The Oakland, Calif., City Council unanimously approved a resolution that bans discrimination based
on gender identity or expression, reports the Oakland Tribune. The resolution expands the city’s previous
nondiscrimination policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Some activists want the council
to re-establish a Human Rights Council to enforce the ordinance.
The woman arrested, along with her
husband, in a San Francisco dog-mauling death, was released on parole last week, reports KCRA TV. Marjorie
Knoller left the Central California Women’s Facility after serving just over half of her four-year sentence. She
and her husband were convicted of involuntary manslaughter after their dogs murdered their lesbian neighbor.
As conditions of her parole, Knoller may not own a dog and may not live with her husband for three years.
Fred ‘God hates fags’ Phelps and his clan may be picketing on a highway in Lafayette, La., according to the
Advertiser. The anti-gay Baptist minister from Kansas announced plans to picket outside several churches in
Acadiana and outside a school in Youngsville that allegedly reprimanded a student for using the word ‘gay.’
The Mayor of Youngsville said there are no sidewalks near the school and the school owns all of the property
nearby. He said Phelps would have to picket on the highway to avoid trespassing.
Health activists in Native
American communities are calling for more education about HIV/AIDS, reports the Arizona Republic. Rates of
new HIV infections in Native Americans have now surpassed the rates of Caucasians. Native Americans are
infected at a rate of about 1.5 times that of Caucasians and more than twice that of Asian Americans. A
housewife and author of children’s books says her career may be damaged because she included a reference
to gay dads in her latest book, reports the LA Times. Martha Freeman wrote the successful book The Trouble
with Cats. Her sequel, The Trouble with Babies, received positive reviews but did not sell as well. And
Freeman’s publisher says it’s because of a passage that discusses two gay dads. Libraries that purchased
the first book have reportedly avoided the new book because of the gay dads.
The Iowa judge who granted
a divorce to a lesbian couple a few weeks ago revised his ruling, according to the Des Moines Register.
District Judge Jeffrey Neary wrote in a revised ruling that he did not have the authority to dissolve a gay
marriage not recognized in the state. He said his decision should be considered a dissolution of the
contractual civil union the couple entered into in Vermont.
Police arrested a man accused of murdering a
Catholic priest 12 years ago, reports the Times Record News. Father Gerald Curley, an air force chaplain in
Wichita Falls, Texas, was found dead in 1991. Police gathered fingerprints and blood shortly after the murder
but found no match. Family members of Ifren Escobedo allegedly turned in the man who reportedly knew
Curley from Odds, a gay bar.
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., says he’ll lead the fight against the
proposed anti-gay marriage Constitutional Amendment, reports WBAY. Feingold is the ranking Democrat on
the Constitution subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Embezzlement charges were dropped
against Dwight Bassett, the former executive director of OutCharlotte, reports the Herald Tribune. Bassett was
charged with taking $2,500 when he left the organization. He reportedly disagreed with board members over
how much he was owed upon his resignation.
A rebuilt bridge at North Carolina’s Duke University may or
may not have gay pride messages after the North Carolina Department of Transportation finishes the
reconstruction, reports the Durham Herald Sun. Known as ‘graffiti bridge’ by many on campus, the bridge
connecting two parts of campus had a controversial cleaning in 1997. The campus LGBT group painted the
under side of the bridge pink and wrote phrases like ‘have a gay day’ to celebrate National Coming Out Day.
University maintenance staff removed the phrases. A university archivist said the gay messages were the only
ones he knew of that were removed in at least 40 years.
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