Gay pride invitation goes sour Albany Times Union
ALBANY — A local woman whose vandalized Volkswagen launched her on a career as a gay activist welcomed nationwide as a speaker, often in conjunction with a documentary film she made about her experiences, will not be in the Capital Region for this weekend’s gay pride festival because of a dispute with event organizers.
The activist, Erin Davies, blames the Capital Pride Committee, a group of community volunteers and staffers of the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Council, for scuttling an Albany showing of her award-winning documentary, “Fagbug.”
Accepted at dozens of film festivals in the U.S. and abroad, the movie will be shown tonight, the date originally planned. But the screening has been moved from a 250-seat theater at the State Museum to the Photography Center of the Capital District in Troy, where it will be shown in a room that seats approximately 20.
“They tried to bribe and threaten me, but I wouldn’t let them and just found another place,” said Davies, 31. She alleges that anonymous members of the committee thought her $10 suggested ticket price for the museum screening was too high and vowed to remove the showing from Capital Pride listings unless she lowered it. Davies makes her living with paid speaking engagements and film screenings; the admission price was meant to offset some of the difference between what she normally receives for appearances and the $500 fee she had agreed to for the museum event, she said.
Organizers and other people involved in discussions with Davies dispute her account of what happened and characterize Davies as having a martyr complex that led her to exaggerate routine, if frustrating, negotiations into antagonism and personal attacks.
“We absolutely support (the screening). It’s always been one of our events,” said Nora Yates, executive director of the community council. The screening was included in printed calendars and is mentioned, with its new Troy location, on the community council’s Web site. Founded in 1970, the CDGLCC, believed to be the oldest such continuously operating group in the country, is the prime force behind the 11-day, 34-event Capital Pride 2009 observance that culminates with Sunday’s pride parade and festival in Washington Park.
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Albany Times Union
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US condemns anti-gay violence in Iraq
WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday condemned alleged violence and abuse against homosexuals in Iraq, adding the US embassy in Baghdad has raised the issue with Iraqi government officials.
“In general, we absolutely condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals in Iraq because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.
“This is an issue that we’ve been following very closely since we have been made aware of these allegations, and we are aware of the allegations,” Kelly told reporters when asked about anti-gay violence in Iraq.
“Our training for Iraqi security forces includes instruction on the proper observance of human rights,” Kelly said.
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Healthcare industry lags in LGBT health issues
(Washington) The healthcare industry is failing LGBT patients, according to a report released Tuesday by the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
The release of the third annual Healthcare Equality Index coincides with the annual observance of National Hospital Week.
“While many facilities are leading the way in …
Tags: Equality, Health Issues, Healthcare Industry, Human Rights Campaign, Leading The Way, Lesbian Medical Association, Lgbt Health, National Hospital Week, ObservanceSame-Sex Marriage & the Family
New England has been at the center of the debate over granting marriage rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples.
Vermont became the first state in the nation to grant those rights in 2000 when it adopted civil unions. Four years later, Massachusetts became the first state to give gay and lesbian couples full marriage rights.
And last year, Connecticut’s Supreme Court determined that civil unions didn’t go far enough and ordered marriage, instead.
As part of annual Law Day observances, on April 30, 2009, Dartmouth College invited a lawyer and three Supreme Court justices who have participated in these decisions to talk about rulings from their respective courts.
The panelists are: Beth Robinson, a Middlebury lawyer who argued the Vermont case; retired Vermont Supreme Court Justice James Morse; Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Robert Cordy; and Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Joette Katz.
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Vermont Public Radio - Colchester,VT,USA
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Warren protest planned at King church
(Atlanta, Georgia) A coalition of activists is planning to protest The King Center’s choice of the Rev. Rick Warren as keynote speaker on the federal observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
The Jan. 19 event in Georgia is the day before the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, who …
Tags: Activists, Atlanta Georgia, barack obama, Inauguration Of President, Jan 19, Keynote Speaker, Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr, Observance, President Elect, Protest, Rev Martin, Rick Warren
