Quincy rally for marriage equality draws 100 people
When Sgt. Adrian Gunn joined the Army National Guard eight years ago, he swore an oath to uphold and defend the Massachusetts Constitution, a document that he notes was written "with the intent of safeguarding the rights of every individual American citizen." Gunn, who also served eight years in the U.S. Army, said that that's why he'd rather not return home from an upcoming deployment to the Middle East to find Massachusetts in the process of trying to amend its constitution to ban marriage equality.
Providence to host gay criminal justice conference
The Gay Officers Action League of New England (GOAL-NE) will host the 11th annual International Conference of Gay and Lesbian Criminal Justice Professionals from June 12-17.
Political impact of Barrios resignation will be severe
As both the first openly gay and the first Latino state senator to serve in the Massachusetts Legislature, Jarrett Barrios has been a political pioneer and a high-profile advocate on issues of importance to the LGBT and Latino communities, from staunchly defending LGBT youth programs and marriage equality to advocating bilingual education and in-state tuition rates for the children of undocumented immigrants, among many others. He was an obvious choice to speak at a recent panel discussion titled "Elections 2008: Inclusion and Democracy! Is the Latino GLBT community included?" that was held in conjunction with this year's Latino Pride celebration.
Nazis? AIDS? Camenker must be talking about the gays again
Discussion of gay Nazis, Holocaust denial and AIDS popped up repeatedly during a State House hearing May 29 before the legislature's joint committee on education.
Happy Anniversary, Barney Frank!
During a House Democratic Caucus back on May 3 Congressman Barney Frank urged his colleagues to support legislation to enable federal authorities to prosecute hate crimes targeting victims because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. "If this bill passes people will still be able to call me a fag," he said, taking aim at critics who charged the bill would outlaw name-calling. "Although if they're in the banking business, I wouldn't recommend it."
The Movie Place Closes its Doors
Longtime adult film store, The Movie Place on Tremont Street, is closing its doors for good on May 31. The store, which carries adult movies for a predominately gay male clientele, is one of the last gay-owned and gay-themed storefronts on the street and has been in that location for more than 20 years.
MassResistance crashes gay youth meeting
The May 21 meeting of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth got off to a rocky start when a group of attendees, including at least one with ties to the anti-gay group MassResistance, sparred with commission chair Jason Smith over whether or not they had the right to videotape the meeting, held in the State House's Gardner Auditorium. The week before the meeting MassResistance blogger Amy Contrada urged supporters to attend the meeting, and at the start of the meeting there were two cameras pointed from the back of the auditorium to record the proceedings.
Bill Berggren resigns from Pride Committee
In response to an article published May 23 in The Weekly Dig highlighting his past criminal record, Boston Pride Committee fundraising chair Bill Berggren resigned from the committee that same day. His resignation came in the midst of an effort by Pride board president Linda DeMarco to convene an emergency board meeting to plan a response to the article.
Governor, House Speaker and Senate President address marriage equality rally
In a clear sign of the growing momentum to defeat an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment at next month's constitutional convention (ConCon) Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Sal DiMasi came out forcefully against the amendment during unscheduled appearances at a May 17 State House rally sponsored by the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM).
Trans lobby day gets 120 participants
One of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition's (MTPC) goals for its first lobby day at the State House, held May 15, was to show Beacon Hill that there is a large constituency that supports the transgender non-discrimination and hate crimes legislation.
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