Expedia has unveiled a new LGBT travel "store" page ( at www.expedia.com/daily/gaytravel/default.asp ) in partnership with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association ( IGLTA ) , according to a press release. Now, during the shopping process, travelers will be able to search under Hotel Preferences for "LGBT-welcoming" hotels. The page came about in response to research illustrating the difficulty in finding LGBT-welcoming hotels.
Several transwomen caused a stir at Delaware's Rehoboth Beach over the Memorial Day weekend after they removed their tops, according to Advocate.com . According to a complaint filed by a passerby, the women took off their tops and revealed their surgically enhanced breasts. The women were asked to put their tops back on, which they did before police arrived. The police chief said that the women couldn't have been arrested even if they had not re-donned their tops because they have male genitalia.
In sports news, Team San Francisco is boycotting the 2013 World Outgames, according to an Advocate.com item. Team officials believe the Outgames distract from the Gay Games, another global LGBT athletics competition. However, team officials do support a merger of the World Outgames and Gay Games, which is slated to happen in 2018.
Presiding Episcopalian Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is concerned about efforts within the Anglican Communion to discipline the U.S. body because of its pro-gay actions, according to the Christian Post. In a letter to U.S. Episcopalians, Schori wrote, "Unitary control does not characterize Anglicanism; rather, diversity in fellowship and communion does." The spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, Dr. Rowan Williams, has proposed, among other things, that the U.S. body should not be directly involved in the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order's decisions.
Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo have ended their hunger strikes, which they started to protest "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) , according to Pink News. Choi and Pietrangelo started their fasts May 27 but ended them seven days later after supporters expressed concerns about the activists' health. Choi said the fast was successful because people have been "educated to the use of fasting as a tool to bring attention to a set of clear political and social demands." The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House of Representatives recently passed a repeal of DADT.
Lisa Miller, who is on the run with an 8-year-old daughter she had with now-former partner Janet Jenkins, is believed in to be in El Salvador, according to an Advocate.com item. Earlier this year, Rutland Family Court Judge William Cohen had issued an arrest warrant for Miller in Vermont, after ordering that custody of the girl be transferred to Jenkins. ( Jenkins and Miller's civil union in Vermont ended in 2003. ) After her split from Jenkins, Miller renounced her homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian, according to On Top Magazine. The custody trial is proceeding nonetheless, with arguments scheduled to be heard June 23, Advocate.com reported.
Openly lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Lauren Azar, who were partners for 15 years, have split, according to an On Top Magazine item. In 1998 Baldwin, 48, was the first out individual elected to the U.S. House. Last year, Baldwin and Azar were among the first to sign up for Wisconsin's domestic-partnership registry. An announcement read, "Accordingly, they will also terminate their Wisconsin domestic partnership. Neither Tammy nor Lauren will have any further public comment on this very private matter."
While discussing a gay-inclusive McDonald's campaign currently running in France, Fox News commentator linked homosexuality with terrorism, according to an On Top Magazine item. In the ad—entitled "Come As You Are"—it is suggested that a teen is about to come out to his father over a meal at McDonald's. Responding to a statement by anchor Jane Skinner, O'Reilly asked, "Do they have an al-Qaeda ad, you know, come as you are? You know?" The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is calling on people to convey their concerns to the Fox News Channel by signing an online petition: www.change.org/glaad/petitions.
Lesbian nominee Laura Duffy has been confirmed as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California in San Diego, according to On Top Magazine. President Barack Obama had nominated Duffy in February, and the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved her. Among her other accomplishments, Duffy successfully prosecuted Mexico's Arellano Felix cartel, resulting in a life sentence for its leader, Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, one of Mexico's most dangerous drug lords.
In New York, the city clerk's office has begun conducting civil ceremonies for same-sex couples, according to CNN. Although domestic partners do not have all the rights married couples do, they do possess some legal rights, such as hospital visitation and health benefits. Same-sex marriage is not legal in the state.
In California, state Sen. Roy Ashburn—the Republican legislator who was recently forced to come out of the closet—has apologized for his anti-gay voting record, according to an On Top Magazine item. Speaking on the state Senate floor, Ashburn, 56, said that he was "no longer willing or able to remain silent on issues that affect sexual orientation." In March, Ashburn was arrested for a DUI; he was traveling with a male companion ( from a Sacramento gay bar ) at the time.
Rev. Ted Haggard has started a new church—that is gay-welcoming, according to On Top Magazine. Haggard had founded the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based New Life Church, which became a $50 million megachurch, but he was ousted after it was revealed that he had an affair with escort Mike Jones. Haggard said his new institution, St. James Church ( also in Colorado Springs ) will welcome those are "gay, straight, bi, tall, short, whether you're an addict, a recovering addict, or you have an addict in your family."
In Utah, Republican U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch told a crowd at Dixie State College that the gay community has replaced religion with politics, according to Advocate.com . Speaking to the gathering of approximately 300 people, Hatch said, "Gays and lesbians don't pay tithing; their religion is politics. The Human Rights Campaign's religion and faith program director, Harry Knox, criticized Hatch, saying, "There is no denying that there are millions of LGBT Americans who every day give their time, talent and money to local churches, synagogues and temples all over the country. LGBT religious leaders are often the very ones revitalizing moribund churches and institutions. These committed religious leaders are working to provide a loving alternative to the hopeless hatred people like Senator Hatch call sound doctrine."
In New York City, Brooklyn resident Luis Newman has been accused of an anti-gay hate crime, according to NY1.com . Newman, 43, allegedly threatened two men with a knife and made anti-gay slurs as they were walking down Utica Avenue in Weeksville. Newman is also charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law has published a report estimating that lifting the blood-donation ban against men who have sex with men ( MSM ) could add almost 220,000 pints each year to the United States' blood supply, according to a press release. The release added that the American Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks feel that the current Food and Drug Administration ban is unnecessary. The Department of Health and Human Services is slated to hold hearings on the ban June 10-11.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) has announced that Roxanne Jones and Scott E. Miller are co-chairs of its national board of directors. Jones was one of the founding editors of ESPN The Magazine, and will release a book, Say it Loud: An Illustrated History of the Black Athlete, later this year. Miller "is a principal with Scott Miller Executive Search and has two decades of experience with leading retained executive search firms, professional services firms and in the public sector," according to the GLAAD press release.
Gay.com has introduced the ultimate Pride Guide, a complete resource for all things gay pride-related, according to a press release. The Pride Guide, hosted in Gay.com's "Happy Trail" travel section, features the pride season's most comprehensive event listings, destination guides, mobile uploading capabilities and pride-adjacent events. Rick Andreoli, Gay.com's editor-in-chief, said, "We took on the job and created a Pride Guide that's both useful and entertaining. ... Readers should get a laugh while learning how to effectively flirt, text friends and score a strong drink from the bartender—and, trust me, those are skills any good gay needs."
