Louise Arbour: keynote address - MONTRÉAL, 26 JUILLET 2006


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Judge orders woman to stop making anti-gay comments


PROVIDENCE, R.I. --A judge ordered a Warren woman to stop directing anti-gay slurs at her homosexual neighbor, saying the insults amounted to "hateful conduct" and interfered with the man's right to live in peace.


The attorney general's newly formed civil rights advocate's office sued Theresa R. Deschenes in its first case, accusing her of harassing a gay neighbor with AIDS and threatening him with violence.


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Court urged to reconsider Nebraska gay marriage ban


Two advocacy groups asked a federal appeals court Friday to reverse a ruling that reinstated Nebraska’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

New York-based Lambda and the ACLU’s Lesbian & Gay Project asked that the three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverse its July 14 ruling or for the entire court rehear the case.


"The federal appeals court panel ... just ignored the U.S. Supreme Court, which has ruled that states can’t pass laws just to discriminate against gay people," said Matt Coles, director of the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. "We are hopeful that the court will recognize this decision simply can’t be squared with constitutional guarantees of equality."


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Is Trans-Gendering the New Homosexuality?: Some Thoughts on the Subject
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The author was intrigued with the story of Miles and Samantha, both of whom surgically altered their original sexes, yet met and fell in love. What happens when a body radically changes to reflect a different gender while remaining fundamentally the original sex?

When I saw The Maury Show’s episode of “They’re called trans-men,” which aired earlier in 2005, I was intrigued with the story of Miles and Samantha, both of whom surgically altered their original sexes, yet met and fell in love. I would argue that in this case, what you have is a perfect example of soul mates, as I believe they were destined to meet despite their intentioned sexual genes. In our society which seeks to define acceptability based on standards of appearance, the very existence of Miles and Samantha challenges heterosubjective norms in which non-altered men and women propagate the species.

What happens, however, when a body radically changes to reflect a different gender while remaining fundamentally the original sex? Looking to Miles and Samantha, what their engagement suggests (Miles actually proposed to Samantha on the show) is that, as Simone de Beauvoir argues, we are socially responsive to explicit expressions of outward ontogeny which may be contrary to how we identify with ourselves. On the other hand, if identity is a social construction, what do Miles and Samantha contribute toward debates about homosexuality?
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Save 1.800.Suicide


Imagine a troubled gay teenager contemplating suicide, dialing a suicide prevention line, and getting James Dobson on the other end. It could happen. Via a government agency, it looks like the Bush administration could trying to starve a suicide prevention line of funding in order to make that happen. Or it might just be payback.

This is the kind of thing that won’t register on most people’s radar, but it’s important and once it was brought to my attention I wanted to do everything I could to let others know about it to. The suicide prevention program 1-800-Suicide is in trouble. It’s in danger of being shut off, or falling into the hands of the federal government.To put it another way, and underscore the importance, it’s in danger of falling into the hands of the George W. Bush administration. That’s something that should concern a lot of people, especially the gay community, because there are some pretty serious — even deadly— implications for LGBT youth. But first, sere’s the vital info:


1-800-SUICIDE is in danger of being shut off or worse falling into the hands of the Federal Government. With teenage suicide being the 3rd leading cause of death between 18 to 24 year olds - our government should not be duplicating prevention efforts but helping fund the many local organizations and non-profits with proven track records on prevention. In addition our government should not be in the business having access to this private and sensitive information!

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Dismisses Gay Arabic Linguist


JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay and his accuser was never identified.
Bleu Copas, 30, told The Associated Press he is gay, but said he was ``outed'' by a stream of anonymous e-mails to his superiors in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C.

``I knew the policy going in,'' Copas said in an interview on the campus of East Tennessee State University, where he is pursuing a master's degree in counseling and working as a student adviser. ``I knew it was going to be difficult.''Army

An eight-month Army investigation culminated in Copas' honorable discharge on Jan. 30 - less than four years after he enlisted, he said, out of a post-Sept. 11 sense of duty to his country.