G.O.P. Candidates Sign NOM’s Marriage Pledge
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three Republican presidential candidates, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, have signed the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Marriage Pledge. NOM’s marriage pledge was offered to all serious announced candidates for the G.O.P. nomination. An opportunity to sign the Marriage Pledge will be extended to Texas Governor Rick Perry and other major candidates, if and when they enter the race.
In signing the pledge, the candidates swear to: support and send to the states a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, appoint judges and an attorney general who will respect the original meaning of the Constitution, appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters and support legislation that would return to the people of D.C. their right to vote for marriage.
Gay Man Wins Right to Be an Ordained Minister
MADISON, WI – Openly gay Scott Anderson, 56, won the right to be ordained by the USA Presbyterian Church. Anderson is believed to be the first gay person in a long-term same-sex relationship to be approved for ordination by the denomination.
The church’s judicial commission dismissed a case against Anderson by opponents of gay ordination. Opponents brought the case last year, arguing Anderson could not be ordained because he was in an open relationship with a man. At the time, church rules required clergy members to live in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. However, a shift in thinking earlier this year happened when a majority of the church’s regional bodies voted to allow openly gay men and women in a same-sex relationship to be orda
ined.
Another Indian Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage
SEATTLE, WA – A second American Indian tribe has adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage. The Suquamish Tribal Council of Washington state voted to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The new law gained the support of more than 100 tribal leaders in their most recent meeting.
The law permits the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, regardless of their gender, as long as they’re at least 18 years old and one of the people is a member of the tribe.
Same-sex marriage is illegal in the State of Washington, but the state legislature has approved a measure stating they will recognize same-sex marriages that took place in other jurisdictions and other nations. The legislature has also approved a bill called “Everything But Marriage,” which grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married couples except for using the word “married”.
The Coquille Indian Tribe in southern Oregon is the only other tribe that recognizes same-sex marriage.
New Data Shows Annual HIV Infections in U.S. Relatively Stable
ATLANTA, GA – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s first multi-year estimates from its national HIV incidence surveillance find that, overall, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States was relatively stable at approximately 50,000 each year between 2006 and 2009. However, HIV infections increased among young men who have sex with men (MSM) between 2006 and 2009, driven by alarming increases among young, black MSM – the only subpopulation to experience a sustained increase during the time period.
The new estimates were published online in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. The incidence estimates are based on direct measurement of new HIV infections with a laboratory test that can distinguish recent from long-standing HIV infections.
“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. “HIV infections can be prevented. By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Warner Brothers Sets November for Release of J. Edgar
HOLLYWOOD, CA – Warner Brothers Studios has set November 9th as the release date for the film, “J. Edgar,” a biopic on the first director of the F.B.I. being produced by Clint Eastwood. The motion picture completed filming in February.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and was written by Dustin Lance Black; the timing of the release will make it eligible for nomination for next year’s Academy Awards. In addition to DiCaprio, the cast includes Armie Hammer (from The Social Network) as Hoover’s assistant and closeted lover, Clyde Tolson; Josh Lucas as aviator Charles Lindbergh; Ed Westwick as Agent Smith, an operative gifted with writing skills; Damon Herriman as Bruno Hauptmann, the man convicted of kidnapping and killing the Lindbergh baby; Judi Dench as Hoover’s mother; Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk who ended up being Hoover’s personal secretary; Ken Howard as lawyer and jurist Harlan F. Stone; Jeffrey Donovan as Robert F. Kennedy and Stephen Root as Arthur Koehler, a wood specialist at Forest Product Laboratories who uses his expertise to help Hoover investigate the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby by tracing the origins of the ladder used by the perpetrator.
Major Psychology Group Comes Out to Support Gay Marriage
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The policy-making body of the American Psychological Association (APA) voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support full marriage equality, a move that observers say will have a far-reaching impact on the debate. This was the world’s largest organization of psychologists’ strongest stand to date in support of same-sex marriage and cited new research in their decision.
The group, with more than 154,000 members, has long supported full equal rights for gays, based on social science research on sexual orientation. Now, the nation’s psychologists, citing an increasing body of research about same-sex marriage, as well as increased discussion at the state and federal levels, took the support to a new level.
The resolution points to numerous recent studies, including findings that many gay men and lesbians, like their heterosexual counterparts, desire to form stable, long-lasting and committed intimate relationships and are successful in doing so.
Rupert Murdoch to Cash in on Gay Marriage
NEW YORK, NY – According to Gay City News, Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp is ready to cash in on same-sex marriage with a new magazine, Wedding Pride: The Magazine for Gay and Lesbian Wedding Planning. The first issue will hit newsstands this September with an initial 35,000 copy run, which will likely remain confined to the gay-friendly communities of Chelsea, Park Slope, Fire Island, Montclair, South Orange and Asbury Park.
Murdoch’s News Corp. is most famous for its other publications, such the New York Daily News and its cable Fox News Channel.
“Glee” Star to Replace Daniel Radcliffe in “How to Succeed”
NEW YORK, NY – The producers of the 50th anniversary production of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” announced last week that Darren Criss, of Fox’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning hit television show, “Glee,” will make his Broadway debut as J. Pierrepont Finch, performing a strictly limited three week engagement from January 3, through January 22, 2012. He will replace Daniel Radcliffe, who will play his final performance on Sunday, January 1, 2012.
Criss plays Blaine Anderson, Chris Colfer’s love interest on “Glee”.
Esurance Donates $50K to The Trevor Project
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Esurance, the online car insurance company, announced that the company donated $50,000 to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBT youth.
Esurance recently launched the charitable giving campaign on its Facebook page. For each new “Like,” the company donated $10 to The Trevor Project to help support the Trevor Lifeline, a 24/7 crisis intervention phone hotline offering free and confidential suicide prevention counseling to youth nationwide.
With Twitter and Facebook support from The Trevor Project itself, and the mentions from celebrities such as Perez Hilton, Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block, and others spreading the word, Esurance quickly reached its stated goal of $50,000.
Ann Coulter to Serve as Honorary Chair of GOProud’s Advisory Council
WASHINGTON, D.C. – GOProud, a national organization of gay conservatives, announced that Ann Coulter was joining the organization’s Advisory Council as Honorary Chair. Coulter’s official title will be “Honorary Chair and Gay Icon”.
“Ann Coulter is a brilliant and fearless leader of the conservative movement, we are honored to have her as part of GOProud’s leadership,” said Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board in a written statement. “Ann helped put our organization on the map. Politics is full of the meek, the compromising and the apologists – Ann, like GOProud, is the exact opposite of all of those things. We need more Ann Coulters.”
Coulter responded with “I am honored to serve in this capacity on GOProud’s Advisory Council and look forward to being the Queen of fabulous.”
Coulter joins Margaret Hoover, Grover Norquist, Andrew Breitbart, Liz Mair, Chuck Muth, Lisa De Pasquale, Christian Josi, Roger Stone, Andrew Langer, Kathryn Serkes and Bob Carlstrom on the GOProud Advisory Council.
Coulter is the author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America,” as well as seven other New York Times bestsellers: “Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America,” “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans,” “Godless: The Church of Liberalism,” “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must),” “Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism,” “Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right” and “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton”.
