Washington Blade reported that National Gay & Lesbian Task Force executive director Matt Foreman is resigning. Foreman announced that he will step down in April. He will head an LGBT program for a San Francisco private family foundation, the Evelyn & Walter Hass Jr. Fund. Foreman was the head of NGLTF for the past five years.
Two new studies recently published show that same-sex couples are just as happy and devoted as heterosexual couples. One study, released by the University of Illinois at Urbana=Champaign, compared same-sex and straight couples., and found that same-sex couples were not only very similar, but also are more committed and better at solving conflicts. A University of Washington study found that same-sex couples find their relationships more fulfilling than heterosexual couples.
Former Vice President Al Gore has come out in support for gay marriage, according to 365gay.com . On his personal blog, Gore wrote 'I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage to allow it by gays and lesbians. Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one's partner regardless of sexual orientation?'
Gay marriage supporters are ramping up efforts to push for gay marriage in Maryland again. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act was recently introduced in both houses of the state's legislature. The legislation, which has 50 sponsors, allows churches to refuse to perform same-sex marriages. In September, a Maryland high court, in a 4-3 decision, upheld the state's same-sex marriage ban.
Images of several California high school water polo athletes have surfaced on a number of gay porn Web sites, according to the Orange County Register. Pictures of the young athletes lounging around outdoors during a water polo meet appeared on a London-based site alongside pornographic images ( not of the students ) , and have spread to other sites. Students and parents are angry that the photos have been taken out of context and used porn sites.
An Arizona judge sentenced a female drunk driver to ten years in jail after hearing a recording of her laughing about killing a 'gay guy.' Melissa Arrington killed a cyclist in 2006 while driving drunk, according to Gaywired.com . The judge sentenced the woman after hearing her phone conversation with a male friend, in which she joked and laughed about killing a 'tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot.'
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is in some hot water ... again. Huckabee is taking heat for anti-gay comments he made in a Beliefnet.com interview, where Huckabee said that legalizing gay marriage opens the door to legalizing bestiality and pedophilia. During the interview posted on the spiritual Web site, he said, 'I don't think that's a radical view to say we're going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we're going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal.'
National non-profit Soulforce wants to engage six of the nation's mega-churces in dialogues about LGBT acceptance. The organization hopes to bring same-sex and straight families to various mega-churches across the U.S. to discuss spiritual acceptance with the church's leaders. One of the leaders Soulforce invited to participate is Rev. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Ill.
A recently released UCLA study gives an inside peek at same-sex couples living in Utah. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, almost one-fifth of same-sex couples in Utah are raising over 1,200 children. The study indicates that Utah's same-sex couples are more diverse and more economically engaged than their heterosexual counterparts.
According to U.S. News & World Report, researchers at the University of California say that sexually active gay men in San Francisco are more likely to contract a highly drug resistant strain of staph bacteria. The potent strain of MRSA, which attacks skin and the tissue underneath it, is resistant to multiple drugs. The study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The American Civil Liberties Union has come out in defense of Larry Craig, saying that people have a right to have private sex in a public restroom. The ACLU filed a brief yesterday, arguing that those engaging in private sex in bathroom stalls should have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy.' Recently, the Idaho Senator filed a brief with the Minnesota Court of Appeals in attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.
The author of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry, Alvin McEwen, announced the launch of a new Web page to expand the fight against anti-gay lies. The Web site, antigayliesandliars.blogspot.com, includes a timeline of the top distortions anti-gay groups use against the community.
Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network have filed a friend-of-the-court brief to try to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the new Student Civil Rights Act, according to a press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one entity representing the two organizations. The brief, which contends that the anti-statute lawsuit has no merit, was filed to support Attorney General Edmund G. Brown's motion. The new law, enacted Jan. 1, bans discrimination based on religion, race, disability, gender and sexual orientation in publicly funded schools.
Shares of PlanetOut, Inc., have plummeted to as low as $4.65, according to CNBC.com . The preceding figure is the San Francisco-based company's lowest since a stock split last autumn. PlanetOut publishes Out and The Advocate magazines, and operates Gay.com .
Several organizations have come together to to help build the first affordable housing development for LGBT elders in San Francisco, according to a press release from one of the participating groups, Openhouse. Openhouse, a non-profit organization, has joined forced with Mayor Gavin Newsom's Office on Housing and the private developer AF Evans to construct a facility.
