In Atlanta, a gay attorney is suing an L.A. Fitness location for slander, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to EDGE Boston. Seth Persily claims that when he asked a staff member to stop making anti-gay slurs, he challenged the lawyer to fight and, later, tried to hit Persily. L.A. Fitness has over 200 locations across the country, including gyms in Illinois, Wisconsin and Maryland.
The California legislature again has approved a same-sex marriage measure for the second time in three years—and the governor is again expected to veto the bill, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The bill, AB43, would amend the state's family code to define marriage as a civil contract between two people, regardless of gender. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will probably veto the measure, just as he did in 2005.
In California, a three-judge panel overturned a Fresno man's conviction for soliciting sex from a sheriff's deputy in 2002, according to The Fresno Bee. The judges said that prosecutors failed to establish that anyone in the vicinity was offended by Stephen Lake's behavior. Lake's attorney, Bruce Nickerson, argued that the arrest was discriminatory because heterosexuals are not prosecuted if they solicit sex and no money changes hands.
In Washington State, two transgender individuals were kicked out of men's bathroom in a Seattle mall, and were then thrown out of the shopping complex altogether, according to The Seattle Times. The incident led over 30 people attending the Gender Odyssey Conference at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center to march and even stage a 'pee-in' on Labor Day.
Washington, D.C., gay-rights activist Cheryl Spector died of leukemia on Sept. 4 at the age of 49, according to PR Newswire. Spector spent over two decades recording significant LGBT events in the area and was also involved in organizations such as Queer Nation and ACT UP. She will be honored on Sept. 29 with the 'Unsung Hero Award' at the annual gala of The Mautner Project, the national lesbian health organization.
San Diego's Roman Catholic diocese will pay $198 million to settle 144 sexual-abuse claims against the clergy, Advocate.com reported. The agreement, which is the second-largest payment since the nationwide scandal was publicized five years ago, was the result of four years of legal wrangling in state and federal courts.
Maxine Feldman, a lesbian folk singer who wrote and recorded the first song that proclaimed a lesbian identity, died of natural causes on Aug. 17 at the age of 62, according to BayWindows.com . In 1969, tired of how the gay community was being treated, Feldman penned the song Angry Atthis one month before the Stonewall riots.