Today, the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) took out a full-page ad in The Washington Post exposing former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) long history of anti-gay positions. He is widely believed to be President Obama’s pick for Secretary of Defense, and could be nominated by the President as early as today.

The Washington Post ad addresses Chuck Hagel’s recent apology by stating, “Chuck Hagel’s Apology: Too Little, Too Late.” Hagel’s apology was submitted after his anti-gay remarks opposing the Ambassadorship of James Hormel for being "openly, aggressively, gay" surfaced in the media. In Hagel's apology to Politico he said his comments did not reflect the "totality of [his] public record."

A bit more on Hagel’s past with the lgbt community:

In 1996 Hagel said he supported the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law defining marriage as one man and one woman. He also supported a state constitutional amendment barring gays from marrying.

In 1998 Hagel opposed the nomination of James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg, arguing that an "openly, aggressively gay" man should not be selected to represent the U.S.

In 1999 Hagel opposed repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, saying, "the U.S. armed forces aren't some social experiment."

In 2005, in reaction to a federal judge's ruling that Nebraska's voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage violated the constitutional rights of lesbians and gay men, Hagel opposed the decision saying, "I am hopeful the federal appeals court will recognize the rights of Nebraskans to determine their own laws governing marriage and reverse this decision."

"At Chuck Hagel's request, we looked into the 'totality' of his public record on gay rights, and it did nothing to assuage our concerns that his anti-gay record makes him the wrong choice to oversee the ongoing integration of gays and lesbians in the military," stated Gregory T. Angelo, Interim Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "Until his name surfaced as a potential nominee for Secretary of Defense, he has stood firmly and aggressively against not only gay marriage, but also against gay people in general. Log Cabin Republicans helped lead the charge to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and is extremely invested in seeing that we don't lose any ground due to a lack of sincere commitment to gay people and their families on the part of the incoming Defense Secretary."

Today's ad is Log Cabin's second to condemn Hagel, following a December 27th advertisement in The New York Times.

Highlands Inn in Bethlehem gets a new lease on life

By John O'Connell

Highlands Inn, the much-loved lesbian bed and breakfast in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, could have faced some drastic changes over the past year. After over twenty-five years of service to the resort, founding inn-keeper Grace Newman decided to sell the property in 2011. As is typical with the warm and welcoming nature of the property, Newman sat down to explain her decision to long-term, repeat guests, such as Jenny Wackerle and Gia Koumantzelis. “We were there last July for vacation and Grace sat us down and said she was retiring,” explains Wackerle. “Our first reaction was, ‘Oh no!‘ But on the way home we said to ourselves, ‘Wait a minute. Is this something that we should do?’”

Retiring Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank has revered course and now says that he is interested in filling the senate seat that will open up when current Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is appointed Secretary of State.

Frank, appearing on msnbc's "Morning Joe", had the following to say:

“A few weeks ago said, I said wasn't interested. It was kind of like, you're about to graduate and they said, you've got to go to summer school. But that [fiscal cliff] deal now means that February, March, and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history."

Frank continued, "Yes, in fact, I'm not going to be coy, it's not anything I've ever been good at. I've told the governor that I would now like, frankly, to be a part of that. It's only a three-month period, I wouldn't want to do anything more, but to be honest, it's a little arrogant."

"Coach, put me in."

The temporary appointment to fill Senator Kerry's seat is expected to last until sometime this summer.

The Boston PrideSports Awards organizing committee has announced the 2013 award nominees. Winners will be announced at the Gala which will take place at the Westin Waterfront hotel in Saturday night, January 26th.

And the nominees are:

Inspiring Athlete Award

Steve Harrington – Boston Gay Basketball League
Bryan Innocenti – Tennis4All
Michael Kloc – Ironsides Rugby Football Club

Spirit Award

David Bollvar – Boston Pride Hockey
Marc Davino – Boston Gay Basketball League
Luciano Grubissich – Boston Ironsides Rugby Football Club
Richard Moore – FLAG Flag Football
John Natale – Boston Strikers Soccer Club
Caros Terra – Tennis4All
Rob Silliman – Beantown South Bowling League

Sportsmanship Award

Kiwi Diaz – Boston Ironsides Rugby Club
Cliff Gibbons – Tennis4All
Brad Mayeux – Boston Gay Basketball League
Robert Saurer – FLAG Flag Football

Organizational Awards

Jay Biethan – Liquid Assets New England Swim Team
Alexander Cerone – Boston Ironsides Rugby Football League
Rick Doyon – Cambridge Boston Volleyball Association
Craig Haas – FLAG Flag Football
Dave Hodges – Beantown Soft-Tip Dart League
Troy Liston – Boston Strikers Soccer Club
Elaine Otte – Beantown Softball League
Bob Quist – Boston Gay Basketball League
Rob Silliman – Beantown South Bowling League
Rudy Vargas – Boston Pride Hockey
Chris Wood – Tennis4All

Winners will be announced at the Gala on January 26th. Join local, out, sports columnist Steve Buckley and hundreds of local athletes and friends for a great night of food, fun, and dancing. The event is open to everyone and tickets are only $60. For more information and to purchase tickets CLICK HERE or visit BostonSpiritMagazine.com

As Republicans in the House of Representatives ramped up to the recent ‘fiscal cliff’ showdown one message front and center was the need for spending cuts. Apparently those cuts do not apply when fighting the Defense of Marriage Act is concerned.

In a recent meeting the House Republican Conference gave the go ahead to the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG -- the House legal team) to continue paying outside counsel to defend DOMA.

According to a report released in October by Democrats on the House Administration Committee, BLAG has already spent more than $1.5 million to defend DOMA after the Obama administration decided to cease defending DOMA after finding it unconstitutional.

Huffington Post obtained a draft of the bill which is expected to pass the House shortly:

(1) CONTINUING AUTHORITY FOR THE BIPARTISAN LEGAL ADVISORY GROUP.

(A) The House authorizes the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the 113th Congress –

(i) to act as successor in interest to the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the 112th Congress with respect to civil actions in which it intervened in the 112th Congress to defend the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (1 U.S.C. 7) or related provisions of titles 10, 31, and 38, United States Code, including in the case of Windsor v. United States, 833 F. Supp.2d 394 (S.D.N.Y. June 6, 2012), aff'd, 699 F.3d 169 (2d Cir. Oct. 18, 2012), cert. granted, No. 12–307 (Dec. 7, 2012), cert. pending No. 12–63 (July 16, 2012) and 12-ll (Dec.___2012);

(ii) to take such steps as may be appropriate to ensure continuation of such civil actions; and

(iii) to intervene in other cases that involve a challenge to the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act or related provisions of titles 10, 31, and 38, United States Code.

(B) Pursuant to clause 8 of rule II, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group continues to speak for, and articulate the institutional position of, the House in all litigation matters in which it appears, including in Windsor v. United States.

Windsor v. United States was recently added to the list of cases to be brought before the Supreme Court in 2013.

According to Rhode Island state Rep. Arthur Handy (D-Cranston), he will introduce legislation tomorrow that would allow gay couples to marry in Rhode Island. Since the November elections, when Maine passed a law allowing for same sex marriages, Rhode Island has been the only New England state that does not allow for marriage equality.

Handy is currently working on getting co-sponsors for the bill and will most certainly approach openly gay House Speaker Gordon Fox.

One past sticking point in similar proposed legislation in Rhode Island has been language that would allow religious organizations the power to have "exclusive control over its own religious doctrine, policy, and teachings regarding who may marry within their faith, and on what terms." The language would protect clergy from being obligated to officiate any ceremony that is against their religious principles.

The good, the bad, the in-between — what made the news for New England LGBTs in 2012

JANUARY

• The Advocate ranked Cambridge as the 3rd-gayest city in America in its annual report. The designation came with references to the town’s having nude yoga classes, WNBA teams, and appearances by bands such as the Veronicas and the Cliks. (Boston received an honorable mention at 24.)

• The Health Resources and Services Administration, of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, awarded a $248,000 grant to The Fenway Institute to fund the creation of a national training and technical assistance center for LGBT health issues, marking the first time the HRSA has funded an LGBT-focused cooperative agreement of this scale.

• Mayors for the Freedom to Marry organization launched with 116 New England mayors and counting. The bipartisan coalition affirmed their support of same-sex couples to marry, saying “it enhances the economic competitiveness of our communities, improves the lives of families that call our cities home, and is simply the right thing to do.” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is one of five co-chairs.

FEBRUARY

Pope Benedict XVI used his annual Christmas address to the Vatican to take aim at homosexuals, who he said were destroying the “very essence of the human creature.”

"People dispute the idea that they have a nature, given to them by their bodily identity, that serves as a defining element of the human being," he said. "They deny their nature and decide that it is not something previously given to them, but that they make it for themselves. The manipulation of nature, which we deplore today where our environment is concerned, now becomes man's fundamental choice where he himself is concerned," he said.

"When freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God," Benedict continued.

The Pope went on to say that allowing gays to adopt children was “an attack” on the traditional family.

Several Catholic groups in the U.S. were quick to respond to the Pope’s remarks.

"Increasingly Catholics in the United States and around the world see what we see. Catholics, following their own well-formed consciences, are voting to support equal rights for LGBT people because in their churches and communities they see a far healthier, godly and realistic vision of the human family than the one offered by the pope," said a statement from the groups Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, and New Ways Ministry.

Outgoing Congressman Barney Frank sat down recently for an interview with Huffington Post Senior Editor Michelangelo Signorile. Frank was, as usual, very candid in discussing topics ranging from his ‘coming out’ in 1987, the legalization of prostitution and marijuana, Prop 8 and the Supreme Court, and the future of LGBT rights.

Here are a few highlights:

On coming out:

“I simply would not have won in 1980 if I was out,” he continued. “The fact would have destroyed my chances. I didn’t deny it but just did not volunteer it. I came to Washington and it was just not satisfactory. I told myself, ‘I’m going to be a gay man privately and publicly I’m not going to say anything.’ And what I learned is that, particularly in a prominent position, you can’t live half gay and half closeted. So I decided to come out, and I was wrestling with when to do it, and the Stewart McKinney funeral drove me over the top.”

Regarding the legalization of prostitution (and marijuana):

“I always have thought prostitution should be legal,” he said. “I know people said, ‘Oh it victimizes women.’ And the women are vulnerable. We’ve seen this recently where the women are prosecuted when the customers, the men customers, have gotten away with it. But I think in the first place it’s a matter of personal choice. I’m for legalizing marijuana. I’m for legalizing gambling. I don’t think the government should be trying to make you a better person. But beyond that, the practical effect, the women, who are predominantly the prostitutes, they’re worse off when it’s illegal, because they’re outside protection of the law. They’re more subject to violence and subject to abuse because they can’t go to the law for protection.”

On the upcoming session in which the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Prop 8:

“I was critical of the decision to take Prop 8 to court,” he said. “I don’t the think the five-member Supreme Court majority that we have is ready to declare that there is a constitutional right to marry everywhere. To bring a lawsuit when you’re not likely to win it, prematurely, is a mistake. So I was very critical of those people in California who were doing that. When the Supreme Court decides the Prop 8 case, what I believe is likely to happen is that they will accept the decision by of the circuit court in the west coast [ the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had narrowed the decision to apply only to California]. It’s people being rescued from themselves. Some of them are still trying to push the broader case, which I think is a mistake.”

On Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s well known anti-lgbt views:

“I was glad that he made clear what’s been obvious, that he’s just a flat out bigot,” Frank said. “I’d previously said he was a homophobe. And Fox and the rightwing said, ‘Oh just because he’s not for same-sex marriage? And I said, ‘No, let me be very clear. That’s not it. This is a man who has said you should go to prison for having sex.’ It was an extraordinarily abusive sentiment and it was dead wrong. And, by the way, for a guy who is supposed to be so smart -- quite stupid.This young man said to him, ‘Why do you compare sodomy to murder?’ And he said, ‘Well because I have a right to say if I think something is immoral.’ Well the question wasn’t about his right. The question was, By what morality is expressing your love for someone in a physical way equivalent to killing that person? It makes it clear that the man is an unreconstructed bigot, and given that you have a bigot on the Supreme Court like that, it is useful to know.”

Regarding the future of LGBT rights:

“The next time we have a Democratic House, president and Senate,if DOMA hasn’t been found unconstitutional -- which, I still believe it will be -- then it will be repealed,” Frank stated. “And you’ll be able to get a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The transgender issue -- it’s interesting to see how time speeds up. In 1972, I filed the first gay rights bill in Massachusetts history [as a state legislator] and I remember at the time encountering this sense almost of disgust and discomfort from my colleagues. They didn’t want to think about it. And over time we eroded that. Now, the transgender issue is a new issue in the sense of being raised. When we were first dealing with it even five or six years ago, we ran into this same discomfort, unease, etc. We’ve made much quicker progress there. The time on this has sped up. So I believe we are now at the point, which we weren’t at even a few years ago, where we’re we’ll be able to get the transgender legislation.”

Her case may not be the most publicly appealing, but it’s pretty much a slam-dunk case of legal injustice

NOTE: The following is a story slated to run in the upcoming January/February 2013 issue of Boston Spirit magazine. We are running it here and now to include in the continuing coverage of the Michelle Kosilek case, including today's story from the Metro Desk of the Globe.

Every time Michelle Kosilek makes headlines, Gunner Scott’s phone rings off the hook.

Kosilek is in prison for committing a murder. By law, all prisoners are entitled to medically necessary procedures. For Kosilek, that means gender reassignment treatments. A U.S. District court has unequivocally stated that withholding treatment is a “violation of Kosilek’s Eighth Amendment right to adequate medical care.” For the judicial system, the case is a no brainer.

For just about everyone else the case can be confusing at a minimum, and downright infuriating at its worst. And some of those most disturbed by the case are often those who, like Kosilek, identify as transgender.

Gunner Scott, as executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political coalition, fields a number of these calls from frustrated and angry members of the transgender community who pepper him with questions like: Why is Kosilek up for getting treatment paid for by the state that they themselves can’t get from their own health insurance? Do I need to go to jail to get the health care that I need? How did a murderer become the face of transgender health care rights?

Republican Representative Todd Aiken, he of the "if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," statement, is at it again. Aiken, a Representative from Missouri who was beaten in the November election by Democrat Claire McCaskill is now spending his last few days in Washington targeting gays in the military.

Aiken is pushing to have a bill pushed through congress that will, essentially, give military personnel a “license to bully”. From Aiken’s proposed bill:

The Armed Forces shall accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of the members of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality and may not use such conscience, principles, or beliefs as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment. [...]

No member of the Armed Forces may (A) direct, order, or require a chaplain to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral principles and religious beliefs of the endorsing faith group of the chaplain; or (B) discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a direction, order, or requirement prohibited by sub-paragraph (A).

In other words, military personnel would be able to discriminate, deny promotions, schooling, training or assignment based solely on sexual orientation. Senator John McCain, among others, are also supporting Aiken’s bill. Aiken has tried to get these provisions put into bills in the past and they have failed each time. Here’s hoping that our elected leaders will (as Aiken feels a woman’s body can do after being raped…) shut that whole thing down.

Matt Damon recently finished shooting for the upcoming movie Behind the Candelabra. In the movie Damon plays Scott Thorson, the long time partner of Liberace (Michael Douglas has been cast in the role of Liberace). Recently Damon sat down with Playboy Magazine for an interview on a variety of topics, including the relationship between Thorson and Liberace, having to kiss another man, gay rumors that have dogged Damon and Benn Affleck, and more.

On the relationship between Thorson and Liberace:

These two men were deeply in love and in a real relationship-a marriage-long before there was gay marriage. That’s not an insignificant thing. The script is beautiful and relatable. Their conversations when they’re dressing or undressing or having a spat or getting ready for bed? That’s every marriage. It feels like you’re witnessing something really intimate you would normally see with a man and a woman, but instead it’s two men, which was thrilling. There’s stuff I think will make people uncomfortable. Great. It’s HBO—they can change the channel.

On preparing for the role with Douglas:

We both have a lot of gay friends, and we were not going to screw this up or bulls**t it. It wasn’t the most natural thing in the world to do, though. Like, for one scene, I had to come out of a pool, go over to Michael, straddle him on a chaise lounge and start kissing him. And throughout the script, it’s not like I kiss him just once. We drew it up like a football plan. I remember asking Heath Ledger after Brokeback Mountain, "How’d you do that scene with Jake"-meaning the scene where they start ferociously kissing. He said, "Well, mate, I drank a half case of beer in my trailer." I started laughing, and he goes, "No, I’m serious. I needed to just go for it. If you can’t do that, you’re not making the movie."

On Douglas as a kisser:

Michael was a wonderful kisser. My concerns ended up mattering a lot less once we were filming. The dynamic between the men was complex and interesting. Liberace was very powerful and adored, a great showman making $50,000 a week doing his act in Vegas. Scott was much younger and grew up in foster homes, so there was a lot to play.

On the rumors of Damon and Affleck being gay:

I never denied those rumors because I was offended and didn’t want to offend my friends who were gay—as if being gay were some kind of (curse deleted) disease. It put me in a weird position in that sense. The whole thing was just gross. But look, there have been great signs of progress—the fact that Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres can come out so beautifully and powerfully, and it’s a big (curse deleted) deal that it turns out nobody gives a (curse deleted). If Liberace were alive today, everybody would love his music and nobody would care what he did in his private life. Like with Elton John.

After years of disrepair, the 2100-seat Lynn Memorial Auditorium was reopened in 2006 following a full refurbishing. It now hosts major talent on both the local — Boston’s Gay Men’s Chorus — and national scale.

Just ask the leaders of NAGLY, Go Out Loud, Art After Hours, Lesbiatopia.com and other locals—the formerly maligned suburb is turning around, and LGBTs are leading the way

By Scott Kearnan

“Everyone deserves a second act.”

So says DJ Brian Halligan. Halligan stepped away from spinning for nearly a decade. But dance music remained a passion, so last year he decided to get back into the groove. He had few connections in the current local landscape, but networked away. Gig by gig, doors reopened. Now he’s not only a regular on the Cambridge and Boston scenes, but has a Friday night residency at gay club Cirque—a revamped version of gay bar 47 Central in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Halligan sees a certain commonality between his own experience, and that of the city.
“I feel like my story is a parallel to Lynn’s,” says Halligan. “There can be a certain condescension that comes across from people outside it. But it deserves that second act.”
Ah, Lynn. She’s sort of like Boston’s hardscrabble little sister: only a fraction of the size (about 90,000 people) but with a big reputation. That rhyme “Lynn, Lynn, city of sin” is ubiquitous enough to go on coffee cups, and associations with high crime rates and economic malaise have been hard to shake. But as one of the largest cities in Massachusetts, and located just a few miles outside Boston, Lynn has a thriving gay community. It’s becoming an increasingly popular pick for LGBT folks seeking a cost-effective alternative to living in the Hub, and those looking to enjoy the city’s revitalized dining, entertainment, and arts scene as a visitor.

Seeking to be ‘morally straight,’ as the Boy Scouts' oath states, New England LGBT allies seek ways to resist the national organizations’ discriminatory policy against gays

Editor's Note: The following story is adapted from the November/December 2012 issue of Boston Spirit magazine.

by Scott Kearnan

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

— The Scout Oath

The date is not set yet, but the invitation went out.

A leader of Boy Scout Troop 6 in Brookline, Matthew Christensen, reached out to Greater Boston PFLAG (Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to speak to the membes of his troop.

“It make would make a lot of sense for what we’re trying to push, which is for scouts to be leaders in anti-bullying,” said Christensen in a recent phone interview with Boston Spirit. And, he said, it reinforces the idea of the troop being a “safe space.”

Christensen is walking a fine line. When the national office of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced this past July — less than a year after the US military successfully repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell — that it would reaffirm its longstanding policy that prohibits the inclusion of openly gay scouts and scout leaders, a policy first officially articulated in 1991, councils and council leaders across the United States had to decide how to respond.
In New England, where LGBT rights are mainstream, many local councils — which oversee local troops, like Brookline’s Troop 6 — are wrestling with the policy. Six area Boy Scout groups are listed as “supporting councils” on the website of Scouts for Equality, an organization that advocates for LGBT inclusion in the BSA.

But only one other council leader responded to interview requests from Boston Spirit: Sean Martin, from Boston Minuteman Council.

Northeastern hockey player Kelly Wallace. (photo: courtesy Northeastern University)

The Northeastern University Huskies are taking the lead in making it clear that out athletes are more than welcome

Note: the following story first appeared in the November/December 2012 issue of Boston Spirit magazine.

By Erik Borg

Gay athletes are used to being singled out. When it’s in a good way, it comes as a pleasant surprise. Northeastern Athletics Director Peter Roby recently made it clear just exactly what the athletics department at one of Boston’s largest universities thinks of them:

“If you are a young LGBT athlete looking for a place to play, we invite you to consider Northeastern University,” he proclaimed in a statement echoing support for a student-athlete-led initiative to take a stand on GLBT equality in sports.

His statement, at once bold in its significance and understated in its delivery, is likely the closest any university has come to using a stance of openness and acceptance toward sexual orientation as a tool for recruiting in athletics.

Roby calls it “just doing the right thing.”

In July, more than 50 Northeastern student-athletes, coaches, and administrators came together to film a video for You Can Play, an organization that promotes quality, respect, and safety in sports regardless of sexual orientation. Northeastern’s video was the first by an entire collegiate athletics department and one of more than 20 by professional and collegiate athletes and organizations throughout the United States and Canada. Their message in the video is simple.

Twenty-five of the nation’s wealthiest LGBT citizens sent an open letter to U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner and other government leaders urging Congress to increase taxes on high income Americans.

In the letter, the signatories, who include Suze Orman, Andrew Tobias, and Tim Gill, explain:

For LGBT Americans, this "fiscal cliff" isn't just an abstract concept. A report released by the Center for American Progress, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, and a coalition of 23 national LGBT organizations outlines the real and lasting impact it would have.

Across-the-board cuts would compromise LGBT health by reducing programmatic funding used to address the health care needs of gay and transgender Americans, impair the federal government's ability to investigate claims of workplace discrimination, and remove critical resources from government agencies working to prevent bullying and school violence.

At the same time, higher tax rates would further endanger middle class and working class members of our community. LGBT Americans have lower levels of income than other Americans, according to a recent Gallup report, and face additional economic obstacles caused by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the lack of federal workplace protections.

A copy of the full letter can be found at www.fiscalpride.org.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has launched a new website with the goal of promoting “greater sensitivity and better understanding” among Latter-day Saints with regards to same-sex attraction.

“When people have those (same-sex) desires and attractions our attitude is, ‘stay with us’” said Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during a video that introduces the subject of the website. “I think that’s what God is saying: stay with me. And I think that’s what we want to say in the church: stay with us, and let’s work together in friendship and commonality and brotherhood and sisterhood.

“Here (in the church) more than anywhere, it’s important that there be love, that there be hope’” Elder Christofferson continued. “We want to be with you and work together.”
The website is part of an effort by the church “to teach and clarify the church’s positions” on various issues, said LDS spokesman Michael Purdy.

Production for the site has been underway for more than two years, Purdy said.
“Too often these types of big, important issues are dealt with in sound bites, and often by individuals who do not have the complete picture of what the church is doing’” Purdy said. “We hope (the website) will be a resource for better understanding and better communication.”

Utilizing personal, real-life stories told by members of the church who have first-hand experience with same-sex attraction themselves or through close friends and family members, the website’s goal is to help Latter-day Saints “come together to foster a climate of goodwill and a determination to understand the workings of God in each individual life.”

“We’re not endeavoring here to cover the waterfront and address every issue that could be, and needs to be, addressed in different settings relating to same-sex attraction,” Elder Christofferson said. “The idea is to open all of us to greater understanding.”

Elder Christofferson noted that “although we don’t know everything, we know enough to be able to say that same-sex attraction is not itself sin. The feeling, the desire is not classified the same as homosexual behavior itself.” Sexual identification, he continued, “is but one aspect of any person’s life, and it need not become the consuming element of any person’s life.”

What is important, he said, is “how we relate to one another, how we preserve hope and understanding and love, and how we struggle together in some cases.”
“We want people to feel that they have a home here (in the LDS Church), and that we have much more in common than anything that’s different about us,” Elder Christofferson said.

The ladies at One Million Moms are at it again. The group, which has nowhere near one million members (their Facebook page has 50 thousand followers), was launched by the conservative Christian group American Family Association and made their first public splash when they urged supporters to boycott JC Penny in response to JC Penny’s hiring of Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson.

Apparently OMMs disgust with JC Penny is alive and well. The new target for their venom is JC Penny’s new commercial in which Ellen plays an Elf. Yes, the holiest of Christian icons…the elf.

From One Million Moms:

“Since April, JC Penney's has not aired Ellen DeGeneres in one of their commercials until now. A new JCP ad features Ellen and three elves,” writes OMM. “JCP has made their choice to offend a huge majority of their customers again. Christians must now vote with their wallets. We have contacted JC Penney's several times in the past with our concerns, and they will not listen. They have decided to ignore our complaints so we will avoid them at all costs.”

For what it’s worth, the Facebook group "1 Million people who support Ellen for JC Penny" has more than 325,000 followers.

Other recent targets of One Million Moms include Skittles (for their commercial in which a girl kisses a walrus), Urban Outfitters (for some questionable language on their website), NBC’s tv show ‘New Normal’, Oreo (for supporting Gay Pride) and DC Comics (for introducing a gay character)

Note: Story updated shortly after 11 a.m. to include local commentary from MassEquality.

According to a new study, LGBT advocacy organizations experienced a significant jump in revenue from 2010 to 2011.

The report, by The Movement Advancement Project (MAP), a think tank concerned with LGBT matters, found that some of the nation’s largest and most influential social justice organizations focussed on LGBT issues—such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Lambda Legal, Victory Fund, Immigration Equality, and the National Center for Transgender Equality—saw revenue increase 17 percent from 2010 to 2011.

“We are seeing more of a willingness to give on the part of donors, both those who are new to MassEquality and its mission to end discrimination and oppression based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, as well as those who have been with us from the beginning,” said Kara Suffredini, MassEquality executive director. “Part of that is because the economy is improving and part of that is because donors interested in advancing social justice see that we are a smart investment.”

The full press release from The Movement Advancement Project is as follows:

A federal judge has temporarily blocked California from enforcing a first-of-its-kind law that bars licensed psychotherapists from working to change the sexual orientations of gay minors.

U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb made a decision just hours after a hearing on the issue, ruling that the First Amendment rights of psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals who engage in “reparative” or “conversion” therapy outweigh concern that the practice poses a danger to young people.

“Even if SB 1172 is characterized as primarily aimed at regulating conduct, it also extends to forms of (conversion therapy) that utilize speech and, at a minimum, regulates conduct that has an incidental effect on speech,” Shubb wrote.

The law, which was passed by the California Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October, states that therapists and counselors who use “sexual orientation change efforts” on clients under 18 would be engaging in unprofessional conduct and subject to discipline by state licensing boards. It is set to take effect on Jan. 1.

Although the ruling is a setback for the law's supporters, the judge made clear that the ruling only applies to three people -- psychiatrist Anthony Duk, marriage and family therapist Donald Welch, and Aaron Bitzer, a former patient who is studying to become a counselor who specializes in clients who are unhappy being gay.

The exemption for them will remain in place only until a trial can be held on the merits of their case. However, the judge noted he thinks they would prevail in getting the law struck down on constitutional grounds.

“We are disappointed by the ruling, but very pleased that the temporary delay in implementing this important law applies only to the three plaintiffs who brought this lawsuit.” National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter said. “We are confident that as the case progresses, it will be clear to the court that this law is fundamentally no different than many other laws that regulate health care professionals to protect patients.”

Hillary Clinton spoke today at the 20th anniversary of GLIFAA (Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies), a group representing LGBT people in the United States Department of State. The White House Office of Communications released her complete speech to press organizations.

Clinton’s remarks included a condensed history of LGBT participation in the State Department. She said:

Now, it wasn’t really that long ago since this organization was created, but in many ways it was a completely different world.  As we heard, in 1992 you could be fired for being gay.  Just think about all of the exceptional public servants, the brilliant strategists, the linguists, the experts fired for no reason other than their sexual orientation.  Think of what our country lost because we were unable to take advantage of their hard work, expertise, and experience.  And the policy forced people to make terrible choices, to hide who they were from friends and colleagues, to lie or mislead, to give up their dreams of serving their country altogether.

That began to change, in part because of the brave employees here at State, who decided that it was time for the bigotry, the ignorance, the lying, and discrimination to end.  The LGBT community deserve the same chance as anyone else to serve.  And indeed, as we all know, many had for many years, just without acknowledgment of who they were.  So enough was enough, and that’s how GLIFAA was formed.  And thank goodness it was.

We’ve come a long way since then, and we have seen milestones along that journey over the last 20 years.  I remember that I think on my husband’s first day in office back in ’93, he announced that gays and lesbians working in the federal government would receive equal treatment under the Civil Service Reform Act.  Two years later, Secretary Warren Christopher made clear those rules would be enforced within the halls of the State Department when he issued a statement that explicitly prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Now over the past four years, we’ve built on those and other steps to really acknowledge and welcome LGBT people into the State Department family and other agencies.  We’ve extended benefits to same-sex domestic partners of State and USAID employees, Foreign Service officers, personal service contractors, third country nationals at missions overseas.  We’ve institutionalized these changes by creating a classification for same-sex domestic partners in the Foreign Affairs manual.  We’ve also made it clear in our Equal Opportunity Employment statement that the Department doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression.

We’ve helped to make it easier for transgender Americans to change the gender listed on their passports, because our mission is not only to protect the rights and dignity of our colleagues, but also of the American people we serve. 

And we’ve taken this message all over the world, including the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we worked to pass the first ever UN resolution affirming the human rights of LGBT people. 

Now, together we have worked to make something very simple and right come true.  Our people should not have to choose between serving the country they love and sharing a life with the people they love. 

The complete speech, as released by the White House, is here:

The Nashua Telegraph is reporting that Stacie Laughton is withdrawing from becoming a New Hampshire state representative after it was revealed that she had been convicted of a felony for committing credit card fraud.

“After a lot of thought and after talking with the state party chair and my Democratic caucus director, I’ve decided to resign my position of state representative-elect,” Laughton was quote as saying in the Telegraph.

More from the story:

“A lot of my supporters did know, and the ones that didn’t know, they didn’t ask,” Laughton said, referring to her criminal past. “I would’ve been more than happy to discuss it with them if they had asked me if I had any criminal background … I don’t feel as though that I ever deceived anyone, but for those that feel as though that they were deceived, I am truly sorry and that was never my intention.”

The full story can be accessed here: www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/985142-469/state-rep.-elect-laughton-to-resign-post.html

Medicine Wheel vigil from World AIDS Day a few years ago. (photo: Medicine Wheel Productions)

This Saturday, December 1, is the 25th World AIDS Day.

Over 30 million people have died of HIV/AIDS-related causes since the disease was first documented in 1981, and over 34 million people are currently infected with the virus, according to UNAIDS.

In Massachusetts, over 12,000 have died, and more than 18,000 are living with HIV, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of HIV/AIDS.

Several events are planned to observe World AIDS Day 2012. Here are a few:

Medicine Wheel
December 1: 24-hour Vigil
Boston Center for the Arts, South End, Boston
This year marks the 20th anniversary of this incredibly powerful, experientially immersive installation commemorating those affected by HIV/AIDS. Medicine Wheel creator Michael Dowling invites people to “bring a stone and a story” to place in the ongoing memorial this year.
More information: www.mwponline.org.

The Human Rights Campaign has released its first ever Municipality Equality Index which rates cities based on 47 criteria falling under six broad categories: non-discrimination laws; relationship recognition; the municipality’s employment practices; inclusiveness of city services; law enforcement; and municipal leadership.

Boston and Cambridge join 9 other cities in the U.S. who scored a perfect 100%.

According to the HRC the 100 cities that scored 100% incorporate “excellent policies ranging from non-discrimination laws, equal employee benefits, and cutting-edge city services”.

Provincetown and Northampton were also included in the Index. Northampton received a score of 64% and Provincetown came in at 59%. Both scored 0 in the Law Enforcement category which significantly impacted their overall score. See the entire report HERE and a detailed city by city breakdown HERE

Of the 137 municipalities included in the Index 25% received a score of 80% or higher.

For many years those within the lgbt community have read stories in lgbt press regarding the Salvation Army. Most of these stories revolved around the fact that the nation’s largest charity is decidedly anti-gay.

Now, with the explosion of social media, the noise regarding the Salvation Army’s policies is getting louder. Recently America Blog began urging people to print out vouchers (see below) and to place the voucher in the red donation bucket in lieu of cash.

Significant anti-lgbt moments in the Salvation Army’s past include:

In 2002 the charity made waves when it announced a policy that would have offered health insurance for a “legally domiciled adult” living with an employee. Essentially granting health benefits for same-sex partners of employees. This policy was reversed after only 2 weeks

In 2003 the Washington Post reported that the Bush administration was working with the Salvation Army in an effort to issue a regulation making it easier for government-funded religious groups to discriminate against gay people in hiring. According to an internal Salvation Army report the Bush White House gave the charity a “firm commitment” to work to protect them from state and city laws that prevent discrimination against gays in hiring and domestic-partner benefits

At the time the Salvation Army spent approximately $100,000 to lobby in favor of President Bush’s faith based initiative. (The Bush administration wound up not working with the Salvation Army on the regulation)

In 2004 the charity threatened to leave New York City if Mayor Michael Bloomberg enforces a new ordinance requiring all groups with city contracts to offer benefits to the same-sex partners of employees. Bloomberg was against the ordinance and did not enforce it.

In June of this year the following passage appeared on the official website of the Australian Salvation Army:

"[Homosexual activity is] as rebellion against God's plan for the created order... Homosexual practice, however, is, in the light of Scripture, clearly unacceptable. Such activity is chosen behaviour and is thus a matter of the will. It is therefore able to be directed or restrained in the same way heterosexual urges are controlled. Homosexual practice would render any person ineligible for full membership (soldiership) in the [Salvation] Army."