Protesters meet counter-protest on campus
IU law school serves as venue for religious debate
By Mike McElroy


Anti-gay and anti-abortion protesters clashed with Bloomington United and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender representatives in front of the IU School of Law Tuesday afternoon.

Members of the Old Paths Baptist Church of Indiana came to IU with posters featuring aborted fetuses and anti-gay slogans.

"We're not protesting so much as we're exercising our religion," said John Lewis, the church's pastor. "Christ tells us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

When GLBT supporter and junior Phillip Bergmann noticed the Old Paths protesters, he quickly organized a counter-protest.


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News briefs from California's Central Coast
By The Associated Press


SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Students apologized for a university art project after classmates said it appeared to liken gay marriage to bestiality.

The display at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, features wooden cutout figures that form a wedding party. A minister faces a bride and groom standing below an arch with the words "What is marriage anyway."

Behind the couple are two men in tuxedos, followed by a tuxedoed man flanked by two women in wedding gowns. Finally, there is another man in a tuxedo standing next to a Dalmatian.

Other messages read: "Legalization of gay marriage leads to social disintegration," Where would u draw the line? and "It's a slippery slope."


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FALWELL PLANS FOR 'EVANGELICAL REVOLUTION'
by: Hank Kurz Jr., The Associated Press


RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Seeking to take advantage of the momentum from an election where moral values proved important to voters, the Rev. Jerry Falwell announced Tuesday he has formed a new coalition to guide an "evangelical revolution."

Falwell, a religious broadcaster based in Lynchburg, Va., said the Faith and Values Coalition will be a "21st century resurrection of the Moral Majority," the organization he founded in 1979.

Falwell said he would serve as the coalition's national chairman for four years.




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Who bred the hate?
The death of David Morley has highlighted the rise in homophobic attacks. Noel Halifax asks what is responsible


THE DREADFUL killing of David Morley in London has brought to attention the continuing prevalence of homophobia.

Figures show an increase in the number of reported anti-gay attacks, which parallels a similar rise in racist assaults over the last two years. What’s behind homophobia in society?

There were strenuous efforts by sections of the media to link the killing of David Morley to the lyrics of some Jamaican reggae singers.

Some on the left also seem to believe that homophobic reggae songs are one of the main reasons for such hate attacks, and have called for the banning and prosecution of some reggae singers for incitement to murder.


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Gay leaders try to reframe struggle for marriage rights
They'll reach out to Middle America
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau


Washington -- From adopting a NASCAR dad to embracing the moral rhetoric of the 1960s civil rights movement, gay and lesbian leaders are rethinking their message and market after last week's sweeping election losses, but they are refusing to retreat on same-sex marriage.

The Nov. 2 election was "a wake-up call for gay and lesbian Americans and organizations," Patrick Guerriero, president of the gay Log Cabin Republicans, declared in a new mission statement.

"We lost," Guerriero said. "If we listen to those attempting to sanitize or sugarcoat the post-election analysis, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes and destined for setbacks ahead."

Jeff Trammel, co-chair of gay and lesbian outreach for Sen. John Kerry, the defeated Democratic nominee, said he finds himself "in the very odd position of actually giving some credibility to something Tony Perkins (head of the Family Research Council) said, that gay marriage was the 'hood ornament on the car of family values.' "


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Baptists: Ban gay marriages


JACKSONVILLE - Florida Baptists unanimously gave their blessing Tuesday to a resolution calling for a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages.



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Anger grows over Christian Institute anti-gay advert
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


Anger over the Christian Institute's advert in yesterday's Times newspaper is growing today, with MPs calling for an investigation into the charity.

The advert, a full page focus on the Conservative's amendment to the Civil Partnership bill that was defeated in parliament yesterday, claims that the majority of people support extending the Civil Partnership bill to siblings and carers.

However, the amendment is widely seen by gay rights groups as a "wrecking" tactic, while legal groups have claimed it would make the bill unworkable.

The advert also claimed that 84% of people backed the amendment for "ordinary families", despite figures in The Times suggesting that the overwhelming majority of the general public backed the bill in its original form.




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Anti-Gay Council Faces Youth Protest


It’s now been a year since the government repealed Section 28 in national law. However, immediately after this landmark decision, Kent County Council chose to implement similar policies that prohibit the "promotion of homosexuality" causing widespread outrage and disappointment.

In protest at the council’s anti-gay attitude, outraged young people have organised led a day of action on Saturday 13 November 2004.

The out, proud rally will take place outside County Hall in Maidstone from 1pm and will include a variety of speakers, colourful banners, placards, costumed street theatre and petitioning demanding for the policy to be scrapped once and for all.

The Queer Youth Alliance has accused the council of contravening Article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which clearly states that "children and young people have the right to information especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health”.


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Fears Chicago Gay Serial Killer Has Stuck Again


(Chicago, Illinois) Police probing the murder of a gay Chicago man say there are a number of similarities between the killing and those of at least two other gay men.

But, they are not ready to say the killings were done by the same person.

The body of Charles Gibson, 54, was found in his North Side condominium on October 31 after a friend became concerned when he was unable to reach him.

Gibson was found lying naked in a back hallway. The apartment was covered in blood and there were signs of a struggle. A seven-inch knife recovered at the scene.