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

GLAAD announced the launch of the "Go Purple for #SpiritDay" app, powered by Toyota Financial Services. The free app allows users to take part in Spirit Day ( Oct. 20 ), the largest and most visible anti-bullying campaign in the world supporting LGBTQ youth, by making their social media profiles purple. The app also offers anti-bullying resources for students, parents, and educators. "Go Purple for #SpiritDay" is available for Apple and Android devices. Also, visit http://glaad.org/spiritday.

The Fenway Institute of Fenway Health released a policy brief showing that gun violence poses a substantial threat to the health of the LGBT community, and urging the LGBT community to join the movement to enact a reasonable gun-control agenda in the United States, according to a press release. The gun-control agenda outlined in "Gun Violence and LGBT Health" includes reinstatement of the Congressional ban on assault weapons, which ended in 2004; state and federal bans on the purchase of guns by those who have been convicted of domestic abuse or hate crimes or who are included on the no-fly list maintained by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration; background checks on those purchasing firearms at gun shows or online; and promotion of safer gun design and storage. See fenwayfocus.org/2016/10/new-policy-brief-argues-that-gun-violence-is-an-lgbt-public-health-issue-urges-lgbt-organizations-to-embrace-a-reasonable-gun-control-agenda/ .

John D. Roberts will receive the Social Security benefits of his late husband Bernard O. Wilkerson, after a ruling last month by a Philadelphia judge, Philadelphia Gay News reported. On Sept. 28, Orphans' Court Judge George W. Overton ruled that the couple was in a common-law marriage dating back to July 4, 1990. The men lived together for about 25 years, and were perceived to be spouses during that time period, according to court papers.

Peter Thiel—the openly gay PayPal cofounder and Silicon Valley billionaire—is getting ready to invest $1.25 million in Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign for president, according to a CNET item that cites The New York Times. Thiel will make the donation in a series of super PAC contributions, the Times reported, citing an anonymous source described as close to the billionaire. The donation puts Thiel in a minority in Silicon Valley, the Times noted, as Trump has raised approximately $300,000 from that area, as opposed to Hillary Clinton's $7 million.

HealthHIV recognized Oct. 15 as National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day ( NLAAD ), marking a time for individuals and organizations to collaborate, raise awareness, and commit to using tools such as HIV testing, PrEP, and treatment as prevention to end new HIV transmissions, a press release stated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), Latinx communities continue to be disproportionately affected by high HIV infection rates, accounting for almost one in four of new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2014. Moreover, one in four Latino men who have sex with men ( MSM ) in the United States will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. For more information about NLAAD and efforts to end HIV in the Latinx communities, visit nlaad.org/ .

For the first time, Fox News anchor Shepard Smith has publicly acknowledged that he is gay, according to a Gay Star News item. Smith did it while speaking about Fox News head Roger Ailes, who was ousted in a major sexual-harassment scandal. Responding to reports that Ailes had stopped Smith from coming out publicly years ago, Smith told The Huffington Post, "That's not true. He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father." Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, recalled becoming aware of Smith's sexual orientation when the journalist hit on him at a gay bar in New York City in 2004. "I didn't immediately out him because he wasn't actively courting media attention at the time," Naff writes in a new column in The Blade.

NCAVP issued a press release mourning the homicide of Brandi "Chill" Bledsoe, a transgender woman of color killed in Cleveland, Ohio. The organization said it was the 22nd reported killing of a transgender/gender non-conforming person NCAVP has responded to in 2016. Blesoe was found dead in a driveway in what is suspected to be a homicide. Initial media reports and the medical examiner misgendered Bledsoe, and her family, friends and activists online called out local media for their error and brought attention to her death.

Among emails posted online Oct. 10 by Wikileaks is one John Podesta wrote in response to HIV activist Keith Molter, who wrote an angry letter after watching Hillary Clinton's MSNBC interview on March 11 during which she claimed that Nancy Reagan was responsible for a "national conversation" on the AIDS crisis, Advocate.com noted. "I can't explain this other than sheer exhaustion," wrote Podesta to Molter. "I know it was deeply hurtful and we are trying to make it right. I also know as First Lady, Senator and Secretary she has always tried to do everything she could to eradicate the disease for good.

In Washington state, Rodney Antonson, who pled guilty after a 1995 indecent-exposure arrest stemming from a police sting operation targeting men seeking sex with other men, has fallen short in his public quest to obtain a pardon—but he has persuaded Lynnwood Municipal Court Judge Stephen Moore to dismiss the case, The Seattle Times reported. It is tantamount to a "pardon with less fanfare," said Antonson's Bellevue attorney, John Tymczyszyn.

A Texas judge has quit the Republican Party after officiating his first same-sex marriage, deciding he had had enough of its intolerance, LGBTQ Nation reported. Justice Terry Jennings will now be the only Democrat on the Texas First Court of Appeals after his children wondered why he was staying with a party from which he was feeling increasingly alienated. "Today's Republican Party has chosen a dark path I cannot take," Jennings said at a recent Democratic fundraising dinner, where he officially made the announcement that he was switching parties.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, in coordination with Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, announced six Victory Fund-endorsed candidacies were upgraded to DLCC 2016 Essential Races, according to a press release. The six Victory Fund-endorsed candidates added to the DLCC 2106 Essential Races include: Jane Campbell, North Carolina House District 98; Tommy Greene, Ohio House District 16; Daniel Hernandez, Arizona House District 2; Stephen Skinner, West Virginia Senate District 16; Beth Tuura, Florida House District 47; and Jennifer Webb, Florida House District 69.

The Michigan Attorney Discipline Board said a former state lawyer committed misconduct when he hounded a gay student leader at the University of Michigan, Crain's Detroit Business reported. Andrew Shirvell was an assistant attorney general when he was fired in 2010. He had criticized Christopher Armstrong on an anti-gay blog, in Facebook posts and during visits to the Ann Arbor campus. Shirvell said he was exercising free-speech rights. A jury later awarded $4.5 million to Armstrong.

A lesbian Ypsilanti, Michigan, councilwoman-elect said she's "disappointed" to learn that a Chick-fil-A will open at Eastern Michigan University, MLive.com reported. Beth Bashert, who won a council seat in the Aug. 2 primary, said the company has a history of donating to groups considered anti-LGBT and company CEO Dan Cathy denounced the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down laws barring same-sex marriage. "I'm disappointed that our city, which has worked really hard on inclusivity on a broad range of levels, is inviting a business that has a such a negative history," she told The Ann Arbor News.

This year's "A Place at the Table" gala—New York City's annual star-studded event benefiting homeless LGBTQ young people—will take place Oct. 21 at Capitale, a press release noted. Acclaimed comedian and actress Sandra Bernhard will host, and the evening will a feature a special tribute to Bea Arthur by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Last year's A Place at the Table dinner and auction raised approximately $600,000 for the services that the Ali Forney Center ( provides to homeless LGBTQ youths in New York City.

For the first time, GMHC now offers housing for homeless people with HIV, which also includes supportive services, HIVPlusMag.com reported. Partnering with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS ( HOPWA ) program, it recently took over a contract for 25 units. All of the residents are HIV-positive immigrants who came to the United States without legal documentation, and all of them will automatically become GMHC clients.

The Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two held that Suzan McLaughlin is a legal parent of the son she and her former same-sex spouse conceived through donor insemination and raised together before the couple separated, according to a National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) press release. Said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter, "[The] decision affirms the longstanding principle that children born to married parents through donor insemination must be treated equally and given the same protections as other marital children. It also ensures that Arizona law is consistent with that of other states, which uniformly recognize that both spouses who agree to have a child through donor insemination are legal parents."

Former NBA player Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete to compete in America's four major professional sports leagues, is asking young fans to vote for Hillary Clinton—and telling them Donald Trump "stands for everything that I think is the worst in us" as he campaigns for Clinton around the country, The Miami Herald reported. Collins specifically called out Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who in 2015 signed a religious freedom law that many saw as tolerating discrimination based on sexual orientation. Speaking to about 100 students at Miami Dade College recently, Collins never actually mentioned Clinton or Trump, as the North Campus event was billed as a voter-registration drive based "on civic engagement and LGTBQ awareness."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and the ACLU filed a motion to intervene on behalf of a transgender student in a lawsuit that seeks to bar trans students from using locker rooms consistent with the student's gender identity, a press release noted. The transgender girl—identified as Jane Doe to protect her privacy—is a sophomore in high school at a public school in Virginia, Minnesota. A small group of parents, acting through an organization they have named "Privacy Matters," have filed a complaint against Doe's school district and the U.S. Department of Education for protecting Doe, a student-athlete, from discrimination when using the locker room.

Ken Bone—the man in the red sweater who became nationally known after the second Clinton/Trump debate—supports national equality, Advocate.com reported. Bone told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he remains conflicted about which candidate to pick. But it's marriage equality that tops his list of reasons he resists voting for Trump, who has pledged to nominate justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn the Obergefell decision. However, many have turned on Bone in light of recent social-media posts, TheWrap noted. Four months ago, Bone called Trayvon Martin's death "justified," although in the same post, he called Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, a "big old s—- bird."

In Georgia, students at Kennesaw State University protested after reports that Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens is set to take over as president, 11Alive.com reported. Olens defended Georgia's gay-marriage ban and sued the federal government over the transgender bathroom directiv—leading students to organize a recent protest and draft a petition that had more than 5,000 signatures. However, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia named Olens president of the university on Oct. 12.

CoverGirl made history with the appointment of 17-year-old James Charles as its newest spokesmodel—or, CoverBoy—to work with brand ambassador Katy Perry, Time noted. Charles, who's still a senior in high school, is a makeup artist with nearly 430k followers. He's the first male ambassador for the cosmetics giant in its nearly 60 years as a brand. He will appear in print, television and digital ads both with Perry and by himself.

A new exhibit from the Museum of the City of New York is celebrating the city's LGBTQ history with a comprehensive look at the last 100 years of the city's queer underground, Paper magazine reported. Dubbed "Gay Gotham: Art and Underground Culture in New York," the show features 200 multidisciplinary works, including paintings, recordings, photographs and letters from art-world staples like Leonard Bernstein, Andy Warhol and Robert Mapplethorpe as well as lesser-known queer artists like poet/novelist Mercedes de Acosta and feminist artist Harmony Hammond.

When researchers led by Martin J. Downing, Ph.D., surveyed 821 men about their porn-viewing habits, they found that 55 percent of gay men reported watching opposite-gender-oriented porn in the previous six months, while 21 percent of straight men reported watching same-sex porn in that time frame, Cosmopolitan noted. Bi men, meanwhile, reported watching gay porn at a rate of 96 percent ( nearly as much as the 98.3 percent of gay men who reported watching gay porn ) and straight porn at a rate of 88.3 percent ( a little lower than the 98.5 percent of straight men who reported watching straight porn ). The report is in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

One of the men convicted of stabbing gay-porn king Brian Kocis to death inside his Dallas Township home in 2007 granted a jailhouse interview to a TV crime show that was slated to air Oct. 12, The Times Leader noted. Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen was slated to air interviews with Joseph Kerekes, an investigator and the prosecutor in the case, as well as the author of Cobra Killer—a book based on the murder that also inspired a soon-to-be-released movie. ( Prosecutors say Harlow Cuadra and Kerekes killed Kocis because he was their rival in the gay-porn industry. ) The episode, titled "Cobra Killer Interview: 'We thought that we were gods,'" precedes the release of King Cobra, starring James Franco, who portrays Kerekes in the film.