Center for LGBT Homeless Youth Gifted $300K by Bea Arthur Estate

Via a press release:

"The Ali Forney Center received a gift of $300,000.00 today from the Estate of legendary actress Bea Arthur. The Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth, announced at Bea Arthur's Memorial Service on September 14th that they planned to purchase a building to house 12 youths and name it her honor. 'We work with hundreds of young people who are rejected by their families because of who they are. We are overwhelmed with gratitude that Bea saw that LGBT youth deserve as much love and support as any other young person, and that she placed so much value in the work we do to protect them, and to help them rebuild their lives.' says Executive Director Carl Siciliano. The Ali Forney Center offers emergency shelter and transitional housing in seven residential sites in New York City, and operates two drop-in centers offering food, clothing, medical and mental health treatment, HIV testing, treatment and prevention services, and vocational and educational assistance. It provides services to over 1000 young people each year."

Under Attack from Right, Education Department's Kevin Jennings Releases Statement on Counseling Incident 21 Years Ago

Kevin Jennings, the gay founder of GLSEN who now heads the Education Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, has been the target of right-wing and religious groups (such as the Family Research Council) since he was named to the position. The groups accuse Jennings of promoting homosexuality in schools. Recently, they seized upon an incident involving Jennings which happened 21 years ago in which Jennings was counseling a 16 or 17-year-old student who said he was sexually involved with a man. Jennings failure to report this to authorities is now fueling the right-wing accusations that he is somehow trying to indoctrinate children into homosexuality.

FOX News has jumped on the bandwagon, of course, claiming that Jennings covered up statutory rape.

Yesterday, Jennings released a statement admitting he mishandled the incident:

“Twenty one years later I can see how I should have handled this situation differently. I should have asked for more information and consulted legal or medical authorities. Teachers back then had little training or guidance about this kind of thing. All teachers should have a basic level of preparedness. I would like to see the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools play a bigger role in helping to prepare teachers.”

Education Secretary Arne Duncan also released a statement:

"Kevin Jennings has dedicated his professional career to promoting school safety. He is uniquely qualified for his job and I am honored to have him on our team."

The L.A. Times reports: "Jennings' inaction was discussed in the teaching community as far back as 2004. It is now being condemned as part of a broader critique of Jennings' fitness for the education post by conservative critics, who also accuse him of promoting homosexuality...Department spokesman Justin Hamilton said the accusation that Jennings promoted homosexuality was too ridiculous to deserve comment."

The wingnuts don't want to see any gay man in this position, much less one who has spent the better part of 20 years dedicating himself to wiping out anti-LGBT bullying and promoting tolerance in the nation's schools.

News: Catholics, Malaysia, Barbra Streisand, Wisconsin, The Moon

WaPo: 7,000 gay men have helped study AIDS in the past 25 years.

Facebook kills poll asking if Obama should be killed. Secret service investigates. UPDATE: Secret Service tracks down user who posted it.

Too Much! Salaries of The Hills cast per episode.

"Ex-gay" group calls hate crime laws "anti-ex-gay": "According to PFOX, hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians themselves constitute hate crimes against ex-gays. Because if you tell people that they can’t beat up people because they’re gay, you discriminate against the people who beat up gay people because they are gay! It is you who are committing the “anti-ex-gay hate crime,” because if people aren’t allowed to hate gay people, how will PFOX ever find any ex-gay people?"

Atlanta Eagle court hearing postponed a second time.

Malaysia bans Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno: "It's banned because the story is based on gay life ... There are a lot of sex scenes. It's contrary to our culture."

Isn't it a little early to hit the pumpkin patch, Hugh Jackman?

DJ AM death ruled accidental.

The Vatican defends its sexual abuse scandals by saying other churches are far worse, then claims their priests aren't pedophiles but homosexuals attracted to young men: "In a defiant and provocative statement, issued following a meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva, the Holy See said the majority of Catholic clergy who committed such acts were not paedophiles but homosexuals attracted to sex with adolescent males.…The statement said that rather than paedophilia, it would 'be more correct' to speak of ephebophilia, a homosexual attraction to adolescent males."

Maine's Catholics fast to save marriage.

Janet Jackson makes amfAR appearance in Milan.

NYT Consults blog on questioning teens: "In trying to understand sexual orientation, it can help a person to think about who he or she has crushes on and fantasizes about being with. A person doesn’t necessarily need to have a 'full' sexual experience in order to understand his or her sexual orientation."

Australian court hears gay panic defense from two men in murder trial.

Gerard Butler pigs out, shows off his cock.

Mattel to offer Barbra Streisand doll.

Billboards in Wisconsin highlight LGBT neighbors: "The campaign is a first in Midwest history to be translated to Spanish, and one of the firsts across the country. Digital billboards will be featured on major commuter freeway paths, which include ads in Ozaukee, Racine, Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties. The accompanying websites, GayNeighbor.org and MiVecinoGay.org, answers basic questions in Spanish and English about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) community and issues they face."

The speech William Safire wrote for Richard Nixon if the astronauts were left stranded on the moon.

Rufus Wainwright: Cheese-eating Ken doll.

OMG interviews Karin Dreijer Andersson of Fever Ray and The Knife.

Graham Norton given warning about lesbian remark: "Norton, 46, and his programme team have now been warned about 'being seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes' after a BBC investigation. This comes after a viewer complained about the remarks made about an illustration of a jump suit invention, which showed a large woman with short hair. The comic described the picture as showing a 'strange lesbian' and when asked what a lesbian looks like, he pointed at the picture and said 'That!'."

Coming Out in Middle School: When Kids Say 'I'm Gay' at 10, 11, 12...

Don't miss Benoit Denizet-Lewis' article for The New York Times Magazine this weekend on gay, lesbian, and bisexual kids who are coming out in middle school. Writes Denizet-Lewis:

"What is clear is that for many gay youth, middle school is more survival than learning — one parent of a gay teenager I spent time with likened her child’s middle school to a 'war zone.' In a 2007 survey of 626 gay, bisexual and transgender middle-schoolers from across the country by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (Glsen), 81 percent reported being regularly harassed on campus because of their sexual orientation. Another 39 percent reported physical assaults. Of the students who told teachers or administrators about the bullying, only 29 percent said it resulted in effective intervention."

And:

"Still, the younger they are when they come out, the more that youth with same-sex attractions face an obstacle that would be unimaginable to their straight peers. When a 12-year-old boy matter-of-factly tells his parents — or a school counselor — that he likes girls, their reaction tends not to be one of disbelief, dismissal or rejection. 'No one says to them: ‘Are you sure? You’re too young to know if you like girls. It’s probably just a phase,’'' says Eileen Ross, the director of the Outlet Program, a support service for gay youth in Mountain View, Calif. 'But that’s what we say too often to gay youth. We deny them their feelings and truth in a way we would never do with a heterosexual young person.'"

Coming Out in Middle School [nyt]

News: Ganymede, Mark Salling, Eating Disorders, Paula Abdul

Ukraine offers deal to Elton John in guardianship of HIV-positive boy?

Paula Abdul wants Ellen's job now.

Court: Male teen tried to stab, gas man to death after having sex with him. "Prosecuting counsel Jennifer Blewitt told the court the teenager had been communicating with the man for some time through text messages before he agreed to meet him. The pair then returned to the man’s home for sex and the younger man left afterwards, leaving the kitchen gas turned on and unlit. Soon afterwards, Ms Blewitt said, he returned with the knife and thrust it at the man as he opened the door."

Divas: Kelly Clarkson duets with Melissa Etheridge.

Four gay candidates advance in NYC elections.

British school calls emergency assembly over sex change of 12-year-old boy: "What has really upset the parents is that the school didn't see fit to send us a letter first so we could explain it to children in our own way. Maybe we could have explained sexual politics and encouraged our kids to be more sensitive. They were simply told, 'You may notice one pupil is not present in this assembly – that is because the pupil is now a girl'. The girl, as she now is, will go through hell because of how this has been handled."

Obama anoints unicorn trend.

Jupiter's moon Ganymede generates spectacular light shows at planet's poles.

Thousands line up for gay and lesbian job fair in NYC.

GLB teens at higher risk for eating disorders: "Among males, the highest risks were seen among homosexuals -- who were seven times more likely to report bingeing and nearly 12 times more likely to report purging than heterosexual males."

Inside the secret rallies of Maine marriage equality foes: "The interesting revelation: That it was apparently the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins who requested the media shut-out. Weird, considering this is a man who has never met a camera lens to which he wouldn't lend a talking point."

Americablog: Who is Barney Frank, anyway?

Mohawk lovers: Glee's Mark Salling.

European Parliament condemns homophobic legislation in Lithuania: “It is particularly alarming that the Lithuanian parliament succeeded in passing homophobic legislation under the pretence of child protection, when it is clearly in the best interests of young people to have as much information as possible on these issues. Open discussion among young people is the best way to tackle discriminatory attitudes and the high suicide rates of young people who come out as gay or lesbian."

Insurance company ordered to pay $10 million for revoking policy of 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV.

Shirley Tan and her family advocate for immigration in D.C.: "The Tan-Mercado family met with several members of Congress, the staff of numerous additional Congressional offices, and, in a West Wing meeting, White House staffers to press for new cosponsors for the Uniting American Families Act and the House Reuniting Families Act, as well as for inclusion of lesbian and gay binational families in comprehensive immigration reform."

Students for the National Equality March Issue 'Call to Action'

A group of student leaders and supporters of October's National Equality March have issued a "Call to Action" to students around the nation, urging them to take part in the March, which is taking place in Washington D.C. on October 10th and 11th.

Says their statement: "The United States must end its system of inhumane segregation that continues to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, denying equal opportunity to serve one’s country, denying the equal right to marry, and denying equal access to over 1,000 rights, benefits and protections granted to all American citizens. As student leaders we refuse to remain silent in the face of what we know is the greatest civil rights movement of our generation. We must speak out and be among those who express outrage at the hatred and discrimination that is inflicted upon our fellow citizens. To remain silent is to endorse hatred. So we add our voices to the increasing millions who demand justice, freedom, and equality for America's LGBTQ citizens. We urge all students to converge on Washington D.C. on October 10th & 11th for the National Equality March. We urge our students, no matter their sexual orientation, to organize buses, planes and trains, so we may express our unity and unwavering commitment to freedom and equality. Now is the time to speak out against this outrage and now is the time to march side by side in a powerful show of force in the struggle for freedom."

Students for the National Equality March has also set up a website which provides information about connecting with other students, organizing on campus, finding housing accomodations in D.C., transportation, and downloadable flyers. The group also has a Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Students for the National Equality March [official site]

Check out the huge list of endorsements by student leaders across the country,
AFTER THE JUMP...