Las Cruces Production of Dear Harvey Remembers Gay Rights Pioneer

New Mexico GLBTQ Centers, PFLAG Las Cruces, Court Youth Center and AmeriCorps will present the play Dear Harvey at the Rio Grande Theatre, Sunday May 22nd at 2:00 PM. The play directed by Katy Taylor with an all youth cast was commissioned by the Diversionary Theatre thirty years after the assassination of Harvey Milk, as a tribute to the civil rights activist.

Dear Harvey written by Patricia Loughrey with original music by Thomas Hodges features stories about Harvey Milk and the lives he changed by people who knew him. Ms. Loughrey is excited about the Las Cruces production stating, “I have not seen the show produced with high school students and would love to see them connect with the message and claim the vision as their own.”

New Mexico GLBTQ Centers Board President, Richard Scramstad is acting as Producer. “When I first heard about the play, I thought of young people and others not knowing of Harvey Milk. We wanted a young cast and to make the play an educational experience,” Scramstad stated. He continued, “We have a very talented Director in Katy Taylor and the cast has been working extremely hard to bring this together in a short time. The audience is in for a treat.”

There will be a “Meet the Cast” reception at the Rio Grande following the performance with catering provided by Alma d’Arte Culinary Arts students. Tickets for the performance are $10 in advance, $12 at the door, $8 for seniors and $5 for Students. Advance tickets are available at the Las Cruces GLBTQ Center at 1210 N. Main St, the Rio Grande Theatre and Spirit Winds. Tickets are also available online at www.newmexicoglbtqcenters.org. Phone the GLBTQ Center at 635-4902 for more information.

Stand Up! - Don't Stand for Homophobic Bullying

Join Us Next Friday, April 8th for a Gold, Silver & Platinum Party!!

New Mexico GLBTQ Centers and Living Tree Community Center invite you to join us for a Gold, Silver & Platinum Party next Friday, April 8, 2011!  Bring in all those jewels and bling that just don't do it for you anymore and leave with cash in your hand!  We look forward to seeing you at 1210 N. Main Street from 7-9pm.  If you have any questions, please call us at 575-635-4902 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            575-635-4902      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.  See our flyer below and pass on the word!

"Like" us on Facebook to stay posted on all of our events and happenings! 

Same-sex Marriage Documentary "The Sandoval 64"

Nina has presented to our Writers Group and is a friend of NM GLBTQ Centers. Please consider supporting her project......

Hello Friends,

I need your help, and in doing so, you become a part of this documentary.

The final push has begun to complete the same-sex marriage documentary, "The Sandoval 64," which covers the same-sex marriage issue as it has occurred in New Mexico - an historical overview. I am in the final post-production and distribution phase of the film. Also, I am currently setting up ending interviews that will provide updated, 2011, information on activities in New Mexico, in and out of the state legislature; also, still photos will be taken for more couples that will screen with the end credits. For those of you outside of New Mexico, you may be interested to know that the 64 marriage licenses granted to gay and lesbian couples on February 20, 2004, at the Sandoval County Courthouse, are still legal. There have been no court battles or state legislation that nullifies these marriages.

Visit Crone Productions at http://www.croneproductions.com/

I need to raise $5000 to bring this project to completion. I will be posting the project on IndieGoGo in late April and currently working on the trailer to post as well. In the meantime, I have set up information and a donation button on my Crone Productions website. All "early" contributors will receive the same incentive gifts that will be posted on IndieGoGo. For instance, any donation of $25 will receive a free copy of the completed film. All contributors, whether it's $1 or $100+ will see their name listed in the film credits.

I would greatly appreciate your visit to the site, and consideration for making a donation. And, perhaps you would be so kind as to pass along this email/information to your friends. I can't finish it without you! And I am sincerely grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Nina Knapp

www.croneproductions.com

You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter

Rollins Chastises Boehner

By Advocate.com Editors

In his column for VanityFair.com, rocker Henry Rollins blasts former president Clinton for establishing the Defense of Marriage Act as well as current House leader John Boehner for defending it.

"When things threaten to become too constitutional, thankfully, there’s someone like John Boehner, owner of every third tear cried in America, to step in and attempt to push America back into the good old days of darkness," Rollins writes. "Rather than shoulder the awesome burden of creating some damned jobs in America, he goes for the easy cheap shot of going after gay Americans. Again."

Rollins says that same-sex marriage is undeniably constitutional and that Boehner should be focusing on job creation, not defending DOMA.

Read the full column here.

SOURCE

Lance Lundsten's Death Ruled Suicide Due to Mixed Drug Ingestion

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (KSAX) -  The mystery surrounding the January death of Lance Lundsten, the Miltona teen whose controversial death sparked a conversation about teen suicide across the nation, has now been revealed by the Douglas County Medical Examiner.

Dr. Mark Spanbauer confirmed Monday, March 7, that the teen's manner of death was ruled suicide.  The toxicology report from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and MEDTOX, determined the cause of death to be a mixed drug ingestion, according to Spanbauer.

"It was a mixed drug ingestion and suicide was the manner of death," Spanbauer said.  READ MORE HERE...

Be Gay, Get Out of Jury Duty

By Advocate.com Editors
A gay man was excused from jury duty in New York last week because he said that discrimination against gays makes him a second-class citizen and therefore he couldn’t be impartial.

Jonathan D. Lovitz, an actor, model, and singer who will be on Logo’s upcoming show Setup Squad, wrote on his Facebook page, “I raised my hand and said, ‘Since I can’t get married or adopt a child in the state of New York, I can’t possibly be an impartial judge of a citizen when I am considered a second class citizen in the eyes of the justice system.’”

“And he got off the case!” reported Village Voice columnist Michael Musto. “And that’s how the new phenomenon of ‘jury duty blocking’ was born.”

New York party promoter and blogger Justin Luke encourages others to use the strategy. Read more here.

SOURCE

Civil Unions Bill Introduced in Colorado

By Advocate.com Editors

Colorado lawmakers are discussing a civil union bill starting Monday that would grant same-sex couples throughout the state the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

Two gay Democrats from Denver, Sen. Pat Steadman (pictured) and Rep. Mark Ferrandino, are sponsoring a bill that would extend to same-sex couples several rights and responsibilities, including enhancing inheritance rights and the right to make medical decisions, according to the Associated Press.

Democrats expect the bill will have no trouble passing the senate, where Steadman introduced it on Valentine's Day. Every Democrat has signed on as a cosponsor of the bill, and they enjoy a 20-15 majority.

The bill might have a tougher time passing the House, where Republicans have a slight majority.

Since the beginning of the year, Hawaii and Illinois have enacted similar civil union bills. Gay and lesbian couples in Colorado would not be allowed to marry, so the civil union bill would not violate the state's constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

SOURCE

U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) Pens Op-Ed in Support of Marriage Equality in Rhode Island, Nation

Justin Ward, GLAAD's Media Field Strategist

“As the debate about same-sex marriage continues in Rhode Island and in Washington, I have taken time to reflect carefully on my own position.  Based on my own experiences and my firm belief that all Americans should be treated equally under the law, I am now convinced that affording full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples is the only fair and responsible approach for both Rhode Island and the nation.  If our nation expects to provide equal protection to all, then our civic institutions must reflect that noble goal.” -U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island)

With those words appearing in Saturday’s edition of The Providence Journal – Rhode Island’s highest-circulation newspaper, U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin made it very clear that he now fully supports marriage equality in his home state and the nation.

The blogosphere was quickly abuzz Saturday morning as Journal readers first learned that Langevin’s position has changed.  His remarks above even earned him the “Quote of the Day” from popular blogger Joe Jervis (of Joe. My. God.).

A devout Catholic who previously supported civil unions, Langevin wrote in the Journal that his position on marriage equality changed after attending the commitment ceremony of a longtime staff member and his partner of nine years.  He wrote in the Journal:

“Before their friends and family, they professed their love, commitment and respect for each other.  Their sentiments were just as moving, heartfelt and sincere as any of the vows I had heard at other weddings, yet I realized that their union would not be treated the same under the law.  That difference struck me as fundamentally unjust, and I began to challenge the wisdom of creating separate categories of rights for certain groups of citizens.  I began to see that civil unions fell short of the equality I believed that same-sex couples deserved.”

That commitment ceremony took place three years ago, and since then, Langevin says that he has taken the time to reflect carefully on his position.

This is not the first time Langevin has been vocal about his support of LGBT equality.  In previous years, he has opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation at both the state and federal level.  He has co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and hate crimes legislation.  He also supported efforts to repeal the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

Langevin’s op-ed in Saturday’s edition of The Providence Journal is very much worthwhile reading in its entirety.  To do so, please click here.

Langevin concluded his op-ed by urging Rhode Island lawmakers to make 2011 the year that marriage equality becomes a reality in the state.

“As the General Assembly considers this important topic, I ask lawmakers and all Rhode Islanders to honor our state’s founding principles of tolerance and freedom and to support marriage equality in our state.  It’s time to do the right thing.”

In a statement, the board of directors of Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) thanked Rep. Langevin for supporting the passage of marriage equality legislation in Rhode Island.

“Today is another clear indication that the marriage equality initiative in Rhode Island continues to build momentum. On behalf of MERI, I want to thank Congressman Langevin for exhibiting the courage and reason to allow his position to evolve on this critically important issue which has adversely affected thousands of Rhode Islanders for far too long,” said Martha Holt, MERI board member.

GLAAD also thanks Rep. Langevin for publicly supporting the passage of marriage equality legislation in Rhode Island.  To our readers, we also underscore the importance of sharing your lives and stories with friends, family and colleagues.  As Rep. Langevin demonstrates in his op-ed, it’s sharing our lives that often makes all the difference when it comes to changing hearts and minds.

In November 2010, GLAAD was on the ground in Providence to train couples, along with MERI staff and volunteers, on how to share their stories of love and commitment with the media.  We will continue to be supportive of MERI until the day when marriage equality becomes a reality in Rhode Island.

SOURCE

WA bill recognizes out-of-state same-sex marriages

By MOLLY ROSBACH/Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

State House lawmakers voted 58-39 Friday night to approve a bill to recognize same-sex marriages from out of state as valid domestic partnerships in Washington.

The bill sponsor, Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said she wants to correct what she sees as the unjust exclusion of same-sex marriages from protections for state-registered domestic partnerships.

"This bill is about fairness for all families," Jinkins said. "Right now, there's a hole in the law."

In 2009, voters moved to extend to domestic partnerships all the rights and protections granted to marriages.

Current law recognizes out-of-state domestic partnerships and civil unions, but excludes same-sex marriage from that recognition. Jinkins said her bill would correct that disparity.

"This is not a big deal - we're not extending any new rights," she said. "It says if you have a marriage in another state, you get a domestic partnership here. You don't get marriage here - you get a domestic partnership."

Opponents argued this is just one step closer to allowing same-sex marriage in Washington state, and is directly undermining the state's Defense of Marriage Act that was passed in 1998 to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Several representatives also voiced displeasure that this debate was taking place late on a Friday night, rather than "in broad daylight," when voters had a chance to hear what was going on.

But supporters said it's a technical correction, updating the law to include the several states and countries that now allow same-sex marriage.

The measure, HB 1649, now goes to the Senate.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Coleman introduces ‘Asher’s Law’

by Tammye Nash

Today as LGBT citizens from around the state converged on Austin to lobby lawmakers on LGBT issues, state Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Democrat from Houston, introduced “Asher’s Law,” a bill that would “help protect our children before they are terrorized and traumatized both physically and mentally,” according to a press release from Coleman’s office.

Before this session of the Texas Legislature even began, Coleman had prefiled HB 1386. Asher’s Law — HB 2343 — is identical to that earlier legislation except that Coleman renamed it in honor of Asher Brown, a gay 13-year-old from Houston who committed suicide last year after enduring relentless bullying from his classmates and peers.

Coleman said that he renamed the legislation with the permission of Asher’s parents, Amy and David Truong. Coleman said, “The Truongs are acting with grace and courage. They are allowing a tremendous personal tragedy be a catalyst for change in state statute. We should honor them.”

Coleman said that Asher’s Law, if passed, would direct the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Education Agency to implement a program to recognize students at risk of emtoional trauma or committing suicide, intervene effectively and refer students to mental health services if necessary. The bill would require school districts to report incidents of harassment and bullying to the TEA annually and to train district employees on preventing bullying and harassment. It also addresses harassment and discrimination by school district employees toward students and other employees.

In addition, Asher’s Law gives school districts the option of transferring a bully, instead of current practice which is to transfer the student being bullied.

Coleman has filed similar bills in every legislative session since 2003. Prior to that year, he supported similar bills filed in each session by then state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt, a Dallas Democrat.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

DOMA for Dummies

by Bill Donius

In case you don't know what "DOMA" is, it is the legislation titled, "Defense of Marriage Act," enacted in 1996. DOMA enshrines discrimination against gays and lesbians by permitting states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

Does DOMA matter? If you're in a heterosexual marriage, recognition of same sex marriages may not matter to you. Your marriage is recognized by the state and federal government, not to mention your family, friends and co-workers -- society in general. If you have one of these, you are entitled the automatic rights and privileges that go along with a civil marriage. i.e. if your spouse dies, you collect the benefits, you get the tax breaks, the hospital visitation rights and a myriad of other benefits conveyed by law. No problems, no questions asked.

When does DOMA matter? When you are in a same-sex marriage, DOMA matters. When two people are in love, share a commitment, and wish to take that next step DOMA matters... a lot. If your home state does not recognize your marriage and marital rights, same sex couples must make a choice no heterosexual couple need make. Must same-sex married couples move out of their home state, assuming their home state does not recognize their marriage? What if it was your marriage, same-sex or not? Should you and your spouse have to make the choice to move away from family, friends and job? Pack up for Massachusetts or Idaho to protect your marital rights -- you know, the over 1,100 rights and benefits currently enjoyed by heterosexual couples in all 50 states?

It's unfair and unjust to force any married couple to make this choice or suffer the consequences. The Edie Windsor case before the federal court has brought this issue to the fore. An American same-sex couple, together for four decades, married in Canada, were treated as strangers by being charged estate taxes that a heterosexual couple under identical facts and circumstances, would not be forced to pay. Basing their conclusion on this and many other similar cases, the Obama administration concluded last week that disparate treatment of same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Hurrah!

What are the implications for future discrimination against gays and lesbians? Perhaps they will be short lived? Let's stop defending civil marriage by defining its parameters in a discriminatory manner. Let's start embracing it for what it is, a governmental -- not religious -- right that tax paying and consenting adult citizens can exercise.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Obama: Our First Gay President

In 1998, Toni Morrison dubbed Bill Clinton “the first black president.” Advocate contributor Charles Perez says President Obama is on track to earn a title of his own.

By Charles Perez

COMMENTARY: Barack Obama could turn out to be America’s first gay president. Many of us thought it would have been Bill Clinton. It wasn’t. Excepting James Buchanan, our 15th and only never-married president, and Abraham Lincoln, who was rumored to have shared his bed with a male friend for reasons of economy and warmth, it’s beginning to look as if Barack Obama may be it.

Nobel Prize–winning author Toni Morrison dubbed Bill Clinton “the first black president” back in 1998. The first gay president may be the closeted Obama, who has stealthily hidden a very progressive gay rights agenda behind garments made of compromise and incrementalism. But now he’s stepping out. According to Andrew Sullivan in a recent Atlantic article, “He is coming through — more cunningly than most of us grasped.”

Two weeks ago, Atty. Gen. Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department will no longer defend antigay legislation passed by Congress and signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton. It was a bold move with little precedent.

According to the attorney general, both he and President Obama concluded that at least part of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. At issue is the third section, which denies federal benefits to gay and lesbian couples married in states that recognize gay unions.

The decision came in part because of the marriage and death of Thea Spyer. Back in 1963, Spyer met and fell in love with Edith Windsor. The two went on to build a life together for over four decades, each wearing a pearl pin in place of a ring, so as not to give away their often-secret relationship. Finally, after a 40-year engagement, they were married in Canada.

Two years ago Thea Spyer died, where they lived, in New York State, leaving her estate to her wife, Edith Windsor. Though gay marriage is not legal in New York, the Empire State does recognize legal same-sex unions performed in other states, territories, and nations. The federal government, however, does not.

Spyer’s death not only brought an end to their 46-year relationship, it also brought a federal tax bill of $363,053. Windsor would have been exempt had she been married to a man. READ MORE HERE....

St. Lucia: Gay Men Survive Brutal Attack

By Advocate.com Editors

A gay couple and their friend were brutally attacked while staying at a rented cottage on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia last week.

Michael Baker, boyfriend Nick Smith, and their friend Todd Wiggins were returning to their mountaintop cottage Wednesday after taking in the sunset that evening. While Baker and Smith were in the shower, they heard Wiggins scream, warning them to stay in the bathroom. According to Baker's Facebook account, he looked into the cabin's common area to see two men with knives and guns, wearing masks, beating Wiggins.

Despite a struggle to keep the violent intruders out of the bathroom, they broke through, assaulting Smith and Baker, while telling them they hated white people, gay people, and Americans. The attackers tied the men up, threw them in the shower, and ordered them to get off the island.

"They said they would check on us in five minutes, and if we had untied ourselves, they would kill us," Baker wrote. After the attackers left, the men freed themselves from the bindings, and fled the cabin through a back exit, forced to leave their shoes behind, as they left them on the front porch. The three, without shoes, climbed down the mountain, and then walked down an unpaved gravel road until eventually arriving at the home of Wiggins's friends. Baker and Smith returned to the U.S. the following day, and Wiggins came back the day after.

"I don't know the full motivation that drove these five men, but I do know that I can feel pity for them," Baker wrote. "As Todd said, how horrible that this was the only option that they felt [they had]."

SOURCE

About A Stud

A few days ago, I posted a link on our Facebook Page that was an article from the Dallas Voice.  It was about the various labels that "butch" lesbians give themselves to describe who they are.  After reading it, it reminded me of an experience that I had when I was 36.  It happened when I went to the Social Security Office in Dallas and while in the waiting room, some girls struck up a conversation with me and that was the first time that I was first called a "stud".  I had no idea what that meant, maybe because of my age.  I think it were the younger lesbians that were using that label.  So anyway, I thought I'd share my story here.  I'd love to have any feedback in the comments section.

THE WAITING ROOM

"Pssst! Psst!" I look over to my left and see if the oh-so-subtle distraction is for me. It sure is. She brings her left hand to the side of her mouth, I guess so nobody else can overhear us, then she whispers something that I can't hear.

"What?"

"Are you a..."

"What?" I seriously couldn't hear her.

"Are you.."

"Sorry, I can't hear you."

"Well, I'm not going to say this so everyone can hear me.."

I just stare at her. Then she tries again, "Are you a stud?"

"A stud?"

"Yeah."

"What's that?"

"You know, a stud..."

"Nooo, I don't know..."

Then she sorta whispers and sorta mouths out, "Are you gay?"

"Oh... Yeah, why?"

Then she starts laughing at me. Not AT me, but I guess at the silliness of all the questions? No, she's not laughing, she's giggling. I just sit there and wonder what's the big deal and shrug my shoulders. She was sitting over there with a friend.. waiting along with me until our names were called. I guess she was observing people, just like me. People watching. But, shoot, I never ask anybody anything. I keep my mouth shut. These two girls, though.. felt the 'need' to talk to me. The one that started the conversation with me came and sat beside me. She said she wanted to talk to me. And for some reason, I'm not put off by all this nosiness. I guess I've been through worse...

"How long have you been gay? A week?"

"What? Uh, no. why?"

"Because you don't know what a stud is... you've never heard of that?"

"No. Never. I've heard of a stud in a wall..."

More giggles. She starts saying that she's not gay, but that she's asking me because her friend wanted to know. Again, she questions me to see if I'm really gay. I simply say, "I am SO gay."

She giggles, then her friend wonders what we're talking about, so she comes over and sits on the other side of me. Great. More attention. They start talking to each other as if I'm not there. The first girl telling the second girl what little conversation we've been having.

Then the second girl asks, "Do you know what fish is?" Or maybe she said, "fishes".. I have no idea. I didn't dare ask "what" again.

"No, never heard of that either."

She starts explaining that studs are girls who look all cute dressing boyishly and acting boyishly and fishes are the girls that dress in girl clothes and such.

In my head, I'm thinking, "Oh, Butch and Femme.. surely they don't think i'm Butch?.. I don't care. Or do I?" So, she says because of what I'm wearing, (jeans, sweater over t-shirt, a "Life is Good" baseball cap and a green jacket of some sort), I look like I'm a stud.

Then, she points to what she's wearing and says that she's a 'fish' or whatever she called it. I laughed at the stupidity of everything. Also, because she wasn't dressed so 'fish-y' or femme. At least, not in my book.

Then, soon the convo just got too much to keep up with. Apparently these studs are also called thuggs. I told them that I am NOT one of those. One of them asked if I had a girlfriend that I "keep" at home, "Maybe slap around every once in a while..."

"I don't slap anybody around."

"Oooh.. where have you been? We need more like you."

Then the first girl goes into this long story of how she saw this girl last night who she thought was a guy. "She was sooo cute. I couldn't believe she wasn't a guy..."

"Uh huh. Where at?"

"North Dallas."

"Oh."

I just look at both of them, laughing to myself because of how they see things.. see other people.. labeling each other.. all that hoopla. Right around then is when The Only Pretty Girl in the whole place starts moving her stuff closer to us. I'm wondering, "Why in the world is she moving closer? Does she really want to hear this conversation?"

Then the second girl starts asking if I live in the area. I tell her, no, not in that particular area. She asks if I live over by where I actually live and I play dumb pretending that I've never heard of the street. Then she says that she thinks she's seen me at "the store" before. I laugh because I start thinking, "of alllll the stores in the Dallas area, she thinks she's seen me 'at the store.' That's unlikely."

"A store?"

"Yeah, you know, like a grocery store? What? You never shop?" More giggles.

"Yeah, of course I do.. just there's sooo many stores..."

"Well, I think I've seen you at the Sack-N-Save before."

I quickly say, "No, I've never been there." (Because I haven't.) But I think she was waiting for me to tell her where I shop at. Like I'm going to offer any information.

All this time, The Only Pretty Girl is listening to us talk. I wonder if she's ever heard of 'stud' before. I'm starting to get really uncomfortable.

The first girl gets up and leaves and then it's just me and the second girl. She's all smiles with me and I have a stupid smirk on my face. "Does she know I'm laughing at her? Does The Only Pretty Girl really think I'm interested in either of these girls? Why the hell do I care about that? Oh yeah, cause she's really, really Pretty.

Then the second girl asks me if I ever date out of my race. And I say, "Of course." I mean, who stays in their own race anymore? All day I saw White women with Mexicans, White women with Blacks, White women with White guys.. yet I only see single Mexican women and single Black women... Hmm. Why is that? White women are taking all the men? My mind starts wandering.. drifting..


Second girl would not stop smiling at me and making small talk. I wasn't even encouraging any further conversation because after that race question, I was wondering if she was thinking I would ask her out or something. Um, hello? Are you kidding me? Who does that here at The Social Security Office? Just scumbags. I start playing with the plastic that I've taken off of my lip balm, rolling the sticky sides together, making a pretend cig or toothpick, nervous.. nervous.. nervous. And I keep looking over at The Only Pretty Girl for some kind of help. Help me get out of this awkwardness. No, she just watches. She likes watching.. another people watcher.

Then my name is called. I don't think it took me but a second to get out of my chair and head towards that door. Thank goodness. When I came back out, both girls were gone. Good! What if she wanted my number? Ugh!

The Only Pretty Girl is still there, waiting for her name to be called. I look her way and she gives me a wink, "bye." I KNEW she was listening!

O'Reilly Slams Westboro Baptist Church

By Advocate.com Editors

Bill O'Reilly and Fox News anchor and attorney Megyn Kelly get into it on the air over the Westboro Baptist Church verdict, with O'Reilly calling them "vile idiots who are happy our soldiers are coming home dead."

Kelly supports the SCOTUS verdict, saying she doesn't like what Westboro stands for, but she does like the First Amendment.

Watch their argument here.



SOURCE

N.H. Marriage Repeal Held to 2012

By Advocate.com Editors

The New Hampshire house judiciary committee unanimously decided to hold two bills that would repeal a marriage equality law that was approved in 2009.

Lawmakers decided Thursday that such a vote would be held off until the 2012 election cycle, the Associated Press reports. The decision comes after house majority leader D.J. Bettencourt indicated in January that it would be better if the committee held the bill until next year, because marriage equality is a contentious issue that could take away time from working on fixes to the economy.

After being introduced to the committee, a hearing concerning the issue attracted 600 people testifying against repeal in February. According to recent polling, a majority of New Hampshire residents want to keep marriage equality on the books.

New Hampshire Freedom to Marry executive director Mo Baxley said locals are getting more used to the law, which makes them more sympathetic toward gay and lesbian couples and families.

"This is why legislation overturning marriage equality should not be 'retained' until next year but defeated and removed from consideration entirely," Baxley said in a statement Thursday. "It should be sent to the dustbin of history."

Lew Feldstein, cochair of Standing Up for New Hampshire Families, added that two thirds of independent voters and one third of Republican voters support keeping the law.

Gov. John Lynch, who signed the marriage bill into law, said he would veto a repeal if it reached his desk. Still, Republicans hold large enough majorities to override his veto.

SOURCE

Meredith Baxter: I Never Lived a Lie

By Advocate.com Editors

Meredith Baxter appeared on The Joy Behar Show to talk about her book Untied and the two women got to talking about women who come out later in life and if that means they were living a lie when they were with men.

“I can’t speak for anyone else,” Baxter says. “People would say to me, ‘You were living a lie,’ which, truly, I wasn’t. I was so un-self-examined. I was just looking to keep my head above water.”

Baxter says she convinced herself she could get through the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex-husband David Birney, and when she got married again, she was treated much better, but it still didn’t feel right.

She tells Behar she first got the sense she might be gay when a lesbian who was 25 years her junior moved into her guesthouse and Baxter found herself really interested in her comings and goings.

Watch here.



SOURCE

Mich. Moves to Cut DP Benefits

Michigan state officials are seeking to cut costs by rescinding state employees’ domestic-partner benefits — but Sen. Rebekah Warren (pictured) says if state leaders want to be businesslike, they should remember that many top businesses offer such benefits.

By Advocate.com Editors


The Michigan senate has taken the first step toward overturning a state commission’s ruling granting domestic-partner benefits to state employees, the Lansing State Journal reports.

The senate reforms, restructuring, and reinventing committee Wednesday approved a resolution that would overturn the state civil service commission’s January ruling that extended health benefits to state workers’ same-sex partners and other household members. The measure now goes to the full senate; it will take a two-thirds majority vote in both the house and senate to override the ruling.

Proponents of the repeal say it’s not a social issue but a matter of money. “We don’t have the funds to cover a benefit that could be in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Jan Winters, director of the Office of the State Employer. Winters estimated the benefits would cost $8 million the first year and more thereafter.

Michigan has a $1.4 billion budget deficit, and the benefits represent one cost that new Republican governor Rick Snyder would like to cut. They were negotiated by unions with his predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Granholm, who was term-limited out of office, then approved by the civil service commission for both union and nonunion workers. Winters said the benefits granted by the commission go far beyond what was negotiated with Granholm — for instance, they cover the children of dependent adults living in the employee’s home, something few employers do.

Mark Jansen, the Republican senator sponsoring the repeal legislation, was optimistic that it would pass the full senate, where Republicans hold a wide majority; they have a slimmer one in the house. An opponent of the measure, Democratic senator Rebekah Warren (pictured), protested that the move goes against Snyder’s stated intention to run the state more like a business, as many top U.S. and Michigan corporations offer domestic-partner benefits. “If we’re going to run it like a business, why not run it like other businesses in the state?” she said.

SOURCE

Lesbian Couple Needs Help After Arson

By Advocate.com Editors

Carol Ann and Laura Stutte are looking for help after arson destroyed their Tennessee home. The couple were out of town celebrating their 16th anniversary last September, only to return home to their house burned to the ground and their free-standing garage vandalized with the word "queers" spray-painted across it.

Making matters worse, staff members of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who were sent to the scene several days after the fire made jokes and left their investigation dog in the truck, according to GetEqual. Now the women are living in an undisclosed location, and only $610.18 has been offered to them by the American National Property and Casualty Company to cover a cumulative $361,000 in property damages and personal item loss.

Their neighbor Janice Millsaps, who the Stuttes believe is involved in setting their home ablaze last year, has not been arrested and has been seen on their property since the fire. The couple are suing their neighbor for damages, but in the meantime, they have turned to GetEqual to make sure the insurance company assists them. The organization is asking people to sign a petition that will be sent to American National Property and Casualty Company's executive staff and every agent in the state of Tennessee. They are also asking for people to call the insurer's customer service hotline to address the situation, and the organizers of the Knoxville Pride Festival are raising $7,000 to get the couple's daughter a new insulin pump.

Watch Carol Ann Stutte share her story below:



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Public More Positive on Marriage Equality

By Advocate.com Editors

Independent voters have become more supportive of marriage equality in recent years, with 51% now in favor of it, up from 37% in 2009, according to a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday.

Overall, voters have shown an eight-percentage-point increase in support of marriage equality since 2009. Currently, 45% say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, 46% are opposed, and 9% are undecided.

Additionally, 34% of survey respondents have a favorable view of Congress, up from 26% a year ago. In contrast, President Barack Obama's approval rating is at 51% while 39% disapprove of his performance.

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Pastor on Emanuel Team Antigay?

Chicago mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s transition team cochairs include the Reverend Byron Brazier (pictured), whose denomination denounces homosexuality.

By Advocate.com Editors


Chicago mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s transition team has no LGBT people among its cochairs, but it does have a minister from an antigay religious denomination, Windy City Times reports.

The Reverend Byron Brazier (pictured), pastor of the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago’s south side, is one of the six cochairs of the team. He is “an eyebrow-raising choice,” the paper reports, because his church is affiliated with the Pentecostal movement, which generally denounces homosexuality, and his father and predecessor as pastor, the late Arthur Brazier, spoke in support of amending the U.S. Constitution to ban marriage equality. Byron Brazier’s views are less well-known, and he had not responded to Windy City Times’ request for an interview by the time the article was published.

The Reverend Irene Monroe, a lesbian and feminist theologian, told the paper that Brazier’s selection is troubling. “Why that particular church when there are so many progressive churches he can choose from?” she said. The team’s makeup, she said, brought to mind President Obama’s friendships with antigay religious leaders: “Rahm and Obama don’t mind taking LGBT money for their campaigns and don’t mind our vote, but when it comes to full-throated advocacy, they invariably either let us down or leave us waiting.”

Some gay leaders were more optimistic. Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of the gay rights group Equality Illinois, said he wasn’t alarmed by the lack of LGBT representation among the cochairs and looked forward to working with the team to discuss priorities for LGBT Chicagoans. His group is collaborating with the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute to identify potential LGBT appointees for the new mayor’s administration. The Equality Illinois PAC had endorsed Emanuel.

Robert Kohl, cochair of an LGBT coalition that backed Emanuel’s candidacy, expressed confidence that the new city administration would be inclusive. “Rahm recognizes and has always recognized the need to identify and recruit qualified LGBT candidates and he’s committed to diverse hiring across all the departments,” Kohl told the Times.

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Marriage Dead in Maryland?

Two delegates whose yes votes are needed to pass marriage equality in Maryland were nowhere to be found during a scheduled vote Thursday, and now Sam Arora, who cosponsored the bill, is reportedly planning to vote no.

By Advocate.com Editors

Two delegates whose yes votes are needed to pass marriage equality in Maryland were nowhere to be found during a scheduled vote Thursday, and now Sam Arora, who cosponsored the bill, is reportedly planning to vote no.

Del. Jill Carter has pledged support for the bill but was out sick today (previously she raised concerns about the legislation). Arora, who has been wavering on his support for the bill, reportedly told Del. Kumar Barve he's now planning to vote against it. He was missing in action for the scheduled vote Thursday.

"I don't know what to think," Barve, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, told Metro Weekly Thursday night. "He told me that he was going to vote against it on the floor. I've been in the legislature for quite a while and nothing is a reality until you actually push the button. And these are hard issues. But he came to me and told me that he was having difficulty with the concept of it."

Arora campaigned heavily on a gay rights platform, including support for marriage equality. On Thursday, he tweeted that he had been "hearing from constituents, friends. Please keep sending your thoughts (sam.arora@house.state.md.us). Thinking & praying hard."

Barve said he has no idea what caused Arora to change his mind.

"Is it unusual for a sponsor to change his mind on a piece of legislation that they've sponsored? No, it's not. People do that all the time, but not on big social issues like this. It's somewhat unheard of."

Hours before the decision to delay the vote, Gov. Martin O'Malley urged lawmakers to pass the legislation.

There is a chance a vote could happen Friday — 12 votes are needed to pass.

Read the full story here.

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We Are Greater Than AIDS

Philanthropist (and famous husband!) David Furnish reflects on three decades of life around the world with HIV/AIDS.

By David Furnish

This year marks 30 years since the discovery of the first case of what was later identified as AIDS. With that news, our lives and relationships as gay men were forever altered. We witnessed an unthinkable tragedy that has taken the lives of more than a quarter million of our gay and bisexual friends and lovers.

In the face of this devastation leaders emerged. The crisis helped to shape our community's political agenda, and it provided a platform around which gay leaders could advocate for rights and equality. We realized that if we informed ourselves and acted on what we learned, we could be greater than the disease. Thanks to the efforts of gay men and our allies, our community saw a dramatic decline in new infections by the late 1980s.

Many of us can look back with immense pride at the collective response in those early years. The availability of effective combination drug therapies in 1996 fundamentally changed how we thought about HIV. No longer was HIV the death sentence it had once been. We had new hope. For many, HIV was a manageable chronic disease. Many of us turned our attention to marriage equality, adoption rights, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and other pressing issues facing our community. While we broadened our focus, AIDS did not.

When we become complacent, HIV thrives. New HIV infections among gay and bisexual men in the United States are on the rise. Yes, on the rise. We are the only risk group for whom this is the case. According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five of us – that is gay and bisexual men – in some of the largest U.S. cities today are living with HIV – and half of those who are positive do not know it. Unless we act now, we will see these numbers rise even higher, and quickly.

My partner, Sir Elton John, often talks of his friend Ryan White – a boy whose tremendous courage in the face of AIDS forced our leaders to take action and inspired many of us. Today, Ryan's story continues to remind us that just as HIV began one person at a time, it will end one person a time.

Elton and I recently had a baby boy. Becoming fathers has given us new perspective on what it means to take care of one another – as parents, as partners, and as members of a community. And, it reminds us that we cannot be complacent in helping to create the kind of society in which we want our son to grow up. In short, we must take responsibility and each do our part to create a future free of HIV – by being informed, using protection, getting tested and treated, and getting involved.

And so, as we mark 30 years of this disease, Elton and I have recommitted ourselves to being greater than AIDS. As chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, I'm proud of the community organizations with which we are working to fight stigma and prevent the spread of the disease. And, I'm proud that leading LGBT companies, like Here Media, Logo TV, and the Bay Area Reporter, are refocusing attention on this epidemic, and I hope more will join us.

As a community, we once showed that we could be greater than AIDS. Now is our time to do it again. Visit GreaterThan.org to get started.


David Furnish is chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The Elton John AIDS Foundation is a supporting partner of Greater Than AIDS, a national movement organized in response to AIDS in America with a focus on the most affected communities.


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Court Rules Students Can Sport Antigay T-Shirts

The seventh circuit court of appeals has ruled that students at Neuqua Valley High School in Illinois can wear T-shirts that criticize gay people.

In its opinion, the court said a “school that permits advocacy of the rights of homosexual students cannot be allowed to stifle criticism of homosexuality.”

The shirts were worn by antigay students in 2006 and carried the message, "Be Happy, Not Gay." The shirts were later changed to "Be Happy, Be Straight" — later a dean crossed the words "Be Straight" off one of the shirts. The students wore the shirts in response to the Day of Silence, which draws attention to bullying of LGBT teens.

The Indian Prairie School District argued that the antigay shirts should be prohibited because they cause emotional distress to some students.

“The school argued (and still argues) that banning ‘Be Happy, Not Gay’ was just a matter of protecting the ‘rights’ of the students against whom derogatory comments are directed,” the court said. “But people in our society do not have a legal right to prevent criticism of their beliefs or even their way of life.”

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Maryland Holdout Says Yes to Marriage

By Advocate.com Editors

Maryland delegate Jill Carter is no longer holding hostage a vote for marriage equality, saying important issues she wanted addressed have been discussed and she's now ready to back the bill.

Carter, a Democrat, said she was ready to vote no on the bill Tuesday night because she wants $15 million in funding restored to Baltimore schools and passage of her bill to more evenly divide child custody for divorced parents.

"I was always ready to vote for the bill," she said Wednesday. "There were some things that I wanted to have discussed and I knew if we took the vote first, they wouldn't be discussed. They were discussed [Tuesday]. I was happy. I'm content and ready to vote for the bill."

Earlier, she said she was willing to take a hit for withdrawing her support if it makes a larger point about her favored issues.

According to the The Baltimore Sun, on Tuesday, Carter said she didn't see the need to "fast-track" marriage since the 90-day session is only about half over and lawmakers are in their first year of a four-year term.

On Wednesday, another potential holdout, Delegate Tiffany Alston, committed a yes vote to the marriage equality bill, saying she, like many other delegates, had wanted more time to weigh her final decision, but ultimately feels that “all people should be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientation.”

The marriage equality bill has already passed the Maryland state senate, and a vote in the general assembly was expected Tuesday night but failed to happen. A vote is likely this week.

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Gaga Debuts “Government Hooker”

By Advocate.com Editors

Lady Gaga made her runway debut in Paris at the Thierry Mugler fashion show, strutting like a natural down the catwalk, according to critics. She also took the opportunity to premiere a new song, “Government Hooker.”

Models walked down the runway to the new track and her current hit, “Born This Way.”

Click here to listen to the new track and watch video below.

Also, click here to enter to win a chance to see Lady Gaga live in Miami.



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Utah: No Hearing on LGBT Rights

Utah state senator Ben McAdams tried to force a hearing on his bill to prohibit antigay discrimination, but saw his move rejected in a party-line vote.

By Advocate.com Editors

In a party-line vote, the Utah state senate Monday declined to schedule a hearing for a bill that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in housing and employment, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Democratic senator Ben McAdams (pictured), the sponsor, had tried to force a hearing on the bill, which is stalled in the senate rules committee, but senators rejected the move by a vote of 21-7, with Republicans in the majority.

In encouraging his fellow senators to allow a hearing, McAdams said, “Some of you may worry about the controversy and hateful e-mails you might receive. I believe the dialogue will be respectful and it will be constructive. ... I refuse to accept that religious liberty is incompatible with protection of gay and transgender people in their home and on the job.”

Rules committee chair Margaret Dayton, however, said not every one of the 1,200 bill requests filed in the senate can get a hearing, and McAdams should not expect special treatment for his. Republican senator Chris Buttars added that he saw no need for the antidiscrimination bill: “I don’t know why we try to press these things out like this when there isn’t a demand for it.”

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Obama to Hold Antibullying Conference

By Advocate.com Editors

President Barack Obama will host a conference about bullying prevention at the White House next Thursday.

Melody Barnes, the chief domestic policy adviser, announced the conference Tuesday afternoon on a call with reporters. She said that participants would have the opportunity to speak with President Obama and high-level administration representatives about bullying and ways to prevent it in their communities.

The White House also released an official statement about the conference.

“On Thursday, March 10, President Obama, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services will welcome students, parents, teachers and others to The White House for a Conference on Bullying Prevention,” the statement said. “The conference will bring together communities from across the nation who have been affected by bullying as well as those who are taking action to address it. Participants will have the opportunity to talk with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his Administration about how all communities can work together to prevent bullying.”

Last fall, President Obama appeared in an “It Gets Better” video following a highly publicized series of LGBT teen suicides because of bullying.

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Edie Windsor and ACLU Challenge Defense of Marriage Act

Rutgers To Allow Gender-Neutral Housing

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — New Jersey's flagship state university has decided to allow male and female students to share rooms in three dorms in an effort to make the Rutgers' New Brunswick campus more inclusive for gay students after a highly publicized suicide last year.

Starting this fall, all students – whether gay, lesbian, transgender or heterosexual – can choose either male or female roommates under the pilot program. Men and women will share bathrooms.

A similar, but smaller, pilot program is being launched at the Newark campus.

A number of other schools, including the University of Maryland, New York's Columbia University and Washington's George Washington University, offer similar housing options, according to the National Student Genderblind Campaign.

The organization is pressing for more programs like them, saying they're a way for students to have roommates they're comfortable with.  READ MORE HERE...

Antigay Pastor Wasn't Masturbating, Just Had Pants Open

By Advocate.com Editors

The antigay pastor who was arrested Monday for allegedly masturbating in a park in front of children held a press conference today to apologize for his actions — and say he wasn't masturbating, he just had his hand down his unzipped pants.

"That Friday I was reclined in the chair in the van, and I had opened my pants and I had my hand in my underwear," Grant Storms said. "I'm not a pedophile. I'm not a child molester, and I don't go exposing myself to children."

Storms also apologized for his purity marches and campaigns against gay people, saying he hopes "they can find it in their heart to forgive me."

Watch Storms speak on Towleroad.com.

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Half of All Men Have HPV

Half of all men may be infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV, researchers in Tampa, Fla., said Monday.

Because HPV causes anal, penile, and head and neck cancers in men, in addition to cervical cancer in women, the discovery may bolster the argument that vaccinating boys against the virus is necessary, Reuters reports.

The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute studied infection rates among more than 1,100 men aged 18-70 in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. Fifty percent had HPV at the time the study began.

Over time, it was shown that men became infected with HPV at about the same rate as women, who are currently being urged to receive the vaccine Gardasil against the virus at an early age. However, researcher Anna Giuliano told Reuters that while women are able to naturally fight the virus, men are not as inherently able.

The full study was published in The Lancet

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Top Men Responsible for the Defense of Marriage Act Cheated on Their Wives

You’d have to go back to the Jim Crow era to find a law as imbued with bigotry and hatred as DOMA, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which Pres. Clinton signed into law in 1996. It’s back in the news now because Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that the administration would no longer defend it in court.

It’s adulterers — not gays — who are the real threat to traditional marriage
DOJ has made it clear, however, that the Legislative Branch is free to defend DOMA in upcoming hearings, which would put Speaker Boehner and his tea party bosses in the same position as the defenders of Proposition 8, California’s anti-gay constitutional amendment. The Prop 8 defenders lost in federal court last year because their “expert” witnesses’ biblical-based testimony that gay marriage should be illegal because homosexuality is a sin was deemed inadmissible in court and because they were unable to provide any evidence that same-sex marriage harms society.  READ MORE HERE...

Influential Gay Rev. Dies at 68

By Michelle Garcia

The Reverend Peter Gomes, one of the most prominent theologians in the U.S., died Monday in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, succumbing to complications from a stroke in December. He was 68.

Gomes, who was gay, was the first black minister of Harvard's Memorial Church, according to Reuters. He was named one of the seven most distinguished preachers in America in 1979 by Time magazine. In his career, Gomes was awarded 39 honorary degrees, wrote several best-selling books, and taught classes for Harvard's school of arts and sciences and divinity school.

"To generations of Harvard students, he was a wise counselor and an admired teacher who presided at every commencement," Harvard president Drew Faust  said in a statement Tuesday. "To many of his faculty colleagues, he was a cherished conversationalist and a steadfast advocate of Harvard’s best traditions. But to me, and I suspect to many others, Professor Gomes was first and foremost a trusted advisor and a true friend."

Gomes spent the early part of his career as a conservative Republican, and he had participated in the inaugurations of presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. A gay bashing on the Harvard campus prompted him to come out in 1991. He changed his political affiliation in 2006 to support current Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat who became the first African-American governor of Massachusetts.

After coming out, Gomes became a vocal advocate for gay marriage and became known for his tome The Good Book: Reading the Bible With Mind and Heart, in which he wrote about how the Bible is used to discriminate, notably against gay people.

"If Jesus came today, the people he would be most interested in dealing with would be homosexuals, racial minorities," Gomes said in a 2007 interview on NPR, Reuters reports.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry, told The Advocate that Gomes's contributions to the fight to legalize marriage equality were integral.

"In my book, Why Marriage Matters, I quoted again and again Reverend Peter Gomes's passionate eloquence in defense of the freedom to marry.  'Our whole constitutional history has been the enlargement of rights, not their restriction,' Reverend Gomes told  Massachusetts state senators, manifesting his moral witness for justice as he did throughout his life his religious vocation," Wolfson said. "We need more voices like his, in the clergy and in the corridors of power, and his and he will be missed."

Watch an interview below in which Gomes makes the conservative argument for legalizing marriage equality.



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AFA's Lawyer: DOMA Is Unconstitutional

By Michelle Garcia

The American Family Association's in-house attorney says that while he and many members of his organization believe that marriage should be reserved only for heterosexual adults, the Defense of Marriage Act is "probably unconstitutional."

Pat Vaughn appeared on the Tuesday edition of the AFA Report to talk about President Barack Obama's recent directive to the Department of Justice to stop defending the 15-year-old law barring federal recognition of state-sanctioned marriages or civil unions for same-sex couples.

Cohost Ed Vitagliano asked Vaughn whether former House speaker Newt Gingrich is right to say Obama's actions were an "impeachable offense." Vaughn replied, "I think that Newt Gingrich is an astute politician and he is playing this for all it's worth. I think that marriage is defined by God as between a man and a woman. However, the Defense of Marriage Act is probably unconstitutional, particularly ... if you attempt to apply it so that to say that a marriage conducted in one state is not in effect in another. That clearly violates the Constitution."




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