Charges were dropped against openly gay Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo July 14 regarding their protests at the White House in March and April, according to Newsweek. Choi and Pietrangelo were charged with failing to obey police orders when they handcuffed themselves to the White House gates in order to protest "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Choi told Advocate.com, "I certainly am overwhelmed with that feeling of vindication for the whole civil disobedience, direct-action ideals. It was certainly justification—but it was clear the government was embarrassed to do that."
Speaking of Choi, he was among eight people arrested July 20 when activists with the LGBT-rights organization GetEQUAL blocked traffic along the Las Vegas strip to protest U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's perceived inaction regarding the passing of ENDA, according to the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. As a symbolic gesture, the activists protested near the Statue of Liberty monument outside the New York, New York hotel and casino.
Continuing with Choi, the Army National Guard veteran has been honorably discharged, according to Advocate.com . The development happened almost a year and a half after he came out on national television to join the fight to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Choi called the letter, which he released July 22, "an infuriating and painful announcement." In an e-mail he stated, "The true honor and dignity of service does not come from a piece of paper, a pension or paycheck, a rank or status; only an unflinching commitment to improve the lives of others can determine the nature of one's service."
In Mississippi, Itawamba County School District officials agreed to have a judgment regarding the case of Constance McMillen, a recent high school graduate who sued her school for canceling the prom instead of letting her attend with her girlfriend, according to a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union. McMillen had alleged that she was the victim of humiliation and harassment after parents, students and school officials put on a fake prom for her and her girlfriend while the other classmates were at the actual private prom. School officials will implement a policy outlawing discrimination the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The district will also pay McMillen $35,000 and cover her attorneys' fees.
In California, the trial involving Brandon McInerney—the teenager accused of murdering 15-year-old gay classmate Lawrence King in 2008—has taken another turn as the defendant's attorney has asked for a new judge, according to KEYT.com . The defense attorney has filed a motion requesting a new judge; current judge Charles Campbell has already denied a request to postpone the trial. Although McInerney was only 14 when he allegedly shot King, he is being tried as an adult.
In California, the Pacific Pride Foundation lost more than $6,000 after the organization was robbed during Santa Barbara Pride, which the foundation hosts, according to Advocate.com . A thief apparently took the money from Pacific Pride's concessions tent. The foundation has set up a page for donations at PacificPrideFoundation.org .
Will Cleveland host the 2014 Gay Games? That issue is up in the air after the city sent a letter to the Cleveland Synergy Foundation stating that the Federation of Gay Games ( FGG ) is ending Synergy's license agreement for Gay Games 2014 and stopping all funding, Advocate.com reported. In losing its license, Synergy has no rights regarding the production of the games, according to GayPeoplesChronicle.com . Members of Synergy and the FGG are neither confirming nor denying that mediation is taking place.
Seven committed gay and lesbian couples filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana July 22 for not providing legal protections to same-sex couples and their families in violation of the state constitution's rights of privacy, dignity and the pursuit of life's basic necessities and its guarantees of equal protection and due process, according to an ACLU press release. The lawsuit seeks an item such as the domestic-partnership laws adopted by several other states to provide similar protections for committed same-sex couples.
The Give a Damn Campaign has released its latest video in its monthly series to highlight the discrimination that the LGBT community faces, according to a media release. This month, actress Cynthia Nixon, celebrity Sharon Osbourne and supermodel Karolína Kurková—who are all mothers—talk about why they care about LGBT parents and their kids. The campaign, a project of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund, is a web-based initiative aimed at educating and engaging the straight community in order to achieve LGBT equality.
In Massachusetts, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall is retiring, according to MSNBC.com . Among other things, Marshall wrote the groundbreaking decision that legalized same-sex marriage; she said that denying marriage equality "works a deep and scarring hardship on a very real segment of the community for no rational reason." She is leaving the bench to spend time with her husband, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease.
In Texas, the family members of fallen firefighter Thomas Araguz II are trying to stop his widow from getting his benefits because she is transgender, according to Advocate.com . Araguz was killed on duty while battling a blaze at a farm. The family has been granted a temporary restraining order to keep the firefighter's wife, Nikki, from receiving benefits until the court rules on the matter. Complicating the matter is that Thomas reportedly did not find out Nikki was born a male until two months before his death—and he had allegedly moved out of their home after being told.
In Newart, N.J., a police officer gunned down Credit Union of Atlanta CEO DeFarra Gaymon after the executive allegedly propositioned the cop in a gay cruising area known as Branch Brook Park, according to Advocate.com . Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino has said that the officer, 29, claimed he fired the gun in self-defense. The heads of Garden State Equality and the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey are demanding an investigation of the matter.
An analysis has projected the total buying power of the U.S. LGBT adult population to be $743 billion this year, according to the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. The projection, provided by "The Gay and Lesbian Market in the U.S.: Trends and Opportunities in the LGBT Community, 6th edition," is slightly less than earlier studies, primarily because of the status of the economy. However, Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications ( one of the companies conducting the study ) stressed that " [ b ] uying power is not the same as affluence or wealth. No one should infer that same-sex households are more affluent than others."
A same-sex couple is one of the three sets of winners in K-Y's "America's Top Couple" contest, which included full-page advertisements featured in prominent publications such as Entertainment Weekly. Geoffrey and Rusty are pictured together on a bed while a write-up details how they met and what has kept them together for seven years—with communication being "this couple's highest priority." To read more, visit www.facebook.com/kycouples.
There were some surprises in the Gay/Lesbian Index metro rankings of the top 20 gay-friendliest cities in the country, a list developed by Gary Gates, a demographer at UCLA's Williams Institute, according to TheDailyBeast.com . Although having San Francisco in the mix is not exactly news, there were college towns like Ann Arbor, Mich., and Eugene, Ore., mixed with cities such as Springfield, Mass.; Portland, Maine; and Columbus, Ohio. Incidentally, Chicago did not make the list.
Jason Andrews, 27, known to many Chicago partygoers as DJ Veritas, has made his first court appearance in Florida since being charged with facing first-degree murder for the slaying of a Tampa-area shop owner, according to Advocate.com . According to a report in the New York Daily News, Dennis Abrahamsen was found covered in blood on his massage table the morning after a May 15 sex party at which Andrews' girlfriend, Amanda Logue, was hired to work. The report cites text messages between Logue and Andrews ( who is bisexual ) planning to kill the tattoo artist. Andrews and Logue allegedly stabbed Abrahamsen; beat him with a sledgehammer; and stole $6,000 and credit cards.
In Texas, a jury acquitted 19-year-old Lawrneil Henry Lewis of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon ( with hate-crime enhancements ) after he was accused of throwing rocks at patrons at Robert's Lafitte bar, according to GalvestonDailyNews.com . It turned out that the accused's brother, 21-year-old Lawrence Henry Lewis, was the culprint—but he even testified against his younger brother, letting Lawrneil spend eight months in prison. Lawrence is now serving five years for the 2009 attack, which resulted in one patron needing 12 staples to close a head wound.
In San Francisco, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ( ELCA ) welcomed seven openly gay and transgender pastors—individuals who had been banned from the ministry, because of their sexual orientation, until recently, according to the New York Times. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that it was a day of mixed emotions for the Revs. Paul Brenner, Jeff Johnson, Megan Rohrer, Craig Minich, Dawn Roginski, Sharon Stalkfleet and Ross Merkel. The ELCA—with more than four and a half million members— is the largest Protestant church in the country to allow non-celibate gay ministers to serve.
fabulis, the online social network that connects gay men with experiences nearby and around the world, has announced the worldwide availability of its iPhone app. The fabulis iPhone app enhances the fabulis.com website experience, which has gained more than 53,000 members since it first launched April 23. The app has five main features, including "Shake It," which allows the user to shake the iPhone from any part of app and pull up a random profile.
In California, Clay Greene and the estate of Harold Scull, Greene's deceased partner of 20 years, reached a settlement with the County of Sonoma and other defendants, with the county agreeing to pay $653,000, according to a press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In April 2008, county employees separated the couple after Scull fell outside the home he and Greene had shared for two decades. Even though the county had executed both mutual powers of attorney for medical and financial decisions, the county kept them apart; Scull passed away in August 2008.
Nathan Quinones—who helped establish New York City's LGBT-inclusive Harvey Milk High School—has died of a stroke at age 79, according to the New York Times. Quinones was chancellor of the city's school system in the mid-1980s and pushed for higher academic standards; however, he was ousted later that decade at the behest of public officials.
South Bend, Ind.'s, Common Council has voted to table an ordinance that would ban discrimination in the area of employment against LGBT people, according to the South Bend Tribune. Councilmember Oliver Davis, who was a sponsor of the measure, asked for a continuance when he realized he would not get a majority vote from the nine-member governing body. At the July 26 meeting, opponents of the bill wore stickers that stated "SPECIAL STATUS = SPECIAL RIGHTS," while supporters wore buttons labeled "30-10 YES!"—a reference to the ordinance's number.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has continued to push for the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) to overturn its ban on gay men giving blood, according to a press release from his office. During he FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee's July 26 hearing to review recent recommendations by the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability, Kerry provided testimony, arguing that it was possible to maintain the safety of the nation's blood supply without needlessly discriminating against gay donors. The FDA currently forbids men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man since 1977.
