Out has launched the new online campaign "Get to Work, Get to Giving," presented by the Levi's® brand, according to a press release. This new program offers visitors the opportunity to effect change in the world by connecting them with local and national charities. By clicking the map's geographic markers, readers can gather more information about a spotlighted charity and inquire about how to become involved. See out.com/gettowork/ .
The gay Republican organization GOProud will again be an affiliate for the yearly Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ) , even though other right-wing groups would prefer GOProud not be there, according to Advocate.com . GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia said in a statement, "Thanks in large part to the exposure we received at CPAC our organization has experienced tremendous growth over the last few months. We look forward to building on that success with CPAC 2011." Next year's conference will take place Feb. 10-12 in Washington, D.C.; among those invited to speak are Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and Newt Gingrich.
In Massachusetts, Eunice Field confessed to fatally stabbing her ex-girlfriend's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, Lorraine Wachsman, because Wachsman reportedly caused the couple to split, EDGE Miami reported. Field left a note for ex-girlfriend Renee Williams saying that she killed Wachsman "for taking away the love of her life," according to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Flanagan. Field is scheduled for a Sept. 3 court appearance.
A new report from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics states that more than 64,500 state/federal prisoners and 24,000 jail detainees said they have been sexually abused by another inmate or staff member during 2008 and 2009, according to an ACLU press release. The report was released as part of the critieria of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, which also established the bipartisan Prison Rape Elimination Commission.
In New Jersey, a marriage-equality course will proceed as scheduled at Seton Hall University despite the controversy it has generated, according to NJ.com . W. King Mott, an associate professor of political science, said that "The Politics of Gay Marriage" would commence Aug. 31, with about two dozen students in the class. Newark Archbishop John J. Myers had objected to the course being taught at the Catholic university, saying that the class "seeks to promote as legitimate a train of thought that is contrary to what the church teaches."
Radnor Township, Pa., is marking the 50th anniversary of a galvanizing incident, according to the Philadelphia Gay News. On Aug. 22, 1960, 16 police officers and one postal inspector arrested seven dozen people who had gathered to discuss the launch of an LGBT political group. The Radnor Raid, as it was called, led to the creation of a Philadelphia chapter of the Mattachine Society, which rallied the local LGBT community in the 1960s and '70s.
In Kansas, openly gay state House of Representatives candidate Dan Manning has been the recipient of death threats, according to Lez Get Real. Manningan Army veteran who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"found a death threat on his door Aug. 21 that featured phrases cut out of a newspaper, including "HOMO" and "Head OFF." Manning's opponent, incumbent Brenda Landwehr, has allegedly been using his sexual orientation against him.
In Atlanta, Ga., authorities are trying to piece together why Black Gay Pride co-organizer Durand Robinson was killed, according to AJC.com . Robinson, who co-owned the nightclub Traxx, was shot in the chest and his body was left in the middle of a road. So far, people do not have a motive for the killing; family and friends feel that the slaying was random. Robinson, 50, was raising five nieces.
In Wyoming, gay couple David Shupe-Roderick, 25, and Ryan Dupree, 21, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state's ban against same-sex marriage, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. The couple filed the suit, alleging unequal treatment, after the Laramie County Clerk's Office would not issue them a marriage licensethree times. Shupe-Roderick said, "I think it's time that Wyoming lives up to its title. You know they call themselves the Equality State? Well, they're not so equal."
In Florida, transgender state congressional candidate Donna Milo received 22 percent of the vote in her GOP primary, The Atlantic reported. Milo finished third, behind winner Karen Harrington ( 40 percent ) and Robert Lowry ( 38 percent ) . On the social front, Milo is conservative, favoring marriage between one man and one woman; she is also pro-life.
The conservative organization Wisconsin Family Action has filed a lawsuit in Dane County District Court that challenges the state's domestic-partner registry, according to Lez Get Real. Group president Julaine Appling said, A reasonable person observing this registry would easily conclude that it is intended to mirror marriage." In June, the state's supreme court unanimously rejected a challenge to Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions.
In Illinois, the Naperville group Americans For Truth About Homosexuality is criticizing The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck, saying that she has "abandoned" her conservative and Christian principles by showing support for same-sex marriage. In an open letter to Hasselbeck, organization president Peter LaBarbera wrote, "Caving on same-sex marriage only hurts your credibility," adding, "there are many ex-gay men and former lesbians who have overcome homosexuality in their lives."
In New York City, Chi Chiza bar catering mostly to African-American gay menwill remain open for the time being after being threatened with being closed over reputed drug deals, according to an Advocate.com item. As a result of gay activists' legal attempt to save the bar, the case against Chi Chiz will continue until at least November. Police have said they have seen drug deals take place on the premises; however, patrons believe neighbors want the bar closed because of homophobia and racism.
In Detroit, Mich., the R.E.C. Boyz Centerwhich many gay Black youths frequentedwas recently destroyed by a fire, according to PrideSource.com . The fire, which was apparently electrical in origin, started during the night of Aug. 17 and engulfed the center, a loft space of approximately 4,000 square feet. Barbara Murray, executive director of AIDS Partnership Michigan, said that, although insurance will cover most of the losses, intangibles such as collections of used clothing will be hard to replace.
In Missouri, Washington University in St. Louis is scrubbing a freshman-orientation activity sponsored by Target, reasoning that LGBT students may feel uncomfortable, according to Advocate.com . The private teaching and research university canceled The Target After Hours Shopping Event in the wake of the corporate giant's $150,000 donation to conservative political action committee Minnesota Forward.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, out journalist Rachel Maddow said that she was initially hesitant about covering the story of the impending Ground Zero mosque because she detested the sensationalism, according to an Advocate.com item. Maddow had originally barred the topic from being discussed on her MSNBC show. However, she ultimately relented, saying that it "has become the foremost political issue in the country right now, and not weighing in on it is to spit into the wind."
In Tennessee, former Memphis police officer Bridges McRae has pled guilty to beating the late Duanna Johnson, a transgender individual, according to an Advocate.com item. By admitting his guilt before his schedued retrial, McRae positioned himself to receive a two-year sentence instead of the 10-year sentence he would have gotten if a jury had convicted him. McRae admitted to beating Johnson ( in a display caught on a surveillance tape ) in 2008 while booking Johnson on a prostitution charge. Some time after the beating, Johnson was fatally shot outside her home; the shooter remains at large.
In Nebraska, Omaha authorities have arrested George Vogel, 62, for spraying mace into a crowd of protesters from Kansas' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church and counterprotesters at the Aug. 29 funeral of a U.S. Marine, according to Advocate.com . Vogel has been charged with multiple counts of assault. The church members were protesting at Staff Sgt. Michael Bock's funeral because they believe that soldiers' deaths are God's punishment for homosexuality.
In California, the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Redwoods Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A. ) upheld three of four charges against Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr that she "violated her ordination vows" by presiding over the marriages of same-sex couples, according to a press release. Spahr, a minister for 36 years, officiated the ceremonies during the time the state legally recognized same-sex marriage. Spahr and her legal defense team are deciding if she should appeal the ruling to the synod level of the Presbyterian Church.
In Texas, the state appeals court has overturned a lower court's ruling that two gay men who married in Massachusetts could divorce in Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News. Last year, a district judge said that the men could legally terminate their marriage; however, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas has reversed that decision and has ordered said district judge, Tena Callahan, to dismiss the case. Among other things, the appeals court felt that "Texas district courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a same-sex divorce case."