National roundup: Larry Kramer weds from hospital bed; iconic NYC bar to close
COMPILED BY ANDREW DAVIS
Longtime gay-rights activist and award-winning playwright Larry Kramer married long-term partner David Webster from his hospital bed in New York City as he recovers from surgery, according to NewsNet5.com . The Normal Heart writer, 78, initially planned to wed Webster on the terrace of their Manhattan apartment, but they had to scrap that idea after Kramer fell ill. Kramer, who has been at the forefront of AIDS activism for more than three decades, has been dating Webster, 67, since the mid-1990s.
New York's iconic gay bar Splash is set to close, according to the Huffington Post. The nightspot, deemed a rite of passage for many young gay men in Manhattan, posted a letter on its website confirming it would shut its doors Aug. 10; in addition, 10 nights of celebration will kick off Aug. 1 and lead up to the final night. Splash has been open for 22 years, hosting such gay icons as Cyndi Lauper and Kylie Minogue.
In what's been called one of the first cases of its kind, a Belarusian gay man tied the knot with his U.S. partner in Washington, D.C. and will be allowed to stay in the country, according to the Huffington Post. Vyachaslau Bortnik, 39, a rights activist from the city of Homel, and Shawn Gaylord, 44, a U.S. lawyer and adviser for a gay advocacy organization, married July 11. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 26 decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Bortnik will not only be allowed to stay in the United States, but is also now on track to become a U.S. citizen within the next five years.
Despite the fact that same-sex marriage is banned in Pennsylvania, officials in Montgomery County say they are ready to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, according to Advocate.com . D. Bruce Hanes, the county's register of wills, said he was ready to issue a license to a lesbian couple after they contacted him. However, the couple changed their minds after speaking with the Americans Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania, since the organization is currently challenging the state's ban on marriage equality in court. The ACLU informed the couple that their potential marriage might be overturned.
On July 23, California's highest court refused to block the state from sanctioning same-sex marriages while it considers a petition arguing that Proposition 8 remains valid in all but two counties, according to the Huffington Post. Without comment, the California Supreme Court rejected a request from San Diego County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg Jr. He also asked the seven-member court to consider his legal argument that same-sex marriages still are illegal in most of California.
Mark Castleberry, a gay man who oversaw the Miss Atlanta Pageant, has been arrested for theft by taking and burglary, according to Project Q Atlanta. Castleberry surrendered to Chamblee police July 11, two days after a detective told him he would be charged with stealing nearly $12,000 from a longtime friend and office neighbor by forging checks he allegedly admitted to stealing from her office. The DeKalb District Attorney's Office is investigating the case.
In Washington, D.C., it appears that a soccer stadium could displace an LGBT-focused center, the Washington Blade noted. Mayor Vincent Gray has proposed a preliminary $300-million deal that reportedly calls for turning over the city's Reeves Center municipal building to a developer in exchange for land to build a new soccer stadium would displace the LGBT Community Center, which is set to move into the Reeves Center in September. The deal would also cause the move of popular gay nightclub Ziegfeld's/Secrets.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Charlie Rangel of New York introduced legislation July 25 that aims to help discharged gay veterans clear their military records and access benefits, according to the Wisconsin Gazette. Pocan, who is openly gay, announced plans to offer the bill last month. The co-sponsors said their bill would establish a process for veterans to get a timely review on requests to upgrade a discharge and clean their records.
Corporate giant Target seems to be embroiled in controversy again as it turns out that in the first half of this year, it contributed $50,000 to the Republican Governors Association, which so far this year has spent nearly $3 million on behalf of anti-gay Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's gubernatorial campaign, according to RightWingWatch.org . (However, it also gave $50,000 this year to the Democratic Governors Association, which is supporting Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe.) Back in 2010, Target had to apologize when it came out that it had funded campaign ads on behalf of virulently anti-gay Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, who lost his race.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision that would lift the total ban on abortion coverage for Peace Corps volunteers in the bill that funds U.S. foreign affairs, according to a Planned Parenthood of Illinois press release. This provision would grant women in the Peace Corps access to abortion coverage in cases of rape, incest or life endangermentthe same coverage that women in the armed services receive.
In a joint statement, GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) commended U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for becoming a co-sponsor of the Safe Schools Improvement Act. Murkowski becomes the latest Republican to announce her support of the bipartisan federal legislation that addresses bullying and harassment for all students. There are several other Republican Congressional supporters of the measure, including Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Rep. Michael Grimm of New York.
The 9th Circuit ruled that U.S. immigration authorities ignored evidence in ordering the removal of a HIV-positive, gay Filipino who endured rape and other persecution in his native land, according to a Courthouse News Service item. The federal appeals court in Pasadena, Calif., granted Dennis Vitug's petition for withholding of removal, finding that he likely faces persecution and abuse from police, the government and even family members if forced to return to the Phillipines. Vitug had been ordered to appear in immigration court after he served eight months in jail for drug possession.
When students return to Texas Christian University's (TCU's) campus for classes Aug. 19, they'll have Chick-fil-A as a dining option, and LGBT advocates are questioning why the university chose to allow the controversial restaurant on campus, the Dallas Voice reported. TCU spokeswoman Lisa Albert said the anti-gay controversy with Chick-fil-A wasn't relevant to the conversations that began in the spring to bring the eatery to campus.
News that Tumblr's mobile filter was blocking searches for such tags as #gay, #lesbian or #bisexual on its iOS app as part of new porn restrictions was immediately deemed controversial. However, according to a Huffington Post item, the filtering may have more to do with Tumblr's recent sale to Yahoo! and its desire to adhere to the standards of Apple's App Store. Tumblr CEO David Karp posted, "The reason you see innocent tags like #gay being blocked on certain platforms is that they are still frequently returning adult content which our entire app was close to being banned for. The solution is more intelligent filtering which our team is working diligently on."
In California, the Arcadia Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Education have reached an agreement to end an investigation into allegations of discrimination against a transgender student, according to the L.A. Times. The resolution, which passed unanimously, closes an investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights into whether the district stopped a student, born female but who identifies as a male, from accessing boys' restrooms and locker rooms because he is transgender.
President Obama recently issued six judicial nominations for the United States District Court, including openly gay attorney Judith Levy to the Eastern District of Michigan, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Levy currently serves as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan and has served as the chief of the civil rights unit for that office for the past three years.
An attorney sued New Orleans' Tulane University, claiming his alma mater defamed him and barred him from campus because he asked a campus police officer in a sauna whether he likes blow jobsas part of a "Christian survey," according to Courthouse News Service. The attorney, only known as "ABC," sued the board of administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, the school's police department and their insurer in Orleans Parish Court. The questionnaire the attorney reportedly used also contained inquiries such as "Are you an atheist or agnostic?" and "Do you enjoy sexual intercourse?"
The legal implications of same-sex marriage and assisted reproductive technology as well as a look behind the scenes at immigration reform in Congress will be among the diversity and immigration law issues explored at the 2013 American Bar Association Annual Meeting Aug. 8-13 in San Francisco, according to a press release. Among the workshops are "Transgender Legal Issues 102: A Guide to Effective Jurisprudence and Advocacy" and "What Effective Law Firm Leaders Need to Know About Diversity and Inclusion." High-profile speakers at the meeting will include former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder.
New Rutgers University Athletic Director Julie Hermann revealed in her online biography that she is a lesbian, Bradenton.com reported. Hermann took the job in May after 15 years as an associate athletic director at Louisville and was recently in Chicago as part of Big Ten media days, with the Scarlet Knights set to join the conference next year. Hermannwho, with "partner Dr. Leslie Danehy are the proud parents of a seven-year-old son, Aidan," biography stateshas denied recent allegations that she verbally and emotionally abused volleyball players she coached at Tennessee in 1996.
The Justice Department announced that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, it has reached a settlement with Barix Clinics under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to a press release. The settlement resolves allegations that Barix Clinics, which operates bariatric-treatment facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania, violated the ADA by refusing or cancelling surgery for two individuals because they have HIV. Barix must pay $35,000 to the two complainants as well as a $10,000 civil penalty; in addition, the company must train its staff on the ADA and develop and implement an anti-discrimination policy.
In Louisiana, East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux has apologized to at least a dozen men after it was revealed his office had been unconstitutionally charging men for "unnatural acts," according to Out.com . Gautreaux was still arresting men for sodomy although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional a decade ago. The sheriff's office subsequently issued a statement saying it "was never contacted or told that the law was not enforceable or prosecutable." Gautreaux has now added that his staff will no longer ensnare gay men in parks and that he planned "a comprehensive evaluation of undercover operations."
In Texas, Austin police have arrested a suspect in the murder of a gay man who was killed after meeting someone at a bar July 13, according to the Dallas Voice. Matthew Henry Bacon, 26, was arrested in West Monroe, La., on drug possession charges July 16. After questioning him about the death of 36-year-old David Villarreal, Austin police charged Bacon with first-degree murder.
In California, the Marin County Republican Party has endorsed same-sex marriage in one of the first votes of its kind in the country, the L.A. Times reported. Votes from local party organizations do not change the state or national Republican Party's opposition to same-sex marriage. However, the decision in Marin County is another sign that same-sex marriage is gaining new support, said Gregory T. Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans. Fewer than 20 percent of the county's residents are registered Republicans, even lower than the 29-percent statewide total.
In New York, four men were arrested in connection to an anti-gay attack that sent two victims to a local hospital, according to Advocate.com . Shane Buckley, 18, Justin Buckley, 17, Gregory Gilbert, 20, and Nicholas Battaglia, 18, all of Oceanside, N.Y., were walking by the two victims and asked them directions to the Babylon train station. They then "started yelling anti-gay slurs and crossed the street and attacked them," Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Opisso reportedly said. The suspects were charged with two counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime; the three older suspects were also charged with second-degree gang assault.
National and global LGBT organizations joined with local LGBTQ groups to urge New York City legislators to defend historic legislation banning profiling by police against a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to a GLAAD statement. The statement that 34 local and national LGBTQ organizations issues notes that "from Stonewall to stop-and-frisk, LGBTQ peopleand particularly LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ youth, and transgender and gender nonconforming peoplehave long been targets of profiling and other forms of discriminatory policing." A vote on Bloomberg's veto is expected in August.
Federal judge C. Darnell Jones II ordered that a private company's retirement plan be interpreted to include coverage for the same-sex wife of a woman who had worked for the company as the "surviving spouse" under the plan, according to Buzzfeed.com . Jones reached his decision by applying the recent Supreme Court ruling opening the door for federal recognition of married same-sex couples to an existing federal law that provides tax benefits for private companies' retirement plans that meet the federal standards (ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act). In this case, Sarah Ellyn Farley had worked for Cozen O'Connor, a law firm based out of Pennsylvania, during which time she married Jennifer J. Tobits in Canada.
The Palm Center has received a $1.35-million grant to study transgender service in the U.S. armed forces over the next three years, according to an Advocate.com item. The Palm Center's Transgender Military Initiative project director, Indra Lusero, has commissioned 11 studies (that 16 scholars will induct) that will investigate if the inclusion of transgender troops in the military would undermine readiness of the U.S. armed forces.