THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Speaking of HRC, out gay celebrity Lance Bass has joined the organization in speaking out against Mississippi's SB 2681. Bass, a Mississippi native, has written, "This bill doesn't represent the Mississippi I knew growing up. It doesn't represent the folks I went to church with every Sunday with my parents and my sister. And it certainly doesn't reflect the Golden Rule I learned about sitting in those pews—a simple moral code that says we should treat others the way we would want to be treated ourselves."

Former Miss Kentucky Djuan Trent came out publicly in a post on her personal blog Feb. 20 as "queer," according to The New Civil Rights Movement. It was the recent ruling by District Court Judge John G. Heyburn II requiring Kentucky to recognize same-sex marriages that gave Trent the final push. She wrote, in part, "For a while, I struggled with the decision of whether or not it was necessary to 'come out.' ... It depends on what you want. I believe that my sexuality is my own … and this is not kindergarten, so I don't have to share it with anyone if I don't want to. But it's nice when you share, right?" Trent won the Miss Kentucky title in 2010 and was a Miss America top 10 finalist in 2011, Queerty noted.

The number of far-right extremist groups fell significantly in 2013 for the first time in a decade, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center ( SPLC ). However, with a total of more than 2,000 groups, the radical right remains at historically high levels. In its annual count, the SPLC found that the number of hate groups ( a subcategory with extremist groups ) dropped by 7 percent—from 1,007 in 2012 to 939 in 2013. The more significant decline came within the antigovernment "Patriot" movement: These groups fell 19 percent—from 1,360 groups in 2012 ( an all-time high ) to 1,096 in 2013.

Vice President Joe Biden admitted that President Obama and other White House staffers practically froze him out of all internal discussions and wiped their hands clean of him after he made a political error about gay marriage, The Washington Times reported. His mistake was that he announced, in 2012, his approval of same-sex marriage prior to Obama. Politico noted that Biden's announcement pressured Obama to make his own public statement about gay marriage earlier than he would have liked.

A federal judge has struck down Texas' ban on same-sex marriage, ruling Feb. 26 it has no "rational relation to a legitimate government purpose," according to CNN. The decision is the latest in a series of federal and state court moves to overturn current laws forbidding gay and lesbians from legal wedlock. Judge Orlando Garcia, based in San Antonio, stayed enforcement of his decision pending appeal, meaning same-sex couples in Texas, for the time being, cannot get married.

The National Black Justice Coalition ( NBJC )—a civil-rights organization dedicated to empowering Black LGBT people—issued a statement condemning the new anti-gay law in Uganda, according to a press statement. "These horrific, inhumane abuses are happening under our watch," says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC executive director and CEO. "As we work vigorously to end racism and homophobia, it is essential that we petition our government here in the United States to take a stand against these international tragedies that are occurring daily to our Black LGBT brothers and sisters overseas."

Republican Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick has made news for accidentally endorsing marriage equality, according to the L.A. Times. In response to a federal judge's ruling that the state same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, Patrick tweeted, "MARRIAGE=ONE MAN & ONE MAN. Enough of these activist judges. FAVORITE if you agree. I know the silent majority out there is with us!" After correcting himself, he then posted, "oops! #twittertypo. We have a new job opening on our campaign: social media intern. Send resume to contact ( at ) danpatrick.org ."

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray announced that public and private health insurance plans that the D.C. government regulates—including Medicaid, D.C. government employee insurance, and private plans sold on D.C.'s health exchange—are required to cover transition-related care, according to a National Center for Transgender Equality press release. The new announcement makes D.C. healthcare coverage the most comprehensive plans for transgender Americans in the United States.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Virginia and Lambda Legal filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to intervene on behalf of all of Virginia's same-sex couples and their families in Bostic v. Rainey, according to a joint press release. The groups are simultaneously challenging the state's marriage ban in their own class-action case representing all same-sex couples in the state, Harris v. Rainey. On Feb. 13, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ruled, in Bostic, that same-sex couples in the state will be allowed to marry and all same-sex couples legally married elsewhere will have their marriages recognized. However, marriages cannot yet take place since the ruling was suspended in anticipation of an appeal.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, argued that marriage is not about love during an appearance on CNN, according to On Top Magazine. Donohue told New Day host Chris Cuomo that he's opposed to same-sex marriage, in part, because marriage is not about love. "The gold standard is a father and a mother creating a family," Donohue said. "That's what was ordained by nature and nature's god."

In a bid to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Columbus, Ohio is positioning itself as gay-friendly, according to MyFox28Columbus.com . In bidding, the city mentions that it has been "named a naitonal leader for LGBTQ equality." The city has also officially filed its bid for the 2016 Republican National Convention, emphasizing traditional selling points such as fine dining and its tag as a swing state.

James David Manning—chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church in Harlem—has unveiled an unusual campaign against gays in a YouTube video and on the marquee of the sign outside his church, according to Towleroad. According to Manning, President Obama has unleashed gay demons upon the Black male community "hoping to influence as many Black males to subscribe to ideals of 'homosexual perverted LGBT' as possible." Carmen Neely—president of Harlem PRIDE, a support group for members of the lesbian and gay communities of Upper Manhattan—called the sign "shameful" and "foolish."

Married lesbian couple Danielle and Aisha Moodie-Mills, of the weekly politics and pop-culture talk show Politini, are expanding their podcast from the airwaves to video with the production of a new series for TheGrio.com, according to a press release. The eight-week mini-series features Politini's "Poliwood Round-Up" and "Is THIS the New Normal?" segments, which cover the hottest topics trending from Hollywood to "Poliwood" ( the couple's term for new Washington, as they see it ) every Wednesday and Friday.

Tempe, one of Arizona's most populous cities, enacted an ordinance prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in housing, employment and service in places such as restaurants and hotels, according to OUT Traveler. The city council vote was unanimous and came a day after Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial bill that would have allowed anti-LGBT discrimination in public accommodation. Tempe now joins Arizona cities like Tucson, Flagstaff and Phoenix in protecting LGBT citizens.

AIDS United has developed a toolkit for non-profit organizations that are funded through federal programs, according to a press release. "Commit to Compliance," an Internet-based presentation, features instructions, tips and tactics as well as downloadable, printable resources; they're all designed to demystify the process of maintaining compliance with the requirements of federal grants. The presentation is at prezi.com/aewebkvn-o-h/aids-united-commit-to-compliance/ .

Utah officials say in a new court filing they have no choice but to put a freeze on granting benefits to newly married gay couples until a federal appeals court rules on the state's same-sex marriage ban, according to a HeraldExtra.com item. The filing comes in response to a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union filed in January on behalf of four same-sex couples who claim the state's decision violates their vested rights and has created uncertainty.

Texas couple Jack Evans and George Harris got married in a symbolic ceremony that a retired minister from the United Methodist Church officiated, according to CBS Dallas-Fort Worth. Reverend William McElvaney , 85, officiated the service for the couple, who have been together 53 years. While Harris and Evans' union won't immediately be recognized by state law, McElvaney believes that some day it will be.

American Idol alum Clay Aiken officially filed paperwork Feb. 27 to run for Congress as a Democrat in North Carolina, according to On Top Magazine. Aiken is looking to unseat Rep. Renee Ellmers, a Republican who represents North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House. Aiken's campaign has raised more than $100,000.

The Movement Advancement Project ( MAP ) has launched newly expanded LGBT Equality Maps to include the latest information on laws protecting LGBT youth from "conversion therapy" practices, according to a press release. California and New Jersey have passed laws to prevent state-licensed mental health professionals from attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity/expression of minor patients. See www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps.

South Carolina lawmakers voted to cut $69,000 in funding to two public universities that had assigned gay-themed books as reading for incoming students, The Los Angeles Times reported. The University of South Carolina Upstate would lose $17,000 for assigning Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio while the College of Charleston would lose $52,000 for assigning Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, a memoir told in graphic novel form, to incoming freshmen. Republican state Rep. Garry Smith said Fun Home "goes beyond the pale of academic debate" because "[i]t graphically shows lesbian acts."

The NBA plans to donate proceeds from sales of Jason Collins jerseys to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and GLSEN ( the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network ), according to The Sporting News. Collins became the league's first openly gay player when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets, and his No. 98 jersey has been the top seller on NBAStore.com . He chose the number in tribute to Shepard, who was killed in a gay hate crime in 1998. Recently, Collins met privately with Shepard's parents and brother.

Also regarding Collins, the Nets are reportedly signing Collins to a second 10-day contract, The Huffington Post noted. Collins signed his original deal Feb. 23, becoming the NBA's first openly gay player, and it expired March 4. After that, the Nets would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they wanted to keep him.

As expected, a Norfolk federal judge's decision declaring Virginia's gay-marriage ban unconstitutional has been appealed, according to The Virginian-Pilot. An appeal on behalf of Norfolk Circuit Court Clerk George Schaefer, one of the defendants, was filed shortly after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen entered her final order in the case. Virginia Solicitor General Stuart Raphael later filed an appeal on behalf of another defendant, State Registrar of Vital Records Janet Rainey.

Adolescents with continuously coupled lesbian mothers had higher self-esteem and fewer conduct problems ( such as rule-breaking, vandalism, or getting into fights ) than adolescents with continuously coupled heterosexual parents, according to a new study from the Williams Institute. Across other indicators of psychological adjustment, substance usage, and relationships with their parents, the study found that adolescents from intact two-mother lesbian families were comparable to those from intact mother-father families.

The State Department has announced that the Global Equality Fund was named the 2014 official nonprofit partner for Out Leadership, a new global organization that enables top executives and senior leaders to come together to promote LGBT equality as part of business and networking activities, according to a press release. The Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership the Department of State launched, supports civil society's efforts to advance and protect the human rights of LGBT persons around the world.

Former University of Nebraska place kicker Eric Lueshen went on 93.7 The Ticket, a local radio show, to announce that he's gay and that his teammates had known about it when he played, The Bleacher Report noted. Lueshen played for the Huskers from 2003 to 2005 without seeing the field much before having his career cut short by back surgery. He was a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's academic honor roll and was named to the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team in 2005 for his work doing community outreach.

The Walt Disney Company has given notice to the Boy Scouts of America ( BSA ) that it will pull all funding to the group starting next year because of a BSA membership policy that bans gay leaders, CNN reported. Disney does not give money directly to the national organization or local BSA councils. However, through its VoluntEARS program, Disney allows employees to do volunteer work in exchange for cash donations to the charities of their choice. Although the Boy Scouts voted last year to allow gay youths to join its ranks, the group maintains a ban on gay Scout leaders.

Similar patterns of racial disparities in income and employment exist among individuals in same-sex and different-sex couples, according to a new report that Angeliki Kastanis and Bianca Wilson of UCLA School of Law's Williams Institute authored, a press release stated. The report also found that racial/ethnic minority individuals in same-sex couples tend to live in areas where there are higher proportions of individuals of their own race or ethnicity. The full report is at http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Census-Compare-Feb-2014.pdf.

The Trinity School, on Manhattan's Upper West Side, called ousted coach Gregory Kenney a two-timer after he alleged in a lawsuit that he was fired by lesbian boss Pat Krieger in 2012 because he's heterosexual, according to The New York Post. In court papers filed last month in response to the teacher's civil suit, the school says Kenney's colleagues "overheard him lying to his wife about staying late for work events, only to attend bars with other women who were not his wife." Kenney has called the claim "ridiculous."

In Illinois, Cook County Clerk David Orr's office issued more than 250 marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the week following a federal judge's ruling that called for immediate implementation of the state's marriage-equality law, according to a press release. A total of 258 couples—137 male and 121 female—were issued marriage licenses at the Clerk's offices in Chicago and five suburbs between Friday, Feb. 21 and Friday, Feb. 28. A dozen out-of-state couples applied for and received licenses in Cook County; also, five were from Indiana, two from Colorado, and one couple each from Wisconsin, Michigan, Kentucky, Texas and South Carolina.

Oxford, Miss., unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the dignity and worth of all city residents—including those who are LGBT, according to a Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) press release. Oxford joins two other Mississippi cities, Starkville and Hattiesburg, which both passed similar resolutions earlier this year. HRC President Chad Griffin said, "the Oxford Board of Alderman proudly affirmed the city's support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and moved Mississippi forward on the road to equality."

The memorial for journalist Doug Ireland has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 27, in the Proshansky Auditorium at the CUNY Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, according to a media release. Ireland, who passed away Oct. 26, 2013 at age 67, was an English and French-language journalist, essayist, blogger, political strategist and an outspoken champion for gay rights and progressive causes in the United States and across the globe.

Former Republican senators Alan Simpson and Nancy Kassebaum joined a group supporting civil marriage rights for same-sex couples in a filing March 4 with the federal appeals court reviewing gay-marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma, according to Bloomberg. Twenty Republicans describing themselves as conservatives, moderates and libertarians who embrace Ronald Reagan's "big tent" beliefs for the party said in the filing that the benefits of marriage and social stability of the family unit "are promoted by providing access to civil marriage for same-sex couples." The group urged the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver to uphold lower-court rulings striking down bans on same-sex weddings in Utah and Oklahoma.

Democratic Attorney General Jack Conway said he would not appeal a federal order requiring Kentucky officials to recognize same-sex marriages performed in one of the 17 states that allow them, MSNBC reported. That decision, issued last month and scheduled to take effect on March 20, struck down part of the state's same-sex marriage ban that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2004. Though gay couples still cannot obtain marriage licenses from Kentucky clerks ( the subject of a different lawsuit, ) U.S. District Judge John Heyburn's ruling entitles those legally married elsewhere to the same spousal rights and benefits given to every married heterosexual couple in the state.

The Maryland Senate has approved a bill that would ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression in the state, according to The Washington Blade. The measure passed by a 32-15 vote margin after senators debated on its third reading for fewer than 20 minutes. Maryland state. Sen. Rich Madaleno, who introduced Senate Bill 212, said, "The Senate's passage of the Fairness for All Marylanders Act sends a reaffirming message throughout our state that regardless of whom you are, prejudice and discrimination will no longer be tolerated or exempted from law."

National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day ( NWGHAAD ) is March 10, according to Positively Aware. Every year on March 10, and throughout March, thousands of people, advocacy organizations, and local and state public health officials host events and share facts about HIV/AIDS. Suggestions to mark the day this year include adding the NWGHAAD Twibbon ( at twibbon.com/Support/women-girls-hivaids-day ) to Facebook profile pictures and participating in the discussion on the Office of Women's Health Facebook page.

As University of Texas at Austin professor Mark Regnerus took the stand in Michigan to testify against against same-sex marriage and adoption, his own school criticized his research, according to ThinkProgress.com . While the university's College of Liberal Arts simply noted that his testimony does not represent the views of the school, the sociology department went a step further, criticizing Regnerus for promoting "fundamentally flawed" conclusions based on his research.