BEING GAY AND LESBIAN IN THE CIA APPEARS NOT TO BE A PROBLEM
General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, told CNN that he has worked with Central Intelligence Agency officers “who were known to be gay and one who’s known to be lesbian.”
“After the 10 seconds of awareness wore off, the focus was on the professional attributes,” he said on the CNN program “Fareed Zakaria GPS” in a segment posted on the program’s Web site.
The U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” is something that “can be worked through, frankly,” Petraeus said on the CNN program, which is scheduled for broadcast today. Petraeus said he’ll disclose his views on the policy to lawmakers. – Source – Bloomberg
MICHIGAN SCHOOL DISTRICT ORDERED TO PAY $800K TO HARASSED STUDENT
A federal court jury awarded $800,000 this past week to a Hudson Area Schools student who was harassed and sexually assaulted. An attorney for the school district said an appeal is likely.
The award is compensation for the loss of a normal high school educational experience and the mental anguish the boy suffered, said attorney Terry Heiss of Ada. The lawsuit claimed harassment started in the sixth grade when the boy was called names such as “gay” and “faggot” and ended with a locker-room sexual assault when he was a high school freshman.
The question posed to the jury, Heiss said, “was whether or not the district had actual notice of all the sexual harassment and whether or not they were clearly indifferent.”
After two weeks of testimony in a courtroom in Port Huron, the jury took four hours to reach a verdict in the young man’s favor, said Heiss.
He feels it was a fair verdict. He feels vindicated. He was painted as the one causing the problem and he wasn’t,” Heiss said.
“The jury’s decision “astounds me,” said school attorney Timothy Mullins of Troy. - Source – The Daily Telegram
TWO MEN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME IN WASHINGTON STATE
King County prosecutors have charged Abdinasir Ahmed, 21, and Adnan Osman, 22, with felony malicious harassment–the state’s hate crime statute–for an alleged anti-gay assault outside the Filipino Community Center in Columbia City last January.
According to court documents, the victim was returning to the Somali New Year celebration being held at the Center when Ahmed and Osman blocked the path to the front door. A report filed by police alleges that Ahmed, who the victim recognized, attacked first. Then Osman jumped in. As they struck the victim about the head, both began yelling gay epithets, says the report.
The fight was broken up by the security guard working the party. Osman–whose middle name just happens to be Basher–was immediately detained, while Ahmed managed to escape before police arrived, yelling, “I wanna beat your ass you gay ass motherfucker” as he fled.
Both were eventually arrested by police, and arraigned on $50,000 bail. But a search of the King County Jail register shows that neither is currently in custody. Meanwhile, the victim has quit attending his Mosque, telling investigators that in Somali culture, gay men are stoned to death and that Ahmed has threatened to kill him. – Source – Seattle Weekly
COLORADANS COME OUT TO SUPPORT EQUAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS
Fort Collins residents in support of gay marriage said at a rally Saturday that not allowing people to marry on the basis of their sexual preference was discrimination.
About 150 people gathered in Old Town Square for the 11th annual Freedom to Marry Day. Nearly half a dozen people spoke at the event, some recounting the stories of falling in love with their partner and others talking about the struggles they’ve encountered as a gay or transgendered person.
The day is celebrated nationwide to raise awareness about equality issues in gay marriage. Gay couples aren’t guaranteed the 1,138 rights that married couples have, such as child custody and making medical decisions on behalf of spouses because each state recognizes gay marriage and civil unions differently, said Blane Harding, director of advising at Colorado State University.
“Discrimination is discrimination, no matter who it applies to,” he said. “To discriminate against one group is to discriminate against all groups.” – Source – The Coloradoan
PARTY HARDY AT THE WINTER PARTY BEACH PARTY IN MIAMI BEACH
Lizzz Kritzer and her girlfriend, Danielle Lise Desrochers, are not typical snowbirds.
Sure, they migrate from the South Hamptons to Miami Beach once a year to warm up. But for the past two years they have came with a mission: to party in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at the annual Winter Party Beach Party in Miami Beach.
“The gays are our people,” said Kritzer, 52, who is staying with Desrochers at their South Beach nest — and whose name really does have three Z’s. “We love them!”
The party, on the beach at 12th Street and Ocean Drive, is a part of the Winter Party Festival, a week-long series of events benefiting the LGBT community.
Since 1994 the annual festival and its sister event, the Miami Recognition Dinner, have raised $2.3 million for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said the festival’s development coordinator, David Cook.
Cook said the task force would distribute the net proceeds of the beach party’s $80 to $95 admission fee to HIV-prevention organizations, suicide hot lines and other charitable causes. Thousands of people passed through the gates Sunday.
“It’s a party with a purpose,” Cook said of the Mardi Gras-themed party on the sand.
Matthew Sicher compared going to the beach party to being in a fish bowl, though he welcomed the attention of onlookers peeking inside through the party’s fence at the crowded sea of shirtless men.
“We have a stronger sense of community. These events help to show the outside world that there are gays here,” said Sicher, 40, of Kendall, who has come to the beach party for the past six years. “At the very least we can help to create awareness.” – Source – Miami-Herald
