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 lets people connect with others via MySpace or Facebook.
In New Orleans, La., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Feb. 18 that the state's registrar of vital statistics must uphold a New York same-sex couple's adoption of a baby born in Louisiana, according to a press release from pro-LGBT organization Lambda Legal. Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith adopted the baby in 2006; at that time, the judge issued an adoption order. When the couple tried to get a new birth certificate, Louisiana's registrar's office told them the state did not recognize adoption by unmarried parents.
In New Hampshire, the state's house of representatives voted 210-109 to kill a proposal that would have struck down the state's marriage-equality law, according to WCAX.com . The legislative body also defeated a measure that would have defined marriage as a strictly heterosexual union. Democratic state Rep. Laurie Harding said, "This is a very private issue for same-sex couples and they need to have the right to determine what their own relationships are going to be and this should have nothing to do with the state."
The Hetrick-Martin Institute, a nonprofit organization that helps LGBT youths and is in charge New York City's Harvey Milk High School, will hold its School's Out fundraiser June 12 on the famous Grey Gardens estate, according to Advocate.com . The estate—located in East Hampton, N.Y.—once housed by "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Beale, and was the featured set in the documentary Grey Gardens.
Grinnell College, a liberal-arts institution in Iowa, has hired Raynard S. Kington—a Black gay man—as its president, according to Advocate.com . Kington, who was a deputy direction with the National Institutes of Health, was among more than 200 individuals considered for the position. The committee unanimously voted for him.
The Catholic diocese of Washington, D.C., ended its 80-year-old foster-care program because of the district's move to legalize same-sex marriage, according to the Washington Post. Catholic Charities had gotten approximtely $20 million each year from the city to provide foster care and other services. However, because it is a Catholic operation, it would have to reject same-sex couples trying to become foster parents.
In New Jersey, transwoman Diana Taylor has filed a lawsuit against the Newark Police Department, saying that she was harassed and arrested under false pretenses, according to Advocate.com . Among other things, Taylor claimed that officers teased her about her hair and that one even said, "You're right —I owe you $10. It is a man," after Taylor revealed that her legal name is Christopher Moore.
In Oklahoma, Keith Kimmel, 28, is suing the state's tax commission after it rejected his request to put IM GAY on his license plate, according to the Wall Street Journal. The commission said that it can turn down license tags that "may be offensive to the general public." However, it has reportedly allowed STR8FAN and STR8SXI.
Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has taken back measures that former Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, put in place to protect gay state workers, according to AllHeadlineNews.com . Samir Luther, associate director for the Human Rights Campaign's Workplace Project, wrote on the group's blog that McDonnell's "message could hardly be clearer: discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is not prohibited." Gay-rights advocates are urging state legislators to pass a bill protecting state workers from sexual orientation-based discrimination based on sexual orientation.
SouthFloridaGayNews.com and the organization Truth Wins Out have discovered that Arthur Abba Goldberg, the co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality ( JONAH ) , is a convicted felon, according to an Advocate.com item. Goldberg was behind investment schemes for a Wall Street company that netted $11 million. He pled guilty in 1989 and served a year and a half in prison. Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen said, We have long considered Arthur Goldberg a con artist, but our investigation shows he is also an ex-con."
In Michigan, the Triangle Foundation and Michigan Equality have announced that they plan to gradually merge the organizations, according to Advocate.com . A joint statement read, Although Michigan Equality and Triangle Foundation have separate histories. We have always shared one common objective: to fight for LGBT equality in Michigan. Together we are uniquely positioned to influence local and statewide policy, while also providing victim services, education and outreach as well as organizing community-building events."
At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney said that "Barack Obama is a one-term president," according to CNN.com . The attendees responded by giving Cheney a standing ovation, leading him to say, "A welcome like that is almost enough to make me want to run for office again ... but I'm not going to do it."
In Washington, D.C., Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman has rejected a request by marriage-equality opponents Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund to have a referendum regarding same-sex marriage, according to the WashingtonPost.com . The ruling means that gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry around March 3.
Lambda Legal filed an amicus curiae brief in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, in a lawsuit brought by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, according to a Lambda Legal press release. The fund's suit argues that Cleveland's domestic-partnership registry violates the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Lambda's brief states that Ohio's constitution does not stop Cleveland from having such a registry because it is no substitute for marriage.
