The U.S. House has voted on a measure that defunds National Public Radio (NPR), according to Politic365.com . H.R. 1076—sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn—bans any federal money from going to NPR, including funding through competitive federal grants and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin issued a statement criticizing the bill, saying, "this bill dissolves a vital public radio system depended upon by millions of Americans across the country." The Obama administration has also issued a statement, saying that some stations would have to close.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that a slim majority of the country supports same-sex marriage, according to the Post. Fifty-three percent said they're in favor of marriage equality; five years ago, the number was 36 percent. Marriage-equality opponents took issue with the poll, which asked respondents, "Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?"
COLAGE—a national organization children, youth and adults with one or more LGBTQ parents—has debuted an interactive family-history timeline and a new website (at www.colage.org ). The new site features Family Time, a short film and interactive timeline chronicling 20 years of LGBTQ family history. Partner organizations and families are encouraged to submit bits of history to the timeline.
Individuals upset with the media coverage Charlie Sheen has received have posted a Facebook item spotlighting U.S. soldiers—including one gay fighter—dying in Afghanistan, according to CNN. Openly gay Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt (pronounced WILL-fort) was killed Feb. 27 while on foot patrol outside Kandahar. Wilfahrt stunned his family when he announced two years ago that he was joining the Army, with father Jeff adding, "In a way, he went over so that somebody with a young family wouldn't die. He was a gay soldier."
In Texas, gay couple Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup have filed a non-discrimination claim against the Dallas Morning News for the newspaper's refusal to run their wedding announcement, according to a press release. The couple, married Dec. 10, 2010, in Washington, D.C., placed and paid for a wedding announcement in the newspaper. However, Jim Moroney, chief executive and publisher of the Dallas Morning News, refused to run the couple's announcement, citing Texas' law banning same-sex marriage.
In California, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White dismissed a lawsuit brought by Karen Golinski, a lesbian federal employee who was seeking to obtain health-insurance benefits for her spouse, according to Reuters. However, White—who also denied her request for an injunction—left the door open for her to directly challenge the constitutionality of the benefits denial. The Obama administration has opposed the lawsuit, even after the Justice Department recently announced that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.
Scientists are proposing another way to combat HIV: having items called therapeutic interfering particles, or TIPs, compete with the virus, according to Wired.com . The TIPs (which are bits of HIV's genetic code stripped down to one-third its original size) would ride HIV as it spreads from person to person, vying against the virus for cellular resources; the more successful the TIPs are, the slower the virus' progression becomes, possibly lowering infection rates.
Catholics are more supportive of gay and lesbian rights than the general public and other Christians, according to a press release. The new report, which is the most comprehensive portrait of Catholic attitudes on gay and lesbian issues assembled to date, also finds that seven in 10 Catholics say that messages from America's places of worship contribute to higher rates of suicide among gay and lesbian youth. In addition, a majority of Catholics (56 percent) believes that sexual relations between two adults of the same gender is not a sin.
Apple has pulled an iTunes app created by anti-gay organization Exodus International, Fox News reported. Almost 150,000 people signed an Internet petition asking the tech giant to remove the app. Exodus, according to its website, is providing "support for individuals who want to recover from homosexuality." Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said that "[w]e removed the Exodus International app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."
In Texas, Fort Worth is expected to pay $400,000 to Chad Gibson, who was seriously injured in a 2009 raid on the gay nightspot the Rainbow Lounge, The Republic reported. The settlement, voted on by the city council, is not considered an admission of the city's liability, but would avoid litigation. After the raid, three police officers were suspended and two agents and a supervisor with the state's liquor board were fired; both agencies said that no excessive force was used.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis has called on the U.S. military to accelerate the timeline for training the nation's armed forces for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," particularly highlighting the Army's expected completion in August, according to a press release. An August certification would mean that full repeal could not take effect until October. "This training is not rocket science. The Services can get this done by April 30th," said Sarvis. "Ninety days later, the relatively straightforward task has not been completed and we're being told it won't be completed for several more months."
In Pennsylvania, 28-year-old John Joe Thomas has been charged with murder after stoning 70-year-old Murray Seidman to death after the victim allegedly made sexual advances to Thomas, according to the New York Daily News. Thomas told authorities that he beat Seidman with a sock stuffed with rocks because he read in the Bible that gay people should be stoned to death. However, Advocate.com reported that Seidman's brother, Lenny, has said that the victim was not gay but mentally challenged, and that money was the motive for his death.
Twenty-nine community-based HIV/AIDS organizations in nine Southern states have received grants from AIDS United, according to a press release. The grants are part of AIDS United's Southern REACH (Regional Expansion of Access and Capacity to Address HIV/AIDS). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 46 percent of all new AIDS diagnoses in the United States are in the South, and the South leads the nation in persons living with, and dying from, AIDS.
The Federal Register has published new rules expanding what qualifies as a disability for the purpose of employment-discrimination protections were published March 25—and HIV infection is among the disabilities.While the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has long protected people with disabilities, the criteria for "disability" was often up for interpretation. In 2008, Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which ensured a broader definition of disability.
In Coloardo, the state Senate has passed a civil-unions bill, according to Reuters. The Colorado Civil Unions Act—which would give gays and lesbians power to make medical decisions for their partners and become eligible for insurance and retirement benefits—passed the Senate 23-12 with unanimous support from Democrats; three Republicans voted for it. However, the measure faces a major obstacle in the state House, which (as opposed to the Senate) is controlled by the Republican Party.
In Kentucky, a member of the state's branch of the Masons faces a trial for being gay, according to Advocate.com . John Wright came out to his fellow members in the Right Angle Lodge in Winchester, and now is facing a Masonic trial April 8; if found guilty, he could be punished with expulsion from the global fraternity. Last October, the Kentucky Masons rejected an attempt to change their constitution to ban openly gay members.
In Rhode Island, students at Brown University quickly put together a counterdemonstration when anti-gay protesters held a demonstration on campus March 23, according to Advocate.com . About 15 people associated with the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property's Student Action group showed up at 11 a.m. After some college students saw them, they sent text messages and emails to others—and formed a crowd numbering in the hundreds by noon.
The family of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi—who committed suicide last year after being recorded having sex with another man—wants to prosecute the victim's roommate, Dharun Ravi, according to Gothamist.com . Ravi and classmate Molly Wei were charged with invasion of privacy, and both have left the school. However, they have not yete been arraigned or indicted. The Clementi's attorney, Paul Mainardi, said, "We feel it is important to establish accountability and to further establish that Tyler was subject to criminal acts, not merely a college prank as some may argue."
At another New Jersey school, student Jesse Cruz is suing Seton Hall University because officials allegedly removed him from his dorm room for being gay, the Setonian reported. Cruz said in an interview that he moved into his assigned dorm room in Xavier Hall at the start of the school year with one roommate. However, the roommate reportedly complained to administrators that he did not want to live with Cruz because Cruz is gay. Cruz said he was told to leave his room by Sept. 15, 2010. After getting a letter from Cruz's lawyer, school officials moved the roommate out and Cruz got his original room.
In Pennsylvania, Giovanni's Room, the country's oldest LGBT bookstore, was one of 13 sites that the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission recently approved for a historical market, the Philadelphia Gay News reported. The Giovanni's Room marker is only the second LGBT marker in the state, after the one designating the Annual Reminder LGBT marches of the 1960s outside of Philadelpia's Independence Hall. The bookstore was founded in 1973.
The United States joined more than 80 countries March 22 to issue a statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council entitled "Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity." The White House issued a release saying, "President Obama believes that advancing the human rights of minorities and the marginalized is a fundamental American value. The President was pleased to announce during his trip to Brazil that he and President [Dilma Vana] Rousseff agreed to promote respect for the human rights of [LGBT] individuals through the establishment of a special rapporteur on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States. This special rapporteur will be the first of its kind in the international system.
In Iowa, former youth pastor Brent Girouex claimed that he had sex with teenage boys because it was his duty "to help [the teen] with homosexual urges by praying while he had sexual contact with him," according to the Wisconsin Gazette. However, authorities arrested, Girouex, 31, on 60 counts of suspicion of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber told the Nonpareil that at least eight men have come forward with complaints that Girouex molested them.
GOProud, a national organization of gay conservatives and their allies, announced that Chuck Muth, former executive director of the American Conservative Union, is joining GOProud's advisory council, according to a press release. GOProud Board Chair Christopher Barron said, "Chuck Muth is a committed conservative who brings a wealth of experience working within the movement. We are honored to have Chuck join the GOProud leadership team." Muth added, "A person doesn't have to be straight to think right."
OutServe, a gay servicemembers' network, has launched a publication for active LGBT personnel, according to Advocate.com . The first issue has updates of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"-repeal implementation and features photography by Jeff Sheng. OutServe plans to distribute the magazine to select military bases.
In Mississippi, Andre Cooley will be reinstated as a sheriff's deputy after reportedly being fired for being gay, according to Advocate.com . Cooley was allegedly fired after being victimized in a domestic dispute with his boyfriend, and telling his chief officer about his sexual orientation. The sheriff's department will also change its policy to prohibit anti-gay discrimination.
People have heard of the NOH8 campaign, but the FCKH8 project has raised approximately $300,000, according to Advocate.com . Luke Montgomery campaign, which started as an expletive-filled position for marriage equality, has become a strong force against hate. Montgomery said, "In the past six months we have earned $300,000 for worthwhile causes like the Trevor Project, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Equality California, the Courage Campaign and Lambda Legal." There will be a tour this fall as the campaign stops at pride festivals across the United States.
An association of Catholic bishops is battling a pending measure what would ban sexual orientation- or gender identity-based discrimination regarding federally funded housing projects, according to Newser.com . Attorneys for the bishops argue that the regulations would force religious groups to quit the housing programs or compromise their beliefs. The Catholic Church collects millions in public dollars for building and operating such housing.
Immigration Equality has issued a press release hailing a government decision to allow same-sex couples to file green-card applications while courts weigh constitutional challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Immigration Equality's legal team recently filed a green-card application on behalf of Edwin Blesch, a U.S. citizen, and Tim Smulian, his South African husband. Despite being legally married in South Africa—a marriage recognized in Blesch's home state of New York—the couple has struggled to remain together.
