Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

National Roundup
by Andrew Davis
2005-10-12

This article shared 1390 times since Wed Oct 12, 2005
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


Gay former Texas prison inmate Roderick Johnson alleges he was repeatedly raped by other inmates and is suing six prison officials who he claims ignored his pleas for help, The Washington Blade reported. The ACLU is representing him in the case. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Texas prisons have the highest number of allegations of inmate-on-inmate sexual assault in the country; in 2004 there were 550—13 were substantiated.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , in a statement, questioned the results of a new poll exploring the impact of the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ban on the decision of potential recruits to enlist. According to the release, similar polls in Canada and Britain predicted dire consequences if gays were allowed to serve openly; however, those predictions never occurred. The poll, from a research institute at the University of California at Santa Barbara, reports that 21 percent of potential recruits—among a young, male and conservative sampling—would be 'less likely' to join the armed forces if the military's ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel were repealed. Sharra Greer, director of law and policy for SLDN contradicted the findings by stating, 'Instead, recent studies have indicated the U.S. military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits by repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.''

The armed forces' 'don't ask, don't tell' policy makes more people embarrassed by the military than proud of it, according to a new University of California poll. According to the poll, 24.2 percent of respondents said that the policy makes them embarrassed by the military while 17.5 percent said the policy makes them proud. Fifty-six percent said that the policy has no impact on their feelings about the military.

The court that made Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage will now decide whether same-sex couples from other states can marry there, CNN.com reported. If the Supreme Judicial Court strikes down a 1913 law, same-sex couples from across the country could wed in Massachusetts and demand marriage rights at home. Eight gay couples from surrounding states, all of whom were denied marriage licenses in Massachusetts, are challenging the law.

The National Stonewall Democrats has called on the White House and the Republican Party to meet with gay and lesbian families on key issues such as judicial nominations and marriage equality. 'The Republican Party's reliance on the corrupt counsel of anti-gay activists is poisoning American policy with toxic cronyism,' said Executive Director Eric Stern.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will present its National Leadership Award to California assemblyman Mark Leno at the 9th Annual Miami Recognition Dinner Nov. 5. Leno made history in 2002 when he was elected as one of the first openly gay men to the California State Assembly. This year he was the force behind the California legislature's passage of a marriage equality bill that was vetoed by governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

According to the 2000 census, same-sex cohabiting couples are more likely to be interracial than their straight counterparts, according to an item in DiversityInc. Most of these couples are Latino-white ( 43 percent ) , followed by Black-white ( 14 percent ) , Asian Pacific Islander-white ( 11 percent ) and Black-Latino ( 3 percent ) .

The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) commended several state-level advancements made this year on behalf of transgender Americans ( including an anti-bias measure signed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich ) . 'From ensuring that health insurers don't discriminate to protecting transgender people on the job, we see increasing support among state legislators and governors for equal rights regardless of gender identity or expression,' remarked HRC President Joe Solmonese.

More than 100 major corporations have added gender identity and/or expression to their non-discrimination policies, according to the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition ( GenderPAC ) . With recent expansions to the policies of companies such as defense contractor Raytheon and healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, the total is now 104.

California First Lady Maria Shriver has selected Daniel Zingale as chief of staff, according to a release from the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Zingale, 45, who recently served as a member of the board, has almost two decades of state government and policy experience; among other things, he was chief executive director of the AIDS Action Council and AIDS Action Foundation.

More than 40 members of the Massachusetts and California congressional delegations have written to Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman urging him to repudiate false statements regarding the Republican policy position on gay marriage, according to a release from the office of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. The release asserted that Mehlman had previously stated that the definition of marriage is the domain of the state legislature. However, by pushing President Bush's constitutional amendment, it would make any decision by a state legislature null and void.

New York City's most famous gay penguin couple has split up—and one has now taken up with a female, according to Fox News. Silo and Roy, two male chinstrap penguins native to the South Atlantic, made local headlines six years ago when they came out with their same-sexrelationship. However, that all ended when Scrappy, a single female newly arrived from SeaWorld in San Diego, caught Silo's eye.

Exodus International's flagship 'ex-gay' residential treatment facility, Love in Action, is facing possible closure by the state of Tennessee for unlawfully treating mentally ill gay men, according to the New York Blade.

Marshall K. Kirk, who co-authored one of the most celebrated chronicles of the gay-rights movement, has died at 47, according to YourGenealogist.com . Kirk partnered with Hunter Madsen to write After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s and described what they called 'homohatred.' The analysis of gay history and culture was published in 1989 and landed Kirk in the pages of Newsweek, Time and The Washington Post.

Tobias Schneebaum, an openly gay explorer and writer, died at this home in Great Neck, NY. He was in his mid-80s and the cause of death was due to Parkinson's disease, his nephew told The New York Times. Schneebaum became famous after he lived among cannibals in the Amazon during the 1950s and claimed to have eaten part of a human heart. He was featured in the 2000 documentary Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, where he returned to the Amazon and Indonesian New Guinea.

A California jury handed down murder convictions for Michael Magidson and Jose Merel in the murder of Gwen Araujo, according to a release from GenderPAC, a gender-rights group. The 17-year-old Araujo was beaten, bound, and strangled by a group of four men who learned that she was biologically male. After three months of testimony, the four-woman, eight-man jury took seven days to find the defendants guilty of second-degree murder. They face mandatory sentences of 15 years to life. The third defendant, Jason Cazares, was free to go on $1 million bail after jurors deadlocked on his conviction.


This article shared 1390 times since Wed Oct 12, 2005
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

ACTIVITIES Pickleball, fine eats and fun are all at SPF 2024-03-21
- Despite the fact that it was invented in 1965, pickleball has only really entered the national consciousness within the last few years. However, there really hadn't been a large indoor dedicated space in Chicago for the ...


Gay News

2024 OLYMPICS U.S. women's soccer team's opponents set 2024-03-20
- The United States women's national soccer team will face Australia, Germany, and either Morocco or Zambia in Group B at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ESPN reported. The tournament will mark the Americans' first competitive games with ...


Gay News

Alyssa Naeher wins National Women's Soccer League Impact Save of the Week 2024-03-20
--From a press release - CHICAGO (March 20, 2024) — Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher earned National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Deloitte Impact Save of the Week honors, the league announced today. Seven minutes into the eight minutes of added ...


Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir 2024-03-18
- RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

Red Stars start season with 2-0 win 2024-03-17
- On March 16, the Chicago Red Stars kicked off their 2024 campaign with a 2-0 road win over Utah Royals FC in the Royals' inaugural match back in the National Women's Soccer League. Ally Schlegel and ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars release 2024 roster 2024-03-13
- CHICAGO (March 13, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars announced today their final roster ahead of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. The club's roster is bolstered by an array of experience brought not ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union 2024-03-13
- Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars sign midfielder Leilanni Nesbeth 2024-03-06
Press release - CHICAGO (March 6, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars announced the signing of draftee and midfielder Leilanni Nesbeth. Nesbeth, Chicago's first-round and tenth overall draft pick in the 2024 National ...


Gay News

Activists and others urge removal of Oklahoma schools superintendent after Nex Benedict death 2024-02-28
- TULSA, OKLAHOMA—Today more than 350 national, state, and local organizations advocating for equality across the U.S., alongside notable public figures, issued an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging justice ...


Gay News

Brittney Griner's jersey retired at Baylor University 2024-02-20
- On Feb. 18, Baylor University retired Brittney Griner's #42 jersey. Griner—a two-time AP national player of the year, two-time Olympic gold medalist and the NCAA women's career blocks leader (with 748)—attended a Bears home game ...


Gay News

As Chicago prepares to host DNC, former delegates reflect on LGBTQ+ inclusion at previous conventions 2024-02-19
- When Mark Ishaug, now the CEO of the mental health advocacy Thresholds, was a delegate at the 1996 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, representing the larger LGBTQ+ community was "critical," he said. The convention, where ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Illinois Poor People's Campaign: National call for moral revival demands action against poverty 2024-02-15
--From a press release - Springfield, IL — The Illinois chapter of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (ILPPC) will convene a critical press conference at the state capitol, alongside 32 other states across the nation on ...


Gay News

Tenn. legislators back bill that lets officials refuse to perform same-sex weddings 2024-02-15
- Defying a national ruling that authorized marriage equality, Tennessee lawmakers approved a measure that would allow public officials to refuse to perform weddings of same-sex couples, The Hill reported. Tennessee's House Bill 878/Senate Bill 596 says ...


Gay News

GLAAD, NFL host third annual pre-Super Bowl event 'A Night of Pride' 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD, along with The National Football League (NFL), hosted the third annual "A Night of Pride" at Caesar's Palace in Super Bowl LVIII's host city of Las Vegas, a press ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.