The first openly gay president of the National Association of Black Journalists ( NABJ ) , Thomas Morgan III, died of AIDS complications, according to The New York Times. Morgan, 56, was former reporter and editor for The New York Times. He was president of the NABJ from 1989 to 1991. Morgan was also an AIDS activist.
Following the news that a Pennsylvania high school student dropped out of school due to anti-gay harassment, 300 of his fellow classmates have signed a petition demanding changes be made, according to EDGE Boston. The students want the school district to change how it handles anti-gay harassment and abuse. Since the petition, the school district's superintendant has started a review of the school and how it handles such situations.
A recent national survey says that gays love their pets. In a press release, Witeck-Combs Communications, which conducted the survey online in conjunction with Harris Interactive, said the survey found that 71 percent of LGBT adults own pets, compared to 63 percent of heterosexual adults. The survey also found that 90 percent of LGBT pet owners consider their furry friends a member of their family.
Two gay groups are working together to fight a lawsuit filed by anti-gay organizations that would prevent enforcement of a California statute that protects students from discrimination and harassment in public schools, reported GayWired.com . Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network are trying to intervene in the suit that challenges the newly-enacted Student Civil Rights Act. The suit was filed in federal court by Advocates for Faith and Freedom and the Alliance Defense Fund.
After a nine-year ban, a federal bill has passed that will allow the nation's capital to provide funding for needle exchange programs in Washington, D.C., reported The Advocate. City officials say that the lifting of the ban will help combat increasing rates of HIV/AIDS in the city. A federal spending bill recently signed by President Bush allows the city to spend its own money on needle exchange programs.
On Jan. 1, gay and lesbian residents of New Hampshire were able to engage in legal civil unions. A mass ceremony was set to take place at the Statehouse as the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, according to 365gay.com . In addition, couples in Oregon were be able to take advantage of a domestic partner registry that began Jan. 1.
In Oregon, a domestic-partnership statute that would have gone into effect Jan. 1 has been put on hold, according to the International Herald Tribune. Opponents of the law—which would have endowed same-sex couples with some spousal rights and privileges, including inheritance rights, joint health and hospital-visitation rights—asked a U.S. District judge to intervene. A hearing is set for February to discuss the law.
In Pennsylvania, attorneys for Joseph Kerekes—one of the two men charged with murdering gay-porn businessman Bryan Kocis—say that they will argue against the death penalty if their client is convicted, according to 365Gay.com . Attorney Mark Bufalino said that the death penalty is warranted only if Kerekes is seen as the main killer, as opposed to being an accomplice or co-conspirator. Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra are accused of killing Kocis.
