an odd pair, no matter what time of the year.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Reno Texas Man Attacked; 26-Year-Old Burke Burnett Stabbed With Broken Beer Bottle And Thrown Onto Fire
A 26-year-old gay man says he was the victim of a horrific hate crime early Sunday in Reno, Texas, a small town just east of Paris and about 100 miles northeast of Dallas. The Dallas Voice reports that Burke Burnett said he was at a private party at about 1:00 am when four men suddenly attacked him, stabbing him at least twice with a broken beer bottle before throwing him onto a fire. His attackers yelled things like “pussy-ass faggot,” “gay bitch” and “cock-sucking punk,” Burnett said. He said it took 30 stitches to close stab wounds to his back and forearm, as well as a cut above his left eye, (there are pictures at the source) and also sustained second-degree burns and severe bruises. “They knew I was gay,” Burnett said Monday. “I’m convinced they were trying to kill me.” Jeff Sugg, interim chief of the Reno Police Department, released a statement Monday afternoon saying, “The Reno Police Department is currently investigating an aggravated assault that took place last weekend. The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided when available.” Reno police officials declined to further discuss their investigation. Burnett said the officer investigating the case told him the attack will be classified as a hate crime, but said his attackers, whose identities are known, remain at large, and the officer told him it could be two weeks before they are arrested. “I’m scared for my life,” Burnett said, adding that he is staying with a family friend. “I’m scared to go home. These guys have nothing to lose.” Burnett said he grew up in Paris and came out as gay when he was 15. He knows at least one of his attackers personally. Two of the suspects have been to prison and may be on parole, he said. Burnett said he has attended several parties at the residence and was invited by his straight friend who lives there. He arrived at the party several hours earlier with three gay friends. However, the group left after someone at the party was overheard making anti-gay remarks such as, “These faggots don’t deserve to be here. Somebody needs to get them out of there.” Burnett said he did not hear the remarks and was not aware of them when he returned to the party later in the evening with one of his girlfriends. Burnett said he was sitting inside a large metal shed called “the party shop” when he was blindsided with a punch to his left eye. When he got up and tried to defend himself, one of his attackers stabbed him in the back with a broken beer bottle. Burnett called the stab wound “a kill shot” but said fortunately it didn’t puncture his lung. One of the suspects stabbed him a second time in the right forearm, cutting into the muscle but missing an artery, before he was thrown onto a lit burn barrel. At that point, some of Burnett’s girlfriends managed to slow down the attackers enough so that he could escape to a vehicle. None of the other 20 people at the party attempted to stop the attack, he said. Burnett’s girlfriends eventually drove him to a hospital in Sulphur Springs, about 30 miles away. Burnett said he’s hoping none of his injuries are permanent, and is scheduled to return to the doctor on Friday. Chivas Clem, one of Burnett’s gay friends who accompanied him to the party, contacted Dallas Voice and other media outlets about the attack Monday morning. Chivas, an artist who recently moved to Paris from New York City, said he fears people in the small, conservative town will try to brush the incident under the rug. “I intend to make sure the Police Department follows through with this, and that the local press covers it,” Chivas said. “When I saw him [Burnett], I vomited because he looked so bad — and I cried.” Another one of Burnett’s gay friends, Austin Holloman, said he’s heard police are considering downgrading the charges to misdemeanours because the attack occurred at a party. Holloman said he recently moved to Paris to live with his partner, who’s from there and has known Burnett since childhood. “We don’t want people thinking this is OK in this area,” Holloman said. “We plan on being here forever.”
Co-Founder Of Advocate And Gay Rights Champion Aristide Laurent Dead At 74, 18-Year-Old Male Charged With Murder Of Stuart Walker, Uganda Complains That United Kingdom Threat To Withhold Aid Unless Gay Rights Record Reversed Childish Act, Irish Independent Writer Argues That Loud And Proud Gays Have Forgotten They Are A Minority And Need To Know Their Place, Poll Finds Majority Of Washington State Residents Support Same Sex Marriage, Zachary Quinto Halloween Costume, Michael Trevino Underwear Model, Patrick Schwarzenegger
Aristide Laurent has died. According to an obituary in Out in New Jersey, the 70-year-old died at his Los Angeles home from complications of cancer. Laurent was a co-founder of what is today The Advocate, writing on the occasion of the magazine’s 40th anniversary, that “The founding purpose of the early Advocate was to unite and inform the gay community of what was happening in their closed society.”
A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of barman Stuart Walker in East Ayrshire. The 28-year-old's body was discovered at the side of a road at Caponacre Industrial Estate in Cumnock shortly before 5:00 am on October 22. Ryan Esquierdo was charged with murder and theft when he appeared in private at Ayr Sheriff Court. The 18-year-old, from Cumnock, made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody. The case was continued.
The United Kingdom is showing a "bullying mentality" by threatening to cut aid to countries where homosexuality is illegal, a Ugandan official says. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said at the weekend that those receiving British aid should respect gay rights. But Ugandan presidential adviser John Nagenda told the BBC Ugandans were "tired of these lectures" and should not be treated like "children.” Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and most other African countries. Many people see it as violating religious and cultural beliefs. In Nigeria, the government has unveiled a draft law which makes it an offence for anyone to support gay marriages. Cameron told the BBC he had raised the issue of gay rights at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Perth, Australia, last week. Cameron said those receiving UK aid should "adhere to proper human rights.” Ending the bans on homosexuality was one of the recommendations of an internal report into the future relevance of the Commonwealth. Nagenda accused Cameron of showing an "ex-colonial mentality" and of treating Ugandans "like children.” "Uganda is, if you remember, a sovereign state and we are tired of being given these lectures by people," he said. "If they must take their money, so be it." Cameron's threat applies only to one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support, and would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country. Malawi has already had some of its budget support suspended over concerns about its attitude to gay rights. Nagenda said the UK's "bullying mentality" was "very wrong," and added that "Those who have more should give to those who have less. It's as simple as that." Nagenda said he doubted that the Ugandan parliament would ever approve a bill which proposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts, adding, “I believe it will die a natural death. But this kind of ex-colonial mentality of saying: 'You do this or I withdraw my aid' will definitely make people extremely uncomfortable with being treated like children.” The bill - tabled by MP David Bahati - sparked widespread international condemnation earlier this year. Meanwhile, a Senate committee in Nigeria is holding public hearings into a proposed new law on same sex marriages. Homosexual acts and same sex marriages are already illegal in Nigeria but the draft law would also punish those who aid or abet such marriages, reports say. Cameron said he had spoken with "a number of African countries" and that more pressure had been applied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, who deputised for him during parts of the Commonwealth summit. Some 41 nations within the 54-member Commonwealth have laws banning homosexual acts. Many of these laws are a legacy of British rule.
The Irish Independent publishes an opinion piece by Eamon Delaney that may very well be the most inane argument against the advancement of gay rights ever. Titled Loud and Proud Gays Want to Take Over The Rest Of Society, the 49-year old Delaney begins by stressing that “some of my best friends are gay,” but then quickly states “like many, I've recently begun to get impatient with the endless trumpeting of gay 'identity', and the growing appetite for more and more rights and privileges. I'm not being reactionary and I'm all for gay rights and an end to prejudice and discrimination, and always have, but at this stage it seems as if the tables have turned and a minority community -- the gays -- want to increasingly change mainstream culture to suit them.” It gets worse.
A new state-wide poll by the University of Washington Center for Survey Research found most voters would support a state gay marriage law if it's approved by the Legislature. The Seattle Times reports that of voters surveyed, 55-percent indicated they would uphold a Legislature-approved same sex marriage law if it were challenged by referendum. The poll found 38-percent would oppose the law and 7-percent were undecided. However, additional questions in the poll found that 44-percent of voters surveyed said gays and lesbians should have the same legal right as straight couples to marry; and 22-percent said they should have the same legal rights as married couples, but it should not be called marriage. 17-percent said there should be no legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples. The wide-ranging poll touched on several other issues, including the state budget shortfall. The Washington Poll surveyed 938 registered voters state-wide from October 10-30. It has a plus or minus 3.2 percentage points margin of error. State Senator Ed Murray (D-Seattle) and Representative Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) have said they're considering a push for same sex marriage in the next regular session in January. Both men have worked on gay rights issues for years and have been building incrementally toward same sex marriage.
Zachary Quinto is “fireworks on the fourth of july” for Halloween, and since it was apparently a costume cobbled together in ten minutes, Quinto gets high marks.
Michael Trevino, Vampire Diaries hotness, is the new underwear model of Bench Philippines.
Patrick Schwarzenegger spotted Sunday donning a USC tank top.
A teenager has appeared in court charged with the murder of barman Stuart Walker in East Ayrshire. The 28-year-old's body was discovered at the side of a road at Caponacre Industrial Estate in Cumnock shortly before 5:00 am on October 22. Ryan Esquierdo was charged with murder and theft when he appeared in private at Ayr Sheriff Court. The 18-year-old, from Cumnock, made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody. The case was continued.
The United Kingdom is showing a "bullying mentality" by threatening to cut aid to countries where homosexuality is illegal, a Ugandan official says. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said at the weekend that those receiving British aid should respect gay rights. But Ugandan presidential adviser John Nagenda told the BBC Ugandans were "tired of these lectures" and should not be treated like "children.” Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and most other African countries. Many people see it as violating religious and cultural beliefs. In Nigeria, the government has unveiled a draft law which makes it an offence for anyone to support gay marriages. Cameron told the BBC he had raised the issue of gay rights at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Perth, Australia, last week. Cameron said those receiving UK aid should "adhere to proper human rights.” Ending the bans on homosexuality was one of the recommendations of an internal report into the future relevance of the Commonwealth. Nagenda accused Cameron of showing an "ex-colonial mentality" and of treating Ugandans "like children.” "Uganda is, if you remember, a sovereign state and we are tired of being given these lectures by people," he said. "If they must take their money, so be it." Cameron's threat applies only to one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support, and would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country. Malawi has already had some of its budget support suspended over concerns about its attitude to gay rights. Nagenda said the UK's "bullying mentality" was "very wrong," and added that "Those who have more should give to those who have less. It's as simple as that." Nagenda said he doubted that the Ugandan parliament would ever approve a bill which proposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts, adding, “I believe it will die a natural death. But this kind of ex-colonial mentality of saying: 'You do this or I withdraw my aid' will definitely make people extremely uncomfortable with being treated like children.” The bill - tabled by MP David Bahati - sparked widespread international condemnation earlier this year. Meanwhile, a Senate committee in Nigeria is holding public hearings into a proposed new law on same sex marriages. Homosexual acts and same sex marriages are already illegal in Nigeria but the draft law would also punish those who aid or abet such marriages, reports say. Cameron said he had spoken with "a number of African countries" and that more pressure had been applied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, who deputised for him during parts of the Commonwealth summit. Some 41 nations within the 54-member Commonwealth have laws banning homosexual acts. Many of these laws are a legacy of British rule.
The Irish Independent publishes an opinion piece by Eamon Delaney that may very well be the most inane argument against the advancement of gay rights ever. Titled Loud and Proud Gays Want to Take Over The Rest Of Society, the 49-year old Delaney begins by stressing that “some of my best friends are gay,” but then quickly states “like many, I've recently begun to get impatient with the endless trumpeting of gay 'identity', and the growing appetite for more and more rights and privileges. I'm not being reactionary and I'm all for gay rights and an end to prejudice and discrimination, and always have, but at this stage it seems as if the tables have turned and a minority community -- the gays -- want to increasingly change mainstream culture to suit them.” It gets worse.
A new state-wide poll by the University of Washington Center for Survey Research found most voters would support a state gay marriage law if it's approved by the Legislature. The Seattle Times reports that of voters surveyed, 55-percent indicated they would uphold a Legislature-approved same sex marriage law if it were challenged by referendum. The poll found 38-percent would oppose the law and 7-percent were undecided. However, additional questions in the poll found that 44-percent of voters surveyed said gays and lesbians should have the same legal right as straight couples to marry; and 22-percent said they should have the same legal rights as married couples, but it should not be called marriage. 17-percent said there should be no legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples. The wide-ranging poll touched on several other issues, including the state budget shortfall. The Washington Poll surveyed 938 registered voters state-wide from October 10-30. It has a plus or minus 3.2 percentage points margin of error. State Senator Ed Murray (D-Seattle) and Representative Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) have said they're considering a push for same sex marriage in the next regular session in January. Both men have worked on gay rights issues for years and have been building incrementally toward same sex marriage.
Zachary Quinto is “fireworks on the fourth of july” for Halloween, and since it was apparently a costume cobbled together in ten minutes, Quinto gets high marks.
Michael Trevino, Vampire Diaries hotness, is the new underwear model of Bench Philippines.
Patrick Schwarzenegger spotted Sunday donning a USC tank top.
Anti-Gay Former Assistant Attorney General Shirvell Files Suit Over Firing
Former state assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell says prominent metro Detroit attorney Deborah Gordon used information she had garnered in previous cases to smear him, a move that led to his firing, a new lawsuit alleges. The Detroit Free Press reports that Shirvell filed the lawsuit on Friday in federal court. He is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. It is the latest in a flurry of litigation between Shirvell and Chris Armstrong, the former University of Michigan student body president, whom Gordon is representing. "Shirvell has a history of trying desperately to smear people, so this is no surprise," Gordon said this morning. "His complaint is absurd and without any factual or legal basis." Armstrong sued Shirvell for defamation for statements Shirvell made on a website attacking Armstrong’s homosexuality. Armstrong was the first openly gay student body president at U-M during his term last year. Armstrong has since graduated. Both Armstrong and Gordon have asked the state bar to strip Shirvell’s law license. Shirvell has countersued Armstrong and followed that with the suit now against Gordon. “As my complaint makes clear, I have uncovered a significant amount of information during the past year that shows that Deborah Gordon has deliberately set out to destroy me by any means necessary,” Shirvell said in a news release. “It is particularly shocking that an attorney like Deborah Gordon, who has made a career out of championing wrongfully terminated employees, would so viciously and maliciously interfere with my employment in order to ensure that I was terminated from my job. Ms. Gordon needs to be held accountable for her course of conduct against me, which I find beyond reprehensible. No other member of the State Bar of Michigan would ever put up with what I have put up with from Ms. Gordon over the past year. I look forward to holding Deborah Gordon accountable for her atrocious actions and libellous statements.” In the lawsuit, Shirvell details a number of connections he says Gordon has with people at the attorney general’s office, including with the investigator the department, under then-attorney general Mike Cox, used to investigate Shirvell. Shirvell was fired from the attorney general’s office in November 2010 for using his work computer to write his blog and for lying to investigators. Shirvell disputes those claims in the lawsuit and says they came from Gordon, who he says waged a long campaign to get him fired. Shirvell also says Gordon made a number of defamatory statements about him to a variety of media outlets after she was hired by Armstrong. Shirvell recently lost a motion in federal court seeking to have a good chunk of Armstrong’s suit against him tossed out.
Architect Of Proposed Constitutional Amendment Banning Same Sex Marriage In North Carolina Dies; Senator Jim Forrester Was 74
North Carolina state Sen. Jim Forrester, a physician and social conservative who secured a legislative victory just weeks ago with a constitutional referendum next spring on whether to ban same sex marriage, died Monday after a brief hospitalization, according to his daughter. He was 74. The Associated Press is reporting that Mary Paige Forrester said the Gaston County Republican died at Gastonia Memorial Hospital in Gastonia shortly after being taken off life support late Monday morning. Forrester had been in declining health this year. His condition took a turn for the worse over the weekend while visiting the mountains to watch the leaves turn, according to his sister-in-law, Sally Beach. Although Forrester had been hospitalized previously this year, he was at the Legislative Building just last Thursday, using a cane to walk slowly to a government oversight committee. "He passed very peacefully," his daughter said. The 20-year Senate veteran was surrounded by family members when he died, she said. Forrester, a family practitioner from Mount Holly and former Air Force one-star general, first joined the Senate in 1991 and often worked on health issues. He most recently represented Lincoln County and parts of Gaston and Iredell counties. He served briefly as Senate minority leader in 2004, replacing then-Sen. Patrick Ballantine when he resigned to run for governor. In January, Forrester became deputy Senate leader — a largely ceremonial post — when Republicans took over the chamber for the first time in more than a century. Forrester was best known in recent years for regularly filing a bill that would allow voters to decide whether to add a same sex marriage ban to the state constitution. Democrats in charge of the Legislature blocked debate and votes on the measure, pointing out that state law already limited marriage to a man and a woman. The question was approved by the Legislature in September, after elections last fall in which Republicans took over both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since 1870. The referendum, which would make traditional marriage the only domestic legal union recognized by the state, will be on the state-wide ballot in May. "If people reject it and say, 'No, we don't want this in the constitution,' then I'll live with it," Forrester said just after the final legislative vote in September. He said the bill was not designed to single out gays and lesbians, but that "It was just something I thought we needed to do to continue to have a strong family structure here in North Carolina." Usually known for a mild demeanour, Forrester became a nemesis of the gay-rights movement recently for his pointed comments about the gay community and politics. Last year, he apologized for saying at a local GOP event that "slick city lawyers and homosexual lobbies and African-American lobbies are running Raleigh," a reference to state government. One gay-rights group said Forrester was trying to promote a "disgraceful form of bigotry" and was "mean spirited." ''He is determined to stomp every gay person into the ground," Faith in America founder Mitchell Gold was quoted as saying in a group web posting in February. Shortly before the September referendum debate, Forrester called gay-friendly Asheville a "cesspool of sin." He said later he was referring in part to a pride rally at which women went topless. Forrester adjusted his resume this fall when his membership status in various medical organizations was questioned by gay rights activists. He said he was being unfairly targeted. "The gay and lesbian community is trying to discredit me," Forrester said September 30. "I'm not trying to deceive anybody."
San Diego High School Students Charged With Sexual Assault Of Football Player
Charges were filed against a group of local high school students accused in what many are calling a serious sex crime. 10News reports that on Friday, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said the Castle Park High School students linked to the sexual assault of a football player will be tried as juveniles. Students told 10News the school has received negative attention over the incident, and they are doing what they can to boost morale. A source with knowledge of the incident said that, "the kid had been told to put a pencil up his rectum and it was hit further in by another student's binder, that's what happened." Castle Park High football player Hector Garcia said, "It was a prank that turned out to be surprising and I guess they took it a little too far. When I'm in the locker room, I never see any of this stuff happen." Garcia, a backup quarterback on the freshman team, said he hangs out with many of the varsity players. He said that he knows the victim in the case and believes the incident was not an act of hazing. Student Estevan Ramirez said, "[It] had nothing to do with a hazing ... it was just acts of immaturity ... and, you know, kids doing wrong things." Ramriez, the president of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance, has been leading the charge by going around with other campus groups and spreading words of encouragement and writing anti-hate and anti-bullying messages in chalk, says he considers the incident as very serious, but also feels it is something that's been blown out of proportion. "As far as what I've heard they were friends ... all these guys were friends. Why would a friend do that to another friend? I don't know," said Ramirez. "The consequences have to be faced ... they chose to do the wrong things and they have to face what happens." While many students insist the incident was blown out of proportion, many parents are furious with Castle Park High School Principal Virginia Sandoval-Johnson for not taking the matter seriously. Sandoval-Johnson recently drew criticism after downplaying the incident and calling it "horseplay that went too far."
Lesbian Couple In Parker Colorado Victims Of Hate Crime
Lesbian partners in Parker, Colorado say they are the victims of a frightening hate crime. Someone painted an anti-gay message on their garage and left a noose on their doorstep. “You get words like ‘homos’ or ‘you’re going to burn in hell’ and things of that nature, but ‘kill the gay?’ That’s a threat against our lives so it was overwhelming,” says Aimee Whitchurch. KDVR-TV reports that it is the message she and her partner, Christel Conklin found on their garage door last Friday. One day later, someone left a noose at their doorstep. “The noose is where it really became shocking and scary,” Whitchurch says. As a gay couple, Aimee and Christel knew their lives would not be easy, but they never thought their lives would be threatened. “Usually in public it’s fine,” Conklin says. “We can go places and be accepted, but living is a different thing. People don’t want you to be living near them.” The couple says the Homeowners’ Association at Prairie Meadows condo complex didn’t want them living there. The HOA has accused them of not picking up after their dog. But Aimee and Christel believe this is about their sexual orientation. “You don’t know who is targeting you,” Whitchurch says. “At first I thought it was kids until the noose.” The couple has been together for four years and they’re not going to leave their home because of hate. They say they saw someone from the HOA painting over the “kill the gay” message on the garage with white paint Sunday. Aimee and Christel put up signs on the garage door that read “We will not submit to hate” and “Don’t cover it, solve it.” Police in Parker are taking the reports of harassment seriously and they have increased patrols in the neighbourhood.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Danish Gay Rights Hero Who Helped Country Be First To Legalize Same Sex Partnerships Dies At 96, California Baptist University Expels Transgender Student, 50-Year-Old California Man Arrested On Hate Crimes Charges, Matthew Mitcham Graces 400th Issue Of Gay Times, Same Worthington, Hayden Christensen
Axel Axgil, whose struggle for gay rights helped make Denmark the first country to legalize same sex partnerships, has died. He was 96. The Associated Press reports that Axgil died in a hospital in Copenhagen on Saturday following complications from a fall, Danish gay rights group LGBT Danmark said. Axgil, born Axel Lundahl-Madsen, was among the founding members of the organization — one of the oldest gay rights groups in Europe — in 1948. On October 1, 1989, he and his partner Eigil were among 11 couples to exchange vows as Denmark became the first country to allow gays to enter civil unions, with nearly the same rights as heterosexual couples. Eigil Axgil died in 1995. In the 1950s, both were sentenced on pornography charges to short prison terms for running a gay modeling agency that issued pictures of naked men. The men melded their first names into a new surname, Axgil, and used it in a public show of defiance. Vivi Jelstrup, a spokeswoman for LGBA Danmark, said Axgil in many ways personified the struggle for gay rights in Denmark. “But Axel Axgil was a modest man who never cast himself as a lonely warrior,” Jelstrup said. “He always underscored that there were many involved in the work and that it was a common cause.” Funeral arrangements were not immediately clear. LGBT Danmark said it planned a memorial service for Axgil at the organization’s annual meeting on November 5 in Aarhus, western Denmark.
A transgender woman was expelled from California Baptist University after she appeared on an MTV reality show. The Press Enterprise reports that Domaine Javier, 24, said university officials told her she was expelled for falsely claiming on her application form that she is a female. Javier revealed on MTV’s “True Life” that she is biologically male. Letters the university sent to Javier say she was expelled for “committing or attempting to engage in fraud, or concealing identity,” and for presenting false or misleading information in university judicial processes. Javier said she has identified herself as female since she was a toddler and correctly clicked the space next to “female” on the online application form. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “They said, ‘On your application form you put ‘female.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s how I see myself.’” Javier’s expulsion was finalized on August 30, the week before she was scheduled to begin a nursing program at Cal Baptist after transferring from Riverside City College. In an e-mailed statement, university spokesman Mark Wyatt wrote, “California Baptist University does not comment on student disciplinary matters or other confidential student information.” California law prohibits employment, housing, government, insurance and other types of discrimination based upon gender identity. But private universities generally are not covered by the law, said Mark Wood, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center. The center is not aware of other transgender college students who were expelled. Javier said university officials told her during expulsion hearings that they discovered her MTV appearance through a background check. They did not say whether that is how they discovered her gender identity, she said. Javier was on an April episode of “True Life” entitled “I’m Passing as Someone I’m Not.” She said she applied to appear on the show to raise awareness on transgender issues and let other transgender people know that they’re not alone. Javier said she was impressed with the nursing program at Cal Baptist, which is three blocks from her Riverside home. A university financial aid form shows she received a $3,500 dean’s academic scholarship. Javier said she was shocked when in July she received a letter that temporarily expelled her, pending hearings. “I was devastated, because I really, really wanted to attend this campus,” she said. Javier said the expulsion, that was finalized days before classes were set to begin, will delay her graduation from a nursing program by at least a year. She said she declined an admission offer by Cal State San Bernardino – that as a public university cannot discriminate against transgender students – to attend Cal Baptist. Javier is back at Riverside City College but said she cannot enter the nursing program until next fall. “This totally ruined my career path,” she said. “I’ve been trying to finish as soon as possible.” Javier said she knew the university is a religious institution but did not realize it is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the most conservative major Baptist denomination. “I didn’t know they were that extreme,” said Javier, who attended Catholic schools in her native Philippines before immigrating to California eight years ago. Cal Baptist’s written policies do not explicitly bar transgender students. But it has generally socially conservative rules, including a prohibition of social dances on university property and a requirement that applicants sign a form agreeing not to engage in homosexual behaviour or to cohabit with someone of the opposite sex.
A 50-year-old San Marin Drive resident was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of stabbing another man at his home and using gay epithets in the process, adding a hate crime enhancement onto the charges, Novato police said. The Novato Patch reports that Scott Frederick Matzke was arrested at San Marin High, two blocks from his home, at around 6:45 pm for stabbing another man during an argument, according to Novato Police Officer Oliver Collins. It was unclear if the two men were roommates or if the victim was visiting Matzke, but they did know each other, Collins said. The incident began at around 5:40 pm when the two men got into a heated argument, Collins said. He declined to comment on the origin of the argument. Matzke, a mechanic, stabbed the victim once with a knife, Collins said, and allegedly used homosexual epithets in the act, causing police to tack on a hate crime enhancement charge. The victim’s wound was not life threatening and he was treated at the scene and released, Collins said. Matzke faces allegations of felony assault with a deadly weapon, along with the hate crime enhancement and a violation of probation. He remains in Marin County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Gay Times, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving gay magazine, celebrates its 400th issue with four separate covers, featuring Matthew Mitcham, Sir Ian McKellen, Joe McElderry, and Lady Gaga.
Sexy Sam Worthington spotted Friday arriving at LAX.
Hayden Christensen is seen with fruit smoothie in hand in West Hollywood.
A transgender woman was expelled from California Baptist University after she appeared on an MTV reality show. The Press Enterprise reports that Domaine Javier, 24, said university officials told her she was expelled for falsely claiming on her application form that she is a female. Javier revealed on MTV’s “True Life” that she is biologically male. Letters the university sent to Javier say she was expelled for “committing or attempting to engage in fraud, or concealing identity,” and for presenting false or misleading information in university judicial processes. Javier said she has identified herself as female since she was a toddler and correctly clicked the space next to “female” on the online application form. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “They said, ‘On your application form you put ‘female.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s how I see myself.’” Javier’s expulsion was finalized on August 30, the week before she was scheduled to begin a nursing program at Cal Baptist after transferring from Riverside City College. In an e-mailed statement, university spokesman Mark Wyatt wrote, “California Baptist University does not comment on student disciplinary matters or other confidential student information.” California law prohibits employment, housing, government, insurance and other types of discrimination based upon gender identity. But private universities generally are not covered by the law, said Mark Wood, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center. The center is not aware of other transgender college students who were expelled. Javier said university officials told her during expulsion hearings that they discovered her MTV appearance through a background check. They did not say whether that is how they discovered her gender identity, she said. Javier was on an April episode of “True Life” entitled “I’m Passing as Someone I’m Not.” She said she applied to appear on the show to raise awareness on transgender issues and let other transgender people know that they’re not alone. Javier said she was impressed with the nursing program at Cal Baptist, which is three blocks from her Riverside home. A university financial aid form shows she received a $3,500 dean’s academic scholarship. Javier said she was shocked when in July she received a letter that temporarily expelled her, pending hearings. “I was devastated, because I really, really wanted to attend this campus,” she said. Javier said the expulsion, that was finalized days before classes were set to begin, will delay her graduation from a nursing program by at least a year. She said she declined an admission offer by Cal State San Bernardino – that as a public university cannot discriminate against transgender students – to attend Cal Baptist. Javier is back at Riverside City College but said she cannot enter the nursing program until next fall. “This totally ruined my career path,” she said. “I’ve been trying to finish as soon as possible.” Javier said she knew the university is a religious institution but did not realize it is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the most conservative major Baptist denomination. “I didn’t know they were that extreme,” said Javier, who attended Catholic schools in her native Philippines before immigrating to California eight years ago. Cal Baptist’s written policies do not explicitly bar transgender students. But it has generally socially conservative rules, including a prohibition of social dances on university property and a requirement that applicants sign a form agreeing not to engage in homosexual behaviour or to cohabit with someone of the opposite sex.
A 50-year-old San Marin Drive resident was arrested Saturday night on suspicion of stabbing another man at his home and using gay epithets in the process, adding a hate crime enhancement onto the charges, Novato police said. The Novato Patch reports that Scott Frederick Matzke was arrested at San Marin High, two blocks from his home, at around 6:45 pm for stabbing another man during an argument, according to Novato Police Officer Oliver Collins. It was unclear if the two men were roommates or if the victim was visiting Matzke, but they did know each other, Collins said. The incident began at around 5:40 pm when the two men got into a heated argument, Collins said. He declined to comment on the origin of the argument. Matzke, a mechanic, stabbed the victim once with a knife, Collins said, and allegedly used homosexual epithets in the act, causing police to tack on a hate crime enhancement charge. The victim’s wound was not life threatening and he was treated at the scene and released, Collins said. Matzke faces allegations of felony assault with a deadly weapon, along with the hate crime enhancement and a violation of probation. He remains in Marin County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Gay Times, the United Kingdom’s longest-serving gay magazine, celebrates its 400th issue with four separate covers, featuring Matthew Mitcham, Sir Ian McKellen, Joe McElderry, and Lady Gaga.
Sexy Sam Worthington spotted Friday arriving at LAX.
Hayden Christensen is seen with fruit smoothie in hand in West Hollywood.
British PM Cameron Threatens To Withhold Financial Aid To Those Commonwealth Countries Who Refuse To Reform Legislation Banning Homosexuality
David Cameron has threatened to withhold United Kingdom aid from governments that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality. The BBC reports that the UK prime minister said he raised the issue with some of the states involved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia. Human rights reform in the Commonwealth was one issue that leaders failed to reach agreement on at the summit. Cameron says those receiving UK aid should "adhere to proper human rights.” Ending the bans on homosexuality was one of the recommendations of an internal report into the future relevance of the Commonwealth. Cameron's threat applies only to one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support, and would not reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country. Malawi has already had some of its budget support suspended over concerns about its attitude to gay rights. Concerns have also been raised with the governments of Uganda and Ghana. Cameron told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show that "British aid should have more strings attached.” But he conceded that countries could not change immediately, and cautioned that there would be a "journey,” adding that, "This is an issue where we are pushing for movement, we are prepared to put some money behind what we believe. But I'm afraid that you can't expect countries to change overnight. Britain is one of the premier aid givers in the world. We want to see countries that receive our aid adhering to proper human rights. We are saying that is one of the things that determines our aid policy, and there have been particularly bad examples where we have taken action."Cameron said he had spoken with "a number of African countries" and that more pressure had been applied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, who deputised for him during parts of the summit. Some 41 nations within the 54-member Commonwealth have laws banning homosexuality. Many of these laws are a legacy of British Empire laws. The discussion in the Ugandan parliament of an anti-homosexuality bill in 2009 sparked particular controversy, and earlier this year Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato was beaten to death in a suspected hate crime. Nigeria's Senate is currently discussing a bill banning same sex marriage that includes penalties for anyone witnessing or aiding a same sex marriage. A spokesman for the Department for International Development said that budget support, which accounts for about 5-percent of the UK's annual aid budget of £7.46bn, is conditional direct assistance to governments. To qualify, recipients must adhere to rules on poverty reduction, respect of human rights, good governance and domestic accountability. Malawi recently had £19m of budget support suspended following various infractions including poor progress on human rights and media freedoms and concern over the government's approach to gay rights, the DfID spokesman said. Reacting to the news, Uganda Radio Network journalist, Charles Odongpho, said he was puzzled by the move. "I welcome any move to pressure our government to be respectful of democratic values and human rights but speaking as a Ugandan I think we have much more important issues to deal with than the rights of homosexuals. This is your money and you know where you want to put it but we face very serious issues of corruption, poverty, education and hunger. These are the most critical issues for us, not homosexual rights." Appointing a human rights commissioner to address this and other human rights issues was one of the 100-plus recommendations of the internal report, by the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, which includes former UK foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind. However, objections from a number of countries blocked adoption of the recommendation, according to Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard, speaking at the end of the three-day summit in Western Australia. Besides the homosexuality rights issue, Sri Lanka's human rights conduct also came under scrutiny at the summit. The country will host the next head of government's meeting in two years' time. Sri Lanka's army has been accused of war crimes during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will boycott the 2013 summit unless there are major reforms in the country. In earlier comments, Mr Cameron said there had to be a "proper, independent exercise to look into the whole issue of what happened, and whether there were war crimes, and who is responsible" in Sri Lanka. BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell said the summit had been seen as a "watershed" for the organization as it "struggles to demonstrate its relevance, particularly on human rights".
Saturday, October 29, 2011
San Diego’s Patrick Henry High School Names Lesbian Homecoming King
During a pep rally at Patrick Henry High School Friday, in San Diego, senior Rebeca Arellano was announced as the school's homecoming king. "They were chanting my name and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had," said Rebeca. During an interview with 10News on Friday afternoon, cars full of people drove by shouting out things like, "You guys are an amazing couple!" Rebeca's girlfriend and fellow student, Haileigh Adams, was nominated to be homecoming queen. The winner will be announced at Saturday's dance. Haileigh and Rebeca started dating in their sophomore year, which was the year Rebeca came out. "She's really funny and, of course, beautiful, and she's just perfect to me," said Haileigh. "It is crazy to think that a few years later I am being nominated as king," Rebeca said Thursday. The girls said they have received an abundance of support from family, friends and most everyone at the school. The couple said they were not planning to run. "Any of the guys are not happy about me running because I'm taking a guy's place, but if there was any other way to do it and have two lesbians that are a couple win, I would," Rebeca said. Their nominations have made a difference for many students at Patrick Henry High School. "The fact that other people are feeling more confident about themselves or feeling like they might have a chance at doing this, it's opening doors," Haileigh said. It may be opening doors and minds. A fellow student named Gladys doesn't know the girls personally but said she knows of them. "I'm actually bi [sexual] myself," Gladys said. "It makes me think that you can be more open and stuff, and the way the school's reacting to it, like, positively … It makes you more comfortable in the school, and in your environment." "We don't know if we're going to win," Haileigh said Thursday. "We're not sure, but if we do, it would be an amazing gesture to the LGBT community and everything that we stand for." Many who used to go to Patrick Henry High, including 1998 graduate Ben Cartwright, thought this day would never come but always hoped it would. "Patrick Henry [High School] has always sort of been a little ahead of the curve, but I could not imagine this happening then," said Cartwright, an LGBT rights activist. Cartwright said he kept his sexual preference a secret while in school, and he told 10News, "You're afraid that you'll lose friends, you're afraid you'll be rejected, you're afraid you'll be outcast … I went to homecoming dance with a girl, and I also went to prom with a girl when I actually had a boyfriend who was very angry with me that I did not take him, but I just did not feel comfortable. I was not ready to take that step, so I think it's incredible that these two ladies are going to be able to just go to homecoming and enjoy each other and be happy." Cartwright says Rebeca's win will help shatter stereotypes. "Another student that's also a lesbian, she said, 'We won', which was what I wanted," said Rebeca. "I love Patrick Henry for supporting me."
Thousands March In Taipei Taiwan Demanding Gay Rights And Protections, Anti-Gay Ugandan Lobby Announces it Opposes Anti-Homosexuality Bill Because It Is “Unrealistic And Diversionary,” Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil For Victims Of Leicester Pub Attack, Majority Of Those Polled Favour Marriage Equality In New Jersey, Ellen DeGeneres Says She Is A “Funny Woman Who Happens To Be Gay,” Conan O’Brien To Officiate On-Air Same Sex Wedding Of Staffers
Thousands of gay rights supporters have marched through Taiwan’s capital, calling for increased tolerance and the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation. The Associated Press reports that the Saturday event is the ninth annual gay rights parade in Taipei, which has one of Asia’s most vibrant gay communities. The parade has attracted gays from around the world, with many marchers dressing up as prom queens, zombies or sumo wrestlers. About a dozen men and women marched behind a Malaysian flag, deploring the absence of gay rights in the mostly Muslim country. Ming Yueh of Kuala Lumpur said, “We hope to learn from Taiwan so we can help our friends back home.” Parade organizers called for legislation to wipe out deep-rooted gay discrimination in Asian cultures.
A Ugandan lobby group that opposes homosexuality is challenging a 2009 Bill that proposes the death penalty for gays. The National Coalition Against Homosexuality and Sexual Abuse in Uganda says the "Bill is unrealistic and also diversionary,” according to The Africa Report. NCAHSA's remarks follows reports that the MPs want debate on the Bill to be resurrected by Uganda's parliament. Pastor Solomon Male, the NCAHSA leader said the proposed new law was unnecessary because there were enough instruments to deal with the issue. "Such MPs do not know what to do," Male said. "That bill is ill conceived. It cannot deal with homosexuality challenges in the country." He said the Penal Code already imposes a 14 year jail term for people convicted of practicing homosexuality. "The death penalty is useless. In Uganda the last time someone sentenced to death was killed was in 1999. Many of those sentenced to death for various offences are not killed," Male said. He added that although the existing laws were sufficient they could not be applied consistently because of corruption in the police force and the judiciary. The Bill among other things makes it mandatory for Ugandans to report homosexuals to the police. It has been roundly condemned by the international community. The author of the Bill, MP David Bahati MP insisted that parliament must pass it into law."We have to protect our children against homosexuality," he said. "We also have to maintain our cultural values." But Ugandan gay activist Kasha Jacqueline says the lives of many are in “danger,” adding that "We are often harassed and abused by some people."A gay student, Simon Kafulu also asserts that gay people live in "fear,” saying "We do not want people to know us. Some people can even kill us if they know that we are gay."
A candlelit vigil was held last night outside a pub where two men suffered horrific burns in an attack earlier this week. The Leicester Telegraph reports that people gathered outside the Rainbow & Dove, a popular straight-friendly gay bar in Charles Street, Leicester city centre, to show their support for the two men. The pair, aged 20 and 21, remained in hospital in Nottingham yesterday, one with extremely serious burns to his face and upper body. The second man was burned on the hand and forearm. And although the pub is popular with the gay community, the attack is not being treated as a homophobic hate crime. About 200 people took part in the vigil, which was led by a senior clergyman with songs performed by the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir. James Cockerill, owner of the pub, said, "I believe this vigil will allow the broad lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and citizens of the city, to show their support and prove Leicester is truly the diverse city which it is held up to be." James Mann, chairman of the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir, which sang You'll Never Walk Alone, said, "The victims are friends of many of us, and we were determined to lend our support to say that such a crime must not happen again." Police are continuing their investigation into the attack, which happened in the pub's beer garden at 12:40 am on Tuesday. Police believe the men were sprayed with an unidentified flammable liquid, which then ignited. Officers have released on bail a man who was arrested in connection with the attack earlier this week. The vigil, which began at 9:00 pm, was supported by the city council and police, whose detectives were present in the hope of finding witnesses.
Fifty-two percent of New Jersey voters believe same sex marriages should be legal, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Friday. Support for legalizing same sex marriage jumps to 61-percent when the issue is framed in terms of “marriage equality,” the favoured description of advocates for same-sex couples. Almost four-in-10 respondents (or 39-percent) oppose legalizing same sex marriage while 9-percent are unsure. 27-percent are against marriage equality, while 3-percent are unfamiliar with the term and 9-percent have no opinion. “Support for legalizing same-sex relations in New Jersey continues to be solid,” said poll Director David Redlawsk, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. “Young people are overwhelmingly in favour, though a majority of all age groups is supportive, except for those 65 and over. Whatever it is called, support for state recognition of same-sex marriage remains strong and most likely will grow over time.”
Ellen DeGeneres graces the Halloween issue of Parade magazine and inside says that coming out in 1997 initially jeopardized her career. “I didn’t work, didn’t have any money,” the 53-year-old says. “No one [in the business] would even talk to me on the phone.” It was a tough road back, but with the outline of her talk show in hand, she finally convinced Hollywood that she was “not just gay,” she says, but “a funny woman who happens to be gay.” To the execs who passed on her show because “they thought housewives and mothers would have nothing to relate to,” DeGeneres has a message, backed up by eight years of success: “The only person the word gay matters to is the person I love.”
Conan O’Brien plans to celebrate his one-year anniversary with TBS in a big way. To celebrate his growing relationship with TBS, he’ll help bring another couple into the next phase of their relationship by officiating a same sex wedding on Conan. The late-night host will officiate a wedding on-air during an episode next week, a representative for the show confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The wedding will take place in New York. It’s not just any wedding, however – O’Brien will officiate the wedding of one of his long-time staffers and his partner. This opportunity would not have even been available to O’Brien even a couple years ago. New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage last June. Conan debuted on TBS on November 8, 2010.
A Ugandan lobby group that opposes homosexuality is challenging a 2009 Bill that proposes the death penalty for gays. The National Coalition Against Homosexuality and Sexual Abuse in Uganda says the "Bill is unrealistic and also diversionary,” according to The Africa Report. NCAHSA's remarks follows reports that the MPs want debate on the Bill to be resurrected by Uganda's parliament. Pastor Solomon Male, the NCAHSA leader said the proposed new law was unnecessary because there were enough instruments to deal with the issue. "Such MPs do not know what to do," Male said. "That bill is ill conceived. It cannot deal with homosexuality challenges in the country." He said the Penal Code already imposes a 14 year jail term for people convicted of practicing homosexuality. "The death penalty is useless. In Uganda the last time someone sentenced to death was killed was in 1999. Many of those sentenced to death for various offences are not killed," Male said. He added that although the existing laws were sufficient they could not be applied consistently because of corruption in the police force and the judiciary. The Bill among other things makes it mandatory for Ugandans to report homosexuals to the police. It has been roundly condemned by the international community. The author of the Bill, MP David Bahati MP insisted that parliament must pass it into law."We have to protect our children against homosexuality," he said. "We also have to maintain our cultural values." But Ugandan gay activist Kasha Jacqueline says the lives of many are in “danger,” adding that "We are often harassed and abused by some people."A gay student, Simon Kafulu also asserts that gay people live in "fear,” saying "We do not want people to know us. Some people can even kill us if they know that we are gay."
A candlelit vigil was held last night outside a pub where two men suffered horrific burns in an attack earlier this week. The Leicester Telegraph reports that people gathered outside the Rainbow & Dove, a popular straight-friendly gay bar in Charles Street, Leicester city centre, to show their support for the two men. The pair, aged 20 and 21, remained in hospital in Nottingham yesterday, one with extremely serious burns to his face and upper body. The second man was burned on the hand and forearm. And although the pub is popular with the gay community, the attack is not being treated as a homophobic hate crime. About 200 people took part in the vigil, which was led by a senior clergyman with songs performed by the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir. James Cockerill, owner of the pub, said, "I believe this vigil will allow the broad lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and citizens of the city, to show their support and prove Leicester is truly the diverse city which it is held up to be." James Mann, chairman of the Leicestershire Rainbow Voices choir, which sang You'll Never Walk Alone, said, "The victims are friends of many of us, and we were determined to lend our support to say that such a crime must not happen again." Police are continuing their investigation into the attack, which happened in the pub's beer garden at 12:40 am on Tuesday. Police believe the men were sprayed with an unidentified flammable liquid, which then ignited. Officers have released on bail a man who was arrested in connection with the attack earlier this week. The vigil, which began at 9:00 pm, was supported by the city council and police, whose detectives were present in the hope of finding witnesses.
Fifty-two percent of New Jersey voters believe same sex marriages should be legal, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released Friday. Support for legalizing same sex marriage jumps to 61-percent when the issue is framed in terms of “marriage equality,” the favoured description of advocates for same-sex couples. Almost four-in-10 respondents (or 39-percent) oppose legalizing same sex marriage while 9-percent are unsure. 27-percent are against marriage equality, while 3-percent are unfamiliar with the term and 9-percent have no opinion. “Support for legalizing same-sex relations in New Jersey continues to be solid,” said poll Director David Redlawsk, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. “Young people are overwhelmingly in favour, though a majority of all age groups is supportive, except for those 65 and over. Whatever it is called, support for state recognition of same-sex marriage remains strong and most likely will grow over time.”
Ellen DeGeneres graces the Halloween issue of Parade magazine and inside says that coming out in 1997 initially jeopardized her career. “I didn’t work, didn’t have any money,” the 53-year-old says. “No one [in the business] would even talk to me on the phone.” It was a tough road back, but with the outline of her talk show in hand, she finally convinced Hollywood that she was “not just gay,” she says, but “a funny woman who happens to be gay.” To the execs who passed on her show because “they thought housewives and mothers would have nothing to relate to,” DeGeneres has a message, backed up by eight years of success: “The only person the word gay matters to is the person I love.”
Conan O’Brien plans to celebrate his one-year anniversary with TBS in a big way. To celebrate his growing relationship with TBS, he’ll help bring another couple into the next phase of their relationship by officiating a same sex wedding on Conan. The late-night host will officiate a wedding on-air during an episode next week, a representative for the show confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. The wedding will take place in New York. It’s not just any wedding, however – O’Brien will officiate the wedding of one of his long-time staffers and his partner. This opportunity would not have even been available to O’Brien even a couple years ago. New York became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage last June. Conan debuted on TBS on November 8, 2010.
Christian College In Georgia Requires Employees To Sign Contract Rejecting Homosexuality; President Dowless Says “We Have A Right To Hire Only Christians”
Shorter University, in Rome, Georgia is requiring its more than 200 employees to sign a “Personal Lifestyle Statement” rejecting homosexuality. Don Dowless, president of the Christian university in Rome, said anyone not signing the statement, which also requires staffers to reject premarital sex and adultery, faces termination. “I think that anybody who adheres to a lifestyle that is outside of what the biblical mandate is and of what the board has passed, including the president, would not be allowed to continue here,” Dowless told Channel 2 Action News. One person described as a longtime employee told GA Voice, a publication covering issues affecting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, that the new policy has some staffers fearful that a disgruntled co-worker could accuse another as being gay out of spite. A student who did not want to be identified told Channel 2 that the university is judging others, contrary to what the Bible teaches. New employees will have to sign the statement and existing employees will have to sign it to renew their contracts. “Failure to adhere to this statement may result in disciplinary action against me, up to and including immediate termination,” the statement says. Students, however, are not required to sign the policy. The Personal Lifestyle Statement was one of several approved by the Board of Trustees on Oct. 21 and presented to the campus on Oct. 26. The others include a “Policy for Christian Education,” “Biblical Principles on the Integration of Faith and Learning” and a “Statement of Faith.” By signing the Personal Lifestyle Statement, employees agree to reject as acceptable “all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality." They also agree to be loyal to the mission of Shorter as a Christ-centered school affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention; to not use, sell, possess or produce illegal drugs; and to not drink alcoholic beverages in the presence of students or promote the use of alcohol. ”Anything outside that is not biblical, we do not accept," Dowless told Channel 2. He told another publication, The Christian Post, "“We have a right to hire only Christians."
Rick Perry Supports Repeal Of New Hampshire Same Sex Marriage Measure;” Children Need To Be Raised In A Loving Home By A Mother And A Father”
GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry praised the legislators working to overturn New Hampshire's same sex marriage law last night in Manchester, reports The Concord Monitor. "As conservatives we believe in the sanctity of life. We believe in the sanctity of traditional marriage," Perry said. "And I applaud those legislators in New Hampshire who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman, realizing that children need to be raised in a loving home by a mother and a father." As he spoke at the annual banquet for Cornerstone Action, a conservative advocacy group, Perry sought to set himself apart from others in the field as a candidate with an unwavering pro-life background. "For some candidates . . . the issue of life is a slogan for the campaign. It's how to get some votes," he said. "To me it's about an enduring principal that innocent human life should be protected in all forms and at all stages of life." As he addressed the nearly 450 in attendance last night, Perry said that as governor of Texas he supported the requirement of parental consent for minors seeking abortions, helped ban third-trimester abortions and signed a budget that pulled funding from Texas Planned Parenthood. "Unfortunately this current administration has since provided one million dollars in federal grant money to Planned Parenthood in direct conflict with this state's policies. And the bottom-line is this: If you want to stop Washington's many violations of the 10th Amendment . . . then we must make President Obama a one-term president," Perry said, eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd. Bruce Reeves of Manchester said after Perry's remarks that the governor's stance on social issues such as abortion and same sex marriage have helped to fully informed his decision to support him for president."It's more instinct. I think it's from his heart. . . . His issues are really derived from his own belief system," Reeves said. "It's not something he's adopted to meet a certain political point." Earlier yesterday Perry officially entered the New Hampshire primary by filing for the race at the Secretary of State's office.
Unioto School District Determines Discipline In Premeditated Attack On 15-Year-Old Gay Male Requires Review Based On New Evidence; Criminal Charges Pending
In Ohio, while a potential criminal charge remains pending in a Unioto High School fight, the school has reviewed the discipline it handed down after cell phone video revealed new information. Principal Jim Osborne said the discipline would have been reviewed sooner, but the mother of the student seen throwing punches in the video had taken the boy out of town because of the media attention. The story went viral Thursday because the victim’s mother, Rebecca Collins, thinks her son was targeted because he is gay. “The discipline has been revisited based on the ongoing investigation and in light of the new evidence,” Osborne said. How the discipline was altered was not released by the district, citing student privacy concerns. “I really can’t go into specifics,” Osborne said. Osborne did confirm the student who filmed the fight with her cell phone also was disciplined, but has yet to return to school at the decision of her mother. Ross County Prosecutor Matt Schmidt said he has asked the sheriff’s office to investigate further and get medical records for the victim if they exist. “Because of all the stuff that has come to light, I’ve asked for more information,” Schmidt said. Sheriff George Lavender said his deputy went to Unioto to conduct additional interviews Friday and was checking to see if the victim had been sent for medical attention. The initial report indicated there had been some visible injuries, but they appeared to be minor. Collins told The Chillicothe Gazette on Thursday her son sustained a knot behind his ear, a black eye, a chipped tooth and a possible concussion. The extent of the injury and the medical records are needed for Schmidt to help determine if the assault meets the criteria to be considered a felony. His office is waiting on charging the juvenile until the additional investigation is completed. If a lesser charge is filed and the teen is adjudicated on it and additional evidence later shows the higher-degree charge could have been pursued, Schmidt said they could not go back and change it. As such, Schmidt said they will wait for the additional information in order to file the appropriate charge.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Ex-Scottish MP Fails To Be Re-Elected To Dundee Citizen Advice Bureau Because Of Anti-Same Sex Marriage Stance, Joplin Missouri High School Math School Cleared Of Making Anti-Gay Comments To Facebook Because Site Was Hacked, New York Senator Gillibrand To Introduce Bill Barring All State And Federally Funded Foster Care And Adoption Agencies From Discriminating Against Prospective Parents Because Of Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity, Rally For San Francisco City Attorney Herrera, Anti-Gay UFC President Encourages Gay Fighters To Come Out, Henry Cavill Shirtless Sexiness
In Scotland, former SNP leader Gordon Wilson has failed in his bid to be re-elected to the board of Dundee's Citizens Advice Bureau. The BBC reports that members withdrew their support from Wilson over concerns about his outspoken criticism of gay marriage. The 73-year-old is chairman of Dundee-based Christian faith group Solas, which is calling for a referendum on same sex marriage. A Scottish government consultation on the issue was launched this month. In a statement, the director of Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau, Mary Kinninmonth said, "It's sad that the tremendous achievements and work of Dundee CAB has been overshadowed by an issue which called into question its commitment to equality of opportunity. The board of trustee directors is keen to confirm that it is fully committed to the aims and principles of the Citizens Advice Bureau and equality of opportunity for all. The work of the bureau remains unaffected." Wilson, who was Dundee East MP from 1974 to 1987, denied a statement by the CAB that he had resigned from his position and said that he had wanted to be re-elected. He told BBC Scotland that members of CAB were guilty of "religious discrimination" against him because of his belief that no government had the right to "redefine" marriage, adding "I'm rather saddened that they have discredited their own organisation." Solas joined forces with the Free Church in calling for the same-sex marriage referendum. The group argues that what it calls "this attack on marriage" is a violation of the human rights of traditional married couples under UN and European law. Currently, same sex couples can obtain legal recognition of their relationship through entering into civil partnerships but the ceremonies may not take place in religious premises and can only be registered by civil registrars.
A Joplin, Missouri teacher accused of making anti-gay comments on Facebook has been cleared."We've investigated and found no wrong-doing on the part of the teacher." Joplin Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff tells News Talk KZRG complaints were made about things high school math teacher Jim Whitney allegedly posted on Facebook. But apparently Whitney's Facebook account was hacked. "It's unfortunate when you're dealing with social media and dealing with technology and the potential for people to get on to other people's accounts and say things that shouldn't be said." Huff says the Joplin School Board was made aware of the situation at Tuesday's board meeting and no action was taken.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Friday that she would introduce a bill barring federally-funded foster care and child adoption agencies from discriminating against potential adoptive parents because of their sexual orientations or gender identities. The Albany Times-Union reports that Gillibrand (D-NY) will be the Senate sponsor of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, backed in the House by California Democrat Pete Stark. The federal government invests some $8 billion in the child welfare system annually, but Gillibrand doesn’t want that money ending up with adoption agencies and foster care entities that don’t consider LGBT parents as candidates to adopt. Five states prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children, and more than 20 others do not have legal guidelines addressing the issue. While New York does allow same sex couples to adopt, Gillibrand said hundreds of thousands of children nationwide could be helped by this bill. “New York is a leader on ensuring that any family can adopt children and sets a great example for the rest of the country,” Gillibrand said. “By removing all barriers for LGBT families to serve as foster parents, New York State has increased its foster parent pool by 128,000 prospective parents. This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families.” Stark has backed this legislation in the House for years, but it has gained little traction with Republicans. Stark said he appreciated Gillibrand’s willingness to introduce the bill in the Senate. “I applaud Senator Gillibrand for introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act in the Senate as we look forward to celebrating National Adoption Month in November,” said Stark.”It is time to put the best interests of children first and remove all discriminatory barriers in our child welfare system.” The Family Research Council, a national group that describes itself as a non-profit group advancing “faith, family, and freedom,” has said gay couples are “not suitable role models for children. The Human Rights Campaign, an LBGT rights advocacy group, said it appreciated the efforts of both Stark and Gillibrand. There are about 120,000 children nationwide awaiting adoption.
More than 100 people gathered Thursday in a Castro district plaza named after gay political icon Harvey Milk to commend San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera for his legal support of same sex marriage. The rally came a day after The Chronicle ran a front-page story that raised questions about Herrera's early commitment to defend then-Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision in 2004 to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The accusations - dismissed by Herrera as "a bald-face lie" - were levelled largely by anonymous sources with ties to the Newsom administration. November 8 voters will pick a new mayor and Herrera is one of the leading contenders. He moved quickly to try to reshape the potentially damning charges into an opportunity to showcase his support in the gay community. Standing with him was a trio of gay officeholders - state Sen. Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Scott Wiener. Also on hand were leaders of the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic clubs - two organizations often at odds with one another - and a large contingent of community activists, many with long histories in the legal and political fights for gay and lesbian rights. Leno, who has not endorsed in the race, said Herrera's commitment to same sex marriage is unimpeachable. "There is not a single city attorney in any city, in any state - anywhere - in the history of the United States of America who has so valiantly, so passionately, so professionally, so intelligently, so consistently and so successfully argued for equal marriage rights for all citizens," Leno said.
If the Ultimate Fighting Championship has gay fighters, the UFC president believes they should come out without concern."I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out," UFC President Dana White said Thursday. "I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one." USA Today reports that White was responding to criticisms levied by the Las Vegas chapter of the Culinary Union and other groups who accuse UFC of being an anti-gay organization. In a letter to Anheuser-Busch and an online petition to Fox, the union and its allies cited statements by White and fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as proof that UFC has "a history of tolerating homophobic conduct." Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light brand sponsors UFC. Fox recently signed a seven-year deal to air UFC events. The most notable instance of White's use of harsh language came in April 2009, during a video tirade directed at reporter Loretta Hunt and sources she cited anonymously for a Sherdog.com story. In one of the only times he has expressed regret about his language, White quickly issued a video apology about his use of a term frequently associated with anti-gay sentiments, although he did not apologize for other portions of his rant.
More Henry Cavill shirtless sexiness from the Vancouver set of the Superman reboot, Man of Steel.
A Joplin, Missouri teacher accused of making anti-gay comments on Facebook has been cleared."We've investigated and found no wrong-doing on the part of the teacher." Joplin Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff tells News Talk KZRG complaints were made about things high school math teacher Jim Whitney allegedly posted on Facebook. But apparently Whitney's Facebook account was hacked. "It's unfortunate when you're dealing with social media and dealing with technology and the potential for people to get on to other people's accounts and say things that shouldn't be said." Huff says the Joplin School Board was made aware of the situation at Tuesday's board meeting and no action was taken.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Friday that she would introduce a bill barring federally-funded foster care and child adoption agencies from discriminating against potential adoptive parents because of their sexual orientations or gender identities. The Albany Times-Union reports that Gillibrand (D-NY) will be the Senate sponsor of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, backed in the House by California Democrat Pete Stark. The federal government invests some $8 billion in the child welfare system annually, but Gillibrand doesn’t want that money ending up with adoption agencies and foster care entities that don’t consider LGBT parents as candidates to adopt. Five states prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children, and more than 20 others do not have legal guidelines addressing the issue. While New York does allow same sex couples to adopt, Gillibrand said hundreds of thousands of children nationwide could be helped by this bill. “New York is a leader on ensuring that any family can adopt children and sets a great example for the rest of the country,” Gillibrand said. “By removing all barriers for LGBT families to serve as foster parents, New York State has increased its foster parent pool by 128,000 prospective parents. This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families.” Stark has backed this legislation in the House for years, but it has gained little traction with Republicans. Stark said he appreciated Gillibrand’s willingness to introduce the bill in the Senate. “I applaud Senator Gillibrand for introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act in the Senate as we look forward to celebrating National Adoption Month in November,” said Stark.”It is time to put the best interests of children first and remove all discriminatory barriers in our child welfare system.” The Family Research Council, a national group that describes itself as a non-profit group advancing “faith, family, and freedom,” has said gay couples are “not suitable role models for children. The Human Rights Campaign, an LBGT rights advocacy group, said it appreciated the efforts of both Stark and Gillibrand. There are about 120,000 children nationwide awaiting adoption.
More than 100 people gathered Thursday in a Castro district plaza named after gay political icon Harvey Milk to commend San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera for his legal support of same sex marriage. The rally came a day after The Chronicle ran a front-page story that raised questions about Herrera's early commitment to defend then-Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision in 2004 to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The accusations - dismissed by Herrera as "a bald-face lie" - were levelled largely by anonymous sources with ties to the Newsom administration. November 8 voters will pick a new mayor and Herrera is one of the leading contenders. He moved quickly to try to reshape the potentially damning charges into an opportunity to showcase his support in the gay community. Standing with him was a trio of gay officeholders - state Sen. Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Scott Wiener. Also on hand were leaders of the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic clubs - two organizations often at odds with one another - and a large contingent of community activists, many with long histories in the legal and political fights for gay and lesbian rights. Leno, who has not endorsed in the race, said Herrera's commitment to same sex marriage is unimpeachable. "There is not a single city attorney in any city, in any state - anywhere - in the history of the United States of America who has so valiantly, so passionately, so professionally, so intelligently, so consistently and so successfully argued for equal marriage rights for all citizens," Leno said.
If the Ultimate Fighting Championship has gay fighters, the UFC president believes they should come out without concern."I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out," UFC President Dana White said Thursday. "I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one." USA Today reports that White was responding to criticisms levied by the Las Vegas chapter of the Culinary Union and other groups who accuse UFC of being an anti-gay organization. In a letter to Anheuser-Busch and an online petition to Fox, the union and its allies cited statements by White and fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as proof that UFC has "a history of tolerating homophobic conduct." Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light brand sponsors UFC. Fox recently signed a seven-year deal to air UFC events. The most notable instance of White's use of harsh language came in April 2009, during a video tirade directed at reporter Loretta Hunt and sources she cited anonymously for a Sherdog.com story. In one of the only times he has expressed regret about his language, White quickly issued a video apology about his use of a term frequently associated with anti-gay sentiments, although he did not apologize for other portions of his rant.
More Henry Cavill shirtless sexiness from the Vancouver set of the Superman reboot, Man of Steel.
Despite Overwhelming Evidence Attack On 15-Year-Old Gay Male By Fellow Student PremeditatedBased On Sexual Orientation, Ohio School District Continues To Investigate; State Has No Hate Crime Protection Covering Sexual Orientation
School and law enforcement officials in Ohio still are evaluating evidence in the October 17 premeditated beating of a Unioto High School freshman whose mother thinks the attack was tied to his sexual orientation. Rebecca Collins said Thursday she thinks the school has not done enough to address bullying, reports The Chillicothe Gazette. "I've called and called and called ... (The response) has been real lackadaisical, 'kids will be kids,'" Collins said. Officials, however, say they still are evaluating evidence, including a cellphone video and a Facebook post that came to light after the school's initial investigation, which indicated the fight was not motivated by the boy's sexuality. During the two years her son has been at Unioto, and even at his previous school, Collins said her son repeatedly has been called names relating to his sexuality. October 17 was the first time those taunts escalated into a physical attack, she said. Before the assault, Collins said she was not aware her son had any issues with the boy who struck him. "I just want it to stop. I want my son to be left alone. I worry about my son every time he walks out the door," Collins said, adding people should accept others regardless of sexual orientation, race or any other differences. The Gazette is not using the names of either boy involved in the incident in compliance with its internal guidelines. Unioto High School Principal Jim Osborne said he couldn't talk about specifics, but he said that he had spoken with Collins about concerns she had. "I'm sorry she feels that way (about our discussion). I feel our conversations were pretty productive," Osborne said. Collins' concerns have been aired by Columbus media outlets, but those reports have failed to include additional information about the investigation itself. According to the initial report obtained Thursday by the Gazette, the two boys were on their way to a third-period class when they "bumped shoulders." The 15-year-old suspect told deputies he has a mental illness, that he "just zoned out," and didn't know why he punched Collins' son, according to the report. Collins' son sustained a black eye, a knot behind his ear, a chipped tooth and a possible concussion, Collins said. While Collins told deputies she thought the fight was motivated by her son's sexuality, the report indicates Osborne told the deputy he talked to the teacher and students in the classroom and no one reported the student saying anything about Collins' son's sexuality. When a cell phone video of the fight showed up on Facebook, Collins reported it. The video, allegedly taken by the aggressor's cousin, shows he waited for Collins' son and then struck him multiple times. She also reported a comment the boy made on her son's Facebook photo two days before the attack. She said the comment made a derogatory reference to her son's sexuality. According to Collins, the student was given a three-day suspension for the fight. While Osborne declined to confirm the suspension due to confidentiality issues, he said the discipline in the situation was meted out days before he became aware of the video, which contradicted his investigation and appears to reveal premeditation. "We're continuing to look at options," Osborne said. While the school has surveillance cameras, they are only located in the hallways and not the classroom where the fight occurred. Since the fight happened during a class change, the teacher was monitoring the hallway outside the room as they are required to do during class changes, Osborne said. While the sheriff's office continues to investigate the motive, Ross County Prosecutor Matt Schmidt said his office is evaluating whether to file an assault or felonious assault charge. "What people are failing to understand is there isn't an Ohio law to enhance it (if the assault was motivated by the victim's sexuality)," Schmidt said. There is a federal hate crime law, he added, but the federal district attorney would have to file the charge, and Collins could approach him about it. He also said he has not heard from Collins or her son, but certainly is willing to listen to them if they want to talk with him. Schmidt anticipates filing the charge from his office today. Collins said she wants to see the school enforce zero tolerance for all bullying and implement stricter consequences. "To me, it's not only the kids doing it. The teachers aren't stepping in," Collins said. "If it has to be everyone walks a single line like preschool, then have it." A 2007 state law requires districts to have a district-wide policy that prohibits harassment, intimidation or bullying. The policy must include numerous aspects, including a requirement of staff to report incidents and parents or guardians of any student involved in the incident be contacted. The law also requires the policy to include a procedure to investigate incidents and a strategy for protecting the victim from additional harassment. The law does not include verbiage about sexuality, but a pending bill (House Bill 208) would amend the law to prohibit bullying "based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of a student." A definition of "trait or characteristic" is included in the proposed bill and includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Unioto Superintendent Dwight Garrett said Thursday that the district's legal counsel advised him not to speak about the specifics of the fight. He did say he had not heard from Collins about any bullying concerns until after October 17, but she had spoken to Osborne before. "We have one goal and that's to educate every student. A lot of these things that are going on happen before or after school and on social media, then they bring it to school," Garrett said, adding school officials do not have jurisdiction over what happens on social media sites. He said the district does have the required policy and adheres to it. The high school had an assembly on cyber-bullying three days after the fight that Osborne and Garrett said had already been scheduled before the fight. Staff is educated annually about reporting bullying, and the high school has at least one education assembly on bullying a year, Osborne said. While there have been reports of bullying before relating to sexuality, Osborne said he doesn't get them often and has not had an assault on any other student who is out about his or her homosexuality. "(Bullying) is an ever-ongoing battle in these schools today. Every situation is different," Osborne said. When Osborne receives a report of bullying, it is first investigated for validity since sometimes he gets anonymous reports of bogus complaints as a joke. Once a report is determined to be valid, if it is the first occurrence, Osborne said they handle it as an educational opportunity. They talk about bullying, why they should not behave that way and that there will be disciplinary consequences, which are outlined in the code of conduct, if the behaviour continues, he said. "We're trying to teach these kids diversity and social tolerance, a lot of things that aren't just academic," Osborne said. Collins intends to continue pushing the issue. Osborne said Thursday he is supportive of the mother standing up for her son. Collins said she has contacted Citizens Against Bigotry and Prejudice for assistance. According its Facebook site, the group, located near Youngstown, is a grass-roots effort begun in May "to add exposure to those who are teaching hate, and promoting hate amongst the LGBTQ community." The Chillicothe Gazette also received a call Thursday afternoon from Richard Walsh, who works with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, that GLSEN is planning to offer support to Collins and her son. In a statement on the incident released late Thursday, GLSEN said that according to its 2009 National School Climate Survey, one in four LGBT students in Ohio had experienced some sort of physical assault at school within the past year because of their sexual orientation. "It is extremely frustrating for us at GLSEN to watch a student get bullied when there are tools and resources that are proven to reduce and prevent similar incidents from taking place in a classroom or hallway," said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. "School districts with comprehensive anti-bullying policies inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity are effective at curbing anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. It is time for the Union-Scioto school district and every school in Ohio to protect students from the kind of torment that everyone has witnessed on video." Walsh said Equality Ohio is evaluating the story and discussing potentially organizing a town hall meeting in response. The issue also had a residual impact on Chillicothe High School, where officials starting receiving calls after another media outlet reported the location as "a Chillicothe high school" and not specifying the fight happened at Unioto. The calls prompted Superintendent Jon Saxton to release a public statement. "We believe that this is an unfortunate incident for any school, student, or parent to experience. We regret that such incidents do occur in schools, but want to clarify that the location of this incident was not on a Chillicothe School District building," Saxton wrote.
J.Crew Creative Director Jenna Lyons Divorces Husband; Now Involved With A Woman
Jenna Lyons, the J.Crew creative director and president who famously was shown painting her son's toenails pink in a company catalogue earlier this year, is reportedly in the middle of a messy divorce from artist Vincent Mazeau after almost a decade of marriage, that according to the New York Post's Page Six, which cites "multiple sources" (all of whom are unnamed) in sketching out a battle over money and child custody. And what's not to be complicated: Lyons has 5-year-old son with Mazeau, earns around $5 million a year and even counts First Lady Michelle Obama as a fan. Then, well, as The Los Angeles Times reports, there's this one other detail that has people talking. It's not Lyons' reputation for easy style, taste and lifestyle, all of which remain a branding element for the J.Crew catalogue. (A recent New York magazine article only added to the legend, down to the description of her trendy Park Slope townhouse as "a merry [but careful] assemblage of fur throws, drooping roses, and worn staircases." That after the couple's "black-tie barbecue" wedding in 2002, which sublimely featured the bride in a simple white gown she designed herself, the bridesmaids in black and the groom and groomsmen in kilts.) It's not even the adorable fact that a powerful woman like Lyons still gets starstruck. (When a pregnant Beyonce showed up at J.Crew's New York Fashion Week show in September, the company honcho reportedly whispered to a staffer, "Ohmygod, I think I'm going to pass out," before making her way over to greet Jay-Z's wife.) What people are talking about: Post sources said that after she and Mazeau broke up this summer, Lyons fell for a woman, Courtney Crangi, who also works in the fashion industry. The two women have known each other for years, the Post said, citing unnamed friends who described the new couple as "quietly open about their relationship," having been photographed together at fashion events and spotted out for "romantic dinners" in New York's West Village. There's a bit of irony, perhaps, in a female same-sex relationship in the fashion industry drawing headlines. After all, male same-sex relationships in the business are not exactly new. Predictably, the alleged relationship has some tongues wagging again over a photo montage in a spring J.Crew catalogue showing the company president spending a Saturday with son Beckett -- painting his toenails pink; an image most saw as harmless fun, while others saw it as an endorsement of transgender or gender-neutral children. A J.Crew company spokesperson told The Times on Wednesday there would be no comment.
18-Year-Old Taken Into Custody In Connection To Horrific Murder Of 28-Year-Old Stuart Walker
A man is being held by police in connection with the death of Stuart Walker, the gay barman who was found with horrific injuries at the side of a road in Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. Police confirmed that a man had been "detained" and was being questioned about Mr Walker's death. The 18-year-old is believed to have been taken into custody on Thursday evening, reports The Telegraph. A spokesperson for Strathclyde Police said, "We can't confirm anything until we have had an arrest, and we don't know when that will be. At this stage a man has been detained and he will either be released or arrested after this." It is believed that Walker, 28, was beaten and burned alive in the early hours of Saturday morning shortly after leaving a party. His remains were found by a member of the public at 5:00 am near an industrial estate in Ayrshire, Scotland. Detectives launched a murder inquiry following the discovery. Police confirmed that the body had scorch marks and said the victim had suffered horrific injuries. It has emerged that Walker, a former assistant manager at the Royal Hotel in Cumnock, may have been killed because of his sexuality. Detective Inspector John Hogg, of Ayrshire CID, said police were looking into Walker's movements in the early hours of Sunday morning. "It is imperative that we find out where he was between 2:30 am and 4:50 am hours, who he was with and why this happened to him," he said. "From our enquiries so far, we understand that there may have been a number of house parties in the nearby Netherthird housing estate in the early hours of the morning - between 2:00 am and 3:00 am hours. At this time we do not know if these parties are linked to our investigation or not, so again, any information on that is important. Officers are checking CCTV and carrying out door to door in the area and we would encourage anyone with information to approach them or to call Ayr Police Office."
22-Year-Old Rugby Capitan Jed Hooper Comes Out
Old Redcliffians rugby captain Jed Hooper has become the first Combination player to publicly announce that he is gay. The 22-year-old back row forward came out to family and friends earlier this year. And Hooper has now spoken exclusively to The Bristol Evening Post in the hope that his story can help other young rugby players come to terms with their sexuality. Recently, former Welsh international Gareth Thomas and top referee Nigel Owens have both broken one of the great taboos in arguably the most macho sport of all. And Hooper, a fierce competitor who speaks as directly off the pitch as he does in his pre-match team talks, has now also chosen to come out of the closet after years of anxiety connected to struggling with his true identity. The decision, he said, was still far from easy. "I met someone earlier this year who said he could not be with someone who was in the closet. That, basically, was the catalyst that I needed. Before that, I think I had already told about ten friends and their reaction was very positive so that gave me an inkling of what might happen. And I also thought if the crap really hits the fan then at least there are ten people on my side!" Even with that knowledge, though, Hooper still agonized over what he knew he had to do. "I was never going to do it bit by bit, that would have been too drawn out, so I decided to text everyone and also put it on Facebook. I was horribly nervous. I wrote and rewrote the text four or five times, and I had my finger on the 'send' button for ages before I finally pushed it. The text basically said something along the lines that 'I've been hiding it and fighting it for too long, and I can't hide any more. If you can accept me this way then great ... and if you can't then I don't need you and you can get lost!' I then cried my eyes out as I was thinking to myself 'what have you done? but very quickly I must have had 40 replies and all of them were positive." Instantly, Hooper added, there were feelings of relief. "A massive weight came off my shoulders. If I couldn't accept myself the way I am, how could I expect my friends to? No punches were pulled with questions from the rugby lads, that's for sure. I can't repeat some of the things I was asked, but I've always been someone who has been at the centre of any banter flying around, and the only thing that's changed is the type of banter." Hooper is a proud Old Red having played his first game for the Brislington club at the age of six before joining the Gloucester Academy and also appearing for Hartpury, Cinderford and Newbury, returning home two seasons ago to score a hat-trick in a Twickenham final victory and help secure two successive league promotions. He said, "Being captain is a huge privilege, so when I made my announcement one of the first people I spoke to at Reds was our then chairman, Ray Massey. I said that if the club doesn't want a gay man as its figurehead I would understand and step down. But he was brilliant and said 'you're our captain and this doesn't change anything'. That support was massive to me." Reaction throughout the Bristol rugby community, in fact, has been overwhelmingly positive. "There has only been one comment on the pitch, at a pre-season tournament, and I had to step in to stop our lads from kicking things off." Hooper first became aware that he might be gay when he was 14. "Even then I had a bit of a hard man image because of my rugby, and that made me think 'no I'm not gay', but at the age of 15, in my heart of hearts, I was sure. At school, I didn't want to be with a girl and I couldn't be with a boy." On-going inner turmoil surrounding his double life led Hooper to drink himself into a stupor at different times, while he admits to a short period of self-harming with a knife "because I thought I might be able to cut this out of me." There was also a six-month ban from rugby in 2009 after being sent off playing for Hartpury and for later threatening the referee, something Hooper still bitterly regrets. "I can't blame that on being gay, but back then I was so angry all the time," he said. "Now I feel like a different person and I wonder why I hid this for so long. It's brought me closer to a lot of people and it's certainly made me happier.” But Hooper stresses that on the rugby pitch nothing has changed. "I'm slightly less aggressive, but I'm still not the nicest customer you'll come across.”I'm a very aggressive competitor, someone who hates losing and has a win at all costs mentality, but I'm a much nicer bloke in the bar after. If anyone is reading this and they're in the same situation as me, all I want to say is don't bottle things up because, trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The world's not against you. If my story can help one person then this has been worth it."
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Anti-Gay Virginia House Of Delegates Candidate Admits To Lesbian Affair With Minor But Says She Christian Conversion Changed Her Sexual Orientation
A conservative independent seeking a Virginia House of Delegates seat from Appomattox says when she was a junior high teacher 40 years ago she had an affair with a female student but that she was a "different person" back then. In an Associated Press interview on Wednesday, Linda Wall confirmed her sworn 2006 testimony in a lawsuit in which she admitted to "sexual relations with a minor" in the early 1970s when she taught physical education in Prince George County. Wall, 61, said the affair was a long-ago, youthful mistake, not who she is now. "I've never tried to hide that I was in homosexuality. If anybody Googles me, they would find that out there," Wall said. "Forty years ago I was a different person. I was a heavy pot smoker with ... impaired judgment and made some bad choices," she said. "You do that out of college sometimes. Some people do, some people don't." She credits a Christian conversion years ago with turning her from drugs and changing her sexual orientation. She also has lobbied Virginia's General Assembly on behalf of the conservative Family Foundation, a staunch opponent of same-sex marriage, adoption by same-sex couples and abortion. Wall resigned from the school after the district superintendent confronted her about the affair, according to the transcript deposition. She was never criminally charged. She declined to identify the school or its location in Prince George, saying she did not wish to risk identifying or traumatizing the girl who had been her partner. There is no statute of limitations on most felonies in Virginia, so Wall still could be prosecuted, said Prince George County police Sgt. Michael Taber. But for that to happen, the victim would have to come forward and file a complaint, he said. "If it's a felony — especially on a sexual offense — there's not going to be an expiration on that," Taber said. The determination of whether Wall is charged is up to the local commonwealth's attorney, not police. An after-hours call and e-mail to the attorney was not immediately returned. The disclosure came two weeks before the election in which Wall, Democrat Connie Brennan and Republican Matt Fariss are vying for the vacant seat of Del. Watkins M. Abbitt Jr., an independent from Appomattox who is retiring after 26 years in the House. The AP obtained the opening portion of Wall's deposition from former Republican candidate Paul Jost, who sued Wall and state Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, for defamation over claims made in a bitter 2003 GOP primary when Jost unsuccessfully challenged Norment. "I did it because it shows Linda Wall is not fit to hold public office," said Jost, who moved to Florida several years ago but retains business interests in Hampton Roads.
Federal Judge Begins Hearing Arguments In Case Brought By ACLU Against Missouri School District Using Software To Filter LGBT Websites
A federal judge heard arguments Thursday on whether a central Missouri school district should be barred from using Internet filtering software that has prevented automatic access to some websites with information on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey made no immediate decision on whether to impose a preliminary injunction against the Camdenton School District at the request of attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union. She also was considering the school district's assertion that an unnamed student and several organizations that operate websites had no legal standing to bring the lawsuit because they had not suffered any harm from the district's policy. The Camdenton school system is the first to be sued under a recent national campaign by the ACLU and Yale Law School intended to improve access at schools to websites related to gay and lesbian issues. Of more than 100 school districts contacted as part of the project, only the Camdenton, Mo., and Gwinnet County Public School District in Georgia have not yet responded by changing their Internet filtering software, said Joshua Block, an attorney for the ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project. Although they have not changed website filtering services, Camdenton school officials testified that they have allowed access to four specific websites cited by the ACLU that had previously been blocked by filters. During Thursday's hearing, school officials repeatedly stressed that they have no intent to discriminate against websites with gay and lesbian content. In 2010, Camdenton schools began using an Internet filtering service provide by URL.BlackList.com that the ACLU contends infringes on First Amendment rights by grouping some non-sexual websites related to gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender issues into a blacklisted category of websites dealing with sexuality. The Camdenton School District allows students or employees who get blocked from a website to submit an anonymous request for access to the site. School officials then view the website and decide whether to override the filtering service and allow access to it. Over the past few years, the district has received about 2,000 requests to unblock certain websites and has granted about 80-percent of those, testified Randal Cowen, the district's network administrator. The school district's attorney, Thomas Mickes, argued that the student - listed only as Jane Doe in the lawsuit - had no legal standing to sue because she had not requested and been denied access to any website. He said the non-profit organizations that operate websites similarly had no legal standing to sue, because there is no constitutional right for Internet publishers to have access to public school students. Mickes argued that the school had not censored any websites based on their viewpoints. He said sites dealing with gay and lesbian issues that get blocked by the filtering software are treated the same in the review process as any other website that gets flagged by the filters. Block, representing the ACLU, argued that the school system has engaged in censorship by continuing to use a filtering service that it now knows is overly broad in blocking access to some gay and lesbian websites. The ACLU said few other school districts use the same filtering service as Camdenton. Before its current campaign, the ACLU in 2009 sued the Knoxville and Nashville school districts in Tennessee over access to websites with lesbian and gay information. Those districts then agreed to stop using filtering software that blocked those sites.
30 Supporters Of Gay Couple Gather For “Peaceful Protest” At Southwestern Ontario Tim Hortons
About 30 supporters gathered outside a Tim Hortons restaurant in Blenheim, Ontario Thursday to denounce the doughnut shop for kicking out a lesbian couple who kissed outside the store. “I feel very lucky to have this much support with people coming from all over the place,” said Patricia Pattenden, 23, one of the two women ejected from the local Tim Hortons restaurant a few weeks ago. “It’s really great.” The Windsor Star reports that Pattenden’s girlfriend, Riley Duckworth, 25, said the rally helped communicate not just about their situation but about gay rights in general. Duckworth said the story about what happened between her and Pattenden has been blown out of proportion, and that a straight couple would never have been tossed off the property for doing something as tame. “I’ve been telling people the truth, that we didn’t go beyond appropriate displays of affection,” said Duckworth, noting that both her and her partner’s mothers were with them at the time. “We just want to support the LGBT community.” Pattenden and Duckworth, who say that they only pecked each other on the cheek a few weeks ago on Tim Hortons grounds, kissed each other briefly Thursday at the prodding of supporters. The women say besides publicizing struggles the LGBT community face, they want a personal apology from the Tim Hortons assistant manager who kicked them off the property. About 50 people congregated along Talbot Street in front of the Tim Hortons, including those who oppose the two women, watched by about a half dozen police officers. One man, who gave his name as Randy and said he was a retired autoworker from Windsor, held a sign reading: It’s not gay, it’s not straight, it’s get a room.” A number of people suggested the protest was much ado about nothing, claiming that any straight couple would have been asked to stop an overly amorous display of affection. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re straight or gay,” Blenheim retiree Dick Raine said. “You should be thrown off the property for making out in front of everybody.” District Sgt. Jim Lynds of the Chatham Kent Police Service said he was glad tempers did not flare. “It’s a peaceful protest,” Lynds said. “People have been respectful of both sides, which is good to see.” Joost Gragtmans, the owner of the Blenheim Tim Hortons, declined to comment.
RCMP Investigate Hockey Hazing Incident; Water Bottles Tied To 15-Year-Old Genitals
The parent of a junior hockey hazing victim said her son was forced to walk around the team locker room with a set of water bottles tied to his scrotum, The Winnipeg Free Press has learned. "They made him walk around the dressing room three times," the mother of the former member of the Neepawa Natives Manitoba Junior Hockey League team said. "And the other players did their thing. They threw towels on the bottles for extra weight." The mother was reluctant to divulge further details of the hazing incident, saying "There’s lots of different types of hazing. They’re all really bad." The confirmation follows on the heels of a league investigation that on Tuesday resulted in the levelling against the team of a $5,000 fine, along with the suspension of 16 players, the head coach and assistant coach. The Neepawa RCMP are also investigating the incident, which occurred in late September. MJHL commissioner Kim Davis refused on Tuesday to say if the hazing was sexual but confirmed that the incident in question, which involved five "victims," fell under the definition of an initiation practice designed to "humiliate, demean, degrade and disgrace" players against their consent. "I don’t think it’s useful at all (to cite specifics of the hazing)," Davis added. "But it’s safe to reiterate in reviewing the situation.... we clearly thought the incident to be inappropriate and unacceptable." The parent also confirmed that four other players were forced to perform similar acts. Her son, 15, has since quit the team and has yet to join another club. The parents notified the club of the incident after their son revealed the details a few days after the hazing occurred. Both Davis and Hockey Manitoba executive director Peter Woods called the player’s decision to step forward "brave and bold." They indicated that their organizations would assist the player in finding a new team. Along with the fine -- the highest issued in Davis’s decade-long tenure -- the Natives head coach and general manager Bryant Perrier was suspended for two games, while assistant coach Brad Biggers was suspended for five games. Team captain Danil Kalashnikov, 20, was also suspended five games, while assistant captains Richard Olson, 19, Tyler Gaudry, 20 and Shane Harrington, 20, were suspended three games. Another 12 players were suspended one game each. Calls to Perrier, the Natives head coach and GM, have not been returned.
Canadian MP Who Participated In It Gets Better Video Past President Of Christian Group That Promotes Reparative Therapy; Tony Sweet Called Homosexuality “A Sin”
A Canadian Conservative MP who once described homosexuality as a sin is refusing to explain his participation in a video honouring a gay teen who was bullied before his suicide. The Canadian Press reports that David Sweet was once president of the socially conservative organization the Promise Keepers and was quoted in 2002 as saying homosexuality was a bad sexual practice. Sweet, who represents a southern Ontario riding, was once the president of the Christian men's organization Promise Keepers Canada. Asked Sweet if he felt homosexuality was a sin in a 2002 interview, he answered, "Yes, absolutely. We take the Scriptures as the word of God. We look at homosexual behaviour and say that's not what's prescribed in the Scripture." Promise Keepers Canada currently has a book for sale on its website entitled, "Leaving Homosexuality: A Practical Guide for Men and Women Looking for a Way Out." Sweet does not refer to his position at Promise Keepers in his online biography. In the video, Sweet repeats the popular slogan geared towards young gays and lesbians, “It Gets Better.” When asked about the video and his past remarks, Sweet’s only comment was that he said what he said. The Rights group EGALE Canada calls the video disrespectful because the government is not acting to help young gays and lesbians. The Liberals want the prime minister to raise the issue of gay rights during a meeting of Commonwealth leaders this week.
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