Ken Mehlman, President Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay, The Atlantic magazine’s politics editor reported Wednesday.

Full Story, click here!

Ken Mehlman, President Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay, The Atlantic magazine’s politics editor reported Wednesday. Full Story, click here!

A federal judge in San Francisco decided on Wednesday that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, striking down Proposition 8, the voter-approved ballot measure that banned same-sex unions in 2008.

Watch on Youtube:

A federal judge in San Francisco decided on Wednesday that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, striking down Proposition 8, the voter-approved ballot measure that banned same-sex unions in 2008. Watch on Youtube:

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 [...]

Prominent Singapore blogger and gay activist Alex Au notes that the police is back to entrapping gay cruisers after not having done so in 16 years, and explains how the police decoy in such instances could be said to have given consent (even if non-verbal) to be approached.

Together with some others interested in the same issue, I have been trying to keep a record of press reports of prosecutions related to gay sex. One thing I have noticed is that police entrapment of gay cruising has not been reported for at least 12 years, probably 16.

Until now. A recent report in the New Paper thus comes as a serious break in the pattern. A Malaysian was entrapped by a constable at a well-frequented cruising ground off busy Victoria Street.

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The New Paper (Singapore) reported on 11 June 2010:

Man gropes cop in cemetery

By Elysa Chen 

On May 4, the police conducted an anti-vice operation at the old cemetery along Jalan Kubor, an area known for vice. 

The police declined to to give details of the vice activities. 

A plainclothes policeman was standing alone in a poorly lit spot when he was approached by Jagadiswaran Krisnan, 32, a coffee house supervisor, at about 10.40pm. 

Jagadiswaran struck up a conversation with the undercover cop. 

Two other police officers were stationed a short distance away, ready to provide help. 

While talking to the officer, Jagadiswaran, a Malaysian, moved closer to him. He told the officer that he was there “to have fun”. 

Then, he suddenly raised his hand and stroked the officer’s chest and private parts. 

That was when the undercover cop identified himself and, with the help of his colleagues, arrested the man. 

Jagadiswaran was charged with behaving in an indecent manner in a public place. He was fined $1,000 on Tuesday.Entrapment is a very problematic tactic in law enforcement; this is true whether we’re referring to drugs, espionage or sex. It always begs the question of whether the crime would have been committed if the undercover officer was not there in the first place. Entrapment generally starts from potentiality and converts it to reality, triggering an actus reus (action) when only the mens reus (intention) might have existed. 

For example, we advise people to be careful and not flash jewelry when walking around areas with poverty, high unemployment or crime. Why do we feel such advice is pertinent? Because we can see the role that temptation plays in precipitating crime. When someone is foolish enough to walk about, dazzling others with bling-bling and then get robbed, many of us would ascribe partial responsibility to the person advertising the potential loot.

How different is this from an entrapment operation? What is the police’s responsibility in creating the crime? 

More troubling is the possibility, mentioned in Alan Shadrake’s book, Once a Jolly Hangman, that undercover officers posing as narcotics buyers are known to prompt their sellers to supply larger and larger amounts of heroin till it gets above 15 grams, triggering the mandatory death penalty when caught. The book cites an unnamed insider source for this disclosure.

… that so angered the former CNB officer who assisted in some of my enquiries. ‘Encouraging the less fortunate to commit more serious crimes that result in them being hanged or jailed for impossibly long terms really appalled me’, he said…
– Once a Jolly Hangman, page 132

What this means is that even if we argue in certain cases that actus reus would have occurred without entrapment,  it still begs the question of degree.

Giving non-verbal consent: The “language” of cruising grounds

The individual was quite right to assume that the officer had given consent, at least to the initial approach. This consent is based on the “language” of cruising grounds.

The cruising ground in question is a thickly foliaged, secluded area with nobody else passing through. It is populated at night by men who cruise for sex. If someone enters by accident (which almost never happens), it would be quite clear that cruising is taking place by simple observation; it’s not as if he will be pounced upon within seconds. One has plenty of minutes to take stock of the situation and choose whether to stay or leave. 

The principle here is that entrance + choosing to stay indicates consent. It’s like the way we sometimes land up on a porn website. When we see initial indications that it’s a porn website, we cannot deny we consciously make a choice whether to proceed deeper into the site or leave. That decision is ours to make, if we stay and navigate further in, it’s a decision that indicates consent.

The constable stayed. Others in the area would quite fairly read that act as indication of consent. There are two levels of consent in gay sex: (a) consent to be approached and (b) consent to have sex. By staying, the first level is considered by other gay men to have been given. It’s like saying “I am open to receiving offers” without guaranteeing that any offer will be accepted in full. 

And that’s what the Malaysian guy did on seeing the officer. He proposed. Let’s not think of proposals as solely verbal negotiations (some heterosexuals might because rape precedents tend to treat consent as a verbal matter?), but in gay sex, consent negotiations are usually physical. It’s based on touch, then waiting for a reciprocal touch, and another touch and so on. If in the process neither side refuses an escalation of touch, then consent (b) to have sex is considered as given. 

The Malaysian observed the standard protocol. He started verbally. The officer did not break off the conversation. Then he touched the chest. Again the officer did not say no; did not move away. Then the Malaysian touched his crotch. 

At each stage of the proposal, the officer indicated he was willing to let it go to the next stage. By any reasonable measure, consent was given to let his crotch be touched.

Read Part 2: Policing propriety as an abuse of human rights (linked below).

Alex Au has been a gay activist and social commentator for 14 years and is the co-founder of People Like Us, Singapore. Alex is the author of the well-known Yawning Bread website.

Prominent Singapore blogger and gay activist Alex Au notes that the police is back to entrapping gay cruisers after not having done so in 16 years, and explains how the police decoy in such instances could be said to have given consent (even if non-verbal) to be approached. Together with some others interested in the same issue, [...]

TTC Chair Adam Giambrone at a news conference Friday announcing better transit service

TORONTO – A Toronto city councillor said he was “amused” to find out a local alternative weekly newspaper claimed this week that he was gay.

Now Magazine reported Coun. Adam Giambrone was gay in an article speculating on whether the youthful-looking politician stood a chance of becoming Toronto’s next mayor.

Giambrone denied being gay in a Facebook posting and said he was in a relationship with a woman named Sarah.

“Amused, but not entirely surprised to learn in Now Magazine that I’m supposedly gay,” wrote Giambrone on his Facebook status update Thursday. “But so as not to mislead anyone, I should correct the record: I’m not, in fact, gay. Sarah, my partner, has taken the news in stride and with good humour.”

Neither Now nor the article’s writer Enzo Di Matteo could not be reached for comment.

Di Matteo, however, told website blogTO: “I meant he’s happy . . . of course.”

The gay claim appeared in the newsweekly’s Dec. 29 edition in an article outlining Di Matteo’s predictions for 2010.

“It’s kind of a long shot, but Giambrone’s chances of becoming mayor are looking better every day,” wrote Di Matteo, in the print edition. “He’s young. He’s bright. He’s gay.”

Now has since changed its web version of the article which know says Giambrone is “gay-positive.” The word “positive” is written in italics.

TORONTO – A Toronto city councillor said he was “amused” to find out a local alternative weekly newspaper claimed this week that he was gay. Now Magazine reported Coun. Adam Giambrone was gay in an article speculating on whether the youthful-looking politician stood a chance of becoming Toronto’s next mayor. Giambrone denied being gay in [...]

Last week, Clemens Ruland of Holland became one of the first known HIV-positive people to legally visit the United States since the travel ban was lifted. In a Democracy Now! exclusive interview, Clemens Ruland along with his partner, Hugo Bausch, and Boris Dittrich, the LGBT advocacy director at Human Rights Watch joins Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez in the NY studio.

Last week, Clemens Ruland of Holland became one of the first known HIV-positive people to legally visit the United States since the travel ban was lifted. In a Democracy Now! exclusive interview, Clemens Ruland along with his partner, Hugo Bausch, and Boris Dittrich, the LGBT advocacy director at Human Rights Watch joins Amy Goodman and [...]

2010 is shaping into a pivotal year for politics in Toronto – one that will see two openly gay politicians seek election to two different levels of government, and a third step down after two decades as an influential city council member in Canada’s biggest city.

Elections for city council seats and the mayor’s office promise significant change for Toronto in late October, especially since the gay-friendly mayor and a very popular gay city councillor both have decided to retire when their current terms end. Kyle Rae is calling it quits as long-time city councillor for the downtown Toronto district that is home to the city’s famous gay neighbourhood, Church Wellesley Village. Rae was the first openly gay politician to sit on Toronto city council. He was elected in 1991, and continually won re-election by huge margins of victory. Residents of Rae’s ward are eagerly waiting to see if any high-profile members of the gay community will step up to seek his spot on council.

Meanwhile, another out and proud Toronto politician, George Smitherman, is preparing to launch his bid for the seat being vacated by Mayor David Miller. Smitherman was the first openly gay man to be elected as an MPP (member of provincial parliament) in the province of Ontario, and the first to be appointed as a provincial Cabinet Minister. Smitherman was Ontario’s Minister of Health from 2003 to 2008, and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure until his resignation just this past week. He also was deputy Premier.

Smitherman had been the MPP representing Toronto Centre, the same downtown area that encompasses Church Wellesley Village. It appears likely that Smitherman’s seat at the provincial Legislature will be filled by another out gay man, Glen Murray, when a by-election is held February 4 to choose a replacement MPP.  Murray made headlines around the world in 1998 when he was elected mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba, becoming the first openly gay mayor of a major North American city. Murray was Winnipeg mayor until 2004, when he resigned to run – unsuccessfully – for federal politics. He moved to Toronto shortly afterwards, where he worked as Chair of the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy before becoming CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute. On Wednesday night, Murray was acclaimed to run as the Liberal candidate for next month’s by-election in Toronto Centre.

Photo sources: Tanja Tiziana; Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; Ian Myrans/CUI

2010 is shaping into a pivotal year for politics in Toronto – one that will see two openly gay politicians seek election to two different levels of government, and a third step down after two decades as an influential city council member in Canada’s biggest city. Elections for city council seats and the mayor’s office [...]

Texas — Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor this weekend. City Controller, Annise Parker siezed the vote in an election battle that was marked by fierce campaigning and anti-gay rhetoric.

Texas — Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor this weekend. City Controller, Annise Parker siezed the vote in an election battle that was marked by fierce campaigning and anti-gay rhetoric.

John Pérez will assume Assembly leadership early next year.

Assemblyman John Pérez, an openly gay Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, made history Thursday when he was unanimously chosen by the Assembly’s Democratic Caucus to succeed Karen Bass as the lower house’s leader.

Pérez, a freshman lawmaker who is expected to be formally voted in as the 68th Assembly speaker in January, will become the body’s first openly gay leader. The Los Angeles-raised UC Berkeley graduate will inherit a mountain of challenges, in particular the state’s staggering projected $20.7 billion deficit through June 2011.

“It’s obviously an incredibly moving experience to have the unanimous support of my colleagues,” Pérez, 40, said shortly after the caucus vote. “I think it says more about California than it does about me – it means that California is a place where everybody has a seat at the table, that we’re a state where everybody brings forward their contributions.”

Advocates for the gay community immediately praised Pérez’s election, calling it a historic moment for not just the state but for the nation.

“It’s very, very poignant,” said Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, who is also gay. “I was a personal friend of (slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk) and to live long enough to see this is very significant. … Like Milk said, you have to give them hope, and I think what happened today is going to give people hope.”

Assemblyman John Pérez, an openly gay Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, made history Thursday when he was unanimously chosen by the Assembly’s Democratic Caucus to succeed Karen Bass as the lower house’s leader. Pérez, a freshman lawmaker who is expected to be formally voted in as the 68th Assembly speaker in January, will become the [...]