April 30, 2008
Nation Report
Presbyterians’ high court takes on Spahr case
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The volatile issue of gay marriage reached the highest realms of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) April 25, when the top church court reviewed the case of a longtime minister found guilty of violating denominational law for officiating at the weddings of two lesbian couples... Full Story
Federal court overturns discrimination verdict
CHEYENNE, Wyo.—A federal appeals court in Denver has overturned a discrimination verdict that two lesbian former school administrators had won against a Sheridan County school district in 2006. In a ruling handed down April 22, a panel of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Kathleen Milligan-Hitt and Kathryn R. Roberts weren’t entitled to $160,000 that a Wyoming jury had awarded them as damages... Full Story
Gay-friendly Baptist minister steps down
FORT WORTH—A Southern Baptist minister with a reputation for being gay-friendly is leaving his church in Texas to accept a teaching position. The Rev. Britt Younger said his decision to leave the Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth for a teaching job at Mercer University in Georgia has nothing to do with the controversy that engulfed... Full Story
Concerns raised after Iowa AIDS numbers rise
AN FRANCISCO—The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage in California submitted signatures April 24 to qualify the measure for the November ballot. A coalition of religious groups called Protect Marriage collected more than 1.1 million signatures in support of the... Full Story
Backers of anti-gay initiative submit petitions
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.—Former Colton (California) Councilman Ramon Hernandez has been sentenced to six months in jail for misusing a city credit card to make $5,500 worth of sex phone calls and pay for motel rooms... Full Story
Former California councilman sentenced to six months
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.—Former Colton (California) Councilman Ramon Hernandez has been sentenced to six months in jail for misusing a city credit card to make $5,500 worth of sex phone calls and pay for motel rooms... Full Story
Episcopal diocese sues bishop who led breakaway
SAN FRANCISCO—The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin (California) has sued a deposed bishop who led a secession last year prompted by the U.S. Anglican church’s ordination of women and gays. The diocese said in a lawsuit filed April 24 in Fresno County Superior Court... Full Story
Editorial
Hundreds of Chicago-area youths took part April 25 in the annual Day of Silence, an event that highlights the violence—both physical and verbal—that GLBT youths face daily in our public schools. The event drives home that it’s not just the recent spate of gun violence that seriously harms kids in our schools. Many youths... Full Story
About two years ago, The Reader newspaper showcased Andrew Marin’s so- called ”bridge building” efforts between the Evangelical Christian and gay communities. While some gays praised Marin’s efforts at trying to “understand” the community, others—myself included—called Marin a homophobe who considers our humanity to be disordered according to Biblical... Full Story
Opinion
Lesbians are funny. Just a few years ago, this wasn’t obvious. Lesbians were stereotyped as angry and whining. In fact, lesbians were thought to take things way too seriously, to become offended by any slip of the tongue. It was dangerous to talk to lesbians... Full Story
I have written somewhat playfully about the annoyances and advantages of growing older, but there are serious issues here for the gay community. The demographic bulge we call the “Baby Boom” is surging into the gay “senior” category, much as it is into the “senior” category generally. This presents us with a challenge and an opportunity... Full Story
Freetime
I was interested to read an article with the headline “Scientists Have Been Able to Take Control of Flies’ Brains to Make Females Behave Just Like Males.” The topic appealed to me as I’ve always identified myself as a male-to-male transsexual fuck-up. The article says researchers have modified fruit flies so that a group of brain cells that controls sexual behavior can be “switched on” by a pulse of light... Full Story
LEO: JULY 21-AUGUST 20. You can’t expect people to open up to you. Just because you’ve decided to be totally honest, it doesn’t mean others are willing to go there. Cleaning up old issues may be important but it’ll work better if you wait till everyone’s ready. More
Back in the day: Moments in Chicago's GLBT history
197:8 Chautauqua, the “gay culture festival” organized by the Chicago Gay Academic Union and Lavender University includes a panel discussion on the general topic “Lesbians, Gays and Society: Priorities for Change,” moderated by Chuck Whitman with panelists Renee Hanover, Kris Warmouth, “Little Jim” Gates and Mark Pope. The event takes place at Chuck Renslow’s mega-disco Center Stage, 3730 N. Clark St. More
“Forgiving the Franklins” (Grinning Idiot)—The four Franklins—lawyer father Frank (Robertson Dean); homemaker mother Betty (Teresa Willis), jock son Brian (Vince Pavia), and cheerleader daughter Caroline (Aviva)—are the kind of family who pray before meals... Full Story
CFP reviews "Hey Tony! What's the Story" & "Trunks 2". Full Story
News
OK, so we’ve published stories about the Illinois Human Rights Commission, about how Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed a top official in the Rev. Louis Farrakhan’s church to the Commission, about how that prompted several commissioners to resign, about how the Commission disappeared... Full Story
Ride for AIDS training and planning is underway
The 180-mile Ride for AIDS Chicago starts June 7 when riders leave the Northwestern University campus in Evanston and head for Lake Geneva, Wisc. They return the afternoon of the following day... Full Story
Paseo Boricua Cacina pageant focuses on community
When discussing the Paseo Boricua Cacina pageant, last year’s winner, Jade, is adamant. “It’s not just a beauty pageant,” she said. “It’s a movement,” added Matty Rosado, who’s competing this year. The pageant, which takes place for the second time May 31 in... Full Story
Mutchler recalls her late partner, Sen. Penny Severns
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) last week tapped Terry Mutchler, a senior official from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office, to serve as the director of the new Pennsylvania Office of Open Records... Full Story
FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The creator of an AIDS memorial in a Fort Wayne cemetery says he will repair damage caused by vandals. Otis Vincent says someone pushed over a large pedestal that held an angel statue as part of the Northeast Indiana AIDS Memorial at Lindenwood Cemetery... Full Story
Sandi Jackson talks with GLBTs at Jeffery Pub
Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) met with area GLBT activists April 28 at the Jeffery Pub, 7041 S. Jeffery, her first such meeting with members from that constituency. Jackson, who’s been in office close to a year, told the audience that she ran for office at the behest of her husband, U.S. Rep... Full Story
First Queertopia rated as a big success
A conference to highlight research on sexuality by graduate students drew participants from colleges across the country to the Center on Halsted April 25-26. Queertopia: an Academic Festival was sponsored by... Full Story
Clinton storms through North Indiana, challenges Obama
A resurgent Hillary Clinton, buoyed by her landslide win in the Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary April 22, stormed through North Indiana last weekend, challenging Barack Obama to a Lincoln/Douglas-style debate and pledging to protect American jobs and enact universal healthcare... Full Story
Cruz speaks at Roosevelt May 1
Wilson Cruz came out to his family in front of all of America. Sort of. Actually, the actor’s character, Ricky, came out to his family on the ABC television series “My So-Called Life” back in the 1990s. Ricky’s experiences after coming out—alienation... Full Story
Moscow Pride organizers: ‘Five gay marches per day’
Gay activists in the Russian capital of Moscow said last week that they would defy Moscow city officials ban on Moscow Pride by holding “five gay marches per day each day until the end of May... Full Story
A gay and lesbian group in Panama is calling on the country’s national police to respect the rights of its gay and lesbian officers. Leaders of the Association of New Men and Women of Panama said April 25 that they are alarmed by recent reports that Panama Minister of the... Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
“L. Brent Kington: Mythic Metalsmith,” just opened at the Illinois State Museum Gallery in the Thompson Center/State of Illinois Building downtown, gives Chicagoans a rare opportunity to view a rich sampling of metalsmith Kington’s work from many phases of his long career... Full Story
Feel the cubical walls closing in? Long to get out to a cafe on Clark Street? A spot under a shade tree in Lincoln Park? The lounge chair on your back porch? With the arrival of Earth Day, you probably were awash in instruction on how to color your... Full Story
“The Life Before Her Eyes” (Magnolia)—In this modern-day ghost story, Diana (Uma Thurman) is haunted by (or is she the one doing the haunting?) memories of a Columbine-esque high-school massacre that occurred 15 years earlier... Full Story
Joan Armatrading wasn’t kidding when she called her latest album “Into The Blues” (429). Long a beloved figure in the folk community, Armatrading has also dabbled in the island sounds of the Caribbean as well as synth-pop. But in the liner notes for “Into The Blues,”... Full Story
Fri., May 9: Don’t miss The Kills, with guests Telepathe, at 9 p.m. at Metro, 3730 N. Clark. Call (773) 549-4140. More
Growing up I always longed to go to the supper clubs they showed in the movies. The places where folks like Nick and Nora Charles sat and sipped cocktails, danced to a band, watched a floor show and solved crimes between courses... Full Story
All tracks lead here buyers are heading to the loop
If you work in the Loop, then why not live there, too? With gas prices at an all-time high (and showing no sign of coming down any time soon) a growing number of Chicago buyers who work in the heart of Chicago’s business district are choosing to buy residences there, too... Full Story
Theater
A sort of parody-homage, Charles Busch’s recent film celebrates the scenery-chewing, self-pitying harridan-heroines of “Dead Ringer,” “The Little Foxes,” “Baby Jane,” “Strait-Jacket,” “Madame X,” “The Snake Pit,” “Queen Bee,” “I’ll Cry Tomorrow,” “A Stolen Life” and, more... Full Story
Stage Left Theatre celebrates its 100th production—an impressive milestone, by any yardstick—with a genre-blending Canadian import, “Omniscience.” Part sci-fi thriller, part political drama, the play purports a future society where everybody is constantly under surveillance... Full Story
When attending the tale of “Sweeney Todd” theatergoers are used to a full company belting out the sinister ballad. Done right, it can still send goosebumps up your arms. Even Tim Burton’s decidedly mixed-bag film adaptation, while silencing the choral voices, elicited the... Full Story
