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National roundup: Indiana gay-straight alliance; 'gay panic' bill
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2014-12-30

This article shared 6753 times since Tue Dec 30, 2014
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The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of three students at North Putnam High School who have been denied the right to form a gay-straight alliance ( GSA ) club during non-instructional time at school, claiming the school's denial violates both federal law and the U.S. Constitution, a press release stated. ( The lawsuit is also brought on behalf of the GSA. ) The school—which allows other non-school-sponsored clubs and activities to meet, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Key Club and Best Buddies—has reportedly denied recognition of the GSA club for more than a year.

A New Jersey state lawmaker has introduced legislation that would prohibit the so-called "gay panic" defense from being used to escape murder charges, LGBTQ Nation reported. The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Tim Eustace ( D-Bergen ), has said even though it's unclear if such a defense has ever been used in New Jersey, he wants "to make sure that we're paying attention to things before they happen." Currently, New Jersey law permits a defendant to be charged with manslaughter—a lesser charge than murder—if, among other things, the crime "is committed in the heat of passion resulting from a reasonable provocation."

Few Florida clerks are preparing to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples Jan. 6, according to On Top Magazine. According to an Associated Press survey, 46 clerks said they would wait, while another six said they weren't certain. ( Florida has 67 counties. ) The Supreme Court has refused to delay implementation of a federal judge's ruling declaring the state's ban unconstitutional, removing the last obstacle for it to take effect after Jan. 5, when the current stay expires.

However, also in Florida, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to invite at least 100 couples from around the country and around the world to marry oceanside in a common ceremony sometime this winter, according to the Sun Sentinel. The number "100" also will honor Broward County's 100th birthday celebration that is now underway. In the early 1990s, the county's convention/visitors bureau was among the first in the nation to market specifically to gay travelers.

Ryan T. Anderson of the conservative Heritage Foundation is arguing in an amicus brief before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that everyone's for marriage equality, but allowing same-sex couples to wed would hurt marriage, according to On Top Magazine. In his friend-of-the-court brief, Anderson sides with Florida officials who are appealing a federal judge's ruling striking down Florida's 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual unions.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill that bans mental health professionals licensed by the city from performing so-called conversion therapy on minors, according to The Washington Blade. The Conversion Therapy for Minors Prohibition Act of 2014 imposes fines and other penalties for licensed therapists and other licensed mental health professionals seeking to change the sexual orientation of people under the age of 18 from gay to straight. The City Council had unaminously passed the measure.

Philadelphia's Temple University has come under federal investigation after a trans-identified student filed a complaint alleging the school created a hostile environment, among other things, in the wake of her on-campus sexual assault, Philadelphia Gay News reported. Harmony Rodriguez has filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights against Temple, alleging the school permitted a hostile environment to exist by failing to address multiple incidents of sexual harassment, including harassment based on her gender-nonconformance.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced recommendations to change the longtime ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men Dec. 23. The new recommended policy, issued to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, would change the blood-donor deferral period for men who have sex with men from indefinite deferral to one year since the last sexual contact, according to an FDA statement. However, advocates for lifting the ban said that much more progress remains to be made on the issue.

Jay Ralko—a 22-year-old Warren, Michigan-area trans individual who had been missing since Dec. 10—was found dead Dec. 23, according to MIHeadlines.com . Ralko left a note for his roommate to take care of his dog, saying he had an emergency, but never returned. Ralko, who suffered from bipolar disorder, was found dead in the parking lot of Meijer at 13 Mile and Mound in Warren. He was inside his Ford Escape; police suspect he had committed suicide.

Lambda Legal and six other advocacy organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, a case challenging the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct that prohibits judicial candidates from personally requesting campaign contributions, according to a press release. The brief opposes the challenge brought by the petitioner, and argues that public confidence in the judiciary is core to our democracy and regulation of direct solicitation in judicial elections is essential to maintaining that confidence.

A group of African-American pastors and religious leaders has filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, denouncing same-sex marriage and asking the justices to review Michigan's same-sex case filed with the nation's highest court, according to the Detroit News. The Thomas More Law Center filed the briefs in Ann Arbor on behalf of the National Coalition of Black Pastors and Christian Leaders. The Supreme Court is expected to decide in January if it will review the case.

Also in Michigan, Republicans in the Michigan Statehouse passed a "license to discriminate" bill that would give just about anyone the right to refuse service to LGBT people if it conflicted with their religious beliefs, according to NewNowNext.com . The broadly written Religious Freedom Restoration Act would allow, for example, an EMT to refuse emergency treatment to a gay person or a pharmacist to refuse to refill HIV medication. The measure is similar to one in Arizona that Republican Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed.

The Maine Human Rights Commission plans legal action against the Brunswick School District over a former junior high school student who said he was bullied, harassed and assaulted by other students who thought he was gay, the Associated Press noted. Executive Director Amy Sneirson told The Times Record the commission's lawsuit will be aimed at "improving policies" within the district. The mother of the former student alleges that between August 2010 and August 2012 her son was subjected to repeated instances of bullying due to his "perceived sexual orientation."

In a case involving a flower shop, lawyers for Washington state and a same-sex couple have told a Benton County Superior Court judge that businesses in the state can't discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, the Bellingham Herald reported. Barronelle Stutzman and her shop, Arlene's Flowers, are being sued for refusing to sell flowers for a 2013 same-sex wedding. Stutzman's lawyers say she declined not because of the couple's sexual orientation, but because of her religious views on marriage. The trial is set for 2015.

After years of abuse and rejection from strict Christian parents, an Ohio transgender teen committed suicide by stepping in front of a moving tractor trailer truck, according to Patheos.com . Leelah Alcorn, also known as Joshua Alcorn, was struck and killed by a passing semitrailer on southbound Interstate 71 in Union Township. On her blog at Tumblr, Alcorn left a suicide note detailing a life dominated by Christian parents who reportedly refused to understand the child's transgender status.

A lesbian couple alleges that Pepperdine University and its basketball coach shattered the duo's dreams for a better education and furthering their basketball careers through such pervasive harassment that it drove one of the women to attempt suicide, according to Courthouse News Service. Haley Videckis and Layana White sued Ryan Weisenberg and Pepperdine University for violating their civil right to privacy, as well as violations of California education code and Title IX of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972. The couple claims the harassment began when an academic coordinator repeatedly pulled each girl into her office and badgered them with questions about their sexual orientation and the sexuality of the other players, among other things.

California public health officials issued an alert after finding "very strong evidence" that an adult film actor became infected with HIV as a result of unprotected sex on a Nevada film shoot, according to the Las Vegas Sun. The Department of Public Health said the male actor tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS after engaging in unprotected sex with several other male actors during two separate film shoots; he had tested negative before the shoot. The last confirmed on-set HIV infection was in 2004.

In Ohio, an Athens County judge has reversed his judgment granting two women the first same-sex divorce in county history, according to the Columbus Times-Dispatch. Common Pleas Court Judge George McCarthy ruled that "it was not apparent" to him that the parties involved in the case were of the same gender when he approved a magistrate's decision in November granting the divorce. McCarthy's decision means Brenda Mohney and Erin O'Leary are now back where they started: considered married in states that recognize same-sex marriage, but not in Ohio.

The surviving partner of a prominent community activist is among those included in a settlement after a 2011 Indiana stage collapse, Indy Star reported. Among the people killed in that accident was Chicago's Christina Santiago, an activist who, at the time, was manager of programming for Howard Brown Health Center's ( HBHC ) Lesbian Community Care Project ( LCCP ). Her domestic partner, Alisha Marie Brennon, will receive compensation as Santiago's surviving spouse as well as for injuries she sustained. The couple were joined in a civil union shortly after the Illinois civil-union law took effect in summer 2011.

Following a two-hour preliminary hearing, Philadelphia Municipal Judge Charles Hayden held defendants Kathryn Knott, 24; Philip Williams, 24; and Kevin Harrigan, 26 for trial on two felony counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and related charges regarding an alleged attack on a gay couple, Philly.com reported. The defendants allegedly attacked couple Zachary Hesse, 28, and Andrew Haught, 27; Hesse said he suffered two black eyes and facial cuts, while Haught spent five days in the hospital and had his broken jaw wired shut for more than seven weeks.

Florida State University College of Business senior lecturer Deborah O'Connor agreed that she went too far with her reactions on Facebook to a photo of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Tallahassee.com noted. O'Connor took issue with a Facebook post that welcomed Holder's decision to have the U.S. Justice Department investigate the police shooting death of a Black 12-year-old boy carrying a toy gun. She called the man who posted the item a gay slur and used profane language. O'Connor submitted her resignation the following day, one week before the end of finals for the fall semester.

Five members of a North Carolina church were indicted on charges of simple assault and kidnapping for allegedly beating a fellow member because he is gay, People.com noted. Matthew Fenner, now a junior at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says he was attacked after a prayer service in January 2013, when members of the Word of Faith Fellowship cornered him and tried to cure him of his "homosexual 'demons,'" according to an affidavit. He added, "I had at least 15-20 college age men around me, screaming, shaking me, punching me, hitting my chest, grabbing my head, telling me to repeat different phrases." Josh Farmer, an attorney for the church, has denied the charges, saying Fenner made up the story.

Cleveland's iconic 13-year-old Bounce Nightclub is slated to close Jan. 4, according to CleveScene.com . The dance club/restaurant/cabaret on the edge of Ohio City hosted campy drag shows, raging dance parties, and laid-back weeknights filled with friends and neighbors. "I feel what with everybody being welcome at every bar, it opens up a world of other places to go," said General Manager Stephen Mayse. "You no longer have to go to just the gay bars. Drag queens are performing at regular bars. I do feel like that was part of the problem."

A Florida man who was found guilty in the shooting death of a transgender woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, LGBTQ Nation reported. Kentz Vernes Louis, 23, was convicted of murdering Ashley Sinclair, whose body was found in 2013 in Orange County, Florida. Because Louis is a prison-releasee re-offender, he will serve his entire sentence, minus time already served in county jail. Sinclair was known by the stage name Mahogany Singleton, and was popular in the local LGBT community for her performances.

The lawyer for a prominent Portland gay-rights activist defended her client in court after he pled not guilty to sex crimes involving a minor, USA Today noted. Terrence Patrick Bean, 66, was arrested on in November and charged with sodomy and sex abuse; shortly after, 25-year-old Kiah Lawson, who is reportedly Bean's ex-boyfriend, was also arrested on similar charges. Bean's lawyer, Kristen Winemiller, said her client is the victim of an extortion plot.

A gay couple in a recent Tide laundry detergent commercial tease each other over "past mistakes," including cheap laundry detergent, cargo shorts, and an ex, according to Out.com . Procter & Gamble, makers of Tide, has made statements supporting marriage equality. "We have always supported our employees and fostered a culture of inclusion and respect —this includes the right to marry whomever they choose and to have that union legally recognized," said Chief Legal Officer Deborah P. Majoras.

In more ad news, a reportedly leaked Taco Bell commercial features a male gay couple, On Top Magazine noted. In the 30-second ad, two men are sitting in a Taco Bell enjoying the eatery's new line of breakfast burritos and tacos. Pretty soon the men are playing Skee-ball, riding a Ferris wheel, finding buried treasure on a beach and waterskiing. The men also spend some time romancing in a park before getting hitched. As of late December, the video did not appear on Taco Bell's official YouTube channel.

The city of Glendale, Arizona—home to the Arizona Cardinals and host city of Super Bowl XLIX in February—has signed on to a pledge reinforcing its support of the LGBT community, LGBTQ Nation reported. The city council, with little discussion, unanimously approved a Unity Pledge that the human-rights group One Community created. The non-binding pledge ( which approximately 1,100 businesses have signed statewide ) asks Arizona businesses and government entities to support equal treatment in housing, employment and hospitality for LGBT people.

Organizers of Baltimore Pride announced this week that the 40th annual event will be moved to July next year, The Washington Blade reported. The block party will be held Saturday, July 25, in Mount Vernon, marking a return to its traditional location after a controversial move this year to an area farther north. The festival moves to Sunday, July 26, returning to Druid Hill Park. Baltimore Pride was held in June in 2014.


This article shared 6753 times since Tue Dec 30, 2014
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