Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker is embracing the gay rumors about him, according to Gay Star News. Booker, 44, who has never married, recently told the Washington Post, "People who think I'm gay, some part of me thinks it's wonderful—because I want to challenge people on their homophobia." Booker (who is attempting to become New Jersey's first African-American senator) added, "I love seeing on Twitter when someone says I'm gay, and I say, 'So what does it matter if I am?'"
In Harlem, transgender woman Islan Nettles, 21, was taken off life support after being savagely beaten in what authorities are calling a hate crime, according to DNAInfo.com . The confrontation began when Nettles, who was out with another transgender woman, met a group of men. The men attacked the women, throwing punches and yelling anti-LGBT slurs, after learning the women are transgender. Police arrested a 20-year-old suspect in connection with the attack.
In Oregon, a same-sex couple who tried to buy a cake for their wedding has filed a discrimination complaint against the bakery that turned them down on religious grounds, according to the Washington Post. The state Bureau of Labor and Industries will investigate if the Gresham bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa violated a 2007 state law that protects the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people in employment, housing and public accommodations. In her complaint, Rachel N. Cryer, 30, said she went to Sweet Cakes; owner Aaron Klein refused her request, citing religious beliefs.
The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously agreed that an HIV-positive man, Daniel James Rick, should be cleared of a felony for passing the disease to his partner even though he told him of his infection, according to StarTribune.com . The court sided with the Minnesota Court of Appeals' overturning of Rick's conviction of attempted first-degree assault, reasoning that a Hennepin County jury found him guilty under an ambiguous state law that refers to sperm donation, not sex. Rick, who tested positive in 2006, originally contended he told his partner he was positive before they had sex, and that he figured his partner was as well.
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, announced that Executive Director Dr. Eliza Byard will join Presidents Obama, Clinton and Carter as well as the late Martin Luther King Jr.'s family members on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to deliver a speech during the 50th Anniversary Let Freedom Ring Commencement and Call to Action Aug. 28, according to a press release. Byard is the only leader of an LGBT organization selected to speak at the event. GLSEN partner organizations working predominantly in the South nominated Byard to speak at the event, and the King Center selected her for the honor.
The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that Elane Photography illegally discriminated against a same-sex couple by refusing to photograph their commitment ceremony due to the business owner's religious beliefs, according to an ACLU press release. The court stated, "We conclude that a commercial photography business that offers its services to the public, thereby increasing its visibility to potential clients, is subject to the antidiscrimination provisions of the [New Mexico Human Rights Act] and must serve same-sex couples on the same basis that it serves opposite-sex couples." In 2006, Vanessa Willock tried to hire Elane Photography to photograph a commitment ceremony she and her partner were planning.
The Portland, Ore., cab driver who made headlines last month after he allegedly ejected a lesbian couple from his taxi on the side of a busy highway has lost his permit, according to the Huffington Post. The City of Portland Regulatory Division will permanently revoke Ahmed Egal's license because he failed to get his customers to their destination safely, and prevented another driver from giving the two women a ride. Shanako M. Devoll has said she and girlfriend Kate Neal were holding hands and kissing when Egal began making anti-gay remarks toward the couple; Egal said he stopped the car and called 911 because the women were "real, real drunk" and being abusive.
San Diego will have an out gay mayor—for a little while, at least, according to Gay Star News. Current Mayor Bob Filner is stepping down after almost 20 women have claimed he sexually harassed them, and the city charter calls for City Council President Todd Gloria (who's openly gay) to become mayor. Gloria, 35, was first elected to the nine-member council in 2008 then re-elected last year. However, Gloria would not be San Diego's first gay mayor; Tony Akins headed the city under similar circumstances in 2005.
Gay-rights activist Zeke Stokes is putting together "TransMilitary: A Web Series," according to a press release. The series aims to shine a light on transphobia in the United States with true stories from transgender members of the military. (The individuals participating risk being discharged by being a part of this project.) The project will be composed of six short unscripted episodes (5-10 minutes each) as well as a full-length documentary. Gregory Rae—whose theatrical credits include Kinky Boots and The Normal Heart—is the executive producer; Fiona Dawson is the host and a producer.
The White House will hold a closed event in September exclusively dedicated to issues facing the bisexual community—an apparent first for the Obama administration, according to the Washington Blade. In an email invitation dated Aug. 16 that the Blade obtained, White House LGBT liaison Gautam Raghavan refers to the event as a "a roundtable discussion on issues of importance to the bisexual community" and says it'll take place Sept. 23 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House. "Participants and administration officials will discuss a range of topics including health, HIV/AIDS, domestic and intimate partner violence, mental health, and bullying," Raghavan writes.
The Democratic National Committee's (DNC's) LGBT Caucus voted unanimously to elect D.C. gay Democratic activist and Black LGBT Pride leader Earl Fowlkes as the caucus' chair, the Washington Blade reported. The election took place during the DNC's annual summer meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was among several guests speakers at the LGBT Caucus meeting in which Fowlkes was elected. Fowlkes served last year as an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
In New Mexico, a woman got her dying wish to marry her longtime partner Aug. 23, not long after a federal judge ordered the Santa Fe County Clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-gender couples, according to SDGLN.com . Jen Roper, 44, who is suffering from a life-threatening form of brain cancer, married Angelique Neuman in a ceremony in the lobby of Christus St. Vincent Regional Cancer Center, where she is hospitalized. Earlier that week, the Pojoaque, N.M. couple had asked a New Mexico court to legally marry immediately.
In a related matter, Judge Alan Malott of the Second Judicial District Court of the State of New Mexico ordered the county clerks of Bernalillo and Santa Fe Counties to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to an ACLU press release. Ruling in a case that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of New Mexico, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and local attorneys brought on behalf of same-sex couples, Malott said that denying same-sex couples access to civil marriage violates the New Mexico Constitution.
Actress Gabrielle Union helped unveil the March on Washington Forever stamp Aug. 23, the day before events started that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the initial march that included Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, according to a press release. The Think Like a Man actress was at the Newseum with Congressman John Lewis (who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington) and Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman to dedicate the stamp. Throughout August, anyone could add their photo to the March on Washington Stamp Mosaic on the USPS Stamps Facebook page.
In New Mexico, former state Democratic Party chairman and possible Santa Fe mayoral candidate Javier Gonzales posted in a blog that he is gay, SDGLN.com reported. Gonzales came out on the website Familia es Familia, which works to "build support among Latino communities for acceptance of gay and lesbian family members," according to the site. The headline over the post is, "My Renewed Faith in Santa Fe." Among other things, Gonzales details growing up in Santa Fe and the struggle that came with accepting his sexual orientation.
Fox News host Gregg Jarrett defended his decision to continue referring to U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning—formerly known as Bradley Manning—as a man, saying, "I don't do what Bradley Manning wants me to do," according to a Media Matters for America release. Jarrett repeatedly referred to Manning as a male and used the name "Bradley" throughout the segment, which took place the day after Manning announced that she wished to be identified as a woman. In addition, Fox News host Jon Scott described referring to transgender individuals by their chosen gender pronouns as "political correctness gone amok" and suggested that Manning's gender transition was a "ruse" aimed at winning release from military prison.
Chapel Hill, N.C., Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Town Councilman Lee Storrow plan to petition the council to end Chapel Hill's sister-city relationship with a city in Russia over that country's anti-gay measure, according to WRAL.com . Kleinschmidt and Storrow, who are both openly gay, said they find the impact of Russia's new law banning "homosexual propaganda" to be "heartbreaking." Chapel Hill has had a sister-city relationship with Saratov, Russia, for years; however, Kleinschmidt and Storrow said the cities haven't even communicated in some time.
In San Antonio, Texas, District 9 City Councilwoman Elisa Chan issued a public apology to former City Councilwoman Leticia Ozuna, who is married to a transgender individual, according to FoxSanAntonio.com . Chan admitted making comments about Ozuna's personal life during a private meeting and initially stood by her comments, saying she was entitled to share her opinion based on her freedom of speech. After Chan's comments were publicized, Ozuna called for Chan's resignation, saying, "No words can adequately express both the anger and sadness our family feels as we deal with this disclosure. She has unequivocally disrespected all LBGTQ families, including mine."
In a letter to the townspeople of New Hope, Pa., Republican Mayor Larry Keller said he will not be officiating the wedding of two men despite their marriage license because he thinks it could leave the city exposed to legal backlash, Opposing Views reported. Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced last month that the state will no longer defend a 1996 law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, calling the law unconsititutional. Since then, Montgomery County Clerk of Orphans' Court D. Bruce Hanes has issued 130 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Despite Keller's claim, law experts say there is no risk of New Hope being sued.
Her foundation has supported major transgender causes in recent years, and now Colonel J.N. Pritzker has publicly stated that she identifies as transgender. Pritzker, the billionaire founder of the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago and a member of one of the nation's most wealthy families, has legally changed her name to Jennifer Natalya Pritzker, Crain's Chicago reports. "This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly," reads a memo to employees at the library and Pritzker's Tawani Enterprises.
Daniel Hernandez Jr.—the gay former intern credited with helping save Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' life when she was shot at an event in 2011—is now the target of an anti-gay campaign aimed at removing him from a Tucson-area school board, Advocate.com reported. An unidentified person has been passing out fliers at local elementary schools that claim because Hernandez is gay, he is not a "real man," doesn't support athletics and has no concern for children. The school district includes portions of Tucson and some nearby areas.
Wal-Mart, America's largest private employer, will soon extend insurance benefits to its employees' domestic partners, including same-sex couples, according to Slate magazine. However, a memo sent to employees from Sally Welborn, the company's senior vice president of benefits, says the move is "a business decision, not a moral or political decision. ... States are developing different definitions of marriage, domestic partner, civil union, etc. By developing a single definition for all Walmart associates in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, we are able to ensure consistency for associates across our markets."
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Nebraska and the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP filed a lawsuit in state court seeking to strike down a Nebraska policy that bans gay and lesbian individuals and couples from serving as foster parents, according to eNews Park Forest. The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of three same-sex couples who reside in Lincoln. The state's policy, dating from 1995, bans the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services from placing foster children with "persons who identify themselves as homosexuals" or persons who are "unrelated, unmarried adults residing together."
A Republican contender for Illinois governor wants to repeal Illinois civil unions, a well-known Illinois political blog is reporting. State Sen. Kirk Dillard (24th) stated in a 2012 candidate questionnaire to CapitolFax.com that he supported rolling back Illinois civil unions, which took effect June 2011, the blog reported. In the questionnaire, published in full by Capitol Fax, Dillard writes that the civil-unions law "is a litigious nightmare!!" LGBT policy organization Equality Illinois slammed that stance in a statement released Aug. 23.
His decision to back equal marriage in January set off a firestorm of criticism from colleagues, but former Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady is taking that support a step further, according to Windy City Times. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has hired Brady to lobby for the passage of equal-marriage legislation in Illinois, Ed Yohnka, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Illinois confirmed. Yohnka said, "We thought that he could provide some guidance and advice and some contacts for us that would be helpful in feeding into the campaign."
In Boston, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NGLJA) announced its next convention will take place in Chicago in 2014, according to a press release. Journalists and communication professionals from across the United States in mainstream and LGBT media will meet in Chicago Aug. 21-24, 2014, for the NLGJA National Convention and 10th LGBT Media Summit. The four-day assembly will begin with the LGBT Media Summit on August 21, followed by two full days of programming with more than 35 workshops designed to address the needs of journalists and those in the communication industry.
The Petrelis Files reported that Stoli vodka was among the sponsors of events at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's (NLGJA's) recent annual convention in Boston. Responding to an inquiry, Vice President Ken Miguel said, "NLGJA has expressed its concerns about the safety and freedom of journalists covering the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as well as the need for NBC and other Olympic broadcasters to highlight Russia's laws regarding homosexuality. We will continue to monitor these issues through the Olympic games." Stoli's parent company, SPI Group, has strong ties to Russia, which recently passed a law banning gay propaganda.
Cliff Kincaid—president of an anti-gay conservative group known as America's Survival, Inc.—has called on Fox News' Shepard Smith to come out of the closet, according to the Huffington Post. Smith anchors Fox News' The Fox Report, and hosts Studio B with Shepard Smith. During an Aug. 27 presentation at the National Press Club, Kincaid cited Out magazine having listed Smith as one of the most powerful LGBT figures in media on its "Power List," despite the fact that Smith has never publicly discussed his sexuality.
