Black Gay Pride ends on high note
By JINGLE DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


With the wind from Tropical Storm Frances at their backs, about 100 marchers in the Black Gay Pride parade on Monday sang, chanted, waved banners and made their way from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center to the state Capitol.

Zandra Conway of Smyrna, who co-chairs the board of In the Life Atlanta, said the only protesters along the parade route were white Christians who said they disapproved of homosexuality. They also passed out roses.

Malika Hadley Freydberg leads marchers Monday at the Stand Up and Represent Black Gay Pride March and Rally, which capped a long weekend of education, activism and celebration.

The Black Gay Pride event, which began Wednesday, drew participants from around the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada who socialized but spent most of their time attending workshops, films and other sessions on such issues as HIV, the need for political activism and homophobia in the black church.


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Suit Paints Same-Sex Marriage As Ordinary
By DANIELA ALTIMARI, Courant Staff Writer


Seven same-sex couples suing for the right to marry in Connecticut are basing their case on state constitutional provisions markedly similar to those used to validate gay marriage in Massachusetts.

At the lawsuit's core is the principle of equal protection, which holds that all citizens are entitled to the same rights.

But social change is about much more than legal arguments. Through what promises to become a landmark lawsuit, gay and lesbian activists are asserting that, like any other committed couples, they are entitled to the privileges and protections of marriage.


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Bettendorf mayor wants input on policy
By Tory Brecht


Bettendorf Mayor Mike Freemire is turning to the people to ask whether they want protection from discrimination extended to gay men and women.

Last month, the Bettendorf Human Rights Commission voted 4-2 to ask the City Council to consider adding sexual orientation to the protected categories in the city’s civil rights ordinance.
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Although the council is not obligated to act on that recommendation because the commission fell one vote short of a super-majority, Freemire said he senses a desire by aldermen to resolve the issue.
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However, he believes a scientific poll or market study should be conducted before the council takes up the issue.