Australia: ‘Faggot’ fights back

from Queensland Pride

A gay Bowen Hills man has launched an anti-vilification case against a group of fellow Housing Commission tenants he claims have repeatedly called him homophobic names within earshot of other neighbours.

Wayne Draper, 58, told Queensland Pride the campaign against him and a fellow tenant intensified after another tenant who had threatened him with a knife was transferred to another community.

Draper, who is HIV positive and also suffers cardio and vascular problems, claims he was admitted to hospital after the now-transferred neighbour allegedly sat outside his flat and threatened to “cut ya” and “knife ya, ya f*cking faggot!”

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Video: New England Transgender Pride 2008

More than 500 participated in the first New England Transgender Pride celebration.

Due to the success of the event, they plan on it being an annual celebration.

Northampton Mayor Claire Higgin's



Miss Major, Grandmarshall



Mass. Trans. Political Coaltion Director Gunner Scott



Jill Berlin of TransFormingFamilies



Ellen Wittlinger reading from her novel Parrotfish, Part 1



Ellen Wittlinger reading from her novel Parrotfish, Part 2



Alex Pangborn of Generation Q



Transgender Pride Steering Commitee Member Marie Ali



A Statement from Leslie Feinberg



Video provided by The New England Blade.

People of all sexual preferences mark Visalia's first Pride in the Park

By Hillary S. Meeks
Visalia Times-Delta

The flags, rainbow beads and hats were all that distinguished this event from others in the park that day — a point many gay Visalians have been trying to make for a long time.

"It's just gay people getting together along with straight people and having a barbecue, just like anybody else," she said. More than 70 people attended, which wasn't quite as many as Donald Broyles, president of Queer Visalia, had hoped for.

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ROTC Chicago Sets Date for Annual Fundraising Event

Chicago, IL — The Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps (ROTC Chicago) will be trading in their camouflage shorts and beige military tops for a more effeminate look for their annual fundraiser, Armed and Fabulous: The COVERGURLS of ROTC, on Saturday, May 17, to be held at Hydrate, located at 3458 N. Halsted from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m.

"Armed and Fabulous is a great way to kick off our marching season, and gives our members a chance to be more creative with their talents," said Rhett Lindsay, ROTC Chicago director. "This event also provides us with funds necessary to represent Chicago's LGBT community throughout the country and help offset operating costs we incur throughout the year."

The event will feature specialty drinks from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m., entertainment at 9 p.m., raffle prizes, and a special appearance by female impersonator Lauren Jacobs. Tickets are $20 per person, which are available on the ROTC Web site, www.rotcchicago.org, or from any ROTC Chicago member. Proceeds from raffle sales will benefit Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN—www.tpan.org), Chicago's longest standing, peer-led HIV/AIDS organization. Audience members are encouraged to tip entertainers during the performance and throughout the evening. Sponsors for the event, include Hydrate, Gay Chicago Magazine, and ChicagoPride.com.

ROTC Chicago was established in 1994 as an all-male volunteer organization, representing Chicago's LGBT community throughout the United States. The group is known for its whimsical and flirtatious precision rifle routines to dance and disco songs, including Ru Paul's "Supermodel" and Geri Halliwell's classic song "It's Raining Men."

This year, the group is scheduled to perform at the Indianapolis Pride Parade and Festival (June 14), Andersonville's Midsummerfest (June 15), Proud To Run (June 28), Chicago's Pride Fest (June 28), Chicago Pride Parade (June 29), Saugatuck's The Dunes Resort (mid-July), San Diego Pride Parade and Festival (July 19 & 20), Chicago's Market Days (August 9 and/or August 10), AIDS Foundation of Chicago's AIDS Run and Walk (September 20), and the Chicago Marathon (October 12). All performance dates are tentative.

For more information about ROTC Chicago, its performance schedule, and Armed and Fabulous, visit the Web site, www.rotcchicago.org.

University of Pennsylvania celebrates 25 years of pride

"We're one of the only LGBT centers in the country that can say we've been here for 25 years," said College senior and planning committee member Cynthia Wright. "That's a huge accomplishment."

In 1982 the Center officially opened when director Bob Schoenberg was asked to join the Penn staff as a resource for LGBT students. He was only the second person in the entire country to assume such a role on a college campus.

Now the full-time director of the Center, Schoenberg heads up one of the largest LGBT resource centers in the country - and the only one housed in a free-standing building.

The program also included letters of recognition from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, all congratulating the Center on its success.

The event was met by an overwhelming response when tickets sold out far more quickly than the Planning Committee had expected. Not only did the event reach full capacity, but it also had a waiting list maintained up until the banquet itself of about a dozen hopefuls.

Much of the banquet was underwritten by substantial private donations and by the sponsorship of the Campbell's Soup Company, cutting student ticket prices to $20 so that the Planning Committee could ensure a diverse attendance.

The deliberate mixture of alumni and current students provided an exciting opportunity to "spark more change," Ruby Howe said. "I hope the alumni and the students in the room will pay it forward," she said. "Their responsibility to change is not done and will never be done."

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10th annual PRIDE charity drag show attracts students

ILLINOIS: Each year PRIDE, a registered student organization on campus that supports and provides a safe place for gay, lesbian and other students, hosts a charity drag show. The money made from the show is then donated to a charity which supports the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgender (GLBT) community. This year's charity is the Acorn Equality Fund, which offers scholarships to active members of PRIDE of the GLBT community. Over the years many members of the PRIDE executive board have received scholarships from these types of charities.

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Preparations for Pride Week underway

Pride Week at the University of Utah is just more than a month away and students and staff at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center are working to finalize the week's events.

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