A lesbian adviser to President Obama on environmental policy has announced she'll leave the White House in February, The Washington Blade reported. White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley was one of the very first people, LGBT or otherwise, to serve in the Obama administration; she was nominated to the position Jan. 20, 2009, and confirmed by the Senate two days later. In a statement, Obama thanked Sutley for her work as part of the Council on Environmental Quality in the past five years, which he said included oversight of new fuel economic standards and new national monuments.
TheBacklot.com listed what it calls 10 overlooked facts about the late gay politician Harvey Milk on the 35th anniversary of his death. Among the facts are that he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009; he was a conservative throughout the early '60s; Milk brought in Jane Fonda to help bring down the Briggs Initiative, the anti-gay public schools measure; and that Robin Williams was the planned lead actor for the 2008 movie Milk.
Jonathan Moscone—the son of the late San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and the artistic director of Cal Shakes—recently married his partner, attorney Darryl Carbonaro, at City Hall, according to SFGate.com . Carbonaro and Moscone walked in together to Jane Birkin's instrumental "She Left Home." Friends read poems by e.e. cummings and Seviyorum Seni before the couple's self-written vows. Former City Supervisor Dan White shot and killed the elder Moscone and Harvey Milk—the first openly gay official elected to public office in California—Nov. 27, 1978.
The Salvation Army has a new campaign where it attempts to "debunk the myth of LGBT discrimination," according to a press release from the organization Truth Wins Out ( TWO ), which works to eradicate anti-gay prejudice. TWO Executive Director Wayne Besen lauded the Army "for what appears to be positive steps in the right direction, assuming the changes they are trumpeting are genuine." However, he has discovered that the organization refers clients to as least two "ex-gay" ministries ( Harvest USA and Pure Life Ministries ). However, the Army removed the "ex-gay" resources shortly after this was noted, according to a separate TWO release.
The Texas National Guard is now letting same-sex couples register for benefits after the Defense Department approved a new procedure for enrolling National Guard members and their dependents for benefits, CBS News reported. The Texas National Guard commander had ordered the Texas Military Forces not to process any applications from same-sex couples, saying it was bound by state law ( which doesn't recognize same-sex marriage ). However, the Texas Military Forces said federal personnel will handle the registrations, removing the legal conflict with state law.
Thirteen-year-old Kansas eighth-grader Skyler Davis claims he was suspended from school because he refused to take off his Vera Bradley purse, according to KCTV5.com . His angry mother says it is discrimination because girls are allowed to have purses with no repercussions. Anderson County School District Superintendent Don Blome said all students, whether female or male, are prevented from having bags, purses, satchels and backpacks in the core classrooms like English and math. However, Davis said he had been carrying around the bag for some time with no issues.
A new analysis of data from 20 major U.S. cities, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, reveals continued signs of sexual risk among gay and bisexual men, but shows dramatically lower sexual risk among those who accurately know their HIV status, according to a CDC press release. In 2011, 33 percent of HIV-positive men who have sex with men ( MSM ) who were unaware of their infection had unprotected anal sex with someone they believed was HIV-negative or whose status they did not know. However, men who accurately knew they were HIV-positive were 60 percent less likely to report recent unprotected anal sex with someone of a different HIV status—with 13 percent reporting this behavior. MSM account for nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections and approximately half of the 1.1 million people nationwide living with HIV.
A group of students at Virginia Commonwealth University created 1,000 coffee sleeves with depictions of local LGBT individuals that it distributed at Richmond area coffee shops in an effort to support equality, according to LGBTQ Nation. The group initiated the project by interviewing four local LGBT individuals. The group then placed a quotation from each interviewed person ( such as "Because straight people just get to be people" ), along with a monochrome image of that individual, on a coffee sleeve. The project team chose a sleeve as its medium because they're subtle and "wasn't too in-your-face," student Megan Maloney said.
Former co-workers and friends of New Jersey server Dayna Morales—who claimed she was left an anti-gay note in lieu of a tip—say she has a history of lying, according to LGBTQ Nation. Morales, 22, a server at the Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, N.J., has claimed she was stiffed on a $93.55 check by a family of four because they disapproved of her lesbian "lifestyle." However, ex-colleagues and friends say that Morales has lied about several things, including being a former Marine who was sent to Afghanistan and that everyone in her platoon died in an explosion except her. Moreover, the family accused of leaving the note has reportedly produced a statement showing they left an $18 tip, NBC News noted.
Philadelphia's Circle of Hope, which reportedly features a progressive message and relaxed religious services, has come under fire for what some describe as intolerant policies aimed at silencing gay congregants, according to CityPaper.net . Former attendee Andrew Stahler has claimed that Circle's leadership asked him to leave for speaking too publicly about homosexuality. Another former congregant, John Bright, also said he got "obviously fearful and evasive reactions" after bring up homosexuality several times. Jonny Rashid, a pastor in the church, said of Circle of Hope, "Our policy is that we don't have a policy."
A Washington, D.C. woman named Sarah said she was shocked to discover that an anniversary cake she ordered for her genderqueer partner was scrawled with an anti-gay message, The Huffington Post reported. Sarah said she had ordered a carrot cake based on a design she saw in the Arlington, Va. bakery's catalog, requesting "Happy Anniversary Lindsey! Love, Sarah." However, the cake read "Lesbian Anniv. No Ballons" [sp] instead of her suggested message.
A gay couple arrested during Philadelphia's OutFest was found not guilty of all charges, Philadelphia Gay News reported. Judge Charles Hayden handed down not-guilty verdicts during a joint trial Nov. 25 for Anthony Reto and Thomas Berner. The pair was arrested Oct. 13 and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal conspiracy. Civil Affairs officers arrested the pair after they took a photo in front of protesters from the anti-gay group Repent America.
Mary Cheney, one of former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughters, is going to Indianapolis to headline a fundraiser Dec. 11 for the Freedom Indiana coalition against Indiana's proposed same-sex marriage ban, according to USA Today. The lesbian Republican has become more vocal on the marriage issue in recent weeks after a public squabble with her sister, Liz Cheney, over the latter's opposition to same-sex marriage. Liz is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Wyoming in the Republican primary next year.
A Florida Tea Party leader is claiming that gay "thugs" are taking over the Broward County Republican Party, according to the New York Daily News. Danita Kilcullen, co-founder of Tea Party Fort Lauderdale, complained that gay activists in the Log Cabin Republicans group have gained a stronghold in the local conservative movement and are pushing a progressive platform. Kilcullen conveyed her thoughts in an email as she expressed her displeasure at the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ), which was up for debate in Congress.
On World AIDS Day, amfAR: The Foundation for AIDS Research and Treatment Action Group ( TAG ) called for a deliberate and expedited research agenda designed to begin to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States, according to a joint press release. Both organizations noted that in order to achieve this goal, Congress must end sequestration and work to ensure the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ). AmfAR and TAG's new report, "Filling the Gaps in the U.S. HIV Treatment Cascade: Developing a Community-Driven Research Agenda," outlines several recommendations for the Obama administration.
Northeastern Illinois University is the first Illinois public university to include a question about a prospective student's sexual orientation or gender identity on its admissions application for fall 2014, according to a school press release. The question is meant to help the university connect prospective LGBTQ students to resources, information and scholarships that might be of interest to members of the LGBTQ community. Elmhurst College, a private school in Chicago's western suburbs, became the first college in the country to ask applicants if they are LGBT, back in 2011.
At a White House event to mark the 25th annual World AIDS Day, President Obama announced that the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) plans to redirect AIDS research funds to expand support for research directed toward a cure for HIV, according to an NIH press release. NIH plans to invest an additional $100 million over the next three fiscal years on this area of HIV/AIDS research. Funding for new initiatives will come from existing resources and a redirection of funds from expiring AIDS-research grants.
Six same-sex couples married just after midnight Dec. 2 in Hawaii, becoming the first to wed as the state's new marriage-equality law went into effect, Hawaii News Now reported. The couples—some who have been together as long as 35 years and all of whom had already had civil unions—marched down the aisle and exchanged vows with one another during a gathering at the Sheraton Waikiki. The Associated Press reported that Hawaii expects to benefit from an estimated $217-million dollar boost in tourism over the next three years because of the new statute.
Police in Honolulu, Hawaii, are searching for transgender youth Christian Kukahiko, who was last seen Nov. 19 at her home, according to an Advocate.com item. Kukahiko is six feet tall and weighs 230 pounds, has black hair with red highlights, and has a tattoo of her last name on her lower back. TransGriot blogger Monica Roberts has written that at least one station assigned the wrong gender to Kuhahiko—and that the mistake may impede the investigation.
The activist group Queer Nation picketed former Olympic skater Johnny Weir outside his talk at Barnard College Dec. 2 for his position that "the Olympics are not the place to make a political statement" about Russia's anti-gay laws and "you have to respect the culture of a country you are visiting," according to Gay City News. During his talk he spoke of "idiots like the ones outside tonight, dumping vodka in the street"—action he dismissed as useless. One of the banners outside read, "Weir: Russian Olympic Clown; N.B.C.: NaÃŻve Bloody Collaborators."
The Arizona Technology Council, the state's largest trade association for technology businesses and a longtime leader of the technology community, announced it would add issues of LGBT equality to its lobbying platform agenda, according to a Human Rights Campaign press release. Under the direction of President/CEO Steven G. Zylstra, the council and its Public Policy Committee included in its 2014 Public Policy Guide measures detailing the need for LGBT non-discrimination laws pertaining to employment, housing and public accommodations.
Billie Potts—a nationally known women's spirituality pioneer who wrote such books as Witches Heal: Lesbian Herbal Self-Sufficiency—has passed away. She had been facilitating herbal healing and tarot workshops across the country since 1976. A studio potter and ceramic sculptor for 25 years, and a dairy goat farmer and organic grower for close to 40 years, Potts coordinated alternative healing facilities for major women's-music festivals for 15 years.
In Nebraska, Douglas County will extend benefits to the same-sex spouses of employees who were married legally in other states, Omaha.com reported. The county board voted Dec. 3 to change the definition of an eligible spouse from "legally married spouse" to "the person to whom the employee is legally married, regardless of whether that person is of the same gender or opposite gender of the employee." The move follows a decision by the City of Omaha not to extend health insurance and dental benefits to the spouses of legally married gay employees.
In Maryland, the Hyattsville City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that bans anti-LGBT discrimination in the Prince George's County municipality, according to The Washington Blade. City Councilmember Patrick Paschall, who is policy counsel for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, introduced the proposal that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and other factors. Hyattsville is the first jurisdiction in Prince George's County to ban anti-trans discrimination. The Hyattsville ordinance will take effect Dec. 22.
