Posted 10 months, 1 week ago at 7:27 am. 1 comment
Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed a new law which includes “sexual orientation” in the list of federal hate crimes. It’s the first federal act to specifically benefit GLBT citizens, and some are calling this a landmark similar to African-American civil rights legislation of the 1960s.
Is this a sign of Obama sticking to what he’s promises? In my opinion, not quite. It’s a nice contrast, however, to the acts of President Bill Clinton, who signed DADT and DOMA, two glaring slaps in the face to our country’s dedication to equal rights, but it is a step in the right direction.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 7:55 am. 0 comments
Nick Griffin, chairman of the extreme right wing whites-only British National Party, has confirmed that when he was 16 he was propositioned for gay sex by Martin Webster, who was then one of the leaders of the extreme far-right National Front. Griffin has denied the long-running sexual affair alleged by Webster, pointing out that if true then “we could put him [Webster] on the paedophile register.” Still, memories of 30 years ago seem to haunt Griffin, who says, “I don’t hate gay people at all. But I find the sight of grown men kissing in the street repulsive.” The BNP has dropped its former position that homosexuality should be outlawed.
Webster was drummed out of the NF in 1983, partly due to rumours of his homosexuality.
Major protests erupted earlier this week when Griffin appeared on the BBC show Question Time.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 10:34 pm. 0 comments
Philip Schooner, a lifelong Republican and World War II veteran, was among those testifying at a hearing regarding Maine’s marriage equality bill earlier this year. Voters will decide the issue on November 3.
Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 8:39 pm. 0 comments
Harvey Levin, the gay founder of celebrity tracking website TMZ.com, has told a meeting of industry executives that he intends to pursue legal actions against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) for “abuse.” It was recently reported in the Los Angeles Times that LASD had obtained a transcript of Levin’s home phone records, in pursuit of an investigation of leaks from the police to the media following the arrest of actor Mel Gibson for DUI in 2006. “We are going to stand up not just for us but because it is right thing to do,” Mr Levin said. “It is outrageous what law enforcement has done here. I can only imagine the Pandora’s Box this is going to open up to find out what else has happened.”
Authorities were embarrassed when TMZ reported that, following his arrest, Gibson launched into a profane and anti-semitic rant. Initially, the police report had been suppressed by high-ranking officers, who reported the arrest had occurred “without incident.” Shortly later, the details were leaked to TMZ revealing Gibson had been unruly, attempted escape, and repeatedly threatened the arresting officers. LASD then tried to find out which of their officers had been talking to the press. They found a judge willing to sign off on their secret warrant to spy on Levin.
Legal experts point out that California’s constitution protects reporters from revealing their sources, and that any search of Levin’s phone records would have been illegal.
“We are going to stand up not just for us but because it is right thing to do,” Mr Levin declared in a speech to industry executives this week. “It is outrageous what law enforcement has done here. I can only imagine the Pandora’s Box this is going to open up to find out what else has happened.”
A cache of 71 pages of letters from bisexual Lord Byron to a lifelong friend, the Reverend Francis Hodgson, some of which have never been published, are to be auctioned off by Sotheby’s on October 29. The series of letters to the conservative Victorian clergyman include Byron’s frank observations as he traveled to exotic locales, including Portugal where, “the inhabitants have few vices other than lice and sodomy.” Of the Ali Pasha, whom he encountered in Constantinople, Byron noted he had “two hundred women and as many boys, many of the last I saw and very pretty creatures they were.”
The letters were acquired in 1885 by British prime minister, Lord Rosebery, and are being sold by his family. After the death of Rosebery’s heiress wife in 1890, while Oscar Wilde was having an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, Roseberry was carrying on with Douglas’s brother, Viscount Drumlanring. It’s believed by some historians that Oscar Wilde’s prosecution was meant in part to serve as a warning to Rosebery. Drumlanring’s mysterious death in 1894, at age 27, instigated rumors that he might have been killed to prevent exposure of his affair with Rosebery.
It might surprise some social conservatives to learn that gays and lesbians (and their friends and family) occupy positions at the top of the marketing and strategic campaigns for some of their favorite candidates. (But then, it would probably surprise some social conservatives that their candidates’ hairstylists are gay.) The movement of Sarah Palin toward the US Presidency in 2012 is notably opposed and supported by many within the Republican party, as evidenced by John McCain’s chief campaign strategist Steve Schmidt’s comments on the Sunday talk shows: “I think she has talents, but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican party in 2012,” he said. “Were she to be the nominee, we could have a catastrophic election result.” Sales of Palin’s forthcoming book rose on the controversy. Schmidt (aka “the Bullet”) has publicly acknowledged his lesbian sister and has also supported gay rights and the Log Cabin Republicans, who have been avoided by most others at the top of the RNC food chain. Also, it’s widely discussed that Mark Buse, McCain’s chief of staff, is a not-so-closeted gay man.
Palin, who has adopted the full menu of anti-gay political positions, has in the past referred vaguely to her own gay friends, but they remain as mysterious as the books on her reading list.
Now Daily Dish blogger Andrew Sullivan has pointed out that the man in charge of marketing Sarah Palin’s upcoming book is Jonathan Burnham, openly gay. Of courses, it’s his job to market the books published by his employer Harper Collins. And professionals need not always support the political objectives of their clients. The question is, where do you draw the line?
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley will be inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame this fall along with 14 other individuals and organizations. The hall of fame recognizes achievements by both members of Chicago’s gay communities and their allies. Quigley is being honored for his support of gay issues during his public service career.
His first act in Congress was to co-sponsor the Hate Crimes Bill, and he’s called for the repeal of the military’s ban on gay service members. He was also a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And he’s urged President Barack Obama to include same-sex marriages in the 2010 Census.
The hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 12 at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Posted 11 months, 1 week ago at 7:27 am. 0 comments
Following this week’s elections in Germany, Guido Westerwelle, the leader of the Free Democratic Party, is in line to become foreign minister in the new coalition government. He and his partner, Michael Mronz, were prominently featured in election night coverage.
Westerwelle’s homosexuality has not been an issue during the eight years he has been head of the pro-business party, but his increased prominence has ruffled some feathers. On Monday, Peter Langner, the city treasurer of the western city of Duisburga had to apologize for remarking that “I don’t want a gay foreign minister.”
Westerwelle’s does not see himself as a gay activist but hopes his success may be “encouraging for some young gays.” He told Berlin’s gay magazine Siegessaeule, “I can only tell all young gays and lesbians to not be disheartened, if not everything goes their way. This society is changing for the good in the direction of tolerance and respect … though slower than I would wish.”
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