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 By Ramy Eletreby & Karen OCamb
Hitchcock Files Complaint Against the DNC
Longtime LGBT political activist Donald Hitchcock, who was
fired from his job as director of the Gay and Lesbian Leadership
Council at the Democratic National Committee, has filed
a complaint against the DNC saying he was “illegally” terminated
and subsequently defamed.
“As a lifelong, loyal Democrat, I am filing this complaint
against the DNC because the road to social justice sometimes
demands that our political family and friends be held accountable
when they do not act for the common good,” Hitchcock
said in a statement. “Prior to filing this lawsuit
I tried several times to settle this matter in a reasonable
and professional manner, but the DNC refused and continues
to attempt to discredit me and my political opinions.”
“The DNC strongly believes that Donald's charges have
no merit and the DNC is committed to defending its position
vigorously in court,” DNC General Counsel Joe Sandler
told IN. “We regret that we cannot say much more publicly,
and we ask that readers of this and other publications keep
in mind that since the DNC is not able to speak publicly
about the case, everything you'll see may well be one-sided
for a while.”—K.O. Gays Decry Two Bush Nominees
Gays are furious about two of President Bush’s nominees
with anti-gay records.
Dr. James Holsinger, a Kentucky cardiologist who is Bush’s
nominee for surgeon general, wrote in a 1991 paper that homosexuality
could be “cured.” He also serves on the judiciary
council of the United Methodist Church that voted last year
to deny a gay man membership in the congregation. In 2004,
he voted to expel a lesbian associate pastor from the clergy.
“Dr. Holsinger’s record shows that his own biases
will not allow him to look objectively at scientific information.
Consequently, he is not qualified to be surgeon general,
and we call upon the Senate to promptly reject his nomination,” said
Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force.
Among the controversial decisions rendered by Mississippi
Judge Leslie Southwick, Bush’s nominee for the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, was his joining of
a 2001 ruling that stripped a lesbian mother of custody of
her daughter. Southwick also believes that homosexuality
is a “choice.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering Southwick’s
confirmation. —Karen Ocamb Trandahl Speaks
Former U.S. House of Representatives clerk Jeff Trandahl,
who supervised the House page program during the 2006 sex
scandal that forced Republican Rep. Mark Foley to resign,
spoke about the scandal May 30 during the RSVP Cruises’ Queen
Mary 2 crossing of the Atlantic.
According to Christopher Lisotta, who blogged about the trip
for The Advocate, Trandahl talked about being the “star
witness” before the House Ethics Committee since, Lisotta
reported, “he knew exactly who, what, when and how
every decision about the scandal was made by the GOP leadership.”
Lisotta reported, “[Trandahl] said he sees the Foley
matter as a much larger lesson, since, ‘it is a story
about the closet and how dangerous the closet can be for
all gay people.’"
Focus on the Family Focuses on Massachusetts
On June 14, the Massachusetts Legislature will meet in a
Constitutional Convention to vote on the Protection of
Marriage Amendment that would nullify the state civil marriage
law. If approved, the Marriage Amendment could appear on
the November 2008 state ballot.
In an in-depth report posted June 7 on BayWindows.com, Ethan
Jacobs notes the link between Marriage Amendment sponsor
VoteOnMarriage.org and the anti-gay religious right organization
Focus on the Family and its leader, Dr. James Dobson.
“An examination of recent Focus on the Family-related
activity in Massachusetts,” Jacobs reports, “which
includes two visits to the state by political organizer H.B.
London, a high-profile FRC pro-amendment rally in Boston
called Liberty Sunday that was broadcast across the country,
and a Focus-sponsored ex-gay conference called Love Won Out
where speakers urged attendees to support the marriage amendment,
points to one obvious conclusion: Dobson and Focus on the
Family have their sights set on taking away the civil marriage
rights of same-sex couples in Massachusetts, and their grassroots
campaign to win a statewide ballot campaign is well underway.”—K.O.
Tell-All Book About Ted Haggard To Be Released
In his new memoir, I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted
Haggard's Fall, Mike Jones tells of his relationship with
the former New Life Church pastor. Jones, a former male
escort, details a nearly three-year regular stint of sex
and drugs with Haggard, whom he knew as “Art” until
he saw him speak on a religious television show.
“The book is about more than Ted Haggard,” said
Jones in a news report done by KKTV in Colorado Springs,
Colo. “It’s about the Evangelical Church, and
how they deal with homosexual issues.”
Gay Watergate Lawyer Dies at 65
Samuel Alexander Garrison III, an attorney who defended former
President Richard Nixon during the Watergate-related impeachment
hearings in 1974 and later became a gay rights activist,
died on June 3. According to his partner of 17 years, Mark
Harris, Garrison was active in the LGBT movement and once
tried to overturn Virginia’s sodomy statute when
he represented 10 men arrested for soliciting oral sex.
“Sam’s goal was to convince society that being
gay shouldn’t be a question of right or wrong, but
a part of who they are,” said Harris, reports Gay.com.
eHarmony Sued for Discrimination Against Gays
A lesbian from Northern California has filed a lawsuit against
the Pasadena-based eHarmony.com, Inc., claiming its online
dating service discriminates against gays and lesbians.
After Linda Carlson went on eHarmony.com in February to
meet a woman, she found that the site only offers matches
for men seeking women and women seeking men. According
to the lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court on June
1, the company is in violation of state law barring discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
“Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business
open to the public in this day and age,” said Carlson, in a statement.
The lawsuit names eHarmony.com founder Neil Clark Warren,
a clinical psychologist, and his wife Marylyn as defendants,
and seeks class-action status, a jury trial and unspecified
damages, reports 365Gay.com.
“The [system] that eHarmony has developed, through years of research,
to match couples has been based on traits and personality patterns of successful
heterosexual marriages,” read a company statement. “Nothing precludes
us from providing same-sex matching in the future; it’s just not a service
we offer now based upon the research we have conducted.”
Dallas May Become First Major U.S. City with a Gay Mayor
On June 16, gay Dallas City Councilmember Ed Oakley will
face businessman Tom Leppert in a runoff mayoral election.
Should Oakley win, Dallas, the ninth-largest city in the
country, would become the first major U.S. city with an openly
gay mayor.
A Dallas resident for the past 25 years, Oakley has served
on the City Council since 2001. In the initial election on
May 12, Oakley placed second with 21 percent of the votes
behind Leppert with 27 percent. Since neither candidate received
a majority of the votes, they face the June runoff.
Tax Equity Bill Introduced in Senate
On June 6, U.S. Sens. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Joseph Lieberman
(I-Conn.) introduced the Tax Equity for Domestic Partner
and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, a bill that would end
the tax inequities in employer-provided health insurance
for domestic partners. The legislation would allow employees
with domestic partners to exclude the value of insurance
premiums and benefits for coverage of spouses and dependents
when reporting their income taxes.
“This legislation takes the next step to ensure that
all American workers receive equal benefits for equal work,” said
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
Numbers as of 1 p.m., June 7, 2007
U.S. Deaths in Iraq: 3,504 (11 unconfirmed)
Iraqi Dead since 2003: Between 64,879-71,042
Cost of War: $432,519,000,000+
National Debt: $8,853,432,240,790.86
U.S. Trade Deficit: $325,805,000, 000.00+
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