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

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Americans for Marriage Equality series, a public engagement campaign featuring prominent Americans who support committed gay and lesbian couples getting married, according to a press release. In part, she says, "I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law. ... My personal views have been shaped over time, by people I have known and loved." Her full statement can be viewed at: www.hrc.org/Clinton.

Former Congressman and former U.S. Navy Three-Star Admiral Joe Sestak joined former Congressman, Army Captain and Iraq War Veteran Patrick Murphy; OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson; and Staff Sgt. Tracy Johnson in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to end the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, according to an OutServe-SLDN press release. Thirty military officials and OutServe-SLDN, which represents gay and lesbian servicemembers and veterans, each filed an amicus brief in the United States v. Windsor case challenging DOMA being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court March 27.

The U.S. Catholic Church has spent $2.5 billion in settling clergy sex-abuse cases, according to USA Today. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced a $10-million settlement March 12, increasing its tally to nearly $700 million in settlements to victims alone (not counting therapy or attorneys' fees). There have been almost 7,000 accused priests and more than 16,000 victims identified to date nationwide.

One of the nation's leading "gay-cure" groups, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, has lost its tax-exempt status, according to Advocate.com . The change in status is because the group failed to file proper documentation for the past three years. In 2010 the group was the subject of scandal after one of its leaders, psychologist George Rekers, was found traveling with a paid male escort.

In Florida, Democrat John Paul Alvarez and Republican-turned-Democrat Scott Herman—both openly gay—filed to run for state representatives in Tallahassee, according to SouthFloridaGayNews.com . Despite being a Republican for 23 years, Herman said, his social views were always more aligned with the Democratic Party as he believes in full equality for the LGBT community. Both candidates ran in 2012 and lost.

Florida's lieutenant governor, Jennifer Carroll, resigned and nearly 60 other people were charged in a scandal involving a purported veterans' charity that authorities said was a front for a $300-million gambling operation, according to Chron.com . Carroll made LGBT publications' headlines last year when she denied having a clandestine lesbian affair at work, adding that "Black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that," Advocate.com noted. She later apologized for the remark.

Nicholas Gonzalez, also known as gay-porn star Donny Wright, claimed on Twitter that he got off with only probation after being charged with burglary, public intoxication and criminal mischief when he broke into a Louisville, Ky., firehouse and masturbated on fire gear, SouthFloridaGayNews.com reported. However, Julie Hardesty of the Jefferson County Attorney's Office said that Gonzalez's comments were slightly off the mark: "The plea negotiation took place without him even being around."

MSNBC pundit S.E. Cupp as well as Abby, Liddy and Mary Anne Huntsman—three of former Utah Governor and U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman's daughters—have joined Sen. John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain, CNN contributor Margaret Hoover and others as leadership committee members of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, according to a press release. Liz Mair—the online communications director for the 2008 Republican National Committee who is also on the leadership group—has said marriage equality would mean "allowing millions of people to pursue their dreams and have couples' deep commitment recognized by the entity to which they pay taxes and which administers the court system." Tyler Deaton—a managing director of b-fresh consulting llc, lobbyist, and political consultant—has been named campaign manager of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) applauded the reintroduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) in the U.S. House by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), according to a press release. SSIA would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to require schools and districts receiving federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the bases of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. "Bullying remains an epidemic in our schools and occurs at alarming rates based on sexual orientation and gender identity," said HRC President Chad Griffin.

A photograph of Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino is the subject of local debate, the Huffington Post reported. The shot, which appeared in The Denver Post, shows the out gay Ferrandino kissing his partner, Greg Wertsch; also visible on Ferrandino's desk is a bottle of formula which that belongs to the couple's foster child. The Post's photo editor, Ken Lyons, defended the publication's decision to run the image, saying Ferrandino's "inclusion feels like the ending to this story, and it would have been remiss to not have him as part of the report."

In Davis, Calif., friends of Mikey Partida say he was beaten unconscious because of his sexual orientation, according to the Huffington Post. A neighbor reportedly verbally harassed Partida and then started throwing punches. Investigators had identified a suspect in the alleged hate crime.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican, is now supporting same-sex marriage after his son Will, a junior at Yale University, told him and the senator's wife, Jane, that he is gay, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Portman now wants the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the Defense of Marriage Act's declaration that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Instead, Portman said he would prefer that it be left to the states to decide the definition of marriage. Will actually came out in 2011; the senator said that changing his stance on marriage "came about through a process."

OutServe-SLDN and the law firm Morrison & Foerster announced that their client, former Air Force Major Mike Almy, has reached a settlement in his lawsuit against the Defense Department that challenged his 2006 discharge under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," according to a press release. During a directed search of Almy's private emails while he was in service, messages to his then-boyfriend were discovered and forwarded to his commander. Following a discharge investigation that lasted sixteen months, he was given a police escort off the base and received reduced severance pay.

Organizers of Cincinnati's St. Patrick' Day parade banned the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) from participating in the annual event, according to LGBTQ Nation. Ricardo Martinez, GLSEN's community initiatives manager, said his group learned that parade organizers barred its greater Cincinnati chapter and its youth leaders from marching in the event because "we have gay and lesbian in (our) name."

The North Dakota State Senate passed two anti-abortion bills that would be the first laws of their kind in the United States, according to the Huffington Post. One bill would prevent women from having abortions as soon as the fetal heartbeat can be detected; the other bans abortions in cases of fetal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. The Center for Reproductive Rights—which represents the state's only abortion facility, the Red River Women's Clinic—has urged Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple to veto both measures.

San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim is considering introducing legislation at a board meeting to change the name of a street after its namesake, Polish politician Lech Walesa, made anti-gay remarks earlier this month, according to MercuryNews.com . Walesa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, made controversial comments in a TV interview March 1, saying gay people should not be allowed to hold prominent political posts. Kim, whose district includes Lech Walesa Street, said she is considering renaming the street after gay activist Tom Waddell or reverting back to the alleyway's previous name of Ivy Street.

In Maryland, a bill that would have banned discrimination against transgender residents in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations failed to pass a committee vote, according to LGBTQ Nation. The Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2013 failed by a vote of 6-5 in the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee. Had it passed, the act would have made Maryland the 17th state to provide comprehensive gender-identity protections.

In Kansas, Tom Witt, executive director of the Kansas Equality Coalition, testified before a state Senate panel that a proposed bill in the legislature could allow the quarantine of people with HIV/AIDS, according to LGBTQ Nation. The measure, HB 2183, would authorize the state's secretary of health and environment "to prevent the spread and dissemination of diseases injurious to the public health, including, but not limited to, providing for the testing for such diseases and the isolation and quarantine of persons afflicted with or exposed to such diseases."

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin re-emerged into the national spotlight at the Conservative Political Action Conference, criticizing both President Barack Obama and the Republican establishment, according to MSNBC.com . Alleging Obama of conducting a "permanent campaign," Palin said, "Mr. President, we admit it, you won—now step away from the teleprompter, and do your job!" As for her own party, she said, "They talk about rebuilding the party? How about rebuilding the middle class? They talk about rebranding the GOP instead of restoring the trust of the American people."

The officers and board of trustees of GALA-ND/SMC's (Gay & Lesbian Alumni of Notre Dame and St. Mary's) 2013 Thomas A. Dooley Award recipient is The Right Rev. Gene Robinson, retired bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson is widely known for being the first priest in an openly gay relationship to be consecrated a bishop in a major Christian denomination. He served as bishop in New Hampshire from 2003 through 2012, and is currently a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. The Dooley award will be presented to Bishop Robinson on the campus of St Mary's College, in Notre Dame, Ind., Saturday, April 6.

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) announced that Chicago residents Kelley L. Buchanan and Victoria L. Raymont, and New York City resident Marc Baum, have joined its national board of directors, according to a press release. Buchanan has 20 years of experience as a senior executive in the insurance industry, while Raymont is president of StrategicSolutionsGroup, Inc., a management-consulting firm she founded in 1996. Bau, is the chief administrative officer, general counsel and chief compliance officer of Serengeti Asset Management.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Award recipients were announced in 16 of this year's 33 media categories at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards March 16 in New York City. Among the winners were the NBC series Smash, the HIV/AIDS documentary How to Survive a Plague, the CBS show The Amazing Race. In addition, Madonna presented the Vito Russo Award to Anderson Cooper—and the Material Girl, not one to shy away from controversy, dressed as a Cub Scout for the occasion. She expressed her support for GLAAD's year-long campaign to end the Boy Scouts' ban on gay scouts and scout leaders, saying "I think they should change their stupid rules, don't you?"

An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a record high of 58 percent of registered voters nationwide supporting marriage equality, according to a Human Rights Campaign (HRC) press release. Additionally, voters overwhelmingly said the U.S. Constitution should be the basis for deciding if gay couples can marry rather than leaving the decision to individual states (64 to 33 percent). "There can be no doubt that this country is on a one-way road to marriage for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples," said HRC President Chad Griffin.

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California (ACLU/SC) and the law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP sent a letter to administrators at Sultana High School and the Hesperia Unified School District in San Bernardino County. According to a press release, they demanded that school officials stop censoring the speech and activities of the school's gay-straight alliance (GSA), stop discriminating against LBGTQ students in the school, and allow students to wear gender non-conforming clothing to the upcoming prom. The letter outlines instances where teachers and administrators refused to approve the GSA's events about LGBTQ issues, among other infractions.

President Obama announced Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez as his nominee to be the next secretary of labor Perez currently leads Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and oversaw implementation of the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which protects LGBT people from bias-motivated violence, according to an Human Rights Campaign press release.

Chicago-based Positively Aware magazine's 17th Annual HIV Drug Guide is now available, in print and online. This 76-page issue of Positively Aware devotes a full page to each approved HIV medication, where readers will also find detailed information on side effects, drug interactions and current trends in HIV care and treatment. To order copies of the magazine, call 773-989-9400 or email distribution@tpan.com .

In New Mexico, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and City Councilor Patti Bushee are sponsoring an effort to urge county clerks statewide to record same-sex marriage here, based on a legal opinion, according to SantaFeNewMexican.com . "It's time to push this issue," said Coss, who has a lesbian daughter. "I've worked on immigrant rights, labor rights and human rights and on the rights of same-sex couples. I've seen the struggle in the legislature. I've seen the hopes rise and the hopes be dashed." Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar said she has no intention of issuing same-sex marriage licenses unless the law changes.

In Kansas, a gay-rights center opposite the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church has been painted rainbow colors, according to Gawker.com . The center, Equality House, is the work of Aaron Jackson, a 31-year-old whose other projects have included opening orphanages in India and Haiti as well as buying 1,000 acres of endangered rain forest in Peru. Jackson was drawn to Topeka after reading about Josef Miles, a 9-year-old local boy who, last year, photobombed one of the Westboro protests with a handmade sign that read "God Hates No One."

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) claims that former colleague and current Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) once referred to a staffer as a "fag," the Huffington Post reported. Speaking on David Pakman's radio program on Monday, Ney—who resigned from Congress in 2006 after being implicated in the notorious Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and later spent 11 months in jail—was recounting an incident he included in his recently published book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill. Boehner has denied all of Ney's criticisms, calling them "baseless and false."