A sculpture of historic gay icon Harvey Milk will be unveiled at the San Francisco City Hall on May 22. Milk was a politician and gay rights activist who was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978. The bronze sculpture of the self-described 'Mayor of Castor Street' was created by the Daub, Firmin and Hendrickson Sculpture Group. The Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee is still seeking funding for this historic occasion. See www.milkmemorial.org .
A Memphis high school principal is getting heat from the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) for allegedly outing two gay students who are romantically involved. ACLU attorneys claim that the school official violated students' right to privacy when she posted the names of the gay couple, which was shown to teachers, staff, fellow classmates and their parents. The two students say that they have had to deal with an onslaught of harassment since the outing. The principal had teachers and staff report known student couples, both straight and gay, to help reduce public displays of affection. The list was then publicly displayed, according to the ACLU.
When Human Rights Campaign announced its U.S. Senate candidate endorsement list, many noticed the omission of openly gay North Carolina Democratic candidate Jim Neal, who is running for Elizabeth Dole's seat. Neal, who will run against state senator Kay Hagan in the May 6 primary, told the Washington Blade, 'Maybe I'm not gay enough,' when asked about the lack of support from the national LGBT organization. While Neal has been open about his sexuality and position on gay rights issues, Hagan has kept quiet about where she stands. HRC's move has received heat from many, including columnist and blogger Dan Savage, who called an HRC endorsement for Neal a 'no brainer.'
An openly gay Queens City Council candidate running for the seat formerly held by Dennis Gallagher has been the target of an anti-gay flyer sent to a number of households. Candidate Charles Ober was the target of a five-paragraph anonymous flyer that read, 'You need to know that one of the candidates ... is a faggot,' according to Gay City News. Ober is the former board president of a local LGBT center. The flyer also warned that if elected, area neighborhoods would become 'Queerville U.S.A.' It also called Ober a 'pedophile.' Ober held a news conference to shed light on the issue, and was joined by Republican candidate Thomas Ognibene, who spoke out against the personal attack and hate speech.
At the 2008 General Conference, United Methodists voted against changing its position on homosexuality. The denomination's highest governing body voted to keep the United Methodist Church's statement that homosexuality as 'incompatible with Christian teaching.' Delegates also rejected a measure to change the Church's definition of marriage to include same-sex unions. However, delegates approved a resolution opposing homophobia.
The U.S. Presbyterian Church lifted a censure that was placed on a retired lesbian minister in 2007. The Church's highest court lifted the censure placed on Rev. Jane Adams Spahr for conducting two same-sex unions in 2004 and 2005 because they were ceremonies, not marriages. According to the laws of the Church, by definition 'a same-sex ceremony is not and cannot be a marriage,' the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. ruled. 'One cannot characterize same-sex ceremonies as marriages for the purpose of disciplining a minister,' the final ruling continued.
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