New Jersey is the fifth state in America to grant some statewide recognition of gay partnerships, reports AP. As expected, governor James E. McGreevey signed the law that legislators pulled together after a judge ruled against gay couples by dismissing a case involving gay couples' rights to marry. The state has six months to develop the details of how couples will register.
The AIDS Treatment Action Coalition's Drug Development Committee sent the following letter to thousands of HIV treating physicians, researchers, and pharmacologists across the U.S. The Dear Doctor Letter is part of a growing demand, with widening support in physician circles, to have Abbott laboratories roll back the price of Norvir.
A former program supervisor for the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars alleges he was fired because he placed a student from a Christian school in the Office of openly gay Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., reports The Advocate. David Halpern said he was fired shortly after he placed a student, at the student's request, in a Congressman's office to work on gay rights. The student's academic advisor at Calvin College allegedly told the student he should be in a 'homosexual environment.' Halpern is suing the organization and Frank is asking for an explanation.
On the West Coast, California legislators in the LGBT caucus are pushing for gay couples to get marriage licenses, reports the Contra Costa Times. The state recently passed AB205, a law that gives many of the rights of marriage to gay couples, but stops short of issuing a marriage license and giving such benefits as filing joint state tax returns. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger supported AB205 but says he does not support gay marriages. Assemblyman Mark Leno says there is a loophole in the California law that says 'only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.' He says because the law is part of the California code that deals with people married in other states, it does not ban the state of California from marrying gays.
A Judge in Pennsylvania has permanently banned gay employees from the University of Pittsburgh from bringing a discrimination case to the city's human-rights commission, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The commission was scheduled to hear the eight-year-old case soon when the Judge ruled that the city had no jurisdiction to hear such a case. The plaintiffs allege that the University broke a 1990 ordinance that bans discrimination. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, said they might appeal.
Time-Warner, along with worldwide media giants like Britain's BBC, accepted a challenge by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, reports AFP. Annan asked that worldwide media outlets make education about HIV/AIDS a corporate priority. In addition to straightforward education, Annan asked broadcasters to include more characters afflicted with or affected by AIDS.
Anti-gay preacher Craig Stephen White was convicted last week of soliciting sex from a teenage boy, reports The Advocate. White faces a minimum sentence of three years in jail. Prosecutors argued that White offered a 14-year-old boy $20 for sexual activities after asking the boy for directions to an adult video store. The defense argued that the boy was mistaken and that white wanted a video store so he could buy the movie Shrek for his children.
Wisconsin state Sen. Tom Reynolds, R-West Allis, came forward to announce that he was the mystery senator who attended an extremist anti-gay rally, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Reynolds said he attended the 2003 International Conference on Homo-Fascism—a conference aimed at combating the 'sodomite agenda.' Reynolds said his printing company prints flyers for the group and the conference 'sounded interesting.' He said he only stayed for a short time.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget would not only avoid increasing the budget for the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), but would place a cap on the number of enrollees, reports The Advocate. The program needs a $45 million boost to pay for increased enrollment and higher drug costs for current members. Under Schwarzenegger's plan, 1,400 people would be pushed to a waiting list.
The city of Urbana, Ill., may extend benefits to the families of gay employees, reports the News Gazette. A committee voted unanimously to extend bereavement and family medical leave benefits to gay employees. The city council is scheduled to vote on the matter this week. Republican Ald. Joseph Whelan missed the first vote because he was sick, but says he opposes the measure.
The Arizona Daily star reports that about 300 people gathered last week outside a Fourth Avenue nightclub to decry hate and violence and pray for the recovery of a 21-year-old gay man, Mark Fontes, found critically injured early Jan. 13 in Tucson. He remains in critical condition.
Two lesbians were charged in federal court with attempted murder, reports NBC San Diego. Prosecutors say Astrid Tepatti and Ebony Wood, both 21, planned to kill Tepatti's husband, Marine Sgt. Stephen Tepatti. Prosecutors say a videotaped confession reveals the two women tried to kill the marine on five occasions. Wood's parents flew from Chicago to support their daughter.
Heath Ledger (The Patriot, Monster's Ball) and Jake Gyllenhaal (The Moonlight Mile) are in negotiations to play gay cowboys in Ang Lee's new film, Brokeback Mountain, reports Reuters. The film is about two cowboys who meet in Wyoming to form a love that lasts 20 years. Focus Features produces the film that some insiders say is one of the best unproduced screenplays.
News Tips? RaphaelNews@aol.com
