It was a VERY big week for the Indiana/HJR-6 section of the roundup, thanks to the release of the “More Than Just a Couple” report co-produced by IEA and the IU Maurer School of Law’s LGBT Project. In international news, the nasty resurgence of the inhumane Ugandan legislation prompted some moving and surprising stories from Africa while Venice, Milan, and Turin in Italy formally cut their “sister-city” ties with St. Petersburg over the Russian city’s persistent anti-gay policies. Stateside, we heard from The Washington Post about how the victorious Maryland marriage equality movement partnered with some unorthodox sources to out-raise their opponents and, in holiday news, it seemed that for every red bucket and bell-ringer the Salvation Army stationed outside our local palaces of consumerism, almost as many stories appeared about their aggressive discrimination against the LGBTQ community. In the domestic political arena, the fiscal cliff and its implications for LGBTQ citizens were discussed, Illinois became the week’s new marriage equality “it” state, and we all waited (and continue to wait) to hear if the Supreme Court will address the constitutionality of DOMA this year. Our opponents, as usual, lashed out with increasing desperation, now trying the nonsensical scare tactic of claiming that doing away with marriage discrimination would somehow bring about the end of heterosexual marriage entirely (?) and threatening that they are partnering up with deep-pocketed sponsors to fight the equality movement wherever it springs up. On November 27th, the 34th anniversary of his death, we reflected on the heroism of political pioneer Harvey Milk and the stress he placed on the importance of positive public LGBTQ representation – our individual and ideological successes in the recent elections can absolutely be traced to his quiet call to “give ‘em hope.” Reparative therapy controversies popped up not once but twice with the JONAH suit and the “equal time” farce on the Dr. Oz Show, the outcry after which led many to speculate on whether this was the death knell for that particular brand of “shame masquerading as medicine.” On Saturday, the world observed the 25th anniversary of World AIDS Day and pondered the feasibility and implications of “getting to zero.”
-Megan
Brad Pitt On Gay Marriage: Equality “Defines Us” | MTV News, Kara Warner & Josh Horowitz (11/26) Burma author restores gay love novel after censors lift ban | GayStarNews.com, Matthew Jenkin (11/28) Commemorative Stamp Honors Harvey Milk | The Advocate (11/27) Director James Gunn Apologizes for Anti-Gay and Sexist Comments on Blog Post | GLAAD, Matt Kane (11/29) Gay Men, Queer Women, and the Cultural History of the Mustache | The Advocate, Diane Anderson-Minshall (11/27) “Opening the Closet Door on Straight Man’s LGBT Book” | Huffington Post, Gregory G. Allen (11/27)Arts & Entertainment
Harvey Milk (5/22/30 – 11/27/78) | Indiana Equality Action, Megan Walsh (11/27) HRC Releases “Municipal Equality Index” (ratings of nationwide LGBT inclusion in municipal law) (11/28) Montana Sodomy Law Repeal Up For Consideration In 2013 | Huffington Post, John Celock (11/29) Queer Clergy in Action: Rabbi Reuben Zellman | Keshet.org, Melanie Weiss, interviewing Rabbi Reuben Zellman (11/30) St. Louis County [MO] extends bias protections to gays and lesbians | St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Paul Hampel (11/28) Transgender Latinas Find a Refuge in Queens | Huffington Post, Julia Turkewitz & Juliet Linderman (12/02) ‘We Have Faith’: Exhibit Shines Light on LGBT Religious Leaders | The Advocate, Trudy Ring (11/27)General Interest
Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Holiday Campaign Takes Heat From Gay Rights Activists | Huffington Post (11/26) “This Holiday Season, Do Ask, Do Tell” | Huffington Post, Cecelia Aldarondo (11/27) Young Lesbian in Brutal Attack on Thanksgiving Day | The Advocate, Diane Anderson-Minshall (11/26) The following organizations we follow on Twitter were participants in this year’s “Giving Tuesday” event and continue to accept donations if you were offline that day! Holiday Related
:
Freedom to Marry
GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
NBJC (National Black Justice Coalition)
NGLTF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force)
NoH8
SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders)
614 Indiana laws could be affected by gay marriage amendment, report says | Louisville Courier-Journal, Tim Grimes (11/26) Advocates Prep for Gay Marriage Battle | Indiana Business Journal, Indianapolis Star, Associated Press (11/27) Advocates Prep for Indiana Gay Marriage Battle (includes video) (pdf) | WISH-TV8.com, Jim Shella (11/26) “Ban on same-sex marriage in Indiana could open up Pandora’s box of legal challenges” (pdf) | Indianapolis Star, Mary Beth Schneider (11/26) “Be Careful What You Vote For” (pdf) | Indianapolis Star, Dan Carpenter (11/27) Gay marriage ban may alter 614 laws: Study (pdf) | Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Niki Kelly (11/27) Gay Marriage Battle Starting to Heat Up | Wane.com (Fort Wayne), Tom LoBianco (11/26) Hoosier State Battleground: Indiana Considers Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage | Queerty, Dan Avery (11/27) Law students’ research at center of support for fighting gay marriage ban | TheIndianaLawyer.com (11/28) Law Students Tally 614 Indiana Statutes Linked to Definition of Marriage | WIBC.com, Eric Berman (11/26) “Marriage Equality Supporters Have 614 Problems, But Clear Constitutional Language Ain’t One” | Masson’s Blog: A Citizen’s Guide to Indiana, Doug Masson (11/26) Opponents of Indiana ban on gay marriage cite concerns about impact on 614 laws (pdf) | Bloomington Herald Times, Mike Leonard (11/27) Report: Marriage Amendment Impacts 600 Legal Provisions | Indiana Public Media, Brandon Smith (11/27) Report analyzes marriage rights as amendment vote looms (pdf) | Nuvo (11/26) “State Can’t Afford Fight over Polarizing Issues” (pdf) | Indianapolis Star, Editorial (11/30) Study: Same-sex marriage amendment would impact 600 Indiana laws | Evansville Courier & Press, Eric Bradner (11/26) Timing Essential in Indiana Gay Marriage Battle | WTHR.com, Associated Press (12/02)Indiana/HJR-6 Specific
International
Activists slam Emirates depiction of LGBT rights as ‘evil’ and ‘diseases’ | GayStarNews.com, Dan Littauer (11/29)
Berlin Opens First All-Ages Housing Project For LGBT Community | Queerty, Dan Avery (11/29)
France to Open World’s First Gay Mosque | The Advocate, Diane Anderson-Minshall (11/26)
Hideously diverse Britain: 10 years of civil partnerships | The Guardian, Hugh Muir (12/02)
Italian cities cancel twin status with anti-gay St Petersburg | GayStarNews.com, Matthew Jenkin (11/29)
“My Time Down and (Oh-So-Minimally) Out in Uganda” | Huffington Post, Ken Schneck (11/26)
Libyan ‘Gay’ Men Face Torture, Death By Militia (warning, graphic photos in slideshow) | Huffington Post (11/26)
Turkish gay activist [Ali Erol] wins Kato Vision and Voice Award | GayStarNews.com, Dan Littauer (11/29)
Ugandan Trans Woman Pens Courageous Open Letter to Parliament | The Advocate, Sunnivie Brydum (11/28)
Marriage Equality
Couples from across Illinois Urge Passage of Marriage Fairness Law | Lambda Legal (11/28)
First Same-Sex Couple Weds at West Point Chapel | The Advocate, Diane Anderson-Minshall (12/01)
Gay-marriage Q & A | The Seattle Times, Lornet Turnbull (11/26)
Gay-rights groups and a casino company chipped in to Maryland’s same-sex marriage campaign (to raise twice as much as opponents) | The Washington Post, John Wagner (11/28)
[Illinois] Lawmakers might take their time with gay marriage | Daily Herald, Kerry Lester & Mike Riopell (11/27)
“Making LGBT Great” | Huffington Post, Christopher Dyer interviewing Michael Crawford of Freedom to Marry (11/27)
“Marriage Equality: Thoughts in a Full Circle” | IndyVanguard.org, Len Farber (11/28)
S[an].F[rancisco]. Federal Court Ordered to Pay for Gay Partner Benefits | The Advocate, Julie Bolcer (11/26)
“What is DOMA and Why Is It Bad?” | Lambda Legal, Jon W. Davidson (11/27)
Opponent Watch
Joyner Warns Gay Rights Movement May Ultimately ‘Forbid Marriage between a Male and a Female’ | RightWingWatch.org, Brian Tashman (11/27)
Linda Harvey’s Message to Obama Supporters: ‘What Kind of Wrath are you Calling Down on Yourselves?’ | RightWingWatch.org, Brian Tashman (11/26)
NOM’s Brian Brown Declares Gay Marriage Foes ‘Rebels’; Plans To Raise $30M | On Top Magazine, Carlos Santoscoy (11/28)
Political
Clinton Hails Progress in Speech to LGBT State Department Employees | The Advocate, Julie Bolcer (11/28)
Critical Thinking Gives LGBT Post-Election Analysis | Huffington Post, Waymon Hudson (11/27)
“Gay Republicans: the Enemy Within?” | Huffington Post, John Carroll (11/27)
Obama Nominates Hispanic Lesbian for Federal Judgeship | The Advocate, Julie Bolcer (11/27)
Republican Politician Comes Out as Gay | The Advocate, Diane Anderson-Minshall (12/01)
“The Fiscal Cliff has LGBT People in Its Sights” | The Advocate, Rhea Carey & Jeff Krehely (11/27)
“We Can’t Afford to Fall off the Fiscal Cliff” | Huffington Post, Peter D. Rosenstein (11/27)
Reparative Therapy Controversies
(see “Dr. Buffie Takes on Dr. Oz” for links specifically about the Dr. Oz show)
Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’ Faces Test in Courts | The New York Times, Erik Ekholm (11/27)
Gay Men Sue Counselors Who Promised to Make Them Straight | CNN.com, Alan Duke (11/27)
“The Walls Are Closing In on the Ex-Gay Industry” | Huffington Post, Wayne Besen (11/29)
“Is ‘Gay Cure’ Suit a Watershed Moment?” | The Jewish Daily Forward, Michael Kaminer (11/29)
World AIDS Day (12/01)
(see IEA’s post for a summary of some excellent Hoosier HIV/AIDS organizations)
“25th Annual World AIDS Day” | HRC.org, Dan Rafter (12/01)
“Fighting Social Stigma is Key to Ending HIV/AIDS” | Huffington Post, Chad Griffin & Michael J. Kaplan (12/01)
“HIV: The War Still Rages” | Huffington Post, Charles Karel Bouley (12/01)
“HIV and Young Black Gay Men: Finding the Courage to Stand for Their Lives” | Huffington Post, Lawrence Stallworth II & Angela Brown (12/01)
“HIV-Positive? This World AIDS Day, Come Out and Start a Conversation” | Huffington Post, Mondo Guerra (12/01)
“How AIDS Ends: A Look Into the Future” | Huffington Post, Neil G. Giuliano (12/01)
It’s Time to End HIV Criminalization | Lambda Legal, Scott Schoettes (12/01)
“It’s World AIDS Day. …Does Anyone Care?” | Huffington Post, Kergan Edwards-Stout (12/01)
Janet Jackson: AIDS Is Not Over | OnTopMagazine.com (12/02)
London Gay Bar Sets HIV Test World Record | GayStarNews.com, Joe Morgan (12/02)
“My AIDS Memoir Soundtrack” | Salon.com, Alysia Abbott (12/01)
“The Needle Prick: Reluctant Social Commentary of a Newly HIV-Positive 20-Something” | Huffington Post, Tyler Curry (11/30)
Photos: World AIDS Day 2012 | The Advocate
Tazria-Metzora: Torah for World AIDS Day | Keshet.org, Gregg Drinkwater (11/28)
“We Must Act Now to Achieve an AIDS-Free Future” | Huffington Post, David Furnish (12/01)
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