| Gay & Lesbian |
Atlanta Braves criticized for selling tickets to gay patronsThere were no protests at the game Wednesday night against Houston, however, and the team stood by its decision to consider holding the closing ceremonies at Turner Field if Atlanta is picked for the Gay Games. Atlanta Games Inc. purchased a block of more than 1,700 tickets for Wednesday's game, which gave it the right to hold a ceremony on the field, designate a group to sing the national anthem and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The Braves give similar privileges to any group that purchases 300 tickets, but that didn't stop between 500-600 phone calls, e-mails, faxes and letters on the issue - nearly all criticizing the team, Schultz said. ``There's a misconception that it's `Gay Night at the Braves,' and it's not,'' he said. ``We're no more condoning or endorsing a lifestyle than we condone or endorse the beliefs of a certain church organization or civic group that buys 300 tickets.'' Atlanta Games Inc. purchased the tickets to coincide with a visit by a national selection committee studying potential sites for the 2006 event. Atlanta, site of the 1996 Olympics, is a finalist along with Chicago, Los Angeles and Montreal. The winner will be announced in October. A quartet from the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus sang the national anthem, receiving polite applause. An officer from the Atlanta bid group threw out the first pitch. ``I think we expected some reaction,'' Schultz said. ``We didn't give any thought to how vehement or how emotional the response would be.'' Many of those complaining to the Braves said they would not be attending another game, and the crowd of 31,201 was about 4,000 below the team's season average. If Atlanta is selected for the Gay Games, the closing ceremony could be held at Turner Field as long as it didn't conflict with a Braves game. Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Internet may encourage risky sexual behaviorBetween January and February 2000, Elford and his colleagues at the University College Medical School at University College London, UK, surveyed almost 750 HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay men at six gyms in central London. Most of the men were white, well-educated, employed and relatively young. The men were asked about their HIV status, recent sexual histories, and whether they had access to the Internet at home or at work. Over 80% of those questioned reported having Internet access, and almost 35% of these men said they went online to seek a sexual partner, the majority reporting they did so more than once. Overall, those surfing the Web said they did so more often to find sex than to look for information concerning safer sex, health services, HIV treatment or testing, or recreational drugs and steroids. Elford and his team, reporting in the current issue of the journal AIDS, note that ethnicity, employment, education, and whether or not any of the men had ever been paid for sex did not play a role in whether or not Internet users sought sexual encounters online. Among HIV-positive men with Internet access, over 45% reported having unprotected anal intercourse at some point in the prior 3 months. Among HIV-negative men with Web access, over one-third reported engaging in unprotected anal intercourse. The researchers were not able to determine whether the men had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse with a partner they met on or off line. However, Elford and his team noted that seeking sex on the Internet was generally associated with high-risk sexual behavior. For HIV-negative men, unprotected sex was more likely to take place with casual partners whose HIV status was unknown. HIV-positive men were more likely to engage in unprotected sex with partners who were also HIV positive, perhaps indicating that the Internet is being used as a new resource for making such specific connections. Studies are looking at whether a similar connection between seeking sex on the Internet and engaging in high-risk behavior also exists among heterosexuals. So far, findings are not available. Elford told Reuters Health that the Internet--as a relatively new phenomenon--adds a new psychological dimension to the reasoning by which people might consciously choose to engage in risky behavior. ``It's the nature of the virtual encounter,'' he said. ``When you're on the Internet you might reinvent yourself as someone who takes greater risks than you actually do. And if you actually go and meet somebody you remain in that role, and you see that through in a sexual encounter.'' Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Nearly a million in U.S. say they are in same-sex couplesThat has some gays fearing their calls for domestic partner rights and benefits such as marriage, health care and inheritance rights will get little attention. ``Why would politicians waste an hour on this if there are only 6,500 (male) couples in San Francisco, the queer capital of the world?'' said Peter Altman, 42, who's been with his partner 11 years. Census officials say the numbers are more accurate than those gathered in 1990, when the bureau assumed that all people who checked ``spouse'' or ``married'' to someone of the same sex had made a mistake. Such people were categorized either as heterosexual couples or other relationships such as roommates or relatives. Still, the 2000 numbers cannot be used to estimate the nation's entire gay population, said Martin O'Connell, chief of the fertility and family statistics branch of the Census Bureau. ``It's hard to get a complete picture by only describing the living relationships of people living together,'' O'Connell said. To date, the Census Bureau has reported that there are 479,107 same-sex couples sharing a household. This number will rise when data from all 50 states is released. The missing states are New Jersey, Texas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Arkansas. According to the latest census statistics released Wednesday, California and Vermont lead the nation with the highest percentage of gay couples, while San Francisco has nearly twice as many same-sex partners as any other county. There are 92,138 same-sex couples in California, including 8,902 in San Francisco. In Vermont, 1,933 same-sex couples responded to the census. Gay and lesbian couples make up nearly 1 percent of total households reported in both states. The census found that gay couples represent 2.7 percent of San Francisco's households. However, San Francisco's total gay population is closer to 10 percent, or 80,000 people, according to San Francisco pollster David Binder. ``We're not talking about some sort of intangible concept of a gay family,'' said David Smith, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay and lesbian advocacy group in Washington D.C. ``We're talking about real people who live in a real assemblyperson's district.'' The 1990 census counted 121,346 same-sex couples. These were people who checked ``domestic partner'' with someone of the same gender. But O'Connell warned against comparing those numbers to last year's because of the way the forms were edited a decade ago. For example, two men identifying themselves as married could have been switched in 1990 to male and female and counted as a heterosexual couple, or listed as relatives or roommates instead of domestic partners. The 2000 data did not reassign partners. Instead, it put everyone into the domestic partner category, and then classified the couples as homosexual or heterosexual. There are 3,850,524 heterosexual unmarried couples nationwide. The same-sex numbers, while most likely undercounted, still show a lot about where the country's gay couples live and who they are. The data shows there are more lesbian couples living in rural areas, while gay male couples tend to be in urban areas. California, Nevada, Florida and New York rank at the top for male couples, while Vermont, New Mexico, Oregon and Massachusetts have the most lesbian couples. ``Part of that might have to do with more of us having children than the guys. They still haven't caught up with us there,'' said Bobbi Cote-Whitacre, 53, of Grand Isle, Vt., who has been with her partner 34 years. ``We tend to look for places that are safer or more of a rural country spot.'' -------------------------------------- On the Net: http://www.census.gov Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Heche, DeGeneres may become TV rivalsThe actress has inked a $1 million deal with Warner Bros. TV to star in her own series for fall 2002, reports TV Guide Online. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Heche's show, which doesn't have a network home yet, will be a comedy, but whether it's a half-hour or an hour has yet to be determined. Heche began her career on the NBC soap Another World and has since returned to TV for stints in films like Showtime's One Kill and HBO's If These Walls Could Talk. In If These Walls Could Talk 2, she wrote and directed a segment starring Sharon Stone and her then-girlfriend DeGeneres. Speaking of Heche's famous ex, DeGeneres is returning to TV with her
own series this fall. In fact, the two could be butting heads on the
television schedule. Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Broward Log Cabin to swear in officers at Fred HuntersBill Markham - Broward County Property Appraiser, and Georgette Sosa Douglass - President of the Broward County Hispanic Republican Club -- will lead the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected club officers. Refreshments will be served. "This will be a wonderful opportunity for the local community to meet Bill Markham who worked with activist Dr. Donna Watson on broading homestead exemptions," said Jack Majeske, president of the club. The Broward Log Cabin Club (BLCCF) has existed for 11 years. In 1991, the group was officially chartered by the national board of directors of the Log Cabin Federation (LCR). In 1999, after Jeb Bush was sworn in as Florida governor, BLCCF became the first LCR club in the South to also receive an official state charter from the Republican Party. For information about the upcoming meeting or the club, call 954-527-1995. Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Schools, Scouts squabble is overBoard approves $10-per-meeting fee for lightsThe Boy Scouts and other nonprofits can meet rent-free, but must pay
for the lights.
``Any money we have to spend is more money than we used to have to
spend,'' said Jeff Herrmann, Scout executive for the South Florida Boy
Scouts of America. ``But it's a much better plan than what they originally
wanted, which would have kicked us out of the schools. The important thing
is, they are treating us fairly.''
About 50 to 60 Scout troops or packs meet at Broward public schools.
``We'll have to raise about $5,000 or $6,000,'' Herrmann said.
The School Board voted in November to ban the Scouts from meeting at
its schools because the Boy Scouts bans gays from becoming troop leaders.
Board members believed the Scouts violated the district's
anti-discrimination policy.
In March, a federal judge ruled the district couldn't ban the Boy
Scouts. Superintendent Frank Till then proposed charging the Boy Scouts
and other groups rent, possibly up to $200 per meeting.
The School Board backed off the plan at its July 17 meeting, and
decided only to make nonprofits pay for the lights. They don't have to pay
rent as long as a custodian is on site.
Till said he tried to determine what the true costs to the district
would be for groups like the Scouts to meet after-hours. Lighting costs
were included because the district is starting a campaign to turn off
lights in empty rooms, Till said.
``We realized the air conditioning would already be on, so we weren't
going to charge for that,'' Till said. ``We believe this is fair.''
Board member Stephanie Kraft voted against the policy Tuesday, saying
it would ``nickel and dime'' many small groups.
The fees would also apply to groups like homeowner's associations or
the Girl Scouts. |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Decision on signatures rests with elections' supervisorBut Friday, Levine said he couldn't make that decision for Leahy. It
wasn't his job.
``If every time a government official didn't know which way to go,
filed a case in court, the court would be running the government,'' Levine
said. ``What if Mayor Penelas, every time he decided an issue with two or
more competing groups, filed a case in court? What if Bush filed to make a
decision on stem cell research?''
Immediately after the ruling, Leahy said he didn't know when he was
going to make a decision. Friday afternoon, he said, he was going to get
legal advice from county attorneys. But Judge Levine also gave Leahy some
direction. He said a law that governs when affidavits must be accepted
doesn't apply in this case.
The ruling is one more step in a bitter legal battle between Take Back
Miami-Dade, which wants to repeal the law, and Save Dade, which supports
gay rights.
Take Back Miami-Dade gathered 50,912 from the public last November to
force a vote. But in a random sampling of signatures, Leahy's office
disqualified 38 out of 100. To Leahy, that meant he had to go through and
verify every signature on the petition.
But in response, Take Back turned in 23 affidavits of voters, attesting
to the fact that they did sign the petition even though their signatures
were thrown out.
Leahy then filed a court case to see whether he had to accept them,
which the Judge dismissed Friday.
Even if Leahy accepts the affidavits, a referendum isn't certain. The
Florida Department of Law Enforcement has seized the petitions, and is
investigating whether Take Back fraudulently gathered signatures.
Return to TBC GLBT
News |
| Gay & Lesbian |
Fingerprints found on weapon used to kill Aventura manAventura police are also awaiting a Broward Sheriff's Office analysis of Sicherer's 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII, found a day after his murder in a municipal parking lot in Hollywood beach. Return to TBC GLBT
News |