'Everyone has felt queer'
At this church, which has grown fourfold in six years, Christ has breasts Minister stands firm despite hate mail over gay stance,
LESLIER SCRIVENER
STAFF REPORTER


Transit ads in west-end bus shelters that have displayed sexy lingerie and the world's tightest jeans now feature a different invitation: come to church.

The ads along Roncesvalles Ave. invite passersby to Emmanuel-Howard Park Church, one of the United Church's fastest growing inner-city congregations. Church members posed for the moody black and white photographs; in brief text they explain why they joined. "I came because I'm loved here," says a bearded man, photographed in half shadow. "I come because it's challenging," says another, pretty well summing up life at Emmanuel.

"They are not meant to proselytize or convert or even to market. We are not selling a product," says Rev. Cheri Di Novo, the driven, plain-speaking former executive head hunter turned minister. "It is a welcoming gesture."

The church, at Roncesvalles and Wright Aves., has blossomed and its membership increased fourfold since Di Novo's arrival six years ago. She's drawn in young mainstream families, whose children swell the ranks of the Sunday school, and those who might be outcasts in many congregations: unmarried couples who live together, gays, lesbians and transsexuals, the mentally ill.


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Hate graffiti hits campus
Scott Jason, News Editor


University Police are urging hate crime victims to come forward because of racist, anti-gay and political vandalism that occurred on and off campus in the past three weeks.

The most recent acts of vandalism were reported on Sept. 24 by Assistant Professor Susan Green. She said she found "These are Chico State grads" written in red ink across a newspaper article about gay men getting married in San Francisco while she was in Trinity Hall.


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Talks focus on "practical solution" to Northern Ireland attacks
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


Multi-stakeholder talks were held in Derry earlier this week in a bid to find solutions to the increasingly violent attacks against gay people in the city.

The talks, held with organisers of last weekend's march for equality, were intended to find "practical ways of confronting" the issue, Northern Ireland's Rainbow Project said.

They follow a steep rise in homophobic attacks in recent months. As well as beatings and verbal abuse, some gay men in the city have been subjected to death threats and homophobic grafitti on their homes. One had excrement smeared on the walls of his home.


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LGBT Commission sponsoring ‘Day of Silence’ on Diag


As part of National Coming Out Week, the LGBT Commission will hold a “Day of Silence” at noon today on the Diag.

Students who wish to participate are encouraged to wear all black and stand in silence on the Diag in honor of those who stay silent because of homophobia and anti-gay violence.


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High Court Asked to Block Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment
Speedy Decision Sought as Nov. 2 Election Nears


ATLANTA -- Gay rights supporters appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court Wednesday to block a same-sex marriage amendment from state ballots.

The appeal comes after a lower judge refused to prevent the ballot question on whether marriage should be only between a man and a woman. Judge Constance Russell ruled against the request last week.

The gay rights supporters, including two state legislators, had argued that the amendment should be tossed because voters will not be able to read the full language of what could be changed in the state constitution.


The measure going to voters on Nov. 2 stipulates that Georgia will not recognize same-sex marriages performed by other states and declares that the state's judges will have no jurisdiction to resolve property disputes arising from same-sex relationships. Gay rights groups claim the amendment is legally flawed because voters are asked only about marriage, not the jurisdiction question.


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Local gay rights activist encourages boycott of goods
By: Steve Gabriel


      While news of gay marriage rights has long since drifted from the media's eye, the issue remains far from resolved. "We're still gay," remarks local resident Richard Livingstone, "and that won't be changing soon." In response to what organizers say is a "war on gay / bisexual / transgendered Americans," a non-profit organization has dubbed a nationwide "Boycott for Equality," set to take place this coming Friday, October 8th. The website states that the effort, which encourages Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender (GLBT) to withdraw from numerous economic influences during the day, is aiming to, "demonstrate that we are vital and important members of our communities with significant economic presence."

      "Boycott for Equality" is an Atlanta, Georgia based non-profit attempting to mobilize GLBT Americans to action October 8 in the following ways: 1) Staying home from work. Not generating payroll taxes, income taxes or adding to the economy. 2) Withdrawing $80 from your bank account at an ATM. 3) Not shopping. 4) Refraining from using cell phones or the internet. The belief behind these actions are statistics that put the number of GLBT Americans at 17 million with a daily spending power of $1.4 billion, which amounts to around $500 billion annually. Major groups that have endorsed or encouraged Boycott for Equality Day include Don't Amend: The Equality Campaign, The Advocate magazine, Civil Marriage US, and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Task Force.