''A law that could provoke debates and reactions aims to put an end to discrimination and will allow civil unions between same-sex persons.'' Newly elected Albania Prime Minister Sali Berisha stating that he is in favor of allowing gay and lesbian marriages in the former Communist country that lies between Greece and Italy. (AFP) ''I fully respect the integrity of ... [Read]
July 2009 Archives
''The two individuals believed -- albeit mistakenly -- that they had the right to be there. Fairness requires that either that property be not open to the public or you condition that [openness] in a way that the person who comes on understands that it is private property.'' Sim Bill, City Prosecutor for Salt Lake City, Utah, referring to ... [Read]
''We know we've been disadvantaged. But, there are programs for women already. And the perception is this would only enhance gay white males. That's why there's not consensus within our community.'' Tom Tunney, Chicago's first openly gay alderman, discussing the complexity of his own request for the city's Corporation Counsel to look at whether or not gay men and ... [Read]
''In conversations with a number of my fellow major No on 8 donors. I find that they share my sentiment: namely, that we will step up to the plate -- with resources and talent -- when the time is right.'' David Bohnett, a philanthropist and entrepreneur who donated over $1 million to the 2008 effort to defeat Proposition 8, ... [Read]
''I wasn't making any statement against lesbians, I'll tell you that right now. I have nothing against them at all. I was just trying to run a catfish derby.'' Mike Raney, an Oregon Lions Club member who refused to grant a ''$1 couples discount'' to Tina Corriere-Gooch and her lesbian partner, Angela, at a ''Catfish Derby'' in May. He ... [Read]
''The new law, which took effect on July 18, 2009, provides that when a woman bears a child conceived by artificial insemination, and her spouse or unmarried partner consents in writing to the insemination, the consenting spouse or partner is a legal parent. That person's name will appear as a parent on the child's birth certificate. With the enactment ... [Read]
''He's fine. All the stories you've been told are not true.... Bryce] got caught up with friends who were pulling him that way. He just wants to take some time and figure out what he wants to do with his life.'' Debra Faulkner of Arkansas, as quoted by Fox News which has picked up on the curious story of ... [Read]
''Someday at some point my dissent will be the majority view in California. I think that's where the law is headed. Equal protection is either equal or it's not. It's not the kind of thing you can chip away at.'' Carlos Moreno, a Supreme Court Justice for the state of California, expressing his continued belief in marriage equality for same-sex ... [Read]
''He was the kind of man who believed in human rights for everyone. I am amazed and humbled by his willingness to reach out to me. He was a bridge between the gay movement and major media. We remained friends, and it was a privilege knowing him.'' Mark Segal, publisher of Philadelphia Gay News, who is described by the Washington ... [Read]
''We're all reading the tea leaves here. I'm not saying 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is going away. We can't say that. But this is a good sign.'' Tricia Heller, a lesbian who is also a former Air Force Academy graduate working to end the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that excludes gays from serving openly in the Armed Forces. She ... [Read]
Publicist Laura Gilmore said Harris died Thursday night after being stricken at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and a cause of death had not been determined. She said Harris, who lived in Atlanta, fell ill on a train to Los Angeles a few days ago and blacked out for a few minutes, but seemed fine after that. Report ... [Read]
''I started thinking, kind of happily about the suspect nature of a middle-aged, white, gay man driving an ice cream truck and the fact that people would talk under their breath and say, "There goes the old Queen with his ice cream truck." so I thought, well let's completely head them off at the pass here. Make the truck ... [Read]
''We took down the mannequin for 5 seconds to move it, and move it back to this window. But we will not take down this display.'' An employee of the clothing store American Apparel in Silver Spring, which had it's window smashed for, allegedly, setting up a display of t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan ''Legalize Gay.'' The Georgetown store ... [Read]
''Apparently, I must have voted for the wrong person.'' Sebastian Latta of Baltimore, MD, who had his jaw broken in three places after he was attacked by two men with a sharp instrument and the trophy from a gay beauty pageant he was judging in Chicago. (CBS2) ... [Read]
Screenshot of how our Twitter.com/metroweekly feed scored a super low 1% on the Stockholm Pride site that is measuring "How Hetero" people are through keywords found in their posts. (Stockholm Pride) ''It's fun, but clearly bogus.'' Bloggers at Entertainment Weekly complaining about their seemingly high or low scores on the ''How Hetero'' Twitter feed test. (Entertainment Weekly) ... [Read]
''If our guys would have followed the damn policy, we wouldn't have even been there. We have these conversations all the time, and we don't participate in those kinds of inspections when there's not probable cause or reasonable suspicion or some public safety measure to be inspected.'' Alan Steen, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commissioner, apologizing for the bar raid in ... [Read]
''I have a number of friends -- straight and gay -- who requested me to perform their weddings once I'm ordained. I would have felt limited and compromised blessing hetero couples but not gay couples. It's an issue of justice.'' Mike Angell, who is studying to be a priest, commenting on the vote by members of the Episcopal Church ... [Read]
From TheNation.com: Asked if he personally supported same-sex marriage, Clinton replied, "Yeah." "I personally support people doing what they want to do," Clinton said. "I think it's wrong for someone to stop someone else from doing that [same-sex marriage]." ... [Read]
''After Pickering's rejection of Governor Haley Barbour's offer to the vacant Lott position, and because Pickering did not want to lose the love and affection of his paramour, Creekmore-Byrd, Pikering made the decision to leave his wife and five children to be with Creekmore-Byrd.'' -- (Jackson Free Press) ''Unbeknown to plaintiff, Creekmore-Byrd for a number of years met and ... [Read]
''I attribute your latest actions to my 'no' vote on recognizing same sex marriages from other states. Prior to the vote, we worked together cordially and with respect to one another. As you may recall, soon after the vote you came down to my office. To say that you used choice words when speaking with me would be an ... [Read]
''It was a slap in the face of the gay pride movement. It was an hourlong attack on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.'' R. Zeke Fread, the director of Pride Tampa Bay, commenting on the decision by WFLA / News Channel 8 to show the over-the-top propaganda piece being paid for and peddled by conservative Christians like the ... [Read]
From Variety: Producers of "Hair" have decided to cancel the Oct. 11 perf.... Oskar Eustis -- a.d. of the Public Theater, one of the producers of "Hair" -- said gay marriage had become "a 'Hair' company passion," with activist efforts spearheaded by "Hair" thesp Gavin Creel. ... [Read]
Sen. Grassley: Do you agree that marriage is a question reserved for the states to decide based on Baker vs. Nelson? Judge Sotomayor: That also is a question that's pending and impending in many courts. As you know, the issue of marriage and what constitutes it, is a subject of much public discussion. And there's a number of cases ... [Read]
''For people who know me, they know that I believe it's important for people to live openly and authentically, and I am sorry for my poorly chosen words at Outfest. At the end of the day, I hope my comments do not prevent us from having honest, thoughtful conversations about the significant barriers that make being an out actor ... [Read]
''Fueling anti-gay stereotypes is never in the public interest. GLAAD strongly condemns KBAK's airing of a story that uses tactics and language that feed on fears and create panic.'' Rashad Robinson of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in a press release which complains about Bakersfield, CA's Fox 58 TV station decision to air a news report claiming ... [Read]
''We're having trouble getting people into the military. And I think that we shouldn't turn down anybody that's willing to fight for our country, certainly based on sexual orientation.'' Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Utah, responding to a question about a proposed 18-month halt of the anti-gay military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." (NY Times) ... [Read]
''I grew up around gay people my entire life, basically, that's possibly why I'm quite camp, and some people think I'm gay when I meet them, which I think is awesome.... [Apparently] someone said 'Daniel Radcliffe is gay. He's got a gay face!' [Laughs] I really don't know what a gay face is. But I think it's wonderful that Dumbledore ... [Read]
''It's not an attempt to fly in the face of the Anglican Communion. It's an attempt to deepen relationships with the rest of the communion, because real relationships are built on authenticity.'' Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church. Voting members of the Church decided overwhelmingly this week to open the door to allowing ... [Read]
''They targeted us. We weren't doing anything inappropriate or illegal, or anything most people would consider inappropriate for any other couple.'' Matt Aune of Salt Lake City, UT, who ways he and his partner were handcuffed and then cited by police who responded after a trespassing complaint was called in on Aune and his male partner for kissing in ... [Read]
''Her letter was just disappointing. The words she was using were disappointing coming from an elected official in the year 2009.'' Ron deHarte, organizer of the San Diego Gay Pride Parade, remarking on La Mesa Councilwoman Ruth Sterling and her written request to rescind her Letter of Recognition for the parade. Her action caused some controversy and several speakers ... [Read]
''I think that it's very difficult to deny equal rights to people when it comes to rights that are disbursed by a government rather than a faith or a church.... I believe that if we were to have civil unions, there would be no question about whether or not we would recognize unions in other states. And that's the ... [Read]
''That kind of stuff, it really matters -- wills and inheritance rights, making sure that the laws reflect what our relationship is. It feels good to have the place you live do that, and makes the life you live easier.'' Jeff Krehely, a District of Columbia resident who legally married his partner, Trevor Blake, in Massachusetts 3 years ago. ... [Read]
''I am reasonably sure that, given the personalities in this courtroom, this case is only touching down in this court and it will have a life after this court. What happens here is in many ways a prelude to what happens later.'' Judge Vaughn Walker, a federal judge in San Francisco, who says he plans to provide over a speedy ... [Read]
''Sixteen years have now gone by, and I think a lot has changed with respect to attitudes within our country, and therefore I think this is a policy and a law that should be reviewed.'' Colin Powell, retired Army General and former Secretary of State, talking to CNN about ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' the U.S. military policy that resulted ... [Read]
''People who he was friends with, I knew that they knew. He didn't care that they knew. He trusted them.'' Kaether Cordero commenting on the death of his partner, August Provost, a soldier at Camp Pendleton. It is suspected that Provost may have been murdered during an argument over his sexual orientaion. (San Diego Union-Tribune) ''They were assuming their ... [Read]
''The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognizing a role in society for everyone.... Those perceived by the majority as 'deviants' or 'different' are not on that score excluded or ostracized.'' Portion of a ruling from the Dehli High Court which has effectively ruled that homosexuality should be decriminalized in ... [Read]
''HX Magazine and the web site hx.com have been sold.... HX Magazine issue 931 dated July 10th, which will be released on July 3rd, will be the last one produced by HX Media and its staff.'' A press release sent from HX magazine founder, Matthew Bank, to the New York Press. (NY Press) ''Everyone was let go, but the ... [Read]
''Kristy said the most recent CAT scans have shown that the blood clot on Chad's brain has stopped growing, which is good news, but he is not out of the woods yet. She said doctors told the family that as long as the clot remains -- whether it is growing or not -- there is the chance that all ... [Read]
''One of the things we're looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law?... That's the kind of thing we're looking at to see if there's at least a more humane way to apply the law until the law gets changed.'' Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, who discussing the silly assertion that the military's Don't Ask, ... [Read]
''Google is a company that supports its LGBT employees, taking a public stand stand on issues that are important to our community. This is not the first year that Google has supported Pride, and it will certainly not be the last.'' From a posting by Cynthia Yeung on the official Google Blog which features a series of photos of ... [Read]
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