It was not a good week for New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. First, he lost round one in his bid to overturn a law that would force companies doing business with the city to provide domestic-partner benefits. A judge refused to grant Bloomberg a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from going into effect Oct. 26. Then, a gay appointee of the mayor resigned because of Bloomberg's opposition to the legislation. Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, wrote Bloomberg that 'principle requires that I resign' from the Commission on Human Rights after the mayor's administration went to court to try to block the Equal Benefits Law from being enforced. Bloomberg is expected to refuse to enforce the city's new law.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to placing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the November ballot. The court ruled 6-1 against opponents of the amendment who challenged the validity of the initiative as it was submitted to the Secretary of State's office.
Sen. Kerry seems to have the backing of former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. In a bizarre news conference in the Capitol complex in St. Paul, Ventura stood silently next to former Maine Gov. Angus King in an event billed as Independents for Kerry. King said Ventura wouldn't be talking but had authorized King to answer questions on his behalf. Ventura, King said, had changed his mind after saying in September that he didn't like either of the candidates.
The board of directors of the national gay group Log Cabin Republicans is renewing the group's contract for Executive Director Patrick Guerriero for at least two more years after praising his leadership skills and dismissing critics who claim he has been too adversarial toward President Bush. 'We have full confidence in Patrick,' said Bill Brownson, a Columbus, Ohio, GOP activist who chairs the Log Cabin board.
Virginia gay rights groups expressed outrage at the introduction of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in the state. Virginia House Joint Resolution No. 528, which was pre-filed on Oct. 8 for the 2005 session of the General Assembly, would add a subsection to the state's Bill of Rights outlawing gay marriage.
The number of senators and House members receiving a top rating of 100 percent on gay and AIDS issues—including many gay-friendly Democrats—dropped nearly 50 percent in the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC's) latest congressional scorecard. HRC, the nation's largest gay political group, has rated each member of Congress on gay- and AIDS-related issues in each two-year congressional cycle since 1992. The number of the 535 members of Congress receiving a perfect 100 score fell from 196 in 2002 to 97 this year. In its latest scorecard for the 108th Congress, which was released Oct. 15, HRC set a heavy penalty for lawmakers who voted for a proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.
Speaking of HRC, to defeat anti-gay ballot measures, get out the vote in targeted states, and elect fair-minded officials to federal offices, HRC and HRC's Political Action Committee will be spending more than $6.5 million nationwide in the 2004 cycle. This amount includes $475,000 in Florida, $586,000 in Michigan, and $458,000 in Missouri.
Police arrested 21 protesters at the Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters in Virginia in a demonstration against the administration's policies. The protest was organized by the AIDS advocacy groups ACT UP and Housing Works. The protesters were charged with trespassing, and police used bolt cutters to remove seven people who had chained themselves to the front door.
A Michigan state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic-partner benefits appears headed for decisive approval, a Detroit News poll shows. Proposal 2 is winning by more than 2-to-1, with 65 percent in favor, 27 percent opposed and 9 percent undecided, according to a survey of 600 likely voters.
Ten same-sex couples, including the mayor of Nyack and his partner, have lost the lawsuit they filed when New York State denied them marriage licenses. Acting state Supreme Court Justice Alfred Weiner ruled in New City that the state's domestic-relations law limited marriage licenses to heterosexual couples. Lambda Legal issued a statement regarding the so-called 'Nyack 10' decision: 'We believe same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the New York State Constitution, and we're pursuing that aggressively in our lawsuit that's pending.'
Joanie Miller and Florence Amore got married in East Haven, Conn., in front of two anti-gay billboards. Dozens of drivers honked their horns as the twosome, who have been together for 25 years, exchanged vows.
At least three gay-owned companies that conduct business over the Internet say that PayPal, the giant Internet payment processing service, has dropped them as clients. H.I.M. Corporation, Belhue Books, and the Red Hot Organization have all claimed that their relationships with PayPal have been discontinued because of the service's anti-porn policy—even though the sites do not have porn.
In an unusual election season twist, Massachusetts Rep. Vincent Ciampa is mounting a write-in campaign in an effort to win back his 34th Middlesex District seat, which he lost to fellow Democrat Carl Sciortino, an openly gay man, in the September primary. Sciortino unseated the eight-term incumbent, who earlier this year voted for a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, by a margin of just 93 votes in what was considered a major victory by same-sex marriage advocates. There is no Republican challenger for the seat.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for firing a 31-year employee after learning she was a lesbian. The case pits religious freedom against the employment rights of gays and tests Minnesota's Human Rights Act. Sara Thorson, who worked as a mail clerk with the BGEA in Minneapolis, was fired in 2002. Thorson was forced to admit her sexual orientation after co-workers spotted her kissing another woman in a parking lot near her job.
The annual Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census, fielded this past July and August by GLCensus Partners, found that of registered voters 55 years and older, nearly 84% of females and 75% of males identified themselves as Democrats. (Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 68.8% of males and 67.4% of females identified themselves as Democrats.) The census also revealed that older and wealthier gay voters tended to be more Democratic. Also, it turned out that 88% of GLBT respondents are registered to vote and that nine out of 10 GLBTs will cast their votes to Kerry.
A Harris Interactive® poll found that almost half of U.S. adults believe that a white woman will become president before a gay man. In fact, the survey discovered that almost half of those polled %) indicated that a white women would reside in the White House before an African-American male ྻ%), a Jewish male ྭ%) or a homosexual male ƒ%). Among other findings, when asked which U.S. politician is most sensitive to gay and lesbian rights, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was first choice with 25%; John Kerry came in second with 18%.
New Jersey first lady Dina Matos McGreevey is buying a house in Union County, and friends say she will move into the modest, ranch-style home without her husband, according to a published report. A notice of settlement was filed with the Union County clerk, giving the wife of Gov. James E. McGreevey 45 days to close on the property in Springfield or walk away. McGreevey announced Aug. 12 that he was gay, said he had an affair with a man, and declared he would resign Nov. 15.
Pat Robertson, the founder of the U.S. Christian Coalition, said he told President Bush before the invasion of Iraq that he should prepare Americans for the likelihood of casualties, but the president told him, 'We're not going to have any casualties.' Robertson, an ardent Bush supporter, said he had that conversation with the president in Nashville before the 2003 invasion. He described Bush in the meeting as 'the most self-assured man I've ever met in my life.'
Former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Sen. Ron Wyden joined with constitutional expert Dr. Stephen Green to caution Oregon voters that Constitutional Amendment 36 would set a dangerous precedent of placing unequal treatment into the state's constitution. The amendment, on the November ballot, would put unequal treatment of gays into the Oregon Constitution by banning gay marriage.
Speaking of Oregon, that state's superintendent of public instruction is upset over broadcast ads and statements in the voters' pamphlet that she says inaccurately link gay marriage to public schools' curriculums. 'They have no business using our public schools as part of this campaign,' Schools Superintendent Susan Castillo said.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued what appeared to be its most specific statement against gay marriage. The statement from the First Presidency, before Utah voters decide a proposed amendment banning gay marriage, says only men and woman should be married, and 'any other sexual relations, including between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of family.'
Almost half of all New York City high schoolers already have lost their virginity and a surprisingly large number engage in unsafe sex, according to a study. In an anonymous survey of 7,400 high school students done by the New York City Education and Health Departments, they found that 17% of students said they have had four or more sex partners and 24% said they didn't use condoms the last time they had sex.
In response to continued attacks against GLBT individuals and couples, Soulforce is implementing a campaign to try to change the hearts and minds of Catholic bishops by urging them to stop the spiritual violence perpetuated by Roman Catholic religious policies, teachings, and anti-gay rhetoric. Local Soulforce groups in cities including Cleveland, Philadelphia, and New York City plan to have vigils Nov. 9.
The battle over a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage has gone before the Georgia Supreme Court, ahead of an election in which polls suggest it will easily pass. Foes, hoping to prevent the votes from being counted, again argued the amendment is flawed because it contains more than one subject and because the ballot language fails to convey that information to voters. State attorneys argued that the topics covered by the amendment are related and do not violate the rule which stipulates that constitutional amendments may apply only to one topic.
A group of Maryland lawmakers said they will file an appeal to oppose an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that aims to force Baltimore and four counties to accept same-sex 'marriages.' The lawmakers—seven Republicans and one Democrat—were rebuffed last month by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdoch, who ruled that the lawmakers could not join the defendants in the ACLU lawsuit. The defendants are Dorchester, Prince George's, St. Mary's and Washington counties and the city of Baltimore.
The New York Times has officially endorsed Sen. John Kerry to be the nation's next President. Kerry has also won the support of newspapers such as the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Miami Herald. President Bush has been endorsed by newspapers ranging from the Dallas Morning News to the Chicago Tribune.
Queer as Folk cast members Robert Gant, Michelle Clunie, and Scott Lowell took part in a conference call sponsored by the Kerry/Edwards campaign to talk about barnstorming for the Democratic ticket. Clunie said that people can either 'live in a true democracy' or in a country 'that chips away [at] the Constitution.' A passionate Gant stated that the most important issue to him is the future appointment of Supreme Court justices; he added 'having your gay card is not about shopping—it's now about voting.'
Local Roundup
Amigas Latinas hosts its fifth annual Aixa Diaz Latina Youth Scholarship Dinner Saturday, Nov. 13 at Michelle's Ballroom, 2800 W. Belmont. Aixa Diaz was a teacher at Mozart Elementary School and a dedicated activist who was also a founding member of Amigas Latinas. Call 齅) 750-0505; emcardona@excite.com .
The Center on Halsted will spotlight talented GLBT artists in November in a series called Voices Carry. Things will kick off on Nov. 9 at Uncommon Ground, 1214 W. Grace, at 7 p.m.; performers include Dylan Rice, Rose Tully, and Kristin Ronne. There is a $10 suggested donation; 齅) 472-6469 or jmangers@centeronhalsted.org .
Come out and meet Will Wong, the new STD/HIV/AIDS Medical Director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, and Lora Branch, CDPH's new STD/HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Program Director Thursday, Oct. 28, 4-6 p.m., at DePaul Center, 333 S. State. Need more info? Contact Mike Jackson at 鵸) 747-9656 or Jackson_Mike@cdph.org .
