The United States has backed an Iranian initiative to deny United Nations consultative status to organizations working to protect the LGBT individuals ( the International Lesbian and Gay Association and the Danish Association of Gays and Lesbians ) , according to a release from a coalition including Human Rights Watch and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. As a result, a coalition of 40 groups sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that called for an explanation of the vote. Among the organizations that signed off on the missive included Mano a Mano, Gay Men's Health Crisis, Amnesty International USA and Immigration Equality.
The New York City-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( IGLHRC ) issued a release denying a claim made in a Bay Windows article that the organization plans on boycotting World Pride in Jerusalem this summer. Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director, said that the gay publication's column 'cites part of a memo sent to IGLHRC's International Advisory Committee soliciting their feedback about what the organization's position should be. The columnist did not speak to anyone at IGLHRC to clarify where the organization was in its decision-making process.'
After fighting for more than a year, Lt. Laurel Hester can finally grant pension benefits to her domestic partner, reported The New York Times. Hester, who has terminal lung cancer, had been dealing with the freeholders of Ocean County ( N.J. ) ; they had refused repeatedly to let her leave her partner, Stacie Andree, the pension she has earned in two decades of local police work. Hester, in a wheelchair pushed by Andree, told the officials that she had rejected her doctors' orders and had come to witness the vote to thank them.
Navalog, a weekly publication of Naval Station Newport in Newport, R.I., has refused the Combined Federal Campaign ad from Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , despite having previously published similar ads from conservative groups like American Family Association ( AFA ) and Focus on the Family, according to an SLDN release. The publication's public affairs officer told the organization that Navalog no longer runs those types of ads; even though SLDN has asked why, it has not received a response.
In California, attorney Richard Gilbert, who has sued Orange County because he feels the U.S. Constitution guarantees a marriage license to his clients ( a gay couple ) , says the lawyers fighting for same-sex marriage are using a timid approach, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Gilbert believes that the plan to push for legislation and gradual court victories needs to be more aggressive. However, various gay-rights leaders say a U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage that comes too soon could cause the gay community to lose rights—and are trying to stop Gilbert's suit.
Also in California, Assembly Bill 1160, a measure that limits the use of the 'gay panic strategy,' passed the California Assembly along party lines, according to a release from the office of Assemblywoman Sally J. Lieber, D-San Jose, who authored the bill. ( The strategy is used to describe a strategy or excuse employed by some murder defendants who argue that they did not intentionally kill their victim. ) A.B. 1160 was introduced in response to recent cases in which murder defendants have tried to lessen the charges against them by claiming that they acted in a panic after discovering that the victim was gay or transgender.
In Michigan, a Warren park official says a gay couple was denied a family membership at the community center because Michigan does not recognize gay marriages, according to WLNS.com . Mark Jeason and Martin Murdick, who have been together about 18 years, say that they are considering leaving the Detroit suburb to protest the denial.
Officials with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) are demanding a meeting with the producers of TV series American Idol, claiming the show is becoming 'increasingly homophobic,' according to All Headline News. Individuals with the organizations said they were shocked by supposedly homophobic remarks uttered by judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson.
Orlando Councilmember Patty Sheehan has been elected to head the National League of Cities ( NLC ) Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Local Officials ( GLBLO ) constituency group for 2006 for a term of one year. GLBLO is a voluntary association of local officials formed within the NLC to encourage the involvement and full participation of GLB municipal officials and their non-gay supporters.
Hythiam, Inc., a healthcare services management company, has awarded the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association ( GLMA ) an unrestricted educational grant of approximately $320,000, according to a company press release. GLMA will use these funds to examine, among other things, meth use in the gay community and treatment options.
PlanetOut Inc., the leading media and entertainment company exclusively serving the LGBT community, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire all of the assets of RSVP Productions, Inc., a leading marketer of gay and lesbian travel events, for $6.5 million in cash plus up to $3.0 million in additional consideration. RSVP, a company based in Minneapolis with 12 employees, posted $7.2 million in revenue in 2004 and $8.3 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2005.
The Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, the nation's largest LGBT program of its kind, announced a major expansion with the establishment of the LGBT National Help Center ( www. GLBTNationalHelpCenter.org ) and the GLBT National Youth Talkline. The number for the youth line is ( 800 ) 246-7743 and for the national hotline is ( 888 ) 843-4564. The national hotline's other programs include the National Association of GLBT Hotlines and the National GLBT Resource Database of Record.
The Rev. Al Sharpton said that churches should help end the 'poisoned atmosphere' surrounding the acceptance of gay men and lesbians, The Washington Post reported. Sharpton made the remark at an event hosted by the National Black Justice Coalition, which is composed of Black LGBT activists.
At a recent appearance at Kansas State University, President Bush stammered a bit when asked for his reaction to the movie Brokeback Mountain, according to the Los Angeles Times. 'I haven't seen it,' Bush said of the award-winning film. 'I'll be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven't seen the movie.'
