In Pennsylvania, lesbian couple Jade Olmstead and Ashley Barber admitted to luring one of the women's ex-lovers into the woods, and then beating, choking and burying her, according to a New York Daily News item. Their victimOlmstead's 20-year-old ex, Brandy Stevenssuffocated on the dirt they shoveled into the grave they'd dug in advance of the crime. Crawford County District Attorney Francis Schultz will determine if he will pursue the death penalty before the couple's Aug. 24 arraignment.
Fla. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has apologized for a statement she made while denying a lesbian affair, according to Advocate.com . Carroll said in a TV interview that "Black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that." Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith was among those saying Carroll had stereotyped lesbians. Carroll later called Smith to apologize, saying, "It is wrong and inexcusable to make a comment that hurts people, and that was not my intention. As a Christian, my faith guides me to love and respect all people."
In Colorado, the owner of a bakery that denied a wedding cake to an engaged gay couple says he'd close down his business rather than "compromise" his beliefs, according to the Huffington Post. Jack Phillips, the owner of Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop, said he has no problem with LGBT customers or staffersbut he's against same-sex marriage. LGBT-rights activists have reportedly held protests at the bakery.
In Vermont, Burlington resident Danielle Morantez claims that the Salvation Army fired her after she raised concerns about parts of the handbook relating to sexual orientationand coming out as bisexual in the process, according to Jezebel.com . In a piece for The Bilerico Project, Morantez explains how she grew up trusting the organization, despite its history of anti-LGBTQ discrimination. One handbook passage that disturbed her reads, "The Salvation Army does not make employment decisions on the basis of an individual's sexual orientation or preference. However, The Salvation Army does reserve the right to make employment decisions on the basis of an employee's conduct or behavior that is incompatible with the principles of The Salvation Army."
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon.com, and wife MacKenzie will donate $2.5 million to help pass a same-sex marriage referendum in Washington state, according to the New York Times. With the gift, the couple has doubled the money available to the supporters of Referendum 74, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state by affirming a law that passed the legislature this year. Bezos joins such executives as Bill Gates and Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft in financially backing the fight for marriage equality; Gates and Ballmer each gave $100,000 to the referendum campaign.
In Philadelphia, disgraced Catholic Monsignor William Lynn stood at his sentencing hearing and apologized for years of sexual abuse a young man suffered at the hands of defrocked priest Edward Avery, according to Philly.com . Lynnwho served as secretary for clergy for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004transferred Avery to the boy's parish despite knowing that he had abused another boy. Lynn received three to six years in prison for child endangerment.
More Chick-fil-A fallout: Students from seven schools across the country have launched petitions on Change.org demanding the removal or prevention of Chick-fil-A franchises on their campuses because of the chain's stand against same-sex marriage, a press release stated. The schools are the University of Illinois, Kansas University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Ball State University, College of Charleston, Wichita State University and Minnesota State University.
Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell has filed a new regulation that governs changes to drivers licenses and will allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their licenses without undergoing major surgery, according to an ACLU press release. The regulation takes effect Aug. 11. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska had challenged the requirement as a violation of an individual's right to privacy.
Gay Oklahoma resident Jon Ferguson suffered burns after two men vandalized his car and fire-bombed it, according to LGBTQ Nation. Ferguson said he awoke July 21 to the noise the two men made as they scrawled a gay slur on the vehicle. After they ignited his car, Ferguson said, "Right when that happened, the flames hit me; I ripped my shirt off, ran in my house and jumped in the shower." He suffered first- and second-degree burns on 36 percent of his body.
A landlord found a badly decomposing body in a second-floor apartment of a building that formerly housed the Philadelphia Gay News, according to the publication. The 30-year-old Black malewho had been shot multiple times and appeared to have suffered blunt-force trauma to the headhas not yet been identified; also, his sexual orientation is not known. The building housed PGN's first office, from 1977 through the early '80s.
LGBT advocacy organization The Gill Foundation donated the building that once belonged to the Gay and Lesbian Fund to Rocky Mountain PBS, according to an Advocate.com item. The Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado, which had a 15-year history, closed its doors in 2011. The building will ultimately lead to the creation of the Tim Gill Center for Public Media.
Distance swimmer and out lesbian Diana Nyad has started a fundraising page to help support her in her Xtreme Dream as she attempts to swim from Cuba to Florida, according to SheWired.com . Nyad, 63, attempted to swim 100 miles from Cuba to Florida at the peak of her career, but came up short after being in the water almost 42 hours. The link is at http://diananyad.com/support-the-dream-2.
In Indianapolis, Ind., police are investigating a possible drive-by shooting at the gay bar Greg's, according to Indystar.com . A large picture window at the bar was shattered by what authorities say was "possible gunfire." The bar's manager, Phil Denton, is certain that it was gunfire and that the place was targeted because it caters to gay men. No one was injured.
Officials at LGBT community centers throughout Michigan are protesting what they call the state's "extreme anti-equality environment" by declaring a 100-day hunger strike, according to the Wisconsin Gazette. The campaign began July 30100 days before the election. The hunger strike will take place on public display at the windows of Affirmations, Michigan's largest LGBT community center on 9 Mile Road in downtown Ferndale.
A federal judge in Connecticut has ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a challenge brought by married same-sex couples, according to Advocate.com . George W. Bush appointee Judge Vanessa Bryant ruled that the Section 3 of the 1996 lawwhich prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriagesviolates equal protection guarantees. The six couples and one widower (from Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont) brought the suit as a result of being denied federal benefits because they were legally married to a spouse of the same sex.
GetEQUALa national civil-rights organization that uses direct action and nonviolence civil disobedience to fight for full equality for LGBT Americanslaunched a campaign called "Fight for the 14th," according to a press release. This campaign aims to "draw attention to the need for equal protection under the law for LGBT Americans, as promised under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution." The campaign started with a video from Major Jiminez and Beau Chandler, the Dallas couple who staged a sit-in when they were denied a marriage license July 5.
Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case involving Samuel Wu and Rudy Lawidjaja, a married binational gay couple from Montgomery County, Md., according to a press release. The friend-of-the-court brief argues that immigration officials should stop denying protection to same-sex couplesan act based on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The brief also says that, absent DOMA, there is no legal impediment to extending immigration protections to Lawidjaja and spouses in similar situations.
The Vatican named Salvatore Cordileonea leading supporter of California's Prop 8the archbishop of San Francisco, according to the Huffington Post. Cordileone has served as the bishop of Oakland since 2009. Cordileone will officially take his post Oct. 4, and will oversee bishops in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Reno, Oakland, Stockton, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Reno and Salt Lake City.
Declaring that "marriage equality will contribute to achieving access to high-quality, comprehensive, culturally sensitive, dignified and respectful health care for all persons," the American Academy of Nursing has added its voice to the growing majority of Americans who support marriage equality, according to a press release. On July 11, the academy's board of directors unanimously approved a position statement, Support for Marriage Equality. The academy joins several other health professional organizationsincluding the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workersin publicly supporting marriage equality.
Evangelical author Jonathan Merritt has revealed in an online interview that he had an encounter with another man that "went beyond the bounds of friendship," the Washington Post noted. The revelation came after a "gay, former evangelical blogger"revealed to be Azariah Southworthclaimed he had evidence that Merritt was gay after Merritt publicly supported Chick-fil-A restaurants, whose president revealed the company's anti-gay stance.
Chick-fil-A now has toys to replace the Jim Henson Muppets that were stopped from being included in its kids' meals, as the Berenstain Bears will be part of the items starting in August, according to SheWired.com . However, the Berenstain family said on the Bears website that the inclusion of books from the Bears series is not an endorsement of the restaurant's policies. Jim Henson Company ended its partnership with Chick-fil-A in the wake of company president Dan Cathy sharing his anti-gay stance.
Openly gay Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., told The Advocate that the Democratic Party will affirm its commitment to marriage equality in the platform currently being drafted and that the move has his "full support." Frank, who recently married his partner, sits on the 15-member platform drafting committee. Several pro-LGBT organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Courage Campaign, applauded the development.
In Cleveland, one man was killed as a car crashed through the " Dancin' in the Street" LGBT fair barricade, NewsNet5.com reported. MetroHealth Medical Center said Mitchell Andelmo has passed away while Constance Pokorny is in critical condition; at least three others were reportedly injured. Cleveland and Lakewood police departments said the driver, a 35-year-old Lakewood man, was drunk; also, it turned out the driver had three prior OVIs ("Operating a Vehicle Impaired" convictions).
Liberty Counselan Orlando, Fla.-based nonprofit devoted to, among other things, religious freedomis cautioning Miami-Dade County school Superintendent Alberto Carvalho against using a pastor's sermon about homosexuality as reason to rescind his church's lease, according to OneNewsNow.com . Hakimian's sermon, "Bible Says Gays and Sex Addicts Can Change and Should Change," reportedly criticized bullying and promoted the idea of respecting all people; however, Hakimian holds the "theological view that homosexuality isn't okay in the face of God."
GOP lawmakers in Tennessee are circulating a resolution that would condemn Gov. Bill Haslamwho's also a Republicanfor choosing not to fire a gay person on his staff, according to ThinkProgress.org . The resolution, which at least nine Republican chapters have signed so far, would also denounce Haslam for employing a Muslim woman in his employ and for not supporting two highly conservative pieces of legislation. Haslam did not hire the Muslim or gay employees, but kept them on the payroll after a change of leadership.
Alabama minister Aaron Fruh has not only come to Chick-fil-A's defense, but he also claims that same-sex marriage brought the great flood referenced in the Bible, according to the Huffington Post. Fruh, a pastor at Mobile's Knollwood Church, spoke out against marriage equality on American Family Radio, saying, "God knew that the people on the earth were going to destroy themselves through same-sex marriage, and so that's why he brought the flood."
The Forum, a small North Dakota newspaper, has reconsidered its decision not to print a same-sex wedding announcements in its wedding section, Passport Magazine noted. Recently, the editor rejected a lesbian couple's wedding announcement, stating, "The Forum does not print engagement/wedding announcements for same-sex couples." However, after the Human Rights Campaign took action by starting an online petition, the paper is now running those announcements.
In New Mexico, Hope Christian School in Albuquerque has rejected admission to a 3-year-old because he has two gay dads for parents, Advocate.com reported. School administrators reportedly told the parents that "[s]ame-gender couples are inconsistent with scriptural lifestyle and biblical teachings," and that the child's home life doesn't reflect the school's vision of a Biblical family lifestyle.
The Great Lakes Leather Alliance will hold its GLLA XI Weekend Aug. 23-26 in Indianapolis, Ind. Events will include the kissing booth, workshops, book signings, bootblack ice-cream social, master/slave interviews and a vendor fair, among many other items. Registration is now $129; for more info, see www.GreatLakesLeather.org .
Reports from the recent International AIDS Conference stated that two men from Boston have been allegedly cured of HIV through bone-marrow transplants, according to HIVPlusMag.com . After each receiving the transplants, the men also remained on their antiretroviral medication regimens. The men now reportedly show no signs of HIV in their DNA or RNA, and their HIV-antibody levels have decreased.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he did not see the point of raising the issue of same-sex marriage in the 2000 presidential campaign even though he supported it, the Huffington Post reported. He added that he thought bringing up the issue wouldn't have done much goodand might've sunk President George W. Bush's chance to win. Cheney's daughter, Mary, recently married longtime partner Heather Poe; however, he did not attend, saying Mary "wanted to avoid having it be a media circus or having it become part of the political debate."