If you haven’t been actively avoiding Wal-Mart like it was H1N1, now you have more justification: a gay couple was recently banned for life from the chain after being harassed by Niles, MI store security for reportedly shoplifting, claims that were quickly verified by local police as untrue. Litigation to sue the couple at ten times the amount of items claimed as stolen is underway, the rationale being they were “uncooperative” by refusing to enter a closed-off detention room with their 11-year-old twins. While the couple talked to the police, the young boys were kept in the detention room and are now experiencing nightmares and other emotional trauma. The smiley-face mascotted store that purports to be family-friendly apparently stops short of that definition when it comes to same-sex couples.
On the other side, current enemies to gay rights legislation may be seeking some unity with the LGBT community: Salt Lake City passed two bills endorsed by the Mormon Church that ban employment and housing discrimination against LGBT people, the first city in Utah to do so. Even with a predominately Church-affiliated legislature and a governor who has stated that discrimination against LGBT people should not be made illegal, things are starting to look on the progressive side for the state.
An open and affirming church in (veh-ry) conservative Orange County, CA has decided to stage a performance of the controversial play “Corpus Christi.” The play follows a narrative positing Jesus as a gay Texan man in the 1950s, which is sure to angry up the blood of more than a few Bible-thumpers in the area. Church of the Foothills state that their intention is to begin a dialogue about the intersection of sexual orientation and spirituality with what they deem a respectful handling of the issue by playwright Terrence McNally.
An Alabaman teen who was recently denied attendance to her school’s prom if she brought her girlfriend as a date may be able to attend after all. After intervention by the ACLU and a near-cancellation of the entire event, Tharptown High School officials say the will allow Cynthia Stewart to attend with her girlfriend as long as the out-of-district teen passes a screening. Stewart is part of the prom planning committee and helped raise more than $200 to fund the dance.
