National Black Justice Coalition ( NBJC ) Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman and Board Vice Chair Donna Payne recently joined presidents of historically Black colleges and universities ( HBCU ) across the country, key civil-rights leaders and select HBCU students as President Barack Obama signed the executive order "Promoting Excellence, Innovation, and Sustainability at Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ) " at the White House, according to NBJC.org . The David Bohnett Foundation supported this opportunity by aiding NBJC, a pro-LGBT organization, and the Human Rights Campaign's HBCU Project in sponsoring two LGBT students so they could attend.
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, created by Congress three years ago, still has no members on its five-person board as well as no staff and no office, according to Newsweek.com . Sharon Bradford Franklin—who is with the legal-affairs advocacy group the Constitution Project—said that she was "appalled" that there is no board. The project and 20 other civil-liberties groups have sent a letter to the White House urging that members be appointed quickly.
Several members of the U.S. Senate have sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) asking that the organization lift its law banning men who have had sex with men since 1977 from donating blood, according to a press release from Sen. John Kerry's office. Kerry, along with senators such as Al Franken, D-Minn.; Roland Burris, D-Ill.; Kirstin Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent the letter. In addition, organizations such as the American Red Cross have supported overturning the ban.
In California, Philong Huynh—who has been accused of drugging, raping and killing Dane Williams, 23—told his ex-boss that he liked to pick up heterosexual men, drug them and engage in sex with them, according to an Advocate.com item. Huynh's boss, Billy Sharrock, told a courtroom that Huynh preferred pursuing straight men because they were more of a challenge for him. Huynh is charged with sexual assault and murder with a special circumstance of sodomy.
In Michigan, Thomas Heugel, 56, has been charged with performing unlicensed circumcisions, according to WZZM13.com . Lt. Kevin Kelley said that Heugel "had a mini operating room type atmosphere set up at his house and he wore a laboratory coat, and he was even able to administer a local anesthetic before the procedure." Heugel is also charged with performing massages and piercings without a license.
The number of claims involving men sexually harassing other men has doubled in the past 20 years, according to an Advocate.com item. Men filed 16 percent of all sexual harassment claims in 2009, up 8 percent from 1990—with male-on-male cases making up the overwhelming majority, according to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report.
The openly gay brother of Rosie O'Donnell may run for Congress. According to the New York Daily News, Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell may run for Charles Rangel's congressional seat should the embattled representative not seek re-election. Danny O' Donnell said, "I certainly like being a legislator, I think I'm good at being a legislator; if a vacancy occurs in the congressional district where I live, I will certainly consider it." Among other things, Rangel, 79, is being investigated for not disclosing more than $500,000 in assets.
An American Public Health Association study has revealed that gays and lesbians who reside in states that ban same-sex marriage are more likely to have anxiety or suffer from alcoholism, according to an Advocate.com item. Gay individuals who live in states that do not recognize marriage equality are 248.2 percent more likely to have general anxiety than those in state without such bans. Those in anti-gay states are also 36.6 percent more likely to have mood disorders and 41.9 percent more likely to be alcoholics.
Factory Games' Valet Hustle, an iPhone app game, has a marriage-equality mission, according to 365Gay.com . The game, described as a mixture of Diner Dash and Tetris, features two gay characters who run a valet business. A portion of the 99 cents needed to purchase the 3-D game goes to the Human Rights Campaign. Factory Games CEO Andrew Littlefield has said that the company "wanted to make a social statement that gays and lesbians should have the same marital rights as heterosexuals."
Don Wildmon has resigned as head of the anti-gay American Family Association ( AFA ) , according to the Dallas Voice. Wildmon, who led the group for more than three decades, cited health-related issues for his retirement; last year, he was bitten by a mosquito that carried the St. Louis encephalitis virus. Wildmon's son, Tim, is expected to succeed him. Among other things, the AFA worked to pass the anti-marriage-equality initiative Prop 8 in California two years ago.
U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., has resigned from Congress as the House ethics committee is investigating claims against him, according to FOXNews.com . Originally, Massa had planned to resign at the end of 2010, citing a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as the reason. However, a male staff member has said that Massa sexually harassed him—a claim Massa has denied. In a statement, Massa described himself as "deeply flawed and imperfect," adding that he has used language that "might make a Chief Petty Officer feel uncomfortable."
In Virginia, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has sent letters to the state's public colleges and universities asking them to rescind policies banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to the Washington Post. Cuccinelli argued that only legislators can extend legal protections to gay and lesbian state workers, students and other individuals. Most officials have declined to publicly comment on the letter, but Vincent F. Callahan, Jr.—a former Republican member of the House of Delegates who is on George Mason University's board of visitors—said, "What he's saying is reprehensible. I don't know what he's doing, opening up this can of worms."
Scientists have discovered that HIV can hide in certain bone-marrow cells and emerge in certain situations, according to HealthDay News. Dr. Kathleen Collins, co-author of the study that revealed this conclusion, said, that the results provide "a better understanding of how HIV hides in the body." Moreover, the findings could lead to approaches about killing or at least controlling the virus.
In Colorado, Boulder's Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School has denied a pre-schooler readmission because the child has lesbian parents, according to TheDenverChannel.com . The Archdiocese of Denver issued a statement that read, "To preserve the mission of our schools, and to respect the faith of wider Catholic community, we expect all families who enroll students to live in accord with Catholic teaching. Parents living in open discord with Catholic teaching in areas of faith and morals unfortunately choose by their actions to disqualify their children from enrollment." About two dozen protesters demonstrated outside church service March 7.
Pro-gay University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor won the 197-pound class at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, according to Advocate.com . Taylor won a Human Rights Campaign sticker on his headgear and proposed to his girlfriend the night they saw the film Milk. Taylor has qualified for the NCAA championships in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20.
Republican Calif. state Sen. Roy Ashburn, who has voted against gay-rights bills since winning office eight years ago, has officially come out of the closet, Bakersfield.com reported. The development occured just days after Ashburn was charged with driving under the influence after leaving the Sacramento gay club Faces with a male companion, according to FOXNews.com . On March 8, Ashburn told radio talk-show host Inga Barks on KERN Newstalk 1180, "I am gay and so those are the words that have been difficult for me for so long," according to Bakersfield.com . Addressing his voting record, Ashburn said that his votes reflected how his constituents felt; he did not say if he agreed with the public.
