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Phelps relative poses for NOH8; gay groups back Crist
National roundup: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2014-06-18

This article shared 4661 times since Wed Jun 18, 2014
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Libby Phelps, granddaughter of the late Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps, has posed for the NOH8 campaign, according to Frontiers LA. Phelps left the notorious church in 2009, and has joined a number of other ex-members in condemning the organization. Lauren Drain, another former member, also posed for the NOH8 campaign last year, but Libby Phelps is the first member of the Phelps family to have done so. She posted the photo, which has her posing with her baby son Paxton and campaigners from Equality House, on Twitter with the statement, "The message is simple: No hate. We want people to be happy, healthy and hopeful."

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has received endorsements in his newest run for governor from two prominent gay-rights groups: Equality Florida Action PAC and the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ). PAC Chair Stratton Pollitzer said, "The early endorsement reflects the urgency of electing a governor who will speed progress when it comes to equality, not stand in the way of fairness," the Miami Herald reported. HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse said in a separate statement that "Crist will work to improve the lives of all Florida families—including LGBT families—and for that he has our gratitude and our support." Crist served as a Republican governor from 2007 to 2011, and once opposed same-sex marriage but now supports it.

A federal judge issued a stay on same-sex marriages in Wisconsin a week after she struck down the state's marriage ban as unconstitutional—a move that allowed more than 500 couples to wed over the last eight days, according to ABC News. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb's most recent ruling means that same-sex marriages will end while the appeal from Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is pending. Couples who were in the middle of the five-day waiting period to get a license, which most counties waived, are stuck in limbo.

An Alabama appeals court ruled that the state's ban on consensual oral and anal sex—aimed at criminalizing homosexual conduct—is unconstitutional, AL.com reported. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals issued its unanimous ruling in Williams v. Alabama, the appeal of a Dallas County man who was convicted of sexual misconduct, although the jury found the same-sex encounter was consensual. In its ruling the Alabama court pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas, which found a Texas law barring same-sex intimate contact was unconstitutional.

The Iowa Supreme Court threw out the conviction of a man who pleaded guilty to criminal transmission of HIV—a victory to activists who say laws in many states are outdated and based on fear instead of medical science, ABC News reported. Nick Rhoades, 39, of Plainfield, had appealed his 2009 conviction, claiming his attorney was ineffective by letting him plead guilty when there was an inadequate factual basis to support the plea. The court's ruling overturns the Iowa Court of Appeals ruling that had affirmed a Black Hawk County judge's conviction based on Rhoades' plea.

An openly transgender woman claimed the Republican nomination in her bid to represent Nevada in the state legislature, The Washington Blade reported. Lauren Scott, who's transgender and a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, won the Republican primary election for Nevada Assembly District 30 in a contest against Adam Khan by taking 58 percent of the vote. The district—which includes parts of Reno—is heavily Democratic, but Scott pledged to fight to win the general election. In the general election, Scott will face off against Democratic incumbent State Assembly member Michael Sprinkle.

The LA Pride Parade was held along Santa Monica Boulevard June 8, with organizers estimating more than 400,000 spectators and participants, The Los Angeles Wave reported. One of the highlights was the parade's traditional moment of silence at noon, which was dedicated to members of the community killed in hate crimes. Singer Demi Lovato was the grand marshal while the couples who were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that overturned California's ban on same-sex marriage, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, served as the community grand marshals.

A federal judge has put a lawsuit challenging West Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage on hold until a federal appeals court decides a similar Virginia case, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers entered an order that stayed the case filed in West Virginia by three couples last October until the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decides a case from Virginia. Pro-LGBT group Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit contending West Virginia's Defense of Marriage Act unfairly discriminates against same-sex couples and their children.

In what's being called a political "earthquake," the number-two Republican in the House, Eric Cantor, lost his primary on June 10 to a college professor and Tea Party neophyte, according to CNN. Cantor conceded the race, with 99 percent of precincts reporting from the Richmond-area district showing him trailing Dave Brat 56 percent to 44 percent. Cantor had called for his party to be party to be more inclusive, but had not supported any major pro-LGBT legislation, according to ThinkProgress.org .

According to Vocativ's first-ever Queer Index, Los Angeles ( which, incidentally, has more than 2,400 gay bars ) is the most LGBT-friendly city in the country, a press release stated. ( The rest of the top five are New York City; San Francisco; Des Moines, Iowa; and Chicago. ) The index also found some interesting tidbits, such as Memphis, Tennessee, having the highest percentage of single lesbians, and Boston having the highest number of hate crimes ( of the 100 largest U.S. cities ). Vocativ, a media organization, used 16 criteria for its index, including marriage-equality rating, number of out LGBT politicians and the availability of casual sex.

In Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh PrideFest wrapped up with the historic and emotional moment of Mayor Bill Peduto officiating the state's first same-sex marriages by marrying 19 couples, according to Out Traveler. The weddings became possible after a federal judge ruled May 20 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. All 19 couples led the annual pride parade through downtown Pittsburgh.

In a speech at a Lambda Legal event, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said that The Boy Scouts of America's policy of continuing to bar gay adults from serving as leaders "only preserves and perpetuates the worst kind of stereotypes," according to Advocate.com . He added, "Like 'don't ask, don't tell,' it's a relic of an age of prejudice and insufficient understanding." This year, the Scouts began allowing openly gay young people to be members, but retained the ban on gay adults. Former Defense secretary Robert Gates, who became president of the Boy Scouts last month, has said he favors lifting the ban—but he does not want to reopen the issue.

In California, loved ones gathered for a vigil June 14 to honor transgender activist Zoraida Reyes, 28, who was found dead behind a restaurant in Anaheim, according to CBS Los Angeles. The Anaheim Police Department there were no visible wounds on Reyes but they listed her death as "suspicious" because of evidence at the scene that suggested her body had been moved. Reyes fought hard for transgender and immigration rights, friends said.

A family court judge in Texas has ruled that two fathers—Jason Hanna and Joe Riggs, a legally married same-sex couple who each biologically fathered one of two twin boys—cannot have their names appear on their own children's birth certificates, The New Civil Rights Movement reported. The couple married last year in Washington, D.C.; however, while the federal government recognizes their legal civil marriage, the Lone Star State does not.

An Oklahoma magazine discovered that, last summer, Tea Party state House candidate Scott Esk endorsed stoning gay people to death, according to Slate.com . "I think we would be totally in the right to do it," he said in a Facebook post, adding, "That [stoning gay people to death] goes against some parts of libertarianism, I realize, and I'm largely libertarian, but ignoring as a nation things that are worthy of death is very remiss." When pressed further, Esk stated, "I do stand for Biblical morality."

The Boston City Council voted unanimously to guarantee transgender municipal employees and their dependents access to gender-reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and mental-health services, The Boston Globe reported. An ordinance that Councilors Michelle Wu and Ayanna Pressley proposed will prohibit the city from contracting with any health insurer that denies coverage or "discriminates in the amount of premium, policy fees, or rates charged ... because of gender identity or expression." Mayor Martin J. Walsh was slated to sign the measure.

Southern Baptist delegates approved resolutions at the denomination's annual meeting on topics ranging from transgender identity and Hollywood's portrayal of the afterlife to government support of casinos and lotteries, AL.com reported. Regarding transgender identity, the delegates affirmed that "God's good design that gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one's self-perception." The resolution, which was approved, urges transgender people to "trust in Christ and to experience renewal in the Gospel." The meeting was held in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 10-11.

A comparison between alcoholism and homosexuality by Texas Gov. Rick Perry is raising eyebrows, according to CNN. At a speech in San Francisco, the longtime Republican governor—who ran for the White House in 2012 and is considering another bid in 2016—was asked if he thought homosexuality was a disorder. "I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that—and I look at the homosexual issue the same way," Perry said. "Although he may not have the 'genetic coding' to think before he speaks, Rick Perry, M.D. should have a real conversation with actual doctors before voicing his expertise on these issues," said Fred Sainz, vice president for communications at the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement.

Popular young YouTube "science geeks" Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown have come out to their fans as a couple, and have responded to their anti-gay detractors, according to Same Same. "We've actually been together for seven and a half years," the pair revealed. Moffit and Brown have featured drawings of same-sex couples in a couple of their AsapSCIENCE videos. "Although in general our YouTube experience has been extremely phenomenal and supportive, we've also experienced a lot of negativity and discussions around our sexuality," noted Brown.

During an interview with NPR, Hillary Clinton stood behind her role as secretary of state and her upbringing as a way to defend the fact that she was not publicly supportive of same-sex marriage until 2013, according to CNN. "I did not grow up even imagining gay marriage and I don't think you probably did either," Clinton told NPR's Terry Gross. "[W]hen I was ready to say what I said, I said it." Clinton, who said she has "evolved" on the issue, criticized those who "are never open to new information and they like to operate in an evidence-free zone."

Even though their denomination's policy officially prohibits clergy from officiating at the wedding of any same-sex couple at the risk of losing their ordination, 10 retired United Methodist clergy based in Texas have stated their intent to make themselves available to officiate weddings of same-sex couples, according to an SWTX Reconciling Ministries Team press release. The clergy group calls itself United Methodist Clergy for Faithful Obedience; eight are based in Austin, with two living in San Antonio. United Methodist Clergy for Faithful Obedience's statement was originally made public during the United Methodist Southwest Texas Annual Conference, held in Corpus Christi.

The LGBT Sports Summit took place June 12=14 in Portland, Oregon, according to a press release. The event was the third annual meeting of the LGBT Sports Coalition, which aims to end anti-LGBT bias in sports. Attendees consisted of high school, college, amateur and professional athletes as well as coaches, sports administrators, activists, academics and other sports participants.

GLMA has announced that one of its members, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, has become the first openly gay trustee of the American Medical Association ( AMA ), according to a press release. On June 10, the AMA House of Delegates elected Ehrenfeld to serve on the board of trustees, joining a handful of other health professional associations to include out LGBT individuals in positions of leadership. Last June, GLMA became the first and only LGBT organization to have a voting seat in the AMA House of Delegates.

In a New York Times op-ed, Chelsea Manning—the transgender former military intelligence analyst who is serving a 35-year prison sentence for leaking classified information in 2010—has broken her silence to rail against a lack of military transparency, Time.com noted. In the article, Manning calls for a new government body to oversee embedded journalists' press credentials and for a quicker declassification of the military's Significant Activity Reports, which detail the facts of attacks and casualties and could aid reporters' coverage of the conflict.

A lawsuit alleging anti-gay bias at oil-and-gas giant ExxonMobil may be terminated for jurisdictional reasons, unless the Illinois Human Rights Commission agrees to take on a review of an earlier decision from another body to dismiss the case, The Washington Blade reported. The complaint, which the LGBT group Freedom to Work filed last year, is now pending before the 13-member commission after the Illinois Department of Human Rights, a lower body that investigates charges of discrimination, dismissed the case on Feb. 4, 2014, for lack of jurisdiction.

Dawn Ennis—a transgender ABC News producer who gained attention in the New York media world last year for her high-profile transition—has been fired, The Wrap noted. Ennis' dismissal from ABC News was reportedly due to "performance-related issues," and had nothing to do with her transition. Ennis first came out to her colleagues last May, after being known as Don for years, citing an "unusual hormone imbalance" for her gender transition.

On June 17, the U.S. Senate made judicial history by confirming Darrin Gayles to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and Staci Yandle to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, marking the first time that two openly gay judicial nominees have been confirmed to the federal bench on the same day, a Lambda Legal press release stated. Gayles and Yandle are also both African-American. Lambda Legal Fair Courts Project Manager Eric Lesh said, "A diverse judiciary serves not only to improve the quality of justice, but to boost public confidence in the courts."

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association ( NLGJA ) presented the first NLGJA Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage to Edythe Eyde, according to a press release. Eyde, who wrote by the pen name Lisa Ben, is the creator of the first known lesbian publication, Vice Versa, which she single-handedly produced and distributed in Los Angeles for a year in the 1940s. Lisa Ben was inducted into the NLGJA Journalists Hall of Fame in 2010.


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