Ted & Gayle Haggard

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard said Wednesday that he will launch a new church from his Colorado Springs home, 3 1/2 years after he resigned from his ministry amid an embarrassing and devastating sex scandal.
“This is my resurrection day,” he declared.
Haggard said his new venture would not be a megachurch like New Life Church, the congregation he founded in 1985 and then left in 2006 after a male prostitute said Haggard paid him for sex.
Haggard said he doesn’t know how many people will attend his new church, but he said the ordeal he and his wife, Gayle, went through has prepared them to help others.
“I have an incredible heart for broken people,” he said. “I think we’re qualified to hold people’s hands” in times of trouble.
Haggard made his announcement outside his home, a two-story, brick-fronted structure with a large barn, a swimming pool and white-fenced corrals on Colorado Springs’ north side, not far from New Life Church. Wearing an open-neck shirt and jeans, Haggard sounded both optimistic and chastened, calling himself a repentant sinner and a broken man who believes he can still help others.
“When the crash came in my personal life, it was so incredibly embarrassing and heartbreaking,” he said. “It broke me. And I’m still broken, some.”
Haggard said a television documentary on the birth of his new church was a possibility but nothing was certain.
At his new church, Haggard said he will teach that God intended marriage to be a monogamous union of a man and a woman. But he said heterosexual marriage was just one ideal in a long list of things God wants people to do, including pray, be healthy and stay monogamous.
He also said the biblical ideals are sometimes hard to live up to.
“Earth is not heaven. And here on Earth, sexuality is very complex and very confusing,” he said.
“There is a complex process people have to go through between their personal beliefs and their own ideals that they themselves fail at, and I am a glaring example of that,” he said.
In an interview with The Associated Press after his announcement, Haggard said he was in counseling from the time of his 2006 downfall until recently, dealing with both his sexual identity and the feelings of shame and embarrassment that followed the scandal.
Without offering any specifics on the allegations against him, Haggard said his counselors told him he is heterosexual but that his behavior was influenced by a childhood incident when he molested by an adult male.
Haggard said he takes responsibility for his actions as an adult and does not mean to use the molestation as an excuse. He also said he did not want to imply that homosexuality was caused by childhood trauma.
“I don’t know what goes on with the homosexual and what makes a homosexual a homosexual. I don’t know dynamics there and I don’t judge it,” he said.
He said counseling helped him reduce the emotional impact of the childhood encounter.
“I remember all of that. I just don’t have compulsive thoughts or actions because of it,” he said.
Haggard told the AP that after his downfall, he doesn’t feel qualified or entitled to return to the ministry, but that he feels compelled to do so by love for others. He cited conversations he had this week with a woman fighting drugs and with an unmarried couple expecting their second child.
“I’m certainly not going to say no to people (who need help) because of my personal shame. I’ve got to overcome my personal shame and be willing to help somebody that knocks on our door,” he said.
Haggard said the new church won’t compete with others in Colorado Springs, noting that many people in the city of 375,000 don’t attend any church.
from The Associated Press

Colin Farrell With Brother Eamon Farrell

IRELAND - Colin Farrell has spoken out about the torment his gay brother suffered at school at the hands of homophobic bullies.
The Phone Booth star, who was best man at brother Eamon’s same sex wedding last year, released a statement detailing the violence and abuse his brother endured in a bid to promote an anti-bullying drive by gay charity Belong To in his native Ireland.
“I can’t remember much about the years of physical and emotional abuse my brother Eamon suffered. I was very small,” admitted the Hollywood actor.
“The thing I do remember though, quite literally, is blood on his school shirt when he came home in the afternoon. The beatings and taunting were very frequent for him and a constant part of his school years.”
And he admitted he couldn’t understand why his brother was targeted by vicious classmates, because he brought Colin nothing but joy.
“People are often afraid of difference,” he said.
“They feel that anything that causes fear, should be turned away from.
“My brother represented fear for so many people, but caused joy in my life.
“From a very young age he made me laugh with his intelligence and wit, made me aspire to his strength and goodness. He was to be embraced.
“To many of the students of his school however he was to be feared. He was to be turned away from. I didn’t understand it then, and I still don’t now.”
from The Sun UK

TURKEY – As Hassan walked — well, more like sashayed — through the market in this southern Turkish city, the population on the sidewalk — elderly women in dark veils, men behind stalls selling Turkish pears five to a bag, children in woolly striped sweaters — all gawked.
“Yes, look! Look all you want,” Hassan said with a flourish, opening his arms in a benevolent gesture, as if their stares were rooted in adulation and not curiosity bordering on disgust. A portly, middle-aged woman narrowed her eyes and curled her lip at him.
“What?” said the 34-year-old Iranian refugee. “Is this the first time she’s seen a man wearing makeup? Maybe she should take notes. She could use a few beauty tips.”
Behind him, Farzan giggled. The slight 25-year-old sporting a shoulder sack that would be labeled a purse even in the male-bag capitals of Tokyo and Paris offered up a quick tale in his feminine lilt. “The other day I was buying some eggs, and the man would not even take the money from my hand,” he recounted. “He looked at me and said, ‘Put the money on the table,’ and spat on the floor. He gave me no change.”
“You should have thrown the eggs in his face,” lectured Hassan, anger flashing in his eyes, their color hazel by the grace of contact lenses. “We’re out of Iran now, and you will not take that kind of treatment anymore. Not in Turkey, not anywhere. You stand up for yourself. One life being less than human was enough.”
Freedom is relative. But for Hassan, mother hen to a gaggle of gay Iranians fleeing a nation where their sexuality is punishable by death, relatively secular Turkey is one step closer to a life less shackled.
He is one of more than 300 gays who have fled Iran since the rise of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who infamously proclaimed in 2007, to guffaws from his audience at Columbia University, that there were no gays in Iran. Most have crossed the border into Turkey, joining 2,000 Iranian refugees — largely political dissidents and religious outcasts — facing waits of two to three years as the United Nations processes their applications for asylum. Those who agreed to be interviewed asked that their last names be withheld for fear of reprisals against their families.
Turkey grants the refugees sanctuary just until the United Nations can find them homes in the United States, Canada, Western Europe or Australia. To avoid a critical mass in any one Turkish city, the refugees are dispersed to two dozen locations. The list does not include more progressive Istanbul, gem of the Bosporus, but rather, smaller metropolises such as Isparta that remain influenced by Islam in the same way Christianity influences the Bible Belt.
In Turkey, where the party that won the national elections in 2002 has sought to foster better ties with Tehranthe movements of the refugees are strictly limited. They can engage in no political activity, cannot work and must check in at police stations at least twice a week.
(more…)

Derrick Martin

COCHRAN, GEORGIA — Derrick Martin worried that he could be responsible for getting this year’s prom at Bleckley County High School canceled.
That’s because the 18-year-old senior is gay, and he plans to take his boyfriend to the year’s most anticipated dance.
That’s something that’s never happened in this small Middle Georgia town. A similar plan by two female students in Mississippi this month prompted school officials there to cancel the prom, making national news.
After asking Bleckley County school officials permission in January to take another boy to the prom, Martin got word last week that his high school will allow it. Bleckley’s prom is April 17 in the high school cafeteria.
“I didn’t expect them to say yes,” he said. “It’s who I am. I have the same rights.
“It’s my senior prom, and I wanted to be able to prove not everyone would cancel prom.”
Martin, an honor student who tutors at-risk elementary and middle school students after school, knew the move would be controversial for the town of about 5,200 residents.
At his high school, prom dates from outside counties must be approved in advance, so Martin went to his principal and asked.
“At first she said no, Cochran wasn’t ready for it,” he said.
Then last week, school officials said they have no policy in place against it.
“You don’t have the right to say no,” principal Michelle Masters said. “As a principal, I don’t judge him. I’m taught not to judge. I have to push my own beliefs to the background.”
She’s just hoping it won’t become an issue in the community and distract from juniors and seniors who have looked forward to the event all school year.
As fellow senior Errin Lucas put it, “Have you seen Cochran? There is nothing else to live for.”
Charlotte Pipkin, the superintendent of schools, said the school board didn’t take any votes on Martin’s request, but the board did discuss the matter during a board meeting.
“Students are allowed to bring their date to prom,” Pipkin said. “There’s nothing that says who the date is.
“I want this to be an enjoyable event, and I don’t want anything to take away from that,” she added.
Martin came out as gay during his sophomore year in high school, but even now he said not all his classmates are tolerant.
He expects he may get attention during the prom “lead out,” in which the school announces each senior’s name and the date’s name.
“I’ll take out insurance on my tux,” he said.
It’s a big step for the high school — and the community, many townsfolk said.
“With our town being so small and country, it’s a very big thing,” Lucas said. “It’s unexpected, but I’m glad. We have to move forward.”
A sampling of residents Monday drew plenty of objections to Martin’s plan, but few people were willing to give their name.
Miranda Taylor, who was working behind the counter at a Wendy’s restaurant, said “a lot of people will stare,” but she thinks the move shows Bleckley County is more open.
The high school prom will have security.
Even if there is a backlash, both educators said they won’t cancel or change their plans for the prom. It would not be fair to the students, Pipkin said.
Martin said he could have settled for what he did last year and simply attend the prom with a female friend, but he didn’t want to do that this year. “It’s standing up for the rights thing, especially after the Mississippi canceled prom,” he said. “It’s senior prom. It’s pretty big.”
from The Macon Telegraph

Jeremy Ames & Taka Ariga / Washington Post Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Powerful photographs can have lasting impact, and a Post photo of two men kissing is an image that many readers can neither forget nor accept.
The photo, which ran on the newspaper’s front page and online last week, captured Jeremy Ames and Taka Ariga kissing outside D.C. Superior Court on the day that the District began accepting license applications for same-sex marriages.
Almost immediately, I began hearing from upset readers. That’s normal when controversial photos appear in The Post. The same thing happened recently when The Post published disturbing images of Haiti earthquake victims. Typically, the complaints quickly subside. With last Thursday’s photo, they continued into Friday, through the weekend and even today. Early this morning, before D.C. Superior Court began issuing licenses to same-sex couples who had applied, a caller phoned to warn that he would cancel his Post subscription “if I see another photo of men lip-locking.”
A few of the readers have engaged in rants, often with anti-gay slurs. One called me to complain about “promoting a faggot lifestyle.” Another complained about the photo in an e-mail to the two Post reporters who wrote Thursday’s story about the licenses: “That kind of stuff makes normal people want to throw up. People have kids who are being exposed to this crap. I will be glad when your rag goes out of business. Real men marry women.”
But most simply said The Post had offended their sensibilities by publishing the photo, especially on the front page.
Ann Witty of Woodbridge wrote to say she had canceled the Post subscription she has held since the 1960s.
“I am 65 years old and I realize that the world is changing rapidly – much more rapidly than I would like it to,” she e-mailed. “While I realize that the Post must report on these changes – even the ones with which I do not agree – I feel that the picture on Thursday morning was an affront to the majority of your readership. It is not something that I want coming into my home. I believe that even your editors know that it would have been better placed in the Metro section and that it would have mitigated its impact to do so.”
Wrote Lee Miller of Columbia: “I would appreciate it if your cover pictures would not be so disturbing where my kids can see it easily on the kitchen table… please don’t shove this “Gay” business in our face. This is something that should have shown up on an inside page or two (without the picture).”
In comments to the ombudsman’s call-in line (202.334.7582), one reader said, “the picture of two guys kissing makes me cringe.” Another called it “ridiculous,” adding: “Put it on page 10 or page four, put it in the paper, but I do not like it right there where I can’t avoid looking at it.”
Many threatened to cancel their Post subscriptions, and more than two dozen did. Post circulation vice president Gregg Fernandes said that late last week 27 subscribers canceled, specifically citing the photo. In contrast, The Post reported only two cancellations immediately after last July’s ethics uproar over its ill-advised plan to sell sponsorships to off-the-record “salon” dinners at the publisher’s residence.
Did the Post go too far? Of course not. The photo deserved to be in newspaper and on its Web site, and it warranted front-page display.
News photos capture reality. And the prominent display reflects the historic significance of what was occurring. The recent D.C. Council decision to approve same-sex marriage was the culmination of a decades-long gay rights fight for equality. Same-sex marriage is now legal in the District. The photo of Ames and Ariga kissing simply showed joy that would be exhibited by any couple planning to wed – especially a couple who previously had been denied the legal right to marry.
There was a time, after court-ordered integration, when readers complained about front-page photos of blacks mixing with whites. Today, photo images of same-sex couples capture the same reality of societal change.
from The Washington Post / Andrew Alexander

A group of evangelical pastors are concerned that the visit of a gay cruise ship to the Bahamas could potentially threaten the “morality and decency” of the country’s “Judeo-Christian” heritage.
In response to the resurgence of intent made by gay cruise organisers to make the Bahamas its port-of-call, the Bahamas Coalition of Evangelical Pastors has reaffirmed its opposition.
Due to the potentially lasting negative effect they feel such events will impact, the group pledged: “Please be assured that we would be taking the very same position, and with the same fervour, if this were a cruise dedicated to self-proclaimed adulterers, fornicators, liars or any other such biblically defined sinful behaviour, who have it as their determined end purpose to have that sinful behaviour accepted as a morally legitimate lifestyle.”
Two weeks ago, organisers of the expected gay cruise, defended their decision to come to the Bahamas, arguing that the homophobic incidents experienced in the Bahamas happen everywhere.
Cindy Brown, Miami Gay Pride operations director, claims the only way to affect a change in public perception of homosexuals was to “allow them to see who we really are”.
While the Evangelical Pastors maintain their intent is not to discourage any individual from visiting the Bahamas, they feel it is imperative that visiting persons are not allowed to mock the country’s values and ideals by “openly flaunting” contrary social behaviour.
A statement said: “It is our hope that the Ministry of Tourism and the organisers of these types of events would make a concerted effort to communicate our country’s societal and cultural norms regarding homosexual conduct, especially in public places.”
The pastors maintained that they were in no way a hate group, but instead seek means to ” prayerfully, lawfully, and lovingly” prevent the Bahamas from ‘falling prey’ to the evolving global mentality towards homosexuality as a legitamate and acceptable lifestyle.
from The Tribune / Bahamas

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Believe it or not, California law requires mental health officials to seek a cure for homosexuality, but Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal said “it’s time to strip that vestige of institutional bigotry from California’s code books.”
The law originally was written in 1950 and re-enacted in 1967, the same year gay men protested police brutality and harassment at the Black Cat Tavern in Silverlake, which some historians consider the birthplace of the gay rights movement.
Some minor amendments were made to the law as late as 1977, but the basic language – calling for a cure for homosexuality – remains in state law.
On Feb. 19, Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, introduced AB 2199. The bill would repeal Section 8050 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, which declares the State Department of Mental Health “shall plan, conduct and cause to be conducted scientific research into the causes and cures of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive to sex crimes against children, and the causes and cures of homosexuality…”
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California and bill sponsor, brought the idea in the past few months to Lowenthal’s attention.
He said it’s “deplorable” that – under the current law – homosexuality is considered a deviance in need of a cure and gays are compared with child molesters.
“It propagates blatantly false, harmful and outdated mischaracterizations,” he said.
Lowenthal likened existing law to race restrictions on deeds. Even though the law is no longer enforced or acted upon, it has no place in California’s code books, she said.
“Our codes are constantly updated, and the fact this language has survived this long is pretty amazing,” Lowenthal said. “We need to blot it out and make it clear we’re moving forward as a society, not backward.”
from The Press-Telgram

Jacob

MOHAWK, NEW YORK – The bullying by classmates and taunts of “homo” only got worse after Jacob began dyeing his hair and wearing eyeliner in eighth grade. One student scrawled “I hope you die” on his shoe, he said; another drew a pocket knife on him.
Jacob’s grades dropped, and he missed school from fear. His father tried repeatedly to get school officials in their working-class village in upstate New York to help protect his son from harassment. The response by the Mohawk Central School District, according to a federal lawsuit, was to do “virtually nothing.”
“Everything was bad,” Jacob – who is identified as “J.L.” in the lawsuit and didn’t want to draw attention to his new school by having his last name used in this story – said this week. “I hyperventilated when I left the school … and I didn’t want to come back the next day, or ever.”
The 15-year-old might soon get a measure of satisfaction. The lawsuit filed by Jacob and his father against the school district with the New York Civil Liberties Union could be close to settlement, according to both sides.
The negotiations come as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to intervene in the case, citing the “important issues” it raises in enforcing federal civil rights laws.
“There is a growing recognition across the country that schools need to take harassment based on gender expression and homosexuality seriously,” said NYCLU attorney Corey Stoughton. “If there is a settlement in this case, that’s an affirmation of that principle.”
Justice officials say it’s the first time since 2000 that they have argued that Title IX, the antidiscrimination law affecting schools that receive federal funding, covers sex discrimination based on gender stereotypes – such as when a boy does not act or look stereotypically male. Stoughton said that while harassment based on gender nonconformity is widespread, there have been only a handful of legal cases like this nationwide.
Mohawk School Superintendent Joyce Caputo said the district denies allegations in the lawsuit, but she stressed they are working with the NYCLU and the Justice Department to settle the suit in a way that benefits everyone.
“We are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent bullying and to promote tolerance,” she said.
Mohawk is a village of modest clapboard homes set near the river of the same name and just east of Utica. Jacob said he did not face serious problems until he went to Gregory B. Jarvis Junior/Senior High School as a seventh-grader in fall 2007.
That was about the time it became clearer that Jacob was different. By eighth grade, he wore eyeliner to school sometimes and would dye his hair bright blue or pink. He was out of the closet that school year.
“People would ask and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m gay, whatever. Peace out,’” he said.
In an interview this week with his father at their home, Jacob said he was just being himself. That is, a teenager who loves to write songs, short stories and poems and who dreams about a career in the movies, maybe as a director or a writer.
Dressed in a blue fleece and jeans, Jacob talked effusively about pop culture – Pink is his favorite singer, “Orphan” a favorite movie. But his voice got softer when he talked about his experiences at Jarvis.
The lawsuit claims the principal and other district officials did not follow their own anti-harassment policies. Teachers blocked him from going to a “safe room” set up for him. One teacher told him he should be ashamed of himself for being gay, according to court papers.
Jacob’s father, Robert Sullivan (he has a different last name), devoted himself to making sure his son was safe in school despite fighting Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I put the cancer stuff aside,” Sullivan said, “because he doesn’t have anyone to defend himself beside me.”
But Sullivan said he failed to make much progress.
“You listen to your child cry at night and wish he was dead, and wish he wasn’t here. It’s a hard thing to go through,” Sullivan said. “And you know you’ve got to send him back there the next day.”
The idea of a lawsuit came from someone at a support group Jacob attended, and the NYCLU sued in August. The Department of Justice asked to intervene last month, noting the suit’s claims that Jacob was denied equal protections guaranteed in the Constitution and under Title IX, the antidiscrimination law affecting schools that receive federal funding.
The department would not comment on the litigation, but gay rights supporters saw its involvement as evidence of a strengthened commitment under the Obama administration to the rights of people who are gay or who do not conform to gender stereotypes.
However, it’s now possible that a settlement will be reached before a judge decides whether the federal agency can intervene. The Justice Department would not comment in detail on the lawsuit.
Jacob this week seemed happy just to put the trauma behind him.
The family recently moved to the next town. Jacob started a new school and the experience has been like night and day, he said: “It’s amazing. I have a lot of friends there.”
Sullivan’s cancer is in remission. He said it’s nice to see his son smile again, and he has hopes for their future.
“As long as I can get to see him graduate high school,” Sullivan said. “I think I can die happy.”
from The Associated Press

Anita Bryant

HBO is developing a biopic of former beauty queen, singer and celebrity pitch woman Anita Bryant, who is known mostly for her work as an anti-gay activist.
“Sex and the City” creator Darren Star is on board to direct the film, which is being written by “Runaway” creator Chad Hodge. Star also is executive producing with Dennis Erdman.
“She is a fascinating person on every single level,” said Hodge, who has a connection to Bryant — they both attended Northwestern. “The twists and turns of her life are incredible.”
By age 18, Bryant, who was born to a religious Oklahoma family in 1940, had won Arthur Godfrey’s talent show and a Miss Oklahoma pageant and finished as second runner-up for Miss America.
In 1959 and ’60, she was a major pop star with three million-selling records. After marrying and settling in Florida, she reverted to Christian music and, projecting a wholesome image, began plugging such blue-chip companies as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods and Holiday Inn.
Her most famous celebrity endorsement gig was for the Florida Citrus Commission, for which she sang in a series of TV commercials, closing each ad with the tag line, “A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”
By the mid-’70s, Bryant was a Christian celebrity. She published several best-selling books and won Good Housekeeping’s “Most Admired Woman in America” poll for three consecutive years.
In 1977, she switched to political activism, launching a crusade to repeal a new Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
“As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children,” she said. Her Save the Children coalition got the new law overturned within a year, and it took 20 years for it to be reinstated.
Celebrating her victory, Bryant promised she would “seek help and change for homosexuals, whose sick and sad values belie the word ‘gay,’ which they pathetically use to cover their unhappy lives.”
She stayed on the anti-gay rights cause with speaking tours and went to California to support the Briggs Initiative in 1978, looking to mandate the firing of gay teachers, which failed. Archive footage with Bryant was featured in the 2008 film “Milk,” which chronicled Harvey Milk’s campaign against the initiative.
Bryant’s outspoken activism led to a nationwide boycott by the gay rights movement.
She eventually lost her Citrus Commission contract, her record and book sales fell sharply, she remarried, tried unsuccessfully to revive her singing career and eventually filed for bankruptcy.
Hodge, who is looking to talk to Bryant about the project, said he is going for a nuanced portrayal of her and “what drove her to do the things that she did.”
Although the events in the movie take place decades ago, the social, political and religious divisions in the country nowadays make it feel current, he added.
from The Hollywood Reporter

A new American research suggests that gay teenagers and young adults are more vulnerable to bullying than their counterparts.
The study found that bullying rates more than tripled for lesbians, while bisexuals reported being bullied more often.
Researchers discovered that bisexual girls were more likely to be bullies themselves whereas gay males were much less likely to bully others.
The study team came up with their findings from a 2001 survey of 7,559 children of female registered nurses.
Although, the study does not prove that being gay or bisexual is directly responsible for causing people to be bullied or to turn into bullies, it does point out the size of the bullying problem, showing that it is not limited to grade school.
Lead author Elise Berlan, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said the research shows that “kids who are different – who are perceived as weak and falling out of the mainstream – are more vulnerable to bullying.
“It’s really important to have some documentation about what the experiences of our kids are.”
The participants in the study were aged between 14 and 22.
Out of 2,720 males, 93.5% said they were heterosexual, 4.5% said they were mostly heterosexual and 0.5% said they were bisexual. The other 1.4% said they were mostly or completely homosexual.
Among the 4,839 females, 88.3% said they were heterosexual, 9.5% said they were mostly heterosexual, 1.9% said they were bisexual and 0.3% said they were mostly or completely heterosexual.
Compared to completely heterosexual kids, all these groups were more likely to have experienced bullying except for bisexual girls. Gay males, mostly or completely gay, had double the risk after the study team adjusted the statistics for factors like age and race.
Before the statistics were adjusted, 44% of mostly or completely gay males and 26% of completely heterosexual males said they had been bullied.
Fifteen females, who were completely or mostly homosexual, were over three times more likely to be bullied, while bisexual females were 2.4 times more likely to report bullying others.
from Daily News & Analysis
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CAIRO, EGYPT – An Egyptian court yesterday sentenced two journalists to one year in prison after finding them guilty of printing a report in their newspaper about the alleged homosexuality of three celebrities.
The Misdemeanour Court of Al Sayeda Zainab in southern Cairo also ordered the two journalists — Abdou Maghrabi, Editor-in-Chief of Al Balagh Al Gadida, and Ehab Al Ajami, a journalist for the same weekly — to pay 40,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh26,700) each in fines for the report, which claimed that Egyptian actors Nour Al Sharif, Khalid Abul Naga and Hamdi Al Wazir were caught in a homosexual situation in a Cairo hotel.
Homosexuality is punishable under Egyptian law and sternly frowned upon in Sharia.
The same court referred to another court a lawsuit filed by Al Sharif demanding 10 million pounds in compensation.
Egyptian journalists have been unsuccessfully trying to scrap prison sentences in publishing cases.
Several years ago, President Hosni Mubarak promised to cancel such penalties. He has yet to keep his promise.
Most public figures in Egypt want to avoid being connected to homosexuality, which could damage their popularity among Muslim fans.
Al Sharif did not seem bothered by the accusations of belonging to a prostitution network, but was frustrated at being described as a homosexual.
“Naming me among homosexuals defamed me and all Egyptian artists. The Journalists Syndicate has to be firm with anyone trying to insult the dignity of Egyptian artists,” he said.
from The Gulf News

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA — A judge signed a $50,000 arrest warrant Tuesday for a Redwood City man suspected of attacking a gay man at a downtown nightclub early Sunday because of his sexual orientation.
Cole White, 24, is wanted for assault and a hate crime enhancement, according to Santa Cruz police spokesman Zach Friend.
Investigators suspect White made derogatory statements about another man’s sexual orientation outside the Blue Lagoon, a club on the 900 block of Pacific Avenue. White’s friends and a bouncer separated the two men, but both ended up inside the establishment a few minutes later and a second altercation occurred, according to police and the victim, a Santa Cruz man in his early 30s.
The beating is being investigated as a hate crime because police believe the victim was targeted because of his sexual orientation, according to Friend. A hate crime allegation can add one year to a jail or prison sentence.
In 2009, Santa Cruz police investigated eight hate crimes, which can also include crimes motivated by someone’s disability, gender, nationality, religion, race or ethnicity.
The victim said he saw White at the bar and turned to ask him if he was the man who had verbally accosted him on the sidewalk a few minutes prior. Instead of answering, White allegedly punched the victim in the face. The victim said he was knocked to the ground and beaten for 10-15 second before someone pulled him off the floor and rushed him
outside.
The victim, who suffered bruises, cuts, sore ribs and a possible broken nose in the attack, said he was shocked at the violence, especially in Santa Cruz and the Blue Lagoon, a gay-friendly bar.
He called 911 after the attack and told the club’s bouncer he had a cell phone photo of the man who attacked him, the victim said.
Outside the bar, 23-year-old David Douglas Cameron allegedly grabbed the cell phone and ran toward the levee, according to police. The victim chased after him until police took up the pursuit and apprehended Cameron, who police said is a friend of White’s. Cameron was arrested on suspicion of robbery.
As police sorted out the incident early Sunday, Cameron’s girlfriend, Meisha Galpren-Gibson, 18, was also arrested on Pacific Avenue near the club. She allegedly hit someone in the face and was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public, disturbing the peace and fighting, according to police.
from The Santa Cruz Sentinel

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – The Los Angeles Police Department’s Explorers youth program will end its nearly 50-year relationship with the Boys Scouts of America, pledging not to tolerate discrimination.
As of New Year’s Day, LAPD Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger said the department will run the youth program under a different name independent of the Boy Scouts, with the program being funded in part through donations.
The Boy Scouts started the Explorers program in 1949 as a career-oriented program for boys.
The LAPD began participating in 1962. Since 1998, the LAPD has been running the Explorers program while Learning for Life – an organization created by the Boy Scouts – provided insurance coverage to participants.
But the Police Commission voted last month to sever ties with Learning for Life, saying the Boys Scouts’ policy of barring gays, atheists and agnostics from being troop leaders violates the city’s non-discrimination policies.
“It’s bittersweet in the sense that the Boy Scouts or Learning for Life have been part of this for a long time – in name only – but the LAPD is committed to a better program and we can do that without having discrimination,” said Police Commissioner Alan Skobin.
Commissioner Robert Saltzman, who is openly gay, said that because he cannot support the Boy Scouts, he has invested a lot of time to ensure the new youth program is “as good or – I’m confident – better than the program it replaces.”
“The Boy Scouts are clear that they discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity and religion, and the result of that is I could not be active on the Boy Scouts,” Saltzman said.
LAPD’s Explorer program provides training to youths ages 14 to 20 who are interested in law enforcement careers. About 1,000 Explorers are assigned to the 20 police stations around the city.
Wearing special uniforms, they help officers with searches for evidence and provide crowd control at special events. They also provide tours of police stations, assist with clerical work and participate in educational camping trips.
The Boy Scouts’ policy of banning gays from being troop leaders faced legal challenges in the 1990s. However, the Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts had the right to decide who can join its ranks.
The Boy Scouts had argued that accepting gays would violate its constitutional right to freedom of association and free speech.
from The Daily Breeze

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At 100, Boy Scouts Say They’re Still `Essential’

Eminem

UNITED KINGDOM – Eminem will return to the British stage for the first time in five and a half years when he headlines the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park next summer.
But before the rapper would sign up, event organisers had to reach an agreement with gay rights campaigners who had threatened to picket the gig and disrupt his performance.
A truce has been struck between the activists and Eminem, whereby they will stay away as long as he does not use gratuitously anti-gay lyrics.
The last time Eminem toured the country in 2001, gay rights group OutRage! protested outside his shows, saying his lyrics were homophobic.
Event organisers were said to be worried that another such protest would cause major disruption to Wireless, which attracts tens of thousands of people.
A festival insider said: “This is a huge signing for Wireless and it will be the hottest ticket this summer.
“The organisers were afraid campaigners could potentially ruin the event. So there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and Eminem only agreed to sign up when assurances had been made that there would not be any protests.
“It was very touch-and-go but he has finally agreed to appear. Any kind of demonstration against him could have been disastrous.
“He will be bringing a huge entourage of security with him but there is still the risk that protesters may picket the hotel he stays in.”
OutRage! spokesman David Allison said: “We have a condition that he does not use lyrics that encourage or incite hatred against gay people.
“He is free to express his views on gay people, as long as he stays off the violence and hatred. He has got plenty of other lyrics to choose from. In recent years he has become quite well-behaved.
“I think he realises singing songs advocating hate and violence just won’t wash any more. Society’s moved on in the last 10 years.”
Activists picketed his 2001 shows, waving banners and the rainbow flag of the gay movement while chanting “stop the bigotry”.
Although Eminem claims his lyrics are not meant to be taken seriously, gay rights groups objected to his use of the word “faggot” and called him a “gay-basher”.
Eminem was to perform in London in 2005 but cancelled the European leg of his world tour citing “exhaustion”, although it later emerged he was addicted to sleeping pills.
He returned for a secret show at the O2 Academy in Islington in 2004 — the last time he performed in London.
So far, Pink and The Ting Tings have been officially confirmed for this year’s festival, which takes place from 2 to 4 July.
from The London Evening Standard
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Mr Gay Russia

MOSCOW - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said Wednesday that although the church views homosexuality as a sin, gays should not face discrimination.
Patriarch Kirill said “those who sin” must not be punished and therefore the church opposes any discrimination. Same-sex unions, however, should not be considered equal to heterosexual marriages, he said.
“We accept all the choices a person makes – in terms of their sexuality as well,” the patriarch said in comments carried by the state RIA Novosti news agency.
Gay rights advocates argue that homosexuality is not wrong because it is an in-born orientation, but the church insists that it is a choice.
It was unclear to what extent the patriarch was easing church dogma in his carefully chosen statements, made during a meeting with visiting Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.
Opposition to gay rights remains widespread in Russia, where homosexuality was decriminalized only in 1993.
Several high-profile Russian politicians have spoken against gay rights. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov once described gays as “sodomites” and has blamed them for spreading AIDS.
Kirill, who was elected patriarch in January, has been seen as a modernizer and a politically savvy figure, but so far he has made no major statements that would signal a shift in the church’s conservative views on homosexuality and abortion.
from The Associated Press

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