Veteran gay activists Allen Roskoff and Natasha Dillon-—co-founders of the Marriage Equality Coalition ( MEC ) —called on same-sex marriage supporters to protest recent comments by Mazda Executive James Jordan that equate gay marriage with polygamy, according to an MEC press release. Roskoff called on marriage-equality advocates to go to www.marriageequalitycoalition.com to email Mazda to protest Jordan's comments. A Facebook page shows a James Jordan saying via someone named Sam Lockwood, "I hope all the people who support Gay Marriage support this perspective, too," referencing an article entitled "Kody Brown and His Four 'Wives.''
In South Dakota, former Rapid City council member Marla Murphy is planning a run for a seat on the political body after coming out as transgender, Advocate.com reported. She is ready to see if her city has changed since she made her announcement; she has received many threats over the years, and is still nervous when approaching a voter's home. Murphy said she will not be surprised if her opponents in the Sept. 13 election will make her transition an issue.
In San Francisco, Supervisor Scott Wiener has introduced a measure to protect public-health standards from problems associated with public nudity, according to the Huffington Post. The measure from Wiener ( whose district includes the gay area The Castro ) would require naked people to cover public seating with a towel, blanket or some other layer of protection. The measure would also make people put on clothes before entering a restaurant, although nudity would be fine in other businesses.
An anti-gay megachurch is moving into a very liberal, LGBT-friendly section of Portland, Ore., according to Advocate.com . The Mars Hill Church—which is based in another liberal city, Seattle—has bought a vacant building in southeast Portland. Its founder, Mark Driscoll, often preaches against homosexuality, recently saying in one sermon, "A gay couple walks into your group, you're supposed to tell them to repent—and if at any point you don't tell them to repent, you're not faithful to Biblical Christianity." According to the Oregon Faith Report, the first service was cancelled because opponents had planned a gay kiss-in protest.
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will prevent the state from entering into contracts in excess of $100,000 with companies that deny equal benefits to the spouses of their gay and lesbian employees, according to an Equality California press release. "Providing the same benefits to an employee with a domestic partner, or same-sex or opposite-sex spouse ensures that workers receive equal pay for equal work," said Sen. Christine Kehoe. "California should lead the way for other employers to provide benefits that are non-discriminatory."
A Williams Institute analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census data shows that there are slightly more than 900,000 same-sex couples in the country, according to an Advocate.com item. Moreover, the couples are in 99 percent of U.S. counties. Of the couples, 60 percent are female and 40 percent are male; 22 percent of them raise children, with most of the parents "in the Deep South and Mountain West regions," Williams Institute demographer Gary Gates said in a press release.
GLSEN ( the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network ) will honor Chaz Bono; Michele and Rob Reiner; Wells Fargo; Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts; and the 2011 Student Advocate of the Year at its seventh annual Respect Awards Friday, Oct. 21, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, at the press release. Linda Bell Blue ( executive producer, Entertainment Tonight ) , Dave Karger ( senior writer, Entertainment Weekly ) , Michael Lombardo ( president of programming, HBO ) , David Phoenix ( interior designer ) and Chip Sullivan ( head of publicity, DreamWorks Studios ) are co-chairing the event.
Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claiming Tarrant County College officials violated the U.S. Constitution by preventing Jacqueline Gill from interviewing for full-time teaching positions because they believe she is a lesbian, according to a press release. Gill, a Ph.D. student and former high school English teacher, most recently worked as a full-time temporary professor at Tarrant County College. While she received praise from colleagues, Gill claims that English Department Chair Eric Devlin told her that "Texas and Tarrant County College do not like homosexuals."
Black Enterprise Magazine has compiled a list of 10 African-American LGBT trailblazers throughout history. Those on the list are writer James Baldwin; activist Angela Davis; civil-rights activist Bayard Rustin; writer Audre Lorde; dancer/choreographer Alvin Ailey; activist/philanthropist Mabel Hampton; writer/choreographer Bill T. Jones; poet/political activist Staceyann Chin; activist Keith Boykin; and screenwriter/film director Lee Daniels. See http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/07/08/10-black-lgbt-trailblazers/?obref=obinsite.
A federal appellate court in Boston rejected a request by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage ( NOM ) to hold a rehearing on the court's decision last month against the group, according to LGBTQ Nation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit had ruled against NOM after the group had challenged Maine's political-action committee laws, refusing to comply with rules requiring disclosure of independent expenditures in candidate elections. NOM was the main financial supporter during the 2009 campaign for Stand for Marriage Maine, but did not report the names of its donors.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders ( GLAD ) , the National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) and NCLR's National Family Law Advisory Council have announced the release of a revised version of the groundbreaking publication Protecting Families: Standards for LGBT Families, according to a press release. Mary L. Bonauto, the director of GLAD's Civil Rights Project, originally authored the standards in collaboration with a group of parents, social workers and lawyers in Boston. The revised standards were discussed at the national LGBT Bar Association's annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair, during the Sept. 10 session "Family Relationship Recognition—Two Steps Forward, One Step Back."
In Pennsylvania, Upper Darby School District groundskeeper John Brophy has filed a complaint with the state's human-relations commission, alleging harassment because of his small stature and perceived sexual orientation, according to DelCoTimes.com . The complaint alleges that Brophy has been called a "fagot," ( sic ) "nut job" and "queer" at his job, and has had baby food put in his shoes, among other things. Brophy says that he has suffered emotional distress and wage loss.
Cornell Jones, the director of the HIV/AIDS nonprofit Miracle Hands Inc., recently called two openly gay Washington, D.C., councilmembers "faggots" and accused them of having a racist agenda, according to a Metro Weekly item. Councilmen David Catania and Jim Graham requested that the attorney general conduct a probe of Miracle Hands' financial dealings; the attorney general is now suing Miracle Hands for allegedly diverting more than $300,000 to what is now a nude-dancing establishment. During his radio show, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Jones called Catania and Graham "a couple of gay guys who sometimes get to acting like little faggots.''
It turns out that a gay priest was among the first casualties of 9/11, according to CNN.com . Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar, was chaplain for the New York Fire Department; he was killed after going to the World Trade Center with off-duty firefighters after the first building was hit. An NPR profile of Judge revealed someone who could use a lot of profanity but who also spent evening returning dozens of messages from those needing help.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry said that news that British health officials will lift a lifetime ban on gay men donating blood may mean that the United States will follow soon, according to Advocate.com . The British Department of Health announced that men who have sex with men ( MSM ) who are HIV-negative and have not had sexual relations within the past 12 months would be eligible to donate blood effective Nov. 7. Kerry said, "I think this is likely the start of a trend globally that I'd rather we be leading than following."
The undergraduate wing of Harvard University, Harvard College, has hired Lisa Forest as its first director of LGBTQ student life, according to Advocate.com . Forest—who currently heads the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Pride Center at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts—will assume the Harvard position in November. Dean Evelynn Hammonds created the position after students criticized the college's Queer Resource Center for its drab basement location and lack of paid staff.
Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern still equates gays with terrorists, according to Advocate.com . Kern—who became known nationally after she was recorded making anti-gay statements at a 2008 fundraiser—spoke with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality's Peter LaBarbera to promote her book. Explaining her terrorist statement, she said that young people are "bombarded" with pro-gay messages "every day. Fortunately we don't have to deal with a terrorist attack every day, and that's what I mean."
In Sugar Land, Texas, dozens of pro-gay individuals protested Exodus International's conference, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Orlando, Fla.-based organization hosted "Love Won Out," an event aimed at educating people on resisting same-sex urges. Exodus President Alan Chambers argued the group is not anti-gay, saying, "The fact of the matter, I was gay; the people who are leading these ministries were gay. We know what anti-gay felt like."
In Waterloo, Iowa, police have arrested Paris Akeem Anding, 19, on charges of second-degree murder in the beating death of gay man Marcellus Andrews, according to Advocate.com . Iowa police have not yet investigated the murder of Andrews, 19, as a hate crime despite witnesses saying they heard anti-gay slurs during the beating. Andrews' family added that it's not a hate crime because effeminate behavior doesn't make a man gay.
Rick Welts, the openly gay president and CEO of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, announced his resignation after telling The Advocate he has received multiple job offers, according to Advocate.com . "I probably have had more job offers in the last five months than I ever have in my life from the most unexpected places, people who actually found me a more interesting candidate because of what I had chosen to do," Welts told The Advocate. However, he told the Arizona Republic that he is actually moving to Sacramento, Calif., to be closer to his partner.
West Hollywood, Calif., has instituted a couple interesting changes. According to WestHollywood.patch.com, plastic bags will no longer be offered to shoppers after the city council unanimously voted to ban them; it also will allow local businesses to charge 10 cents for paper bags. The very gay city has also designated Oct. 29 as Go-Go Dancer Appreciation Day; a celebration will be held on Larrabee Street at Santa Monica Boulevard.
The North Carolina legislature has placed an anti-marriage equality amendment on the May 2012 ballot, according to a press release from the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) and Equality North Carolina. The state Senate passed the proposal 30-16 after the House voted 75-42 in favor of it. "This legislative battle may be lost, but the fight goes on," said Equality North Carolina Interim Executive Director Alex Miller. Currently, 29 states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.
The September/October issue of the evangelical social-justice magazine Sojourners featured an ad raising awareness about LGBT youth homelessness, and the role that religious homophobia plays in creating it, according to a press release. The Ali Forney Center—the nation's largest organization serving homeless LGBT youth—and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) produced the ad, which Sojourners followed the ad by publishing an interview with Ali Forney Center Executive Director Carl Siciliano. The interview is at http://blog.sojo.net/2011/09/06/for-lgbt-youth-a-shelter-from-the-streets-of-rejection.
The Human Rights Campaign has issued a statement condemning Indiana GOP Reps. Larry Bucshon, Dan Burton, Todd Young and Todd Rokita for using taxpayer money to send staff to political training run by the anti-LGBT Indiana Family Institute, according to a press release. "Typically advocacy groups provide policy advice to Congress for free, rather than shake down Members of Congress to pay for it with public funds. It's a disgrace that public money would be put in the hands of an organization so fixated on discrimination," said HRC President Joe Solmonese.
In Connecticut, Congressional candidate Mike Williams' domestic partner, Bart Hoedemaker, may be deported under current immigration laws, according to RegisterCitizen.com . Hoedemaker, a Dutch national, is in the United States on a work visa and will lose his job at the end of September; under immigration law influenced by DOMA, he faces deportation. DOMA prevents the U.S. citizen from sponsoring a spouse.
The Oregon GOP will strip anti-gay language from next year's platform, according to an Advocate.com item. The development was made to bring the party more to the center as the Democratic Party has traditionally dominated state politics. The Republican Party will drop language that condemns marriage equality, civil unions and same-sex parenting.
Walter C. Righter, an Episcopal bishop who advocated the ordination of gays and women, has died at the age of 87 outside Pittsburgh after a lengthy illness, the L.A. Times reported. When he was an assistant bishop in New Jersey, Righter ordained Barry Stopfel, whom he knew was gay, as a deacon; shortly thereafter, Bishop John Spong ordained Stopfel as a priest. Five years later, opponents filed heresy charges against Righter, but charges were dismissed against him the following year, in 1996.
