State Dept. spokesman ousted
PJ Crowley stepped down after decrying gay soldier Bradly Manning’s prison conditions.
State Dept. spokesman ousted
PJ Crowley stepped down after decrying gay soldier Bradly Manning’s prison conditions.
Elton John on mend, resuming tour dates
(London) Elton John has been released from a London hospital after being treated for flu and an E. coli bacterial infection.
The singer’s spokesman Gary Farrow says John was at home Friday and was feeling fine. He left the hospital early Thursday.
He says John planned to resume his suspended tour and …
Elton John recovering in hospital from flu, e-coli
(London) Elton John has been hospitalized after suffering from a case of E. coli bacterial infection and the flu, his spokesman said Monday.
Gary Farrow said the pop star hopes to be released soon but has been forced to cancel concerts in England, Ireland and the United States.
John intends to rejoin …
Evangelical group faces ’serious’ shortfall
(Denver) A “serious budget shortfall” at Focus on the Family has prompted the conservative Christian group to issue a special fundraising plea, and contributed to a decision to cede control of its contentious “Love Won Out” conferences about homosexuality to another religious organization, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Focus on the …
IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week
The names of people who signed petitions seeking to overturn Washington’s “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law won’t be released publicly following a federal judge’s temporary restraining order.
Sponsors of Referendum 71 went to U.S. District Court in Tacoma Wednesday seeking the order. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.
The names of everyone who signed Referendum-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws. A gay-rights group says it wants to post all the names online. But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment.
Nick Handy, state elections director, said in a statement: “Referendum petitions become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our consistent practice has been to make these available upon public request. By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to public records requests in a timely way.”
Backers of R-71 turned in about 138,000 signatures Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
See IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week Seattle Post Intelligencer
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/ids-of-gay-pa…
Gay partnership foes turn in referendum signatures
Opponents of a measure that passed the Legislature this year giving same-sex domestic partners all the rights of married people turned in signatures to the secretary of state’s office Saturday in attempt to overturn the new law through a citizen referendum.
Referendum 71 needs 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot. Exactly how many signatures the R-71 camp turned in Saturday wasn’t immediately clear. The secretary of state’s office said it received the first batch a little after 3 p.m. Saturday.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
He said Saturday that R-71 backers were cutting it very close.
“They’re definitely running on fumes, in terms of trying to get their pad,” Ammons said.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
If R-71 proponents don’t have enough signatures, the domestic partnership expansion will immediately take effect. If the measure does qualify, voters will be asked to either approve or reject the new law.
See Gay partnership foes turn in referendum signatures
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-partnersh…
Courts unlikely to strike down new domestic partner registry until after it begins
An attorney for those hoping to strike down Wisconsin’s new legal protections for domestic partners says he hopes the Supreme Court will decide their request in a matter of weeks.
But by then, gay couples will have already started registering at county courthouses for the benefits. Those sign-ups begin a week from Monday.
Three members of the Wisconsin Family Action group asked the Supreme Court yesterday to declare the domestic partner registry unconstitutional.
They say it violates the constitutional amendment against gay marriage and civil unions which group members helped pass in 2006.
The group calls it an effort to redefine marriage in Wisconsin. But a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, who included the registry in the new state budget, says it’s just a set of basic protections, and it has nothing to do with promoting gay marriage.
Four of the seven justices would have to agree to take the case, and their new session does not begin until September.
See Courts unlikely to strike down new domestic partner registry until … Hudson Star Observer
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/courts-unlike…
Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
SAN DIEGO – A sailor was charged Thursday with fatally shooting and burning Seaman August Provost during an alleged burst of crime June 30 at Camp Pendleton.
In announcing the charges, Navy officials suggested that Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Campos killed his victim indiscriminately. They again said there’s no evidence of a hate crime against Provost, who was gay, or of gang-related activity.
Campos, 32, of Lancaster, had served with Provost on Assault Craft Unit 5. He faces 16 charges, including murder, arson, unlawful entry, theft of military property and wrongful possession of a firearm, Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the San Diego Naval Base.
The Navy hasn’t announced a date for Campos’ pretrial hearing, called an Article 32 hearing.
See Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
San Diego Union Tribune –
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/sailor-arrest…
Gay men’s beauty pageant: Contestant, judge accused of beating another judge with trophy
Not many beauty pageants end with a judge and contestant attacking another judge — with a trophy.
Two men were ordered held on bond Wednesday after they were charged with beating a judge at a gay men’s beauty pageant earlier this month on Chicago’s West Side.
Leroy Tinch, 28, of the 2200 block of Emerson Street in Evanston and Anthony Johnson, 23, of the 8200 block of Keating Avenue in Skokie were both charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm, a class one felony, said Andrew Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
The men were ordered held on $75,000 bond by Circuit Court Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil.See Gay men’s beauty pageant: Contestant, judge accused of beating …
Chicago Tribune
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-mens-beau…
