Gast to take stand today
By CONNIE PARISH, Times Staff Writer

Sandy Clarissa Gast, a 49-year-old Leavenworth transsexual, will have a chance today to tell a district court judge why she didn't believe she was lying when she applied for a marriage license as a female.

Gast is accused of false writing when she applied for a license in February to marry Georgi Somers, a 63-year-old Leavenworth transsexual. Somers' daughter contacted the county attorney's office to report what she considered a moral abomination, since it would involve a same-sex marriage.

Consequently, Gast was arrested at her home and "hauled to Leavenworth County Jail in shorts, a halter top and thongs," strip searched and subjected to many indignities during the next six or seven hours, said her attorney, Pedro Irigonegaray of Topeka.

The American Civil Liberties Union is bankrolling the criminal trial, which began Monday in Leavenworth County District Court in Judge Frederick Stewart's court.


~

Man charged for knife attack
Ben Townley,  Gay.com UK


A man has been charged with attempted murder of a gay man who was stabbed on a London night bus earlier this month.

David Samuel, 22, is accused of attacking the unnamed 28-year-old victim earlier this year, after seeing him with his partner on the bus.

After shouting verbal abuse and being thrown off the bus in the Highgate area of north London, he managed to push his way back in and stab the victim 4 times.

The victim was admitted to hospital with his injuries, but was released days later.

Police believe the attack was motivated by homophobia .


~

Group targets anti-gay bullying
Network to hold public meeting tonight at City Hall
By Christine Mahr
The Desert Sun


CATHEDRAL CITY -- A group of community leaders are working to form an organization dedicated to stopping bullying and harassment in schools. G

Organizers and supporters of a Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network chapter will meet at 6 p.m. tonight in the Cathedral City Council Chambers.


~

Anti-gay crimes surge in Scotland
Ben Townley,  Gay.com UK



Scotland has seen a sharp increase in the reporting of anti- gay hate crime, according to a new poll, with an estimated rise of 90% across the country.

The study of Scottish police forces found that areas such as Strathclyde and Grampian had seen the bulk of the massive increases, although an increase in incidents was seen across the majority of regions.

One force - in Lothian and Borders - had its first ever figures, having just introduced reporting this year.

The figures, revealed in the Sunday Herald, echo similar rises in anti- gay hate crimes in English police force figures


~

Gay Fairfield teacher wants written warning pulled from personnel file
By ANDREW BROPHY abrophy@ctpost.com


FAIRFIELD — A gay teacher at Mill Hill Elementary School who received a written warning from superiors for holding a classroom discussion about "diversity of family structure" has filed a complaint with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

Larry Zankel, a second-grade teacher hired by the Board of Education seven years ago, says in the complaint against Supt. of Schools Ann Clark that he was "only following [the Board of Education's] policy on diversity" when he held the classroom discussion in January 2002


~

Repeal of gay union ban urged
By John Yellig / Daily Progress staff writer


The Charlottesville City Council passed a resolution Monday urging the repeal of a state law banning same-sex civil unions.

The resolution was a symbolic statement against House Bill 751, which was passed during the 2004 session of the General Assembly and prohibits any legal arrangement bestowing the rights and privileges of marriage on couples of the same sex. It also voids civil unions current Virginia residents entered into in other states.

The resolution drew a large crowd of supporters and opponents, reflecting the controversy of the larger issue of gay marriage, which occupied a significant amount of the political discussion during this year’s election season.

A civil union is not a marriage. It is a secular, state-sanctioned contract that addresses legal topics such as health benefits, inheritance rights and the power of attorney.


~

Black HIV Patients Suffer At Hands Of White Doctors Study Says
by Matt Johns 365Gay.com Los Angeles Bureau


(Los Angeles)  African American HIV patients treated by white doctors receive life-saving HIV medication later than those who have an African American doctor a study by the University of California Los Angeles claims.

The researchers found that African American patients treated by white doctors receive their HIV medications nearly four months later than African American patients being treated by African American doctors. Furthermore, the study confirms the differences are not because of patient's income levels, years of education or insurance coverage. On the doctors' part, the knowledge, specialty, degree of training and years of experience did not affect the results. The fact remained that African American patients seen by African American doctors received better care than African American patients seeing white doctors.

The clinical implications of the findings are that delay in effective treatment could result in more deaths for African American patients. The researchers conclude that policy changes boosting the number of African American physicians are "imperative."

"This is an important study because so many African American people have HIV infection and African Americans die more frequently from the disease than any other group," said Dr. William Cunningham, professor of medicine and public health and the study's co-author. 


~

In search of the hidden gay agenda
By Mark Ridolfi


Letter after letter arrives in my office warning of the hidden gay agenda. It goes like this: First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes pedophilia, bestiality and ultimately, the end of civilization.

So when I encountered 2,500 gay activists gathered in St. Louis for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 17th annual convention, I figured I might learn first-hand about the gay agenda.

I was in the same St. Louis hotel for a copy editing conference. Our small group sat attentively through Powerpoint presentations, headline drills and editing exercises. The task force’s huge conference buzzed with gay men and women grouped in dozens of small meeting rooms with chairs rearranged from orderly rows into unstructured discussion circles. Casual jackets next to lumpy flannel shirts, next to tie-dyed pull-overs next to snappy Lands End cardigans. Spikey women and bubbly men. Cover girls and GQ guys. Couch-comfy grandmas and prickly college professors. Attorneys. Bankers. Part-time landscapers. And lots of students.

The gay agenda leaked out in 150 sessions spread over three days. Gay Americans discussed medical record privacy. They talked about sometimes strained race relations within gay activist groups. They shared organizational structures for youth groups. They worshiped in ecumenical Christian services, Hebrew study and Muslim prayer calls. They provided daylong child care for parents in attendance.