Same-sex marriage now legal in South Africa
via CNN.com

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- With the deputy president's signature on a new law, South Africa on Thursday became the first country in Africa and only the fifth in the world to legalize same-sex marriages.

The Civil Union Act entered into force on the eve of a December 1 deadline set by the Constitutional Court for the government to change its marriage legislation to ensure full equality for gays and lesbians.

Gay rights groups have welcomed the law, although they criticized provisions allowing clergy and civil marriage officers to turn away gay couples if their consciences prevented them from marrying them.

"There will be a huge response from same-sex couples who have waited such a long time for their relationship to be recognized," predicted Melanie Judge of the lesbian and gay project, OUT.

Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka signed the law in her capacity as acting president because President Thabo Mbeki is in Nigeria.

South Africa recognized the rights of gay people in the constitution adopted after apartheid ended in 1994, at a time when leaders were determined to bury all kinds of legal discrimination a thing. The constitution, the first in the world to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, provides a powerful legal tool for gay rights activists even though South Africa remains conservative on such issues...

savvyplanners.com composer-in-residence
JOSHUA RICH featured in today's Washington Post!

Helping Couples Put Their Love to Music
By Sue Anne Pressley Montes, Washington Post Staff Writer
(Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez -- The Washington Post)

"If you look at it from a spiritual point of view, here's two people who have come together, they love each other just like a straight couple loves each other, and they want to celebrate it," he said...

This Month's
FEATURED COUPLE

We are honored to introduce you to our most recent featured couple...

Kelli and Karen
of Mississippi, USA

The parents of three, it was time for a long overdue romantic and relaxing getaway for just the two of them.

The kids were well looked after at home as the moms broke away for their well-deserved rest. You can see the details of their tropical wedding week here!

Congratulations ladies!

THE DINAH RETURNS!!

Expect another action-packed Dinah featuring DJ Kimberly S, Lisa Pittman, and DJ Sysco. More celebrities, performances and literally thousands of women from all over the planet. Find out more at our all-new Web site thedinah.com »

2007 Sundance Film Festival Announces Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions--- some gay themes present.

Risky Business Blog

Here's the 2007 Sundance Film Festival press release: Park City, UT—Sundance Institute announced today the line-up of 64 films selected for the Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The premier showcase for the best new work by American and international independent filmmakers, the Sundance Film Festival’s competitive categories provide audiences with opportunities to discover the most innovative new dramatic and documentary films from today’s emerging independent filmmakers. In addition to the Competition categories, the Festival presents films in five out-of-competition sections, to be announced tomorrow. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival runs January 18-28, 2007, in Park City, Sundance, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah. The complete list of films is available at Sundance.org.

“We are witnessing a broadening of the traditional independent arena. In this year’s Festival there is a breadth of subject matter, vision and innovative storytelling that is transforming the old idea of the American indie film,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival. “This year’s American Competition reflects a newfound awareness and self-expression that results in an engagement by the work that is both political and personal, a collective voice fueled by a steadfast optimism and hope for the future.”

For the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, 122 feature films were selected including 82 world premieres, 24 North American premieres and 10 U.S. premieres representing 25 countries with nearly 60 first or second-time feature filmmakers. These films were selected from 3,287 feature submissions composed of 1,852 U.S. feature films and 1,435 international feature films. These numbers represent an increase from 2006 when 1,764 U.S. feature films and 1,384 international films were considered...

Hey gays: You're not being discriminated against, because your straight friends can't enter a same-sex marriage either!
via Good as You

"In an attempt to explain why a Maryland judge was wrong to rule the state's one man/one woman marriage law unconstitutional, Focus on the Family's CitizenLink quotes a Baltimore attorney by the name of Matt Paavola (pic.) as saying:

The law doesn't violate equal-rights protections because it burdens both genders equally, he said.

"A man can't marry a man," said Paavola, "and a woman can't marry a woman."

So basically, following Mr. Paavola's argument (which is basically the same as the state's), equal-rights protections begin and end at gender. He's saying that since NO man or woman can marry each other, then everyone is discriminated against equally. Which might be kind of sort of logical if everyone in the world were born in the mold of a white heterosexual man or woman. But they are not. Equal rights protections, by their very nature, are designed to protect the rights of EVERYONE equally!

To see the flaws in Mr. Paavola's argument, one only needs to harken back to the fight for interracial marriage. What if it had been determined that marriages between folks of different races should have been banned because "A man can't marry someone of another race and a woman can't marry someone of another race?" It would still be the folks who WANT to marry someone of another race that are being discriminated against! You can't negate that something is discrimination by pointing out one particular...

President-elect of Christian Coalition of America declines the job
Church head resigns on principle(s)
(AP/IHT)

ORLANDO, Florida: The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America has declined the job, saying the organization would not let him expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, who was scheduled to take over the socially conservative group in January from Roberta Combs, said he had hoped to focus on issues such as poverty and the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," said Hunter, a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida.

Hunter announced his decision not to take the job during an organization board meeting Nov. 21. A statement issued by the group said Hunter left because of "differences in philosophy and vision." Hunter said he was not asked to leave

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our base,'" Hunter said...

Panel Rejects Lesbian Fire Chief's Resignation Deal---Forced out?
(Story/Photo: AP via AOL news)

MINNEAPOLIS (Nov. 29) - A city panel recommended Tuesday that officials fire Bonnie Bleskachek, the nation's first openly lesbian big-city fire chief, in the wake of firefighter lawsuits accusing her of harassment and discrimination.

Bleskachek had earlier agreed to step down. But the city's executive council unanimously rejected a negotiated deal after a closed-door meeting.

"She was pretty stunned because it was a complete surprise," said Bleskachek's attorney, Jerry Burg.

Mayor R.T. Rybak had announced the agreement in a letter to the city's executive council in which he wrote that he no longer had confidence in Bleskachek as chief. Neither Rybak nor City Council members would immediately explain why the deal was blocked.

Bleskachek, 43, was hailed as a trailblazer when she was promoted to the top job two years ago, but her tenure has been troubled.

Three female firefighters have sued, alleging various acts of discrimination and sexual harassment. Two of the lawsuits were settled, but this month a male firefighter brought another lawsuit alleging he was denied advancement because he is male and not gay...

Maryland supreme court to offer Webcast of same-sex marriage case arguments (The Advocate)

The Maryland supreme court plans to offer live Webcasts of its oral arguments in time to broadcast arguments in a challenge to the state's same-sex marriage ban on December 4, the Baltimore Sun reported Monday...

CBC Satire of anti-gay people
who defend "traditional" prejudices
(Nod to Towleroad)

GREAT NEWS FROM LAMBDA LEGAL
VICTORY FOR LESBIAN MOM

"Dear Friend of Lambda,

Today, in a victory for a lesbian mother who has been denied visitation with her daughter, the Virginia Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Commonwealth of Virginia has no say in a custody dispute that began in Vermont between Janet Jenkins and her former partner Lisa Miller. The Virginia Court ordered that federal law governing interstate child custody disputes requires that “full faith and credit” be granted to the custody and visitation orders of the Vermont Court. Because of this important victory, Jenkins is much closer to seeing her four-year-old daughter again.

Lambda Legal represented Janet Jenkins in Virginia, together with the ACLU of Virginia, the Equality Virginia Education Fund and lead attorney Joe Price of Arent Fox. Jenkins is represented in Vermont by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), which obtained a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court in August affirming Jenkins’ visitation rights.

We are inspired by the powerful fight that Janet Jenkins has made for her daughter and for respect and dignity under the law for her family, grateful for the work of our colleagues and proud of the role that Lambda Legal has played in representing Jenkins in Virginia.

Sincerely,

Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director
Lambda Legal"
------

Congratulations Janet!

Jersey conservatives still mucking with farriage

via Good as You

In an attempt to either water down or supersede the New Jersey Supreme Court's equal marriage rights-encouraging ruling, local conservatives have announced that they'll push for two different equality-stifling measures. Because, of course, just SHUTTING UP about progressive matters that do not really affect them in any way, shape, or form would be out of the question...

Transgender Teachers Growing In Numbers
by The Associated Press

(Tuckerton, New Jersey) For nine years, he was Mr. McBeth, a substitute teacher who kept things moving along in the classroom and filled in ably when the regular teacher was out sick.

And then one September, he was Miss McBeth.

The sex-change operation William McBeth underwent in 2005 roiled this rural, conservative area when she applied to be rehired as a substitute in Eagleswood Township. Parents packed a school board meeting last winter, some decrying what they termed an experiment, with their young children as guinea pigs; others supported her right to be who she is and work at what she does best.

But then a strange thing happened a few months later: When McBeth was up for a job at a different school in the area, no one protested. In fact, no one voiced an opinion at all when she was hired.

``There's no doubt about it; they've calmed down,'' said McBeth, a retired marketing executive and divorced parent of three.

``There's no reason I shouldn't teach,'' said McBeth. ``Look at me as a person: Am I qualified to teach? Yes. Do I have experience? Yes. Do I have a good report card from the schools? Yes. I have nothing to hide, and I'm proud of who I am.''

About 20 transgender teachers are working in classrooms across the country, but more are in the process of ``transitioning,'' experts estimate. That opens up a host of issues the teachers - and their employers and students - have to deal with.

``The question often arises: Are transgender people competent to be employees, and those questions can come from co-workers, management or students,'' said Chris Daley, director of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco. ``A lot of that is because there is a lack of information about who transgender people are.''

David Nielsen, a librarian at Southwest High School in Minneapolis, began living as a woman in the spring of 1998 and came to school one Monday as Debra Davis. She was sued by a co-worker who objected to her using the women's restroom. The claim eventually was rejected by an appeals court, but not before local police got involved.

``I had a sex crimes detective in my building investigating me,'' she said.

Part of the difficulty was the suddenness of Davis' transformation.

``As far as I knew and as far as the school knew, I was among the first people to suddenly do that in a high school who worked directly with children, basically over a weekend,'' Davis said. ``I didn't take a year off, I didn't do it over the summer. Literally, a man left on Friday and a woman came back on Monday.''

She met with school officials and staff, and again with students to answer any questions they had.

``They asked, `What do we call this person?' It's Miss Davis now, it's Debra,'' she recalled. ``It's `she' now. `What bathroom is she going to use?' The kids did pretty well. Did they come to the library to see their new, improved librarian? You bet they did!''

The students were great, she said. Some festooned the hallways with signs of support, including one with the slogan Hate Is Not A Family Value.

Not every adult was as welcoming, though.

``The people who struggled were people who struggle with diversity,'' she said. They were concerned that ``the kids would have to have contact with someone like me who's an abomination of God.''

For 72-year-old William McBeth, he had the feeling he was different from the age of seven. Growing up in Atlantic City, N.J., he would sneak into the closet to try on his mother's and aunt's clothes when no one was around, and wasn't quite sure why.

``You had these feelings that you didn't clearly recognize,'' she said. ``You knew you were different, and you knew these were thoughts you couldn't bring up to anybody. I lived that life in fear. I did everything I could: I was a Boy Scout, a surfer, I was in the military. I ran a ski lodge in Alaska. I had a magnificent life.

``But you're living under the fear that someone would find out about you,'' McBeth said. ``You know they wouldn't understand; I didn't understand it. It wasn't until middle age that I knew there were other people like me.''

In 2003, while hospitalized for a heart condition, McBeth did some soul-searching...

Vasco Pedro da Gama ( l.) and Dorival Pereira de Carvalho Júnior, parents of the young Theodora, 5 yrs. old. Ricardo Boni/Agência BOM DIA

Brazilian Judge OKs Gay Couple Adoption

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff (English)

(Sao Paulo, Brazil) A judge in Sao Paulo has affirmed a lower court ruling granting a gay couple the right to adopt a five-year old girl.

One of the partners, Vasco Pedro da Gama, had already adopted the girl. His partner, Dorival Pereira de Carvalho sought to have his name added to the birth certificate.

In July a judge ruled that there is no valid reason for denying a same-sex male couple the right to adopt children. Two lesbian couples previously had been granted adoption rights, but courts had denied the same right for gay male couples.

This weeks appellate court ruling ends a year of legal battles for the couple. Their lawyer said the ruling would make it easier for other gay couples to adopt.

Da Gama, 33, and de Carvalho, 41, have been together for 14 years and own a model agency and beauty salon according to Radio Brazil.

The men met with a psychologist, social assistants and a public prosecutor before going to court, arguing that Brazil's Psychology Council had declared that "homosexuality was not a disease, a disturbance or a perversion."

The men say that they would like to adopt a second girl, between the ages of two and four.

In Brazil, civil unions between same-sex couples are allowed in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. LGBT rights groups are fighting to extend that to other states.

©365Gay.com 2006

Lido o relato em Português Brasileira? (em Jornal Bom Dia- S.J. Rio Preto)

Oregon Expected To Approve Civil Unions In '07
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

(Salem, Oregon) Oregon same-sex couples are anxiously awaiting the start of the 2007 session of the Legislature and the return of legislation that would allow civil unions in the state.

The Democratically controlled Senate last year approved a civil unions bill only to see it die in the Republican dominated House.

The GOP leadership first gutted the legislation (story) and then House Speaker Karen Minnis refused to allow it to come to a vote. (story) In an interview at the time, Minnis said Oregonians decided the issue in 2004 when they joined with voters in 10 other states in passing gay marriage bans.

The bill would have created a civil unions registry and grant same-sex couples many of the rights available to married couples including inheritance benefits, pensions, property rights when a partner dies, and the right to make medical decisions for a partner.

The measure had the support of Gov. Ted Kulongoski who has pledged to support the reintroduction of the legislation.

This time it will have a much better chance of passage...

Massachusetts Governor Sues to Compel Vote on Same-Sex Marriage Amendment
By KATIE ZEZIMA, NY Times

BOSTON, Nov. 24 — Gov. Mitt Romney filed a lawsuit Friday asking the state’s highest court to order the legislature to vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage or to place it on the 2008 ballot if lawmakers do not take up the provision.

The legislature voted 109 to 87 on Nov. 9 to recess a constitutional convention before the measure was taken up, which appeared to kill it. The convention was recessed until Jan. 2, the last day of the legislative session.

In a statement, Kris Mineau, the president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which circulated petitions for the amendment, applauded the lawsuit. Mr. Mineau said that the recess was a “deliberate effort by those in the legislature to kill the marriage amendment” and that the legislature had failed to “afford the citizens a fair up or down vote.”

More than 170,000 people have signed a petition asking the legislature to amend the state’s Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts is the only state that permits it.

Mr. Romney, a Republican who did not seek re-election but is considering running for president, announced plans to file the lawsuit at a rally of same-sex marriage opponents on Sunday. The next day he sent a letter to the 109 lawmakers who had voted to recess, saying they were “frustrating the democratic process and subverting the plain meaning of the Constitution” by refusing to vote.

The lawsuit, filed by Mr. Romney, acting as a private citizen, and 10 other opponents of same-sex marriage, said the legislature had a “legal duty to act” on citizen petitions but had relied on procedural devices to “avoid a vote and evade its constitutional duties.” The legislature recessed before voting on the measure two other times this session.

The suit named the Senate president, Robert E. Travaglini, saying he had “failed to carry out his ministerial duty to require final action” on the petition. A spokeswoman for Mr. Travaglini, a Democrat, could not be reached for comment.

The suit asks the Supreme Judicial Court to “step into the constitutional breach” and direct Secretary of State William F. Galvin, also named in the suit, to place the amendment on the 2008 ballot if the legislature does not act.

Fifty of 200 legislators must vote in favor of the constitutional amendment in this session and in the next one for it to appear as a referendum on the 2008 ballot. Both sides have said the amendment has enough support to advance to the next session...

Same-sex partners can inherit - Concourt
© 2006 Independent Online

Gay life partners are entitled to inherit from the intestate estates of their partners just as spouses do, the Constitutional Court (Concourt) ruled on Thursday.

The Concourt upheld the March ruling by the Pretoria high court that section 1(1) of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 was unconstitutional because it excluded gay life partners.

It ordered the reading in after the word "spouse", wherever it appears in that section of the Act, of the words "or partner in a permanent same-sex life partnership in which the partners have undertaken reciprocal duties of support".

This ruling was made retrospective to April 27, 1994, when the interim Constitution took effect.

The Concourt said that this amendment should in the main operate retrospectively, but would not affect cases where transfer of ownership had taken place unless there had been a legal challenge at the time on the same grounds as Gory's.

The disputed section did not provide for a permanent same-sex life partner to inherit automatically, as a spouse would, when the other partner dies without a will.

"As these partners are not legally entitled to marry, this amounts to discrimination on the listed ground of sexual orientation in terms of section 9(3) of the Constitution," wrote Judge Belinda van Heerden, in a judgment agreed to by nine other Concourt judges.

The ruling was in the case of Mark Gory vs Daniel Kolver, and arose from the death of Gory's life partner, Henry Harrison Brooks, in April 2005.

Brooks died without leaving a will and his parents appointed Kolver as the executor and claimed his estate. Gory disputed this and won an initial ruling the Pretoria high court.

The Concourt ruled that Gory was Brooks' sole intestate heir.

The Concourt order cancelled the sale of Gory and Brooks' joint home in Bezuidenhout Valley in Johannesburg, which had been registered in Brooks' name, and ordered the return of Brooks' personal property to Gory.

The Concourt ordered Kolver's removal as executor but said he should be paid for the work he had done...

Official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston

Thousands join Statehouse marriage rally
By Christine Williams

Gov. Mitt Romney receives applause from traditional marriage supporters at a Nov. 19 rally on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse. At the rally, speakers vowed to continue the fight to advance the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would restore the traditional definition of marriage in Massachusetts. The amendment effort suffered a setback Nov. 9 when the Legislature recessed its constitutional convention without voting on the measure. Pilot photo/Gregory L. Tracy

BOSTON -- Thousands rallied on the steps of the Statehouse Nov. 19 in support of the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would restore the traditional definition of marriage in Massachusetts. The rally was called after the Legislature recessed its constitutional convention without taking up the amendment on Nov. 9.

The crowd, which spilled down the Statehouse steps and across Beacon Street was estimated by Boston Police to number 5,000 people. While the vast majority were traditional marriage supporters, a group of same-sex marriage supporters stood at the rear of the crowd waving signs and chanting in opposition to the rally.

“It does not say may vote or vote if its own procedure permits a vote or vote if there are enough members in the chamber. It says shall vote!” Romney said.

“As I listened to the debate in the legislative session 10 days ago, I was struck by the irony and the hypocrisy,” he added. “Legislators so energized to protect the newly discovered ‘right’ to marry for some citizens had no compunction whatsoever about trampling the long established constitutional right of the people to vote.”

Addressing the crowd, Gov. Mitt Romney said that the 109 legislators who voted to recess the constitutional convention until Jan. 2, the last day of this legislative session, have rejected the law and violated their oath of office. The Massachusetts constitution clearly states that the Legislature “shall” vote on every qualified petition, he said... (Click "Source" to continue)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

With so much going on in the world it's necessary to remind ourselves of just how much there is to be thankful for.

As we join family and friends to observe the feast, let's each remember that some folks have so very little for which to be thankful and ask for bounty and blessings to be shared with them.

A smile, a caress...the knowledge that someone's there. The reminders are all around us---if we are willing to see them.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Gay Couples Demand Marriage
Take Their Appeal To State High Court
By LYNNE TUOHY Courant Staff Writer/ Photo: Good as You

Lawyers for eight same-sex couples seeking the right to marry will file their brief in the state Supreme Court today, setting the stage for an epochal legal battle on whether Connecticut permits gay marriage.

Since the couples launched their lawsuit in August 2004, the state has passed a law permitting same-sex couples to form civil unions, which bestow virtually the same legal rights that come with marriage.

The couples not only say civil unions are not enough, but also use the General Assembly's adoption of civil unions as fodder in their constitutional challenge.

The essence of the appeal is encompassed by a rhetorical question in the brief, a draft of which The Courant obtained Tuesday:

"Given the legislature's enactment of the civil union law after this case was filed, and its acknowledgement of both the common humanity of gay people and their rights to equal treatment in their family lives, is it constitutional for the legislature to deny marriage while it also creates, only for gay people, a separate legal regime, with a different name, and deems them eligible for all state-based rights available to married spouses?"

The couples - who are from eight different communities and range in age from their 30s to their 60s - claim that the state's refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates state constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law and freedom of association... Read?

Striking for Same-Sex Marriage: John Stamos Stars In 'Wedding Wars'
Gena Hymowech, TWIT Magazine

On December 11, a new cable TV-movie (A&E Network) will take a light look at a very serious subject: same-sex marriage.

Wedding Wars stars John Stamos (who just joined the cast of ER, but is probably best known for playing Uncle Jesse on the cult favorite Full House) and James Brolin (a legendary actor who recently worked in the TV-film The Reagans, and is married to diva, actress, singer, and gay icon Barbra Streisand). Eric Dane (from X-Men and Grey’s Anatomy, where he plays the famous Dr. McSteamy), and Bonnie Somerville (from The O.C. and Grosse Pointe) help round out the cast.

The romantic comedy was written by Stephen Mazur (who also co-wrote the script for the Jim Carrey film Liar, Liar), and directed by Jim Fall (known for directing another gay romantic comedy, Trick, and the children’s flick The Lizzie McGuire Movie). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are the executive producers.

In the film, Stamos plays a gay party planner named Shel, who has committed to planning the wedding of his straight brother Ben (Dane), but decides to strike when he discovers that Ben is the one who wrote the governor of Maine’s speech against same-sex marriage. (Ben is the governor’s campaign manager and is also marrying the governor of Maine’s daughter, Maggie, played by Somerville.)

“Initially, my character has a knee-jerk reaction,” Stamos told Entertainment Tonight. “If my brother can have something, why can’t I? The point is, initially, Shel [strikes] because he is mad at his brother.”

Shel’s act of protest soon gets national attention, with gay men everywhere going on strike at their jobs. The wedding—now being planned by a far less capable person—and the marriage are suddenly in danger of falling apart.

“It’s My Best Friend’s Wedding meets In & Out,” Bob DeBitetto, general manager of A&E, was quoted as saying in a USA Today story. “It is a lighthearted romantic comedy, but it addresses an issue of some weight in a way that is accessible.” ... More?

When religion loses its credibility
By Oliver "Buzz" Thomas USA Today Op/Ed
Illustration by Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY

What if Christian leaders are wrong about homosexuality? I suppose, much as a newspaper maintains its credibility by setting the record straight, church leaders would need to do the same:

Correction: Despite what you might have read, heard or been taught throughout your churchgoing life, homosexuality is, in fact, determined at birth and is not to be condemned by God's followers.

Based on a few recent headlines, we won't be seeing that admission anytime soon.

Galileo was persecuted for revealing what we now know to be the truth regarding Earth’s place in our solar system. Today, the issue is homosexuality, and the persecution is not of one man but of millions. Will Christian leaders once again be on the wrong side of history?

"As a former "the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it" kind of guy, I am sympathetic with any Christian who accepts the Bible at face value. But here's the catch. Leviticus is filled with laws imposing the death penalty for everything from eating catfish to sassing your parents. If you accept one as the absolute, unequivocal word of God, you must accept them all.

For many of gay America's loudest critics, the results are unthinkable. First, no more football. At least not without gloves. Handling a pig skin is an abomination. Second, no more Saturday games even if you can get a new ball. Violating the Sabbath is a capital offense according to Leviticus. For the over-40 crowd, approaching the altar of God with a defect in your sight is taboo, but you'll have plenty of company because those menstruating or with disabilities are also barred..."

Note: Click "souce" to read the entire editorial. We are all in agreement that it is worth a full read as he brings up some challenging points. Check it out. The replies are telling.

Israeli court allows gay marriage

A recent gay pride parade in Jerusalem provoked an angry reaction from Ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The Israeli supreme court has ordered the government to recognise same-sex marriages performed abroad.

Five couples who had obtained common-law same-sex marriages in Canada and wanted to appear as married couples on the country's population registry had petitioned the court with the support of an Israeli civil rights group.

Six of the seven judges voted for the move while the lone dissenter was an observant Jew, highlighting the controversy the decision arouses among Israeli religious groups.

Moshe Gafni, an ultra-Orthodox legislator, said:"We don't have a Jewish state here. We have Sodom and Gomorrah here."

He told Israel's Army Radio: "I assume that every sane person in the state of Israel, possibly the entire Jewish world, is shocked, because the significance is ... the destruction of the family unit in the state of Israel."

Gafni said he would consider presenting a bill to parliament that would bypass Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling and make recognition of all same-sex marriages illegal...

RELATED: Israel's High Court has ruled that same-sex couples married in countries where gay marriage is legal can be registered as married couples in Israel:

They DID it!
CONGRATULATIONS to
Kelli and Karen(r)!!!!!

The ceremony was beautiful! Pictures forthcoming!

We cannot spoil the amazing surprises about all the things these folks will see and do during their trip! OR about their touching ceremony!

We can tell you that Kelli has worked intensely with her planner, Marcinho, with only weeks of lead time, to create an adventure-filled, informative, romantic, relaxing and memorable ceremony and honeymoon for Karen! We can also tell you that they have been nominated the next featured couple for our website for the month of November!

The ladies are from Mississippi and Kelli, for one, is proud to be our first client from there. She is proud of a lot of things: Her love. Her loved one. Being out and proud and the tremendous events she has in store for Karen! The happy couple have been together for six years and have three children aged 8 to nineteen! Kudos! According to their planner:

"This woman (Kelli) is just amazing! She is very, VERY professional but loves to laugh! She was very clear about doing this right.
It was so cool to hear her say "She'll LOVE that!" (referring to Karen) as we created the itinerary for their Key West visit! I'm thrilled to be working this event!" -Marcinho

Welcome to the savvyplanners.com family ladies!
It is an honor and privilege to serve you!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

THE HOTNESSS
DIVA SHIRLEY BASSEY
Covering P!NK's "Get this Party Started" for Marks & Spencer advert!
(Sooooooo worth the watch if you KNOW who Shirley Bassey is!!!!!!!!!)

We LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!

Gay marriage under the spotlight

BBC News UK

A young couple embarked on the most romantic day of their lives as they entered Belfast City Hall to 'tie the knot' on Monday 19 December 2005.

However, when this couple stepped into their wedding venue they stepped into history, becoming the first gay couple in the UK to get 'married' in a civil partnership ceremony.

Instead of a wedding photographer, Ahoghill-born Grainne Close and New Yorker Shannon Sickels had to deal with the world's press and instead of a few confetti-throwing family and friends, they had to deal with a sea of supporters, not to mention a throng of protestors with placards.

Northern Ireland was the last place in the UK to decriminalise homosexuality and while many people welcomed it becoming the first place in the UK to welcome same sex civil partnership, others objected very strongly to the move.

In the new one-off documentary, The Wedding, BBC Northern Ireland is granted exclusive access into the lives of gay couple Grainne and Shannon as they prepare for their momentous day.

The Wedding captures all those pre-nuptial nerves, media attention and on-the-day excitement as the couple lead up to what will be both their 'wedding' day and a historic event.

Producer Natalie Maynes says: "I was absolutely amazed when I first heard that civil partnership was going to be introduced to Northern Ireland, given that homosexuality is such a contentious issue here...

click "source" to continue.

CELEBRATE
"THE GREAT AMERICAN CHRISTMAS"

On Tuesday, November 28 at 9/8C, USA Network and the creative minds behind MTV's "Laguna Beach" bring you the most unexpected Christmas movie of the year: The Great American Christmas, presented by K -Mart.

Narrated by Howie Mandel, The Great American Christmas examines our nation's biggest holiday through the eyes of six families, each picked for their distinctive and interesting takes on celebrating Christmas.

GO HERE to watch the trailer and meet the families!

Photo (USA Networks): One of the couples is Ted Trent (outofthecloset.tv Owner) and Drew Pancio.

Out of the Closet TV is the World's First Broadband GLBT Broadcasting Network Since 2000

Sunday is the LAST Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go on down to the Javits for the Gay Life Expo!! Make certain to check out our feature in the program guide!!! GET MORE INFO HERE

Gay Activist Talks About
Same-Sex Marriage Debate
National Public Radio

Farai Chideya talks with Jasmyne Cannick, an activist and social commentator who writes about, among other issues, gay and lesbian communities of color. Last year, Essence magazine listed her among the top 25 "Women Shaping the World."

Couples in Gay Marriage Suit Look Forward to Court
WJLA.com, Photo: Freedom to Marry.com

Alvin Williams and Nigel Simon met at a discussion group for gay black men and have been together for nine years. They live on a quiet, suburban cul-de-sac, and have three adopted children.

Williams says their pastors would marry them in a heartbeat. But they were turned down when they applied for a marriage license in Prince George's County.

The men are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that seeks to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. On December Fourth, attorneys for nine homosexual couples and one gay man will argue before the Court of Appeals...

Related: Meet the couple via freedomtomarry.org

Delaware Court Stumped on Where to House Transgender Inmate
By Anthony Cuesta

Photo: Tanya Bowie was born a male and had a partial sex change.

Federal court officials in Delaware are trying to figure out where to place an HIV positive transgender inmate sentenced to two years in prison for passing counterfeit checks.

The Associated Press reports that thirty-three-year-old Tanya Bowie of Philadelphia pleaded guilty to passing some 300 counterfeit checks and was released. She was later caught passing 50 more bad checks.

The real trouble was where to house the transsexual Bowie, who in 1999 underwent half of a sex-change operation in Thailand.

The Delaware News Journal reports that Bowie, 33, of Philadelphia, born Anthony Bowie, appears to be a woman, and Bowie's attorney, Scott O'Keefe, used the female pronoun when referring to his client. But Bowie still has male genitalia, meaning prison officials classify Bowie as a man.

Her defense attorney told the AP that before sentencing, Bowie was held at the Young Correctional Institution with male inmates, but was harassed so much that officials transferred her to solitary confinement at a federal prison in Philadelphia.

"They don't know what to do with her," O'Keefe told the News Journal. "I don't know what to do with her. I don't know if they have a place for her in the system."

The Bureau of Prisons told the AP there is no transsexual unit in the federal system.

O'Keefe told the News Journal that Bowie was sent to a federal facility in Philadelphia and kept in solitary confinement... click "source" (below) to continue.

Related: Delaware Online Feature "Sentencing of transsexual poses problem...Convict previously kept in solitary confinement" By SEAN O'SULLIVAN, The News Journal

I'm just sayin'...

It's pretty awesome to be right.
Make the right choice.
savvyplanners.com Einstein.

EINSTEIN THEORY NOW SUPPORTED
Once refuted as his biggest blunder, "Dark Energy" Evidenced

A NASA photograph shows a supernova explosion in 2005. Scientists recently found in distant supernovae that "dark energy" helped push the universe outward. NASA/Getty Images

Hubble Telescope Makes New Discovery

By MATT CRENSON, AP

NEW YORK (Nov. 17) - The Hubble Space Telescope has shown that a mysterious form of energy first conceived by Albert Einstein, then rejected by the famous physicist as his "greatest blunder," appears to have been fueling the expansion of the universe for most of its history...click "source" to read the entire piece and see photos.

Petition To UN For Resolution To Decriminalize Homosexuality Goes On-Line
A petition calling for UN Resolution to decriminalize homosexuality world-wide went on-line Friday (November 17). It is being coordinated by the international anti-homophobia group IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia).

The petition, IDAHO’s UK coordinator Derek Lennard said Thursday, has already got the support – and signatures – of hundreds of well-known personalities ranging from former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu to Hollywood star Meryl Streep and pop legend David Bowie.

Among the politicians already signed-up are Michel Cashman, the president of the European Parliament’s ‘intergroup’ on gay and lesbian rights, and Bertrand Delanoë, the openly gay mayor of Paris.

And leading the diplomats is Thomas Hammarberg, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg...

WATCH the iDAHO ANTI-HOMOPHOBIA SPOT?

Visit the IDAHO site?

Bayard Rustin Honored?
Copy of oil painting by artist P. Pamela Patrick as provided by Genesis.

Civil rights leader and organizer, Bayard Rustin (wikipedia)
(1912-1987) was honored by his hometown by having a new school named for him on Saturday, September 9, 2006 in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

It bears mentioning that Mr. Rustin was an out, proud gay man. This is not mentioned in the biography. Rustin was openly gay and advocated on behalf of gay and lesbian causes in the latter part of his career.

A year before his death in 1987, Rustin said:

"The barometer of where one is on human rights questions is no longer the black community, it's the gay community. Because it is the community which is most easily mistreated."

The "source" link at the bottom of this post will take readers to the school's website and its biography of the leader and namesake.

Parents in Illinois town want school district to restrict student access to gay penguin book
By Jim Suhr
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SHILOH, Ill. – A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents who worry about the book's availability to children – and the reluctance of school administrators to restrict access to it.

The concerns are the latest involving “And Tango Makes Three,” the illustrated children's book based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo that adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own.

Lilly Del Pinto thought the book looked charming when her 5-year-old daughter brought it home in September. Del Pinto said she was halfway through reading it to her daughter “when the zookeeper said the two penguins must be in love.”

“That's when I ended the story,” she said.

Complaining about the book's homosexual undertones, some parents of Shiloh Elementary School students believe the book – available to be checked out of the school's library in this 11,000-resident town 20 miles east of St. Louis – tackles topics their children aren't ready to handle.

Their request: Move the book to the library's regular shelves and restrict it to a section for mature issues, perhaps even requiring parental permission before a child can check it out...

Pentagon upgrades homosexuality. No longer a mental disorder, now it's just a defect
by Joe in DC - 11/17/2006 08:40:00 AM via americablog.com

Because the Pentagon has nothing better to do these days, the military brain trust has been spending a lot of time thinking about homos. The great minds of the military have decided gays aren't suffering from mental disorders anymore. But, they still think homosexuality is a defective condition:

Pentagon guidelines that classified homosexuality as a mental disorder now put it among a list of conditions or "circumstances" that range from bed-wetting to fear of flying... (click "source", below, to continue)

Related: Lawmaker, Experts Protest Pentagon Re-Classification

Gay Catholics Say New Ministry Guidelines are 'Contorted And Flawed'
By Troy Espera, 247Gay.com

The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops adopted new guidelines for ministering to gays Tuesday that are meant to be welcoming, while also telling gays to be celibate because the church considers their sexuality “disordered,” reports the Associated Press.

Gay Catholic activists told the AP that the approach was so contorted and flawed that it would alienate the people it was trying to reach.

The statement, “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination,” was adopted by a 194-37 vote, with one abstention, at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Anyone who persists in sinful behavior, such as gay sex or using artificial birth control, should refrain from taking Communion, the bishops said to the AP.

“To be a Catholic is a challenge,” said Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the bishops' doctrine committee, reports the AP. “To be a Catholic requires a certain choice...”

click "source" to continue.

After gay rights ruling, 2 moms to be on baby's birth certificate
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
The Associated Press

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - In some of the first legal fallout from a state Supreme Court ruling that gives same-sex couples in New Jersey access to the same rights as married couples, two women will be listed on the birth certificate of a baby born this week in Burlington County.

In a closed family court proceeding on Monday, a day before the child was born, the state and the women agreed that both women should be listed as the baby's parents in light of the landmark high court ruling last month. A judge agreed with the state and the women, lawyers said.

The Supreme Court last month ruled that gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights in New Jersey as married couples. But the court left working out the details - including the important one of whether the unions should be called "marriages" - to lawmakers and gave them six months to act.

Lesbian & Gay Military Veterans Appeal District Court Ruling on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

BOSTON, MA - Twelve lesbian and gay veterans of the war on terror yesterday filed a brief in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, in Massachusetts, challenging the constitutionality of the federal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. The case, Cook v. Rumsfeld, was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP. The appeal challenges an April decision by the District Court which dismissed the lawsuit. The Cook lawsuit, filed in December 2004, asserts that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” punishes gay, lesbian and bisexual service members for their sexual orientation and for their private, constitutionally protected conduct. As a result, the plaintiffs argue, it has denied and continues to deny them several Constitutional rights, including... continue at Serviceman's Legal Defense Network