Gentlemen Prefer Blondes costar Jane Russell Dies

By Advocate.com Editors

Jane Russell, voluptuous star of films The Outlaw and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, has died at 89, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The actress first came to Hollywood's attention as a discovery of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, who attempted to capitalize on Russell's staggering figure in his controversial film The Outlaw, which was shot in 1941 but not released until 1946.

Russell was a favorite of gay audiences primarily for her costarring role opposite late screen legend Marilyn Monroe in Blondes, arguably her most famous film. Though the film was a showcase for two of cinema's sexiest bombshells, it is appreciated by gay audiences for Russell's unbelievably homoerotic number, "Ain't There Anyone Here For Love," in which the brunet actress cavorts with musclemen clad only in flesh-colored shorts.

Read her full obituary here. Watch a clip from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes below.



SOURCE

Man Confesses to Raping Lesbian Teen

By Advocate.com Editors

A man who has pleaded guilty to raping a teenage girl told authorties the sex was consensual—until he learned the young woman was gay.

According to U.K. site This Is Nottingham, the 17-year-old girl had stopped to go to the bathroom in the bushes on the grounds of Nottingham’s Open University when James Hamilton appeared and forced himself on her. When the young woman screamed, he threatened to kill her and hit her until she passed out. He was still raping her when she came to.

Eventually he left the scene and the victim was able to call police.

When Hamilton was arrested following DNA identification, he claimed the encounter was consensual and that 17-year-old had instigated encounter.

But after police told the man his victim was a lesbian, he changed his tune and pleaded guilty to raping her. He will be sentenced next month.

Read the full article here.

SOURCE

'Jose Luis Sin Censura' comes under fire; GLAAD, NHMC want FCC to shut down show for indecency violations

by Joe Flint

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Hispanic Media Coalition want the Federal Communications Commission to shut down "Jose Luis Sin Censura," a raunchy talk show that might best be described as a Spanish-language version of Jerry Springer's program.

"We want it off the air," said NHMC President and Chief Executive Alex Nogales, who called the show "pornography" "Jose Luis Sin Censura" is carried by Liberman Broadcasting's Estrella TV.

The show, which airs in the afternoons across the country, including on KRCA-TV in Los Angeles, often turns into a shouting match between young men who often insult each other with anti-gay slurs. Fists fly as well.

"We are put at risk by this content," said Jarrett Barrios, President of GLAAD.  "This is far and away the most outrageous and defamatory television show."

"They encourage people to go and beat up the people who are declaring themselves to be gay," Nogales said.

When guys aren't calling each other names, scantily clad women get into the act. One clip that GLAAD and the NHMC sent to the FCC shows a young woman giving what looks to be a tutorial on lap dances to the men in the studio audience.

Although some of the language on the show is bleeped, much of is not. To make things easier for the FCC, the almost 200-page complaint includes a dictionary of the Spanish words that are heard regularly on "Jose Luis Sin Censura" that GLAAD and the NHMC find particularly offensive.

Liberman Broadcasting Chief Operating Officer Winter Horton declined comment on the complaints of GLAAD and the NHMC.

Nogales has expressed concern in the past about the FCC's willingness and ability to enforce indecency regulations when it comes to Spanish programming. In a news release announcing the filing to the commission, Nogales expressed concern about a "pattern of weak FCC enforcement" against Spanish-language broadcasters.

"I think there is a question of whether the FCC is capable of handling complaints about Spanish-language programming," said Jessica Gonzalez, NHMC vice president of policy and legal affairs.

Asked for a response, the FCC forwarded examples of fines it had issued to Spanish-language broadcasters for indecent content in the past, and a spokesman said in an e-mail that the agency reviews all complaints and will take action when appropriate.

-- Joe Flint


ORIGINAL SOURCE

Flour Bluff High School Student Fights Discrimination

by Shannon Cuttle

Bianca "Nikki" Peet, a senior at Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, will head back to school today, but says she now feels afraid for her safety.

Last week Flour Bluff High School gained national attention after Peet, who has been fighting to get a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) approved on campus, was told by school administrators that she couldn't start the club. The school administration even went so far as to ban all extra-curricular activities in order to prevent the GSA from forming.

According to Peet, she wants to create a safe space not just for LGBT students and allies, but one that is  "open to all students to stop bullying for everyone and gives back to the community."

Peet says that she has been a victim of bullying and harassment at Flour Bluff High School, both for her disability and for standing up against bullying and harassment.

But even while some administrators and community members have opposed her plans to start a GSA, many others have expressed support.

"I have heard a lot of students say that they like the idea to start the GSA, that it is needed at our school, but the teachers tell me they are not allowed to talk to me about it," says Peet.

As of Monday, both the Flour Bluff Independent School District and the Flour Bluff High School website are no longer showing a listing of the student clubs for the high school, as the page now reads "error".

Paul Rodriguez, the President of the GSA at nearby Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, has been supporting Peet in her efforts to start the GSA at Flour Bluff High School. Rodriguez says that they have received support from the GetEQUAL Texas chapter and Equality Texas. The ACLU is now also in talks with Peet about next steps.

Tonight, Peet and the local Texas A&M GSA will host a community meeting open to students, parents and supporters about Flour Bluff ISD Superintendent Julie Carbajal's recent decision to ban all after-school clubs to prevent the GSA from forming. They hope to bring the community together against intolerance and discrimination.

"Other groups can disagree with the GSA or not like me because of it, but we need to respect each other and get along with each other and stand up to discrimination. Student clubs have a place at Flour Bluff High School", says Peet.

A peaceful protest has also been called for on Friday at 9am by local students outside Flour Bluff High School in support of having student clubs on campus to fight bullying.

We'll be updating this story all throughout the week as it moves along. Meanwhile, if you haven't added your name in support of Nikki Peet, urging Flour Bluff High School to allow a GSA on campus, please do so here.

Photo credit: basykes


ORIGINAL SOURCE

Lady GaGa - Born This Way

LA Times: Let Couples Marry Now

By Advocate.com Editors

As Californians wait for Prop. 8 to work its way through the courts, the Los Angeles Times says gay couple should be allowed to get married.

Reads the article: "Although the federal courts expedited their handling of the lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, the issues are far from resolved. And now that the California Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in, the case could be delayed for another year or more.

"Enough already. Gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to wed while the case works its way through the system."

Read the full article here.


SOURCE

Gay Couple Bashed at Burger King Awarded $3.15 Million

By Winston Gieseke

Los Angeles – A gay New Jersey couple who were chased and beaten by Burger King employees following a 2007 altercation have been awarded $3.15 million by a Hudson County jury.

In a civil trial that began Feb. 7, victims Peter Casbar, 43, and Noel Robichaux, 46, testified that a dispute with the person taking their order escalated to involve other workers and then became violent, even after the couple had left the Union City restaurant.

"The manager and a group of angry restaurant employees chased the couple and then mercilessly kicked, beat, and spat upon the two men while screaming hate-filled anti-gay invectives," the couple’s attorney, James F. Fine said in a statement.

Casbar and Robichaux said they were victims of a hate crime and brought the lawsuit under New Jersey's antidiscrimination laws. The jury agreed and ordered Food Service Properties Corp. and Union City Restaurant Corp., which owned the Burger King where the incident occurred, to pay damages.

"Violence against anybody, including gay people, cannot be condoned,” said Fine after the verdict. “The jury spoke to this issue."

Read the full story here.

SOURCE

It's time, N.Y.

Hear that, New York? The Obama administration says the federal law that banned recognition of same-sex marriage -- and with it, denied health and pension benefits to countless Americans -- is unconstitutional.

Unusual, if long overdue, clarity came Wednesday with the concession that a law passed 15 years ago, in a very different climate for sexual politics, couldn't pass constitutional muster. It's legally indefensible, to be quite blunt about it.

Politically difficult, too. The President, who says his personal position on same-sex marriage is an "evolving" matter, has given further momentum to the push for equal rights for gays.

In Albany, not even the most socially conservative or politically tone deaf state lawmakers can deny that continuing to prevent gays from legally marrying just got noticeably harder. So much so that its advocates -- from Governor Cuomo, in his position of resounding popularity, to Thomas Duane, in the trenches of the state Senate -- should push for another vote on gay marriage.

The 38-24 vote against same-sex marriage in the state Senate two years ago just might represent politics as obsolete as the Justice Department's vow last month to keep fighting in court against the very forces it's now joined in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. Even a closer, albeit losing vote, could upend the political dynamics.

It's a different Senate, remember, than the one that voted down gay marriage in 2009. The Republicans who voted unanimously against it have seven new members.

There will be more pressure to put on the old members, too. That means you, Roy McDonald of Wilton. You, too, Hugh Farley of Niskayuna.

As for the Democrats, there's little reason to think that eight of their members would oppose gay marriage, as was the case in 2009. Five of the 30 Democrats now in the Senate hadn't been elected then.

Keep in mind, too, the 50,000 or so gay couples who would be able to legally marry in New York if the Senate rewrote the law to reflect a more tolerant era. They have the public on their side. A Quinnipiac University poll last week showed that New Yorkers favor same-sex marriage, 54 percent to 39 percent.

Among them is Edith Windsor, an 81-year-old widow who filed a federal lawsuit seeking reimbursement of $360,000 she had to pay in estate taxes because the federal government did not recognize her marriage.

"I think it removes a great deal of the stigma," she said of the Obama administration's abandonment of a misguided law. "It's just great."

Imagine, New York, what Ms. Windsor might say when justice prevails here.

THE ISSUE:

The Obama administration's change in its position on gay marriage creates an opening.

THE STAKES:

It will be harder to resist equal rights here.

To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com, or at http://blogs.timesunion.com/opinion

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/It-s-time-N-Y-1032480.php#ixzz1FK0IQ0fK

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Update on lesbian TN couple who were victims of arson and hate crime

 We talked with Carol Ann Stutte on Saturday morning, learning more about the case and getting a sense of how the GetEQUAL community couple help out — I can’t tell you how wonderful these women are…they’re amazing. Here’s the situation:

Carol Ann and Laura Stutte owned a beautiful home on a beautiful piece of land in rural Tennessee — outside of Knoxville. Together for 16 years with a grown daughter, these women had developed a community for themselves in the heart of a very, very red state.

Their next-door neighbor began threatening them, repeatedly making direct threats that she would burn their home, poison their dog, and kill the couple. Shortly after each of the threats, those things came to pass — their dog suddenly died of poisoning and their beautiful home had been reduced to ashes.

It gets worse. The house was burned down while Carol Ann and Laura were out of town, celebrating their anniversary. When they returned, their home was burned to the ground and the word “QUEERS” was spray-painted on their free-standing garage.

It gets even worse. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation deployed staff to the scene…four days after the fire and following two rainstorms that destroyed much of the arson evidence. After the men drank coffee, cracked jokes, and kept their investigation dog in the truck, Carol Ann asked if they were going to investigate. The response? “I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but we have more important things to do right now.”

And, believe it or not, it gets even worse. The Stuttes immediately filed a claim with their insurance company and the insurance company didn’t send a team of investigators until a week and a half after the fire. After initially honoring their claim for living expenses while the Stuttes waited on the investigation to take place, the insurance company — American National Property & Casualty Company — kicked them out of their rental home and told them they were on their own.

It’s been almost six months since the fire, and American National Property & Casualty Company will now no longer return calls from the Stuttes — and have made clear that they will not honor their homeowners policy. Last week, the company offered to pay $610.18 — yes, $610.18 — toward the living expenses for the couple, which are now over $5,000 for the past 6 months. And it’s clearly nowhere close to the $206,000 property claim and the $155,000 claim for personal items.

The Stuttes were hoping to follow the rules, resolve the situation peacefully, and just wait on this investigation to end — but it’s clear that American National Property & Casualty Company believe that lesbian lives are worth a small fraction of the value of straight lives. And the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation refuses to give any updates, preventing this from being designated as a hate crime…while their neighbor not only walks free, but has been sighted on the property repeatedly since the fire.

The Stuttes were recently forced to file a lawsuit against their neighbor while they live in hiding in another area of Tennessee, since this woman remains free. They’re suing the neighbor for damages — in the hopes that it forces the investigation to move forward and they can again return to their normal lives.

The Stuttes have reached out to GetEQUAL for help, and we’re determined to make it very difficult for American National Property & Casualty Company to conduct business until/unless they honor the Stuttes policy. We’re starting a campaign targeting the company, and we’ll periodically be asking you to take coordinated action in order to make things very difficult for this company. We don’t believe a lesbian home is worth less than a straight home — and we’ll make it clear to American National Property & Casualty Company that they have a lot of work ahead of them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you’d like to make a donation to help the Stuttes out, please head here: http://knoxvillepridefest.com/2011/02/03/insulin/. They’ve raised enough money to live on for the past few months, but they’ve reached the end of that money — and their daughter is in need of a new insulin pump. This is clearly an immediate need.

Additionally, we’ll be hammering away at the insurance company in a variety of ways this week, both online and offline. For now, start the calls — their 24-hour customer service line is 1-800-333-2860. Word is that they have a prepared statement at the ready — be sure they read the whole thing, and feel free to ask questions. We’re completely happy with tying up their phone lines all day long!

When you call, add a comment on this Facebook post with the results, including any new information you learn. We’ll be setting up a way for folks to quickly send emails to all/most of their staff, actions at their offices in Missouri, etc. But, for right now, call their offices and prevent them from doing business!

Original Source

James Franco's Own Private Idaho

By Advocate.com Editors

James Franco, the restless multihyphenate entertainer, has again collaborated with his Milk director, Gus Van Sant, on a two-film redo of the director's 1991 modern classic My Own Private Idaho. Franco was shown outtakes of the film, which he previously told The Advocate is his favorite, when the two men worked on the award-winning Harvey Milk biopic, so the actor decided to fashion it into two films.

The two films, Endless Idaho and My Own Private River, will be shown as part of an exhibition called "Unfinished" at Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. A press release describes the 12-hours long Endless Idaho as an "unprecedented look into the workaday process of making a movie, from location scouting to repeated takes." My Own Private River is made up mostly of "shots of [River] Phoenix 's character, Mike, woven into a compelling portrait. Franco describes being mesmerized by Phoenix's 'uninhibited acting' in this unreleased footage, and his edit 'captures the gifted actor at his most emotionally expressive and physically dynamic."

Michael Stipe composed the score for the art project.

"Unfinished"will be on display at the Gagosian Gallery February 26-April 9.

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Missing Trans Woman Found Dead

By Advocate.com Editors

A 25-year-old transgender woman who was reported as missing two weeks ago was found dead in the basement of a vacant city-owned home in Baltimore Saturday.

Tyra Trent was found by a person who wandered into the building. An autopsy revealed that she had died of asphyxiation, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Those who know Trent, born Anthony, said she had been known to disappear for days at a time, but typically would return home after a day or two. After a few days, her mother, Sundra, knew something was wrong.

Trent's family remembered her as a bold, good-natured person who liked to dance. She worked with people with disabilities but also had a police record for prostitution.

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Hawaii Gov. Signs Civil Unions Bill

By Advocate.com Editors
Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie signed legislation Wednesday afternoon legalizing civil unions in the Aloha state.

The state senate passed the bill last week by an 18-5 vote. A similar bill was approved by the legislature in 2010 but vetoed by then-Gov. Linda Lingle after a long waiting period.

"This signing today of this measure says to all in the world that all are welcome – that everyone is a brother and a sister in paradise," Abercrombie said at the bill's signing.

"For me, this bill represents equal rights for everyone in Hawaii and everyone who comes here. This is for me the essence of the aloha spirit."

The governor spent about 10 minutes speaking before signing the bill, joking around with people in the audience and making clear this is an important bill for him.

"With its signing, I wanted to say, 'Welcome to the world. Welcome to paradise.'"

Civil unions aren't expected to go into effect until January 1, 2012.

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Maryland Marriage Bill Advances

By Julie Bolcer

A debate predicted to last the entire day and beyond took only two hours Wednesday morning as Maryland senators voted 25-22 shortly after noon to advance the marriage equality bill to a third and final reading on Thursday followed by a final vote.

During the morning’s discussion, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act was subjected to a barrage of proposed amendments. Proposals to exempt religious groups that provide educational services and insurance coverage succeeded, but attempts to obtain exemptions for public officials and teachers failed, as did an adoption amendment that generated intense but controlled discussion.

Sen. Bryan Simonaire, a Republican from Anne Arundel County who proposed to exempt teachers from presenting marriage equality based on their religious beliefs, repeatedly raised the specter of “unintended consequences” to the marriage equality bill, such as school children reading books about same-sex couples.

Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Montgomery County, led the debate in favor of the marriage equality bill and consistently countered opponents’ arguments. At one point, he dismissed an effort by Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George’s County Democrat, to remove the phrase “religious freedom” from the bill’s title because, Muse argued, the bill was focused on legalizing same-sex marriage.

“We are for marriage that includes everybody,” said Raskin. “Those people don’t say, ‘Will you gay marry me?’ or ‘Will you same-sex marry me?’ They’re asking, ‘Will you marry me?”

As debate came to a close, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., who had promised and managed to deliver a civil discussion, suggested his colleagues were beginning to carry the amendment proposals too far.

The senate is scheduled to hold a third and final reading of the marriage equality bill on Thursday. Supporters have secured the required number of votes from 24 senators, and Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign the bill. Debate begins Friday in the house of delegates, where backers feel confident of passage.

If passed and signed into law, the bill would make Maryland, with a population of 5.7 million people, the sixth state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow marriage equality.

Opponents of marriage equality have said they will try to repeal the prospective law with a referendum in 2012. However, a similar attempt to challenge the addition of sexual orientation to the state’s human rights law was kept off the ballot in the previous decade.

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Man Posed as Lesbian to Prey on Girls

By Advocate.com Editors

A former Glasgow, Scotland, nurse has confessed to 49 pedophile sex charges involving girls aged 10 to 15.

Authorities say Barry McCluskey, 39, posed as a teenage lesbian on social networking sites and preyed on nearly 50 victims between 2007 and 2010 from the home he shared with his wife and two children.

Despite having no face-to-face or physical contact with any of the girls, McCluskey was able to lure some of them to strip and perform sex acts for him via Web cam while he recorded the footage.

He also blackmailed some of the victims. According to prosecutor Alison Di Rollo, "Those who were, or became reluctant, he would ask to do more — telling them if they did not, he may have to forward the video they had already done to friends."

An investigation of his home computers yielded almost 10,000 indecent images of children.

McCluskey will be sentenced later this year.

Read the full story here.

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Cheyenne in Broadway's Normal Heart?

By Advocate.com Editors

Cheyenne Jackson is in talks to join the first Broadway production of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's landmark play about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, reports The New York Times.

Joe Mantello, a Tony award-nominated actor for Angels in America and Tony award-winning director of Take Me Out, will play Ned Weeks, the play's protagonist, based on Kramer. Love! Valour! Compassion!'s John Benjamin Hickey will play Ned's lover, Felix Turner. Ellen Barkin will make her Broadway debut as Emma Brookner, the wheelchair-bound doctor who realizes the seriousness of the AIDS crisis. Jackson will likely play Tommy, an activist. The production will be directed by Oscar- and Tony award-winner Joel Grey.

The Normal Heart will begin preview performances at the Golden Theater on April 19 and open on April 27, a day before the deadline to qualify for Tony award consideration. Kramer's play first opened on April 21, 1985 and ran for 294 performances. The revival follows an acclaimed staged reading of the play in New York last October, which raised $150,000 for charity.

A film adaptation to be directed by Ryan Murphy with Mark Ruffalo attached to star is in the works.

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California Gay Marriage Supporters: Lift Prop. 8 Stay

(from left) David Boies, Chad Griffin
Ted Olsen and Ted Boutrous.

By Advocate.com Editors

Attorneys who brought the federal case against Proposition 8 asked the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit to lift the court-imposed stay on marriage equality in California.

A three-judge panel of the ninth circuit had imposed that stay last year without comment after U.S. district judge Vaughn Walker ruled the 2008 voter initiative unconstitutional. Gay couples are still unable to wed in California as a result.

“There there can be no justification for prolonging the suffering of plaintiffs and the tens of thousands of couples like them for an additional year,” attorney Ted Olson wrote in a court filing.

“Having prevailed at trial, having demonstrated that they had a fundamental right to marry, and having shown beyond dispute that Proposition 8 works irreparable harm upon gay and lesbian Californians by denying them that right,” Olson wrote, “it is simply intolerable for this Court to continue to deny them that right and to perpetuate their pain for such a length of time — especially given that this Court itself has recognized that Proponents may well have no right to appeal at all.”

The move comes on the same day the Department of Justice announced it will not defend section 3 of the 15-year-old Defense of Marriage Act in federal court after a directive from President Barack Obama.

Read more on that story here.

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Emanuel Wins Chicago Mayor Race

By Advocate.com Editors

Rahm Emanuel has been elected the new mayor of Chicago in a landslide victory.

The former White House Chief of Staff has nearly 55 percent of the vote with 88 percent of precincts reporting. Former Board of Education President Gery Chico is in second place with 24 percent, City Clerk Miguel del Valle has nine percent and long time civil rights advocate Carol Moseley Braun is in fourth with eight percent of the vote.

Longtime LGBT ally Richard Daley decided not to seek reelection in September.

Emanuel, a former congressman from Illinois, stepped down as White House chief of staff last year to prepare his run. He has been endorsed by Equality Illinois PAC and the Human Rights Campaign.

ChicagoPride.com reported Tuesday morning: “Emanuel, who received the endorsement of over 200 LGBT community leaders and advocates including openly gay state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and state Rep. Deborah Mell (D-Chicago), has approached 50 percent in opinion polls but his numbers have since dropped in recent polling.”

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Madonna Movie Poster Thought Too "Lesbian"

Photos Herb Ritts took of Madonna and Rosanna Arquette during a publicity shoot for their hit film Desperately Seeking Susan were initially deemed too "lesbian," according to veteran publicist Reid Rosefelt on My Life as a Blog.

Rosefelt, who was working as a publicist on the 1985 mistaken identity comedy, recalls the day he first told Madonna that Ritts would be photographing her and costar Arquette for publicity photos and, possibly, the film's poster.

“Is he gay?” Madonna asked. “Gay men take good pictures of me.”

Rosefelt recalls that during the meeting for the film's ad campaign an agency was pitching a campaign that traded on the film's disillusioned housewife plot, with Arquette’s face on a toaster and Madonna’s face on a piece of toast. Thinking the images were terrible, Rosefelt pulled out photos from the Ritts session, causing a hush in the room.

"Some people at Orion thought that the image would make people think it was a lesbian movie," Roseflet writes. "Thankfully the film’s producers, Midge Sanford and Sarah Pillsbury, were able to make their case."

The late photographer would go on to capture some of the most famous images of the music icon, including the cover of her 1986 album True Blue, as well as direct the video for her single "Cherish."

Rosefelt writes about having spent a lot of time alone with pre-superstardom Madonna during the shoot, where she even asked his opinion of one of her unreleased songs. Years later he ran into Madonna at an art shop and re-introduced himself, saying that he worked with her on Susan.

“A lot of people worked on Desperately Seeking Susan,” she said, as she walked past him.

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Lesbian Embezzler Sentenced to 6 Years

By Advocate.com Editors

Phyllis Stevens, who embezzled more than $6 million from Aviva USA, was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison. Her wife, Marla Stevens, who claimed to have “no conscious knowledge of the crime,” received a sentence of just more than three years.

The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge Ronald Longstaff after Phyllis admitted guilt but blamed her actions on mental disorders caused by childhood abuse. Marla admitted only to spending large sums of money, including over $400,000 in room service at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.

Longstaff said the sentences were based on the amount of money stolen and how it was spent. "When you steal $6 million, you are going to jail, and you are going to go for a long time," he said.

U.S. Attorney Nicholas Klinefeldt agreed. "These sentences show that so-called 'white collar' offenses are serious crimes, and that committing these crimes can bring severe consequences," he said. "Phyllis and Marla Stevens lived a lavish lifestyle on stolen money, and now they are going to pay the price."

Phyllis Stevens blamed her actions on a dissociative identity disorder, and said an alter ego known as Peter was the one who’d taken the money.

Read the full story here.

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Greg Louganis' Return to Diving

By Advocate.com Editors

Diving legend Greg Louganis has decided to come back to the sport that propelled him into Olympic fame, but this time as a coach.

Louganis, who is openly gay and has HIV, became the only man to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the platform and springboard diving events. Now 51, Louganis spoke to the New York Times on Sunday about being hired in November to coach the members of SoCal Divers. His coaching follows a mechanical style, ensuring that divers master a move before moving on to the next, which is in contrast with other coaches who stress acrobatics.

At first, he admitted he was hesitant to return to the sport, but said after he thought about his skill set, and where he felt comfortable, the return was the right thing to do.

“I kind of speak their language,” he said of the divers he trains. “I know what it is to be afraid of a dive. I know what it’s like to put a new dive in a competition. I know what it’s like to feel a little insecure about a dive.”

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Delaware: New Group Eyes Civil Unions

By Michelle Garcia
Delaware's newly formed gay rights group has hit the ground running, launching a public push to legalize civil unions for the state's gay and lesbian couples.

Equality Delaware's first meeting, attended by about 120 people, resulted in the unveiling Thursday of the campaign to get civil unions. State Rep. Melanie George and Sen. David Sokola have signed on to be the lead sponsors of the bill, which they said will likely be filed in mid-March, according to the  News Journal (Wilmington, Del.).

According to the group, about 700 Delaware couples would enter a civil union within the first few years the law takes effect.

In addition to granting gay and lesbian couples the same rights as married couples have in the state, the civil union law would also rescind current policies that fine and imprison same-sex couples who fraudulently present themselves as married couples. It would also establish religious freedom protections for clergy, and ensure that same-sex marriages from other states be recognized in Delaware.

Equality Delaware president Lisa Goodman told the News Journal that there is enough support to legalize civil unions, but full-on marriage equality would probably be an unsuccessful battle.

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Banton Guilty of Cocaine Charges

By Advocate.com Editors

Homophobic, Grammy-winning reggae star Buju Banton was convicted of three cocaine related charges in a Tampa, Fla., court on Monday.

A 12-person jury convicted Banton of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, attempting to possess five kilograms or more of cocaine, and aiding and abetting others in using a communication facility in the commission of a felony. The singer was found not guilty of a gun charge.

The Jamaican performer was arrested with two men in December 2009 after they tried to sell cocaine to undercover detectives in a Florida warehouse. While the two men pleaded guilty, Banton denied the charges. A previous case against Banton ended in a mistrial.

Earlier this month, Banton won the Grammy award for Best Reggae Album. Banton reportedly hugged his lawyer as the verdict was read — there is no word yet on when Banton will be sentenced.

Read the full story here.

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AIDS Memoir Pulled from Library

A memoir was pulled from the general circulation of a middle school library in Tennessee because of the author's accounts of promiscuity, the AIDS-related death of his lover and his use of profane language.

A 12-year-old student checked out Paul Monette's memoir, Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir, from the Cheatham Middle School library. Her mother, Misty Binkley, told WSMV News that the book was not appropriate to have in a middle school library, but was perhaps more appropriate for older students.

After Binkley complained, the school’s policy changed to adapt to parents' inquiries. Previously, books that were the subject of complaint would undergo a two week review process, which has been changed to take place over the course of two days.

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Marriage Bill Introduced in Md. Senate

By Advocate.com Editors

The marriage equality bill was introduced in the Maryland senate Tuesday morning. Debate is scheduled to begin Wednesday on the measure, which has the required 24 votes to pass the chamber.

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act passed the senate’s judicial proceedings committee last Thursday by a vote of 7 to 4. The bill included three amendments, including one on protecting religious institutions that is expected to be the subject of prolonged debate in the full senate this week.

The Wonk Room offers audio of the introduction.

Gov. Martin O'Mally has promised to sign the marriage equality bill, which is expected to pass the house of delegates.



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Rosie O'Donnell, Tracy Kachtick-Anders Break Up: Comedienne, Girlfriend Split: Report

Sadly, it seems that "The Gay-dy Bunch" has split apart.

The NY Post's Page Six reports that former "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell and her girlfriend, Tracy Kachtick-Anders, have split up after about a year of dating. The pair met through Rosie's blog, Kachtick-Anders said at the time.

This would be the second split in three years for O'Donnell, who broke up with longtime partner Kelli Carpenter, with whom she has four children, in 2007 -- though the breakup wasn't made public til November, 2009.

Kachtick-Anders, an artist and LGBT adoptive rights advocate, has six kids, five of whom are in fact adopted. O'Donnell said that Kachtick-Anders moved her children in with O'Donnell, creating a household of ten kids that O'Donnell coined "The Gay-dy Bunch".

However, the NY Post's story says that the move never officially happened:

"Rosie and Tracy never officially lived under one roof. They have lived near one another for quite some time, and their families still socialize and they see each other frequently."

Their source said that the ex-couple's children are still very close.

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Allums' Mom Says Son Kept from Playing

By Advocate.com Editors

The mother of Kye Allums, a women’s basketball player for George Washington University, said that the school is preventing her son from playing despite medical clearance and stifling talk about his being the first openly transgender person to play NCAA Division I basketball.

Outsports.com spoke with Allums' mother about the allegations, which the university denies.

“Rolanda Delamartinez said in a phone interview [with Outsports.com] that Allums - who has missed all but eight games this season because of two concussions - has been prevented from playing, even though she says he no longer has any symptoms from the concussions. She said Allums was told he would have to run for two hours straight to be cleared,” the Washington Post reported.

GW athletic director Jack Kvancz said that Allums was not able to satisfactorily complete a 20-minute run. Delamartinez claimed that her son was cleared to play by a team doctor two weeks ago, and then the decision was reversed.

The Post also reports that, “Delamartinez said her son wants to help other transgender athletes but school officials have refused to allow him to tell his story to reporters. According to Delamartinez, school officials told her and Allums not to speak to any reporters because the school had arranged to give an exclusive to Oprah Winfrey.”

Kvancz said that he was not aware of any special arrangements with Winfrey, and that he told Allums to focus on academics and basketball until after the season.

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Anti-bullying bill passes easily in ND House

Anti-bullying bill passes easily in ND House

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A measure that's intended to deter bullying in schools has won overwhelming approval in the North Dakota House.

The bill says each school district must adopt an anti-bullying policy by July 2012.

It instructs the state School Boards Association to develop a policy as a model for local schools.

The North Dakota Senate approved a similar bill last week that requires the state school superintendent to develop the model rules.

Both public and non-public schools must adopt anti-bullying policies. They must include instructions for reporting, investigating and punishing cases of bullying. School districts would also need to offer bullying prevention programs.

Schools wouldn't be liable for bullying that occurs if they adopt proper bullying policies.

The House approved the measure, 76-18, on Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate.

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Review: "Making the Boys" Tells the Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Story of "The Boys in the Band"

by Brent Hartinger

Can I make a confession? I didn't want to watch or review Making the Boys, the new documentary about the landmark 1968 play and 1970 film The Boys in the Band that opens in limited release in March.

Yes, yes, I know how important the movie is in gay entertainment history (which is why I put it as number one on my list of the most important gay movies of all time, even as I also put it on another list of my least favorite gay movies).

But it's also probably the most discussed gay movie of all time. As Making the Boys points out, it was hailed upon its first staging, then condemned by gays in the post-Stonewall era, then "rediscovered" in the 1990s. At every point in modern gay history, it's been there in the background, cited as an example of post-Stonewall "truth," or as hoary gay stereotypes in their purest form.

In short, is there really anything interesting left to be said about The Boys in the Band?

It turns out there is, in a new documentary that doesn't really discuss the play or the movie themselves (or even their impact on the stage or the cinema), so much as the two projects' role in gay history, and (even more interesting) their impact on all the people involved with their creation.

Who knew? As much as I and others have written and read and talked about The Boys in the Band, it turns out there is plenty didn't I know.

First, there's the role of The Boys in the Band in history, and how it acted as sort of a "counterweight" to the GLBT rights movement — a potent symbol of an earlier, much darker era before GLBT liberation. The play debuted in 1968, and by 1970, the world could see the film version.

What happened in between? The Stonewall Inn Riots, of course — the "birth" of the modern GLBT rights movement. But that symbolic moment didn't just set off a movement; it helped fundamentally change the way gay people thought of themselves, replacing self-hatred and the need to hide and be subservient with a forthright demand for dignity, openness, and pride.

In other words, at the height of its stage success and even before the release of the movie, The Boys in the Band was already an anachronism, a throw-back to an earlier era. Remember the famous phrase "Gay is good"? It turns out the man who coined it was doing it in direct response to two things: the famous African American expression "Black is beautiful," and the portrayal of self-(and other-)destructive gay people in The Boys in the Band.

It's inaccurate to say that The Boys in the Band helped sparked the Stonewall Inn Riots, but I think it's spot-on to say that whatever was in the air that sparked those riots is also deeply embedded in the DNA of the play: the incredible self-loathing and the dawning realization that that self-hatred was unfairly imposed by the greater culture.

Even more interesting than the project's role in history, however, is its impact on the men involved in its creation.

How did playwright Mart Crowley get the idea to write the play in the first place? From a snotty article in the New York Times that accused prominent gay playwrights like Edward Albee of writing "coded" plays about gays in the guise of heterosexuals. Why not just write about gay people, the article asked?

And for the first time, a playwright did — a fact that Crowley deserves enormous credit for. (Interestingly, Albee, who is interviewed in Making the Boys, was one of the early readers of the play, and he hated it for its portrayal of gay men, which he thought would set back a gay rights movement that he saw on the rise even in 1967. Albee still dislikes the play today — although he humorously kicks himself for not investing in it when he had the opportunity.)

The Boys in the Band was phenomenally successful as an Off-Broadway play, running five years with two national touring companies (Albee says the play was so popular with heterosexual audiences, because it gave them exactly the portrayal of gays they expected). The movie version was less successful, but it was still incredibly influential in the rise of GLBT portrayals in other films and on television.

So you'd think the principals involved would've made out okay, right?

Not so much. The actors all played the same roles on stage and in the movie, and two of the surviving cast members, Peter White (who played Alan) and Laurence Luckinbill (who played Hank), explain the incredible prejudice they faced in Hollywood as a result of appearing in the film. They also recount the profound bitterness on the part of some of the other cast members, who also faced what almost everyone agreed was a strong backlash.

Robert La Tourneaux (who played The Cowboy, a hustler) got involved in drugs and was even eventually reduced to turning tricks himself as "the Cowboy from The Boys in the Band." And Reuben Greene (who played Bernard) has long since disavowed his involvement in the projects and refuses all contact on the matter.

Four cast members, including La Tourneuax, and other production personnel eventually succumbed to AIDS.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: we all benefit from the courage of early pioneers, but very rarely do the pioneers themselves get rewarded. On the contrary, often they get totally screwed, at least in the GLBT movement.

As for Crowley, his next play in the wake of The Boys in the Band bombed badly, sending him into a decade-long alcohol bender, only to see his career eventually be revived when his very good friend Natalie Wood (who was instrumental in getting The Boys in the Band produced) convinced him to work on her husband Robert Wagner's hit 1970s television show Hart to Hart.

If you find none of this interesting, there is one more thing about this documentary that makes it "must see": its use of fascinating archival footage (including home movies of Roddy McDowell's Malibu beach parties with Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Judy Garland, Sal Mineo, and just about anyone else who was a star of that era), footage of early GLBT rights leaders, old interviews with cast members, and much, much more.

The documentary also includes new interviews with Crowley, director William Friedkin, Michael Cunningham, Larry Kramer, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, Dan Savage, Robert Wagner, and many others.

I didn't want to watch Making the Boys, but I was wrong in that. For anyone with an interest in gay history or gay entertainment, I can't recommend it highly enough.

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Did Ugandan Brenda Namigadde Lie About Being A Lesbian To Score British Asylum?

Brenda Namigadde, the 29-year-old Ugandan woman living in Britain who initially scored a reprieve from deportation by claiming her homosexuality would subject her to threats and violence, has renewed her appeal to avoid being shipped off. And it curiously leaves out any mention that she's a lesbian — only that she's been reported in the press to be one.

Now that she's been slapped with the "lesbian" title, Namigadde remains at risk, the Telegraph relays.

Her legal team managed to secure a last-minute delay in her removal from Britain by arguing that as a homosexual she would be at risk of persecution in her African homeland. But now lawyers acting for the woman, who can be identified only as "BN", have submitted a new appeal on her behalf – which no longer hinges on her sexuality. Instead, they say that because she has appeared in newspapers claiming to be gay, she would inevitably be at risk in Uganda whatever her true sexual orientation.

How come? Because a judge handling the case ruled Namigadde isn't gay at all.

Earlier this month this newspaper revealed how she was unable to remember the surname, age, employer or other details of a woman with whom she claimed she had a six-year relationship in Uganda. Nor could she describe a lesbian bar in London that she claimed she visited regularly.

BN came to Britain in 2002 and overstayed her visa, later lodging an asylum claim. She claimed to have been beaten and victimised over her sexuality. The Home Office refused her claim and began deportation proceedings. Last December, immigration judge Toby Davey ruled that BN should be sent back to Uganda. He criticised the 28-year-old for a "lack of candour" over her sexuality, and concluded: "I find that the appellant was and is not, on the evidence before me, a lesbian." Yet following the ruling, BN secured sympathetic coverage in several newspapers. Her lawyers, Luton-based Cardinal Solicitors, were quoted on the dangers she allegedly faced, and BN herself gave interviews from inside Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre.

Now Namigadde's lawyers claim "the credibility of the applicant's sexuality … is entirely irrelevant to the risk … that the applicant will face. … The risk derives from a widespread national public perception of the applicant being homosexual." Which, uh, she and her representatives, it appears, conveniently manufactured. In which case: shame on them. Because while Namigadde may have decent reasons to want to stay in Britain and away from her homeland, gaming the system — and casting more speculation and cynicism on actual LGBTs who need the safe haven that asylum offers — hurts everyone.

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New Mexico House Committee Says “NO” to DOMA Bills

by Tony Wagner

Today, three anti-marriage bills being considered by the New Mexico legislature encountered a major setback in the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee.  Three Democrats from Bernalillo County (Albuquerque) voted to table the measures, effectively stalling, if not killing the bills for the session.  The final vote was 3-2.

The bills, HJR 7 and HJR 8 which are constitutional amendments that would define marriage as only between one man and one woman, as well as HB 162, the “Retroactive Bar on Same Sex Marriages” bill, were attempts by social conservatives in the state to enshrine discrimination in the state’s constitution.  These bills would deny thousands of New Mexican families the dignity that comes from having their relationships recognized.

Similar legislation was defeated last year, but with a more socially conservative slant at the Roundhouse following the 2010 elections, fending off this discriminatory legislation could have proved more difficult.  To counter these efforts, HRC worked with a broad coalition in the state, and launched two statewide action alerts to thousands of members and supporters, which generated several thousand messages to legislators and Gov. Susana Martinez.


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Poll: LGBT Students More Prone to Suicide

By Winston Gieseke

LGBT students are more likely to be suicidal and harassed than their straight peers, says a new report from the Des Moines–based Iowa Pride Network.

Yesterday, the eight-year-old group released the results of their first-ever College Climate Survey, which tracked comfort levels, harassment, and depression for students on college campuses. According to the data collected, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students are 25% more likely to have suicidal thoughts while 44% have experienced some form of harassment while in school.  Read more here...

Massachusetts governor signs order protecting transgender state employees

by Inga Sarda-Sorensen

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 — Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today issued two executive orders, numbers 526 and 527, which extend nondiscrimination protections to state employees on the basis of gender identity and expression, and apply to all state agencies and programs, as well as businesses that contract with the state.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was pleased to provide technical assistance to Massachusetts Equality and Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition in their effort to secure this order.  Read more here...

Target Amends Giving Policy

The big-box retailer has changed its political contribution policy in the wake of last year's uproar over its donation to a group supporting an antigay candidate.

By Advocate.com Editors

Target Corp., which angered gays last year with a donation to a political group supporting an antigay Minnesota gubernatorial candidate, has amended its policy for political contributions.

Among the changes, reports the Washington Blade, is the establishment of a committee of senior executives to oversee donations to candidates, parties, and political action committees. “The policy committee and our CEO are responsible for balancing our business interests with any other considerations that may be important to our team members, our guests or other stakeholders,” Target spokeswoman Jessica Carlson told the Blade. Read more here...

High school newspaper editorial condemns homosexuality, same-sex dating

By Eric Ethington

WICHITA, Kan. — A local high school student newspaper has published an editorial by one of their student reporters calling for a ban on same-sex dating.

In the editorial in Wichita High School East’s Messenger, student journalist Colin Johnson called homosexuality a disruption and said it should be kept out of school.

He also quoted two Bible verses, one which calls homosexuality an abomination, and another that says it should be punished by death.  Read more here...

California high court to rule on key Prop. 8 issue

The California Supreme Court has rejoined the battle over same-sex marriage, agreeing to decide the crucial question of whether sponsors of an initiative can defend it in court when state officials refuse to do so.

The justices issued a unanimous order Wednesday granting a request by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to decide whether the backers of Proposition 8, the 2008 initiative banning gay and lesbian marriages, have the right under state law to appeal a judge's decision declaring the measure unconstitutional.  Read more here...

Hawaii Same-Sex Civil Unions Bill Approved By State Legislature

HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, marking an end to what the governor called an "emotional process" for a longtime battleground in the gay rights movement.

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie's office said he intends to sign the bill into law within 10 business days. Civil unions would begin Jan. 1, 2012, making the state the seventh in the nation to grant essentially the same rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself.  Read more here...

Conservative Marine for Equality

By Advocate.com Editors

Craig Stowell is a conservative former Marine who takes “freedom and liberty very seriously.” And in a full-page ad running Wednesday in New Hampshire’s conservative-leaning Union Leader, he says he finds the effort to “take away marriage from loving gay and lesbian couples not only to be wrong, but completely off task.”

The ad is an open letter from Stowell to the New Hampshire legislature, urging lawmakers to focus on fixing the economy and creating jobs and not on stripping same-sex couples of marriage rights.

He says in the letter he is writing on behalf of his brother, who was the best man at his wedding to the woman of his dreams.

“I hope he will one day ask me to be his best man when he decides to marry,” he writes.

Read the full letter at GoodAsYou.org.

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BRUTAL MURDER: Teen Shoots + Hacks Gay Roommate To Death After He 'Turned Straight Again'

Some people are mentally disturbed. And then there is Michael Anderson (pictured), a 19-year-old North Carolina man, who called 911 and told the dispatcher he had taken Mucinex cough medicine and then hacked his gay roommate to death with an axe after shooting him.

Facing murder charges in the death of Stephen Starr (pictured below), Anderson can be heard telling the 911 operator at 4:45am Monday, "I took some pills and, um, the pills made me go mad and I murdered my roommate. shot him three times and then I used an axe and mutilated his body." While being taken away from the home the two men shared, Anderson told reporters he loved ("as a friend") his slain roommate. But during the 911 call, Anderson says, "I was straight and I wanted to go bisexual just to experiment and I went to a gay club and I met him and I went to his house. And he took me in and I turned straight again and he wanted to touch me and stuff and I wouldn't let him and he kept trying and I waited until he went to sleep and then I shot him 3 times and then I mutilated him very badly." Yes, that's the sound of his defense attorney mounting a gay panic-by-medicine defense.

As for Starr, his lifeless body was found shot (by both a handgun and shotgun), stabbed (with the side of his body carved with a word), and torn up with the axe. Catawba County Sheriff Coy Reid says it's "probably one of the worst scenes I have seen in my 30 years of law enforcement."

Anderson's Facebook postings, however, indicate he may have planned the murder. Two successive posts on the site — where his status was listed "in a relationship" — declare his intent ("my killing starts tonight") and then appear to announce what he did ("i finally cracked guys i really did it this time").

In the middle of the 911 call (full recording below), Anderson says: "Oh lord, I don't know why I did this. … I can't believe I killed my roommate." He then tells the operator that when the police come they won't even recognize Starr's body. "The axe is inside his stomach."

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Hawaii Appoints Openly Lesbian Judge Sabrina McKenna to its Supreme Court

by SheWired Editors

Sabrina McKenna was confirmed to the Hawaii supreme court Wednesday, making her the first openly gay judge to serve on the state's highest court.

McKenna, 53, was a senior judge on Oahu's family court, according to the Associated Press. She has 16 years of experience in serving the bench.

"This is the most important decision I have made in my career,” Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a statement when he nominated her as an associate justice in January. “This appointment sets the course for the state and its legal direction for the next several years.  I am completely confident that Judge McKenna's appointment will be something I'm proud of for the rest of my life."

McKenna is Abercrombie's first judicial nominee.

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Fehrenbach assured retirement from Air Force with pension

by Chris Johnson

An Air Force pilot who was facing potential discharge under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been assured that he will be allowed to retire from the service with his full rank and pension.

According to the South Bend Tribune, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who’s served as a military pilot for 20 years, was told by the U.S. military recently that he’d be permitted to retire on Oct. 1.

Fehrenbach, who’s flown missions in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, reportedly said the news was unexpected and “a great sense of relief.”

In 2008, Fehrenbach placed on desk duty while he was investigated for allegedly sexually assaulting a male civilian and violating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The assault allegation was dropped, but the investigation into his sexual orientation continued.

Had Fehrenbach been dismissed, he would have faced the loss of his military retirement entitlement of half pay and medical care for the remainder of his life.

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Virginia refuses to consider anti gay-discrimination proposal

By Annie Rooney, 365gay.com

(Richmond, Va.) A Virginia House panel killed a recent proposal to protect state employees in Virginia from anti-gay discrimination, according to the Washington Post.

Democrats pushed the bill in response to last year’s letter from Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) instructing colleges and universities to exclude sexual orientation language from official non-discrimination policies.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) clarified the state does not discriminate based on sexual orientation and that those who do can be punished through an executive directive that he issued shortly after the letter.

Virginia universities and state agencies cannot allow employees take any state court action over discrimination based on sexual orientation until there is legislative approval, according to the Washington Post.

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Watch: Mormon Mom Reposts Video Speaking Out for Same-Sex Marriage Despite Threats from Church Officials

Melanie, a married Mormon mother of five, a loyal member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, and a self-described "disciple of Christ", made the following video in 2008 in reaction to the Mormon church's campaign to pass Proposition 8 and remove marriage rights from gay people.

After threats from church officials, she took it down, but this week reposted it.

Melanie writes:

I did not discuss the video with my local leaders before making it public, but they were directed to it by church headquarters. At the end of some very heart felt discussions, my speaking out with this video threatened my temple recommend and my calling, and I ultimately chose to take it down to protect my standing in the church.

I have lived to regret the decision. And so today, in honor of the Valentine legend and in support of the love that drives so many of us to share our lives with each other, I stand up once more in favor of marriage, all marriage, with my Prop 8 video.



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Garnet Coleman files suicide prevention bill that would ban anti-LGBT bullying, discrimination

by John Wright

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, has filed a bill that he says is designed to prevent future tragedies like the suicide of Asher Brown, a gay 13-year-old who took his own life last year in response to bullying at school.

Coleman’s HB 1386, filed today, calls on the state to develop a comprehensive suicide prevention program for middle, junior and high schools. The bill would also ban anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in public schools.  Read more here...

Studies: Gay Marriage Boosts State Budgets

Opinion by GLAAD

Recent studies are increasingly supportive of the idea that marriage equality will have not only moral and psychological impacts on the people involved, but could also bring economic prosperity to their states in the long term.  Read more here...

Indiana state House approves constitutional ban on same-sex marriage

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indiana House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a measure to create a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The bipartisan vote was 70-26.


The proposed amendment would also prohibit civil unions, stating that any legal status “substantially similar” to marriage for unmarried people is not valid.


The vote took place after less than 30 minutes of debate.  Read more here...

Valentine’s Day marked with rallies, protests to call attention to marriage equality

Advocates for same-sex marriage marked this year’s Valentine’s Day with rallies and protests across the nation, many responding to a call from GetEQUAL and Marriage Equality USA to raise awareness about federal marriage equality.

“As we cheer on our heterosexual fellow citizens who are able to marry on this wonderful day of love, we will remind the world that falling in love and the desire to marry the person you love is a universal sentiment and that all citizens should have the freedom to marry the one they love.” said Molly McKay, Marriage Equality U.S.A. media director, in a press statement.

In at least 25 cities nationwide, same-sex marriage couples requested marriage licenses Monday to highlight the fact that they are denied full marriage equality in 45 U.S. states, and also denied federal recognition in the five states and District of Columbia where same-sex marriage is legal.  Read more here....

After Denying FTM Student Homecoming King Title, MI High School Does Away With Prom King + Queen

Oakleigh Marshall, a FTM trans student at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Michigan, is registered under the name Oakleigh Reed. Last September when he mounted an impromptu campaign to be named homecoming king, Oakleigh won — and was then told by his principal that, because he was born a biological woman, and registered at the school as such, he would have to surrender the title. Flash-forward five months, and Mona Shores High has a new solution to gender-specific superlatives: do away with them. Which is why at this year's prom, there will be no king nor queen, but a pair of gender-neutral crown holders for both juniors and seniors. "I'm so glad that the rules have been changed," says Oakleigh in a statement. "All I wanted was a chance for all students to participate and be heard. Now, my classmates and I can just focus on having a great time at our school dance."

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On 3rd Anniversary Of Teen Lawrence King's Hate Murder, His Accused Killer Still Hasn't Gone To Trial

Three years ago this week, 15-year-old Lawrence King was allegedly shot to death by classmate Brandon McInerney (pictured, right), who had a problem with King's gayness, given McInerney's subscription to white power beliefs. And just a month before McInerney was finally going to face trial for the crime, yet another delay has been issued.

"I'm really shocked that the judge has allowed it to drag on for so long," says Lawrence's father Greg, who was in the courtroom yesterday with other members of the family, including his wife Kendra the fallen boy's brother Rocky. "We are holding up the best we can. It's something that we don't have a lot of control over. It frustrates us. It tears on us emotionally. We'd like to see things finally get resolved so we can get some closure and justice for our son."

The judge overseeing the case has continued to postpone the start of the trial as McInerney's lawyers continue to argue for the release of Lawrence's juvenile records, something they've been trying to do for years, as if that changes the facts of the case: classmates saw McInerney shoot Lawrence (pictured, left). McInerney has pleaded not guilty to killing the eighth grader in his English class.

You'll recall Brenda and Greg King tried suing two dozen defendants, including the school district and a gay rights group, over the loss of their son — for nobody told little Lawrence he had the option to not be gay. Or at least not act so flamey. And really, that would've solved everything.

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