Rep. Deb Mell: ‘You can’t legislate who you love’

Rep. Deb Mell, a state legislator in Illinois (and, full disclosure, a friend of my partner) said Tuesday on a local Chicago TV news show that she would be announcing her engagement to her partner Christin Baker on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives.

Mell and Baker were engaged April 10; but at the moment, they would not be able to marry in Illinois.

[1]

“I want to spend the rest of my life with her, and I want to get married in Illinois,” Mell said on Chicago Tonight on Tuesday evening. “I mean, we could go to Iowa and Iowa’s great… I went to school in Iowa. But you know what? It’s not the state where I represent, and it’s not the state where I grew up in.”

She plans to tell her fellow legislators, “That you can’t legislate who you love and can’t punish people for it,” she said. “That we are a regular couple, pay taxes, own a home, have a great belief in God.”

Wrote Carol Marin, a local legend among Chicago journalists, in the Chicago Sun-Times [2]:

“What will make this moment historic in the annals of Illinois politics is that Mell’s fiancee, Christin Baker, is a woman.

“Unlike only five states, Illinois has never come close to approving civil unions, much less same-sex marriage.

“Bills to change that are buried in committee with no prayer of being passed this session. They wouldn’t even if this weren’t an election year.”

Marin noted that Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn his Republican rival Sen. Bill Brady are both opposed to same-sex marriage (as is former Illinois legislator Barack Obama).

Mell said that she hopes to start a conversation in Illinois about gay marriage – but most likely, she and Baker will be marrying in Iowa in 2011.

[1] http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-deb-mell-christin-baker-top.jpg
[2] http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/2207618,carol-marin-mell-same-sex-marriage-042810.article

bout 17 percent of gay men in Chicago are…

bout 17 percent of gay men in Chicago are HIV-positive — and half of them don’t know it.

That’s according to authorititative new estimates from the Chicago Public Health Department.

In particular, black men who have sex with men have double the HIV infection rates of white and Hispanic men, even though they don’t appear to engage in riskier behavior, Chicago health officials said today.

Their report was based on data collected last year from 570 Chicago men in the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system.

It’s the first time Chicago health officials have used blood-testing to determine HIV infection rates in this high-risk population, said Christopher Brown, assistant commissioner of the health department’s STD, HIV and AIDS division.

Past estimates have relied solely on interviews with gay and bisexual men about their HIV status.

“What we found out pretty much confirms what we’ve known for a while,” Brown said.

See Study: Half of HIV-positive men in Chicago don’t know it

Chicago Sun-Times

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Chicago statue honoring gay activist stolen

(Chicago) A statue containing the ashes of a Chicago gay activist was stolen from an Uptown peace garden this past weekend, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The statue was created as a tribute to lesbian health activist and attorney Mary York. The statue was a replica of the Bird Girl sculpture that …

Gay soccer referee forced to quit in Turkey, vows to keep fighting

It would appear that being gay excludes you from having any chance of being a soccer referee in Turkey.

Halil İbrahim Dinçdağ, who was forced to quit his job as a ref due to his sexual orientation, appeared on Turkish television Saturday night to say he would continue his legal fight.

Dinçdağ was forced to leave his job because he had been excused from his compulsory military service on account of his homosexuality, which was documented in a medical report. According to the sport’s regulations, anyone who fails to complete his military service for health reasons is unfit to perform as a referee.

Apparently, in Turkey homosexuality is seen as a medical condition that would preclude military service. Dinçdağ appealed to others who have been discriminated against and urged them to keep fighting as well.

“P See Gay soccer referee forced to quit in Turkey, vows to keep fighting Chicago Sun-Times * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Out official is Chicago mayor’s pick to helm public schools

Ron Huberman, an openly gay ally of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley who recently was appointed CEO of the city’s public schools, is profiled. Being gay “has given me a great sensitivity for the need to be inclusive,” Huberman said. “If I didn’t grow up being part of a group that was viewed differently, I may not have that sensitivity. It makes me in tune to individuals, groups and others who are not fitting in and may need extra support.” Chicago Sun-Times

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Obama team takes blame for Robinson slight

President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural committee is taking the hit today for V. Gene Robinson’s invocation at the Sunday welcoming concert not being televised nationally, Politico reports.

Tens of thousands of attendees did hear the opening prayer given by Robinson, the openly gay New Hampshire Episcopal bishop, but viewers on HBO’s broadcast missed it.

The inaugural committee says the entire broadcast, including Robinson’s invocation, will be shown on the big TV screens along the National Mall on Tuesday.

“We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson’s invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday’s program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event,” inaugural committee spokesman Josh Earnest told Politico.

Robinson had been given the slot after he and other gay advocates protested Obama’s selection of evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at Tuesday’s inauguration. Warren pushed for Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage in California. Obama team takes blame for Robinson slight
Boston Globe, United States - 1 hour ago
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