The Blue Lemur reports that Daniel Gurley, National Field Director and deputy political director for the Republican National Committee, has confirmed he is gay. Web activist Mike Rogers outed him, just after outing the RNC's Chief Financial Officer Jay Banning. Both men refused to discuss the anti-gay polices of the GOP.
Sen. John Kerry is the target of an anti-gay marriage ad campaign sponsored by conservative Gary Bauer and Americans United to Preserve Marriage, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The 30-second commercial running in Michigan and Pennsylvania talks solely about Kerry's pro-gay marriage stance in the past. Kerry voted against the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
The Republican National Committee admitted to sending pamphlets to Arkansas and West Virginia voters suggesting that liberals would ban the bible and allow gay marriage if George Bush is not re-elected, reports The New York Times.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart apologized after charges were brought to a Canadian broadcasting watchdog group, reports AP. Swaggart allegedly said in a Sept. 22 broadcast that he has never seen a man he wants to marry and that if a man ever looked at him that way he would kill the man and tell God the man died. Swaggart said the 'kill him and tell God he died' line is figurative humor.
The Idaho Supreme Court issued a mixed decision for gay residents last week, reports KBCI. For the benefit of LGBT people, the court ruled that child custody cases must not take into consideration a parent's sexual orientation as the sole determining factor for custody. The court cited the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that says it's every person's right to enter into a same-sex relationship. The court, however, ruled against a gay man who petitioned to have a lower court ruling overturned. Theron McGriff's visitation rights were restricted and his joint custody stripped when he entered into a gay relationship three years after his divorce. The majority on the Supreme Court ruled that the lower court's decision was based on factors other than his sexuality, but Justice Kidwell dissented and said the lower courts clearly based their decision on McGriff's sexuality.
Oregon's first lady came out against the state's proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, reports Bend.com . Mary Oberst, Oregon's first lady and a lawyer herself, said the amendment, on the November ballot, would create unbalanced treatment for gays and lesbians. Polls show the gay ban will likely easily pass.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law last week SB1234, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The law extends the state's existing hate-crimes law and makes it a hate crime to attack someone because they associate with someone who is or is perceived to be LGBT. Three days earlier, Schwarzenegger signed a law allowing clean hypodermic needles to be sold over-the-counter, reports AFP.
A small faction of the gay Log Cabin Republicans broke from the national organization's refusal to endorse President George W. Bush for reelection and will endorse the president, according to a press release. The Abe Lincoln Black Republican Caucus, founded by a member of the Log Cabin Republicans to represent the voice of young gay Black urban voters, says it will endorse Bush for reelection in November.
In an interview published in the New York Daily news, former Chicago Bears' coach Mike Ditka said he has not closed the door on politics. Ditka told the News that he rejected the possibility of running for Senator because he does not want his past dug up. Ditka said his qualifications include believing in God and believing that marriage between two men or two women is wrong.
The U.S. Social Security Administration backed off its proposal to lift a clause banning sexual orientation discrimination from the agency's labor contract. U.S. Social Security Commissioner Jo Ann Barnhart directed her negotiators to agree to retain the sexual orientation protections. Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe had issued a public statement condemning the original move.
Lambda Legal will ask the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear its lawsuit seeking marriage for same-sex couples. The state's high court could announce within a matter of weeks whether it's taking the case directly. Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in state court in June 2002 on behalf of seven lesbian and gay couples from throughout the state. The lawsuit is based solely on the New Jersey Constitution—arguing that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state constitution's guarantees of equality and liberty for all New Jerseyans—and, consequently, the New Jersey Supreme Court will have the last word in the case.
Refuting arguments from New York City attorneys saying the constitutional rights of gay people should be determined by public opinion polls and political reactions elsewhere, Lambda Legal filed court papers in its lawsuit seeking full marriage equality in New York State. '[They] are asking the courts to ignore our state's Constitution and ... use public opinion polls to decide people's basic civil rights,' said Susan Sommer.
