The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal to send to voters a ballot measure that would rename San Francisco International Airport (SFO) after the late LGBT icon Harvey Milk, according to the Washington Blade. Gay supervisor David Campos' proposal would make the venue the first U.S. airport named after an openly gay individual. Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming California's first openly gay elected official; former Supervisor Dan White assassinated Milk and then-Mayor George Moscone.
A violent robber called "The Western Bandit"—who police believe is responsible for the death of a transgender woman and the shooting of another—is stalking the streets of Los Angeles again, Advocate.com reported. The suspect frequents Western Avenue, which runs from Hollywood to Koreatown and through South Los Angeles. Authorities don't believe the suspect targets transgender women specifically—only those walking late at night or very early in the morning.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) launched a partnership with organizations and companies in nine U.S. cities to serve LGBT homeless youth for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Jan. 21, a press release stated. Among the organizations involved were Lifeworks (Austin, Texas), the Montrose Center (Houston), the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center (Los Angeles), Transgender Health Empowerment's Wanda Alston House (Washington, D.C.) and others.
Applications are now available for Iowa's 2013 Matthew Shepard Scholarship Program, according to EychanerFoundation.org . The scholarship program invests in distinguished Iowa high school seniors who are openly LGBTQ. Applications are available at apply.matthewshepardscholarship.com, and are due March 15.
In Texas, the entertainment-management company Main Event has finished its investigation into a gay Plano couple's claims that they were told they were not a family and asked to leave the entertainment complex, concluding that their accounts are "blatantly false," according to the Dallas Voice. Alberto Lesmes said he and his partner, Chad Hemp, were told they were not family and were asked to leave after a manager at the Plano Main Event told them they were a problem when they wanted to switch bowling lanes.
An openly gay veteran of the Air Force was among the eight "Citizen Co-Chairs" for President Obama's second inaugural ceremony. David Hall—an official with the LGBT military group OutServe-SLDN who helped with the successful effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell—was chosen as one of eight Americans to "reflect the core values of this Administration and the theme of the 57th Presidential Inauguration: Our People. Our Future." Hall joined the Air Force in 1996 and was assigned to Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., as a weapons loader.
In Winter Haven, Fla., an 11-year-old fifth-grader brought an eight-inch butcher knife to school after being subjected to anti-gay bullying, according to an Advocate.com item. Other students in the boy's class at Inwood Elementary School noticed the knife sticking out from the boy's Scooby-Doo book binder and reported the weapon to teachers. The child was placed in custody at a juvenile assessment center in Polk County.
Virginia's House of Delegates voted to confirm Tracy Thorne-Begland, the state's first openly gay judge, to a full six-year term on the Richmond General District Court, the Huffington Post reported. He still faces a Senate vote, but his strongest opposition is in the House. Thorne-Begland, who lives with his partner and two children, was discharged from the U.S. Navy under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 1992 after coming out.
Four gay men were reportedly subjected to anti-gay slurs and a physical assault at a screening of the new Barbra Streisand movie Guilt Trip in Lafayette, La., according to TheAdvertiser.com . The alleged assailant, 37-year-old Joseph Menard Jr., has been arrested and charged with two counts of simple battery. Menard's wife, Carissa Lynn Menard, was charged with resisting arrest.
The headline-making situation involving University of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and his nonexistent girlfriend has some wondering if the football player is gay, according to Advocate.com . It turned out that Lennay Kekua—the woman with whom Te'o allegedly had an online relationship—did not exist; Deadspin reported that a male friend of Te'o named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was the person most likely the person behind the Twitter messages.
The National LGBT Bar Association sent out a press release applauding Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, both members of Congress, for speaking out against the GOP's decision to increase funds for retaining outside counsel to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Minority Leader Pelosi and Hoyer wrote a joint letter to House Speaker John Boehner reaffirming their previous objections to the House's defense of DOMA.
In Fort Bragg, N.C., an officers' spouse club has offered a "special guest membership" to the same-sex spouse of a U.S. Army officer after earlier denying the woman's application to join the private organization, according to the L.A. Times. However, Ashley Broadway—a lesbian who is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack—rejected the offer, calling it "not only offensive, but just plain hurtful." Broadway, who married Mack last November after the couple lived together for 15 years, said the offer treats her as less than equal.
After not taking a position on the issue for years, the gay Republican organization GOProud is coming out in support of same-sex marriage equality, according to Buzzfeed.com . "We support same-sex marriage, civil marriage," GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia said. Since its founding in 2009, GOProud has always opposed the federal Defense of Marriage Act but it reportedly avoided the underlying issue of equal marriage.
Former GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told radio host Tony Perkins that this country's colleges are "indoctrinating" young people by promoting a "sea of antagonism toward Christianity," according to a Mediaite.com item. Santorum added that pornography, abortion and same-sex marriage are "symptoms to the fundamental issue that we've gotten away from the truth and the 'Truth-Giver.'" Last year he called President Obama a "snob" for wanting everyone in America to go to college.
Mayors from across the country attended a reception during the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual Washington, D.C., meeting to commemorate the first anniversary of a campaign that features city executives who support marriage rights for same-sex couples, according to the Washington Blade. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, lesbian Houston Mayor Annise Parker, gay Gainesville (Fla.) Mayor Craig Lowe and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn were among those who attended the reception at the Capital Hilton in downtown Washington.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. had resisted granting equal survivor pension benefits to same-sex spouses—but now has agreed to do so, according to Advocate.com . Executives at Boeing, which maintains extensive operations in Washington despite moving its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago several years ago, had previously told union negotiators that because federal law governs pensions, the company would not offer surviving same-sex spouses the same benefits as opposite-sex spouses.
The Lavender Languages Conference, North America's longest-running academic conference with a queer focus, will mark its 20th anniversary Feb. 15-17 at American University in Washington, D.C., according to a press release. The conference is expected to draw up to 150 registrants and many other audience members, with workshops on topics ranging from pornography to inclusion. See www.american.edu/cas/anthropology/lavender-languages.
President Obama, in his second inaugural address, emphasized the nation's principle of equality for all and, in doing so, specifically included the struggles of LGBT Americans to achieve equality. In part, he said, "We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma and Stonewall." He also said, "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well."
An anonymous group going by the name Use Your Mandate is urging U.S. senators to reject former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense because he is, as far as the organization is concerned, "anti-woman, anti-choice, anti-Israel, anti-gay and pro-assault weapon," according to Advocate.com . The group is choosing to remain anonymous because many of those involved are reportedly allies of the Obama Administration. Hagel has apologized for 1998 anti-gay comments he made about then-ambassador nominee James Hormel.
In Georgia, Atlanta resident James Cyrus Gilbert is suing the state's department of driver services for rejecting his application for a "GAYGUY" license plate, according to Gay Star News. The other possibilities he wanted were 4GAYLIB and GAYPWR, but all three choices are on the state's listed of banned options. The suit seeks to compel the state to approve the requested vanity plate, as well as asking for nominal damages and attorney fees.
The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) Board of Directors has affirmed Jen Christensen of CNN as its new president, succeeding the late Michael Triplett, according to NGLJA.org . Following the rules of the NLGJA bylaws, Christensen will serve the remainder of the term, through the 2014 convention. Triplett died of cancer at age 48, and was president for only a few months.
The anti-gay group Family Research Council (FRC) has criticized President Obama's inauguration speech, claiming that "ho homosexuals already have all the same civil rights as anyone else," according to Gay Star News. In his speech, Obama mentioned Stonewall (widely cited as the birthplace of the gay-rights movement) and marriage equality. FRC's Peter Sprigg told CNN that "We, as social conservatives, do not agree with the president's attempt to link the modern homosexual movement with the women's rights movement or the civil-rights movement for African Americans."
In Malaysia, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has prevailed in his defamation lawsuit against newspaper Utusan Melayu, according to Pink News. The publication has stated that Anwar wanted to repeal Malaysia's homophobic laws after he reportedly called them "archaic." The articles went on to suggest that because of his support for reform, Anwar was not fit to be opposition leader.
Rhode Island moved one step closer to approving same-sex marriage when the House Judiciary Committee unanimously agreed to send a marriage-equality bill to the full House, according to NBC News. If the House and Senate pass the measure, gay couples could start getting married Jan. 1, 2014. Supporters expect the measure to pass the state House, but passage through the state Senate is less certain.
In North Carolina, 13 same-sex couples recently attempted to obtain marriage licenses—but were denied, according to WLOS.com . Organized by Asheville-based Campaign for Southern Equality, hundreds of supporters lined up outside the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office to cheer on the couples. Hours earlier, the group marched on the Greenville County Probate Court.
