The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly ( 303-115 ) to approve an HIV/AIDS bill that renews the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ( PEPFAR ) and repeals a law that bans HIV-positive foreign visitors, according to the Washington Blade. The bill is now in the hands of President Bush.
In California, a Ventury County judge has decided that teenager Brandon McInerney will be tried as an adult for allegedly killing his schoolmate, Larry King, back in February, GayAgenda.com reported. McInerney has been charged with shooting the fifteen year old openly gay King ( pictured ) ; the defendant's arraignment will take place Aug. 7.
In Maryland, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Greenberg has ruled that a referendum petition seeking to overturn an anti-discrimination law protecting trans individuals can remain on the November ballot, The Washington Post reported. Greenberg said that gay- and trans-rights activists missed a deadline challenging the county's Board of Elections.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) has criticized conservative pundit Ann Coulter for comments she made on Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldera Show in Denver, Colo. According to a GLAAD statement, Coulter described former Democratic presidential candiate John Edwards as 'the very definition of faggy.' ( She also called Edwards 'a faggot' last year. ) GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said, 'Once again, Ann Coulter has made a cynical and desperate bid for attention by using a vulgar, dehumanizing anti-gay slur.'
Conservative radio host Michael Savage was dropped from Mississippi network for recent comments Savage made on his show 'Savage Nation' about autistic children. Super Talk network, a network of several stations in Mississippi, called his comments, 'beyond excusable.' Savage has ruffled many feathers over the years for his defamatory comments about a number of subjects, including the LGBT community.
Mars Inc. will yank a controversial Snickers television ad after Human Rights Campaign's ( HRC's ) Workplace Project talked with Mars, according to an HRC release. The ad features entertainer Mr. T ridiculing a man 'whose appearance and actions—speed walking in an exaggerated manner—conjure up stereotypes of gay men.'
A transgender woman who used to work for the state of Georgia filed a federal lawsuit for wrongful termination. Vandy Beth Glenn said she was fired from her job as a legislative editor because she came to work dressed as a woman and told her boss she was going to transition. Legislative counsel Sewell Brumby, house speaker Glenn Richardson, senate president Eric Johnson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle are among those named in the lawsuit.
According to the Advocate, Crews Inn, a Dallas gay bar, has banned drag queens and transwomen from entering the bar on Tuesdays, its busiest night of the week. One of the bar's owners told the Dallas Voice that the bar instituted the policy because 'there is just no way for me to keep the drag queens under control' on its busiest night. The co-owner claimed that drag queens are 'divas' and have been misbehaving in his bar.
The California Federation of Labor—which represents over 2 million workers—voted July 23 to contest Proposition 8, a state ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage, according to a press release from Pride At Work. Proposition 8 has qualified for November's general-election ballot.
A Web site for tech-savvy gays will launch Aug. 1. Gaygadget.com will feature news on the latest gadgets. According to a Gaygadget.com press release, the Web site will be 'the first word on the best of the digital world and beyond with a gay point of view.'
Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern, who made headlines earlier this year for making anti-gay comments, was stopped from entering the state Capitol building with a loaded gun in her purse. Police did not arrest Kern because they did not think her actions were malicious. Kern says she simply forgot about the gun, and in fact, accidentally brought her gun into the building once before. According to the Associated Press, Kern has complained of receiving death threats following the leakage of her anti-gay comments on YouTube. In the leaked audio clip, Kern compared homosexuality to terrorism.
A man was shot and killed by police at a recent San Diego Pride event. The 37-year-old man, identified as Steven Paul Hirschfield of West Hollywood, Calif., had jumped overboard a Pride-related cruise in San Diego Harbor. According to police, the man fought with officers and attempted to take an officer's gun during the rescue attempt. During the struggle, another officer shot the man once in the chest.
A former reality television contestant and Florida cop, Michael Verdugo, has been placed on administrative leave while his alleged porn past is being investigated. Verdugo was a contestant on HGTV's 'Design Star' reality show. The police force's Internal Affairs division is investigating his alleged involvement in a gay porn. He could be fired if it is found that he brought discredit to the police department.
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