A grand jury indicted the man charged in the stabbing death of lesbian Sakia Gunn, 15, at a Newark, NJ, bus stop. Richard McCullough, 29, was indicted on bias assault, murder, and several lesser charges. If convicted, McCullough could be sentenced to 118 years in prison. Associated Press reported that Gunn was stabbed to death May 11 at a bus stop at Broad and Market streets after a night in Manhattan. Witnesses said a man made 'sexual overtures toward friends of Gunn's before Gunn told him that she and the other girls were gay.' Valencia Bailey, 16, a lesbian who was so close to Gunn that they called each other cousins, told AP earlier this year that McCullough grabbed Gunn. She broke loose, then McCullough lunged and stabbed her in the chest, Bailey said.

A gay lobbyist in Houston was found murdered at his home, which was also set on fire, reports the Washington Blade. Ross Allyn was found with a bullet in his head, just inside the door of his burning home. Allyn was a successful lobbyist who had just attended a fundraiser for Annise Parker, a lesbian candidate for city controller.

The New York Times Nov. 23 carried a wedding announcement for Catherine Renna and Leah McElrath. Renna is the news media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in New York. McElrath practices psychotherapy in New York and advises professional women on communication and leadership skills.

Police in Fargo, ND, say they made their first hate-crime arrest since they began tracking hate crimes three years ago, reports the Star Tribune. Derek Puttbrese, 20, was charged with felony aggravated assault and felonious restraint of the 44-year-old man in whose house he was a guest. Police say both the victim and Puttbrese admitted the attack began because the victim was gay.

The South African HIV-positive Muppet, Kami, will be featured in United Nations public service announcements in the country, reports WorldNet Daily. The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that Kami will serve as a UNICEF representative in conjunction with the nonprofit Sesame Workshop. The Kami character is a 5-year-old orphaned girl with HIV disease.

The Anglican Church of Nigeria expects to soon have U.S. branches available for those Anglicans who leave because of the appointment of openly gay bishop Gene Robinson, reports the Nation and NAN. The Nigerian church severed all ties with the American Anglicans after Robinson's appointment. The new church will be called 'The Church of Nigeria in the U.S.'

With a month left before year's end, 2003 has already exceeded the number of reported hate crimes resulting in the murder of transgender people in 2002, reports gay.com. Last year, 27 killings were reported while 38 anti-transgender murders were reported already this year. The increased number of reported murders has been attributed to greater visibility of transgender people as well as improved relationships between the transgender community and some police departments.

A high school principal in Tonganoxie, Ks., says he is putting an end to anti-gay name calling in his school, reports the Tonganoxie Mirror. Principal Mike Bogart sent a note to teachers that was later read to students. The note told school community members that use of the terms 'fag' or 'gay' would no longer be tolerated in school. Bogart did not specify the consequences of repeated use of the terms.

A transgender woman is suing the Wyoming state department of corrections over an 18-month prison sentence, reports AP. Miki Ann Dimarco claims prison guards put her in solitary confinement after discovering she was transgender. Dimarco was born with gender-ambiguous genitalia but has undergone hormone therapy and lives as a woman. Prison officials say they did not comply with a state psychiatrist's recommendation to segregate Dimarco.

A federal judge in Michigan compared an Ann Arbor school district policy to that of Nazi Germany, reports the Detroit Free Press. High school senior Elizabeth Hansen filed the suit against the school district. Hansen said her First Amendment rights were trampled when the district refused to allow her to bring up her religious viewpoints during a 2002 diversity week presentation on homosexuality and religion. The district canceled diversity week '03 because of the lawsuit.

Members of an HIV/AIDS education organization in Kentucky say they were asked to avoid displaying brochures discussing safe-sex or brochures targeting gay teens, reports the Gleaner. Scott County High School administrators allegedly told volunteers to pull brochures that dealt with safe sex or contained the pride flag or info about gays.

AIDS Foundation of Chicago was against the recently passed Medicare drug coverage bill, 'which will endanger the lives of tens of thousands of low-income disabled people, including thousands of HIV-positive individuals, who currently receive both Medicaid and Medicare. If the bill passes, these individuals will lose their Medicaid coverage, forcing them to go without lifesaving medications.' AFC said the Medicare prescription drug bill 'eliminates wrap-around drug coverage for over 50,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and almost 6 million vulnerable seniors and persons with disabilities who are currently eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage.' The proposed final bill would bar states from using Medicaid funds to provide medications not covered under the new Medicare drug benefit. Right now, more than 50,000 very low-income people with AIDS on Medicare rely on Medicaid to provide 'wrap-around benefits' for basic lifesaving healthcare, including AIDS medications.'

Human Rights Campaign Executive Director Elizabeth Birch made the following statement on the 10th anniversary of the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass' policy, signed into law Nov. 30, 1993: 'President Bush told troops this week that we're a nation at war with 'terrorists who hate what we stand for: liberty, democracy, tolerance and the rights and dignity of every person.' But today, American soldiers are serving under a ban that tolerates only their silence. Thousands upon thousands of courageous troops—who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are in our National Guard, who patrol our coasts and our skies ... aren't afforded the rights and dignity bestowed upon their fellow soldiers simply because they are lesbian, gay or bisexual. As if the strains of serving one's country in war weren't enough, these soldiers are operating under a code of silence that keeps their beloved from being informed if they've been injured in combat.' ----------------------------------------

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