11.30.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 5:28 pm by pikapp44
A new poll of lesbian, gay, and bisexual voters, conducted by Hunter College, has found that 63% of LGB likely voters in the Democratic primaries say they will support Sen. Hillary Clinton, while 22% are backing Sen. Barack Obama, and 7% will vote for John Edwards.
The poll also found that about 75% of the respondents said they are likely to vote in the primaries, suggesting that LGB voters are much more politically involved than the general population.
“That’s an unusually high percentage, it’s just huge,” Hunter College professor Kenneth Sherrill, one of the study’s investigators, told The Advocate. “You rarely find such a high percentage of people saying they’re likely to vote in the primaries — only the most politicized groups in the population will do that.”
–72% of LGB likely voters consider Senator Clinton a supporter of gay rights, with Senator Obama at 52% and former Senator Edwards at 41%. On the Republican side, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was at 37%, followed by Sen. John McCain at 13%.
–When asked about the proposed federal law making it illegal to discriminate against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in employment, a majority of LGBs (by a margin of 60% to 37%) said that those seeking to pass the law were wrong to remove protections for transgender people in order to get the votes necessary for passage in Congress.
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11.27.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 2:10 pm by pikapp44
The Dayton, Ohio, city commission voted 3–1 on Wednesday to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected traits under its antidiscrimination law. One commission member abstained from voting, the Dayton Daily News reported. The change becomes effective 30 days after the vote.
“The [city commission] is keeping Dayton on the cutting edge,” Roger McKay, president and founder of Diversity Dayton, told the Daily News. “This shows the city wants to be inclusive.”
Dayton mayor Rhine McLin announced that the adjustment to the statute was the right thing to do. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” McLin said.
According to the Daily News, the city will be the 15th municipality in the state to add protections for LGBT citizens in its antidiscrimination laws.
Local ministers called the move flawed, saying there had not been enough dialogue leading up to the vote. Leaders from Ohio’s Stonewall Democrats met with each of the commissioners over the summer. By mid October, the commission received a draft of the proposed law change, Tony Ballis, president of Dayton Stonewall Democrats, said in the article.
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11.25.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, D's Thoughts at 8:08 am by pikapp44
Some chronicle the news: the presidential race, sexual abuse scandals, gay marriage, adoption.
Others cover the flashier, more frivolous side of being gay in South Florida: entertainment, fashion, travel, circuit parties, and lots of pictures.
From the weekly newspaper to the monthly glossy magazines, niche publications targeting South Florida’s gay and lesbian community fill stands inside shops and restaurants, pile high near coffeehouse doors from South Beach to Vero Beach, and welcome tourists at guesthouses around Fort Lauderdale. In all, at least a dozen gay and lesbian print media are published and distributed around South Florida.
In the case of HotSpots Magazine, the longest-running gay and lesbian publication in South Florida, publisher and owner Jason Bell has tailored his magazine to be a weekly entertainment guide for South Florida gay and lesbian readers.
“We are not looking to write a Pulitzer Prize story. … We are not trying to be a church newsletter,” Bell said. “We are a weekly entertainment guide that the community uses to determine what they are going to do on the weekend. You’re not going to find in-depth investigations here.”
Nationally, publications like these have managed to expand their advertising revenue at almost three times the rate of most mainstream publications. The estimated total ad spending in gay and lesbian-oriented publications hit a record $223.3 million last year, up 5.2 percent from the previous year, according to the 2006 Gay Press Report, released earlier this year by Prime Access Inc. and Rivendell Media Co., a New Jersey-based media placement firm.
Todd Evans, president and CEO of Rivendell Media, attributes the growth to business savvy and the changing attitudes about gay men and lesbians in the United States.
“It’s because of the acceptance of gay people in the mainstream by companies who want to increase their sales,” Evans said. “As long as it’s not going to hurt their sales, companies want to target gay people.”
“Gays and lesbians will pay a little more for premium services, from our fashion, to the kind of cars we drive,” said Kevin Hopper, publisher of the Fort Lauderdale-based Express Gay News.
Calling itself “Florida’s leading GLBT Entertainment Magazine,” the Oakland Park-based Buzz Magazine has also seen an increase in revenue, said owner and publisher Bobby Blair, who bought the magazine in early August.
By contrast, Out on the Coast, a monthly magazine that circulates along the Treasure Coast, hasn’t seen the same ad dollars. Lee Newell, the magazine’s publisher, said the more conservative business community north of West Palm Beach worries “about advertising because they fear losing their business if they identify as gay-friendly.”
In South Beach, Carl Zablotny, owner of Wire Magazine, said he’s challenged by that city’s seasonal business.
“Ad revenue tends to drop off dramatically in summer and picks up dramatically in the winter,” Zablotny said.
Zablotny and the other publishers agree: whether they focus on weighty issues or entertainment, or whether ad dollars are up or down, the publications give gay and lesbian readers a place to find information, entertainment and a sense of community.
That advertisers target them as a community is essential, said Marc Martin, 72, of West Palm Beach. Martin, who is gay, regularly reads the Express, and has hired services like housecleaners and window washers from listings in that newspaper.
“What if the air conditioning repair man thinks a painting is inappropriate?” Martin said. “If I have a choice, sure, I’ll give my business to someone I know is not going to stone me in the town square.”
For Express, stories about politics and social issues remain the priority, but are also complemented with community profiles and features on local entertainment and night life. Ad revenue at the weekly newspaper has grown vastly since 2003, when Window Media, the nation’s largest owner of gay and lesbian newspapers, purchased the Express from founder Norm Kent.
The weekly newspaper has a staff of 17 and arguably is the newsiest of the publications. For example, on Aug. 23, the paper ran a cover story on development plans for a new community center in Fort Lauderdale, and on Aug. 16 another on the presidential candidates vying for the gay vote. The newspaper has managed to balance the pressure to publish entertainment with news, Hopper said, since Window Media also purchased the Fort Lauderdale-based 411 Magazine, which focuses solely on entertainment and lifestyle.
“We really saw a niche that there was more than beaches and bars in Fort Lauderdale,” Hopper said. “We strive to have a lot of news.”
Meanwhile, three other local publications — Latino Boys Magazine, She Magazine, and gir(L) Magazine – cater to an even smaller niche.
She Magazine and gir(L) Magazine target lesbians with coverage of health, entertainment, self-help and lesbian issues.
Tina Sordellini is one of four co-owners of She Magazine, which started as a local publication in 1999 and now also distributes in other areas of the country.
She attributes the magazine’s success to the company’s mission statement, “which is to show that the gay community is not obsessed with sex. …We’re interested in the same movies, we buy the same music, we do all the same things that the mainstream does.”
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11.24.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 8:56 am by pikapp44
The Human Rights Campaign says stores with a low rating on its Corporate Equality Index should be avoided while those with a high rating should enjoy the benefit of your heard earned money.
Topping the no-go list is Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer. It received only a grade of 40 out of 100 possible points on the list. It’s competitor, Target Stores, on the other hand scored an 80.
Other retails who scored at the bottom of the index were Toys R Us, RadioShack and AutoZone.
High scorers included Best Buy, Sears, Kmart, Lands’ End, J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Mastercard.
LGBT buying power is estimated to be $723-billion in 2008.
“By purchasing products from companies supporting GLBT equality, shoppers are sending a clear message that will directly impact a company’s bottom line.”
Wal-Mart has been on the HRC watch list since last holiday season when it bowed to boycott threats from the conservative American Family Association and pledged to stay away from controversial causes, such as LGBT rights.
Prior to that there had been indications that the company was becoming progressive. In 2003, Wal-Mart added sexual orientation to its written non-discrimination policy. And in 2005 the company began meeting with HRC to explore domestic partner benefits.
When the AFA began its campaign against Wal-Mart the talks with HRC came to an abrupt end.
The HRC guide is available online at www.hrc.org/buyersguide
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11.21.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 5:14 pm by pikapp44
Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm has signed an executive order banning discrimination in state employment based on gender identity or expression, according to Michigan LGBT rights group Triangle Foundation. The legislation applies to the approximately 50,000 state employees in Michigan’s executive branch, which makes up 95% of all state employees. The order will protect not only transgender workers but also any state employee who faces discrimination because he or she does not conform to traditional gender norms in behavior or appearance.
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11.19.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 10:10 pm by pikapp44
Thousands of Argentines waving rainbow flags marched in the annual Gay Pride Parade Saturday in Buenos Aires, where some said they still face discrimination in one of the most gay-friendly cities in Latin America.
The capital became the first city in the region to pass same-sex civil union laws in 2002, and this year it played host to soccer’s ”gay world cup” and saw the opening of the first five-star hotel catering to gays.
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11.16.07
Posted in Gay Portal at 9:09 am by pikapp44
Shushan, the only gay and lesbian bar in Jerusalem, decided to close its doors this week after serving for four years as a place where drag queens, Palestinians, and Orthodox Jews intermingled, according to a story in The Times of London.
“Shushan was one of the few places where we could feel that we were in a free world,” Yan Carmel, a 21-year-old student at Hebrew University, told The Times.
Gays and lesbians in Jerusalem frequently face disapproval and violence. Last year, the city’s gay pride parade was moved to a stadium because police feared they could not protect marchers from attacks. The year before, an Orthodox man stabbed three people during a street procession.
The bar has been a target of violence as well. Two years ago it was severely damaged in an arson attack. No one was injured, and the attack helped the bar’s clientele become closer-knit, according to patrons.
Now Shushan’s customers are scrambling to find other bars.
“I’ve met three boyfriends there, and each time was magical,” Gil Naveh, a 24-year-old who performed in the club’s drag shows, told The Times. “There was the time I got proposed to outside Shushan, right in front of everyone.”
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11.12.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 4:09 pm by pikapp44
The newly created American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will work to eliminate bias and discrimination against LGBT attorneys, justices, and figures in the judicial system, according to a statement released by the commission Friday.
ABA president William H. Neukom said that the organization’s commitment to equality is reflected in its opposing public discrimination that is based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Neukom said that in February 2007 the ABA added LGBT people to its Goal IX, adopted in 1991, which promotes full and equal participation in the legal profession by minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
“The commission’s creation recognizes that diversity in the legal profession is beneficial for all lawyers, just as it is in the larger community,” said Jeffrey G. Gibson of San Francisco, appointed to chair the new commission.
The ABA has more than 413,000 members, making it the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.
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11.08.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 4:11 pm by pikapp44
The House on Wednesday approved the first federal ban on job discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.
Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act came despite protests from some gay rights supporters that the bill does not protect transgender workers. That term covers transsexuals, cross-dressers, and others whose outward appearance does not match their sex at birth.
The measure would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting, or paying an employee based on sexual orientation. It would exempt churches and the military.
After the 235–184 vote, supporters are expecting a tough fight in the narrowly divided Senate, where Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy plans to introduce a similar version.
A veto from President Bush is expected if the proposal does pass the Senate.
Backers of the House bill proclaimed it a major civil rights advance for gays. ”Bigotry and homophobia are sentiments that should never be allowed to permeate the American workplace,” said House Majority whip James Clyburn of South Carolina.
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11.05.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 12:28 pm by pikapp44
The Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA released a report Monday documenting what it called “a gay demographic explosion” in some of the country’s reddest of regions. Using recently released data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), the analyses show that the number of same-sex couples in the US has quadrupled since 1990, growing at a rate 21 times that of the population. But increases have been the most dramatic in the Midwest, Mountain, and Southern states.
“Clearly, more same-sex couples are willing to openly identify themselves as such on government surveys,” said Gary Gates, senior research fellow at the Williams Institute and author of the study. “A combination of growing social acceptance and migration to the South and West means that same-sex couples are becoming increasingly visible in the most politically and socially conservative parts of the country.”
Conservative regions where George Bush Senior’s support in the 1992 Presidential election exceeded his national vote average all had above average increases in same-sex couples since 1990. Conversely, regions where Bill Clinton’s support was above his national vote average all had increases of same-sex couples below the national average.
The Williams Institute study also found that state recognition of same-sex couples was inversely related to increases in the number of same-sex couples reporting their relationship. From 2000 to 2006, states that created formal recognition of same-sex couples had below average increases while states that prohibited marriage between two people of the same sex experienced above average increases in same-sex couples.
Utah typifies this demographic pattern. In rankings of states by their concentration of same-sex couples, the study finds that Utah is the biggest mover from a ranking of 38th in 1990 to 14th in 2006.
–East South Central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee saw a combined increase in same-sex couples of 863% from 1990 to 2006
–Mountain states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho had an increase of 698%
–Same-sex couple increases were 55 times larger than population increases in the Upper Midwest (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin)
–Three cities (among the 50 largest) showed decreases in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006: Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit. In all three cases the cities lost same-sex couples while surrounding counties showed large gains.
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