According to the Advocate, the FBI and the Secret Service are currently investigating cyber attacks made on two Web sites campaigning against proposed anti-gay marriage amendments. The attacks were made on sites campaigning against proposed same-sex marriage bans in both California and Florida. The sites targeted were NoOnProp8.com ( California ) and SayNo2.com ( Florida ) . According to Equality California, NoOnProp8.com is already functioning properly again.
Three members of the Soulforce Equality Ride were recently arrested after they entered the campus of Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Soulforce riders travel to various Christian colleges across the U.S. Their mission is to have conversations about LGBT inclusion at Christian colleges and stress that Christian places of higher learning charge their policies to allow for such inclusion. The three riders were arrested and charged with trespassing, but have been released.
The city council in Columbus, Ohio, recently passed a motion urging the state legislators to pass a gay anti-discrimination bill. The measure, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as housing and employment, was first introduced in March. However, there has been little to no action taken on the measure. Ohio's governor already said that if the bill lands on his desk, he would sign it.
Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially said that he would vote no on California's Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex couples from marrying. On Thursday, Oct. 30, Schwarzenegger issued a press release stating that he does not support the measure.
According to the FBI, hate crimes against gays were up in 2007, while other hate crimes ( motivated by racial or religious bias ) decreased very slightly. About 7,600 hate crimes were reported in 2007, which is roughly a 1 percent decline from the year before. While the overall number declines, however, the FBI reported that there was a 6 percent increase in anti-gay hate crimes.
A popular Huffingtonpost.com blogger, Carol Anne Burger, who has been very vocal on LGBT issues, committed suicide after murdering her ex-girlfriend. She took her own life after police linked her to the murder of her ex-girlfriend, Jessica Kalish, who was recently stabbed to death over 200 times with a screwdriver. She was found dead before police were able to question her, shortly after she learned that they found her ex-lover's body. Kalish and Burger, although they had been broken up, still lived together. Burger shot herself in the head on Oct. 24 in the Florida home they had shared.
The AP reported that South Carolina voters recently received calls from a fictional LGBT rights group. Voters in two South Carolina counties received automated calls from a fake organization called the Alliance for the Advancement of Gays and Lesbians. The automated message asked residents to vote for Democratic candidate Mandy Powers Norrell because she supports gay rights and abortion. According to Norrell, she does not support either.
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( IGLHRC ) Executive Director Paula Ettelbrick is stepping down from her position after six years of service, according to a press release. The IGLHRC, which is based in New York, is a global human rights advocacy organization that seeks to secure human rights for those who are discrimination or persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The families of 23 California elementary school students have had their children removed from a music school class taught by a transgender man. Several families were upset school administrators did not notify parents that the teacher had undergone gender reassignment surgery over summer break. Parents instead found out from their children. So far, 15 families have had 23 children removed from the music class and moved into a gym class. School administrators said that did not notify parents about the employee because it would have violated privacy rules.
A new study of same-sex couples that tied the knot since gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts reveals the many reasons why they made their decision. In 'Attractions and Obstacles While Considering Legally Recognized Same-Sex Marriage,' which was published in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 24 percent of same-sex couples said they married to gain legal protections. Twenty percent said they did it to make a public statement of their commitment. Thirteen percent said they wanted to gain legal protections for their children. Other reasons included gaining family acknowledgement of their relationship. Only 4 percent said they wed for political reasons.
Scientists from all over the world attending an international AIDS vaccine conference in Cape Town, South Africa, recently said that it is impossible to predict whether or not they can create an AIDS vaccine in the future. Many scientists added that the future looks bleak, especially because of the global economic downturn. They predict that the economy will deeply impact AIDS research and the search for a cure. Scientists added, however, that they would not stop trying to create a vaccine.
The M·A·C AIDS Fund's Global Youth Prevention Initiative has given the New York's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center's Youth Enrichment Services Program $100,000 in grant money, according to a press release. The fund was established in 1994 to support individuals affected by HIV/AIDS globally.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected gay 'Survivor' winner Richard Hatch's appeal of his conviction for failing to pay taxes on his prize money. Hatch, who is openly gay, won the first season of the hit reality show. In 2006, Hatch was sentenced to over four years in prison for tax evasion. He is scheduled to be released next October.
Out daytime TV show host Ellen DeGeneres called Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin out during a recent episode of her show for supporting a federal ban of same-sex marriage. DeGeneres said, 'Maybe it's because I'm gay that I think we should all be equal. But I feel that we're all equal.'
