THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

In Miami, Tokyo Valentino, a gay club in the Shorecrest neighborhood, is the target of angry residents (gay and straight) who believe it's an illegal adult-entertainment complex, according to BeachedMiami.com . The club has a dance floor and a game room—however, it also has private rooms and viewing booths. Owner Mike Morrison said the booths and rooms are for "[getting] a movie and watching it with a friend." The venue provides some films, but customers can also bring their own.

Shane Williams, a football player at Colorado Mesa University, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a lesbian outside a bar in Grand Junction, Advocate.com reported. The altercation happened outside the Red Room Bar and Lounge; Williams allegedly had a verbal confrontation with Chelsea Gallagher that became physical. Gallagher told a television station that she suffered a fractured skull, a black eye and hearing loss because of the incident.

A new study from the UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute shows that local ordinances that require city and county contractors to prohibit sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination protect thousands of workers without burdening governments or businesses, according to a press release. Currently, only 21 states and the District of Columbia include sexual orientation or gender identity in their statewide non-discrimination laws, and no federal law protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination.

LGBT author, empowerment coach, television producer and minister Kevin E. Taylor recently spoke out about the videotaped beating of 20-year-old Brandon White in Atlanta Feb. 4. The video shows three men shouting angry anti-gay slurs while beating and kicking White. " I know that I have lived a lifetime of hate in America as a Black man, but I didn't think that Black men would be able to show it to me in 30 seconds," said Taylor. "These brothers beat this young man because the Black church gives them permission."

A lesbian couple from Alaska and two men who met in Manhattan became the first same-sex couples to marry at New York City's Empire State Building, according to the Washington Post. Alaskans Stephanie Figarelle and Lela McArthur were among four couples who won an online contest for a wedding designed by event planner Colin Cowie. New Yorkers Phil Fung and Shawn Klein—who met at the now-defunct club the Roxy almost two decades ago—walked up the aisle to the Michael Bolton song "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." The men wore matching brown suits and checkered ties.

In West Virginia, state legislator John Doyle has introduced a measure that would provide same-sex couples the same legal protections opposite-sex couples have, according to the Charleston Gazette. Doyle said he introduced the bill Feb. 16 to get people talking about family equality. Officials with the pro-LGBT group Fairness WV claimed this is the first time a civil-union bill has been introduced in that state's legislature.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights announced that it will honor National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguía and openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank with the civil and human rights movement's highest honor, the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award, according to a press release. The recipients will be honored Wed., May 16, at the 36th Annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award Dinner, the nation's largest gathering of the civil and human rights community.

Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin added sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity to the school's annual non-discrimination employment memo, according The Battalion. Andrew Jancaric, vice president of the school organization the GLBT Aggies, said, "I think President Loftin has shown a great deal of leadership in making this executive order. It's the first time gender identity and expression has been included in that yearly statement, a very positive step forward for Texas A&M University."

In Colorado, a state Senate committee has advanced a civil-unions bill by a 5-2 vote, according to Advocate.com . The bill deals with parental rights and event child support when a same-sex couple parts ways. However, the measure faces a challenge in the state House, which Republicans control. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper recently urged legislators to approve civil unions.

In Virginia, five same-sex couples engaged in a Valentine's Day tradition of applying to the Richmond Circuit Court clerk's office for marriage licenses, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. (Also, a gay Massachusetts man asked for his marriage to be recognized in Virginia.) For the eighth year, the office rejected the applications because the state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. However, despite the rejection, Rev. Jeanne Pupke married at least one of the couples, Cameron Hunt and Keyan Herron, in an unofficial ceremony.

Also in Virginia, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner has criticized an anti-gay adoption measure that the state legislature approved, according to the Washington Blade. Warner, a Democrat, called the legislation "mean-spirited" and "wrong" while speaking at the Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in Richmond. The Virginia Senate approved the bill 22-18, and the House passed it by a vote of 71-28; Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the measure.

In Minnesota, the Anoka-Hennepin school board has dropped a policy that required teachers to be neutral when issues of sexual identity comes up in the classroom, according to a Boston Globe item. The former policy had the support of some parents who believe homosexuality is immora. The new policy says, among other things, that instructors should emphasize the dignity and worth of all students, regardless of religion, race, gender or sexual orientation.

Wilton Manors, Fla., officials are concerned about a spike in suicides in the city, according to the Sun Sentinel. There have been five or six suicides in the city each of the past four years, but the numbers translate into an annual rate of 47.3 suicides per 100,000 people—the highest in the county. Among the suicides were a gay man who broke up with his partner and a married man who was conflicted about his sexual orientation.

In New York, officials at Beth Israel Medical Center have appointed Barbara Warren as director of the facility's new LGBT health-services initiative, according to Advocate.com . Warren was director of the Center for LGBT Social Services and Public Policy at Hunter College-City University of New York. She will work at establishing new alliances with LGBT groups to help meet the healthcare needs of the population.

In Arizona, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu—known for his stance opposing illegal immigration—threatened his male Mexican ex-lover, Jose, with deportation when the man refused to promise to keep their relationship secret, according to Phoenix New Times. The most recent of the alleged threats were made through Babeu's attorney, Chris DeRose, who's also running Babeu's campaign for Congress. Babeu said that, of the claims, only the one regarding his sexuality is true.

A gravesite ceremony will be held for the late gay-rights leader Frank Kameny March 3 at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade reported. Event organizers said that "[t]he informal observance will include brief remarks as well as recognition by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network of Dr. Kameny's honorable military service during World War II." A headstone will identify Kameny's rank; military service; World War engagement in Germany; and his date of birth and death, May 25, 1925-Oct. 11, 2011.

The San Francisco Police Department released an "It Gets Better" video featuring more than a dozen LGBT sergeants, commanders, dispatchers and police officers, according to the Huffington Post. Throughout the eight-minute video, the officers discuss growing up gay—and dealing with everything from bullying to hiding from prom dates. In September 2010, columnist Dan Savage released the first "It Gets Better" video with his partner, Terry Miller.

The Department of Justice sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner stating that the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments will not defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) regarding equal treatment for servicemembers who have same-sex spouses, Metro Weekly reported. The letter from Attorney General Eric Holder reads, in part, "the President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a heightened standard of constitutional scrutiny under equal protection principles, and that Section 3 of DOMA [which defines the term "spouse" or "surviving spouse" as "a person of the opposite sex"] fails such scrutiny as applied to couples who are legally married under state law."

In Texas, an appeals court has ruled against a coalition of anti-gay Christian groups who wanted to recall El Paso Mayor John Cook and other city officials after they made a pro-LGBT move, according to LGBTQ Nation. The case stems from a November 2010 ballot measure to block same-sex partners of city employees from receiving healthcare benefits, which Cook and Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega voted to restore. Tom Brown, pastor of the Word of Life Church, said he would appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

In Massachusetts, Bridgewater State University student Destinie Mogg-Barkalow was attacked on campus after she wrote an editorial supporting marriage equality, LGBTQ Nation reported. A man and woman approached Mogg-Barkalow, who is lesbian, and asked her if she wrote the article; when the student responded that she did, the female half of the couple allegedly punched her. In the article, "Prop 8 generates more hate," Mogg-Barkalow called out supporters of Prop 8 intolerant and bigoted.

In Pennsylvania, Villanova University has canceled a workshop by gay performance artist Tim Miller, claiming his shows are not in line with the school's Catholic values, according to wistv.com . Miller gained notoriety in 1990 when the National Endowment for the Arts vetoed grants for him and three other people. In a statement, university officials said they embrace intellectual freedom and academic discourse but had concerns about how Miller's work matches the school's "Catholic and Augustinian values and mission."

In Missouri, U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey issued a preliminary injunction against the Camdenton R-III School District, forcing the district to stop using web-filtering software that blocks access to LGBT websites, according to CourthouseNews.com . The ACLU sued the district last August on behalf of several gay-rights organizations. "Sexuality filters are normally used to filter out pornographic material, but the URL Blacklist filter has the affect of filtering out positive material about LGBT issues as well as pornographic material," Laughrey wrote.

In Indiana, conservative activists are trying to yank the specialty license plates for the pro-LGBT organization the Indiana Youth Group, according to NonprofitQuarterly.org . Among 105 specialty plates now on sale in Indiana, the plates follow the sanctioning of customized tags for gay-rights groups in Maryland and South Carolina.

In response to the plaintiff's request for reconsideration, a New Jersey Superior Court reinstated the federal equal-protection claim in Lambda Legal's case seeking marriage equality on behalf of Garden State Equality and seven same-sex couples and their children, according to a press release. Jon Davidson, legal director at Lambda Legal, said, "Having both a state and federal equal protection claim will only make our case stronger. We look forward to presenting a complete record of the discrimination that New Jersey's same-sex couples and their children face because of their relegation to civil unions rather than marriage."