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Christina Aguilera has attacked the US laws that ban her pal Lance Bass from marrying his gay partner.
The former 'N Sync singer recently revealed his sexuality and confessed to a relationship with Amazing Race reality TV star Reichen Lehmkuhl.
Aguilera was amazed the news made headlines stating: "I'm shocked that it's a big deal! I'm shocked that people are shocked."
However, she is more outraged that, under California law, and in most US states, Bass and Lehmkuhl couldn't marry.
The newlywed says: "I think it's really unfair that there has to be some kind of standard for marriage. Marriage should be about celebrating two people's love for each other. It shouldn't have anything to do with someone's sexual preference.
"Europe is a lot more open when it comes to sexuality. I think that with the history of European culture, there is a lot more openness to being provocative. I'm just all about no judgement and (having) equal rights."
from Ireland OnLine
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - The female airport security guard held the small, black, squeezable rubber object she'd just plucked out of Mardin Amin's backpack, and eyed it suspiciously.
Standing next to his mother, an embarrassed Amin whispered out of one corner of his mouth that it was a "pump" -- as in a penis pump. The guard misunderstood the Iraqi man and thought she heard the word "bomb," Amin's attorney told a Cook County judge Wednesday.
"He told her it's a pump," attorney Eileen O'Neill-Burke said as a cluster of burly, snickering police officers watched the court proceedings. "He's standing with his mother. Of course he's not going to shout this out."
But after listening to the female guard testify she heard Amin "clearly" say the word bomb during the Aug. 16 incident at O'Hare Airport, Judge Gerald Winiecki decided there was enough evidence for the case to move forward. Amin, 29, is charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
Hid it from mom
Prosecutors say Amin, who was on his way to Turkey with his mother and two small children last week, twice told security officials that he was carrying a bomb. Only later did he admit he had initially lied about the rubber object's true function because he didn't want his mother to know he was carrying a penis pump, prosecutors say.
After Wednesday's hearing, a mostly jovial Amin said airport security officials never gave him an opportunity to explain the misunderstanding. And he said he would never utter the word "bomb" while going through security.
'Half of America' uses it
"Come on -- what do you think?" said Amin, who lives in Skokie and works for a janitorial service.
Amin may not want his mother to know he has a penis pump, but he said he doesn't consider it an unusual device to own.
"It's normal," he said. "Half of America they use it."
Amin is due back in court Sept. 13.
from The Chicago Sun-Times
MONGOLIA - After living 14 years as a "girl," a hermaphrodite teen from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region will receive reconstructive surgery at a local hospital today to fix the patient's real identity - male.
A psychology test last weekend confirmed the patient surnamed Liu identifies himself as a boy and is keen for the plastic surgery.
The child was raised as a girl, because Liu was born with no penis and no external testicles.
Liu also had an undeveloped female sex organ, but no ovaries, no womb and no vagina.
But in February, after two bumps were seen on the child's belly, Liu had primary surgery to locate the testicles by doctors in Baotou City of Inner Mongolia, and Dr Chen Fang from Shanghai's Xinhua Hospital.
Ultimately, doctors told the family their child had two healthy testicles, but that they had not descended. And the family also learned that Liu had chromosomes typical for a healthy male.
"After undergoing a reconstructive surgery on the female-like external organ, he can live a normal life as other men and have his own children in the future," Chen said. "The operation will last four to five hours to rebuild a male sex organ."
Since Liu came from a needy farmer's family in Baotou, doctors said the nearly 15,000 yuan (US$1,875) medical expenses are covered by donations from local residents and discounts offered by the hospital.
To avoid ridicule, the family moved to a new village in Inner Mongolia.
Doctors said such congenital sexual disorders occur in one of every 2,000 to 3,000 newborn boys.
However, doctors said only about 10 percent of such cases are as severe as Liu's.
from Shanghai Daily
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a study today about the decline of gay characters in network television, the LA Daily News reports, and the results are shocking. Apparently GLAAD does not consider long-time Simpsons regular Waylon Smithers a homosexual man!
Colorful pie charts and detailed lists that complain that there are only two gay lead characters on broadcast tv (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW and MyNetworkTV), just seven supporting characters and a mere 5 recurring roles, blatantly miss the fact that Mr. Burns' right hand man couldn't be more light in the loafers. And if you think GLAAD disqualified Fox's "The Simpsons", think again, one of the recurring characters that is included as on the list is one of Marge's chain-smoking sisters, Patty Bouvier.
Dear Members of GLAAD, although we are not in the business of outting any member of the Hollywood community, particularily our animated brothers and sisters, check that, ESPECIALLY our our colored brethren -- let's just review a few facts from the life of Smithers, none of which individually screams gay, but collectively is quite revealing:
- owns the largest Malibu Stacy collection in the world - Simpson Archive
- in "The Telltale Head" When Burns is overcome with emotion, he tells Smithers that he loves him. Smithers replies, "The feeling is more than mutual, sir." - Area51
- in "Homer the Smithers" When Smithers goes on vacation he enters an all-male disco. - Duff Brewery
- in "Brush with Greateness" Marge asks Smithers why he tolerates the abusive and cranky Mr. Burns, Smithers sighs, ""I value every moment we're together, from when I squeeze his orange juice in the morning, to when I tuck him in at night." - Simpson Crazy
- in "Lady Bouvier's Lover" Mr. Burns asks a jealous Smithers to help him compose a love letter to Marge. Smithers, without missing a beat says, "Darling one, read my words and hear my heart speak of a love soft and undying: a love that will be with you always. Sincerely, yatta, yatta, yatta." When Burns asks how he thought it up so fast. Smithers cries, "I sent it to you on your birthday! [sob] Excuse me, I have something in my eye!" - SNPP
So not only has Smithers been a gay man for over a decade, but a loyal, respectable, monogamous man deeply in love and totally worthy of having Perez Hilton write "fag" over his photo.
from LAist
Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family has spent more than $500,000 to support a constitutional amendment to block same-sex marriage in Colorado.
It’s the most an organization has spent on an issue in state elections this year — an amount that seems remarkable given that state law bans same-sex marriage.
Although it is early in the election season and campaign committees have yet to form for many issues, the fight over gay unions is shaping up to be the most expensive on the November ballot, with donors contributing more than $1.3 million to two ballot initiatives:
- Amendment 43 would define marriage
as between a man and woman and place it in the Colorado Constitution. The same provision is a state law.
- Referendum I would legalize same-sex domestic partnerships, giving most of the legal rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples to gay couples.
Voters could approve the constitutional amendment barring gay marriage and approve same-sex unions in the same election.
Gay-rights advocates see Amendment 43 as little better than legalized discrimination. Social conservatives say the amendment would safeguard what they call the traditional family.
Each side has contributed more than $500,000 so far.
The Coloradans for Fairness Issue Committee, which opposes Amendment 43, collected more than $613,000 as of Aug. 2, according to campaign finance records on the Colorado secretary of state’s Web site (www.sos.state.co.us).
The committee has gathered the most money of any of the state’s 57 issues committees.
Two issues committees supporting Amendment 43 — Coloradans for Marriage and the Colorado Family Action Issue Committee — have taken in a combined $750,720, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Coloradans for Marriage circulated petitions to get the amendment on the ballot and has been its most visible advocate. Focus has given $55,000 to Coloradans for Marriage.
The Colorado Family Action Issue Committee — found- ed in June to support Amendment 43 and to oppose the domestic partnership proposal — has received more than twice as much money as Coloradans For Marriage. It was created with input from Focus on the Family Action, Focus’ nonprofit lobbying arm.
The Focus organizations have provided all the money for Coloradans for Marriage — $506,532 in donations and itemized, noncash contributions.
“It’s probably on the high end of contributions I’ve seen,” said Dana Williams, spokeswoman for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.
The money has been used to buy ads on Colorado Springs and Denver television stations that haven’t aired. Jim Pfaff, a spokesman for Colorado Family Action Issue Committee and a Focus Action official, would not say when the ads might air.
The Coloradans for Fairness Issue Committee, which opposes Amendment 43 and supports the domestic-partner initiative, received a $250,000 donation in June from gayrights advocate Jon Stryker of Kalamazoo, Mich.
Focus is known for its conservative, Christian advice for families. It’s a Christian media empire, producing books, magazines, radio programs and Web sites.
Focus founder James Dobson recently wrote: “I believe that this November’s results will have a significant impact on the future of marriage in our nation. This crucial institution is under attack, but we can turn the tide — if we are registered to vote, and we go to the polls!”
Focus has donated to initiatives elsewhere, but Pfaff declined to say how much money Focus has given to various state initiatives.
Although Colorado law places limits on how much an entity can donate to candidates or political action committees, there’s no limit on donations to issues committees.
The Internal Revenue Service limits how much most nonprofits can spend in direct lobbying. Focus attorney Jim Bopp says Focus’ limit is $750,000.
from The Colorado Springs Gazette
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON - One of the first tests for Washington state's new gay civil rights law has an intriguing twist: The complaint was filed by a heterosexual woman.
The state's discrimination watchdogs are investigating the case, which claims unmarried straight people should get the same domestic partner benefits as their gay and lesbian co-workers.
But officials are treading carefully, Human Rights Commission Director Marc Brenman said, because upholding the claim could set a sweeping new precedent for Washington businesses.
"We have to proceed very, very cautiously because we could be creating new policy for employers and other entities in the state," Brenman said Tuesday.
The complaint, filed last week, is one of four that have spawned full-fledged investigations under the sexual orientation section of Washington's anti-discrimination law.
It was signed by Sandi Scott-Moore, a Redmond-based employee of manufacturer Honeywell International. Scott-Moore claims health insurance coverage for her male partner was denied because the unmarried couple are not of the same gender.
Honeywell spokesman Robert Ferris said the company does provide health benefits for the partners of its gay and lesbian employees and has a zero-tolerance stand on discrimination. But the company disagrees with Scott-Moore, he said in a statement.
"We believe the claim filed with the Washington State Human Rights Commission is without merit and plan to vigorously defend our position," Ferris wrote.
The state law at issue was expanded earlier this year, when state lawmakers added sexual orientation to an existing law that prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, lending and insurance. It went into effect in July.
The measure was aimed squarely at protecting Washington's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents. But its language is broader, banning any discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Joseph Fuiten, chairman of the conservative Faith and Freedom Network, said opponents of the gay rights measure predicted scenarios such as the Honeywell-related complaint.
Brenman said the commission has been deliberate with the Honeywell complaint, including outreach to state pension and insurance regulators and planned meetings with private businesses to discuss the policy implications.
"In order to finish the investigation, we're going to have to figure out what the policy is," Brenman said.
"There's a big controversy about this, and we're going to have to work through it," he added.
Jennifer Pizer, a lawyer for the gay-rights firm Lambda Legal, said similar cases have been raised elsewhere without much success. But the group generally supports efforts that are aimed at ending discrimination, she said.
"It's marital status discrimination. You're telling people, in essence, they will be paid less" because they can't get the same benefits, Pizer said.
from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A Moscow court ruled Tuesday that the city government did not act illegally when it banned a gay Pride parade in May.
The court justified its ruling by saying the city had the right to ban the event out of concerns for security, the official Russian news agency Itar Tass reported.
Dmitry Bartenev, an attorney for the two LGBT groups that proceeded with the march despite the ban, told the news agency that he will appeal the decision.
“As to my mind, the ban on the parade amounts to the infringements of the sex minorities’ rights,” Bartenev was quoted by Planet Out as saying.
However, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov maintains that the ruling was morally right. “Such functions may be acceptable in European countries more ’advanced’ in such matters than Russia,” he told Itar Tass. “I believe this parade is impermissible in our country, above all, on moral and ethical grounds.”
Police arrested 200 people during the unauthorized May 27 parade, where anti-gay protesters, including skinheads, assaulted the marchers by throwing bottles and other objects at them. Among the victims was a man beaten to the point of blacking out.
from MosNews
Christina Aguilera has attacked the US laws that ban her pal Lance Bass from marrying his gay partner.
