Monument For Persecuted Gays To Be Erected In Barcelona

Monument for persecuted gays to be erected in Barcelona

Jonny Payne
news.PinkPaper.com
Friday, 31 December 2010
31 December 2010

Plans have been unveiled for a striking new monument in Barcelona that will recognise gays who have been persecuted and repressed “throughout history”.

The pink, triangular stone monument will be unveiled in February, and although the location has not yet been decided upon, the square surrounding Antonio Gaudi’s iconic Sagrada Familia church “is one location that has been proposed” according to a Barcelona City Hall spokesperson.


As reported by APF, a statement from the City Hall stated the monument would include the inscription: “In memory of the gays, lesbians and transsexual people who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history. Barcelona 2011.”


The announcement has been welcomed by gay rights campaigners in the city, who have sought recognition for historic crimes against gays in the city, particularly those committed under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco until his death in 1975.


The current government headed by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sees gay rights as a major part of its agenda, and the country became only the third EU country to allow same-sex marriage when the government passed legislation in 2005.

North Carolina Politician Sticks To "Predators" Remark

Posted on Advocate.com December 31, 2010
N.C. Pol Sticks to "Predators" Remark
By Advocate.com Editors

A North Carolina politician says he’s standing by his statement that gay people are “sexual predators.”

“People are entitled to their opinion, and that includes me,” Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James (pictured) told The Charlotte Observer Thursday. His remarks came in an e-mail earlier this week to fellow commissioner Jennifer Roberts, who proposed that county officials send a letter to members of the North Carolina congressional delegation who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“Homosexuals are sexual predators,” James wrote. “Allowing homosexuals to serve in the US military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining US military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to.”

There have been calls, including a petition on Change.org, for a formal reprimand of James, who in the past has made offensive statements about African-Americans and illegal immigrants as well as gays. Said Roberts, however: “I just don’t know if it helps or hurts the end goal by making any kind of formal statement.”

Roberts added that since other commissioners have raised questions about a joint letter on DADT repeal, she will send one on her own. James, meanwhile, said he’s contacted police because of threats he’s received.

Federal Inquiry Into US Gay Teenager's Suicide

Federal inquiry into US gay teenager’s suicide
by Jessica Geen
22 December 2010, 1:05pm

Seth Walsh died in October

Federal education officials are investigating the suicide of a 13-year-old California boy who killed himself after suffering homophobic bullying.

Seth Walsh died nine days after hanging himself in his garden on September 28th. His family said he had endured years of harassment and abuse at school for being gay.

Last week, his mother Wendy accused the Tehachapi school district of ignoring her pleas to tackle the bullying.

She said his grades had fallen and that some teachers had even joined in the harassment.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Education Secretary Arne Duncan confirmed that federal education officials were investigating how the school district dealt with the issue.

Mrs Walsh said she contacted Department of Education investigators while her son lay in hospital in a coma before he died.

She said they spent two days in Tehachapi last week, interviewing teachers, administrators and students.

In October, the Education Department’s civil rights division told school districts that they must take steps to stamp out anti-gay bullying.

According to Associated Press, the department has the power to investigate school districts where bullying is said to be so severe, it has resulted in a “hostile environment” for students who are, or are thought to be, LGBT.

Mrs Walsh is being supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, which last week sent a letter to the school district on her behalf asking it to prevent another tragedy.

The ACLU says that at least 11 US LGBT teenagers have killed themselves after suffering bullying in the last few months.

MSNBC Takes on Thomas Full Time

Posted on Advocate.com December 21, 2010
MSNBC Takes on Thomas Full Time
By Advocate.com Editors

THOMAS ROBERTS

Thomas Roberts has been upgraded to full-time status at MSNBC, becoming an anchor during the network’s daytime programming hours.

Roberts has served as a part-time anchor for the network since April. Roberts filled in for Keith Olbermann last month after the Countdown host was suspended for making political contributions without prior approval.

Roberts previously served as host of The Advocate On-Air.

US Senate Votes To Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ban On Gays Serving In The Military

US Senate Votes To Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Ban On Gays Serving In The Military
]by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
18 December 2010, 8:36pm



The US Senate has voted to end the ban on openly gay people serving in the military



The US Senate has voted 65 to 31 to repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Since the ban on openly gay people serving in the military was introduced in 1993, more than 13,500 LGBT service personnel have been dismissed from the military.

The bill will now be passed to President Barack Obama who has already confirmed that he will sign it into law.

In a prepared statement, President Obama said: “The Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’, no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.

“It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valour and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly.

The repeal will take effect after a 60-day period to allow the US Defense Department to consider how best to implement the new policy.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell is wrong,” said Democrat Senator for Oregan, Ron Wyden, said earlier this morning. “I don’t care who you love. If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are. You ought to be able to serve.”

“You don’t have to be straight to shoot straight,”‘ said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Republican Senator for Arizona and former US Presidential candidate John McCain warned that the end of the ban would be welcomed only by the “elites” in society without any thought to the military consequences of ending the ban. “I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand that we are doing great damage,” he said.”And we could possibly – and probably – as the Commandant of the Marine Corps said … harm the battle effectiveness that is so vital to the survival of our young men and women in the military.”

Mr McCain was referring to comments earlier this week by the head of the marines who said that repealing the ban would lead to the death of troops troops.

“When your life hangs on a line, on the intuitive behaviour of the young man … who sits to your right and your left, you don’t want anything distracting you,” said Marine Commandant General James Amos.

“I don’t want to lose any Marines to distraction. I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda [hospital] with no legs,” he added.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted 250 to 175 in favour of repealing the ban. This put the Senate under pressure to vote on the issue today, before the ‘lame duck’ Congress goes into recess.

Senator Joe Lieberman, the lead sponsor of the bill said the ban on openly gay people serving in the military is “inconsistent with basic American values.”

“To force the don’t ask, don’t tell policy on the military is to force them to be less than they want to be — and less than they can be,” he said earlier today. “These people simply want to serve their country.”

Welcoming the vote this evening, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin said: “The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy is a threat to our national security. Since 1994, more than 13,000 highly trained service members have been discharged as a result of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ In the last five years, while our country has been engaged in two wars, the military has discharged more than 800 mission-critical troops under this policy, including more than 50 Arabic linguists.”

She added: “I look forward to the expeditious implementation of all policies necessary to end discrimination against gays and lesbians who currently serve or wish to serve in the military. I will continue to work for full equality for LGBT Americans. In the United States of America, there is no place for irrational and insidious discrimination in any sector of society.”

Aubrey Sarvis, head of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group, said: “Until the president signs the bill, until there is certification, and until the 60-day Congressional period is over, no-one should be investigated or discharged under this discriminatory law.”

Sexuality Doesn't Matter On The Battlefield

Sexuality Doesn't Matter On The Battlefield
By Nathan Cox
Thursday, December 16, 2010; 8:00 PM
Washingtonpost.com

I am an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer. I have deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan and have commanded infantry Marines in combat.

On Tuesday, Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, said he believes repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and allowing gay and lesbian Marines to serve openly could "cost Marines' lives" because of the "mistakes and inattention or distractions" that might ensue. I am not homosexual. And in this instance, I must respectfully disagree with my commandant.

The commandant cites the importance of cohesion within small combat units and warns against its disruption by allowing homosexuals to stop concealing their identities. In my experience, the things that separate Marines in civilian life fade into obscurity on the battlefield. There, only one thing matters: Can you do your job? People care much more about whom you voted for or what city you're from while on the huge airbase with five Burger Kings, or back in the States, than they do when they're walking down a dusty road full of improvised explosive devices in Haditha or Sangin.

In the end, Marines in combat will treat sexual orientation the same way they treat race, religion and one's stance on the likelihood of the Patriots winning another Super Bowl. I do not believe the intense desire we all feel as Marines to accomplish the mission and protect each other will be affected in the slightest by knowing the sexual orientation of the man or woman next to us.

In the recent Defense Department survey, 58 percent of combat arms Marines said they felt allowing homosexuals to serve openly would negatively affect their unit, but 84 percent of combat arms Marines who had served with a homosexual said that there would be no effect or that the effect would be positive. It seems obvious that if allowing homosexuals to serve openly degraded performance, rather than improved it, a majority of Marines who had served with homosexuals would oppose repeal. Yet this is not the case, and homosexuals serve openly in the militaries of Britain, Canada, Australia, Israel and others with no ill effect. This suggests that much of the opposition toward repeal within the Marine Corps is based on the politics of individual Marines and not any measurable military effect.

Repeal would undoubtedly produce some disruption, but if other nations' experiences are any guide, it will be so minimal as to be essentially nonexistent. Consider what is likely to happen if and when "don't ask" is repealed: Lance Cpl. Smith will be having a typical Marine conversation with Lance Cpl. Jones, and the topic will turn to women. Smith will remark on how much he enjoys their company. Jones will reply: "Actually, man, I like dudes."

Smith: "Really?"

Jones: "Yeah, man, really."

Smith: "Wow. I didn't know that."

Both will then go back to cleaning their rifles.

Is it really likely that lance corporals who know each other better than brothers, and may have saved each other's lives in split-second reactions during deployments, are suddenly going to refuse to serve in the same unit or quit the Corps because they have to share a shower?

Repeal will of course have many effects. Gay and lesbian Marines who are now barred from discussing their identities honestly with their superiors, peers and subordinates would be able to do their jobs free from the nagging knowledge that they are being less than honest with their brothers and sisters in arms. It is difficult to see how this could do anything but improve their job performance. Gay and lesbian Marines have long fought and died for a country that refuses to acknowledge their existence. Some are certainly among the Marines who have passed through Bethesda Naval Hospital and rest in Arlington.

I believe the reluctance many Marines feel about repeal is based on the false stereotype, borne out of ignorance, that homosexuals don't do things like pull other Marines from burning vehicles. The truth is, they do it all the time. We simply don't know it because they can't tell us.

It is time for "don't ask, don't tell" to join our other mistakes in the dog-eared chapters of history textbooks. We all bleed red, we all love our country, we are all Marines. In the end, that's all that matters.

The writer is an infantry captain in the Marine Corps.

Newsweek On GetEQUAL And The Quest For LGBT Civil Rights

Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Newsweek on GetEQUAL and the quest for LGBT civil rights
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/14/2010 05:43:00 PM

Great article from Newsweek's Eve Conant looking at GetEQUAL and the fight for LGBT equality. GetEQUAL's first meeting was held at the same place where Rosa Parks "studied" non-violent civil disobedience. Not everyone agrees with the use of the civil rights terminology. But, if people in this country aren't equal, civil rights are at stake:

As the fight over same-sex marriage and “don’t ask, don’t tell” rages in the courts, Congress, and the media, gay activists and their allies are invoking the language and imagery of the civil-rights battles of a half century ago. And their efforts are changing the tenor of the debate. Sen. Joe Lieberman, calling for repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” told a Connecticut reporter earlier this month that the fight for gay rights is the new “front lines” of the civil-rights movement. When President Obama included protections for gays and lesbians in federal hate-crime legislation earlier this year, the Associated Press called it “the biggest expansion of the civil-rights-era law in decades.” And at last week’s federal appellate-court hearing in San Francisco on same-sex marriage, one of the judges pointedly asked whether California voters, whose 2008 passage of Proposition 8 stripped gays of the right to marry, were entitled to reinstate school segregation. “How is this different?” Judge Michael Daly Hawkins asked the attorney defending the measure. Legal heavyweights Ted Olson and David Boies, representing the pro-gay-marriage side, wrote in their plaintiffs’ brief that the case tests the proposition whether gays and lesbians “should be counted as ‘persons’ under the 14th Amendment or whether they constitute a permanent underclass ineligible for protection under that cornerstone of our Constitution.” The 14th Amendment removed the clause once embedded in the Constitution that slaves equaled three fifths of a person.

The rhetoric has inspired gays and lesbians. But it has also galvanized their opponents, who say homosexuals are fighting for “special rights,” not civil rights.

Conant talked to a number of homophobes. I'm not going to include their quotes. You've heard it all before.

The organization is combining smart politics with its activism:

Working with recognized figures in the gay-rights fight like Dan Choi, a former Army lieutenant who was discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the members of GetEQUAL can often be found at the Washington, D.C., home of political strategist Paul Yandura, strategizing sit-ins and other nonviolent protests. Before their first “action” in March, when Choi and a fellow ousted soldier handcuffed themselves to the White House gates, the protesters were busy writing phone numbers on their arms and stomachs so they would have them at the ready for their designated phone call once arrested. In jail, Choi and the fellow discharged soldier recited passages from King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” to keep each other inspired.

Even as they invoke the civil-rights struggle, GetEQUAL’s members are trying to be politic. Philanthropist Jonathan Lewis and his family, who have funneled a half-million dollars to create and support GetEQUAL’s efforts, says gays and lesbians are absorbing lessons and inspiration from the civil-rights movement, not taking away its importance. “Our movement is not the same,” he says. “Yes, it’s not life or death every day like the civil-rights movement was,” says Michelle Wright, who is African-American and became involved in GetEQUAL after coming out last year. “But it’s still discrimination, and therefore it’s wrong.” Now she and her fellow activists just need to get the rest of America to see it that way. So they will continue searching, however long it takes, for their movement’s own lunch-counter image.

I do think GetEQUAL has already changed the debate about LGBT equality. The photos of protesters on the White House fence have become iconic. And, those who purport to be our allies know we're words and party invitations aren't enough.

For the record, the "fellow ousted soldier" arrested with Dan Choi in March is our friend, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo.

Running With Santas In Speedos

Posted on Advocate.com December 14, 2010
Running With Santas in Speedos
By Advocate.com Editors

BOSTON Santa Speedo Run 2010

Speedo-wearing Santas ran the streets of Boston, Toronto, Chicago, and Atlanta over the weekend to raise money for various charities.

The event kicked off in Boston 11 years ago and has since spread to multiple cities throughout the United States and Canada. Included in the list of charities the runs raise money for are a number of LGBT and HIV/AIDS research organizations.

Watch video from the runs below.

Three Discharged Vets Sue For Re-Instatement Challenging DADT

Monday, December 13, 2010
Three Discharged Vets Challenge DADT, Sue For Reinstatement
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/13/2010 12:41:00 PM



Secretary Gates keeps saying he wants DADT ended by Congress, but we're still waiting -- and time is running out. Discharged servicemembers aren't waiting. Today, three of them, Mike Almy, Anthony Loverde and Jason Knight, filed a lawsuit against DADT, seeking reinstatement. The suit was filed in California, meaning the Witt Standard is applicable.

SLDN's press release:

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Morrison & Foerster LLP filed a complaint today against the United States government asking for the reinstatement of three service members discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the discriminatory law barring gay, lesbian and bisexual service members from serving honestly and with integrity. The filing in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, also argues the current law and the regulations, policies, and guidance that implement it, are unconstitutional. To read the filing visit: http://bit.ly/eZg5EL

Statement by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director and Army Veteran Aubrey Sarvis:

“This filing is a shot across the bow as we prepare to pursue and sustain an aggressive far reaching litigation strategy if the Senate fails to act this month to repeal the law. This dispute can be resolved by Congress or by the courts. With this filing we put Congress on notice that a cadre of service members and our national legal team stand ready to litigate strategically around the country. The plaintiffs’ are three service members who want to serve their country again. They represent some of our best and brightest who were fired because of who they are, despite their decorated records. More than 14,000 have already lost their jobs and the investigations and discharges still continue. We are also preparing litigation on behalf of young people who would enter the armed forces to serve our country but for this terrible law. Another suit we’re working on involves clients discharged under ‘Don’t Ask’ who want to enter the reserves or a guard unit, and we plan to file such cases early next year if Congress fails to act. Clearly there is an urgent need for the Senate to act on legislation this week."

Statement by Morrison & Foerster’s M. Andrew Woodmansee:

“Today we are asking the Court to allow these three brave Americans to fulfill the commitment they made years ago when they joined the military. They simply want to serve their country, and it is fundamentally un-American to refuse their service merely because they are gay -- especially when our all-volunteer military is stretched thin as we fight wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout our nation's history, citizens have turned to the courts to remedy injustices when Congress would not act. If the Senate will not meet its obligations by ending this unconstitutional law, we will ask the Court to step in to protect the rights of my clients as well as all men and women who wish to serve this country in the military."

ABOUT THE PLANTIFFS:

Plaintiff Michael D. Almy served for thirteen years in the United States Air Force, including four deployments to the Middle East. He is a highly trained communications officer. During his thirteen-year Air Force career, former Major Almy received numerous military awards and decorations. In 2006, he was discharged from the Air Force under DADT.

Plaintiff Anthony J. Loverde served for seven years in the Air Force. He is a trained C-130 Loadmaster and Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Technician. During his seven-year Air Force career, former Staff Sergeant Loverde received numerous military awards and decorations. In 2008, he was discharged from the Air Force under DADT. He is currently a contractor serving in Iraq, doing effectively the same job with many of his old coworkers, as an openly gay man.

Plaintiff Jason D. Knight served for a total of five years in the United States Navy. He is a trained Cryptological Technician Interpretive, Linguist. During his five-year Navy career, former Petty Officer Second Class Knight received numerous military awards and decorations. Mr. Knight has the unique distinction of being discharged twice under DADT. In 2005, he was discharged from the Navy under DADT. Mr. Knight was recalled to active duty in 2006 but was discharged again in 2007 under DADT.

Frank Rich On "Gay Bashing In DC"

Sunday, December 12, 2010
Frank Rich on 'gay bashing' in DC
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/12/2010 09:24:00 AM

Frank Rich looks at the gay bashing underway in DC. He addresses the controversy at the National Portrait Gallery over the removal of David Wojnarowicz's work "A Fire in My Belly." It was back to the 80s for the Smithsonian. But, Rich brilliantly explains how this is part of a bigger pattern of homophobia that's alive and well in the nation's Capitol:

It still seems an unwritten rule in establishment Washington that homophobia is at most a misdemeanor. By this code, the Smithsonian’s surrender is no big deal; let the art world do its little protests. This attitude explains why the ever more absurd excuses concocted by John McCain for almost single-handedly thwarting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are rarely called out for what they are — “bigotry disguised as prudence,” in the apt phrase of Slate’s military affairs columnist, Fred Kaplan. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has been granted serious and sometimes unchallenged credence as a moral arbiter not just by Rupert Murdoch’s outlets but by CNN, MSNBC and The Post’s “On Faith” Web site even as he cites junk science to declare that “homosexuality poses a risk to children” and that being gay leads to being a child molester.

It’s partly to counteract the hate speech of persistent bullies like Donohue and Perkins that the Seattle-based author and activist Dan Savage created his “It Gets Better” campaign in which gay adults (and some non-gay leaders, including President Obama) make videos urging at-risk teens to realize that they are not alone. But even this humanitarian effort is controversial and suspect in some Beltway quarters: G.O.P. politicians and conservative pundits have yet to participate even though most of the recent and well-publicized suicides by gay teens have occurred in Republican Congressional districts, including those of party leaders like Michele Bachmann, Mike Pence and Kevin McCarthy.

Has it gotten better since AIDS decimated a generation of gay men? In San Francisco, certainly. But when America’s signature cultural institution can be so easily bullied by bigots, it’s another indicator that the angels Keith Haring saw on his death bed have not landed in Washington just yet.

Not yet. For GOPers, it's blatant homophobia (or for the Lindsey Graham types, it's internalized homophobia.) I also think for many Democrats (including top White House staffers like Emanuel and Messina), it's political homophobia.

New DADT Repeal Bill Introduced

Posted on Advocate.com December 11, 2010
New DADT Repeal Bill Introduced
By Michelle Garcia


SENATORS JOSEPH LIEBERMAN AND SUSAN COLLINS

Two prominent senators introduced a bipartisan bill Friday to end the ban on gay and lesbian troops serving openly in the military.

Introduced by senators Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, the bill comes after the Senate failed to win enough procedural votes Thursday to move forward on the National Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

According toThe Washington Post, Lieberman and Collins collaborated on the idea for a stand-alone bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" during Thursday's failed vote. Senate majority leader harry Reid reportedly told Lieberman that he would fast-track the bill to a full vote, rather than force it to go through the committee process. Democratic aides told the Post that a vote could come late Tuesday or Wednesday after senators consider the impending tax cut legislation.

White House officials said Friday that President Barack Obama wishes to explore all legislative options to repeal the 17-year-old law during the lame-duck session, which is drawing to a close.

Gay Rights Ally Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral To Be Picketed By Anti-Gay Church

Gay Rights Ally Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral To Be Picketed By Anti-Gay Church
by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
9 December 2010, 5:57pm


Elizabeth Edwards was a supporter of gay marriage



The funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, former wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, will be picketed by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.

Mrs Edwards, a lawyer and author, died yesterday at the age of 61 after a six-year battle with cancer.

She was a supporter of gay rights and in 2008, while her husband was running for the presidency, declared that she believed in legalising gay marriage.

While Mr Edwards reserved his support for civil unions, she told reporters: “I don’t know why somebody else’s marriage has anything to do with me. I’m completely comfortable with gay marriage.”

The Westboro Baptist Church, which usually targets the funerals of killed soldiers with the slogan ‘God Hates Fags’, said it would be outside the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday.

The church, which claims that soldier deaths abroad are God’s vengeance for gay rights, released a statement condemning her for having fertility treatment and for questioning her faith after her 16-year-old son Wade was killed in an accident.

In a final message posted on her Facebook page, Mrs Edwards avoided any mention of God and instead cited her “faith in the power of resilience and hope”.

High School Wrestler On Trial For "Butt Drag"

Posted on Advocate.com December 08, 2010
H.S. Wrestler on Trial for "Butt Drag"
By Michelle Garcia


Preston Hill and his mother Kirsten Hill

A 17-year-old high school wrestler has been expelled from school and charged with sexual battery for using a controversial wrestling move that has been deemed legal for decades.

Preston Hill, a Buchanan High School student from Clovis, Calif., was punished for his use of the "butt drag," in which a wrestler grabs his opponent's butt cheeks and places his finger in the opponent's anus for leverage, according to the Fresno Bee. Hill's trial before the Fresno County Superior Court begins Thursday.

Hill's father said coaches taught his son the "butt drag" when he was in middle school and that it was a common move. The Clovis police, however, said Hill went too far when he inserted his fingers deeply into a freshman teammate at a July 15 practice session. The unidentified freshman's father said Hill targeted his son because the 14-year-old stood up to Hill for bullying. Now Hill's friends who are still in school are bullying the freshman student for speaking up about the encounter in July.

Hill was captain of the team and was up for several college scholarships. He is now being home-schooled and taking additional classes at Center for Advanced Research and Technology in Clovis.

In 2007, South Dakota wrestler Jerome Hunt, then 17, was found guilty and sentenced to probation after being charged with rape for performing the same move on at least six other wrestlers.

9/11 Hero's Mom Speaks On DADT

Posted on Advocate.com December 06, 2010
9/11 Hero's Mom Speaks on DADT
By Advocate.com Editors



The mother of Mark Bingham, one of the passengers on United Flight 93 believed to have prevented the plane from hitting government buildings in Washington, D.C., said no one on the plane questioned whether her son was gay when it came time to overtake the aircraft from hijackers. Therefore, Alice Hoagland said, the same reasoning should be the rule when it comes to the military and its ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers.

Her son was eulogized by Sen. John McCain, who Bingham supported in the 2000 Republican primary for president of the United States. Now, as the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain is leading the charge to keep the 17-year-old law.

"I hope he comes around on 'don't ask, don't tell,'" she said on MSNBC. "I know he's entrenched in the mistaken notion that gay people somehow are weaker, that gay men are predators, that gay men are seeking a sexual outlet with straight men, and I think it is that kind of misconception that is driving that needless clinging to 'don't ask, don't tell.'"

You can watch the 5 minute video interview here:

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/12/06/September_11_Heros_Mom_Speaks_on_DADT/

City of Atlanta Reaches Settlement With Patrons of Eagle Bar

City Reaches Settlement With Atlanta Eagle Bar

By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday Dec 3, 2010 7:00pm



The city of Atlanta has reached a settlement with plaintiffs searched and detained during a controversial police raid of the Atlanta Eagle gay bar in September 2009.
More Atlanta/Fulton news »

* City to pay $1 million-plus to settle Atlanta Eagle dispute
* Roswell council to discuss real estate in private
* Jury finds Fairburn resident guilty in repo man slaying
* Daniel Johnson Matthews Sr., 80: Retired journalist, advertising executive
* Atlanta/South Fulton
* North Fulton

Dan Grossman, representing the plaintiffs, confirmed the agreement but could not comment on specifics per the instructions of federal Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman. The city will pay an unspecified monetary settlement as well as oversee reforms within the police department -- a victory for the petitioners, based on their stated goal when the civil rights suit was filed in November 2009.

"It's unfortunate we need a federal judge to make our police department follow the law," Grossman said at a news conference announcing the suit, filed on behalf of 19 Eagle patrons against the city, former Police Chief Richard Pennington and 48 of his officers, including members of the department's Red Dog unit. "Since [police] don't think they did something wrong they're going to do it again."

The settlement has to be approved by the Atlanta City Council and neither side can comment until the deal is finalized.

According to police records, undercover vice officers had visited the Ponce de Leon nightclub and witnessed men having sex while other patrons watched. The department also received complaints alleging drug sales on the premises.

No charges were filed against any of the 62 patrons forced to lie down on the bar floor during the raid, though eight Eagle employees were arrested for permit violations. Pennington said the patrons were "frisked" for the officers' safety. No search warrant was served.

John McCain Is The Biggest Sissy In The Senate

Dirty Dealing on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
by Jimmy Zuma
Smart v Stupid
Posted Dec 4, 2010, 1:58 pm



Make no mistake, the recent Republican pronouncement that they will only deal with budget and tax-cut extensions over the next month is aimed to run out the clock on the repeal of Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell and other legislation. This is an attempt to take an end run around popular opinion now that “studying it to death” has failed. They’re simply hiding what they are up to.

The repeal of Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell is now overwhelmingly supported by citizens, military members and, anyone who values the principle that all men and women are equal. No matter where you stand on it, though, you ought to be concerned about the deception. Republican’s latest gridlock attempt – coming just one day after they claimed they’d quit it – continues the tactic of claiming one thing while doing another. In a shockingly cowardly approach, they want to filibuster repeal while pretending not to.

JohnMcCainJune2008 300xAmong Republicans, perhaps no member is more of a sissy than John McCain. (He may have shown some stones 40 years ago, but not for a good long time.) McCain definitively proved his cowardice when he recruited Sarah Palin – at risk to the nation – in a rapacious attempt to salvage his failed presidential campaign. Further evidence arrived during his recent senatorial campaign, when he threw Arizona Hispanics (and Arizona’s largest trading partner) squarely under the campaign bus. It turns out “The Maverick” is really The Panderer.

Senator McCain engages in senseless and spineless logic, first hiding behind the troops and claiming he’d support repeal of DADT if they did. “My opinion is shaped by the view of the leaders of the military,” he had said. Then this week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen testified before the Senate Armed Service Committee, “Repeal of the law will not prove unacceptable risk to military readiness. Unit cohesion will not suffer if our units are well-led. And families will not encourage their loved ones to leave the service in droves.” In short, “We’re not cowards.” At that moment, McCain looked like he had indigestion.

Now that “survey says” uniforms overwhelmingly support repeal, Senator McCain has called for another study. He specifically dismissed the testimony of Admiral Mullen as not relevant. McCain’s latest pivot goes like this, “What I want to know, and what it is the Congress’s duty to determine, is not can our armed forces implement a repeal of this law, but whether the law should be repealed.” Discrimination adds nothing and costs something. Ending discrimination costs nothing and adds something. What’s the conundrum here, John? A squirmy McCain is simply trying to prop up the illusion that he is a brave man while fleeing in panic from a drill-field phalanx of relentless, creeping gayness.

Repeal of Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell does have one small cultural effect. Open service by all Americans will drive a small wedge of diversity into a military culture that’s been increasingly co-opted by conservatives and evangelicals. But even that aspect is far detached from this decision. And judging from the military survey that cat is already out of the bag. Most soldiers have said they’ve already served with gay co-workers. Almost all who did said they don’t mind. The DADT of today is really “Don’t ask; don’t let the old-fart-in-charge find out.” It is long past time for the military to muster out this 1950’s-era “morality.”

Men and women who are now serving have no cowardice about serving with gay men and lesbians. Gay men and lesbian women certainly harbor no cowardice – or even reluctance – about serving. They’ve offered up life and limb as evidence of their bravery and patriotism. The only cowards in the room seem to be John McCain and his party. They’re afraid to find out that a gay man can be as good or better a soldier than a straight one. McCain is afraid we’ll learn that gay men are brave and strong and capable. He imagines that brave gay men will undermine the confidence of brave straight men. How queer.

Don’t be scared, John. Man up. If a gay man is braver, stronger, or better than you, that doesn’t mean you’re a sissy. Being afraid to let him show his mettle – to compete equally with you for the label of hero – is what makes you a pansy.

Sen. Scott Brown’s ‘Seismic’ Shift On DADT

Sen. Scott Brown’s ‘Seismic’ Shift On DADT
Hillary Chabot By Hillary Chabot
Saturday, December 4, 2010


Photo by Herald file
Sen. Scott Brown has come out in favor of ending the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.


One of Scott Brown’s earliest and staunchest conservative backers in his long-shot Senate campaign erupted in outrage yesterday after the Republican unexpectedly announced he would support allowing gay troops to serve openly in the military.

“We had a little bit of a seismic shock here today,” said a “disappointed” Massachusetts Family Institute director Kris Mineau, a well-known fixture on Brown’s campaign bus.

Brown, who’s been under pressure from gay rights groups, said he won’t vote to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” until the Senate takes up tax cuts and the budget.

But that qualifier did little to comfort Mineau, who hinted that he’s reconsidering his support of the Wrentham resident.

“Our discussions and communications are continuing, particularly on this issue,” Mineau said. “When Sen. Brown ran for election, he said he would support the current policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and we agree with that position.”

Brown’s spokeswoman, Gail Gitcho, said Brown changed his tune after President Obama ordered the Pentagon to review the policy. At that point, Brown said he would keep an open mind to its finding, which came out this week.

The Pentagon study found a small minority of troops — about 30 percent — predicted problems if the policy was repealed. The repeal is backed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the military’s top uniformed officer, and Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

Brown said in a statement yesterday that he came to his decision after speaking with active and retired military service members and meeting privately with Gates.

“When a soldier answers the call to serve, and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight,” Brown wrote. “My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor.”

The statement marked the first time Brown has publicly expressed support for repeal of the 1993 law.

Brown has faced increasing political pressure on the hot-button topic as Bay State Democrats ramp up for the 2012 election.

“Certainly Sen. Brown has to consider the fact that he’s running again in two years, but I don’t believe this issue should have any bearing on that decision,” Mineau said.

Gay groups yesterday rallied behind Brown.

“We are pleased that Sen. Brown has joined a super-majority of Americans, Massachusetts residents and service members who support an end to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” said Kara Suffredini, executive director of Mass Equality.

“Our position is that this law needs to be repealed not despite the fact that we’re at war, but because of it. Our national security requires all the talent the military can get.”

But even Suffredini was unsure whether she would back Brown come 2012. “We’ll be looking at many issues, not just ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ when making a decision,” she said.

Scott Brown Endorses ‘Don’t Ask’ Repeal

Scott Brown endorses ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal
Chris Johnson | Dec 03, 2010
The Washington Blade


Sen. Scott Brown (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) announced on Friday he would support an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in a statement that could bring repeal advocates closer to their goal of lifting the military’s gay ban.

Brown said he’s basing his new support for ending the ban on the recently released Pentagon report and the recommendations of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has called on Congress to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“I accept the findings of the report and support repeal based on the Secretary’s recommendations that repeal will be implemented only when the battle effectiveness of the forces is assured and proper preparations have been completed,” Brown said.

Brown’s office didn’t respond on short notice to confirm whether this announcement means the senator is committed to voting for moving forward with the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill, the vehicle to which repeal language is attached. In September, Brown voted with the rest of the Republican caucus to prevent the legislation from coming to the Senate floor.

In a statement, Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, commended Brown for endorsing repeal. Still, Solmonese said he hopes this support translates to vote in favor of a motion to proceed on the defense authorization bill.

“Support for repealing the ban on open service by gays and lesbians continues to strengthen in the U.S. Senate and supporters will soon be put to the test,” Solmonese said. ”The true measure of whether or not one supports an end to this policy will come as the Senate considers if they will begin debate on the defense bill. Make no mistake, a vote against the motion to proceed is a vote against ['Don't Ask, Don't Tell'] repeal.”

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he welcomes Brown’s comments as he advised Republicans against once again blocking consideration of the defense authorization bill.

“If the 42 GOP senators — including several who support repeal of ‘Don’t Ask’ — stand with their party on process and procedure, their vote will be an endorsement of the discrimination that has cost 14,000 men and women their jobs and put our country’s national security at risk,” Sarvis said.

The complete statement from Brown’s office follows:

“I have been in the military for 31 years and counting, and have served as a subordinate and as an officer. As a legislator, I have spent a significant amount of time on military issues. During my time of service, I have visited our injured troops at Walter Reed and have attended funerals of our fallen heroes. When a soldier answers the call to serve, and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight. My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor.

“I pledged to keep an open mind about the present policy on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Having reviewed the Pentagon report, having spoken to active and retired military service members, and having discussed the matter privately with Defense Secretary Gates and others, I accept the findings of the report and support repeal based on the Secretary’s recommendations that repeal will be implemented only when the battle effectiveness of the forces is assured and proper preparations have been completed.”

GOP’s naked bigotry

GOP’s naked bigotry

Kevin Naff | Dec 01, 2010

The news today that all 42 Republican senators have agreed to block any legislation in the lame duck session unrelated to extending tax cuts to the mega-rich or funding the government lays bare the GOP’s real motive for opposing repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: bigotry.

Make no mistake that this latest stall tactic has nothing to do with the party’s interest in aiding the economy. It’s yet another smokescreen designed to take a gay rights issue off the table.

When Republicans opposed to repeal said they wanted to study the issue, President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates gave them the most exhaustive survey to date ­— hundreds of thousands of surveys sent to troops and even their family members. Never mind the issue has been studied to death, with at least 22 such reports issued since the law was enacted in 1993.

Now that the results of this latest study reveal that the overwhelming majority of those most directly impacted by repeal are OK with it, Republicans have switched their approach again. They claim time should be spent on extending tax cuts for their fat-cat donors and little else. One GOP House leader suggested punting the issue to the next Congress. But we all know what that means: No action for at least two years with Republicans in control of the House.

This is folly and blatant pandering to the far right wing that continues to control the party. There is no excuse for failing to do what most Americans want — and what the troops themselves have now endorsed — and repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

With this latest effort at blocking repeal, the GOP leadership is thoroughly unmasked for what it is: extremist, out of touch and deeply homophobic.

GOP Attacks the Smithsonian

Posted on Advocate.com November 30, 2010
GOP Attacks the Smithsonian
By Advocate.com Editors


It’s 1989 all over again in Washington, D.C., as House speaker designate John Boehner of Ohio and incoming House majority leader Eric Cantor of Virginia have called for the dismantling of a Smithsonian exhibit focused on same-sex attraction.

The congressmen’s efforts are already paying off, as officials at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, where the exhibit—“Hide/Seek”—is being shown, have agreed to remove one controversial piece, a video by David Wojnarowicz, The Washington Post reports. The gallery was exhibiting a four-minute video by Wojnarowicz, a gay artist who died from AIDS in 1992, that includes 11 seconds of a crucifix with ants crawling on it. (Watch an excerpt of Wojnarowicz's piece here.)

Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith told the conservative website CNSNews.com that “Smithsonian officials should either acknowledge the mistake and correct it, or be prepared to face tough scrutiny beginning in January when the new majority in the House moves [in].” Smith later added that his boss wants the exhibit “canceled.”

Cantor said he wants the exhibit “pulled” and that it’s “an outrageous use of taxpayer money.”

Boehner's and Cantor's censorship calls are similar to a controversy that kicked off in 1989, when then-Senator Al D'Amato of New York ripped up a catalog containing Andre Serrano's "Piss Christ" on the Senate floor. The ensuing political and legal wrangling resulted in the National Endowment for the Arts cutting off funding for individual artists.

In addition to Wojnarowicz’s video, "Hide/Seek" includes works by Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, George Belows, Walker Evans, Marcel Duchamp, Berenice Abbot, Grant Wood, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Georgia O’Keeffe, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, David Hockney, Agnes Martin, Andy Warhol, Nan Goldin, among others.

In a commentary posted Tuesday night on WashingtonPost.com, Blake Gopnik explains: “This fuss is about the larger topic of the show: Gay love, and images of it. The headline that ran on [the Post's] coverage of the matter on the right-wing Web site CNSnews.com mentioned the crucifix—but as only one item in a list of the exhibition’s ‘shockers’ that included ‘naked brothers kissing, genitalia and Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breast.’ (Through a bra, one might note, in an image that’s less shocking than many moves by Lady Gaga.)”

Gopnik wrote a compelling review of "Hide/Seek" when it opened in early November, and The Washington Post included a photo gallery of several of the pieces along with his review.

In response to Boehner's and Cantor's demands, a spokesperson for the Smithsonian explained that no federal funding is used to pay for exhibits—only infrastructure, curating of works, and staff, The Hill reports.

Savage Takes On-Air Swipe at CNN

Posted on Advocate.com November 24, 2010
Savage Takes On-Air Swipe at CNN
By Julie Bolcer


KyraPhillip DanSavage

Advocate.com

Dan Savage, columnist and founder of the It Gets Better project, appeared on CNN to discuss recent hate crime news Tuesday afternoon, and he took the opportunity to challenge CNN and other networks for giving antigay voices a platform.

According to Media Matters, which provided the transcript below, Savage spoke with Kyra Phillips of CNN Newsroom about new reports including one that shows LGBT people are far more likely to be victimized by hate crimes. Savage called out the media for giving voice to antigay leaders like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled as a hate group.

PHILLIPS: You know, it's difficult to say what would be a solution [to anti-gay hate crimes]. But, could we start with more hate crimes legislation where bullies are prosecuted more severely?

SAVAGE: We can start with that, we can also start with… really, we need a cultural reckoning around gay and lesbian issues. There was once two sides to the race debate. There was once a side, you could go on television and argue for segregation, you could argue against interracial marriage, against the Civil Rights Act, against extending voting rights to African Americans and that used to be treated as one side, you know, one legitimate side of a pressing national debate and it isn't anymore. And we really need to reach that point with gay and lesbian issues. There are no ‘two sides’ to the issues about gay and lesbian rights.

And right now one side is really using dehumanizing rhetoric. The Southern Poverty Law Center labels these groups as hate groups and yet the leaders of these groups, people like Tony Perkins, are welcomed onto networks like CNN to espouse hate directed at gays and lesbians. And similarly hateful people who are targeting Jews or people of color or anyone else would not be welcome to spew their bile on networks like CNN and then that really -- we really have to start there. We have to start with that type of cultural reckoning.

Parents Want Anti-Bullying Film Removed From Curriculum

Posted on Advocate.com November 23, 2010
Parents Want Anti-Bullying Film Removed From Curriculum
By Advocate.com Editors


Backlash from parents threatens the future of a film with a clear anti-bullying message in Vallejo, CA schools, according to the Contra Costa Times.

That’s A Family, which is screened regularly in the district as part of a settlement with the ACLU over the unfair treatment of an out lesbian student, depicts a handful of atypical family configurations, including a family with biracial parents, a family headed up by grandparents and families with gay and lesbian parents.

Disgruntled parents say that the film focuses disproportionately on the bullying of the child with gay parents, but the filmmaker defended her choices regarding the allocation of screen time.

"The whole film is 35 minutes, and I believe the section on lesbian and gays is something between seven or eight minutes. The rest of the film is featuring heterosexual guardians and parents," Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff said. "We have seen this kind of reaction in other communities at different times, and I think it's because it is relatively new that schools would take the initiative to proactively prevent anti-gay bias."

UN deletes gay reference from anti-execution measures

UN deletes gay reference from anti-execution measures
by Jessica Geen
18 November 2010, 4:54pm
The resolution condemns unjustified executions (Photo: Bryan Davidson)The resolution condemns unjustified executions (Photo: Bryan Davidson)


A United Nations panel has deleted a reference to gays and lesbians in a resolution condemning unjustified executions.

The motion was introduced by Morocco and Mali and the vast majority of countries in support were African or Arabic.

Many of the supporting countries criminalise homosexuality and five treat it as a capital offence.

The amendment called for the words “sexual orientation” to be replaced with “discriminatory reasons on any basis”. The resolution makes explicit reference to a large number of groups, including human rights defenders, religious and ethnic minorities and street children.

It narrowly passed 79-70 and was then approved by the UN General Assembly committee with 165 in favour and ten abstentions.

The amendment, which condemns extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings, is voted on by the UN General Assembly every two years.

It has contained a reference to sexual orientation for the last ten years.

Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, said: “This vote is a dangerous and disturbing development.

“It essentially removes the important recognition of the particular vulnerability faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – a recognition that is crucial at a time when 76 countries around the world criminalise homosexuality, five consider it a capital crime, and countries like Uganda are considering adding the death penalty to their laws criminalising homosexuality.”

Apple approves ‘anti-gay’ iPhone app

Apple approves ‘anti-gay’ iPhone app
by Jessica Geen
23 November 2010, 5:54pm
A screenshot of the Manhattan Declaration appA screenshot of the Manhattan Declaration app


Apple has approved an iPhone app which calls on users to sign up to a declaration against LGBT rights and gay marriage.

The app is based on the Manhattan Declaration, a manifesto released in 2009 by Christian and Catholic leaders which rails against the “erosion” of marriage.

Apple has given the app a 4+ rating, meaning that it contains “no objectionable content”.

The app asks users whether they agree with four statements on abortion and same-sex marriage and those who answer that they are pro-choice and pro-gay marriage are told that they are incorrect.

It also has links to read and sign up to the full declaration, which says that gay relationships are “immoral” and that same-sex marriages are equivalent to sanctioning incest.

The declaration says that signatories act out of “love and “concern for the comment good” rather than prejudice.

One US gay rights group is calling for people to sign a petition to ask Apple to remove the app.

Change.org said: “Apple, for their part, has given the app a rating of 4+. What does that means? According to their rating system, it means that the app contains ‘no objectionable material’. Say what?

“Because it sure seems like if you’re going to call same-sex relationships ‘immoral sexual partnerships’, or if you’re going to accuse gay people of ‘eroding marriage’,or if you say that gay people don’t deserve basic civil rights, that should at least fall into the category of ‘objectionable’.”

Apple could not be reached for comment and a return email said the company’s offices were closed for Thanksgiving.

Islamic schools ‘teaching pupils that gays should be executed’

Islamic schools ‘teaching pupils that gays should be executed’
by PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer
22 November 2010, 10:23am
There are said to be 5,000 pupils in the schoolsThere are said to be 5,000 pupils in the schools


Around 5,000 children at Islamic weekend schools are being taught homophobic and anti-semitic views, it has been claimed.

According to a BBC Panorama investigation to be screened tonight, the Sharia law classes use textbooks which tell children that the penalty for gay sex is execution, that “Zionists” are plotting to take over the world for the Jews and the correct way to cut off the hands and feet of convicted thieves.

One book for six-year-olds asks children what happens to someone who does not believe in Islam. The answer, according to the programme, is “hellfire”.

There are said to be around 40 weekend schools, which are run under the banner of Saudi Students Clubs and Schools in the UK and Ireland. They teach the Saudi national curriculum and, as they are weekend schools, are not inspected by Ofsted.

According to the Daily Mail, one textbook for 15-year-olds identified by the programme says: “For thieves their hands will be cut off for a first offence, and their foot for a subsequent offence.”

Diagrams showing where cuts should be made accompany the text, which says: : “The specified punishment of the thief is cutting off his right hand at the wrist. Then it is cauterised to prevent him from bleeding to death.”

Gay sex is punished by execution, the schools allegedly teach. However, children are told that clerics are said to differ in whether the guilty person should be stoned, thrown off a cliff or burnt.

Other textbooks are said to ask students to list the “reprehensible” qualities of Jews and claim that Jews are transformed into pigs and monkeys.

Michael Gove, the education secretary, told Panorama: “Saudi Arabia is a sovereign country. I have no desire or wish to intervene in the decisions that the Saudi government makes in its own education system. But I’m clear that we cannot have antisemitic material of any kind being used in English schools.”

The Saudi ambassador to the UK said it had nothing to do with the schools and condemned the “dangerously deceptive and misleading” use of historical texts on Jews.

The Saudi embassy told Panorama: “Any tutoring activities that may have taken place among any other group of Muslims in the United Kingdom are absolutely individual to that group and not affiliated to or endorsed by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.”

Gay Saudi diplomat says he’ll be killed if sent home

Gay Saudi diplomat says he’ll be killed if sent home
by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
14 September 2010, 3:39pm
Saudi Arabia criminalises homosexualitySaudi Arabia criminalises homosexuality


A gay Saudi Arabian diplomat is seeking asylum in the US because he says he will be killed if returned to his home country.

The man, who has been named as Ali Ahmad Asseri, says his homosexuality and his friendship with a Jewish woman will lead to his death.

Mr Asseri, who was the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, said he lost his job when Saudi officials refused to renew his passport after they discovered his sexual orientation and friendship with the woman.

He told NBC News: “My life is in a great danger here and if I go back to Saudi Arabia, they will kill me openly in broad daylight.”

According to the station, Mr Asseri criticised his home country for being “backward” on a Saudi website and attacked “militant imams” who have “defaced the tolerance of Islam”.

He has also reportedly threatened to publicise embarrassing information about Saudi royal family members living in the US.

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and can be punished with the death penalty.

It is believed that no executions for homosexuality have been carried out in the country since 2002, although there have been reports of prison sentences and flogging for men arrested at gay parties or for “behaving like women”.

Pentagon: No Gays Were Discharged In Past Month

Pentagon: No gays were discharged in past month

By LISA LEFF
The Associated Press
Monday, November 22, 2010; 8:46 PM


SAN FRANCISCO -- No U.S. service members have been discharged for being openly gay in the month since the Defense Department adopted new rules surrounding the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Monday.

Under new rules adopted Oct. 21, Defense Secretary Robert Gates put authority for signing off on dismissals in the hands of the three service secretaries.

Before then, any commanding officer at a rank equivalent to a one-star general could discharge gay enlisted personnel under the 1993 law that prohibits gays from serving openly in uniform.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith told The Associated Press that no discharges have been approved since Oct. 21.

Smith did not know if the absence of recent discharges was related to the new separation procedures. The Pentagon has not compiled monthly discharge figures for any other months this year, she said.

Based on historical trends, however, it appears the change, as well as moves by Gates and President Barack Obama to get Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," has caused discharge rates to fall dramatically, said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Center, a pro-repeal think tank based at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"Statistically, it would be extremely unlikely if we had a month in which there were no gay discharges," Belkin said, noting that 428 gay and lesbian service members were honorably discharged under the ban in 2009. "When you require a service secretary to sign off on a discharge, you are basically saying, 'We don't want any people in this category discharged unless there is an exceptional situation.'"

A month without "don't ask, don't tell" discharges was welcome news, said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Still, the organization continues to hear daily from military personnel who are under investigation for being gay and face the possibility of being fired.

"We have clients who are still under investigation, who are still having to respond, and in fact we have a client under investigation right now under suicide watch," Sarvis said. "So 'don't ask, don't tell' has not gone away."

Gates announced the change requiring the top civilian officials with the armed forces to personally approve "don't ask, don't tell" discharges after a federal judge in California ordered the military to immediately stop enforcing its ban on openly gay troops, declaring the 17-year-old policy unconstitutional.

An appeals court subsequently froze the judge's order until it could consider the broader constitutional issues in the case.

Putting responsibility for firing gay personnel in the hands of the three service secretaries was not designed to slow the rate of discharges, Gates said at the time. Rather, concentrating that authority was meant to ensure uniformity and care in enforcement at a time of legal uncertainty, he said in a memo outlining the new rules.

Gates since has urged the Senate to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" before a new Congress takes office in January. He said this week he plans to release a monthslong study on how lifting the gay service ban would affect the armed forces and could be carried out on Nov. 30.

Carrey Slams Letterman

Posted on Advocate.com November 22, 2010
Carrey Slams Letterman
By Advocate.com Editors
JIM CARREY ON LETTERMAN ADVOCATE.COM

While appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote his new gay prison comedy I Love You Phillip Morris, Jim Carrey took the late night talk show host to task for his dated line of questioning with regard to straight guys playing gay on film.

“We haven’t grown at all, have we?”, the actor asked Letterman after being asked if he worried about his image as a heterosexual leading man after playing gay.

Watch the exchange here.

Posted on Advocate.com November 21, 2010

Mullen Talks DADT With Amanpour

By Advocate.com Editors

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repeated to Christiane Amanpour his personal belief that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy should be repealed, but he declined to discuss specifics until the Pentagon study due by December 1 is completed.
Mullen, the highest ranking member of the military, told the host of This Week on ABC News that the policy “belies” the military by forcing its members to lie about who they are. He also discussed his concern that Gen. James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, recently criticized repeal prospects in public while the study was unfinished. Adm. Mullen said he believes that repeal is best accomplished through the legislature and not the courts.
The transcript of their conversation about "don't ask, don't tell" follows. Watch the video beginning around the 4:40 mark.
AMANPOUR: "Don't ask/don't tell," something that's hugely important right now. A draft report has come to you; some 70 percent of the military say that it will either have a beneficial or nonexistent effect. Do you think it needs to be voted on in this lame-duck session?
MULLEN: Well, I won't speak to what the draft report says. We'll have this report done here...
AMANPOUR: Do you think...
MULLEN: ... and to Secretary Gates in the next couple of weeks, by December 1st, and I won't make any comments on where I think we need to go until that report is done.
AMANPOUR: You support it, though, repealing "don't ask/don't tell"?
MULLEN: From my personal perspective, absolutely.
AMANPOUR: Because?
MULLEN: Because I think it -- it belies us as an institution. We value integrity as an institution.
AMANPOUR: You mean forcing them to lie about what they are?
MULLEN: And then -- and then asking individuals to come in and lie about who they are every day goes counter to who we are as an institution.
AMANPOUR: Apart from the integrity issue, many of your allies -- whether it be England or Canada or France or Australia, the Israeli army -- they have openly gay servicemembers in their military with no adverse effects.
MULLEN: Certainly. I've seen that, and that is very much a part of this review, and we'll incorporate that into the review and recommendations which go up the chain.
AMANPOUR: So were you angry with the new Marine commandant when he cast his own doubts over this and criticized it?
MULLEN: He had made his position very clear in testimony. What concerned me about his most recent comments, it came at a time where we actually had the draft report in hand, and we had all agreed that we would speak to this privately until we completed the report and made our recommendations up the chain.
AMANPOUR: And if it does not get voted on in the lame-duck session, is there any chance that it will come up in any reasonable time period afterwards?
MULLEN: Well, I mean, it's very hard to predict what's going to happen. Obviously, from a legislative...
AMANPOUR: But would you think it will put it down the road?
MULLEN: ... from a legislative perspective. The other piece that is out there that's very real is the courts are very active on this. And my concern is that at some point in time the courts could change this law and in that not give us the right amount of time to implement it. I think it's much better done -- if it's going to get done, it's much better done through legislature than it is out of the courts.

Posted on Advocate.com November 21, 2010

Charges Dropped in Fort Worth Bar Raid

Officials in Fort Worth, Texas have dropped charges against four bar patrons involved in the raid last year of the Rainbow Lounge gay bar.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “The dismissals came 2 1/2 weeks before Chad Gibson, who suffered a head injury in the June 28, 2009, incident, and George Armstrong had been set to go on trial on public intoxication charges. They had both pleaded not guilty, and Gibson had also pleaded not guilty to assaulting an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.”
Two other patrons, Dylan Brown and Jose Macias, also had public intoxication charges against them dropped. The cases against two other patrons, Joshua Taylor and Rene Crosby, already had been resolved.
Protesters against the raid demanded an investigation, but Fort Worth police and the alcohol commission concluded that no excessive force was used. Two alcohol commission agents and their supervisor were fired, and three police officers received short-term suspensions.

Posted on Advocate.com November 19, 2010

Pundit: Gays Deserve Equality With Inmates

By Advocate.com Editors

If prison inmates can get married, same-sex couples should be able to as well, says Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn.
In a blog post published Thursday, Zorn, a longtime supporter of gay rights, reports that an Illinois man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend in 1998 was released from prison this week and headed for Hawaii to join the woman he married while serving his sentence. In 1987, Zorn notes, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld prisoners’ right to marry.
With the Illinois legislature considering a bill to establish marriage-like civil unions for gay couples, Zorn writes, “The petty reason some cite in opposition to such unions — they cannot naturally produce offspring! — is piddling compared with the limitations of the prison-based unions that we’ve recognized as a beneficial and ‘fundamental right’ for 23 years.”
The legislature is likely to vote on the bill next week, and “approving it will be the fair and smart thing to do,” Zorn says.
In a follow-up post Friday, Zorn disagrees with Web commenters who say gays should not accept civil unions instead of marriage equality. “Creating civil unions will likely hasten rather than forestall the day when Illinois recognizes gay marriage and is therefore a good intermediate step,” he writes. Read more here and here.

Posted on Advocate.com November 19, 2010

Military Families Show Support for Repeal

By Advocate.com Editors

An online petition from the Courage Campaign, a California-based gay rights organization, has gathered over 12,000 signatures from veterans and families of service members supporting repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
The petition was created in conjunction with Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania, who introduced the DADT repeal bill in the House. Murphy plans on presenting the signatures to senators Harry Reid, Carl Levin, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain during the lame-duck session "to show the American public, including veterans and military families, stand firmly behind repeal of 'Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.'"
The petition has been signed by a total of almost 68,000 Americans and can be accessed here.

Posted on Advocate.com November 20, 2010

Pope: Condoms OK For Male Prostitutes

By Julie Bolcer

In surprising comments in a new book, Pope Benedict XVI departs from the Catholic Church’s zero-tolerance policy toward condoms and suggests that they may be justified in some instances, such as for male prostitutes to prevent the spread of HIV, where contraception is not a concern.
The Associated Press reported on the groundbreaking remarks made to a German journalist in a book-length interview, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," to be released Tuesday. The Vatican newspaper ran excerpts Saturday.
“Benedict called it ‘a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way of living sexuality.’
“He used as an example male prostitutes, for whom contraception is not an issue, as opposed to married couples where one spouse is infected. The Vatican has come under pressure from even some church officials in Africa to condone condom use for monogamous married couples to protect the uninfected spouse from getting infected.”
Previously, Benedict has been criticized for suggesting that condoms contribute to the increase in HIV infections. Journalist Peter Seewald asked him about that position in the interview.
"There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility," said Benedict, the AP reported.
However, the Pope emphasized his view that abstinence is the surest way to prevent HIV. Vatican observers said it would be wrong to interpret his comments as a change in church teaching.
However, gay conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan suggested that the remarks from the Pope open a "Pandora's box" for Church teaching about homosexuality.
"And so Pandora's box opens," wrote Sullivan. "If it represents a 'moralization' when a male prostitute wears a condom, would it be another step in his moralization to give up prostitution for a non-mercenary sexual and emotional relationship? In such a relationship, would it be more moral for such a man to disclose his HIV status or not? If he does, would it not be more moral for him to wear a condom in sex than not?"

Michigan students criticised for burning gay Pride flag

Michigan students criticised for burning gay Pride flag

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • November 11, 2010 - 13:39

The rainbow flag is a symbol of the gay rights movement

A private college in Michigan, US, says it has taken “appropriate action” after two students burned a gay Pride flag on campus.
Albion College president Donna Randall said the incident took place last month when a small group of students found the flag in a bin and set fire to it.
Following a complaint, three students were identified.
One, Salaina Catalano, went to the local media to say that she had only witnessed the flag burning and did not take part.
She apologised to gay and lesbian students and told mlive.com that the students she was with were “very intimidating and manipulative people.”
Ms Randall said: “Appropriate action has been taken to address the conduct of the students involved.”
She would not give any further details, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which she said prevented her from revealing what action was taken.
The college president added: “I want to make it very clear that the college condemns harassment of any member of our college community. I personally find such behavior reprehensible and offensive.”
Some students, angered at a perceived lack of punishment for the students, set up a website to persuade alumni not to donate to the college.
According to the Michigan Messenger, Albion College is a private university associated with the Methodist Church, meaning it is not subject to the free speech protections of the First Amendment.
In a public university, the students would have their right to free speech protected.
An amendment has been proposed to the US Constitution to make “flag desecration” of the stars and stripes illegal.
The most recent attempt to ban the form of protest failed by one vote in 2006.

Two soldiers held over shooting at Rio de Janeiro Pride

Two soldiers held over shooting at Rio de Janeiro Pride

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • November 19, 2010 - 16:30

The teenager was shot at Pride

Two soldiers are being held by the Brazilian army after a teenager was shot at Sunday’s Rio de Janeiro Pride.
Nineteen-year-old student Douglas Igor Marques Luiz was shot once in the stomach during the gay festival.
He was treated in hospital and has now been released.
According to Associated Press, the army initially denied being involved in the incident.
It has now confirmed that two sergeants were arrested yesterday and will be questioned by police.
One is said to have admitted shooting the teenager.
Mr Luiz told police that he was verbally abused before being shot.

Countries vote to accept execution of gays

The United Nations has removed a plea for lesbians, gays and bisexuals not to be executed in a narrow vote.

Tris Reid-Smith

news.PinkPaper.com

Friday, 19 November 2010

18 November 2010

The United Nations has removed a plea for lesbians, gays and bisexuals not to be executed in a narrow vote.

For the last 10 years sexual orientation has been included in a list of discriminatory grounds for executions – gay rights activists say the vote to remove that listing is “dangerous and disturbing.”

The UN resolution urges countries to protect the right to life of all people, calling on them to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds. Sexual orientation was previously listed as one of these forms of discrimination, alongside ethnicity, religious belief and linguistic minorities.

Others protected by the resolution were human rights defenders (like journalists, lawyers and demonstrators), street children and members of indigenous communities.

But now sexual orientation has been taken out of the list. The amendment was supported by Benin in Africa on behalf of the African Group in the UN General Assembly. It passed on a narrow vote of 79 for, 70 against , 17 abstentions and 26 absent.

Some of those voting to remove sexual orientation were countries where gays are known to be or thought to be executed or summarily killed including Iran, Nigeria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq.

The UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and many European countries voted in favour of gays.

Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, said: “This vote is a dangerous and disturbing development. It essentially removes the important recognition of the particular vulnerability faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – a recognition that is crucial at a time when 76 countries around the world criminalise homosexuality, five consider it a capital crime and countries like Uganda are considering adding the death penalty to their laws criminalising homosexuality.”

Same-Sex Behavior Found in Nearly All Animals

By LiveScience Staff
posted: 16 June 2009 12:02 pm ET

This photo shows a female-female pair of Laysan Albatross. Females cooperatively build nests and rear young when males are scarce. Scientists said nearly all animal species exhibit same-sex behavior. Credit: Eric VanderWerf

Examples of same-sex behavior can be found in almost all species in the animal kingdom — from worms to frogs to birds — making the practice nearly universal among animals, according to a new review of research on the topic.
"It's clear that same-sex sexual behavior extends far beyond the well-known examples that dominate both the scientific and popular literature: for example, bonobos, dolphins, penguins and fruit flies," said Nathan Bailey, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside.
Same-sex behaviors in different species are not all equivalent, the review finds. For instance, male fruit flies sometimes court other male flies, but this behavior is due to a missing gene that gives the flies the ability to distinguish between sexes, said Bailey, a co-author of the review. "That is very different from male bottlenose dolphins, who engage in same-sex interactions to facilitate group bonding, or female Laysan Albatross that can remain pair-bonded for life," he added.
The review also found a gap in the literature: While many studies have tried to understand why same-sex coupling exists and why it might make sense in terms of evolution, few have looked at what the evolutionary consequences of this behavior might be.

"Like any other behavior that doesn't lead directly to reproduction — such as aggression or altruism — same-sex behavior can have evolutionary consequences that are just now beginning to be considered," Bailey said. "For example, male-male copulations in locusts can be costly for the mounted male" and this cost may put evolutionary pressure on the locusts, he said. As a result, a larger number of males may secrete a particular chemical that discourages the mounting behavior, he added.
In their future research, Bailey and Marlene Zuk, a biology professor at UCR, plan to try and address questions about the evolutionary outcomes of same-sex couplings, focusing on the Laysan Albatrosses.
The review article was published in the June 16 issue of the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and the study was funded by the UCR Academia Senate.