The White House said it was not prepared to endorse a federal bill that seeks nationwide LGBT protections, On Top Magazine reported. Introduced by Democrats in July, the Equality Act seeks to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination in seven areas—credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and public accommodations—by effectively expanding the Civil Rights Act, originally approved in 1964. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering his own bid for the White House, have endorsed the proposed legislation.
Brian Sims—a gay Pennsylvania lawmaker who has led efforts in the state to pass a non-discrimination bill—has announced his bid to run for a U.S. House seat, The Washington Blade reported. Sims, who represents Philadelphia in the state House, declared his bid for Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District. The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Chaka Fattah ( D-Pa. ), who was indicted in July as a result of alleged roles in a racketeering conspiracy.
GLAAD has launched the "Go Purple for #SpiritDay" app, powered by Toyota Financial Services, according to a press release. The free app allows users to take part in Spirit Day—the largest and most visible anti-bullying campaign in the world supporting LGBT youth—by making their social-media photos purple. The app also offers anti-bullying resources for students, parents and educators. "Go Purple for #SpiritDay" is available for Apple and Android devices ,and can be downloaded at http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/app.
Republican Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu—probably best known for allegedly threatening to deport his undocumented ex-boyfriend—is running for Congress, Spectrum reported. Babeu has been sheriff of Pinal County his 2008. This isn't his first stint running for a Congressional seat; he attempted a run in 2012, when a scandal erupted around dealings with his ex, Jose Orozco. The news from Orozco erupted across the country, causing Babeu to pull his bid for Congress. Babeu will be trying to fill the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running for Senate. [Note: A correction from The Arizona Republic reads that Orozco's status is actually unknown.]
A man has been charged with the brutal murder of transgender woman Kiesha Jenkins in Philadelphia, Gay Star News reported. Police received a tip that led to the arrest of 24-year-old Pedro Redding, who is on probation after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and weapons charges last year. Jenkins, 22, was attacked by group of men on a street Oct. 6 and shot twice in the back while she was on the ground.
Video clips that depict Planned Parenthood officials talking about harvesting aborted fetuses for their organs and selling them to research facilities are produced by The Center for Medical Progress CMP )—and one alleged project worker has a San Diego LGBT connection, SDGLN.com reported. The Huffington Post noted that Ryan Gonzalez has been working on the project for 11 months, according to his Facebook page. A source told SDGLN that Gonzalez is a well-known member of the San Diego and Los Angeles LGBT community.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) is reporting that new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual Latino men in the United States increased from 2008 through 2013 while diagnoses among all Latinos in the country declined during that period, Gay City News noted. Among all Latino men, new HIV diagnoses went from an estimated 8,106 in 2008 to 8,568 in 2013; new diagnoses among Latino women went from an estimated 1,686 in 2008 to 1,370 in 2013. The CDC estimated that "43 percent of Hispanics or Latinos who received an HIV diagnosis were not born in the United States or Puerto Rico ( a U.S. territory ), and among these Hispanic or Latino immigrants, 66 percent were men who have sex with men."
Leading Republican donor David Koch has broken rank to say he supports same-sex marriage, PinkNews noted. The billionaire industrialist is serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in New York. Koch, who has steered millions of dollars to fund election campaigns for congressional Republicans and Mitt Romney, simply said, "I believe in gay marriage." Romney is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage.
Tens of thousands of people have already signed a petition created by Faithful America calling for the resignation of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the conservative church official responsible for inviting Rowan County clerk Kim Davis to meet with Pope Francis during his visit to the United States, LGBTQ Nation reported. The petition reads, "Inviting Kim Davis to a reception with Pope Francis undermined the pope's message to the United States and was a mean-spirited insult to the Kentucky couples whose marriage licenses she has tried to deny. For the good of the church, please resign immediately and allow Pope Francis to appoint a new apostolic nuncio."
Footage has emerged of the moment French train-attack hero Spencer Stone was stabbed "four times in the chest" in Sacramento, California, The Daily Mail noted. Stone is seen fighting off a group of three men on his own and lunging at them while others attempt to break up the brawl when one suddenly appears to pull out a sharp instrument and stab Stone. A source told the Sacramento Bee that Stone was with three female friends and one male friend and had just left the gay bar Badlands when the attack occurred. Police are now looking for two males who fled in a dark Toyota Camry.
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a landmark bill that protects transgender people who work for companies doing business with state agencies, according to a National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) press release. Senate Bill 703 builds on existing California law and prohibits state agencies from entering into a contract in the amount of $100,000 or more with any company that fails to offer equal benefits to all employees, regardless of their gender identity. Authored by Sen. Mark Leno and co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ), Equality California and Transgender Law Center, the law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.
In related news, California's Senate Bill 731—authored by Sen. Mark Leno and co-sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ), Equality California and Transgender Law Center—Senate Bill 731 gives all foster children the right to placements consistent with their gender identity. This law also goes into effect Jan. 1, 2016, after Gov. Jerry Brown signed it Oct. 11.
A New York City teenager claims he was brutally beaten by a fraternity member after revealing he was gay during a visit to Penn State University, The New York Daily News reported. John Mateer, 19, posted photos on social media after the bloody incident, sparking outrage from thousands of supporters and a police probe into a possible hate crime. Mateer studies at Queens College but was visiting Penn State over the weekend when he said he was targeted outside a fraternity house by a man who said he hated gay people.
A proposed law in Florida would allow churches to refuse to hold same-sex weddings—a right the bill sponsor admits they already have, the Associated Press reported. The House Civil Justice Committee approved the bill on a nine-to-four vote. Republican Rep. Scott Plakon said his bill would simply give churches another layer of protection; he acknowledged that he knows of no cases in which a church was forced to marry a same-sex couple.
In Arkansas, a young man got his church membership revoked after revealing he is gay, ArkansasMatters.com reported. Dylan Settles said he once called Woods Chapel General Baptist Church in Brookand ( Craighead County ) home, but not anymore. He has been a member of the church the last six years, but said in the past five months has had a spotty attendance.
A historical plaque marking James Baldwin's one-time home at 81 Horatio St. was unveiled, courtesy of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation ( GVSHP ) and storied downtown pizzeria Two Boots, Out.com noted. GVSHP said that the event was a "fitting coda" to the "Year of James Baldwin," GVSHP's celebration of the writer, which ended in June. Baldwin—who died in 1987 at age 63—was a gay African-American author who penned such works as Go Tell It on the Mountain and Giovanni's Room.
Chris Burns, a men's basketball assistant coach at Bryant University, became the first male Division I coach to come out as gay, telling Outsports.com it was time to tell the world because he was ready to "make a difference," ESPN.com noted. Burns—who starred for a then-Division II Bryant squad that advanced to four straight NCAA tournaments from 2003 to '07—said he felt his turning point came after attending the 2014 Nike LGBT Sports Summit in Portland, Oregon. Former Portland State women's basketball coach Sherri Murrell became the first openly gay Division I coach in 2009. Bryant opens its season Nov. 14 against Duke University, and Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski has offered both private and public support.
Jason Marchant, co-founder and chief product officer of Scruff, told The Advocate that the app's next update will allow users to filter its searches by safer-sex practices, including condoms and PrEP, NewNowNext.com reported. The news comes at a time when apps like Scruff and Grindr have come under attack for spreading HIV and other STIs. A billboard paid for by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation equated "having" Grindr with having chlamydia or gonorrhea.
Research has shown that gay and bisexual men have higher rates of skin cancer than straight men, CBS Atlanta reported. Researchers found the prevalence of skin cancer among gay and bisexual men was roughly 4 to 7 percent, compared to 3 percent among heterosexual men. "Overall, the rate of indoor tanning among these men is between three to six times greater than it is among heterosexual men," study co-author Dr. Matthem Mansh, an intern in the Department of Internal Medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, told U.S. News.
Protesters, counterprotesters and hungry fans braved a rainy chilly Herald Square in Manhattan, as New York City's first Chick-Fil-A opened, according to SouthFloridaGayNews.com . "I was very shocked by the amount of people lining up to support this company," said Lila Trenkova, a founder of Collectively Free, an animal and gay rights activist group to The Daily News. The controversy surrounding Chick-Fil-A started in 2012, when its CEO, Dan Cathy, publicly opposed same-sex marriage. The company has since backed away from its public anti-gay statements and even offers full benefits for employees' same-sex partners.
A former Chicago priest is facing new allegations from a man who says the convicted, defrocked priest abused him as a boy, The Chicago Tribune reported. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Cook County court, claims Norbert Maday sexually abused the Cook County man, identified only as John Doe, when he was a student at St. Bede the Venerable in Chicago, starting in 1979 when Doe was a 10-year-old altar boy. The man also accuses the Catholic Bishop of Chicago and the Archdiocese of Chicago of negligence and willful and wanton misconduct, including failing to properly investigate reports of inappropriate sexual behavior or abuse by priests including Maday.
Outsports published an article on 73 people in the athletic arena who came out between National Coming Out Day ( Oct. 11 ) 2014 and the same day this year. Among them are ESPN commentator Israel Gutierrez, transgender powerlifter Janae Marie Kroc, soccer player Ramona Bachmann, cheerleader Drew Allensworth, pro wrestler "Money" Matt Cage and golf/cross-country star Matt Dils. The story is at http://www.outsports.com/2015/10/9/9477055/72-lgbt-athletes-who-came-out-since-last-national-coming-out-day.
GLSEN will honor Zachary Quinto with the Champion Award and Georgia high-school senior Mars Hallman with the Student Advocate of the Year Award at GLSEN's Respect Awards- Los Angeles to be held Friday, Oct. 23, in Beverly Hills, a press release stated. They join previously announced honorees Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel as well as YouTube. Past GLSEN Respect Awards honorees Bob Greenblatt, Simon Halls and Matt Bomer, Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak, and Julia Roberts and Danny Moder have returned as honorary co-chairs.
Queer/Art/Mentorship—a multidisciplinary, inter-generational arts program that pairs and supports mentorship between emerging and established LGBTQI artists in NYC—has announced the 11 fellows accepted for its 2015-2016 annual mentorship cycle, a press release stated. The Fellows chosen in five artistic disciplines are Monstah Black, Eva Peskin and Justine Williams in Performance; Jacob Matkov and Brendan Williams-Childs in Literary; Rodrigo Bellott, Erin Greenwell and Mylo Mendez in Film; Caroline Wells Chandler and Doron Langberg in Visual Arts; and Hugh Ryan in Curatorial.
