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  WINDY CITY TIMES

NATIONAL ROUNDUP
Special to the Online Edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis
2011-01-12

This article shared 4435 times since Wed Jan 12, 2011
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Technology giant Apple has rejected the anti-gay app "The Manhattan Declaration" for a second time, Advocate.com reported. The declaration is a 4,700-word statement that was "born out of an urgent concern about growing efforts to marginalize the Christian voice in the public square, to redefine marriage, and to move away from the biblical view of the sanctity of life." The app describes LGBT relationships as "immoral" and "not a civil right." Apple had approved the app in October 2010 before pulling it a month later.

The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is creating a new task force to handle suicide prevention efforts among LGBT youths, according to Advocate.com . Leaders of the task force will be Kevin Jennings, who leads the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, and Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project. The alliance also launched suicide-prevention task forces for two other high-risk populations: American Indians and Alaska Natives, and military service members and veterans.

The 24-hour college network mtvU has named U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj as, respectively, its man and woman of 2010, according to a press release. Gates took a principled stand in a yearlong effort to overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"—which Congress repealed Dec. 18, 2010. Minaj, who released her Pink Friday CD in 2010, supported the Susan G. Komen for the Cure's efforts to end breast cancer, filmed an "It Gets Better" video to support victims of LGBT bullying and called for an end to homophobia in hip-hop.

Andrew Cuomo—who, during his campaign, promised to make same-sex marriage a priority—has been inaugurated as New York's governor, Advocate.com reported. The future of the marriage-equality measure rests on the state senate, where Republicans hold a slight majority, occupying 32 of the 62 seats. Cuomo said, "Rather than seek the apparent safety of the lowest common denominator, we must strive to reach the highest possible goal. We must realize that achieving political consensus in a political conference is different than providing government leadership for the people of the state of New York."

Father Alberto Cutié—who was initially thrust into the national spotlight when the supposedly celibate priest was spotted kissing a woman he later married—says in his new book that Catholic leaders are hypocrites who accept secret same-sex relationships, according to an Advocate.com . In Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle with Faith and Love, Cutié (who used to be Roman Catholic priest but is now an Episcopal one) writes, "There are so many homosexuals, both active and celibate, at all levels of clergy and Church hierarchy that the church would never be able to function if they were really to exclude all of them from ministry."

In Maryland, 39-year-old Douglas Lee Patrick was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after posing online as a cancer-stricken lesbian in order to lure teenage girls into sending him sexual images, according to an Advocate.com . Patrick frequented social-networking websites, where he assumed the identity of an 18-year-old lesbian with cancer. He then asked the girls to send him photos of their genitalia.

Chick-fil-A, a national fast-food chain, is supporting "The Art of Marriage," a series of anti-gay marriage conferences being held in Pennsylvania Feb. 11-12, according to Advocate.com . The Pennsylvania Family Institute and Chick-fil-A will sponsor two events that GoodAsYou.org says will aim to "help couples apply what the Bible teaches about marriage in a powerful way." Two years ago, Chick-fil-A had supported the anti-gay organization Focus on the Family.

In Indiana, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit alleging the state's bureau of motor vehicles arbitrarily rejected a license plate that supported the Indiana Youth Group, a gay organization, according to an Advocate.com item. However, the group's officials are content with the decision; Executive Director Mary Byrne told the Indianapolis Star that "what [the court] said is that if we submit a new application and make it perfectly clear that we will not use any of the money for administrative expenses—that all the money will go to programming—it is likely we will be able to get a license plate."

In El Paso, Texas, a group of conservative Christians—in trying to block healthcare benefits for the same-sex partners of city employees—may have stripped health benefits from all retired police officers and firemen, according to AmericaBlog.com . The measure, which was passed last November, was aimed at gay workers and their partners; however, in asking voters to limit benefits to "city employees and their legal spouse and dependent children," elected officials and many former city workers were also technically excluded.

Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley has come out of the closet, according to NowPublic.com . In a column in which he officially outed himself titled "Welcome to my coming-out party," Buckley wrote, "I've put this off long enough. I haven't been fair to my family, my friends or my co-workers. And I certainly haven't been fair to myself: For too many years I've been on the sidelines of Boston's gay community but not in the game." He added, "It's my hope that from now on I'll be more involved. I'm not really sure what I mean by being 'involved,' but this is a start: I'm gay."

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, an anti-gay Republican from North Carolina, is heading the higher-education subcommittee in the House of Representatives, according to Advocate.com . Foxx, who was once a college president and professor, vocally opposed last year's passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. She said that, while Shepard's death was unfortunate, it was not a hate crime.

President Obama has again nominated Edward C. DuMont for a U.S. court of appeals seat—and DuMont would be the first out judge to hold such a position if he is appointed, according to Advocate.com . DuMont was recommended last year; however, Congress did not vote on his nomination. DuMont is currently a partner at the Washington, D.C., branch of the WilmerHale law firm in its litigation/controversy department.

New versions of the Mark Twain classics Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn have generated controversy because certain words have been replaced, AFP reported. For example, the n-word has been replaced with "slave" and "Injun Joe" is now "Indian Joe." Alan Gribben, a literature professor at Alabama's Auburn Montgomery University, said he wanted to make sure students could still read the books, as some school districts had stopped using them because of the language.

New Jersey's Republican governor, Chris Christie, has signed one of the strictest ant-bullying measures in the country into law, Advocate.com reported. The law mandates that public school teachers, administrators and staff be trained on how to properly deal with incidents involving harassment. In addition, they will have to report all incidents of bullying, inside and outside of school; those who do not comply will be punished. Also, students who harass others will be punished.

Two high-level Episcopal priests, the Rev. Mally Lloyd and the Rev. Katherine Ragsdale, got married in Massachusetts, according to Advocate.com . Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, the state's highest ranking Episcopal official, presided. Lloyd is a ranking official of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, while Ragsdale is dean and president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge.

Hoping to use momentum from the U.S. Congress' recent passage of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Virginia Democrats aim to pass a measure protecting gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination, according to the Washington Post. In part, party leaders are galvanized by a letter sent to state universities and colleges last year from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, advising them to remove language dealing with sexual orientation from nondiscrimination policies.

In California, San Francisco lawyer David Repogle and barkeep Miguel Bustamante were found guilty in connection with the murder of 74-year-old Palm Springs retiree Clifford Lambert, according to SFWeekly.com . Replogle was once known as a crusader against child abuse after recruiting underage plaintiffs who claimed that San Francisco financier Thomas White had sex with them. Among the plaintiffs was Danny Garcia, who is awaiting trial in the Lambert case.

The 9th Annual Masturbate-a-thon took place at San Francisco's Center for Sex & Culture recently—and the winner was Masanobu Sato, who held on for nine hours and 58 minutes, according to SFWeekly.com . In an interview, Sato, a Japanese citizen, said that his "abundant imagination" was the key to winning, and that he trained for this year's event, swimming twice a week and gaining about 12 pounds of muscle. About 250 people attended the event.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has called on the military to accelerate the pace of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," according to Stars and Stripes. Gates outlined a multi-step plan that includes regulatory and benefits reform, preparation of training materials, and then the training itself. Gates said that the armed forces are "trying to get the first two phases of that process done as quickly as possible."

In Texas, an appeals court ruled that state attorney general Greg Abbott cannot stop the divorce of Sabina Daly and Angelique Naylor, tow women who married outside the state, according to Advocate.com . The couple married in Massachusetts in 2004 and subsequently returned to Texas, which bans same-sex marriage. A district judge allowed the couple to divorce in 2009.

Caryl Louise Boies—a Florida attorney who was the daughter of David Boies, the co-lead attorney in the current Prop 8 case in California—died Dec. 26, 2010, of lung cancer at the age of 48, according to Advocate.com . Caryl was the founding partner of the Fort Lauderdale office of her father's law firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner. Condolences can be sent via the American Foundation for Equal Rights at mail@afer.org .

Conservative pundit Ann Coulter called MSNBC host Cenk Uygur "retarded" for asking Chris Barron, the head of GOProud, about being gay and Republican, according to MetroWeekly.com . Uygur asked Barron "on what planet" do conservatives welcome gays. Coulter then tweeted "head of GOProud interviewed by retarded person on MSNBC." Barron subsequented tweeted, "Happy New Years to @AnnCoulter the only person I know who pisses off the gay left more than me!"

Photos of U.S. Rep. Mary Bono Mack have surfaced that show another woman seemingly licking Bono Mack's breast at a party, according to Advocate.com . Bono Mack, the widow of musician/politician Sonny Bono, is featured in the images with former billionaire Edra Blixseth, who is currently being investigated by the FBI. The supposed lick occurred at an event four years ago at Blixseth's $75-million estate. Republican Bono Mack represents a district in California that includes Palm Springs.

The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket the funerals of the six individuals fatally shot in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 8, according to the Huffington Post. On its website, the Topeka, Kan., church posted, "THANK GOD FOR THE SHOOTER -- 6 DEAD!" on a flier that also stated that federal judge John Roll was killed and U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot because of actions by judges and Congress. Last month, the church staged a protest at the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards.

Male model Renato Seabra has been arrested after his companion, 65-year-old Portuguese TV journalist Carlos Castro, was found castrated and beaten to death in a New York City hotel, according to the Huffington Post. Seabra, who had been a contestant on a Portuguese reality-TV show, and Castro saw Broadway shows and were supposed to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square. There had reportedly been some friction between the two, and at least one guest at the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel (where the couple stayed) heard arguing.

GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) has announced that Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, has become an official partner of No Name-Calling Week, presented by Cisco. The eighth annual No Name-Calling Week will take place in thousands of schools across the country Jan. 24-28. Barnes & Noble also declared that January will be No Name-Calling Month in its stores and online.

To recognize the growing diversity of families, the U.S. Department of State has announced new, gender-neutral passport and consular report of birth abroad forms. The new forms will use the title of "parent" as opposed to "mother" and "father," to better reflecting same-sex and single parents. "The updates remove significant challenges for the two million children being parented by lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) parents," said Jennifer Chrisler, the executive director of Family Equality Council, which led the effort to change the forms.

The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) is among those applauding the Food & Drug Administration's approval of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil for the prevention of anal cancer in individuals from 9 to 26, according to a press release. While the cancer is rare, it occurs significantly more in men who have sex with other men and HIV-positive individuals, and actually affects women more than men. NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata said, "The use of this vaccine could have a significant impact on both co-morbidities and potential treatment costs within these populations."

Father John Harvey, who founded the Catholic "ex-gay" ministry named Courage in 1980, died Dec. 27, 2010, at the age of 92, according to Advocate.com . Harvey founded Courage to "strengthen chastity, religious devotion, healthy friendships, and a spirit of fellowship and support among Catholics who experience same-sex attractions," the Catholic News Agency reported. In 2006, Harvey called homosexuality "an objective disorder."


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