Conservative Washington Times columnist Jeffrey Kuhner branded U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin a "radical lesbian," Advocate.com noted. In part, Kuhner wrote that a Baldwin victory "would mark a watershed for the homosexual movementand a major blow against traditional America." He added that Baldwin wants to "advance the destructive sexual revolution of the 1960s."
Ted Haggardthe Colorado minister who was involved in a 2006 drug-and-gay-sex scandalsays that states should legalize same-sex marriage, according to Advocate.com . Haggard argued that point in an online debate with Rabbi Benjamin Hecht, director of the Orthodox Jewish think tank Nishma. Haggard said that although he believes marriage is a strictly heterosexual union, there's a difference between Biblical and civil laws.
In New Orleans, Marcel Ivorywho was fatally stabbed in Central City last week by his boyfriendwas beating the man at the time he was stabbed to death, according to NOLA.com . Ivory and his boyfriend (whose name has not been released) were sitting in the living room of an apartment drinking when Ivory got upset with something that was said, hitting the boyfriend several times with a closed fist. The boyfriend tried to get away and then grabbed a kitchen knife, plunging it in Ivory's chest. Authorities have not booked the boyfriend with a crime and do not expect to.
In another case involving intimate partner violence, the Dallas Voice reported that Jonathan Stuart Kenney is the main suspect in the murder of Jesus Tovar, who was listed as male and referred to as Kenney's life partner. Moreover, it turned out that Tovar was transgender and known to family as friends as Janette. Kenney actually posted on Facebook, "I hope you can see me down here even though I can't see you I feel your spirit still living in me. Rest in peace mi amor mi vida."
Lambda Legal announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind online and mobile resource for LGBTQ youth, according to a press release. The "Know Your Rights" hub will ultimately make all of Lambda Legal's resources more accessible online as well as on mobile devices, including smartphones. The first hub was developed for LGBTQ youth and will provide comprehensive information about state and federal laws.
The National LGBT Bar Association will present the Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award to Tristan Higgins, director of the law department of Sony Electronics, Inc., on Oct. 25, according to a press release. Higginswho co-founded Sony's LGBT resource group and organized the company's participation in the San Diego Pride Paradewas recently recognized as one of the 2012 POWER UP Amazing Gay Women & Men in Showbiz award.
American Unity PAC, a group that encourages Republican candidates to take pro-equality stances, is donating $510,000 to help gay GOP candidate Richard Tisei in his competitive race against Congressman John Tierney in Massachusetts, Advocate.com reported. The expenditure consists of $440,000 in cable and broadcast TV advertising, and $70,000 in online ads. Tisei, a former state senator, could be the first non-incumbent openly gay Republican elected to Congress.
The pro-LGBT group Truth Wins Out (TWO) criticized Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School Board for appointing Bryan Lindquist, a member of the Parents Action League (PAL), as a community member of the district's new Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force, according to a press release. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists PAL as an active anti-gay hate group. TWO's John Becker said, "The Anoka-Hennepin School District has a choice to make: it can either embrace the radical ideology of Bryan Lindquist and the Parents Action League or it can honestly address its infamous anti-gay bullying problem and protect its LGBT students. It can't do both."
Also in Minnesota, thousands of people have joined a Change.org campaign on Change.org calling on Anoka Halloween Festival Committee to allow Justin's Gift, an anti-bullying youth group started in memory of bullied teen Justin Aaberg, to march in its parade Oct. 27, according to a press release. Rebecca Krone, a mother who works with special-needs youth, is leading the campaign after the Halloween committee refused to answer community questions about its decision to deny Justin's Gift members a spot in the parade. Anoka made national headlines after a number of suicide deaths by Anoka youth who were gay or perceived to be gay.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) has announced the formation of a board of ambassadorsa diverse group of GLAD supporters from around the country who will help the organization engage more deeply with a variety of communities and constituents, according to a press release. Among the 28 members of the board are Bishop Gene Robinson and the Rev. Irene Monroe; former GLAD attorney Liz Monnin-Browder and ex-GLAD Board Chairman Rick McCarthy will lead the board of ambassadors.
On Oct. 17, the Palm Beach County School Board in Florida unanimously issued a proclamation in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month, a press release noted. The proclamation had the support of Superintendent E. Wayne Gent and was accepted by Dan Hall, gay activist and longtime treasurer of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. In September, the School Board of Broward County, Fla., was the first major school board to pass a resolution declaring its support of LGBT History Month.
The Human Rights Campaign has released its Congressional Scorecard for the 112th Congress that rates members of Congress on their support for issues of LGBT equality, according to a press release. An analysis of the data shows the LGBT community is making gains on Capitol Hill, but anti-LGBT legislators continue to hinder full equality. The average score for House members was 40 percent and 35 percent for Senatorsdown significantly from the 111th Congress.
Ryan Andresen, a gay Boy Scout who was kicked out of his local Boy Scout troop and denied his Eagle Scout Award because of his sexual orientation, delivered more than 400,000 petition signatures to the Mt. Diablo-Silverado Boy Scout Council in Pleasant Hill, Calif., urging the Council to allow him to receive his Eagle Award, according to a Change.org release. Karen Andresen, who started the petition on Change.org urging the Boy Scouts not to deny her son his Eagle Award, joined him.
Family Equality Council released a statement about the findings of a new Gallup Special Report on LGBT people, according to a press release. The report, which found that 3.4 percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBT, also included groundbreaking data on LGBT people who are raising children. One result showed that LGBT women are (equally) as likely as non-LGBT women to be raising a child in their homes. Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler pointed to another finding in the Gallup Special Report that found that LGBT people are at a higher risk of povertywith more than a third reporting incomes of less than $24,000 a year.
The editors of the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the student newspaper for the University of Arizona, have formally apologized for publishing a cartoon that seemingly advocates violence against gay people, Advocate.com reported. The comic, which student D.C. Parsons wrote, features a father telling his young son, "If you ever tell me you're gay ... I will shoot you with my shotgun, roll you up in a carpet and throw you off of a bridge." The child responds, "Well, I guess that's what they call a Fruit Roll-Up!" before the two laugh hysterically.
In Kentucky, openly gay resident Kevin Pennington testified in federal court that he jumped off a mountain in April 2011 because he believed two men chasing him were going to kill him, according to an Albany Times Union item. Anthony Ray Jenkins and cousin David Jason Jenkins are charged with kidnapping Pennington, assaulting him and committing a federal hate crime; Mable Ashley Jenkins and Alexis Jenkins, who lured Pennington by trying to score a prescription drug, pled guilty in April 2012 to lesser charges in exchange for their testimony. Government attorneys say this is the first prosecution in the country charging a violation of the sexual orientation section of the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was passed in 2009.
In Iowa, Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice has been charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury after filing false documents that she had married a same-sex couple from Floridaevent though she never met the men and they hadn't traveled to Iowa for a ceremony, SeattlePI.com reported. Van Nice became ordained to perform marriages last year through a website, and the men started corresponding with her after searching the Internet for Iowa counties where they might obtain a license. The arrest is believed to be the first of its kind in Iowa, one of six states that allows same-sex marriage. Charges will not be filed against the men, who believed they had been legally married.
In Illinois, Rockford lawmaker John Cabello may be in hot water with some constituents after he compared same-sex marriage to bestiality. Cabello, a recent appointee to the state's 68th District who is running for re-election, told voters at a Rockford Tea Party forum Oct. 6 he was "dead-set opposed to civil unions" because they could open the door "to other things." "Now, and please bear with me," Cabello said. "Does this now say that somebody can get married to their dog?" Cabello's Democratic opponent, Carl Wasco, condemned the remarks.
Also in Illinois, The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH) and the American Psychoanalytic Association have filed a licensing-board complaint against Bloomingdale mental-health professional Paul McNulty, who practices reparative therapy, which aims to change sexual orientation. The complaint, filed with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, states, "By offering and embracing scientifically unsound and potentially harmful services that reflect prejudice, Mr. McNulty appears to be in violation of the State's licensing standards."
In Tennessee, Memphis' city council approved an ordinance that bans the city from discriminating in hiring, firing or promotion based on sexual orientation or gender identity, according to MemphisDailyNews.com . The council split 8-4 on both votes after a second emotional debate of the issue that filled council chambers again a month after the final vote was delayed.
Angela McCaskillthe Gallaudet University diversity officer suspended for signing an anti-marriage equality petitionis featured in an ad by same-sex marriage opponents, Advocate.com reported. The spot places McCaskill among a handful of other cases, including Chick-fil-A situation, where marriage-equality opponents say they have been persecuted for their view. McCaskill was placed on administrative leave with pay, and is seeking to be reinstated with compensation for what she said is the emotional distress of the incident.
Michigan's Ruth Ellis Centerone of a handful of organizations in the nation and one of two in the Midwest solely dedicated to serving runaway, homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youthhas announced the departure of Laura Hughes as its executive director, according to a press release. In her three years heading the center, Hughes obtained a contract from the Michigan Department of Human Services allowing youth to be placed directly with the center and elevated the facility and its youth to national visibility at a White House-sponsored conference on LGBT homelessness in Detroit.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson filed court papers seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the new California law protecting LGBT young people from reparative therapy, according to a press release. NCLR and Munger Tolles filed the motion on behalf of Equality California asking the federal district court in Sacramento to permit them to join California Attorney General Kamala Harris in defending Senate Bill 1172. The bill goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is condemning what its says are "the extreme profits National Organization for Marriage strategist Frank Schubert is making at the expense of LGBT Americans," according to a press release. HRC said that Schubert collected $958,594 for his anti-equality work in North Carolina earlier this year. In the four marriage ballot states, Schubert reportedly collected $967,567.88 in Washington; $492,680 in Maryland; $303,307.69 in Minnesota; and $200,043.46 in Mainetotaling nearly $3 million. HRC added, "While these funds are likely used to pay for advertising, it's unclear what percentage is lining Schubert's pockets."
A new Gallup Report that Williams Distinguished Scholar Gary J. Gates and Gallup Editor-in-chief Frank Newport co-authored finds that 71 percent of LGBT Americans who are registered voters support President Obama for re-election while 22 percent support Gov. Mitt Romney, according to a press release. From June to September, non-LGBT registered voters preferred Romney to Obama by one percentage point, 47 percent to 46 percent. However, when LGBT voters are added to electorate, Obama moves slightly ahead of Romney (47 percent to 45 percent).
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sent a letter to Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, Tenn., demanding that school officials stop censoring students or face a possible federal lawsuit on behalf of a student forced to remove a name tag she wore to raise awareness of anti-gay bullying, an SPLC press release stated. The letter was sent on behalf of Hannah Bradley, a senior at the school. Bradley and other students wore name tags stating their orientation Oct. 11 to protest anti-gay bullying in observance of National Coming Out Day; school officials forced Bradley and other students to remove their tags. A copy of the letter can be viewed at www.splcenter.org .
The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association will present its Randy Shilts Award for LGBT Coverage Nov. 13 in Washington, D.C., to NPR's Michel Martin, the host of "Tell Me More," according to a press release. Martin's program has her exploring issues ranging from persecuted gay men in Africa to transgender athletes. This award is named in memory of Shilts, a member of the NLGJA Hall of Fame who is widely credited with being the first reporter to cover the "gay beat" for a major metropolitan newspaper (the San Francisco Chronicle).
In Washington, D.C., the three suspects accused of stabbing a gay teenager outside the Howard Theatre in June were arraigned in D.C. Superior Court, according to EdgeWashington.com . Ali Jackson; his sister, Alvonica Jackson; and her boyfriend, Desmond Raimon Campbell, all pleaded not guilty to stabbing a 16-year-old gay teenager while yelling anti-gay slurs at him June 26. The three defendants had previously been charged with assault with intent to kill; however, no bias charges were introduced until the three were indicted Oct. 3.
UCLA psychologists report that high-risk children adopted from foster care do equally well when placed with gay, lesbian or heterosexual parents, according to ScienceDaily.com . The psychologists looked at 82 high-risk children adopted from foster care in Los Angeles County, Calif. Of those children, 60 were placed with heterosexual parents and 22 were placed with gay or lesbian parents (15 with gay male parents and seven with lesbian parents). The psychologists found very few differences among the children at any of the assessments over the two-year period following placement.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released a statement saying it has learned of the latest in a string of anti-LGBTQ homicides in Puerto Rico, bringing the total known anti-LGBTQ homicides to 30 in the past 10 years. Transexuales y Transgéneros en Marcha (TTM), a transgender advocacy organization in Puerto Rico, reported that Malena Suarez, a transgender woman in Carolina, Puerto Rico, was discovered dead in her home as a result of multiple stab wounds in her back. It is unclear how long Suarez had been dead before she was found.
GOP presidential candiate Mitt Romney may terminate hospital-visitation rights for same-sex couples if he becomes the nation's leader, the Huffington Post reported. Romney campaign adviser Bay Buchanan told Buzzfeed, "Governor Romney also believes, consistent with the 10th Amendment, that it should be left to states to decide whether to grant same-sex couples certain benefits, such as hospital visitation rights and the ability to adopt children."
In New York, lesbian couple Melisa Erwin and Jennie McCarthy have filed a discrimination complaint with a state agency after they were denied a wedding at farm near their Albany home, according to Advocate.com . Erwin and McCarthy wanted to wed at the Liberty Ridge Farm next summer; however, the farm's owners said no to the couple, citing religious beliefs. Erwin and McCarthy filed a complaint with the state Division of Human Rights Oct. 11.
In Kansas, openly gay resident Chad Graber was told he could no longer play in his church's worship band (after several years) because of his sexual orientation, according to Advocate.com . After initially joining CrossPoint Church's "Celebrate Recovery" classes for his recovery from substance abuse, he joined the group's band and was eventually recruited to become part of the Sunday worship band. However, church leadersresponding to a complaintasked Graber if he's gay, and he said yes. Graber decided to leave the church; some members, after learning what happened, left with him.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that the state of Indiana had no right to block Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood just because the organization provides abortions, the Chicago Tribune reported. Last year, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a law attempting to cut the organization's funding; however, District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt blocked the state from enforcing the law. The appeals court upheld the gist of Walton's decision.