Gore backed by Gay Dems group
Shepard play opens
Boy Scouts case goes to Supreme Court
Newspaper staff quits over bias
Gay group seen as helping McCain
Miss. lawmakers move to bar gay adoptions
Clergy close down Fox Family headquarters
Group forms to protect intersex children
Michigan voters say 'no' to gay rights
Lambda sues when couple denied rental
Committee counting votes in Vermont
Colo. marriage ban passes
Episcopalians reject resolution denouncing gay marriage
Utah Sen. bans gay adoption
MMOW organizer resigns
David Knight talks about riff with father over Proposition 22
Gore backed by Gay Dems group
The National Stonewall Democratic Federation ( NSDF ) has endorsed presidential candidate Al Gore in the Democratic race for the White House. NSDF endorsed Al Gore as the best candidate for President after having met with both Gore and Bill Bradley to discuss gay issues.
"The Board debated on doing an endorsement in the Democratic race for President for some time, because the Federation has affiliates who have endorsed both Al Gore and Bill Bradley, as well as members who are running as delegates to the Democratic National Convention for both candidates," said Michael Perez, NSDF Co— Chair. "Bill Bradley is a great Democrat and has been instrumental in making gay and lesbian issues more prominent in the Primary, but it is clear that Gore has consistently been there for the GLBT community."
Shepard play opens
Feb. 26 was the world premiere of The Laramie Project, a collaboration between a New York— based theater troupe and the people of Laramie, Wyo., reports Associated Press.
The play about the death of gay U. of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was the brainchild of Moises Kaufman ( Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde ) , founder of the Tectonic Theater Project, whose members collaborated on the drama now on view at the Denver Center Theater through April 1.
The production took 18 months of preparation, and included members of the company traveling to Laramie and interviewing residents, family and friends of Shepard, AP reported.
Boy Scouts case goes to Supreme Court
The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Boys Scouts of American v. James Dale April 26.
There is public seating available on a first come, first served basis.
Newspaper staff quits over bias
In California, a chain of community newspapers in San Luis Obispo County has been hit by a series of resignations by editors and writers protesting the refusal of the chain's owners to allow positive news about gays and abortion, reports The Los Angeles Times.
The Paso Robles Gazette began publishing eight months ago, and four other regional Gazettes are also published.
Ron Bast, who resigned as editor of the Atascadero Gazette, said he was ordered to pull a PFLAG announcement because of a policy by owners Mary and David Weyrich against running positive news about the gay community.
In addition to Bast, the publisher and two of the three reporters at the Atascadero Gazette also quit. The resignations then spread to the San Luis Obispo Gazette, where the editor, two columnists and a freelancer quit. Three more people had left the chain by Feb. 24, the Times reported.
Gay group seen as helping McCain
P> U.S. News & World Report became the first of the big three national weekly news magazines to acknowledge NationalGayLobby.Org's ( NGL ) role in helping to spark the massive voter party switching which has become the hallmark of this year's election cycle. On Jan. 26, NGL called for gay voters, and their family members and friends, to register as Republicans and vote for John McCain in their state's primary election.
Miss. lawmakers move to bar gay adoptions
Mississippi lawmakers have moved to bar gay couples from adopting children with a debate about morality and the fear of encouraging homosexuality, reports Associated Press.
The executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board told a House subcommittee that children raised by homosexuals could be more likely to be gay, AP said.
The subcommittee unanimously approved the bill.
Clergy close down Fox Family headquarters
Last week, 26 Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis marched through the streets of West Los Angeles to the international headquarters of the Fox Family Channel. With police and spectators looking on, uniformed security guards blocked all entrances to the headquarters of Rupert Murdoch's Fox Family Channel and its partner, Saban Entertainment.
"For 18 months we've tried to get an appointment with Fox Family executives to discuss our serious concerns about Pat Robertson's anti— homosexual rhetoric on their channel," explained Ed Bacon, the Rector of All Saints Episcopal in Pasadena, Califo. "Now they would rather close down ... than meet with us to work out a solution that would satisfy everyone including Mr. Robertson."
Group forms to protect intersex children
The North American Task Force on Intersex has been formed in response to the growing debate over standards of practice for medical treatment of intersex children.
The Task Force was formed by Ian Aaronson, MD, a pediatric urologist at the Medical University of South Carolina. Aaronson has cared for many intersex patients and is the author of chapters on the subject in several medical textbooks.
NATFI brings together specialists in surgery, endocrinology, psychology, ethics, psychiatry, epidemiology, genetics, public health and representatives of intersex patient advocate groups. With the participation of representatives of the Intersex Society of North America ( ISNA ) and the AIS Support Group, the Task Force is the first decision— making body on intersex medical care to have included intersex patient advocates.
Contact: Cheryl Chase ( INSA ) at ( 734 ) 994— 7369, cchase@isna.org or Ian Aaronson ( NATFI ) at ( 843 ) 792— 4531, perkos@musc.edu
Michigan voters say 'no' to gay rights
In Ferndale, Mich., voters rejected a hotly contested human— rights ordinance that would have banned discrimination against gays and others, reports The Detroit Free Press.
The proposal failed by a 51.2— 48.8 percent margin.
The ordinance would have forbidden discrimination on the basis of race, religion, disability and other grounds, but it was the sexual— orientation category that caused the most controversy with opponents, reports The Free Press.
Lambda sues when couple denied
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has filed suit against a Brooklyn landlord and a real estate agent for refusing to rent a Park Slope apartment to two men because they are gay.
According to the lawsuit, the property owner, Harold Vinje of Vinje Realty, and the broker, F.J. Kazeroid Realty Group, rejected the gay couple's application for a vacant one— bedroom apartment, and then, during an investigation by the Open Housing Center, repeatedly turned away others posing as gay prospective renters.
The plaintiffs, 21— year— old Gabriel Beaton and 24— year— old Philip Alberti, filled out an application and left an $1,800 deposit with the broker. But the landlord abruptly canceled the lease— signing appointment, and the agent told Beaton and Alberti that the landlord was unwilling to rent the apartment to two men.
After the couple's application was denied, the Center, which investigates complaints of housing discrimination, sent several people to inquire about the same apartment. Those posing as same— sex couples were told the space was too small for two people, while those applying as non— gay couples were enthusiastically shown the apartment. The broker even told one woman inquiring as part of a different— sex couple that the landlord would not mind a couple, or even a couple with a child.
Committee counting votes in Vermont
In Vermont, as the House Judiciary Committee wraps up its work on a domestic— partnership bill for gay and lesbian couples, leaders began assessing how lawmakers would decide the issue, reports Associated Press.
Members of the committee, who expected to vote out a bill by Wednesday of last week, began their lobbying efforts.
Colo. marriage ban passes
In Denver, the House of Representatives have approved a ban on gay marriages, and Gov. Bill Owens has said he will sign it. This is in contrast to Owens' predecessor, Democrat Roy Romer, who vetoed such bills twice.
Episcopalians reject resolution denouncing gay marriage
Members of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina have rejected a resolution denouncing same— sex marriage and ordination, reports MSNBC. The vote came Feb. 20, the last day of the diocese's three— day annual conference.
Utah Sen. bans gay adoption
The Utah Senate passed a bill Feb. 21 that would ban adoptions to non— married couples, including prospective parents who are gay, reports Associated Press.
The state already has rules that prohibit officials from placing children with unmarried couples who are living together. The proposed law would make that rule law and extend the ban to private adoption providers as well.
MMOW organizer resigns
One of two co— executive directors of the Millennium March on Washington for Equality resigned Feb. 18, apparently over a disagreement about which company should be hired to produce the April 30 event. Neither Millennium March officials nor Malcolm Lazin, the co— executive director who resigned, would confirm whether he voluntarily quit or was asked to resign, or what prompted his departure, reports The Washington Blade.
The resignation came after the board's reversal of a decision regarding what company would produce the Millennium March. The board had awarded the contract to three independent producers and National Events. But later the board decided instead to hire Artists Services Inc., a gay— owned company in Washington, D.C., which has worked for Human Right Campaign.
In other news, organizers of the March have announced plans to make gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth a central focus of the fourth national march for GLBT rights.
The Millennium March announced its redesigned website, thanks to sponsor PlanetOut.
The address is www.mmow.org .
David Knight talks about riff with father over Proposition 22
At a news conference, reported by Scripps McClatchy Western Service, David Knight, the gay son of state Sen. William "Pete" Knight, talked about the strain on his family, after his father authored a ballot measure that would ban recognition of same— sex marriages in California.
David Knight said he became involved in the campaign against Prop. 22 because of the importance of the issue, and to lend support to others who have had similar disagreements with their parents.
Candidate reveals arrest record
The Los Angeles Times reports that state Assembly candidate Cesar Portillo, a gay activist running in a Hollywood— Eastside district, disclosed Feb. 20 that he was arrested nine years ago after being propositioned by an undercover Los Angeles policeman.
Portillo claimed the campaign of his opponent, City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, had begun a whisper effort about the arrest and he chose to discuss it. Goldberg denies this.
In a statement read to supporters at the news conference, he said: "Nine years ago, I was approached by an undercover police officer who propositioned me and then arrested me. I was not guilty. I was in my 20s and I did not have the money to fight this in court."
