Kansas: School teacher compares homosexuality to murder
[Pink News, May 20, 2012]

Jack Conkling, who teaches social studies at Prairie Middle School, and is also a baseball coach at Buhler High School, wrote in a comment on his personal page that being gay 'ranks in God's eyes the same as murder, lying, stealing, or cheating.' He also claimed that the Bible unequivocally claimed being gay was a sin.

The schools were notified by many students who were outraged by his comments, though local media reports suggest that several students also came to his defence.

[Continued here]

Canadian author says Malaysia lost tolerance after difficult launch
[Gay Star News, May 20, 2012]

Irshad Manji and her local publisher ZI Publications eventually managed to pulled off the launch for 'Allah, Liberty and Love' (Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta in Malay) in front of a 50-odd crowd yesterday (19 May), after two other venues pulled out of hosting her.

The 44-year-old New York University (NYU) professor praises on Twitter the 'moral courage' of each participant, tweeting 'FANTASTIC event in KL! Great energy - except 4 cops who told latecomers that event is banned. Didn't stop us. Congrats 2 all.'

Political parties and non-governmental organizations have opposed her visit, claiming the Ugandan-born lesbian writer insults Islam with her writings and attitude.

Jamil Khir Baharom, minister in charge of Islamic affairs, also said Islam officials and the Home Ministry would not allow the author's roadshow upon complaints, citing her ideology and openly gay lifestyle. ...

In an interview with Free Malaysia Today, she says the Muslim-majority country's reputation as 'open, tolerant and pluralistic' is long gone.

She believes it was because the moderate Muslims are in fact not very moderate, saying they are not only 'useless' but that their 'silence and passivity' allow extremists to get away with violence and intimidation.

[Continued here]

House Republicans add gay marriage measure to defense bill
[Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2012]

Wading into the gay marriage debate, the Republican-led House tacked a provision banning same-sex marriages at military chapels onto a sweeping defense bill that is now headed to the Senate.

Despite the high-octane public discussion over gay marriage that has intensified since President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriages, the issue has been one that Capitol Hill has largely sought to avoid. But the GOP majority led Congress into the issue by adding the same-sex marriage prohibitions to the defense bill.

[Continued here]

Warren Evans, [Pink] Skirt-Wearing Maryland Boy, Suspended From Calvert High School
[HuffPo, May 18, 2012]

Should a male student be kicked out of school for wearing a skirt? A high school in Maryland's Calvert County thinks so.

WRC-TV/NBC4's Shomari Stone reports that Warren Evans, [an openly bisexual] student at Calvert High School, has been suspended for violating the school's dress code.

Evans, shown on camera wearing a short pink skirt, high heels and a wig, told Stone that he doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

"It didn't say anywhere in the code of conduct or the dress code that boys can't dress like girls," he said to Stone. "I feel annoyed that they would go out of their way to make a problem just with me wearing a skirt."

[Continued here]

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."



Will Smith Slaps Journalist Who Tries To Kiss Him
[HuffPo, May 18, 2012]

Will Smith is in the middle of a press tour for "Men in Black 3" and got more than he bargained for while in Moscow this week.

Smith was walking a press line when a reporter stopped him to give him a hug and attempted to kiss him.

"Hey man, what the hell is your problem?" Smith exclaimed, and pushed him away, before slapping the man in the face. "He tried to kiss me on my mouth!"

"He's lucky I didn't sucker punch him," Smith added afterward.

[Continued here]

[Note: One more dumb-assed, not so closeted homophobe.]

Manny Pacquiao, who denounces gay marriage after President Obama announces support, learns there is a price to pay for speaking his mind [New York Daily News, May 18, 2012]

Manny Pacquiao is a congressman in the Philippines. He's been the subject of a "60 Minutes" interview. You would think he had already walked through every political minefield possible for a boxer.

But Pacquiao created a stir when comments he made in an interview for a Philippine website denouncing President Obama's personal stance on gay marriage surfaced this week. In the same interview a quote using a Bible verse from Leviticus about putting homosexuals to death appeared to be attributed to Pacquiao.

The backlash from the comments was immediate. Pacquiao, who is training in Hollywood, Calif., at the Wild Card Gym for his fight against Timothy Bradley on June 1, was supposed to do an appearance at the Grove in L.A. with Mario Lopez, but management for the outdoor mall cancelled.

Pacquiao later backed away from the quote condemning gays, but he maintained his stance against gay marriage. That seemed to cool things some. At least the Grove reconsidered his appearance with Lopez.

[Continued here]

Civil rights group says school censored students
[Knox News, May 17, 2012]

According to a news release from the civil rights group, Hardin County High School student Isabella Nuzzo and other students were told by an assistant principal that they could not display slogans or symbols supportive of gay rights, including rainbows, because those symbols advertise or promote sex.

The group also said the assistant principal terminated a student organized "Week of Pride" event to show support for gay rights and threatened students with suspension, class failure and disqualification from graduations.

"I and many other students were really upset with the school for shutting down free speech about a topic I feel strongly about," Nuzzo said in the release. "I love my gay friends and life is hard enough without being judged for who you are or for believing in equality."

[Continued here]

United Arab Emirates: Two men jailed for alleged public gay 'fondling'
highlight privacy issues [Pink News, May 16, 2012]

The two, a 27-year-old Filipino salon receptionist named by the initials "RS", and a 32-year-old Omani named by the initials "AA", were arrested by the police just after 3am on April 9 following a tip off from a member of the public.

The 48-year-old Emirati mentioned by the initials "AK" told the National she was "suspicious" of a car parked in front of her house by the beach. 'When the driver saw me he moved his car next to our neighbour's boat, she recounted.

She then sneaked up on the car to get a closer look, using nearby trees as cover, but the driver spotted her again and moved the vehicle once more. "I felt suspicious and called the police," said the woman. ...

'He tried to kiss me on the cheek but I stopped him because we were in a public place,' RS told the prosecutors, admitting that were they in a private place, he would not have hesitated to have sex with him.

[Continued here]

Hate Crime Targets Gay Friendly Bar in Yerevan [Armenia], MPs Bail out Assailants
[Armenian Weekly, May 15, 2012]

A homemade bomb this month targeted a bar, called "DIY," which is seen as a haven for "free thinkers" and welcomes the often-shunned gay community of Yerevan. The hate crime, which happened just two days after the parliamentary elections, has given way to controversy, as ARF MPs Artsvik Minasyan and Hrayr Karapetyan reportedly posted the one million dram (approximately USD 2,500) bail to free the assailants.

The attackers, Iranian-Armenian brothers Hampig and Mgrdich (also referred to as Arame) Khapazian, are said to have targeted bar owner Tsomak Oganesova for her activism in the LGBT community, and her participation in a Gay Pride Parade in Turkey.

No one happened to be at the bar at the time of the attack, which happened during the early morning hours on May 8. However, substantial damage was reported to the walls and furniture, which were burned from the bomb.

In an interview with Panorama news agency, Minasyan said, "I consider [Oganesova's] types-I don't want to sound offensive-destructive to Armenian society."

[Continued here]

Police tackle anti-gay abuse outside Portsmouth bars
[Gay Star News, May 15, 2012]

Hampshire Police have pledged to tackle the problem of abusive language directed at drinkers outside the coastal city's gay and gay friendly venues, after receiving several complaints.

'We get many reports from staff and customers of the local venues of people shouting abuse from the back of a passing vehicle,' said PC Ryan Cheyne from Southsea police station.

He added: 'Verbal abuse is unacceptable. It can be distressing and if we tolerate it, it sends out a message that it's ok to treat others this way.'

[Continued here]

Catholic School Won't Recognize Gay Student's $40,000 Scholarship
[Think Progress, May 8, 2012]

Every year, the Des Moines-based Eychaner Foundation awards the Matthew Shepard Scholarship to a group of openly LGBT high school students who have excelled in academics and given back to their communities. This year, one of the recipients is Keaton Fuller at Prince of Peace Catholic School, but the school has decided to bar the Foundation to present the award at graduation. The Catholic Diocese of Davenport claims that its policy prevents an organization with a position contrary to church teachings to present at the school.

[Continued here]

• Dispute Over Gay Teen's Scholarship Resolved [The Advocate, May 11, 2012]

Under the agreement, the diocesan superintendent of schools will read a script prepared by the foundation, and a member of the foundation's scholarship committee will present a trophy in the form of an eagle statue to Fuller. The scholarship, named for the gay University of Wyoming student murdered in 1998, is granted to high-achieving LGBT students. Fuller will receive $40,000 toward his schooling at the University of Iowa.

Darnell 'Dynasty' Young, Gay Student, Faces Expulsion For Firing Stun Gun At Bullies
[HuffPo, May 2, 2012]

According to the paper, Young said classmates frequently harassed him, at times throwing rocks and taunting him for dressing too flamboyantly. Chelisa Grimes, Young's mother, also told the paper that when she went to school officials to complain, they placed the blame on Young for being "openly gay."

The conflict came to a head on April 16 when six students allegedly surrounded Young, threatening to cause him physical harm. The Indianapolis Star then reports Young took out a stun gun his mother gave him, and fired it into the air to scare the students. The teen was handcuffed and now faces a hearing that will determine whether or not he will be expelled from the school.

Young's predicament isn't the first of its kind. Back in April a 10-year-old male student at Elmwood Place Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio, found himself in some hot water after he brought a BB gun to school to ward off bullies who allegedly teased him about his ankle braces.

[Continued here]

• Indiana: Mother sends son to school with stun gun to confront bullies [Pink News, May 7, 2012]

"I brought the stun gun 'cause I wasn't safe," the 17 year old said, who goes to the Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis. The school held an expulsion hearing last week, and a decision is expected later this week.

His mother, Chelsea Grimes, told Mr Lemon: "I do not promote violence - not at all - but what is a parent to do when she has done everything that she felt she was supposed to do . at the school? I did feel like there was nothing else left for me to do, but protect my child."

Larry Yarrell, the school's principal, noted that Mr Young was a flamboyant dresser, and that the school staff have asked him to "tone down" his accessories. Echoing comments that one Essex teacher is claimed to have made, Mr Yarrell told the Indianapolis Star: "If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they're going to say whatever it is that they want to say. Because you want to be different and because you choose to wear female apparel, it may happen. In the idealistic society, it shouldn't matter. People should be able to wear what they want to wear."

• Gay teen expelled in stun gun school case attacked at Circle Centre, IMPD says [Indy Star, May 14, 2012]

According to court documents, Delay told mall security officers that he recognized 17-year-old Darnell "Dynasty" Young from news coverage of his story and tried to talk to Young about it. He said Young got in his face and that he pushed Young.

But Young and Donald Richardson, a janitor who witnessed the incident, told police that when Young walked past Delay's table in the food court, Delay told Young to get away from him and used homophobic slurs. They said that Delay pushed Young and then hit him in the face, according to court documents. Richardson said he radioed for mall security, and then Delay came toward him because he was mad that Richardson had called security. Security officers arrived and detained Delay.

A police officer who investigated the case said he noticed redness in Young's left eye where Delay allegedly struck him.

• Group protests bullying of gay teen at Indianapolis school [USA Today, May 15, 2012]

In a crowd gathered outside the Indianapolis Public Schools administration building Tuesday night, there were moms, dads, sisters and brothers. They came from different communities and different schools. But they all chanted one message: "Bullying has got to go."

They united to raise awareness about bullying and to show support for Darnell "Dynasty" Young, a gay 17-year-old who was expelled from from his high school last week for bringing a stun gun to school to protect himself from bullies. Young also was attacked Friday at a mall by a 34-year-old man who recognized him from media coverage. ...

As they chanted outside the administration building, they called for school Superintendent Eugene White's resignation and tried to remind school board members, some of whom are up for re-election this year, that they won't keep their seats if they don't take bullying seriously.

• Indianapolis Gay Teen Takes a Stand on Anti-Bullying [Bilerico Project, May 17, 2012]

Dynasty had been taunted with homophobic slurs and had rocks thrown at him as he walked home from the school bus. When Dynasty's mother, Chelisa Grimes, appealed to school officials, she was told that Dynasty was too flamboyant.

Last week, Ms. Grimes gave Dynasty a stun gun to take to school for protection. He was surrounded by a group of boys who threatened to beat him up, so he shot the gun into the air. No one was hurt, but the police arrived, and Dynasty was expelled from school.

Weapons are not allowed in any school, but I can only imagine how frustrated and angry Dynasty and his mother were. School officials once again refused to protect a student who was put in a dangerous situation.

Right after this incident occurred, a pro-LGBT rally was being held in Danville, Indiana by the Unitarian-Universalist Church. Rick Sutton from Indiana Equality and I drove Dynasty and his family to the rally giving me an opportunity to meet and spend time with them.

Chelisa Grimes has 5 children. Dynasty and his identical twin brother Darrell are delightful, and they have an older brother and two younger sisters. At one point in the rally Dynasty, Darrell and one of their sisters performed a dance routine - they are all quite talented.

Charges Expected in Gay FAMU Drum Major's Hazing Death
[Edge Boston, May 2, 2012]

When prosecutors announce criminal charges Wednesday in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band member, they will embark on a legal chess game involving multiple defendants who require different approaches for winning convictions, experts say.

Prosecutors have prepared at least five separate cases against the suspects who contributed to 26-year-old Robert Champion's death aboard a chartered bus parked outside an Orlando hotel last November.

Detectives said Champion was hazed by other band members following a performance against a rival school and witnesses told emergency dispatchers Champion was vomiting before he was found unresponsive aboard the bus.

[Continued here]

Teen shoots Amendment 1 sign in YouTube video, gets attention from deputies
[WSOCTV, May 1, 2012]

A Cabarrus County teenager posted a video on YouTube that has attracted the attention of deputies and Amendment One opponents.

The video is the newest strike in the battle over North Carolina's proposal to ban same-sex marriages.

Cabarrus County deputies spent more than an hour at the teen's home after learning about the video. They believe the 17-year-old Jonathan Wiles took the sign from an intersection and set it up in his backyard where he recorded himself firing several shots at it.

[Continued here]

Gay rights activists protest 102-year-old Costa Rican restaurant
[Tico Times, April 29, 2012]

Close to 200 protesters marched to the downtown San José restaurant Chelles to demonstrate against ownership for throwing out a lesbian couple. On March 14 at 1 a.m., 10 friends arrived at the 102-year-old Chelles diner. When two women in the group kissed, management cancelled their orders and forced the couple to leave, said Paulina Torres, one of the women removed from the restaurant.

An organization called Beso Diverso (Diverse Kiss) set up a protest Saturday evening in front of the restaurant. Gay rights activists shouted, "Ser diferente no es indecente" ("To be different is not indecent"), and signs told Chelles to "Kiss Customers Goodbye."

"We try to make a big event every time a local restaurant, bar or any kind of place discriminates against people because of their sexual orientation," said Marisa Victoria, a coordinator for Beso Diverso.

[Continued here]

Mark O'Connell, L.C.S.W.: Don't Act, Don't Tell
[HuffPo, April 27, 2012]

"If they smell gay on you, it's over!"

This was stingingly declared by my friend, a prominent casting director. She referred to the flat rejection actors face at auditions when they "seem gay," whether the part is gay or straight, large or small, no matter how right they might otherwise be for it. Acclaimed out-actor André De Shields lends credence to this, having said that his casting director friends won't cast anyone who is "too gay."

What, then, are such actors to do? (If only Sir John Gielgud had written Letters to a Young, Gay-Acting Actor). Unfortunately the actors' unions are limited in the advocacy they can provide, because the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a proposed bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, still awaits approval -- and it was first introduced to Congress in 1994.

[Continued here]

Ohio DJ Says Man's Gay Daughter Should Be Raped
[The Advocate, April 27, 2012]

The comment was made by Dominic Dieter, a DJ at Cleveland rock station WMMS. Speaking during the Rover's Morning Glory show, Dieter was discussing a man who wrote the radio station about his gay daughter.

"You should get one of your friends to screw your daughter straight," Dieter said, according to viewers.

[Continued here]

Femexfut, the Mexican football association, criticized footage of two soccer players sharing a celebratory kiss [Gay Star News, April 26, 2012]

During a match between Puebla and América last Sunday (22 April), in the Cuauhtémoc stadium in Puebla, América football players Christian Benítez, from Ecuador, and Matías Vuoso, from Argentina, celebrated a successful penalty with a gay kiss.

Femexfut president Alfonso Sabater said: 'A gay kiss is not a good example for children and vulnerable people. We must censor this behaviour.'

Another official from Femexfut added that a gay kiss in a stadium 'is like flipping off to someone else.' The Veracruz newspaper El Golfo reports that some official sanctions are expected, though it is not yet clear what form these might take.

In the history of football gay kisses are not unheard of, like that between Maradona and Caniggia or that between Manchester United players Paul Scholes and Gary Neville in 2010.

[Continued here]

Catholic School Rescinds Invitation to Gay Commencement Speaker
[TWO, April 26, 2012]

The Catholic campaign of spiritual bullying against LGBT people continues. Dominic Sheahan-Stahl, an actor in New York City, was invited by his alma mater to be the keynote speaker at next month's commencement exercises. The event carries added significance because his youngest brother is graduating - the last of three generations of Dominic's family to attend Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

But yesterday, Sheahan-Stahl's mother called him in tears to tell him that he was no longer allowed to speak at graduation. The reason? The Catholic school found out that Dominic is gay and engaged to be married, and a gay, soon-to-be-married man could not take a public role in an event where the local bishop would also be appearing.

Dominic never hid his sexual orientation; his "mistake" was that he posted his engagement photos (including the one above) on Facebook. Nobody from Sacred Heart Academy even bothered to inform Dominic of the decision; instead, they left it up to his mother to break the news to him. His brother in Michigan was so hurt and upset that he could not listen to the phone conversation and had to leave the room.

[Continued here]

Julie Ward, Texas Lesbian, Claims She Was Assaulted Outside Bar After
Receiving Homophobic Threats [HuffPo, April 25, 2012]

As Statesman.com is reporting, Julie Ward, a 24-year-old Florence resident, claims she was playing pool with a few friends and her sister at the Bunkhouse bar before being told by another patron that her "type was not allowed in there and that we would be removed." As her group prepared to leave, Ward says things took a turn for the worse.

"As we came outside into the parking lot, we were followed by the patrons of the bar and our arms were held back by women and we were beaten by men," Ward recalled for KVUE. "A man told me if I was going to look like a man, I better be able to take a hit like a man, and I was punched in the face at that moment and hit the ground."

[Continued here]

Eric Unger, Gay Illinois State University Student, Claims Brutal Attack Was Hate Crime
[HuffPo, April 25, 2012]

An openly gay Illinois State University student had to have his jaw wired shut after allegedly being beaten by a group of men who shouted homophobic slurs as he was returning home after a party.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that 23-year-old Eric Unger was walking home when a group of five to eight African-American males passed him from behind, and one of them knocked his cell phone out of his hand. After he asked "what their problem was," Unger says the group attacked him, hurling anti-gay epithets.

"They just wanted to hurt somebody," Unger, a family relations major who hopes to work with LGBT youth, recalled for CBS. "The last thing I remember is just being blindsided by six or eight guys, and then I woke up on the concrete."

[Continued here]

Kicked out over gay kiss: woman's complaint
[New Zealand Herald, April 23, 2012]

In an open letter on her Facebook page, Rebekah Galbraith said she was kicked out of Public, on Courtenay Place, at about 2:50am on Sunday when a male staff member spotted her kissing her girlfriend goodbye.

The man quickly walked over and told them they would need to leave immediately, she said.

"Considering I had seen this man constantly by the bar the entire evening, and given the speed at which he obviously moved to interrupt us and kick us out, I have no doubt he was watching us for the entire time we were at Public.

[Continued here]

• Couple to lay HRC complaint against bar [GayNZ, April 24, 2012]

Rebekah Galbraith says a doorman asked her and her girlfriend Jennie Leadbeater to leave Courtenay Place's Public after seeing them kiss in the early hours of Sunday morning. She says he then admitted targeting them because they were gay.

The bar claims the couple was 'acting inappropriately' on a table. The owner has also accused the couple of seeking its 15 minutes of fame with the allegations.

Victoria University Students' Association Queer Rights Officer Genevieve Fowler is friends with the couple and has worked with Galbraith in the lgbt community in Wellington for some time. "I have no reason to believe these allegations of unruly behaviour," she says.

• Queer Avengers back lesbian couple [GayBZ, May 1, 2012]

"The Queer Avengers were not at the bar that night, and cannot know what the bouncer said or how he acted," says Queer Avengers spokesperson Kassie Hartendorp. "But we do know that the women felt uncomfortable and discriminated against by his actions and their complaint should be taken seriously."

Hartendorp says it's not uncommon for queer and gender variant people to face bigotry in Wellington's nightlife.

"We live in a society which disdains gay affection. Many in the queer community often worry about being 'too gay in public' for fear of the reaction it might provoke. The Queer Avengers have heard very similar stories from other members of the LGBTIQ community about Wellington nightclubs, so it makes sense that a lot of people gave their support to these women."

Gambia: We will not "cave in to pressure on homosexuality"
[Pink News, April 22, 2012]

The President of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has warned foreign diplomats that his country would not be "bribed" with or dictated by promise of aid to accept homosexuality.

He said: "If you are to give us aid for men and men or for women and women to marry, leave it. We don't need your aid because as far as I am the president of the Gambia, you will never see that happen in this country."

The comments come less than a fortnight after 19 people, including citizens of Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria, were arrested and charged with "indecent practices in a public place" after being "suspected of homosexuality." They face up to 14 years in prison.

[Continued here]

Marine kills another Marine
[Gay Star News, April 22, 2012]

As reported by a local ABC news station, Marines Philip Bushong and Michael Poth had a verbal altercation early in the morning of 21 April. According to police, Poth used a homophobic slur against Bushong and allegedly stabbed him.

'We do not have any information there was physical contact before this,' said Lieutenant Robert Alder, a homicide detective. 'It was just an exchange of words, which escalated... with a stabbing occurring.'

[Continued here]

Gay student claims hate attack in beating at Illinois State University
[Chicago Sun-Times, April 21, 2012]

A gay Illinois State University student is recovering from injuries he said he suffered during a hate-inspired beatdown Saturday morning near campus.

Normal Police said the apparent attack is under investigation but could not confirm it was a hate crime.

Eric Unger said he had just left a party and was walking home alone about 2:30 a.m. in the 100 block of West Willow Street when a group of men passed him from behind - and one of them knocked his phone out of his hand.

The 23-year-old from north suburban Deerfield, who is openly gay, said he asked the group, allegedly comprised of five to eight African-American males, "what their problem was."

Unger said they responded with anti-gay slurs and surrounded him. He said he pleaded that he "just wanted to go home," but the men attacked him, still hurling anti-gay epithets.

[Continued here]

Ken Hutcherson: Anti-Gay Activists Must 'Take Back the Rainbow'
[Right Wing Watch, April 18, 2012]

Jennifer Roback Morse of the National Organization for Marriage isn't the only anti-gay activist seeking to take the symbol of the rainbow "back" from the "gay lobby," as Washington state pastor and NOM-ally Kenneth Hutcherson, who is working to overturn the state's marriage equality law, writes today in WorldNetDaily that it is time to "take back the rainbow for God" and let "the homosexual community find a different religious symbol to commandeer."

[Continued here]

Glasgow: Muslim leaders offer 'no compromise' equal marriage opposition
[Pink News, April 18, 2012]

Scottish papers report a statement issued by the Council of Glasgow Imams which says the "main purpose of marriage is, of course, the procreation of children".

Civil partnerships have "accommodated" gay couples and there is "no need for such unions to be blessed as marriages by faith institutions", it continued.

The Scottish government's consultation on marriage equality closed at the end of last year and, in a similar way to the proposals currently being consulted on in England and Wales, the Scottish government has said it does not intend to force faiths to marry gay couples under any potential legislation.

Glasgow is home to roughly three quarters of Scotland's Muslim population, but the BBC said the message would be sent out across the country ahead of elections urging faithful not to vote for pro-marriage equality candidates.

[Continued here]

Boy Scouts Dismiss Ohio 'Den Mother' Because She's Gay
[WTRF, April 17, 2012]

Former Cub Scout den leader Jennifer Tyrrell told WTRF.com, "the current leader, that was supposed to be there, called and said, 'I can't do it. They had no leader. There were no other people willing or able to step up, so, I stepped up, I said, 'I'll be the den leader." ...

Tyrrell served as a den mother for a year, but when the local district council learned of her homosexuality, they told Tyrrell she had to leave her den leader position.

"I feel like I've had a great year, I've bonded with my parents, my children, we've done a lot of really good things. And in light of other circumstances, it was brought to the council's attention at a higher-up level that I was gay and I was forced to resign," added Tyrrell.

The Boy Scouts of America say it's within their first amendment rights to exclude openly homosexual persons from membership.

[Continued here]

• Boy Scouts of America Board Member resigns in support of gay Ohio mom [GLAAD, April 30, 2012]

Board member of the Ohio River Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), David J. Sims, announced his resignation on Friday in support of Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio mother who was ousted as scout leader of her 7-year-old son's Boy Scouts troop because she's gay. ...

Last week, GLAAD drew attention to a 1994 video, in which Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney stated that "all people should be able to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation." In a statement released today, Jen Tyrrell called on President Obama to weigh in on the BSA's discriminatory policy.

One in five Taiwan gays has attempted suicide: poll
[Dawn, April 17, 2012]

"Taiwan is not that open towards homosexuality," said Wang Ping, secretary general of the association.

Taiwan is the host of Asia's biggest gay pride parade, attracting tens of thousands every year, and last August saw a mass same-sex wedding, but the new survey suggests homophobic attitudes still linger.

Fifty-eight per cent of the 2,785 gay, lesbian and bisexual people who were interviewed for the survey earlier this month said they had been targets of verbal harassment, physical violence and sexual abuse.

Most of the attempted suicides occurred during adolescence, as did the majority of the reported instances of harassment, indicating a lack of education about homosexuality at schools, said Wang.

[Continued here]

Video of Rosie O'Donnell's confrontation with street preacher surfaces
[Gay Star News, April 17, 2012]

This time, Rosie's debate opponent was a street preacher at the Super Bowl who began shouting insults at O'Donnell as she walked by with her family. ...

'You are an ungodly, wicked woman on your way to hell,' the man says to O'Donnell. 'You need to get saved.'

O'Donnell then says to him: 'Enjoy your life behind the bigotry.'

When he asks her to quote a verse from the Bible, she said 'Jesus wept.' Then she added: 'At you! Because you didn't get the whole meaning of what he was about.'

[Continued here]

Saudi Arabia: Schools 'ban tomboys and gays'
[Pink News, April 16, 2012]

A report on Emirates 24/7 this morning says the The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been called on to ensure implementation of new orders on homosexuality and girls who adopt masculine appearances.

The newspaper quotes the 'Sharq' Arabic language paper on the announcement: "Instructions have been issued to all public schools and universities to ban the entry of gays and tom boys and to intensify their efforts to fight this phenomenon, which has been promoted by some websites."

Neither paper states who issued the instruction but Emirates 24/7 said the students would be able to attend school only if they "stopped such practices".

[Continued here]

MEPs address homophobia in Hungary
[Gay Star News, April 14, 2012]

Members of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights have expressed their concern over rising homophobic sentiments in Hungary. Their statement follows reports that police have banned the 2012 Pride march in Budapest and that the Hungarian far-right political party Jobbik has submitted anti-gay laws to the country's parliament.

Ulrike Lunacek, MEP and co-president of the Intergroup on LGBT Rights declared: 'These repeated attempts to ban the march impede on freedom of assembly! The police can argue all they want, the Metropolitan Court already ruled the pride march legal by Hungarian standards.

'It's shameful for conservative powers to wage such a war against an even which most Hungarians really have no problem with - especially at a time when real issues like increasing poverty should the centre of public attention.'

[Continued here]

Two Kentucky Men Indicted For Federal Antigay Hate Crime
[The Advocate, April 12, 2012]

The first LGBT-related indictment brought by the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act came down on Thursday against two Kentucky men accused of assaulting and kidnapping a gay man.

David Jason Jenkins, 37, and Anthony Ray Jenkins, 20, are charged with federal hate crimes for allegedly targeting Kevin Pennington because he's gay. Federal authorities say that in April 2011 the defendants tricked Pennington into getting into a truck where the men drove him to a state park against his will and then assaulted him. The defendants could face life in prison if convicted.

[Continued here]

Men from Britain and Seychelles jailed in Dubai for gay sex
[Gay Star News, April 12, 2012]

Two Bangladeshi men have also been arrested for having gay sex in a public toilet and will be deported after serving six months in jail.

A 28-year-old British male teacher, identified only by his initials PA, admitted to having consensual gay sex with MB, a 40-year-old man from the Seychelles, next to a petrol station in February 2011.

The pair were said to have been drunk after a birthday celebration for one of them after which they stopped by a tree next to the petrol station for sex.

[Continued here]

• Brit jailed for gay sex in Dubai only 'kissing and cuddling' [Gay Star News, April 17, 2012]

Despite confessing to the charges in court, Paul Brandt, a teacher from Scotland, spoke from the Gulf state's Al Aweer jail saying there was no sex involved.

'It was just a kiss and a cuddle,' the 28-year-old said, The Scottish Sun reported.

'I am serving a three-year sentence and I have lost my job all because of a kiss. But this is Dubai. I am going to appeal.'

Drag show at Catholic university draws protest
[Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2012]

The show, set for Wednesday at the University Center, is to include runway and lip-sync competitions with local drag entertainer Tootie serving as emcee.

"The teachings on Catholic social justice do not align with this event, and anyone with a formed Christian conscience cannot approve an event that is sexually perverse," said lawyer Charles LiMandri, a Rancho Santa Fe lawyer, USD graduate and former member of the alumni board.

LiMandri has called on the USD administration to cancel the show.

But University President Mary Lyons, in a letter published in the California Catholic Daily, said the show is meant to "foster students' understanding of, and empathy for, the complexities of gender non-conformity."

[Continued here]

Two women and a man have admitted attacking a stranger outside a gay pub in the
English city of Gloucester [Gay Star News, April 10, 2012]

Gloucester Magistrates' Court was told last week how two women and one man attacked the victim outside the Westgate pub in the city center during the early hours of 25 February.

Ria Marsh, 25, of Linden Road, 45-year-old Anthony Fairley, of Commercial Road, and 35-year-old Claire Armitage, of Linden Road, all pleaded guilty to assaulting Timothy Challen.

Prosecuting, lawyer Louise Pinder told District Judge Martin Brown that Mr Challen was sitting outside the pub when he was attacked, The Citizen reported.

[Continued here]

• Men assaulted during homophobic attack in Gloucester [This Is Gloucester, April 10, 2012]

An 18-year-old Stonehouse man and 21-year-old Gloucester man were both subjected to homophobic abuse after one of them made a comment about the way a woman was being spoken to during a domestic argument between a man and woman on Millbrook Street.

The man followed the two victims along Mill Street before attacking both of them.

One of the victims suffered a broken nose and bite mark to the shoulder during the assault.

Study finds high levels of homophobia in Australia's Arab community
[Pink News, April 9, 2012]

A study in Australia has found many gay people in the country's Arabic community have been subject to high levels of homophobic violence and verbal abuse.

The report also included interviews with the community's elders and religious leaders, who said that LGB people should be excluded or "corrected".

Ghassan Kassisieh interviewed 37 gay people and their families, as well as community and religious leaders for the study.

Most of the respondents were Christian and lived in Sydney. Seven said they went to a doctor, priest or imam to be "cured of their homosexuality."

[Continued here]

CSU assault victims say football players attacked them in Fort Collins
[9News, April 8, 2012]

Four CSU freshmen are recovering from injuries they say they suffered at the fists and feet of fellow students and university football players following a late-night party in Fort Collins.

"It wasn't really much of a fight. It was basically just a beating," said freshman John 'JD' Haley, 19, who suffered a black eye, cuts and bruises while trying to protect his friend during the attack. "I've never seen anyone so mad, so violent. The kid was on a rampage."

Haley say police have asked them not to specifically identify their attackers, but he said they all know who their attackers are because some of them live in the same residence hall. Police responding to the call near the intersection of LaPorte Avenue and Shields Street on Friday night were told by dispatchers that someone called 911 to report he and his friends had just been beat up by a bunch of football players. ...

Members of the football team have been apologizing all weekend to the four students about the incident that happened late Friday night in Fort Collins. CSU football player Trey Cassidy posted on Facebook that he worried the public would paint the entire team with the same brush.

[Continued here]

• Police: CSU football players lied about being involved in fight [Coloradoan, April 26, 2012]

Three CSU football players viciously beat a fellow student, then repeatedly lied to police about their involvement in the fight until investigators confronted them with evidence including text messages, bloody clothing and eyewitness statements from teammates, according to Fort Collins police.

On Thursday, junior defensive end Nordly Capi, junior linebacker Mike Orakpo and junior defensive end Colton Paulhus were all charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Also charged was freshman Donny Gocha, whom the three are accused of beating April 6. Police said Gocha was so badly hurt he looked like the "Elephant man" following the beating. The three football players were suspended from the team the day after the fight.

Brazil's Surge in Violence Against Gays Is Just Getting Worse
[Daily Beast, April 8, 2012]

Though the overall crime rate is down sharply in major cities, murders of gays and lesbians are on the rise. It's especially acute in the most populous areas: Bahia, Minas Gerais, and the cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo-precisely where police have made their biggest dents in criminal activity in general.

Attacks against gays have climbed steadily for most of the last decade, with 272 murdered in 2011-one every 36 hours, according to Grupo Gay da Bahía, a leading gay-rights group that tracks antigay violence. This year, GGB reports, it's even worse, with 75 murders in just the first 10 weeks. That's one every 24 hours.

The antigay surge may come as a double surprise. After all, Brazil is not just famous for its bonhomie, it's also home to one of the best-organized gay-rights movements anywhere, whose activists pride themselves in rolling out the biggest gay-pride parade in the world. But success has its price. As homosexuals have won a place for themselves, they also have become visible targets. Behind the samba beat, the country remains deeply polarized at home, in politics, and in the pews.

[Continued here]

Gay Man Says Library of Congress Supervisor Disparaged Homosexuality
[Fox, April 6, 2012]

Peter TerVeer said working at the Library of Congress was the "job of a lifetime." As of Friday, he is no longer employed there, according to a spokeswoman for the institution.

TerVeer says that is because of discrimination based on religion and sexual orientation. The Library's spokeswoman declined to respond directly to that claim. ...

Sour, says TerVeer, when he disclosed that he is gay. In an affidavit in support of a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, TerVeer says his immediate supervisor created a hostile work environment by disparaging both his homosexuality and his religious beliefs.

"My personal perspective as to having my religious beliefs is that homosexuality is not a sin. And that was not the case up there," said VerTeer gesturing toward the location of his old office.

[Continued here]

• Peter TerVeer, Gay Library Of Congress Employee, Claims Facebook 'Like' Got Him Fired [HuffPo, April 12, 2012]

The Library of Congress employee who claims he was fired for being gay now says it was a Facebook "like" that initially prompted the events which lead to his dismissal.

As MSNBC is reporting, Peter TerVeer now says he was subjected to harassment after his manager John Mech learned he was gay after he liked the "Two Dads" page on Facebook, a group for same-sex parents which helps "promote the gay and lesbian community," according to its description.

The 30-year-old management analyst said he then started to receive "religiously motivated" and discriminatory emails from Mech. Mech also reportedly called TerVeer into a meeting for the purposes of "educating him on hell and that it awaited him for being a homosexual."

Italian Catholic group calls for boycott of new gay-themed film
[Pink News, April 6, 2012]

A Catholic political group in Italy, calling themselves the Militia Christi, are calling for a boycott of a new gay-themed film.

The film, Good As You, directed by Mariano Lamberti, has been described by the group as a "vulgar representation of homosexuality, with which the author wants to equalise the union between two men to that between a man and a woman."

Good As You will be released in 60 Italian cinemas today and Militia Christi has sent letters to the owners of the cinemas screening the film, and also to its star, Lorenzo Balducci.

[Continued here]

ACLU, Anchorage investigate ballot shortage during municipal election
[Myrtle Beach Online, April 5, 2012]

Tuesday's election included votes for mayor, school board and a hotly contested and emotional gay-rights ballot measure.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska also is looking into voter concerns and has established a hot line, 263-2015, for people to call in with issues. The ACLU is gathering information to determine whether it needs to take action, said executive director Jeffrey Mittman, a supporter of the gay-rights measure, which failed.

"We want to be aware of whether there were irregularities to the extent that voters were disenfranchised," he said.

[Continued here]

• Anchorage election: Questioned ballots more than double to 6,095 [Alaska Dispatch, April 6, 2012]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has called for a special counsel to review Anchorage's municipal election in order to remove "even the appearance of a conflict of interest," according to executive director Jeff Mittman.

In a press release, Mittman said the ACLU had received "credible evidence" over the last two days of voter disenfranchisement "and some potential errors by the Clerk's Office in the conduct of the election."

The ACLU recommended "an impartial review of the election" by a retired judge, a former member of the Attorney General's office, or some other unbiased juror.

Gay student removed from Mr. Fullerton contest by school official
[Gay Star News, April 5, 2012]

A gay high school student participating in the Mr. Fullerton contest in Orange County, CA this week saw his appearance cut short when an assistant principal objected to the student saying he hoped gay marriage would one day be legal.

As hundreds of people in the audience watched, Fullerton Union High School Assistant Principal Joe Abell came on to the stage at Plummer Auditorium, interrupted the student's speech and disqualified him from the competition, according to Voice of OC.

The student had been trying to answer a question about where he hoped to be in 10 years.

[Continued here]

• Gay student removed from pageant for pro-LGBT answer speaks out [Gay Star News, April 5, 2012]

The gay teenager was asked where he saw himself in 10 years. He said he hoped to be married and added: 'Hopefully gay marriage will be legal in 10 years in California.'

The audience cheered then looked on, stunned, when Fullerton Union High School Assistant Principal Joe Abell bolted from the wings of Plummer Auditorium and disqualified Giertz from the annual competition for senior boys at the school.

'No one should have been offended. Nobody was,' Giertz told the NBC4 television station. 'That's my opinion. You don't check your First Amendment rights at the gates of the school.'

• Kergan Edwards-Stout: Gay Teen Disqualified From High School Pageant Speaks Out [HuffPo, April 10, 2012]

Kergan Edwards-Stout: First, let's start with you, Blake. When did you first realize you were gay?

Blake Danford: I first realized I wasn't really attracted to girls around fourth grade but came out as gay in eighth grade to a girl in my English class, who was a lesbian. Eventually, I told a few others, about five people total, but it wasn't until my freshman year I began telling even more people.

Edwards-Stout: At what point did you tell your family?

Danford: I came out to my mom in my sophomore year.

• Fullerton district pulls official from campus after response to pro-gay remark [Orange County Register, April 17, 2012]

Calling Gay People "Cupcake" Is Offensive — As MTA's Learning The Hard (Litigious) Way
[Village Voice, April 4, 2012]

Reginald Jenkins, a former coach cleaner for the Metro-North Railroad, is described by his attorney as a "proud gay man." So, when he claims some of his co-workers started shouting "kill them faggots dead" while shuttling people to and from last year's Gay Pride Parade, he didn't find it nearly as amusing as some of his colleagues. When his foreman allegedly spent the rest of that day calling him "cupcake," Jenkins claims he became "physically ill" from the stress it caused.

"It was extremely disconcerting to be surrounded by co-workers yelling about killing gay people," Jenkins says. "I am proud of who I am, but I know how hostile people can be. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done to experience this and feel like it was to dangerous to speak up."

Jenkins has since spoken up -- he's currently suing the MTA for $1.5 million.

[Continued here]

Minnesota Catholic Students Angry About Mandatory Anti-Gay Lecture
[HuffPo, April 4, 2012]

Even among the virulently anti-gay American bishops, Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt stands out. More than perhaps any other prelate in the country (with possible competition from New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan), Nienstedt has turned the fight against marriage equality into an all-out crusade. He's inserted a prayer for marriage discrimination into the Catholic Mass; turned that church's holiest sacrament into a weapon against LGBT people; ordered his priests to organize grassroots political committees in their parishes -- at parish expense -- for the express purpose of drumming up support for Minnesota's proposed constitutional marriage discrimination amendment; and essentially told those same priests that if they opposed the Minnesota Catholic Church's war on LGBT people, couples, and families, they had darn well better keep their traps shut about it. (And incidentally, Nienstedt's spiritual bullying was recently endorsed by none other than the Pope himself.)

With so many malicious anti-gay attacks to his credit, one could be readily forgiven for overlooking another one that I mentioned only briefly in a previous post: "Nienstedt also spoke about sending teams consisting of 'a priest and a married couple' into Catholic schools to discuss marriage discrimination with schoolchildren." That's right: Nienstedt planned to send teams of adults into Catholic schools to teach children that, if the Minnesota Catholic Church has its way in November, only some of them will be worthy of marriage when they grow up.

[Continued here]

Grace Poore: Thai Police Dismiss Murders of 15 Lesbians and 'Toms' As 'Love Gone Sour'
[HuffPo, April 4, 2012]

On Feb. 24, 2012 in Loei province, Thailand, a 14-year-old girl reported to police that her 38-year-old father, who had sole custody of her since 2008, had been raping her continuously for four years because she "liked to hang out with toms" and wouldn't listen to his instructions to stay away from them. She told police that the most recent rape had been on Feb. 11, 2012.

On Jan. 15, 2009 in Chiang Mai province, 17-year-old Orn-uma Wongprachit and her tomboy partner, 17-year-old Marisa Srisawa, were found dead. They had been stabbed over 60 times. Orn and Marisa worked at a karaoke bar to support their families. Police said they were killed by a man who was "attracted to one of the women and felt disdainful of the lesbian relationship."

On Aug. 9, 2006 in Nakorn Ratchasima province, Kritsana Krasaewik was assaulted and burned alive by her boyfriend and his three friends for allegedly "showing off" her girlfriend to her boyfriend. At the time of the report, she had suffered burns over 50 percent of her body and was in a coma.

Since 2006 at least 15 killings of lesbians and "toms" have been reported to the Thai police.

[Continued here]

Maverick Couch, Gay High School Student, Sues School Over Ban Of His 'Jesus Is Not A Homophobe' T-Shirt [HuffPo, April 4, 2012]

Couch has been arguing with Waynesville High School since last April, when principal Randy Gebhardt first told Couch to turn his shirt inside out. Couch was observing Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network's National Day of Silence, an annual event across the country when students spend a day in silence to call attention to bullying and harassment of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender teens in schools.

The shirt was "sexual in nature and therefore indecent and inappropriate in a school setting," claimed a lawyer for the school district in a Feb. 24 letter to a lawyer for Couch.

Lambda Legal, a national organization advocating for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people, filed suit on Tuesday against Gebhardt and Waynesville school district on Couch's behalf. Lambda also filed a motion asking for temporary restraining order so that Couch could wear the shirt on an upcoming National Day of Silence.

[Continued here]

• Michelangelo Signorile: Was Jesus A Homophobe? [HuffPo, April 4, 2012]

A high school principal in Waynesville, Ohio would like you to know that it is "indecent" to say that Jesus is not a homophobe. That's right. Somehow, standing up for Jesus and defending him against charges that he fears and hates people is "inappropriate." And this comes to light during Holy Week, no less. How many indignities does Jesus have to suffer?

Mark Canavera: Brutal Aftershocks: The Persecution of LGBT Haitians After the Earthquake
[HuffPo, April 2, 2012]

Imagine -- if you will, for a moment, hard as it may be -- that you are under a collapsed building, fighting for your life. Think of the chaos, the pain and suffering, the confusion, the yearning to get out from under the heaps, the visceral need to break free. To survive. Imagine that you can hear the muffled voices of neighbors and rescue teams. Their voices are a balm, a relief, a sign from above that the immediate ordeal is ending.

As those people on the outside approach you, their words become clearer. You are nothing but ears now, a single sense honed in, dreaming of deliverance. "Thank you, Jesus," you hear, and you concur. But the next words that come into focus do not brief relief or freedom or hope: "The president of the pedophiles is dead." Another voice, cheered on by others: "Death to the masisi!" Death to the faggots.

When, after several hours, you manage to wend your way out of the rubble, you flee to avoid persecution. You leave the bodies of your friends behind -- masisi like you -- and their bodies remain in the debris for three days, their families afraid to claim them -- or uninterested in doing so.

[Continued here]

Drunken 'gay sex attack' on young soldier at Prince Harry's regimental base
[Daily Mail, April 1, 2012]

Military police officers are investigating claims that three male soldiers pounced on a fellow squaddie as he lay sleeping in his room.

The gang allegedly pinned him down and sexually assaulted him after the trio had returned from a heavy drinking session.

The 'horrified' victim ran from his bed at Wattisham air station in Suffolk screaming for help, it was alleged.

[Continued here]

Edinburgh: Two men jailed for killing gay man
[Pink News, March 30, 2012]

Simon Brown and Paul Banks, who are 41 and 48 respectively, had pleaded guilty to killing John Carter by placing handcuffs on his wrists, attacking him, dragging him out of a flat in Salamander Court, placing him in a lift, and for failing to seek immediate medical attention. They had also robbed Mr Carter of his wallet and its contents. ...

The temporary judge Michael O'Grady QC told the accused that between them, they had inflicted a deliberate death on a "vulnerable and defenceless man." He added: "You behaved with extreme cruelty and utter indifference. No sentence I can impose can ease the ordeal of Mr Carter's family."

[Continued here]

Pensioner arrested for anti-gay hate crime
[Gay Star News, March 30, 2012]

A 71-year-old woman in the US has been charged with an anti-gay hate crime for allegedly beating a man and calling him a 'faggot'.

Wanda Derby, from Richland Hills in Dallas, 'got enraged' when she found out her son was moving in with the man next door and started 'whooping him' with her cane.

The Dallas Voice reports that she also repeatedly called the 25-year-old man - who wishes to remain anonymous - a 'faggot' who had AIDS, which she thought he would pass on to her son. It is not clear if her son is gay.

[Continued here]

Attack On Gay College Students Investigated
[WLWT, March 28, 2012]

Miami University student Michael Bustin was walking from one of the establishments on the campus with a man he'd met, talking and minding their own business, when he said they were blindsided with blows.

"I was just walking my friend back from the drag show that was being put on," Bustin said. "We were both holding hands for a few seconds. There was nothing to it. We were just holding hands."

Bustin said he heard someone yell a derogatory slur before four men walked up to his friend.

"Out of nowhere, he started punching (my friend). I got in the way of the two, saying we wanted to go home. We didn't want any harm. Then, I got sucker punched twice in the face," Bustin said.

[Continued here]

Homoerotic exhibition called off
[Hindustan Times, March 27, 2012]

Delhi-based photo-artist Sunil Gupta's latest exhibition, themed on homosexuality, has been closed down soon after it kicked off in the Capital.

Titled Sun City & Other Stories, the photography show, which is a fictional narrative inspired by French film La Jetée, was to remain open till April 15, but was called off just a day after its preview at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française.

A guest who was present at the preview told us that cops stormed into to the venue during the preview and started enquiring about the artist.

When we contacted the Tughlaq Road police station, an official said, "A man named Hargobind Arora called up that the show has adult and nude photos on display. That's when we sent a squad."

[Continued here]

Man jailed after endangering plane with anti-gay air steward abuse
[Pink News, March 21, 2012]

John Hawkins, 32, of Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside was on a Thomas Cook flight to the Canary Islands when he began shouting anti-gay abuse at the male air stewards and became aggressive with other passengers.

The St Helens Reporter said the flight had to return to the UK and the man physically restrained by staff.

Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester sentenced Hawkins to eight months in prison for endangering the safety of an aircraft.

[Continued here]

Mercedes Allen: The Use of Spin to Minimize LGBT Issues
[Bilerico Project, March 14, 2012]

A Lesson in Spin: Minimizing the Issue.

One technique a social group will use to manipulate perceptions about a debate is to minimize the issue by making the people negatively affected sound so marginal as to be "unimportant" - which is dubious in itself, but it tends to resonate with those readers who aren't directly impacted in some way, and seduces people into viewing marginalization as inconsequential.

It's especially expedient for anti-gay groups to minimize the number of LGB people lately, in order to excuse their opposition to anti-bullying initiatives that are inclusive of sexual orientation, with the reasoning that it doesn't really help kids to discourage anti-gay bullying anyway, and instead might somehow indoctrinate them to become gay like an inoculation gone awry.

The 1.5%

A stark example is LifeSiteNews' favorite recent statistic that pegs the prevalence of lesbian, gay and bisexual people as being one and a half percent of the Canadian population.

They cite Statistics Canada, and when you hear Statistics Canada, you immediately think "census." That would seem to make it authoritative, wouldn't it? The only problem is that most heterosexual Canadians (those who don't barricade themselves in predominately LGB-hostile environments, anyway) know far more than that among their own circles of friends, family and acquaintances... so something's obviously skewed.

[Continued here]

German shooting association bans gay 'king' marksmen
[Telegraph, March 12, 2012]

"The public appearance of same-sex couples is not compatible with the Christian traditions of the fraternities," the Association of Shooting Fraternities said in a statement after 450 out of 500 delegates voted for the ban.

With many dating back to the nineteenth century and with a combined membership of some 400,000, the fraternities mix target shooting with a strong adherence to tradition and Catholic mores.

[Continued here]

Gay Husker fan writes to Osborne
[Omaha World-Herald, March 9, 2012]

Ron Brown's public opposition to an Omaha effort to protect gay and transgender residents from discrimination drew an equally public rebuke from the top official at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Thursday.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman criticized the Husker football assistant for failing to clarify that he was not speaking for the university when he testified before the Omaha City Council earlier this week.

"The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska has made it clear that the university does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. And only the board can speak on university policy and practices," Perlman said in a statement. "Several people have written me asking if (Brown's) remarks represent the position of the university. I want to be clear that they do not."

In an interview with The World-Herald, Brown stressed that his comments at Tuesday's hearing represented his personal beliefs.

[Continued here]

• Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown says if his job at stake for his anti-gay stand, so be it [Washington Post, April 25, 2012]

Iowa high school assembly stirs protest
[Waterloo Courier, March 9, 2012]

Everyone anticipated the message from Junkyard Prophet, a traveling band based in Minnesota, to be about bullying and making good choices. Instead, junior and senior high students at Dunkerton High School and faculty members said they were assaulted by the group's extreme opinions on homosexuality and images of aborted fetuses. ...

Littlefield also did not appreciate what she described as gay bashing.

"They told these kids that anyone who was gay was going to die at the age of 42," she said. "It just blows me away that no one stopped this." ...

Littlefield said she appreciates that the administration has accepted responsibility for the assembly, which clearly went awry.

"But the damage has been done. You let these people stay in the school for three hours," she added.

Manahl is concerned about what comes next. She hopes administrators and teachers reach out to "students who don't fit in."

"There are students in that school who are homosexual and they need to be protected," she said.

[Continued here]

• Dunkerton principal to announce resignation Monday [Cedar Valley Courier, March 13, 2012]

Sacramento Catholic Diocese drops funds over nonprofit director's views
[Sacramento Bee, March 8, 2012]

In a letter last month, the diocese's director of social services said the Rev. Faith Whitmore's public statements on the issues clash with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Therefore, said the Rev. Michael Kiernan, the social services director, it is "impossible for the diocese to continue funding Francis House" as part of its annual Catholic Appeal.

Each morning, dozens of poor people line up at Francis House, in Sacramento's homeless services epicenter on C and 14th streets, for help with basic services such as housing and transportation. Now in its 42nd year, the organization is one of the largest homeless services agencies in the Sacramento region, serving upward of 25,000 people. It has an annual budget of about $500,000.

For at least two decades, Francis House has received annual donations from the diocese ranging from $7,500 to $10,000, said Michael Miiller, a member of the agency's corporate advisory board.

The diocese's letter made it clear that it was shifting policy and removing Francis House from its fundraising campaign because of Whitmore's affiliation with the organization.

Whitmore, a United Methodist minister, took over leadership of Francis House in April after the sudden death of longtime executive director Gregory Bunker.

[Continued here]

Chilean leaders condemn brutal beating of gay man
[San Francisco Chronicle, March 6, 2012]

A brutal attack on a gay Chilean man is drawing strong condemnation from political leaders.

Doctors in Santiago say 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio is in an induced coma while being treated for severe head trauma and a broken right leg suffered in Saturday's beating. A swastika was drawn on his chest.

[Continued here]

• Gay Chilean Man Remains in a Coma After Brutal Attack [Edge Boston, March 6, 2012]

A 24-year-old gay Chilean man remains in a coma after what an LGBT rights organization described as a group of neo-Nazis brutally attacked him in a downtown Santiago neighborhood over the weekend.

El Mercurio reported that Daniel Zamudio, 24, was found in Parque San Borja early Saturday morning. El Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh), the country's largest LGBT rights group, told La Tercera that Zamudio's attackers struck him with blunt objects before they cut off part of his ear, carved swastikas into his abdomen and burned other parts of his body with cigarettes.

Zamudio's mother told the newspaper that her son had gone to work at a store on Friday, but she did not know his whereabouts until he was found in a park the following day. She told La Tercera that neo-Nazi groups had previously threatened Zamudio inside a popular Santiago nightclub.

• Chileans voice outrage after gay man brutally beaten [BBC, March 7, 2012]

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter said efforts would be stepped up to pass an anti-discrimination law.

"We're going to give added urgency to the anti-discrimination law," said Mr Hinzpeter, referring to legislation currently being considered by the Chilean congress.

Chile should also consider passing a hate-crime law, he said.

• Four Arrested in Brutal Attack on Gay Chilean Man [Edge Boston, March 12, 2012]

Prosecutors maintain that Raúl Alfonso López Fuentes, 25, Alejandro Axel Angulo Tapia, 26, Patricio Iván Ahumada Garay, 25, and Fabián Alexis Mora Mora, 19, brutally attacked Daniel Zamudio, 24, in Parque San Borja on March 6. The suspects allegedly struck Zamudio with bottles, rocks and other blunt objects before they cut off part of his ear, carved swastikas into his chest and burned other parts of his body with cigarettes.

• Daniel Zamudio Pronounced Dead 7:45 pm [Americas South and North, March 27, 2012]
• Daniel Zamudio's Death Sparks UN Push For Chile To Toughen Gay Discrimination Laws [HuffPo, March 30, 2012]

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, says the "particularly abhorrent murder" of 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio, who died Tuesday night, 25 days after he was attacked, demands news laws against discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Colville told reporters in Geneva on Friday that Chilean lawmakers also should enact hate crime legislation allowing violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity to be added as "an aggravating factor" in prosecutions.

Four suspects have been jailed on attempted murder charges.

• Chile Passes Anti-Discrimination Law Following Daniel Zamudio's Death [HuffPo, April 4, 2012]

The House of Deputies approved the law in a close 58-56 vote, seven years after it was first proposed. The Senate passed the law in November. Some passages remain to be finalized in a commission of senators and House lawmakers.

President Sebastian Pinera had urged lawmakers to accelerate approval of the law after 24-year-old Daniel Zamudio died March 27. Zamudio's death came more than three weeks after he was attacked, and his case set off a national debate about hate crimes in Chile.

Four suspects have been jailed, some of whom already have criminal records for attacks on gays. Prosecutors have asked for murder charges in the case.

• Chile Approves Hate Crime Law After Gay Bashing Death Of Daniel Zamudio [HuffPo, May 9, 2012]

The law enables people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits and adds hate-crime sentences for violent crimes. Gay activists waved Chilean flags when it passed by a vote of 25-to-3.

The law was stuck in Congress for seven years, but President Sebastian Pinera put it on the fast track after the death of Daniel Zamudio in March prompted people all across Chile to discuss hate crimes. He was found beaten and mutilated in a city park, with swastikas carved into his body. Lawmakers also are preparing to debate the president's proposed civil union law granting inheritance and other rights to same-sex couples.

"It's an enormous culture change for our country," said Sen. Alberto Espina, with the center-right ruling coalition.

Piers Morgan Defends Kirk Cameron's Anti-Gay Comments as 'Brave'
[Hollywood Reporter, March 5, 2012]

When Kirk Cameron -- '80s heartthrob-turned-staunch advocate for Christian conservative values -- appeared on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight on Friday, he did not keep a lid on his controversial views about gay marriage.

"I think that it's unnatural," Cameron, who played Mike Seaver on the family sitcom Growing Pains, said of homosexuality. "I think that it's detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

Cameron, an evangelical Christian and brother of former Full House actress Candace Cameron, also said of marriage: "One man, one woman for life till death do you part. ... So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don't." ...

The gay-rights group GLAAD, meanwhile, slammed his remarks as "dated."

"Cameron is out of step with a growing majority of Americans, particularly people of faith who believe that their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be loved and accepted based on their character and not condemned because of their sexual orientation," the organization said in a statement.

[Continued here]

• Kirk Cameron: Homosexuality "Destructive To Foundations Of Civilization" [The New Civil Rights Movement, March 5, 2012]

GLAAD also notes:

        GLAAD will be monitoring Cameron's media bookings and roles with film and television studios to ensure the news and entertainment industry is aware of his outrageous anti-gay views.

        Kirk Cameron joins former TV stars Victoria Jackson and Chuck Norris in desperately trying to remain in the public eye by using anti-LGBT rhetoric. Last year, Jackson described a kiss between 'Glee' characters Kurt and Blaine as 'sickening' and Norris wrote on anti-LGBT site WorldNet Daily that the public education system has devolved into "progressive indoctrination camps" that train students to "forcefully defend issues like abortion and homosexuality, as well as become cultural advocates for political correctness, relativism, globalization, green agendas and tolerance for all."

Same-sex ball query gets blanks
[New Zealand Herald, March 4, 2012]

Schools are being investigated by the Ombudsman after refusing to answer questions about same-sex couples attending balls.

A teenager lodged the requests for policy information to 431 secondary schools with year 12 and 13 students.

Out of those, 170 schools did not reply, 30 replied with conditions to the request and others asked for administrative costs.

Student Matthew Taylor, 17, was appalled St Patrick's College student Malcolm Pimentel was last year told he couldn't bring his male partner to the ball.

When Taylor contacted St Patrick's he was told the school did not have a policy on same-sex dates.

Taylor then sent an Official Information Act request to schools, asking for their policies.

Taylor said his findings revealed schools were thin on policy and did not know how to handle official requests.

[Continued here]

Mid-South Principal Accused of Controversial Remarks
[ABC, February 28, 2012]

Dorothy Bond is the principal at Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tennessee. She's accused of making insensitive remarks during a meeting with students.

Parents are hot under the collar and the comments could drive a wedge between people living there.

"At first she was talking about PDA and she turned around and she directly pointed to the gay people and said if you're gay you're going to hell and if you're pregnant, you're life is over," Amber Whittiemore said.

Whittiemore wasn't there to hear those words but her friend, who is gay, was. She called Amber in tears.

"When I heard about it, I was outraged," said Haywood High School parent Tony Snipes.

[Continued here]

• Principal resigns after controversy regarding anti-gay comment to student [Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, March 1, 2012]

Of course the question is how long will it be before she is presented as a victim of alleged gay bullies by the National Organization for Marriage or the Family Research Council?

Catholic school fires gay teacher planning wedding
[St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 29, 2012]

A popular music teacher at St. Ann Catholic School in north St. Louis County recently was fired after church officials learned that he planned to marry his male partner of 20 years in New York, one of a handful of states where same-sex marriage is legal.

The teacher, Al Fischer, confirmed to the Post-Dispatch that he was fired Feb. 17 from his job of four years at the school. When asked to comment on his firing, Fischer declined and referred to a letter emailed to his students' parents shortly after his termination.

In the letter, Fischer tells parents of "my joyful news, and my sad news" - the former being his plans to marry his longtime partner in New York City, and the latter, "that I can't be your music teacher anymore."

Fischer's partner, Charlie Robin, executive director of Washington University's Edison Theatre, told the Post-Dispatch that the couple's relationship was in no way a secret at St. Ann and that Fischer was fired after a representative of the St. Louis Archdiocese overheard him talking to co-workers about his wedding plans.

[Continued here]

Bishop defends gay priest appointment
[ABC, February 27, 2012]

Bishop John McIntyre, says his decision to appoint Reverend David Head, who formerly held a position within a Melbourne parish, to the parish of Heyfield is in line with the policy of his diocese.

Bishop McIntyre's decision was criticised by a group called the Anglican Church League who, according to reports, had claimed that the appointment was in conflict with a resolution made at the Anglican Bishop's 1998 Lambeth Conference.

But Bishop McIntyre says the recommendation from that conference pertained particularly to the ordination of gay priests.

"If they think that I have acted against the Lambeth resolution, they need to think again, because I didn't actually ordain this man. He was ordained over 30 years ago in the diocese of Melbourne," Bishop McIntyre said.

[Continued here]

Matt Lucas closes Twitter account over suicide joke
[Telegraph, February 25, 2012]

The offending tweet compared the death of his ex-husband, Kevin McGee, to that of Mark Speight, a former television presenter.

Lucas entered into a civil partnership with Mr McGee in 2006 but the couple were divorced two years later.

Mr McGee, 32, a TV producer, killed himself in October 2009 after posting a suicide note on the social networking site Facebook, which read: "Kevin McGee thinks that death is much better than life".

The abusive message was posted on Friday night by a user called Mark Fusco, whose username is @oOfuscoOo.

[Continued here]

Police investigating possible hate crime at T station
[WHDH, February 21, 2012]

Police said they found the victim with cuts on his face and bleeding from his nose. The victim apparently told police a group of girls not only beat him up, but called him racial slurs. He told police he was targeted because he is gay.

Police say the group, of at least three female teenagers, kicked and punched him, and stole his backpack with a digital camera, iPod, and personal items.

Police were able to question one 18-year-old suspect from Dorchester, but they're looking for at least two other female suspects.

Police are now investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.

[Continued here]

• Lawyer: Lesbians' assault on gay man can't be hate crime [Boston Herald, February 25, 2012]

Three women identified by their lawyers as lesbians were arraigned yesterday on a hate crime charge for allegedly beating a gay man at the Forest Hills T station in an unusual case that experts say exposes the law's flawed logic.

"My guess is that no sane jury would convict them under those circumstances, but what this really demonstrates is the idiocy of the hate-crime legislation," said civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate. "If you beat someone up, you're guilty of assault and battery of a human being. Period. The idea of trying to break down human beings into categories is doomed to failure."

Prosecutors and the ACLU of Massachusetts said no matter the defendants' sexual orientation, they can still face the crime of assault and battery with intent to intimidate, which carries up to a 10-year prison sentence, by using hateful language.

Villanova Cancels Gay Artist's Workshop
[Huffington Post, February 21, 2012]

Tim Miller tells The Philadelphia Inquirer he was told about the cancellation of next month's planned workshop on Sunday.

Miller gained notoriety in 1990 when he and three others had grants vetoed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Miller's work is frequently provocative and he's been arrested in the past for demonstrating for AIDS research funding.

In a statement, Villanova said it embraces intellectual freedom and academic discourse but had concerns about how Miller's work matches its "Catholic and Augustinian values and mission."

[Continued here]

Comment Staff Member Attacked after Writing Article Supporting Gay Marriage
[College Times, February 16, 2012]

A staff writer for the Comment was attacked on campus Thursday night because of an opinion piece she wrote for this week's edition of the newspaper.

Destinie Mogg-Barkalow told police she was walking in the Chapel Lot at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday when she was approached by a tall male and a red-headed female.

Mogg-Barkalow, who writes regularly for the paper and is the editorial page assistant editor, was wearing a Comment sweatshirt. The couple, who were presumably students, asked if she had written the article advocating gay marriage that appeared in this week's paper.

When Mogg-Barkalow, who is gay, confirmed that she was the author, the female punched her. Mogg-Barkalow told police her assailants headed in the direction of East Campus after they hit her, while she went to the Comment offices where other staff members were meeting.

[Continued here]

Outrage as Libya tells United Nations: 'Gays threaten the future of the human race'
[Daily Mail, February 14, 2012]

A Libyan delegate sparked outrage after telling a United Nations human rights panel that gay people threaten the future of the human race.

The unnamed official made the remarks as violence based on sexual orientation was being discussed.

His outburst came despite the new Libyan leaders promising to respect human rights following the downfall of Colonel Gaddafi.

[Continued here]

• UN Islamic Bloc Rejects LGBT Rights Appeal [Bilerico Project, February 19, 2012]

Man who 'did not remember' anti-gay attack sentenced
[Pink News, February 13, 2012]

Christopher Tormey, 32, received a suspended prison sentence for the assault, during which he also shouted homophobic abuse at the two gay men.

The men were walking home in the market town of Penrith after a night out, the Cumbrian News and Star reports.

Ryan Lee and Andrew Kane were physically and verbally abused by Tormey, who said he could not recall the attack but accepted it must have happened.

[Continued here]

Music director's marriage leads to his firing from St. Gabriel Catholic Church
[Charlotte Observer, February 12, 2012]

The last five months have been eventful for Steav Bates-Congdon.

First he got married. Then he got fired.

The popular music director at St. Gabriel Catholic Church in south Charlotte lost his job last month for marrying his longtime partner in New York, one of seven states to recognize same-sex marriages.

Under a recent Supreme Court ruling, the firing appears legal.

[Continued here]

Judge Rules University Can Fire Employee for Anti-Gay Article
[Edge Boston, February 9, 2012]

A former human resources employee at the University of Toledo filed a lawsuit against the college because she was fired for writing an anti-gay article that criticized gay rights. A federal court judge, however, threw out her case, the Toledo Blade reported.

In late 2008, Crystal Dixon filed a complaint against the school alleging that it violated her First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights but U.S. District Judge David Katz dismissed and closed her case.

"The balance of [Dixon's] interest in making a comment of public concern is clearly outweighed by the University's interest as her employer in carrying out its own objectives," the judge wrote in an opinion. "Therefore, [Dixon] has failed to establish that her speech was protected. [Dixon] also claims that she was fired for violating an impermissibly vague speech policy. However, the damage she did to her ability to perform her job and to the University provide ample justification for her termination."

In May 2008, Dixon was fired by the college due to its concern about an article she wrote for the Toledo Free Press that said gays and lesbians have no claim to the civil rights movement, EDGE reported. Dixon wrote in the column, "Gay Rights and Wrongs: Another Perspective," that she took "great umbrage" that people "choosing the homosexual lifestyle" could be seen as "civil rights victims."

[Continued here]

Atlanta Gang Attacks Man in Video as Message to Gay People
[The Advocate, February 6, 2012]

Gang members ambushed a man as he left an Atlanta corner grocery store, beating him while taunting "no faggots in Jack City," according to a video presumably posted by the attackers on the Internet.

The victim can be seen leaving the store, talking on a cell phone, then getting suddenly attacked by three men who punched, kicked and threw a tire at his head. The video was first posted on Worldstar Hip Hop, according to The Smoking Gun. TSN contacted police, who said they were unaware of the tape or the attack.

[Continued here]

• Brandon White, Atlanta Anti-Gay Hate Crime Victim, Comes Forward [Huffington Post, February 8, 2012]

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that 20-year-old Brandon White hadn't planned on contacting local authorities after he was beaten and even hit over the head with a car tire outside a neighborhood grocery store, but said he changed his mind after he learned that video of the attack -- which he described as "embarrassing and humiliating" -- had gone viral on the Internet after being posted to the website Worldstar Hip-Hop.

"By them going ahead and putting it on the Internet, I feel that they wanted the attention," he told reporters at a press conference today. "They wanted to make themselves look like they were brave or strong, but in my opinion, I'm the brave one."

• Members of Atlanta's gay community: beating victim lied [CBS, February 24, 2012]

Atlanta Police is still investigating the beating. A spokesman said whether or not White knew his attackers will not affect their case. A crime was still committed. The FBI is investigating as to whether or not a hate crime was committed.

• Earnest Winborne: The Down Low As the New Twinkie Defense? [HuffPo, March 14, 2012]

The savage, anti-gay beating of Brandon White was not only caught on tape; the video went viral. The 20-year-old victim did not initially report it, out of fear of retaliation. Then, at one point, reports surfaced that the attackers may have been "on the down low" and that the attack may have been to keep Brandon silent. Then, in another recent incident, lesbians were accused of beating up a gay man. This made me wonder: is the down low the new so-called "Twinkie defense"?

Remember the Twinkie defense? The media started using that phrase during the trial of Dan White, after he murdered San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. White's defense lawyers said he acted out and killed the men after suffering from depression and eating Twinkies and other sugary foods. And the defense worked: he was only convicted of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

'Ex-Gay' Flyer Sent Home To Maryland Students Ignites Controversy
[Huffington Post, February 6, 2012]

Parents of students attending Albert Einstein High School in Montgomery County, Md. are upset after some high schoolers were sent home with flyers claiming nobody is "born gay," My Fox DC reports.

The flyer, which came from a group called Parents And Friends Of Ex-Gays And Gays (PFOX), states that everyone can choose their own sexuality.

Social worker Karen Yount-Merrell told My Fox DC she was outraged when her son brought the flyer home from school.

"I don't like it," Yount-Merrell told the station. "Everything in this flyer makes it sound like the goal is to be [an] EX-gay, [or an EX]-lesbian. It is not embracing of a different orientation. It reiterates a societal view that there's something 'wrong' with you, if you're not in the norm. If you aren't heterosexual."

[Continued here]

Mississippi blogger must pay gay couple $425,000 in damages, Nova Scotia court orders
[Toronto Star, February 2, 2012]

For two years, a Mississippi blogger conducted a vitriolic "nightmare" campaign against two gay Nova Scotia men who operate a wilderness getaway near Kemptville in the southwest end of the province.

Doug K. Handshoe, a certified public accountant and inveterate blogger, has never met the Trout Point Lodge owners Charles Leary and Vaughan Perret or stayed at their getaway. Yet he consistently made graphic homophobic comments on his website, accused the two owners of all kinds of criminal acts and disparaged the small resort in the Tobeatic Wilderness reserve.

"It's been a nightmare, I have to tell you," an emotional Perret told the Toronto Star Thursday.

[Continued here]

'This really is the end of the world' says leader of Hungary's National Party
[Gay Star News, February 1, 2012]

Leader of Hungary's National Party Gabor Vona has described the holding of the gay EuroGames in Budapest this summer as 'the end of the world'. He told a rally: 'God is my witness, it's not some kind of homophobia but merely common decency that makes me say that this really is the end of the world.'

[Continued here]

MEPs condemn gay arrests in Northern Cyprus
[Pink News, February 1, 2012]

A Conservative MEP has condemned arrests made in Northern Cyprus for "unnatural intercourse" after the self-declared state's leader told her he had drafted a repeal of the law.

Marina Yannakoudakis, who represents London in Strasbourg, called for an immediate moratorium on arrests today.

Her concern was echoed by the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT rights after reports emerged that two men, one of whom is reported to be Nigerian, were arrested on 29 January.

[Continued here]

The Canadian rule which bans transgender flight
[Pink News, January 31, 2012]

This is the result of new rules, introduced last July, but only now coming to light, which state that an air carrier "shall not transport a passenger if ... the passenger does not appear to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents".

The reason that it has taken so long for this provision to percolate through to public awareness is that it was introduced not through formal legislation before the Canadian legislature, but as part Identity Screening Regulations, implemented unilaterally by the Ministry of Transportation, in support of Canada's so-called Passenger Protect programme.

[Continued here]

Lawsuit Claims Men Were Beaten, Humiliated Because They Were Gay
[Fox 8, January 30, 2012]

The men claim they were subjected to derogatory name-calling and then hauled off to jail in their underwear, despite repeated requests to change clothes.

In a civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, nationally-recognized civil rights attorney David Malik alleges several officers from the Cleveland Police Department violated the couple's constitutional rights.

"We were called faggots a lot by police, and I consider that a fighting word," said Jonathan Simcox.

[Continued here]

United Arab Emirates' 'Be Yourself' Video Shows Gay Man Being 'Cured'
Of Homosexuality [Huffington Post, January 30, 2012]

Global lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists have slammed a YouTube video produced in the United Arab Emirates which allegedly depicts how gay men can be cured of their sexuality.

Ironically titled "Be Yourself," the video itself is unfortunately not subtitled, but appears to show a long-haired, effeminate-acting gay man being given a "straight" makeover by two men in traditional Emirati garb. The two men trim the gay man's fingernails, cut his hair and scrub his face with soap.

In the final scene, the men re-group, with the now "butch"-looking man less distinguishable among the crowd. As Pink News notes, his friends seem happy and proud of what they did and finish by thanking Allah, who helped bring about the "change."

[Continued here]

Vietnamese man uses sex tape to blackmail homosexual monk
[Thanhnien News, January 28, 2012]

The chief monk of Phuoc Son Pagoda in Chau Thanh District, whose name has not been released, had been in a homosexual relationship with Nguyen Thai Hoa, 23, for a long time, police said.

They said that on December 28, 2011, Hoa filmed the act of having sex with the monk. He then asked the monk to give him VND200 million, failing which he would expose their relationship.

The monk promised to pay him and informed the local police about the blackmail attempt.

[Continued here]

Parents peeved over 'queer' cards
[CNews, January 26, 2012]

A group of parents are demanding two Grade 5 teachers remove cards displayed in their classrooms pledging support for gay and lesbian youth.

"We have to sign hundreds of petitions to allow religious exercises in school," parent Kim Peters Sawatzky said. "We should treat this situation in the same way, as it seems to be just as controversial."

The cards declare that Stephanie Fortier and Peter Wohlgemut, teachers at West Park School in Altona, about 120 km south of Winnipeg, have completed training sessions through the Rainbow Resource Centre in Winnipeg.

[Continued here]

Brothers to be charged over assault on lesbians
[Times of Malta, January 24, 2012]

n an interview published in The Sunday Times, a 16-year-old lesbian - who went by the pseudonym of Amy - recounted how she was sitting on a bench with her girlfriend in a Hamrun square when the two young men attacked them.

The incident took place on January 13 and allegedly started when the boys started hurling insults at the girls from a nearby balcony. They called them "lesbians" and "twisted" and went down into the square.

The 16-year-old girl ended up at a health centre with a fractured nose, a grazed face and bruises on her breasts. Her girlfriend got away with a bruise to the head and scratches on her wrists which she sustained when pushed to the ground.

[Continued here]

'Police stopped me'
[Sydney Star Observer, January 25, 2012]

Openly gay tennis fan Chrissy Adams has alleged she was stopped by Victoria Police for carrying a rainbow flag at the Australian Open last week and claims she felt "intimidated".

Adams said she was warned by two officers if fellow spectators in the arena took offence she would be removed from the ground.

The incident occured on Friday, January 20.

Campaign organisers of Rainbow Flags Over Margaret Court Arena have lodged a complaint with the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

[Continued here]

Same-Sex Couple Upset Newspaper Will Not Publish Engagement Announcement
[NWA, January 23, 2012]

Cody Renegar and his partner Thomas say they wanted to celebrate their upcoming union with friends and family, by publishing their engagement in the Northwest Arkansas Times.

"We're getting married this June, we're going to have a pretty big blowout here, it's going to be over 200 people. It's going to be really beautiful," Renegar says. "There's a certain amount of validation that comes with putting it in the paper. You know, you grow up with that, you see this, you love to look at these beautiful photos of couples."

But when Renegar called to get information about submitting an engagement announcement, he says he was told the Times wouldn't be able to run it.

[Continued here]

Michael Ball fined £6,000 for anti-gay Antony Cotton tweet
[Pink News, January 24, 2012]

Ball, 32, admitted the charge of bringing the game into disrepute with his expletive-peppered tweet.

The hefty sanction is, the Daily Mirror reports, the highest ever handed down to a player for a homophobic incident.

Ball is the second footballer in recent months to vent on the micro-blogging site after a gay man appeared on a reality TV show.

The subject of the message was Antony Cotton, a gay actor most famous for his role as Sean Tully, a gay character on Coronation Street.

[Continued here]

Colombian High Court to Hear American Gay Adoption Case
[The Advocate, January 23, 2012]

Colombia's highest constitutional court has agreed to hear the case of an American gay man whose adoption of two boys in the country made international headlines after Colombian officials blocked him from returning to the United States with his legally adopted sons.

The fight over Jose and Angel Pinto Sierra has been an epic one. On March 30, 2011, Chandler Burr, a journalist and former perfume critic for The New York Times, was barred by an official with the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) from traveling to the U.S. with the boys, now legally named Brian, 13, and Joseph, 9, after he disclosed that he is gay. The boys had been abandoned by their biological parents and had been transferred into state custody a few years earlier.

After Burr had already finalized the adoption paperwork and received the adoption decree, he urged the official, Ilvia Ruth Cárdenas, who heads the institute's adoption division, to rethink the country's position forbidding LGBT parents from "giving these kids the homes and love they need."

[Continued here]

Gay teen leads fight for change amid T-shirt dispute
[Kansas City Star, January 22, 2012]

Bailee Webb remembers that night two years ago when her mom asked her the question:

Are you gay?

The two were watching a movie in their living room, hanging out.

Bailee answered softly: Yes ... I am. ...

As president of her high school club, the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Blue Springs South, Bailee liked the idea of having T-shirts made like other student groups. But she didn't want a racy one.

"One of the girl's sports teams, I think it's soccer, has a T-shirt that says, 'Girls do it in the grass 11 ways,'?" Bailee said. "My mom wouldn't ever allow me to wear that."

She found a slogan with a deeper message on the Internet: Why is it that as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?

The dozen members of the club loved it. Bailee handed the design to her principal. The next day, he gave it back, with his signature of approval. She emailed her order for a dozen shirts from Rod's Sporting Goods in Blue Springs. A clerk told her they would be ready in a week.

Except everything changed the next morning.

Rod Lindemann, 48, the owner, refused to print the shirts. After praying about it, he said, he had to follow his heart.

He does a lot of business with ROTC students and thought the quote might offend them. But his biggest reason was that printing the slogan would feel like he was condoning gay lifestyles.

[Continued here]

Tunisian Interior Minister in a gay sex video scandal
[Pink News, January 22, 2012]

Tunisia's new interior minister, Ali Larayedh, has been embroiled in controversy and scandal as a leaked video allegedly shows him in a gay prison sex video. This scandal has outraged and inflamed public opinion regarding homosexuality which was already jittery due to the electoral political tactics that used sexuality in order to discredit various opponents.

[Continued here]

Three Derby men guilty over gay hate leaflets
[BBC, January 20, 2012]

Ihjaz Ali, 42, Kabir Ahmed, 28 and Razwan Javed, 27, were found guilty of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

They distributed a leaflet titled Death Penalty? at a mosque and through letterboxes, Derby Crown Court heard.

It is the first prosecution of its kind since new laws came into force in 2010.

[Continued here]

• Muslim men accused of hate crime over anti-gay leaflet [The Guardian, January 10, 2012]

The men, Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 27, and Kabir Ahmed, 28, are accused of handing out to passersby and posting through letterboxes a leaflet calling for gay people to be given the death penalty, and stating that gay sex is a great sin that leads to hell.

They are accused of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, the first prosecution under new legislation which came into force in March 2010. They deny the charges.

A jury at Derby crown court heard that the five men had handed out a leaflet entitled The Death Penalty? outside and near the Jamia mosque in Rosehill Street, Derby, in July 2010, as well as putting it through nearby letterboxes. The pamphlet showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose.

• Gay Hate Leaflet Muslim Men Jailed In Landmark Ruling [Huffington Post, February 10, 2012]

Three men have been jailed after becoming the first to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation for handing out leaflets calling for gay people to be executed. ...

Ali was jailed for two years and Ahmed and Javed for 15 months each.

Pickets planned at 'gay leper' conference
[Pink News, January 19, 2012]

But organisers of 'The Lepers Among Us' insist they did not mean to cause offence.

They claim to disagree with the way leprosy sufferers were shunned in biblical times and compare that with how people with "conflicted in religious and sexual identity" are treated now.

On Friday and Saturday of this week, the conference is set to "explore the role of evangelical and orthodox churches in supporting men and women with unwanted same sex attractions". ...

Dr Paul Miller, the infamous psychiatrist who was the subject of an exposé in 2010 that led to him being reported to the General Medical Council, is on the conference's Council of Reference.

He has recently been put under a supervision order by the GMC, who confirmed to PinkNews.co.uk this week that he is under investigation.

[Continued here]

State-funded Jewish school denies teaching students how to 'cure gays'
[Pink News, January 19, 2012]

In an article in the Jewish Chronicle, students allege that a sixth-form discussion on homosexuality at JFS ended with a slide displaying the logo of a 'gay cure' group and implicitly portrayed it as something they should explore if they thought they might be gay.

JONAH - Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (formerly Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality) - teaches that homosexuality can be "mitigated and potentially eliminated".

But the headteacher of the school denies the group was being promoted to students.

Jonathan Miller told PinkNews.co.uk today the Jewish Studies lessons were designed to provoke debate in the older members of an "extraordinarily diverse" student body.

[Continued here]

Amsterdam's chief rabbi suspended over gay cure declaration
[Pink News, January 18, 2012]

Ralbag is reported to have signed the Torah Declaration, a document written by 25 Jews who claim to have overcome same-sex attraction and now campaign that "change is possible", the Jerusalem Post reports.

The Orthodox rabbi, who is based in America but has been head of the Dutch city's Jewish community for six years, reportedly put his name to the "Declaration On The Torah Approach To Homosexuality". ...

In a statement, the Nederlands-Israelietische HoofdSynagogue board said: "Rabbi Ralbag's signature may give the impression the Orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam shares his view.

"This is absolutely untrue. Homosexuals are welcome at the Amsterdam Jewish community."

[Continued here]

Report: Trans woman killed by Cuban police
[LGBT Asylum News, January 18, 2012]

Florida-based news website Cubanet is reporting that a young transgender woman has been beaten to death in police custody in Cuba.

Eighteen-year-old Leidel Luis, who was known as Jessica, originally from the province of Santiago de Cuba and who lived with her partner named Yariel in Las Tunas, died after receiving a brutal beating in Guáimaro in Camaguey, southern Cuba.

It is alledged that she was picked up at a traffic stop 4 January by police calling her "faggot, nigger and disgusting."

The report is sourced to a prison inmate, Rolando Castro Sanchez who names those he alleges beat Luis to death as police officers Galindo Yarian Larena, Juan Ramon Lorenzo, their commanding officer Heriberto, and the sector chief Boris Luis Caballero. It is alleged that her body was removed after she was found dead in her cell in the middle of the night to an unknown location.

[Continued here]

'Don't Say Gay' bill to be delayed in committee
[WBIR, January 18, 2012]

The sponsor of a measure that seeks to ban Tennessee public schools from teaching about gay issues says he plans to delay a vote on the proposal.

The legislation, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, is sponsored by Republican Rep. Joey Hensley of Hohenwald and was scheduled to be heard Wednesday in the House Education Subcommittee.

But Hensley said two Republicans on the panel "weren't very familiar with it" and wanted more time to review the proposal.

The companion bill passed the Senate last year. It limits all sexually related instruction to "natural human reproduction science" in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Hensley said he plans to amend the House version to say the same, and believes it will pass.

[Continued here]

Family and friends want murder charge, not manslaughter, for a 26-year-old
man beaten and stabbed [WXYZ, January 18, 2012]

It happened back on December 17th at an apartment building on Vinewood in southwest Detroit. Family members say Charlie, who was openly gay and slightly challenged, stepped on some sunglasses by accident.

Two men reportedly got angry, used gay slurs and started hitting Charlie. He hit back and the fight escalated and someone pulled a knife and in the end Charlie lay dead.

His mom Anna says she found him covered in blood, nearly naked.

Two men were arrested, one was released and the other, Titus Willis, is charged with manslaughter.

[Continued here]

The John & Ken Show: Gay Men Force Actresses Toward Emaciation Because "Gays Like Bodies That Remind Them Of 14 Year-Old Boys" [Media Matters, January 17, 2012]

During the January 16 broadcast of Clear Channel's The John & Ken Show, co-hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou discussed the 69th Golden Globes Awards with news contributor Shannon Farren. While discussing how many of the actresses appeared to be "emaciated," Kobylt claimed that "gay guys control...the whole Hollywood look" and that because "gays like bodies that remind them of 14 year-old boys," actresses have to look like "14 year-old boy stick figures."

[Continued here]

Anger as Sweden continues to force sterilisation of trans people
[Pink Paper, January 17, 2012]

Members of the Swedish government have announced they will not change the current law requesting transgender people to undergo sterilisation.

A majority of the Swedish Parliament is for an abolishment of the law but a small conservative party is putting a halt to the change.

Human Rights Watch has called it a crime against humanity, members of the European Parliament have urged the Swedish Parliament to change the law and All Out organisation has launched a campaign attempting to change Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's mind.

[Continued here]

Danny Evins, Restaurant Founder and Focus of Controversy, Dies at 76
[New York Times, January 16, 2012]

Danny Evins, who created Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, a restaurant heavy on grits and nostalgia, expanded it into a $2 billion chain and then fought a losing battle to discriminate against gay employees, died on Saturday in Lebanon, Tenn. He was 76. ...

His tone was considerably harsher when it came to defending a January 1991 directive to all the company's restaurants to fire employees "whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values." Mr. Evins's explanation for the edict was that gay people made customers in rural areas uncomfortable. As many as 16 openly or suspected gay employees were promptly fired.

Protests erupted at restaurants in dozens of cities and towns; boycotts were organized; and shareholders complained.

At a time when discrimination against gay people was not prohibited under the laws of most states or the federal government, and many companies practiced it, Cracker Barrel's action stood out for its sheer blatancy.

"They actually put a policy like this in writing, which was, and still is, shocking," David Smith, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization based in Washington, told The Herald-Tribune. ...

In March 1991, Mr. Evins apologized and said the policy had been rescinded. But New York and its allies fought until 58 percent of the shareholders in 2002 persuaded Cracker Barrel's board to vote unanimously to explicitly forbid antigay discrimination in its equal employment policy.

[Continued here]

Woman Sues Avis Rent-A-Car For Providing Discounts To Gays
[Think Progress, January 12, 2012]

One woman in California is filing a class-action lawsuit against Avis Rent A Car for providing discounts to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association and National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Lynn Evenchik claims that the special treatment is a "violation of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from offering discounts to customers based on sexual orientation."

[Continued here]

The F Word [Sydney Star Observer, January 12, 2012]

Standing in the long cue I heard a young man say he was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed again, with his girlfriend. His companion said he sounded "gay" being so mushy, and then recalled a time when the first guy and his girlfriend were being all mushy together and said that was "so gay".

I turned; jolted by hearing the word gay used like some generic insult, but my disapproval was not registered. Then I heard the same guy say "have you heard from Pete lately? Is he still a faggot?" My head dropped in a mix of sadness, anger and cultural cringe. If Spain can overcome its catholic guilt to legalise gay marriage, and inebriated gay and straight youths can mix harmoniously in the streets, surely Australian macho culture can get over its collective homophobia.

[Continued here]

Man beaten, robbed in anti-gay attack near SF State
[Bay Area Reporter, January 11, 2012]

Three men beat and robbed another man in an anti-gay hate crime near San Francisco State University early this morning, according to police.

Police said the incident occurred at about 2:10 a.m. at Font and Tapia streets.

According to Officer Carlos Manfredi, a San Francisco Police Department spokesman, the suspects pulled up next to the victim in their car and called him a faggot.

The three men got out of their car and punched the victim several times. One of the suspects took the victim's cell phone before fleeing with the other men.

[Continued here]

Teen calls for Girl Scout cookie boycott
[Globe & Mail, January 11, 2012]

Identified in news reports only as Taylor, from Ventura County, Calif., the 14-year-old girl is calling for a U.S.-wide boycott of Girl Scout cookies in protest of the organization's decision to admit a seven-year-old transgender child to a Colorado troop.

In a YouTube video, the teen accuses the Girl Scouts of the USA of "not being honest with us girls, its troops, its leaders, its parents or the American public" for allowing children born as boys to be part of its self-described "all-girl experience."

Wearing a silver cross and a sash encrusted with badges, Taylor adds: "Most disturbing to me and my family is they also admitted to have already placed transgender boys throughout America without letting everyone know."

[Continued here]

Facebook shuts down page of lead DADT repeal group based on fake complaint
[AmericaBlog, January 11, 2012]

OutServe played a key role in repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They're an organization of active duty gay, lesbians, bisexual and trans members of the military.

I just spoke with OutServe's co-director Ty Walrod, and as it stands, OutServe says that someone using a fake name and fake email address contacted Facebook to complain that the OutServe Facebook page was somehow infringing on OutServe (they used a fake OutServe "legal department" email address). So Facebook simply shut it down. Now Facebook is telling OutServe that it needs to get the fake complainant to rescind its complaint or they won't put the page back up. But of course, how do you get a fake person with a fake email address to rescind their fake complaint?

This reeks of SOPA/PIPA. Of Internet types shutting people down with no due process, at the slightest whiff of someone, anyone, even a fake person, making a claim against you. And then the burden is on you, after you're shut down, to try to prove you're innocent - though this is actually worse, making you find the person who lied to shut you down. This isn't right.

Not only does Facebook need to reopen this page, pronto, but Facebook also needs to establish a better process than simply telling people they're out of luck unless they can get the fake complainant to rescind his fake complainant. This is starting to reek of an anti-gay action by the fake complainant, and we can't have Facebook setting up a precedent where they pull down the pages of legitimate gay groups every time a homophobe makes up a lie.

[Continued here]

[Note: OutServe's Facebook page has now been restored.]

SFGN's Year Long Investigation Reveals PBSO Targeting Gay Men In Parks
[South Florida Gay News, January 11, 2012]

Those three men represent just a few of the more than 600 arrests made by Detectives Peter Lazar and his partner Vaniclov "Van" Garner, from 2005 to 2010. SFGN reviewed more than 300 of those police reports starting with the year 2007, but PBSO acknowledged their operation began two years before that.

Only a handful of the arrests - four to be exact -- were between two men; the rest of them involved an undercover detective soliciting another man for sex using tactics that one lawyer called "disgusting" while another lawyer questioned the legality of the detectives' behavior. ...

What is usually happening in these types of operations Cormican asserts:

        "They're essentially going out and creating their own crime," he said. "They're creating the entire incident from the beginning to the end themselves. It's an artificially created act. If that police officer was not there that day it wouldn't have occurred."

[Continued here]

• Shining the Light of Justice on 'Bag-A-Fag' Stings [Bilerico Project, January 22, 2012]

Gay men beaten, robbed after evening at Blake's [in Atlanta, Georgia]
[Project Q, January 9, 2012]

The men-Drew Childs and Trenton Theiler-were robbed near 9th Street and Argonne Avenue about 2:40 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Atlanta Police Department. Minutes earlier, the men left Blake's where they were attending a going away party for Childs, who is moving from Atlanta.

Two men approached the pair as they walked along 9th Street, striking Theiler in the head and hitting Childs several times in the face. Theiler was able to run to 10 Street, but the assailants took Childs' wallet. Both men were treated for injuries at Grady Hospital.

[Continued here]

Balbir Krishan, Gay Indian Artist, Attacked During Exhibition Of Erotic Works
[Huffington Post, January 6, 2012]

An Indian artist was brutally attacked by an unidentified assailant during an exhibition of his homoerotic paintings in Delhi, the Times of India is reporting.

Balbir Krishan told the publication that the disguised attacker entered the exhibition space at Lalit Kala Akademi as the artist was speaking about his collection, titled "Out Here And Now," to viewers. As seen in the above video, the assailant, who wore a handkerchief to conceal his face, vandalized one of the framed pieces before pushing and kicking Krishan, a double amputee who reportedly lost both his legs in a 1996 train accident and now has artificial limbs.

"I was outside the hall talking to people and suddenly realized that there was someone behind me," Krishan is quoted by IBNLive as saying. "Before I could turn back that person hit me on my head."

[Continued here]

Weekly Standard sends out bigoted anti-gay email
[Salon, January 5, 2012]

Today, subscribers to the Weekly Standard's email list received a message with the subject line, "Congress to mandate pro-homosexual education?"

It was a sponsored fundraising message from anti-gay activist Eugene Delgaudio focusing on the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would bar discrimination against LGBT students in public schools. (The email rechristened the legislation the "Homosexual Classrooms Act.")

[Continued here]

Police Investigating Possible Hate Crime [in Santa Barbara, California]
[Santa Barbara Independent, January 4, 2012]

Two men were attacked during the New Year's Eve festivities as they left a downtown Santa Barbara bar at around 1:45 a.m. The three male suspects who carried out the beating were reportedly motivated by the fact that they thought the victims were gay....

Coinciding with the release of the video, Police Chief Cam Sanchez issued a statement that read, "Hate crimes like these will not be tolerated and those responsible will be held accountable."

[Continued here]

Police: [Waterbury, Connecticut] Homeless Man Killed Over Gay Advance
[Republican American, January 4, 2012]

A Connecticut man is accused of murdering a disabled homeless veteran over a perceived sexual advance.

The Republican-American reports that 39-year-old Joed Olivera was beaten, stabbed, possibly thrown through a hole in the ceiling, and left on pile of junk in an empty factory in Waterbury.

Police say Matthew O'Brien-Veader, 23, killed the father of two because he believed Olivera had made a sexual advance toward him. At the time of the murder, both men were living in the abandoned factory.

[Continued here]

Alabama Crimson Tide Site's 'Hey Homeauxs' T-Shirt For Louisiana State University
BCS Game Sparks Controversy [Huffington Post, January 4, 2012]

There's healthy sportsmanship in the world of collegiate football -- and, apparently, blatant homophobia.

As Towleroad is reporting, a unofficial fan website is selling T-shirts for the Jan. 9 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) matchup game between Alabama Crimson Tide and the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers which not only poke fun at the latter school's French heritage, but also appear to be a celebration of gay bashing.

"Hey homeauxs," the T-shirts read. "We just beat the hell out of you."

[Continued here]

Archdiocese Planning To Offer Pro-Abstinence Group For Gays, Lesbians
[Hartford Courant, January 3, 2012]

"Through support and spiritual intervention, we can help people with same-sex attraction lead moral and fulfilling lives," Pallotti said. "These people are hurting and so are their families. Doing nothing would be a lack of compassion."

Linda Estabrook, executive director of the Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective, took offense.

Thousands in the state receive services each year from the health organization, whose motto is "Be well. Be yourself." The ministry implies that many of them "are not moral and are not leading fulfulling lives, and that is not true," Estabrook said.

Among those who walk through the collective's doors are people of faith who feel rejected by the Church, Estabrook added. "Even with the progress society has made and the progress in Connecticut, things can still be difficult."

[Continued here]

GLAAD Calling on Amazon.com to pull anti-gay calendar
[Windy City Times, December 29, 2011]

Following outreach by GLAAD and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, a highly offensive and anti-LGBT calendar by cartoonist Joe King titled "I'm Not Gay, I'm Just a Sissy: 12 Months of Sexual Confusion," is no longer for sale on Barnes & Noble's web site. A spokesperson for the company yesterday also confirmed it was never sold in stores.

GLAAD is joining LGBT community members and allies as well as blogs including Towleroad and Pam's House Blend in calling on Amazon.com to do the same and stand up for its LGBT customers by pulling the anti-LGBT calendar from its web site immediately.

"This calendar has no business being sold and supported by reputable retailers," said Herndon Graddick, Senior Director of Programs and Communications at GLAAD. "King has a right to his opinions, however anti-gay or anti-transgender they may be, but retailers also have the right to decide that they don't want to support hateful and dehumanizing content like this."

[Continued here]

• Barnes and Noble pulls "anti-gay" calendar amid online feud [Pink News, December 29, 2011]

One of King's cartoons depicts Paul Revere riding on horseback and shouting "The sodomites are coming! The sodomites are coming!". It is dedicated to the memory of the US revolutionary hero and to gay rights opponent Anita Bryant.

• Cartoonist Lashes Out After Amazon Pulls Calendar [The Advocate, December 31, 2011]

Amazon.com is no longer selling a controversial calendar by antigay cartoonist Joe King after several bloggers and LGBT organizations lobbied the online retailer to pull the item.

Homosexuality a 'Curable Disorder': Israeli Textbook Stirs up Controversy
[International Business Times, December 26, 2011]

Psychiatry experts, educators and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) activists have severely criticized the portion about homosexuality in the most recent edition of "Prakim nivharim b'psichiatria" (Select Chapters in Psychiatry) written by Prof. Shmuel Tiano, former director of the Geha Psychiatric Hospital in Petah Tikva, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The textbook describes "the most accepted approach today" regarding homosexuality and transgender identity among children as a "disorder" that can be cured through therapy, citing the theory of noted American psychiatrist Charles Socarides, who believed that homosexuality can be "altered."

[Continued here]

Tesco set to drop future Pride funding days into Christian boycott
[Pink News, December 24, 2011]

Supermarket giant Tesco does not plan to sponsor Pride London again after next year, PinkNews.co.uk can confirm, only days after the Christian Institute called for shoppers to boycott the retailer.

The company, which employs nearly half a million staff, told PinkNews.co.uk its preference is to "support projects with practical benefits rather than events", and that this applies universally across its charitable giving.

The Christian Institute called for a boycott of the store last week after it announced plans to use 0.05% of its charitable giving budget to fund a family area at the gay pride event.

At the time the funding was announced, Andrew Higginson, CEO of retailing services, said: "Tesco is the UK's largest private employer, and a very diverse international organisation where everybody is welcome.

[Continued here]

• Tesco becomes major London Pride sponsor [Pink News, October 24, 2011]

Supermarket giant Tesco has become a major sponsor of London Pride.

Next year, London will host WorldPride across two days of festivities and marchers will follow an extended parade route.

Tesco, alongside Smirnoff, is a headline sponsor and will host a family area with activities for children.

The retailer will also fund some activities.

• Tesco denies rethink on backing for gay pride festival [The Guardian, January 2, 2012]

The retailer said it was "fully committed" to sponsoring this year's festival but added it would be considering alternative projects in future years.

The Christian Institute organisation, one of the groups that has been critical of Tesco's decision to sponsor a family area at this year's parade, said on its website that the retailer had been forced into a rethink after a "storm of complaints".

However, Tesco said the campaign by some conservative Christian organisations had had no impact, adding that, as with all its charitable giving, its preference was to "support projects with practical benefits rather than events".

"Tesco supports a wide range of good causes and charities and is committed to tolerance and diversity," said a spokesman. "We strongly support our colleagues in Out at Tesco and will go on doing so beyond Pride 2012."

Parent Questions School's Anti-Gay Policy
[WREG, December 22, 2011]

At least one Rossville, TN, parent is questioning school policy after her child's school sent an updated note defining its position on homosexuality.

"My initial reaction is that it was specifically aimed at one person, and I felt very sad about that," said the parent, who did not want to be identified.

Rossville Christian Academy is a private 4K-12 school with about 300 students. The parent believes the school's "ban" on homosexuality is illegally aimed at one gay student. The new policy reads:

        "Homosexuality is forbidden in scripture (Romans 1:27, Leviticus 18:22). A staff member or student who promotes, engages in, or identifies himself/herself with such activity through any word or action shall be in violation of this policy. Should the administration determine a violation of this policy, the person involved will be subject to disciplinary action with the possibility of permanent dismissal. Any applicant who is not in compliance with this policy will not be admitted."

"There's a lot of ambiguety. I believe that it can't be enforced, how it's worded," the parent said. "If my daughter spoke about someone who was gay is she going to be expelled for that or is she going to be put in detention?"

[Continued here]

Rolling Hills Hospital denies lesbian visit with partner
[The Tennessean, December 21, 2011]

The chief executive officer of Rolling Hills Hospital in Franklin plans to apologize to a lesbian woman who was denied visitation rights with her partner.

Val Burke was not allowed to see her partner who is in the psychiatric hospital's residential unit - a violation of new federal anti-discrimination guidelines. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in September issued the rules for equal visitation and representation rights.

"It was human error," said Richard "Rick" Bangert, chief executive officer of Rolling Hills. "They made a mistake. When I learned of it, I immediately met with my staff on Monday. We immediately made the change in terms of making sure that our policy was very clear." ...

"Denying a loving partner the right to be with his or her sick loved one shows the very personal side of anti-LGBT discrimination," said Chris Sanders, chairman of the Tennessee Equality Project. ...

The Human Rights Campaign is asking hospitals to participate in its Healthcare Equality Index, an annual survey about policies and procedures related to LGBT people and their families.

"Rolling Hills Hospital fixed the problem immediately, but this serves as a reminder discrimination still exists in the health-care arena and we need to tackle it," said Paul Guequierre, HRC spokesman.

[Continued here]

Teacher's anti-gay remarks highlights lingering problem in Israeli schools
[Haaretz, December 21, 2011]

A gay student at the ORT high school in Ariel says he heard his math teacher telling her class that she personally can't stand gays last week, but despite a promise from the teacher to address the issue, no apology has been forthcoming. The ORT school network said the matter will be investigated and if an apology is in order it will be issued.

"ORT Israel and the school administration do not and will not tolerate any demonstration of intolerance from any side," they said.

The 12th-grader at the ORT Yuvalei Comprehensive High School in Ariel, who declined to be named, says the problem began with a group of students discussing gays.

"I was sitting in a math lesson and listening to what was developing on the other side of the room," he said. "Occasionally there were remarks such as 'Only gays do a year of National Service,' and 'Everyone who's a [youth] counselor is gay.' I'm used to hearing that nonsense and that's why I decided to keep quiet, until I heard the teacher becoming involved in the discussion: 'I personally can't stand gays,' she declared, and ended the discussion." The student, who came out of the closet about half a year ago, said he was shocked.

"I was simply horrified to hear a person who is supposed to be an educator, who is supposed to help me formulate my identity, giving legitimacy to homophobia," he said. "At the end of the lesson, I went up to her and told her what was on my mind, that she is a partner to raising teenagers who are being educated to hate the [gay] community, but she said that that's her opinion, and she has a right to speak and to say what she thinks. I asked her to apologize in front of the entire class and after a long conversation she said she would talk about it in the next lesson." ...

In a survey conducted by the Israel Gay Youth organization among teenagers belonging to the gay community, a quarter of the respondents testified to homophobic comments by teachers. Over half of them said that teachers don't react to homophobic remarks made in their presence.

[Continued here]

Catholics protest 'Satanic' [Anglican Church's] billboard
[New Zealand Herald, December 18, 2011]

About 100 Roman Catholics knelt and prayed in the rain today before a ripped billboard depicting a shocked-looking Virgin Mary clutching a positive pregnancy test.

The billboard, in central Auckland, was slashed by scissor-wielding Catholic Action Group member Arthur Skinner yesterday, who led today's service outside the St Matthew-in-the-City Anglican church, which was responsible for the image.

He said he would destroy the billboard again if it was replaced.

"This is Satanic, this is the ultimate Satanic attack, when Lucifer attacks his worst enemy, the Blessed Virgin.

[Continued here]

Outrage at proposals for Hans Christian Andersen 'Gay Week'
[Telegraph, December 17, 2011]

Trine Bramsen, the Social Democrat MP for Funen, the poet's birthplace, is promoting the idea as a way to lure high-spending gay couples to the island.

"There is so much palaver about Hans Christian Andersen's sexuality, and I think we should use it," she said. "It should be a week where gays from all over the world can come to the island of Funen."

She said participants in the festival would be able to marry in Funen's many historic churches, after new laws come in guaranteeing gays the right to religious church weddings.

Finn Wagner, a pensioner on the island, described the proposal as 'distasteful' in comments on the website of Fyens Stiftstidende, the island's newspaper.

"This great Dane has been enjoyed by millions of children and adults worldwide," he wrote. "Denmark has not deserved this. Funen has not deserved this."

[Continued here]

ADF members call for end to gay hate
[Sydney Star Observer, December 15, 2011]

The Australian Defence Force's (ADF) gay and lesbian social network says anti-homophobia education for defence personnel must improve following revelations 40 ADF members who joined a gay-hate Facebook page in 2010 have escaped punishment.

During a Defence Department investigation, conducted over the last 12 months, no charges were laid against any ADF members found to have joined or contributed directly to the gay-hate page which labelled gay service personnel "pillow biters" and "bum bandits" and outed some ADF members.

Defence LGBTI Information Service (DEFGLIS) chair Stuart O'Brien said issues of homophobia in the force should not be swept under the carpet.

[Continued here]

Bellingham police: Man tackled by victim after harassing lesbian couple
[Bellingham Herald, December 13, 2011]

A 22-year-old man was arrested for an alleged hate crime against a lesbian couple early Sunday, Dec. 11, after he yelled slurs at them and smashed in the window of a victim's car, but was then pinned to the ground by one of the victims, police said.

William Adam Lane confronted the couple outside a bar early Sunday in the 200 block of Chestnut Avenue when he saw them embracing, said Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young.

Lane made profane, derogatory comments about the couple's sexuality, but the women "expressed no interest in having a conversation," Young said.

Lane then smashed in the rear window of the Toyota they'd arrived in, causing about $600 damage, Young said. One of the women tackled the suspect and pinned him to the ground while she waited for help from a bouncer at the nearby bar.

[Continued here]

Senate GOP filibusters nominee over pro-gay editorial
[Washington Blade, December 13, 2011]

The cloture vote to advance the nomination of Mari Carmen Aponte for the position of U.S. ambassador to El Salvador failed by 49-37 on a mostly party-line basis.

Aponte has already been serving as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador through recess appointment. But to remain in effect, the nomination must be approved by Jan. 3.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a Tea Party favorite, said on the Senate floor that an editorial in favor of LGBT rights that Aponte wrote was a reason to withhold support for her.

[Continued here]

Liberty Counsel eagerly smearing transgender community and Macy's with lies
[Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, December 13, 2011]

With the recent case of the former Macy's employee, Natalie Johnson, who was fired because she harassed a transgender customer, the right wing group, the Liberty Counsel, is acting as if it won the lottery.

The organization has been on a massive press tour pushing their version of the story.

The young lady was fired because she violated the store policy which allows the transgender community to use whichever changing room they see fit. She took it upon herself to accost a transgender teen who was coming from one of the changing rooms. The teen and her friends complained and when informed of the policy, the young lady said she would not follow it.

That is why she was fired. She is presently suing - via the Liberty Counsel - claiming that her religious beliefs were violated.

[Continued here]

Christie Blatchford, Toronto Columnist, Under Fire For Lamenting Affection
Between Straight Men [Huffington Post, December 12, 2011]

A Canadian columnist is facing a blogsophere backlash after writing an op-ed in which she lamented what she perceives as an increase in physical affection between heterosexual men.

In the Dec. 10 edition of Toronto's National Post, Christie Blatchford calls Toronto the "city of sissies," and after noting that she lives "surrounded by gay men, who, like most women, I adore as a group," adds:

        But holy smokes, I am wearying of the male as delicate creature. I am wearying of men who are so frequently in touch with their feminine side they, not to mention me, have lost sight of the masculine one. I'm just plain sick of hugs, giving and getting, from just about anyone, but particularly man-to-man hugs.

        And the novelty of being the toughest guy in the room -- and by this I mean me -- is getting really old.

[Continued here]

Tel Aviv gay park 'becoming too dangerous'
[Pink News, December 12, 2011]

Gan Meir park, where the city's gay community centre is based, has seen a number of anti-gay assaults in recent months.

Speaking to Haaretz, community centre director Yuval Egertt said he knew of at least four assaults, including an incident two weeks ago in which a young gay couple were attacked by a group of 12-14 year-olds.

One of the victims allegedly suffered a broken jaw. Although the police were called, the suspected attackers were not arrested because they were minors.

[Continued here]

Detroit Man Alleges HIV Discrimination By Lysol-Spraying Dental Clinic Coworkers
[POZ magazine, December 8, 2011]

Local attorneys in Detroit are preparing to sue the national, privately-owned Great Expressions Dental Centers for what they say is the worst case of alleged HIV-related job discrimination they have ever handled.

And while the company denied any wrong doing, the Detroit office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) agreed with James White and his attorneys that there was reasonable cause to believe the dental company with clinics in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Connecticut, Virginia and Massachusetts had unlawfully discriminated against White.

[Continued here]

9/11: The Gentrification of AIDS
[The Bilerico Project, December 8, 2011]

"The deaths of these 81,542 New Yorkers, who were despised and abandoned, who did not have rights or representation, who died because of the neglect of their government and families, has been ignored. This gaping hole of silence has been filled by the deaths of 2,752 people murdered by outside forces. The disallowed grief of 20 years of AIDS deaths was replaced by ritualized and institutionalized mourning of the acceptable dead. In this way, 9/11 is the gentrification of AIDS. The replacement of deaths that don't matter with deaths that do."

— Sarah Schulaman in her soon to be released book "The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Loss of Imagination"

[Continued here]

In wake of gay slur scandal, Troy mayor [Janice Daniels] no longer practicing real
estate with Century 21 [Daily Tribune, December 7, 2011]

Wednesday afternoon, a post on the website getoutandlive.me indicated that Daniels had been "let go" from her job.

"Her statement that she only said 'one bad word' by calling LGBT people 'queers', and then her follow up that it is basically 'ok because we call ourselves that', led the owner of my company, John Kersten, to make the decision to let her go early (Wednesday) morning," wrote Nancy Robinson. "John Kersten stated that he can have no one in his company, either employee or independent contractor, who would be capable of such insensitivity to the LGBT community, or to anyone for that matter."

[Continued here]

• Lesbian Parents Confront Troy Mayor Janice Daniels About Homophobic Facebook Post [Huffington Post, December 13, 2011]

A concerned parent spoke to embattled Troy Mayor Janice Daniels at a recent City Council meeting. Her message: "Choose love over everything."

Daniels has come under fire for posting a homophobic slur to her Facebook page. On Jun. 25, Daniels wrote a post that read: "I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there."

• Janice Daniels, Troy Mayor, Slammed For Saying 'Disturbing Things' In Michigan Gay-Straight Alliance Meeting: Report [Huffington Post, January 10, 2012]

As Patch reports, Troy Mayor Janice Daniels met with members of the Troy High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) on Monday in an effort to reach an understanding after an "anti-gay" slur that appeared on her personal Facebook page was harshly criticized by LGBT advocacy groups. However, those hoping the meeting would completely smooth things over say they were disappointed by the outcome.

According to students and others who attended the meeting, Daniels, a Republican, suggested putting together a panel of psychologists to show that homosexuality is dangerous to your mental health, Patch reports. "There were a lot of disturbing things that were said in that meeting," Troy High School senior Skye Curtis is quoted as saying. "She definitely meant it in quite a negative connotation."

Daniels has since denied ever making the suggestion, calling it instead a "misrepresentation entirely." She told the Detroit Free Press: "What I said was, there's a higher incidence of [overall] disease in the homosexual community. I believe in full disclosure. I would like to reach out to this girl and her parents about how this can be resolved."

Still, local LGBT advocates have nonetheless condemned the comments. "It's shocking that Mayor Daniels continues to promote homophobia in her community," Michael Gregor, Communications Director for Equality Michigan, said in an e-mail. "The comments made, if true, are both disrespectful and dehumanizing to gay and lesbian people who are represented by the mayor. It is exactly this type of behavior that contributes to harassment and violence targeting gay and lesbian people, especially teenagers. No public official should be creating such a harmful environment."

Amy Hunter, President of Equality Michigan Pride Political Action Committee, echoed those sentiments, even suggesting that Daniels was unfit for public office. "The ongoing homophobia issues surrounding Mayor Daniels illustrates why electing local and state officials who believe that every one of their constituents matter is so important," Hunter said. "Janice Daniel's beliefs about gay and transgender people are nothing more than tired and discredited extreme-right rhetoric used to demean people and scare the uninformed."

• Recall Effort On for Antigay Michigan Mayor Janice Daniels [She Wired, February 16, 2012]
• Troy Mayor's Anti-Gay Post Inspires Lesbian Mom to Create Anti-Bullying Film [Troy Patch, May 11, 2012]

"In light of the past events with Mayor Daniels, as well as for kids across this country struggling each and every day, I have decided to move forward with a project that is very personal to me - The Bully Chronicles, a movement toward change in the form of a narrative feature film shot in an unscripted documentary style," Weber wrote in an email to Patch.

Mississippi School District and ACLU Reach Agreement Over Student Whose Tuxedo Photo
Was Excluded From Senior Portrait Section of Yearbook [ACLU, December 7, 2011]

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi reached an agreement today with the Copiah County School District in a dispute over the exclusion of student Ceara Sturgis' photo from the senior portrait section of the yearbook because she posed in a tuxedo. The district has agreed to adopt a policy that will require all students to wear a cap and gown, rather than require boys to wear tuxedos and girls to wear drapes.

As part of the agreement the school will include Sturgis' photo featuring the tuxedo in her class's composite picture hanging in the school library.

"I am thrilled that my photo will join my classmates on the wall of our school library," said Sturgis. "It's important that nobody else will be forced to wear something that doesn't reflect who they are."

The school will also amend its anti-discrimination policy to add language affirming its commitment to following the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

[Continued here]

Anti-bullying bill a front for 'sex ed' agenda, groups say
[Toronto Star, December 6, 2011]

Some Christian and Jewish groups are denouncing Premier Dalton McGuinty's anti-bullying legislation, calling it a front for his "radical sex education" agenda.

The Institute for Canadian Values held a news conference Tuesday, condemning the premier for a section of the new anti-bullying legislation that allows for all publicly funded school boards to "host gay clubs." ...

But speaking in Windsor, McGuinty denounced his critics by strongly saying Catholic schools "will have gay-straight alliances."

"Are there gay children attending Catholic schools in Ontario? Yes. Are there gay teachers teaching in Catholic schools in Ontario? Yes," McGuinty told reporters.

"The purpose of our accepting schools act is to send a strong signal to all Ontarians, of all faiths and backgrounds, all places of origin, culture, ethnicities, in our province and our publicly funded schools - schools will be warm and accepting of all our children, regardless of their sexual orientation as well." ...

"I fully expect Catholic kids will use the word 'gay,' " said McGuinty. "I fully expect Catholic teachers will use the word 'gay' and as a Catholic premier in Ontario, I am going to talk about gay kids."

[Continued here]

At Orthodox mental health group's forum, openly gay Jews get their say and
some support [kinda] [JTA, December 5, 2011]

Dr. Judith Guedelia, the director of Shaare Zedek Medical Center's neuropsychology unit, became the first woman to receive the conference's Esther Solomon Mental Health Award. Several participants noted the increased Chasidic representation. And three openly gay men for the first time were permitted to set up a table. Members of Jewish Queer Youth, a support group for Orthodox and formally Orthodox LGBT Jews, they distributed informational materials and debated -- and occasionally berated -- conference participants.

The JQY members were allowed to participate in last weekend's conference at a Long Island hotel only as individual advocates raising awareness, not under the banner of an organization. And only after a special appeal to Nefesh.

[Continued here]

[Note: I recall years ago chatting up a Bahá'í so-called 'healthcare professional' who suggested that as a kindness to my family I should commit suicide. Hmmmm.]

Teacher strips word "gay" from Christmas carol
[Up North Live, December 5, 2011]

A traditional Christmas carol is at the center of controversy at a TCAPS elementary school.

The music teacher at Cherry Knoll removed the word "gay" from the song Deck the Halls because the children kept giggling. Instead students were taught to sing "don we now our bright apparel". 7&4 News talked with the school's principal Chris Parker Monday. He says is disappointed in the music teacher's decision to change the lyrics to the song, and the students are back to singing the original version.

Parker added that this is a teachable moment for both the music teacher and students. 1st and 2nd graders will be performing several songs at their Christmas concert on December 20th.

[Continued here]

Southampton FC fan receives three-year ban and a fine after homophobic chant
[Pink News, December 5, 2011]

Joseph Webb was charged after the incident at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium, during a Championship game with Brighton and Hove Albion on 19 November.

Brighton's association with the gay community means its football team is often a target for rivals at away games.

Webb, 26, of Romsey, admitted the charge under the Public Order Act, and was fined £100, plus £100 costs.

[Continued here]

Pennsylvania Prisoner Abuse Scandal Triggers Federal Probe
[Huffington Post, December 2, 2011]

A Pennsylvania state prison where a group of corrections officers stand accused of tormenting and brutalizing inmates will face a federal civil investigation into alleged systematic civil rights abuses, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Seven guards from State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh, a medium-security facility, have been arrested since September and face state criminal charges including rape, assault, witness intimidation and official oppression. The most serious charges were brought against Harry Nicoletti, 59, a guard indicted on 92 felony and misdemeanor counts, including 10 counts of institutional rape.

An investigator's report from the Allegheny County district attorney's office details pervasive and unchecked abuse of prisoners by Nicoletti, who allegedly targeted gay or transsexual inmates and those convicted of sex offenses against children. The other guards are charged with assaulting inmates and using intimidation to keep the abuse secret.

[Continued here]

Gay Couple Told To 'Move Or Die' In Northeast Columbus
[10TV, December 2, 2011]

The pair woke up to find "Move or Die" followed by a gay slur spray painted on their Blue Cloud Lane home, 10TV News reported.

Investigators also found the word "Die" followed by a gay slur.

The couple said that the threats came hours after they attended a heated condo association meeting.

Police did not connect the meeting to the hateful language.

Investigators said that because of the threatening nature of the messages, the investigation will be turned over to the Strategic Response Bureau.

The Bureau investigates misdemeanor crimes. In the meantimes, the couple said that they fear for their safety.

[Continued here]

Tina Mabry: The Main Cabin Door Is Now Closed: Electronics Off, But Homophobia On
[Huffington Post, December 2, 2011]

Finally, we boarded the plane, where the flight attendant greeted us with a great smile and a welcome. We took out seats and prepared ourselves for a long-awaited nap. We started holding hands and joked about which of us was going to be asleep first; I put money on myself. In the midst of our joking moment, we suddenly heard, "What's all this?" We turned and saw the flight attendant standing over us, glaring down at our clasped hands. We immediately asked what she was talking about, and she pointed directly at our hand-holding and said, "That. What's that all about?" My partner and I were so in shock that the flight attendant was actually pointing this out that we didn't know what to say first. Should we go off on her? Should we educate her? Should we ignore her ignorance? Should we report this? We simply didn't know what to do first. I suppose our faces looked like we were going to give her an unpleasant piece of our minds, so her serious expression quickly switched to a forced smile. "I'm just kidding," she nervously uttered as she moved with haste down the aisle. Good thing we made sure our seatbelts were fastened and our electronics were stowed, because she didn't bother to look.

[Continued here]

Defendents in Hauff hate crime trial found innocent
[Windy City Times, November 30, 2011]

Three men [Sean Little, Benjamin Eder, and Kevin McAndrew] accused of beating an openly gay man Daniel Hauff on a northbound Red Line El train while yelling anti-gay slurs have been found innocent.

Judge Diane Cannon ruled on Nov. 30 that Sean Little, Kevin McAndrew and Benjamin Eder were not guilty on charges of aggravated battery and felony hate crime.

The case stems from a January 2010 altercation, during which Hauff claimed he was attacked by the three for interrupting anti-gay bullying. Hauff testified that the three turned their attention to him, kicking and punching him while they called him "faggot" and "stupid faggot." Hauff said that he smeared his blood on the defendants and told them he was HIV-positive in order to ward off the attack. The incident made national headlines.

But Hauff's media blitz in the days that followed the alleged attack came to undo his credibility, said Cannon.

"The victim is not to be believed," she told the court. "It was his media campaign and his agenda that struck fear in the community." ...

Upon hearing the verdict, the families of Eder, Little and McAndrew broke into cheers and tears of joy.

But Cannon told the courtroom to clear out quietly and without celebration.

"There are no winners in this case," she said.

[Continued here]

Seneca College student alleges homophobic attack: Iranian refugee suffers neck wound amid flurry of slurs
[XTRA, November 29, 2011]

When he confronted the man, Mojtaba says, the man responded with racist and homophobic slurs. He says the man also called him "bitch" and "faggot." "I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was like . . . 'leave here and go back to your fucking country.'"

Mojtaba says he followed the man down the hall and asked him to repeat himself.

"He pulled something out of his pocket," says Mojtaba. He says he didn't see what it was because the alleged attacker then pulled Mojtaba's own hoodie over his face and began to hit him. Mojtaba says his throat was cut and that there was ink on his neck, leading police to believe he may have been cut with a pen.

[Continued here]

Bennachie stands resolute in face of threats
[Gay NZ, November 30, 2011]

The man who took a stand against an American hip hop collective due to the content of its lyrics is taking the death threats he has received since they were pulled from the Big Day Out line-up in his stride.

Gay Wellington man Calum Bennachie says he received threats through an academic social networking site he belongs to and his work email, most of which came on the day the news Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All had been axed from the music festival was revealed.

He was also aware of threats on a now non-existent Facebook page entitled "Fuck Calum Bennachie".

[Continued here]

United Airlines Investigates Passenger's Complaint That Gate Agent Called 2 Men Gay Slur
[7New, November 27, 2011]

"We were completely shocked. We were shaking," Billy Canu told 7NEWS on Sunday.

Canu said he and his partner were waiting for their flight home Saturday evening at DIA when they got confused about access to United's Gold Lounge on Concourse B. Canu said the incident happened when the two men approached nearby United gate agents.

Canu said the agents gave the couple "a very condescending, sort of rude answer. They were trying to figure out who was going to help us."

When Canu and his partner complained about the handling of their question, a manager approached them and escorted them away from the area. Canu claimed the manager then escalated the situation.

"As we were walking away he goes 'idiots,'" recounted Canu. "So, my partner turned around and started walking up to him and said, 'I'm sorry. What did you say?'"

"He [the manager] says, 'What f*****s,'" according to Canu.

Canu said the manager even threatened to kick the couple off their flight to San Diego if they continued to complain. The couple returned to their gate, where they began posting what happened on Twitter and Facebook.

[Continued here]

T.I. on all Americans having equal rights
[Vibe, December, 2011]

Man, I will say this, the funniest joke I ever heard Tracy say during a stand-up was, 'C'mon man, I think gay people are too sensitive. If you can take a dick, you can take a joke.' [Cracks up laughing.] That shit was funny to me. And it's kind of true.' While T.I. makes clear that he supports anyone's sexual preference, he then connects, in his opinion, a current oversensitivity among gay people with a consequential and ironic offense of the First Amendment. "They're like,'If you have an opinion against us, we're gonna shut you down.' ... That's not American. If you're gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you're against it you should have the right to be against it in peace.'

[Continued here]

• Aaron Anson: Are Gays Too Sensitive to Jokes? [Huffington Post, December 2, 2011]

I was appalled when I read excerpts from Vibe's interview with rapper T.I.: he said that the gay community is too sensitive to jokes made at their expense. T.I. starts with a disclaimer, saying that he's OK with any sexual "preference," but goes on to say, "If you're against [being gay], you should also have the right to be against it in peace." Most obnoxious was when T.I. condoned Tracy Morgan's venomous diatribe against gays, which took place earlier this year.

His idea is that anti-gay sentiments are acceptable, and that it's ridiculous for the gay community to backlash against this expression of free speech. It's true that the First Amendment protects all kinds of free speech, including anti-gay speech. But the fact that anti-gay speech is legal does not make it any more acceptable. Free speech can allow free ignorance, unfortunately, and the two often go hand-in-hand.

It's clear from his language that T.I. simply does not relate to gays. If we conclude that gays are overly sensitive to these jokes, then clearly the African-American community is overly sensitive about racism. Imagine the backlash if a public figure made a joke about killing a person because they were black. Would this have any comic value at all, or would it simply be tasteless? How would this be any different from Tracy Morgan's remarks that he would stab his son if he were gay?

Hate-based humor, through its message of inferiority, discourages free thought and free expression. It discourages everyone from living their lives openly and honestly. This problem is particularly pronounced in the black community where, more often than not, gays and lesbians won't come out because they feel that their community will outright reject them. I've seen this personally, time and time again, when black gay acquaintances of mine resist friending me on Facebook, for fear that they'll be associated with my openness.

Walker appointee says workplace harassment of gays is legal
[Wisconsin Gazette, November 23, 2011]

Laurie McCallum, who was recently appointed by Gov. Scott Walker to a six-year term on the state's Labor and Industry Review Commission, wrote that the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act applies only to sexual harassment. That contention was the basis for her dissenting opinion in a case involving Milwaukeean Chris Bowen, a machine operator who was subjected to years of anti-gay harassment as an employee of Stroh Precision Die Casting.

In a 2-1 decision, commissioners Robert Glaser and Ann L. Crump found that Stroh was responsible for fostering a workplace environment hostile to Bowen because of his sexual orientation. Stroh did not deny that the harassment occurred; nor did the company argue that anti-gay harassment is allowed under state law during the eight years that the case bounced around the court system.

But McCallum, the politically connected wife of former GOP Gov. Scott McCallum, defied nearly 30 years of precedent in state law by asserting that sexual "preference," as she put it, is not a protected category in workplace discrimination cases.

McCallum's stance alarmed civil rights advocates as well as her fellow commissioners, who warned that her view could upend legal tradition and "make it permissible to harass an employee based upon race, national origin, religion, age or disability," as well as sexual orientation.

[Continued here]

Polish far-right's 'no gay sex' logo sparks anger
[France24, November 23, 2011]

Polish gay rights campaigners on Wednesday denounced a court ruling that allowed a far-right movement to formally register a homophobic symbol as one of its logos.

"Such symbols tap directly into fascist, neo-facist and xenophobic traditions, and intolerance," Robert Biedron, a top campaigner and newly-elected lawmaker from the left-wing opposition, told reporters.

Biedron, who is Poland's first openly-gay member of parliament, urged the justice ministry to step in.

[Continued here]

Transgender Police Officer Still Fighting For Equality
[Hartford Courant, November 22, 2011]

All Dana Peterson wanted was to be a K-9 handler, a canine cop. Years ago, the Hartford police lieutenant began training at her own expense. The list of conferences and classes she's attended runs for pages, and her training has put her in contact with every species - from chickens to beluga whales. Her dog training education, in particular, includes - but is not limited to - obedience, scent work, protection, attack training, tracking, tricks, and behaviorial problems.

She even had a dog she was willing to donate for police training.

But at every turn, Hartford police said no. Time and again, Peterson's attorney, Jamie L. Mills, says the department manipulated the selection criteria to exclude her from a certification course, all while some members of the force harassed her by leaving obscene drawings of male genitalia in public spaces, by referring to Peterson, who is transgendered, as "it." Before she joined the force, Peterson, who was born a male, underwent sex reassignment surgery, and though she never made that publicly known at work, she's had pornography left in her mailbox, and endured continual haranguing from some colleagues, she said.

[Continued here]

DeMint Accuses El Salvadorian Ambassador Of 'Promoting The Homosexual Lifestyle'
[Think Progress, November 21, 2011]

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is attempting to derail the confirmation of Mari Carmen Aponte - who President Obama recess appointed as his ambassador to El Salvador in August 2010 - out of concerns that she is "promoting the homosexual lifestyle" in the Latin American nation, Andrés Duque of Blabbeando reports. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing earlier this month, DeMint read from an op-ed Aponte wrote commemorating Salvadorean President Mauricio Funes' Decree 56, "which prohibits all forms of discrimination by the government of El Salvador on the basis of sexual orientation or identity," and insinuated that the piece insulted "pro-family" groups in El Salvador and the United States.

[Continued here]

• DeMint To Obama: Stop Promoting Human Rights Protections For LGBT Communities Outside The United States [The New Civil Rights Movement, November 20, 2011]

Trans Woman Murdered in Hollywood, Shots Fired at Another
[Bilerico Project, November 19, 2011]

Thursday night at around 9:55pm, a transgender woman named Cassidy (aka Nathan Vickers) was shot in the chest and killed in Hollywood on Lexington Avenue and Gower Street.

Police believe the same suspect may have been responsible for the attempted robbery of another African American transgender woman in Plummer Park in West Hollywood. The LAPD Crime Alert says the incident apparently occurred around 10:25 pm when the suspect "fired at the victim once with a black semi-automatic pistol." The Alert says: "Suspect should be considered armed and dangerous."

LAPD Det. Jim Hays says that the suspect is described as a Black male, around 5' 9" tall, about 150 pounds, in his mid 20s-to-30 years old, with light facial hair, wearing a possible dark, hooded sweatshirt. He is believed to be a possible transient. He was last seen leaving Plummer Park riding a Beach-Cruiser-type bicycle.

[Continued here]

Queen's University band suspended over material demeaning to women
[Globe & Mail, November 17, 2011]

Queen's University has suspended its marching band from participating in any of its scheduled performances for the rest of the fall term.

The university in Kingston says material circulated within the Queen's Bands contained offensive language demeaning to women.

The material involved included guidebooks and other information circulated within the band.

[Continued here]

Russian gay rights activist [Nikolai Alexeyev] slams anti-gay bill in St. Petersburg
[Washington Post, November 17, 2011]

Nikolai Alexeyev of the GayRussia.ru group described the legislation tentatively approved by lawmakers in St. Petersburg as a "disgrace."

The bill was proposed by the dominant United Russia party and passed Wednesday by a 27 to 1 vote, with one abstention, in the first of three required readings. It calls for a fine of up to $1,600 for "public actions aimed at propaganda of pederasty, lesbianism, bisexuality, and transgenderism among minors."

Alexeyev said the bill could become "the main legal reason to deny any public actions by the LGBT community."

[Continued here]

Prospect of dancing gays keeps [Finland] MP away from Independence Day reception
[Helsingin Sanomat, November 17, 2011]

Another reason why Oinonen is staying away from the reception is the prospect of homosexuals dancing at the reception.

At last year's reception, controversy was raised by the sight of actor Jani Toivola (who is now a Green MP) dancing a waltz with Kenneth Liukkonen, winner of the Mr. Gay Finland 2010 competition.

At least three other same-sex couples were spotted on the dance floor that night.

He explained his decision by quoting a recently-deceased war veteran.

"He said that he would not have fought on behalf of Finnish independence if he would have known that homosexuals would be dancing at the Independence Day celebration. That is a shocking experience for a veteran."

Oinonen's comments led to a flurry of activity in the social media, where many pointed out that one of Finland's internationally known gay figures, Touko Laaksonen, better known as the artist Tom of Finland, was a decorated war veteran.

Researcher Kati Mustola points out that there were gays fighting for Finland in the war.

She also noted that in the exceptional conditions of the war, even some heterosexuals had homosexual relationships.

"He [Oinonen] insults gay veterans and all homosexuals", Mustola says.

[Continued here]

Ospreys rugby team silent on Kristian Phillips' alleged gay slur
[Pink News, November 16, 2011]

PinkNews.co.uk received a screenshot of Kristian Phillips' account on 7 November in which he called Big Brother 2011 winner Aaron Allard-Morgan a "faggot".

Phillips was a surprise call-up to represent Wales in the Six Nations competition last year.

One of the tweets on the 21-year-old's account read: "Aaron is the biggest loser I have ever seen, trying to turn it around and make Jay and Louise look bad! #BBUK #Faggot #Gimp #Getalife".

Allard-Morgan kissed fellow male contestant Jay McKray on the lips as part of a game on the Channel 5 show.

[Continued here]

• Ospreys investigate Kristian Phillips's 'gay slur' [BBC, November 17, 2011]

An Ospreys statement read: "We take such issues very seriously and have immediately commenced a full and thorough investigation into this matter."

It is not the first time an Osprey has hit the headlines over alleged homophobic comments.

In February 2010, gay referee Nigel Owens dismissed as "banter" a Twitter exchange in which back-five forward Jonathan Thomas allegedly made homophobic comments.

The Ospreys statement added: "As an organisation we do not tolerate any kind of homophobic behaviour and any employee found to be acting in such a way will face the appropriate action through our internal disciplinary procedures.

Footballer [Hope Akpan] fined £1,200 for "fully homophobic" tweet
[Pink News, November 16, 2011]

Hope Akpan was fined £1,200 after admitting the FA misconduct charge.

A message from the Crawley Town FC midfielder's account last month said: "Gays all over the tele what's wrong with Britain! Sorry I'm #FullyHomophobic."

The 20-year-old said someone in his family posted the comment without his knowledge. It was subsequently deleted.

[Continued here]

Gay clergy row threatens mass resignations from Church of Scotland
[The Guardian, November 14, 2011]

The rebellion began after the Church of Scotland became the first major presbyterian church in the world to allow openly gay and lesbian ministers to take up parishes at its general assembly in May, despite evidence that 20% of its elders and office-bearers could leave in protest.

The assembly also opened the way for the full ordination of gay ministers in the 450-year-old church within two years.

But senior sources estimate as many as 150 serving ministers are considering resignation, in the largest schism in the church since 474 ministers quit in 1843 to form the Free Church of Scotland.

However, a spokesman for the Church of Scotland denied that so many ministers were threatening to leave and urged critics of gay ordination to wait until a theological commission reported in 2013.

[Continued here]

Conservatives Outraged Over Ellen's HIV Envoy Gig
[HIV Plus, November 14, 2011]

A conservative group said Hillary Clinton's announcement that Ellen DeGeneres was chosen as a special envoy for global HIV/AIDS awareness was a blatant example of the Obama Administration pushing a "homosexual agenda." Janet Crouse, a spokeswoman for Concerned Women of America, said that because DeGeneres is an out lesbian, and "obviously an activist on the issue of homosexual rights," that she will be biased only toward the gay community in her outreach work.

[Continued here]

Wedding Cake Battle Brews Between Couple, Baker
[KCCI, November 12, 2011]

A same sex central Iowa couple is embroiled in a fight with a local baker with strong beliefs over a wedding cake.

Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers, who are engaged to be married, said planning for their June wedding took an unexpected turn during a taste-testing appointment Thursday afternoon.

"It shouldn't be a gay or straight issue. It's a people issue," Sievers said.

"They came in and she introduced herself, and I said, 'Is this your sister?' (She said,) 'No, this is my partner.' I said, 'OK,' and I asked them to sit down and I said, 'We need to talk,'" said Victoria Childress, who runs her cake baking business from home. "I said, 'I'll tell you I'm a Christian, and I do have convictions.' And I said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not going to be able to do your cake."

"I said that was fine and I appreciated her being honest," Vodraska said.

"I don't think either one of us knew what to say. We were just shocked," Sievers said.

[Continued here]

• Cake Baking Lady Does Not Like Lukewarm Gay Cake, Prefers Hot Straight Cake [Truth Wins Out, November 22, 2011]

More than cake! Indeed, in Ms. Childress's version of Christianity, all the stuff about doing for the least of these and Jesus eating with people the rest of society judged, yadda yadda, is irrelevant. When Jesus did the whole thing with the loaves and fishes, and also when he performed his first miracle, in the famous "we have run out of booze" incident at Cana, he makes clear that NONE of that food and beverage, and I mean NONE of it, went to homos, especially not homos in Iowa.

Moa strikes again with "extremely offensive" ad
[Gay NZ, November 12, 2011]

Moa Brewing Company has ruffled feathers once again, this time with a billboard which read "Fifty years ago before there were lesbians this is what beer tasted like".

A complaint about the ad to the Advertising Standards Authority has been settled, after the advertiser said the ad was no longer used and there was no intention to use it again.

"P. Armstrong" had complained that the ad was "extremely offensive to lesbians and gay people in its implication that, same-sex orientations are a recent phenomenon and therefore a matter of choice or fashion, same-sex orientations and relationship are associated with a decline in standards, tastes, authenticity and in particular (by implication) with a decline in masculinity".

[Continued here]

Outrage as Tesco backs gay festival... but drops support for cancer charity event
[Daily Mail, November 12, 2011]

Some religious commentators and groups have condemned the decision and are calling for a boycott of the supermarket chain. ...

Tesco's chief executive of retailing services, Andrew Higginson, said: 'Our "Out at Tesco" team will be working closely with Pride London to ensure next year's event is even more fun.'

Francis Phillips, a commentator at The Catholic Herald, condemned the shift, saying: 'Tesco is a supermarket.

Its remit has been to sell good-quality food and other items at very reasonable prices, and in this it has been hugely successful.

Why has it now aligned itself with an aggressive political organisation such as Pride London?

[Continued here]

Learn How Homosexuality Is a 'Gateway Drug' at Baylor
[Gawker, November 11, 2011]

Did you know that homosexuality is a gateway drug? "Gateway drug to what,?" you ask. Well, I'm not really sure, because I didn't attend Baylor University, which offers a whole course on the subject, or even major in Gateway Drug Studies.

But if you attend Baylor (or enroll ASAP!!!), you can sign up for their "Homosexuality As Gateway Drug" class and learn more about this fascinating topic plus "areas of sociology not covered by regular course offerings." Hmmm.

[Continued here]

Anti-Gay Slurs Spray-Painted On [Ohio] Couple's Home
[NBC, November 10, 2011]

David Robins and his partner, Michael, have lived at their home on Castleton Street in Grove City for nine years.

Wednesday morning, Robins said, they awoke to find someone had spray-painted homophobic slurs on their garage door, home and fence.

"It's extremely disappointing. Nine years we've lived here and not a problem. Now, all of a sudden this happens. It makes me kind of wonder," he said.

"I kind of feel like it needs to stay up to make a statement, but at the same time, I don't want to disrupt the neighbors, the perception of the neighborhood, but I also feel like I don't want to cover it up, either," he said.

[Continued here]

Gay Yorkshire MP victim of homophobic attack
[Yorkshire Post, November 10, 2011]

Conservative Stuart Andrew called for police forces to crack down on such assaults.

He told the Commons: "One in five gay and lesbian people has experienced homophobic attack in the last three years.

"As someone who experienced such an attack in the 1990s, I'm aware of the fear that goes on after such an attack."

[Continued here]

Transgender student says she was suspended for using ladies' restroom
[9News, November 9, 2011]

Sixteen-year-old Dionne Malikowski was born male, but she now identifies as transgender. Her friend Kurt Peters, also 16, was born female and says he is transgender as well.

"To be one sex that feels like they're the other sex," Malikowski said defining what a transgender person feels.

Inside Fort Collins High School, the two say they are asked to use staff restrooms.

"There's not staff bathrooms all over the school, so when you really got to pee, you got to pee," Malikowski said.

[Continued here]

Prep football: Board supports Lynch after resignation as coach
[Caspar Tribune, November 9, 2011]

"None of us are happy that it happened. It's a black eye to the district. And it's a black eye to Pat."

Lynch handed out an offensive survey, titled "Hurt Feelings Report," that included sexist and anti-gay rhetoric before Buffalo's first-round playoff game at Afton. Lynch did not coach in either of the team's playoff games, and the school board accepted his resignation as head football coach and weight room supervisor on Monday in a special session.

The board did, however, allow Lynch to continue in his position of guidance counselor at Buffalo High School, under administrative supervision. ...

There was some public outcry when it was announced Lynch would remain in his counseling position at the school. But the board is committed to standing behind Lynch.

[Continued here]

• Pat Lynch, Embattled Wyoming Football Coach, Resigns After 'Hurt Feelings Report' Controversy [Huffington Post, November 13, 2011]

Under a list of reasons for filing the "Hurt Feelings Report," the survey offers choices including "I am a pussy," "I have woman like hormones," "I am a queer" and 'I am a little bitch." It asks for the "name of 'Real Man' who hurt your sensitive little feelings," "name little sissy filing this report." and the filer's "girly-man signature."

Malaysia: Reverse Ban on Sexual Diversity Festival
[HRW, November 8, 2011]

The Malaysian government should immediately rescind a police-imposed ban on the fourth annual Seksualiti Merdeka festival and adopt measures to protect all Malaysians from discrimination, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Najib Razak. The "sexual diversity" festival, which has been held since 2008 without incident or interference from government authorities, was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from November 9 to 13, 2011.

The festival was to consist of talks, workshops, literary events, stage performances, and an art exhibition focusing on "the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities." The police announced on November 3 that it constituted a "threat to public order." The authorities failed to provide any evidence to justify that determination, Human Rights Watch said.

[Continued here]

• Malaysia gay festival organisers challenge ban [Channel News Asia, January 10, 2012]

The third "Seksualiti Merdeka" (Sexuality Freedom) festival featuring gay-themed films, concerts and forums on homosexual issues was banned by police before it could go ahead in November last year after Muslims cried foul.

Festival organiser and activist Pang Khee Teik said the decision to submit a request for a court review of the ban was to end "the ongoing discrimination in the country".

"It's important to make a stand. The police are clearly wrong in this instance and as Malaysians we must challenge any unjust act," he told AFP.

"That's one of the reasons why Sexuality Merdeka organised this festival because we have realised staying silent has allowed more injustice.

"By keeping quiet, we have also condoned the fear we are living in."

Tour operators forbidden from marketing Vancouver as gay-friendly in China
[Globe & Mail, November 8, 2011]

In its new China tourism strategy, the B.C. government has agreed to ignore the fact that Vancouver is a destination for gay tourism.

A marketing document released on the eve of Premier Christy Clark's trade mission to China states that tourism operators marketing trips to the province for Chinese people must agree not to promote casinos, gambling or gay tourism.

B.C. Tourism Minister Pat Bell, in conference call from China on Monday, said the federal government accepted the terms when it negotiated approved-destination status with China last year, and B.C. had no say in the matter.

[Continued here]

• Tourism BC backtracks on banning gay promotions in China: Feds say ban was never part of their agreement [XTRA, November 8, 2011]

World's Ballsiest Magazine Puts a Gay Muhammed on Its Cover
[Gawker, November 8, 2011]

Last week, the editorial offices of French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo were firebombed after the release of an issue "guest edited" by Muhammed. ("100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!" said the cartoon Muhammed on the cover.)

The magazine's website was taken over shortly after that by a Turkish hackers group, who left a threatening message reading, "You keep abusing Islam's almighty Prophet with disgusting and disgraceful cartoons using excuses of freedom of speech...Be God's Curse On You! We Will be Your Curse on Cyber World!" Politicians and the media came out in support of the magazine's right to free speech, while French Muslim groups decried racism. Amidst it all and against all odds, the newly homeless Hebdo got its next issue out on schedule. Yup! There it is, the new cover, right above us. This is not going to end well.

[Continued here]

New Mexico Teacher On Leave After Giving 'Sex Survey' To Students
[Huffington Post, November 7, 2011]

A "sex survey" at the Rio Rancho high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico has sparked criticism among some parents, KOAT reports. The teacher who issued the survey has been put on paid leave.

While the survey was supposedly intended to teach kids about sex and how sexual diseases are spread, parents told the station that it went too far when the students had to list the people they've recently kissed and to mark if they were sexually active.

"I wouldn't have agreed to any of this," parent Paul Bustamante told the station.

Rio Rancho public schools spokesperson Kim Vesely told KOB that the teacher did not follow proper protocol when they issued the survey. ...

Sex ed classes in New Mexico aren't the only ones coming under fire lately. Last month, the New York Department of Education recommended drastic changes to the state's public school sexual education. The proposed changes included lessons on oral sex, phone sex, bestiality, mutual masturbation and more.

[Continued here]

Brett Ratner Barely Apologizes for Using Gay Slur
[Gawker, November 7, 2011]

It sure is a good day to hate Hollywood schlockmeister, Olivia Munn banger, Oscar ruiner, and receding afro-with-legs Brett Ratner. Apparently this weekend at a Q&A following his new cinematic turd Tower Heist, he dropped the f-bomb. No, not "fuck." "Fag."

[Continued here]

• Brett Ratner Out as Oscar Show Producer [Hollywood Reporter, November 8, 2011]

Gay student suspended for make-up prompts US school's policy reversal
[Pink News, November 7, 2011]

A Tennessee county school board has intervened to reverse policy after Kasey Landrum, an openly gay student, was suspended for wearing make-up.

Kasey Landrum, 16, told WBBJ-TV that when he arrived at a class wearing purple eye shadow: "The principal walked into the school and immediately started yelling at me for it, and told me to get outside".

He was given an in-school suspension for three days for violating the school's dress code.

[Continued here]

Ten hires controversial breakfast host [Sydney Star Observer, November 7, 2011]

A controversial New Zealand broadcaster known for a string of homophobic and racist remarks has been hired by Network Ten as their new breakfast show host. ...

In 2009 Henry said he was "iffy" about a proposed law change to allow gay couples to adopt children in New Zealand and that homosexuality was "unnatural".

He also said people should not be frightened of saying that homosexuality was unnatural.

"It is unnatural, although homosexuality is through all species," he said.

[Continued here]

• 'Henry failed in New Zealand, why bring him here?' [New Zealand Herald, November 7, 2011]

He confirmed he would receive a pay packet worth more than $1 million for his new role at the network.

However Australians are less than excited about a New Zealander fronting the new show. ...

One reader said his accent was "like fingernails on a blackboard". Another called Henry's voice a turn-off and said his manner was "pathetic".

West Hollywood Sheriff Allegedly Arrests & Returns Gay Man After Escaping
Torture in the US Army [We Ho Confidential, November 4, 2011]

When I was 18 years old, my dad made me join the Army in order to get my life together and become more of a man (in other words...straight.) I was desperate for my father's love since after I came out, he didn't take it that well after beating me up. I joined the army and 2 months before basic training graduation, I was led on by a guy and was framed for homosexual conduct.

During the investigation, I was constantly bullied for my "lifestyle" of being gay and for being who I was. This time for me was very depressing, horrible, and I was desperate to get out. In late November of 2007, I went AWOL and moved to California. I met wonderful people of all walks of life and finally found my chosen family. I've lived a happy and beautiful life working in LGBT rights, running marathons, and being with my friends.

On Oct 31st 2011, I was arrested in West Hollywood on the way to a friend's house for no reason at all. The sheriffs found about my warrant and took me in. I was just released from LA County Jail but have to report to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to surrender myself in....

[Continued here]

Off the Bus: Three passengers say they were kicked off a Spokane bus for discussing bisexuality
[Pacific Northwest Inlander, November 2, 2011]

It was 16-year-old Mat Kellogg's first time riding the bus in Spokane. But Kellogg, a kid from Deer Park attending Spokane Falls Community College, never finished that ride.

Nor did Jessica Jahn, 21, and Kaitlyn Bahn, 24, who were with him. They are all transsexuals - born one gender but taking hormones to become the other. And they all say they were kicked off the bus in the middle of a South Hill neighborhood, a mile from their bus stop, for discussing bisexuality.

Yet, the riders say that their conversation was never explicit or offensive - unless the words "bisexual" or "queer" are offensive - and that by the time they were actually kicked off the bus, there were no other passengers onboard.

"I know she broke the law," Jahn says of the bus driver.

[Continued here]

Gay couple allegedly booted from CTA for kiss
[Windy City Times, November 2, 2011]

The two men say that the driver yelled homophobic slurs at them and called police after they refused to leave the bus.

Christopher Buchanan, 22, and his boyfriend Derrell Hughes boarded a 146 southbound bus in Lakeview on Oct. 22, after leaving an afternoon program at the Broadway Youth Center, Buchanan said.

"I was holding his hand and kissing and whatnot," Buchanan told Windy City Times.

As the bus approached downtown, he said, a middle-aged White woman approached the bus driver to complain about the two.

The driver allegedly got up and told Buchanan and Hughes that someone had complained about them and that they needed to get off his bus.

"He was really in my face," said Buchanan. "He said 'you bitches need to get off the bus.I can't stand fags.'"

[Continued here]

Premier League manager accused of homophobia for saying his team played 'like fairies'
[Daily Mail, November 3, 2011]

A Premier League manager has been accused of homophobia after he criticised his team for playing 'like fairies'.

Furious viewers said the comment from QPR boss Neil Warnock on BBC sports show Match of the Day Live was a stereotype and should not have been screened.

The BBC's complaints department agreed the remark was unwelcome and apologised that it had not been redressed while the programme had been on air.

It said it would not take any further action because programme-makers had already 'expressed regret'.

[Continued here]

Lesbian couple ''humiliated'' by DMV experience [in Florida]
[WTSP, November 2, 2011]

A pair of Tampa Bay area newlyweds say they're furious and humiliated by their experience inside a Pinellas County DMV.

The lesbian couple says as they tried to get names changed on their driver's licenses, they were lied to by several employees, and then ultimately denied.

Rachel and Charlotte Lambert-Jolley say it started with Rachel's mom calling the DMV to find out if a same-sex couple would be allowed to get a new ID.

"He said pretty much, 'If they have a valid marriage license, we honor it,'" Rachel said.

[Continued here]

UTSA student says she was a victim of a hate crime
[KENS5, November 2, 2011]

For University of Texas San Antonio student Kristen Cooper, the last few days have been tough physically and emotionally. That's because she said she was assaulted by two men and claims it was all due to her being gay.

"Just still in shock and I'm trying really hard not to cry, but nothing like this should happen to anybody," said Cooper. "They (doctors) said I have a concussion, contusion and whiplash."

Cooper said she was at a Halloween party over the weekend at a northwest San Antonio apartment complex when attacked. She claims she was waiting for a ride when two men at the party punched her, drug her into their truck and drove off while allegedly punching her some more.

"It was bad, it hurt really bad, it was like full fist and I tried to fight them off, but I couldn't," said Cooper.

[Continued here]

• Kristen Cooper, Gay University Of Texas San Antonio Student, Allegedly Assaulted, Given Concussion [Huffington Post, November 3, 2011]

Police investigating attack on gay men as hate crime
[Contra Costa Times, November 2, 2011]

Two Long Beach men, a 19-year-old and 27-year-old, have been arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon in the attack, which violent crimes detectives are investigating as a hate crime, said Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.

At this time, detectives don't believe the incident is connected to three other attacks on gay men on July 24, 27 and 31, Pratt said.

The attacks on July 27 and 31 were investigated as hate incidents, and the July 24 assault was prosecuted as a hate crime. The attacker, Jorge Jhovanoy Ibarrias, 21, of Torrance, was sentenced to five years in state prison.

Monday's brazen attack occurred near The Gay and Lesbian Center of Greater Long Beach in front of several witnesses, who contacted police and paramedics for help, said one of the survivors, who requested his name not be used.

[Continued here]

• Suspects in Halloween attack on Long Beach gay men charged with hate crime [Press-Telegram, November 7, 2011]

Miss Virginia USA Lashes Out At Gay Roommate With Homophobic Slurs
[Think Progress, November 1, 2011]

A handful of people in Richmond, Virginia are calling on the Miss Universe Organization to speak out against current Miss Virginia Nikki Poteet, after the 24-year-old crown bearer allegedly directed homophobic slurs towards her gay roommate at a party on Saturday, October 29th. In a letter directed to the organization, Derek Powell - Poteet's roommate since January 2011 - claims Poteet became "extremely violent and physical and proceeded to call me and my boyfriend 'faggots' and 'cocksuckers'" at around 2 a.m. at their group house in Richmond, Virginia.

[Continued here]

• Miss Virginia Pageant Responds To Crown Holder's Anti-Gay Slurs: 'She Is Not Homophobic' [Think Progress, November 3, 2011]

MISS VIRGINIA PAGEANT: "We take those accusations seriously and have looked into this. Sadly, the claims are here say and unsubstantiated and therefore the article should never have been published.

[Colorado] Gay couple: targets of hate crime at home
[KWGN, October 31, 2011]

Lesbian partners in Parker say they're the victims of a frightening hate crime. Someone painted an anti-gay message on their garage and left a noose on their doorstep.

"You get words like 'homos' or 'you're going to burn in hell' and things of that nature, but 'kill the gay?' That's a threat against our lives so it was overwhelming," says Aimee Whitchurch.

It's the message she and her partner, Christel Conklin found on their garage door Friday. One day later, someone left a noose at their doorstep.

"The noose is where it really became shocking and scary," Whitchurch says.

As a gay couple, Aimee and Christel knew their lives wouldn't be easy, but they never thought their lives would be threatened.

"Usually in public it's fine," Conklin says. "We can go places and be accepted, but living is a different thing. People don't want you to be living near them."

[Continued here]

Gay man stabbed with broken beer bottle, thrown onto fire in apparent
hate crime in Reno, TX [Dallas Voice, October 31, 2011]

Burke Burnett said he was at a private party at about 1 a.m. when four men suddenly attacked him, stabbing him at least twice with a broken beer bottle before throwing him onto a fire. His attackers yelled things like "pussy-ass faggot," "gay bitch" and "cock-sucking punk," Burnett said.

Burnett said it took 30 stitches to close stab wounds to his back and forearm, as well as a cut above his left eye. He also sustained second-degree burns and severe bruises.

"They knew I was gay," Burnett said Monday. "I'm convinced they were trying to kill me."

Jeff Sugg, interim chief of the Reno Police Department, released a statement Monday afternoon saying: "The Reno Police Department is currently investigating an aggravated assault that took place last weekend. The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided when available."

[Continued here]

• 2 arrested in gay man's beating Posted on 02 Nov 2011 at 9:46am [Dallas Voice, November 2, 2011]

Reno Police Chief Jeff W. Sugg announced in a two-sentence statement this morning that Daniel Martin, 33, and James "Tray" Mitchell Laster III, 31, have been arrested in the beating of 26-year-old Burke Burnett.

Transgender attacker convicted [Border Mail, October 31, 2011]

A Lavington woman verbally vilified and hit a wheelchair-bound transgender woman with a garden shovel, a court has heard.

Christie Keighran, 22, was yesterday convicted for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and maliciously damaging property over the January 15 incident.

Her victim Donna Macklan, 41, was left with several injuries, including fractured vertebrae.

The court heard the attack was unprovoked.

[Continued here]

Catholic Bishops' 'Marriage Guy' Says Satan Makes People Gay
[Right Wing Watch, October 31, 2011]

Daniel Avila is the self-described "marriage guy" for the Catholic bishops. More formally, he is the policy advisor for marriage and family to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. He thinks people are gay because Satan was messing around with them while they were in their mothers' wombs. God, he says, has nothing to do with it.

[Continued here]

• Bishops' "Marriage Guy" Retracts Statement That Homosexuality Comes From Satan [Truth Wins Out, November 2, 2011]

Today, both the Boston Pilot and Daniel Avila issued statements apologizing for the publication of the piece, which was also removed from the newspaper's website. Judging by the tenor of Mr. Avila's remarks, it looks like the paper and/or the American bishops gave him quite the dressing-down.

Footballers suspended for finger play [Emirates 24/7, October 31, 2011]

The report Monday says Mohammed Nosrati, a defender for Persepolis, squeezed the backside of teammate Sheis Rezaei while the Tehran team's players celebrated a goal against Damash Gilan.

After Persepolis scored again in the 3-2 victory, Rezaei seems to have also squeezed an unidentified teammate, according to footage posted on YouTube.

Nosrati and Rezaei say they did not intend to offend anybody. Iran TV said they were indefinitely banned from entering any stadium and could face even more sanctions.

[Continued here]

Rome Hospital Accused Of Turning Away Lesbian Blood Donor
[Worldcrunch, October 31, 2011]

Donating blood is one more civic act that Italian gay rights activists now say must be explicitly protected by law. The latest controversy comes after a woman in Rome says she was not allowed to give blood at one of the city's largest hospitals because she is a lesbian.

The 39-year-old accounting firm employee, referred to as "Angela," says she was told by a hospital official at Policlinico Umberto I that she is "considered at risk" because of her personal life. The woman says she has had a monogamous relationship with another woman for more than the 120 days required to exclude the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.

"There is no law that bans homosexuals from donating blood," said Gabriella Girelli, director of the blood transfusion center at Umberto I. "In general, 'at risk' people cannot do it. It's up to the examining doctor to determine the risk on the base of the information provided."

Roberto Stocco, spokesman for the Rome chapter of the Arcigay association, says denying someone the possibility to donate blood is a violation of Italian law. He added that he was skeptical about Girelli's claim that she cannot refer to the specifics of the case to protect patient privacy.

"It is an exercise in stupidity," says Ivan Scalfarotto, an official for the opposition Democratic Party. "Since AIDS is transmitted via blood and sperm, lesbians are considered not at risk."

[Continued here]

US Christian university forces staff to declare heterosexuality
[Pink News, October 31, 2011]

Shorter University, Georgia, is set to ask its 200 staff to sign statements assuring their employer they are not gay.

The move, which is legal as the university is privately funded, will see anyone who does not adhere to the Personal Lifestyle Statement risking immediate dismissal.

The statement also requires staffers to reject premarital sex and adultery.

It is mandatory for new employees and current employees whose contracts are due to be renewed.

[Continued here]

Domaine Javier, California Baptist University Transgender Student, Expelled After
Applying As Female [Huffington Post, October 30, 2011]

A California nursing student claims she was expelled from a private Christian university after revealing herself as transgender on an MTV reality program.

As The Riverside Press-Enterprise is reporting, 24-year-old Domaine Javier, who has identified as female since she was a toddler, said California Baptist University officials told her she was expelled for falsely claiming on her application form that she is female. Letters sent to Javier from university officials say she was expelled for "committing or attempting to engage in fraud, or concealing identity" in university judicial processes.

[Continued here]

VA nurse accused of anti-gay tirade [Dallas Voice, October 27, 2011]

A wounded lesbian Marine veteran who sought mental health treatment at the Dallas VA Medical Center claims she was subjected to an extended anti-gay tirade by a nurse practitioner.

Esther Garatie, 28, a former Marine lance corporal who lives in Dallas, has filed complaints against the nurse practitioner, Lincy Pandithurai of Cedar Hill, with both the VA Medical Center and the Texas Board of Nursing. ...

She said she went to the Dallas VA Medical Center on Oct. 12 to seek treatment for severe depression and possible post-traumatic stress disorder - including thoughts of suicide.

In a three-page written statement about the incident, Garatie alleges that Pandithurai inquired about her sexual orientation at the outset of their meeting. After Garatie responded that she was a lesbian, Pandithurai told Garatie she was living in sin and said that was the reason for her mental health issues, according to the statement.

"She sat down and looked at me, and her first question was, 'Are you a lesbian?'" Garatie wrote in the statement. "Her second question to me was, 'Have you asked God into your heart? Have you been saved by Jesus Christ?' This is when I realized that I was no longer a United States veteran in her eyes, I was just a homosexual."

The session lasted for more than three hours, with Pandithurai citing the Bible and repeatedly telling Garatie she was living in darkness and would be doomed to hell if she didn't "come back to 'the light,'" according to the statement.

[Continued here]

Puerto Rico Police Investigate Another Possible Anti-Gay Hate Crime
[Edge Boston, October 26, 2011]

According to el Nuevo Día José Juan Jiménez Santiago, 55, was found in front of a local business around 6:40 a.m. with head and shoulder wounds. The newspaper reported that investigators have yet to uncover a clear motive behind Jiménez murder, but his death has shaken the town.

Jiménez life-long friend, Jorge Marrero García, told el Nuevo Día that he last saw him around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Jiménez asked Marrero for $5 to buy some hamburgers, but the newspaper reported that he did not tell him to where he was going. Investigators said that they know that Jiménez visited a late night restaurant and a cafeteria with four other people after Marrero last saw him.

An investigator told Primera Hora that those who had gathered at the scene suspected that Jiménez was gay, but relatives did not provide any details of his possible sexual orientation to the police. The newspaper further reported that Jiménez's family told investigators that they did not suspect his death was a hate crime.

[Continued here]

Antigay School Beating Caught on Tape
[The Advocate, October 27, 2011]

A brutal case of antigay bullying in an Ohio high school has been caught by cell phone video and is emblematic of violence experienced or feared by LGBT students every day.

The video catches the attacker waiting for the gay student, a 15-year-old boy named in the report as "Zack" by ABC's WSYX in Ohio. The station interviewed the victim's mother, who describes what she saw of the vicious beating on tape.

"The boy stood there and waited on him, and waited on him, and waited on him," she told WSYX. "And then as soon as he walks in the door, the boy hits him. Zack walks away, 'What did I do? Why are you doing this?' And he keeps walking away."

But then the boy grabs Zack, stands over him on the ground and delivers at least seven punches in quick succession, the smacks audible on the tape.

[Continued here]

• Boy Assaults Gay Student as Cellphone Captures Attack [ABC News, October 30, 2011]
• Second Teen in Two Weeks Attacked in Ohio School [Equality Ohio, November 2, 2011]

A second teenager in just two weeks was beaten in an Ohio public school by a another student because of homophobia. On Tuesday, November 1st, a student at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, was called "fag" and "faggot" by another student, before that student punched him in the head several times. The victim has a possible concussion and is currently undergoing emergency medical testing; the student is unable to attend school for at least one week. The victim does not identify as gay, but he does have a lesbian sister and has been harassed about that for four years.

A teacher at the school broke up the assault and took the victim to the school nurse. The attacker will be suspended from school for five days, and his schedule will be altered so it does not overlap with the victim's.

This incident comes only a week after a 15-year-old teenager in Chillicothe, Ohio was severely beaten in his high school class room for being gay. That attack occurred at Unioto High School and was caught on camera as fellow class members watched one teen wait for the victim to enter the room, push him to the ground and continually punch him in the face.

• Second School Beating in Ohio; Felony Charged in the First [The Advocate, November 3, 2011]

Felony charges were filed today against the Ohio student whose attack on a gay student was videotaped and posted online, according to local news reports. And now a second attack is being investigated for being hate-motivated. ...

A freshman at Westerville South High School was called "fag" and "faggot" while being beaten up, and was then left with a concussion, according to an account of the fight from his mother. The student does not identify as gay but has a lesbian sister, and that's made him the target of bullying for four years, the mother says.

• ACLU threatens lawsuit against Unioto [Lancaster Eagle Gazette, November 15, 2011]

At a press conference Monday in Columbus, James Hardiman, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said the advocacy group would represent the family of Zach, a Unioto High School freshman who was attacked by a classmate Oct. 17, reportedly because he's openly gay. ...

Joined by Zach and his mother, Hardiman said he hopes to resolve the situation by way of an informal meeting with Union-Scioto administrators rather than through legal action. Hardiman requested the sit-down in a letter sent Friday to Union-Scioto Superintendent Dwight Garrett and Unioto High School Principal Jim Osborne.

"We have reached out to the school to make certain they understand and appreciate what we're trying to accomplish," Hardiman said. "We will not hesitate, however, if a response is not forthcoming, to take appropriate legal action."

The letter, dated Nov. 11, asks the district's "legal counsel or insurance carrier" respond to the ACLU within 10 days. ...

Hardiman said he does not take issue with the district's anti-bullying policy itself but rather the failure to enforce it.

"It's not enough to have a policy on paper. The policy must have meaning -- it must have teeth," he said. "... Having a policy in place and not enforcing it is tantamount to not having a policy at all."

• Victim of Brutal LGBT Bullying in Ohio School Tells His Story [ACLU, February 2, 2012]

The type of anti-gay harassment Zach was forced to endure at his school is unacceptable. However, we know that stories like his are far from rare. Similar harassment is taking place across the country, creating a toxic environment that denies LGBT students their right to an equal education.

A 2009 study of more than 7,000 LGBT middle and high school students across the U.S. found that nine out of ten reported experiencing harassment at their school within the past year based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and two-thirds said they felt unsafe at school because of who they are.

The ACLU of Ohio is representing both Zach and his mother, and is working with his high school to ensure that something like this never happens again. School officials need to proactively address discrimination and harassment against LGBT students when it is brought to their attention, as well as work to foster a campus climate in which all students feel safe and welcome.

Police release CCTV image of gay pub attack
[Pink News, October 26, 2011]

The incident took place at about 12.40am on Tuesday October 25th at the Rainbow and Dove Pub in Charles Street.

The image is of a man police wish to identify and trace in connection with the incident.

Two victims, aged 20 and 21, are being treated in hospital. One suffered "life-changing" burn injuries to his face, while the other received injuries to his hands.

Early reports suggested they were doused in a flammable liquid which was somehow set alight.

Police say there is no indication that the incident was motivated by homophobia, although they are treating it as an assault.

Detective Inspector Simon Preston, who is overseeing the investigation, said: "We have been actively investigating the incident and studying CCTV footage from the area in a bid to identify the person responsible.

[Continued here]

• 2 British Men Burned in Attack at Gay Pub [Edge Boston, October 27, 2011]
• Horror as man is set on fire in Leicester pub garden [This Is Leicestershire, October 26, 2011]

A man suffered horrific burns to his face after he was set on fire in a pub garden.

The victim was taken to hospital early yesterday after the incident at the Rainbow and Dove, in Charles Street, Leicester city centre.

He was placed on a ventilator and heavily sedated.

A second man suffered less serious burns to his hand and forearm.

Both men, aged 20 and 22, remained in Nottingham City Hospital last night where their condition was described as "stable".

Detectives said the men were injured in the pub's small beer garden at 12.40am yesterday.

They are thought to have been doused with a flammable liquid - which police have not yet been able to identify - which then somehow ignited.

A 24-year-old man was last night being questioned in connection with the incident.

The pub is popular with the gay community, but detectives said last night they did not believe they were dealing with a homophobic "hate crime".

What is prejudice-motivated crime (PMC)? [Sydney Star Observer, October 26, 2011]

It is a criminal act which is defined in the Sentencing Act 1991 as a crime wholly or partly motivated by prejudice or hatred towards a person or a group because of a particular characteristic, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, sex, age, disability or homelessness.

PMC can take many forms, including harassment, verbal abuse, threats to destroy or damage property, and in more serious cases, physical violence. ...

On Christmas evening 2010 two gay men were holding hands, walking along Sydney Rd, Brunswick, when two men in a car subjected them to verbal abuse directed at their sexual orientation.

After both men ignored the homophobic abuse, one of the offenders threw a plastic bottle at them. A passerby became concerned, noted the registration of the offenders' vehicle and called police. As the witness called police, one of the victims was struck in the back of the head by one of the offenders.

The two gay men where chased and assaulted by the original two offenders, with another two men joining them. Ultimately four men caused serious injuries to the victims. When police arrived, the four offenders had left.

Detectives from Brunswick Criminal Investigations Unit undertook a thorough investigation, which relied greatly on the registration number provided by the passerby.

On Monday, October 17 at Sunshine Magistrates Court, one of the very first court sentencings of PMC relating to sexuality was heard. Four offenders pled guilty to charges of intentionally causing injury, three offenders were found guilty and police prosecutions immediately requested that prejudice-motivation provisions of the sentencing Act be taken into account.

Based on the evidence of homophobic abuse, the magistrate found beyond reasonable doubt that one offender acted because of a prejudice against the homosexuality of the victims, with an additional sentence being placed on top.

[Continued here]

Was Eva Longoria's 'Without Men' Scrubbed of its Lesbian Scenes for Distribution in Spain?
[She Wired, October 25, 2011]

There is a bit of a she said / he said situation happening between reps at a film festival in Spain and the Spanish based company responsible for distributing the Eva Longoria starrer Without Men over whether or not the distribution company scrubbed the film of its lesbian scenes. ...

"We are very angry that a distributor can modify the content of a film," Daniel told THR. "The audience will not understand the film, because all the lesbian scenes are cut out. It is unbelievable in the year 2011."

The film, costarring Christian Slater and Kate del Castillo and directed by Gabriela Tagliavini, is based on the novel by James Canon about life in a Latin American village once communist guerilla fighters recruit the town's men to leave and fight.

While film festival reps claims the film was censored, spokespeople for Tayrona Entertainment, the film's distribution company in Spain, begged to differ asserting that the film was "re-edited" for a mainstream audience.

[Continued here]

Demoted for not backing gay marriage: housing manager's pay slashed for
criticising new law on Facebook [Daily Mail, October 22, 2011]

Adrian Smith, a Christian, was found guilty of gross misconduct by his publicly funded housing association for saying that allowing gay weddings in churches was 'an equality too far'.

He posted the comment in his own time, on his personal page on the Facebook website, which could not be read by the general public.

But after a disciplinary hearing, he was downgraded from his £35,000-a-year managerial job to a much less senior £21,000 post - and avoided the sack only because of his long service.

[Continued here]

• Man demoted over gay marriage Facebook post sues employer [BBC, October 24, 2011]
• Housing chief admits demoting Christian to protect award from gay charity [Daily Mail, October 29, 2011]

Serbian Gays Protest Govt's Blind Eye to Anti-Gay Violence
[Edge Boston, October 21, 2011]

Gay Serbs publicly denounced what they felt to be the government's blind eye to their concerns, including an incident of anti-gay violence in which a lesbian was attacked by a knife-wielding youth who police promptly let go.

A crowd of about 200 hundred gathered with placards and flags before a government building in Belgrade, reported BalkanInsight.com on Oct. 19.

The protest was partly a response to a knife attack that targeted a 26-year-old lesbian, evidently because she had been wearing a shirt emblazoned with a message of GLBT equality and acceptance. The police apprehended the attacker, but immediately let him go again. The official explanation was that because he was a minor, police could not charge him for the crime.

Meantime, the victim of the attack sustained severe injuries to the tendons of her right arm. She sent out a letter from her hospital bed in which she encouraged GLBTs to stand up for themselves. ...

"I know that my friends are afraid to report similar attacks that are happening to them but I have decided not to withdraw," the young woman wrote. "I defended myself that night, and now I do not want to keep it quiet! And it does not matter whether I'm lesbian or straight--someone tried to kill me!"

[Continued here]

Channel 11 Talks To Man Who Said 2 Men Set His Leg On Fire
[WPXI, October 18, 2011]

Steven Iorio, 37, has a scar that's a constant reminder of the September incident.

"I just wish it never happened," said Iorio.

Tina Cook said she got a frantic phone call from her friend.

"I saw his leg and said, 'We got to get you to the hospital,'" said Cook.

Heidelberg police have charged Brandon Washington and David Blair with aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation.

An eyewitness told investigators that the men poured a bottle of rum on Iorio and then lit him on fire while he was sleeping because he is gay.

[Continued here]

Connecticut Musical Stirs Controversy After 2 Men Kiss During Performance
[CBS, October 17, 2011]

A Connecticut high school musical causes a public walkout after two men in the cast kissed during the performance.

It happened during the "Zanna Don't!" musical at Hartford Public High School last Friday.

"There are always circumstances (in organizing these programs) under which the values of the student or their family come into play," said Adam Johnson, principal of the Government and Law Academy at the high school, told CBS Connecticut.

He added that many students expressed a desire to skip the show due to the subject matter.

[Continued here]

Holland [, Michigan] pastor released from jail after he protests for gay rights
[MLive, October 20, 2011]

The Rev. Bill Freeman was released from jail late Wednesday after he was arrested at Holland City Hall protesting the city's gay-rights stance.

Freeman, minister of Interfaith Congregation, was arrested Wednesday night after he refused to leave City Hall.

He has worked to expand the city's anti-discrimination ordinance to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Police had twice asked him to leave the city building but he refused. He was handcuffed and taken to the Ottawa County Jail.

[Continued here]

Gay couple subjected to anti-gay abuse on London train
[Pink News, October 22. 2011]

The incident happened just before 6pm on the 17:38 Hampstead Heath to Stratford service on Saturday October 1st.

According to British Transport Police, the male couple were sitting in the first carriage close to another man, who began making rude and inappropriate remarks.

The abuse became worse and the couple left the train at Canonbury and called police. Their abuser remained on the train.

[Continued here]

Three Northern Cyprus men arrested for gay sex
[Pink News, October 19, 2011]

The men were arrested in a private home in north Nicosia last Thursday and have already spent five days in custody.

Turkish Cypriot police have applied to hold them for a further two days, citing the need for more time to investigate.

They were arrested on the charge of "conspiring to have a sexual intercourse against the order of nature", an offence which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. ...

Unlike Cyprus, the Northern Republic still has British colonial laws against homosexuality. In July, newspaper reports said two men were arrested for having sex in a hotel.

Cypriot members of the European Parliament, Eleni Theocharous and Ioannis Kasoulides, have called for the immediate release of the three men.

They said: "These arrests are in full breach of international law and the human right to private life. Charging them is illegal under human rights law, denies their most basic rights, and is wholly unnecessary as no harm was done. Consenting adults have the right to engage in sexual intercourse with people of the same sex, these men must be freed now."

[Continued here]

• Turkish Cypriots Urged To Scrap Anti-Gay Law After Ex-Minister's Arrest [Huffington Post, October 20, 2011]

An EU legislator urged the leader of Cyprus' breakaway Turkish north on Thursday to repeal an anti-gay law that led to the arrest of a former Greek Cypriot Cabinet minister.

Lawmaker Marina Yannakoudakis raised the issue during a meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, and a top government official said Eroglu agreed that the law should be scrapped. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with government regulations.

Yannakoudakis, whose parents are Greek Cypriots, was visiting the ethnically divided island with other European Union legislators for contacts with the Turkish Cypriot community.

"I was horrified when I heard that they hadn't repealed the law," said Yannakoudakis, a Conservative Party member of the European Parliament for London.

[North Carolina State University] GLBT Center vandalized
[Technician, October 18, 2011]

The outside of the GLBT Center office in Harrelson Hall was vandalized Monday night. Purple spray paint covered the door and display cases with slurs like "fags burn" and "DIE."

Sergeant Jeff Sutton of Campus Police said the vandalism occurred in a span of about 25 minutes, some time between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

"We do not have any suspects at this time. We're going to try to look at some camera footage going into Harrelson Hall during that time frame," Sutton said.

Adam Ward, a graduate student in comparative biomedical sciences, is a graduate adviser for the GLBT Center.

"No one was able to see who sprayed-painted this, but believe me, there will be a University response. We will continue working with University Police, and I thank all of our community members and allies for standing up for equality and what's right," Ward said in a Facebook post.

[Continued here]

Dustin Lance Black slams GQ Australia
[Same Same, October 18, 2011]

Out writer, director and gay activist Dustin Lance Black has accused the Australian edition of GQ magazine of outdated homophobia.

In the GQ Australia interview with Taylor Lautner, the writer asked the Twilight star whether Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant (both who are openly gay) made a pass at him when the three had previously met at a restaurant.

After seeing the article, Black wrote a blog post on his website blasting the GQ Australia writer, saying the publication was guilty of publishing outdated "lies, myths and stereotypes about gay men."

"Really, Mr. GQ writer?" he questioned. "I'm curious, will you be asking all of the handsome actors I've ever had the privilege of working with or meeting if I made passes at them as well? I'd love to be there when you ask Sean Penn that same question. Or, Mr. GQ writer, were you projecting your own unprofessional desires onto me and Gus? Perhaps? Or worse still, are you a homophobe?

[Continued here]

Lesbian couple arrested after marriage license refused
[QNotes, October 14, 2011]

A lesbian couple twice refused a marriage license by the Buncombe County Register of Deeds refused to leave the government office today and initiated a sit-in. The two were arrested.

Rev. Kathryn Cartledge and Elizabeth Eve, her partner of 30 years, were among the first couples to request a license last week as a part of the Coalition for Southern Equality's "We Do" Campaign. They were the last couple request a license for a second time today and refused to leave the office after their denial. The two were arrested at about 4 p.m. after being asked to leave and continuing their sit-in. They have been charged with trespassing and were immediately released by local law enforcement.

The civil disobedience was the culmination of a two-week-long campaign organized by the Coalition for Southern Equality and comes as campaigns form to defeat an anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment on marriage and civil unions. About two dozen same-sex couples have been denied marriage licenses over the course of the group's "We Do" Campaign. The group organized several couples in requesting the licenses each weekday since Oct. 3.

[Continued here]

IUP Professor Accused Of Making Homophobic Comments
[CBS, October 14, 2011]

A local college student claims she was bullied by her professor because she's a lesbian.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is conducting an investigation and the claim sparked a tolerance rally on campus.

Christina Santiago, a graduate student, says the comments were made by a professor teaching a business class.

Santiago says another student brought up the topic of sex changes and says the professor then brought up homosexuality.

"The professor then said to the class that homosexuals are disgusting, unnatural and abnormal," said Santiago.

[Continued here]

• IUP Professor Allegedly Made Homophobic Comments Before [CBS, October 17, 2011]

Now, an IUP graduate has contacted KDKA-TV to say the same thing happened to him five years ago with the same professor, and he says his heart broke when he heard that it had happened to someone else.

"You see teenagers and college students committing suicide because they don't feel accepted, and you know we just can't afford to lose another life to bullying," said Michael Heller. "Especially from a university professor - a tenured university professor - who should be teaching business not bigotry." ...

Heller says he had to leave the room because he was in tears. "It destroyed me because at that point in my life, I wasn't really sure who I was," said Heller. "I had just come out of the closet a few years earlier."

Heller says he complained to IUP at the time and is frustrated that current students are allegedly hearing the same comments.

Lawmaker seeks to get Catholic Charities back in foster care
[State Journal-Register, October 14, 2011]

Catholic Charities would be able to continue its foster care and adoption services without serving same-sex couples under legislation introduced this week by state Sen. Kyle McCarter.

The bill would amend the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act to allow religious-based child-welfare agencies and those operated or owned by a religious organization to refer such couples to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for other adoption and foster care options.

[Continued here]

Christian School Pulls Ohio Man's Alum Page After They Find Out He's Gay
[Lez Get Real, October 14, 2011]

David Emerson is a producer, an on-air personality for a Columbus, Ohio radio station, and an openly gay man. Now he is at the center of a controversy because of his old school. You see, David is also an alumnus of the Delaware Christian School in his native Ohio, and they are no longer pleased that he is an alum of their school. ...

As for David, he is very hurt by what they did. He stated "I think being a Christian gay man, its more hurtful than anything. There is just no room for discrimination or hate anymore. . . I'm a human being, and so is every other person out there that is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or straight. . .They really need to rethink this. And to have open minds and really remember in the end, love is what matters."

[Continued here]

Union H.S. Students Debate Teacher's Anti-Gay Facebook Posts
[CBS, October 14, 2011]

One day after Union High School officials escorted a teacher off school property, students were still talking about her anti-gay comments she posted on Facebook.

The school district is investigating English teacher Viki Knox because along with the comment, she posted a picture of a display at the school celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender history month.

"Homosexuality is a perverted spirit...I know sin and it breeds like cancer!" Knox posted. "Why parade your unnatural immoral behaviors before the rest of us? YOU ARE WRONG."

"Technically it's under freedom of speech and that's on her own time," senior Eddie Sprague told CBS 2's Christine Sloan.

[Continued here]

• Gay rights activists to protest teacher's Facebook post at Union school board meeting [NJ.com, October 17, 2011]

• Anti-Gay Teacher's Students Allege Classroom Homophobia [Edge Boston, October 19, 2011]

A New Jersey high school teacher who compared being gay to cancer in Facebook posts and said that she teaches anti-gay messages was not exaggerating: A student demonstrating outside the school before an Oct. 18 school board meeting told the media that Viki Knox taught her students during class time that being gay is a "sin" that "breeds like cancer," sentiments identical to the ones she posted online.

The controversial Facebook posts have brought the issues of school safety, faith-based prejudice, and free speech to a boiling point in Union Township, NJ. Crowds on both sides of the issue gathered outside the school before the school board meeting, with students carrying signs reading "No Hate in Our State" while supporters of Knox, many of them older, held up signs with slogans such as "Viki Has A Right" and "Don't Bully Viki." ...

"Hateful public comments from a teacher cannot be tolerated," Paragano declared. "She has a right to say it. But she does not have a right to keep her job after saying it."

Alice Cheerleader Kicked-Off Squad, Suspended From School, After Camera's Catch
Him Kissing Another Male Student [KRIS, October 14, 2011]

A kiss has conjured up controversy at Alice High School.

A male cheerleader said he was kicked off the squad and suspended after he was caught kissing another male student on campus.

The young man spent countless hours practicing every day for years to make the varsity cheer squad, and he had it all taken away from him in an instant.

Perhaps most surprising, is the way the student was caught. Not in person by a teacher, but by surveillance camera, leading the young man to believe he was being watched and targeted by school officials simply because of his sexual orientation.

[Continued here]

• Alice Cheerleader Condemns District For Refusing To Reverse Decision [KZTV, October 17, 2011]

An Alice High School cheerleader caught in a controversial kiss is sounding-off against the school district for refusing to overturn the decision to remove him from the squad.

The 17-year old said he was kicked-off of his high school cheerleading squad after he was suspended for kissing another boy, after the kiss was caught on a school surveillance camera.

After we first reported the story Alice ISD said it would review the high school principal's decision to suspend the boy.

Late Monday afternoon, the district released a statement announcing that they had completed their review and will stand by their original decision to remove the boy from the squad.

The district said the teen was not punished for the kiss but didn't explain what he did wrong. They only said that the student and his parents are aware of what prompted the punishment.

The district also says the boy's parents are in agreement with the decision, but the teen claims that those statements are not true.

The teen did release a statement saying; "As much as a heartbreak that it is that I can't cheer anymore, the only thing I care about is getting a message out, that no matter what, you are who are you are and no one ever has a say in it or should treat you different. No one can be better at being you than yourself."

The student said, although he feels shunned by district officials, he has been overwhelmed by the support he's received from his peers.

Culinary workers expand anti-UFC campaign
[USA Today, October 13, 2011]

In its latest step against the Fertitta brothers' mixed martial arts business, Culinary Workers Union Local 226 has penned a letter to Anheuser-Busch, calling on the beer company to pull its Bud Light sponsorship of UFC. The union wants Anheuser-Busch to stop its UFC affiliation and says the MMA promotion has "a history of tolerating homophobic conduct."

[Continued here]

Learn about gay and trans kids? No. Have them protest abortion? Okay.
[Rabble.ca, October 13, 2011]

A group of parents in B.C. are adamantly opposed to the Burnaby school district enacting an LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policy. Catholic school districts in Ontario want to ban rainbows and Gay-Straight Alliances. Charles McVety's contention that LGBT-inclusive and -positive sex education "is truly sexually violating little boys and girls" is now being repeated (with nicer wording) as the conclusion of National Post columnists. Teach kids to coexist with gay and trans kids? You can't do that.

Teach them to march in anti-abortion protests? Sure, why not?

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, students are being given full credits for doing so, and principal David Hood is considering making it an official school activity.

[Continued here]

Guy Fieri in Diners, Drive-Ins, and Disasters
[Citipages Restaurants, October 12, 2011]

"You have to protect Guy from all of his poop jokes," Page says. "Anytime any woman mentioned 'cream,' Guy went into a sexual riff. When cutting the show, you had to tell the editors to watch Guy's eye line, because it's always on breasts."

Fieri also needed protection from homosexuals, or at least advance warning. Early in the show's run, Page got a phone call from Fieri, who'd just walked out of a restaurant in a huff.

"Guy had decided that the two men running the restaurant were life partners," Page remembers. "He said, 'You can't send me to talk to gay people without warning! Those people weird me out!'"

From then on, show researchers were required to note any indications of homosexuality detected during pre-interviews. (Fieri declined to comment for this story through his spokespeople.)

[Continued here]

Judge slams anti-gay former state attorney for trying to short-circuit lawsuit
[Detroit Free Press, October 12, 2011]

A federal judge knocked former assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell today for trying to find a shortcut way of wrapping up a lawsuit against him.

"You're basically at the beginning of the lawsuit trying to get to the end," U.S. District judge Arthur Tarnow said. "You're wasting a lot of energy."

Shirvell, who is representing himself, was in federal court trying get Tarnow to throw out the majority of a lawsuit filed against him by Christopher Armstrong, the former student body president of the University of Michigan.

In his suit, Armstrong claims that Shirvell, among other things, inflicted intentional emotional harm through his actions during Armstrong's senior year, when Shirvell wrote a blog highly critical of Armstrong's homosexual lifestyle, including accusing him of getting minors to drink alcohol and trying recruit others to become homosexuals.

Shirvell has countersued, saying he's the victim and that Armstrong is responsible for his recent professional troubles. Shirvell was fired by the state Attorney General's Office in November for using his state computer to update the blog and then lying to investigators about it.

[Continued here]

Speakers at Muslim conference noted for disparaging gays and Jews
[Toronto Star, October 12, 2011]

Four of the six speakers scheduled to appear at an upcoming Muslim conference at a downtown hotel have made anti-gay or anti-Semitic remarks.

The "Calling the World Back to Allah" conference is part of the "Canada Launch Tour" of the Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA), a British organization seeking to establish a presence in Toronto and Montreal.

The conference is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Sheraton Centre. Gay activists in Britain denounced a hotel chain in January for hosting a London IERA event involving several of the same speakers.

One of the speakers expected in Toronto, Malaysian convert Hussain Yee, has said "the Jews" are "the most extremist nation in this world." He also suggested that Jews perpetrated and celebrated the 9/11 attacks.

Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, a British convert, has argued that open displays of homosexuality should be made a crime.

[Continued here]

Bomb Threat Fails to Derail First-Ever Equality Event in Tupelo
[Out In The Silence, October 10, 2011]

The venue hosting a screening of "Out In The Silence" as part of a first-of-its-kind pro- lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality event in Tupelo, Mississippi, received an anonymous bomb threat this afternoon.

The threat occurred at the Link Centre on Main Street as organizers and allies were gathering outside the building to welcome attendees and offer a public display of support for efforts to raise LGBT visibility and build the local movement for inclusion, justice and equality for all.

Tupelo holds special significance as the setting for these events as headquarters for the American Family Association (AFA), a national organization designated as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for the "thoroughly discredited falsehoods and demonizing propaganda it pumps out about homosexuality and other sexual minorities."

[Continued here]

Beating Up Gays Has Become Favorite Sport of Bullies in São Paulo, Brazil
[BrazzilMag, October, 2011]

Another incident involving an attack to homosexuals has occurred at the famous business district of Paulista Avenue, in São Paulo, Brazil, which is also one of the major tourist points of the city. According to Bandeirantes TV news, the couple was kicked and punched several times.

The aggression occurred around 4 am this past Sunday. The two gay men had just left a night club along with a female friend.

Two men attempted to flirt with the gay couple's female friend, however as she did not show any interest towards them, they followed the three of to a local convenience store and, upon making homophobic remarks, initiated a series of brutal attacks. One of the victims, a gay man, had bruises and a broken foot.

"They said we were crazy faggots and that we should die before spreading diseases around," said Marcos Paulo Villa, one of the victims.

It is not the first time that gays are attacked in this busy district of São Paulo. Paulista avenue is well known for several attacks against blacks and gays in the past and very little has been done to prevent such violence.

[Continued here]

Man jailed for setting his dog on woman in anti-gay attack
[Pink News, Octoer 7, 2011]

Jason Boswell, of Dean Road, Gorton, set his Japanese Akita on Karen Wilson in an unprovoked attack while she and another woman were cycling on the Fallowfield Loop last July.

Ms Wilson told the Manchester Evening News that Boswell began shouting homophobic abuse at them before trying to get his girlfriend to attack them.

He then shoved her friend Melanie Silgram off her bike and lashed her with a dog chain.

As he walked away, Ms Wilson took a photo of him to give to police.

He then returned and ordered his dog to "get" Ms Wilson.

It sank its teeth into her arm, causing puncture wounds and severe bruising.

[Continued here]

City of Atlanta denies wrongdoing in second Eagle lawsuit
[GA Voice, October 6, 2011]

The city of Atlanta denies police officers violated the constitutional rights of patrons when the Vice Unit and the now disbanded Red Dog Unit raided the gay Midtown bar the Atlanta Eagle two years ago. The denial comes in the form of a response to the second lawsuit filed over the botched raid bar on Sept. 10, 2009.

"City defendants assert that they took no action to deprive plaintiff's of any right, privilege, freedom or immunity secured by the Constitution" and the laws of Georgia and Atlanta, reads the response filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday, Oct. 6 - the day before Atlanta Pride kicks off.

The city's answer also states, "Insofar as Plaintiffs have been affected by the conduct of City Defendants, their actions were reasonable, proper, and necessary" and that the plaintiff's allegations "do not establish a constitutional violation."

[Continued here]

Anti-gay tirade ruins family's State Fair outing Dallas Voice, October 6, 2011]

When Latisha Pennington and Dondi Morse of Haltom City took their 7-year-old daughter to the Texas State Fair last weekend, they just wanted to have a fun day seeing the animals and trying out the fair's famed array of fried treats.

But the women said this week their plans were ruined when one vendor verbally gay-bashed them in front of their daughter, leaving the little girl in tears and forcing the family to cut their outing short.

Although Pennington acknowledges that it isn't hard to look at her and know she is a lesbian, that same isn't true for her partner. And the two of them weren't doing anything that day to attract attention; they weren't holding hands and they certainly weren't kissing or engaging in any kind of public displays of affection.

"We were just there to have fun with our daughter," Pennington said, adding that PDAs "just aren't our style."

But that wasn't enough to ward off some unwanted attention from the men at the booth for the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship in America.

[Continued here]

Students to speak out at Queer Our Schools rally
[Gay NZ, October 6, 2011]

One of the students speaking at today's Queer Our Schools rally in Wellington says his school tries to make him wear a skirt to formal functions and refuses to give him a locker because it will be covered with transphobic graffiti.

Student Ryan Shaddix will tell those who gather following a march from the Ministry of Education building to Midland Park that he believes education is a human right.

"I have the right to an education suited to my needs and on my terms, teaching me the things that I need to know," he says. ...

Among other things, they are demanding that the Ministry provide support for the development of student and community led Queer-Straight Alliances in every school throughout the country; making all schools accessible to transgendered, queer and gender-variant students through providing flexible dress codes and non-gendered bathrooms; and incorporating sexuality and gender diversity into school subjects such as history, science, health and English.

"Our demands should not come as a surprise, in fact it's long over-due; the ministry has consecutively failed, year after year, in its legal care-of-duty to provide safe and affirming environments for their students," says one of the protest organisers Kassie Hardendorp.

[Continued here]

Lesbian restaurant owner suspects 'hate crime' in vandalism
[Oregon Live, October 4, 2011]

Clackamas County sheriff's deputies are asking for the public's help in investigating a possible hate crime against an openly lesbian restaurant owner.

Deputy Marcus Mendoza, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said someone threw two concrete blocks through the windows of DaVinci's Ristorante Italiano, 12615 S.E. McLoughlin Blvd., and cut power to the building sometime late Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Mendoza said the vandalism followed a confrontation between restaurant owner Heather Molatore, 34, of Gladstone and a man who stormed out of the restaurant Saturday night after waiting for a table, angrily yelling and swearing as he left.

Molatore said the man had been waiting for about five minutes with two women for a table . After reading read an article posted on the lobby wall about Molatore and her partner, Felicia, the man burst out of the building, saying "Well, you girls have fun with your little restaurant," then slammed the front door so hard that he caused a picture to fall from the wall.

[Continued here]

Lesbian couple kicked out of local hotel for kissing
[KSDK, October 4, 2011]

The lesbian couple tells NewsChannel 5, they were trying to enjoy a day by the rooftop pool at the Four Seasons, when they say they were harassed for openly displaying affection. The hotel tells NewsChannel 5, it wasn't that simple.

"When we got into the Jacuzzi, and we were sitting close to one another and we were kissing that a member of security came over to us," said Teresa Folds.

Folds says the hotel security officer told her and her girlfriend, Juleigh Snell, they weren't allowed to kiss on the hotel property. They asked to speak with a manager.

"He said that they didn't even allow heterosexual couples to kiss on their property," said Folds.

"When we were explaining how gay people have rights, he basically insinuated that we were not a normal couple and should not be kissing," said Snell.

[Continued here]

Principal Assaults H.S. Student for Pro-Gay Shirt
[The Advocate, October 4, 2011]

A high school student in Madisonville, Tenn., said he was verbally and physically assaulted by his principal last week for wearing a T-shirt supporting the establishment of a gay-straight alliance at Sequoyah High School.

Chris Sigler wore a homemade T-shirt to school last Tuesday that read, "Gay Straight Alliance: We've Got Your Back," according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is assisting Sigler and other students in the matter. Though he was told to cover up his shirt that day, he wore the shirt again the following Friday.

Principal Maurice Moser came to Sigler's economic class in the middle of an exam, and demanded that all other students leave the room. Sigler's sister Jessica refused to leave. Both siblings said Moser grabbed Chris's arm, shoved him against a wall, and chest-bumped him several times, while asking, "Who's the big man now?" The attack ended when Sigler's mother arrived at the school to find Moser leaning over her son, shouting in his face. Moser eventually agreed not to formally suspend Chris, stipulating that the student leave the school grounds for the remainder of the day.

[Continued here]

• Tennessee High School Affirms Students' First Amendment Rights After Dispute Over Gay-Straight Alliance [ACLU, October 20, 2011]

The Monroe County Board of Education agreed yesterday to allow students to wear T-shirts in support of the formation of a gay-straight alliance (GSA) at the school. The board will also review its dress code to ensure that students' rights to free speech are protected. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee demanded that the board revise its policies after Sequoyah High School student Chris Sigler was reportedly harassed by students and staff for wearing a T-shirt supporting a GSA.

"A lot of kids get harassed at our school because they're gay or they have gay friends, and we just want a space where we can all support each other and do something positive," said Sigler. "We still want the GSA to be recognized as a club, but at least now the school won't punish us for peacefully expressing our opinions."

Last month, Sigler was reportedly physically and verbally harassed by Principal Maurice Moser for wearing a T-shirt in support of the club. Sigler has also reported harassment from fellow students.

Bloomington named GLBT-friendly city but incident teams respond most to GLBT crimes
[Indiana Daily Student, October 3, 2011]

One fall evening two years ago, senior Sabrina Prodhan held her girlfriend's hand as they walked around downtown Bloomington, gazing at all the different restaurants and trying to decide where to eat.

Neither of them paid much attention to a blue truck approaching them at the intersection of Kirkwood Avenue and Grant Street until a young woman with wavy brown hair rolled down the window and began screaming at them.

"You're going to burn in hell!" she shrieked. "We're going to beat your ass!"

The other passenger in the car - a young man - made no attempt to quiet her.

"I was scared. I didn't know if they were really serious about coming after us," Prodhan said. "I had no idea who she even was."

According to the summary of incidents reported to the IU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Anti-Harassment Team, there were 51 incidents from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

Only nine GLBT cases were included in the annual statistics on reported hate crime incidents released by Bloomington's Human Rights Commission. According to the report, individuals who appeared to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender were the biggest target of hate crimes in Bloomington. Incidents targeting GLBT individuals reportedly involved more violence than those targeting other groups.

[Continued here]

'Serial killer' may be targeting gay men in Johannesburg
[Pink News, October 3, 2011]

Four gay men have been discovered bound and strangled in their homes in the last ten months.

In each case, there was no sign of a break-in and little was stolen, the Independent reports.

In the most recent case, 39-year-old Barney Van Heerden was found bound and strangled in his Orange Grove home. Security guards found his car gate open and his front door unlocked.

[Continued here]

Religious Leaders Want to Block Ricky Martin from Entering Honduras
[Fox News, October 3, 2011]

An ecumenical group of religious leaders have demanded that the Honduran government deny a visa to Ricky Martin, arguing that he represents a bad moral example for the country's youth.

The pop star, who is set to perform in the country on Oct. 16 in the Chochi Sosa stadium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras as part of his Música + Alma + Sexo (MAS) tour, has church leaders scrambling to halt his entrance, reports the Honduran daily El Heraldo.

The Minister of Interior of Honduras, Áfrico Madrid, claims that Evangelical and Catholic leaders have solicited that he deny a visa to Martin in order to "protect the moral and ethical principles of our society."

Madrid claims that the religious leaders particularly object to Martin's non-traditional family. "His nuclear family is not the type of family that Honduran society, and laws, approve of."

[Continued here]

Tom Brown Calls El Paso Benefits For Gay Spouses 'Rewards For Homosexuals'
[On Top, October 2, 2011]

Brown, the leader of Word of Life Church, wants El Paso Mayor John Cook and two City Council members, Steve Ortega and Susie Byrd, ousted because they supported giving health insurance benefits to the unmarried domestic partners of city workers.

While Brown and his supporters have used anti-gay sentiment in their campaign, The New York Times reports that only 2 of the 19 city employees in domestic partnerships who received the benefit are gay.

The battle began in 2009, when the Council approved the benefit for the unmarried domestic partners of city employees. Opponents, led by Brown, forced a voter referendum, which was approved with 55 percent of the vote last November.

In June, the Council restored the insurance benefit. An outraged Brown countered with an effort to recall the mayor and two council members.

[Continued here]

Editors: An apology from the National Post [National Post, September 30, 2011]

[Note: Charles H. McVety's viciously anti-gay Institute for Canadian Values published a disgusting Trans-bashing ad in the National Post yesterday.]

Earlier this week the National Post ran an advertisement that has caused some controversy. The ad, bought by the Institute for Canadian Values, argued against aspects of the Ontario school curriculum that include instruction about certain aspects of human sexuality. Specifically, it objected to teaching young children - those between junior kindergarten and Grade 3 - about transsexual/transgender/intersexed/two-spirited issues.

The National Post has procedures in place for vetting the content of advertising, especially advocacy advertising. The procedures are intended to ensure that such ads meet a standard of tone and respect that is consistent with furthering constructive dialogue about important public policy issues.

In this case, those procedures were not followed. An ad that should not have run in its proposed form was allowed to run.

This ad will not run in the National Post again.

[Continued here]

• Mercedes Allen: Something brewing beneath transphobic ads in Ontario [Rabble.ca, October 5, 2011]

Assault Complaints Filed after Incident at Church
[WBBJ, September 28, 2011]

A gay Gibson County couple said they were assaulted when they tried to attend church services at the Grace Fellowship Church in Fruitland last Wednesday.

"I went over to take the keys out of the ignition and all the sudden I hear someone say 'sick'em,'" said Gibson County resident, Jerry Pittman Jr.

Pittman said the attacked was prompted by the pastor of the church, Jerry Pittman, his father.

"My uncle and two other deacons came over to the car per my dad's request. My uncle smash me in the door as the other deacon knocked my boyfriend back so he couldn't help me, punching him in his face and his chest. The other deacon came and hit me through my car window in my back," said Pittman. He said bystanders did not offer assistance. He said the deacon yelled derogatory homosexual slurs, even after officers arrived. He said the officers never intervened to stop the deacons from yelling the slurs.

[Continued here]

• Gibson County Pastor Charged With Stealing [WBBJ, October 6, 2011]

Thamesmead gay man haunted by hate mail and "sinner" graffiti
[This Is Local London, September 27, 2011]

A GAY man says he wants to move home after thugs sent him hate mail and scrawled the word "sinner" across his front door.

Anthony Rivers of Whinchat Road, Thamesmead, woke up to find the offensive graffiti when his partner was leaving for work.

But he had to wait four days for his housing association, Gallions, to remove it, despite the graffiti being flagged up as high priority.

The incident followed a hate campaign of abusive letters which he received over a number of weeks.

One letter told the 30-year-old to "burn in hell" for being homosexual while another said "men should only lay with women".

[Continued here]

Two gay men attacked by gang in possible hate crime in Immokalee
[Naples News, September 29, 2011]

Manuel Galan has not left his Immokalee home in a week.

The 27-year-old fears being attacked for his sexual orientation. Galan is gay.

"I'm scared to walk out the front door," Galan said. "In case someone sees me, alone, they can do more damage."

Galan and his friend, Cirildo Soliz, were jumped by five males last week, according to a Collier County sheriff's incident report. The two were walking together on Carson Road near Eden Avenue in Immokalee. The Sheriff's Office is calling it a possible hate crime.

"It was right in the middle of the street," Galan said. "People were walking all around us. No one stopped. No one did anything. It hurts me, I knew some of the people."

[Continued here]

Gaydar fraudster jailed for four years [Pink News, September 28, 2011]

Mark Andrew Bishop, 37, of no fixed abode, stole £300,000 from one of his nine known victims, although police say he may have targeted many more men.

He admitted to 11 charges of theft, fraud and deception committed over the last 11 years and asked for a further 27 offences to be taken into consideration.

Gloucestershire Police said Bishop used gay social networking sites such as Gaydar to gain the trust of gay men.

He would tell them a convincing story about needing a place to stay and then steal from them before moving on to his next victim.

PC Anita Barlow of Gloucestershire Police said: "He has left a trail of devastation behind him, using one man for all he can then moving onto his next victim.

[Continued here]

Arkhangelsk bans gay parades [Barents Observer, September 28, 2011]

A new bill bans all activities aimed at promoting homosexuality in public areas.

The law, entitled "Measures to protect the morals and health of children" was approved in the second reading by the deputies of the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly, reports Interfax.

The law was initiated by community organizations and religious movements in Arkhangelsk.

[Continued here]

Man gets prison in bias attack at NYC gay landmark
[Wall Street Journal, September 27, 2011]

A man was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for an anti-gay attack at a bar where a 1969 riot became a defining moment in the gay rights movement.

Matthew Francis, 22, didn't speak at his sentencing. He pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to assault as a hate crime and to attempted robbery, but his lawyer said the October 2010 incident at the Stonewall Inn stemmed from drug and alcohol use, not hatred.

Francis and co-defendant Christopher Orlando attacked another man who was using a urinal next to Francis in the Greenwich Village bar's bathroom, prosecutors said. After asking the victim about the place and being told it was a gay bar, Francis used an anti-gay slur and told the victim to get away from him, saying he didn't like gay people, prosecutors said.

Then Francis demanded money, punched the victim in the face and kept beating him after Orlando blocked the door, tackled the victim and held him down, prosecutors said. The victim was treated briefly at a hospital.

[Continued here]

• Teen gets jail in bias beating at NYC gay bar [Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2012]

A teenager involved in an anti-gay attack at a landmark New York City gay bar is headed for two months in jail.

Christopher Orlando didn't speak at his sentencing Tuesday. Defense lawyer John Rapawy says the 18-year-old "just wants to put this behind him." ...

Co-defendant Matthew Francis was accused of beating a man in the Stonewall Inn's bathroom after using an anti-gay slur. Prosecutors say Orlando tackled the man and held him down.

Francis also pleaded guilty. He's serving two years in prison. His lawyer has said Francis was high on drugs during the attack.

Report: Suspended Student Had Harassed Teacher
[The Advocate, September 27, 2011]

While a Fort Worth, Texas, student - who was briefly suspended by his German teacher for voicing antigay views in class - continues to protest the punishment he received, a local LGBT news source has printed an account alleging that the student and his friends had been harassing the teacher in question for months because they perceived him to be gay.

According to the Dallas Voice, Marvin Vann and members of the group LGBTQ S.A.V.E.S., which strives to protect local LGBT students and teachers from harassment, met with the teacher Friday and heard his side of the incident.

Vann writes that the teacher, who has "a long and distinguished service record," is currently under investigation by school administrators for "having the temerity to write a disciplinary referral against Dakota Ary, a student whom [he] reports publicly harassed him in class" because Ary and friends perceived him to be gay.

[Continued here]

• Gay Teacher Cleared of Allegations of Unfairly Punishing Anti-Gay Student [Box Turtle Bulletin, October 1st, 2011]

Franks reportedly has been the target of anti-gay comments for at least two years, and that Franks's car was vandalized in one incident. Meanwhile, Liberty Counsel, members of whom have been implicated in the kidnapping of Isabella Miller-Jenkins and who teach law students at Liberty University to choose "God's law" over "man's law," is trying to turn Ary's anti-gay harassment into its newest cause célèbre.

Man's jaw broken in Edinburgh anti-gay attack
[Pink News, September 26, 2011]

The victim, 20, had just left the GHQ nightclub when he passed a group of four men and one woman on Broughton Street at 2.30am.

Police say the gang began making offensive remarks to him before one of the men stepped forward and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

The victim made his way home and went to hospital the next day for treatment.

The suspects are all aged between 18 and 19 years old. ...

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "This was a totally unprovoked and homophobic assault that has left the victim with a serious injury to his jaw.

[Continued here]

The L-Word's Leisha Hailey Kicked Off Flight for Kissing Girlfriend
[Gawker, September 26, 2011]

Southwest Airlines, the Official Airline of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, loves gay people. Just loves 'em! Unless they are doing gross gay stuff like gay-kissing their gay girlfriends on the plane, in which case, they are not allowed.

So L-Word actress and musician Leisha Hailey learned today when she was removed from a Southwest flight because, she Tweeted, "Flt. attendant said that it was a 'family' airline and kissing was not ok." And if there's one thing that families hate, it's kissing. Hailey then called for a boycott of Southwest, which responded with this lame statement:

        Initial reports indicate that we received several passenger complaints characterizing the behavior as excessive. Our crew, responsible for the comfort of all Customers on board, approached the passengers based solely on behavior and not gender. The conversation escalated to a level that was better resolved on the ground, as opposed to in flight. We regret any circumstance where a passenger does not have a positive experience on Southwest and we are ready to work directly with the passengers involved to offer our heartfelt apologies for falling short of their expectations.

[Continued here]

• Did Southwest boot Leisha Hailey for flying while gay? [Salon, September 28, 2011]

Who can you believe? Southwest has historically proven itself more banishment-crazed than a houseful of "Big Brother" contestants -- booting Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong for not hitching up his baggy pants and director Kevin Smith for excessive huskiness. So it's not hard to imagine the airline being scandalized at the sight of two women kissing. Everyone knows girl-on-girl stuff is strictly for reality television and saucy ad campaigns, not living, breathing gay people. If that's the case, Southwest -- which prides itself on its LGBT "outreach" -- is being just plain insulting and wrong.

[Note: This is really just one more example, as if one more were required, of a busybody using their personal prejudices to actively interfere in the lives of others. It's nothing more than a big ego trip for the Southwest employee(s). Lesbians kiss. Get over it. Get over yourself(selves).]

Christian street preacher told gay couple to 'burn in hell'
[Pink News, September 26, 2011]

Michael Overd, 47, from Creech St Michael in Somerset, allegedly told the men that they were "evil" and would "burn in hell".

He appeared at Taunton Deane magistrates' court and denies two charges under the public order act of intentionally causing "alarm or distress".

The couple, Craig Manning and Craig Nicholl, said they were walking through Taunton's town centre when Mr Overd began shouting at them.

Dean Lampard, prosecuting, said Mr Overd had repeated the phrases and "upset" the couple.

Mr Overd will go on trial in February.

[Continued here]

Did California School Fire Coach for Being Gay? [Edge Boston, September 24, 2011]

A water polo coach fired from a Covina, Calif. high school says there was only one reason for his dismissal: He happens to be gay.

School officials at Charter Oak High deny the allegation, but assistant summer water polo coach Mitch Stein's firing came about after a disgruntled parent complained about the punishment that another individual, swim coach Howard Hyde, handed out to team members who refused to comply with a requirement that they obtain medical approval to participate in the sport, reported Glendora Patch.com on Sept. 23.

The firing also came about after printouts of photos posted online arrived at the office of the school's principal, Kathleen Wiard. The photos had been posted at MySpace and Facebook. One showed Stein jokingly posed with a corndog he was poised to bite into; another showed him posing with a group of men in drag, reported local newspaper the Whittier Daily News.

Stein has filed a complaint against the school alleging anti-gay discrimination.

"According to the complaint, the letter's author called Stein 'unfit to coach' and threatened to go to the school board if he was not fired immediately," the Whittier Daily News article reported.

[Continued here]

• College GSA Invites Fired Gay Coach to Speak [Edge Boston, November 3, 2011]

Stein had acquitted himself flawlessly while serving as assistant water polo coach at Oak Charter High School, media reports said, and his dismissal provoked an outcry. Under Stein's leadership, the team enjoyed a summer of unblemished victories and benefited from a grant that Stein secured from Kohls department store. His firing prompted a response online, with a Facebook page called "Wipe Out Homophobia on Facebook" being set up and a push for Stein's rehiring crystallizing around the page.

Parents stepped up also, with many writing letters and making phone calls in support of the fired coach.

"He's a good parent and a really nice guy," the president of the Aquatics booster club, Rod Munoz, told the media.

"What he was fired over was not offensive at all," a fellow coach, who declined to be identified, said. "He's a terrific coach and a great organizer."

Trails End Farmer's Market Removes Transgendered Employee
[AM 980, September 22, 2011]

A human rights complaint is in the process of being filed against the Trails End Farmer's Market on Dundas Street because of an ultimatum issued to a vendor to remove a transgendered employee from the premises.

The vendor in question is "True 2 You", a local company that sells candles, incense, oils, and air fresheners. Market officials were concerned transgendered individuals compromised their "family friendly atmosphere." ...

The call was made by one of the market's managers, she said.

"He said it made everyone uncomfortable and it just wasn't right. This is a family place, a family market and this just isn't right. I just kept insisting what happened that was wrong and he said you walk up to the person and they're dressed like a woman and they've got big hands, a deep voice and tattoos and it's just not right. It's just not a family place he kept repeating that over and over again. And I kept trying to get from him what was wrong, what was so not right, what was it that people were complaining about and there was no details forthcoming that way. He called them 'those people' several times."

[Continued here]

Newark man charged with hate crime for allegedly harassing gay neighbors
[New Jersey On-Line, September 22, 2011]

A Newark man has been charged with a hate crime for allegedly harassing a gay couple that lived next door to him.

Douglas Brown was arrested Thursday.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray says the 36-year-old Brown began harassing his former neighbors in Newark's Ironbound section in May. She says he called them homophobic names, putting oil on their home, destroying property and slashing their tires, among other incidents.

He faces harassment, bias intimidation and criminal mischief charges.

[Continued here]

Interior minister [of Serbia]: It would be best to call off Pride Parade [B92, September 23, 2011]

"Police always pays the highest price, not only financially but also when it comes to injuries. Many police officers were injured last year," he pointed out.

The minister stated that if police operated in accordance with the security assessments, the Pride Parade would be declared a high risk event and they would think about calling it off.

"It is not up to police to make such decisions whether some gathering should be held or not," Dacic stressed and called on state organs and society to voice their opinion about the parade.

He stated that it was no surprise that police unions were making statements about the Pride Parade since there was no official government position.

[Continued here]

• Serbia bans gay parade, all gatherings [Reuters, September 30, 2011]

"The ban was issued in line with the law on public gatherings which prescribes such a measure in cases of probable disruption of public transport, threats to public health or safety of people and property," Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday.

Traditionally conservative societies across the Balkans have been slow to accept open homosexuality and many gay rights events in the region have ended in violence.

Another government official said that Serbia's National Security Council, comprised of heads of police, security agencies, the military and President Boris Tadic, ordered police to cancel the event after security assessments indicated "extremely serious security threats."

"Our intelligence indicated hooligans are poised to attack gay activists, police, media, offices of political parties, foreign businesses, embassies and burn cars," the official said.

Goran Miletic, a human rights activist and an organizer of the pride parade, condemned the decision as a capitulation to hooligans, but said the rally would not go ahead.

• ILGA-Europe condemns the ban of Belgrade Pride 2011 [ILGA, September 30, 2011]
• Banning of Belgrade Pride is a dark day for human rights in Serbia 1 [AI, September 30, 2011]

Hate crime alleged in attack in Harlan [WKYT, September 22, 2011]

An advocacy group has asked federal officials to investigate a case in which a Letcher County man says he was viciously beaten in Harlan County because he is gay.

Two men have been charged in state court with attempted murder and two women have been charged with complicity to commit attempted murder stemming from the April beating of Kevin Pennington.

The Kentucky Equality Federation recently asked the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case, saying there was a concern the case wouldn't be handled aggressively locally. It is the second such request the federation has made in Harlan County in recent months concerning an alleged attack related to sexual orientation.

[Continued here]

Gay Ex-Staffer Files Suit Against Jesse Jackson For Sexual Harassment, Discrimination
[Gawker, September 21, 2011]

A former staffer for Rev. Jesse Jackson and his non-profit Rainbow PUSH Coalition alleges in a lawsuit that he was discriminated against because he is gay, allegedly instructed to bring women to Jackson's hotel rooms and sometimes sexually harassed by Jackson himself.

Tommy Bennett, who filed a sexual discrimination complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights in 2010, filed a lawsuit alleging "pervasive" sexual harassment during his time as a staffer at Rainbow PUSH, a social outreach group started by Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr.

Bennett worked for Rainbow PUSH and Jackson from July 2007-December 2009, beginning as National Director of Community Affairs, according to the complaint.

Bennett, who is gay, alleges that a fellow staff member, Caroline Wiggins, requested to be transferred from under his supervision because of his sexual orientation, and told the rest of the staff as much. She would then "make a limp wrist gesture towards Mr. Bennett whenever Mr. Bennett walked down the hallway," according to the complaint, and led a prayer stating "bind these homosexual spirits that are in the office" and "get these homosexuals out of here and do it in Jesus' name." Soon after, Bennett filed a complaint with Jackson and Human Resources, but says he never got a response.

[Continued here]

Nashville paramedic suspended for anti-gay postings
[The Tennessean, September 21, 2011]

Nashville Fire Department officials suspended a 20-year department veteran Friday after he made anti-gay comments on a social media site, an incident gay rights advocates say proves that the group needs legal protections.

Fire Chief Steve Halford ordered the two-month suspension after a departmental hearing last week for paramedic Kevin Kennedy. Kennedy was accused of posting on his own Facebook page and the Nashville Fire Department Emergency Medical Services' page that homosexuality was a perversion. He also said two gay EMS workers should "crawl back into the closet," said Deputy Chief Kim Lawson, spokeswoman for the department. ...

"We have a diverse group of employees in the fire department who respond to the needs of a diverse community," Lawson said. "This disrupts the order of discipline. We have an important job. These actions in no way are tolerated."

[Continued here]

Cambridge church fears it's being targeted after rainbow flag is stolen
[Boston Globe, September 20, 2011]

The first time a rainbow flag was torn down from the First Parish in Cambridge last month during Hurricane Irene church officials were suspicious, but they chalked it up to the elements.

But when the flag disappeared last week after being re-hoisted even higher than before at the Unitarian Universalist church in Harvard Square, parishioners felt they were being targeted for their support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

Now the church, which first gathered in 1636 and traces its roots back to the Puritans, says it will keep replacing the flag as necessary and will take security measures to protect it.

[Continued here]

We didn't get our VIP treatment: Lesbian honeymooners claim holiday firm Thomson
didn't recognise their civil partnership [Daily Mail, September 21, 2011]

After Tamsin Harper and Gemma Sharman tied the knot in a civil partnership ceremony in front of hundreds of friends and relatives, they looked forward to their Caribbean honeymoon.

But the couple flew home in tears, claiming their once-in-a-lifetime holiday was ruined by 'homophobic' discrimination.

The pair, from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, paid Thomson £1,800 for the all-inclusive holiday in the Dominican Republic.

Tamsin, 36, an office manager, said: 'We got married at Leeds Town Hall and paid £6,000 for a big reception at the Gomersal Park Hotel. The honeymoon was meant to be a romantic trip. But it was a daily nightmare of disappointment and complaints.

'Every other couple got three or four complimentary, romantic candlelit meals with wine - we didn't get one. There was supposed to be complimentary fruit and rum in our room as honeymooners but that never appeared.'

When they tried to book a meal, it was never arranged and when they tried to complain, staff were 'dismissive'.

[Continued here]

Same-sex couple denied ceremony at B&Bs might act
[Chicago tribune, September 16, 2011]

Not long after ink from the governor's signature had dried on Illinois' civil unions law, Todd and Mark Wathen began preparations for a June ceremony.

The couple wanted to hold the event somewhere quaint in central Illinois, a place that would be convenient to family in Kentucky and Indiana and to their home in Mattoon. They reached out to two bed and breakfast establishments - and in each case the owners told the Wathens they were not willing to host a civil union.

The Beall Mansion in Alton told the Wathens via email that it "will just be doing traditional weddings." The owner of the Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton wrote in an email to the couple: "We will never host same-sex civil unions. We will never host same-sex weddings even if they become legal in Illinois. We believe homosexuality is wrong and unnatural based on what the Bible says about it. If that is discrimination, I guess we unfortunately discriminate."

"After all this happened, I just didn't even want to talk about the wedding," said Todd Wathen. "It took an event we had looked forward to for years and ruined it."

The Wathens wound up holding a ceremony in their backyard shortly after the law took effect in June, but they did not let the matter with Beall Mansion and Timber Creek rest.

[Continued here]

Gay activist not guilty [Worcester Telegram and Gazette, September 16, 2011]

The 44-year-old former Worcester policeman and local gay activist was found not guilty in Central District Court yesterday on an accusation that he grabbed a 17-year-old man's buttock inside the Main Street YMCA a year ago.

Cheers erupted in the courtroom when Judge Michael G. Allard-Madaus announced his decision. Mr. Toney, who lives in Holden, had opted for a bench trial instead of a trial by a six-person jury.

"It's a relief. The last 58 weeks of my life are gone," Mr. Toney said. "We will be pursuing all legal options."

He gave a long embrace to his husband, Keith D. Toney, and his daughter, who were in the courtroom with a throng of other supporters.

"I am very happy for my client and his family," defense lawyer Christopher P. LoConto said after the verdict. "He's always maintained his innocence."

[Continued here]

Cuban Trans Man Reportedly Dies in Police Custody [The Advocate, September 15, 2011]

According to several websites for Cuban expatriates (including Cuba Encuentro), a transgender man arrested during a raid of "homosexuals, transvestites, and transsexuals in Old Havana" died while in police custody.

On September 8, after repeated warnings to police that he had hypertension, Nelson Linares García, 34, succumbed to what doctors called "respiratory arrest." Penúltimos Días reports that no autopsy was conducted.

As the fight for LGBT rights in Cuba heats up, so does police harassment, say gay Cuban blogs.

[Continued here]

Two assaults in Liverpool's gay quarter [Pink News, September 15, 2011]

Liverpool police are investigating two attacks on young men on streets in the city's gay quarter.

Police say there is no evidence yet that the assaults were motivated by homophobia but have sought to reassure the gay community.

At around 6am on Wednesday morning, a 22-year-old man was found with serious head injuries in Progress Place, an alleyway off Victoria Street.

The victim is understood to be too ill to speak to police. Officers are examining CCTV and conducting house-to-house enquiries, while patrols will be stepped up.

[Continued here]

East Rutherford Catholic church's gay music director to quit over priest's sermon
[NorthJersey.com, September 14, 2011 ]

A gay Catholic church musician on Wednesday said he will voluntarily leave his post in two weeks because his pastor allegedly created a hostile work environment after preaching against homosexuality.

"Marriage between two men is a lie," Robert Russell, who has been a music minister at St. Joseph Parish for 22 years, said the newly appointed pastor preached to the congregation July 10.

The Rev. Joseph Astarita, who became pastor of the church in July, declined to comment.

Jim Goodness, Archdiocese of Newark spokesman, also declined to comment on the resignation. But he did say, "Catholic churches are allowed to employ people based on [the church's] belief."

[Continued here]

Start an LGBT Club on Campus and Get Suspended? [Care2, September 13, 2011]

Nathan Carroll, an openly gay teenager at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, TN, was sick of the homophobia in his halls. "Just yesterday, students across the room would yell, 'God hates gays,'" Carroll, a senior, told WATE in Knoxville. To combat the bullying and harrassment he witnessed on campus, Carroll decided to start a Gay Straight Alliance. Carroll collected 150 signatures from other students who support the club.

But when he presented the petition to his principal, Maurice Moser, Carroll was threatened with suspension. Additionally, LGBTQ Nation reports, Moser announced that copies of the petition would be confiscated, "torn up and thrown away, and that [students found with the petition would be] sent immediately to his office for further punishment."

Speaking to LGBTQ Nation's Jamie McGonnigal, Moser said arguments over the proposed GSA were "disturbing the educational environment." He dismissed the need for student-lead antibullying measures, stating that school officials deal with harrassment when bullied students report an incident with "sufficient proof."

[Continued here]

Teen gets five years for attack on transgender woman at McDonald's
[Baltimore Sun, September 13, 2011]

After a teenage girl was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for beating a transgender woman at a McDonald's in Rosedale, some advocates for transgender people called the sentence too lenient.

"The whole incident is unfortunate and demonstrates the lack of knowledge and understanding, and discrimination against transgender people," said Patrick Wojahn, board president of the Equality Maryland Foundation. "If anything, five years may have been too short of an amount of time for the attack and the amount of hatred that was shown in the incident."

Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk agreed. "Five years is not enough for what she did. It was really horrible - nobody should do something like that to another human being," said Pena-Melnyk, who represents parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties. She proposed legislation to prevent employers, creditors and others from discriminating against transgender people, but the measure failed in the 2011 General Assembly. ...

Teonna Monae Brown, 19, pleaded guilty last month to first-degree assault and a hate crime in the beating of Chrissy Lee Polis, 22. The April attack drew national attention after a video went viral online, and it became a rallying point for transgender-rights advocates.

[Continued here]

• Victim of McDonald's beating speaks out [Baltimore Sun, April 24, 2011]

A transgender woman beaten at a Baltimore County McDonald's spoke out on Saturday, saying that the attack was "definitely a hate crime" and that she's been afraid to go out in public ever since.

"They said, 'That's a dude, that's a dude and she's in the female bathroom,' " said Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, who said she stopped at the Rosedale restaurant to use the restroom. "They spit in my face."

A worker at the restaurant taped Monday's attack and created a graphic video that went viral last week. After the video garnered hundreds of thousands of views on websites, McDonald's issued a statement condemning the incident, and on Saturday the worker who taped the incident was fired.

The video shows two females - one of them a 14-year-old girl - repeatedly kicking and punching Polis in the head as an employee and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men are seen standing idly by.

Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and Polis appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.

Groups back school in Web filter suit [Columbia Daily Tribune, September 13, 2011]

A legal group that advocates for religious freedom announced yesterday it is backing a Central Missouri school district that is being sued because its Internet filtering software blocks access to educational websites about gay, lesbian and transgender issues.

The Alliance Defense Fund said it and the Missouri Family Policy Council filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday in defense of the Camdenton R-III School District.

As part of a national campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the district last month in federal court in Jefferson City on behalf of organizations whose websites are blocked by the filter. Those organizations include the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays National, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.

The Alliance Defense Fund said the ACLU demands would "expose children to pornography under the guise of concern about censorship and bullying."

Joshua Block, staff attorney for the ACLU's Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project, said no one wants sexually explicit sites to be available. He said public schools aren't allowed to limit access just because they disagree with a group's viewpoint. ...

The ACLU first addressed the issue of web filtering in 2009 when it filed suit over access to LGBT websites in the Knoxville and Nashville school districts in Tennessee. The districts ultimately agreed to stop using filtering software to block those sites.

Since then, the organization has received numerous complaints that schools are continuing to block LGBT sites, prompting the national campaign. The ACLU identified the schools it is contacting by working with the Yale Law School on the "Don't Filter Me" campaign, which asked students to check to see whether their schools are blocking content.

[Continued here]

Brazil charges church leaders with embezzling millions from poor
[The Guardian, September 13, 2011]

Three leading members of one of Brazil's most powerful churches have been accused of laundering millions in church donations and using worshippers' money for personal gain.

The charges, unveiled on Monday by São Paulo's public prosecutor, relate to 404m reals (£150m) allegedly obtained from mostly impoverished churchgoers by leaders at Brazil's Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.

The money was subsequently channelled out of the country via a network of offshore bank accounts and money changers, federal prosecutors claimed.

Among those charged is Bishop Edir Macedo, a controversial televangelist who founded the church in 1977, and his financial director, Alba Maria Silva da Costa.

Luís Martins de Oliveira, the prosecutor behind the case, claimed followers were tricked into handing over money to the church through "false promises and threats that spiritual and economic assistance would only be bestowed upon those who made financial sacrifices for the church". ...

The church's preachers are also notorious for their open hostility towards Brazil's gay community and African-Brazilian religions.

[Continued here]

Why is Mexico persecuting gay lawyer Jaime López Vela?
[LGBT Asylum News, September 12, 2011]

A Mexican lawyer and gay activist is facing 14 months in prison for defending a victim of homophobia. In 2009 Jaime López Vela was physically assaulted and then arrested and charged with "insult to police and obstruction on the road" by police in the State of Mexico (in South-Central Mexico) on the orders of State authorities.

Jaime López Vela was the first to be married in Mexico City (by its Mayor) after the city approved same-sex marriage in 2010 and is planning to run to be a Member of Parliament on the list of the PRD.

A human rights lawyer, he is the director of the LGBT rights group Agenda LGBT.

On 7 May 2009, López Vela and Agustín Estrada Negrete went to the offices of the Government of the State of Mexico in Toluca for a scheduled meeting with the Deputy Secretary General of State, Luis Felipe Puente. Negrete was forced to step down from the position as director and founder of a local school, Centro de Atención Múltiple (CAM), for disabled children in 2007 due to false allegations by fellow staff against him that he had gone to the school dressed as a woman. He had in fact been pictured in newspapers at a LGBT rights march in the nearby city of Ecatepec de Morelos dressed as 'Alban' in La Cage Aux Folles.

"I offered to defend him because he was asked" to give up his sexual orientation "to be reinstated," said López Vela.

[Continued here]

Authors Say Agents Try to "Straighten" Gay Characters in YA
[Publishers Weekly, September 12, 2011]

We are published authors who co-wrote a post-apocalyptic young adult novel. When we set out to find an agent for it, we expected to get some rejections. But we never expected to be offered representation. on the condition that we make a gay character straight, or cut him out altogether.

Our novel, Stranger, has five viewpoint characters; one, Yuki Nakamura, is gay and has a boyfriend. Yuki's romance, like the heterosexual ones in the novel, involves nothing more explicit than kissing.

An agent from a major agency, one which represents a bestselling YA novel in the same genre as ours, called us.

The agent offered to sign us on the condition that we make the gay character straight, or else remove his viewpoint and all references to his sexual orientation.

Rachel replied, "Making a gay character straight is a line in the sand which I will not cross. That is a moral issue. I work with teenagers, and some of them are gay. They never get to read fantasy novels where people like them are the heroes, and that's not right."

[Continued here]

Scottish Catholic Church steps up attack on gay marriage
[Pink News, September 12, 2011]

Bishop of Paisley Philip Tartaglia, who is expected to become the next Archbishop of Glasgow when Mario Conti steps down, said marriage equality would be "an act of cultural vandalism".

Yesterday, the leader of the Scottish Catholic Church, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said the change would be a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right" and that gay parents cannot adequately bring up a child.

The Scottish government opened a consultation on the issue last week. Ministers say they "tend towards the view that same sex marriage should be introduced" but no formal position has yet been taken.

Ministers have stressed that churches would not be forced to hold gay marriage ceremonies.

In a submission to the 14-week consultation, Bishop Tartaglia said marriage should not be an equality issue because gay couples cannot have children.

[Continued here]

Gay man beaten outside his job in American Fork [Fox 13 Now, September 9, 2011]

A 32-year-old man was beaten Thursday outside his place of employment in American Fork (Salt Lake City area). The victim says the attackers shouted gay slurs during the assault.

Police say Cameron Nelson was taking out the garbage at a hair salon on 100 North and Center Street when he was beaten by two or three people at around 12:45 a.m. American Fork Police Lt. Darren Falslev says Nelson was kicked several times. Falslev says the victim went back into the salon to nurse his injuries.

Two or three hours after the attack, a coworker found him and called police.

Nelson was treated for a broken nose and minor injuries.

Nelson tells police he did not recognize his attackers, but describes one individual as about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with shoulder length hair and wearing combat boots and black cutoff shorts. Another suspect was described having tattoos on both his arms.

[Continued here]

Daily Mail writer Melanie Phillips and MSP Bill Walker tipped for Bigot of the Year
[Pink News, September 9, 2011]

Gay rights charity Stonewall has announced the nominees for its annual Hero and Bigot of the Year awards.

Those in the running for Bigot of the Year include Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips who claimed gay charities were "brainwashing children" and MSP Bill Walker, who said gay relationships should not be "in any way equal" to straight ones.

Other contenders are Scottish entrepreneur and Section 28 backer Brian Souter, who was knighted this year; Christian Voice leader Stephen Green and the Rt Rev Arthur Roche, a previous nominee who has campaigned for adoption agencies to be allowed to bar gay people.

[Continued here]

Archbishop of Glasgow hits out at 'foolish' gay marriage supporters
[Pink News, September 9, 2011]

Mario Conti, the Archbishop of Glasgow, said that allowing gay marriage would be "foolish" and render marriage "meaningless".

Earlier this week, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, accused marriage equality campaigners of trying to "rewrite nature".

The SNP government recently announced a consultation on the issue and deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon said ministers were minded towards giving gay couples equal marriage rights.

Sixty-one per cent of the Scottish public support allowing gay couples to wed, the 2010 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey found.

In a letter to the Herald, Archbishop Conti suggested that the majority of the public who back marriage equality were "foolish".

[Continued here]

Christian sentenced for gay death threat [Sydney Star Observer, September 9, 2011]

A Christian man who threatened to kill the head of Britain's largest LGBT rights organisation, Stonewall, has been given a suspended sentence.

Anthony Ryan was found guilty of making threats to kill and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment - which was suspended for 18 months, UK gay news site PinkPaper reports.

He has also been given a community order and will be supervised by the probation service for 12 months.

The case is thought to be the first case of its kind in the UK.

[Continued here]

Kennett: Heterosexual marriages best for children [Sydney Star Observer, September 9, 2011]

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has declared that he believes heterosexual marriages are better for the mental health of children.

In a veiled attack on same-sex marriage in his Herald Sun column today, Kennett used his leadership of national depression initiative beyondblue to back up his claims. ...

He used the recent For Kids' Sake report, commissioned by the Australian Christian Lobby and authored by the University of Sydney's Professor Patrick Parkinson, as further evidence of his claims. ...

Australian Marriage Equality national convener, Alex Greenwich, said it is cruel and hypocritical for those who say they uphold marriage as an institution to deny the benefits of marriage to same-sex couples raising children.

"The fact that marriage can provide greater security and stability for children is all the more reason to allow same-sex couples to marry," Greenwich said.

"Those who truly believe in the benefits marriage brings to couples and children should be demanding these benefits are extended to same-sex couples and their children."

[Continued here]

• Parkinson: report not about gay parents [Sydney Star Observer, September 14, 2011]

Parkinson, a Sydney University professor of law, said it had been "remarkable" how many people had not seen the need to read the report before commenting on it.

"The report did not engage in any criticism about same-sex relationships of any kind," he told the Star Observer.

"It includes same-sex couples in the recommendations concerning couple and parent-child education. My recommendation is that in any rollout of relationship education programs, gay and lesbian organisations should also be supported to provide programs that meet the needs of the same-sex [attracted] community."

Man who falsely accused Louis Walsh of groping him in public toilet is charged with
inventing the story [Daily Mail, September 7, 2011]

A man who accused X Factor judge Louis Walsh of groping him in a nightclub has been charged with a second count of inventing the story.

Leonard Watters is accused of knowingly making a false report to Irish police, on two occasions, that the pop music mogul sexually assaulted him in top Dublin night-spot Krystle.

Watters, 24, appeared at the city's District Court, where he was granted continuing bail until November 2.

Detective Inspector Michael Cryan told the court Mr Watters said 'nothing to say' when charged with the second offence, before the hearing.

'The allegation is that Mr Watters made two statements to An Garda Siochana alleging he was sexually assaulted by Louis Walsh in a Dublin nightclub,' said Mr Cryan.

Penalties for the alleged offences, which are under section 12 of the Criminal Law Act, range from a 500 euro (£439) fine to five years in prison.

[Continued here]

U.N. Haiti peacekeepers face outcry over alleged rape [Reuters, September 5, 2011]

Haitian President Michel Martelly has condemned the alleged rape of an 18-year-old local man by Uruguayan U.N. naval troops, in the latest incident to threaten the image of U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti.

Public anger in the poor, earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation has been rising over a video shot by a cellphone camera and circulating on the Internet that shows the Uruguayan U.N. troops pinning the young Haitian man face down on a mattress and apparently assaulting him sexually in a southern town.

Haitian authorities, the U.N. Mission in Haiti and Uruguay's Defense Ministry have launched an investigation into the video. The four troops suspected of being involved have been detained and Uruguay's Navy has replaced the head of its naval contingent with the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

"The Presidency vigorously condemns this act which revolts the nation's conscience and awaits a detailed report establishing the exact facts and circumstances," Martelly's office said in a statement released late on Sunday.

The victim and his mother have given testimony on the alleged assault to a Haitian judge in Port-Salut.

[Continued here]

• Uruguayan peacekeepers in Haiti accused of abuse [BBC, September 5, 2011]

Let me dance with my girl [SameSame, September 5, 2011]

Perth resident Kia Groom, who graduated from St Mary's Anglican Girls School in 2003, was not allowed to bring a girl to her school formal. Today the school still adheres to its strict 'no gay dates at formals' policy, and Kia's leading a campaign to change that.

Being gay usually means you're part of the minority, the group of people that have to fight for rights to normal things our heterosexual counterparts take for granted; like taking the person you love to your school's formal.

These are the sentiments of Kia Groom, and thousands of other same-sex attracted teenagers in schools all across Perth.

Groom graduated from St Mary's Anglican Girls School in 2003 and was not allowed to bring a girl date to her school formal.

"I did not end up taking a date because honestly, there wasn't anyone else I felt like taking," she tells SameSame.

The school's response to Groom, when she asked why she couldn't bring another girl to her formal, was that it was "inappropriate".

[Continued here]

Wichita police say pair beaten while walking on Douglas [Wichita Eagle, September 4, 2011]

Police say a group of men driving in east Wichita beat two other men walking along Douglas early this morning.

Sgt. Jesse Boomer said two cars pulled up beside the 18- and 19-year-olds walking in the 1700 block of east Douglas, near Hydraulic, around 2:30 a.m. Six men, all in their late teens or early 20s, got out of the cars, accused the two men of "being homosexuals" and attacked them, Boomer said.

The victims drove themselves to a local hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.

[Continued here]

Transgender woman sues city [of Winnipeg] for false arrest
[Metro News, September 1, 2011]

A transgender woman who claims police officers yanked her from her car at gunpoint and mocked her because of her sexual orientation is suing the City of Winnipeg for allegedly breaching her rights against unlawful and unjustified detention.

Nikki Cox filed a statement of claim seeking damages against the city and police officials in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench Monday. The claim contains unproven allegations that have not been tested in court.

Cox, who is in her 30s, says she was alone and out for a drive on the early morning of June 14 and pulled into the St. James Civic Centre's parking lot to have a cigarette.

Shortly after, the police helicopter appeared directly overhead, followed by squad cars that boxed her vehicle in.

She alleges officers with guns drawn forced her out of the car and to the ground before being kneed in the back, roughly handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car.

Her vehicle was searched and officers mistakenly believed another person was inside, Cox states.

While in the police car, she "could hear some officers talking in chuckling voices saying 'he's a tranny,'" the lawsuit states.

Cox claims she was released shortly after, offered an apology and told officers were investigating a possible break in nearby.

[Continued here]

Man admits killing retired university lecturer Roger Gray at his Edinburgh home
[Daily Record, September 1, 2011]

A man has admitted killing a university lecturer at his home.

Pawel Rodak, 21, will stand trial accused of murdering 64-year-old Roger Gray after prosecutors rejected his plea to the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

He will be tried before a jury at the High Court in Aberdeen in December.

At the High Court in Edinburgh today, Rodak admitted assaulting Mr Gray at his home in the capital's upmarket Merchiston Crescent on March 18 and 19.

He admitted striking Mr Gray on the head and body with a knife or similar instrument, killing him.

Rodak pleaded not guilty to a further charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice between March 18 and March 24 at Merchiston Crescent, Brougham Place, and elsewhere in Edinburgh.

He is accused of turning on a gas hob at Mr Gray's house and placing a lit candle near the cooker in a bid to cause an explosion and destroy evidence linking him to the alleged murder.

[Continued here]

UNC will look into Christian a capella group [Daily Tar Heel, September 1, 2011]

The University will investigate whether or not the Christian a cappella group Psalm 100 violated UNC's non-discrimination policy in dismissing senior Will Thomason, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp said.

On Sunday, members of Psalm 100 unanimously voted to remove Thomason, who is gay, for his views on homosexuality. He had been a member of the group since his freshman year.

"We are on notice that there is a question as to whether or not a student organization has acted in compliance with the policy or not," Crisp said. "We take that very seriously and that will be investigated."

Blake Templeton, general director of the group, said Thomason was not removed for his sexual orientation but for his opinions about homosexuality. He said the views clash with the ideology of the Bible, which the organization's constitution mandates members must uphold.

[Continued here]

Man attacked outside of Salt Lake City gay club [QSaltLake, August 31, 2011]

A 20-year-old Salt Lake City resident was attacked and hospitalized last Friday night as he left a downtown club. Dane Hall, an openly gay man, was in the hospital for four days, lost six teeth and his jawbone was broken in three places as a result of the attack.

Hall said he left Club Sound, which is gay-themed on Friday nights, and crossed the street to the corner of 600 West and 200 South in Salt Lake City, when four men approached him and began yelling gay slurs. He was then punched in the back of the head and knocked to the ground. One of the assailants grabbed his shirt and began punching him in the face, he said. After Hall fell to the ground again, the attacker grabbed him, placed his open mouth over the street curb and stomped on the back of head, knocking out six teeth in a move commonly referred to as 'curb checking,' which can result in death in many cases. Two other assailants kicked him repeatedly in the stomach, Hall said. The attackers called him a 'fag' and took his identification and $40, he said.

"I could have died. And a piece of bone from my jaw was jammed into my brain, to make things worse," Hall said in email correspondence because his jaw is still wired shut after the attack. "If anyone has any information leading to the arrest I am offering a $10,000 reward."

The hospital bills will total more than $30,000 and unless the assailants are found, Hall could be stuck with the bill, he said. Although he filed a police report, there have been no leads on the case and no suspects have been named, he said.

Salt Lake City Police said the case is active and being looked into.

The attack comes just months after another similar attack in April outside of the club of another gay man. Jordan Corona, 21, left Club Sound on a Friday evening in April and was attacked from behind by several assailants, he said. He was treated for a concussion as a result of the attack, he said.

"The doctors say I was lucky no bones are broken. But my collar bone is really bruised, probably from being kicked on the ground, and my wrist is sprained and my face is just really messed up," Corona said.

No arrests were made and no one was charged as a result of the attack. Corona's cell phone was stolen and phone calls were made, but the information did not help police, Corona said.

[Continued here]

• Cops say Salt Lake attacks on gay men appear unrelated [Salt Lake Tribune, September 2, 2011]

Police said Friday they don't believe there is a link between the assault on an openly gay Salt Lake City man and an attack on another gay man in the same downtown area.

Salt Lake police Detective Cary Wichmann said detectives continue to actively investigate both incidents and are currently treating the attacks as aggravated assaults, but not hate crimes.

Dane Hall, 20, said he was brutally assaulted by four men as he was leaving Club Sound's gay-themed night late Aug. 26. He said he was walking home from the club at 200 South and 600 West when someone shouted a gay slur in his direction.

Moments later he was punched in the back of the head and knocked to the ground. As the assault continued, Hall said, one of his assailants placed his right cheek on the curb and stomped on the side of his head. Hall's jaw was fractured in three places. A chip from his jawbone jammed into his brain. His cheekbone was shattered and he lost six teeth.

In another assault, a man said a group of men broke into his apartment above Cup of Joe, 33 W. 200 South, and beat up the resident's boyfriend.

Wichmann said based on the initial reports filed in both cases, police "have no indication at this point at all that they're linked."

• Dane Hall Could Unify Salt Lake City [City Weekly, September 3, 2011]

Now, historically, the LGBT community has good reason to suspect the media of ignoring gay issues. There was a time when local news went out of its way to disregard all but the most extreme and sensational stories involving gays.

But, over the past several years, that's all changed. The Salt Lake Tribune regularly reports on issues affecting the LGBT community -- as, surprisingly, does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-owned Deseret News. These days, even the local TV stations do their best to present gay-related stories without noticeable bias (although KSL 5 can always be counted on for an elaborate tapdance to avoid any appearance of genuine support for full-fledged LGBT equality).

Still, the mainstream media certainly dropped the ball on this one. Just by the law of averages, with such a long, languorous publishing interval, it's not often that a bi-weekly gets a chance to scoop the dailies and TV news. But scoop them QSaltLake did, when editor Seth Bracken's report on the Hall story broke late Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Other than massive sympathy and support for the victim, the LGBT community's immediate response was disbelief the story hadn't already run in the broadsheets and on TV."

• Drugs, not gay hatred, may have sparked Salt Lake attack, police say [Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 2011]

Southern Poverty Law Center Backs Hoover Student's Fight To Wear T-Shirt
[WHNT, August 31, 2011]

The Southern Poverty Law Center sent a letter Wednesday to Hoover High School and the city's board of education threatening a federal lawsuit on behalf of a student prevented from wearing a T-shirt that sparked controversy in school.

The black T-shirt Sara Couvillon wore says 'gay? fine by me.'

The SPLC said school officials told Couvillon she shouldn't wear the T-shirt because they were concerned for her safety. However, Couvillon, 15, said no one ever threatened her when she wore it, and added she wore it during the last school year without incident.

"There are kids at my school who really want to be themselves, but they don't have the strength they need," said Couvillon. "It isn't easy being singled out, but if I ca ngive someone else the courage to be who they are then it's worth it to me."

In the letter, the SPLC threatens a lawsuit if the school does not rescind its policy and confirm this in writing by September 12.

[Continued here]

• T-Shirt Wars Continue as Birmingham School Lifts Ban [Edge Boston, September 3, 2011]

"This was not just about me," the 15-year-old student said. "It was about encouraging people to be brave in standing up for themselves and standing up for their rights."

"It's very important that students be able to make these sort of statements," Wolfe told the press. "This is an important freedom that we are willing to fight for."

Christian group: recriminalise homosexuality [Sydney Star Observer, August 31, 2011]

A spokesman for the conservative Christian group the American Family Association (AFA) has called for the reinstatement of laws criminalising homosexuality in the US.

Bryan Fischer told listeners on his radio show Monday that from the time of America's founding until the late 20th century, homosexual activity was a felony offence in the United States of America and that "there is no reason why it cannot be a criminal offence once again, absolutely none".

The last remaining sodomy laws - which were in place in 14 states - were overturned in 2003 with the Supreme Court's ruling on Lawrence v. Texas.

At the time the AFA publicly condemned the decision, saying the ruling was tantamount to "tyranny".

[Continued here]

Madisonville students fighting to have a Gay Straight Alliance [WATE, August 30, 2011]

Students at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville want to start a Gay Straight Alliance at their school. However, school officials say they are not following policy to get it started.

Nathan Carroll, a senior at SQHS, says there's a big need for a GSA at their high school.

"Just yesterday, students across the room would yell, 'God hates gays,'" said Carroll. "There is not going to be a gay club in this school. We don't deserve it."

Carroll says he has been bullied and sexually harassed for being gay most of his life. He says there are a lot of misconceptions about the GSA.

"The Gay Straight Alliance is not a club to talk about sexual orientation," he said. "It's about sexual orientation, but it's not talking about sex in general. It's a support group. It's where you can go and you can talk about how you feel."

Carroll and the other students have approached school officials about starting the GSA, but have been told they cannot.

That is when they started to pass around a petition to get support.

"These students have been following policy and they approached the principal," said Linda Sigler, who has two children involved in getting the alliance started. "They've done this petition and now the school is telling them if they continue with the petition, they will be suspended."

[Continued here]

Ad in El Paso Times: Gays Are Putrid [The Advocate, August 29, 2011]

The main newspaper in El Paso, Texas, published a full-page ad Saturday from a right-wing priest who calls gays "immoral,""putrid," and "depraved."

The paid advertisement in the El Paso Times, titled "True Pastoral Care for Homosexuals," is from Friar Michael Rodriguez of El Paso's San Juan Bautista Catholic Church. The virulently antigay and antichoice Rodriguez first writes about showing compassion for gay people before explaining how gays are destructive sinners.

"Engaging in depraved and unnatural sexual acts will lead directly to the ruin of both the homosexual's body and soul," Rodriguez writes. "Our very anatomy cries out against the lie that homosexual acts are 'ok.'"

Rodriguez closes his screed by saying we live in a "godless society" that condones homosexuality.

[Continued here]

Parents asking for help after daughter's attack [My Ballard, August 29, 2011]

Just about two weeks ago, Tad and Cindy Anderson's daughter, Tiva, was attacked with a baseball bat near the intersection of 28th Ave NW and NW 67th Street. She suffered a serious head injury, but Tiva is expected to make a full physical recovery. However, her parents say she's emotionally fragile since the attack.

"She has learning disabilities that can make it hard to interact with her, and she is transgender (biologically male but considers herself female and sometimes dresses that way)," the parents write in an email to neighbors. "It probably should have been obvious to us a long time ago, but this turns out to be a dangerous combination. Transgender people are the most likely to be harassed and Tiva is particularly vulnerable due to her limited social skills."

[Continued here]

Minister charged with violating noise ordinance at gay pride fest
[Charlotte Observer, August 29, 2011]

Rev. Phillip "Flip" Benham, a preacher convicted earlier this year of stalking a doctor who performs abortions, was charged with violating Charlotte's noise ordinance Saturday outside of the gay pride festival.

Benham said he turned down his speaker after officers warned him he was preaching too loudly outside the boundaries of the Pride Charlotte Festival. But later, Benham said, as he read from the first chapter of Romans, which talks about God's wrath against sinful humanity, he got passionate. His voice, he admitted, began to rise as he spoke into the microphone.

Thousands of people attended the Pride Charlotte festival, which is the largest fundraiser for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Charlotte. The event closed several blocks of South Tryon Street, but it also brought dozens of protesters like Benham. Many wore red shirts that said "Repent or Perish."

Benham was apparently the only one arrested.

[Continued here]

Alleging hate crime, Harlan County lesbian couple seeks federal involvement
[Lexington Herald-Leader, August 25, 2011]

A lesbian couple in Harlan County who believe they were attacked and beaten because of their sexual orientation want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the case.

The Kentucky Equality Federation on Wednesday requested that the federal government pursue the case as a hate crime, according to a letter provided by Jordan Palmer, its president.

The federation, which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, made the request for Misty Turner and Brandy Standifer.

Turner, a 28-year-old nurse, told the Herald-Leader she and Standifer have lived openly as a couple for three years in the Pathfork community.

Turner has a 5-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. She shares custody with the children's father, so the children live with her and Standifer much of the time.

Turner said she and Standifer, an emergency medical technician, had never had problems in the community because of their sexual orientation.

That changed July 4, Turner said, when the couple, the children and other family members were at a fireworks show at Pathfork. ...

Turner said people from the crowd called them "dykes" and made other derogatory comments related to their sexual orientation.

"If you want to look like a man, let's see you fight like one," one man said to Standifer, Turner said.

"I feel like it made them upset that we were there as a family," Turner said.

[Continued here]

Panel: Carrier Commander Who Made Raunchy Videos Can Keep Serving [WBEZ, August 24, 2011]

You remember Owen P. Honors? He was the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise who was relieved of command back in January after producing what even he said were offensive videos.

As Mark reported at the time, Honor's XO Movie Night videos were shown "to the 6,000 or so sailors and Marines aboard the Enterprise" and included "anti-gay slurs, simulated masturbation, the simulated eating of human excrement, a discussion of profanity and sexually-themed shower scenes..."

Well, a panel of Navy admirals ruled today that he could remain in service, the AP reports.

The Virginian Pilot reported earlier that the skipper faced some tough questions from the panel and he argued that the videos did not compromise his authority. About a dozen witnesses testified on his behalf.

The panel was weighing whether Honors should retire or continue serving.

[Continued here]

Potomac Falls woman removed from son's Boy Scout troop [Loudoun Times, August 24, 2011]

Denise Steele has been living in Loudoun County for more than a decade, becoming involved with the community, especially through being part of her son's Boy Scout troop for the past six years.

Steele started out in Boy Scouts as a den leader for her son, Jackson, 12, for his school, Horizon Elementary. No other parent would step up to the plate to take on the responsibility of leading a Cub Scout troop.

In retrospect, the situation was probably good - her son's troop excelled at everything, including accomplishing badges and winning the Blue and Gold Award all five years, one of the highest awards for Boy Scouts.

Above all, like any mother, Steele put her son first and wanted to make sure he had a great time in scouts.

But in June, Steele's chances to further bond with her son through scouting were dashed.

The mother was removed from the troop after one of the other assistant scoutmasters discovered Steele is a lesbian.

Steele has been in a domestic partnership with Jackie Funk for the past 19 years. The two reside in Potomac Falls with their two children, Jackson and Jaden, 9, and Steele's nephew Will, 10.

Steele's homosexuality has never been an issue with her in the past in regards to leading her son's Boy Scout troop - it may have even opened some eyes to it.

[Continued here]

Two male students ejected from Cork bar 'for kissing' [Irish Examiner, August 23, 2011]

Two male Cork Institute of Technology students were allegedly thrown out of a bar in Cork city on Saturday night for kissing on the dancefloor.

They say they were approached by a bouncer at the Old Oak on Oliver Plunkett Street and issued with a warning after sharing a brief kiss.

They later kissed again on the dancefloor and claim security told them to leave at that point.

When contacted by Cork's RedFM this evening, one of the students said that he is seeking legal advice, while the Old Oak said there was no manager available to comment at this stage.

[Continued here]

Houston judge limits rights of gay father [Houston Chronicle, August 22, 2011]

A Houston judge entered an order on June 24 which prohibits a father from leaving his children alone with any man they aren't related to "by blood or adoption." Because there was no allegation of abuse in the case, family law practitioners say the order is an unheard of infringement on the rights of parents and a judicial condemnation of the fact that the man, William Flowers, is not only gay but married to his partner, Jim Evans.

William and Jim were married on March 19 of last year in Connecticut, one of seven states which recognize same-sex unions. It was a second marriage for both.

When William and his ex-wife divorced in 2004, they agreed that their three children would live with her. Wanting to change the arrangement, William recently filed for custody in Harris County. A jury found that she should keep the kids, though his regular visitations would continue. Neither William nor his ex-wife alleged that the children had been abused or were in any danger of being abused.

Following the trial, Harris County Associate Judge Charley E. Prine, Jr. issued a ruling which included an injunction applicable only to William. It prohibits him from leaving his children alone with any male to whom the kids are not related by "blood or adoption." So if, for example, William wants to visit his mother in the hospital (where she's been for several weeks), he can't leave his kids at home with his husband. As written, the injunction also prohibits male doctors, teachers and pastors from being alone with the children.

Attorneys who practice family law in Texas point out that in cases of abuse, it is common for courts to prevent children from being alone with specific people. But those same lawyers say that they've never heard of a case in which a step-parent or long-term partner is permanently enjoined from being alone with his or her step-children when abuse is not even alleged, let alone proven. No lawyer consulted for this story has ever heard of an order which prohibits children from being left alone with an entire gender.

Judge Prine could have issued what family lawyers call a "morality clause," which, during certain hours, prohibits the presence in the household of people with whom the parent is having a "dating or intimate relationship" or those to whom the parent is not related "by blood or marriage." Because Texas does not recognize same-sex marriage and prohibits the state from recognizing unions performed elsewhere, lawyers acknowledge that had Judge Prine issued such an order, it would have forced Jim to move out, at least while the children were around.

The primary mandate of family courts is to protect the best interest of the child. So why erect barriers to the functioning of William and Jim's family in the first place?

Stereotypes, misconceptions, bigotry and fear of lesbians, gays and their families abound. There is, for example, a widespread belief held by many opponents of gay rights that homosexual men are more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Though the belief is utterly false and based on nothing but animus toward gays, extremists have combined scientific quackery and bigoted rhetoric to paint gays as pedophiliac sex junkies. A corollary and equally laughable belief - usually promoted by self-parodying hysterical bigots - holds that gays and lesbians engage in campaigns to recruit children into the "homosexual lifestyle."

Is it possible that Judge Prine believes that the children's step-father or another gay man is more likely than a heterosexual to molest the kids or turn them into brainwashed zombie drag queens? Because the case is still pending and citing the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, Judge Prine declined to comment. But lawyers who practice family law in Houston (and requested anonymity) described the order as patently anti-gay.

[Continued here]

• Houston Couple to Appeal Restrictive Custody Order [The Advocate, September 12, 2011]

California Fair Removes Rainbow Flags [The Advocate, August 20, 2011]

Organizers of the Antelope Valley Fair in Lancaster, Calif., north of Los Angeles, have taken down rainbow flags after receiving a complaint about the flags' association with the LGBT rights movement, NBC's Los Angeles affiliate reported Friday.

The flags were among several colorful ones flying at the fair, and organizers were reportedly unaware of the gay connection. General manager Dan Jacobs said he received a call "from a very irate individual that explained to me what we had up," Jacobs told the station.

[Continued here]

Teenager found guilty of stabbing gay man in north London [Pink News, August 19, 2011]

Guelor Moaso, of Maitland Park Road, Chalk Farm, stabbed 37-year-old David Farrer three times.

Mr Farrer was attacked in the early hours of February 14th as he walked near Camden Lock Bridge with two friends after a night out in gay pub The Black Cap.

He was confronted by four men, one of whom asked whether he was gay.

Moaso then attacked the victim with a knife, stabbing him in the chest and leg.

[Continued here]

Plans foiled for 'kiss-off' in front of Pope [New Zealand Herald, August 19, 2011]

Spanish police have foiled plans by 100 gays and lesbians to stage a kiss-in on the route the visiting Pope Benedict XVI took through Madrid, blocking the protesters before they could meet up.

The activists had planned to join up on the major artery Calle Serrano along which the pope later travelled in his white, bullet-proof popemobile for a welcoming cermony in Plaza Cibeles square.

But a few hundred metres from their planned meeting point and an hour before the pope passed by, a cordon of police block the demonstrators' way and forced them to disperse.

About 50 of the protesters kissed each other in front of the police, who outnumbered them, in the central Plaza Colon square less than a kilometre from the papal ceremony.

Nearby, a group of young Roman Catholics chanting "Here are the youth of the pope" were kept apart from the protesters by police.

[Continued here]

Mayor Blocks Liquor License for Town's Only Gay Bar [Bilerico Project, August 19, 2011]

If you didn't know better, you'd think this Journal & Courier article about the Lafayette, Indiana mayor refusing a bar a liquor license is nothing more than a local story about trying to keep the riffraff out of the downtown area. bottoms-up-bar-sign. That is, until you realize that it's the town's only gay bar that's being refused - a fact left out of the story unless you read between the lines.

[Continued here]

Go To Hell, Receive $50,000 [Bilerico Project, August 19, 2011]

I love the law when it accomplishes justice. Amber Yust went to her local Motor Vehicle Department to get a new license, and in the mail received, not her license, but a personal letter from the clerk saying that "homosexual acts" are "an abomination that leads to hell."

The letter referred her to the website of a fundamentalist church, the Most Holy Family Monastery. It's worth a look. According to this church, the Pope is an imposter, the Vatican is the Whore Of Babylon, and masturbation is a "mortal sin." Yust received a DVD from the church the same day as the letter.

Ms. Yust had requested that DMV change her name and sex on her license as part of her gender transition.

She will receive a $55,000 legal settlement, her lawyers said Monday; that's $40,000 from the state and $15,000 from Thomas Demartini, who was suspended with pay by the DMV shortly after the incident and quit his job in December.

[Continued here]

Gay couple's New York dream shattered by threats [GayNZ, August 19, 2011]

A gay Auckland couple has given up on its dream of being married in New York, after threats were apparently made against family members in Pakistan.

Emad Khan and Haseeb Meta were about to be announced as winners of radio station ZM's Same Sex in the City competition when Khan called in to reveal he and his partner could no longer take part.

"Haseeb and I and our loved ones have been put in a very awkward and bizarre situation and I think we're just going to stay put and just get married in New York another time probably."

A shocked breakfast host Polly Gillespie questioned him further and he explained his family was unsafe and did not want to elaborate further for their sake. "We have felt amazing, like, throughout this journey and it has been really awesome and we've really loved people who have voted for us and everything, it's been really amazing. But we've had a difficult night."

[Continued here]

Teen fears for life if outed [Northumberland News, August 18, 2011]

Sometimes one word can hurt more than any bodycheck can.

Ryan felt sick to his stomach after he made it to the bench after a bone-crushing check. But the pain he felt throughout his body was numbed by the one word which brought on the nausea: fag.

"After he hit me, he skated away and called me a fag," said Ryan, whose name has been changed to protect his identity. "I knew I was gay, but he didn't. But in sports, that's what guys do. They call each other names."

The fact is no one knows Ryan is gay. No one -- not his mom, and especially not his dad. If not for a close-knit, anonymous support group he visits, his story would not be in print today.

[Continued here]

Deputies: Neighbor attacks gay couple in Aloha [KPTV, August 18, 2011]

Washington County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a possible hate crime in an Aloha neighborhood.

Investigators say Robert Bosket attacked the couple in their home in the 2900 block of Southwest 187th Street.

Dave Christensen told Fox 12 he and his partner were at home Tuesday night when Bosket knocked on their front door.

"He pushed the door open, hit me in the chest and knocked me backwards onto the stairs. He was on top of me, strangling me," said Christensen.

Christensen said the attack went on for about 10 minutes. He said Bosket repeatedly shouted gay slurs at him.

[Continued here]

Florida teacher reassigned for Facebook comments on gay marriage [CNN, August 18, 2011]

A former "teacher of the year" in Lake County, Florida, has been reassigned while school administrators investigate comments posted on his Facebook page about same-sex marriage.

Lake County Schools Communications Officer Chris Patton said school officials received a complaint Tuesday about the content on Mount Dora High School teacher Jerry Buell's personal Facebook page, as well as copies of the posts.

Buell's page has since been taken down, but CNN affiliate Central Florida News 13 reported that a status post on it said, "I'm watching the news, eating dinner, when the story about the New York okaying same sex unions came on and I almost threw up."

Patton would not confirm the content of the post, but he said Lake County officials are taking the matter very seriously.

[Continued here]

• Fox Affiliate Ignores Potential Harm Of Teacher's Anti-Gay Comments [Think Progress, August 25, 2011]

The National Organization for Marriage today hailed the supposed "droves" of people who showed up to defend high school history teacher Jerry Buell's "freedom of speech." ...

NOM and Fox 35 and all the other anti-gay conservative groups out there are free to paint the now-reinstated Buell as a victim of a First Amendment violation, but the real story here is how toxic his class environment must be for those students who are already out as LGBT or are struggling to come out. It would be naive to assume that student success and safety are the primary concerns for these "family" groups.

• Facebook Oversharing Teacher Tells Students to Get Out If They Don't Like "God's Truth" [The Advocate, August 26, 2011]

Although a Florida teacher's incendiary comments on Facebook about same-sex marriage weren't enough to get him fired, he has yet another problem - his course syllabus tells students that he teaches "God's truth," and if you don't like it, then get out.

The new allegation was unveiled Thursday when social studies teacher Jerry Buell defended himself at a news conference hosted by Liberty Counsel, a group that volunteers its lawyers in religious cases across the country. Together they've maintained that Buell had a First Amendment right to react to enactment of marriage equality in New York by calling the development a "cesspool" that made him sick.

"I made a political comment, and all I did was affirm with passion the decision by 62% of the voters in the state of Florida in the constitutional amendment that they had in 2008," Buell argued, according to video from the Orlando Sentinel. "Residents of Florida do not approve of same-sex marriage."

The superintendent sided with Buell on the Facebook question earlier this week, but Orlando news outlets are reporting that Buell's syllabus, which he says he's used for years, is being questioned by school board authorities. The syllabus includes this warning to students: "I am a man of God and I try to be like Jesus every day. I teach God's truth, I make very few compromises. If you believe you may have a problem with that, get your schedule changed, 'cause I ain't changing!"

Liberty Counsel is again saying those comments are protected by Buell's First Amendment rights.

• Jerry Buell Insists Being Gay Irrelevant To Gay Marriage Debate [On Top, August 26, 2011]

During an appearance on TMZ Live, Buell refused to discuss his views on homosexuality and insisted they were not pertinent to the debate on gay marriage.

When host Harvey Levin asked Buell for his opinion on homosexuality, Buell's lawyer Harry Mihet, senior litigation counsel for the Christian conservative Liberty Counsel, jumped in.

"You know, we're not really here to debate Mr. Buell's personal views on homosexuality because they are not as relevant to this debate as is whether or not he has the right to have opinions, whether or not the government can tell him what to think or how to express those opinions on his Facebook page."

After Buell insisted that a gay student in his classroom would be respected, Levin shot back: "I'm not going to drop this only because it's just odd to me that the lawyer is speaking up and . Look, Jerry, you set out to talk about something that had nothing to do with your students and that's your point. When you went on Facebook, you weren't talking about your students, so let's forget about your students for a second, it has nothing to do with your students. You took a position on a really important issue, and it's a position that the majority of voters of California agree with you on. So, I am wondering, because I think this is such a part of the debate and you are now part of that fabric, what underlies it, and I'm interested to know what your view on homosexuality is. This is not a trick question."

Buell, however, never answered the question, insisting it was not relevant to the discussion, and the interview ended.

• It's Even Worse Than We Imagined [Equality Florida, August 30, 2011]

More troubling revelations have emerged surrounding Jerry Buell, a Lake County teacher who posted virulently anti-gay comments on Facebook.

Last week Jerry Buell, a Lake County teacher at Mount Dora High School gained national attention for publicly posting comments comparing gay couples to "a cesspool" on Facebook. Initially Mr. Buell was suspended from his teaching position, though the Lake County School Board has since placed him back in the classroom.

A growing number of students have come forward to describe Mr. Buell's homophobic behavior in the classroom. Brian Blaise, an honors student who graduated in 2003, described the day Mr. Buell offered his disturbing take on the issue of gays serving in the military:

        "I looked up when he said he supported gays in the military, stunned by the answer. He immediately followed that comment with the statement that we should then put them on the front lines, and pull back," Blaise said.

Another of his students recounted Mr. Buell invoking the quote "A pig in a tuxedo is still a pig" to declare his disdain for recognizing gay relationships.

Ronnie Polaneczky: Store dresses down bride for being a lesbian
[Philadelphia Inquirer, August 18, 2011]

This is one of those stories that make me want to say "I'm sorry" to gay people for the nonsense they endure from some heterosexuals who give the rest of us straight people a bad name.

So please, Alix Genter, accept my heartfelt apology that you were denied the chance to purchase the wedding gown of your dreams from Here Comes the Bride. The manager of the salon, in Somers Point, N.J., said she didn't want to be associated with your pending "illegal action."

Yep, that's actually how she referred to your wedding, next July, to your longtime partner (whose name you asked me to withhold in this column, as she's publicity-shy). You plan to apply for a civil union in New Jersey, where you live, and to be formally wed in New York, which just legalized gay marriage. But you're also arranging a big, blowout ceremony and reception for 200 at Normandy Farm in Blue Bell, where your family and friends will toast your commitment.

"We are very fortunate in that our families love and support us," you told me yesterday, from your apartment in Highland Park, N.J., near Rutgers University, where you're completing your Ph.D. in history. "They're so excited about our wedding."

[Continued here]

Keighley man jailed for horrific attack on lesbian couple [Pink News, August 18 2011]

Adrian Feather was said to have borne a grudge against Verona Benson and Tracey Williams after an incident in a pub, the Bradford Telegraph and Argus reports.

He saw the couple in the town centre on July 9th as they walked to an off-licence following a wedding reception.

Bradford crown court heard that he began shouting abuse at them and then punched Ms Benson in the face. He threw more punches and aimed a kick at her. As she lay on the ground, he stamped on her ankle, breaking it.

He continued to hit her and also hit Ms Williams.

He was arrested the next day and pleaded guilty to attacking both women.

The court heard that Ms Benson, who appeared at the trial on crutches, was a nervous wreck and did not know whether she would be able to return to her job as a bus driver.

Ms Williams said she suffered panic attacks and both women were afraid to leave the house.

[Continued here]

• 'Animal' is jailed for Keighley attack on lesbian couple [Telegraph & Argus, August 18 2011]

'Parents' Rights' Group Adopts Pro-Bullying Agenda: It Doesn't Get Better
[Think Progress, August 17, 2011]

Perhaps desperate that societal support for marriage equality and other LGBT issues continues to grow, anti-gay hate groups seem to be showing their true colors more and more, abandoning tame "protect our family values" talking points for flagrantly pro-bullying rants. MassResistance, in particular, is increasing its visibility, attacking Mitt Romney by painting him as pro-gay, partnering with the Family Research Council to smear GLSEN, and today inspiring fear in the American Family Association's "news" outlet that the anti-bullying "It Gets Better" project might soon be used in schools. Oh dear!

[Continued here]

Illinois Discrimination Complaints Can Proceed [The Advocate, August 12, 2011]

Discrimination complaints by an Illinois gay couple turned down by two venues in their quest for a site for their civil union ceremony can proceed to a hearing, the Illinois Department of Human Rights has ruled.

The department announced this week that it found "substantial evidence" of discrimination against the couple, a finding that is not a final ruling but means the men can have their complaints heard by an arbitrator, a circuit court judge, or the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Mark and Todd Wathen of Mattoon filed complaints against inns in two Illinois towns - Beall Mansion Bed and Breakfast in Alton, just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, and TimberCreek Bed and Breakfast near Paxton, in east-central Illinois - that declined to host their civil union. They allege that the owners of the B&Bs specifically did not want to host a same-sex union ceremony, something the business operators deny. They ended up having the ceremony in their backyard June 6.

[Continued here]

Allen West Compares Being Gay To Liking Chocolate Chip Ice Cream [WPBF, August 10, 2011]

A controversial congressman has compared being gay to liking chocolate chip ice cream.

U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., made those comments while on a break from Congress during a meeting with South Florida Sun-Sentinel editors and reporters Tuesday.

When asked whether people should change their behavior and not be gay, West replied, "No. I like chocolate chip ice cream, and I will continue to like chocolate chip ice cream. So there's no worry about me changing to vanilla. I like to, you know, ride my motorcycle. What do you want me to do? You want me to change my behavior and ride a scooter? I'm not into that."

It's the second time in less than a month that West has sparked controversy with his words.

[Continued here]

36 months for pair in [Windsor, Ontario] beating [Windsor Star, August 9, 2011]

A Superior Court judge called two Windsor men "bullies" Tuesday in sentencing them to 36 months for the violent robbery of a gay man downtown last year but ruled there was not enough evidence to convict them of a hate crime.

Justice Scott Campbell said the Crown had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the attack, which left Chris Rabideau with two black eyes, a fractured nose and other injuries, was hate motivated by the victim's homosexuality.

But Campbell said he had no doubt Stephen Lambert and Michael Allard did use anti-homosexual slurs during the attack when they robbed and beat Rabideau on Ouellette Avenue in the early morning of May 21, 2010.

Nonetheless, he added, the use of the slurs "exacerbated a horrific attack against the victim" that was alcohol-fuelled as "two bullies took advantage of a smaller victim."

The sentence means the two will serve a further 22 months because they were given credit for the 14 months they have already spent behind bars awaiting trial. They will be on probation for 24 months after their release. The Crown had asked for a six- to eight-year sentence if the hate crime element had stood up.

In an interview following the hearing Rabideau said he was satisfied that the term represented "a tough sentence for this jurisdiction." But he added it was regrettable that a hate crime could not be proven.

[Continued here]

Riots spread to the gay village of Birmingham [Midlands Zone, August 9, 2011]

LATEST: 4.42 pm Tues An outbreak of disorder has occured in West Bromwich this afternoon - around 200 youths have been smashing shop windows.

LATEST: 3.52 pm Tues More of Birmingham's gay venues have confirmed that they will close early, including The Angel on Hurst Street. Lee Aldred, the Nightingale's Head of Commerce, has also confirmed that the Gale will not open tonight.

Many of the bars and restaurants in Birmingham are closing early this afternoon, including several on Broad Street, as a precautionary measure should further outbreaks of disorder and looting occur later on today.

LATEST: 2.40 pm Tues Gay venues to close early from 4pm today. The Loft Lounge, The Village Inn and Missing Bar have all confirmed that they will follow advice and close at 4pm today.

A gay village employer, GB Training, in Bromsgrove Street, closed its offices at 2.30pm and sent staff home as a precautionary measure, to ensure their safety should a further outbreak of violence take place this afternoon.

[Continued here]

London [UK] gay bookshop attacked by vandals [365Gay, August 8, 2011]

London's renowned gay bookshop, Gay's the Word, has been attacked by vandals.

Staff at the Marchmont Street store came to work this morning to find the front window smashed and the shopfront had been pelted with eggs.

Assistant manager Uli Lenart told PinkNews.co.uk that witnesses reported seeing a group of youths "rampaging" up and down the street at around 12.30am and throwing eggs at another store.

[Continued here]

After lesbians get assaulted, police refuse to make report [365Gay, August 5, 2011]

DC police refused to make a report after a group of five lesbians were physically and verbally assaulted, letting the offenders go at the scene of the crime.

The incident took place July 30 at a DC train station, where two men shouted "dyke" and other expletives to the women, the Washington Blade reported. The altercation began when the men flirted with two of the lesbians. After one of the women rebuked the flirting and said she was with her girlfriend, the men began harassing them with anti-gay slurs and threats.

The men then punched two of the women in the face and head.

A 911 call was placed, supposedly by a bystander, but when police arrived they refused to complete a report and allowed the offenders to leave the scene.

"The police grabbed one of the attackers and restrained him," Yazzmen Morse, one of the victims, said to the Blade. "Then they let him go. And then they said they didn't want to hear our stories."

[Continued here]

Possible Provincetown hate crime investigated [Cape Cod Times, August 1, 2011]

Police are investigating an alleged hate crime in an incident involving four men early Sunday morning on Pleasant Street in Provincetown.

Two men, who are a couple and who live in Provincetown, were walking toward their home at 12:12 a.m. when they saw a gray sedan driving in the wrong direction on the street, according to Provincetown Police Lt. James Golden. One of the men walking told the driver that the street was one-way, and the incident escalated from there, Golden said.

The couple was allegedly attacked by the two men in the car. The two men in the car are alleged to have used a beer bottle, Lt. Golden said. The use of abusive, anti-gay language and the physical attack have raised the incident to a possible hate crime.

The two men who were walking were treated by rescuers but their injuries didn't require a trip to the hospital, the police said.

Provincetown is a well-known summer haven for gay tourists. Most recently, in 2009, Winthrop resident Eric Patten, who was accused of assaulting two women in Provincetown over Memorial Day weekend because they are gay, pleaded guilty to all charges.

"An act like this must be seen as an attack upon the entire community and an offense to all our citizens," Provincetown Police Chief Jeff Jaran said. "Hate crimes differ from conventional crime because they are not directed simply at an individual, but are meant to cause fear and intimidation in an entire group or class of people. We are determined to find the individuals responsible and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

[Continued here]

DA: Arvada Teens Yelled Gay Slurs Before Beating Up Man [Denver Channel, August 1, 2011]

Two teenagers in Arvada have been charged with bias-motivated assault, accused of yelling gay slurs at a man before beating him up.

Joseph Murphy, 18, and Zachary Kocman, 19, are each charged with one felony count of bias-motivated crime and one misdemeanor count of third-degree assault.

The attack occurred on July 18, at about 2:30 p.m., according the Denver District Attorney's Office.

The 25-year-old victim and a friend were walking in the area of 52nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard when the two suspects drove up to them yelling "sexual orientation slurs," the district attorney's office said.

The suspects then got out of their car and chased the victim for several blocks before physically assaulting him, said Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

[Continued here]

Death of Female Partner Puts Cozen Firm in Center of Same-Sex Marriage Comity Case
[ABA Journal, January 10, 2011]

The death of a female partner of Cozen O'Connor has put the law firm in the center of a dispute over a cutting-edge same-sex marriage issue-whether a marriage that is legal in one jurisdiction should be recognized as valid in another in which the parties would not have a right to wed.

After Sarah Ellyn Farley, 37, died of cancer in September, her parents contended that they are entitled to her profit-sharing account. However, her wife, Jennifer Tobits, to whom she was legally married in Toronto in 2006 also is claiming that she is entitled to the proceeds of the account, according to a Chicago Tribune obituary and a Legal Intelligencer article reprinted in New York Lawyer.

Philadelphia-based Cozen O'Connor has filed an interpleader action in federal court in Pennsylvania to determine to whom the account should be paid out. Farley worked out of the firm's Chicago office.

Farley's parents argue they are entitled to the money based on two alternative theories, according to the Legal Intelligencer:

        First, they say she executed a beneficiary designation form in their favor shortly before her death, although the law firm says it lacks at least one requisite signature. Second, they say their daughter's marriage was invalid under Illinois and Pennsylvania law and hence, since there is no surviving spouse, they are legally entitled to the money as Farley's surviving parents.

[Continued here]

• Widow Fights With Wife's Parents for Benefits [The Advocate, Augut 2, 2011]

Knowing she was teriminally ill, Farley divided her assets among her parents, Joan and David Farley, and Tobits, according to court documents. Her parents were designated as the beneficiaries of the profit-sharing plan she had through her law firm, Cozen O'Connor. She named Tobits as having the rights of survivorship for their home, and she split her monetary assets among her parents and Tobits. ...

Joan and David Farley's case claims that because Tobits and Farley's marriage was not recognized in the United States or Pennsylvania, Tobits's claim is unjustified. The Farleys are asking for full rights to the profit-sharing plan and the coverage of court fees, and so is Tobits. Farley's employer, Cozen O'Connor, has asked the court to decide who should receive benefits from the plan, according to a report from the American Bar Association Journal. While the parents say that their daughter executed all of the required paperwork to ensure that they would inherit the plan, the law firm said that at least one requisite signature is missing from the paperwork, putting the documentation in contention.

The Thomas More Society, an antigay, anti-abortion legal organization, is representing the Farleys.

Prosecutors: cult leader [Peter Lucas Moses] killed 4-year-old stepson
because he thought he was gay [LGBTQ Nation, July 8, 2011]

The leader of a religious cult [Peter Lucas Moses] in Durham, N.C. murdered his 4-year-old step son because he thought the child might be gay, according to prosecutors in a court hearing on Friday.

The man is also accused of killing a 28-year-old woman because she could not have children and wanted to leave the cult.

[Continued here]

Queens woman, gay rights group sues Sizzler over alleged homophobic bias attack by manager
[New York Daily News, July 28, 2011]

A major gay rights group says in a lawsuit against a Queens Sizzler steak house that a manager spewed homophobic epithets at a customer and shoved her to the ground.

Lambda Legal charges in the suit that the frightening encounter ensued after the manager accused Liza Friedlander of not paying for the buffet during brunch with friends at the Forest Hills Sizzler last September.

The suit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, says the manager shoved Friedlander in the chest and kicked her in the legs while calling her a "f...... dyke" and other epithets.

The suit contends the attack set off a frenzy of hateful chants from other patrons, spurring Friedlander's friends to frantically dial 911 out of fear she would be killed.

One male diner called Friedlander a "he-she freak" and demanded she leave.

Friedlander said it left her shaken.

"Just because I don't appear to be the Sizzler manager's idea of what a woman should look like doesn't mean that gives him permission to attack me and allow other customers to join in," Friedlander said.

"My friends and I went in for Saturday brunch, just like everyone else in the restaurant that morning, but it turned into a nightmare. No one should have to go through that."

[Continued here]

Fresh hate scrawled on lesbian couple's fence [GayNZ, July 27, 2011]

The Northland lesbian couple whose bulb business was destroyed in a suspicious arson earlier this year has been hit with another bout of hateful graffiti.

The poorly-spelt scrawling on the fence outside their Mangawhai Heads home appears to read "God hates dikes + qeers".

Six months on an arson attack which destroyed the packing shed of their business Blooming Bulbs, which was preceded by similar hateful graffiti, Lindsay Curnow and Juliet Leigh were already intending to put their home on the market in spring, then most likely move back to Auckland.

"Juliet and I have not really got over the shock and this isn't helped by the fact that the arsonist/s hasn't been found," Curnow says. "Mangawhai has lost its magic for us."

"We became extremely aware in the last six months that virtually all of the practical help we received came from our gay mates around here and in Auckland, plus from the wider gay community in Auckland and the rest of New Zealand," she says.

[Continued here]

• Hate crime shatters couple's lives [Stuff, January 23, 2011]

A lesbian couple are thinking about abandoning their home after a vicious hate crime.

Anti-gay slurs were scrawled on their house and car, and their business was left in ruins when an arsonist torched a packing shed on their property.

Juliet Leigh and Lindsay Curnow have lived in the seaside community of Mangawhai Heads for seven years, running a successful floral business, Blooming Bulbs, from their backyard.

In their mid-60s, both say it's always been an inclusive community and their sexuality has never been an issue.

But two attacks in a week mean they're contemplating moving on and closing the business.

On January 9, a friend's son was playing with their puppy Lulu when he discovered the graffiti.

They found seven crudely scrawled messages - five on their house and packing shed, and two on their cars.

The messages, written in thin black permanent marker, were an arrangement of the words "dike", "trash", "dirty" and "filthy".

Curnow says the hate graffiti makes her feel sick. "We rang the cops and they said 'send in photos'. I don't think they took it that seriously then."

The following Saturday they went out for dinner, returning about 8pm - just in time for their favourite TV show, Midsomer Murders.

They would not get to see it.

"I know I locked up carefully because of the graffiti," Curnow said. But during the first commercial break they heard a bang they thought was kids playing with fireworks.

Not long after, they heard a second noise - this time thinking it was a door slamming.

Seconds later, there was an explosion and they rushed outside to see flames licking the shed's inside walls.

• Lesbian couple forced from New Zealand home after attacks [Pink News, July 28, 2011]

The Manhawhai Heads business was torched seven days after being defaced with homophobic graffiti. The pair had also had their homes and car vandalised days earlier.

Now, both Leigh and Curnow are fleeing to Auckland where they hope to escape the constant persecution they have suffered for seven years.

The news comes after somebody wrote "God hates dikes + qeers" across the couple's back fence in black paint.

"It's really creepy and it's frightening," Leigh, 64, told the New Zealand Herald. "At night, when the security lights come on, we always wake, and any little noise always wakes us - it's really spooked us.

"We thought it might have gone away - that people had proved their point after they burned down the shed - but obviously they're still out there with a hatred towards us. We'd really only just gotten over the first attack.

"This person, whoever it is, is a coward, a bigot and absolutely brazen."

• Vendetta against two gay grandmothers [New Zealand Herald, September 24, 2011, 2011]

Navy censures officer for anti-gay hazing [UPI, July 24, 2011]

A former U.S. Navy commander has been censured for allowing a subordinate to be tagged with anti-gay slurs, records show.

Cmdr. Liam Bruen ran Strike Fighter Squadron 136 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., at the time of the August 2009 incident. He was promoted to a ranking post on the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis before abruptly retiring in May, The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot reports.

At a meeting to pick call signs for new officers, Ensign Steve Crowston, a Dallas Cowboys fan, was given the call sign (quarterback Tony) "Romo's Bitch." Other tags considered for him were "Fagmeister" and "Gay boy."

Crowston filed a complaint, and the Navy inspector general ruled the incident constituted hazing, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

Bruen was ousted as operations officer on the Stennis in February. In May, his superiors recommended he be "detached for cause" for the incident and other violations.

He retired within days, and the Navy is investigating the circumstances.

[Continued here]

Couples wed on 1st day gay marriage is legal in NY [Bangor Daily News, July 24, 2011]

Hundreds of gay couples dressed in formal suits and striped trousers, gowns and T-shirts recited vows in emotion-choked voices and triumphantly hoisted their long-awaited marriage certificates on Sunday as New York became the sixth and largest state to recognize same-sex weddings.

Couples began saying "I do" at midnight from Niagara Falls to Long Island, though New York City became the sometimes raucous center of action by daybreak Sunday as couples waited on a sweltering day for the chance to exchange vows at the city clerk's office.

Thousands of protesters rallied in several cities around the state, a signal that the long fight for recognition may not be over just yet.

State Sen. Ruben Diaz, a minister who was the sole Democrat to vote against gay marriage when the Legislature approved it, told a crowd near the United Nations that he and other opponents would try to get Sunday's marriages annulled, saying judges broke the law by waiving the 24-hour waiting period without a good reason.

"We're going to show them next week that everything they did today was illegal," he said, speaking in Spanish.

[Continued here]

Gary Gimmestad: Homophobia is on the rise in Minnesota. Wonder why?
[Star Tribune, July 23, 2011]

On the last Friday night of June, the Interstate 35W bridge was brilliantly lit with rainbow colors; dozens of tents were popping up in Loring Park. June had been declared national LGBT Pride Month, and marriage equality had been established in New York. There was much for Minnesotans to celebrate on the eve of the Twin Cities LGBT Pride festival. The festive mood, however, was rudely interrupted for my friend Larry and me when we were assaulted physically and verbally near my home in the Loring neighborhood of Minneapolis. Unfortunately for us, we walked into a predator's sight line at a moment when he was primed to let loose his homophobic rage. In the aftermath of the assault, the connections between increasing violence against LGBT Minnesotans and the reckless antigay proceedings at our State Capitol have become brutally clear.

A 2009 report issued by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) indicates that violence directed against LGBT Minnesotans continues to increase. OutFront Minnesota's Anti-Violence Program documented a 64 percent increase in the numbers of hate/bias incidents in Minnesota, while nationally there was a 7 percent decrease. The just-released 2010 NCAVP Hate Violence report shows that, nationally, reports of anti-LGBT hate violence increased by 13 percent from 2009 to 2010. Larry and I, and several other Minnesota victims of Pride-weekend hate violence, have now become an integral part of those foreboding statistics.

Yes, assailants should be apprehended and tried, but taking predators off the street does little to address the underlying issue: the continuing demonization of Minnesota's LGBT citizens. That nefarious project, aided and abetted by discriminatory politicians and organizations, reached a contemptible milestone with the vote to place a constitutional marriage amendment on the 2012 election ballot. And now, as in other states that have voted on anti-same-sex marriage amendments, the nightmare of escalating violence is well underway in Minnesota.

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Maryland Catholics Criticize Martin O'Malley's Decision To Sponsor Gay Marriage Bill
[OnTop, July 23, 2011]

O'Malley announced on Friday that legalizing gay marriage would be a priority of his administration during the next regular session of the General Assembly in January.

"As a free and diverse people of many faiths, we choose to be governed under the law by certain fundamental principles or beliefs, among them equal protection of the law for every individual and the free exercise of religion free of interference from government," he told reporters in Annapolis.

"Other states have found a way to protect both these fundamental beliefs."

"Therefore in the 2012 legislative session, I will sponsor legislation that protects religious freedom and protects marital equality rights equally under the law."

Mary Ellen Russell, the executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, called O'Malley's decision "disappointing."

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FAMiLY LEADER's Bob Vander Plaats Erupts In Laughter At Faggot Joke: 'That's Pretty Good'
[Think Progress, July 19, 2011]

The FAMiLY LEADER's 14-point marriage fidelity pledge has divided the GOP's 2012 presidential field and raised concerns among GOP operatives that the group and its president - three-time failed gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats - may be too extreme for the Republican state party and could be alienating moderate and independent voters. For instance, Vander Plaats regularly compares same-sex marriage to polygamy and incest, and the group's pledge requires candidates to affirm that being gay is a choice and that homosexuality is a public health risk.

But in new video footage obtained by ThinkProgress, Vander Plaats goes even further in cementing his strong dislike for gay people. During an event in Audubon, Iowa in March of 2011, Vander Plaats explained that many Iowans were concerned about the state becoming "the butt of jokes" in the aftermath of a state Supreme Court decision which found that a law prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. He was then interrupted by an attendee who recalled a joke his wife tells about the "fags" marrying in Iowa law. Vander Plaats erupts in laughter:

        ATTENDEE: You know what my wife says? She says: Iowa, the state where you can't smoke a fag, but you can marry one.

        [Laughter]

        VANDER PLAATS: Oh shoot, that's pretty good, that's pretty good. Oh shoot.

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• Vander Plaats Responds To 'Faggot' Joke Controversy: 'We Speak The Truth And Love' [Think Progress, July 27, 2011]

Lesbian Couple claims discrimination at Dollywood [WBIR, July 19, 2011]

Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton say they are a family just like any other newly wed couple. They got married in the Outerbanks last year.

However, when they went to Dollywood's Splash Country with some friend's kids a couple of weeks ago, they say they weren't treated like family.

"I was in disbelief. I didn't think it was the policy of Dollywood to discriminate against the LGBT community," said Odom.

She said the front gate host asked her to take off her t-shirt and turn it inside out.

"I looked at him and I was like really? He said 'This is a family park.'"

Her t-shirt read "Marriage is so Gay." The shirt raises money for an organization that promotes gay marriage.

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• Dolly Parton issues apology to couple for Dollywood insensitivity [The Randy Report, August 1, 2011]

Reps for Dollywood issued a statement in response to the news, assuring the LGBT community that everyone was welcome at Dollywood properties. Dolly Parton has released a statement to ABC News apologizing for the incident. The statement reads:

"I am truly sorry for the hurt or embarrassment regarding the gay and lesbian t-shirt incident at Dollywood's Splash Country recently. Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome." Dolly adds that the policies on clothing or signs with profanity or controversial messages are in place to protect the person wearing the shirt and keep disturbances at the park to a minimum. Dolly concludes saying, "I am looking further into the incident and hope and believe it was more policy than insensitivity. I am very sorry it happened at all."

• Michael Musto: Dolly Parton Responds To Homophobic Dollywood Incident [Village Voice, August 1, 2011]

She then adds that the policy against certain logos is in place not only to prevent disturbances, but to protect the person wearing the shirt!

So they're doing you a favor by telling you to block your message?

In any case, Dolly will conduct an investigation about the incident and so on and so on.

I hope she can also find out if I can go to Dollywood as a single gay who's not part of any family.

• Dollywood Refunds Lesbian Couple [Edge Boston, August 3, 2011]

Dollywood officials have offered a refund to a lesbian couple after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others during a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex.

Park officials were going to meet with the couple in person, but it was called off when Jennifer Tipton and Olivier Odom wanted to bring a representative from Campaign for Southern Equality, a gay rights organization.

Dollywood park spokesman Pete Owens told The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/mSMwyV) that the park didn't want to meet with the representative, who wasn't at the park at the time of the incident, so they sent the couple a letter and gave them a refund. ...

"I think it's an opportunity for Dollywood to come out and publicly support their LGBT staff and visitors," Odom said.

"We still want to see policy changed," Tipton said.

Owens had previously said the park has a dress code policy to ask people with clothing or tattoos that could be considered offensive to change or cover up, and that the couple was not asked to leave and they complied with the request to turn the shirt inside out.

The couple sent a letter to Dollywood officials asking the park "to implement policies that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; conduct staff sensitivity training; and issue a public statement indicating that the park is inclusive of all families."

• Dollywood's gay T-shirt controversy [Salon, August 4, 2011]

I can understand a profanity ban at a family park. Maybe you don't want a "Fuck Yeah" waiting at the bottom of Lil' Loggers' Landing. But setting a "controversial" limit -- especially in a place that apparently doesn't have a problem with pro-Confederacy sentiments -- seems like a massive can of worms. Would an "Evolve" shirt qualify? Or a "Thank God I'm an Atheist"? What about "Team Coco"? Or, considering that this is a park with an unironic Beaver Creek, would an illustration of a fan and the invitation to "Blow Me," or a picture of two birds with the word "Swallows" be acceptable? Who exactly is the Dollywood keeper of double entendre?

[Linda] Harvey Sides With Radical Islamists On Homosexuality, Calling It "A
Disgrace To Our Nation" [Right Wing Watch, July 20, 2011]

Mission America's Linda Harvey is siding with a radical Muslim group in Pakistan who is protesting an LGBT-pride event hosted by the US Embassy in Pakistan. According to the AP, an extreme Islamist political party led a protest with signs declaring "Death to America" and "Americans, we will not allow you to spread your vulgar and ugly civilisation in Pakistan," with one speaker saying gays and lesbians "should be immediately deported out of Pakistan." Harvey says she is "on the same side" as the protesters, criticizing the State Department for claiming that LGBT rights are human rights and accused the embassy of celebrating a "deviant lifestyle, something that should be a disgrace to our nation." Later in her radio show, Harvey chides Secretary Hillary Clinton's "radically liberal social views" and for inviting Lady Gaga to a concert in Italy, dubbing the State Department an "agent for Lady Gaga."

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Lesbian Couple Ordered To Leave Museum For Holding Hands [Huffington Post, July 19, 2011]

A lesbian couple was enjoying an art exhibit at San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum over the weekend when they were reportedly approached by a museum security guard and told they had to leave -- all because they were holding hands.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's C.W. Nevius, the guard told the women they were not permitted to hold hands inside the museum. When they began to argue with him, he attempted to usher them outside. The women refused and asked to see the head of security, while an outraged crowd of people formed to watch the altercation. The head of security met with the women and immediately removed the guard from duty, according to Daryl Carr, the museum's Director of Marketing and Communications.

Ironically, the women were checking out the work of famous lesbian artist Gertrude Stein.

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Lesbian Couple Says Vermont Inn Barred Them [WPTZ, July 19, 2011]

A lesbian couple who say a Vermont inn refused to host their wedding reception because of the owners' anti-gay bias are now suing, alleging discrimination under the state's public accommodations law.

Kate Baker and Ming Linsley, of New York, say they were turned away by the Wildflower Inn, a 24-room inn in Lyndonville, when they told the inn the wedding would have two brides but no groom.

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Ari Gold's eventful bus ride [Edge Boston, July 15, 2011]

This may well go down as a landmark year for New York City, especially given that just as the Big Apple was preparing to celebrate Gay Pride legislation was finally passed that granted marriage equality to New Yorkers making our state one of the handful that recognizes the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

But prejudice and ignorance are still very much apparent, even in this progressive metropolis where even casual signs of affection are still being met with hate and resistance.

Las Sunday out musician Ari Gold had a confrontation with a New York City bus driver who reacted negatively when he saw Gold holding hands with boyfriend Timothy Nelson. Nelson and Gold were enroute to the Catskills to visit Gold's parents when the incident occurred. The pair were sitting holding hands in the front of a bus not, according to Gold, in view of the bus driver. The driver had come on board to take over the route from another driver and likely noticed the couple when when he boarded the bus. He then asked Gold and Nelson to move to the back of the bus. Gold was astonished and told the bus driver they weren't going to move. The bus driver then pulled the bus to the side of the road and called the police.

It was clear to everyone on the bus," Gold told EDGE, "including the police that were called onto the scene that our civil rights were being violated... and to be told to move to the back of the bus. It's was just strange."

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• Michael Musto: Homophobia On The Short Line Bus [Village Voice, July 10, 2011]
• Michael Musto: Shortline Responds to Homophobia Allegations! And I Respond To Their Response! [Village Voice, July 12, 2011]
• Settlement Reached in Case of Gay Couple Told to Move to Back of Bus [The Advocate, Ausgust 9, 2011]

"Lambda Legal is always prepared to go to the courts when members of the LGBT community face discrimination, but we're pleased when it doesn't have to come to that," said Gorenberg in a statement. "Short Line's swift and serious response shows this company knows that doing the right thing is also good business."

The driver has been "appropriately disciplined," policies and training on nondiscrimination laws are on the way for employees, and Gold got a refund for his tickets and an apology, according to Lambda Legal.

In African Women's Soccer, Homophobia Remains an Obstacle [New York Times, June 21, 2011 ]

Shortly before she was hired in 2009 as the first female coach of Nigeria's powerful women's national soccer team, Eucharia Uche said at a seminar that she was troubled by the presence of lesbians on the squad, calling it a "worrisome experience."

Over the past two years, as Nigeria progressed toward the Women's World Cup, which begins Sunday in Germany, Uche said that she has used religion in an attempt to rid her team of homosexual behavior, which she termed a "dirty issue," and "spiritually, morally very wrong."

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, states as part of its mission a desire to use the game in "overcoming social and cultural obstacles for women with the ultimate aim of improving women's standing in society." But the story of Nigeria's Super Falcons illustrates the cultural obstacles that remain for many African women who play soccer decades after more assertive efforts at inclusivity occurred in places like the United States, Germany, Norway, Sweden and more recently in Brazil.

Uche said she had never witnessed her own players participating in homosexual activity. Instead, she said that she had relied on rumors, speculation and news media accounts to form her belief that lesbian behavior had been common in the Nigerian team.

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• Uche slammed for homophobic remarks [ESPN, June 30, 2011]

Nigerian women's coach Eucharia Uche has been criticised by FIFA after she branded homosexuality as 'dirty' and admitted she forced lesbians out of her team.

Ex-Giant David 'The Catch' Tyree: Gay Marriage Will Lead to 'Anarchy' [Time, June 16, 2011]

David Tyree, the former Giants wide receiver - who is best remembered for his stunning catch in the game, which put his team at an offensive advantage over the New England Patriots and eventually leading to their victory - says that gay marriage will lead the nation into "anarchy." ...

Channeling his inner Anita Bryant, Tyree also says that same-sex couples should not be allowed to raise children, either because "you can't teach something that you don't have. So two men will never be able to show a woman how to be a woman. That's just, for lack of better terms, common sense."

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• David Tyree Says He'd Trade Super Bowl Win If Doing So Would Prevent Same-Sex Marriages [NESN, June 20, 2011]
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck defends David Tyree's plug for NOM -- and shows the complex politics of same-sex unions [Salon, June 22, 2011]

4 Lincoln High School wrestlers face disorderly conduct charges
[Marshfield News Herald, May 27, 2011]

Four members of Lincoln High School's state championship-winning wrestling team face disorderly conduct charges for alleged misconduct in the team locker room.

A freshman member of the team said four juniors sexually harassed him -- dancing naked in front of him and touching him inappropriately -- during the season, according to a criminal complaint filed in Wood County Circuit Court. ...

According to the criminal complaints, on March 18, the mother of a ninth-grade student who was on the wrestling team contacted the Wisconsin Junior High School principal about inappropriate behavior by members of the wrestling team. The mother said she became aware of the situation when the boy didn't want to go to the team's annual banquet.

When the woman pressed her son for an explanation, he said "it was because of sexual harassment he was receiving," according to the criminal complaint.

The 15-year-old said the wrestlers would dance around the Lincoln High School locker room naked, touch their genitals to the younger boy's leg and hold their genitals close to his face, according to the complaint.

The younger wrestler said he had to climb into his locker to avoid contact with one wrestler's genitals, according to the complaint. ...

When Wisconsin Rapids Officer Andy Dewitt spoke with other ninth-grade members of the wrestling team, they confirmed that [list of students' names] had danced naked around the 15-year-old and hit his leg with their genitals, according to the complaint.

Another 17-year-old member of the team told Dewitt that some of the wrestlers were "grabbing guys in the privates as they came out of the shower and that they are hitting the guys in the privates with towels." ...

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