Gay reps attack anti-gay Appts.
by Karen Hawkins
Openly gay U.S. Reps. Tammy Baldwin ( D-Wis. ) and Barney Frank ( D-Mass. ) are urging Rep. J.C. Watts ( R-Okla. ) to reconsider his appointment of two anti-gay religious leaders to a new advisory committee. The committee will serve an upcoming House/Senate Faith-based Leadership Summit. About 30 religious leaders have been invited to participate.
Two of the appointees, the Rev. Louis Sheldon and retired Green Bay Packer/minister Reggie White, are outspoken critics of gay rights.
Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, and part of a conservative campaign to unseat Scott Evertz, an openly gay Republican appointed to lead the White House AIDS policy office.
Schlessinger radio show loses $30 million
Premiere Radio Networks has pulled Dr. Laura Schlessinger's radio show from the service that calculated the size of her audience, Mediaweek.com reports.
Schlessinger's audience was measured by Statistical Research's Radar beginning two years ago, but recent ad losses mean the show's owner could no longer afford the service. Arbitron will now report on her audience size.
"The network advertiser base has left us," said Premiere President Kraig Kitchin, adding that the attacks on Schlessinger's TV show led to an estimated $30 million loss in revenue for her radio show.
Couples sue for right to marry in Massachusetts
Seven gay and lesbian couples filed suit in Massachusetts last week seeking to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The couples, being represented by Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, were denied marriage licenses at their city and town halls.
The first such suit filed in New England was in Vermont, where a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling led to the civil unions law, GLAD reports.
Fla. legislator blasts teens
A Florida legislator fired a barrage of anti-gay sentiments at a group of gay teens looking for sponsors for an anti-discrimination law, the Tampa Tribune reports. The high school students were visiting for Equality Florida Youth Lobby Day and to gather legislative support for the Florida Dignity for All Students Act.
They had just finished making their request to state Rep. Allen Trovillion, 74, when he began to berate them. "I don't understand why the gay population is becoming so vocal," he said. "You are going to cause the downfall of this country."
Trovillion also allegedly quoted Bible scripture at the students, saying, "God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and he is going to destroy you and a lot of others."
His comments reportedly left at least one student, Chris Vasquez, 17, in tears.
Trovillion represents the suburbs of Orlando in central Florida.
Dog-mauling victim's mom files civil suit
The mother of dog-mauling victim Diane Whipple has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of the dogs who killed her daughter, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Whipple, a women's lacrosse coach, was mauled by two dogs in January as she tried to get into her apartment. The dogs were owned by Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, lawyers who were keeping them for a client who is in prison.
Knoller and Noel have been criminally charged in Whipple's death and have been in jail since their arrests.
Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, has also filed a wrongful death suit, and she is challenging a law that prohibits domestic partners from seeking damages.