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

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., has dropped his bid for a presidential run, saying that he would rather run for a spot he has a better chance of winning, according to the Evansville Courier & Press. Pence said, "Our decision, honestly, did come down to the difference between opportunities to seek and opportunities to serve." Social conservatives had urged him to run, but he declined; many believe that he will run for the governor's seat.

The Iowa House of Representatives passed a measure Feb. 1 to send to voters a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, civil unions and any other recognition of same-sex couples; the vote was 62-37. It passed despite the pleas of 19-year-old college student Zach Wahls, who was raised by a same-sex couple. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal has vowed to block the measure's advance in that chamber. To make it to the ballot, in 2013 at the earliest, the amendment would have to pass both houses of the legislature twice, in two consecutive sessions.

There has been a settlement in a federal lawsuit the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Faegre & Benson, LLP, filed against the Anoka-Hennepin School District and Champlin Park High School on behalf of two lesbian students, Desiree ( "Dez" ) Shelton and Sarah Lindstrom, according to a press release. Classmates chose Shelton and Lindstrom as "royalty" for the Snow Days winter event at Champlin Park; however, in an effort to prevent them from participating as a same-sex couple, the school told the students that it would cancel a part of the festivities. Shelton and Lindstrom will be allowed to participate, and the suit will be dropped.

In Indiana, the Gary school district has settled a suit filed by Lambda Legal on behalf on K.K. Logan, a transgender student, Advocate.com reported. The West Side High School principal physically blocked Logan ( who is MTF ) from entering the prom; the school apparently banned clothing that portrayed "the wearer as a person of the opposite gender"—although a girl was reportedly allowed to wear a tuxedo. The school district now has LGBT-inclusive school policies.

Anti-gay activist Maggie Gallagher has written on her blog that Roe v. Wade led many woman to try anal sex, according to Advocate.com . Gallagher feels that the U.S. Supreme Court decision led to women being promiscuous, and that they engage in anal sex to satisfy their boyfriends. She wrote, "Women have less sexual power than they did even a generation ago. Women's bodies are designed for connection, to connect sex, love, and yes, even babies."

Confessions of a Gay Anchorman, the new memoir from Charles Perez, has stirred up controversy in his former home of New York, according to Advocate.com . In the book, Perez alleges that most of the staff as mean and overpaid—including Sam Champion, the openly gay meterologist on Good Morning America. Perez's time in Miami, where he worked after New York, was stormy as well; he claims in the book that he was fired because of his growing reputation as an out gay journalist.

In Hawaii, the state Senate passed a civil-unions bill Jan. 28, Advocate.com reported. The legislative body passed the measure 19-6 and is identical to a bill passed by both houses of the state legislative; however, then-Gov. Linda Lingle vetoes the bill. Now, there is a new governor—Democrate Neil Abercrombie—who supports civil unions.

Campus Pride, which works to create safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities, has announced this year's Voice & Action National Leadership Award winners. The recipients are JeShawna Wholley, a senior at Spelman College, a historically Black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Ga.; and Samuel Brinton, a senior at Kansas State University. Campus Pride Shane Windmeyer said in a statement, "JeShawna and Samuel represent a growing community of LGBT young adult leaders stepping up to shape their schools, communities, nation and their futures in positive ways—simply by being who they are, acting bravely."

The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) has released the tenth video of the "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" campaign—and this one features Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., according to a press release. "We are winning the fight for fairness in New York and nationwide," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is part of a family that has been fighting for equality for generations. We are honored to have him lend his respected voice and join others—both high-profile and every day New Yorkers—in the call for equality."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has again sidestepped questions about President Obama's changed position on same-sex marriage, according to Advocate.com . The Washington Blade's Chris Johnson once again asked Gibbs about Obama's 1996 statements ( originally run in Windy City Times ) that he supported marriage equality; since then, the president has said that he backs civil unions, but not same-sex marriage. Gibbs said, "I was not with the president in 1996. ... I would simply say that throughout the campaign of 2004 and the campaign of 2008, he's made his position clear on that."

The Democratic National Committee has chosen Charlotte, N.C., as the location of its 2012 convention during the week of Sept. 3, according to Advocate.com . Other cities bidding to be the site included Cleveland, St. Louis and Mineeapolis. In an e-mail to campaign supporters, First Lady Michelle Obama wrote, ""Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue."

In Florida, the state's House speaker, Dean Cannon, wants the ban on same-sex adoption to return, Advocate.com reported. The courts overturned the 33-year-old ban last year, and ex-Gov. Charlie Crist ordered the Department of Children and Familes to cease its enforcement of the ban. Former Attorney General Bill McCollum did not appeal the judicial ruling.

MSNBC talk-show Rachel Maddow recently slammed conservatives such as U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and Stephenson Billings at ChristWire.org for their policies towards Egypt—except Billings is not a real person. According to AtlanticWire.org, Billings is an invention of a website that also warns readers, for example, that the Xbox Kinect is a terrorist training tool. On her blog, Maddow acknowledged the mistake quickly after the broadcast aired, posting, "The bad news about a free and open internet? Sometimes you get had by brilliant satirists. Christwire: 1 TRMS: 0."

LGBT elders now have a forum to help create an aging society informed from a gay perspective: GrayPrideParade.com . According to a press release, advocate Loree Cook-Daniels is the curator of the national blog and platform. Cook-Daniels founded the Transgender Aging Network; is a contributing editor to Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled; and has been working on LGBT policy issues since the mid-1970s. People can contribute to GrayPrideParade.com by submitting blog posts for consideration, using the comments section or donating photos.

In New York City, prominent Black Wall Street investor Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., has sued the co-op board of the legendary apartment building The Dakota, alleging defamation and racial discrimination, according to the New York Times. The Dakota is one of the most exclusive buildings in the city, having rejected applicants ranging from Cher to Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. The board has responded that " [ a ] ny accusations of racial discrimination are untrue and outrageous." Fletcher, 45—a former Dakota board president who has resided in the building since 1992—is a 2005 recipient of the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus Civil Rights Award, according to Harvard.edu .

In New York City, model Renato Seabra has pled not guilty to castrating and killing gay Portuguese journalist Carlos Castro, according to Advocate.com . Seabra, 21, was in a relationship with Castro, 65, but has claimed that he attacked the journalist Jan. 7 to exorcise himself of "homosexual demons." Papers reported that Seabra—who is under psychiatric care—stabbed Castro and cut off his testicles with a corkscrew.

U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore, D-Wis.; Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Jared Polis, D-Colo.; and David Cicilline, D-R.I., wrote to the secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to ensure that gays and lesbians discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" get the benefits they earned, according to a press release from Baldwin's office. The letters ask Secretaries Robert Gates and Eric Shinseki to address the issue of discharge characterizations in the repeal process. Some gay and lesbian service members discharged under DADT or previous policies may have been cut off from access to healthcare for veterans, education through the GI Bill and other benefits.

Atlantis Events, Inc.—the world's largest company specializing in all-gay and lesbian cruises and resort vacations—announced that it set sail on the largest gay cruise ever Feb. 6, onboard Royal Caribbean International's Allure of the Seas, with nearly 5,400 gay and lesbian guests, according to a press release. The company also confirmed that it has chartered Allure of the Seas, the world's largest passenger ship, for another sailing in 2012; like this year's trip, next year's cruise will sail from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Sarah, the Kansas City, Mo., mother who allowed her little boy to dress up at Scooby-Doo character Daphne for a Halloween party at her son's Christian preschool has posted her thoughts about the pastor, who she claims has threatened her, according to Advocate.com . Sarah posted, "It was immediately clear that I was being viewed as having done something very wrong. ... I was told I needed to do penance. I was not asked about how [ son ] Boo was doing." She added that the minister instructed her to apologize to the mothers who Sarah accused of bullying her and Boo.

In Vonore, Tenn., lesbian couple Laura and Carol Ann Stutte has accused a neighbor of committing a hate crime when their home was set on fire last September, WBIR.com reported. After the fire, the Stuttes found the word "queers" on the side of their garage. The couple also alleges that the neighbor threatened to poison their dogs—with one pet dying after an incident.

Also in Tennessee, Belmont University has hired new women's soccer coach Heather Henson to replace Lisa Howe, whose controversial departure involved allegations of sexual orientation-based discrimination, according to Advocate.com . Team members have said that Howe was asked to leave because she announced that she and her partner were expecting. Belmont has since added a policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

In California, Indio Superior Court Judge David B. Downing refused to dismiss charges against 14 men arrested in a sex-sting operation in Palm Springs, according to KPSPLocal2.com . During the eight-day hearing, defense attorneys claimed that authorities intended to run gay men out of the Warm Sands area, which includes Palm Springs. The defendants are slated to appear in court March 14 for a conference where lawyers can decide to proceed to trial or accept a plea bargain.

In Georgia, a group of ministers has banded together to defend a gay man, Keith Staples, after his home was burned down in an apparent hate crime, according to SDGLN.com . Keith Jiles, pastor of Carrolton's Word of Life Gospel Ministries, said, "I am saddened to think that someone in our community could have this much hatred toward another person. However, it is at times like this that the church has the opportunity and responsibility to rise and shine." Georgia is one of the few states that does not have a hate-crimes law on the state level, although there is a federal hate-crimes act.

CNN reporter Anderson Cooper and his news crew were attacked over two consecutive days while covering the goings-on in Egypt, according to Advocate.com . Cooper tweeted Feb. 3, "Situation on ground in #egypt very tense. Vehicle I was in attacked. My window smashed. All ok." Cooper was punched at least 10 times Feb. 2. Reporters Christiane Amanpour and Katie Couric have also been harassed.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality ( NCTE ) has released a comprehensive new report, "Injustice at Every Turn," that shows the depth of discrimination transgender and gender non-conforming people endure in a wide range of areas, including education, health care, employment, and housing. Among the key findings are that respondents were nearly four times more likely to live in extreme poverty, with household income of less than $10,000; and that approximately 41 percent of respondents reported attempting suicide, compared to only 1.6 percent of the general population.

In South Dakota, authorities have refused to grant the name-change request of a Sioux Falls lesbian couple who were legally married in Iowa, according to LGBTQNation.com . Amy Muston married Ashley Stabe last year, adopting Stabe's surname in the process. However, five years ago South Dakota voters passed a constitutional amendment banning and denying recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions. The Stabes have filed petitions to change their names.

In Florida, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley has returned to the political arena, making a recent appearance to mentor young Republicans, according to The Daily Caller. Foley resigned from Congress in 2006 after it was revealed he had inappropriate contact with underage male pages. The president of the Palm Beach County Young Republicans said that Foley "has a great message and touched on so many different things."

In Alabama, Laura Gilbert, 25, said she was attacked outside an Opelika bar by a dozen people and then arrested because of her sexual orientation, Advocate.com reported. Gilbert and a friend went to a bar called the Villa; when they were about to leave, a female patron confronted them and a fight ensued. Then, the fight moved outside and involved many more people, including two men. Gilbert, who was cited for public intoxication and disorderly conduct, was the only person arrested.

The world's only conference focusing on the importance of language in LGBT life will be held at American University Feb. 11-13, according to a press release. The Lavender Languages and Linguistic Conference will be the launchpad for the creation of the first-ever journal devoted entirely to the subject, called The Journal of Language and Sexuality. Topics at the conference will include queerness in contemporary vampire fiction; and the relationships between language, migration and sexualities. The first issue is expected next year.

Florida's Ryan White CARE Act AIDS Drug Assistance Program ( ADAP ) will soon drop 6,500 residents from its rolls, an unparalleled move that raises serious concerns about the solvency of the state's safety net for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS, according to a press release from the National Minority AIDS Council ( NMAC ) . "In its more than two decades, ADAP has never faced a more severe crisis," said NMAC Executive Director Daniel C. Montoya. "For many low-income Americans living with HIV/AIDS, including people of color, ADAP provides the only avenue for receiving life-saving medications."

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Trust have jointly acquired a huge collection of the prints, negatives and letters of the late gay artist Robert Mapplethorpe, according to the New York Times. It is the first time the two institutions have collected works of art to share. The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation is donating the majority of the 2,000+ photographs—including Mapplethorpe silver-gelatin prints and Polaroid works—and the trust and museum, with help from the David Geffen Foundation, are buying the rest. The foundation estimated the value of the entire collection at more than $30 million.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) has sent a letter asking U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Dr. Clifford Stanley to establish special boards that would address issues faced by former service members discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) and the prior regulatory ban, according to a press release. The overwhelming majority of former servicemembers who have contacted SLDN recently want to change their discharge paperwork to remove the remnants of DADT, which SLDN said can subject them to discrimination in civilian life.

During an exchange with the Des Moines Register, Democratic Iowa state Sen. Mike Gronstal was asked about criticism that he is stopping "the will of Iowa voters" regarding same-sex marriage. Gronstal, a marriage-equality supporter, responded, "I'm not convinced it's the will of the Iowa voters. Two-thirds of Iowans voted against a constitutional convention. ... That was a larger issue than just gay marriage." He added, "We did not put it to a vote of the people when Iowa took out ... the prohibition on interracial marriage. We did not put the right of different-race couples to a vote of the people. We didn't put to a vote of the people whether or not women should be admitted to the bar."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) has announced the launch of its People of Color Media Training Institute as a part of the organization's National People of Color Media Initiative, according to a press release. The institute, funded by the Arcus Foundation and created specifically for people of color who are LGBT or LGBT allies, will develop a group of leaders to speak in national media outlets about issues that impact the lives of LGBT people and their families.

The popular African-American publication Ebony is featuring a lesbian couple in its current Black Love issue, according to Advocate.com . Yanette Freeman and Willa Walker discussed meeting through mutual friends in 1998 and eventually becoming a couple. Several couples are profiled in the magazine's issue, but Freeman and Walker are the only same-sex couple.

Sarah Palin feels that the gay Republican group GOProud should be at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ) —and that organizations should not boycott the event because GOProud is there, according to Advocate.com . Talking with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Palin said that having everyone at the conference would "provide good information and balance" and would "allow for healthy debate, which is needed for people to gather information to make up their own minds on issues. Among those skipping CPAC are Sen. Jim DeMint and groups such as the Family Research Council.