By Ramy Eletreby

Former NBA Player Comes Out

John Amaechi, a former basketball player from England who once played for the Utah Jazz, reveals that he is gay in his new memoir, Man in the Middle. He is the first NBA player to come out. Amaechi subsequently told an interviewer that he believes his sexuality led to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan’s decision to bench him at the start of the 2003-2004 season.

Amaechi is only the sixth person from one of the four major men’s professional sports leagues in the U.S. to ever come out, reports the New York Times. He said he hopes his coming out will inspire other gay athletes to do so while they are still visible. WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes revealed she was a lesbian and in a committed relationship in 2005.

"When you do something that the whole world thinks is difficult and you stand up and just be who you are and take on that difficulty factor, you're an American hero no matter what," Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That's what the American spirit's all about, going against the grain and standing up for who you are, even if it's not a popular position."

Haggard Claims “He’s Repaired,” Dobson Condemned

Rev. Ted Haggard, who resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year after admitting to “sexual immorality” involving a former male prostitute, emerged Feb. 5 completely straight after undergoing three weeks of intensive “reparative therapy.”

“He is completely heterosexual,” Rev. Tim Ralph, one of four ministers who oversaw Haggard’s therapy, told the Denver Post. “That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn’t a constant thing.”

Haggard’s rehabilitation is the most recent example of the ex-gay movement, advocated by religious right powerhouses such as Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson. The movement espouses so-called “reparative therapy” and religious ministries to eliminate gay desires.

On Feb. 12, Soulforce posted a video on YouTube featuring Dr. Judith Stacey, a professor of sociology at NYU, claiming “a complete distortion” of her research on same-sex parenting has been used by groups such as Focus on the Family to further their own anti-gay agenda.

“For many years James Dobson has manipulated the social science research to breed discrimination,” says Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes. “He did so frequently and freely, knowing that the public and the media would not take the time to fact-check his false claims. But now, a growing number of fair-minded Americans are holding him accountable and demanding that he demonstrate the primary characteristic of true Christianity. That, of course, is honesty.”

To view Dr. Stacey’s video, go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaCCe9XVSRo.

Homophobic Snickers Ad Stirs Controversy

Gays are not snickering at a Snickers candy bar ad that ran during the Super Bowl on Feb. 4. The ad featured a Lady in the Tramp moment in which two men eating the same Snicker’s bar meet in the middle and accidentally kiss. Once they realize what happened, they pull out chest hair to assert their masculinity. Commercial Closet, a gay ad-monitoring group, protested, saying the ad “suggests that accidental contact between two men of the same sex is worthy of self-mutilation in order to assert the authenticity of one’s heterosexuality.”

Obama Announces Presidential Candidacy

On Feb. 10, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. The announcement came three days before the California Senate voted to move the state’s primary to Feb. 5 from June 3 so California can have more influence in determining presidential nominees. Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to sign the bill after it passes the Assembly.

Obama’s announcement follows closely the declaration by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton that she is “in it to win.” Clinton has since been pressured to admit that she made a “mistake” in voting to give President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. Though not then a U.S. Senator, Obama said he always opposed the war.

Although Obama has rock star charisma at rallies, he has not been immune to criticism from those who praise his rhetoric but point out his lack of specifics. During a rally Feb. 12 at the University of New Hampshire, Obama said that he supported civil unions, but that marriage is a religious bond, according to The Associated Press, adding, "I believe that every American has basic rights that have to be respected."

“Obviously, I am disappointed that he is not in favor of marriage,” Obama supporter and ANGLE member Jeremy Bernard told IN. “His position of being in favor of civil unions but not marriage is the same as the other major presidential candidates (except for Rep. Dennis Kucinich). The manner in which he described his position on this issue in his book makes me optimistic.”

Obama’s kickoff announcement in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Ill., was greeted by some as historic, but many gathered the same day for Tavis Smiley’s annual State of Black America conference were angered by Obama’s absence. The long-planned conference was held in Jamestown, Va., to acknowledge the establishment of the first English colony 400 years ago, and with it the beginning of slavery.

Many of the presidential candidates will flock to Los Angeles for fundraisers. For Democratic candidates’ events, check the L.A. County Democratic Party site at www.lacdp.org. – Karen Ocamb

Giuliani Throws His Hat Into the Ring

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced on Larry King Live Feb. 14 that he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. The announcement comes a day after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced his candidacy. Their chief rival for the nomination is Arizona Sen. John McCain. All essentially support the war in Iraq.

Both McCain and Romney are competing for grassroots conservative religious voters. Until recently, Giuliani has been perceived as liberal on social issues. Now, however, he says he is pro-choice but would appoint “strict constructionist” judges like Antonin Scalia. Giuliani told King he would not use abortion rights as a “litmus test” for judicial appointments.

Giuliani, who has jokingly appeared in drag (see YouTube), told King, “gays should be protected,” but he is not in favor of gay marriage: “I believe that marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman and that the way to handle this, and the way to handle respect and everything else is to have something like domestic partnership, which I support.”

Giuliani told King he would not favor a constitutional amendment, defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, “unless all of a sudden lots of states do what Massachusetts does and kind of come at it from the other side and decide that the Constitution says that—that you cannot have marriage between a man and a woman. If it stays the way it is, you don't need one.”

Log Cabin Republicans/California may post presidential campaign events at www.logcabin.org/logcabinca or blogcabinca.org.- Karen Ocamb

Michigan Partners Lose Insurance Transgender Professor Fired

A Michigan appeals court ruling that prohibits gay domestic partner health insurance for employees at public universities and state and local governments has alarmed LGBT advocates who fear a domino effect in 17 other states where bans on gay marriage can be construed to include domestic partner benefits.

"It really is just a matter of time before we start seeing wholesale litigation in this area," Carrie Evans, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, told the Associated Press on Feb. 8.

Meanwhile, Julie Nemecek, a Michigan transgender professor filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saying she was terminated by Spring Harbor University because her male-to-female transition violated “biblical principles.”

“If I were to live according to how others see my body, it would be at the expense of my head, heart and soul and with extreme emotional trauma,” Nemecek told the Detroit News.

Numbers As of 10 a.m., February 16, 2007:

U.S. Deaths in Iraq: 3,128—4 pending DoD confirmation (http://icasualties.org)

Iraqi Dead since 2003: Between 56,468-62,189 (www.iraqbodycount.org)

Cost of War: $366,863,073,682+ (www.nationalpriorities.org)

National Debt: $8,725,966,879,131.75 (www.brillig.com/debt_clock)

U.S. Trade Deficit: $97,735,069,081.63+ (www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp)