Support Grows In Military For Gays  
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff


(Washington) Fifty percent of junior enlisted service members say that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, according to a new poll. 

The number is a significant increase since 1992, when two similar surveys found 16 percent of males service members held the same view.


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The Edge of Each Others Battles
By Jasmyne Cannick

In the rush to organize and strategize to defeat President Bush’s run for a second term in office and to obtain the 1,049 federal rights benefits and protections that are afforded to heterosexual couples, gays and lesbians have overlooked a very crucial part of the marriage campaign…diversity.

Recently, I participated a town hall forum in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles which is primarily a black community. The forum, organized by the National Black Justice Coalition, an ad hoc group of black gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activists fighting discrimination in black communities, focused on the issue of same-sex marriage and the black community. As one of the panelists for this forum I remember my adversary urging me to “go back to West Hollywood with the rest of my people.”

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Man enters guilty plea in hate crime
Kirchner admitted assaulting group after gay pride event.
By Alison Soltau | Staff Writer

A man who threatened to rape a group of lesbians to change their sexuality and assaulted them after the June 27 gay pride march has served his jail time for hate crimes.


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HRC PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT AGAINST 'BUSH'S BROKEN PROMISES'
OIA Newswire

WASHINGTON - HRC President Cheryl Jacques issued the following statement Monday regarding the importance of the days leading up to next week's presidential election:

Never before has America felt more divided: divided between red states and blue states; divided between those who support marriage equality and those who are trying to convince Americans to discriminate; and even divided between Red Sox and Yankees fans. While the last example has been settled at least this year, the rest is too familiar.

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Abortion rights group accuses archdiocese with violating tax-exempt status
CHERYL WITTENAUER
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - A Catholic abortion rights group is asking the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and halt any further attempts by the archdiocese to influence the Nov. 2 election.


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Bush Stance on Civil Unions Upsets Groups
By SCOTT LINDLAW
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) - Some conservative groups expressed dismay Tuesday over President Bush's tolerance of state-sanctioned civil unions between gay people - laws that would grant same-sex partners most or all the rights available to married couples.

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Conservatives vow lengthy P&G boycott over gay rights
DAVID CRARY
Associated Press

Two powerful conservative groups hope to extend indefinitely an election-related boycott of Procter & Gamble Co., contending that the consumer products giant is too supportive of gay rights and urging customers to stop buying Crest, Tide and Pampers.


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TAC takes govt to court over ARV plan
(SA)

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is taking the government to court next week over its alleged lack of an antiretroviral drugs plan. Zackie Achmat, the chairperson of the TAC, announced this while addressing church groups in Durban today.

The TAC says the government will not reach its target of providing 50 000 South Africans with ARVs before March next year. It is believed that just more than 10 000 HIV positive people are benefiting at the moment. The TAC blames the state for failing to implement the full roll-out strategy.

"We were informed by September 22 by (the) health minister that she doesn't have a timeline, deadlines … she doesn't have a framework for the plan. So what we are doing on the 4th (of November) we are going to the courts to ask her for deadlines," said Achmat