More than 20 gay-rights activists were arrested for trespassing as they tried to step onto the campus of Liberty University, the school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, according to the Associated Press. Many of the activists were part of Soulforce, a group trying to promote gay rights at the nation's conservative Christian universities and military academies.
An Ohio lawmaker's tongue-in-cheek proposal would stop Republicans from being adoptive parents, according to HeraldToday.com . State Sen. Robert Hagan sent out e-mails to fellow lawmakers stating that he intends to 'introduce legislation ... that would ban households with one or more Republican voters from adopting children or acting as foster parents.' Hagan said his legislation was written in response to a bill introduced in the Ohio House by state Rep. Ron Hood, R-Ashville, that is aimed at banning gay adoption.
Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta announced that Winnie Stachelberg has joined the Center as Senior Vice President for External Affairs. Stachelberg joins the organization after working 11 years at the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) .
In Florida, the Democratic Lesbian & Gay Caucus of Miami-Dade County has elected former The Amazing Race TV show winner Chip Arndt, of Miami Beach, as president.
For the first time since a ban barring gay men from donating blood went into effect, the American Red Cross is petitioning the government to revise the guideline, according to HoustonVoice.com . The current Food and Drug Administration policy, passed in 1985, prohibits any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood for the rest of his life.
The 2006 National STD Prevention Conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 8-11, according to a release from the Centers for Disease Control. See www.cdc.gov/stdconference.
In New Jersey, a school board voted to allow a teacher to return to school after undergoing a sex change, ABC News reported. For the last five years, William McBeth has been a substitute teacher at Eagleswood Elementary School, but it will be Lily McBeth who will fill in for sick teachers. During a heated school board meeting, the community voted 4-1 decision to allow McBeth to return to the classroom.
Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean has tried to calm gay Democrats who are upset over his decision to eliminate the political party's gay outreach office, Washington Blade reported. In a meeting in Manhattan, Dean said he replaced the Democratic National Committee's 'political desk' system, which included a gay outreach desk, with a new, 'integrated' approach to dealing with constituency groups in order to expand outreach efforts to the gay community and other constituency groups.
In West Virginia, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it filed a federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members of a man who died of a heart attack after the police chief allegedly prevented his friend from performing CPR. According to the complaint, the police chief blocked the CPR because he falsely assumed that the man, who was gay, was HIV-positive and a health risk.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has announced its plans for the 4th Annual Lobby Days and 14th Annual National Dinner in Washington, D.C., that are scheduled for May 14-16 and May 13, respectively. Activists will gather to lobby members of Congress for support of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act ( H.R. 1059 ) , a measure that repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' See www.sldn.org/events and www.sldn.org/lobby.
One year after its introduction, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a Congressional measure designed to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' now has the bipartisan support of 110 members of Congress, according to a release from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The legislation, introduced on March 2, 2005 by Congressman Marty Meehan, D-Mass., is being co-sponsored by 106 Democrats and 4 Republicans.
In Boston, Stonewall Communities Inc. and Abbott Real Estate Development announced that they are on their way to building the nation's first urban residential condominium community targeted to older gay men and lesbians and their friends and families. 'Stonewall at Audubon Circle' will offer about 66 condominium-style residences with amenities.
And Tango Makes Three, a children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin, has been moved to the non-fiction section of two public library branches in Savannah, Mo., after parents complained it had homosexual undertones, the Associated Press reported. The illustrated book is based on a true story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.
An internal memo from the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) stated that California's registered domestic partners should report their pay on federal tax forms the way single people do, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The clarification is the first bit of guidance from the IRS since a sweeping state law that took effect in 2005, giving gays and lesbians many of the rights of married couples.
Osmosis Medialab, a full-service advertising and interactive agency, was named 'Best Diversity Advertising Agency 2005' by PlanetOut, Inc. Osmosis serves Fortune 500 companies spanning several industry categories, including HBO and Wells Fargo. PlanetOut is honoring companies that demonstrate excellence and innovation in advertising within the gay media.
In Idaho, stickers saying 'Heterosexuals Only' were placed on bus benches and public drinking fountains in downtown Boise, according to television station KBCI. A group of gay and lesbian activists said that they put up the 150 stickers to protest the state's legislature's passage of a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which voters will face in November.
In San Francisco on April 11, there will be a presentation honoring lesbian Portland doctor Marie Equi, who was instrumental in rescuing dozens of people during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The show about 'the stormy petrel of the Northwest' will take place at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk branch of the city's public library.
In Maryland, Hood College is reviewing its homecoming rules after a lesbian was crowned king, the Associated Press reported. Jennifer Jones, the 21-year-old senior who beat out three men, said the crowning was a positive step for the college.
The New York-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( IGLHRC ) has renewed its call for justice for the 'Yaoundé 11' as reports from Cameroon confirm that two of the 11 men detained in a prison on sodomy charges have been released while the other nine await trial, according to an IGLHRC release. IGLHRC has been working with the men and their attorneys since their arrest in May 2005.
The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) filed a federal lawsuit against a northern Georgia school district, claiming that it is unfairly preventing a gay support club from meeting at a high school, according to the Associated Press. The ACLU said it asked the federal court to issue a preliminary injunction requiring the White County school district to allow all non-curricular student groups to begin meeting again immediately.
