In an interview with New York magazine, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said, "I have friends that I know, or very much suspect, are homosexual. Everybody does," according to a Huffington Post item. When reporter Jennifer Senior asked if any of them had come out to him, Scalia responded, "No. No. Not that I know of." Scalia's son, Paul, is a Roman Catholic priest affiliated with Courage, an organization that claims to help gay people refrain from acting on their same-sex attractions.
The governor of Pennsylvania has stirred controversy by comparing same-sex marriage to incest, the L.A. Times reported. A TV station asked Republican Gov. Tom Corbett about a statement his lawyers made in a recent court filing that compared the marriage of same-sex couples to the marriage of children because neither can legally wed in the state. "It was an inappropriate analogy, you know," Corbett responded. "I think a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don't you?" He later backtracked, saying he didn't mean to offend anyone and that he was listing what "categories of individuals [are] unable to obtain a marriage license." Out gay state Rep. Brian Sims encouraged supporters not to pay too much attention to Corbett's comments, according to Advocate.com .
In Mississippi, a woman is suing the leaders of a northern town, accusing them of conspiring to prevent her from opening a gay bar by denying an application for a business license, according to USA Today. Pat "PJ" Newton filed the federal lawsuit Oct. 1 against the mayor and six aldermen of Shannon, a town of about 1,700 people. Newton, who is a lesbian, is seeking monetary damages and an order to allow her to open the business as well as attorneys' fees and court costs; the Southern Poverty Law Center is representing the Memphis, Tenn., woman in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen, Miss.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration has asked the state's top state court to take an appeal of a judge's ruling that the state must allow gay marriage, according to SouthFloridaGayNews.com . Citing "far-reaching implications," Acting Attorney General John Hoffman made the request in a letter to the state Supreme Court. ( Hoffman said he is also asking the judge who issued the decision to grant a stay, delaying the implementation date from Oct. 21 until the matter can be settled. ) On Sept. 27, Judge Mary Jacobson sided with six same-sex couples and the gay-rights group Garden State Equality.
Four community-based organizations will each receive $20,000 to help advance community-level efforts focused on women and HIV/AIDS due to grants awarded by Grammy-winning artist/HIV advocate Alicia Keys and AIDS United, according to an AIDS United press release. The EMPOWERED Community Grants Program recipients are the creative arts team of the Research Foundation of the City University of NY; the Frannie Peabody Center ( Portland, Maine ); the North Carolina AIDS Action Network ( Durham, N.C. ); and SisterLove ( Atlanta ).
In Iowa, a man's conviction for criminal transmission of HIV will stand, as the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that his acts met the requirements for the crime, according to the Des Moines Register. Nick Rhoades, 39, pleaded guilty in 2009 to criminal transmission of HIV. He was charged after he had sex with a man he met online without telling him about his positive HIV status. Rhoades' attorneys said he Rhoades used a condom during sex and didn't ejaculate during an oral sex act the man performed on him; however, the appeals court cited a 2001 Iowa Supreme Court case, State v. Keene, where the court held that it does not matter whether an HIV-positive person ejaculates during a sex act.
As schools focus on bullying prevention in October, The Trevor Project, Campus Pride and Kognito Interactive launched three new online training simulations about LGBTQ youth, according to a press release. These three trainings for secondary and higher education staff and students build skills to support at-risk youth in the years when peer pressure, harassment and bullying can have the most devastating results. Live demos of these trainings are at www.kognito.com/lgbtq or www.kognito.com/stepin.
HBO Documentary Films kicked off a weekly series of provocative specials Oct. 7 with Valentine Road, which examines the shooting of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" King by Brandon McInerney, on whom King reportedly had a crush, according to a press release. The film explores the murder of a teenager who had begun exploring his gender identity, revealing the circumstances that led to the crime, as well as its aftermath. Valentine Road will also air on HBO Oct. 10, 13, 15 and 19 as well as on HBO2 Oct. 9 and 27.
In California, Manteca transgender high school student Ashton Lee and his mother, Catherine Lee, filed a complaint this week with the state's attorney general's office asking for an investigation into the anti-LGBT group The Capitol Resource Institute ( CRI ), according to TransgenderLawCenter.org . They claim CRI has been operating illegally and claiming to be a tax-exempt organization to receive donations, when in fact its tax-exempt status was revoked by the Internal Revenue Service months ago. CRI has been California's new pro-trans School Success and Opportunity Act ( Assembly Bill 1266 ); Lee became involved with the act after taking part in the Gay-Straight Alliance Network's annual Queer Youth Advocacy Day last April.
A report says that LGB individuals are at heightened risk for a range of negative health outcomes as a result of stress caused by anti-gay prejudice, according to a Williams Institute press release. Poorer general health, increased risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are some among many conditions where disparities exist between LGB and heterosexual individuals. The report, "Minority Stress and Physical Health Among Sexual Minorities," is at http://pps.sagepub.com/content/8/5/521.abstract.
The late U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy ( R-Wis. ) and two other former members of the United States Senate will go "on trial" Oct. 23 in Washington, D.C., for their alleged roles in the 1954 suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester C. Hunt, according to a press release. McCarthy, Styles Bridges ( R-N.H. ) and Herman Welker ( R-Idaho ), all deceased, are "charged" with a criminal conspiracy to blackmail Hunt, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Senate office in 1954. Local attorney Mindy Daniels, a former president of the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance ( GLAA ), will defend the three former senators. The Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., is sponsoring the event.
After a lengthy debate, the Ohio House of Representatives voted 72-23 to pass legislation that would help local health boards establish needle-exchange programs for drug addicts, The Plain Dealer reported. The measure's backers say allowing drug users to swap used needles for new ones helps reduce the spread of HIV and other blood-borne diseases. Opponents claim the bill would essentially put the state's seal of approval on illegal drug use.
Vice President Joe Biden cancelled appearances at a Human Rights Campaign event and a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser because of the government shutdown, the Huffington Post reported. President Obama has also canceled events while much of the federal government shut down. Obama canceled an appearance at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event and scaled back his upcoming trip to Asia.
A grandfather has reportedly disowned his daughter because she did the same with her own gay son, according to Gawker.com . In the letter, the unnamed patriarch scolds his daughter Christine for throwing her son Chad—his grandson—out of the house for being gay, writing, in part, "You're correct that we have a 'shame in the family,' but mistaken about what it is." The letter appeared on the Facebook page of gay-friendly activism-by-apparel brand FCKH8.
Students in the unofficial gay-straight alliance at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., rallied to support a transgender theology professor who was asked to leave his job after 15 years with the institution, Advocate.com reported. Now-former professor Adam Ackley told school administrators in late September that he's a transgender man and is going through a divorce; however, university officials claimed Ackley's transgender identity puts him at odds with the school's evangelical Christian doctrine. Members of the school's GSA, Haven, wore shirts and carried banners that read "We Stand With Adam" as they gathered on the quad before and after the daily chapel service. Ackley's last day was Oct. 4.
OraSure Technologies, Inc., makers of the OraQuick( R ) In-Home HIV Test, launched its newly revamped targeted nationwide awareness campaign ( "Life. As we know it" ) to encourage open and honest dialogue about sexual health and the importance of learning one's HIV status, according to a press release. Initially, the campaign will reach out to two groups among those at highest risk for HIV: gay men and African-American women.
A student in California was banned from a Christian college after administrators revoked her application because she is transgender, according to Gay Star News. Domaine Javier was hoping to study nursing at the California Baptist University; however, when college officials discovered her transgender history, her application was revoked. In rescinding her application ( and banning her from campus grounds ), the school cited "committing or attempting to engage in fraud, or concealing identity" because she had marked her gender as female.
Columbia officials have overridden a decision by interim police chief Ruben Santiago to order two officers to march in the South Carolina Gay Pride Parade even though they did not want to participate, according to the Sumter Item. Santiago had ordered a lieutenant and sergeant to join eight other officers in the parade even though they cited religious beliefs in their opposition. However, City Manager Teresa Wilson and her assistant met with Santiago and reached an agreement to make participation in the parade voluntary.
In response to the state's motion for a stay of a recent Superior Court decision in favor of marriage equality, Lambda Legal filed a brief on behalf of pro-LGBT organization Garden State Equality and six same-sex couples who seek the freedom to marry, asking the court to deny the motion, according to a Lambda Legal press release. "The Attorney General is making a last-ditch effort to delay the freedom to marry in New Jersey. We are confident that our arguments to win are very strong, and we know that any delay in allowing same-sex couples to marry is too dangerous for our clients and their families," said Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director of Lambda Legal.
An estimated 1.4 million ( 4.3 percent ) of Latino/a adults consider themselves LGBT and 29 percent of Latino/a same-sex couples are raising children, according to a new report released by UCLA Williams Institute scholars Angeliki Kastanis and Gary J. Gates. The study, "LGBT Latino/a Individuals and Latino/a Same-Sex Couples," includes socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of Latino/a LGBT individuals and Latino/a same-sex couples in the United States. ( Among the findings: In 63 percent of same-sex couples with a Latino/a partner, the other partner is not Latino/a. This is the case for only 32 percent of different-sex couples. )
The GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders have filed briefs with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ( MCAD ) on behalf of a gay male survivor of domestic violence who they say was denied access to facial reconstruction surgery by The R.O.S.E. Fund, according to a press release. The R.O.S.E. Fund established a partnership with leading healthcare institutions to provide free or low-cost reconstructive surgery to survivors of domestic violence. When the Fund denied his request, he filed a complaint with MCAD, which made its probable cause finding in July 2012.
Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the New York Court of Appeals urging the court to reinstate the 2009 conviction of Dwight DeLee, who was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the 2008 shooting death of transgender woman Lateisha Green, a press release stated. DeLee was also found guilty on a second count that included manslaughter "but not as a hate crime." DeLee's attorneys appealed the verdict, arguing that the two verdicts contradicted each other and that therefore the conviction should be reversed—and the reversal was granted, resulting in DeLee's release from prison.
With the federal government partially shut down, the staff of the Washington Blade is coping with an unusual situation and turning it to the paper's advantage, according to Press Pass Q. Recently, the Blade was selected to join the in-town pool rotation for the White House Press Corps, becoming the first LGBT publication to take part in the duties. The board of the White House Correspondents' Association approved the Blade's application to take part in the pool along with Buzzfeed and the U.K.-based Guardian. The duty requires having a reporter monitor the president on a rotating basis to inform other members of the press about his activities.
Two men were beaten by a group of men outside a gay bar in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, according to CBS Pittsburgh. The victim, Ben Stoviak, left the Remedy Bar with his boyfriend, Aaron; at that time, three other men began yelling derogatory comments at the them. The three suspects approached Stoviak and one punched him in the face. As a result of the punch, the victim fell to the ground; he was then kicked in the face several times. A gay-rights group has contacted the local FBI and the district attorney's office, hoping that the incident will be classified as a hate crime.
A rainbow banner modeled on the American flag—with 50 stars on a blue rectangle set above rainbow stripes—has been recovered after being stolen from an LGBT History Month exhibit inside a library at Middle Tennessee State University ( MTSU ) in Murfreesboro, Advocate.com reported. MTSU police caught the thief, and the flag was returned to the school's LGBT student group, MT Lambda. A student allegedly committed the theft of the flag, which was part of a display celebrating October as LGBT History Month and commemorating MT Lambda's 25th anniversary on the MTSU campus.
The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal of a lower court ruling striking down Virginia's anti-sodomy law, USA Today reported. The high court on refused to hear from Virginia state officials who wanted to get the state's ban on oral and anal sex reinstated. In March, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond declared Virginia's law unconstitutional.
Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signed off on a measure designed to make it easier for transgender citizens to obtain birth certificates reflecting name and gender changes, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Currently, people born in California can only get their birth certificates amended by court order—a process transgender-rights advocates argued is expensive and needlessly invasive since a legal notice of the requested changes has to be published in a newspaper. Judges will still have to sign off on name changes, but will be able to do so without holding a formal hearing; also, the legal notice requirement will be eliminated.
