• Where to work: The Advocate adds 10 firms to its list of the top gay-friendly employers in the country 10.14.2003
• Nigerians Protest Gay Priests, Bishops 10.13.2003
• Davis Signs Domestic Partner Benefit Bill  10.13.2003
• New York GLBT students fight attacker 10.10.2003
• Iranian Reformers Hail Nobel Prize Winner  10.10.2003
• Same-Sex Marriage 10.09.2003
• Lambda prevails in two HIV bias cases  10.09.2003
• Episcopalians prepare appeal to worldwide Anglican primates 10.09.2003
• Episcopal faction blasts church over gays 10.09.2003
• Canada high court refuses marriage appeal  10.09.2003
• Episcopal conservatives turn to details of possible split 10.08.2003
• Wyo. More Tolerant on Shepard Anniversary 10.07.2003
• Wyo. Community Marks Shepard Anniversary 10.07.2003
• OOn beating anniversary, town more tolerant of gays 10.07.2003
• Conservative Episcopalians Meet on Gays 10.07.2003
• Supreme Court sessions starts with protest 10.06.2003
• 'Shameless Indecency' Being Changed 10.06.2003
• Schwarzenegger stance on gays disputed  10.06.2003
• On Tenth Anniversary of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' President Clinton Says 'No Evidence to Support Ban on Gays in Military' 10.06.2003
• Canada Religious Groups Seek Gay Marriage Challenge 10.06.2003
• Bush backs right-wing marriage agenda  10.06.2003
• Conservative Episcopals meet to chart own course 10.05.2003
• Pope warns UK leader on gay rift 10.04.2003
• Sexual Accusations Prompt an Apology by Schwarzenegger 10.03.2003
• Repeal effort begins for gay partners law  10.03.2003
• U.S. groups escalate gay marriage attack  10.02.2003
• Top Companies Tout New Attitude to Gays 10.02.2003
• Same-sex couples register in Chicago  10.02.2003
• Groups challenge military's sodomy ban 10.02.2003
• Sportswriter for Boston Herald comes out 10.01.2003

• U.K. study: Sexuality is set before birth 10.03.2003

• September 2003
• August 2003
• July 2003
• January - June 2003

• LGBT News in Chinese

Nigerians Protest Gay Priests, Bishops
AP Africa
By Dulue Mbachu, Associated Press Writer
Oct. 13, 2003

 

LAGOS, Nigeria - Nigeria's Anglican Church held a day of fasting and prayers Monday to protest the confirmation of 
homosexual priests and bishops in the United States and Britain. 

The show of opposition in Nigeria ¡X which has the largest Anglican population outside Britain ¡X comes ahead of an emergency meeting of the 38 primates, or leaders, of the world's Anglican churches. 

The gathering, to be held Wednesday and Thursday in London, has been called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the titular head of the 77 million-member global Anglican community, who is looking for a way to bridge differences that many regard as irreconcilable. 

"We are not happy that the Archbishop of Canterbury is being soft on this issue of homosexuals in the church," Rev. Obi Ulonna told The Associated Press. 

"We are praying that God will guide and protect our Bishop and all who are against the gay movement," added Ulonna, a cleric at the St. Stephens parish in Lagos. 

Nigeria has some 17 million Anglicans. Ulonna said tens of thousands of parishioners in the Nigerian commercial capital, Lagos, had pledged to fast and pray in special services held Monday. "Enthusiastic participation" was expected in other Nigerian cities, he added. 

Many African Christian churches have retained the moral conservatism favored by the European missionaries who introduced the religion to the African continent in the 19th century. 

The primate of Nigeria, the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, told parishioners in Lagos last week that "evil forces" were at work in the worldwide church. 

"We Anglicans are against the ordination of gay priests and I am vehemently against it," Akinola said. "We need prayers to be able to surmount all the problems that tend to divide us, and all the forces of evil in the church." 

The U.S. Episcopal Church's decision in August to confirm a gay man ¡X the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, who has a longtime male partner ¡X as bishop of New Hampshire provoked a crisis within Anglicanism and focused attention on homosexual clerics. 

Robinson's conservative opponents in the United States warned at a rally last week that a break with the Episcopal Church is a strong possibility, and their protests were emphatically backed by the leaders of other Anglican national churches, particularly in Africa. 

The U.S. Episcopal Church, like the Anglican, traces its roots back to the Church of England, and is part of what's known as the Anglican Communion. 

Earlier this year, the Church of England had its own crisis when the Rev. Canon Jeffrey John was nominated as bishop of Reading. John has openly declared his homosexuality, but affirmed that he was now celibate. 

In May, the Anglican Church of Nigeria severed all relations with the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada for sanctioning the blessing of same-sex unions. 

The Nigerian church has threatened similar treatment for any diocese or communion that steps out of line with its position on homosexuality. 

In June, Akinola issued a written warning to Nigerians to be prepared for a potential split, no matter the financial cost to churches in the impoverished West African nation. 

"We are mindful of the backlash this strong stand can engender from the rich churches in Europe, America and Canada, who have long used their wealth to intimidate the financially weak churches in Africa," Akinola said. 

"Our boldness in condemning the spiritual bankruptcy of these churches must be matched by our refusal to receive financial help from them," he wrote. 

 

Davis Signs Domestic Partner Benefit Bill
Associated Press
By Ethan Rarick, Associated Press Writer
Oct. 13, 2003

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - California has became the first state to require businesses with large state contracts to offer 
domestic partners the same benefits that spouses enjoy, although the law will not take effect until 2007. 

Outgoing Gov. Gray Davis signed the bill enacting the measure, which had been a key goal of gay rights groups. 

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, called the move "incredibly significant." 

"There are a lot of businesses that want state contracts, and in order to be eligible, companies will now have to give equal benefits," Kors said. 

In 1996, San Francisco became the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt such a requirement, prompting numerous 
companies to offer benefits to domestic partners, Kors said. Other cities have since followed suit, and California is the first state to approve such a law, Kors said. 

The measure narrowly cleared the Legislature earlier this year, passing the Assembly with the minimum number of votes needed. 

At the time, Democrats described the measure as a victory for fairness and civil rights, while Republican opponents said it would trample the rights of employers who objected to gay relationships. 

Davis signed the measure Sunday as he considered dozens of bills sent to him by the Legislature. He faced a midnight 
deadline to act on the measures. 

The governor, who was recalled by voters Oct. 7 but will remain in office until the results become official, had tried to appeal to California's large gay community earlier this year in an attempt to increase public support and keep his job. 

Davis already has approved a bill giving domestic partners most of the rights and responsibilities of married couples. 

The bill regarding state contracts was the other major gay rights bill passed by the Legislature this year, and gay rights groups had urged Davis to sign it even though he has been recalled. Gov.-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, had asked Davis to sign no more bills before leaving office, but has acknowledged Davis' right to do so. 

The new law will apply to contracts worth $100,000 or more, and may be waived in emergencies and cases where there is only one bidder. 

In 1999, California became the first state in the nation to allow gay and lesbian couples to register as domestic partners.

 

New York GLBT students fight attacker
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Oct. 10, 2003

 

Three students from New York's Harvey Milk High School for GLBT teens were arrested on Wednesday for fighting with a man who allegedly confronted them with anti-gay threats. 

According to the New York Post, about 20 students fought with the man, Vernon Jones, after he punched a student in the face and threatened the students with a screwdriver. The group reportedly threw bottles at Jones' car, and one of the students stabbed him in the back with the screwdriver. 

The students said Jones had confronted some of them a day earlier in a McDonald's restaurant near Astor Place in Manhattan, saying that "gay people are going to die." 

Jones, 23, was arrested and charged with menacing after being treated at a local hospital for the puncture wound. The three students, Erica Simon, 17, Kareem Macedon, 16, and Penn Lorenzo, 16, were charged with gang assault and menacing, the Post reported. 

Police are not investigating the incident as a hate crime, according to the New York Daily News, but a district attorney spokeswoman, Barbara Thompson, said, "We are absolutely investigating whether it is a hate crime." 

The incident occurred during the same week when many in the GLBT community are remembering Matthew Shepard, a young college student who was brutally murdered five years ago in Wyoming because he was gay. His death five years ago mobilized many in the United States to fight against anti-gay hate crimes. 

Iranian Reformers Hail Nobel Prize Winner
Associated Press
by Brian Murphy, Associated Press Writer
Oct. 10, 2003

 

TEHRAN, Iran - The Nobel Peace Prize award for Iranian lawyer-activist Shirin Ebadi may do more than place her in the rarified company of history-shapers such as Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa. It could hand Iranian reformers what they've been craving: a leader with the clout to rattle the entrenched theocracy. 

(AP Photo)Ebadi ¡X who also is Iran's first female judge ¡X was praised around the world as a courageous champion of political freedom after the Norwegian Nobel Committee honored her Friday for promoting peaceful and democratic solutions in the struggle for human rights. 

The prize, announced Friday in Oslo, Norway, gave hope to the dispirited reformers challenging Iran's ruling clerics that 
the 56-year-old lawyer's newfound prominence may breathe life into their tired ranks. 

"This prize doesn't belong to me only. It belongs to all people who work for human rights and democracy in Iran," Ebadi said in Paris, where she was attending a conference. 

Ebadi, who was jailed for three weeks in 2000, has been a forceful advocate for women, children and those on the margins of society. 

"As a lawyer, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, far beyond its borders," the Nobel committee said in its citation. 

Reformers in Iran may now expect even more: a firebrand willing to directly battle the powerful theocracy in the model of other history-shaping Nobel laureates such as Nelson Mandela and Lech Walesa. 

"She is an international figure now," said Isa Saharqis, a prominent reformer and editor of the monthly political journal, Aftab, or Sun. "The conservatives cannot close their eyes to this." 

Iranian state media waited hours to report the Nobel committee's decision ¡X and then only as the last item on the radio news update. 

It was not until late Friday that Iran issued an official statement, with government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh 
congratulating Ebadi for her prize. 

"We hope more attention will be paid to the opinions of Mrs. Ebadi both inside and outside Iran more than before," he said. 

"In the name of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I congratulate Mrs. Ebadi and all Iranian Muslim women," Ramezanzadeh told The Associated Press. 

"We are happy that a Muslim Iranian woman has behaved, using the capabilities of the country in the fields of defending human rights, especially the rights of children and women, in a way that is appreciated by the peace-loving bodies around the world." 

Ramezanzadeh said the government is expected to send a top official to attend Ebadi's welcome ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday. 

At Ebadi's home, her family watched updates on international broadcasts via a satellite dish ¡X technically illegal but 
recently tolerated as conservatives try to soften opposition. 

"The reform movement is reborn," said Javad Tavassolian, her husband. 

Ebadi's 79-year-old mother, Minu Yamini, said the Nobel announcement was just the third time she cried for her daughter. The first was her university graduation; the second was when she was jailed. 

Ebadi, who is often sharply criticized by Iran's hard-liners and conservative clerics, was convicted in a closed trial three 
years ago of slandering government officials. She was given a suspended sentence following her three weeks in jail. 

At her news conference in Paris, Ebadi said Iran's most pressing human rights crisis is the lack of free speech, and she 
urged the government to immediately release prisoners jailed for expressing their opinions. 

"There is no difference between Islam and human rights," said Ebadi, who was not wearing the Islamic head covering required for women in Iran. 

"Therefore, the religious ones should also welcome this award," she added. "The prize means you can be a Muslim and at the same time have human rights." 

Iran's reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, has often said the same in his vision of "Islamic democracy." But Khatami has been discredited in the eyes of many mainstream reformers for his unwillingness to press for rapid change. More radical activists are also disheartened by the failure of street protests, including a violent but short-lived confrontation with authorities in June. 

Now, reformers appear ready to look for direction and unity from Ebadi, who is scheduled to return to Iran on Tuesday. One of the first tests could be February parliamentary elections, which many reformers have suggested they would shun as a show of frustration. 

"Today is a happy day in Iranian history," said Saeed Pourazizi, a close ally of Khatami. "I don't hide my deep feelings of happiness." 

The National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based group opposing the clerical establishment, called the Nobel award "an act against the religious fascism ruling Iran." 

Although Iranian women serve in parliament and have far fewer limits than in other Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, laws still impose some boundaries. An Iranian woman needs her husband's permission to work or travel abroad, and a man's court testimony is considered twice as important as that of a woman. 

"The prize is an outcome of her relentless fight against inequality," said Azam Taleqani, leader of a women's rights group. 

Ebadi served as Iran's first female judge in the waning years of the Western-backed monarchy, which was toppled by the Islamic Revolution of 1979, when she was forced to resign. 

She turned her law office into a base for rights crusades and assaults on the establishment on issues such a persecution of dissidents and now-rare punishments such as stoning and flogging for social offenses. 

She has taken cases dealing with domestic abuse and the rights of street children. Her writings have touched on rights for refugees, women and child laborers. 

In 2001, Ebadi wrote in an Iranian magazine about her experience in jail ¡X the loneliness of her confinement and the agony of recurring back pain and other ailments. 

"I hate myself for being so weak," she wrote in the Payam Emrooz Monthly Review. "I try not to complain. I would just press my teeth against each other and would flex my fingers hard ¡X my nails have turned blue because of the intensity of the pressure ¡X but never would I groan." 

Last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, former President Jimmy Carter, called Ebadi's work "an inspiration to people in Iran and around the world." 

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the award underscores "the importance of expanding human rights throughout the world." 

White House spokesman Scott McClellan called her "a lifetime champion of the cause of human dignity and democracy." 

This year's prize is worth $1.3 million. Speculation on winners this year had centered on former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Pope John Paul II. 

Ebadi is the third Muslim to win. Yasser Arafat took the prize in 1994, sharing it with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat shared the award with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for jointly negotiating peace between the two countries. Rabin and Sadat were assassinated after winning their prizes. 

The Nobel Peace Prize will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's death. The other prizes will be given that day in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. 
___ 
On the Net: 
Nobel site: http://www.nobel.se 

Same-Sex Marriage
Planet Out
Oct. 9, 2003

 

To the alarm of many gay rights advocates, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation endorsing a "Marriage Protection Week," to be held Oct. 12-18.

Organized by 21 conservative and religious organizations, the week aims to promote traditional marriage and denounce same-sex marriage.

The ACLU called it a "thinly veiled attempt to plug the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA)," and other organizations, 
including the Human Rights Campaign and Lambda Legal Defense, have organized events to counter the campaign.

The groups behind the weeklong campaign have stated that they also plan to make same-sex marriage the top social issue in the 2004 presidential campaign.

The timing is also noteworthy: Marriage Protection Week begins the day after National Coming Out Day, held annually on Oct. 11.

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll released in early October suggests that the U.S. public is evenly divided on same-sex marriage rights.

A bill proposing a constitutional amendment (FMA) against gay marriage has been offered in the House, and in July President Bush offered his most forceful denunciation of gay marriage yet.

In the 2004 presidential campaign so far, the Democratic candidates have all supported giving marriage-like rights to gay couples in some form.

Same-sex marriage advocates in the United States are also watching Massachusetts, where the state's highest court could rule that barring gay couples from marrying is unconstitutional.

Seven couples sued the state over its marriage laws, and the high court's decision, expected during the summer, cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Thus Massachusetts could conceivably become the first state to legalize same-sex marriages.

Vermont and California are currently the only states that extend state-level marriage rights to same-sex couples.

In other parts of the world, same-sex unions have recently gained more ground. On Jan. 30, Belgium became the second country in the world -- behind the Netherlands -- to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples.

Several other European locales -- most notably Germany and Zurich, Switzerland -- are beginning to follow suit by granting some forms of legal recognition. 

 

Lambda prevails in two HIV bias cases
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
by Christopher Curtis
Oct. 9, 2003

 

The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund announced two victories on Wednesday in securing care and treatment for HIV-positive patients. 

Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest health maintenance organizations (HMOs), approved a kidney transplant for John Carl, 53, after denying the Denver-area man's initial request. 

Kaiser Permanente's decision to cover the transplant comes after Lambda Legal made a formal appeal with the HMO late in September. The HMO denied Carl's request in July, claiming such a transplant would be experimental and lead to "non-
favorable outcomes." 

In its appeal, Lambda Legal cited a 2002 New England Journal of Medicine article that found "no evidence of poorer survival among otherwise healthy HIV-positive patients who are receiving antiretroviral therapy." The article also declared that "transplantation in HIV-positive patients should ... not be considered experimental." 

Carl, who is on antiretroviral therapy, has an undetectable viral load and has had no opportunistic infections. He has 
already been accepted by the United Network for Organ Sharing's national list and is now waiting for a suitable kidney. 

In a similar victory over HIV bias, a nursing home in Kentwood, La., accepted a man with HIV after initially refusing to 
admit him. 

According to Lambda Legal, Kentwood Manor and five other nursing homes refused to care for Cecil Little, 50, after learning he was HIV-positive. 

In July, Lambda Legal filed complaints with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, arguing that the nursing homes violated the federal Rehabilitation Act. The Rehabilitation Act prohibits facilities that receive 
federal funds from discriminating against people with disabilities. 

Little needed care after suffering two consecutive strokes and brain aneurysms earlier this year. But because the six 
nursing homes had rejected him, he had to get care 80 miles away from his family. 

Lambda Legal plans to drop legal action against Kentwood Manor, but continues discrimination claims against the other five nursing homes. 

In a press release, Little's sister, Gloria Rowe, said she planned on seeing her brother more often now that he is closer. "I plan on stopping by this afternoon to help him decorate his room to make it look more like a cozy home -- because he is home finally." 

Episcopalians prepare appeal to worldwide Anglican primates
CNN.COM
Oct. 9, 2003

 

Episcopalians face possible split after the confirmation of gay clergyman V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. 

DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- Episcopalians outraged by the U.S. church's election of a gay bishop prepared a request asking 
worldwide Anglican primates to intervene and urged church members to stop funding the denomination. 

Speakers at a conference of more than 2,700 conservatives described the Episcopal Church's liberal policies on homosexuality as "heresy" and "apostasy," and participants planned a Thursday vote on a formal appeal to the international Anglican Communion. 

Those attending the three-day meeting organized by the conservative American Anglican Council submitted responses Wednesday to a proposed draft of a declaration from the meeting. Leaders were to rewrite the document overnight for endorsement before departing Thursday. 

"We plan to send a very clear, decisive message to the Episcopal Church asking it to repent and reverse these actions," said the Rev. David Roseberry, of Plano. 

At a convention in Minneapolis this summer, the church confirmed the election of a gay bishop living with his partner and voted to recognize that its bishops are allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. 

The conservatives' meeting in Dallas is about finding ways to fight back against those decisions, with the possibility of a schism looming. About 45 of the church's 300 bishops are attending. 

The meeting received a surprise greeting at the end of Wednesday's sessions from Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's doctrinal office. He expressed "my heartfelt prayers" for the Episcopalians at the meeting and said Christians share "a unity of truth" with one another. 

Four lawyers advised the meeting on the rights of clergy and congregations if a schism occurs. The advice: hire one of the rare attorneys who is an expert on church property, check state and diocese laws and be careful with words and actions. Clergy were assured that vested pensions of those who've worked five years were secure. 

With feelings strong on both sides in many congregations, the potential split threatens not just the denomination, but 
individual parishes. 

"Some people just wish it would go away," the Rev. Chris Ditzenberger, of Greenville, S.C., said of views held by his 
parishioners. 

"There's a lot of fearfulness about what else could happen down the line with regard to our doctrine and our understanding of the gospel." 

Conservatives acknowledge they're in the minority in the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. But they believe they are in the majority among Anglicans around the globe. 

Next week, 38 leaders of the world's Anglican branches will gather at an emergency session in London to discuss the American situation and a similar dispute among Anglicans in Canada. 

The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Griswold, released a letter Wednesday that he sent to U.S. bishops saying the confirmation of gay clergyman V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire did not settle the debate in the church over homosexuality. He also expressed his wish that Episcopalians could move beyond "condemnation and reaction." 

But the draft version of the conservative declaration commits supporters to stop funding Episcopal dioceses and agencies that support the convention decisions, and appeals to next week's meeting to "create a new alignment for Anglicanism in North America." 

For many Episcopalians, angst is mixed with uncertainty as they await the world primates' guidance. 

 

"Mostly, all of us now are just kind of listening and waiting," said the Rev. Clifton Warner, a 33-year-old deacon from El Paso. 

Episcopal faction blasts church over gays
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
by Eric Johnston
Oct. 9, 2003

 

Members of a conservative Episcopal group condemned their denomination over gay inclusiveness, and urged world Anglican leaders to intervene, at the close of a three-day strategy session in Dallas on Thursday. 

The conservative American Anglican Council (AAC) issued a sternly worded statement, approved by an overwhelming majority of the 2,700 people attending the Dallas meeting, which repudiates the Episcopal denomination's General Convention for confirming an openly gay bishop and acknowledging that some bishops are blessing same-sex unions. 

The declaration demands that the leadership of the Episcopal Church "repent of and reverse the unbiblical and schismatic" actions. It also asks Anglican leaders to discipline Episcopal bishops who "have departed from biblical faith and order" and "guide the realignment of Anglicanism in North America." 

The 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion. 

"I think it's unfortunate that we've come to this point where a small group of the militant conservative fringe has drawn a line in the sand," said Rev. Susan Russell, the president of Integrity, an organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Episcopalians. Russell was in Dallas to monitor the AAC meeting. 

"This is a small group that has made a decision that the criteria for being in this church is to be agreed with," Russell 
told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com network, "and the majority of the church does not agree with them." Russell was referring to the growing inclusiveness of the GLBT community by the Episcopal denomination. 

The possibility of a schism between the conservatives, who admit they're a minority in the U.S. denomination, and the rest of the church is looming ahead of an Anglican leaders' meeting next week in London. 

The archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, has called the primates (leaders) of the 
communion's 38 branches to discuss the American split over homosexuality. The majority of the world's Anglican leaders favor the conservative position that there is a biblical prohibition on gay sex. 

The AAC statement also urges conservative Episcopalians to redirect their financial giving "to the fullest extent possible" toward conservative ministries and away from the national denomination. 

"The (AAC) has made it clear that it is bent on destroying the Episcopal Church unless it can remake it in its own image," said Russell. She said neither the AAC nor the Anglican Communion has the authority to split the Episcopal Church. 

Russell said the most the Archbishop or any of the primates could do is declare themselves "out of communion" with the Episcopal Church. She says that has happened before, most notably when the church began ordaining women as ministers, in 1976. 

Russell noted ordination of women was, at the time, "outside of our historic tradition" and "just as we continue to 
experience diversity in the role of women, we will also experience diversity for gays and lesbians."

Canada high court refuses marriage appeal
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
by Ann Rostow
Oct. 9, 2003

 

The Canadian Supreme Court wasted no time in dismissing an effort to reopen the Ontario marriage case that legalized same-sex marriage in the province last June. 

Two conservative groups asked the Court last Monday to allow them to intervene in the case and appeal the pro-gay ruling to the Supreme Court. On Thursday, the panel unanimously rejected the effort to gain standing, issuing a terse two-line Order of Motion under the signatures of all five justices. 

"The motions to quash the leave applications are granted. The motions to be added as parties are dismissed." 

The Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario, and the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and the Family had tried to convince the high court that the question of same-sex marriage was of such profound importance that the justices should take the rare step of letting third parties appeal the decision. Either the government of Ontario or the Canadian federal government could have appealed the June 10 ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeals within 30 days of the decision. But neither party wished to challenge the decision, and within a week the federal government announced plans to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country. 

A same-sex marriage bill has since been drafted by the governing Liberal Party, and awaits a vote in a divided Parliament, as well as advisory constitutional review by the Supreme Court next spring. 

Meanwhile, the province of British Columbia has also legalized same-sex marriage. The two provinces where marriage is now legal are home to half the Canadian population. 

Gay activists at Equal Marriage Canada hailed the ruling on their Web site. 

"The groups were not even a direct party in the lower courts, but they somehow hoped to increase their status at the Supreme Court of Canada where they served their foul brew of poison on Oct. 6," the activists wrote. "The court swallowed none of it." Equal Marriage described the petitioners as "misguided meddlers and bigots, a gang of religious and secular extremists." 

 

Episcopal conservatives turn to details of possible split
CNN.COM
Oct. 8, 2003

 

DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- Emboldened by an opening day of prayer, singing and inspiring words, an insurgent conservative 
movement within the Episcopal Church next tackles the nuts and bolts of a possible split with the denomination. 

Nearly 2,700 conservatives from across the country began a three-day meeting Tuesday with the goal of shaping plans for Episcopalians who oppose the church's increasing acceptance of gay relationships. Among those in attendance are 46 of the denomination's 300 bishops. 

One panel Wednesday was expected to brief participants on the practical details a split would entail for such issues as 
church law, clergy pensions and property rights. 

"The idea of a split is very devastating," said Christopher Culpepper, 33, a seminary student from Nashotah, Wis. "But I think it would be very difficult to remain in communion with the Episcopal Church." 

At its national convention in Minneapolis this summer, the church confirmed the election of a gay bishop living with his partner and voted to recognize that its bishops are allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. 

The Rev. Rick Kramer, one of about 800 priests attending the Dallas meeting, said he came in hopes of "taking back the church," even if that means severing ties with the denomination. 

That's a prevailing message at the meeting, as conservatives claim the church's liberal wing has abandoned a message of repentance and forgiveness for an anything-goes brand of religion. 

"It is the gospel of affirmation rather than the gospel of salvation," said the Rev. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the Diocese of South Carolina. "We have moved from sinners in the hands of God to clients in the palm of a satisfied therapist." 

Some Episcopalians who support the Minneapolis decisions are operating a hospitality suite at the hotel where the meeting is being held. 

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, a caucus for 2,500 Episcopalians who support gay and lesbian rights in the church, said the meeting "represents a tiny but vocal minority." 

"The schism is infinitely avoidable," she said, "but if it happens it will be minor. The church is smarter than that and 
stronger than that." 

A draft version of a declaration the meeting will issue at its conclusion Thursday commits participants to withholding money from the national church and dioceses that support the Minneapolis decisions. 

It also calls on the archbishop of Canterbury and the 37 other leading bishops in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch, to create an undefined "new alignment for Anglicanism in North America." 

Those 38 leaders will hold an emergency meeting in London next week to debate what to do about the possible Episcopal split and disagreement in the Anglican Church of Canada over gay relationships. 

Many U.S. conservatives want their wing of the Episcopal Church to be declared the nation's only authentic branch of 
Anglicanism, in effect suspending or expelling the rest of the denomination. 

The proposed statement also would ask the world leaders to authorize surrogate bishops for conservative congregations even if the resident bishop opposes such intervention. 

 

Wyo. More Tolerant on Shepard Anniversary
Associated Press
by Robert W. Black, Associated Press Writer
Oct. 7, 2003

 

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Five years ago Tuesday, an openly gay college freshman named Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten into a coma. 

His death five days later left Peter Moran shaken about the community of 27,000 where he grew up. 

"It was the worst possible thing you could hear about your hometown," Moran recalled. "Laramie, Wyo., is a nicer town than this," he remembered telling his wife. 

Today, Laramie seems to be more tolerant and understanding of gays. There are seminars on homosexual issues, diversity workshops and an annual walk to raise money for AIDS (news - web sites)/HIV (news - web sites) organizations. 

"In Laramie and throughout the country, it's all gotten better," said Travis, a University of Wyoming senior and executive board member of Spectrum, the campus gay and lesbian group. Travis asked that his last name not be used because he doesn't want his parents to know he is gay. 

Gay Awareness Week has turned into Gay Awareness Month, and the university is supporting the Rainbow Resource Center, where gay students can hang out. 

Credited with creating the more open atmosphere is university President Philip Dubois. 

"I wasn't one of the people ... looking to find in Matthew's murder some explanation in the hearts and minds of our 
community," Dubois said. 

"Having said that, I think one has to acknowledge that anti-gay attitudes live everywhere among some people, and I think we've done a reasonably good job here of keeping the dialogue about social justice alive." 

Shepard was attacked by two men he met in a bar. They talked him into their pickup truck and drove him to a sheep ranch, where they tied him with clothesline to a log fence. Using their fists and the butt of a pistol, the assailants struck Shepard at least 18 times, then robbed him of $20 and his shoes, so he couldn't walk back to town. 

Condemnation of the crime came from around the world. Candlelight vigils were held. Debates ensued over treatment of gays, and measures were passed adding sexual orientation to anti-discrimination laws. 

The attackers were caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 

In the days and weeks after the attack, Laramie was unfairly portrayed, said Moran, an assistant education professor at the university. He believes the Shepard murder received more attention perhaps because it occurred in a rural area. 

"The images that I can conjure up ¡X the fence, the mountain vista beyond ¡X it's not the same as a dirty alley in Chicago," Moran said. "You can still see those images plain as day." 

Dee Swanson rejected what she felt were unfair stereotypes about her hometown. 

"We're more than just a rural community, which we're portrayed as," said Swanson. "We accept people. ... We're tolerant. The people are more verbal now about being tolerant." 

Dan May, a graduate student from Casper ¡X Shepard's hometown ¡X said with Wyoming's small population of (499,000), "you don't get a lot of diversity, so in that sense it made it clear to the people of Wyoming we have diversity, and it's something we need to talk about more." 

Some people, though, still haven't gotten the message, said construction worker Kevin Young. 

"People still joke about it," Young said of Shepard's death. "I have heard people make bad comments about it. They're 
already that way and it's going to be hard to break them from it." 

 

Wyo. Community Marks Shepard Anniversary
New York Times
October 7, 2003

 

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) -- Five years ago Tuesday, a gay college freshman named Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten into a coma.

His death five days later left Peter Moran shaken about the community of 27,000 where he grew up.

"It was the worst possible thing you could hear about your hometown," Moran recalled. "Laramie, Wyo., is a nicer town than this," he remembered telling his wife.

Today, Laramie seems to be more tolerant and understanding of gays. There are seminars on homosexual issues, diversity workshops and an annual walk to raise money for AIDS/HIV organizations.

"In Laramie and throughout the country, it's all gotten better," said Travis, a University of Wyoming senior and executive board member of Spectrum, the campus gay and lesbian group. Travis asked that his last name not be used because he doesn't want his parents to know he is gay.

Gay Awareness Week has turned into Gay Awareness Month, and the university is supporting the Rainbow Resource Center, where gay students can hang out.

Credited with creating the more open atmosphere is university President Philip Dubois.

"I wasn't one of the people...looking to find in Matthew's murder some explanation in the hearts and minds of our 
community," Dubois said.

"Having said that, I think one has to acknowledge that anti-gay attitudes live everywhere among some people, and I think we've done a reasonably good job here of keeping the dialogue about social justice alive."

Shepard was attacked by two men he met in a bar. They talked him into their pickup truck and drove him to a sheep ranch, where they tied him with clothesline to a log fence. Using their fists and the butt of a pistol, the assailants struck 
Shepard at least 18 times, then robbed him of $20 and his shoes, so he couldn't walk back to town.

Condemnation of the crime came from around the world. Candlelight vigils were held. Debates ensued over treatment of gays, and measures were passed adding sexual orientation to anti-discrimination laws.

The attackers were caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

In the days and weeks after the attack, Laramie was unfairly portrayed, said Moran, an assistant education professor at the university. He believes the Shepard murder received more attention perhaps because it occurred in a rural area.

"The images that I can conjure up--the fence, the mountain vista beyond--it's not the same as a dirty alley in Chicago,'' Moran said. "You can still see those images plain as day."

Dee Swanson rejected what she felt were unfair stereotypes about her hometown.

"We're more than just a rural community, which we're portrayed as," said Swanson. "We accept people...We're tolerant. The people are more verbal now about being tolerant."

Dan May, a graduate student from Casper--Shepard's hometown--said with Wyoming's small population of (499,000), "you don't get a lot of diversity, so in that sense it made it clear to the people of Wyoming we have diversity, and it's something we need to talk about more."

Some people, though, still haven't gotten the message, said construction worker Kevin Young.

"People still joke about it," Young said of Shepard's death. "I have heard people make bad comments about it. They're 
already that way and it's going to be hard to break them from it."

On beating anniversary, town more tolerant of gays
CNN.COM
October 7, 2003

 

A cross made of stones was placed in October 1999 below the fence in Laramie, Wyoming, where Shepard was tied and beaten. 

LARAMIE, Wyoming (AP) -- Five years ago Tuesday, an openly gay college freshman named Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten into a coma. 

His death five days later left Peter Moran shaken about the community of 27,000 where he grew up. 

"It was the worst possible thing you could hear about your hometown," Moran recalled. "Laramie, Wyoming, is a nicer town than this," he remembered telling his wife. 

Today, Laramie seems to be more tolerant and understanding of gays. There are seminars on homosexual issues, diversity workshops and an annual walk to raise money for AIDS/HIV organizations. 

"In Laramie and throughout the country, it's all gotten better," said Travis, a University of Wyoming senior and executive board member of Spectrum, the campus gay and lesbian group. Travis asked that his last name not be used because he doesn't want his parents to know he is gay. 

Gay Awareness Week has turned into Gay Awareness Month, and the university is supporting the Rainbow Resource Center, where gay students can hang out. 

Credited with creating the more open atmosphere is university President Philip Dubois. 

"I wasn't one of the people ... looking to find in Matthew's murder some explanation in the hearts and minds of our 
community," Dubois said. 

"Having said that, I think one has to acknowledge that anti-gay attitudes live everywhere among some people, and I think we've done a reasonably good job here of keeping the dialogue about social justice alive." 

Shepard was attacked by two men he met in a bar. They talked him into their pickup truck and drove him to a sheep ranch, where they tied him with clothesline to a log fence. Using their fists and the butt of a pistol, the assailants struck Shepard at least 18 times, then robbed him of $20 and his shoes, so he couldn't walk back to town. 

Condemnation of the crime came from around the world. Candlelight vigils were held. Debates ensued over treatment of gays, and measures were passed adding sexual orientation to anti-discrimination laws. 

The attackers were caught, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 

In the days and weeks after the attack, Laramie was unfairly portrayed, said Moran, an assistant education professor at the university. He believes the Shepard murder received more attention perhaps because it occurred in a rural area. 

"The images that I can conjure up -- the fence, the mountain vista beyond -- it's not the same as a dirty alley in Chicago," Moran said. "You can still see those images plain as day." 

Dee Swanson rejected what she felt were unfair stereotypes about her hometown. 

"We're more than just a rural community, which we're portrayed as," said Swanson. "We accept people. ... We're tolerant. The people are more verbal now about being tolerant." 

Dan May, a graduate student from Casper -- Shepard's hometown -- said with Wyoming's small population of (499,000), "you don't get a lot of diversity, so in that sense it made it clear to the people of Wyoming we have diversity, and it's 
something we need to talk about more." 

Some people, though, still haven't gotten the message, said construction worker Kevin Young. 

"People still joke about it," Young said of Shepard's death. "I have heard people make bad comments about it. They're 
already that way and it's going to be hard to break them from it." 

 

Conservative Episcopalians Meet on Gays
New York Times
Oct. 7, 2003

DALLAS (AP) -- An insurgent conservative movement that could split the Episcopal Church opened a national rally Tuesday with 
prayers, heartfelt singing and sobering messages about a break with liberals.

The meeting's goal is to shape plans for Episcopalians who oppose their denomination's increasing acceptance of gay 
relationships. At its national convention this summer, the church confirmed the election of a gay bishop living with his 
partner and voted to recognize that bishops are allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.

"Our church has embraced schism and heresy,'' Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh told the 2,674 participants at the 
meeting, including 799 priests and 46 of the denomination's 300 bishops.

Duncan, who mentioned the temporary split the church went through during the Civil War, was just one of several speakers who delivered emotional speeches to the gathering.

The Rev. David Roseberry of Christ Church in suburban Plano said "people are confused and hurt and angry and concerned and grieved.''

Canon David C. Anderson, president of the sponsoring American Anglican Council, said his movement welcomes people of all sexual orientations "gay and straight and ex-gay people who are committed to a biblically moral life,'' implying that homosexuals are expected to be celibate.

A draft version of a declaration the meeting will issue at its conclusion Thursday says the Episcopal Church is ``under 
God's judgment,'' and commits participants to withholding money from the national church and dioceses that support the Minneapolis decisions.

It also calls on the archbishop of Canterbury and the 37 other leading bishops in the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. Branch, to create an undefined ``new alignment for Anglicanism in North America.''

Those 38 leaders will hold an emergency meeting in London next week to debate what to do about the brewing Episcopal split and a parallel spat in the Anglican Church of Canada over gay relationships.

Many U.S. conservatives want their wing of the Episcopal Church to be declared the nation's only authentic branch of 
Anglicanism, in effect suspending or expelling the rest of the denomination.

``I think a line has been drawn in the sand,'' said Sharon Sproles, a 57-year-old lay person from Daleville, Va. ``I don't 
think we can go back now.''

Tim Bollinger, a 59-year-old lay person from Granite Bay, Calif., said the church was probably beyond repair.

"I think there's already a split,'' he said. "It's not an official split, but there's already people going in different 
directions.''

The proposed statement also would ask the world leaders to authorize conservative bishops to provide pastoral care in liberal dioceses -- in other words, to act as surrogate bishops for conservative congregations -- even if the resident 
bishop opposes such intervention.

Duncan's talk reflected the AAC's view that since the U.S. conservatives are loyal to Anglican beliefs, and it is the 
Episcopal Church majority that has broken away into schism.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the Episcopal Church, tried to send four observers to the meeting but they were turned away. Bruce Mason, a council spokesman, said observers were not allowed at the meeting and registration was limited to those who signed the organization's statement of faith, called ``A Place to Stand.''

Some Episcopalians who support the Minneapolis decisions are still present, operating a hospitality suite at the same hotel where the convention is being held.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, a caucus for 2,500 Episcopalians who support gay and lesbian rights in the church, said the meeting "represents a tiny but vocal minority.''

"The schism is infinitely avoidable,'' she said, "but if it happens it will be minor. The church is smarter than that and stronger than that.''

The AAC has a mailing list of 50,000 and claims to represent the majority opinion among Anglicans worldwide, though they acknowledge being a minority among U.S. Episcopalians.

Anglican council leaders plan a second meeting sometime after the London gathering and the installation of the openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, set for Nov. 2.
------
On the Net:
American Anglican Council: http://www.americananglican.org
Episcopal Church (official): http://www.episcopalchurch.org

Supreme Court sessions starts with protest
CNN.COM
Oct. 6, 2003

 

Demonstrators gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington in support of the Ten Commandments monument ordered removed from an Alabama courthouse.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Religious demonstrators erected a tall wooden cross in front of the Supreme Court before the start of the court's new term Monday, to protest past rulings against school prayer and in favor of abortion rights and sexual freedom. 

Demonstrators also set up six wooden caskets labeled with the names of past Supreme Court rulings such as Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling allowing for legal abortion nationwide, and the ruling last June in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down laws criminalizing gay sex. 

The rally also was meant to show support for display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings such as courthouses. 

About 200 demonstrators prayed and waved signs, including one that read, "Without God's Law We Have a Lawless America." A man dressed as Moses, in a rough tunic, held tablets meant to depict the Ten Commandments. 

'Shameless Indecency' Being Changed
United Press International
Oct. 6, 2003

 

Seventy-five new sexual offenses are being considered by the Law Commission in Scotland. The new code, including 12 new gender neutral sexual offenses, will sweep away a system based on old laws and judgments -- many that came under the heading of "shameless indecency" for sexual crimes between men, reports the Web site Scotsman.com. Rape against men is recognized in England and Wales, but in Scotland the offence is covered by the charge of "sodomy without consent," which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years. "Criminal law should have no distinctions based on sex or gender," says Professor Chris Gane, of Aberdeen University. "Male rape is as serious a crime as the rape of a woman."

 

Schwarzenegger stance on gays disputed
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
By Christopher Curtis
October 6, 2003

 

One day before California's recall election, a statewide GLBT advocacy organization warned about Arnold Schwarzenegger's perceived support for domestic partnerships. 

The warning stems from a San Francisco Chronicle report on Sunday that took a comparative look at how the candidates for governor stand on various issues. Under the heading "New law providing legal rights for same-sex couples," the paper noted Schwarzenegger "would not have signed the legislation, but has expressed support for domestic partnerships." 

On Monday, Equality California responded with a statement: "This recent revelation lends encouragement to right-wing extremists who are seeking to overturn the civil rights law both in court and at the ballot. Schwarzenegger has not responded to repeated requests by Equality California to publicly state his position on the proposed ballot referendum that would prevent the law from being enacted." 

The law at the center of this controversy is formally known as the California Domestic Partner Rights & Responsibilities Act, or AB 205. The bill, which Gov. Davis signed into law in September, expands rights for registered same-sex couples in areas ranging from health coverage to property ownership and funeral arrangements. It becomes effective Jan. 1, 2005. 

"We've been concerned from day one that Schwarzenegger hasn't mentioned specifics about gay rights," Geoffrey Kors, the executive director of Equality California told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. "The case for supporting Schwarzenegger has been that he's been for equality for our community, and now we know that's not true." 

The Gay.com/PlanetOut.comNetwork tried repeatedly to get comment from Schwarzenegger's office but was unsuccessful. According to an office assistant who would not be named, the campaign office simply could not return calls by deadline. 

Jeff Bissiri, chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of California, believes the GLBT community hasn't given Schwarzenegger a chance. "Have you looked at his Web site and his stance on gay rights? Here we have a candidate who clearly supports gay issues." 

California's Log Cabin group has endorsed Schwarzenegger for governor. 

Bissiri also disputed the San Francisco Chronicle's claim on Schwarzenegger's position. "I haven't read that in any other 
paper," he said. 

But the Chronicle stands by its report. Paul Feist, the California capitol editor for the newspaper, said via e-mail: "The statement in the issues chart came from the Schwarzenegger campaign and from a statement he made on the Sean Hannity (TV) show. Schwarzenegger told Hannity that he supports domestic partnerships. We contacted the campaign last week to see if he would have signed the Jackie Goldberg bill (AB 205), and a spokesman said he would not have signed it." 

According to Arnold Schwarzenegger's official Web site, joinarnold.com, the Republican candidate says "I am for equal rights for all." While Schwarzenegger says he is against gay marriage, the site quotes him as saying, "I do believe that gay 
couples are entitled to full protection under the law and should not be discriminated against based on their relationship." 

In related news, eBay has shut down an auction for a "Schwarzenegger shrine" that included a postcard of Schwarzenegger's torso that was photographed and signed by the late Robert Mapplethorpe. The controversial photographer used the postcard to invite friends to a "Hot Dirty Man" party in New York in 1979. 

Artist Jack Fritscher, one of Mapplethorpe's former lovers, started selling the items in September in the hopes of 
addressing Schwarzenegger's views on gay rights, among other things. 

According to the Associated Press, eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the listing might have been better suited to eBay's "Mature Audiences" division than the general store. 

On Tenth Anniversary of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' President Clinton Says 'No Evidence to Support Ban on Gays in Military'
U.S. Newswire Press Releases
Oct. 6, 2003

To: National Desk 

Contact: Steve Ralls of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, 202-328-3244 ext. 116 or sralls@sldn.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In his strongest denunciation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to date, former President Bill Clinton says that "Simply put, there is no evidence to support a ban on gays in the military." The written statement was made to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) in conjunction with the organization's End the Witch Hunts national dinner on Saturday. President Clinton also says that "discrimination is unfair, and it unfairly restricts the talent pool available to the military -- and that diminishes our security." He also states that "If you can serve as a police officer, an FBI agent, or a Member of Congress, there is no reason why you cannot serve as a soldier, sailor, airman or marine."

President Clinton signed the military's gay ban, known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," into law on Nov. 30, 1993. Adoption of the law followed a campaign promise to lift the previous ban and allow lesbian and gay Americans to serve openly. Since the current law went into effect, almost ten thousand service members have been discharged on the basis of sexual orientation.

Since then, Clinton says, "Our nation as a whole has moved significantly ... toward recognizing the full citizenship of gay Americans." He also urges Americans to "keep striving for the time when serving in our military is an honor open to everyone regardless of sexual orientation."

The former president also points to the experiences of foreign allies who have lifted their bans without incident. "We 
should learn, too, from some of our most effective military allies, like Great Britain and Israel," he says. "Great Britain 
lifted its ban on gays after our debate in 1993, and over the past year, I did not see any of the critics of gays in the 
military here in America asking the British to stay out of Afghanistan or Iraq."

SLDN Executive Director C. Dixon Osburn welcomed Clinton's remarks. "President Clinton, along with the overwhelming majority of Americans, recognizes that the service of lesbian and gay Americans is in our nation's best interest," Osburn said. " Military leaders, elected officials and now a former Commander-in-Chief have all questioned the rationale behind 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Congress should heed their calls and repeal this law now. A decade of federally sanctioned discrimination is a decade too long."

President Clinton's complete remarks are available online at http://www.sldn.org.

Canada Religious Groups Seek Gay Marriage Challenge
Yahoo News Canada
By Randall Palmer
Oct. 6, 2003

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian religious groups took the unusual step on Monday of asking the Supreme Court to allow them to challenge a lower court ruling which overthrew the definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman. 

They argued that the federal government had abdicated its role by not appealing the Ontario court decision, and that 
redefining marriage had ramifications far beyond the original seven homosexual couples who brought the original case. 

"The redefinition of marriage is for every Canadian," Peter Jervis told the court on behalf of a Christian-Muslim coalition. "This is, in my respectful submission, the most pressing constitutional issue that people across this country are asking right now." 

The case was another battle in a long-running war over gay unions, which broke onto the forefront on June 10 when the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered that same-sex marriage be allowed in the province. The federal government said it would not appeal the decision. 

The issue has divided both Canadian public opinion and the Canadian Parliament, and it promises to feature in a federal election expected to be called next spring. 

The federal government has said it was clear the courts wanted to allow for same-sex marriage. But the religious groups wanted to hear this from the Supreme Court itself rather than letting lower courts force such a change. 

The couples who had sought permission to marry and the Metropolitan Community Church which married them joined the federal government in opposing the right to appeal their case. 

Douglas Elliott, representing that church, drew on the analogy of hockey, which has three periods. 

"Just because you are the loudest fan and wear the team sweater does not give you the right to take the ice and force the game to continue after the referees have determined the score and both teams have left the rink," he said. 

This brought the rejoinder from David Brown, representing the Association for Marriage and the Family: "The association is simply asking for there to be a third period in the game." 

Following the Ontario court decision, the appeal court in British Columbia extended gay marriage rights to that province and the federal government drafted legislation which would extend them to the entire country. 

The government has separately asked the Supreme Court for its opinion on its draft bill, including whether it would be constitutional to allow gay marriage. 

But the religious groups want an answer on whether the constitution requires, rather than allows for, gay marriage. 

"They specifically sidestepped the issue," Brown said of the federal authorities. 

The court's answer on Monday's case was expected to be delivered well before the court answers federal governments questions, sometime next spring. 

 

Bush backs right-wing marriage agenda
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
By Patrick Letellier
October 6, 2003

 

To the alarm of many gay rights advocates, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation on Friday endorsing the "Marriage Protection Week," to be held Oct. 12-18. 

Defining marriage as "a union between a man and a woman," the proclamation calls on "all Americans to join (Bush) in 
expressing support for the institution of marriage with all its benefits to our people, our culture and our society." 

"Marriage is a sacred institution," the proclamation states, "and its protection is essential to the continued strength of 
our society." Though the campaign clearly excludes same-sex marriages from "protection," it ends with an admonition for Americans to "continue our work to create a compassionate, welcoming society, where all people are treated with dignity and respect." 

Marriage Protection Week is being organized by 21 right-wing, conservative organizations including the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the Southern Baptist Convention. The groups are planning a weeklong blitzkrieg of media events denouncing same-sex marriage and promoting "traditional marriage between a man and a woman" as "the God-ordained bedrock of society," according to the campaign's Web site. 

The organizations' goals are explicit: to outlaw gay marriage and prohibit any legal recognition of same-sex relationships, including civil unions and domestic partnerships. 

Gay leaders condemned Bush and the proclamation, and voiced grave concern for the security of gay rights nationwide. Matt Foreman, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network the escalating attack on gay marriage is a "profoundly frightening frontal assault." 

"We are shocked, appalled and immensely saddened that the president officially sanctioned this vindictive campaign to vilify gay people and our families," Foreman said. 

"We have a group of incredibly wealthy, politically connected and organized institutions lining up against our movement and our community -- it's terrifying," he said. "We need to understand that this attack is directed at each of us personally," Foreman said. 

Kate Kendell, director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network, "It's the height of irony that this president, presiding over the most immoral and criminal administration in my lifetime, has the audacity to call us immoral simply because we wish to form loving relationships and have the protection of law when we do so." 

"I don't consider myself particularly hyperbolic," Kendell said, "but what the Bush administration has done -- not just with gay marriage but all around the world -- is just so beyond the pale of what any of us imagined would happen." 

"It's scary," Kendell said, "especially when I look at my kids." 

Joan M. Garry, director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, was no less pointed. "President Bush has just endorsed an organized agenda of bigotry, discrimination, exclusion and intolerance," she said in a prepared statement. "It's critically important that the media ask the Bush administration and its supporters to defend their association with professional homophobes who seek to target, undermine and destroy American families," she said. 

Kendell and Foreman both believe that Bush is using gay marriage as a wedge issue to divide the American public and drum up conservative support for his 2004 re-election campaign. 

"And all the signs are that the world is going to become even more perilous for us under Bush's leadership," Kendell said. 

Conservative Episcopals meet to chart own course
CNN.COM
October 5, 2003

 

SAN DIEGO, California (Reuters) -- Conservative U.S. Episcopal leaders head to Dallas this week for a meeting that could split the 77-million member worldwide Anglican Communion -- churches spiritually tied to the Church of England -- over the American church's acceptance of gay rights. 

Members of the American Anglican Council -- an alliance of bishops, clergy, and more than 400 American Episcopal churches committed to "preserving biblical orthodoxy" -- will gather Tuesday through Thursday to map out a plan to disassociate themselves from the 2.3 million member Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA). 

The group also plans to draft an emergency appeal to international Anglican church leaders, known as primates, to discipline the American church. 

In August the Episcopal Church voted at its convention in Minneapolis to approve as bishop-elect of New Hampshire the Rev. Gene Robinson, a 56-year-old gay priest who is divorced and the father of two grown daughters. 

The convention also approved a resolution acknowledging that gay union ceremonies are being conducted throughout the United States with the approval of some bishops. 

Conservatives believe that homosexuality is uniformly condemned in the Bible and therefore the Episcopal Church in its votes abandoned 2000 years of Christian tradition. 

"What people need to understand is that we haven't gone anywhere, but the Episcopal Church has left us, they have left the apostolic faith, and they have left the Anglican communion,"said the Rev. Kendall Harmon of South Carolina, an AAC member and conservative leader at the August convention. 

Liberal Episcopalians believe the Bible is not to be taken literally, said the Rev. Susan Russell, who heads two groups 
working to fully include gays and lesbians in the Church. 

"Our tradition tells us that our understanding of God's revelation has indeed changed on a number of issues over the years. There was a time when biblical passages were used to (approve of) slavery and the oppression of women," she said. 

 

Threat to sever ties 

Following the American vote several of the world's 38 international primates -- mostly from Africa, Asia, the Carribbean and South America -- threatened to sever ties with the American church and threw their support behind the AAC. 

The primates have been called to London for an emergency meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams on October 15 and 16 to discuss the issue. 

Williams, who serves as the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, predicted after the convention, "Difficult days lie ahead for the Anglican Church. It is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response." 

Williams has no direct power to impose sanctions on the Episcopal Church, control its finances, or reverse its decisions. He does, however, ultimately choose which Anglican churches are in communion with him. He can also ban the American Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold from meetings and committees, experts said. 

Robinson, who is scheduled to be consecrated as New Hampshire's bishop in early November, has rejected calls from 
conservatives that he withdraw from consideration to prevent a breakup of the church, as a gay clergyman, the Rev. Jeffrey Johns, did recently in England. 

Griswold voted in favor of Robinson's consecration and has said publicly that he does not believe the Bible uniformly 
condemns homosexual behavior. In a letter to primates issued Friday, Griswold said he believed the controversial vote related to same-sex unions "simply recognizes the reality of a variety of local pastoral practices, without either endorsing or condemning" them. 

Pope warns UK leader on gay rift
CNN.COM
October 4, 2003

Sexual Accusations Prompt an Apology by Schwarzenegger
New York Times
By Charlie LeDuff and Dean E. Murphy
October 3, 2003

 

AN DIEGO, Oct. 2 - Faced with new accusations of sexual misconduct, Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged on Thursday that" wherever there is smoke there is fire" and apologized for having "behaved badly sometimes" toward women.

Mr. Schwarzenegger, who has been surging in the polls in California's recall election, issued the apology here at the 
beginning of a statewide bus tour. The six-bus tour, with international news crews in tow, is part of the actor's final push to replace Gov. Gray Davis.

Mr. Schwarzenegger made his apology first thing on what swiftly turned into the most tumultuous day of his brief campaign. In the afternoon he was facing questions about a 1997 book proposal that quoted him saying in 1975 that he had admired Hitler. In an interview, he said he didn't remember the comment and said he despised "anything that Hitler stands for." 

His statements on Thursday were the first during the extraordinary recall campaign in which Mr. Schwarzenegger expressed remorse for sexual indiscretions, having previously played down accusations of groping and mistreatment of women as exaggerations, mistruths or provocations.

"Yes, it is true that I was on rowdy movie sets," the actor and former bodybuilder said, "and I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful. But now I recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended I want to say to them, I am deeply sorry about that and I apologize because this is not what I'm trying to do."

The announcement came in response to a front-page article in The Los Angeles Times on Thursday about six women who said they were the victims of unwanted sexual advances by Mr. Schwarzenegger when they came into contact with him on movie sets, in studio offices or at a gymnasium, among other places. 

Mr. Schwarzenegger's attitude toward women has been an issue since the start of his campaign. But the new accusations, and Mr. Schwarzenegger's reply, set off a maelstrom of protest from his critics, including women's groups, Democrats and Arianna Huffington, who dropped out of the race this week but had repeatedly clashed with Mr. Schwarzenegger during a debate last week.

"I consider his campaign a very expensively produced masquerade," Ms. Huffington, who was running as an independent, said, "the question is will the mask be removed before the election or after. I believe what this story is going to do is really bring to question this big issue of trust and credibility. If his word and image are consistently proven to be false, he doesn't have a leg to stand on."

The Los Angeles Times reported that three of the women said Mr. Schwarzenegger had grabbed their breasts. Another said he reached under her skirt. A fifth said he tried to strip off her bikini in a hotel elevator. The sixth said Mr. Schwarzenegger pulled her to his lap and asked if she was experienced in a particular sexual act. The accusations covered a 25-year period, ending in 2000.

Though some of the accusations had been published elsewhere, including in an article in Premiere magazine in 2001, the Los Angeles Times account included fresh details and named two of the women. 

In apologizing on Thursday, Mr. Schwarzenegger denounced the Los Angeles Times article as "trash politics" and did not admit to any of the specific accusations made by the women. "A lot of those that you see in the stories is not true, but at the same time I have to tell you that I always say that wherever there is smoke there is fire," he said. "That is true." 

Until now, accusations of sexual misconduct involving Mr. Schwarzenegger have held little sway with voters. But the issue has shadowed the campaign since Day 1. In announcing his candidacy on Aug. 6 on television on "The Tonight Show," Mr. Schwarzenegger was the first to raise the subject. 

"I know they're going to throw everything at me, and they're going to, you know, say that I have no experience and that I'm a womanizer and that I'm a terrible, terrible guy," Mr. Schwarzenegger said then. 

In August, when stories began to surface about an interview he had given in 1977 to Oui magazine, in which he bragged about group sex and talked about the benefits of drugs and sex before bodybuilding competitions, Mr. Schwarzenegger seemed to have been caught off-guard. He changed his explanation over the course of two days.

When first asked about the interview on a talk radio show in Sacramento, Mr. Schwarzenegger chuckled and said he "never lived my life to be a politician." 

He added: "Obviously, I've made statements that were ludicrous and crazy and outrageous and all those things, because that's the way I always was." The next day at a news conference, he backtracked. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said. "I have no memory of any of the articles I did 20 or 30 years ago." Later, he said he made up the episodes to promote a documentary about himself and to advance his sport. 

"There were only a few hundred gymnasiums in America at the time when I came over here," Mr. Schwarzenegger said on "Hardball With Chris Matthews" on MSNBC on Sept. 3. "Now there are hundreds of thousands. So we were very successful with our campaign to promote bodybuilding, to promote fitness, the health industry and all of that."

The decision to apologize was a calculated move by Mr. Schwarzenegger's campaign to prevent the latest accusations from derailing the campaign on the last weekend of the recall race, aides said. Recent polls have shown Mr. Schwarzenegger emerging as the favorite in the election on Tuesday and picking up support among women.

But even as Mr. Schwarzenegger apologized, some of his aides and allies took a different tack, denouncing the Los Angeles Times story and questioning the credibility of the women interviewed.

"I think the behavior of the L.A. Times has been unbecoming of a newspaper," Representative Darrell Issa, the Republican from California who bankrolled the recall signature gathering, said in a radio interview from the Schwarzenegger bus convoy. "They have used dozens of reporters to constantly find new and creative ways to be disingenuous about the recall and anyone who stood up for it." 

Democrats and women's group seized the issue, holding news conferences and declaring Mr. Schwarzenegger unfit to govern. And as Mr. Schwarzenegger's convoy rolled from San Diego to Costa Mesa to San Bernardino to Los Angeles, protesters stole some of his thunder. 

At one stop, Gail Escobar, a waitress in Santa Monica, accused Mr. Schwarzenegger of threatening to rape her 25 years ago. It was impossible to verify the accusation by Ms. Escobar, who was joined by a representative of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., which supports Mr. Davis. Nonetheless, the woman was mobbed by reporters. 

Mr. Schwarzenegger was not without defenders. Some yelled, "Lesbian!" Still others hollered, "Liar, liar."

Mr. Schwarzenegger tried to stay above the fray, focusing on a hemorrhaging budget, jobs leaving the state and a burdensome automobile tax. In one campaign stunt in Costa Mesa, Mr. Schwarzenegger dropped a wrecking ball on an automobile in protest of a 200 percent increase in the vehicle license fee.

With nearly 200 reporters traveling with Mr. Schwarzenegger and two unsanctioned busloads of lesser candidates hounding him, his staff tried to tamp down a story that was being carried live to an audience well beyond California.

"Some of the things in the article are not true," said Todd Harris, a spokesman for Mr. Schwarzenegger. "Some are and he's apologized for that. He's addressed it directly and we're going to move on."

Mr. Harris and other Republicans said they were curious about the timing of the article, criticizing Mr. Davis but stopping short of linking him to it. The Los Angeles Times said none of the women had been identified by Mr. Schwarzenegger's campaign rivals, and Davis campaign officials denied any involvement.

Repeal effort begins for gay partners law
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
By Ann Rostow
October 3, 2003

 

California's landmark domestic partner law is under attack yet again, this time by a repeal initiative that was cleared for the petition process by the secretary of state's office on Thursday. 

The authors of the initiative, state Sen. William "Pete" Knight, R-Palmdale, and Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murietta, have until Dec. 21 to collect 373,816 valid signatures in order to qualify the measure for the March primary next year. 

Signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis on Sept. 19, the domestic partner bill expanded the benefits of the state domestic partner registry to include nearly all the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage. The law was immediately targeted by two lawsuits, both of which claim that its provisions violate the state law against recognition of same-sex marriage, which was passed by voters in March of 2000. 

Sen. Knight initiated one of the suits on Sept. 22, while the second was filed by the Campaign for California Families. The bill's author, Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg of Los Angeles, has said that the domestic partner language was reviewed by attorneys during the legislative process to make sure that it did not conflict with state law. 

Pete Knight is arguably the state's leading opponent of same-sex marriage. After repeatedly failing to prohibit marriage recognition in the Legislature, Knight rounded up enough signatures to place a marriage ban on the ballot four years ago. Proponents of the "Knight Initiative," or "Prop 22," claimed at the time that they had no problem with domestic partner rights or other same-sex ties, insisting that their one goal was to "preserve the traditional definition of marriage." The campaign language was successful, winning the election by a 61-39 margin. 

But given Knight's twin assaults on the domestic partner registry, it's clear that the former test pilot wants to preserve 
not just the traditional definition of marriage but the traditional lack of civil rights granted to same-sex couples as 
well. The intensity of Knight's anti-gay zeal is also noteworthy, given that his brother died of AIDS, and his son is openly gay. 

"I believe," said Knight's son David during the Prop 22 debate, "that (my father's) is a blind, uncaring, uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to a subject about which he knows nothing and wants to know nothing, but which serves his political career. ... He has never discussed my homosexuality with me, and I know that he never discussed the issue with his gay brother." 

In a press release, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, speculated that Knight may hope to gain momentum from another repeal effort -- the attempt to roll back the new law that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses. Both measures are targeted for the March 2004 election. Koretz described the seemingly endless parade of recalls, repeals and referendums as part of a GOP-led phenomenon that has created "a political culture so partisan that our state may become ungovernable." 

U.K. study: Sexuality is set before birth
Gay.com U.K.
Oct. 3, 2003

 

A new U.K.-based study claims to prove that sexual orientation is decided before birth, being "hard-wired" into the human brain along with other key traits. 

The report, a combination of work between the University of East London (UEL) and the Institute of Psychiatry, investigates sex differences in the startle response -- the eye-blink reaction to sudden loud noises. 

The researchers announced on Friday in a press release that there may be a notable difference between homosexual and heterosexual subjects in terms of their brain circuitry. Since being startled is an involuntary reaction, rather than a product of environmental conditioning, researchers claim it is a strong indication that sexual orientation is determined before birth. 

The research involved a technique known as prepulse inhibition (PPI), which measures the strength of response to loud noises. 

Results showed clear differences between the groups, with lesbians showing a markedly stronger inhibition (a PPI of 33 percent) compared to straight women (just 13 percent). 

Although the difference between heterosexual men and gay men is less extreme, 40 percent vs. 32 percent. respectively, researchers claim the difference is still significant. 

"The startle response is pre-conscious and cannot be learned, " UEL's Dr. Qazi Rahman explained. "It is mediated by an 
ancient region of the brain called the limbic system which also controls sexual behavior." 

Dr. Rahman added that the findings could have a large impact on the way sexuality is treated, both culturally and during health programs. 

 

Top Companies Tout New Attitude to Gays
Associated Press
By Ren&eacoute;e Ruble, Associated Press Writer
Oct. 2, 2003

 

MINNEAPOLIS - When 600 gay and lesbian professionals gathered Thursday for an annual conference, they had company ¡X Best Buy, IBM, Target and other major corporations pitching themselves as fair, open, inviting places to work. 

"Some of these companies I shop at every day. I didn't realize they were as open," said Carlos Trevino, who arrived from Dallas for the opening of the Out & Equal Workplace Summit. 

Trevino's employer, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., was one of 60 companies that sent representatives to the three-day conference for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered workers, passing out free pens and flying discs to attendees from across the country. 

Many cited improvements in work environments for gays, including company domestic partner benefit forms that increasingly list a "significant other" option, and employers whose senior executives serve on diversity boards. 

Yet, some of those attending the conference say discrimination remains prevalent and gay concerns can be become lost when companies group them with religious and racial issues in broad diversity training. 

"We're kinda like the invisible minority as far as diversity training goes," said Lori Mahla, who is gay, and works at a 
nursing home in Ramsey County, Minn. 

Most of the questions Adam Wolf fielded at the Hewlett-Packard Co. booth were about the atmosphere at HP ¡X which he boasted had created a global council to address gay issues ¡X rather than the company's long-term strategy or business outlook. 

"The questions are less about the overall lookout of the company," said Wolf, who is gay and from Loveland, Colo. "It shows that people really do care about the work environment." 

Many attendees said just the presence of companies including Honeywell, Deutsche Bank, Motorola and Daimler Chrysler at the conference was a big step forward, but they also acknowledged critical shortcomings. 

Candi Wallace, who works for Cargill Inc. in the Twin Cities, said gay workers face small challenges ¡X like being allowed to hang a partner's picture on a cubicle wall ¡X as well as larger ones like same-sex health benefits. Cargill does not offer such benefits. 

"We're really changing the face of diversity," said Debra Davis, who is transgendered and is the executive director of the Minnesota-based Gender Education Center. 

She has been hired by companies and government agencies to speak on transgender issues since her well-publicized transition in 1998. Davis, then a Minneapolis high school librarian, left work as a man on Friday and returned on Monday as a woman. 

Davis was later involved in a federal lawsuit by a woman teacher who objected to using the same restroom as her. An appeals court ruled last year the school district met its legal obligations when it offered alternate facilities to the teacher who complained. 

"We're starting to make noise. We're starting to make a difference," said Davis, who presented a workshop at the conference on attitudes toward transgendered workers. 

Nearly two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies now include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies, according to an August study by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Seventy-one percent of the companies surveyed advertised to the gay community, up from 61 percent in 2002. 

The report looked at 250 companies from the Fortune 500 and Forbes 200 lists. It gave perfect scores to 21 companies for their treatment of gay and lesbian employees, up from 11 last year. No company received a score of zero ¡X last year three companies did. 

The scoring included whether health insurance coverage was offered to same-sex partners and whether the companies had nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Another study by the gay rights advocacy group found that 15 cities and counties enacted laws in 2002 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, compared with eight in 2001. By the end of last year, 119 cities and 23 counties had such laws in place. 

Joe Campbell, who works in consumer relations for consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, said awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues is increasing on the work front ¡X but at its own pace. 

"It's getting better," said Campbell, of Cincinnati, "and it's slow." 

___ 
On the Net: 
www.outandequal.org 
www.debradavis.org 

 

Same-sex couples register in Chicago
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
October 2, 2003

 

Gay and lesbian couples in the Chicago area rushed to the Cook County Clerk's Office on Wednesday to document their domestic partnerships on the first day of a new registry. 

The county passed legislation this summer that would allow gay couples to register their relationship, although it is not be legally binding and only open to couples living in the area. 

The documentation does, however, allow couples to show proof of their relationships and qualify for spousal health insurance coverage offered by some employers. 

Gay rights groups see the registry as a symbolic step, particularly in the midst of the current controversy surrounding gay marriage in the United States. Many conservatives are pushing for an amendment to the federal Constitution to reserve marriage for just a man and a woman. 

By midday on Wednesday, 44 couples had signed up, with many waiting in line since midnight to be the first in, USA Today reported. 

"These registries are signs of gradual progress over the years," Cook County Clerk David Orr told the newspaper. "People are starting to recognize there are long-term couples and they deserve rights." 

Only California and Vermont extend state-level marriage rights and responsibilities to registered same-sex couples. 

 

Groups challenge military's sodomy ban
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
By Ann Rostow
October 2, 2003

 

Three of the gay community's most powerful legal advocates teamed up to file a "friend of the court" brief on Thursday in a challenge to the military's ban on sodomy. 

Lambda Legal Defense, the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network filed the brief in the case of Air Force Technical Sergeant Eric Marcum, who was convicted, among other things, of having consensual sex with another man in his own home. 

Marcum's conviction on this particular charge is now under appeal from the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals to the 
military's highest court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. It is the first challenge to Article 125, the 
sodomy ban, to reach the military's high court since the Supreme Court struck the nation's sodomy laws on constitutional grounds in Lawrence v. Texas last June. Oral arguments are scheduled for Oct. 7, and the case could be decided as early as the end of this year. 

Established in 1950, the Uniform Code of Military Justice governs discipline throughout the armed forces, and is adjudicated through the military courts. Article 125 bans "unnatural carnal copulation" with another person of either sex, as well as bestiality. Although military law must conform to constitutional standards, courts often allow the armed services to limit constitutional rights based on national security concerns. This deference to the military, for example, has led several federal appellate courts to uphold the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, despite the apparent First Amendment violations triggered by that law. 

In view of the Lawrence decision, however, the military will have a more difficult time defending the application of its sodomy ban to consensual acts, conducted off-base, in a private home, during off-duty hours. Neither national security, troop morale, good discipline nor unit cohesion seem to be threatened in the scenario under review. Without such rationales, the Supreme Court's strong defense of individual privacy in Lawrence would appear to govern the outcome. 

In a joint press release, the friends of the court note that the former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Armed Forces, Judge Walter T. Cox III, urged Congress to repeal Article 125's sodomy ban back in 2001. In a prior case, Cox upheld the ban based on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick, the precedent that was expressly reversed in Lawrence v. Texas. 

 

Sportswriter for Boston Herald comes out
The Advocate
Wednesday, October 01, 2003

 

Ed Gray, a prominent sportswriter for the Boston Herald, outed himself Tuesday in a column in the newspaper. "I'm out because I no longer, in good conscience, choose to ignore the unabashed homophobia that is so cavalierly tolerated within the world of sports," he said. "I'm out because the silence of a closeted gay man only serves to give his implicit approval to bigotry. I'm out because I refuse to continue hiding from the truth that an openly gay man has as much right as a straight man to play sports or report on them."

"In the cases of both a gay athlete and a gay sportswriter, homophobic athletes always come up with the same sorry excuse to justify the perpetuation of prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation--the locker room," Gray continued. "What, exactly, does a straight athlete have to fear from a gay teammate or sportswriter? Any man secure in his heterosexuality should not have a care in the world when a gay man is present in the locker room. He is there only to earn a living, not to infiltrate the locker room in a covert operation to 'convert' straight athletes. There are infinitely more friendly and healthy environments in which a self-respecting gay man would prefer to explore his sexuality than a locker room full of straight guys."