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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Hazing conviction; Barney lauds Cruz; Windsor's request
National roundup: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2014-11-04

This article shared 4429 times since Tue Nov 4, 2014
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The alleged ringleader of a group of Florida A&M University marching-band students who beat drum major Robert Champion Jr., 26, in a 2011 hazing incident has been convicted of multiple charges related to Champion's death, CNN reported. A jury found former band member Dante Martin, 27, guilty of manslaughter and felony hazing after just an hour of deliberations, charges that could carry a sentence of more than 20 years in prison. Three others have been charged with felony hazing and manslaughter, Gay Star News added. Martin is due to be sentenced Jan. 9.

Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank ( D-Mass. ) praised Sen. Ted Cruz ( R-Texas ) for his view on same-sex marriage ona broadcast of CNBC's Squawk Box, according to Real Clear Politics. Cruz appeared on the show prior to the openly gay Fran, saying although he believes marriage is between one man and one woman, that it is up to each state to decide what their marriage law should be. Frank said, "Ted Cruz is one of the most conservative people in American politics. ... So [his view] represents an evolution in favor of allowing same-sex marriage."

Edie Windsor, whose lawsuit led to the fall of the Defense of Marriage Act, has sent a message to Florida Gov. Rick Scott: Let same-sex Florida couples marry, according to WatermarkOnline.com . In a video for Equality Florida, Windsor says, in part, "Five judges in Florida have ... ruled that it's wrong to exclude same-sex couples from marriage—and the majority of Floridians agree. My dear Gov. Scott, I implore you to use the power of your office to allow loving couples to marry now in your state."

Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirmed he is gay in an opinion piece published Oct. 30, making him the highest-profile chief executive to come out. In an op-ed in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Cook writes, in part, "Throughout my professional life, I've tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. ... At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: 'Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"' So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

A new Williams Institute report shows that substantial numbers of transgender people are parents, though at rates that appear lower than the U.S. general population, a press release stated. Other key findings include that transgender parents have reported discrimination—either formally through the courts, or informally by the child( ren )'s other parent—in child custody and visitation arrangements. Also, two studies have found that people who transition or "come out" as transgender later in life tend to have higher parenting rates than those people who identify as transgender and/or transition at younger ages.

Family Equality Council has announced its 2014 "Allies for Adoption" Campaign to coincide with National Adoption Month in November, according to a press release. Throughout National Adoption Month, Family Equality Council will highlight the stories of LGBTQ families formed through adoption, showcasing the variety of ways in which adoption touches the lives of LGBTQ parents and their children; it will also the role adoption played in ensuring legal protections and recognition for their families. Visit www.familyequality.org/get_informed/families_for_all/ .

Friends and family and the LGBTQ community in Philadelphia are mourning the loss of a pioneer in LGBTQ civil rights, according to PhillyGayLawyer.com . Gloria Casarez, 42, passed away after battling a long bout with an aggressive form of cancer. In 2008, Casarez became Philadelphia's LGBT office director and played an important role in the creation of Mayor Michael Nutter's Advisory Board on LGBT Affairs. She is survived by her strong and compassionate wife, Tricia Dressel.

Lambda Legal filed a notice of appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla, after the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico dismissed the lawsuit seeking to end the Commonwealth's discriminatory ban on marriage for LGBT couples, according to a press release. The appeal happened a week after the court issued its dismissal, upholding the territory's same-sex marriage ban.

Steven Moore, a former Chicago resident who moved to Colorado about two years ago and was the executive director of the National Gay Pilots Association, died Oct. 27 in a plane crash in Boulder County, Colorado. He was 35. Moore was flying at about 7:45 a.m., when his plane went down. According to 9News in Colorado, an NBC affiliate in Denver, deputies say a preliminary investigation shows the aircraft struck the road, propeller first, and caught fire after impact. Moore was engaged to Nathan Samek since April, and the two were set to be married in Colorado on May 2, 2015.

Tom Menino, Boston's longest-serving mayor who oversaw the city's renaissance, has died after a lengthy battle with cancer at the age of 71, USA Today reported. Menino recently announced he would stop his cancer treatments; he had been in hospice care at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Menino was an ally of the LGBT community; in 2012, he wanted Chick-fil-A banned from the city when company officers admitted to maintaining anti-gay positions, according to Advocate.com .

On the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 ( HCPA ), the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) released a guide providing analysis of the current landscape of hate-crimes laws in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to a press release. Twenty states either do not have a hate-crimes law or have a law lacking LGBT inclusion. Although 30 states have a hate-crimes prevention law that covers sexual orientation, only 15 of those laws also address hate crimes based on gender identity or expression. HRC's updated Guide to State-Level Advocacy Following Enactment of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act can be found online at www.hrc.org/resources/category/hate-crimes.

A Southern California couple who beat an 8-year-old boy to death because they reportedly thought he was gay have agreed to plead guilty to murder and torture charges, Advocate.com . Pearl Fernandez, the boy's mother, and her former boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, reached the plea agreement and will be imprisoned for life without parole. Aguirre and Fernandez were accused of torturing the child, Gabriel Fernandez, for several months, calling him gay, beating him when he played with dolls, striking him with belts and baseball bats, and dousing him with pepper spray, among other things.

Indianapolis Metro Police have identified a body discovered at the Tudor Park condominiums as that of 25-year-old Tajshon Sherman, WTHR.com reported. Sherman's death has been ruled a homicide. "That was my son. He had a life like everybody else did. He didn't deserve to have to die like this," mother Deshea Sherman said. However, in a statement, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs ( NCAVP ) identified Sherman as a transgender woman of color. Osman Ahmed, NCAVP's research and education coordinator at the New York City Anti-Violence Project, said in a statement that "[V]iolence is exacerbated by mis-gendering of victims by law enforcement and media outlets. We need immediate action on a national level to address the safety and security of transgender women in the United States."

Eighteen years after conceiving their sons or daughters through donor insemination, 77.5 percent of lesbian mothers were satisfied with their choice of a known, open-identity or unknown sperm donor, according to a new study released today by the Williams Institute. The study includes interviews with 129 lesbian birth and co-mothers about their satisfaction with the type of sperm donor they had chosen. Additionally, their 77 adolescent offspring completed a standardized test to assess psychological health problems. The study is at https://www.nllfs.org/images/uploads/pdf/2014-nllfs-satisfaction-with-sperm-donors.pdf.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays ( PFLAG ) formally announced it will change its name to reflect what it describes as the organization's "inclusiveness, The Washington Blade reported. The group formally unveiled its new name—PFLAG ( only the acronym )—during its annual membership meeting in D.C. In addition, PFLAG National announced Jean Hodges of Boulder, Colorado, as its new board president. She succeeds Rabbi David M. Horowitz, who served two terms of two years each.

In Manhattan, 23-year-old Sean Verdi was found dead in a penthouse apartment belonging to prominent hotel developer Ian Reisner, the 45-year-old developer behind Hell's Kitchen's OUT Hotel, according to Gothamist. Alhough the medical examiner's office had not determined his exact cause of death, initial responders say he died of a drug overdose. Verdi reportedly met Reisner at Bar-Tini Ultra Lounge, where he worked as a bar manager.

Georgia Equality and supporters, including clergy members, joined together recently on the steps of Atlanta City Hall in a public rally to urge Attorney General Sam Olens to stop defending the state's same-sex marriage ban, TheGAVoice.com reported. Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in April on behalf of several plaintiffs challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Olens stated in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the state's ban is constitutional and he would continue to defend it as part of his job.

In a legal filing, Cabela's retail chain said a former employee who is transgender didn't require any workplace accommodations because she wasn't disabled, according to EPGN.com . Between September 2006 and March 2007, Kate Lynn Blatt worked as a seasonal stocker at Cabela's outlet in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Blatt alleges extensive anti-LGBT workplace bias at Cabela's, and says when she complained about it, she was fired. Blatt, 33, says she suffered from gender-identity disorder while working at Cabela's, which sells hunting and fishing gear.

Juan Evans, a trans man who was allegedly harassed and dehumanized by police officers in East Point, Georgia, received a small measure of justice after hearing a heartfelt apology from the town's mayor, Advocate.com reported. However, Evans is continuing to seek an apology and an indication of future changes from the town's police department. After being pulled over for speeding Oct. 23, Evans said that, after being arrested, he was threatened multiple times with forced genital searches, yelled at, outed in front of his cellmates, and called "it" and "a thing."

Less than two months after a brutal anti-gay assault in Philadelphia's City Center saw a gay couple put in the hospital, the city council unanimously passed an ordinance that imposes elevated punishments for violent attacks based on gender identity, sexual orientation or disability status, according to Advocate.com . The council voted 17-0 to approve the measure, which will impose jail sentences of up to 90 days and fines up to $2,000 for those found guilty of committing a hate crime. Philadelphia Mayor Nutter is expected to sign the ordinance.

In Texas, activist Quanell X held a press conference, saying that the Baytown Police Department has been negligent and has ignored a case involving 17-year-old Dylan Beard, who was allegedly attacked, according to Chron.com . The suspects—a 17-year-old girl and two male friends—allegedly punched and kicked Beard in the face and rib Oct. 12 at the WL Jenkins Park, calling him a "faggot" and a "booty lover." Quanell X, who says he has a young gay relative, added he has seen the abuse that young gay Americans face—and took the case when Beard's mother, Jennifer, reached out to him.

Isauro Aguirre—one-half of a couple ( along with Pearl Fernandez ) accused in the beating and torture death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, whom Aguirre and the boy's mother perceived to be gay—has rejected a plea deal to murder charges that would have avoided him the death penalty, LGBTQ Nation reported. Aguirre has not agreed to the deal, which calls for life in prison without the possibility of parole and no appeals. Gabriel's siblings said he was often called gay and punished because he played with dolls, and was forced to wear girls' clothes to school.

Houston city attorneys have withdrawn subpoenas that sought speeches and other information from five pastors who publicly opposed an ordinance banning discrimination of gay and transgender residents, the Associated Press noted. Mayor Annise Parker said the subpoenas—which the city pursued after opponents filed a lawsuit seeking a vote on repealing the ordinance—inadvertently created a national debate about freedom of religion. The pastors, who aren't plaintiffs but support repeal efforts, argued that their sermons, presentations and other material were protected under the First Amendment.

In the wake of a federal court decision legalizing same-sex "marriage" in North Carolina, at least six judges in the state have resigned rather than be forced to officiate such unions, Lifesite noted. All stepped down, since October 10, because they believe marriage is a union between one man and one woman. They are: John Kallam Jr. ( Rockingham County ), Gilbert Breedlove ( Swain County ), Bill Stevenson ( Gaston County ), Tommy Holland ( Graham County ), Gayle Myrick ( Union County ) and Jeff Powell ( Jackson County ).

Woman's Day broke ground recently with an article featuring a Christian mother and her transgender son, The Huffington Post noted. The story, "The Son God Gave Me," was published in the October 2014 issue of the lifestyle magazine and focused on Gina Kentopp and her transgender son, Kyle. Kentopp told Women's Day she reconciled her traditional Christian faith with acceptance of her child after reading the memoir of a gay Christian. Family Circle made a similar move when it featured a gay family in its November 2014 issue, the first time a same-sex couple was ever featured since the publication launched in 1932.

In California, Patrick Martinez claims supervisor Mike Alvarez wrapped Martinez's van in Saran wrap and taped gay porn to it after he reported the boss for sexual harassment, according to Courthouse News. Martinez, a general laborer, claims that in April, Alvarez "began engaging in a continuous, severe, and pervasive campaign of sexual harassment toward" him. Among other things, Martinez says, Alvarez hugged him from behind, called him a "fag" and sent him a text message that said "I'll be your secret ... kisses." Martinez has sued Recology Inc. and Alvarez in Kern County Superior Court.

Tony Perkins, president of the Christian conservative Family Research Council ( FRC ), agreed with a caller's claim that gay rights are part of an "anti-life agenda," according to On Top Magazine. Homosexuality is promoted "because it doesn't lead to reproduction and that's why it's promoted," the Washington Watch listener told Perkins. Perkins agreed, saying the caller was "very insightful" and "absolutely right."


This article shared 4429 times since Tue Nov 4, 2014
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