Big Gay News
BigGayNews from Maryland:
Jesse Jackson Urges Maryland Voters To Support Gay Marriage
The Huffington Post reports that the Rev. Jesse Jackson is urging Maryland voters to vote in favor of a ballot measure this fall that would give marriage equality to gays and lesbians in the state.
Jackson stated: “I would hope that people would respect people’s basic fundamental rights. If you don’t believe in it, don’t engage in it. But don’t deny other people their basic civil rights.”
Jackson also said that he would perform a same-sex wedding ceremony if a gay or lesbian couple asked him to do so.
BigGayNews from Oklahoma:
Transgender Name Changes Not OK With Bible-Quoting Oklahoma Judge
The Advocate reports that an Oklahoma judge has stirred controversy with decisions to not allow transgender people to change their names legally, claiming they are making the changes for “fraudulent” purposes, in violation of state law.
Oklahoma County district judge Bill Graves, a former state legislator, wrote, “A so-called sex-change surgery can make one appear to be the opposite sex, but in fact they are nothing more than an imitation of the opposite sex.” A person’s DNA stays the same, he wrote, citing a physician he consulted.
Graves continues: “To grant a name change in this case would be to assist that which is fraudulent.”
BigGayNews from Minnesota:
Marriage Amendment Opponents Launch First Ad
The Star Tribune reports that the lead group opposing the marriage amendment released its first television ad of the campaign season Tuesday, taking direct aim at the Catholic Church’s strong support of the measure.
Minnesotans United for All Families’s ad features John and Kim Canny, lifelong Republicans and Catholics, encouraging Minnesotans to vote no on the proposed amendment that would cement a ban on same-sex marriage into the state constitution.
When a gay couple moved into their neighborhood with their adopted son, the Cannys said they realized that same-sex couples want to marry to make a lifetime commitment based on love and responsibility—the same reasons they married.
BigGayNews from Florida:
UF Police Investigate Gay Slur Etched Into Law Professor’s Car
The Gainesville Sun reports that a University of Florida law professor’s car was vandalized with a gay slur this week in an incident that is being investigated as a hate crime.
The slur was etched Monday morning into paint of the professor’s car in a law school parking lot. UF President Bernie Machen issued a statement Wednesday saying that the conduct was illegal and unacceptable at the university or anywhere else.
Major Brad Barber, UF police department spokesman, said the hate crime designation would bump up a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge to a third-degree felony.
BigGayNews from Berkeley, CA:
Berkeley Ready To Proclaim Bisexual Pride
ABC News 10 reports that Berkeley may become the nation’s first city to officially proclaim Bisexual Pride Day.
If approved by the City Council on Tuesday, Bisexual Pride Day would be celebrated on Sept. 23 when there are bisexual pride events in Los Angeles, Boston, and other cities.
Councilman Kriss Worthington proposed officially recognizing Bisexual Pride Day, saying bisexuals have complained for years that they are shunned by the gay community because they are considered fence-sitters.
BigGayNews from Minnesota:
Young, Old Divide Over Minnesota’s Marriage Amendment
The Star Tribune reports that the two campaigns locked in Minnesota’s intensifying marriage amendment fight are wrestling with a glaring dividing line more stubborn than Democrat and Republican: young versus old.
From California to Maine, an overriding thread that stitched together residents across the country is that younger voters tend to oppose the amendments and older voters generally support them.
Elizabeth Minneman, 19, former chairwoman of the Minnesota Teenage Republicans, and other young people say future generations eventually will look at same-sex marriage opposition the same way most Americans look back at interracial marriage. And they don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.
BigGayNews from the United Kingdom:
Rupert Everett Blasts Gay Parents
ABC News reports that though Rupert Everett blazed a trail for homosexual actors when he came out decades ago, he’s now saying that gay men don’t make good parents.
The actor best known for “Shakespeare and Love” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding” told Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine that his mother has met his boyfriend but “still wishes I had a wife and kids.”
“She thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her. I can’t think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads.”
“Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That’s just my opinion,” he said, adding that he doesn’t consider himself part of the “gay community.”
BigGayNews from Australia:
Australian Lawmakers Uphold Ban On Gay Marriage
Edge On the Net reports that Australian lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a bill Wednesday that would have legalized gay marriage, and similar legislation looked unlikely to pass despite public support for same-sex marriage.
Polls show that most Australians support gay marriage, but the Liberal Party-led conservative opposition coalition and many in the ruling center-left Labor Party are against it.
Senior government minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after the vote: “I think at some future time our Parliament will catch up with community opinion, just as it has on other issues. When marriage equality occurs, people will wonder what the fuss was about.”
