San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom—known for his pro-LGBT opinions and actions—has dropped out of the California gubernatorial race, citing familial obligations, according to the San Jose Mercury News.Newsom said, "With a young family and responsibilities at City Hall, I found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort." ( His wife gave birth to their first child in September. ) However, Newsom has struggled regarding fundraising, despite former President Bill Clinton's endorsement.
In Williamsburg, Va., the College of William and Mary has elected its first trans homecoming queen, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The queen, Jessee Vasold, said that " [ a ] friend asked to nominate me and we really just wanted to see if I'd be put on the ballot." A college spokesman said that "William and Mary is a diverse and inclusive community, and student selections to this year's Homecoming Court reflect that,"
In Carlinville, Ill., Southwestern High School English teacher Dan Delong has been suspended after he had students read an article about homosexuality in the animal kingdom, according to the Journal-Courier. Delong reportedly allowed students to read the article "The Gay Animal Kingdom" from the June 7, 2006, edition of Seed, a science and culture magazine. Delong is keeping mum until he speaks with a union representative.
In Atlanta, Ga., gay activists have criticized the choice of community-liaison policewoman Dani Lee Harris to lead the city's pride parade because she defended a police gay-bar raid, according to UPI.com . In the Sept. 10 raid, police allegedly held patrons on the floor, used anti-gay slurs and arrested eight bar employees for improper permits. Writer/activist Michael Alvear said that Harris "was a terrific choice before the raid." Harris would be the festival's first grand marshal who is intersex, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
In Washington state, Steven Mahoney, 41, was sentenced to 18 months in prison ( and his wife, Helen Moody, received six months ) for creating false asylum documents for immigrants who wanted to be U.S. residents, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. The documents claimed that the immigrants were seeking asylum because of their religion, sexual orientation or political views. Mahoney was paid $1,000-$1,400 per document; he said that he filed almost 100 false items.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) has released the 14th annual "Where We Are On TV" study, an analysis of LGBT primetime characters in the 2009-2010 television season, according to an organizational press release. The report shows that 18 LGBT characters will account for 3% of scripted series regulars on the broadcast-TV schedule, up from 1.3% in 2006, 1.1% in 2007 and 2.6% in 2008. However, the number of scripted LGBT series regulars found on mainstream cable networks has again declined, from 40 in 2007 to 32 in 2008 and only 25 this year.
A group of students at Kansas State University has decided to invite a trans speaker after initially rejecting him, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal. Transman Ryan Sallans is slated to speak after 50 students signed a petition asking him to come to the campus in Salina. After deciding not to give $1,000 to fund Sallans' appearance, the Student Governing Association relented and settled on $600; students raised an additional $400.
In San Diego, Calif., Bronti Kelly, a gay man, said that he was the victim of a hate crime after he was attacked outside a restaurant, according to 10News.com . Kelly said that he was walking outside of Baja Betty's eatery when a man hit him in the back of the head; the victim needed 18 stitches to close a wound and lost four of his front teeth. Police said that Kelly acknowledged being attacked, but that he did not say a hate crime occurred.
The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the release of names of people who signed petitions aiming to overturn Washington state's same-sex domestic-partner law, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The 8-1 decision means that the Referendum 71 petitions probably will not be released before the Nov. 3 election. Gary Randall of the Faith and Freedom Network—which asked for the stay—said, "Our request would not likely be resolved until next year, possibly June 2010. This is very good news."
LOCAL NEWS
Forum to address
sexual pleasures
BY STEVEN CHAITMAN
Gay men are taking pleasure back. The gay men's health forum "We're Taking Pleasure Back" will take place on Wed., Nov. 11, and is sponsored by Project CRYSP and LifeLube.org . The event will aim to not only discuss gay sexuality by focusing on the pleasures of sex on multiple levels, but also without addressing the constant caveats of risk and disease.
The forum will feature panelists Gary Harper, a DePaul University professor whose research focuses on gay adolescent sexuality; Keith Green, AIDS activist and spoken-word artist; and Samuel Galloway, a sex educator from the Tulip Toy Gallery. Along with hosts Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion of the FeastofFun.com podcast, the panel will try and facilitate an open and comfortable discussion about the positive outcomes of gay sex.
"For a very long time, whenever you've talked about gay sexuality it is almost absolutely attached to HIV and other STDs," said Jim Pickett, advocacy director for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, one of the forum's chief organizers. "They are important to address, but we wanted to take an hour and set those things aside and see if we can talk about gay sexuality and pleasure without going immediately to risk. This is a real issue, I think—equating our sexuality with disease has a very negative impact."
Pickett said he expects it to be difficult to steer the forum away from a discussion about risk and disease considering how it's been associated with sex in the gay community for decades.
