Virginia Republican Congressman Ed Schrock has been outed by blogactive.com . He has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, is a co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, and he voted for the FMA as well.
If the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), the national organization for gay Republicans, gets its way, there will be some changes in the Republican Party platform developed at the national convention this month, according to the L.A. Times. The 2004 platform is expected to explicitly describe life to begin at conception and define marriage as one between a man and a woman. The LCR hopes to insert language that, at least, says Republicans can disagree on family issues.
A Louisiana Civil District Court judge ruled against the state legislature that tried to put gay marriage on the September ballot, reports AP. The judge agreed with gay-rights proponents saying that the proposed constitutional amendment was unconstitutional because it addressed more than one issue and was not on a statewide election date. Gay-rights advocates argued that invalidating civil unions and gay marriage would affect other contractual rights in place for gay couples in the state.
Meanwhile, Native American tribal law is beginning to come in line with conservative legislatures on gay marriage as well, according to AP. In May a lesbian couple successfully applied for a tribal marriage application. The Cherokee National Tribal Council voted to define a marriage as one between a man and a woman. Cherokee laws are not, however, retroactive. The two women are married pending a protest against their marriage application.
Community members in San Francisco remembered transgender murder victim Tony Green this week, reported the Chronicle. Green was found dead earlier this month after she had an overnight date. Police have not ruled the homicide a hate crime, but activists believe Green was murdered because of her gender identity.
Some conservative lawmakers in Utah are concerned about a ballot measure that would ban gay marriage and, they fear, remove the rights of unmarried heterosexuals in the state too, reports KTVX-TV. The state constitutional amendment, passed by a two-thirds majority of the state house and senate, includes language that some say could erode hospital visitation and other rights granted unmarried heterosexual couples in the state.
Because world governments have not contributed large amounts to the global fight against AIDS, the United States may not make its full contribution, reports AFP. President George W. Bush's global AIDS coordinator said he extended the deadline for the rest of the world to contribute the required $1.1 billion. Congress authorized a maximum of $547 million to be contributed this year to a United Nations fund but limits the U.S. contribution to one-third of the total contributed by world governments and private donors. As of July 1, world contributions fell short by $240 million.
A lesbian Olympic cyclist says her finger gesture at the finish line was not directed at the winning team, but rather at the exclusion of her lover, German cyclist Petra Rossner, reports AFP and the Advocate. Judith Arndt and the German team took silver in the race but Arndt says they would have won had Rossner been named to the team.
The battle over gay marriage is still on in Massachusetts and a group of gay-rights activists are trying to raise money and awareness for pro-gay marriage candidates in the state, reports AP. Carl Rosendorf, the CEO of SmartBargains.com, and his business partner hope to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for pro-gay marriage candidates through their Website www.SupportEquality.org .
A former Log Cabin Republican leader is in federal custody after allegedly killing a Broward County, Fla., sheriff's deputy, reports the Miami Herald. Kenneth Wilk allegedly shot and killed detective Todd Fatta last week when sheriff's deputies attempted to search Wilk's house for child pornography. Wilk told a federal judge on Friday that he had AIDS dementia.
Search engine Google.com reportedly removed one of three advertisements placed by a conservative Christian group, str.org, that calls homosexuality a 'sin that is called by God Himself an abomination.'
Two lesbians are each hoping that her home state will help her win a child custody case, reports the Richmond Times Dispatch. Two women, formerly part of a Vermont Civil Union, raised a child together for two years until one moved to Virginia taking the child with her. The Vermont judge that allowed the civil union to dissolve also awarded visitation to the mother who still lives in Vermont. Virginia law prohibits state judges to act on child custody cases that are in progress in another state. But the Virginia woman is asking the judge to take jurisdiction over the case because Virginia's new anti-gay marriage law specifically ignores same-sex unions like those in Vermont.
A transgender woman is expected to become the first transsexual in America to be nominated by a major party for state office, reports KOLD-TV. Amanda Simpson of Tucson, Ariz., will run unopposed in the Democratic primary election Sept. 7 in Arizona. Simpson is one of four candidates aiming for two available seats in the Arizona legislature.
