The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will honor actress/LGBT activist Whoopi Goldberg with its Ally for Equality Award Feb. 2 in New York City, according to Advocate.com . The Oscar winner has been a longtime ally, speaking back at 1987's March on Washington. HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement, "Whoopi is always willing to stand up for our community and is a longtime friend of HRC."
Family Equality Council announced the departure of Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler following her successful eight-year tenure, according to a press release. Chrisler—who will join Smith College in March as Vice President for Alumnae Relations and Executive Director of the Alumnae Association of Smith College—will remain with the council until March 15. Family Equality Council Board Chair Alan Bernstein said the board will initiate an aggressive national search for a new executive director.
Bev Kearney, a Hall of Fame women's track and field coach at the University of Texas, abruptly resigned after a 2002 affair with an adult female athlete was publicized, according to SheWired.com . Kearney, who coached the Lady Longhorns to six NCAA track championships since she took the reins in 1993, told ABC that she was "shocked" when the decade-old consensual affair came to light. Kearney's attorney believes the revelation was timed to keep Kearney from earning a raise and extended contract.
The National Runaway Switchboard is now known as the National Runaway Safeline, according to a press release. As a go-to resource for runaway, homeless and at-risk youth and their families, it's the same organization introducing a new name to better connect with those it serves. Since its founding 42 years ago, it grew into a national organization and expanded its crisis intervention offerings beyond its hotline 1-800-RUNAWAY to include bulletin boards, crisis emails, and live chat on www.1800runaway.org .
Grindr has unveiled its "Best of 2012" awards, according to a press release. Grindr users voted Anderson Cooper the gay icon of the year, President Obama as the straight ally of the year, TMZ as the best source of gossip and Magic Mike as movie of the year. There were also awards for the best bars, community advocates, etc., in cities such as San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Denver, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, St. Louis and Dallas.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will not be returning for a second term, according to USA Today. Meanwhile, White House officials said three other Cabinet members will remain after the president's next term starts Jan. 20: Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
The Marine Corps has told its legal staff that spouses' clubs operating on its installations must admit same-sex spouses if they wish to remain on the bases, according to ABC News. The advisory refers to an ongoing controversy at the Army's Fort Bragg in North Carolina where the officers' spouses club has denied admission to a same-sex spouse. In a statement, transgender Army veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson applauded the move, saying, "The Marine Corps guidance issued today is a breakthrough and a clear indication that General [James F.] Amos meant what he said when he promised Marines would lead the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'"
Rev. Louie Giglio, an Atlanta minister and founder of the Passion Conferences, has been dropped from President Obama's Jan. 21 inauguration because of some past anti-gay comments Giglio made, according to MSNBC.com . Among other things, Giglio urged Christians in a mid-1990s sermon (discovered by ThinkProgress) to fight the "aggressive agenda" of the gay rights movement and advocated "the healing power of Jesus" as "the only way out of a homosexual lifestyle."
Led by Lifebeat, Music Fights HIV/AIDS and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation (and sponsored by "Keep The Promise to Fight HIV/AIDS"), an HIV/AIDS initiative will include a nationwide petition; messaging campaigns across social media and on Times Square jumbo screens; and an interactive art installation at the LGBT-focused hotel OUT NYC, according to a press release. The campaign will kick off Jan. 17 with the unveiling of "The Arches of Hope," an inspiring interactive art installation at THE OUT NYC. (OUT NYC Creative Director Patrick Duffy created the installation.) More info is at www.archesofhope.com .
PFLAG's second annual conference at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., will be held Jan. 18 to help teachers, social workers, administrators, coaches, athletic directors—as well as students and parents of LGBT individuals—to create a safe school environment, Business Wire reported. The conference will feature a forum moderated by Philadelphia Flyers' scout Patrick Burke, and will highlight a panel of gay and lesbian athletes, including Esera Tuaolo, former NFL player; Nick Kleidon, former high school hockey player who came out as gay in his 2012 senior speech; and Becca Lindquist, former NCAA rower and co-founder of the Cal Student Athlete Gay-Straight Alliance.
In Rhode Island, Democratic state Sen. Frank Ciccone had suggested introducing a bill that would put marriage equality up to a statewide vote—but Gov. Lincoln Chafee said he would veto such a measure, according to an Advocate.com item. The Providence Journal reported, "Chafee, a same-sex marriage supporter, said he believes lawmakers are elected to make such decisions and should be allowed to decide the issue of same-sex marriage."
In Alabama, Derek Shrout was arrested for allegedly plotting to kill African-Americans and someone he believed was gay with homemade grenades, according to Advocate.com . A teacher found Shrout's journal, in which he wrote plans to kill six students and a teacher. Local authorities are calling this a hate crime and intend to charge the 17-year-old with such.
There's now a "gay" wine on the market. Gay Star News reported that New York's Biagio Cru & Estate Wines launched Egalite as a "celebration of equality." To mark the bottle hitting the shelves, the winemakers will also donate $1,000 each to LGBT advocacy groups The Trevor Project, the Ali Forney Center, GLSEN, Equality Maine and Chicago's Center on Halsted. A portion of the profits will also be given to the charities.
Gay teen Ryan Andresen will not be an Eagle Scout, according to Gay Star News. California's Mount Diablo-Silverado Boy Scout Council had approved his Eagle application after more than 460,000 people joined his mother's campaign on Change.org, despite the Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policy. The application has then forwarded to the national organization, which rejected it. Spokesperson Deron Smith said that Andresen "stated that he does not agree to Scouting's principle of 'Duty to God' and does not meet Scouting's membership requirements. Therefore, he is not eligible to receive the rank of Eagle."
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Cyndi Lauper are joining the effort to "Make Everyone Count," a national campaign to support local one-night counts of homeless persons and families, according to a press release. Lauper and the True Colors Fund's Forty to None Project produced a national public-service announcement to encourage viewers to contribute their time to gather needed data on the scale of homelessness throughout the United States. Visit www.onecpd.info/news/2013-point-in-time-count-make-everyone-count or www.fortytonone.org .
Out of the five people selected to read an original poem at a presidential inauguration, Richard Blanco, 44, will be the first Latino, first gay man and youngest person to serve the role when he participates at Obama's event Jan. 21, according to ABC News. "Here I am, first-generation Cuban-American, and this great honor that has just come to me, and just feeling that sense of just incredible gratitude and love," he said in an interview with NPR. Robert Frost and Maya Angelou are among those who have previously served the role.
Aaron Swartz—an Internet activist, hacker, author and programer who created the web-feed format RSS—committed suicide at age 26, according to Advocate.com . MSNBC.com reported that "at the time of his death Aaron was being prosecuted by the federal government and threatened with up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines for the crime of—and I'm not exaggerating here—downloading too many free articles from the online database of scholarly work JSTOR." Swartz, who battled depression, had both male and female lovers; he refused to label himself as bisexual or gay because, according to his blog, "Having sex with other people of your gender isn't an identity, it's an act."
Portland, Ore., activist Laura Calvo has become the first transgender woman elected to the Democratic National Committee, according to Advocate.com . Calvo, the twice-elected treasurer of the Democratic Party of Oregon, has worked closely with Basic Rights Oregon to help pass the state's Equality Act and Family Fairness Act.
In North Carolina, lesbian couple Arielle and Shawnee McPhail received a letter that criticized homosexuality as being against God's will, according to the Huffington Post. On their way out of New Bern's Sting Ray Cafe Dec. 4, restaurant owner Ed McGovern approached the couple and handed them a letter asking them to re-evaluate their lives. Since the news broke about the Sting Ray Cafe's anti-gay letter, the venue has received numerous negative Yelp! reviews.
Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer has blamed a drinking problem on passage of a marriage-equality law in the House of Delegates, according to On Top Magazine. Dwyer, a Republican from Pasadena, was charged with drunken boating last August after his 27-foot powerboat collided with another boat on the Magothy River; the incident left a 5-year-old girl with a fractured skull. Dwyer said his drinking increased because of two events: his November 2011 separation from his wife of 31 years and what he perceived as betrayal by colleagues who voted for marriage equality.
Former U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va., is praising what he sees as progress regarding the issue of marriage equality, ABC News reported. Robb—who now teaches at George Mason University and is a co-leader of the National Security Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center—said, "I'm pleased to see so many people who did support (DOMA) who've come around and acknowledged an evolution, that times have changed, they better understand the issue." Back in 1996, Robb was the only Southerner to vote against DOMA; he was senator 1989-2001.
Ohio University awarded Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak an honorary doctorate for his work in creating "unity"—even though the political leader being known for anti-gay views, according to Gay Star News. In November, he was slammed over a declaration of human rights signed by the 10 nations of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that failed to include protection for sexual minorities. He said he rejected LGBT rights because Malaysia had its own values.
In Florida, Pinellas County passed a domestic registry giving unmarried couples, gay or straight, legal recognition of their relationships, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The law, passed by a 6-1 vote, will allow couples to register as domestic partners, granting them the right to visit each other in hospitals, make medical decisions for each other in a crisis and, depending on their employers, share health insurance coverage. There will be a $50 fee to register.
In Texas, Wanda Derby—a 72-year-old Richland Hills woman charged with assaulting her gay neighbor—has died, according to the Dallas Voice. Christopher McGregor, the Tarrant County assistant district attorney assigned to Derby's case, said she passed away Nov. 25, 2012. Derby was indicted Sept. 14 for beating and choking her gay neighbor, Lloyd Guerrero, with a cane while yelling "faggot."
Transgender woman Elizabeth Tremblay—who went AWOL from the Marines 31 years ago—will be issued a discharge with honorable conditions from the military, according to Advocate.com . Tremblay (then Donald Treblay) entered the Marines in 1980, but left after a year without being properly discharged or being granted leave. In the 1990s, Tremblay took hormones and had gender-reassignment surgery. Last year, Tremblay was arrested on a warrant for desertion.
Vicco, Ky., has become the smallest municipality in the United States to approve an LGBT non-discrimination law, Advocate.com noted. Vicco's 334 residents will be protected under the fairness ordinance, which bans discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Vicco is the state's fourth municipality to pass such an ordinance, joining Covington, Lexington and Louisville.
