Yeah we're late.
DOMA & State Marriage News-
Same-Sex Marriage by FogCityJohn
Justice Delayed
On June 22nd, Hawaii's governor, Linda Lingle (R), bought herself two more weeks to make a decision on a civil unions bill passed by the state's legislature. Lingle announced that the civil unions bill is on a list of measures that may be vetoed. According to the Associated Press, Lingle must act by July 6th to veto the bill, or it will become law without her signature. The bill would allow same- and opposite-gender couples to form civil unions, with almost all the rights and responsibilities of marriage.
Same-Sex Marriage by FogCityJohn
Lactose Intolerance
America's Dairyland will remain off-limits to same-sex couples looking to get married. The Associated Press reports that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unanimously upheld state's constitutional amendment banning on same-sex marriage. The amendment, enacted by voter referendum in 2006, had been challenged as violating the rule that limits referendum questions to a single subject. Think I'll be buying only French cheese from now on.
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Hate Crimes News-
Four Arrested in Suspected Hate Crimes Four men were arrested on Canada Day in two separate Vancouver incidents that police described as possible hate crimes.
On June 12, David Holtzman and his partner Peter Regier were returning home after a concert and said they saw two men urinating on their door as they approached their Keefer Street home in downtown Vancouver. After a confrontation, Mr. Holtzman and Mr. Regier were beaten, both concussed, and landed in hospital.
Jury gets it right and dishes justice for brutal hate-crime killing of José SucuzhanayIt took them seven hours, but a Brooklyn jury finally got it right in the brutal death of José Sucuzhanay.
On Monday, the jurors convicted Keith Phoenix of murder as a hate crime in the December 2008 beating death of the 35-year-old Ecuadoran immigrant. Phoenix also was convicted of attempted assault as a hate crime in the attack on Romel Sucuzhanay, José's brother.
Lance Reyna: An Arrest, But No Hate-Crime ChargesAuthorities have made an arrest in the assault of a gay-rights leader who was attacked on the central campus of Houston Community College, but no hate-crime charges will be filed.
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HIV & AIDS News-
HIV Roundup by FogCityJohn
Unlisted Numbers
The weak economy is causing states to create waiting lists for their AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAPs), and some states are capping enrollment or even removing people from the rolls. According to the New York Times, there are now 1,781 people on ADAP waiting lists across the country. Despite increasing need as people lose jobs and health insurance, the NYT notes that:
federal financial support has stayed essentially flat, up barely 2 percent this year, while appropriations from state budgets have fallen 34 percent, according to the state AIDS directors. The drug companies increased their contribution by half, to nearly $500 million, but it is still not enough.
And while American citizens needing lifesaving meds may not get them, the good news is that we still have enough money to blow $7 billion a month in Afghanistan.
HIV Roundup by FogCityJohn
Renewable Resources
TheBody.com has just launched its HIV/AIDS Resource Center for Gay Men. The center offers up knowledge for and about gay and bisexual men, same-gender loving men and men who have sex with men (MSM). It includes first-person stories, columns, blog entries and more from gay men living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, you'll find health care professionals discussing topics of concern to gay men, as well as a comprehensive collection of information about dating, disclosure, safer sex, statistics, support and more.
Among the features you'll find is a roundtable discussion hosted by yours truly, FCJ. In Laying It Bare I talk with three experts about some of the reasons gay men are having unprotected sex in the age of HIV. Stop by and give a listen.
HIV Roundup by FogCityJohn
Closing the Window (Period)
On June 21st, the FDA announced the approval of a new diagnostic assay to detect both HIV antigen and antibodies. Most tests currently used in the diagnostic setting test for antibodies alone. Because it can sometimes take months for antibodies to HIV to develop, there is a significant "window period" during which an infected person may test negative for HIV. Since the new assay detects not only antibodies, but the p24 antigen, TheBody.com reports that it is capable of reducing the window period significantly, with a median detection time 7 days earlier (range 0 to 20 days) compared to earlier antibody tests.
HIV Roundup by FogCityJohn
Punitive Damages
The United Nations Development Programme has announced the launch of its Global Commission on HIV and the Law. Recognizing that punitive laws and human rights violations can damage efforts to respond to HIV, the Commission will focus on laws that inappropriately criminalize HIV transmission or exposure and on laws which criminalize men who have sex with men, transgender people, drug-users, and/or sex workers. Such laws can make it difficult to provide essential HIV prevention or treatment services to people at high risk of HIV infection.
HIV Roundup by FogCityJohn
Claiming Another Casualty
Add yet another strike against this country's (and the world's) misguided "war on drugs" -- it's impeding efforts to prevent and treat HIV among drug users. So say International AIDS Society (IAS) President Julio Montaner and other HIV experts in their Vienna Declaration (pdf). The declaration calls for an end to ineffective and costly drug policies and for more emphasis on strategies that have been scientifically proven to work. Sound advice, but as far as the U.S. is concerned, all I can say is, "good luck with that."
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International News-
International News by FogCityJohn
States Rights
In a unanimous decision, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that countries are not obliged to allow same-sex marriage, rejecting the claim of two Austrian men who claimed their rights had been violated by their country's refusal to allow them to marry. The court acknowledged there was "an emerging European consensus towards legal recognition of same-sex couples," but left it to individual states to decide what form that should take. (Think I've heard that one before.)
International News by FogCityJohn
The Slovenian Press Agency reports that a popular gay bar in the country's capital, Ljubljana, was attacked by unknown perpetrators using Molotov cocktails. The house of a judge, who in March sentenced three men convicted of attacking a gay activist, was sprayed with homophobic graffiti.
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Immigration News-
contributed by smellybeast
California state senate votes in favor of same sex immigration rights
On Monday, June 28th the California State Senate passed Resolution AJ-15 with a vote of 23-12 which calls for an end to current federal law which excludes U.S citizens from having any legal status in sponsoring their same-sex spouse or same-sex partner to permanently reside in the United States
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Evangelical and Catholic groups continue to threaten to derail immigration reform over inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act. One bright spot:
Sr. Jeannine Gramick, the national coordinator for the National Coalition of American Nuns, said of the bishops’ opposition to the UAFA, "I find their arguments specious and I think their stand, personally I find it scandalous." Gramick, who has ministered to gays and lesbians since 1971, was investigated by the Vatican in the 1990s and ordered to stop ministering to gay and lesbian people. She ignored it.
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Two Moms Fight to Stay Together from Breakthrough on Vimeo.
It has been a year since Shirley Tan gave evidence at the Senate Judiciary Committee for the hearing on Uniting American Families Act. Although Shirley received Private Bill #867 as an introduction to Congress, she remains ‘deportable’ unless Senator Feinstein re-introduces the Private Bill each new Congress.
From http://www.pinkbananaworld.com/...
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GLBT Culture-
contributed by Clarknt67
The 17th season of MTV's The Real World premiered on Wednesday, and the show returns to New Orleans, LA. The Real World's premiere season pushed the envelope in 1993 with its casual inclusion of LGBT (and HIV-positive) cast member Pedro Zamora, and LGBT characters have been a staple (yes, even the T). This go-around our community is represented by Bostonian Preston Robert-Charles (second from right). Sparks flew in the premiere episode when effeminate but heterosexual, hair-dresser Ryan Leslie (far left) offended Preston with a particularly egregiously homophobic off-the-cuff remark. Homophobia or impulse control issues? Both? The season will likely tell.
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DADT News-
contributed by Clarknt67
Wednesday was the sad anniversary of the murder of Navy Seaman August Provost, an LGB servicemember who died under mysterious circumstances a year ago at Camp Pendleton in California. Please keep his memory in your heart, remembering the safety and dignity of men and women like him is the driving force of our activism.
The next two weeks will be critical for making the promise of legislative repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy a reality. The full Senate is hoped and expected to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) the week of July 12th. The Senate's repeal language is attached to this bill, the companion having already passed the House. A GOP-led filibuster is anticipated, led by Sen. John McCain and 60 votes will be needed overcome it. Progressives served by Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Scott Brown take note.
Concerns also revolve around whether recently deceased Sen. Robert Byrd's successor, should he or she be appointed in time, will support DADT's repeal. Losing a single vote could be critical.
And we will need all hands on deck. Congress.org is reporting the odious Family Research Council—who previously lobbied in favor of Uganda's "Kill the Gays" bill—is urging conservative activists to tell Congress to oppose repeal. Senators of both parties need to be reminded filibustering a law that nearly 8 out of 10 Americans support passing will be recognized as the blatant partisan nonsense it is.
The possibility still exists that equality for LGB troops may arrive via Judicial fiat. Monday, U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in Riverside, CA agreed a Constitutional challenge to DADT can proceed.The Department of Justice had argued the possibility of legislative and Department of Defense tinkering with the policy represented sufficient grounds to stall on deciding the Constitutionality of the law. The judge did not agree and the trial is expected to begin July 13th. The suit was brought forward by Log Cabin Republicans.
Elsewhere in the courts, Lieutenant Dan Choi made news by attempting to subpoena the President of the United States. He and Captain James Pietrangelo are mounting a unique and creative defense that their act of civil disobedience was an execution of orders they received from their Commander-in-Chief. They are asking President Obama to come to court to clarify remarks he has made in a three public declarations, two in June 2009 and one in October 2009. The White refused the process server. A very thoughtful legal breakdown of this story can be found here.