Queer News
the other Barb (t.o.b.) has been giving us highlights of what's happening in queer life all over for most of the L-Word's existence. And we're finally getting that on line. We'll put last month's queer news here somewhere close to the beginning of every month (we hope!)--so if you want to really be currant you'll have to subscribe but if you don't mind being a little behind you can get it here.
November 2011
Tammy Baldwin to Run for SenateMember of the U. S. House of Representatives, out-lesbian Tammy Baldwin has announced that she is now a candidate for the U. S. Senate. She runs to succeed Sen. Herb Kohl, a fellow Democrat, who will not seek re-election. If elected, Baldwin would be the first out member of the U. S. Senate. At present she is only one of four out gay or lesbian members of the House. “Tammy Baldwin’s candidacy for the US Senate is monumental for both the state of Wisconsin and the country’s LGBT community,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, in announcing his group’s endorsement. “Tammy has proven herself as an effective legislator over the course of her 13 years in Congress and this campaign will be a top priority for the Human Rights Campaign.” Source: SFChronicle
Lt. Choi’s Court CaseLt. Dan Choi was one of the leading figures in the fight of GLBT service members for their rights to serve openly. In March of 2009 protesting DADT, he dramatically came out as gay while on active duty in the Army, making his announcement on the Rachel Maddow show. He was summarily discharged under DADT and has since petitioned to be re-admitted to the Army. Choi’s speciality was the Farsi language, one of 59 gay Arabic linguists discharged by the military. In 2010 he and another ousted military officer were arrested after chaining themselves to the White House fence. Choi’s defense is arguing “vindictive prosecution” on the part of the U. S. government. Says Choi’s lawyer, “One of three things will happen: Dan Choi will be acquitted, the charges against Dan Choi will be dismissed, or, the most preferable of all, the trial will continue, and the United States v. Choi will become Choi versus the United States, de facto. It is in the interest of the whole LGBT community for the trial to continue, where the government is now on trial." Source: Metroweekly.com, ltdanchoi.com/
Conversion Therapy TargetedThe Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Truth Wins Out (TWO) have started a campaign targeting conversion therapy, the lucrative anti-gay practice that “converts” people from homosexuality to heterosexuality. People who have endured such “therapy” are invited to share their own stories at: www.splcenter.org/conversion-therapy. One newsworthy practitioner of conversion therapy is Republican candidate for President Michele Bachmann’s husband. Insight into his views can be seen in a widely-seen You-Tube video in which Marcus Bachmann says of homosexuals, “We have to understand: Barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. And just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to go down that road. That’s what’s called a ‘sinful nature.’ And we have a responsibility as parents and as authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings (from) moving into the action steps.” Sources: Wikipedia, You Tube, TruthWinsOut.org, and Montanna.
Michigan Pastor Arrested for Gay Rights ProtestThe Rev. Bill Freeman says he was inspired by the Occupy Wallstreet movement to protest his town of Holland, Michigan’s lack of a gay rights antidiscrimination ordinance. The minister from an Interfaith Congregation refused to leave City Hall, was arrested, posted bond later in the day and was released. The Holland City Council had voted 5 to 4 to add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to the current nondiscrimination law. “I think sometimes the only thing you can do is civic disobedience,” Freeman said to the Grand Rapids Press. “I hoped it wouldn’t come to this. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve tried everything else.” Source: Advocate.com
Leisha Hailey’s Lesbian KissLeisha Hailey, lesbian actress who starred in the cable TV series “The L Word,” was escorted off a Southwest Airlines Flight for kissing another woman. She calls for a boycott against Southwest. Source: SFChronicleThe End of DADT
Pro-Prop.8ers Lose CaseIn Sacramento a federal judge ruled Oct. 20 that Proposition 8 supporters ProtectMarriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage are not entitled to block their campaign finance documents from the public. These two groups raised $43.3 million to campaign for the anti-same-sex-marriage bill. They claim their donors have been subjected to hate mail and boycotts. But U. S. District judge Morrison England Jr. said campaign disclosure laws were necessary and the two groups had failed to prove that they should be exempted.Source: Advocate.com
October 20 They Went PurpleDid you notice an amethyst hue to public figures on Thursday October 20? That day a number of celebrities pledged to wear purple in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. Sponsored by GLAAD, the demonstration was also inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Among the prominent displayers: Cher, Julianne Moore, Ricky Martin, and a number of TV hosts, such as Conan O’Brien and Dr. Drew. The day, honored as Spirit Day for the LGBT youth who have taken their own lives, was the idea of a Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan. A study by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) showed that nearly 9 out of every 10 LGBT middle and high school students were harassed in 2009. The San Diego Gay & Lesbian News reported that campuses in the area such as SDSU, UCSD and CSU San Marcos seemed to be bathed in purple. . Sources: CBS3springfield.com, GLAAD.org, SDGIN.com/news/
Senate Drops Anti-Bullying BillsOn Spirit Day, apparently not feeling the spirit, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed on the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 without including either of the two attached bills pushed by LGBT activists that address school bullying: the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) and the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA). Source: Metroweekly.com
Two Leaders Pass AwayIn October the gay rights movement lost two leaders, Frank Kameny and Paula Ettelbrick.
* FRANK Kameny, 86, was one of the first to bring militancy to the rights movement of the 1960’s. He was fired from the U. S. Civil Service for being gay and argued it (unsuccessfully) to the Supreme Court in 1961. He and Jack Nichols formed the Mattachine Society of Washington, creating in 1968 the slogan “Gay is good.” Kameny also worked to have the classification of homosexuality as a mental disease removed from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Kameny was the first openly gay member of the District of Columbia's Human Rights Commission.
* Paula Ettelbrick, 56, was a leader in the lesbian and gay civil rights movement, who focused on broadening the definition of family. She worked on Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and most recently as executive director of the Stonewall Community Foundation in N.Y. While legislative counsel to the Empire State Pride Agenda in New York, Ettelbrick urged Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to grant domestic partners rights and benefits equal to those of spouses. She supported same-sex-marriage but warned often that it was not the cure-all and was concerned that celebrations of legalizing s-s-marriage would “preclude recognition of families that fall outside marriage’s scope.” Sources: NYTimes, Wikipedia