New York City Speaker Under Criticism For Slush Funds

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (shown) has admitted that the council has appropriated some $17.4 million since 2001 to groups that didn't exist, listed in the budget under made-up names like the Coalition for Strong Special Education and Senior Citizens for Equality. Quinn, who is considered a likely Democratic mayoral candidate for the race to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg next year, has tried to make open government a hallmark of her agenda. Quinn insisted that she ordered an end to the reserve fund practice when she learned of it, but said her staff kept doing it anyway. After the story was first reported in the New York Post on April 3, Quinn said she first learned about the practice of faking budget appropriations last spring while working on the fiscal 2008 budget plan. The maneuver of setting aside what she called "reserve funds," which could then be doled out later in the year, dates back at least 20 years, she said. Using phony names to conceal where the money was going goes back to 2001, she said. "I had no knowledge of it," she said. "It's something that I believe is completely inappropriate and should not have gone on and will no longer go on."

Obama Supports Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama says if he's elected president he won't require that his appointees to the Joint Chiefs of Staff support Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Obama favors repealing the policy on gays, which was instituted during the Clinton administration. He said his priority for the Joint Chiefs will be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy. "I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Obama said in an interview with LGBT publication The Advocate. The interview comes after Obama was criticized by gay advocates for not speaking to the gay media. The Philadelphia Gay News recently ran a large blank space on its front page next to an interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton to highlight that he did not talk to the publication. "The gay press may feel like I'm not giving them enough love, but basically all press feels that way at all times," Obama told The Advocate. He said he's frequently spoken out against homophobia and in support of gay rights. While Obama has expressed interest in providing federal benefits to same-sex couples, he has stopped short of supporting full marriage equality.

Here! To Buy PlanetOut Magazines The Advocate, Out

LGBT media company Planet-Out Inc. announced April 9 it is in the process of selling its magazine and book publishing interests, including the publications The Advocate and Out magazine, to LGBT cable and satellite TV service here! Networks. "We are extremely pleased that here! Networks will be the new parent company for our publishing business," PlanetOut's Chief Executive Officer Karen Magee said in a statement. "here! Networks Co-Founders Stephen P. Jarchow and Paul Colichman have long been admirers and strong supporters of The Advocate and Out, and we believe that our magazines, their associated websites, and Alyson books will thrive under here!'s ownership." The victim of financial woes, PlanetOut has been selling off divisions to focus on its online ventures, which include GAY.com and PlanetOut.com. The sale of its print arm “will ensure that all of our powerful brands have a better chance to grow and prosper, and will ultimately produce greater value for our shareholders," Magee added. "In adding PlanetOut's magazine and book publishing group to our television, film, and online media properties, we continue the LGBTQ legacy that the men and women of PlanetOut have built and nurtured,” here! Networks' Jarchow and Colichman said in the release.

Out magazine Puts Degeneres on top of 'Power 50' List

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres ranked No. 1 on Out magazine's second annual “Power 50” list, followed by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Ranked third last year, the magazine noted DeGeneres remains “perennially popular” despite the “Puppy-Gate” media firestorm and criticism for crossing a picket line during the recent Writer's Guild strike. Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, rose two spots from last year. Cooper, who remains mum on his sexuality, dropped one spot to No. 3. Billionaire DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen, who was previously No.1 on the list, dropped to No. 4.

Canadian Prime Minster Stands by Ally After Revelation of Anti-Gay Statements

Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper is standing by his ally, Member of Parliament Tom Lukiwski (shown), despite the revelation of anti-gay comments Lukiwski made 17 years ago, Canwest News Service reported April 7. In a 1991 political speech, Lukiwski described gay men as “homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.” A tape of Lukiwski's comments was released by a rival political party. Lukiwski has apologized twice for what he called his “shameless comments.” Harper has been under pressure from Liberal Party Leader Stephane Dion to replace Lukiwski as parliamentary secretary, but Harper says he has accepted Lukiwski's apology.

Anglican Minister Warns Australian Judge to 'Admit Sins'

A rector at an Anglican Church in Sydney is warning a High Court judge to repent for being gay or face the wrath of God, the Sydney Morning Herald reported April 10. The Rev. Richard Lane criticized Judge Michael Kirby (shown) for living with his same-sex partner while at the same time calling himself a Christian Anglican. The pair have been debating the issue of homosexuality in a series of letters. "I appeal to you to cast yourself on the mercy of Jesus,” Lane wrote to Kirby. Kirby has spoken publicly about his belief that local Christian officials make it difficult for gays to be accepted in society.

Church Leaders to Meet Gay Mormon Group

It took a few months, but a support group for gay Mormons has finally scored a meeting with senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Salt Lake Tribune reported April 8. The group, Affirmation, has been requesting a meeting with the LDS's new president, Thomas S. Monson. Affirmation began asking for a meeting in February, after Monson took over as leader of the church. Two of Monson's top lieutenants are setting up the meeting. "We are not looking for doctrinal changes right now," Dave Melson, Affirmation's assistant executive director, told the Tribune. "What we would like is a change of attitude."

Denmark Boasts First Gay-Specific Burial Plots

Gay studies, gay bars, gay retirement homes and now gay burial plots? A Copenhagen cemetery has set aside an area specifically for LGBT people, news service AFP reported April 8. "We founded an association called Regnbuen (Rainbow) and our goal is that gays and lesbians can be buried next to each other," Ivan Larsen told AFP. The group is renting burial plots that can hold urns for 45 individuals. "We don't want to isolate ourselves but we also feel a need to be together,” Larsen said. “We see this as a family grave, one that will be taken care of by our family."

"And this is so strange, because it's the family that McDonald's appeals to—children's playland, you know, all the little toys, all of that. And they are promoting a lifestyle that would utterly destroy the traditional family."

—The Rev. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, on fast food chain McDonald's' membership in the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (from OneNewsNow.org).

Detroit, Kansas City, Mo. Bans Discrimination Based on Gender Identity

Motor City is the latest major municipality to protect the basic rights of transgender people. On April 9, the Detroit City Council passed an ordinance banning discrimination against transgenders by an 8-1 vote. The ordinance protects the city's workers, residents, and visitors from discrimination based on “gender identity or expression.” "The Detroit City Council believes that it is a necessity for every Detroit citizen to be protected from all forms of discrimination, injustice, and harm," said Detroit City Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. The measure's passage comes a week after an identical ordinance was unanimously passed by the city council in Kansas City, Mo.

Nobel Laureate Tutu Apologizes for Church

Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu told a San Francisco audience he was apologizing on behalf of the Anglican Church for the way it isolates the LGBT community. In an April 9 address at the city's Grace Cathedral sponsored by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Tutu said he cannot stay silent “when people were frequently hounded ... vilified, molested, and even killed as targets of homophobia ... for something they did not choose—their sexual orientation.” Tutu was in San Francisco to accept the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s Outspoken Award, which recognizes allies of the LGBT community.

Singapore Cable Company Fined for Lesbian Kiss

Singapore's cable television operator has been fined for airing a commercial that showed lesbians kissing. The government's Media Development Authority said in a statement on its website that it has fined StarHub Cable Vision 10,000 Singapore dollars ($7,200) for airing the commercial in November. The commercial, which was to promote a song by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan, was aired on MTV's Mandarin-language channel, the media regulator said. "Within the commercial, romanticized scenes of two girls kissing were shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable," the statement said. "This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality."

This page compiled by Christopher Lisotta from The Associated Press and other news reports.