Courts in Florida passed down two rulings against LGBT people last week. In one case, the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland ruled that a post-operative transsexual could not legally marry in Florida. Michael Kantaras completed gender-reassignment surgery to become a man in 1987. He married a woman in 1987. The court ruled that the marriage was invalid because Kantaras was not a man. Kantaras is fighting for child custody. Also, in a 6-6 ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court upheld Florida's ban on gay men and women adopting. The Court ruled the Florida legislature should decide adoption regulations. Federal judge William Pryor, who was rejected by the Senate and temporarily appointed by President Bush during a Senate break, cast the deciding vote.
A Beverly Hills doctor and former chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS voluntarily surrendered his medical license after he was arrested for illegal possession of a controlled substance, reports the LA Times. The California Medical Board (CMB) accused Russell Scott Hitt in 2000 of sexual misconduct, gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, incompetence, and dishonest and corrupt acts. In March, 2004, Hitt was placed on probation for seven years. The new arrest violated that probation, according to CMB.
People living with HIV/AIDS may face chronic dementia similar to that experienced by people living with Alzheimer's disease, reports the Oakland Tribune. Researchers in California revealed that a naturally occurring protein in the brain can accumulate and cause Alzheimer's-like symptoms in people with HIV because the disease prevents an enzyme from breaking down the harmful protein.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg veteoed the Dignity for All Schools Act, an anti-bullying bill that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He will likely be overridden by the NYC Council.
An openly gay pastor was ordained in a Lutheran church in Minneapolis this weekend, reports AP. Jay Wiesner is the third gay pastor to be ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Church law requires that gay pastors not be in a same-sex relationship and be celibate.
Clear Channel radio is being sued over remarks made by Orlando's 104.1 morning team, reports Florida Today. An Orlando police officer is suing Clear Channel after the 'Morning Monsters' continued to say the officer was a lesbian and that she had AIDS. The comments came when officer Rhonda Huckelbery commented about the inappropriateness of a sexually suggestive poster featuring one of the morning show members. The team spent one week off the air for an unrelated offense concerning racial insensitivity.