Anti-Marriage Forces One Step Closer to Amendment

The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage in California announced April 21 they have gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot. A coalition of religious groups called Protect Marriage collected more than 1.1 million signatures in support of the amendment, said Brian Brown, executive director of the California office of the National Organization for Marriage. Brown and his allies are especially anxious to put the question before voters this fall because the state Supreme Court is scheduled to rule by early June on a series of lawsuits seeking to toss out California's existing One Man, One Woman marriage laws. LGBT rights group Equality for All launched an aggressive counter-campaign to persuade people not to sign the qualifying petitions. Dan Hawes, an organizer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said he had never seen such a coordinated attempt to prevent a marriage amendment from making it to the ballot. "There is a real sense of hope and possibility here because of the court ruling that is coming down in June," he said. "The fact that [that] could be taken away in five months is really painful for people who want to marry."

Brothers, Betty Get GLAAD

Brothers & Sisters and Ugly Betty were repeat GLAAD Award recipients for outstanding drama and comedy series during the 19th Annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on April 26. Both shows, which feature openly gay or transgender regular characters, received the same awards last year from GLAAD. On Brothers & Sisters, British actor Matthew Rhys plays Kevin, a gay lawyer whose dating life is frequently depicted on the drama. Ugly Betty features Marc St. James, the flamboyantly gay assistant played by Michael Urie, as well as Alexis Meade, the transsexual editor played by Rebecca Romijn. Other winners included Bravo's Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List for outstanding reality program, Janet Jackson for the Vanguard Award, and Rufus Wainwright for the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, in honor of the late casting director who fought homophobia in the entertainment industry. In addition, GLAAD’s Pioneer Award was given to the late photographer Herb Ritts. Tom Ford presented the award, while Cindy Crawford accepted on behalf of the Herb Ritts Foundation. The GLAAD Awards will be aired on Bravo later this year.

Thousands Participate in National Day of Silence

Students from more than 7,500 middle and high schools took a vow of silence April 25 during the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's 12th Annual National Day of Silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment. The 2008 event is being held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old student from Oxnard, Calif., who was shot and killed in school on Feb. 12 because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Students from more than 1,000 colleges also have registered. "Because of what happened to Lawrence King, it put into perspective what can happen and the hardships that students face," said Sarah Barnett, a high school student from Omaha, Neb., and member of the GLSEN Jump-Start National Student Leadership Team. "The Day of Silence is important because it's a chance to spread respect in a positive manner." Students from the University of Virginia created the Day of Silence in 1996. GLSEN became national sponsor in 2001. During the Day of Silence, students take some form of a vow of silence, often day-long, and hand out speaking cards to explain why they are not speaking. Four out of five LGBT youth experience harassment in school because of their sexual orientation every year, according to a GLSEN survey.

Democratic Senate Leader Aims to Expand Hate Crimes Law

Sen. Carl Levin (shown), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants to use a major defense policy bill to expand federal hate-crimes laws to protect gays, bring troops home from Iraq, and force Baghdad to pay more toward reconstruction costs. The Democratic chairman also said he hopes a broader hate-crimes law becomes part of the debate. Last year, Democrats tried to attach a similar measure to the defense authorization bill but backed down after Republican protests threatened to sink the bill. "Diversity and tolerance and hate crimes runs smack against what the men and women of the American armed forces fight for," Levin told reporters April 22.

Colorado Lawmakers Spar over Nondiscrimination Bill

A Colorado state senator caused a verbal fracas during a floor debate over the expansion of nondiscrimination laws to include sexual orientation when he suggested the law also include short people, The Denver Post reported April 18. "What I'm talking about is economic discrimination, political discrimination, employment discrimination," Republican Sen. Greg Brophy (shown) said. "I find no pattern [in] any of those." Some Democratic supporters of the bill were furious. "It must be nice as a white male to sit back and mock the real discrimination that occurs in our society, especially on the basis of sexual orientation," said out lawmaker and bill sponsor Jennifer Veiga.

Singapore Fines Network for Portrayal of Gay Family

Singapore is apparently afraid of remodeling gays. The Asian city-state fined a local TV channel approximately $11,000 for broadcasting a show that profiled a gay couple with a baby. Singapore’s government-run Media Development Authority said on its Web site, an episode of the decorating series Find and Design presented a gay couple as an “acceptable family unit,” a violation of Singapore’s broadcasting code. The MDA also said the show “contained several scenes of the gay couple with their baby as well as the presenter's (shown) congratulations and acknowledgement of them as a family unit in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup.”

Israel Allows Overseas Adoptions for Same-Sex Couples

For the first time, Israel has allowed a same-sex couple to legally adopt a child born overseas, news service UPI reported April 25. The child, an 8-year-old boy born in Cambodia, was adopted in 2000 in the U.S. by two men who are both U.S. and Israeli citizens. The family has lived in Israel for over seven years. Since 2001 the boy has been living in Israel on a temporary visa that must be renewed annually, but the ruling “fully recognizes same-sex couples as parents,” the family’s lawyer said. “Akin to heterosexual couples, who can adopt a child overseas and register without constraints as his parents."

Lesbian Parents Get Expanded Rights in Australia

Legislation introduced by the Australian province of New South Wales will provide recognition of children born by artificial insemination to lesbian couples, Australia’s ABC News reported April 22. While the law will provide clarity in issues of inheritance and benefits for birth mothers and their same-sex partners, it won’t cover gay male parents. "That raises complex issues, particularly in relation to issues of adoption and the extinguishing of the rights of the existing birth mother and also issues relating to surrogacy," Attorney General John Hatzistergos said. "It's not appropriate for us to move in that direction before that national discussion is able to proceed.”

“Egypt can mean different things in different generations. And I felt like I was on the threshold of crossing the sea, of leaving that place of narrowness. I hadn’t reached the Promised Land yet, but I was on my journey.”

—Aaron Weininger, one of the first openly gay seminarians at the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary (From The New York Times).

Vermont Marriage Panel Issues Findings

A panel authorized by the Vermont legislature has released findings that evaluate how same-sex couples are legally protected under state law, The Burlington Free Press reported April 28. The 11-member Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection did not offer an opinion on whether the state should pass a marriage law, but did report on findings from meetings held across Vermont. Beth Robinson (shown) of the Freedom to Marry Task Force told Vermont Public Radio the panel allows for legislative action next year. “We hope that this provides a good foundation to move forward in 2009,” Robinson said.

Court Allows Student to Wear Controversial T-Shirt

Not everyone was supportive of the national Day of Silence. A student at a suburban Chicago high school received the green light from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to wear a T-shirt that said “Be Happy, Not Gay,” the Chicago Tribune reported April 24. The court ruled that the student’s First Amendment right to free speech trumps the local school district’s guidelines. The student’s lawyer, Nate Kellum, said his client was scheduled to wear the shirt on April 28. "Public school officials cannot censor a message expressing one viewpoint on homosexual behavior and then at the same time allow messages that express another viewpoint," Kellum told the Tribune.

Out Football Player Gets Posthumous Honor

Former Tennessee linebacker Jackie Walker is finally getting some recognition, The New York Times reported April 18. The first African-American football player from the Southeastern Conference named an All-American and team captain, Walker still holds a record for return interceptions for touchdowns more than 30 years after his college career ended. Walker, who died in 2002 from AIDS, never hid the fact that he was gay, which may have hurt his professional career and kept him from being inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. That’s finally changing this year. “As one of the best athletes ever in Knoxville, he should be recognized,” said Phillip Fulmer, a former teammate and current Tennessee coach.

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