Weeks after Rev. Ted Haggard resigned over a scandal involving a male escort and drugs, the founding pastor of a second Colorado church has resigned over gay sex allegations, according to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Paul Barnes, leader of the 2,100-member Grace Chapel in Englewood, told his evangelical congregation in a videotaped message he had had sexual relations with other men and was stepping down. Barnes—who has a wife and two children—said that he has 'struggled with homosexuality since I was a 5-year-old boy. ... I can't tell you the number of nights I have cried myself to sleep, begging God to take this away.'
In Ada, Okla., attacks on two lesbians have prompted local authorities to ask the FBI to help investigate a possible hate crime, according to the Associated Press. In one incident, the word 'lesbian' was carved into Sarah Kaspereit's arm while, in another, Brenda Johnson was blindfolded and bound to a tree with 'Hellbound' written deeply in pen across her chest. FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said the bureau was looking into the incident.
U.S. researchers in Africa have found that circumcision is such a good defense against HIV infection that they shut down two studies early and instead offered all participants a chance to be circumcised, Forbes reported. One study in Kenya showed that circumcision cut adult males' HIV infection risk from heterosexual intercourse by 53 percent, while another study in Uganda showed a 48 percent decrease. In Africa, an estimated 25 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS.
Vermont Judicial Bureau Judge Charon True has dismissed hazing charges against four University of Vermont fraternity members who were accused of making pledges wear cowboy outfits at a party while they were taunted with anti-gay language, according to The Washington Blade. True ruled that police hadn't proved the allegations. Witnesses told police the theme of the party was the film 'Brokeback Mountain.'
In California, Charlene Nguon, an 18-year-old lesbian student, is suing the Orange County school district and her high school principal because of alleged discrimination and is seeking up to $1.3 million in damages, Advocate.com noted. Nguon claims that she was suspended more than once for hugging and kissing her girlfriend at school, and that her principal told her mom that she is gay.
In Colorado, Jason Fiske will be sentenced on Jan. 30 for the 2005 strangling death of gay victim Kevin Hale after pleading guilty to reduced charges of manslaughter and robbery, 365Gay.com noted. Fiske, 25, had been charged with murder; he entered a not guilty plea to the charge. Adam Hernandez, 21—Fiske's partner in the killing who was also originally charged with murder—was sentenced in April to eight years in prison on reduced manslaughter and theft charges.
In Massachusetts, VoteOnMarriage.org—which wants to put a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the 2008 ballot—plans to sue the 109 state lawmakers who recessed without taking a vote on the proposal, Boston.com reported. Legislators are supposed to reconvene on Jan. 2 ( the last day of the current session ) but are expected to adjourn without action, basically killing the amendment.
David Kaye, a 56-year-old Maryland rabbi caught in a nationally televised sex sting, has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for attempting to have sex with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old boy, The Washington Blade reported. In September, Kaye—whose attempt was aired on a Dateline NBC sting—was convicted in federal court of enticement and traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexual conduct.
In Minnesota, now-separated lesbian couple Marilyn Johnson and Nancy SooHoo are involved in a ground-breaking child-visitation dispute that has reached the state's Supreme Court, The Star-Tribune reported. SooHoo never legally adopted the children, but was granted visitation privileges in 2005. Johnson, the sole legal parent, has appealed those privileges.
Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson—a schoolteacher and a former Miss North Dakota-turned-lawyer, respectively—have purchased the WNBA team the Los Angeles Sparks for $10 million after holding season tickets for the past decade, according to Advocate.com . Goodman and Christofferson are the first women to own a professional basketball team without the help of spouses.
GayCities.com, the online guide for the gay traveler, has surpassed 1,000 traveler-submitted reviews of bars, clubs and hotels in North America, according to a press release. GayCities spokesman Don Ward commented that ' [ o ] ur 1,000th review marks an exciting milestone.'.
In Utah, Republican state lawmakers Chris Buttars and Aaron Tilton plan to re-introduce measures meant to terminate gay-straight alliances ( GSAs ) in state schools in the legislature's new session, 365Gay.com reported. There are approximately 14 GSAs in Utah.
The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a gala event that was attended by more than 200 Coloradans from the non-profit, business and public sectors, according to a press release. Since 1996, the fund has provided more than $18 million in financial grants to hundreds of state non-profit organizations.
New research has discovered that people who can write with both their right and left hands are more likely to be bisexual, according to The Globe and Mail. However, it also revealed that ambidextrous individuals also reported suffering from asthma, hyperactivity and dyslexia more than individuals who were more definitive about which hand they prefer.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) is asking people to contact Time Magazine about a recent article written by guest columnist James Dobson, head of the conservative group Focus on the Family. Dobson's column, entitled 'Two Mommies Is One Too Many,' contains what the organizations contends are many distortions about gays and lesbians. In addition, two professors—New York University educational psychologist Carol Gilligan, Ph.D., and Kyle Pruett, M.D. of the Yale School of Medicine—have criticized Dobson for 'twisting' and 'distorting' her research, according to TruthWinsOut.org .
President George Bush told People magazine that he is happy for Mary Cheney, the openly lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney who has revealed that she is pregnant, according to an item in the Indianapolis Star. However, White House press secretary Tony Snow said that, although Bush still believes that each family should be headed by a married father and mother, the president feels that Cheney's child will have loving parents.