The National Black Justice Coalition ( NBJC ) has named Berkeley, Calif., City Councilman Darryl Moore as its board chair, according to a press release. Moore—who will succeed professor, attorney, activist and public speaker Kylar W. Broadus, Esq.—is a management analyst for the Oakland Housing Authority and is on the boards of the West Berkeley Foundation and the East Bay Community Scholarship Foundation. The NBJC is focused on the rights of Black LGBT individuals.
OUT has launched "Team OUT Today," a new online video channel that goes behind the scenes at OUT brand. "Team OUT Today" follows Out team members, including Editor-in-Chief Aaron Hicklin, Fashion Director Grant Woolhead and Associate Editor Noah Michelson as they maneuver the publishing world to diligently design the magazine's June/July "Hot List Issue." The channel is exclusively on Out.com and continues for six weeks with daily vlogs from the team members, weekly webisodes, polls, editorial, daily giveaways and more.
In Georgia, St. John's Lutheran Church has reinstated pastors ( and partners ) Bradley Schmeling and Darin Easler, according to 11Alive.com . The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA ) removed Schmeling and Easler from its roster of pastors in 2007 after Schmeling came out. "It feels good to have them included." said congregant Barbara Arne. "We also know there's a lot of pain for some people who may now feel the ELCA is not their church. We're sensitive to that and want to support them and walk with them on this journey together."
Baltimore, Md., may have its first LGBT youth center, according to Advocate.com . The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore plans to open a drop-in facility for LGBT youths, and said facility will provide services ranging from HIV testing to tutoring. The youth center is seeking grants and other funding to cover annual expenses that may be as much as $600,000.
In Florida, the Leon County Commission has approved a change to the county's human-rights ordinance to incorporate protections for the LGBT community in the areas of workplace discrimination, public accommodatins, general provisions and housing, according to Tallahassee.com . The issue created a schism within the county, as commissioners received hundreds of calls and e-mails from the ordinance's supporters and detractors.
In Massachusetts, an 8-year-old boy was rejected from a Roman Catholic school because of his mother's sexual preference, according to TheBostonChannel.com . The woman said that St. Paul's Church in Hingham told her it was not accepting her son because her same-sex relationship was "in discord" with church teachings. The woman, expressing her surprise, said, "I'm accustomed to discrimination, I suppose, at my age and my experience as a gay woman. But I didn't expect it against my child."
In New Jersey, a campaign by the local chapter of commentator Glenn Beck's conservative 9.12 project has led to a gay anthology being banned—and free-speech supporters are fighting back, The Guardian reported. Revolutionary Voices—a collection of stories and other works by gay teens—was banned from Rancocas Valley Regional High School after the 9.12 project's campaign. However, a coalition of free-speech groups is saying that residents "have no right to impose their views on others or to demand that the contents of the library reflect their personal, religious, or moral values." In addition, the pro-LGBT group Lambda Legal has written to the school board, criticizing the development.
In Indiana, the best friend of Paul Michalik has said that Michalik was killed because of his sexual orientation, according to The News-Sentinel. Sylvia Tyszler, Michalik's friend, said that Michalik was asked to leave a party they both attended because he was gay. After an argument ensued, Brian Brothers allegedly started beating up Michalik and partner Jerry Chambers, eventually tossing Michalik down a flight of stairs. Brothers has been arrested and charged with felony aggravated battery.
Also in Indiana, a petition has been filed to establish a gay community camp in Morgan County, according to Fox59.com . The camp will be designed for those with an open attitude toward sexuality, and only individuals 21 and over will be allowed there during camping season. Sandy Partlow, who filed the petition, said that the camp will be managed and operated by her and her boyfriend, Kim Maynard, HeraldTimesOnline.com noted. Indiana has laws addressing public nudity and indecency, but these would not apply to the private campgrounds.
Iowa state Sen. Merlin Bartz is opposed to changing state policy to include families headed by same-sex couples, according to On Top Magazine. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources ( DNR ) is planning to alter its policy to recognize gay families. Bartz, a Republican who opposes marriage equality, said, "They're citing the Supreme Court case and changing, you know, 'husband and wife' language to 'spouse." However, a DNR spokesman said that the department is simply complying with Iowa's anti-discrimination statute.
The California marriage-equality organization known as the Courage Campaign has launched "Testimony: Equality on Trial," a response to the judicial decision to ban cameras from the federal Proposition 8 trial, according to Advocate.com . "Testimony" not only urges guerrilla-style readings but also has a website with reenactments by such celebrities as Marisa Tomei, Josh Lucas, Cheyenne Jackson, Patricia Clarkson and Michael Urie. Scripts are available on EqualityOnTrial.org .
Evangelical minister Ted Haggard—who was ousted from his 14,000-member New Life Church in 2006 after admitting to a gay affair—has formed a new church in the same city: Colorado Springs, Colo., according to AOL News. Haggard's wife, Gayle, has registered St. James Church as a nonprofit located at the couple's home address. Ted Haggard told a newspaper that St. James may become a full church in the future, adding that St. James was incorporated for accounting purposes.
In Iowa, lesbian couple Heather and Melissa Gartner has sued two of the state's health department's officials after the department would not put both women's names on their daughter's birth certificate, according to the Des Moines Register. The Gartners contend that the certificate is wrong because it only lists Heather and states that daughter Mackenzie was born out of wedlock. The suit was filed slightly more than a year after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality.
Sara Isaacson may end up paying the University of North Carolina almost $80,000 because she came out to the leader of her school's Army ROTC program, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. The Wisconsin native, who is a chemistry major, was given the opportunity to rescind the letter declaring her sexuality ( because she is not technically in the military ) , but she declined to do so. An Army ROTC scholarship covered seven semesters of tuition and other expenses, totaling $79,265.14.
Mary Glasspool is now the first out lesbian bishop ordained by the Epsicopal Church. According to Advocate.com, Glasspool was ordained May 15 in a Long Beach, Calif., ceremony in front of 3,000 people. Glasspool now joins Rev. Gene Robinson as the only openly gay bishops in the church. Glasspool said, "I think they've grown as a church. And I'm not saying that everyone out there is going to march in the next gay pride parade—including myself. But I think what we're fighting for is to have our own integrity, to not have one particular aspect of our personality preclude the totality of who we are as individuals."
An estimated 45,000 participants helped the 25th annual AIDS Walk New York ( held May 16 ) to raise $5.7 million, surpassing expectations, according to a press release. The event, started in 1986 in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, has become the world's largest AIDS-related fundraiser. Celebrities at this year's event included Leslie Jordan, Michael Urie ( from Ugly Betty ) , Melanie Clunie ( from Queer As Folk ) and Hal Sparks.
Astrophysicist and self-described "proud homophobe" Jonathan I. Katz has been dropped from the Department of Energy team dealing with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to an Advocate.com item. The development occurred after news of Katz's controversial writings, including a defense of homophobia, was publicized. Gay-rights activist John Aravosis, who was against Katz's appointment to the team, had started a petition against the scientist.
