In Missouri, Christian Republican state Rep. Zach Wyatt recently came out against his state's "Don't Say Gay" bill—and then came out himself, according to The New Civil Rights Movement. Wyatt called the measure "horrible" while adding that he was tired of anti-gay "bigotry being shown from both sides of the aisle on gay issues." He also apologized for taking the GOP position on an anti-bullying bill in an interview, and for voting against a non-discrimination bill.
Nashville, Tenn., resident Timothy Kurek was a homophobe—but has supposedly changed his stance toward the LGBT community after posing as a gay man for a year, according to Queerty.com . He told Thomas Roberts (a gay anchor who works at MSNBC) that he first "came out" to his family and then immersed himself in the "gayborhood." Kurek was spurred to action after witnessing a family disown a friend of his when she came out to them. He did add, "There is no way I could possibly understand what it's like to actually be gay." A book on his experiences will be out in October.
Dharun Ravi—the former Rutgers University student whose spying led to the suicide of his roommate, Tyler Clementi—was released from jail after serving 20 days of a 30-day sentence, according to People.com . Ravi had 10 days removed from his sentence for good behavior, in accordance with state regulations. Also, Ravi—who was found guilty of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation—will not face deportation.
In New York City, the police department has announced changes to its patrol guide that are aimed at providing more respectful treatment of transgender and other gender-nonconforming residents, according to Gay City News. Lesbian City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced the changes at the council's annual LGBT Pride event June 12 at Cooper Union's Great Hall.
James Turley, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young as well as a board member of the Boy Scouts of America, announced that he supports an end to the Boy Scouts' ban on gay scouts and gay scout leaders, according to a Change.org press release. Turley said, "I support the meaningful work of the Boy Scouts in preparing young people for adventure, leadership, learning and service; however, the membership policy is not one I would personally endorse. As I have done in leading Ernst & Young to being a most inclusive organization, I intend to continue to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress."
The notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church traveled from Kansas to North Carolina to protest the Rev. Billy Graham for supposedly not protesting homosexuality, according to Advocate.com . However, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had taken out a series of full-page ads in newspapers condemning same-sex marriage just before the state voted on a constitutional ban, leading people to question Westboro's move. Pro-LGBT counterprotesters traveled to meet the Westboro congregation and outnumbered the members.
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Justin Brown—a self-described "producer, actor, director and writer"—has released a new YouTube video that focuses on the president's support of marriage equality, according to Politico.com . In the video, Brown (known as "Obama Boy") sings, "Cuz I gotta a crush on Obama/ I cannot wait for my soul mate/ Barry you're the finest candidate/ I can't wait to see you get hard on Romney in debate." John Duarte said he and Brown filmed the video in New York City over three consecutive days following Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage.
Liza Friedlander—who was violently attacked while trying to dine with friends at a Forest Hills, N.Y., Sizzler—recently was awarded $25,000 in a lawsuit filed in Queens County last year, according to a Lambda Legal press release. On Sept. 18, 2010, Edgar Orellana shoved Friedlander in the chest and kicked her while yelling for her to get out of the restaurant and calling her a "fucking dyke." Others then yelled at Friedlander as well as threw objects at her.
The Live Your Best Lesbian Life Telesummit is taking place through June 27, according to a media release. This telesummit offers "the chance to meet exceptional lesbians who are not only experts in their professional lives but women who think and live outside the box," the release stated. Among the women featured are National LGBT Cancer Network Executive Director Liz Margolies, humorist Kate Clinton, playwright Carolyn Gage and comedian Poppy Champlin, among others. See LiveYourBestLesbianLife.com .
Lambda Legal filed an appeal on a petition for post-conviction relief in the Iowa Supreme Court on behalf of an HIV-positive Iowa man, Nick Rhoades, according to a press release. Rhoades received 25 years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender after having a one-time sexual encounter with another man during which they used a condom. Lambda Legal's Christopher Clark said, "This conviction cannot stand because someone who engages in safe sex is not guilty of criminal transmission of HIV. Nick's use of a condom clearly indicates that he was protecting his sexual partner from exposure."
The Human Rights Campaign released a video ad featuring Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for its "Americans for Marriage Equality" campaign, according to a press release. In the video, Villaraigosa says, "I believe gays and lesbians should be afforded the same fundamental rights as all Americans, to love whomever they choose, and to proclaim that love with marriage." The videos can be seen at www.hrc.org/marriageequality.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has announced that musician Wyclef Jean will join the "Keep the Promise" march on Washington as the headliner, according to Business Wire. Jean will join civil-rights leader Ambassador Andrew Young on stage at the Washington Monument to rally more than 10,000 people before the start of the march July 22—just before the opening ceremonies of the XIX International AIDS Conference.
Gay-porn star Erik Rhodes—who had worked with Falcon, Mustang and Raging Stallion studios—passed away at the age of 30, San Diego Gay & Lesbian News reported. Rhodes died at 5:30 a.m. June 14 in New York and that the cause of death was a heart attack. Frontiers LA reported that Rhodes appeared to be in a very dark place after reading his blog, in which he candidly talked about using drugs and steroids. Some of Rhodes' films include Beefcake and Super Soaked.
In response to a controversial study that challenged gay parenting, the American Psychological Association (APA) has reiterated its belief that gay parents are just as good as straight ones, Advocate.com reported. The APA was responding to the "New Family Structures Study," which questioned the effectiveness of same-sex parenting. However, according to several equality groups, the study has major flaws.
In Vestal, N.Y., residents want a local high school to remove a Tennessee state senator and former student from its hall of fame because of remarks he's made about homosexuality and HIV/AIDS, Advocate.com reported. Stacey Campfield, who sponsored Tennessee's controversial "don't say gay" bill, was inducted into the Vestal High School Hall of Fame in 2008. However, Campfield's recent statements about homosexuality and his sponsorship of the bill have led residents to lobby the board of education.
The Pentagon will organize its first-ever event to celebrate Pride Month nine months after the military ended "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," according to ArmyTimes.com . Details are still being worked out, but officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants to honor the contributions of LGBT service members.
In El Paso, Texas, openly gay high school student Brandon Elizares committed suicide June 2 after being bullied, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. Elizares, 16, came out in 2010; he endured much teasing after doing so. Mother Zachalyn Elizares, 33, said of her son, "He would say, 'It's OK; it doesn't bother me.' My son had a right to live how he wanted to live." She also said that school administrators would pull bullying students aside and reprimanded them but never notified their parents.
Max Reinhart, a professor at the University of Georgia, has been charged with prostitution in Atlanta, according to Macleans.ca. He agreed to provide $60 worth of sexual "services" to an undercover police officer he met on a transgender escort website. Reinhart, 65, is a professor of German and Slavic studies, and is the Goethe Studies chair; he makes more than $87,000 annually.
Lambda Legal issued a press release praising the Obama Administration after an announcement that the United States will stop deporting illegal immigrant youths who meet certain requirements. Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, a staff attorney for Lambda Legal, said, "This is great news for millions of young people who will no longer live under the threat of being removed to countries where they may not ever have lived or even speak the language. Many of them openly identify as LGBT, and their work and activism shows how the movement for immigrants' rights is inextricably intertwined with the LGBT struggle for equality."
A female security director has filed an employment-discrimination lawsuit alleging that University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Gene Auriemma demanded that she be removed from the 2012 Olympic games after she rebuffed his advances, CNN reported. Hardwick said Auriemma—who is also the coach of the U.S. women's team—tried to kiss her in 2009. Auriemma called the allegations "beyond false."
In New York City, a man was allegedly taunted and attacked because of his sexual orientation at a bar in a hotel just one block from Manhattan's first gay-themed hotel, GaySocialites.com reported. Nightlife personality Jamie Ranieri said she and her friends stepped in when the staff at Yotel initially failed to respond to the incident—and the man who yelled slurs attacked Ranieri and her friends. Yotel Managing Director Geoffrey Mills (who was not present when the incident occurred) said, "I think mistakes were made by several people," adding, there is no tolerance for hatred or discrimination at our hotel."
In Arlington, Texas, vandals sprayed a lesbian couple's SUV with anti-gay slurs—but officials are not yet calling the incident a hate crime, the Dallas Voice reported. The couple's vehicle had the words "faggot" and "queers" spray-painted on it. Tiara Richard, a spokeswoman for Arlington Police Department, said the incident has not yet been classified as a hate crime because it is one of a string of 10 incidents of vandalism that took place over a weekend.
It seems that Tracy Thorne-Begland is becoming Virginia's first openly gay judge after all, according to Advocate.com . A month after the state's General Assembly rejected his nomination, the judges of the Richmond Circuit Court voted to appoint him to fill a vacancy on the city's general district court. The appointment, however, lasts only until the next legislative session, which convenes in 2013. Thorne-Begland's term begins July 1.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is now supporting marriage equality after once opposing it, WTAE.com reported. Ravenstahl, 32, said he joined Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, a movement to legalize same-sex marriage across the country. "Hearts change, minds change," Ravenstahl said. "I have had numerous discussions with members of my staff who are gay, with friends who are gay, and as I said, hearts change, minds change, and mine has changed."
General Mills is taking a stand against a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Chief executive Ken Powell voiced the company's opposition at a company function attended by 400 gay and lesbian professionals, followed the next day by an online letter from the company's vice president for global diversity and inclusion, Ken Charles. John Helmberger, chairman of Minnesota for Marriage—the group pushing the amendment—was disappointed by the company's move.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is commending U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for releasing a video message to members of the military commemorating LGBT Pride Month, according to a press release. This marks the first Pride season in which service members can openly participate. HRC President Chad Griffin said, "Secretary Panetta's Pride video ... sends a powerful message to the brave men and women of the military that they are valued for their dedication to our country and their expertise, and that they are deserving of the exact same respect and equal treatment that their straight counterparts receive."
At the recent White House LGBT reception, a transgender man proposed to his partner, according to the Huffington Post. Scout, whose full name is legally one word, popped the question to Liz Margolies minutes after President Obama addressed the guests. Scout said he had been planning to propose to Margolies at the White House for almost a year; however, when the moment presented itself, he realized he hadn't chosen a place to do it. Therefore, he got down on his knee in the middle of Cross Hall, the main hallway on the first floor of the White House. Since Scout is legally male, the marriage will be recognized as a heterosexual union.
The number of U.S. hospitals striving to treat LGBT patients equally and respectfully is on the rise, according to a report that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation released at a press conference with U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The most recent Healthcare Equality Index—an annual survey the HRC Foundation administers—shows an 162-percent increase in the number of facilities achieving the status of "Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality." View the full index at www.hrc.org/hei.
GLAAD has announced an official partnership with Athlete Ally, an organization working toward full equality for LGBT people in the world of athletics. Together, the groups will offer proactive Athlete Ally trainings for men's professional sports teams as well as the WNBA—a total of 153 professional squads. Athlete Ally Executive Director Hudson Taylor was a three-time All-American college wrestler who is one of the top pinners in NCAA history.
The organization known as the Military Acceptance Project (MAP) is working to build a more welcoming and valuing environment in the military for LGBT service members as well as other minorities. MAP has produced a video called "Just Like You" and submitted it to the 2012 White House Champions of Change Video Challenge. The White House Office of Public Engagement launched the challenge to feature stories of unsung heroes and local leaders who are making an impact in their communities. People can vote for finalists at www.whitehouse.gov/lgbtvideochallenge.
The New York State Court of Appeals ruled that the state's students at public colleges cannot use The New York Human Rights Law to obtain recognition of discrimination or get financial compensation for such discrimination, according to the Huffington Post. The law prohibits discrimination based on "age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex or marital status." Students at New York private schools can still use the law.
In New York, 14-year-old Kardin Ulysse has been left blind in one eye after schoolmates allegedly attacked him because of his perceived sexual orientation, the Huffington Post reported. Ulysse, an eighth grader, has undergone two surgeries on his right eye after the June 5 attack. The attackers—a pair of seventh graders—reportedly screamed anti-gay slurs at Ulysse while they punched him.
Miami resident Shawn Farris said a man attacked him because he's gay—at his 20-year high school reunion in Tennessee, NBC Miami reported. Farris, who sported a wrist brace during an interview, said he has a possible fracture in his arm, sustained a knot on his head and scratches to his face. He said his attacker called him anti-gay epithets; however, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office does not plan to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
San Francisco will have its first gay sports bar this fall, according to the Huffington Post. Sports bar Hi Tops will replace the recently closed brunch spot Lime in the Castro District. Hi Tops co-owner Jesse Woodward said, "We want a place to watch EuroCup, soccor, tennis and all of the local teams: the 49ers, the Warriors, the Sharks—not just the Giants." The bar will serve lunch, dinner and a late-night menu of gourmet stadium eats as well as huge selection of beer on tap and a sports-themed drink menu.
