Prop 8 trial transcripts posted – or watch the re-enactment
The American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is supporting the current legal effort to overturn Prop 8 in California, is now posting daily trial transcripts.
But if that’s too dry for you, check out MarriageTrial.com, which is producing re-enactments of the most exciting – and important – days of the trial. …
Death penalty still in Uganda bill
The Guardian is reporting that, despite reports to the contrary, if the current “anti-homosexual” bill passes in Uganda, it will include the death penalty.
Please read the Guardian’s story in its entirety. It details a frightening backslide of gay rights in Africa, and traces the American origins of the Uganda bill.
Among …
House subcommittee approves benefits for same-sex partners
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Diocese of Niagara to offer same-sex blessings
As of Sept. 1, the diocese of Niagara will allow its priests to bless same-gender couples who have been civilly married.
Niagara becomes the second diocese in the Anglican Church of Canada, after the Vancouver-based New Westminster, to offer a sacrament for same-sex blessings. (The diocese of New Westminster, which allowed same-sex blessings in 2002, currently limits the rite to eight parishes.) The issue of same-sex blessings continues to deeply divide Anglicans in Canada as well as worldwide.
“The Niagara Rite is intended for the voluntary use of priests who wish to offer a sacrament of blessing regardless of the gender of the civilly married persons…” the diocese of Niagara said on its Web site, www.niagara.anglican.ca
The rite may also be used for the blessing or renewal of vows for couples “celebrating a significant moment in their married life together,” said an introduction to the Niagara Rite.
The approval of the rite came five years after the diocesan synod of Niagara passed a motion allowing civilly-married gay couples, “where at least one party is baptized,” to receive a church blessing. The diocesan bishop at that time, Ralph Spence, had refused to implement the motion. In January 2008, a similar motion was approved by Niagara’s diocesan synod, and this time, Bishop Spence gave his approval, but said he reserved the right to determine when the same-sex blessings would move forward.
Last fall, Bishop Spence’s successor, Michael Bird, informed a meeting of the Canadian house of bishops that he intended to develop the rite, saying, “I believe we are among those who have been called by God to speak with a prophetic voice on this subject.”
Under a list of protocols outlined by Bishop Bird, a cleric who wishes to offer the Niagara Rite must contact the bishop’s office “so that a conversation can take place between the bishop and the cleric involved.” The cleric is expected to provide details about the couple the cleric intends to bless “and should be prepared to have a conversation about the response of the parish to the blessings,” the list added. “A date for such a blessing should not be confirmed with the couple until after this conversation with the bishop has taken place.”
A parish is not required to get the approval of its vestry before it can offer such blessings.
Two other dioceses – Montreal and Ottawa – have also informed the house of bishops about their intention to move ahead with same-sex blessings. At that meeting, the house of bishops issued a statement saying that a “large majority” of its members could affirm “a continued commitment to the greatest extent possible” to a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions. But it acknowledged that the moratorium, which had been sought by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the primates of the Anglican Communion, would be difficult for some dioceses “that in confidence have made decisions on these matters.”
The issue of whether dioceses can offer same-sex blessings is likely to be revisited at the 2010 meeting of General Synod, the governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada. In 2007, General Synod had agreed that blessing rites for gay couples are “not in conflict” with core church doctrine, but refused to affirm the authority of dioceses to offer them. General Synod delegates had also voted to study revising the marriage canon (church law) to allow priests to marry all legally qualified persons. Marriage for gay people has been legal in Canada since 2005.
Last spring, Council of General Synod (CoGS), the church’s governing body in between General Synod meetings, decided not to ask General Synod 2010 to amend the marriage canon to allow for the marriage of same-sex couples. The decision was made after the faith, worship and ministry committee, which was asked by CoGS to prepare “a theological rationale to allow for the marriage of all legally qualified persons,” said that it found the request problematic. Janet Marshall, committee chair, told CoGS that some members felt uncomfortable about being asked to create a rationale for only one side of the argument.
See Diocese of Niagara to offer same-sex blessings
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Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric
On July 14, the day of a legislative hearing on the transgender rights bill currently on Beacon Hill, WCVB’s NewsCenter 5 ran a story about the bill on its evening newscast. Anchor Liz Brunner introduced the story by saying, “It’s being called the bathroom bill, [and it] is essentially meant to end discrimination based on transgender status.” Behind Brunner was an image of the traditional male and female stick figures found on restroom doors, positioned next to the State House dome and above the tagline, “Bathroom Bill.” Yet the only people calling the trans rights bill, House Bill 1728, a “bathroom bill” are its opponents, and the label is a misnomer by any objective criteria.
H.B. 1728 adds trans-inclusive language to the state’s non-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, public accommodations, credit, housing, and education, as well as to the state’s hate-crimes laws, going far beyond simply allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or expression. Opponents of the legislation, led by the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), claim that the bill will allow male sexual predators to masquerade as women and sneak into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. WCVB’s coverage of the transgender rights bill, as well as the coverage by some other local media outlets, suggests that the work of the bill’s opponents to label the legislation a bathroom bill in public discourse has been at least somewhat successful. See Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric Bay Windows
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San Jose’s Billy DeFrank Center embarks on ambitious fundraising campaign
For 28 years, the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center has been the go-to place for Silicon Valley’s diverse gay community. But on Tuesday, interim executive director Paul Wysocki sent out a desperate plea: the DeFrank Center will close its doors unless it raises $50,000 by Sept. 1. “Our government funding has ended, and in today’s economy, we can’t count on corporate support,” read a weekly newsletter that is e-mailed to supporters. “Our current income from memberships and events no longer meets even the most basic level of Center operations.” The DeFrank Center has three main programs: support services for youth, another for seniors, and an HIV/AIDS testing program. But funding for the HIV testing from Santa Clara County and for the senior program from the city of San Jose have dried up as both the county and the city struggle with their own budget deficits. The Center has cut expenses and now has an annual budget of $310,000, down from $800,000 a few years ago. Wysocki became interim executive director four months ago after former executive director Aejaie Sellers and former board President PJ Matarese were ousted amid internal power struggles over the center’s long-term vision and escalating financial problems. “I have a lot of empathy for Barack Obama,” said Wysocki. “You inherit a situation where a lot of things were done poorly.”
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Gay iPhone Radio Application from GayInternetRadioLive.com Reaches 50,000 Downloads
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 20, 2009 — GLBT Radio Network, LLC announced today its customized iPhone application for GayInternetRadioLive.com (G.I.R.L.) has surpassed 50,000 downloads from Apple iTunes. The application debuted in the Apple iTunes store four months ago this week and remains listed as one of Apple’s top 100 free music applications. The wildly popular dance formatted station appeals to all dance music enthusiasts but specifically targets the GLBT demographic.
“This technology has had an enormous impact on time spent listening by more than tripling the amount of time our mobile audience spends with the station,” said Christopher Leonard, President and CEO of GLBT Radio Network. “The response has been overwhelming. To meet audience demand, we have increased our bandwidth capacity, moved our iPhone listeners to a dedicated stream server and also increased the number of concurrent seats available on the mobile stream. I continue to receive hundreds of emails and calls every week thanking us for the application.”
Unique to this iPhone application is the ability to deliver powerful branding messages with the use of colorful mobile banner advertising. When clicked, the app opens the advertised content within the application. The audio stream is not interrupted and customized web pages built specifically for iPhone browsing are displayed.” Leonard continued, “This provides endless opportunities for advertisers to provide direct response marketing such as “tap to call” and “tap to email” options while the advertisement is literally in the hands of the consumer.” Traditional in-stream audio ads, generally 10 to 30 seconds in length, blend in with the dance music format to promote gay and gay friendly businesses worldwide. It’s advertising for today’s mobile tech savvy consumer.
Some additional features include:
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About GLBT Radio Network
GLBT Radio Network is an Internet based media company specializing in Internet only radio programming that targets the Gay and Lesbian community. For more information and advertising opportunities visit www.GLBTradionetwork.com .
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Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — With competitive races in Congress a rarity in California, the unexpected availability of a seat here has set off a sudden and furious chase, with at least a dozen candidates and a mélange of political styles and personal storylines.
California’s 10th Congressional District, a sprawling inkblot made up of a collection of suburbs east of San Francisco, has been represented since 1997 by Ellen O. Tauscher, a Democrat who resigned after being confirmed on June 25 to a top post in the State Department.
The field to succeed her includes the lieutenant governor, two state lawmakers, a decorated Iraqi war veteran who is openly gay and a former newspaper reporter. And that does not even include the Republican candidates in this Democratic-leaning district.
The crush of hopefuls, said Henry Brady, a professor and dean of the public policy school at University of California, Berkeley, might stem in part from the diversity of the district, which extends from the liberal Bay Area to more conservative territory inland.
“These seats don’t come available very much, and the reason is very simple: geography,” Dr. Brady said. “The Democrats are primarily on the coast, and the Republicans are in the Central Valley and the mountains, so it’s very hard to build a competitive district. But this has the potential to be one.”
The lieutenant governor, John Garamendi, is considered the early favorite to replace Ms. Tauscher. Mr. Garamendi, a Democrat who had considered running for governor next year, said he opted instead for Congress in large part because of the abbreviated campaign. A primary, followed by a special election, to complete Ms. Tauscher’s term must be held within 126 days of the governor setting the date. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation Friday declaring Nov. 3 the date for the special election.
“I thought, How am I going to spend two valuable years of my life?” said Mr. Garamendi, 64, who previously served as the deputy secretary of interior in the Clinton administration as well as the California’s first elected insurance commissioner. “Am I going spend two years dialing for dollars, or am I going to spend four months out ringing doorbells and campaigning person to person and the other 20 months working on issues?”
Mr. Garamendi’s principal challengers among the Democrats, some polls show, are State Senator Mark James DeSaulnier and Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan. Both were elected to their current posts last fall.
Mr. DeSaulnier, 57, is a former mayor, city councilman and assemblyman, who says his career comes in spite a devastating personal experience with politics: a scandal involving his father, Judge Edward J. DeSaulnier Jr., who was removed from the bench of the Massachusetts Superior Court and disbarred in 1972 after being accused of rigging a sentence for the Mafia. The older Mr. DeSaulnier was never charged with a crime but was disgraced nonetheless and committed suicide in 1989.
“I’ve been very affected by my father’s journey,” said Mr. DeSaulnier, who worked as a restaurateur before running for office. “And I’ve loved my public life.”
The rest of the Democratic field is not as well known, though one candidate has attracted some national attention: Anthony Woods, a 28-year-old graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a veteran of the Iraq war who was awarded the Bronze Star for two tours of duty. Shortly after his return from combat, while at Harvard working toward his master’s degree, Captain Woods told military superiors that he is gay, resulting in an honorable discharge.
While considered a long shot for the Congressional seat, Mr. Woods would be the first openly gay black man in Congress, though he has been careful on the campaign trail to trumpet more than his sexuality.
“The first thing I talk to voters about is their priorities, universal health care and economic security,” he said. “I’m not hiding who I am, but they’re just as interested in talking about the issues as I am.”
See Congressional Race in California Draws a High-Profile Cast
New York Times
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Report Shows LGBT Health Disparities
A new report on the non-HIV health and human service needs of LGBT people in New York state shows significant disparities compared to non-LGBT people, reflecting national trends exacerbated by lack of adequate data and homophobia.
The state-sponsored report, the first of its kind for New York, was prepared by researcher Somjen Frazer and published by the Empire State Pride Agenda. It is based on government data, interviews with 60 LGBT health and human services experts, and surveys of 3,500 LGBT New Yorkers.
Key findings of the report, according to Somjen, include the pervasiveness of homelessness, which poses a substantial barrier to service access. Fourteen percent of LGBT people, including one-third of transgender respondents, reported being homeless currently or at one point in their lives.
Lack of culturally competent care also creates hurdles, with 40% of LGBT respondents saying that too few health professionals were adequately trained to deliver services to LGBT patients. Moreover, 27% said they feared they would be treated differently if their health care provider learned they were LGBT.
See Report Shows LGBT Health Disparities
Advocate.com
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Rumor Willis To Play Lesbian On ’90210′
Rumer Willis is going to 90210 to play a lesbian character. Willis, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ oldest daughter, landed the role of Gia, according to Access Hollywood.
Willis’ character in the CW’s remake of the teen drama 90210 is a gay student at West Beverly Hills High, a fictional school at which the show takes place.
While currently only scheduled for a one episode appearance, it is expected that her character may be back for more episodes in the future.
A CW spokesman described Gia as a “punky cute lesbian.” As Gia, Willis will be working as a member of the school’s student run newspaper. Also working on the paper are Navid (Michael Steger), Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes), and Silver (Jessica Stroup). The character will also not be afraid to speak her mind, to make her a little “scrappy.”
See Rumor Willis To Play Lesbian On ’90210′
SheWired -
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