\A new article in the journal Professional Psychology looks at how 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' impedes access to mental healthcare in the armed services and identifies practical steps providers should take to provide the best possible care for LGB service personnel, according to a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network release. The article notes, among other things, that lesbian, gay and bisexual ( LGB ) personnel are often the subjects of discrimination and that the reasons for keeping the policy do not have scientific support.
Discharging troops under the Pentagon's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy cost $363.8 million over 10 years—almost double what the government concluded a year ago, according to AP. A report released by a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission questioned the methodology the Government Accountability Office used when it estimated that the financial impact of the policy was at least $190.5 million.
In New York, a mid-level state appeals court upheld the state's marriage law as constitutional, handing a defeat to same-sex couples. The five-judge panel ruled in three separate cases brought on behalf of gay couples denied marriage licenses. The similar cases are among those that could eventually end up before the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, which will probably make the ultimate judicial decision on the legality of gay marriage in New York. The American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement, vowed to appeal the most recent decision.
In a 3-2 vote, the Los Altos ( Calif. ) City Council decided to pass a law forbidding any Gay Pride Day proclamations, 365Gay.com reported. The legislation calls pride 'discriminatory' because it promotes a specific sexual orientation.
In Missouri, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge overturned a state Department of Social Services decision denying a woman's application to become a foster parent because she is a lesbian, according to an American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) release. The ACLU, which represents the applicant, Lisa Johnston, in challenging the denial, praised the ruling as an important move towards increasing the pool of qualified foster parents.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., plans a vote in early June on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, according to CNN.com . In a statement, Human Right Campaign President Joe Solmonese said that 'Americans want fairness for gay couples and this amendment could wipe out any option for providing critical responsibilities and protections to families. Our nation's founding document should be amended to expand rights and liberties, not take them away.'
Marking his one-year anniversary as the head of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean issued a release lauding the progress the organization has made concerning outreach toward the LGBT community. 'In the past year, the DNC has made tremendous progress in expanding and improving outreach to our friends and family in the LGBT community,' he stated. 'As long as I am chairman, this Party will always help provide the LGBT community every opportunity to live the American Dream.'
Researchers, including a Brigham Young University scientist, believe they have found a new compound that could finally kill the HIV/AIDS virus and not just slow it down as current treatments do, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported. Although so far limited to early test tube studies, CSA-54 imitates the disease-fighting traits of antimicrobial and antiviral agents produced naturally by a healthy human immune system.
A proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Idaho passed the state Senate and will go to voters this November, according to the Associated Press. If approved, only 'a marriage between a man and a woman' will be recognized as valid.
The total buying power of the U.S. LGBT adult population in 2006 is projected to be $641 billion, according to a release from Witeck-Combs Communications. In 2005, the gay buying power projection was estimated at $610 billion, comparing favorably with the Black, Hispanic and Asian markets.
The Family Pride Coalition issued a statement condemning the introduction of House Bill 515 in the Ohio House of Representatives. If passed, the measure would prohibit LGBT individuals and those who live with them from adopting or serving as foster parents in the state. Currently, there are more than 22,000 children in the state's foster care system.
New York's highest court ruled an anti-discrimination law passed by the New York City Council over the Mayor Michael Bloomberg's objections was invalid, according to the Associated Press. The Equal Benefits Law, enacted by the council over the mayor's veto in June 2004, had required the city to do business only with contractors and property owners that agree to provide the same benefits for the domestic partners of employees as they do for the spouses of employees.
The U.S. Congress sneaked a bill that protects the Boy Scouts of America into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 ( H.R. 1815 ) , according to a release from Scouting for All, an anti-discrimination organization. The statement mentioned that supporters of the scouts' policies slipped in the Support Our Scouts Act of 2005 ( Section 1073 ) , which supposedly protects the organization on several levels.
Speaking of the Scouts, the New York Senate's only openly gay legislator Thomas Duane is calling on Gov. George Pataki to ban the Boy Scouts from a Governor's Mansion event because the group doesn't allow gays, The New York Post reported.
Actor Tom Cruise is threatening to sue famed biographer Andrew Morton after discovering he has hired an ex-gay porn star to shed light on Cruise's private life, Hollywood.com reported. Morton, who famously collaborated with Diana, Princess of Wales, regarding an account of her life, has hired Los Angeles private investigator and former gay adult actor Paul Baressi to probe on-going speculation that Cruise is gay.
