A few weeks ago, New Paltz, N.Y. mayor Jason West was cleared of criminal charges for marrying gay couples. Last week, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors. And now his staff is performing gay marriages again. A week after West was cleared, the Deputy Mayor and a city Trustee officiated four gay weddings.
A new study reveals that 770 recruits were dismissed from the military for being gay last year, according to AP. The Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California at Santa Barbara analyzed data provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center to come up with the number which is nearly 40 percent less than the number of discharges in 2001. Nearly 10,000 recruits have been dismissed for homosexuality since the inception of Don't Ask Don't Tell in 1994.
Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, is under fire again from a group of gay activists. The Equality Campaign, the Organization created to fight the Federal Marriage Amendment, launched a renewed effort to condemn Mary Cheney's actions in supporting the campaign of her father and the Republicans, according to a statement from the group. The group claims she receives a six-figure salary to 'turn on her own community.' In addition to web advertisements, the group highlights its views on www.dearmary.com .
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are trying to out-sympathetic Democrats. Reuters reports that a group of Senate Republicans will call for a vote to ban same-sex marriage next month, weeks before the nominating conventions. Some Republicans admit that they do not have enough votes to pass a Constitutional Amendment, but Democrats charge that the issue is being raised to harm Democrats who do not support the Amendment. Senate Republicans also hope to introduce a Constitutional Amendment banning flag burning.
The Senate as a whole, however, overwhelmingly approved a measure last week that would add gender, sexuality, and disability to the federal hate-crimes law, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer. Republican Sen. Gordon Smith is one of the leading advocates of protecting gays and lesbians using hate-crimes legislation. The provision was attached to a defense appropriations bill that is on its way to passage.
Gay activist John Aravosis, the creator of dontamend.com and dearmary.com, also wants to do some outing, according to the Blade. Aravosis is reportedly trying to create a list of gay congressmen and staffers with the intention of outing them. The list is being used to target staffers and Congressmen who are gay but supported the Federal Marriage Amendment legislation. Congressman Barney Frank said he supports outing only when the person to be outted is 'a hypocrite.'
Geico insurance will reportedly now offer spousal policies to gay couples who were married in Canada or Massachusetts if the couple lives in Massachusetts or New York, according to the Houston Voice. Lambda Legal approached the insurance company after the company refused a spousal policy for a New York couple married in Canada. Geico reversed its decision. While New York state does not perform its own gay marriages, the state recognizes gay marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions.
During a memorial for former President Ronald Reagan in Springfield, Ill., gay activist Rick Garcia had a run-in with an off-duty reporter, reports the Chicago Reader. Downstate WICS-TV reporter Julia Heil Staley and her cameraman decided to write their fond memories of Ronald Reagan in a book that will later be presented to the Reagan Library. Before they signed the book, they looked at the inscription written by the person in line ahead of them. The memory described Reagan's silence on AIDS and HIV. Rick Garcia wrote the memory and was criticized by the reporter. Garcia attempted to file a complaint, alleging the reporter had no business making public judgments about a story on which she reported.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) voted to leave the world organization last week, according to AFP. While protesters from Soul Force stood outside convention halls, delegates were debating issues like the place for gays in the church. SBC, the largest protestant denomination in America, voted to break off from what they see as the liberal World Baptist Alliance. A spokesperson for the SBC committee that examined the possibility of breaking off told AFP the U.S. denomination could not be part of 'denominations which support 'gay marriage' in any form.' The SBC has 16.3 million members and previously contributed $300,000 annually to the world organization.
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