Prop. 8 Wouldn't Be Retroactive, Attorney General Says

Same-sex marriages entered into since the California Supreme Court struck down the state's statutory gay marriage bar May 15 would probably remain valid, even if voters were to approve a November ballot measure that would re-impose the bar, according to Attorney General Jerry Brown, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Aug. 4. Prop. 8 is intended to overturn the Supreme Court's decision by changing the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. Brown's office will represent the state in any lawsuits challenging Prop. 8's validity and interpretation should it pass.

The text of the proposed amendment is silent regarding the measure's retroactivity, but supporters contend it will nullify all California same-sex marriages.

“I believe that marriages that have been entered into subsequent to the Supreme Court opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court,” Brown told the Chronicle. “I would think that the court, in looking at the underlying equities, would most likely conclude that upholding the marriages performed in that interval [between the decision and the election] would be a just result.”

Brown expressed his view that existing same-sex marriages would survive passage of Prop. 8 in an Aug. 4 legal filing in Sacramento Superior Court. A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 7 regarding challenges to Brown's title for the measure, which states that it “eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry.”

Brown defends the language as accurate and neutral; Prop. 8 proponents such as Jennifer Kerns of pro-Prop. 8 Project Marriage have labeled it “inherently argumentative” and prejudicial.

The sides have also drawn battle lines in court over part of the Yes on 8 argument in the ballot materials that would say that, unless Prop. 8 passes, teachers will be required to tell schoolchildren, including kindergarteners, that “gay marriage is OK.”

CDC Study Finds HIV Rates 40% Higher Than Prior Estimates

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has underreported the annual rate of new HIV infections in the United States by approximately 40% for many years, according to a CDC study released Aug. 2.

The study, published in a special HIV issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, finds that 56,300 Americans became infected with HIV in 2006, not 40,000, as the CDC had previously estimated. “It is important to note that the new estimates reflect our ability to more precisely measure HIV incidence, and does not represent an overall increase in new infections,” says Dr. Kevin A. Fenton, head of CDC's HIV prevention efforts, during an Aug. 2 conference call announcing the study. “New infections… have remained roughly stable since [the late ’90s],” Fenton said, “with [annual] estimates ranging between 55,000 and 58,500.”

The study also shows that the epidemic is hitting men who have sex with men (MSM) and African-Americans hardest. In 2006, MSM accounted for 53% of new infections, and, Fenton said, “the data show a steady increase in new infections among MSM since the early 1990s.” Fenton attributed the increase to safe-sex fatigue, the advent of a generation of MSM “who have not previously been affected by HIV/AIDS [and the] stigma, homophobia, substance abuse, and mental health issues.” “We must re-energize and intensify efforts to prevent HIV among gay and bisexual men of all races,” Fenton said.

The study also shows that “African-Americans are more heavily and disproportionately affected by HIV than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States,” Fenton said. The infection rate among blacks is more than seven times that of whites, and almost three times that of Latinos, according to the study.

Milk Holiday Bill Goes to Governor

California’s Senate Aug. 5 passed a bill declaring May 22, former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk’s birthday, a “day of significance,” the AP reports. The bill now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not said whether he will sign it. Milk, the first openly gay person to occupy a prominent public office in the U.S., was elected to the board of supervisors in 1977 and assassinated in November 1978. If signed, the bill would make California the first state to designate a day honoring an LGBT leader, according to an Equality California release.

Addiction Treatment Grants Available

End Dependence, which describes itself as an L.A.-based public benefit organization that offers financial grants for the biologic component of addiction treatment, currently has 100 grants available for people addicted to meth, cocaine and/or alcohol, according to an End Dependence release. Grantees will receive access to Prometa, an out-patient medical treatment intended to reduce cravings and improve mental clarity, and assistance with designing a total therapeutic plan. Applications and grant guidelines are posted at www.enddependence.org, or call 310/456.8998 to request these documents. The current application deadline is Sept. 10. For more information about Prometa, visit www.prometainfo.com.

Accused Lawrence King Killer to Be Tried as Adult

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Douglas Daily ruled July 24 that 14-year-old Brandon McInerney (shown), accused of the February slaying of 15-year-old gay classmate Lawrence King, will be tried as an adult. McInerney's arraignment was continued until Aug. 7 so his attorney, Senior Deputy Public Defender William Quest, could seek immediate appellate review of Daily's ruling. McInerney was charged as an adult with premeditated murder with a special hate-crime allegation pursuant to a controversial statute giving prosecutors essentially unilateral discretion to charge juveniles as young as 14 as adults for certain felonies.

“God Hates Fags” Church Burns in Topeka

Flames engulfed the Topeka, Kans. Westboro Baptist Church, home of the anti-gay Rev. Fred Phelps, the night of Aug. 1-2, Fox News' Kansas City affiliate reports. The fire was extinguished without injuries. Phelps and his followers are known for such things as picketing the funerals of slain soldiers with such signs as “God loves dead soldiers,” and “God hates fags.” Fire officials are investigating the blaze and have not yet said whether it was arson, but church members believe the fire was deliberately set because of their controversial views and activities.

LGBT Hate Crimes Up

Violent crimes against LGBT persons is significantly up in 2008, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, www.365Gay.com reported Aug. 5. NCAVP “document[s] and advocate[s] for victims of anti-LGBT and anti-HIV/AIDS” violence and victimization, according to its Web site, www.ncavp.org. Since the February slaying of Oxnard, Calif. teen Lawrence King (shown), there have been at least 13 LGBT hate crimes nationwide, the group reports. “We are witnessing what appears to be an increase in both the occurrence and severity of violence,” said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

Barney Frank Proposes Looser Federal Pot Laws

Openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., proposed July 30 to end federal penalties for possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana, CNN reports. “Current law should be changed because it does not permit medical use and disproportionately affects African-Americans,” Frank said. Reps. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., agreed that existing law targets blacks. Clay referred to “a phony war on drugs that is filing up our prisons, especially with people of color.” Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., co-sponsored Frank's proposal, explaining, “We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers.”

This page compiled by Peter DelVecchio from The Associated Press and other news reports.

EQCA Raises $1.6 Million as the Battle Over Prop. 8 Heats Up

The battle is heating up in the high stakes campaign over Prop. 8, the anti-gay initiative on the November ballot that would overturn marriage equality.

On Aug. 2, in a spirited 15-minute fundraising spree, Equality California raised $1.6 million in contributions to the No on 8 campaign. That jumped to $2.2 million by the end of the night, which celebrated EQCA's 10th anniversary by honoring San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The loudest and longest standing ovation in the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel went to NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter who argued the successful marriage case before the California Supreme Court.

In an interview, Minter talked about the marriage ruling. “Of course, the fundamental right to marry part of the holding was extremely significant, but the court's holding that sexual orientation is a suspect classification was stunning—completely unprecedented,” he said. “I think it will forever change the legal landscape for LGBT people in the country; it's going to have a huge impact on courts in other states and ultimately, on the federal courts. We are now living in a different legal world because of what the court did.”

Minter said that even if Prop. 8 passes, the “suspect classification” part of the ruling will remain intact. (On Aug. 4, Attorney General Jerry Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle that he believes that same-sex marriages conducted after the May 15 Court ruling will remain legal should Prop. 8 pass.)

At the EQCA gala, emcee Margaret Cho declared her support for Newsom's gubernatorial bid, adding, “He's so shockingly hot—and he's straight. Oh, my God. He's like a unicorn.”

In an interview before the event, Newsom talked about his recent marriage to actress Jennifer Seibel, how moving it has been to marry so many couples such as Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, and his disappointment in the Democratic Party.

“I don't have much patience—particularly for people in my Party, the Democratic Party—that are arguing for separate institutions as somehow equal,” Newsom said. “That's not audacity. That's not authenticity. That's not about conviction. That's about accommodation and political posturing. And I'm done with that.”

In her remarks, Kendell exhorted the audience to do everything possible to defeat Prop. 8. “We understand that what's at stake on Nov. 4,” she said, not only marriage but “common dignity and humanity.”

EQCA executive director Geoff Kors reminded the audience that in 1998, many of the most basic of rights were denied LGBT people. “There are no words to describe how it feels to be standing before you tonight as a truly and fully equal Californian. It's just so amazing,” Kors said, beaming. “To think that each and everyone of us in this room has lived to see the day when we are truly equal is overwhelming.”

In the fundraising pitch that raised $1.6 million in 15 minutes, EQCA Board Chair and West Hollywood City Councilmember John Duran talked about how words like “marriage” matter.

“We're inspired by those words,” Duran said, “'We hold these truths to be self-evident—that all men and women are created equal and are endowed by their Creator certain inalienable rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' Got it. And now these words: 'That you love one another, to honor and to keep you in adversity and prosperity, in sickness and in health and love one another until death do you part—and under the authority of the laws of the great state of California, I now pronounce you legally married.' Words do matter, after all.”

On Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reported that the proponents of Prop. 8 raised about $3.7 million between Jan. 1 through June 30, while the No on 8 campaign raised about $2.6 million. Those state filings, however, do not reflect the EQCA contributions or the $1 million contribution from Bruce Bastian during the July 26 Human Rights Campaign gala in San Francisco, among other contributions.

For an in-depth report on the EQCA gala, visit www.bilerico.com.

—KAREN OCAMB