Massachusetts city drops domestic partner benefits


SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- Springfield will soon no longer offer health benefits to unmarried domestic partners of city employees now that same-sex couples are legally allowed to marry in Massachusetts.

Mayor Charles Ryan notified the city clerk on Thursday that he has rescinded all prior executive orders allowing unmarried domestic partners to participate in the city's group health insurance program.

Unmarried domestic partners will not be cut off from access to health insurance immediately. Ryan offered a 90-day grace period to become legally married and retain insurance coverage.


Ryan's predecessor, Michael Albano, had issued an executive order giving unmarried same-sex partners and their dependents insurance coverage, the mayor said.


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Bishop punishes priest for signing gay-rights letter
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic

The only Catholic priest to decline to remove his name from a statement affirming the rights of homosexuals has been suspended from priestly ministry.

The Rev. Andre Boulanger, who is retired, said Friday he got word of the suspension Thursday in a letter from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. Mary Jo West, Olmsted's public information officer, confirmed the letter was sent, "but concerning a statement, it would be better to wait until the bishop returns from Rome," where he is on a weeklong visit.

Boulanger was one of nine Phoenix Diocese priests to sign the Phoenix Declaration, a statement issued in January 2003 by the No Longer Silent - Clergy for Justice organization. The organization is made up of clergy from several Protestant denominations as well as some Catholic priests.

Seven of the nine priests pulled their names off the declaration within two weeks of receiving a late-April letter from Olmsted asking that they do so. An eighth, the Rev. Hugo Gonzalez, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo in Peoria, removed his name this week.


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Gay rights activist gets national nod

San Mateo County's own teenage gay rights crusader, Marina Gatto, continues to receive national recognition for her activism.

Gatto, 16, has been spokeswoman for children of gay couples since she was 9 years old and last year was honored by being appointed the youngest grand marshal of the San Francisco gay pride parade. A Mercy High School student, Gatto lives in San Carlos with her two mothers who were married at San Francisco City Hall on Feb. 13.

Last week, Gatto was honored with a GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) Respect Award at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City. The event was hosted by actors BD Wong, from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and "Sex and the City's" Cynthia Nixon. The other recipients were best-selling author Andrew Tobias and MTV.

"It's such an honor," Gatto said. "Even though it's enough to break down stereotypes that people have about children of gays and lesbians, it's great to get an award."


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Gay veterans wage new battle at home
Forced to keep silent in the military, the former GIs have now found their voice, and they seek recognition for their wartime sacrifices

By Bonnie Miller Rubin
Tribune staff reporter

When Jeff Cleghorn was in the Army, he lived in fear that someone would find out he was gay. He led a double life, never talking about what he did on weekends or with whom.

As a veteran, however, the retired major's actions have been anything but secretive. He lobbies Congress and writes editorials in support of gay veterans, and last weekend he participated in a convention of retired gay soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines--a gathering that included a military ball, with uniforms encouraged.

As the nation prepares to observe its third consecutive Memorial Day at war, Cleghorn and other gay and lesbian veterans are determined that their sacrifices be recognized.

"We have found our voice," said Cleghorn of Atlanta, who proudly served on three continents in 12 years before retiring. "We have had an incredible growth spurt and there's no turning back. We are demanding our seat at the table."


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Welcome to Canada's gay high school
Despite this country's reputation for tolerance, young people still face discrimination for being gay, writes ALANNA MITCHELL. When school life becomes so hostile they can't face it any more, Toronto's Triangle program offers an educational refuge
By ALANNA MITCHELL

The classroom is makeshift, constructed by members of the congregation of this Toronto church in a building bee one weekend.

And it's cramped. About a dozen high-school students, ranging across all grades, bundle their legs underneath tables that have been pushed together in two facing rows.

A bookshelf beside them holds the Concise Oxford Dictionary, Webster's New World Thesaurus and The Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video. The clock at the front of the room wears a feather boa in four colours.

This is the only high school in Canada for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual students. It's an outpost of the city's public school system called the Triangle program, a nod to the pink triangle badges gays were forced to wear during Hitler's rule in Germany.

While lots of gay students do fine in schools across Canada, the kids who have enrolled in the Triangle program don't. They have found their way here from all over Ontario -- and even from other provinces -- because they felt alienated by school environments they say didn't allow them to thrive and also acknowledge being gay.



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Churchgoers wear sashes to back GLBT
By Sarah Colburn
scolburn@stcloudtimes.com


This Sunday, Catholics who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender will partner with their friends and families in communities worldwide to wear rainbow-colored sashes to Pentecost Mass.

"The sash is a statement saying that we are gay Catholics and part of the Catholic family taking our place at the table at Eucharist," said Brian McNeill, organizer of the Minnesota rainbow sash events.

He expects about 25 people to wear the sashes to the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary. The sashes will be available at the church for anyone who wants to take part.

The sash is also a sign of a call to dialogue with leaders of the Catholic Church about issues of sexuality.