Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was greeted with a fistful of glitter as he arrived at his final campaign event Friday night, in Johnston, Iowa. KCAU (which has raw video) reports that an unidentified man shouted "Stop the hate! Taste the rainbow!" as he threw glitter at the former Pennsylvania senator before being ushered out of Okoboji Grille, where Santorum was scheduled to watch Iowa and Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl. Santorum nonchalantly brushed the purple glitter off his shoulders and walked away without acknowledging the man. "Glitter-bombing" has becoming the emerging form of protests of certain gay rights activists. Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was glitter-bombed at a book signing in September. The socially conservative Santorum has made family values and opposition to same sex marriage central planks of his campaign and in the past week has appeared to gain some traction in the polls as a result.
What if you were gay and voted Republican? The Boston Globe tries hard to arrive at the top ten gay reasons to vote GOP.
As 2011 comes to a close, the major U.S. professional sports of football, basketball and baseball still have never had an active male player declare that they are gay. In fact, there are still only a small number who have come out even in retirement. Among them is retired baseball pro Billy Bean who played for San Diego Padres, Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Dodgers during the 90s and came out publicly in the 2003 memoir Going The Other Way. “I still feel that a lot of players are afraid to put themselves at the center of a storm,” Bean tells Gay Star News. “Even they're comfortable with themselves and think half of their team would be fine, it's usually one of two of the guys who is bad and there's that fear there. Or maybe it's the front office and the team doesn't want a distraction.” Bean, now 47, paid a price for remaining in the closet; when he was playing for the San Diego Padres, his lover died unexpectedly. He could not mourn him for fear of being outed and it took an emotional toll that resulted in his baseball career ending prematurely after 12 years in the major leagues. To this day, Bean is among just a little more than a handful of retired male pro athletes in major team sports in the U.S. have come out: football's Dave Kopay, Roy Simmons and Esera Tuaolo, basketball's John Amaechi, and baseball's and the late baseball player Glenn Burke. But Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas, who retired earlier this year, came out in 2009 to lead the way in his sport. Two soccer pros also came out in 2011: American soccer pro David Testo announced last month that he is gay while Anton Hysen became Europe's most high-profile openly gay player earlier in the year.”My feeling every time when that happens is it's a step closer,' he said of the soccer and rugby players coming out. 'It's a little more awareness. Soccer is such a huge sport in Latin America and Europe. It can only get us a little closer to what everybody is waiting for and that's with the big male team sports here,” adding, “It's going to take maybe just one special guy who can really move that ball forward. We'll see.”
Robert Huber, writing in Philadelphia Magazine, suggests that with the numbers of professional athletes playing on the city’s several teams – the Eagles, the Flyers, the Phillies, the 76ers – there must be, at any given time, statistically, at least one gay player. Huber interviews some twenty member of the Eagles about having a gay teammate and writes, “I got the feeling, going around that locker room after practice, that I’d entered a time warp: Having a gay teammate would be troublesome for many Eagles—especially sharing the shower—but it was more than that. For many players it was, in fact, a brand-new idea.” Huber continues, arguing that, “There’s no doubt that some of our prime Philadelphia sporting heroes—players we’ve rooted for over the years—are gay. A lot of them, in fact. Just do the math. A generally accepted rule of thumb suggests that 10-percent of the population is homosexual. There are more than 100 players currently on our four local pro teams. So it’s clear that whatever teams we get behind, some of the players we’re now applauding or booing are gay. Over the years, of course, thousands of athletes have graced the Philly sporting scene. Scores of them were undoubtedly gay, too. We care so deeply about favourite players, especially from our youth: Mike Schmidt. Bobby Clarke. Reggie White. Julius Erving. And then we go right on rooting and caring: Mike Vick. Chase Utley. LeSean McCoy. It’s an intense connection we feel, even a shared identity. We may wear a star’s uniform jersey on big-game days. Or the kids do. Or our spouse. But what if Julius Erving or Mike Schmidt or Shady McCoy were gay? In fact, a recent Phillies player, a renowned womanizer, has been rumoured to be quite interested in men. There are whispers in gay circles about him picking up men at Knock, a bar on Washington Square West, and taking them back to his condo. Phillies insiders still murmur about his bisexuality.”
If you have ever wanted to sneak a peek at Lance Bass partial butt your wish has come true, professional gay Bass and his new boyfriend Michael Turchin spotted lounging Saturday in Miami.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Judge Denies Last-Minute Lawsuit Seeking Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Hawaii Civil Unions Legislation; Measure Takes Effect January 1 Despite “Cruel Action” Brought By Two Churches
Come the New Year couples can officially enter into civil unions in Hawaii. "We have countless couples ready to enter into Civil Unions on January 1st and January 2nd," says Alan Spector, Equality Hawaii. But, a lawsuit filed this week, tried to stop it from happening. KHON 2 reports that the Emmanuel Temple, the House of Praise in Wahiawa and Lighthouse Outreach Assembly of God in Waipahu filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the implementation of the Civil Union law, saying the law violates their civil rights and constitutional protections for religious freedom. "The law hasn't even gone into effect yet and they're suing, claiming they will be forced to host Civil Union ceremonies in their churches when that hasn't happened," says Spector. Proponents of civil unions say the motion for a temporary restraining order is frivolous. "It's an attempt to make couples who are anticipating possibly the happiest moment in their lives, feel unsettled and unsure," says Valerie Smith, Equality Hawaii. The state's response: "It is certainly cruel for Plaintiffs to wait until this late date to bring this action, knowing full well that many, many people have been looking forward to civil unions since the Governor signed it into law more than 10 months ago." The church's attorney Shawn Luiz replied: "The state's position is absurd. The Church cannot be forced to allow its property to be used for a same-sex ceremony anymore than the Plaintiffs could be ordered to allow a civil union between a man and a woman on Church property." After several hours going over the arguments, Federal Court Judge Michael Seabright denied the church's request for a temporary restraining order in a 17-page ruling but allowed the case to proceed. "The meat of the case is still that Act 1 does not comply with the First Amendment as far as my clients are concerned," says Luiz. "We are still going to move ahead and do what we came here to do, make sure the state complies with the First Amendment." Valerie Smith said, "I'm glad that it's over. I thought of it as an unnecessary distraction and now we can forge ahead and follow-through with our plans and look forward to January 1st at midnight." A state web site that allows couples to register online for Civil Unions is scheduled to go live at midnight January 1st. To apply online for a civil union go to: civilunion.ehawaii.gov. To apply online for marriage go to: marriage.ehawaii.gov/
Friday, December 30, 2011
Chicago Gay Activists Calls For Repeal Of Catholic Church Tax Exemption Status, California Senate Bill 48 Requiring All Public Schools To Teach Gay History Takes Effect January 1, Defense Of Marriage Act Takes A Terrible Toll On Charlie Morgan And Her Legal Wife Karen, Florida Appeals Court Rules Both Partners In Lesbian Relationship Have Legal Rights In Child Custody Dispute, Lance Bass, Prince Harry High Jinx, Leon Jackson Birthday Suit, Liam Hemsworth
If religious leaders lobby government officials on issues of moral concern such as gay rights, their churches and temples should be forced to pay taxes. That’s the position of gay rights activist Tracy Baim, publisher of the Windy City Times. She told Fox Chicago Sunday that Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George and other religious leaders should be forced to choose between such lobbying and their traditional tax exemption. Baim, who also serves as executive editor of the newspaper, sharply criticized recent comments by the Cardinal. Appearing on Fox Chicago Sunday last week, he said, “You don’t want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism.” In a written, follow up statement Wednesday, the Cardinal suggested that gay rights leaders share a goal with Klan marchers of 70 years ago: delegitimizing the Church as a political player in American society. The Illinois Catholic Conference (representing all the state’s bishops) has been a staunch opponent of gay rights legislation. The bishops suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, culminating in Governor Quinn’s decision to strip Catholic Charities of tax-paid adoption services contracts worth tens of millions of dollars annually. Quinn acted after Catholic Charities refused on moral grounds to handle adoptions by gay couples. Other states, including New York, have enacted gay civil rights legislation that specifically allows religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of conscience, while retaining government contracts for adoption and other services. Joining Baim at Friday’s taping of Fox Chicago Sunday was Joe Murray, executive director of the gay Catholic group Rainbow Sash. Both demanded that the Cardinal apologize for comparing gay rights activists to the Klan. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial page weighed in on the issue in Friday’s editions. An editorial noted mockingly, “That’s right: as recently as 70 years ago, the KKK openly demonstrated against the Catholic Church. What that has to do with the (gay) pride parade is lost on us.” The dispute began when openly gay Alderman Tom Tunney (44th) and organizers of the Gay Pride Parade changed its route to take it past the parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. An aide to Tunney said he meant no disrespect and added that the funerals of both of Tunney’s parents were held in that church. The pastor, though, said he was not consulted before the parade route and hours changed. And the pastor said he was initially ignored when he asked for revisions so the parade would not conflict with Sunday morning Mass. Organizers eventually agreed to push the start time back to noon, instead of 10:00 am.
Laws that promote the historical contributions of gays and lesbians and help illegal immigrant college students gain financial aid will take effect with the new year in California, even as opponents seek to overturn the legislation through voter ballot initiatives. On January 1, California becomes the first state to require public schools to teach the contributions of gays and lesbians. According to The Associated Press, the law adds people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose "roles and contributions" must be included in California and U.S. history lessons. It bans instructional materials judged to reflect adversely on gays or particular religions. "We're talking about teaching historical facts at a grade-appropriate level. That's all it is," said Equality California spokeswoman Rebekah Orr, who represents California's largest gay-rights group. Opponents are not giving up on overturning SB48, despite failing in October to gather enough signatures to force a referendum to repeal the law. They have filed five potential ballot initiatives that would repeal the requirement outright or let parents pull their children from classes when gay and lesbian contributions are being taught. The opponents have until spring to gather enough signatures to put the referendums before voters in November. "That law undermines the integrity of objective history instruction for students, and even more importantly undermines the rights of parents in deciding what is appropriate for their child regarding controversial moral and lifestyle issues," argued Brad Dacus, a spokesman for the Pacific Justice Institute, which is helping lead one of the repeal efforts. State Senator Mark Leno said his bill is even more important in light of recent publicity about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students being bullied, which has been blamed for some suicides of homosexual students. "We are currently censuring the history and role and contribution of LGBT-Americans," said Leno, D-San Francisco. "It's no different than when the idea of black history or women's history was first proposed—radical concepts at the time." Equally contentious is the California Dream Act, which is taking effect in two steps. AB130 becomes law January 1 and will let students who entered the country illegally receive private financial aid at California's public colleges. Opponents are challenging AB131, the second portion that allows illegal immigrants to apply for state-funded scholarships and financial aid at state universities. That provision takes effect January 1, 2013. Dream Act supporters, including Gov. Jerry Brown and the bills' author, Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles, say the laws show that California remains progressive while other states, including Arizona and Alabama, enacted punitive measures.
An editorial in The New York Times states that, “There is nothing theoretical about the ongoing pain inflicted by the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Ask Charlie Morgan, a chief warrant officer in the Army National Guard, based in New Hampshire. Ms. Morgan joined the Army just out of high school, in 1982, and spent a decade serving, including stints in the Reserves and National Guard. In 2004, while teaching at a Kentucky high school, she re-enlisted in the Army National Guard, knowing it meant going back to hiding her sexual identity under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule. ‘My country had been attacked, and I felt a patriotic duty to help protect it,’ Ms. Morgan told me. After moving to New Hampshire in 2008 to take a full-time National Guard post, Ms. Morgan was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She was cared for by her longtime partner, Karen Morgan, with whom she entered into a Vermont civil union in 2000 when she was out of the military. Not long after being declared cancer-free, Charlie Morgan was sent to Kuwait for a year. She and her partner married in October in New Hampshire, once the ban on gay people openly serving in the armed forces was lifted. Even with repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the pair face all sorts of limitations not imposed on opposite-sex military couples. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, for example, Karen Morgan is denied health coverage worth well in excess of $10,000 a year. She also cannot get a base pass that would let her escort their 4 1/2-year-old daughter to medical appointments on base or shop at the commissary. These serial injustices are especially concerning now that Charlie Morgan’s cancer has returned. She worries about how her family will manage if she dies, since the law denies same-sex spouses death and survivor benefits. In the fall, she became a named plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act’s denial of equal protection. ‘I have a question I’d like to ask John Boehner,’ Charlie Morgan said, taking note of the House speaker’s decision to spend taxpayer money for lawyers to defend the act. ‘I’ve proved I’m willing to put my life on the line for my country. When will he allow the military to protect my family?’”
They fell in love, moved in together in a house in south Brevard County and had a baby girl. Now they are fighting over who should raise the child. But unlike most couples, they are two women. One donated the egg. The other had it implanted into her womb and carried the child to term. So which one is the mother? The woman who bore the child says it is she and she alone. According to The Orlando Sentinel, a circuit judge in Brevard County, writing that it broke his heart to say so, ruled that she is right. Under Florida law, a woman who gives birth is the mother. Last week, however, a state appeals court in Daytona Beach overturned his decision, saying the other mother has parental rights, too. The 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the U.S. and Florida constitutions trump Florida law and give parenting rights to both women. State law, it added, has not kept up with the times. "This is a unique case, and the appellate courts in Florida have never before considered a case quite like it," it said. Although a growing number of families have two parents who are the same sex, few involve children whose chromosomes come from one woman but who were carried to term by another. Still, it's an important decision with a wider implication, said Nancy Polikoff, a law professor at American University Washington College of Law and expert on gay-and-lesbian family law. "Any ruling that supports the right of a same-sex couple … is important for its willingness to recognize that these families exist and a child raised in this environment shouldn't be forced to give up a parent," she said. In this case the same sex couple had been in a committed relationship for 11 years, according to court records. Several years ago, they decided to have a child, went to counselling to prepare for it and then discovered that one of them, then a 39-year-old law-enforcement officer, was infertile. The couple went to a reproductive doctor, and the other would-be mom, then 34 and also a law-enforcement officer, donated her egg to be fertilized. It was implanted in her partner's womb, and a baby girl was born the first week of 2004. The couple gave the baby a hyphenated version of their last names, but the child's birth certificate bore only the name of the mom who had carried her to term. The father was an anonymous sperm donor who had waived his rights. The child treated both women as parents, according to the appeals-court ruling, even after they split up when the little girl was 2. Then, a year and a half later, the birth mom disappeared with the child, leaving the country without telling her former partner where they had gone. Eventually the egg-donor mom tracked them down in Queensland, Australia. They have since returned to Florida. Robert A. Segal of Melbourne represents the egg-donor mom. Michael B. Jones and Robert J. Wheelock of Orlando represent the other mom. Neither returned phone calls. The appeals court handed down its ruling December 23. In it, it asks the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on a very narrow legal issue: Does a woman in a lesbian relationship who gives her egg to her partner have no legal rights to the child it produces? Camilla Taylor, a family lawyer with LAMBDA Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a non-profit that works on behalf of gays and lesbians, praised the ruling. "I think it's clear the court reached the correct result, and courts are moving toward greater protections for families that involve either varying kinds of biological connections to their children or who have no biological connection but have functioned as parents in a child's life," she said. The appeals court ordered the case back to the trial judge, Circuit Judge Charlie Crawford in Viera, instructing him to give the egg-donor mom access to her daughter and to iron out custody, visitation and child-support issues. The thing on which he should focus, the appeals court wrote, is the child's well-being. That edict to focus on the child, said Polikoff, the law professor, is one of the most heartening things about the ruling.
Professional gay Lance Bass spotted shirtless on the beaches Miami, Florida.
A hooded Prince Harry hits unsuspecting victims with snowballs thrown from a balcony of a hotel in Geneva.
Leon Jackson, who won the British 2007 X Factor celebrates his birthday in his birthday suit, and posts said suit to Twitter, naturally.
Liam Hemsworth is seen arriving in Los Angeles Friday.
Laws that promote the historical contributions of gays and lesbians and help illegal immigrant college students gain financial aid will take effect with the new year in California, even as opponents seek to overturn the legislation through voter ballot initiatives. On January 1, California becomes the first state to require public schools to teach the contributions of gays and lesbians. According to The Associated Press, the law adds people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose "roles and contributions" must be included in California and U.S. history lessons. It bans instructional materials judged to reflect adversely on gays or particular religions. "We're talking about teaching historical facts at a grade-appropriate level. That's all it is," said Equality California spokeswoman Rebekah Orr, who represents California's largest gay-rights group. Opponents are not giving up on overturning SB48, despite failing in October to gather enough signatures to force a referendum to repeal the law. They have filed five potential ballot initiatives that would repeal the requirement outright or let parents pull their children from classes when gay and lesbian contributions are being taught. The opponents have until spring to gather enough signatures to put the referendums before voters in November. "That law undermines the integrity of objective history instruction for students, and even more importantly undermines the rights of parents in deciding what is appropriate for their child regarding controversial moral and lifestyle issues," argued Brad Dacus, a spokesman for the Pacific Justice Institute, which is helping lead one of the repeal efforts. State Senator Mark Leno said his bill is even more important in light of recent publicity about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students being bullied, which has been blamed for some suicides of homosexual students. "We are currently censuring the history and role and contribution of LGBT-Americans," said Leno, D-San Francisco. "It's no different than when the idea of black history or women's history was first proposed—radical concepts at the time." Equally contentious is the California Dream Act, which is taking effect in two steps. AB130 becomes law January 1 and will let students who entered the country illegally receive private financial aid at California's public colleges. Opponents are challenging AB131, the second portion that allows illegal immigrants to apply for state-funded scholarships and financial aid at state universities. That provision takes effect January 1, 2013. Dream Act supporters, including Gov. Jerry Brown and the bills' author, Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles, say the laws show that California remains progressive while other states, including Arizona and Alabama, enacted punitive measures.
An editorial in The New York Times states that, “There is nothing theoretical about the ongoing pain inflicted by the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Ask Charlie Morgan, a chief warrant officer in the Army National Guard, based in New Hampshire. Ms. Morgan joined the Army just out of high school, in 1982, and spent a decade serving, including stints in the Reserves and National Guard. In 2004, while teaching at a Kentucky high school, she re-enlisted in the Army National Guard, knowing it meant going back to hiding her sexual identity under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule. ‘My country had been attacked, and I felt a patriotic duty to help protect it,’ Ms. Morgan told me. After moving to New Hampshire in 2008 to take a full-time National Guard post, Ms. Morgan was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She was cared for by her longtime partner, Karen Morgan, with whom she entered into a Vermont civil union in 2000 when she was out of the military. Not long after being declared cancer-free, Charlie Morgan was sent to Kuwait for a year. She and her partner married in October in New Hampshire, once the ban on gay people openly serving in the armed forces was lifted. Even with repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the pair face all sorts of limitations not imposed on opposite-sex military couples. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, for example, Karen Morgan is denied health coverage worth well in excess of $10,000 a year. She also cannot get a base pass that would let her escort their 4 1/2-year-old daughter to medical appointments on base or shop at the commissary. These serial injustices are especially concerning now that Charlie Morgan’s cancer has returned. She worries about how her family will manage if she dies, since the law denies same-sex spouses death and survivor benefits. In the fall, she became a named plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act’s denial of equal protection. ‘I have a question I’d like to ask John Boehner,’ Charlie Morgan said, taking note of the House speaker’s decision to spend taxpayer money for lawyers to defend the act. ‘I’ve proved I’m willing to put my life on the line for my country. When will he allow the military to protect my family?’”
They fell in love, moved in together in a house in south Brevard County and had a baby girl. Now they are fighting over who should raise the child. But unlike most couples, they are two women. One donated the egg. The other had it implanted into her womb and carried the child to term. So which one is the mother? The woman who bore the child says it is she and she alone. According to The Orlando Sentinel, a circuit judge in Brevard County, writing that it broke his heart to say so, ruled that she is right. Under Florida law, a woman who gives birth is the mother. Last week, however, a state appeals court in Daytona Beach overturned his decision, saying the other mother has parental rights, too. The 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the U.S. and Florida constitutions trump Florida law and give parenting rights to both women. State law, it added, has not kept up with the times. "This is a unique case, and the appellate courts in Florida have never before considered a case quite like it," it said. Although a growing number of families have two parents who are the same sex, few involve children whose chromosomes come from one woman but who were carried to term by another. Still, it's an important decision with a wider implication, said Nancy Polikoff, a law professor at American University Washington College of Law and expert on gay-and-lesbian family law. "Any ruling that supports the right of a same-sex couple … is important for its willingness to recognize that these families exist and a child raised in this environment shouldn't be forced to give up a parent," she said. In this case the same sex couple had been in a committed relationship for 11 years, according to court records. Several years ago, they decided to have a child, went to counselling to prepare for it and then discovered that one of them, then a 39-year-old law-enforcement officer, was infertile. The couple went to a reproductive doctor, and the other would-be mom, then 34 and also a law-enforcement officer, donated her egg to be fertilized. It was implanted in her partner's womb, and a baby girl was born the first week of 2004. The couple gave the baby a hyphenated version of their last names, but the child's birth certificate bore only the name of the mom who had carried her to term. The father was an anonymous sperm donor who had waived his rights. The child treated both women as parents, according to the appeals-court ruling, even after they split up when the little girl was 2. Then, a year and a half later, the birth mom disappeared with the child, leaving the country without telling her former partner where they had gone. Eventually the egg-donor mom tracked them down in Queensland, Australia. They have since returned to Florida. Robert A. Segal of Melbourne represents the egg-donor mom. Michael B. Jones and Robert J. Wheelock of Orlando represent the other mom. Neither returned phone calls. The appeals court handed down its ruling December 23. In it, it asks the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on a very narrow legal issue: Does a woman in a lesbian relationship who gives her egg to her partner have no legal rights to the child it produces? Camilla Taylor, a family lawyer with LAMBDA Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a non-profit that works on behalf of gays and lesbians, praised the ruling. "I think it's clear the court reached the correct result, and courts are moving toward greater protections for families that involve either varying kinds of biological connections to their children or who have no biological connection but have functioned as parents in a child's life," she said. The appeals court ordered the case back to the trial judge, Circuit Judge Charlie Crawford in Viera, instructing him to give the egg-donor mom access to her daughter and to iron out custody, visitation and child-support issues. The thing on which he should focus, the appeals court wrote, is the child's well-being. That edict to focus on the child, said Polikoff, the law professor, is one of the most heartening things about the ruling.
Professional gay Lance Bass spotted shirtless on the beaches Miami, Florida.
A hooded Prince Harry hits unsuspecting victims with snowballs thrown from a balcony of a hotel in Geneva.
Leon Jackson, who won the British 2007 X Factor celebrates his birthday in his birthday suit, and posts said suit to Twitter, naturally.
Liam Hemsworth is seen arriving in Los Angeles Friday.
More Than One Hundred Attend Vigil In Claremont California To Show Support After United Methodist Church Inclusive Nativity Scene Vandalized In What Police Call Hate Crime
An update on a previous post, The Daily Bulletin reports that in California, more than 100 people attended an interfaith vigil on Thursday night at Claremont United Methodist Church to show support for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. The vigil, which featured attendees singing along to songs like "We Shall Overcome" and candle lighting, was in response to vandalism to a contemporary Nativity display celebrating lesbian, gay and heterosexual couples. Claremont police officers have called the incident from this past weekend a hate crime. "We wanted to have an opportunity in response to the vandals," said the Reverend Sharon Rhodes-Wickett, who was among the speakers at the vigil along with the Reverend Dan Lewis. Rhodes-Wickett said she was "sorry people have to express themselves in destructive ways." She said the church has received positive and negative responses since theincident. "It's a very emotional issue for people," Rhodes-Wickett said. But "scripture says we're created in God's image ... sexuality is good." The damage at the church took place between 11:00 pm Saturday and 9:00 am Sunday on the southern part of the church lawn near Foothill Boulevard. Three wooden displays showed images of couples - a man and woman as well as two men and two women - each holding hands. The two displays of the same sex couples were knocked, but the box illustrating the straight couple was left alone. Kelsey Eiland, 17, who attends Claremont High School, said she attended the vigil to show support for "sexual equality and gay marriage," who added, "Initially, I was upset but not surprised." Former Mayor Ellen Taylor said the incident made her "quite concerned. It's a hateful incident." Taylor said the church was "very, very brave" for addressing the incident and the vigil made her hopeful. Church member Pete Serrano, 65, of Montclair said he and his partner had attended the church for 12 years. "Me and my partner attend the church and we feel welcome here. It was very disturbing," Serrano said. Police officers labelled the incident a hate crime because the display was on church property and the wooden box was knocked over. Artist John Zachary said his artwork suffered at least $3,000 worth of damage and added the exhibit's three panels weighed 600 pounds each.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Hate Crime Charges Filed Connection To Anti-Gay Attack In Oshkosh Wisconsin Christmas Day, Police Officer And Former Mr. Gay UK Mark Carter Returns To Work After Being Cleared Of Rape Charges, Zimbabwean Parliamentarian Held For Seven Days After Accusing Violently Anti-Gay President Mugabe Of Having Same Sex Relationship With Fellow Politician, Texas Governor Perry Unaware Of Landmark Supreme Court Ruling That Struck Down State Sodomy Law, Hundreds Sign Petition Demanding Wisconsin College Rescind Invitation For Homophobic Chicago Cardinal George To Speak At Commencement, Ian Thorpe Shirtless Wet Sexy Beach Outing, Robert Pattinson Bearded, Ryan Gosling Barefoot
Two Oshkosh, Wisconsin men arrested for beating up a man outside a bar on Christmas Day have been charged with a hate crime. Lyall B. Ziebell, 20, and Jake R. Immel-Rhode, 20, were charged in Winnebago County Circuit Court Wednesday with battery causing great bodily harm and burglary, both as a party to the crime. The battery charge also carried a hate crime modifier, which increased the penalties. If convicted, reports The Northwestern, each man faces 23 years, six months imprisonment and $40,000 in fines. According to the criminal complaint, Ziebell and Immel-Rhode were walking past PJ’s Bar, 1601 Oregon St., at 2:15 am on December 25, when a man asked them for a cigarette in exchange for buying them a shot of liquor. The men went into the tavern, drank a shot and then went back outside to smoke a cigarette. Ziebell told police he punched the man in the face after the man started “hitting on me,” causing the victim to fall down onto a car. Immel-Rhode then began to kick the man’s head. Ziebell told police he is "very homophobic," and that he heard Immel-Rhode calling the man a "stupid faggot" while he was kicking him in the head, according to the complaint. The man had a broken jaw and a brain injury that required emergency surgery. The man told police he was attacked, "because I'm gay," the complaint states. Ziebell also told police the men stopped at Nayarit Mexican Market, 258 W. Eighth St., on the way back to Ziebell’s home, and stole cash and pre-paid cell phones. Substitute Court Commissioner Francis Slattery ordered both men each be held at the Winnebago County Jail on $3,000 cash bonds. Ziebell and Immel-Rhode are due back in court January 5 for preliminary hearings.
In Britain, a Huddersfield police officer who was cleared of rape is back on duty, West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that some disciplinary action was taken against Pc Mark Carter but he has been allowed to keep his job. Last June the openly gay Pc was cleared of charges of raping a man and carrying out two sexual assaults. He was also charged with possessing the anabolic steroid stanozolol and had been due to face a trial but the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued that case after deciding he had the drugs for “a medicinal purpose within the terms of the Medicines Act 1968.” At that time the former Mr Gay UK title-holder remained suspended by West Yorkshire Police and was told he could face disciplinary action. According to The Examiner, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed yesterday that, “The internal disciplinary investigation has been concluded and dealt with by way of a disciplinary sanction. The officer has now returned to work.”
A Zimbabwean parliamentarian was held in custody for seven days after saying President Robert Mugabe had gay sex with another politician, state media reported Thursday. The state charged Lynette Karenyi, of the Movement for Democratic Change, with saying "Robert Mugabe, president of Zanu-PF, had homosexual relations" with another politician, according to The Herald newspaper. "Karenyi is alleged to have insulted President Mugabe, while addressing an MDC rally held on December 9 at Nhedziwa football grounds in Chimanimani," the paper reported. Mugabe who is known for saying that gays and lesbians are "worse than pigs and dogs" last month labelled British Prime Minister David Cameron "satanic" for saying that countries that want aid from London must accept gay rights. Both Karenyi and her party declined to comment on the matter to AFP but the newspaper said she was "denying the allegations being levelled against her." The politician was released on Thursday after paying $200 bail. The MDC and Mugabe's Zanu-PF are in an uneasy government of national unity following disputed polls in 2008. The MDC has accused the police of arresting their officials and supporters on trumped up charges to settle political scores.
Texas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is unaware of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned Texas sodomy laws, CBS News reports. "I wish I could tell you I knew every Supreme Court case. I don't. I'm not a lawyer," Perry said on Thursday in response to an audience question about Lawrence v. Texas, a critical 2003 Supreme Court case celebrated by gay rights advocates because it struck down sodomy laws in Texas and invalidated them in other states across the country. The case began shortly before Perry became Texas' lieutenant governor and was heard and decided by the Supreme Court after he had become governor. He clarified to a reporter after the event that he didn't know what the case was. "I'm not taking the bar exam," he said. In his book, Fed Up!, Perry slammed the decision, citing it among a handful of big cases in which "Texans have a different view of the world than do the nine oligarchs in robes."
In De Pere, Wisconsin, at least 250 have signed an online petition requesting that St. Norbert College replace Chicago's Cardinal Francis George as its May commencement speaker after he made anti-gay comments last week. George compared gay rights movements to the Ku Klux Klan during an interview with Fox Chicago. "You don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism," George said. The St. Norbert College communications office sent a written statement indicating the school doesn't plan to make changes.
The still not out Ian Thorpe spotted along Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia Wednesday, accompanied by two mystery men, Thorpe bearded (natch) and shirtless (thankfully) and soaking wet sans underwear.
Robert Pattinson and a big bushy beard arrive at Los Angeles International Airport.
A barefoot Ryan Gosling spotted leaving a mixed martial arts class in Los Angeles Tuesday, Gosling among several celebrities asking McDonald’s North America to switch to free-range eggs.
In Britain, a Huddersfield police officer who was cleared of rape is back on duty, West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that some disciplinary action was taken against Pc Mark Carter but he has been allowed to keep his job. Last June the openly gay Pc was cleared of charges of raping a man and carrying out two sexual assaults. He was also charged with possessing the anabolic steroid stanozolol and had been due to face a trial but the Crown Prosecution Service discontinued that case after deciding he had the drugs for “a medicinal purpose within the terms of the Medicines Act 1968.” At that time the former Mr Gay UK title-holder remained suspended by West Yorkshire Police and was told he could face disciplinary action. According to The Examiner, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed yesterday that, “The internal disciplinary investigation has been concluded and dealt with by way of a disciplinary sanction. The officer has now returned to work.”
A Zimbabwean parliamentarian was held in custody for seven days after saying President Robert Mugabe had gay sex with another politician, state media reported Thursday. The state charged Lynette Karenyi, of the Movement for Democratic Change, with saying "Robert Mugabe, president of Zanu-PF, had homosexual relations" with another politician, according to The Herald newspaper. "Karenyi is alleged to have insulted President Mugabe, while addressing an MDC rally held on December 9 at Nhedziwa football grounds in Chimanimani," the paper reported. Mugabe who is known for saying that gays and lesbians are "worse than pigs and dogs" last month labelled British Prime Minister David Cameron "satanic" for saying that countries that want aid from London must accept gay rights. Both Karenyi and her party declined to comment on the matter to AFP but the newspaper said she was "denying the allegations being levelled against her." The politician was released on Thursday after paying $200 bail. The MDC and Mugabe's Zanu-PF are in an uneasy government of national unity following disputed polls in 2008. The MDC has accused the police of arresting their officials and supporters on trumped up charges to settle political scores.
Texas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry is unaware of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned Texas sodomy laws, CBS News reports. "I wish I could tell you I knew every Supreme Court case. I don't. I'm not a lawyer," Perry said on Thursday in response to an audience question about Lawrence v. Texas, a critical 2003 Supreme Court case celebrated by gay rights advocates because it struck down sodomy laws in Texas and invalidated them in other states across the country. The case began shortly before Perry became Texas' lieutenant governor and was heard and decided by the Supreme Court after he had become governor. He clarified to a reporter after the event that he didn't know what the case was. "I'm not taking the bar exam," he said. In his book, Fed Up!, Perry slammed the decision, citing it among a handful of big cases in which "Texans have a different view of the world than do the nine oligarchs in robes."
In De Pere, Wisconsin, at least 250 have signed an online petition requesting that St. Norbert College replace Chicago's Cardinal Francis George as its May commencement speaker after he made anti-gay comments last week. George compared gay rights movements to the Ku Klux Klan during an interview with Fox Chicago. "You don't want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism," George said. The St. Norbert College communications office sent a written statement indicating the school doesn't plan to make changes.
The still not out Ian Thorpe spotted along Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia Wednesday, accompanied by two mystery men, Thorpe bearded (natch) and shirtless (thankfully) and soaking wet sans underwear.
Robert Pattinson and a big bushy beard arrive at Los Angeles International Airport.
A barefoot Ryan Gosling spotted leaving a mixed martial arts class in Los Angeles Tuesday, Gosling among several celebrities asking McDonald’s North America to switch to free-range eggs.
Barnes & Noble Removes Anti-Gay Calendar While Amazon.com Continues To Stock "I’m Not Gay, I’m Just A Sissy "
Barnes & Noble has pulled a calendar by a Christian cartoonist that is sparking outrage in the gay community. Titled I'm Not Gay, I'm Just A Sissy, the calendar by Joe King has drawn staunch criticism for what many are calling homophobic humour and imagery, including one illustration which appears to awkwardly mock the HIV/AIDS crisis. Another cartoon portrays Paul Revere on horseback shouting, "The sodomites are coming! The sodomites are coming!" Few in the LGBT community are laughing and have called for retailers to stop selling the calendar. Barnes & Noble removed the calendar from its website, and a spokesperson for the company told the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation it was never made available in stores. Amazon continues to stock the item, according to 8WGAL. King has since taken to his Facebook page to defend his work, saying the cartoons are reprints of nationally distributed work several years old. "All the hysteria is coming from those nice folks who haven't bothered to actually purchase and read my collection," he wrote, adding, “Hoo-we! Hell hath no fury like a he/she scorned… The telephone tree of tantrums is lit up like a Las Vegas marquee for “Boy-Lesque” today with hate mail, threats of boycott and even the risk of Jesus spitting on me for my “Sissy” calendar.” He added that AIDS was an “elective disease” which would stop “the day guys quit sticking it to each other. And for the tragedy of women and children infected… THAT stops the day their gay husbands and fathers stop cheating on them. Anyone need MORE education, science or funding to understand THAT?”
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Ron Paul Endorser Reverend Phillip G. Kayser Supports Criminalizing Homosexuality And Enforcing Death Penalty Against Offenders, Armed Robber Who Lured Victims Via Gay Chat Lines Sentenced To 14 ½ Years In Prison, Transgender Woman Murdered In Kansas City And Local Media Coverage Criticized, 2011 National Film Registry Select Forest Gump Among Other Films But Again Ignores The Times Of Harvey Milk, Joe McGuiness, Tom Felton
GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul’s Iowa chair, Drew Ivers, recently touted the endorsement of Reverend Phillip G. Kayser, a pastor at the Dominion Covenant Church in Nebraska who also draws members from Iowa, putting out a press release praising “the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul’s approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs.” But, reports Talking Points Memo, Kayser’s views on homosexuality go way beyond the bounds of typical anti-gay evangelical politics and into the violent fringe: he recently authored a paper arguing for criminalizing homosexuality and even advocated imposing the death penalty against offenders based on his reading of Biblical law. “Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just,” he argued. “But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative. Biblical law would recognize as a matter of justice that even if this law could be enforced today, homosexuals could not be prosecuted for something that was done before.” Reached by phone, Kayser confirmed that he believed in reinstating Biblical punishments for homosexuals — including the death penalty — even if he didn’t see much hope for it happening anytime soon. While he said he and Paul disagree on gay rights, noting that Paul recently voted for repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, he supported the campaign because he believed Paul’s federalist take on the Constitution would allow states more latitude to implement fundamentalist law. Especially since under Kayser’s own interpretation of the Constitution there is no separation of Church and State. “Under a Ron Paul presidency, states would be freed up to not have political correctness imposed on them, but obviously some state would follow what’s politically correct,” he said. “What he’s trying to do, whether he agrees with the Constitution’s position or not, is restrict himself to the Constitution. That is something I very much appreciate.” Kayser’s allegiance to the Paul campaign may reflect who the campaign has chosen to sell Paul to the churches. Mike Heath, who became Ron Paul’s Iowa state director this fall, has spent his career on the Christian right. In Iowa, Heath has focused on outreach to the religious community in the state, where Paul has made an effort to target evangelical voters. Heath spent 14 years running the Christian Civic League of Maine (which has since changed its name). As a prominent figure in Maine, Heath slowly alienated the Christian right in the state with his extreme tactics. In 2004, for example, he launched a witch hunt to out gay members of the Maine legislature, asking supporters, according to the Portland Press Herald, to “e-mail us tips, rumours, speculation and facts” regarding the sexual orientation of the state’s political leaders, adding, “We are, of course, most interested in the leaders among us who want to overturn marriage, eliminate the mother/father family as the ideal, etc.” The result was that his own organization suspended him for a month. “He’s a well-known conspiracy theorist about the ‘gay agenda,’” says Travis Kennedy, chief of staff for the House Democratic Office in Maine, who says Heath was a big figure around the capital for many years. Heath made more enemies than friends, says Kennedy, whose “offensive and aggressive” tactics put off even his allies on the Christian right. In 2007, Heath played a big part in opposing a sexual orientation anti-discrimination ballot measure which ultimately passed by a wide margin. On Heath’s new job in Iowa, Kennedy said, “I’m not surprised he’d be hired in a state far away from Maine. He has a pretty poor reputation around here.”
An armed robber who met his victims through gay chat lines -- and pretended to only be interested in romance or sex -- was sentenced to 14½ years in prison Tuesday. The Oregonian reports that investigators say the tactics and targets of Elijah Whitney Cohens II varied widely. But in all four known cases he said he had a gun. He also always said he was a police officer — perhaps to scare his victims into thinking they had done something illicit and that they should hand over valuables so he would not arrest them. Cohens is 35. His victims ranged in age from their 20s to 60s. He robbed them during a four-week period in May and June. Cohens fooled around with two victims before robbing them. He skipped any romance and went straight to robbing the two other victims. He tracked down one victim at the victim's apartment, although the victim had not given Cohens his address. Cohens tied him up and walked out with $5,000 worth of the man’s valuables, including a big-screen TV. Cohens met another victim at Lloyd Center mall, before driving off with the man and demanding he withdraw cash from an ATM. One victim said Cohens wielded a knife. Another saw the butt of a gun. The other two did not see any weapon. Portland police were able to track down Cohens because he left behind a cigarette butt. DNA on the cigarette butt matched DNA that had been entered into the state database after Cohens' previous felony convictions, which include robbery, forgery, assault and burglary. Three of the victims also identified Cohens. He lived in an apartment on Northeast Columbia Boulevard. Cohens pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court to first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and criminal impersonation of an officer. Judge Angel Lopez sentenced Cohens to 150 months and ordered him to pay $7,000 in restitution. Although Cohens claims there are no additional victims, investigators believe there could be others. Anyone with information is asked to call Portland police Sgt. Mike Smith at 503-823-0400.
A Kansas City man who told police he became angry after he realized the prostitute he had patronized Christmas Eve was a man posing as a woman was charged Sunday with the transgender woman’s murder, according to The Kansas City Star. Kenyan L. Jones, 26, faces charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Darnell D. Pearson, 31, also known as Dee Dee Pearson. According to court documents, Jones admitted paying to have sexual relations with Pearson believing that Person was a woman. Several hours later, Jones became aware that Pearson was a biological man. Jones told police that he obtained a handgun and approached Pearson in the vicinity of East 46th Street and Troost Avenue. Jones chased Pearson to the entry of an apartment building in the 1000 block of East 43rd Street where, Jones said, he “popped him.” Police found Pearson’s body at about 11:25 p.m. A witness who had called 911 told police she heard several shots and saw a man in a hoodie running from the scene and the victim lying in front of the apartment. When police arrested Jones on East 43rd Street, west of Virginia Avenue, he was out of breath and wearing a hoodie-style shirt. A short distance away, police recovered a handgun and a hooded jacket with a cellphone containing video images of Jones. There has been criticism of the local media coverage, including the Star, for failing to use the correct pronouns in referring to Pearson.
Forrest Gump, the multiple-Oscar winning 1994 film starring Tom Hanks as an American innocent navigating the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, was named to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry on Wednesday, along with 24 other films deemed worthy of preservation at the library’s conservation facility in Culpeper, Virginia. According to The Washington Post, this year’s list spans more than 80 years, with Forrest Gump being the most recent title and A Cure for Pokeritis, a silent comedy made in 1912, being the oldest. A number of this year’s inductees have to do with social issues, from the documentaries The Negro Soldier and Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment to the child-labour melodrama The Cry of the Children and The Lost Weekend, starring Ray Milland as a man battling alcoholism. Every year, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington personally selects which films will be added to the National Film Registry, working from a list of suggestions from the library’s National Film Preservation Board and the general public. “What it’s proven to me, having done it now for a number of years, is the continuing inventiveness and diversity of how moving images and the film industry have flourished in this country,” Billington said. “There’s just terrific variety and richness.” In addition to such mainstream motion pictures, this year’s list includes such lesser-known titles as Allures, a 1961 study in abstraction by Jordan Belson, and I, an Actress, by George and Mike Kuchar, filmmakers whose subversive experimental films influenced John Waters, among other directors. This year, Forrest Gump and the 1971 feminist documentary Growing Up Female enjoyed significant public support, with the library receiving substantial numbers of e-mails advocating for both. However, The Times of Harvey Milk, Rob Epstein’s Oscar-winning 1984 documentary about the San Francisco politician and gay rights advocate, long recommended by the board, was once again not chosen for the registry. Dennis Doros, whose company Milestone Films has distributed a number of the classic and “orphan” films the registry regularly champions, sees the absence as a troubling blind spot. “One of the reasons I’m disappointed is that I think so highly of the selections of the National Film Registry, that they try to be so diverse,” Doros said. “They have just about every minority represented, so the omission of LGBT films just makes that omission even more glaring.” For his part, Billington says, “I don’t think there’s been an absence,” citing such registry films as Midnight Cowboy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eaux d’Artifice, by gay filmmaker Kenneth Anger, as examples. “There’s no conscious exclusion of anybody. It’s a question of who do we include in a given year. We don’t have quotas. And I don’t think you’ll find a list with a wider range of inclusiveness than this one, in terms of films with a distinct point of view.” Still, board member Bob Rosen, a preservationist, historian and former dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, noted that a few films by gay filmmakers or featuring gay characters “is not by itself sufficient to reflect the cultural, historic and aesthetic significance of the literally thousands of LGBT films produced over the years,” Rosen adding, “The list, now numbering more than 500 titles, is truly amazing in reflecting generic, cultural and gender diversity. That there are no films that reflect gay and lesbian culture and history suggests an area that remains to be addressed.”
The very cute Joe McGuiness of The Wanted, a British boy band, spotted along the shores of Barbados.
The very pale Tom Felton spotted in Miami Beach.
An armed robber who met his victims through gay chat lines -- and pretended to only be interested in romance or sex -- was sentenced to 14½ years in prison Tuesday. The Oregonian reports that investigators say the tactics and targets of Elijah Whitney Cohens II varied widely. But in all four known cases he said he had a gun. He also always said he was a police officer — perhaps to scare his victims into thinking they had done something illicit and that they should hand over valuables so he would not arrest them. Cohens is 35. His victims ranged in age from their 20s to 60s. He robbed them during a four-week period in May and June. Cohens fooled around with two victims before robbing them. He skipped any romance and went straight to robbing the two other victims. He tracked down one victim at the victim's apartment, although the victim had not given Cohens his address. Cohens tied him up and walked out with $5,000 worth of the man’s valuables, including a big-screen TV. Cohens met another victim at Lloyd Center mall, before driving off with the man and demanding he withdraw cash from an ATM. One victim said Cohens wielded a knife. Another saw the butt of a gun. The other two did not see any weapon. Portland police were able to track down Cohens because he left behind a cigarette butt. DNA on the cigarette butt matched DNA that had been entered into the state database after Cohens' previous felony convictions, which include robbery, forgery, assault and burglary. Three of the victims also identified Cohens. He lived in an apartment on Northeast Columbia Boulevard. Cohens pleaded guilty in Multnomah County Circuit Court to first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, first-degree burglary and criminal impersonation of an officer. Judge Angel Lopez sentenced Cohens to 150 months and ordered him to pay $7,000 in restitution. Although Cohens claims there are no additional victims, investigators believe there could be others. Anyone with information is asked to call Portland police Sgt. Mike Smith at 503-823-0400.
A Kansas City man who told police he became angry after he realized the prostitute he had patronized Christmas Eve was a man posing as a woman was charged Sunday with the transgender woman’s murder, according to The Kansas City Star. Kenyan L. Jones, 26, faces charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of Darnell D. Pearson, 31, also known as Dee Dee Pearson. According to court documents, Jones admitted paying to have sexual relations with Pearson believing that Person was a woman. Several hours later, Jones became aware that Pearson was a biological man. Jones told police that he obtained a handgun and approached Pearson in the vicinity of East 46th Street and Troost Avenue. Jones chased Pearson to the entry of an apartment building in the 1000 block of East 43rd Street where, Jones said, he “popped him.” Police found Pearson’s body at about 11:25 p.m. A witness who had called 911 told police she heard several shots and saw a man in a hoodie running from the scene and the victim lying in front of the apartment. When police arrested Jones on East 43rd Street, west of Virginia Avenue, he was out of breath and wearing a hoodie-style shirt. A short distance away, police recovered a handgun and a hooded jacket with a cellphone containing video images of Jones. There has been criticism of the local media coverage, including the Star, for failing to use the correct pronouns in referring to Pearson.
Forrest Gump, the multiple-Oscar winning 1994 film starring Tom Hanks as an American innocent navigating the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, was named to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry on Wednesday, along with 24 other films deemed worthy of preservation at the library’s conservation facility in Culpeper, Virginia. According to The Washington Post, this year’s list spans more than 80 years, with Forrest Gump being the most recent title and A Cure for Pokeritis, a silent comedy made in 1912, being the oldest. A number of this year’s inductees have to do with social issues, from the documentaries The Negro Soldier and Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment to the child-labour melodrama The Cry of the Children and The Lost Weekend, starring Ray Milland as a man battling alcoholism. Every year, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington personally selects which films will be added to the National Film Registry, working from a list of suggestions from the library’s National Film Preservation Board and the general public. “What it’s proven to me, having done it now for a number of years, is the continuing inventiveness and diversity of how moving images and the film industry have flourished in this country,” Billington said. “There’s just terrific variety and richness.” In addition to such mainstream motion pictures, this year’s list includes such lesser-known titles as Allures, a 1961 study in abstraction by Jordan Belson, and I, an Actress, by George and Mike Kuchar, filmmakers whose subversive experimental films influenced John Waters, among other directors. This year, Forrest Gump and the 1971 feminist documentary Growing Up Female enjoyed significant public support, with the library receiving substantial numbers of e-mails advocating for both. However, The Times of Harvey Milk, Rob Epstein’s Oscar-winning 1984 documentary about the San Francisco politician and gay rights advocate, long recommended by the board, was once again not chosen for the registry. Dennis Doros, whose company Milestone Films has distributed a number of the classic and “orphan” films the registry regularly champions, sees the absence as a troubling blind spot. “One of the reasons I’m disappointed is that I think so highly of the selections of the National Film Registry, that they try to be so diverse,” Doros said. “They have just about every minority represented, so the omission of LGBT films just makes that omission even more glaring.” For his part, Billington says, “I don’t think there’s been an absence,” citing such registry films as Midnight Cowboy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Eaux d’Artifice, by gay filmmaker Kenneth Anger, as examples. “There’s no conscious exclusion of anybody. It’s a question of who do we include in a given year. We don’t have quotas. And I don’t think you’ll find a list with a wider range of inclusiveness than this one, in terms of films with a distinct point of view.” Still, board member Bob Rosen, a preservationist, historian and former dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, noted that a few films by gay filmmakers or featuring gay characters “is not by itself sufficient to reflect the cultural, historic and aesthetic significance of the literally thousands of LGBT films produced over the years,” Rosen adding, “The list, now numbering more than 500 titles, is truly amazing in reflecting generic, cultural and gender diversity. That there are no films that reflect gay and lesbian culture and history suggests an area that remains to be addressed.”
The very cute Joe McGuiness of The Wanted, a British boy band, spotted along the shores of Barbados.
The very pale Tom Felton spotted in Miami Beach.
Illinois Catholic Charities Continue To Argue That State Rules Requiring They Consider Same Sex Couples As Prospective Foster-Care And Adoptive Parents Violates Religious Freedom
Catholic Charities in Illinois has served for more than 40 years as a major link in the state’s social service network for poor and neglected children. But now most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in Illinois are closing down rather than comply with a new requirement that says they can no longer receive state money if they turn away same sex couples as potential foster care and adoptive parents. For the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, according to a report by The New York Times, the outcome is a prime example of what they see as an escalating campaign by the government to trample on their religious freedom while expanding the rights of gay people. The idea that religious Americans are now the victims of government-backed persecution is now a frequent theme not just for Catholic bishops, but also for Republican presidential candidates and conservative evangelicals. “In the name of tolerance, we’re not being tolerated,” said Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, a civil and canon lawyer who helped drive the church’s losing battle to retain its state contracts for foster care and adoption services. The Illinois experience indicates that the bishops face formidable opponents who also claim to have justice and the Constitution on their side. They include not only gay rights advocates, but also many religious believers and churches that support gay equality (some Catholic legislators among them). They frame the issue as a matter of civil rights, saying that Catholic Charities was using taxpayer money to discriminate against same sex couples. Tim Kee, a teacher in Marion, Illinois, who was turned away by Catholic Charities three years ago when he and his longtime partner, Rick Wade, tried to adopt a child, said, “We’re both Catholic, we love our church, but Catholic Charities closed the door to us. To add insult to injury, my tax dollars went to provide discrimination against me.” The bishops are engaged in the religious liberty battle on several fronts. They have asked the Obama administration to lift a new requirement that Catholic and other religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and charity groups cover contraception in their employees’ health plans. A decision has been expected for weeks now. At the same time, the bishops are protesting the recent denial of a federal contract to provide care for victims of sex-trafficking, saying the decision was anti-Catholic. An official with the Department of Health and Human Services recently told a hearing on Capitol Hill that the bishops’ program was rejected because it did not provide the survivors of sex-trafficking, some of whom are rape victims, with referrals for abortions or contraceptives. Critics of the church argue that no group has a constitutional right to a government contract, especially if it refuses to provide required services. But Anthony R. Picarello Jr., general counsel and associate general secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, disagreed. “It’s true that the church doesn’t have a First Amendment right to have a government contract,” he said, “but it does have a First Amendment right not to be excluded from a contract based on its religious beliefs.” The controversy in Illinois began when the state legislature voted in November 2010 to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples, which the state’s Catholic bishops lobbied against. The legislation was titled “The Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act,” and Bishop Paprocki said he was given the impression that it would not affect state contracts for Catholic Charities and other religious social services. Bishops in Washington and Massachusetts had already decided to jettison their Catholic Charities’ adoption services rather than comply with non-discrimination laws. In New York State, religious groups lobbied for specific exemption language in the same-sex marriage bill. But bishops in Illinois did not negotiate, Bishop Paprocki said. “It would have been seen as, We’re going to compromise on the principle as long as we get our exception. We didn’t want it to be seen as buying our support,” he said. Catholic Charities is one of the nation’s most extensive social service networks, serving more than 10 million poor adults and children of many faiths across the country. It is made up of local affiliates that answer to local bishops and dioceses, but much of its revenue comes from the government. Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3 percent came from churches in the diocese (the rest came from in-kind contributions, investments, program fees and community donations). Catholic Charities is one of the nation’s most extensive social service networks, serving more than 10 million poor adults and children of many faiths across the country. It is made up of local affiliates that answer to local bishops and dioceses, but much of its revenue comes from the government. Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3 percent came from churches in the diocese (the rest came from in-kind contributions, investments, program fees and community donations). In Illinois, Catholic Charities in five of the six state dioceses had grown dependent on foster care contracts, receiving 60-percent to 92-percent of their revenues from the state, according to affidavits by the charities’ directors. (Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Chicago pulled out of foster care services in 2007 because of problems with its insurance provider.) When the contracts came up for renewal in June, the state attorney general, along with the legal staff in the governor’s office and the Department of Children and Family Services, decided that the religious providers on state contracts would no longer be able to reject same-sex couples, said Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for the department. The Catholic providers offered to refer same-sex couples to other agencies (as they had been doing for unmarried couples), but that was not acceptable to the state, Mr. Marlowe said. “Separate but equal was not a sufficient solution on other civil rights issues in the past either,” he said. Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Rockford decided at that point to get out of the foster care business. But the bishops in Springfield, Peoria, Joliet and Belleville decided to fight, filing a lawsuit against the state. Taking a completely different tack was the agency affiliated with the conservative Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, which, like the Catholic Church, does not sanction same-sex relationships. Gene Svebakken, president and chief executive of the agency, Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, visited all seven pastoral conferences in his state and explained that the best option was to compromise and continue caring for the children. “We’ve been around 140 years, and if we didn’t follow the law we’d go out of business,” Svebakken said. “We believe it’s God-pleasing to serve these kids, and we know we do a good job.” In August, Judge John Schmidt, a circuit judge in Sangamon County, ruled against Catholic Charities, saying, “No citizen has a recognized legal right to a contract with the government.” He did not address the religious liberty claims, ruling only that the state did not violate the church’s property rights. Three of the dioceses filed an appeal, but in November filed a motion to dismiss their lawsuit. The Dioceses of Peoria and Belleville are spinning off their state-financed social services, with the caseworkers, top executives and foster children all moving to new nonprofits that will no longer be affiliated with either diocese. Gary Huelsmann, executive director of Catholic Social Services of Southern Illinois, in the Belleville Diocese, said the decision was excruciating for everyone. “We have 600 children abused and neglected in an area where there are hardly any providers,” he said. “Us going out of business would have been detrimental to these children, and that’s a sin, too.” The work will be carried on, but the Catholic Church’s seminal, historic connection with it has been severed, noted Mr. Marlowe, the spokesman for the state’s child welfare agency. “The child welfare system that Catholic Charities helped build,” he said, “is now strong enough to survive their departure.”
National Organization For Marriage Attacks Ron Paul; Attempts To Introduce Issue Of Same Sex Marriage Into Iowa Caucuses
The National Organization for Marriage, a leading hate-mongering social conservative group that is opposed to giving same sex couples the right to marry, is striking out at Representative Ron Paul with a new television advertisement, a move whose obvious intention is to blunt the Texas congressman’s rise in the polls a few days before the Iowa caucuses. The New York Times reports that the group is just one of the many conservative political groups that are flooding the airwaves with commercials, adding a new element to the still unsettled race. In recent days, groups working on behalf of former Senator Rick Santorum, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Gov. Mitt Romney have bought commercial slots on Iowa’s broadcast stations for the first time. Candidates have been doubling down as well. Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich both increased their ad buys on Wednesday. Mr. Gingrich will begin a new barrage of commercials here on Thursday, and Mr. Romney has turned many of his 30-second ads into spots that run a full minute. But the National Organization for Marriage ad injects a new and volatile issue into the race, one that has so far largely remained on the sidelines. Same sex marriage has been a contentious issue in Iowa — voters have removed some of the state judges who paved the way for its legalization — but it has not been a major factor in the presidential campaign. In a dig at Mr. Paul, the 30-second commercial opens with these words: “All the major presidential candidates have pledged to preserve traditional marriage,” implying that the Texas congressman is not a legitimate contender. Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said it was important for conservative Iowans to know where Mr. Paul stood on the issue before it was too late. “There’s five days left,” he said. “This is the critical period. This is a very unique election. People are still making up their minds in Iowa, and that’s why it’s important we do this now.”
Eleven For 2011 – Films. “Brother. Keep Us. Guide Us. To The End of Time.”
1. Tree of Life, Terrence Malik
2. Bill Cunningham New York, Richard Press
3. Weekend, Andrew Haigh
4. A Separation, Asghar Farhadi
5. The Descendents, Alexander Payne
6. Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
7. We Were Here, David Weissman and Bill Weber
8. Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen
9. Martha Mercy May Marlene, Sean Durkin
10. Drive, Nicholas Refn
11. Melancholia, Lars von Trier
2. Bill Cunningham New York, Richard Press
3. Weekend, Andrew Haigh
4. A Separation, Asghar Farhadi
5. The Descendents, Alexander Payne
6. Margin Call, J.C. Chandor
7. We Were Here, David Weissman and Bill Weber
8. Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen
9. Martha Mercy May Marlene, Sean Durkin
10. Drive, Nicholas Refn
11. Melancholia, Lars von Trier
Chicago Cardinal George Statements Explaining Earlier Comparison Of Gay Rights Movement To KKK Renews Calls For His Resignation; George Bizarrely Adds That It Is “Sinful That Gays Have Been Harassed And Subjected To Psychological And Physical Harm”
Setting off a new round in his dispute with gay right activists, Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George has issued a statement defending his recent comparison of the gay rights movement to the Ku Klux Klan. George’s initial comments came in connection with a controversy over whether next summer’s gay pride parade would interrupt morning services at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Lakeview neighbourhood. That dispute, you might recall, was resolved last week, but the cardinal’s KKK comparison – and his new explanation of those comments – have kept the controversy ignited. “Organizers (of the pride parade) invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church,” the cardinal said in a statement issued Tuesday. “One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan which, well into the 1940s, paraded through American cities not only to interfere with Catholic worship but also to demonstrate that Catholics stand outside of the American consensus. It is not a precedent anyone should want to emulate.” The Chicago Tribune reports that gay rights advocates said today that George was expressing “bigotry” and should apologize and resign. In October, the route and time of the pride parade were changed to accommodate larger crowds. The start was changed from noon to 10:00 am, and the new route went past Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Church officials later objected, arguing that it would interrupt morning services. Last Wednesday, an agreement was reached to move the start time back to noon. Meanwhile, George was interviewed by Fox News Chicago. He said: “You know, you don’t want the gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism. So I think if that’s what’s happening, and I don't know that it is, but I would respect the local pastor’s, you know, position on that.” When excerpts from the interview were disclosed last week, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said people should view the entire interview, which aired on Fox on Christmas Day. Gay rights groups on Wednesday said George needs to apologize – among them the Rainbow Sash Movement, an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, which also called for George’s resignation. “Cardinal Francis George’s recent statement comparing the gay community to the KKK is just another example of bigotry sidestepping what it means to be pro-life,” the group said in a statement. “The cardinal promotes his brand of bigotry based on a case of selective Biblical literalism.” While the cardinal defended his Klan comparison, he also wrote Tuesday: “It is terribly wrong and sinful that gays and lesbians have been harassed and subjected to psychological and even physical harm.” Joe Murray, executive director for the Rainbow Sash Movement, said George’s new statement is an attempt to have it both ways. “It’s schizoid,” Murray said. “You can’t say on one hand that you love people and on the other hand condemn them for who they are.” In an e-mail, the archdiocese declined any further comment on George’s new statement.
Four Same Sex Couples Prepare To Enter Into Civil Unions Just After Midnight January 1 As New Law Takes Effect In Hawaii
In Hawaii, four same sex couples will enter into civil unions shortly after midnight on January 1, 2012. A private ceremony is planned at an undisclosed home in East Oahu to mark the historic event. KHON2 reports that Tambry Young and Suzanne King, two women who were married in Massachusetts in 2009, are helping the couples coordinate the event as members of the CU in Hawaii 2012 Planning Committee.“They had fittings that they had to go to (and) they've got family flying in,” said King. “It's really exciting.” One of the four couples taking part in the New Year’s Eve event has been together for the past thirty-three years. “They've seen some of their friends pass away before this actually could be enacted, so it's an important step for them,” said Young. While civil unions are not considered marriage, the legally binding agreement provides many of the same legal rights and benefits of marriage. Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the civil unions’ bill into law on February 23, making Hawaii the fifth state in the nation to recognize such ceremonies. For the past ten months the State Health Department has been drawing up plans for an online application process for same sex couples who want to take advantage of Hawaii’s new law. “The Department of Health did a tremendous job in getting this system up and running,” said Young. “So basically what happens is twelve midnight the system goes live.” Those who want to perform civil unions or enter into such a covenant can complete their registration online at http://hawaii.gov/health. The Health Department has a Frequently Asked Questions page to help with the registration process. Couples are also urged to contact the CU in Hawaii 2012 Planning Committee with any questions or concerns. “We can help them kind of walk through that to make sure that they have everything up and running,” said Young. Other state agencies have also been updating their rules and regulations in order to make certain that civil union couples have the same rights as heterosexual married couples. “I think everybody's realizing that this is the next step in our evolution to get full equality and I think everyone's taking it serious,” said Young. For both Young and King, January 1 will also mark a turning point in their thirty year relationship. Their marriage in Massachusetts will also be recognized as a civil union here in Hawaii. “Part of the process is me changing my name to Suzanne Young, which will be effective January 1,” said King. “That's pretty awesome.” Young and King were forced to terminate their reciprocal benefits agreement in Hawaii before the state could recognize their partnership as a civil union.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Claremont California Police Investigate Damaged Gay-Positive Nativity Scene As Hate Crime, New Reports Suggests That Half Of New Military Officers Opposes Gays Serving Openly, Calls To Boycott HBO After Bill Maher Tim Tebow Tweet, Marc Jacobs And Lorenzo Martone St. Barts Sexiness, Novak And Marko Djokovic, Prince William
Claremont California police officers have called vandalism to a Nativity display celebrating lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples at Claremont United Methodist Church a hate crime. The Daily Bulletin reports that the damage took place between 11:00 am December 24 to 9:00 am December 25 on the southern part of the church lawn, which is near Foothill Boulevard, Claremont Police Department Sgt. Jason Walters said. "It's a hate crime based on it being church property as well as the wooden box knocked over that depicted two males holding hands," Walters said. "Nothing was written and there weren't any slurs, but it is church property and the box was knocked over." Walters said police officers were looking for any information related to the case because there were no suspects at this time. Anyone with information can call the Police Department at 909-399-5411.
Half of the military's youngest officers oppose gays serving in the military, with conservative male military academy cadets especially hostile to President Obama's year-old repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, according to a new survey from West Point scholars. "The findings show being a cadet is associated with stronger agreement for barring homosexuals from military service," said the study published by the journal Armed Forces & Society and made available to U.S. News & World Report. Since 1993, gays had been allowed to serve in the U.S. military but were barred from expressing their sexuality openly. This year those restrictions were repealed. The study, part of an ongoing survey of college students at U.S. military academies, civilian schools and ROTC cadets, found a huge gap in attitudes toward gays and lesbians serving in the military. College students not heading into the military support Obama's actions, with just 13-percent opposed to gays serving in the military. Some 41-percent of ROTC students oppose gays serving and 53-percent of those at military academies oppose gay serving openly. The survey did not distinguish between gays serving in the military openly or under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell restrictions. Supposedly, since the bulk of military officers come from military academies and ROTC, their opposition to gays serving is significant, though the study authors found that attitudes change over time. For example, male and female cadets interviewed back in 2002 were more opposed than those surveyed in 2007 by a margin of 9-percentage points: 59-percent to 50-percent. During the debate over repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, service chiefs fought the president, worried that it could undermine morale. But top Pentagon leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defense secretary, backed the president's move. The controversy flashed back into public view last week when news photographers captured two female sailors kissing after the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship landed in Virginia Beach. Males prove to be the biggest foes of gays serving in the military—and politically conservative male cadets are especially hostile. According to the survey, 70-percent of those described as "male Republican cadets" support barring homosexuals from serving in the military. Some 44-percent of "female Republican cadets" also oppose gays in the military. By comparison, just 4.5-percent of those described as "female Democrat civilians" oppose gay service.
Bill Maher has run afoul of religious conservatives yet again, after a Christmas Eve tweet the comedian sent about overtly religious Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Following a 40-14 Broncos' loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Maher tweeted, "Wow, Jesus just fucked #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler 'Hey, Buffalo's killing them'. Predictably, reports The Los Angeles Times, the dig from the atheist comedian didn't go over well with Christians. Fox Business' "Follow the Money" host Eric Bolling got things rolling with his Twitter response: "Bill Maher is disgusting vile trash. I can't even repeat what he just tweeted about Tebow... on Christmas Eve. #straighttohellBill." Others have called for a boycott of HBO, the home of Maher's show, Real Time. This wouldn't be the first time Maher's words have raised the ire of those on the opposite end of the political spectrum. There are regular calls for Maher's ouster from HBO. It happened in July, following a frank discussion of "hate sex" with Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, and in 2008, following comments about Pope Benedict XVI. Real Time With Bill Maher returns to HBO on January 13.
Marc Jacobs and his ex Lorenzo Martone spotted shirtless, sandwiched into teeny, tiny swimsuits on the shores of St. Barts.
A tight, toned Novak Djokovic and his brother Marko alongside a camel.
Prince William plays soccer Christmas Eve.
Half of the military's youngest officers oppose gays serving in the military, with conservative male military academy cadets especially hostile to President Obama's year-old repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, according to a new survey from West Point scholars. "The findings show being a cadet is associated with stronger agreement for barring homosexuals from military service," said the study published by the journal Armed Forces & Society and made available to U.S. News & World Report. Since 1993, gays had been allowed to serve in the U.S. military but were barred from expressing their sexuality openly. This year those restrictions were repealed. The study, part of an ongoing survey of college students at U.S. military academies, civilian schools and ROTC cadets, found a huge gap in attitudes toward gays and lesbians serving in the military. College students not heading into the military support Obama's actions, with just 13-percent opposed to gays serving in the military. Some 41-percent of ROTC students oppose gays serving and 53-percent of those at military academies oppose gay serving openly. The survey did not distinguish between gays serving in the military openly or under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell restrictions. Supposedly, since the bulk of military officers come from military academies and ROTC, their opposition to gays serving is significant, though the study authors found that attitudes change over time. For example, male and female cadets interviewed back in 2002 were more opposed than those surveyed in 2007 by a margin of 9-percentage points: 59-percent to 50-percent. During the debate over repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, service chiefs fought the president, worried that it could undermine morale. But top Pentagon leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the defense secretary, backed the president's move. The controversy flashed back into public view last week when news photographers captured two female sailors kissing after the USS Oak Hill amphibious landing ship landed in Virginia Beach. Males prove to be the biggest foes of gays serving in the military—and politically conservative male cadets are especially hostile. According to the survey, 70-percent of those described as "male Republican cadets" support barring homosexuals from serving in the military. Some 44-percent of "female Republican cadets" also oppose gays in the military. By comparison, just 4.5-percent of those described as "female Democrat civilians" oppose gay service.
Bill Maher has run afoul of religious conservatives yet again, after a Christmas Eve tweet the comedian sent about overtly religious Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Following a 40-14 Broncos' loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Maher tweeted, "Wow, Jesus just fucked #TimTebow bad! And on Xmas Eve! Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler 'Hey, Buffalo's killing them'. Predictably, reports The Los Angeles Times, the dig from the atheist comedian didn't go over well with Christians. Fox Business' "Follow the Money" host Eric Bolling got things rolling with his Twitter response: "Bill Maher is disgusting vile trash. I can't even repeat what he just tweeted about Tebow... on Christmas Eve. #straighttohellBill." Others have called for a boycott of HBO, the home of Maher's show, Real Time. This wouldn't be the first time Maher's words have raised the ire of those on the opposite end of the political spectrum. There are regular calls for Maher's ouster from HBO. It happened in July, following a frank discussion of "hate sex" with Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, and in 2008, following comments about Pope Benedict XVI. Real Time With Bill Maher returns to HBO on January 13.
Marc Jacobs and his ex Lorenzo Martone spotted shirtless, sandwiched into teeny, tiny swimsuits on the shores of St. Barts.
A tight, toned Novak Djokovic and his brother Marko alongside a camel.
Prince William plays soccer Christmas Eve.
Ahead Of Thursday’s National Election Jamaican Political Parties Pander To Country’s Strong Anti-Gay Sentiment
The leader of Jamaica's lone gay rights group said Tuesday that some ruling-party candidates have aggressively played to anti-gay constituents by resorting to homophobic rhetoric in the final days of the campaign for this week's national elections. According to The Associated Press, Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, said Jamaica Labor Party candidates have "unfortunately descended into pulling the sexuality card" in advance of Thursday's tight vote. "It's been disappointing that they've chosen this road yet again because it seems to historically be their stance during campaigning," said Lewis, adding that his group is not endorsing any political party. Politicians have routinely railed against homosexuals in Jamaica, where a colonial-era sodomy law bans sex between men and many people in the highly Christian nation perceive homosexuality as a sin. But during a debate last week with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, opposition chief Portia Simpson Miller called for a review of the law. She argued that professional competence, not sexual orientation, will determine who is selected for a Cabinet post if her People's National Party wins. Since then, some top Labor candidates have made homophobic comments at political rallies, among them Cabinet minister Daryl Vaz, who said "God created Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve," prompting applause and anti-gay slurs from his West Portland constituents. Labor's candidate for West Central St. James, Energy Minister Clive Mullings, asserted that easing up on laws against homosexuality would bring God's wrath down on Jamaica, while West Kingston candidate, Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie, used an epithet at a rally while an anti-gay dancehall song played. In a Sunday editorial, the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper called the recent developments "not only sad, but dangerous," saying, "Some might add cynical and vulgar." On Tuesday, the opposition People's National Party stressed that Simpson Miller's comments were being distorted by Labor partisans. They said the party is committed to a review of the anti-sodomy law, not its repeal. It is not yet clear if either side's recent comments will hurt their chances in Thursday's election for the island's 63 seats in Parliament. Recent polls have shown the two main parties in a statistical dead heat. Despite the easygoing image propagated by the island's tourist boards, Jamaica is by far the most hostile island toward homosexuals in the already conservative Caribbean, gays and their advocates contend. Many Jamaicans insist hostility toward gays is blown out of proportion by gay activists. Some say Jamaica tolerates homosexuality as long as it is not openly displayed.
Head Of North Carolina Baptist Convention Reverend Mark Harris Says He Wants “Civil Conversation” On Proposed Constitutional Amendment Banning Same Sex Marriage; Proponent Of “Traditional Marriage,” Harris Says Same Sex Marriage Bad For Children
The day he was elected to lead the state's Baptist convention, the Rev. Mark Harris fielded a threatening voice mail that gave him a quick glimpse of the approaching battle over same sex marriage in North Carolina. Harris didn't want to describe the entire message, only the essence: He needed to stop "spewing hatred" toward homosexuals and their families. In November, Harris, senior minister at uptown Charlotte's First Baptist Church, was elected to a yearlong term as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, representing 4,300 N.C. Baptist churches and their 1.3 million members. In that capacity, he is sure to be a point man in the campaign for a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. The amendment, on the May 8 primary ballot, would restrict the state's recognition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. It would also place more restrictions on civil unions and domestic partnerships and make it more difficult for future legislators to rescind. He understands the debate will be emotional on both sides. "But I hope we can express our positions - keep the conversation to the facts and our principles - and do it in a civil way," Harris, 45, said. "It doesn't mean I'm going to change someone else's position or they're going to change mine. But in America, we all ought to be able to express ourselves without things getting out of hand." The Charlotte Observer reports that from law to pulpit growing up in Winston-Salem, Harris always wanted to be a lawyer. But the pull to the pulpit became too strong in 1987. Harris was 21 then, freshly graduated from Appalachian State University, admitted to Campbell University's law school and months from marrying Beth Bates, his college girlfriend. Yet two weeks before their wedding, he told Beth: "I know you think you're marrying an attorney. But the truth is: God is working in my heart. I've got to work in the ministry." She'd seen "something stirring inside" him when he worked as a youth minister during summers in college. She urged him to pursue the tug. So Harris continued to work as a youth minister, got married in June 1987, and that December was hired by Center Grove Baptist, a small church in Clemmons near Winston-Salem. When he took over, 50 members regularly attended Sunday school classes; 60 members took in Harris' sermons, he said. By 1999, when the Harrises left for an Augusta, Georgia, church with their three young children, Center Grove's Sunday school attendance was up to 700. And about 900 congregants attended his sermons in a new $6 million church, built on 38 acres Center Grove had bought near the old sanctuary, Harris said. They stayed in Augusta until 2005, when Harris was hired to co-pastor First Baptist's congregation in Charlotte with its longtime pastor, the Rev. Charles Page. Page died months later of cancer. Along the way, Harris earned a master's of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest near Raleigh. As the battle over same sex marriage looms, Harris said, he will urge pastors and congregations to get engaged and vote for the "Marriage Amendment." He'll also push for other "family-friendly" issues. "Over the next several months, I am going to stress that this is an opportunity for the church to celebrate marriage and its biblical foundation - rather than talking about something we're against," he said. "From a biblical position, all I can do is state my position: I believe that homosexuality is a sin ... That said, I don't believe that that position is at the heart of this amendment. If homosexuals choose to maintain a relationship and live together, that's their business. I don't believe people should be discriminated against." Same-sex marriages, he said, are not good for children. "I just believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ideal," he said. "It is such a unique union, and it is absolutely essential to the future of humanity." A constitutional question The Rev. Nancy Kraft, pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, doesn't know Harris but knows enough about the amendment to speak out against it. She, too, hopes the debate will be civil. Her objection, she said, isn't based on religion. "I just think it's inappropriate as a constitutional amendment," Kraft said. "It's political grandstanding on the part of people who are anti-gay." She said the amendment would discriminate against gay people. "I hope people really look at this as a broader issue and don't think they're voting on gay marriage," she said. "There is no rational way you can justify putting discrimination into our constitution. "It'd be an embarrassment for North Carolina - which I view as a progressive state." North Carolina is the last Southern state to take up the issue of a constitutional amendment. The state already has a statute banning same sex marriage. "But we've seen those statutes set aside by activist judges in other states," Harris said. "They won't be able to set aside a constitutional amendment."
Portland-Based LGBT Magazine Just Out Closes After 29 Years
The Oregonian reports that newsmagazine Just Out is shutting down, according to a note on its website Monday. The publication has served Portland's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer community since 1983. The online notice states simply that "three years of recession have taken their toll." Publisher Marty Davis confirmed the closure in an e-mail, stating, "Just Out has closed its doors and shut down its computers." She said in a follow-up e-mail that there are no plans to continue online. Local blogger Byron Beck broke the news on his site, linking to an 11:00 am post on Just Out's Facebook page. "It is with great sadness that I have to announce today that Just Out newspaper, having put up a helluva fight against this dammed 'Great Recession,' will be unable to continue publishing. Our 12/9 issue was/is our last publication. Thank you for being our 'Friends' and for reading Just Out, these past 29 years." By 3:00 pm there were 75 comments, most of them thanking the publication and Davis for writing about and for the gay and lesbian community. The publication was free and issued twice a month. Its editorial board called for the resignation of Portland Mayor Sam Adams in 2009 after the mayor lied about a relationship with Beau Breedlove.
Former Ron Paul Staffer Says GOP Presidential Candidate “Personally Uncomfortable With Gays”
A former Ron Paul staffer says the Republican presidential candidate is “unsettled by being around gays personally” and is “out of touch” with black and Hispanic voters. In a lengthy op-ed on RightWingNews.com, Eric Dondero defended the Texas congressman against charges of racism related to newsletters released in Paul’s name during the 1980s and ‘90s. "I worked with the man for 12 years, pretty consistently. I never heard a racist word expressed towards Blacks or Jews come out of his mouth. Not once," Dondero wrote. But Dondero goes on to take several digs at his former boss, saying Paul is “out of touch with both Hispanic and Black culture” and “intolerant" of people who primarily speak Spanish. Dondero went on to say that while Paul supports gay people's rights to do “whatever they please in their private lives," he's "personally uncomfortable around homosexuals, no different from a lot of older folks of his era," reports The New York Daily News. According to Dondero, Paul once took pains to avoid using the bathroom at a gay supporter's house. He also recounts an incident relayed to him by another senior staffer in which Paul refused to shake a gay supporter's hand. The Paul camp dismissed Dondero's claims, calling him “a disgruntled former staffer who was fired for performance issues," CBS News reported. Dondero fiercely denied that he was fired, telling CBS that he resigned in 2003 in protest over Paul's views against the Iraq war. In his op-ed, Dondero also ripped the candidate’s views on Israel. “He wishes the Israeli state did not exist at all," Dondero wrote. "He expressed this to me numerous times in our private conversations." The former staffer also said Paul believed the U.S. should never have gotten involved in World War II. "He expressed to me countless times, that 'saving the Jews' was absolutely none of our business," Dondero wrote. Dondero and the Ron Paul campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Toronto’s Iconic Glad Day Gay Bookstore Up For Sale
Toronto Ontario’s Glad Day Bookshop Inc., believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian book store in the world and the first of its kind in Canada, is up for sale. Store owner John Scythes, working at the second-floor shop on Yonge Street, north of Wellesley Monday afternoon, said he planned to reach out to friends and regular clients before considering a public sale of the iconic, independent bookstore. According to The Toronto Star, Scythes, who bought the store from founder Jearld Moldenhauer in 1991, began to look for potential buyers about a month ago, staff member Prodan Nedev said. Shelves crammed with books and walls cluttered with posters, there were few signs of distress at the shop Monday, save for a sliver of white paper taped to the front countertop, asking anyone interested in buying the store to contact Scythes. The bookstore first opened in 1970 in a small apartment in the Annex and quickly became a gathering place for Toronto’s queer community. A political and cultural hub, Glad Day was fixture in the fight for gay and lesbian rights in Canada, spending decades embroiled in costly legal battles against censorship. Scythes refused to comment further on the private listing. But in 2010, he told Inside Toronto he was forced to dip into his own pockets to keep the independent bookstore — hard hit by a drop in sales — afloat.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Held In San Diego-Based Detention Center For Two Years Gay Ugandan Man Freed But Still Faces Deportation Proceedings
A gay Ugandan man is free after being held at an Otay Mesa detention facility in San Diego, California for nearly two years. "It's like a dream come true," said Joseph Bukombe. For Bukombe, who is a musician, it was a dream born from a nightmare. Eight years ago, he arrived in San Diego from Uganda. He said his work visa expired several years ago. During his time in San Diego, Bukombe came out as a gay man, but after doing so, was afraid to return to Uganda. Fuelled by religious forces, Uganda had been considering a law that would have imposed the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. During that time, a mob beat one of Bukombe's friends to death. "I didn't want to die. I didn't want to go back and die," Bukombe said. In early 2010, Bukombe was stopped for a DUI after eating Jell-O at a birthday party. "I knew I was driving, so I was trying to be careful. I didn't know the Jell-O had alcohol in it," he said. Bukombe was detained by immigration officials in Otay Mesa and faced deportation. He hired an attorney, but could not pay for him. After languishing for several years, Bukombe discovered a $20,000 bail had been set early in the process. Hector Martinez, a friend of a friend, started a campaign supporting Bukombe, including a petition drive. "We think either paperwork got sent to the wrong address or the attorney never informed him," said Martinez. Martinez raised $6,000 and took out a loan for the remainder of the bail. However, Bukombe still faces deportation hearings. "Because you're speaking out in this interview, what will happen to you in Uganda?" asked 10News reporter Michael Chen. "I can't even think about it. It's clear I will die," said Bukombe. "I'm scared for the future, but at least I have hope." Immigration officials could not be reached for comment, but they have said they will proceed with deportation proceedings ordered by the court. A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement previously released this statement: "Over the course of the last year, Mr. Bukombe's immigration case has undergone extensive review by judges at multiple levels of our legal system. In those proceedings, the courts have held that he has failed to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States. ICE is now in the process of seeking to carry out the deportation order handed down by the immigration court." Bukombe plans to hire an attorney and re-apply for asylum. Supporters are also pushing a congressional bill that could allow him to stay.
Faked Preview Of People Magazine Outs Taylor Lautner
A supposed People magazine cover on which Taylor Lautner announces that he’s gay is in fact, fake. The image of the purported January 7, 2012 issue shows Lautner above the phrase Out & Proud, and allegedly offers the “Exclusive” that the actor is going public with a bombshell about his sexuality. “Tired of rumours, the Twilight star opens up about his decision to finally come out,” promises the “People” cover, which quotes Lautner as saying, “I’m more liberated, and happier than I’ve ever been.” But the magazine cover, reports Gossip Cop, is a complete fabrication, and not a real People preview. A representative for the magazine confirms that it is “absolutely fake.” Nevertheless, the photoshopped cover (complete with a sidebar stolen from a May 2006 edition) is being circulated everywhere via Twitter and other social media on Monday. The faux People magazine cover managed to fool plenty of people online, including famed music mogul Russell Simmons, who tweeted "proud of Taylor Lautner for his bravery and his courage." Simmons later responded to the hoax, writing, "disappointed that people would joke about someone coming out about their sexuality. Let Taylor Lautner be whoever he wants to be..."
Activists Protest Proposed Russian Bill Prohibiting Gay Propaganda, Israeli Textbook Used In Mental Health Courses Condemned For Claiming Homosexuality An Emotional Disorder Than Can Be Cured, More Virginians Support Same Sex Civil Unions, North Carolina Psychological Association Opposes Proposed Constitutional Ban On Same Sex Marriage And Civil Unions, Bryan Dorsey Crowned Mr. USA Gay, Tom Felton Christmas Card, Blake Griffin Hotness, Tom Brady Christmas Day Outing
Gay rights activists staged protests in the central Russian city of Kostroma on Monday against plans to impose fines for the promotion of homosexuality. In November, a similar ban was shelved in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second city, after MPs questioned its “legal definitions.” RIA Novosti reports that the bill, pushed by the ruling United Russia party and widely expected to be passed by Kostroma’s Duma in the first of three required readings on Tuesday, would outlaw any gay pride events. It would also allow authorities to impose fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($1,600) for “public activities promoting homosexuality, bisexualism and transgender identity” as well as pedophilia among minors. The promotion of “religious sects” would also be punishable by fines. A total of eight campaigners staged one-person protests in Kostroma’s city center on Monday holding posters demanding equal rights and condemning the treatment of gays and lesbians in Russia. The authorities claim the bill was “aimed at preventing sex crimes against minors,” but Yelena Kostyuchenko, a journalist with the liberal Novaya Gazeta and gay rights campaigner, said homosexuality was a “biological quality” and could not be promoted. She also warned against the danger of the bill’s “vague criteria,” saying it was not clear quite what was to be defined as “gay propaganda.” Igor Kochetkov, head of the St. Petersburg LGBT group Coming Out, said the bill was being ostracized to divert public attention from “real political and social problems” as the Kremlin tries to appease anti-government protesters. Russia has seen its largest protests in some two decades over alleged vote fraud in favour of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party at recent parliamentary polls. “Today, as protests over disputed elections continue, they need to find an enemy,” he said. He also said the authorities were exploiting widespread anti-gay sentiment to serve their own goals. “United Russia is looking to boost its rating by means of everyday homophobia,” Kostyuchenko said. “We should remember though that homophobia means murders, suicides and violence.”
"Mental health experts, educators and members of Israel's gay community are protesting the use in the mental health curriculum in a number of academic institutions of a textbook they say presents anti-homosexual positions. The most recent edition of "Prakim nivharim b'psichiatria" ("Select Chapters in Psychiatry") was published in 2010 and is part of the curriculum in universities, colleges and teachers' college. An Internet petition circulated by the book's detractors demands its removal from the curriculum of clinical programs unless and until its position on homosexuality is revised. A day after the petition was posted it had more than 500 signatures. According to Haaretz.com, one of the book's chapters states that homosexuality is a personal choice and claims that the theory of Charles Socarides, according to which homosexuality is an emotional disorder that can be cured through therapy, is "the most accepted approach today." The chapter was written by Prof. Shmuel Tiano, former director of the Geha Psychiatric Hospital in Petah Tikva. Tiano describes homosexuality as a "symptom," and that psychotherapy can bring about the integration of "this borderline personality" and "the disappearance of the symptom." It also described homosexuality and transgender identity among children as a "disorder" that should be treated to enable children to develop "normal sexual development." In conversation with Haaretz, Tiano said the chapter is a historical survey and does not represent current thinking on the issues. Eight years ago Gidi Rubinstein, a psychotherapist who teaches at the Netanya Academic College and whose clinical practice specializes in gay and bisexual clients, published an article in the column in the gay and lesbian monthly "Hazman Havarod" criticizing the book. Tiano contacted him to discuss his concerns. Rubinstein said he expected his objections would be addressed in the 2010 edition but they were not. Rubinstein was particularly critical of the platform he said the book gives to the views of Socarides. Tiano said the characterizations of homosexuality as a "disorder" or "symptom" in the chapter are simply descriptions of obsolete views. "I explicitly wrote in the chapter that it is not a disorder." Rubinstein said that, "In its current edition, the chapter on homosexuality not only constitutes a declaration of homophobia, but it educates future therapists and educators to be homophobic.” The fact that the book is published by a university press, Dyonon, and that it was compiled by four leading figures in the psychiatry field gives the book added importance. Avi Chamo, the CEO of Dyonon said he was proud of the book, which is in its fifth edition and is a bestseller. He said the book was designed to survey a range of views and promote academic discourse. "There is a word or two that needs to be proofread," Tiano acknowledged. "In advance of the next edition of the book, I commit to carry out additional proofreading and to change the two or three words that have to be changed in the chapter."
A majority of Virginia voters continue to oppose the idea of same sex marriage, but are open to civil unions, according to a new survey. The Sun Gazette reports that Public Policy Polling’s most recent survey of Virginia’s electorate found that 53-percent of those questioned opposed legalization of same-sex marriage, while 34-percent supported it. But 59-percent of respondents said they would be willing to accept civil unions for gay couples. Democrats (70-percent) and independents (66-percent) were more likely than Republicans (39-percent) to be in favour. Virginia voters in 2006 passed an amendment to the state constitution, defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The measure, which passed with a 57-percent majority, also prevents the state government from recognizing out-of-state gay unions, and from recognizing any civil-partnership arrangement “to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage.” The survey of 600 Virginia voters was conducted December 10-12. The margin of error is described as plus or minus 4-percent.
The North Carolina Psychological Association opposes the proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage and civil unions, arguing that “the only reason for according same-sex relationships a different legal status than heterosexual relationships is ultimately the fact that the relationship is homosexual rather than heterosexual. This differentiation based on sexual orientation is an expression of prejudice and leads to stigma.”
It was basically on a whim that Bryan Dorsey decided to enter the U.S. Mr. Gay 2012 competition. Something fun to do the 35–year–old Lancaster, Pennsylvania resident thought. But he found himself among five finalists during the competition's finals in Philadelphia last month. "There were people from Texas from California Colorado. All over the country basically" the registered nurse at Lancaster General Hospital said in a recent interview with The Intelligencer Journal. And then he was announced the winner of the competition created to combat homophobia and gay stereotypes. There will be some work to do on that front in Lancaster according to the 1994 Hempfield High School graduate. "It's really an interesting town" he said. "There's a really great art community downtown. There is a fairly decent–sized gay community but there's also this fairly conservative religious–type envelope that kind of encompasses Lancaster which can be kind of challenging. "Because it is so conservative I think there's a little more work to be done" on combating homophobia he said. Dorsey was asked by Don Spradlin the California man who created the competition to enter the competition this summer. Spradlin can't recall exactly how he found Dorsey but he said he did invite him. "We're really very proud of having Dorsey represent us" Spradlin said. Dorsey said he hopes to use his title to raise awareness for general community health issues and anti–bullying. As the seventh person to carry the title and the first person from Lancaster County Dorsey will represent the United States in the International Mr. Gay competition. Details of the international competition are being worked out but it will be sometime next year likely in Chicago according to Spradlin. The goal of the competition —Spradlin stresses that it's a competition and not just a beauty pageant — is to combat homophobia and dispel gay male stereotypes he said. "It's really just about showing what real gay men look like — and I don't mean men in a macho way; I just mean a regular guy" Spradlin said. Spradlin said just 15 points out of a possible 100 are for physical appearance. That can puzzle some audience members who might expect the best–looking man in final stages of the competition he said. Dorsey submitted photos as part of the interview process to get into the contest and took part in a formal wear and swimsuit competition but he was also asked about his career community service and goals. Dorsey has a theatre degree from University of the Arts in Philadelphia and graduated nursing school at Lancaster General College of Nursing & Health Sciences in 2010. He's going back to school next fall for his bachelor of science. Dorsey is in a relationship and said his partner and his family were supportive of him during the competition.
Tom Felton images a Christmas card complete with Rupert Grint and a shirtless bear.
Blake Griffin warms up prior to the opening game of the abbreviated NBA regular season debut Sunday between Griffin’s Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers winning 105-86. A smoking sexy soaking wet Griffin also appears in Men’s Health.
Tom Brady joined by wife Gisele Bundchen and sons John and Benjamin make their way through Boston Christmas day.
"Mental health experts, educators and members of Israel's gay community are protesting the use in the mental health curriculum in a number of academic institutions of a textbook they say presents anti-homosexual positions. The most recent edition of "Prakim nivharim b'psichiatria" ("Select Chapters in Psychiatry") was published in 2010 and is part of the curriculum in universities, colleges and teachers' college. An Internet petition circulated by the book's detractors demands its removal from the curriculum of clinical programs unless and until its position on homosexuality is revised. A day after the petition was posted it had more than 500 signatures. According to Haaretz.com, one of the book's chapters states that homosexuality is a personal choice and claims that the theory of Charles Socarides, according to which homosexuality is an emotional disorder that can be cured through therapy, is "the most accepted approach today." The chapter was written by Prof. Shmuel Tiano, former director of the Geha Psychiatric Hospital in Petah Tikva. Tiano describes homosexuality as a "symptom," and that psychotherapy can bring about the integration of "this borderline personality" and "the disappearance of the symptom." It also described homosexuality and transgender identity among children as a "disorder" that should be treated to enable children to develop "normal sexual development." In conversation with Haaretz, Tiano said the chapter is a historical survey and does not represent current thinking on the issues. Eight years ago Gidi Rubinstein, a psychotherapist who teaches at the Netanya Academic College and whose clinical practice specializes in gay and bisexual clients, published an article in the column in the gay and lesbian monthly "Hazman Havarod" criticizing the book. Tiano contacted him to discuss his concerns. Rubinstein said he expected his objections would be addressed in the 2010 edition but they were not. Rubinstein was particularly critical of the platform he said the book gives to the views of Socarides. Tiano said the characterizations of homosexuality as a "disorder" or "symptom" in the chapter are simply descriptions of obsolete views. "I explicitly wrote in the chapter that it is not a disorder." Rubinstein said that, "In its current edition, the chapter on homosexuality not only constitutes a declaration of homophobia, but it educates future therapists and educators to be homophobic.” The fact that the book is published by a university press, Dyonon, and that it was compiled by four leading figures in the psychiatry field gives the book added importance. Avi Chamo, the CEO of Dyonon said he was proud of the book, which is in its fifth edition and is a bestseller. He said the book was designed to survey a range of views and promote academic discourse. "There is a word or two that needs to be proofread," Tiano acknowledged. "In advance of the next edition of the book, I commit to carry out additional proofreading and to change the two or three words that have to be changed in the chapter."
A majority of Virginia voters continue to oppose the idea of same sex marriage, but are open to civil unions, according to a new survey. The Sun Gazette reports that Public Policy Polling’s most recent survey of Virginia’s electorate found that 53-percent of those questioned opposed legalization of same-sex marriage, while 34-percent supported it. But 59-percent of respondents said they would be willing to accept civil unions for gay couples. Democrats (70-percent) and independents (66-percent) were more likely than Republicans (39-percent) to be in favour. Virginia voters in 2006 passed an amendment to the state constitution, defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The measure, which passed with a 57-percent majority, also prevents the state government from recognizing out-of-state gay unions, and from recognizing any civil-partnership arrangement “to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage.” The survey of 600 Virginia voters was conducted December 10-12. The margin of error is described as plus or minus 4-percent.
The North Carolina Psychological Association opposes the proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage and civil unions, arguing that “the only reason for according same-sex relationships a different legal status than heterosexual relationships is ultimately the fact that the relationship is homosexual rather than heterosexual. This differentiation based on sexual orientation is an expression of prejudice and leads to stigma.”
It was basically on a whim that Bryan Dorsey decided to enter the U.S. Mr. Gay 2012 competition. Something fun to do the 35–year–old Lancaster, Pennsylvania resident thought. But he found himself among five finalists during the competition's finals in Philadelphia last month. "There were people from Texas from California Colorado. All over the country basically" the registered nurse at Lancaster General Hospital said in a recent interview with The Intelligencer Journal. And then he was announced the winner of the competition created to combat homophobia and gay stereotypes. There will be some work to do on that front in Lancaster according to the 1994 Hempfield High School graduate. "It's really an interesting town" he said. "There's a really great art community downtown. There is a fairly decent–sized gay community but there's also this fairly conservative religious–type envelope that kind of encompasses Lancaster which can be kind of challenging. "Because it is so conservative I think there's a little more work to be done" on combating homophobia he said. Dorsey was asked by Don Spradlin the California man who created the competition to enter the competition this summer. Spradlin can't recall exactly how he found Dorsey but he said he did invite him. "We're really very proud of having Dorsey represent us" Spradlin said. Dorsey said he hopes to use his title to raise awareness for general community health issues and anti–bullying. As the seventh person to carry the title and the first person from Lancaster County Dorsey will represent the United States in the International Mr. Gay competition. Details of the international competition are being worked out but it will be sometime next year likely in Chicago according to Spradlin. The goal of the competition —Spradlin stresses that it's a competition and not just a beauty pageant — is to combat homophobia and dispel gay male stereotypes he said. "It's really just about showing what real gay men look like — and I don't mean men in a macho way; I just mean a regular guy" Spradlin said. Spradlin said just 15 points out of a possible 100 are for physical appearance. That can puzzle some audience members who might expect the best–looking man in final stages of the competition he said. Dorsey submitted photos as part of the interview process to get into the contest and took part in a formal wear and swimsuit competition but he was also asked about his career community service and goals. Dorsey has a theatre degree from University of the Arts in Philadelphia and graduated nursing school at Lancaster General College of Nursing & Health Sciences in 2010. He's going back to school next fall for his bachelor of science. Dorsey is in a relationship and said his partner and his family were supportive of him during the competition.
Tom Felton images a Christmas card complete with Rupert Grint and a shirtless bear.
Blake Griffin warms up prior to the opening game of the abbreviated NBA regular season debut Sunday between Griffin’s Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers winning 105-86. A smoking sexy soaking wet Griffin also appears in Men’s Health.
Tom Brady joined by wife Gisele Bundchen and sons John and Benjamin make their way through Boston Christmas day.
Tennessee Community Looks For Answers After Suicide Of Openly Gay Teen Jacob Rogers But Instead Find More Questions
Jacob Rogers loved attention. The Cheatham County, Tennessee teenager told over-the-top jokes, goofed off in photos and dressed in daring costumes for Halloween. He had energy nobody seemed to match. And when he got his friends laughing, he didn’t let up. He once coerced a pregnant friend — already past her due date — to hop off the couch and model a pair of high heels, runway style. But he also sought a different kind of attention: help in working through depression, substance abuse and family issues that tormented him. The Tennessean reports that in his death by suicide December 7, Jacob lost control of the attention he had received. His life, a swirl of complexity and turmoil, became, in death, a much simpler story of a gay student bullied so badly that he chose to end his life. That story, or some grain of it, belonged to Jacob, too. It just wasn’t his whole story. And yet it spread with gas-fire suddenness, fuelling commentary from gay activist groups and bloggers and even a talk radio personality in Seattle. A local movement put school officials on an island of criticism, and angry community members shut down a town meeting called to discuss suicide prevention. With each passing day, a gap seemed to widen between who Jacob was in life and who he became in death. Nobody denies that bullies got to Jacob during his four years at Cheatham County Central High School. He was openly gay and wanted to be comfortable saying so. But maybe more than others, Jacob became an almost daily target for name-calling, said friend Kaelynn Mooningham, 18. “It was like every day, every class,” she said. Jacob didn’t hide who he was. He wore tight-fitting clothes and shared outfits with girlfriends, Mooningham said. He also obsessed over Lady Gaga, dressing up as the pop star, making sketches of her and listening over and over to her gay anthem, Born This Way. “Jacob was Jacob and that was it,” said schoolmate Joney Williams, a junior. “I think he just wanted to do his thing. I don’t think Jacob was on this big mission to change the world or to change how everybody thought about him. I think he just wanted people to leave him alone.” When Jacob began to tell relatives he was gay, around age 14, the conversations did not surprise or alienate family members, said maternal grandmother Sandra McDonald. Nor did the disclosure fully define him. McDonald and sister Denise Johnson — Jacob’s great aunt — fondly recalled Jacob’s interest in cooking, which started back when he was about 6, when he was given an Easy-Bake oven he’d begged for. Longtime friend Maricela Zamudio, a senior, said Jacob thought of attending a cosmetology or art school. He was a creative illustrator, singer and dancer who could turn routine backyard activities into adventures, Zamudio said. He raved about the mystique surrounding an antique wooden bedframe and cloudy mirror in his bedroom. Jacob lived with his grandmother on his father’s side of the family, Norma Rogers, who could not be reached. Zamudio said the two were extremely close. “Whenever we went to hang out with him, it was always Jacob and Norma,” she said. He prepped meals for her, cleaned and ran errands. The teen’s willingness to live with and help his grandmother was obvious to everyone. “He was just a tender, loving soul,” Johnson said. Yet Jacob’s family life was not without strife. His biological mother’s move out of Tennessee this year weighed heavily on his heart. At least once, he savagely criticized his parents on his Facebook page. And he wrote about family in the notes he left behind before shooting himself on December 7, said Sgt. Travis Walker, who investigated the death. “There was a lot of things going on in the young man’s life,” Walker said. Jacob missed as many school days as he attended in his last semester. He struggled to make good grades, and a diploma seemed out of reach. McDonald said Jacob resisted the option of dropping out to instead pursue a GED. She said strong bonds with friends at school kept him coming back. Yet in the building, he’d sometimes spend as much time with counsellors as he did in class. He’d overcome an eating disorder but wrestled with drugs and alcohol, friends said. And he’d begun to deal with the adult world, encountering complications with health insurance after his 18th birthday. Some of those issues were mentioned in writings he left behind. What those writings, which officials declined to make public, did not include was any mention of bullying. “None,” Walker said. “Zero.” But those who believe Jacob was bullied to death have their evidence, too. And they are determined to make Jacob’s death a rallying cry to bring change to Cheatham County. Friends and family question whether faculty did enough to protect Jacob, and if the district’s bullying policy leaves too much leniency for students who do harm. Hundreds signed a petition to toughen the bullying policy, and more than 1,700 people have signed a similar online petition started by the Tennessee Equality Project, a gay rights group. In public meetings, other students have told stories of ridicule and abuse. In an interview, Justin Philalack, a 2009 graduate, said he hid that he was gay while he was at the school. “The guys that were out and gay, they were always ridiculed,” he said. “To me, I never saw any punishment.” School officials, suddenly under intense scrutiny, defended their bullying policy. Director of Schools Tim Webb said a revision in the past year mandated reporting of incidents. The rules cover all the bases now, he said. Webb does not anticipate further changes, but he knows petitions and another recent meeting were geared toward revisiting the policy through the school board. None of the six county school board members returned calls seeking comment. In Jacob’s case, officials found just one report of bullying in the year since Webb and Principal Glenna Barrow took their positions. “We know rumours and speculation of previous bullying,” Webb said. “We are still looking into that.” He insisted that Barrow and the counsellors went “above and beyond” to help Jacob with his many challenges. Citing confidentiality laws, he declined to discuss specifics. “Is there bullying that’s going on? Absolutely,” Webb said. “But I don’t buy into the idea for one minute that Cheatham County schools are less tolerant than another rural school system in the region or the state.” Webb is researching anti-bullying programs to bring additional staff training and student curriculum into the school. Zamudio, who supported her friend when he’d expressed suicidal thoughts before, was hesitant to criticize officials. “The school actually did a lot,” she said. “He came in multiple times telling (counsellors) he had troubles in his life. Obviously they could have brought in more help.” Disagreements over blame have played out in dramatic ways. A school counsellor was left in tears after being kicked out of Jacob’s funeral, according to multiple people who attended. Elsewhere in town, animosity has surrounded those associated with school staff. The community dialogue was literally silenced one night, when tensions cut short a community talk led by the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. Members of the network had spent parts of four days in the high school helping students, teachers, kitchen staff and school bus drivers cope with their grief and learn the warning signs of suicide. Scott Ridgway, executive director of the network, brought similar information to the community meeting, hosted at the same local funeral home that handled Jacob’s burial. He discussed the complexities of suicide and grieving. He also spoke on behalf of the school and the emotion he’d seen in devastated staff members. But his comments applauding the district bullying policy “went over like a lead balloon,” McDonald recalled. She said people were upset to hear the school defended, and that the meeting was organized as a lecture. Ridgway said the anger directed toward him was unusual, but not unprecedented for such an emotionally charged moment. “There was a sense that some of these folks that attended, they wanted to pinpoint and point fingers,” he said. “That’s not the way the meetings are supposed to happen.” Ridgway said focusing on blame can blur lessons that might prevent future tragedies. “We’ve got to convey that anybody takes their life for a number of reasons, not just one,” he said. “It’s easier for students to blame someone versus looking at the big picture.” Jacob remains somewhere in that picture, often sketched with one simple stroke by people who never knew him. And the simple story proved powerful. After a trio of gay blogs put out a call for help, almost $10,000 in donations more than covered the cost of the teen’s funeral. Closer to home, students invoke his name in their efforts to root out bullies, change policies and form a new group for all students to talk about their lives. “I think Jacob sparked all this,” Williams said. “But it’s not just about Jacob anymore. It’s about all of us. All of us need a voice. All of us need to stand up.” The raw emotions unleashed by the tragedy are also being harnessed by leaders of local gay rights groups. A cross-section of support groups hosted a town hall meeting last Tuesday “We don’t just want this to end, this energy,” Nashville-based civil rights attorney Abby Rubenfeld told a group of about 30. “We want to do something in Jacob’s name.” Recalling the frustration of the community meeting a week before, organizers gave kids and parents free rein to open up about the bullying they’d seen and to air grievances about their schools. Williams passed around her petition demanding a stiffer bullying policy and students learned how to form groups to promote tolerance. Chris Sanders, chairman of the Tennessee Equality Project’s Nashville committee, gave step-by-step directions on how to request changes through the school board. “What we want to see happen is citizens of Cheatham County engage their elected school board for the policy change they want,” Sanders said in an interview. “We will advise on … best practices. In the end, it’s up to the citizens of Cheatham County.” Those in attendance spoke in the heated language of a “revolution” they said was needed in the rural county, where abuse could no longer be tolerated. Personal horror stories piled up, leading to talk of legal actions and federal investigations. With plans for further research, the group scheduled another meeting for January 12. “The snowball is really rolling because these parents are so scared their child is going to be next,” said Johnson, the teen’s great aunt. “They’re going to take Jake’s place.” Even when life settles down, Jacob’s friends and family may never fully know what was happening inside the mind of the high school senior. The boy’s grandmother — like many others — has tried to look back, to examine what she’d said and how she might have helped. A lot of people have revisited and sometimes agonized over the last things they heard him say. “You go back and try to read,” McDonald said. “He texted the day before. There was nothing off-color — nothing disturbing.” Zamudio cut Jacob’s long blonde hair that week, and felt something wasn’t right. But her friend had talked of troubles before. “I didn’t really do anything,” she said. “I feel guilty about that.” On his Facebook page that last night, in a message left for anyone to read, Jacob wrote an apology to those who knew him. And then he wrote: “This is me, signing off.” Those words have carried on and multiplied. As the teen’s name became familiar in households across the country, strangers arrived at his page, and then sent his statements onward to still more people, often attaching their own emotional pleas to end bullying. Those who did know him write messages there too, describing how he sticks in their minds. They’ll always have their pictures of Jacob Rogers. And those who didn’t know him, they’ll have theirs, too.
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