Crystal Smith, a 20-year-old lesbian, was fatally shot and two of her friends were wounded while standing on a street near their homes in Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Blade. Smith's mother, Natasha Byrd, said she believes her daughter was killed because of her sexual orientation, but police said they have no evidence that points toward the situation being a hate crime.
Vermont Gov. James Douglas vetoed a bill that would have added 'gender identity or expression' to the state's nondiscrimination law, according to Gay.com . State Rep. Bill Lippert, D-Hinesburg, first introduced the bill four years ago and added gender identity protections for employment, housing and public accommodations; the state's hate-crimes law already includes gender identity-related language. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese commented that ' [ e ] mployees should be judged by the job they do, not by someone else's prejudice.'
The U.S. Supreme Court would not block a state court ruling that Sue Ellen Carvin, a gay woman, could seek parental rights to a child she had helped raise with her partner, Assoociated Press reported. Lawyers for the girl's biological mother, Page Britain, said that the Washington State court's decision could 'pave the way for children to have an unlimited and ever-changing number of parents.'
A federal court struck down an Oklahoma gay adoption law that many viewed as extreme. According to a Lambda Legal press release, the Adoption Invalidation Law stated that the state 'shall not recognize an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction.' U.S. District Court Judge Robin Cauthron wrote that ' [ t ] o now attempt to strip a child of one of his or her parents seems far removed from the statute's purpose and therefore from Defendants' asserted important government objective.'
Almost two-thirds of the nation's top institutions of higher education have added 'gender identity' and 'gender expression' to their non-discrimination policies within the past four years, according to a GenderPAC release. Recently, Princeton University joined fellow Ivy League schools Brown, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell and Harvard in formally prohibiting gender identity discrimination.
The national board of directors of the fraternity Sigma Phi Beta voted to allow transgender students to join, The Advocate reported. The new policy even allows members to remain members if they decide to change their gender to female.
In Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony A. Williams threatened to remove Bishop Alfred A. Owens from his interfaith council if the minister did not apologize for derogatory remarks he made about gay men during a Palm Sunday sermon, according to The Washington Post. Owens was recorded saying, 'It takes a real man to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. I'm not talking about no faggot or no sissy."
On the International Day against Homophobia ( May 17 ) , Human Rights Watch named five public officials to its 'Hall of Shame,' Gay.com reported. The only American to make the list was Alabama State Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, who wanted any book with gay content or with a gay author to be banned from libraries.
Georgia's constitutional ban on gay marriage has been appealed and is headed to the Georgia Supreme Court after a lower court judge threw out the amendment banning same-sex marriage, according to the Washington Blade. Gov. Sonny Perdue filed a notice of appeal with the state's highest court just one day after Fulton Superior Court Judge Constance Russell's ruling.
Volusia County ( Fla. ) Councilman Bill Long has been charged with hitting a former partner, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that abuse between gay and lesbian couples occurs as often as it does among heterosexuals.
Former N.J. Gov. James E. McGreevey has agreed to appear this fall on The Oprah Winfrey Show, according to an item in the Washington Blade. McGreevey stunned many in August 2004 when he outed himself, revealed a gay affair and announced his intent to resign.
In Georgia, former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani avoided questions over his support for gay civil unions and declared heterosexual marriage to be 'inviolate' as he helped raise money for Ralph Reed, a former leader of the Christian Coalition, The New York Times reported. Reed is competing for the Republican nomination against veteran state senator Casey Cagle.
Stating that gay and atheist youth are being excluded from the Boy Scouts of America ( BSA ) , Scouting for All planned to stage a protest at BSA's national conference in Washington, D.C. on May 24.
Gay Men of African Descent, a Harlem-based HIV/AIDS nonprofit group, planned to protest a Latino and Black party where condoms were forbidden, Newsday reported. In addition, Tokes Osubu, executive director of the group, sent the party's promoter a letter asking him to reconsider the no-condoms policy.
