A Kansas City federal jury awarded $250,000 to Dylan Theno, a former Tonganoxie, Kan., student, in a lawsuit against the school district for not taking sufficient action in response to his complaints of sexual harassment, according to a Gender PAC release. The organization lauded the decision, saying it was time to put a stop to gender-based bullying. Theno, 18, testified that the harassment began in the seventh grade because he was small for his age and one of few boys taking Tae Kwon Do.
In California, gay-rights advocates scored a legal victory when a judge left largely untouched Attorney General Bill Lockyer's summary of a ballot measure that would outlaw same-sex marriage and repeal new rights for domestic partners, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Sponsors of the proposed state constitutional amendment argued that Lockyer—a Democrat who supports gay rights—exaggerated and distorted its effect on domestic partners and underplayed its effect on marriage.
A study in the August issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry reveals that meth use and HIV infection may work together to cause significant changes to the brain's structure and lead to cognitive function impairments, according to an item in The Advocate. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, studied brain scans of 103 adults—including HIV-positive and HIV-negative meth users—and also gave all study subjects cognitive function tests.
In a decisive victory for gay- and gender-rights advocates, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court unanimously ruled that the City of Allentown acted within the scope of its powers when it passed a 2002 ordinance protecting residents from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. A release from The Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights added that the ruling reversed a 2004 decision from the Lehigh County Court.
A Christian group disrupted the third annual Gay Community Night at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, after the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus performed and Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Ziegler threw out the first pitch, members of the Christian group Repent America held up a banner in the high right field stands that read: 'Homosexuality Is Sin. Christ Can Set You Free.' The sign stayed up through the top of the seventh inning.
In what some are calling a landmark development, legal advocates for LGBT youth and adults provided testimony to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, according to a National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) press release. Jody Marksamer of the NCLR; Chris Daley and Cecilia Chung of the Transgender Law Center and Cecilia Chung ( Transgender Law Center ) ; and Scott Long of the Human Rights Watch LGBT Program were among those offering testimony concerning prison sexual abuse perpetrated by inmates and correctional staff against LGBT youth and adults confined in institutions.
National LGBT groups are trying to woo minority gays—who argue white activists want their votes on national issues, but rarely include poverty, racism and other minority concerns on their agendas—with marketing campaigns and old-fashioned schmoozing, the New York Blade reported. 'We have this rainbow of unity—'We're all in it together,'' noted Earl Fowlkes, president of the International Federation of Black Prides. 'Truth be told, it's not that way.'
Former Tempe, Ariz., mayor Neil Giuliano is the new head of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Giuliano, 48, becomes president Sept. 1 and will be working with journalists and entertainment companies for the group.
