Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has sported some interesting views on issues important to the GLBT community, 365Gay.com reported. Regarding abortion, McCain—who supports a ban on abortion except in cases of rape, incest and to save a mother's life—said he doubted a constitutional amendment could pass but is unnecessary because he thinks the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade. He also termed the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy toward gays as 'very effective.' In addition, he opposes gay marriage, but thinks that it is an issue for individual states to decide.
The United Nations has reported that an estimated 39.5 million people are now living with the AIDS virus worldwide as infection rates and deaths from the disease continue to mount, according to an Associated Press item. Some 2.9 million people have died this year from AIDS-related illnesses, and 4.3 more million were infected with HIV.
In Ohio, the Butler County Court of Common Pleas has dismissed a lawsuit brought by state legislator Thomas Brinkman, who tried to have domestic-partner benefits taken away from Miami University employees, according to a Lambda Legal press release. According to the judge, 'Brinkman has not shown the kind of individual concrete damages required to have taxpayer standing.'
Howard Dean recently told about 200 people at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference that the Democratic Party needs to put more GLBT candidates on the ballot, The Washington Blade reported. Overall, Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said little about issues such as same-sex marriage or civil rights, instead concentrating on Democratic topics such as raising the minimum wage.
The social justice organization Soulforce has asked the LGBT community and straight allies to write letters of concern and compassion to Rev. Ted Haggard, the former head of New Life Church and ex-president of the National Association of Evangelicals who admitted to sexual impropriety with former escort Mike Jones. Paige Schlit, Soulforce's media director, said that 'we want to make sure that the voices of intolerance and homophobia are not the only voices that [ Haggard ] hears during this difficult time.'
In a statement, the National Black Chamber of Commerce has called for the immediate reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act after three HIV/AIDS-affected individuals in South Carolina died while on the state AIDS Drug Assistance Program's ( ADAP's ) waiting list. Organization CEO Harry Alford said that ' [ i ] t is unacceptable that a handful of Senators are blocking this legislation that will ultimately save lives.'
Most adults in the U.S. believe that same-sex partnerships should be legally acknowledged, Angus Reid Global Scan reported. Thirty percent of the 900 respondents think gays and lesbians should be allowed to legally marry, while another 30 percent support a similar legal partnership not called marriage.
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have announced that San Francisco's Fallon Building, which houses the city's LGBT community center, will receive $50,000 for preservation and repairs, Advocate.com noted. The building, home to the San Francisco LGBT center since 1984, was built in 1894 and survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Timothy Boham, 25, was arrested just feet away from the Mexican border in Arizona for the shooting death of openly gay Denver businessman John 'J.P.' Kelso, according to Advocate.com . The Denver Post reported that Boham apparently hated gays although he acted in more than a dozen gay adult films under the name 'Marcus Allen.'
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said that he would ask the state's highest court to order an anti-gay marriage amendment question onto the ballot if legislators fail to vote on the matter in January, Boston.com noted.
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has chosen five nominees to head a diocese that may lose two significant parishes—Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church—over a controversy concerning the GLBT community, according to The Christian Post. The boards of directors of both churches recently voted to recommend a split from the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Anglican representative body, because of differences over the Bible and sexuality.
The North Carolina Baptist Convention has caused a split among ministers regarding its decision to bar membership to any Baptist church that 'knowingly act [ s ] to affirm, approve, endorse, promote, support or bless homosexual behavior,' The Rocky Mount Telegram reported. One minister against the decision, the Rev. Jody Wright of Lakeside Baptist Church, said that 'I certainly don't see Jesus making any distinction among the people he dealt with.'
