The Rev. Tracey Lind, a married lesbian priest, is one of five finalists to become the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, according to SDGLN.com . Lind, 57, is dean of Cleveland's Trinity Cathedral; she married Emily Ingalls last year in New Hampshire. Bishop Mark Sisk has planned to retire by August 2014, so a panel has chosen the finalists who would succeed him.
Former Wisconsin Rep. Mark Neumann has announced he's running for the U.S. Senate next year as a Republicansetting up a contest with lesbian Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, according to On Top Magazine. Neumann has an anti-gay background, saying in 1996, "If I were elected God for a day, homosexuality wouldn't be permitted." He has also said that being out of the closet is "inappropriate."
Openly lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., has announced her official bid for the U.S. Senate, CNN.com reported. In a three-minute online video, she compared herself to retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl and former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. Feingold lost his re-election bid last year. Baldwin said, "The fact is we have to create jobs and get the economy back on track, and it's time politicians looked out for seniors, working families and the middle class instead of protecting the profits of big oil and Wall Street."
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called for community members and allies to demand an apology and retraction from the Huffington Post after the website featured a piece by Amanda Fairbanks Aug. 30 titled "Sex For Tuition: Gay Students Using 'Sugar Daddies' To Pay Off Loan Debt," according to a GLAAD press release. GLAAD contacted Fairbanks and the website over what it called "a string of stereotypes about the LGBT community in the article that were left unchallenged," adding that the author trivialized prostitution by using terms such as the "sugar lifestyle." The post emailed a response that said, in part, "We found that for many gay men, the use of escort services and the exchange of money for sex appear to carry less of a stigma, according to extensive interviews with gay escorts and members of the gay community." GLAAD was not satisfied with the reply.
In Texas, the Catholic diocese of El Paso has distanced itself four a multipart advertisement in the El Paso Times titled "True Pastoral Care for Homosexuals," according to Advocate.com . Officials with the diocese contend that the ads are the opinions of Rev. Michael Rodriguez of San Juan Bautista Catholic Church (although an unidentified couple reportedly paid for them). In the ads, Rodriguez says that gays and lesbians need compassionbut then adds, for example, "Engaging in depraved and unnatural sexual acts will lead directly to the ruin of both the homosexual's body and soul. Our very anatomy cries out against the lie that homosexual acts are 'ok.'"
In California, a jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial of teenager Brandon McInerney, who is accused of shooting gay classmate Lawrence King three years ago, the L.A. Times reported. McInerney, then 14, shot King twice in the back of the head; prosecutors claim that McInerney committed the crime because he didn't like gay people while the defense contended McInerney snapped after King allegedly sexually harassed him. The jury began deliberating Aug. 26 after eight weeks of testimony.
In Florida, a former student of teacher Jerry Buellwho was recently reinstated after posting anti-gay views on Facebooksaid that the instructor made the classroom was not all-inclusive when he attended, according to Advocate.com . Bryan Blaise said that when he attended Mount Dora High School, Buell answered another student's question about gays in the military by stating he supported the conceptbut that they should be put on the front lines while everyone else pulled back. Blaise added that he never reported the incident or anti-gay bullying he experienced at the school because it would be "futile."
Poet Maya Angelou has criticized the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, saying that an inscription makes the civil-rights leader look like an "arrogant twit," the Washington Post reported. The inscription reads, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness"which paraphrases what King said during a 1968 sermon. Angelou added, "The 'if' clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely." The memorial's executive architect, Ed Jackson Jr., said that Angelou was among those picked to select inscriptions but that she did not attend the meetings.
Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin will be the keynote speaker at the Black Tie Dinner Nov. 12, the Dallas Voice reported. At the event (held this year at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel), Iraq War veteran Eric Alva will receive the Elizabeth Birch Equality Award while local activist Chet Flake and his partner, the late Bud Knight, will receive the 2011 Raymond Kuchling Humanitarian Award, with Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson receiving the Media Award. According to its website, since it started in 1982, Black Tie Dinner has been the largest fundraising dinner for the LGBT community in the country, raising more than $15 million to date.
In Utah, several people attacked Dane Hall, a gay Salt Lake City man, while reportedly using anti-gay slurs, according to Advocate.com . Hall, 20, was walking home from Club Sound's gay night when four men attacked him. Hall lost six teeth, suffered a broken jaw and had a piece of bone shoved into his brain; friends have set up a bank account to pay Hall's medical expenses since he lacks health insurance. A separate incident that same night involved a group of men breaking into a man's apartment and attacking his boyfriend.
Among the items Hurricane Irene destroyed was Brooklyn's famous "vagina tree," Advocate.com reported. Irene's winds knocked over the decades-old tree with the distinctive trunk. Last April, an artist pierced the top of the trunk's mark with a five-inch metal ring.
The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage started a fund-raising challenge in June in which an anonymous donor offered $1 for every Facebook like, Twitter follower and text message the group receivedup to $100,000; however, the group is $98,000 short so far, according to Advocate.com . NOM has pledged to spend $2 million next year to fight politicians who helped legalize marriage equality in New York.
Longtime civil-rights activist Cleve Jones has issued a press release criticizing Prohibition, which apparently promotes itself as the first LGBT venue in an Atlantic City, N.J., casino, according to Philebrity.com . Jones said, "Being an ally means more than flying a [rainbow] flag and trying to cash in on an untapped source of income. Being an ally means supporting our community in fights that are important to us, like fighting for marriage equality, ending sexism, and ensuring workers are paid fairly." Jones goes on to cite several examples of anti-gay and -woman behavior, such as Resorts owner Morris Bailey and his family donating $100,000 to anti-gay politicians.
The New Orleans gay event known as Southern Decadence included more of a focus on gay-rights issues this year in addition to the partying, according to NOLA.com . The nighttime bashes and daytime pool parties that bring more than 100,000 party-seekers to the French Quarter were still there; however, the five-day festival featured appearances from organizations such as the NOH8 campaign and the Human Rights Campaign.
Speaking of Decadence, the event was in full swing despite the presence of Tropical Storm Lee, according to the L.A. Times. Vernon Tucker, a cashier at New Orleans' Quartermaster Store, said of Friday, Sept. 2, "It's been just raining sheets all night," but added, "[Y]ou could literally say it was raining men. There were lots of leather-clad, half-naked men being blown around by the rain and wind."
Kenneth Furrthe Washington, D.C., police officer accused of drunkenly shooting at transgender women and their friendshas been punished at least twice previously for alcohol-related incidents, according to the Washington Examiner. Furr was placed on administrative leave in 1996 after a drunken argument with a mother and son; he was also arrested in 2004 for driving while intoxicated and operating while impaired. One person suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the arm and hand in the most recent incident, while two others were hurt.
In Florida, Frankly Forte and Eliut HazziMiami Beach cops who were fired after allegedly beating and wrongly arrested two gay men two years agosay they are victims and should get their jobs back, according to the Miami Herald. In city documents they filed to get their jobs and back pay, both men wrote that "[t]he investigation was unfair and tainted with bias from the outset." In 2009, the officers charged both Oscar Daniel Mendoza and Strickland with loitering and prowling, saying the men were suspiciously walking around the park; prosecutors eventually dropped all charges.
In Iowa, vigils were recently held for 19-year-old Marcellus Andrews, a gay man who died after a fight in Waterloo, according to WHBF.com . Witnesses said the attackers shouted anti-gay slurs before the fight but police said a previous argument actually motivated the beating. Vigils took place around the state, including one in Davenport that drew hundreds. "We want to send this young man to his eternity with grace and respect because he didn't get that in this life," said QC Pride's Jeff Simpson.
The Lambda Literary Awards will now be awarded to authors of all sexual orientations and not just LGBT writers, according to Autostraddle.com . There will now be three awards marking various stages of a writer's career: the Betty Berzon Debut Fiction Award (to one gay man and one lesbian), the Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize (to one male-identified and one female-identified author), and the Pioneer Award (to one male-identified and one female-identified individual or group). Previous winners include Alison Bechdel, Audre Lorde, David Sedaris and Michelle Tea.
Gay Apple CEO Tim Cook could face his first major crisis if it's true that company security officers have been impersonating police officers, CNET.com reported. An unreleased version of the iPhone was lost at Cava22, a bar in San Francisco's Mission District. Then, a Bernal Heights man claimed that six officials saying they were San Francisco cops questioned him and searched his family's home for a lost iPhone 5 prototype, according to SFWeekly.com . (In California, impersonating a police officer is punishable by up to a year in jail.)
In California, gay and lesbian congregants were told to leave a meeting of clergy and church members at Los Angeles' Southern Missionary Baptist Church, according to KTLA.com . The congregation gathered to pray for the repeal of The Fair Education Act (SB 48), which requires that the state add lessons about LGBT history to social-studies courses. Pastor Xavier Thompson said, "This is not about us hating anyone or being homophobic or guilty of bigotry. ... The fact of the matter is that we believe that we cannot sexualize history." Equality California's Roland Palencia responded, "We talk about Cesar Chavez or Martin Luther King. ... We don't talk about their intimate lives."
California legislators passed AB 9 (also known as Seth's Law)a move prompted by a 13-year-boy's suicide, according to Advocate.com . The law requires schools to create anti-bullying policies and compels them to explicitly state that sexual orientation-based discrimination is not allowed. Seth Walsh was one of an apparent wave of suicides that took part last year.
Houston Mayor Annise Parkerthe first LGBT person to hold that position in a large U.S. cityhas officially filed re-election papers, according to the Dallas Voice. Parker is seeking a second two-year term in city elections this November. Speaking to supporters, she said, "I'm more in love with this city than I was when I started in this office on Jan. 2, 2010, and I do love this city. ... I love what I do, I'm excited every day to have the honor of representing the citizens of Houston and helping shape the future of this truly wonderful city." Two other candidates have officially filed so far.
An unusual matchmaking service specializes in setting up Orthodox Jewish gay men with Orthodox lesbians for marriage, according to a Newser.com item. The idea behind the site is that the couple can raise a family while still abiding by religious laws. Rabbi Arele Harelwho has wed 12 couples so farsaid, "It allows them to become parents in a way that is permitted by religious Jewish law and prevents a conflict between their religious world and their sexual world."
U.S. officials have approved the distribution of the gay-themed publication OutServe at Army and Air Force basescoinciding with the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)," according to Google News. It's the first time administrators have allowed such a publication on their bases. OutServe will deliver a special "repeal issue" Sept. 20, the day DADT officially ends. An OutServe co-director said, "This marks an incredible time in the history of our military. Gay, lesbian and bisexual servicemembers once had to conceal their true identities."
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has appeared in a video as part of the "It Gets Better" project, Advocate.com reported. In the video, which runs almost six minutes, Salazar says, "Bullying happens everywhere in every school all across America. Make sure you are seeking help, that you are telling someone about it." The video includes LGBT people from the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, among other agencies. Reportedly, not a single elected Republican has been in a video since the campaign started.
An adult-film actor who initially tested positive for HIVcausing Los Angeles' porn industry to temporarily shut downhas now tested negative, according to USA Today. Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Diane Duke said that filming can now resume, adding, "The industry will be abundantly cautious as we try to nail down the reasons for what now appears to have been a false positive result on a previous test." The Free Speech Coalition is working on a database to track STD testing among porn actors, a task the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation handled before it closed last December.
The LGBT-centered In The Life Media has announced it will honor New York State's Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post writer Jonathan Capehart and ABSOLUT Vodka at its 20th-anniversary red carpet season premiere Sept. 26, according to a press release. Cuomo, Jonathan Capehart and ABSOLUT will receive In The Life Media's Producing Change and Pioneer Awards at The Times Center in New York City. In The Life also announced that Judy Shepard and Dr. Mathilde Krim are serving on the event's honorary host committee along with Patricia Clarkson, Edward Albee, Lesley Gore, Thomas Roberts, John Scagliotti, Charles Ignacio and Katherine Linton.
GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's team has a different look, as campaign manager Ed Rollins and deputy campaign manager David Polyansky stepped down, according to the Chicago Tribune. Rollins, who said he would remain in a senior advisory position, said, "I just don't have the endurance to do 14-hour days, seven days a week anymore.'' He admitted that Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entry into the race slowed Bachmann's momentum.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a statement praising a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit banning an Arizona law from taking effect that would have ended domestic-partner benefits for state employees. "Governor [Jan] Brewer's decision to take health care and insurance benefits away from state employees in same-sex relationships has been recognized for what it is: unconstitutional," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "During a time of economic difficulty for many Arizonans, it makes no sense for the state to make our families less secure and deny health care to our partners."