BY ANDREW DAVIS
Rev. Ted Haggard, who resigned as pastor of Colorado Springs' New Life Church and as leader of a national evangelical group after revelations that he had been involved with male escort Mike Jones, has been pronounced 'completely heterosexual' by Reverend Ted Ralph, a minister who helped oversee Haggard's 'intensive counseling,' according to Gay City News. Haggard himself said that 'Jesus is putting me back together.' However, skepticism runs rampant, with Jones saying 'It's hard for me to imagine someone who is performing oral sex and saying that he is 'straight.''
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America officials plan to remove Rev. Bradley Schmeling—who announced he has a male partner—from the clergy, Advocate.com reported. Schmeling, who has led Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church since 2000, will be removed from the roster effective Aug. 15. Schmeling, who was out when he took the job, announced last year that he had found a lifelong companion.
In Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled in favor of both the city of Philadelphia and a gay-pride group in a civil-rights lawsuit filed by anti-gay Christians who were arrested during an OutFest celebration in the city in 2004, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. The plaintiffs contended that they had been discriminated against because of their speech; the judge determined that the right to speak and assemble has limits.
In San Francisco, three police officers accused of verbally abusing and assaulting Andrew Marconi, a gay man they caught urinating in the street, will not face possible discipline because the department waited too long to take action, according to Advocate.com . At a meeting, police commissioners expressed frustration at the department's delay while approving an $83,000 tentative settlement of Marconi's lawsuit over the incident, which occurred in 2004.
Dean Gutierrez, a former San Antonio police officer, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting a transgender woman, according to an item in The Washington Blade. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentenced Gutierrez following testimony by the accused in which Gutierrez cried and begged for probation. The victim, Gabriel Bernal, said the officer orally and anally raped her; Gutierrez claimed the sex was consensual.
Scott Brown, a Massachusetts state senator, used foul language while talking to high school students about same-sex marriage, Advocate.com reported. However, Brown—who is against same-sex marriage—defended himself by saying he was just repeating what some students wrote about him on a Web site. Brown was discussing his position on same-sex marriage when he shared comments written about him and his family posted on a FaceBook.com page dedicated to a pro-gay rights teacher at the school.
In San Diego, a motorist who made homophobic remarks toward three men assaulted one of them—biting off a piece of his ear, 10News.com reported. A man and his two companions were in a parked car when another man in another vehicle drove up, told them to move and called them 'faggots,' police said. When the man in the first vehicle got out to confront the suspect, the assailant punched him and bit off a piece of his ear. The victim got back into his car and drove away.
In Massachusetts, officials from the Lexington district asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two couples who claim their parental rights were violated when homosexuality was discussed in their children's classrooms, according to PlanetOut.com . U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf did not immediately issue a decision in the case, but said he understood the importance of the case to both parents and school administrators.
In California, lesbian former Superior Court Judge Diana Hall will not challenge the state's decision to remove her from the bench, according to a Washington Blade item. Hall was let go in December by the state Commission on Judicial Performance for three counts of wrongdoing, including election fraud.
A man whose photograph was distributed by police investigating the murder of gay-porn producer Bryan Kocis said that he was several hundred miles away at the time of the killing, according to 365Gay.com . The 19-year-old suspect, only known by the first name Harlow, is a male escort in Virginia—and says he was there when the murder occurred in Dallas Township, Penn.
Julie Nemecek, a transitioning transsexual woman, has argued that she was terminated by Michigan's Spring Arbor University after she was told that her 'cross-dressing' does not reflect biblical principles, 365Gay.com reported. An ordained Baptist minister with a wife of 35 years and three grown sons, Nemecek has filed a complaint filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A hearing will be held next month.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2007 that included an increase of $75.8 million to Title II of the Ryan White CARE Act, according to a Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) press release. 'We are extremely pleased Congress was able to find critically needed new funding for the Ryan White CARE Act,' said HRC President Joe Solmonese. 'Securing this critical lifeline for over half a million Americans with HIV/AIDS is a national priority.'
The National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) announced the launch of the Family Protection Project, which will improve access to family law services for low-income same-sex parent families, according to an NCLR statement. On average, according to recent studies by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law, same-sex parents with children earn $10,000 less than married their heterosexual counterparts.
In Berkeley, Calif., the Pacific Center for Human Growth, an LGBT community center, was attacked after several death threats were phoned in, according to Advocate.com . An intern witnessed a man kicking the glass front door of the facility. The alleged attacker is believed to be a former participant at the center's youth program in the 1990s.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed 2007 budget includes $6 million to support LGBT-related health and human services programs across the state—almost three times the $2.37 million in last year's executive budget, according to 365Gay.com . Among the agencies that will benefit are those that provide alcohol and substance abuse treatment and programs for homeless youth.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) has released a Valentine's Day Kit that provides resources to mainstream media, according to a GLAAD press release. The intent of the kit is to instruct the media on how to include LGBT couples—especially those of color—in its Valentine's Day coverage. Among the items in the package are instructions on language as well as story ideas and resources for locating LGBT couples.