By Ramy Eletreby

U.S. Army Discharges Gay Arabic Linguist; Lesbian Discharge Upheld

After an eight-month Army investigation, Bleu Copas, 30, was discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He was outed by several anonymous e-mails to his superiors at the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C. The first e-mail surfaced after Copas, a highly decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist, joined the All-American Chorus in May 2005, reports The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt’s 2004 discharge was upheld by a judge in Spokane, Wash. Witt, 40, was suspended from the McChord Air Force Base after her superiors received an anonymous tip that she was involved romantically with a civilian woman. Witt contested the discharge, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down sodomy laws, but the judge said the decision did not affect the constitutionality of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” reports AP.

Last year, 726 service members were dismissed under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and over 11,000 have been discharged since 1993. According to the General Accountability Office, nearly 800 of these service members had critical abilities such as Copas’ proficiency in Arabic. Replacing those members has cost the U.S. Dept. of Defense nearly $369 million, reports AP.

Lance Bass Comes Out as Gay

In the July 28 issue of People magazine, former ’N Sync band member Lance Bass officially came out as gay after years of rumors and several recent photos pinning him with former Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl. In the issue, Bass, 27, confirms that he and Lehmkuhl, 32, are in a “very stable” relationship.

“The main reason I wanted to speak my mind was that [the rumors] were really starting to affect my daily life. Now it feels like it’s on my terms,” Bass tells People.

Bass admits that he chose to keep his sexuality a secret while he was a member of the multi-million record selling pop group out of fear of jeopardizing the band’s success. “I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys’ careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything,” Bass tells People. “I didn’t know: Could that be the end of ’N Sync? So I had that weight on me of like, ‘Wow, if I ever let anyone know, it’s bad.’ So I just never did.”

States Wrestle with Marriage Equality

In South Dakota, an independent Mason-Dixon poll released Aug. 3 showed that 49 percent of state voters oppose amending the state constitution to bar marriage equality while 41 percent support it, and 10 percent remain undecided.

In Wisconsin, labor unions are joining forces to fight bans on gay marriage and civil unions fearing that health-care benefits would be jeopardized. The AFSCME represents 44,000 public service and health-care workers in the state.

In Virginia, a Mason-Dixon poll conducted on July 24-25 of 625 registered voters found that 56 percent of those surveyed will support the proposed state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage when it appears on the November ballot; 38 percent said they will oppose it; 6 percent were undecided.

In North Carolina, the state Legislature adjourned its 2006 session without voting on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and domestic partner rights. The measure has been introduced for three consecutive years.

In Florida, Charlie Crist, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for governor in the state’s fall primary, says that while he opposes same-sex marriage and supports the ban on gays adopting, he does not object to civil unions. His rival for the gubernatorial nomination, Tom Gallagher, opposes civil unions, same-sex marriage and gay adoptions.

In Maryland, the state Supreme Court decided it would hear a challenge to a ruling by a circuit court judge in January that the state law banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Arguments will be heard in December.

Washington State Supreme Court Upholds DOMA; Nebraska Urged to Strike Down Extreme Anti-Gay Law

On July 26, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision to uphold the state’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bans marriage recognition for same-sex couples. The court did leave open, however, the possibility of future legislation allowing same-sex marriage. “It is important to note that the court’s role is limited to determining the constitutionality of DOMA and that our decision is not based on an independent determination of what we believe the law should be,” states the ruling.

“Now is not the time to be disappointed—it's a time to recommit ourselves to the struggle ahead and to someday pass marriage equality in the state Legislature,” said openly gay state Rep. Ed Murray. “I will introduce legislation to achieve that equality.”

In other news, Lambda Legal and the ACLU filed papers on July 28 strongly urging a federal appeals court to reconsider its July 14 ruling upholding an extreme Nebraska law passed in 2000 that bans all protections for same-sex couples.

“This case has never been about marriage. It is about whether a state can completely block gay people from the political process. It basically put a sign of the door of the Nebraska Legislature telling gay people to stay away,” said Lambda Legal Litigation Legal Director Jon W. Davidson. “If our constitutional guarantees of equality have any meaning, this law has to go.”

Gay-Friendly Congressman’s Campaign Office Vandalized

The Jackson, Mich., campaign office of U.S. Representative Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.) was vandalized during the night between July 30 and 31. Three larger-than-life headshots of the congressman were found in the office windows: one had “FAG” written across it while another had the congressman’s eyes cut out. Schwarz is up for re-election on Aug. 8 in the GOP primary representing Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Last month, Schwarz voted against the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment in the House. His chief opponent is anti-gay preacher Tim Walberg.

“This is the work of people lacking all integrity and values and I find this type of hate speech disgusting,” said Schwarz in a statement. “I would expect my opponent to remind his supporters to maintain some civility in the closing days of this race. In 27 years, I have never seen behavior like this in a campaign.”

The Log Cabin Republicans released a statement calling for support of Schwarz’s campaign. “Congressman Joe Schwarz has stood with us, now we need to stand with him. Now he's facing a negative campaign from Walberg who criticizes Schwarz for supporting basic fairness for gay and lesbian families,” reads the statement.

Mel Gibson Slams Jews, Apologizes

During a July 28 arrest for drunk driving in Malibu, Calif., actor Mel Gibson spewed profanity and anti-Semitic remarks and threatened Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy James Mee, according to TMZ.com, which obtained the original arrest report.

Mee, who audio-taped the entire incident, reported that Gibson said, "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." At the police station he yelled at a female officer, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"

Gibson subsequently entered rehab and apologized, saying in a statement that his words were “vitriolic and harmful… I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith."

Several entertainment industry leaders called for Gibson to be “shunned.” Disney/ABC canceled a planned miniseries about the Holocaust in development with Gibson's Icon Productions. Another project, a Mayan-language film called Apocalypto, remains on track, CNN reports.

In the early 1990s, Gibson made several anti-gay remarks and was criticized for using anti-gay stereotypes in movies such as Braveheart. Though he never apologized, in 1997 Gibson conducted a seminar for nine gay and lesbian filmmakers sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. - Karen Ocamb

Numbers As of 12:15 p.m., August 4, 2006:

U.S. Deaths in Iraq: 2,586-pending DoD confirmation (http://icasualties.org)

Iraqi Dead since 2003: Between 39,702-44,191 (www.iraqbodycount.org)

Cost of War: $301,138,700,000+ (www.nationalpriorities.org)

National Debt: $8,444,439,167,311.91 (www.brillig.com/debt_clock)

U.S. Trade Deficit: $449,745,000,000+

(www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp)