By Ramy Eletreby

Iowa sees first (and only) gay wedding

Less than 24 hours after a judge threw out Iowa’s ban on same-sex marriage, Sean Fritz, 24, and Tim McQuillan, 21, were married on the front lawn of a Unitarian minister’s home. On Aug. 30, Polk County Judge Robert Hanson ruled that Iowa’s 1998 Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional, and by the morning of Aug. 31, more than 27 same-sex couples across the state applied for marriage licenses in Polk County.

Fritz and McQuillan found a judge whose signature waived the three-day waiting period for marriage licenses and were married in the morning hours of Aug. 31. By 11:30 a.m., Judge Hanson stayed his ruling pending review by the higher courts, reports The Associated Press. Fritz and McQuillan were the only couple to complete the exchange of their vows by the time the ruling was stayed.

Bob Salier, an Iowa resident and co-founder of Everyday America, launched an online petition the week of Sept. 10 asking the Iowa Legislature to impeach Judge Hanson, whose Aug. 30 ruling he claims violated the state constitution, reports the Advocate.

Gay NFL star pledges $1 million to alma mater

Former NFL running back David Kopay, 65, who was the first athlete in a major pro sports to come out in 1975, has pledged $1 million to the Q Center, the gay student center at his alma mater, the University of Washington, reports the Seattle Times.

The gift is in the form of a testamentary pledge to be disbursed from Kopay’s estate after he dies. It was while Kopay was a student at UW that he had his first relationship with a man, a frat brother.

“I struggled, and I suffered while in college because it was a different time,” Kopay told the Times. “But it was a wonderful time, too. If I had not gone through some of that stuff, I wouldn’t be who I am now.”

“I believe deeply in my heart that this is an act of forgiveness,” Q Center Director Jennifer Self told the Times. “He’s saying, ‘When I was there, I was alone, scared and hurt. But I’m going to give you half of my estate.’ It’s an amazing act of generosity and forgiveness that not a lot of people would do.”

Kopay will give a welcome speech to UW’s LGBT students at the Q Center on Sept. 28.

Blogger Andrew Sullivan marries partner in Provincetown, Mass.

Andrew Sullivan, the oft-read English, gay, libertarian, conservative political commentator and blog journalist, married his partner of three years, Aaron, at their beach home in Provincetown, Mass., the only state where same-sex marriage is legal, on August 26. Sullivan, an HIV-positive practicing Roman Catholic, is the former editor of the New Republic and his political blog, The Daily Dish (www.andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/), is considered by many as the top political blog in the country.

“This was not—repeat not—a political event,” writes Sullivan in his blog on Sept. 5. “But it took politics to get past politics, and to see this movement we are a part of as a human endeavor to bring love and civility and family into lives that have sometimes been denied all of the above. We were denied no love that night, and received so much support and kindness and affirmation that we’re still a little giddy. It was more than I ever expected, in a place I love, with people who love both Aaron and me.”

Though Sullivan has lived in the United States longer than his native England, he is unable to achieve U.S. citizenship due to his HIV status.

Turning Heads in the Big Apple

The new Marc Jacobs menswear store on Bleecker Street in Manhattan is garnering much attention for its recent front window display featuring the faces of Sen. Larry Craig and evangelical preacher Ted Haggard imprinted on T-shirts stating, “I’m not gay” and “I am cured” under their respective likenesses.

Sen. Larry Craig motions to withdraw guilty plea

Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), 62, filed court papers on Sept. 10 in Hennepin County, Minn., to withdraw his guilty plea concerning his June 11 arrest in a restroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. According to the court papers, “anxiety,” “panic” and “fear” led to Craig’s decision to plead guilty to the airport incident, which came just a few weeks after an interview with the Idaho Statesman in which allegations that the senator was gay and had engaged in homosexual conduct were being investigated, which Craig vehemently denied. In order to keep the airport arrest under wraps so as to not give the Statesman any more ammunition, the senator agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

The court papers state: “Despite Senator Craig’s denial of any inappropriate behavior, he was panicked that such allegations would be made public and that they would provide the Idaho Statesman with an excuse to publish its baseless article. While in this state of intense anxiety, Senator Craig felt compelled to grasp the lifeline offered to him by the police officer, namely that if he were to submit to an interview and plead guilty, then none of the officer’s allegations would be made public. Thus, rather than seek legal advice from an attorney to assist him in publicly fighting these charges and potentially protract the issue, Senator Craig’s panic drove him to accept a guilty plea, the terms of which offered him what he thought was a private, expeditious resolution to this matter. Senator Craig maintains his innocence with respect to these charges, and it would manifestly unjust not to allow his guilty plea, entered in a state of fear, to be withdrawn.”

Craig announced that he would resign from the U.S. Senate on Sept. 30, but would remain in office if he was able to get the plea overturned.

Top Chef contestant victim of anti-gay attack

Out lesbian Josie Smith-Malave, one of the contestants on the second season of Bravo’s hit cooking show, Top Chef, was the victim of an apparent anti-gay attack on Long Island over Labor Day weekend, the AP reports.

According to lawyer Yetta Kurland, Smith-Malave was out with a small group of girlfriends for a birthday celebration at Partners Bar in Sea Cliff, N.Y., on Sept. 1. When two of the women began dancing together, they were asked to leave the premises, and as they exited, they were reportedly followed by a group of 10-12 people who surrounded them, screamed anti-gay slurs before spitting on them, throwing debris at them and beating them, reports the AP.

One of the victims in the attack was Smith-Malave’s straight sister. All the women suffered bruises, and one received injuries to the head, according to Kurland.

On Sept. 13, Matthew W. Walli, 20, of Oregon, was arrested by Nassau County police and charged with second degree robbery as a bias crime. Eleven other suspects are being sought.

Quote

“Judges ought to be honest about who they are, and this is who I am, so I'm not going to hide it.” – Out N.C. Court of Appeals Judge John Arrowood, in the Charlotte Observer.

“In the Internet era—with the pressures of 24/7 news coverage and bloggers often setting the pace—if politicians are gay, they’re foolish not to come out before they get shoved out.” – Columnist Deb Price, in the Detroit News.

“Those of us who prefer that our public servants go after actual lawbreakers rather than use our resources to humiliate gay people do have a choice. And we should make it clear that we want our police going after terrorists—not toe-tappers.” – Arianna Huffington, on the Huffington Post.

“A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. So, all I can say is, ‘Suck it, Jesus.’ This award is my god now.” – Comedian Kathy Griffin, while accepting her Emmy Award for best reality program for My Life on the D-List.

Numbers as of midnight, Sept. 13, 2007

American Deaths in Iraq: 3,774 : www.antiwar.com/casualties

American Wounded in Iraq: 27,767 : www.antiwar.com/casualties

Iraqi Dead since 2003: 71,826 – 78,405 : www.iraqbodycount.org

Cost of War: $456,100,000,000+ : www.nationalpriorities.org

National Debt: $9,017,648,621,237.57 : www.brillig.com/debt_clock

U.S. Trade Deficit: $514,913,000,000.00+
www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp