The National AIDS Memorial Grove announced it will commemorate World AIDS Day with two days of events honoring leaders instrumental in the fight against AIDS, according to Business Wire. Tim Hanlon, President of the Wells Fargo Foundation, will receive the 2013 Lifetime of Commitment Award during the annual Light in the Grove event; during World AIDS Day ceremonies at the Grove Dec. 1, The National Leadership Recognition Award will be awarded to Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute. The Local Unsung Hero Award will be presented to Franco Beneduce, an AIDS fundraising event producer who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.
The convicted killer of Cemia "CeCe" Dove, a Cleveland transgender woman found murdered earlier this year, has been sentenced to life in prison, according to LGBTQ Nation. Andrey Bridges, found guilty of Dove's murder, will be eligible for parole in 20 years, when he'll be 56. Prosecutors said Dove was stabbed 40 times on Jan. 5 and tied to a concrete block—but was not found until three months later.
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the HIV Organ Policy Equity ( HOPE ) Act, a measure that allows individuals with HIV to receive organs from other HIV-positive donors, according to The Plain Dealer. In June, the Senate passed the act, which eliminates longstanding regulations prohibiting the procurement of organs from HIV-positive people. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law. Currently, if a dead individual is found to have HIV, he or she is eliminated from consideration.
LGBT parents scored a victory after a Florida judge ruled that the University of Central Florida must release records related to a debunked 2012 study that claimed kids raised in LGBT families fared worse than those raised by straight ones, Advocate.com reported. The ruling in John M. Becker v. University of Central Florida Board of Trustees is related to a study by Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Becker, a journalist who writes for The Bilerico Project, sought the documents under Florida's Public Records Act.
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner reiterated his opposition to allowing a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ), which the Senate has passed, according to ThinkProgress.org . Boehner said the bill, which would federally prohibit employment discrimination against LGBT people, is "unnecessary" because "people are already protected in the workplace." However, it is still legal in 29 states to fire employees based on their sexual orientation and in 33 states based on their gender identity.
In Illinois, proceedings in Darby vs. Orr, a lawsuit filed on behalf of local couples seeking the right to marry, have been stayed until June 2, 2014, the day after same-sex marriages will be permitted in Illinois. Attorneys for Lambda Legal and ACLU Illinois, who represent the plaintiffs, long contended that the suit would be dropped should legislation allowing same-sex marriage be approved. But shortly after the passage of SB10 on Nov. 5, they began weighing the options of not moving to have the lawsuit immediately dismissed, since their clients were essentially still being harmed until June 1, they said.
Missouri will become the first state to recognize same-sex marriages for tax purposes even though it has a state constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman, according to ThinkProgress.org . Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon announced he will issue an executive order directing the Missouri Department of Revenue to accept joint tax returns from all married couples, including same-sex couples married in other states.
Ron English, the Eastern Michigan University head football coach who was fired for a profanity-laced tirade against his players, apologized for his language, which included a gay slur, according to an Outsports item. English told the Associated Press, "As a man who has coached 21 years, obviously, on this occasion and particular meeting, I lost my poise, got upset and used language that was inappropriate, particularly as it pertains to homosexual slurs. I regret that." In a meeting with some of his players, English said, "I don't have f——- respect for you, bitches! I don't have respect for you little queer-ass bitch, because that's what you are."
Former University of Texas women's track coach Bev Kearney filed a $1-million lawsuit in state district court, alleging the school discriminated and retaliated against her based on gender and race, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The lawsuit said that the school showed a double standard by punishing Kearney for an inappropriate relationship with a student athlete ( who happened to be female ), but hired former volleyball coach Jim Moore, who married one of his athletes. Kearney is asking the court for damages that include payment for lost and future wages, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish and court costs.
In North Carolina, a private Christian school in Wilmington has adopted a policy giving the school the right to refuse admission of an applicant whose home life includes "homosexual or bisexual activity," according to WECT.com . In a letter sent to parents of Myrtle Grove Christian School, the head of the school, J. Stacey Miller, indicates the school will require all families of students enrolling or re-enrolling to sign a "Biblical Morality Policy." The policy is expected to take place with enrollment for the 2014-15 school year.
Dayna Morales—a restaurant server in New Jersey who previously served in the Marines—received a note from a family who denied her a tip because of her "gay lifestyle," The Huffington Post noted. Morales, a server at Bridgewater's Gallop Asian Bistro, emailed the gay-friendly blog "Have A Gay Day" about her recent experience with homophobia while serving a family of diners. When Morales introduced herself to the couple and their two children, the mother was allegedly shocked by Morales' short hair. Morales was left with no tip on the $93.55 bill, but there was a note that read, "I'm sorry but I cannot tip because I don't agree with your lifestyle & how you live your life."
Six hundred panels of the the 54-ton handmade tapestry known as the AIDS Memorial Quilt—which has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize—will be on display at The City College of New York, according to PR Newswire. The panels can be seen Dec. 2-6. In New York City alone, more than 125,000 people are HIV-positive; thousands more are infected and are unaware of it.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk's ( R-Ill. ) office reportedly canceled access to a Senate meeting room for an event scheduled by a social conservative organization that is supportive of Russia's "gay propaganda" ban, according to BuzzFeed. LGBT activists were outraged to learn that the Rockford, Ill.-based World Congress of Families—which is currently planning a global summit of supporters of the "traditional family" to be held in Moscow in 2014—would be holding an event in a meeting room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. However, House Speaker John Boehner found space for the group.
A Texas woman was reportedly traumatized after mistakingly booking a room at the Out NYC, a gay hotel in New York City, according to Queerty.com . "Elise K."—an Austin resident who uses the website Yelp—posted, "First off, it would help to know in advance that this is a gay hotel." She was also not pleased by the hotel's lack of shower caps or the "manly" scent of the complimentary bath products. However, she also wrote that the rooms are "cool", the beds are "comfy," and the spa and jacuzzi are "amazing," but she also posted, "I will not return here."
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project ( SRLP ) and GLAAD have released a series of PSA videos featuring transgender advocates and allies highlighting the critical issue of healthcare access for transgender people, according to a press release. The videos feature Reina Gossett, a transgender woman working in New York City who has launched a Change.org petition calling New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to repeal a regulation in New York State Medicaid that specifically excludes transgender people from accessing the care they need. The new PSA videos can be viewed at www.glaad.org/healthcare.
In Texas, the La Feria School Board decided to allow the formal tuxedo senior portrait of Jeydon Loredo to appear in the yearbook, after previously forbidding it because Jeydon is transgender, according to a Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) press release. Among other things, attorneys for the La Feria Independent School District agreed to provide written confirmation that Jeydon's tuxedo photo will appear in the yearbook, and the district will also expressly include gender expression in its antidiscrimination policies. ( HRC worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Loredo's family to resolve the situation. )
In a move some considered controversial, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta designated Chick-fil-A CEO Dan T. Cathy as one of its Champions for Justice and Equality, according to Fenuxe.com . ( Congressman John Lewis was the other honoree. ) Cathy angered LGBT-rights activists in 2011 with his statements against same-sex marriage. The organization focuses on the economic empowerment of African-Americans and others to achieve their highest human potential and civil rights.
A murder victim found Nov. 8 in a trash receptacle in Detroit has not yet been identified but is believed to be a member of the transgender community, according to an Equality Michigan press release. "We are saddened and angry to hear of the murder of another transgender woman of color who has yet to be identified," said Yvonne Siferd, director of victim services for Equality Michigan. "The undignified way in which her body was dumped speaks to the larger issue of anti-transgender hostility in our society, and the vast amount of work we, as supporters of the LGBT communities, have in front of us."
On Nov. 20, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance ( NQAPIA ) will lead a contingent of LGBT Asian-American, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander ( AAPI ) advocates and allies to the House of Representatives to deliver 2,700 postcards calling for comprehensive immigration reform, according to a press release. Reps. Luis Gutierrez, Ami Bera, Colleen Hanabusa, Jared Polis and Judy Chu are among the members of Congress invited to receive their postcards in person.
The report "A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color" shows that the title subjects are among the most disadvantaged workers in the United States, according to a press release. Among key findings are that about one-third of LGBT individuals are people of color, and that LGBT youth of color are at high risk of becoming homeless. The report is available online at www.lgbtmap.org/workers-of-color.
The debate between the daughters of former Vice President Dick Cheney over same-sex marriage has reignited on social media, NBC News reported. Mary Cheney and wife Heather Poe took to Facebook to express their disappointment after Liz Cheney—a GOP candidate for Senate in Wyoming—repeated her opposition to same sex marriage during a television interview. "Liz - this isn't just an issue on which we disagree - you're just wrong - and on the wrong side of history," Mary wrote.
In a press release, the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) has said that the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage ( NOM ) continues to struggle financially. The most recent financial documents reportedly show that NOM ended the year in the red with roughly a $2 million dollar deficit—with just three donors accounted for roughly two thirds of the organization's funding. According to NOM's 2011 990s, which HRC obtained last year, the anti-LGBT organization raised $6.2 million—a steep drop from the $9.1 million it raised in 2010.
The Human Rights Campaign most recent Municipal Equality Index ( MEI ) rated 291 cities across the nation, according to a press release. This year's index showed, among other things, that 25 cities ( including Chicago; Phoenix; New Haven, Conn.; San Diego; Columbus, Ohio; and San Francisco ) received a perfect score of 100 points—up from 11 last year; and that 31 million people live in cities that cover trans people at the city level alone. The MEI rates cities based on 47 criteria in six categories, including law enforcement and relationship recognition. The report is at www.hrc.org/mei.
A 13-member United Methodist Church jury convicted Rev. Frank Schaefer of Pennsylvania of violating church law by officiating his son's same-sex wedding, Advocate.com reported. Schafer was convicted on two charges: officiating a gay wedding, and showing "disobedience to the order and discipline of the United Methodist Church." Schaefer has received a 30-day suspension, the New York Daily News noted. If he violates church law within those 30 days, he could lose his ministering credentials.
The pro-LGBT organization the American Military Partner Association released a statement in response to the U.S. Air Force Academy hiring Dr. Mike Rosebush, who the group says "has spent a lifetime devoted to advocating the pseudoscience that homosexuality is something that can and should be 'cured.'" Stephen Peters, president of the association, said, "It is extremely disrespectful and offensive to not only the gay and lesbian cadets at the academy, but the thousands of gay and lesbian service members and their families proudly serving our nation." Rosebush is now leading the academy's cadet-counseling program.
Tam O'Shaughnessy, the partner of the late lesbian astronaut Sally Ride, shared her thoughts about Ride in an article on the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) blog. "Being in love is the best feeling, and I was in love with her until the day she died," said O'Shaughnessy. The two were unable to marry because of the now-repealed Proposition 8; instead they had a domestic partnership, which, according to O'Shaughnessy, "allowed us to be as close as we could." On Nov. 20, President Obama honored Ride's legacy, along with that of Bayard Rustin and others, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
