Great News for Gay Argentinians!

An architect and a retired office administrator have become the first gay couple to marry in Argentina under a new law legalising same-sex marriages.

Miguel Angel Calefato, 65, and Jose Luis Navarro, 54, have lived together for 27 years.

Argentina is the first Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriage despite heavy lobbying by, of course, the Catholic Church.

Read more here!

Great News for Gay Argentinians! An architect and a retired office administrator have become the first gay couple to marry in Argentina under a new law legalising same-sex marriages. Miguel Angel Calefato, 65, and Jose Luis Navarro, 54, have lived together for 27 years. Argentina is the first Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriage [...]

Evolutionary anthropologist Professor Volker Sommer of University College London (UCL) explores the complex relationship between homosexuality, morality and nature.

Worth a view, stuff that most of us gays already know, but nice to be acknowledged again academically

  Evolutionary anthropologist Professor Volker Sommer of University College London (UCL) explores the complex relationship between homosexuality, morality and nature. Worth a view, stuff that most of us gays already know, but nice to be acknowledged again academically

A lawsuit accusing a gay NYPD lieutenant of fondling himself in front of two male sergeants is costing the city a lot of scratch.

The city has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Lt. Kieran Crowe, who blamed his behavior on jock itch, the Daily News has learned.

Sgt. Dominic Coppola will receive $175,000 and Sgt. Sean Gallagher $125,000 in the agreement hammered out Monday in Manhattan Federal Court, according to their lawyer, Eric Sanders.

“Although our clients are satisfied that the litigation is over, it is further proof that the once-silent issue of same-sex harassment is on the rise,” said Sanders, of the Law Firm of Jeffrey Goldberg in Lake Success, L.I.

Crowe retired from the NYPD in 2008 after he was found guilty in a department trial of rubbing his crotch, simulating masturbation and wiggling his tongue at the sergeants.

According to court papers, a dermatologist testified at the trial that Crowe was treated for jock itch for a decade.

Asked at the trial whether he ever placed his right hand anywhere near his private parts at his Police Headquarters office, Crowe answered: “It is possible because of medical conditions, but never in the way that these complainants have said.”

“He paid nothing, he did nothing, he admitted nothing,” Crowe’s lawyer Rae Koshetz told The News.

“If the city wants to pay these people, that’s their choice.”

Coppola is still on the force, and Gallagher is now the chief of a small police department in Washington State, his lawyer said.
BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

www.nydailynews.com

Read the full story from the New York Daily News.

A lawsuit accusing a gay NYPD lieutenant of fondling himself in front of two male sergeants is costing the city a lot of scratch. The city has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Lt. Kieran Crowe, who blamed his behavior on jock itch, the Daily News has learned. Sgt. Dominic [...]

An attorney for the nation’s largest Republican gay rights group has told a judge he will use President Obama’s statements in a federal court lawsuit challenging the government’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. In his opening statement Tuesday at the trial in Riverside, Calif., attorney Dan Woods said he will [...]

A row has erupted in the United States centring on the ownership of a gay teenagers’ database.

The owner of XY Magazine and its associated website – which catered for young homosexual boys – filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

XY’s creditors have applied for the firm’s one remaining valuable asset: its database of one million users.

But the Federal Trade Commission has expressed its concerns and said the sale “could violate Federal law”.

The issue of selling databases is not new, but it is the sensitivity of this particular database that is catching the attention of lawmakers.

The list contains details of tens of thousands of young men, the majority of whom will be gay.

Writing on the technology blog Read Write Web, Curt Hopkins summed up the concern felt by many users.

“The selling off of private information, gathered under the supposition of privacy, is bad enough,” he wrote.

“Even worse if you’re forced into it.

“And positively untenable when the information is connected to kids who are dealing with a dawning sexual reality that in some instances is even more fraught than what straight kids go through,” he added.

Simon Davies, director of the human rights campaign group Privacy International, told BBC News that while privacy policy was very clear, in the event of bankruptcy or winding-up “all bets are off”.

“Information shouldn’t be used for a purpose other than for which it was originally intended,” he said.

“In the UK, it would be hard – under normal circumstances – to take a database and apply it for another purpose.

“However, in the real world, when a firm goes into receivership, all bets are off when it comes to protection, because everyone’s scrabbling for something of value.

“It’s yet another hurdle for data protection advocates to jump through,” he added.

Wound up

XY’s founding editor, Peter Ian Cummings, filed for bankruptcy in February 2010. He listed his personal assets at $1,500, a net income of zero and one other asset: the “customer list, personal data and editorial and back issues of XY Magazine and XY.com”

Shoshanna Schiff, a partner with the Trenk law firm – representing the creditors – told the US website Cnet.com: “Any property listed on the debtor’s bankruptcy petition is property of the bankruptcy estate and my client intends to administer those assets for the benefit of creditors.”

Mr Davies said that the UK Information Commissioner had an obligation to protect any British citizens who may be on the database.

“I would argue that this is a case where the Information Commissioner should write directly to the US and ensure action is taken.”

By Daniel Emery
Technology reporter, BBC News

A row has erupted in the United States centring on the ownership of a gay teenagers’ database. The owner of XY Magazine and its associated website – which catered for young homosexual boys – filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. XY’s creditors have applied for the firm’s one remaining valuable asset: its database of one [...]

I saw this on the request list for IAmA. I’m not really sure what to explain about the situation. I was raised LDS until I was 18 and my family was trying to convince me to go on a mission. I simply couldn’t keep a clean conscience about being gay and continuing further down the [...]

81 years old gay man comes out

James Randi comes out as gay. He discusses his life as a closeted gay man, and why he is now at age 81 coming out, and why he hasn’t been publicly open about his sexuality sooner. He describes the possible impact his coming out may have on his tireless work advancing skepticism and critical thinking. He discusses his atheism, and whether it, or his sexual orientation, influences the mission of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He talks about gay rights issues such as marriage equality.  He discusses his detractors and what they might make of the news of his homosexuality. And he explores the relevance of gay rights to the skeptical movement. 

To listen the audio interview of James Randi, click http://www.forgoodreason.org/james_randi_a_skeptic_comes_out_at_81

James Randi comes out as gay. He discusses his life as a closeted gay man, and why he is now at age 81 coming out, and why he hasn’t been publicly open about his sexuality sooner. He describes the possible impact his coming out may have on his tireless work advancing skepticism and critical thinking. [...]

Most of you probably received your 2010 U.S. Census forms in the mail yesterday. And hopefully ALL of you read the FAQ tip sheet blog we posted yesterday, as this will be the first time in history the Census allows same-sex couples to self-identify as either married or unmarried partners.

On March 18, a kickoff event at Q Center will officially unveil two PSAs targeting Portland’s gay, lesbian, bi and trans community to spread the word about the changes to the Census.

Interested to see what these PSAs are all about, before the Q Center event? We’re glad you asked. Here’s one of them.

Most of you probably received your 2010 U.S. Census forms in the mail yesterday. And hopefully ALL of you read the FAQ tip sheet blog we posted yesterday, as this will be the first time in history the Census allows same-sex couples to self-identify as either married or unmarried partners. On March 18, a kickoff [...]

World outgames athletes

For those who have been calling for the last six years for a united quadrennial gay-sports event, that possibility is now on the horizon. The FGG and GLISA are considering merging their Gay Games and Outgames events and holding a joint event in 2018. From the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation, who held their annual general meeting last weekend in Manchester, U.K.:

For LGBT sports people, however, the most historic moment occurred within the Assembly itself, when the Co-Presidents of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), Emy Ritt and Kurt Dahl and the Co-Presidents of Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association (GLISA) Julia Applegate and Wessel Van Kampen outlined a proposal for future collaboration between the two organisations, which includes the proposal to organise a joint world event in 2018.

I don’t have an opinion whether there should be one or two quadrennial gay sports events, but it is really great to see the FGG and GLISA working in partnership.

For those who have been calling for the last six years for a united quadrennial gay-sports event, that possibility is now on the horizon. The FGG and GLISA are considering merging their Gay Games and Outgames events and holding a joint event in 2018. From the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation, who held their [...]

University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor, profiled on Outsports for his strong support of gay rights, won the 197-pound class at the ACC wrestling championships on Saturday and was named outstanding wrestler.

Taylor, ranked third nationally in his weight class, won the title by pinning Dennis Drury of North Carolina at the 4:10 mark. Taylor is 38-2 on the season and qualifies for the NCAA championships in Omaha on March 18-20.

Hudson Taylor

Taylor is one of the most unique athletes I have ever spoken with, and his support for gay rights is inspiring and rare among straight athletes. He even wore a Human Rights Campaign sticker on his headgear for part of the season.

His story is must reading, not because I wrote it, but because it highlights someone who is striving to make a difference. Since his article ran, he e-mailed me:

I am getting the most moving e-mails from people around the world. It’s amazing. I mean, supporting the LBGT community is such a no-brainer to me. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I’m so humbled to learn about some of the courageous stories of these people. And I’ve been responding to all of them.

ESPN will be showing the NCAAs, and I know that Taylor will have a large number of Outsports readers cheering him on as he wrestles for the title.

Some action shots from matches this year, courtesy of Taylor:

University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor, profiled on Outsports for his strong support of gay rights, won the 197-pound class at the ACC wrestling championships on Saturday and was named outstanding wrestler. Taylor, ranked third nationally in his weight class, won the title by pinning Dennis Drury of North Carolina at the 4:10 mark. Taylor [...]