Openly gay former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey told the judge in his divorce case that he is too broke to pay his wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, alimony. McGreevey told the judge that his marriage case and 2004 resignation 'financially crippled' him. His estranged wife is seeking alimony because she believes her husband committed marriage fraud. McGreevey left office in 2004, shortly after revealing that he had an affair with a man.
A PlanetOut gay and lesbian consumer study revealed that two-thirds of gays and lesbians are more likely to make purchases from gay-friendly companies. Gay and lesbian consumers identified Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut and Levi's as the gay-friendliest brands. Queer consumers found WalMart, Dunkin Donuts, Cracker Barrel, Exxon Mobil and Samsung to be the least gay-friendly.
A federal judge ruled May 13 that a Florida teen's rights were violated when her school board prohibited her from wearing pro-gay T-shirts and stickers to school. The high school junior had made the T-shirts and stickers in support of her gay cousin. In a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, the student, Heather Gillman, said, 'Standing up to my school was really hard to do, but I'm so happy that I did because the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone.'
An amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution banning gay marriage has been stalled. According to Gay City News, the amendment was tabled by the full Senate on May 7. The amendment had cleared a Senate committee on May 5, but sponsors tabled the measure because they thought the bill would not pass in the House. In order for the bill to be enacted, two consecutive sessions of the state legislature would have had to approve it.
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays ( PFLAG ) recently released a statement calling for a university to reconsider giving an anti-gay and anti-woman activist an honorary degree. PFLAG, joined by other groups, is urging Washington University to reconsider giving activist Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate on May 16. Schlafly founded the conservative group The Eagle Forum. She vocally opposes same-sex marriage, LGBT rights and LGBT-inclusive public school curriculum. The right-wing activist also opposes full equality for women. Ironically, Schlafly's son is openly gay.
An online survey conducted by Harris Interactive concluded that nearly one in four gay people in the United States lacks health insurance, according to 365Gay.com . The survey, conducted April 7-15, found that 22 percent of gay and lesbian respondents have no health insurance, as opposed to 12 percent of heterosexual people.