At the annual National Prayer Breakfast on February 4, President Obama condemned Ugandan legislation that would penalize homosexual people for engaging in homosexuality. Speaking before a room filled with sponsors of the breakfast, the Fellowship Foundation–an organization linked to efforts to pass the anti-LGBT bill–Obama called the measures “unconscionable” and “odious.”

60 members of Congress have signed a letter addressed to President Obama urging him to pass the comprehensive immigration-reform Uniting American Families Act with language that allows LGBT U.S. nationals to sponsor their partners
in binational families.

The European Parliament reaffirmed today that securing LGBT rights were an important consideration for candidate countries applying to join the European Union.

A school program for LGBT students recently opened in Los Angeles. A collaboration with Opportunities for Learning, the anti-harassment school would offer around 40 7th through 12th graders an alternative program with an independent study angle. Students meet with an instructor twice a week and spend the other weekdays completing a full day of schoolwork at home.

If you are planning on spending your Valentine’s weekend eating pints of Chubby Hubby and watching Love, Actually fourteen times, fear not! Single Mingle will be hosting their Big Gay Valentine’s Day show at Spybar (646 N. Franklin) on Saturday, February 13. Single Mingle utilizes familiar dating game elements in a live environment that allows the crowd to size each other up and pair off while three predetermined contestants vie for the hand of one lucky lonesome. Doors open at 6 PM followed by two shows separated by an intermission.

If you’re looking for something to do with a special someone this weekend, head to Chicago’s Freedom to Marry Day events, which will include a demonstration by the LGBTQA Liberation Network on Valentine’s Day outside Holy Name Cathedral (735 N. State St.) picketing Cardinal Francis George and his efforts within the Catholic church to staunch equal marriage. Meet up at 10:30 AM, just in time for mass! London will be holding a similar demonstration that day to protest a visit by the Pope, organizing for a secular Europe as well as LGBT and women’s rights.

Note: We’re retooling our News section to cover news in a way more fitting to our voice and with slightly more editorial comment. Take this moment to ogle our new side image as well.

With all eyes on the national repeal of DOMA, we may have overlooked the inequity in our own state. But just last week, State Senator Heather Steans proposed the Equal Marriage Act to the state senate. This is the first bill to be introduced in the Illinois senate, but it meshes well with the current Same-Sex Marriage and Religion Freedoms Act by Representative Greg Harris in the state House.

Even though it has long been proven that gay men are not the only carriers of HIV, only making up about half the newly infected rate in the U.S., no one CC’ed blood donation centers. A Canadian man recently filed a countersuit against Canadian Blood Services who were suing him for not revealing his status as MSM when donating between 1998 and 2002. MSM are one of the few major groups, and the only one based on sexual practice, to be denied as blood donors based simply on the demerit of having homoerotic intercourse since the arbitrary date of 1977 (because no one could possibly have had AIDS before then). Kyle Freeman’s lawsuit asserts that all applicants should be reviewed based on their behavior and not their identity and is another example in a long list of people fighting to change this near-universal policy.

On Thursday, October 1, a Texas judge ruled that the state ban on same-sex marriage violated the equal protection clause in the state constitution when deciding in a case of same-sex divorce. The attorney general filed an accelerated appeal, but the court will go ahead and file the divorce papers in the meantime. Speculation is high as to whether or not this will mean a trend toward marriage equality in the state or if this is an isolated instance.

Researchers with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative have identified two new antibodies that resist HIV, the first find in over a decade. The antibodies only exist in a handful of people with HIV, but researchers hope that the relative accessibility to the sites on the virus the antibodies work against will show progress for a vaccine.

Chicago Public Schools have a devised a new advisory council on LGBT issues after grassroots organizing by a group of young students. The reforms that have developed are a student justice handbook that trains students and teachers on how to respectfully treat LGBT peers as well as include gender identity and expression in the list of protections. Renaissance 2010 schools, including military academies, may choose not to follow CPS policy on these issues.

A Navy sailor was abused by fellow sailors and commanding officers for over two years for being homosexual. Joseph Rocha, who was discharged under DADT, developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the abuse he suffered, and 93 other incidents of abuse are alleged against the same officers who abused Rocha.

Melissa Sue Robinson, a transwoman and former Republican, is running for mayor of a small Idaho town. Robinson is hoping that the people of Nampa will become more acquainted with her and more understanding of the issues facing transgender people.

A novel about a cross-dressing 12-year-old boy is nominated for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress is about Dennis and how he deals with his desire to wear girls’ clothes to school. The Dahl Funny Prize was started in the UK in 2008 to reward the funniest books for children, one for ages 6 and under and one for children 7 to fourteen.

After pressure from LGBT rights groups, including Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network, LiveNation and AEG Live have decided to cancel the U.S. tour for “murder music” and “kill gays” reggae star Buju Banton. Although his lyrical content at U.S. performances usually shies away from his brutal and dangerous calls to murder homosexuals found on his albums, Banton would have profited at the expense of the LGBT community, including at Chicago’s House of Blues at a scheduled October 1 performance.

After 2 months, the Texas liquor board has finally made decisions on the agents involved in a Fort Worth bar raid that saw a number of gay men injured on the same night as the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. 2 agents and a supervisor off-site were fired, effective September 2, and 2 additional supervisors were disciplined.

On Friday, August 28, the body of Larry Frankel was found in Rock Creek Park in D.C. Frankel was the State Legislative Counsel for the ACLU and was an openly gay man active in the marriage equality struggle. The details of his homicide are still being investigated.

Despite their best efforts, the National Organization for Marriage saw their leading candidate for Iowa’s House of Representatives lose by a small margin to pro-gay marriage Democratic candidate Curt Hanson in a special election. Marriage equality advocates hope this helps retain same-sex marriage in the state in the wake of campaigning by NOM to overturn it.

To celebrate marriage equality in their home state of Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s will be renaming one of their beloved flavors, “Chubby Hubby.” “Hubby Hubby” will be available for the month of September, but will revert to its original title after.

Prominent gay fiction writer E. Lynn Harris died from unknown causes this past weekend. Harris novels and autobiographical work depicted gay life from an African-American perspective; his previous book was released in January while his final novel was slated for release in October.

Although it has an increase in gay tourism and full marriage rights, a third of transgender residents in Massachusetts report that they have contemplated suicide. This is a large margin compared to 2 percent for heterosexuals and 4-7 percent for homosexuals and bisexuals.

On Wednesday, August 5, LGBT veterans will be honored at Daley Plaza for the country’s only city-sponsored salute to LGBT military personnel. “With Liberty and Justice For All” will take place between noon and 1 PM with former Naval officer and diversity leader Luke Visconti and Rep. Mike Quigley as keynote speakers.

The British army magazine, Soldier, features an openly gay servicemember on its July cover for the first time since the ban was lifted for homosexual service in the military. Trooper James Wharton will appear next to the word “pride,” and the response from former military members who did not come out during service has been outstanding.

Congress has officially passed the Matthew Shepard Act, allowing stronger sentencing for hate crimes and protection for people based on gender expression and sexual orientation. However, Sen. Jeff Sessions added a provision to the bill that would require a death sentence penalty in some instances. LGBT activists hope this provision is removed before the Defense Department amendment goes to the President.

A study conducted by Transgender Europe and German-language journal Liminalis found that the murder rate for transgender people is on a troubling rise. Of the 200 murders counted worldwide between January 2008 and June 2009, most took place in North and Latin America. The United States was found to be the second most dangerous nation, after Brazil, for transgender people.

This troubling statistic has also played out in a number of specific situations. On Friday, July 17, Dwight DeLee was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime in the death of transwoman Lateisha Green last November. He faces 10-25 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on August 18. Following a military coup in Honduras to oust current President Manuel Zelaya, a transgender activist was murdered and five other LGBT activists were arrested and abused.

For the second week in a row, a kiss-in occurred on Sunday near Salt Lake City’s LDS temple on Main Street Plaza following the detention of two gay men for public displays of affection on the property. National civil rights group Empowering Spirits Foundation is holding a kiss-in on Wednesday, July 22 outside the LDS church in San Diego, where supporters are asked to wear hearts on their body.

The recent decision by California Episcopal churches to allow gay and lesbian ministers to be ordained was preceded by work from a Chicago group of Episcopalian leaders. The Chicago Consultation put together demonstrations, films and discussions to help the U.S. Episcopal church realize the importance of LGBT members. A group of more conservative churches have decided to split with the Episcopalian church and become the Anglican Church in North America; the world-wide Anglican Church is where the Episcopal Church branches off.

Our friends Split Pillow have teamed up with Marillac House, a social center located in Garfield Park that provides services to youth and adults in the area, to provide a MediaStart! program (video below) that teaches children how to make their own independent documentaries. This necessary program is supported by state funding, but recent budget cuts may force Marillac House to end their Early Childhood Education programs. This affects over 800 children and their families who are part of the youth programs at the nearly century-old center. We would be losing tools that help minority media thrive and allow the next generation to perpetuate their voices.

This problem directly affects Marillac House now, but will also be a significant hurdle for educators and students during the upcoming school year. You can help out by contacting Illinois state legislators and asking them to restore additional funding for education to the state budget. Get contact information either by clicking the link above or by calling (312) 814-6440. Additionally, ask at least five people you know to do the same. It could make a world of difference for Chicago youth.

by Jonathan Mathias

This past Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the special day marking 40 years of activism for LGBT rights just happened to fall on the day of Chicago’s Pride Parade. Halsted Street was its usual calamitous self, chock full of drag queens, galavanting twinks in only underwear and seemingly more allies than ever. Stonewall’s anniversary combined with the past year’s surge of LGBT awareness and the perfect weather brought together all of the elements for one of the biggest and longest Pride Parades ever. Over 450,000 people lined the streets from Belmont and Halsted to Diversey and Sheridan, many cheering on the participants and administering whacks with wooden paddles provided by The Pleasure Chest. The parade showcased the diversity and breadth our community with 250 organizations marching, including Cul de sac Magazine, to a timeless soundtrack of the recently passed Michael Jackson’s hits.

Check out Jonathan’s full Pride photo essay on Flickr.

As the child of entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, Chaz Bono has decided to come out publicly as transgender and live his life openly by transitioning from female to male. Many have applauded Chaz’s decision and hope that his statements will help bring more attention to transgender issues that have largely been ignored.

The GLSEN released a report on Wednesday showing that most of Illinois’ LGBT students have faced harassment. 89% of youth have received verbal harassment, while a large minority–21%–have faced physical abuse based on their LGBT identity.

President Obama on Wednesday stated his support of partner benefits for federal employees with a memorandum aimed at requesting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Director of Personnel Management John Berry to grant what rights their offices could to same-sex partners of federal employees. The Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 is in Congress now to provide a full range of equal rights to same-sex couples where one member is an employee of the federal government, while the memorandum can only be applied to long-term care insurance for employees and their partners.

The horrific murder of transwoman Teish Green on November 14, 2008 was set to go to trial to prosecute suspect Dwight DeLee in Syracuse, NY on Thursday, June 11, but has been pushed back to Monday, July 13. The case is being considered a hate crime based on the defendant’s knowledge of Green’s gender identity, a charge upheld by Judge William Walsh.

The State Government Committee of Ohio’s House passed anti-discrimination bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act. The bill will have to go on to both Ohio’s House of Representatives and State Senate for before being passed.

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on June 1st declaring June as LGBT Pride Month, a long-standing de facto celebration that is being recognized by the federal government for the first time. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a statement on the State Department’s commitment to equal treatment of LGBT employees and their intention to continue progressing a human rights agenda ensuring equality for LGBT members in America and abroad.

On Sunday, May 31, the Nevada Assembly voted 28-14 to override Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto of a domestic partnership bill that goes into affect October 1. The first bill of its kind in Nevada, the domestic partnership bill allows a contract between heterosexual and homosexual couples, but does not guarantee all rights, such as employer recognition of partnership status.

In Chicago, the open 26th Ward Alderman seat vacated by Billy Ocasio may be filled by Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, a controversial figure in the LGBT community for his open condemnation of homosexuality. De Jesus has stated his intention to fulfill his duty to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation, but LGBT activists are still concerned about his commitment will actually play out.

The Elgin Area High School District U-46 board is considering instituting a Gay-Straight Alliance on Elgin’s campus. The school already hosts a Prism group for LGBT students, but the GSA would be the first officially sanctioned LGBT club on the extracurricular roster.

Recently, the Department of Education appointed nine members of staff, including Kevin Jennings, formerly the executive director and founder of GLSEN, as Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings’ appointment has been criticized by religious leaders who have called on President Obama to withdraw his appointment, but no move has been made to remove Jennings.