In New York City, public middle and high schools will be required to take sex-education classes beginning this year, according to the New York Times. Children will take lessons on how issues such as proper condom usage and the appropriate age for sexual activity. Nationwide, one in four teenagers between 2006 and 2008 learned about abstinence without learning about contraceptive methods, according to information from the Guttmacher Institute. As of January, 20 states and the District of Columbia mandated sex and HIV/AIDS education in schools.
The Trevor Project is marking 13 years of 24-hour daily lifeline service to LGBTQ youth in crisis, according to a press release. In celebration of “Trevor” turning 13—the minimum age of the young people served by The Trevor Project—the organization has launched a birthday-wish campaign online to engage supporters in suicide prevention in the weeks leading up to National Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 4-10. Supporters can participate by visiting bit.ly/trevorbday. On Aug. 8, 1998, The Trevor Project officially opened its first 24-hour national lifeline.
In Texas, same-sex couple Eric V. Culbertson and David W. Carlson have pledged $2 million to Resource Center Dallas (RCD), according to the Dallas Voice. RCD Executive Director and CEO Cece Cox said the money would be used to help pay for construction of a new building that will consolidate programs and double the agency’s space. Cox said that the center has already raised 30 percent of the $12 million needed for the new facility.
Compiling data from LGBT organizations nationwide, the Movement Advancement Project released a comprehensive report that illustrates that more than half the country is still without LGBT protections. The Colorado-based think tank released its biennial “Momentum Report” Aug. 3. According to the report, high-profile triumphs for LGBT communities in the past two years have had little impact on policies in 28 states, where protections for LGBT people are almost non-existent.
LGBT activists are condemning the murder of a transgender woman found stabbed to death in her New York apartment. Camila Guzman, who was identified by her legal name by New York police, was found dead in her East Harlem apartment Aug. 1 at 4:41 p.m. Guzman was 38. No arrests have been made, said police. LGBT groups denounced the murder and called for more accurate reporting from the media. Sources have used Guzman’s birth name and male pronouns, despite the fact that she is reported as having identified as transgender.
Conservative provocateur Ann Coulter has joined the advisory board of the gay Republican group GOProud, according to Yahoo! News. Coulter has long supported the group, which also counts anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, online media mogul Andrew Breitbart and Republican strategist Roger Stone as its backers. “I am honored to serve in this capacity on GOProud’s Advisory Council, and look forward to being the queen of fabulous,” Coulter said in a statement.
Truth Wins Out (TWO) condemned FOX for excluding openly gay Republican presidential candidate Fred Karger from the cable network’s debate in Iowa that was held Aug. 11, according to a news release. TWO claimed that Karger met all the requirements for the event, including having “garnered at least an average of one percent in five national polls based on most recent polling leading up to the registration day.” In an Aug. 2-4 Harris Interactive poll, Karger won 2 percent of the vote, which tied him with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty—who participated in the debate but later dropped out of the race.
Gilead Sciences announced that the U.S. FDA has approved Compleraâ„¢, a complete single-tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV infection in adult patients new to therapy, according to a press release. Complera combines three antiretroviral medications in one daily tablet: Gilead’s Truvada—which is a fixed-dose combination of the antiretrovirals emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate—and rilpivirine, developed by Tibotec Pharmaceuticals. Complera’s approval comes just after the release of new information about the impact of HIV in the United States. Just last week, CDC reported that around 50,000 new HIV cases continue to occur in the country every year—and men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be the group most highly impacted by the epidemic.
Michael Adee, who leads a pro-LGBT group within the Presbyterian Church, has expressed disappointment with the Presbyterian Church of Ghana’s plan for so-called reparative therapy, which aims to change homosexuality, according to Advocate.com. In a statement, Adee—who heads More Light Presbyterians—said, “I am sad that the Presbyterian Church in Ghana’s response to gays is to set up counseling centers in the attempt to cure them and to ask the government to take a position on homosexuality. I want my Presbyterian sisters and brothers in Ghana and in every country to trust God as Creator of all persons, including God’s gay children.”
New Balance CEO Rob DeMartini has posted a letter confirming the company’s support of the LGBT community—putting him at odds with Chairman Jim Davis, Advocate.com reported. Davis recently donated $500,000 to the campaign of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who signed an anti-marriage-equality pledge. DeMartini wrote, “Let me be clear that this was a private donation and not a contribution from New Balance. … Romney’s position on [same-sex marriage] is not reflective of Jim Davis’, my or New Balance’s position and support of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered [sic] community.”
The NAACP has issued a statement condemning the death of James Anderson, who a group of Mississippi teenagers fatally attacked. A video shows Anderson, 49, being taunted and badly beaten by the teens as he stood outside a hotel in Jackson; they later ran over him with a pickup truck. “I am saddened that a horrific act like this, which appears to be motivated by hate, can still occur in 2011,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has charged Deryl Dedmon, Jr. with murder and John Aaron Rice with simple assault.
U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., has compared being gay to selecting ice cream, according to Advocate.com. When an interviewer asked West if the gay-rights movement is the same to the civil-rights movement for African Americans, West (who is African-American) replied, “You cannot compare me and my race to a behavior. I can’t change my color. People can change their sexual behavior. I like chocolate chip ice cream and I will continue to like chocolate chip ice cream—so there’s no worry about me changing to vanilla.”
Starbucks founder/CEO Howard Schultz has cancelled an appearance at South Barrington, Ill.’s, Willow Creek Community Church after an online petition asked him to criticize the church associated with conversion therapy, Advocate.com reported. Schultz was slated to deliver a talk entitled “How Starbucks Fought for its Life Without Losing Its Soul” at a leadership summit. The church was once linked with Exodus International, which teaches that homosexuality can be “cured,” but ended the association in 2009.
Army Veteran and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, thanking him for his commitment to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), according to a press release. Sarvis also asked Panetta to adopt a policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation and do more to bring about changes in benefits for gay and lesbian service members. “Panetta has the ability, within the confines of the law, to make same-sex married couples and their families eligible to take part in some of the programs that are available to their straight married counterparts,” said Sarvis.
Several child-welfare organizations have joined family law and constitutional scholars supporting Lambda Legal’s petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case of a same-sex couple seeking an accurate birth certificate for their Louisiana-born son, whom they adopted in New York, according to a Lambda Legal press release. Lambda Legal represents Oren Adar, Mickey Smith and their son in a case against the Louisiana State Registrar. When the couple attempted to get a new birth certificate for their child—partially so Smith could add his son to his health insurance—the registrar’s office said that Louisiana does not recognize adoption by unmarried parents, and would not issue it.
In Minnesota, the Anoka-Hennepin School District is facing yet another lawsuit over alleged bullying of a student regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the Huffington Post. The lawsuit, filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, claims that a 15-year-old student at Jackson Middle School was the victim of verbal harassment and physical assault when she started attending school there in September 2010. Over the last two years, nine students in the district have committed suicide, several of whom were gay.
Talking with Nashville City Paper, Tenn. Gov. Bill Haslam said that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill—which bans any mention of homosexuality in the state’s elementary and middle schools—probably won’t pass, according to a Towleroad.com item. Discussing his appointment of someone who lead a turnaround project, Haslam said, “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill didn’t pass and probably is never going to pass. At the same time, we hired Chris Barbic to run the Achievement School District, which is a huge deal. … ‘Don’t Say Gay’ is real sexy and yada yada yada. It’s not going anywhere.”
In Florida, a gay Naples couple has settled a lawsuit alleging they were fired from a local restaurant because they were HIV-positive, according to NaplesNews.com. John Timothy Robertson, 29, and his partner, Steven Ray “Forrest” Chaplin, 36, can’t comment on the settlement with Ridgway Bar & Grill; however, they used the money to relocate. “The plaintiffs are happy the matter is resolved and they can concentrate on beating HIV/AIDS and living their lives together,” said their attorney, Matthew Sarelson.
In San Francisco, gay couple Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk—who have been together 20 years and are married—have been told that one must leave the country by Aug. 25, according to Pink News. Wells has serious AIDS-related problems and Makk, an Australian, is his caregiver; however, since their marriage isn’t recognized federally, Makk has been denied permission to remain in the United States. Immigration Equality’s Steve Ralls has said, “We are appealing to the Obama administration to begin to put into action what they’ve said repeatedly they can do.”
Equality Michigan is pushing for the state’s hate-crime laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, Central Michigan Life reported. Nusrat Ventimiglia, Equality Michigan’s director of victim services, said the organization received 132 reports of violence against LGBT residents in 2010. Michael Gregor, director of communications for Equality Michigan, added, “There have been attacks by legislators and radical conservatives out to deny gay and transgender people [participation] in society in Michigan. A lot of other states are understanding fairness and equality, unlike Michigan.”
In California, Oakland musicians Brontez Purnell and Adal Castellon (both members of the band Younger Lovers) were allegedly gay-bashed outside a club, according to The Bay Citizen. The musicians were at Club Paradiso when two men approached them; those other men allegedly shouted gay slurs and said that “if they were in Jamaica they’d be dead” before attacking, Purnell said. Purnell, who was featured in a portrait series for San Francisco Pride, identifies as gay; Castellon, who reportedly suffered facial fractures, is heterosexual.
The Board of Directors of San Francisco Pride announced that this year’s San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade, held June 25-26, was one of the most successful in the event’s 41-year history, according to a press release. As a result, Pride’s 2011 community partners received 100 percent of grants they were slated to get at the organization’s annual check-granting party Aug. 16. This year’s community partner grants will provide funds to more than 70 non-profits in the Bay Area, including STOP AIDS Project, the Homeless Children’s Network and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.
In North Carolina, Wilmington authorities are seeking a man who destroyed an anti-gay church sign, according to Advocate.com. The sign at the Sea Gate Community Chapel read, “God loves gays but he hates a perverted lifestyle,” with the warning to “turn or burn.” Witnesses said a “tall man took a hammer to the sign before leaving in a silver Ford Taurus,” reported news station WECT. Anna Benson, who made the sign, told WECT that it is not meant to offend anyone.
On TV’s Meet the Press, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann claimed that she does not judge gay people, according to an Advocate.com item. Host David Gregory presented Bachmann with comments she made against the “gay and lesbian lifestyle” in 2004; she said at the time that gays and lesbians “live a very sad life” that is “part of Satan” with “sexual dysfunction and sexual identity disorders.” She responded to Gregory, “I am running for the presidency of the United States. I am not running to be anyone’s judge. I ascribe honor and dignity to ever person no matter what their background. They [gays and lesbians] have honor and they have dignity.”
In South Carolina, Myrtle Beach resident Michael Shawn Miller was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and kidnapping for beating his gay roommate and stopping him from leavnig the apartment, Advocate.com reported. The roommate said Miller, who had been drinking, repeatedly punched him in the face and used an anti-gay slur because he thought the roommate was coming on on him. Police are determining whether the assault is a hate crime.
Lutherans Concerned/North America’s new anti-bullying resource booklet, “Where Hands Will Reach,” is now available, according to a press release. The booklet contains devotions, stories and theological reflections, and is being distributed at the 2011 ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Churchwide Assembly. The booklet is also available in pdf form on the LC/NA website, www.lcna.org, under Resources.
In California, transgender woman and San Francisco resident Amber Yust settled her privacy and civil-rights lawsuit with the San Francisco Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), according to a press release from the Transgender Law Center. Last October, a DMV employee—who had a known history of denying equal service to transgender customers—retained Yust’s personal information. The employee then used the information to send her materials condemning her transgender status, and calling for homosexuals to be “put to death.”