Day Without a Gay—a scheduled Dec. 10 protest in response to California's Proposition 8—was far from a success, according to Advocate.com . Across California, for example, many gay business owners were reluctant to close their doors with the economy in its current state. Some owners also had hoped that LGBT individuals were encouraged to support gay-owned stores.
Salt Lake City, Utah, prosecutors may file charges against a group of people who allegedly attacked a gay male couple this past summer, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The attack apparently stemmed from an alleged kidnapping of children by one member of the couple, David James Bell, during a Fourth of July party; Bell reportedly let two fussy children sleep on his couch, away from the party.
In Columbia, S.C., Irmo High School Principal Eddie Walker has changed his mind about resigning if a gay-straight alliance were approved at his school, MyrtleBeachOnline.com reported. Back in May, Walker said that he would leave his post because he thought the club would be sexual in nature, which would conflict with his religious beliefs. However, he stated recently that he would like to stay.
California legislators have kicked off the 2009-10 session by introducing an anti-Proposition 8 measure, OnTopMagazine.com reported. Mark Leno introduced the resolution in the Senate while openly gay Tom Ammiano put forth a similar measure in the Assembly. Leno was sworn into office Dec. 1, becoming the first out man to serve in the California Senate.
In New York City, tattoo artist Michael Mineo is claiming that three police officers sexually assaulted him with a baton in a Brooklyn subway station, according to The New York Daily News. Officer Richard Kern has been charged with aggravated sexual abuse and assault, while officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales are accused of attempting to cover up the alleged crime.
Also in New York, Duane Lang has been charged with lying about his HIV test results so a woman would have unprotected sex with him, the Associated Press reported. According to a Department of Investigation commissioner, Lang could spend up to eight years in prison for reckless endangerment and possession of a forged document.
Republican Florida Rep. Bob Allen has lost his most recent appeal a year after being arrested for offering a policeman $20 to perform oral sex on him, Advocate.com reported. After being convicted, Allen claimed that he offered money to avoid being mugged.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) -commissioned Pulse of Equality survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, reveals that the majority of Americans favor a broad range of policies and legal protections for LGBT people, according to a GLAAD release. Among other things, the poll showed that 75 percent of U.S. adults favor either marriage or domestic partnerships/civil unions for same-sex couples.
President-elect Barack Obama will name lesbian Nancy Sutley as chair of the Council of Environmental Quality, according to The Advocate. She currently is deputy mayor of energy and the environment. Sutley originally supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primaries and was part of her LGBT steering committee in California.
New York caterer Carl Butcho is accused of charging $361,000 on his ex-boyfriend's card—without the ex's permission, according to an Advocate.com item. However, Butcho's attorney has said that the ex—Jaosn Warner of Ernst & Young—signed off on the credit-card receipts. Before splitting, the couple lived at the Ritz-Carlton, where Butcho apparently told staff he was heir to a large fortune.
The group Truth Wins Out took out a full-page ad in the Salt Lake Tribune criticizing another ad that accuses gays of "mob violence" regarding Prop 8 protests, according to 365Gay.com . The previous week, the conservative Becket Fund for Religious Liberty took out a full-page ad in the New York Times with the headline "No Mob Veto" that condemned any attacks on people of faith; various Mormon and other church leaders signed the ad.
