U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., is supporting legislation to repeal the military's ban on openly gay soldiers, according to KVOA.com . Kolbe, one of three openly gay members of Congress, is an co-sponsor of a bill that would scrap the 12-year-old 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Replacing it would be a provision prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation 'against any member of the armed forces or against any person seeking to become a member of the armed forces.' HR 1059, introduced last month by Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., has 72 co-sponsors.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer issued a final decision and judgment in the California marriage equality case, 365Gay.com reported. On March 14, Kramer ruled that gay and lesbian couples in California can marry, and that the state's law against it was unconstitutional. The April 15 written ruling confirmed his decision and set into motion the appeals process. Any party who wishes to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal has 60 days to do so.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., applauded the receipt of a letter from officials of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ( PhRMA ) . PhRMA assured Frank that they will continue to disavow any attempt by USA Next or other allied groups who use the GLBT community as scapegoats. Last month, in a letter signed by 40 gay public officials, Frank called on PhRMA members to reject the use of gratuitous political gay bashing by USA Next, an organization funded primarily by PhRMA. USA Next attacked the American Association of Retired Persons as a supporter of same-sex marriage in the course of the debate on President Bush's proposal for the partial privatization of Social Security.
In Minnesota, a Republican senator announced that he is gay, according to an item in the Duluth News Tribune. Sen. Paul Koering, R-Fort Ripley, said he was coming out to end speculation in political circles. Questions intensified last week, when he was the only Republican to side with Democrats as his party tried to bypass normal Senate process and force a vote on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
In Kansas, Lawrence City Commissioner Mike Rundle stepped down after his one-year term as mayor and acknowledged for the first time that he might have been the city's first gay mayor, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. Rundle said he decided to go public with his sexuality in part because state
voters earlier this month approved a constitutional amendment for a gay marriage ban and because of 'whispering campaigns,' rumors, and smear tactics launched at him after he first entered politics in 1987.
Marilyn Maneely, who has been part of one of the seven couples involved in Lambda Legal's marriage-equality court battle in New Jersey, has been stricken with the severe neurodegenerative condition known as Lou Gehrig's disease, The Advocate reported. Maneely's partner, Diane Marini, has relinquished her business to care for her partner.
In a statement as to why he bombed a gay nightclub, Eric Rudolph ( who confessed to bombing an abortion clinic and the 1996 Olympics ) stated ' [ w ] hether it is gay marriage, homosexual adoption, hate crimes laws including gays, or the attempt to introduce a homosexual normalizing curriculum into our schools, all of these efforts should be ruthlessly opposed,' the Boston Globe reported.
Equality Forum will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the LGBT civil-rights movement with a celebration in Philadelphia April 25 to May 1. The group will honor 40 heroes and the events will encompass more than 16 hours of continuous celebration, led by headliner Cyndi Lauper. For more information, see www.equalityforum.com .
In San Bernardino, Calif., The Rev. Jenny Mason ended her one-year stint as an openly gay associate pastor at Central City Lutheran Mission. The San Bernardino Sun reported that it was her hiring 365 days ago that caused the mission to be removed from the official roster of Lutheran churches. Its pastor, the Rev. David Kalke, also was pulled. Mason said she is departing for personal reasons. Her partner lives in St. Paul, Minn., and the distance has been draining.
