Sept. 22-28
1997
U.S.: A friend of killer Andrew Cunanan tells Out magazine: “I was a close friend of his for seven years, and he was always a loving and caring and thoughtful friend. But what do you say? It’s like you just discovered that your mother sprayed a playground full of children with a machine gun. You want it to not be true, you can’t imagine it. But there it is.” * Federal judge David Ezra rules that Hawaii’s new “recipricol beneficiaries” law will not require all employers to offer medical coverage to unmarried partners of employees * Roseanne, who has a talk-show starting soon, says of Rosie O’Donnell: “It’s easy to tell us apart. I’m heterosexual.” * Ellen gives Jay Leno a passionate kiss on the Tonight show. * Brazil: Women from about 20 organizations gathered in the city of Salvador for the country’s 2nd National Lesbian Seminar.
1992
U.S.: Magic Johnson resigns from the National Commission on AIDS. In a letter to President Bush, he writes: “I cannot in good conscience continue to serve on a commission whose important work is so utterly ignored by your administration.” * At Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, 14 Army soldiers are discharged, after a video surveillance sting catches them participating in homosexual acts in a public restroom on the base. * Lloyd Leafer, a gay computer manager, who refused to disclose intimate details of his sex life to the Department of Defense, is finally granted a security clearance, after a four-year battle to obtain it. * In Portland, Ore., a lesbian and a gay man are killed, after four neo-Nazi youths throw Molotov cocktails into their home. Hattie Mae Cohens, 29, and Brian Mock, 45, are victims of an escalation in hate crimes, resulting from the upcoming statewide anti-gay initiative Measure 9. * Homophobic U.S. Congressman Jim McCrery of Louisiana is outed in The Advocate. * The Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down the state’s anti-sodomy law. * Britain: The Government’s Heath Education Authority’s latest gay-press AIDS Education ads. say: “Not all condoms are created equal. Some are stronger than others. So, if you’re going to fuck, it makes sense to use one of the stronger variety.’
1987
U.S.: Surgeon General C. Everett Koop denounces doctors and healthcare workers who refuse to treat AIDS patients. * Assistant Secretary of Health Robert Windom presents Dionne Warwick with an award for “exceptional service as a leading health ambassador.” Warwick donated more than $1 million to AIDS research from royalties of the hit single, “That’s What Friends Are For,” which she recorded with Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Gladys Knight. * Maurice, the Ismail Merchant and James Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster’s posthumously published novel of the same name, is in the movie theaters.
1982:
U.S.: The Deja Vu and The Duchess, two lesbian bars in New York’s Greenwich Village, lose their liquor licenses, because they discriminate against men. * In an interview with Inside Sports, former Los Angeles Dodgers player Glen Burke becomes the first major league baseball player to ‘come out.’ * Canada: Farmers in the Edmonton area report problems with homosexuality among their bulls. An animal psychiatrist at the University of Alberta says: “It’s apparently very common for bulls to hop on one another, but these particular bulls will not move away in disgust—instead they will host one ton-heavy bull after another, endangering their well-being.” The “bull sex sessions” often result in broken gates and fences, as the “tops” will fight for the opportunity to get at the willing “bottom.”