LGBT issues
Gay USA: Dec. 20-26, 2011
Andy's out of town, so Chris Cooper joins Ann at the anchor desk. Next week, Andy returns and we'll do our annual end-of-the-year roundtable discussion with our guests Sarah Schulman, Bill Dobbs and Pauline Park. The Republican Presidential candidates continue to get hammered on LGBT issues by regular citizens, who are much better at asking questions than the professional journalists. Bradley Manning finally has his first hearing on charges of leaking thousands of pages of U.S. government secrets. His lawyer makes provocative arguments about Manning's struggles with gender entity, and Lt. Dan Choi is forcibly ejected from the courtroom. The California Secretary of State approves a proposed ballot intiative to repeal Prop. 8, clearing it for signature-gathering. The United Nations issues its first report on violence and discrimination perpetrated on LGBT people worldwide. Congress reinstates a ban on federal funding for syringe exchange. ABC-TV is under attack for its reputedly horrible new cross-dressing sitcom, "Work It," scheduled to premiere in January. Ann & Andy interview Dee Rees, writer-director of the wonderful new independent film "Pariah," about an African-American teenage lesbian's search for identity in Brooklyn. The film opens Dec. 28th in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And we end with a Christmas gift to you--the popular YouTube video of British sailors on the HMS Ocean acting out Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas."
Email this pageGay USA: Nov. 1-7, 2011
Our guest at the top of the hour is Bill Dobbs, veteran gay activist and civil libertarian, who will share his experiences working with Occupy Wall Street from the beginning on September 17. Bill talks about how this action has evolved and captured the imagination of the world, leading to a critical public debate on wealth disparity, politics, and fairness issues. You can learn more about the movement at www.occupywallst.org and www.nycga.net for the New York General Assembly of OWS. A gay US Airways flight attendant is found murdered in Mexico City. A high school student in Ohio is beaten for being gay and it is caught on video tape. Gay troops challenge the federal ban on recognition of their same-sex marriages. A nurse at a Dallas Veterans Administration hospital makes an outrageous and bigoted three-hour effort to dissuade a Marine veteran from being lesbian. Britain threatens to withhold some foreign aid to countries that abuse LGBT rights. A Nairobi gay bar is bombed and 12 are injured. The founder of Denmark's gay movement, Axel Axgil, dies at 96. Chaz is out on "Dancing with the Stars." Andy reviews "Children" by A.R. Gurney and "Relatively Speaking," a trio of one-act plays on Broadway by Woody Allen, Elaine May, and Ethan Coen.
Gay USA: Oct. 25-Oct. 31, 2011
A U.S. Senate committee drops two amendments to protect LGBT youth and ALL youth from bullying, but Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) talks about WHY it is so important. Good news for students in Bangor, PA, Hartford, CT and Monroe County, TN. Westchester, NY reveals the names and photos of men caught in a sex sting in a park--though records were supposed to be sealed and most were convicted of nothing more than "disorderly conduct." Adoptions by gay and lesbian parents soar. Go to: www.adoptioninstitute.org. A new report says that laws in the U.S. really hurt the children of LGBT parents. Go to: www.children-matter.org. Denmark will move to open marriage to same-sex couples--22 years after being the first country to offer legal recognition to gay partners. The "Hide/Seek" exhibit that was censored in Washington, DC by the Smithsonian will be mounted intact starting November 18th at the Brooklyn Museum. Andy reviews "Southern Comfort," a new musical about transgender folk in Georgia starring Annette O'Toole as a trans-man and "Asuncion" at the Cherry Lane by "Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg who plays the lead as well. HONORING RECENTLY DECEASED MOVEMENT LEADERS: Frank Kameny's remains will be honored at the Carnegie Library, K St. NW & 8th St. in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 3rd from 3-8 PM. A memorial service will be held at a later date. NOTE: Last week we gave the wrong link to the group that aided Frank and other aging activists. It is Helping Our Brothers and Sisters at www.helpingourbrothersandsisters.com. The New York memorial for Arthur Evans will be Sunday, November 6th at 2 PM at the LGBT Community Center. Paula Ettelbrick memorial is Monday, November 14th at 6:30 PM at the Unitarian Church at Central Park West and 76th Street in New York.
Gay USA: Oct. 18-24, 2011
Frank Kameny, a father of the gay movement who coined the slogan "Gay is Good," has died at the age of 86. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The US military is sued for denying soldiers with same-sex spouses equal rights. An out lesbian is confirmed as a federal judge by the US Senate despite an attack campaign by the religious right. An AIDS memorial park is proposed for New York's Greenwich Village. Actor Zachary Quinto comes out and prompts a news anchor to come out, too. Andy reviews plays by Terrence Rattigan, Stephen Karam, and Nicky Silver, plus "the Mountaintop" about Martin Luther King, Jr..
Gay USA: Sept. 13-19, 2011
The North Carolina legislature votes to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2012 to ban legal recognition of same-sex marriage and other relationships. Gov. Jan Brewer of AZ continues to fight treating state employees fairly. US Senator Barbara Mikulski comes out-for repealing DOMA.A rash of killings and beatings of transgendered people in D.C. in what activists call a transgender community in crisis. A high school in TN is blocking formation of a GSA on campus. Arthur Evans, one of the true pioneers of the modern LGBT movement, dies in San Francisco. Britain will lift the lifetime ban on gay men from donating blood, but some restrictions remain. A breakthrough using HIV to cure cancer. Men with HIV are at increased risk for transmitting Hepatitis C sexually. The American Psychiatric Association says it is OK for kids to watch Chaz Bono on "Dancing with the Stars"
Gay USA: Aug. 23-29, 2011
In the news this week: A teen in Waterloo, Iowa is taunted as gay and stomped to death. The Obama administration puts on hold the deportation of those here illegally if they pose no threat-a category that will include many foreign born gay partners, but what about singles? Civil unions are off to a slow start in Rhode Island. Republican lawyers defending DOMA cote charlatans and bigots to make their case. Tammy Baldwin leads poll in Democratic primary for US Senate in Wisconsin as Russ Feingold announces that he is not running. One of Michele Bachman's lead organizers has a shady past in Uganda. New study says male bisexuality is... REAL. A Florida teacher is suspended for speaking out against same-sex marriage on Facebook. A big Chilean lesbian rights case goes to the Inter-American Court in Latin America. Country star Chely Wright marries her partner in Connecticut.
Gay USA: Aug. 16-22, 2011
In the news this week: A lesbian activist dies at the Indiana State Fair catastrophe and Marion County refuses to release her remains to her partner, citing DOMA. Who is the most anti-gay candidate for the Republican nomination for President? It’s a tough contest. The end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell on September 20 could be undone by a new administration because the new law does not mandate that gays and lesbians can serve openly, it only permits the President and military to allow it. President Obama bans human rights violators from entering the United States including those who persecute gay people. An anti-gay male state senator in Indiana gets in a whole heap of trouble when he tries to hire a young man for sex. The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is ordered by the First Circuit to disclose its donors under laws in Rhode Island and Maine. A big win for transgendered prisoners in Wisconsin. The crackdown on gay people in Cameroon continues with more men being arrested just for being gay. A male gay activist in Cuba has a very public wedding with a man-to-woman transsexual. We'll show you the big celebration. Throat cancers due to HPV shoot up. New York City finally decides to institute mandatory sex education in its schools and reinstate condom lessons. Andy reviews theatre in New York and London where out gay Antony Sher is starring in a late Arthur Miller play and Jude Law in an early Eugene O’Neill. Andy's London reviews will appear at www.gaycitynews.com in a day or two.
Gay USA: July 26-Aug. 1, 2011
Same-sex weddings got underway in New York State. We'll show you some of the happy couples and talk about the continued last gasp efforts of the rightwing to undo the marriage equality law. The ban on open service on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the military will officially end September 20 as President Obama, Defense Secretary Panetta, and Joint Chiefs Chair Mullen certify that the armed forced are ready for us. At the Contemporary Jewish Museum during a Gertrude Stein exhibit, two lesbians are stopped from holding hands by a guard. The museum will hold a Hand-Holding Day to make up for the offense. During the horror in Norway this past week, two lesbian heroes risked their lives to save dozens of young people from the rightwing maniac who killed scores on Utoya Island. They drove their boat to the island on four separate occasions-dodging bullets each time-to rescue people from the water and taking them to shore. The gay character, Kevin, from Archie comics gets his own comic book. Andy reviews two one-man shows by the great David Greenspan as he performs all eight roles in the 1925 play "The Patsy" and delivers the gay-themed "Jonas" which he also wrote. "Unnatural Acts," the hit play on the Harvard Secret Court of 1920 by Tony Speciale and the Plastic Theatre, has extended its run at the Classic Stage Company at 136 E. 13th Street through July 31. Andy saw it for the second time and liked it even more. Go to www.ClassicStage.org for more information.
Newswire: Attacks Vs. Gays Rise in Portland 7/27/11
After four separate attacks that started in May in Portland, Ore., people formed a gay pride group and marched in downtown Portland on Saturday. And in Austria, a youth camp is dealing with the tragic events in Norway.
Gay USA: July 12-18, 2011
Michele Bachman's family business, a clinic run by her husband Marcus, is exposed for trading in discredited "reparative therapy" to turn gay people straight and a media firestorm ensues. Got to www.TruthWinsOut.org for more info. A federal panel rules that DADT can no longer be enforced and there is a question about whether anyone in the government will defend it. And while the government has stopped enforcing the ban, it may go back to court to ask that it be reinstated. Obama appoints an out lesbian to the West Point board. And a conference of out gay military personnel is planned. Go to www.outserve.org for the latest. California's bill to mandate teaching kids the truth about gay lives is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature. Call him on 916-445-2841 to demand that he sign SB-48. He is getting TONS of calls from the opposition. Same-sex marriages will start being licensed in New York on Sunday, July 24-and any eligible couple from anywhere can marry here. For questions about marrying in New York, go to http://www.nyclu.org/marriage-faq. We remember the contributions of Betty Ford to gay and AIDS causes, as well as to candidness about addiction and sexuality in American life. The Rupert Murdoch empire is crumbling! We'll discuss the gay aspects of the scandal. A new drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea is found. Obama is going after medical marijuana after promising not to. Andy reviews Tyne Daly in Terrence McNally's "Master Class"
