In Washington, D.C., Jon Mack and partner Michael Garrett walked out of a sermon at Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church after Bishop Alfred Owens recently delivered a sermon that criticized gays, according to DCAgenda.com . At one point, Owens said, "Sex is only pleasing to God in the marriage bed, and the marriage bed is a man and … a woman"as hundreds of congregants yelled their approval. Mack and Garrett are believed to be first gays to publicize their departure from a church that some say has a large number of Blacks who are closeted.
In Dallas, Texas, dozens of LGBTQ youths of color met in the first-ever LGBTQ Youth of Color Organizing Summit at Creating Change, according to a press release. The summit, organized by Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment ( FIERCE ) , included workshops on the fundamentals of organizing youth. In addition, FIERCE has released findings from the new national report "Coming Out, Stepping Up: Organizing to build the power of LGBTQ Youth."
In Bakersfield, Calif., transwoman Jacky Davis has been arrested for fatally stabbing boyfriend Arthur Arnold, according to Advocate.com . However, Davis has claimed that she killed Arnold in self-defense after fighting while being under the influence of meth. "He lost it in his head and went crazy," said Davis, who was working as a prostitute when she was arrested. "I stabbed him to get him away from me. I'm not a violent person."
Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady has proposed changing the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The ban would prohibit civil unions as well as marriages. Brady has also suggested limiting terms for state House and Senate members to 10 years and a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly to allow for sales or income-tax increases.
In Rhode Island, state Rep. Gordon D. Fox, 48, is the first openly gay speaker of the state's house of representatives, according to the Boston Herald. Fox received 51 of the 75 legislators' votes. A graduate of Rhode Island College and Northeastern University School of Law, Fox is a lawyer in Providence, according to the Rhode Island Democrats Web site.
Thomas Beatie, who became known worldwide as the "pregnant man" in 2008, is expecting his third child, according to Momlogic.com . Beatie went through a decade of gender-reassignment surgery before becoming pregnant the first time. The transman, who kept his female reproductive system, had children in 2008 and 2009.
In New Hampshire, the House Judiciary Committee has recommended that two anti-same-sex-marriage measures be terminated, according to WMUR.com . One measure requested that the state's marriage-equality law be repealed while the other called for a public vote on the issue. The committee voted to kill both bills by a two-to-one margin.
In California, San Francisco's school board has decided to fund a $120,000-support program for LGBTQ youth issues despite a projected $113 million deficit, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The school district would also have to monitor sexual orientation-based harassment and discrimination as well as distribute educational packets to parents. Approximately 13 percent of the city's middle-school and 11 percent of its high-school students identify as LGBT.
Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders ( SAGE ) has received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant, which will last three years, will be used to fund the National Technical Assistance Resource Center for LGBT Elders, which "will assist communities across the country in their efforts to provide services and supports for older LGBT people," according to a press release from SAGE.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents in a poll conducted by Quinnipac University feel that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, and that 66 percent think "don't ask, don't tell" is discriminatory, according to an Advocate.com item. However, 54 percent also said that gays in the military should face limits on displaying their orientation while serving.
In California, Fresno City College professor Brad Lopez has been accused of teaching anti-gay views to his students, according to abclocal.go.com . One student, Jacqueline Maheffy, said that Lopez stated that homosexuality was a disease. Students have also said that Lopez says that abortion is the same as murder, and attempts to use the Bible to prove that belief. The ACLU wants the college to tell Lopez to teach facts, not beliefs.
In San Diego, Calif., two gay men who died in a murder/suicide have been identified as Eric Schulthise, 40, and Robert Paul Agnew, 41, according to sdgln.com . The medical examiner's Office determined that Schulthise sustained several gunshot wounds while Agnew committed suicide.
In Ohio, opponents of Cleveland's domestic-partner registry have returned to court to appeal their loss, On Top Magazine reported. Last November, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph Russo dismissed a lawsuit filed by the registry opponents. Cincinnati lawyer David R. Langdon, in conjunction with Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund attorneys and the group Cleveland Taxpayers for the Ohio Constitution, filed the suit, claiming that registry violates the state's gay-marriage ban.
In Peabody, Mass., members of the local transgender social organization Sisters Family claimed they were barred from entering Capone's Italian American restaurant because of their appearance, according to the Gloucester Times. Two doormen allegedly demanded that the organization's members show identification that matched their appearance. Members of Sisters Family had been to the restaurant before, but had been asked to use the men's restroom; they had reluctantly complied with that request.
Michael Phelps, a former publisher of The Advocate, died in his Los Angeles, Calif., home Feb. 10 at the age of 45, according to Advocate.com . Phelps, who was born in Michigan, started at the publication in 1996 and eventually led it. The magazine's current publisher, Joe Landry, said, "Mike and I worked together for a remarkable 13 years. Mike worked his way up from a salesperson to the publisher of The Advocate, the world's leader in gay news. ... He will be sorely missed."
In New Hampshire, Republican state Rep. Nancy Elliott graphically described anal sex when she said that, with same-sex marriage being a reality in the state, schools would have to teach the mechanics of gay sex, Advocate.com reported. Elliott said, "We're talking about taking the penis of a man and putting it in the rectum of another man and wriggling it around in excrement. And you have to think, would I want that to be done to me?"
Across the country, organizations held vigils Feb. 12 to mark the second anniversary of the death of Lawrence King, 15, a gay California student who was allegedly killed by classmate Brandon McInerney, Advocate.com reported. The Web site RememberingLawrence.org allowed people to list their events as well as let people connect with others via MySpace or Facebook.