To protest Virginia's laws banning same-sex marriage, Clarendon Presbyterian Church Pastor David Ensign and his church's governing council decided recently that the Arlington, Va., church will no longer have any weddings and that Ensign will renounce his authority to marry couples, the Washington Post reported. Any heterosexual couple who has its union 'blessed' in a 'celebration ceremony' at the church will have to take the extra step of being officially wed by a justice of the peace at the courthouse.
The executive committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention has taken steps to sever ties with Mercer University after it learned of a Coming Out Day event sponsored by the Mercer Triangle Symposium, according to the Macon ( Ga. ) Telegraph. The group disbanded in response to the controversy.
A man convicted of the deadly beating that prompted Connecticut's hate-crimes law sobbed in court as he asked for forgiveness from the victim's family, Advocate.com reported. Sean Burke was in Manchester Superior Court seeking a reduction of his 40-year prison sentence for taking part in the fatal beating of Richard Reihl, a gay man, in 1988.
Adams County ( Wash. ) Superior Court Judge Richard Miller has granted a newspaper's request to make public the gay-themed contents of embattled Spokane Mayor James West's city-owned laptop computer, but prevented the release of 3,300 pictures from a gay-oriented Web site, according to Advocate.com . West is the subject of a Dec. 6 recall election because of a sex scandal involving gay men. Judge Raymond Norko asked both sides to submit written arguments regarding application of the sentence modification law by Dec. 2.
There is a new Web site with in-depth information about an appetite stimulant for AIDS patients suffering from anorexia, cachexia ( wasting away ) or unintentional weight loss. According to a press release from Par Pharmaceutical, www.megacees.com showcases the stimulant Megace ES. The site also has separate bits of information for patients and for healthcare professionals.
Pat Riley, an assistant U.S. Attorney who has prosecuted sex offense cases in D.C., has invited members of the gay community to weigh in on whether the District should pass a law making it a crime to intentionally expose someone to HIV, according to The Washington Blade. Riley said her office received inquiries after the prosecution earlier this year of a former D.C. government employee who engaged in unprotected sex with at least seven female partners, including a 15-year-old girl, without informing them he was HIV-positive.
The University of Virginia has hired its first full-time program coordinator for its LGBT Resource Center, according to 365Gay.com . Joy Pugh, 27, will manage student support groups and other activities offered through the six-year-old center.
