Donald Trump doesn’t like gay marriage, why? Because it he just doesn’t “feel good about it”(@4:50 on the video). Well, that is a strong argument! What more do we need than a president who gives people rights based on what he does/doesn’t feel good about?
Navy Petty Officer Facing Discharge Over DADT
Today a navy petty officer faces a discharge hearing after following being outed by a fellow sailor.
Petty Officer 2nd Derek Morado, was outed in 2009 after another navy seaman came across a photo on Morado’s MySpace. The photo showed Morado kissing another man and is being used as evidence toward the possibility of discharge under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Although DADT has been repealed, it is enforceable until the last leg of the termination process later this year.
In order for the navy to successfully discharge Morado it will need approval of the branch’s Sec. Lt. Myers Vasquez and Defense Sec. Gates. No discharges have been granted since October, but it doesn’t mean that Morado can’t be the first.
I doubt Morado has anything to worry about, these hearings are frivolous and a waste of military time and money.
Wall Street Holds Inaugural LGBT Summit
Six of Wall Street’s major banks are coming together to discuss LGBT employment and new business opportunities this week.
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley will meet to discuss important issues in the LGBT community at the “Out on the Street” summit. The summit-goers will brainstorm new ideas on making Wall Street more welcoming to top talent and new LGBT business. Remember boys and girls, money makes the world turn and if gay and lesbian people are creating profits then they are fine by Wall Street. The more economic power LGBT people have, the more rights they will gain.
Enough with my cynicism, this is a great event! I am glad major banks are recognizing that LGBT citizens are important to their business.
Gay Bashings in NYC
A gay man was brutally beaten in the West Village of New York City last weekend, leaving him with a black eye and stitches.
The victim, Damian Furtch(pictured left), and his friend were attacked by two men at the McDonald’s on 7th Avenue in the early hours of last Sunday. Furtch and his friend had left their jobs at the Pink Tea Cup Restaurant before stopping at McDonalds where the two were beaten and berated with gay epithets.
No suspects have been apprehended, and the police are treating this as a hate crime. NYC would be the last place I’d expect these kind of assaults, but I may just be naive. Barie Shortell was savagely beaten last month in Brooklyn, afterwards requiring 9.5 hours of corrective surgery costing around $100,000 for the insurance-less Shortell(pictured below). Something has to change.
Gandhi A Gay?
A new biography of famed leader of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, has been banned in India for suggesting Gandhi had a romance with another man.
According to Great Soul, by Joseph Lelyveld, Gandhi had written letters to Hermann Kallenbach, a German architect and bodybuilder, expressing his love.
“Your portrait (the only one) stands on my mantelpiece in my bedroom,” he wrote to Kallenbach. “The mantelpiece is opposite to the bed.” Gandhi also wrote to Kallenbach telling the bodybuilder, “how completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance.”
The two also exchanged the nicknames of “Upper House”(Gandhi) and “Lower House”(Kallenbach), which is sweet in its own dorky meat-free kind of way…
India has banned sales of the book, citing its “degrading” portrayal one of the country’s greatest heroes as a homosexual. The author now claims the book doesn’t call Gandhi gay or bisexual, but instead aims to demonstrate Gandhi’s great attachment to Kallenbach during Gandhi’s celibate life.
Who knows if these letters are even real, but then again the man only ate twigs and berries so what did you expect?
ACLU Sends Letters Asking Schools to Stop Blocking LGBT Sites
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union(“ACLU”) sent letters to Missouri and Michigan school districts demanding they stop their prevention of students’ access to educational LGBT websites.
The ACLU will also be sending correspondence to school districts in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Washington.
Missouri school districts have blamed a glitch in their systems for the restrictions, while Michigan says they will look further into the matter.Yeah right all those magical glitches that are so convenient, like these school districts didn’t ask the overseers of their networks to block LGBT websites. Not all LGBT websites are porn…
Mississippi Corrections Officer is Given Back Job After Being Fired Over Sexuality
A Mississippi corrections officer has been reinstated following dismissal on no other grounds than his sexuality.
Andre Cooley, the MS corrections officer, was fired back in June after being told by the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department that they did not want to continue employing a gay officer, and that they were within their legal rights to let him go. Cooley’s sexuality had been discovered the previous day when his supervisor responded to a domestic violence call at Cooley’s home, after an argument between Cooley and his partner.
The ACLU threatened suit on Cooley’s behalf, and a settlement has been reached between the county and Cooley that allows Cooley to return to work and requires the department to update its non-discrimination policies.
You would think the sheriff’s department would understand the law a bit better.
Gay Military Magazine Debuts and Has Nothing to Do With Porn
The military group, OutServe, has debuted a magazine for lesbian and gay military servicemembers following the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell(“DADT”).
“Our goal is to have our next version available in print, at some of the larger military bases,” says OutServe’s chief “JD Smith” about the first issue being a PDF file. You have to download and print it yourself, but I guess we can forgive that one, since it’s your first issue.
OutServe was created when an active duty military officer emailed his friends in October 2009 about discrimination he was facing under DADT, soon after the group created a website to share their stories and build bonds between LGBT military personnel across the country. OutServe has connected more than 2,600 service members and has 40 chapters worldwide.
New Efforts in Canadian Immigration to Sponsor LGBT Refugees
The minister of Canadian immigration, Jason Kenney, has announced a project undertaken by the government and LGBT refugee rights groups to assist persecuted refugees.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada(“CIC”) and the Rainbow Refugee Committee(“RRC”) have made an agreement to jointly sponsor LGBT refugees to the country.
The CIC will fund $100,000 to cover three months of income support for refugees upon their arrival in Canada. RRC will provide orientation services, accommodation, food and other basic necessities.
Rainbow Refugee Committee will also be expected to find alternative sources for funding from private groups to cover asylum seekers’ first year costs of settlement in Canada.
Where Do They Find These People, and Why Do They Make Them Cops?
A Schuyler County Sherriff is under scrutiny for commenting, “little fag jew boy” on a public photo posted by one of his dispatchers on Facebook. Really?
Sheriff Schieferdecker says he is sorry for the offensive remark:
“I’ve dedicated my life to public service and sure don’t believe in public service by being harmful to people. … I wouldn’t say or do anything like that to hurt anyone. … I couldn’t care less about anyone’s religion and sexual preference,” he also mentioned that this comment was left after a long day’s work. Oh well, you were tired big guy, we forgive you! NOT!
Mayor Scott Thompson of Rushville, Ill.( part of Schuyler County) condemned the Sheriff’s actions:
“I’ve been asked by many to make a statement regarding the remarks the sheriff made on a Facebook page earlier this week. Don is my friend but I will not speak to his heart or thoughts. I do however want to speak to my responsibility as mayor. I do not condone language which conveys discrimination or prejudice due to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or national origin. Such language would reflect poorly upon the individual and the community.”
This Sheriff should lose his job, would you want him arresting you with the colorful opinions I imagine are spinning around in his head? I wouldn’t.
The charming post:
ScRiMac
AMI Reports 