Mystery surrounds the death of a lesbian couple found lying side by side in an Oceanside cabin in the Big Sur region of California, reports The Advocate. Jacqueline Toves, 26, and Abigail Tapia, 27, were found with plastic bags over their heads and their hands taped behind their backs. A neighbor in the cabin next door complained of loud banging coming from the women’s cabin Oct. 3. Toves’s father said his daughter tried to kill herself two years ago. The women left suicide notes for their families.
Leaders of the First Christian Church in Makiki, Hawaii, ousted their openly gay pastor last week, reports the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Some members said the firing was a result of Rev. Vaugh Beckham’s activism in the gay community and the religious community. Beckham worked to improve working conditions for immigrant workers and tried to increase the bonds between Muslims, Christians and Jews. The congregation voted 10 years ago to be open and affirming.
Lambda Legal asked an immigration appeals court to reconsider the application of a Mexican man who says he could be killed if forced to remain in Mexico, reports LA’s NBC4. Jorge Soto Vega, 34, told an immigration judge that he had been beaten and threatened with death by Mexican police because of his sexual orientation. Lambda officials said the immigration judge denied the application because Vega could hide his sexual orientation and avoid persecution.
Domestic-partner benefits may be stripped from straight and gay employees of the city of Lexington, Ky., according to The Advocate. The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted 10-3 to put an item on a future meeting agenda to removing the benefit. This fight is the latest in the battle between Mayor Teresa Isaac, who introduced the benefits, and the angered city council.
A lesbian woman in New Jersey filed an appeal with the social security administration after her son was denied survivor benefits, reports The New York Times. Eva Kadrey and Camille Caracappa had been a couple for five years before Kadrey was artificially inseminated to conceive the couple’s son, Nicolaj. Two years later, Caracappa died from a brain aneurism. Because the couple was not married and Caracappa had not yet adopted the child, the social security administration denied survivor benefits to the toddler.
The Utah AIDS Foundation and Planned Parenthood held a three-day conference to discuss gay men’s health, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. The purpose was to educate on issues beyond HIV and AIDS.
A gay couple in New York say they were ejected from the church choir because they’re gay, reports AP. Michael Sabatino Jr. and his partner, Robert Voorheis were allegedly told they could not participate in the Catholic choir after they were profiled in a gay unions article on ChristianityToday.com.
Gay rights advocates are celebrating a minor victory in Holland, Mich., reports the Holland Sentinel. The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners voted to indefinitely postpone a vote on the controversial resolution against civil unions. Republican state Sen. Alan Cropsey introduced a statewide measure that would ban gay marriages in Michigan.
A California lesbian will receive nearly $100,000 from San Mateo County, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Without admitting guilt, the county settled a lawsuit with the woman who claims the District Attorney inappropriately revealed the woman’s sexual orientation to her husband. The DA was a longtime friend of the woman’s husband.
The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas voted this weekend to withhold more than $500,000 from the Episcopal Church, reports AP. The Diocese is withholding funds to protest the appointment of openly gay bishop Rev. Gene Robinson. The Diocese may use the funds for missionary work.
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