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On Labor Day weekend, a midwife's favorite holiday, Louise Sloan, a 41-year-old lesbian, had semen Fed Exed to her mother's summer place in Kennebunkport, Maine. Sloan, a magazine writer and editor, had always imagined she'd become a mother as part of a couple. Instead, here she was, a single woman accepting delivery of a stranger's sperm at the summer home of her 70-year-old Republican Southern mother, then informing the prospective grandmother that she was headed upstairs by herself to "baste." (Think: turkey baster.) Sloan interviewed dozens of self-described "single mothers by choice" -- both straight and gay -- for her...

MONTREAL, November 7, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A professor at Montreal's McGill University has come out publicly against a bill designed to raise Canada's age of consent to protect children from pedophiles and sexual predators. Robert Leckey, a Professor of Family Law at McGill stated his opposition to raising the age of consent from 14 to 16 during a panel discussion on C-22 last Wednesday, arguing the Conservative bill would disproportionately effect "straight people and sexual minorities" according to a story by Nora Mulloy published in the McGill Daily.?I?m not really convinced there is a problem here,? said Leckey, who...

Bill O'Reilly was on The View to discuss his new book Culture Warrior and, although there weren't fireworks, he and co-host Rosie O'Donnell got into a heated exchange about the war in Iraq. O'Reilly pressed O'Donnell with the question of whether she wanted the US to win in Iraq. Rosie refused to answer. She said she doesn't think that it's possible. She wants America to be what "the founding Fathers wanted it to be." But she wouldn't say she wanted the US to win in iraq. According to Rosie, wanting the US to win in Iraq is "antiquated thinking." Video...

October 17, 2006 -- THE death over the weekend of former Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress, is a stark reminder of how much all those howls of Democratic outrage over the Mark Foley scandal ring so hollow. The Massachusetts Democrat is being hailed by national political leaders, including Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, as a "role model" who "gave a lot of people courage" by coming out of the closet. Yet Studds openly declared his homosexuality only after an investigation revealed he'd had a sexual relationship with a male teenage congressional page and propositioned two...

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person elected to Congress, died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, several days after he collapsed while walking his dog, his husband said. Studds fell unconscious October 3 because of what doctors later determined was a blood clot in his lung, Dean Hara said. Studds regained consciousness, remained in the hospital, and seemed to be improving. He was scheduled to be transferred to a rehabilitation center, but his condition deteriorated Friday and he died at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Hara said. Hara, who married Studds shortly after...

Gay community analyzes Foley resignation Originally posted on October 01, 2006 MIAMI — "He was a homophobe who needed to be exposed," said journalist Michael Rogers, whose Web site, www.blogactive.com/, reported on Florida Rep. Mark Foley for three years. "I first started to report on Foley in March 2003," said Rogers, who is gay. "The reason why — he's anti-gay. He voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and has not renounced that vote. He refused to acknowledge that he supported the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell.' He would not sign on as a co-sponsor. He should be held...

by Mark Finkelstein September 20, 2006 - 08:35 Interviewed by 'Today' host Matt Lauer this morning, former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey blamed the "immoral and ugly" way he acted out on his homosexuality on the fact that his parents were straight and thus couldn't act as role models. McGreevey was on to promote his new book, "The Confession." Lauer: "Not only as governor but as a state employee, you were living a very risky life-style. Anonymous sex with random men at places like highway rest stops. You write 'I was promiscuous and sexually active in ways I consider immoral and...

BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Five parents who asked to transfer their children out of Batavia High School classes with a transsexual teacher have been denied, according to city schools Superintendent Richard Stutzman. The written requests did not meet the guidelines set out by the district, Stutzman said Tuesday without providing specifics. "That's all between the school, the teacher, the parents," he said. Other students were allowed to adjust their schedules because their requests were based on changes in their academic programs, Stutzman said. Fall classes began Wednesday in Batavia, 31 miles southwest of Rochester. Diagnosed with a transsexual disorder, the teacher...

Batavia High Parents Learn About Gender Identity Disorder Mike Doria, Patrice Walsh (Batavia, N.Y.) -- Parents at Batavia High School learned a lot about gender identity disorder Monday night. More than 100 parents met with school leaders and heard from legal and medical experts to talk about the transition when a male teacher at the high school returns to school next week as a woman. The earth science teacher, whose name hasn't been released, has been with the Batavia City School District for eight years. Parents were sent a letter last week explaining the situation. Some feel they weren't amply...

CLEVELAND -- It was probably not a defense the court had heard before. A suburban Cleveland man accused of sexually assaulting nine disabled boys told a judge Wednesday that his apartment was a religious sanctuary where smoking marijuana and having sex with children are sacred rituals protected by civil rights laws. The admitted pedophile offered a surprising defense Wednesday to 74 charges of rape, drugs and pandering obscenity to minors. Appearing in an Ohio court for a pretrial hearing, Phillip Distasio, 34, of Rocky River, Ohio, said he was a pedophile. He told the judge, "I'm a pedophile. I've been...

Boy George will be picking up street trash for five daysNEW YORK — Boy George will perform his court-ordered community service by picking up trash on city streets in the August heat, a sanitation spokesman said.The one-time Culture Club singer will be issued a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves when he reports Aug. 14 for five days of work, said department spokesman Vito Turso. "This is the epitome of community service," Turso told the Daily News for Monday editions. "It's not like he's going to be working in an air-conditioned office."Born George O'Dowd, the 45-year-old singer has struggled with...

City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. said a recent push to force the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scouts Council to denounce the national organization's antigay policy had nothing to do with his own homosexuality. "My own sexuality, my own sexual orientation, has never been hidden and never played into my decision," Diaz said in an interview yesterday with The Inquirer. "It has, perhaps, made me more sensitive to the issues." Diaz said he sent another letter yesterday morning seeking a meeting with William T. Dwyer III, council chief executive officer and president. Diaz, the city's first openly gay solicitor and...

Singer George Michael denied he has been forced to call off his "wedding" to his long-term partner after being caught cruising for sex with strangers. The former Wham! star insisted that his partner Kenny Goss had no problem with him being with other men.