US Census Bureau won't count same-sex marriages

by Mike Swift
Mercury News

Tens of thousands of same-sex couples are expected to marry legally in California by 2010.

The U.S. Census Bureau, reacting to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other mandates, plans to edit the 2010 census responses of same-sex couples who marry legally in California, Massachusetts or any other state. They will be reported as "unmarried partners," rather than married spouses, in census tabulations - a policy that will likely draw the ire of gay rights groups.

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Bolthouse Farms donated $100,000 to ban gay marriage

Nick Langewis over at PageOneQ tells us a popular juice company is anti-gay and supports the ban on gay marriage in California.

Bolthouse Farms donated $100,000 to ban gay marriage in California.

William Bolthouse, with proceeds from the sale of his company's organic juices in stores such as Whole Foods, gave the money to the Alliance Defense Fund, which has been active in the California courts in attempting to overturn the recent ruling, and in opposing a new suit, filed by Equality California, arguing that rules for revising the state's constitution were not properly followed in putting the initiative on the ballot.

Nancy Pelosi on Monday released a statement on San Francisco's 38th annual LGBT Pride

From Washington Blade staff reporters

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday released a statement on San Francisco's 38th annual LGBT Pride.

"In this year's Pride Month, we have much to celebrate. The California Supreme Court's historic decision recognizes that our state constitution provides for equal treatment for all of California's citizens and families. Once again, California is leading the way for the nation. I take great pride in this significant milestone, and am full of joy for the many loving couples who are formalizing their unions across our great state. I encourage California citizens to respect the Court's decision and join me in strongly opposing any ballot measure that would write discrimination into our state constitution.

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VIDEO: Gay marriage makes history in Kern County, dozens of gay couples wed

Gay marriage has become a heated debate in Kern County since the State Supreme Court lifted the ban on same-sex marriages and Clerk Ann Barnett announced weddings would no longer be performed at the county building.

video reported by Jose Gaspar, KBAK TV

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Gay Pride Takes Pride In Its Economic Impact

By Ryan Gierach, West Hollywood WEHO News

West Hollywood, California (June 2, 2008) - Christopher Street West Inc. (CSW), which produces the annual Los Angeles Lesbian/Gay/ Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) Pride Festival and Parade in West Hollywood, conducted a first-time study on the celebration’s economic impact on the City of West Hollywood in 2007.

The 38th annual parade and festival, which happens along Santa Monica Boulevard Sunday and in West Hollywood Park Friday night through Sunday, celebrates the culmination of its three-year theme, "Our Agenda: Love. Equality. PRIDE."

Overall, people attending the three days worth of events spent $16.3 million inside WeHo and another $6.3 million in nearby LA – a $22.6 shot in the cities' arms.

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Texas same-sex couples heading to California to wed

by Jake Barsell
The Dallas Morning News

For nearly 28 years, the Rev. Cindi Love and Sue Jennings have lived like a married couple.
They've paid bills together, worshipped together and raised children together. But the Abilene couple never had the option to get married on U.S. soil until California's Supreme Court ruled last month to legalize same-sex marriage.

Dr. Love and Ms. Jennings, who were married in Canada three years ago, are hastily planning a late June ceremony in Los Angeles to recognize their vows in the U.S.

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Calif. clerk to be first when gay marriage becomes legal

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer
The Mercury News, Silicon Valley

MARTINEZ, Calif.—For 18 years, Stephen Weir has been in charge of the office that hands out marriage licenses in California's ninth-largest county. And for just as long, Weir has been unable to get a license himself because the love of his life is a man.

The irony did not escape him.

"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," he quips with a rueful smile.

So Weir hopes the citizens of Contra Costa County understand if their clerk-recorder invokes executive privilege and opens up for business a little early on June 17, when same-sex couples may be able to legally wed in California.

He and his partner, John Hemm, want to be first at the counter that day. They want to be the first to exchange vows and kisses in the conference room Weir converted into a wedding chapel that hosts 1,200 couples a year, but that he could never use.

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Man is charged with hate crime

by Ryan Lillis
sacbee.com

SACRAMENTO – In what was labeled a hate crime, a 34-year-old man attacked two transgender homeless men Saturday afternoon, but was arrested after one of the victims stabbed him in the leg, according to police.

William Lee Johnson attacked the men about 2 p.m. near the Longview Drive on-ramp to Interstate 80 near Del Paso Park, according to the police report. Johnson is a "validated skinhead," the report said

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Couples ready to take vows

By Tom Kisken, Ventura Country Star

Thousands of gays, lesbians are expected to seek marriage licenses

Many observers and gay rights leaders predict if the expected request for a legal stay is denied and the marriage ruling becomes official after 30 days, gays and lesbians from nearly every state will journey to government offices across California to get marriage licenses. They cite the more than 4,000 couples who waited in long lines when city officials started issuing marriage licenses in San Francisco for a month in March 2004.

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Calif. Assembly Passes Harvey Milk Day Bill

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

(Sacramento, California) The California Assembly has passed legislation honoring slain LGBT civil rights pioneer Harvey Milk. The bill, designating May 22 each year as Harvey Milk Day, now moves to the state Senate where it is expected to encounter little difficulty.

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State Supreme Court to decide: Could federal law prevent a lesbian from having children?

by Nick Langewis
PageOneQ

On May 28, 2008, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Benitez v. North Coast Women's Care Medical Group. Ms. Benitez is represented by Lambda Legal's lead attorney Jennifer C. Pizer and co-counsel Jon B. Eisenberg. Also on the case are Robert Welsh, Seph McNamara and Lee Fink of Los Angeles' O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and Albert Gross of nearby Solana Beach.

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News in brief: No on Prop 98 mobilization

by Cynthia Laird
Bay Area Reporter

The No on 98 campaign, in conjunction with queer community leaders, will kick off a Castro outreach effort this weekend to get the word out about the June 3 ballot measure that would wipe out rent control.

The mobilization will take place Saturday, May 3 at 11 a.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza (Market and Castro streets). Volunteers will come together to distribute literature in every precinct in the heavily gay neighborhood. Census data shows that about 65 percent of apartments in the Castro are currently under rent control, opponents of the measure said.

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Bill Creating Harvey Milk Day Passes First Assembly Committee

from Equality California

SACRAMENTO – California could become the first state in the nation to designate a day specifically commemorating a leader of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The Assembly Education Committee today approved legislation that would establish May 22 as Harvey Milk Day in California.

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Paly GSA spreads word about Day of Silence with presentations

By Anna Bastidas of The Paly Voice

Palo Alto: Paly's Gay-Straight Alliance members are pleased with the addition of short fourth period presentations to the Day of Silence, which students observed on Tuesday at Paly.

"A lot of the criticism in past years was that some people felt that minority groups such as the LGBTQ community should speak up instead of being silent," senior GSA president Alex Rose-Henig said. "Our goal this year was to combine the two."

In each presentation, one presenter described the meaning behind Day of Silence, while a partner sat quietly.

"It was kind of like we were a prop," said one of the presenters, junior Macy Stewart. "But I think that it was really for the presentation to have more of an impact."

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The little gay water cooler

Paddy’s celebrates its 14th year as Ventura County’s only surviving LGBT hangout

Sipping a Heineken while observing the Friday night clientele at Paddy’s in Ventura [California], you will, according to the bar’s owner Frank Roedel, likely find “a mixed bag of wax.” The two male mannequins sheathed in bridal white behind the counter and the rainbow banner garlanding a window make obvious the establishment’s orientation, but that’s where homogeneity ends. The crowd there is as diverse as any you’ll find in Ventura, with young and old, gay and straight, and several shades of skin milling around the historic building as disco music and strobe lights pulse in the background.

Occasionally misidentified as an Irish pub, Paddy’s (named after Roedel’s Irish grandfather) holds distinction as the only remaining gay bar in Ventura County, despite having been one of several in the area during the mid-’90s. On April 11, it celebrated its 14th anniversary and its 11th year in its current location at 2 W. Main St. But besides serving the estimated population of 40,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals within county limits, Paddy’s has earned a reputation as a comfortable place where you are welcome, says patron Stephanie Standley, “no matter what your deal is.”

Paddy’s boasts a pool room and a dance floor off the main bar area, a lower bar and party room, and an outdoor patio, a versatile setup that allows them to host regular events like karaoke on Wednesday and Sunday nights and dancing on Fridays and Saturdays. On a given night, the clientele appears about evenly split between men and women. Straight women, Roedel says, are relieved to have a bar they can come to without being hit on. And on a weekday afternoon, you will find old-timers and regulars nursing drinks at the bar.

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California: Bill to Protect LGBT Seniors Passes Senate Health Committee

Migden Measure, Sponsored by EQCA, Would Train Healthcare Professionals About the Needs of LGBT Seniors to Prevent Isolation, Discrimination.

SACRAMENTO – The Senate Health Committee today passed legislation that would help create an environment that is free from discrimination for LGBT seniors in nursing homes and senior care facilities.

Senate Bill 1729, authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California, would train licensed health professionals who care for seniors about the unique needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Committee members passed the bill with an initial 6-1 vote.

“Seniors in our community are more likely to live in 24-hour care facilities in their later years due to lifelong experiences of discrimination and the lack of legal safety nets, such as Social Security survivor benefits, that help keep people in their homes after retirement,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. “Once they do receive professional care in a nursing home or senior facility, LGBT seniors should not have to face further isolation, discrimination or a lack of acceptance based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

SB 1729 would require licensed healthcare professionals who have constant interaction with seniors to participate in a training program that focuses on preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many health professionals already receive cultural diversity training, but it does not include information and education about LGBT issues.

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LGBT Rights Bill Clears Key Committee

SACRAMENTO – The Assembly Judiciary Committee today approved legislation that continues an historic multi-year effort by LGBT Caucus Chair, Assemblymember John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, and Equality California to overhaul California's anti-discrimination laws. Assemblymembers approved the Civil Rights Act of 2008 in committee today with a 7-3 vote.

Assembly Bill 2654 strengthens the state’s anti-bias policies by ensuring they include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. It applies to sections of law that prohibit discrimination in insurance and government services and activities. AB 2654 is co-sponsored by the California State Conference of the NAACP.

The Civil Rights Act of 2008 strengthens existing law to ensure protections based on gender, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status and sexual orientation.

"The Civil Rights Act of 2008 brings to 121 the number of key gaps in civil rights protections we will have filled over the past five years," said Assemblymember Laird. "I'm proud of this effort to address these legal codes that are deficient, because every Californian deserves the strongest level of protection available in state law."

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'Running with Pride' brings people together

California: Strapping on athletic shoes and racing through Bidwell Park is one way students, faculty, staff and the broader Chico community can show support for their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning peers.

Chico State's Pride/Safe Zone is putting on its third annual "Running with Pride," a three-mile run and fun walk, said Irma Rivera, president.

Pride, the student side of the organization, strives to build interaction between LGBTQ students and straight allies on campus, Rivera said. Safe Zone is made up of faculty members and campus organizations, which provide safe places to talk about sexual identity.

"Running with Pride" is the only event the club really gets a great response from the community for, Rivera said. Many allies and families have participated in past years and she hopes this year will be no different.

Freshman Kyra Eastman has been an ally since her dad came out five years ago, she said. And she plans to run to show her support for the gay community.

"I have a lot of friends who are really homophobic," Eastman said. "And I think the race makes people realize we're all just people.

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Openly gay LAPD cop gets a retrial

The LAPD's first openly gay police officer will get a new trial on his claims that he was the victim of retaliation and sexual orientation discrimination during his second tour of duty with the department, one of his lawyers said today.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James R. Dunn ruled that Mitchell Grobeson should have a new trial on grounds of misconduct by a juror who admitted pre-judging the case and eventually voted in favor of the city, attorney Theresa Traber said.

"We're very happy because we feel vindicated," Traber said. "We felt the verdict was a very unfair result when it came in."

When the female juror's admissions of bias are taken into account -- as well as the fact that the jury voted 9-3 in favor of the city on most of the issues when the verdict was reached four days before Christmas -- the unfairness to Grobeson was apparent, the lawyer said.

In civil trials, nine of the 12 members have to agree for a verdict to be reached.

The impartial juror had made her feelings known to a fellow panel member and later said the same thing to Laura L. Faer, an associate attorney of Traber, she said.

Grobeson had sought up to $4.4 million in damages, as well as reinstatement to the LAPD by Dunn. The judge denied the reinstatement motion before granting the new trial, but Traber said it is now likely that issue will have to be revisited.

By appearing at recruiting events and gay pride parades in uniform without permission, Grobeson gave the appearance he was a spokesman for the LAPD, which so angered his bosses that he was ordered out of his uniform at one parade, Frank said.

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Palmdale HS security breaks female students wrist