A memorial for activist Jeff Montgomery will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, at the McGregor Conference Center at Wayne State University in Detroit, a press release stated. Montgomery, a pioneering activist, was the founding executive director of the Triangle Foundation ( now known as Equality Michigan ). For those who want to preserve and highlight the legacy of Montgomery's work, they can donate to fund the documentary of his life, America, You Kill Me. See JeffreyMontgomery.org .
In a major ruling for same-sex and other non-traditional couples, New York's top court ruled that non-biological and non-adoptive parents can seek visitation and custody if a couple splits, The New York Daily News reported. Until now, the courts have held that non-biological and non-adoptive parents have no legal standing when it comes to parenting. However, the Court of Appeals changed that in a landmark ruling, overturning its own 1991 decision in Alison D. v. Virginia M. that restricted the definition of a parent to someone with biological or adoptive connections.
The American Military Partner Association ( AMPA ) will honor Imran Yousuf of Orlando, Florida, will be honored with the 2016 AMPA Community Hero Award at the inaugural AMPA West Coast Gala on Saturday, Sept. 17, in San Diego, a press release stated. Yousuf, a recent Marine Corps veteran, is widely credited with having saved more than 70 lives during the worst mass shooting in United States history at the Orlando LGBT nightclub, Pulse, in June.
The FBI has decided not to pursue hate-crime charges against a Georgia man found guilty of throwing scalding water on a sleeping gay couple, an LGBTQ Nation item stated. Martin Blackwell was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated assault and aggravated battery. The FBI opened a hate-crime investigation after the February attack; however, spokesman Kevin Rowson said that with Blackwell sentenced in state court, the agency decided not to pursue the case.
In Missouri, authorities in Camden County have made an arrest in the killings of two women found in a burned-out trailer, KY3.com reported. The sheriff's office reports deputies arrested Steven Ray Endsley, of Camdenton; Endsley is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Theresa Jackson, 61, and her daughter Danielle Smith, 27. Investigators say Endsley lived next door to the women and, according to witnesses, had been in an ongoing disagreement with Smith over her sexual orientation. The FBI is assisting the sheriff's office in investigating the possibility of the murders being a hate crime linked to that disagreement.
The FDA is working with drag queens for a new campaign aimed at reducing tobacco use in the LGBT community, a press release stated. The Flawless campaign launched Sept. 6 and features Manila Luzon, Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Trixie Mattel and Tammie Brown, all from the show RuPaul's Drag Race. The all-star lineup reminds the LGBT community "that the best, most flawless version of themselves is one living free from tobacco."
The Ali Forney Center, dedicated to homeless LGBT youth, announced that it is organizing a demonstration to protest ATLAH Church's plan to burn the rainbow flag. ATLAH's Rev. James Manning posted a sign indicating his intent to burn the rainbow flag as a "victory celebration" in response to a recent court order relating to his ongoing foreclosure case by the City of New York for lack of payment of city utility bills. In January, it was revealed in the media that the ATLAH site had been foreclosed, and would be auctioned due to liens of more than $1 Million. At that time, the Ali Forney Center launched the Harlem No Hate campaign to raise funds to win the building at auction, with the goal of providing housing and vocational services to the homeless LGBT youth in its care.
A gay priest in New Jersey has been suspended after his continued support of gay groups and a woman fired from a Catholic high school for marrying her partner, a CBS Philadelphia item noted. The Rev. Warren Hall came out last year after he was fired as a chaplain at Seton Hall University after posting support online for a group that promotes marriage equality.He was later appointed to a parish in Hoboken, but Hall said Newark Archbishop John Myers suspended him. Several pro-LGBT groups, including New Ways Ministry, have spoken out against Hall's suspension.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office has declined to participate in Commonwealth Court's mediation program regarding pending litigation in the Nizah Morris case, the Philadelphia Gay News reported. Morris, a trans woman, was found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after a "courtesy ride" from Officer Elizabeth Skala. Inexplicably, Skala initiated a traffic stop at 13th and Market streets, although she was assigned to handle Morris, who was critically injured and clinging to life at 16th and Walnut streets. After a 10-year review, the city's Police Advisory Commission took an unprecedented step of recommending state and federal probes of the Morris case. But so far, no state or federal agency appears to be investigating the case.
Phil Burress, who helms the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values ( CCV ), has backed down on his opposition to Ohio Senator Rob Portman's re-election, On Top Magazine noted. Portman endorsed same-sex marriage in a 2013 op-ed, making him the first sitting Senate Republican to do so; he credited his son's recent coming out for the change of heart. Burress vowed to defeat Portman over the issue and later called for his resignation.
As Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul arrived at the annual Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast, Rep. John Yarmuth demonstrated outside with a small group of gay-rights activists, LGBTQ Nation noted. They targeted the Kentucky Farm Bureau's highest-profile event to protest the organization's conservative stands on social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion. The Farm Bureau is one of the state's most influential lobbying organizations, with nearly 470,000 members.
The Washington Blade reported that the D.C. Office of Human Rights ( OHR ) issued a finding of probable cause that D.C. police officials subjected gay Officer Justin Markiewicz to discrimination and retaliation by repeatedly addressing him by the name "Justine," according to Markiewicz's attorney, Glen Ackerman. By issuing a finding of probable cause the OHR asserts that the accused party appears to have violated the D.C. Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a wide range of categories, including sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity and expression.
Eric Mendenhall, an assistant professor of genetics at the University of Alabama, received a tweet from one of his students that read, I"My Genetics teacher is a fa***t," the UK Metro reported. Mendenhall, who wasn't having any of it, replied, "I don't condone use of that term and it has no bearing on my ability to teach you genetics [student's Twitter handle]. See you Thursday." Mendenhall's response has since been retweeted more than 15,000 times and has prompted hundreds of comments condemning the student's homophobic attack.
An anti-gay Christian extremist has been arrested in Las Vegas after threatening to kill LGBTI people in an online video, Gay Star News noted. Bryce Cuellar, a self-proclaimed "Christian warrior," posted a threatening video on YouTube on July 1 that Interpol intercepted. According to police, Cuellar says in the video that "he is going to kill people and he cannot wait to use the rifle in a manner in which the Founding Fathers intended." During an interview with police, Cuellar admitted to making the video, but said he was angry and drunk while filming and posting it, Fox News Latino reported.
SPARTA, one of the leading advocates for transgender military service, announced Blake Dremann as the organization's new board chair and president as well as the addition of three new board members: Jennifer Peace, Laila Ireland, and Danyiel Brustmeyer, according to its website. Well-known advocates Allyson Robinson and Sue Fulton are stepping down from leadership—Robinson leaving the board, and Fulton leaving her position as president. Dremann has served as SPARTA's treasurer.
An anti-gay Nebraska state senator who had admitted to having cybersex on a state laptop with a woman he met online refused to resign by a deadline that a legislative committee set, according to LGBTQ Nation. Sen. Bill Kintner released a letter shortly before the 5 p.m. deadline saying he had considered the issue carefully but believed many of the constituents in his district wanted him to stay. The woman, who is believed to have ties to an Ivory Coast crime syndicate, later threatened to expose the encounter unless Kintner paid her $4,500.
Massachusetts Christian institution Gordon College has reached a settlement with Lauren Barthold, a tenured professor who will resign her position as part of the agreement, according to an Inside Higher Ed item that references The Salem News. Barthold sued the college in April, saying that she had been demoted and that her job was threatened because she spoke out against Gordon's policies that discriminate against gay people.
The California Legislature has approved a bill, authored by Senator Ricardo Lara ( D-Bell Gardens ) and sponsored by Equality California, that would require private universities to publicly disclose if they discriminate against students and staff based on their gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, an Equality California press release stated. Senate Bill 1146 would require universities that are granted a Title IX exemption to notify the California Student Aid Commission and disseminate the information to students and staff. The bill now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.
Embattled former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz defeated a primary congressional challenge from Tim Canova—an upstart political novice backed by Bernie Sanders and funded by his supporters—57 to 43 percent, NPR reported. Another big-name incumbent, Marco Rubio, also won his primary race despite a challenge from a wealthy Trump-like supporter who poured millions of his own money into the race. That sets up a key Senate race against Democrat Patrick Murphy that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Faculty and staff members at the University of Pittsburgh now receive transgender benefits, including behavioral health support, medications and surgery, according to a CBS Pittsburgh item. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that officials said the change is meant to bring the university into compliance with federal rules on sex discrimination in employment. A question-and-answer sheet says transgender-related evaluations and procedures will be covered if they are "medically necessary," including breast construction or removal, hormone therapy and genital reconstruction.
In Massachusetts, a lesbian couple received an overwhelming amount of support from their neighborhood after they returned home from vacation to find their rainbow flag stolen and their house egged, The Washington Blade reported. Cari and Lauri Ryding had put up the flag in honor of the Pulse nightclub massacre victims in Orlando, Florida, earlier this summer. A group of neighbors joined together and decided to purchase rainbow flags to hang on their houses; also, a group of children went around the neighborhood passing out flags.
ABC Nightline host Terry Moran wasn't shy in his on-air assessment of the gay Breitbart technology editor and self-described internet troll Milo Yiannopoulos in an interview, LGBTQ Nation noted. Moran summed it up in a voice-over introducing the 32-year-old Donald Trump supporter who has been banned from Twitter for life. During the exchange, he alternately called Yiannopoulos "revolting" and an "idiot," and accused him of having the mentality of a "13-year-old" boy.
Phyllis Schlafly—a leading foe of the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion and gay rights—has died at 92, TheWrap noted. She died in St. Louis surrounded by her family, according to the Eagle Forum, the conservative group she founded in 1972. She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred, and is survived by six children, 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Within months of his death in February, the location of U.S. Supreme Court Antonin Scalia's grave—at Fairfax Memorial Park in Virginia—was recorded on the cemetery website FindAGrave.com with precision: Garden of the Crucifixion, Lot 870, Site A, CBS News noted. Previously, his family asked for privacy and Supreme Court officials declined to say where Scalia was being laid to rest. Scalia is the first Supreme Court justice to be buried at the cemetery, although other former justices are buried in the Washington area.
White Lives Matter—a white nationalist group that opposes the Black Lives Matter movement—has been declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to an item from TheRoot.com that cites The New York Times. The group came under scrutiny after armed members protested outside a Houston NAACP recently, denouncing the civil-rights organization's failure to speak out against pro-Black organizations like Black Lives Matter.
