LGBT immigrant activists, led by Immigration Equality, hosted a press conference and action at the gates of the White House, calling on President Obama to end deportations and provide immediate relief to immigrant families, according to a press release. The event known as "#Not1More Queer & Trans Person #Deported2Death" was organized by Immigration Equality, alongside the National Day Laborers Organizing Network ( NDLON ) and DRM Action Coalition. Among those who spoke were Fernanda Vallejos—a client of Immigration Equality's pro bono asylum program—who discussed her personal struggle as an undocumented, HIV-positive transgender woman.
Bishop Gene Robinson—whose 2003 election as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop rocked Anglican Communion—has announced his divorce from his longtime partner and husband, The Huffington Post reported. Robinson, who retired in 2013 as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and his partner of 25 years, Mark Andrew, were married in a private civil union in 2008. Robinson, 66, is now a fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.
A federal court has reserved judgment after hearing oral arguments May 2 in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage, according to MSNBC. U.S. District Judge Richard Young, a President Clinton appointee, said he would deliberate and rule at a later date on whether to expand an earlier decision that cleared the way for two women ( Amy Sandler and the terminally ill Niki Quasney ) to become the first legally married same-sex couple in the Hoosier State. Young granted a temporary restraining order against Indiana's ban last month, compelling the state the recognize Quasney and Sandler's union; they were the only couple affected by the judge's order, which expired May 8.
A former U.S. Army colonel is offering his burial plot to fellow veteran Madelynn Taylor so that she can be buried with her wife, a request that had been denied by state officials citing Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage, The Washington Post reported. Madelynn Taylor, 74, knew she didn't have much time left after her wife, Jean Mixner, died in 2012. Taylor decided to get her affairs in order and went to the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery to inquire about a shared burial plot—but her request was denied.
A Virginia-based evangelical Christian organization called the Family Foundation is planning for its members to fast and pray for 40 days and 40 nights later this year in an effort to fight same-sex marriage, according to HNGN.com .. The Family Foundation announced that members will be refusing food from Aug. 27 to Oct. 4 in support of the state's marriage amendment, passed in 2006, which defined marriage in Virginia as a right reserved only for heterosexual couples.
Although a county judge found that biased Texas law should not keep a lesbian couple from divorcing, an appeals court stayed the ruling, according to Courthouse News Service. The couple, Kristi Lesh and Allison Flood Lesh, married in Washington, D.C., four years ago. Lesh became pregnant through artificial insemination and gave birth in February 2013, around the time their marriage certificate was filed in Bexar County. The women separated in July, however, and Flood Lesh filed for divorce in February 2014, seeking joint custody.
A bill rewriting the law criminalizing the transmission of the virus HIV will go to Gov. Terry Branstad after winning House passage, USA Today noted. Senate File 2297, which unanimously passed through the Iowa House, expands state laws against transmitting HIV to include other contagious and infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and menningicocal disease, and requires the transmission to be known for criminal charges to be filed. The measure has been supported by a wide range of social justice and gay rights groups, who say the current law is outdated and rooted in the HIV hysteria of the 1980s and '90s.
The Pentagon's annual report on sexual assault has revealed some alarming numbers, according to USA Today. More than 5,000 reports of sexual assault in fiscal year 2013—a spike of 50 percent. Troops feel more confident coming forward, said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. However, the Pentagon's own estimate from 2012, the most recent year it calculated, shows that only 11 percent of sexual assault victims in the military report the crime.
The U.S Department of Education issued guidance clarifying that Title IX—the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal funding—prohibits discrimination against transgender students, LGBTQ Nation reported. Harper Jean Tobin, policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, hailed the announcement as "a breakthrough for transgender students, who too often face hostility at school and refusal by school officials to accept them for who they truly are."
A University of Central Florida ( UCF ) student who contends that a fraternity kept him from joining because he's openly gay is using social media to plead his case, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Sophomore George Dumont recently posted a YouTube video in which he and a friend discuss how he was kicked out of the pledging process shortly before he was initiated into Beta Theta Pi late last fall. The school is investigating the complaint that Dumont, 19, a former UCF cheerleader, brought against the fraternity's local chapter in February.
The board of directors of the New York City organization GMHC ( former Gay Men's Health Crisis ) announced the hiring of Kelsey Louie as the organization's new CEO, according to a press release. Louie comes to GMHC after seven years of leading programs at the Harlem United Community AIDS Center, most recently as its chief operating officer. Louie is a native New Yorker who holds an MSW from New York University and an MBA from Columbia University.
A Tennessee wedding venue had told two Iraq War veterans they could not host their commitment ceremony because same-sex marriage is illegal—but it has changed its policy and will now open its facilities to same-sex couples, LGBTQ Nation reported. Mint Springs Farm in Nolensville, Tennessee, rose to national attention when it told Anthony Wilfert and Brian Blas it would not host their ceremony because of the marriage ban. However, the venue's officials changed its policy after consulting with the Tennessee Equality Project.
A lesbian couple from South Dakota married in Minneapolis before returning home to file a lawsuit challenging their home state's ban on same-sex marriage and recognition of lawful same-sex unions performed elsewhere, according to LGBTQ Nation. Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges officiated the marriage between Rapid City, South Dakota, residents Nancy Robrahn, 68, and Jennie Rosenkranz, 72. Upon returning home, the pair joined two other South Dakota couples; together they filed a federal class-action civil-rights lawsuit.
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith wrote a memo to his staff declaring a recent Gawker report "horsesh—," according to Politico.com . The report—which allegedly included several factual inaccuracies—alleged that Fox News chief Roger Ailes had prohibited Smith from coming out as gay, fearing that such an announcement would alienate the network's viewership. "I came to fox news 18 years ago because they agreed to hire me. I've stayed with fox news because of my relationship with Roger Ailes," Smith wrote in the memo.
Chicago-based organization Truth Wins Out announced the launch of its new Center Against Religious Extremism ( TWOCARE.org ), "which aims to hold America's religious right accountable for promoting theocracy at home and shipping its dangerous brand of hate abroad," according to a press release. TWOCARE launhced with a $100,000 matching grant from philanthropist Henry van Ameringen. The center's initial report, which TWOCARE researcher Bruce Wilson released, will focus on "The Gathering,"an annual event where the religious right's philanthropic community doles out up to $1 billion in grants.
The plaintiffs challenging the Florida's refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry asked a state court to rule that the state's ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional, according to a National Center for Lesbian Rights press release. In their motion, the six couples and Equality Florida Institute argue that Florida's ban on marriage equality violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution. The couples are from Miami and the surrounding area. Four of the couples are raising children, and another couple has an adult child and two grandchildren.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs ( NCAVP )—in association with GLAAD, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Black Justice Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Taskforce and Trans People of Color Coalition ( TPOCC )—announced the release of two community action toolkits that provide LGBTQ communities, survivors of intimate partner violence and advocates working on their behalf with resources to address intimate partner violence on the individual and community level, according to a press release. The toolkits are at avp.org/storage/documents/ncavp_poc_ipvtoolkit.pdf and http://avp.org/storage/documents/ncavp_trans_ipvtoolkit.pdf.
Primary-care providers who provide clinical HIV care ( HIV PCPs ) are experiencing rising HIV caseloads from newly insured patients under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA ), according to a national survey HealthHIV released. Forty percent of those surveyed say that the number of providers treating HIV in their area is inadequate for the demand. Half of HIV PCPs say their HIV caseloads have grown, a trend likely to continue as health reform steers patients to primary-care settings. The report is at http://issuu.com/healthhiv/docs/3rd_pc_survey_final.
Advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation ( AHF ) and over 100 other organizations including HIV/AIDS medical providers, social service organizations, municipalities and local representatives have signed on to a letter to the United States House of Representatives' Committee on Energy & Commerce, urging Congress to swiftly pass a bill that would overhaul and re-prioritize the U.S. AIDS program, according to Business Wire. The signatories support the swift passage of the Ryan White Patient Equity and Choice Act ( H.R. 4260 ), which would overhaul and re-prioritize the Ryan White CARE Act.
The LDS ( Latter-Day Saints ) Church has been surveying Mormon "millennials" ( those born between 1980 and 2000 ) on their attitudes about marriage and same-sex attraction—without ever mentioning the words "homosexual," "gay," "bisexual" or "transgender," according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The survey was emailed to students at Brigham Young University and to members who attend a Young Single Adult Mormon congregation in Utah. A question about how respondents identified their sexual orientation originally had the answers a ) "I am heterosexual, but I struggle with same-sex attraction." b ) "I am heterosexual and do not struggle with same-sex attraction." and c ) "Other, please specify." The survey now asks, "Do you experience same-sex attraction?," with the choices being "yes," "no" or "other."
A gay 19-year-old who worked a summer position at a Boy Scouts of America ( BSA ) camp but was then outed as gay on his Facebook page by friends is now complaining that the organization won't hire him back, The Washington Times reported. Garrett Bryant, of Arizona, said he was aware of the BSA's rule against gay men in leadership roles and panicked when he found that someone referenced his homosexuality on Facebook—and that's when he tried to delete the comments. The BSA has a policy that gay boys can participate in the organization but gay adults cannot.
The Point Foundation, which awards scholarships to LGBT students, will present its Leadership Award to Jason Collins of the Brooklyn Nets, according to a press release. Collins is the first openly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues ( NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL ). Collins will receive the award at the Point Foundation's Leadership Dinner on Friday, July 25, at the Revere Hotel in Boston.
The National LGBT Bar Association announced that retired Army Lt. Col. Jennifer Pritzker will receive the Frank Kameny Award during the organization's 2014 Lavender Law Conference, to be held Aug. 21-23 in New York City. Pritzker is the chair and founder of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library; president and Founder of the Tawani Foundation; and president and CEO of Tawani Enterprises, Inc. Tawani's projects include total restoration of the historic Monroe Building and the Emil Bach House in Chicago and investment in Squadron Capital LLC.
Frazier Glenn Miller, a White Nationalist and former Ku Klux Klan leader, has been charged with the murder of three people outside of Jewish facilities in Kansas. However, according to Instinct Magazine, accusations regarding his sex acts with a Black male prostitute ( in drag ) have reached the media forefront. Raleigh, North Carolina, police officers reportedly had caught Miller in the back seat of a vehicle, in mid-act with the prostitute.
In a segment on Fusion TV's AM Tonight, author and transgender activist Janet Mock traded places with the program's host, Alicia Menendez, to highlight the invasive, inappropriate questions regularly asked of transgender people in the media, according to Advocate.com . Mock rephrased several questions she's faced on-air about her gender identity to Menendez, essentially asking the host to prove that she is a cisgender ( non-trans ) woman. After the mock interview, Menendez described her discomfort, surprising even herself, since she and her team had prepared the questions before the show.
Maggie Gallagher—a founder and former president of the National Organization for Marriage, a group dedicated to opposing marriage by gays and lesbians—conceded in a post on her blog that those resisting same-sex marriages "are in shock, they are awed by the powers now shutting down the debate and by our ineffectualness at responding to these developments," according to SFGate.com . Gallagher wrote the post partly in reaction to the news that Charles Cooper, the attorney who defended Prop 8, will host the marriage ceremony next month of his lesbian stepdaughter, Ashley.
Community Marketing & Insights ( CMI ) has released a breakthrough report on the attitudes and consumer behaviors of over 2,000 African-American/Black LGBT residents of the United States, according to a press release. Earl Fowlkes, the president of the Center for Black Equity, presented the report during the 7th Annual LGBT Marketing Conference at the New York Times Conference Center. One key finding was that only 3 pervcent of participants feel that corporate America does a good job outreaching to the African American LGBT community. A free copy of the report is at www.lgbtdemographics.com .
New York City's most infamous club kid from the '90s, Michael Alig, has been released from prison after serving 17 years behind bars for first-degree manslaughter, according to The Huffington Post. He pleaded guilty in 1997 to murdering, dismembering and dumping the body parts of then-roommate Andre "Angel" Melendez into the Hudson River over a drug deal gone wrong.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., an original co-sponsor of ENDA in the U.S. House, said through a spokesperson that she would not sign a discharge petition to force House leadership to move the bill to the floor, The Washington Blade reported. Ros-Lehtinen's refusal to sign a discharge petition for ENDA means that the potential procedural move is almost certainly doomed, as a discharge petition requires 218 signatures to move a bill forward—the same number of votes required to pass a bill in the House. In addition to Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican co-sponsors are Reps. Richard Hanna ( N.Y. ), Charlie Dent ( Pa. ), Jon Runyan ( N.J. ), Michael Grimm ( N.Y. ), Michael Coffman ( Colo. ) and Chris Gibson ( N.Y. ).
A Ugandan gay-rights activist will seek asylum in the U.S. to escape a harsh anti-LGBT law in his home country, according to WBUR.org . Three days after John Wambere came to the U.S. for a speaking tour, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act on Feb. 24. Under this strict law, Wambere could face life imprisonment for being openly gay or for advocating for gay rights. Wambere, 41, said it is heartbreaking he will have to leave his community at home as well as his 16-year-old daughter, but added it is too dangerous to return.
In Georgia, a sign with an anti-gay slur on it is upsetting some customers at LaGrange convenience shop the PCA Food Store, according to WSBTV.com . The owner said he put it up because he was sick of customers coming in with saggy pants—and the sign calls customers a slur if they choose to wear their pants that way. "I couldn't believe they put something like that up," said customer Joshua Southern, who said he plans to no longer shop at the store. The owner, Anil Patel, said, "Since that sign went up there, I don't see no pants down in my store, because they read the sign and they decide what they want to be."
Continuing with stores, Herald Embroidery—a mom-and-pop print shop in Oak Grove, Kentucky—has made it clear that gay people are not welcome, according to Queerty. The custom embroiderers recently posted five stickers in its front window. Guns, beards and a Bible passage are depicted in green circles, while "foul language" and a rainbow flag are crossed out in red circles. After news broke of the stickers, the store then clarified that "While we will serve all customers who treat our place of business with respect, we reserve the right to refuse to produce promotional products that promote ideas that are not in keeping with our consciences."
Breaking years of silence, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky writes in Vanity Fair that her affair with former President Bill Clinton was "consensual," according to USA Today. Lewinsky, now 40 and with a master's degree in social psychology, writes that it's "time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress"—a reference to the now-infamous piece of stained clothing she didn't dry-clean after an encounter with Clinton. The issue of Vanity Fair with Lewinsky's article will be available May 13.
A transgender Texas woman facing homelessness has filed a lawsuit with the Fair Housing Office in Dallas after being denied housing by the Salvation Army because she has yet to have gender reassignment surgery, Raw Story noted. Jodielynn Wiley of Paris, Texas, had been temporarily staying at the Carr P. Collins Social Service Center in Dallas until she could be placed in a two-year housing program.
