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The summer of gay programming? Neal Justin Published July 28, 2003 QUEVAR The Supreme Court's decision to wipe out anti-sodomy laws and the very real possibility that same-sex marriages will soon be legal in Massachusetts are ample reasons for the gay community to celebrate. But there's another recent event that -- in its own way -- is just as significant: Butch got a makeover. Bravo's "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy," this summer's sleeper hit, consists of a band of gay lifestyle mavens shaking up the lives of heterosexual subjects, like Brian (Butch) Schepel, by rearranging their wardrobes, changing...

My name is Christopher Wardale. I am 57 years old. I am a priest in the Church of England. I am Vicar of Holy Trinity Darlington. I am gay and am now in the 20th year of a loving and stable same-sex relationship. I am deeply saddened by the resignation of Jeffrey John as the next bishop of Reading. It has become clear from the public wranglings of the past month that the Church of England, of which I have been a member all my life, is more concerned with power struggles than the ministry of faithful priests. The long-term...

Gay "marriage" proposals unveiled LONDON (Reuters) - The government has unveiled the possibility of gay "marriage" to raised eyebrows among church groups and mixed feelings among gay-rights campaigners. In an unlikely twist, one prominent campaigner branded the proposal to give legal status to same-sex couples as "heterophobic". The reforms are aimed at easing some of the problems that gay couples face, including missing out on rights to pensions, death-benefits and alimony. Couples would make a formal, legal commitment to each other by registering their relationship as a "Civil Partnership". They follow similar proposals in the U.K. last year which would...

Licence to marry my sheepdog not so easy to come by at City HallPRO BONE: As some may recall, I married my sheepdog in a January 2001 column. Dog, man or woman, we each never found anybody we like as much. Lovely wedding. Reception in the creek. It couldn't be better. Thanks for asking. But back in those dark, old dog days, a guy-mutt hookup wasn't Official. Sure, we were life partners. But where was the Marriage Licence? Thanks to our forward-looking Ontario Court of Appeal, our union can now be legally recognized. Sanctioned. Acknowledged. "That line over there," says...

June 13, 2003, 10:15 a.m. Oh, Canada! Will Canadian gay marriage stand? By Stanley Kurtz Has Canada legalized gay marriage? Maybe. Maybe not. In any case, if Canada hasn't already legalized same-sex marriage, it will almost certainly do so soon. This week's events north of the border tell us a lot about the coming battle over gay marriage in the United States. But to understand the lessons of Canada, we've first got to figure out what's actually happening there. The answer isn't obvious. Let's begin by reviewing the situation as it stood prior to this week's Ontario court ruling. The...

<p>Gay and lesbian groups said yesterday that the Catholic Church, under siege for the clergy abuse scandal, lacks the moral authority to mobilize parishioners against same-sex marriage. They are urging parishioners to walk out of services if priests voice the church's opposition to same-sex unions and to boycott church collections.</p>

Recently, two University of Pennsylvania researchers announced findings that, in the words of the Washington Post, "could blur the biological line between fathers and mothers." Writing in the online journal Science, Hans Schoeler and Karin Huebner described how they turned ordinary mouse embryonic stem cells into eggs capable of being fertilized. What’s more, the stem cells they used were from males. Thus, if the technique used by the two researchers is applicable to humans, it could be possible for a gay couple to have children "with one man contributing sperm and the other fresh eggs bearing his own genes." That...

After bouncing between nine residential programs, four foster families and an untold number of bigots, homelessness didn't seem like such a bad alternative to Eve Serrano. ``My life is no picnic,'' said Serrano, 20, a Latina lesbian honor student of the School of Hard Knocks who was received with empathetic applause from some 1,500 like-minded survivors at yesterday's ninth annual Gay/Straight Youth Pride rally in Copley Square. Serrano, who shed frilly frocks and flowing locks for crewcuts and cargo pants when she was 13, said she grew up in a New Jersey ghetto listening to her own family berate her...

New York Times national correspondent Richard Berke: "...literally three-quarters of the people deciding what’s on the front page are not-so-closeted homosexuals." The New York Times Just How ‘Gay’ is The New York Times? Ask Richard Berke     2/5/2003By Peter LaBarberaOriginal Story Exposed ‘Gay’ Influence at Nation's Most Influential NewspaperCFI Media Accountability Project Editor-in-chief’s note: The following is the original story from the now-defunct Lambda Report that reported a comment by New York Times national correspondent Richard Berke that “literally three-quarters of the people deciding what’s on the front page [of the Times] are not-so-closeted homosexuals.” Berke, a homosexual, was speaking at an...

A BACTERIAL disease spread through sodomy between rams was increasing their risk of infertility, NSW Agriculture said yesterday. Senior field veterinary officer at Wagga Mr Rob Walker said the disease, ovine brucellosis, was becoming more common among NSW rams. Recent blood testing of commercial sheep flocks in southern NSW had found between 40 and 50 per cent of rams carried the infection. The percentage of rams in each flock that were infected had increased from six to 12 per cent during the past 15 to 20 years.

(3) The Arizona Human Rights Fund, which exists to promote the rights of gays, lesbians, the bisexual and transgendered, has scheduled its 12th annual awards dinner in June, and you’ll never guess who’s coming to dinner! The honorary chair for this event is Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who as the state’s chief legal officer will be showing his support for creating new rights for people based on their sexual behavior. In addition, you should know that a live, fundraising auction will be conducted by the founder of Terri’s Design and Consign Furnishing. And the corporate award will go to...

Philadelphia was host to one of the first gay-rights marches in the country in July 1965 in front of Independence Hall. Since then, a flourishing gay-friendly community known as the "gayborhood" has grown up around the area of 12th and Locust Streets in Center City. RON CORTES / Inquirer Artist Ann Northrup, 54, sits on the scaffolding in front of her mural, “Pride and Progress,” on the western wall of the William Way Community Center on Spruce Street. The mural, which takes up almost an entire block, was started in August. Northrup and 20 others used more than 50 gallons...

I learned the truth at 17 Our high school senior correspondent reaches a crossroads: If he takes another guy to the prom, is he doing it for himself, or just to fulfill an image of “gay teen” that’s taking over his life? By Paul Chandler An Advocate.com exclusive posted April 9, 2003 A few weeks ago I was contemplating taking out an ad that read, “Emergency! Need gay male prom date. Respond immediately.” Every time spring rolls in, prom fever hits. Who am I going to go with? Where do we go to eat? What about afterward? Do we really...

It hasn't been easy teaching children about homosexuality in the Newton schools because many parents are not happy with the plan, a social worker told the attendees at one of the Fistgate sessions held this year at Tufts University."I work in the Newton public schools, and a lot of times it can be a very reactionary group, and it has not been easy at all," said Laura Perkins, who is a social worker in the schools.Her session at Fistgate 2003 was about introducing six-year-olds to homosexual concepts. She shared books and sample lesson plans. The session was titled, "Developing Lessons...

Gay Rights Group: Pro-Family Republicans are 'Hysterical' Commenting on the recent conservative criticism of an apparent Republican cave-in to demands of the Human Rights Campaign -- a gay lobbying group who recently met with Republican National Committee Chairman Marc Racicot -- a spokesman for the group insisted that the furor is much ado about nothing. "I think conservative leaders are acting in an hysterical manner -- that the Chairman of the RNC simply came to speak with us -- he was well-received and we appreciated his visit and I think that they are making a lot of noise over nothing,...

Summary: In fighting to overturn a Texas law against homosexual sodomy, homosexual activists have quietly admitted that their claim that 10% of the population is homosexual is wrong.In what will go down as one of the most underreported stories of the year, homosexual activists fighting against a sodomy law in Texas have admitted in a legal brief that 10% of the population is not homosexual. The 10% claim has been used for more than 20 years to push the homosexual agenda—and to recruit public school children into the homosexual deathstyle. The admission that the 10% figure is wrong appeared in...

IN AN April 30 essay titled "The Libertarian Question," my fellow National Review Online contributing editor Stanley Kurtz argues that laws against sodomy, adultery and incest should remain on the books largely to protect the institution of heterosexual marriage. By stigmatizing sexual relations outside that institution, Kurtz believes "the taboo on non-marital and non-reproductive sexuality helps to cement marital unions, and helps prevent acts of adultery that would tear those unions apart." Kurtz also states that keeping adult incest illegal will reduce the odds of sex between adults and their minor relatives. Anti-pedophilia laws, virtually everyone agrees, should be energetically...

Blair gives religious employers the right to sack gay workers By Paul Waugh 11 May 2003 Tony Blair was accused of caving in to evangelical Christians last night after it emerged that new government legislation will allow faith schools, churches, hospices and other religious employers to sack lesbian and gay staff. Equal rights campaigners were furious when they discovered that regulations intended to combat discrimin- ation in the workplace contain wide-ranging exemptions for any employer "with an ethos based on religion or belief". The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement said that the move would institutionalise homophobia in a way that...

The California Supreme Court is considering a request by a lesbian woman that could nullify thousands of adoptions by homosexual couples in the state. A pro-family group contends the parental-rights case exposes illegal policies of liberal judges, Gov. Gray Davis and his Department of Social Services. Gov. Gray Davis "Gray Davis made up his own law and pushed through gay adoptions behind the voters' backs," insisted Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families, a nonprofit family issues group. The case centers on "second-parent adoption," in which a birth mother's unmarried partner adopts the mother's child, usually conceived by...

<p>SUISUN CITY -- He's a 5th-degree black belt, a registered Republican, a whiz with computers, a gadget geek and a big Tom Clancy fan. He dotes on his nieces and nephews. He admires Colin Powell and Abraham Lincoln. In his holster is a Walther PPK, James Bond's preferred pistol.</p>