The "One Nation Working Together" rally—organized by a coalition of liberal and progressive groups, including unions and civil-rights activists—took place Oct. 2 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The event took place just weeks after commentator Glenn Beck attracted Tea Party activists to the memorial for his rally Aug. 28. NAACP President Ben Jealous told CNN that the "One Nation" rally was not "the alternative to the Tea Party; we're the antidote to the Tea Party."
The New York Public Library's Manuscripts and Archives Division has announced the opening of the records of the Gay Men's Health Crisis ( GMHC ) , according to a GMHC press release. The collection is composed of 170 linear feet of GMHC records, mainly dating from 1982 to 1999, including correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports and brochures that document the organization's activities. There are also approximately 1,000 video recordings of interviews with founders and early members of the organization, public service announcements and segments from GMHC's cable-access show, Living with AIDS.
In Los Angeles, Calif., Kaycee Olsen Gallery is presenting photographer Jeff Sheng's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" series through Oct. 23, according to a press release. This exhibition will be the first to feature the photographs and stories of more than 60 servicemen and woman currently affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The exhibition coincides with the artist's release of Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Volume 2, a 100-page, full color photography book ( available at www.DADTbook.com ) featuring the portraits taken in 2010 of various closeted service members.
In Michigan, transgender high-school student Oakleigh Reed won't be wearing the homecoming king crown even though he was receiving the most votes, according to SFGate.com . Reed told Wood TV that the principal at Muskegon's Mona Shores High School said that he was no longer on the ballot "because I'm enrolled at Mona Shores as a female." In response, some angry Mona Shores students started a Facebook group called "Oak Is Our King." Reed wears a tuxedo when marching with the band at football games, and will be allowed to wear the men's cap and robe at graduation.
Joe Jervis, the man behind the website Joe.My.God, posted Sept. 30 that U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss called to apologize for an anti-gay slur left on the site, according to Advocate.com . Jervis posted that Chambliss said, "Joe, I don't know if you're Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, but none of that should matter. Because what was said on your blog by someone from my office is just not acceptable, no matter who is saying it and who it's being said to. I just want to offer my sincerest apologies." Chambliss said that a staff member posted "All faggots must die;" the staffer has been removed.
In Iowa, Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said that she and two other colleagues will not fight conservative activists who want to oust them from the bench for ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, according to Advocate.com . Ternus asked, "How would you feel, as a litigant, to appear in court and know that the opposing party's attorney gave money to the judge's re-election campaign and your attorney didn't? Is that the kind of system Iowans want?"
Lambda Legal filed papers Oct. 1, seeking to intervene on behalf of Fair Wisconsin and five same-sex couples in a lawsuit brought by the anti-gay organization Wisconsin Family Action, according to a Lambda Legal press release. The conservative group wants to remove domestic-partnership protections for same-sex couples and their families. Wisconsin Family Action previously filed a lawsuit against the state in 2009, contending that the domestic-partnership law violated the state's constitutional amendment prohibiting marriage equality; the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected that case.
In Florida, Key West has formed a task force to keep LGBT residents and visitors safe after an August incident took place when a gay couple was attacked verbally and physically, according to LezGetReal.com . The Anti-Hate Crimes Task Force—formed by Key West's Gay and Lesbian Community Center—plans to bring more diversity training to the island's schools. Police are still searching for the suspects in that Aug. 11 attack.
In New York, former neo-Nazi activist Tom "T.J." Leyden was slated to speak Oct. 5 at an event hosted by the LGBTQ committee of the State University of New York College ( SUNY ) at Cortland, according to Pink News. Leyden spent 15 years as a white supremacist and recruiter, and campaigned against ethic minorities and gays before rejecting the movement.
Conservative activist Ann Coulter recently told a gathering of gay Republicans that marriage is not a civil right, Pink News reported. Coulter addressed approximately 150 attendees who gathered at the home of Peter Thiel, who founded PayPal, as part of Homocon 2010. At one point, Coulter said, " [ M ] arriage is not a civil right—you're not Black!" She later confirmed to Larry King that she is against marriage equality, On Top Magazine noted.
Speaking of conservatives, British Tory MP Nick Herbert recently addressed a group of Log Cabin Republicans, and told them that conservative ideals and gay rights are not mutually exclusive, according to Pink News. At the Log Cabins' annual dinner Sept. 29, Herbert lauded Britain's previous Labour government for implementing gay-rights policies. Herbert, who is openly gay, added that having civil partnerships and ending the ban on gay soldiers were among that country's greatest steps toward equality.
In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed the Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth Act, which allows minors 12 to 17 years old to access mental-health services without their parents' consent, Advocate.com reported. Gay-rights advocates praised the signing of the measure, authored by openly gay state Sen. Mark Leno. Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors said that the measure is crucial to "help young people get the care they need before they are in crisis."
Ten states—Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming—have filed a amicus brief supporting California's anti-gay-marriage initiative, Proposition 8, according to LezGetReal.com . The 39-page brief, which has been sent to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the wake of Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Prop 8 is unconstitutional, states that the Constitution does not require marriage to include gay and lesbian couples.
Speaking of Judge Walker, The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has announced that he will step down as chief judge effective Dec. 31. Walker also notified President Obama that he will leave the court next February. Walker, who plans to return to the private sector, has been a U.S. district judge since 1990 and has been chief judge of the court since 2004.
U.S. authorities have apologized for a 1940s research project in which people in Guatemala were deliberately infected with STDs, CNN.com reported. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Guatemalan head Alvaro Colom separately and offered apologies. Wellesley College researcher Susan Reverby found the unpublished notes from the study as she was researching a similar project conducted 1932-1972 in Tuskegee, Ala. Tests were carried out on 1,600 soldiers, mental patients, prostitutes and prisoners.
The researchers from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation have released The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, the largest nationally representative study of sexual and sexual-health behaviors ever conducted, according to a note on the survey's home page at www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu . Among the findings was that about 7 percent of adult women and 8 percent of men identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual; however, the percentage of people who have engaged in same-sex sexual relations is higher.
Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler magazine, is threatening to expose the identity of a closeted U.S. senator if that person does not step forth within the next few months, according to Advocate.com . Flynt spoke with CNN personality Don Lemon regarding the publisher's offer to give $1 million to anyone who can prove he or she has had sexual relations with a top official.
In New York, Phillip Calderon—a 37-year-old individual who participated in several of Binghamton University's organizations, including the LGBT-oriented Rainbow Pride Union—has been booted from campus after it turned out he wasn't actually a student, according to Advocate.com . Calderon, as leader of the union, was instrumental in bringing the 2011 Northeast Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender and Queer Conference to Binghamton.
In New Jersey, editors of The Jewish Standard newspaper will not run any more marriage announcements for gay and lesbian couples after rabbis criticized the publication for running one recently, Advocate.com reported. In a statement, the Standard's staff said, "Given the tenor of the times, we did not expect the volume of comments we have received—many of them against our decision to run the announcement, but many supportive as well." The announcement was for the upcoming wedding of Avi Smolen, 23, and Justin Rosen, 24.
It turns out that Google Instant blocks words such as "Latina" and "lesbian," although "buttcrack" and the phrase "how to commit genocide" are not. So what's up with the blacklist? According to The Daily Beast, a Google employee said that the block is the result of computer algorithms and not human editors. Introduced in September, Google Instant shows results as the user types, as opposed to waiting for the typist to press the Return button on the keyboard.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is facing criticism from LGBT- and women's-rights groups after he reportedly questioned if gay people and sexually active single women should teach, according to CBS News. DeMint made the alleged comments at a church rally Oct. 1. The Human Rights Campaign responded, "What matters in the workplace is your ability to do your job, yet you can be fired for your sexual orientation in 29 states and for your gender identity in 38. I can't imagine what people think is 'moral' about job discrimination."
In North Carolina, House Republican leader Paul Stam said that he warned fellow GOP legislator Larry Brown after Brown sent an anti-gay e-mail to a colleague, according to WRAL.com . In response to Democratic Speaker Joe Hackney receiving an award from the gay-rights organization Equality North Carolina, Brown e-mailed, "I hope all the queers are thrilled to see him. I am sure there will be a couple legislative fruitloops there in the audience." Stam said he wrote to Brown that he does not condone such language.
Two men have been arrested in the anti-gay attack of a man at New York City's historic Stonewall Inn, according to an Advocate.com item. One man, Matthew Francis, punched and attempted to rob Benjamin Carver in the inn's bathroom while another man, Christopher Orlando, blocked the door. In a separate incident in the Chelsea neighborhood, Andrew Jackson threw a metal garbage can at a group of men who were kissing each other goodbye.
At Virginia Commonwealth University, several hundred people attended a vigil Oct. 4 to help raise awareness about the rash of recent suicides involving gay teens, WTVR.com reported. The vigil included a clothesline for people to hang notes about friends who had to deal with discrimination and harassment; in addition, attendees sang and lit candles.
