By Ramy Eletreby

Wal-Mart Makes a Trio of Pro-Gay Decisions

In addition to hiring Witeck-Combs Communications, a marketing company that targets the LGBT community, Wal-Mart stores have also joined the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) on its Corporate Advisory Council and will sponsor two of the NGLCC’s annual conferences. Wal-Mart has also begun discussions with activist groups about extending domestic partnership benefits to its employees. Heretofore, Wal-Mart was perceived as anti-gay. “This partnership shows Wal-Mart is changing,” said Nu Wexler of Wal-Mart Watch. “It’s worth noting they declined to publicize this partnership and left it up to the chamber.”

Historic Stonewall Bar in NYC to Close

Owners of Stonewall, the New York bar where gays fought back against a police raid in 1969 and sparked the modern national gay rights movement, are being evicted for failure to pay $150,000 in back rent. The original Stonewall Inn closed shortly after the historic riots but re-opened 20 years later under new ownership as simply Stonewall with a new hip-hop clientele.

Soulforce’s “Right to Serve” Campaign Confronts Military Policy

Surrounded by the media, Michael Chich, an openly gay Oklahoma man, walked into his local Army recruiting station on Aug. 23 and attempted to enlist. He was turned away because, the recruitment commander said, it would violate military policy. The enlistment attempt was part of the “Right to Serve” campaign organized by Soulforce, a national LGBT advocacy organization seeking to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 13-year-old policy that prohibits gays from serving openly in the military.

In 30 cities, openly gay people who genuinely want to serve in the military have participated in the campaign. On Aug. 29, Rebecca Solomon, a lesbian from Austin, Texas, walked into the U.S. Army recruitment office to apply and said, “I’m a lesbian. Is that going to be a problem?” She was told that since she made that statement, she could not be processed.

“I'm really dedicated to enlisting and being a part of the Army and putting my life on the line for my country. I don't know how that could be called a political stunt," Solomon said.

Sen. Hillary Clinton Delays Reauthorization of Ryan White CARE Act

Final passage of the reauthorized Ryan White CARE Act is being delayed by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) claiming that her state could lose up to $20 million in funding under the proposed revisions. In May, Clinton was the sole vote against the legislation, which would distribute more federal HIV/AIDS funds to rural and Southern states. States with a higher concentration of HIV infections, such as New York, California, Florida, and Illinois, could lose millions under the proposed revisions.

The delay angered several AIDS groups that would benefit from the revisions. “I must share with you the bewilderment of African Americans throughout the country who cannot understand why you are taking this stand against opening the door to more equitable funding that will chiefly benefit people of color,” wrote Harry C. Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce in a letter to Clinton.

Clinton’s hold is considered by some to be political since the states poised to lose funding are primarily Democratic while the states that will gain funding are mostly in the South and tend to vote Republican.

Influential Gay Journalist and NLGJA Founding Member Dies

John Wilson, founding member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) died suddenly on Aug. 25 in his Manhattan apartment. He was 56. Wilson was the assistant science editor at The New York Times, and had previously held editing positions with the Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel. Wilson’s partner, Richard Poirier, speculated that he suffered a heart attack or stroke. “For nearly a decade, [Wilson] has been the Atlas upon whose shoulders the science department rests, our arbiter of style and news judgment; but also our song-loving, mischief-making, nurturing, life-embracing friend. We miss him,” the Times said in a statement.

“[John] was an inspiration to a number of younger gay journalists who were able to come out in a sometimes risky atmosphere,” NLGJA board member Jane Daugherty said in a statement. “[He was a] courageous journalist and a courageous gay man.”

CNN Producer Rose Arce: Reporting Sept. 11

On Sept. 11, the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, CNN will provide free streaming video of their entire coverage of that horrific day. The feed will run in real time from 8:30 a.m.-midnight.

Openly gay CNN producer Rose Arce reported on the hellish scene, including the nuclear winter of dust and debris that covered Ground Zero and how a family with small children watched people jump from the Twin Towers.

“Terrified people trapped in the floors above waved desperately toward us, then they began to smash the windows and leap,” she wrote for CNN.com. “At first they fell like swans with purpose and grace, but then there were more frantic jumpers, flailing against the wind, clutching each other's hands, their shoes tumbling into the crowds far below.

“I think I remember Emma screaming something, and then some inner parent took hold of Jim, and he spoke. ‘Maybe they're birds, honey,’ he said calmly, and he ushered his children into the back of the apartment. And then we all shut up for the children … Emma had these dreams months later. ‘The people just sort of floated off and landed and ran away,’ she told Jim. He just lets her believe that. It's hard to make sense of something for a kid that you can't make sense of yourself.”

Read Arce’s story at
archives.cnn.com/2002/US/09/11/ar911.arce/index.html.

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Established During U.S. Open Ceremony

At the opening-night ceremony for the U.S. Open on Aug. 28, tennis legend Billie Jean King’s name was added to the USTA National Tennis Center, becoming the first woman and lesbian to have a major sports facility named after her. King, 62, is the only woman to win U.S. Singles titles on all four tennis court surfaces (grass, clay, carpet, and hard). She won a record 20 Wimbledon titles, 13 U.S. Open championships, and 39 Grand Slam titles, more than any other American-born woman.

“She is the epitome of not only women’s tennis but women’s sports,” said tennis star Serena Williams.

“It's phenomenal because it's the first time a woman has had that honor,” said openly gay tennis great Martina Navratilova. “And to get it named after her while she's living, she gets to enjoy it.”

Penis “Pump” Considered a “Bomb” at Chicago Airport

En route to Turkey with his mother, Mardin Amin, 29, was going through security at O’Hare Airport in Chicago when a guard pulled a small black plastic device from his backpack. When asked what it was, Amin whispered under his breath that it was a penis pump so his mother would not hear. According to the female guard, Amin whispered it was a bomb. She called for backup and Amin was taken to jail and charged with felony and disorderly conduct.

Amin’s lawyer insists it was a misunderstanding. “He told her it's a pump,” attorney Eileen O'Neill-Burke told a Cook County judge. “He’s standing with his mother. Of course he’s not going to shout this out.”

In fact, the “p” sound does not exist in the Turkish language and the tongue often replaces it with a “b” sound when speaking English.

In The Life TV Newsmagazine Celebrates 15 Years

This October, the award-winning LGBT TV newsmagazine, In the Life, will celebrate 15 years of production. In the Life debuted in 1992 as the country’s first regularly scheduled gay-themed program. For 15 years, the show has encouraged open dialogue about LGBT issues by bringing important stories to the forefront. In the Life airs monthly on more than 200 public television stations nationwide as well as on LOGO.

In the Life's 15th season premiere, “Inside Out,” will air on KCET in L.A. on Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. For complete broadcast listings, see www.inthelifetv.org.