Gay Headlines Steven Hirschfield, 37, a performer and bodybuilder who lived in West Hollywood, was hired to dance aboard Saturday night's Circuit Daze harbor cruise, a dance party attended by about 900 revelers as part of the weekend's gay pride celebrations. Crew members aboard the Hornblower Cruises boat Inspiration called harbor police just after 11 p.m., about an hour into the cruise, to report a man overboard. Hirschfield, clad only in shorts and sneakers, refused to climb aboard a small rescue vessel or grab flotation devices, according to Jim Unger, general manager for Hornblower Cruises. "He didn't want to come aboard," Unger said. "There was something wrong. Logically, when people go in the water, if they fell or didn't want to be there, they would quickly want to get help." Police said Hirschfield apparently jumped off the boat voluntarily but did not know why. He initially refused to climb onto the swim deck of a harbor patrol boat but then hauled himself onto the front end by a hanging rope, said acting San Diego police Lt. William Stetson. Once on the boat, Hirschfield grabbed an officer's stun gun and beat him in the face before reaching for the officer's weapon, according to harbor police Lt. John Forsythe. A second officer then fatally shot Hirschfield in the chest. The injured officer was treated for face and leg injuries. The officers' names have not been released. The San Diego district attorney's office and police homicide investigators will investigate the shooting. Toxicology reports will be completed in about a month, according to the San Diego County medical examiner's office. According to court records, Hirschfield was arrested in 2004 for possession of a controlled substance, but charges were dropped in 2006 after he agreed to an 18-month drug rehabilitation program. A message left with Hirschfield's attorney in the case was not immediately returned. Circuit Daze promoter Bill Hardt did not respond to messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment. Efforts to reach Hirschfield's relatives were unsuccessful. (Allison Hoffman, AP) Today, the Marin-schooled man who is more responsible than any other for implanting that issue in the national consciousness, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, will try to ride it into the governor's mansion. Could gay pride become state pride? We will find that out in two years when Newsom's name could be on the ballot. There already are signs that the fear the mere mention of gay marriage stirred in many politicians could be dissipating. The latest evidence of a shift from such thinking in the political mindset could be seen in Sen. Barack Obama's announcement of his opposition to the November ballot measure that seeks to overturn the state Supreme Court's recent ruling declaring marriage between same-sex couples constitutional. Sen. John McCain, his presumptive Republican opponent, supports it. While the signal Obama is sending that he will support more than civil unions involving gay couples was offered somewhat tepidly, unlike the hapless Kerry, he is not likely to shun joint appearances with San Francisco's trail-blazing mayor with whom he seems to share an audacity of hope that the nation is ready to accept this historic departure. Does the espousal of unconditional marital equality for same- sex couples in perhaps the nation's most progressive city portend a national trend, or could it hurt Obama's chances of winning? Newsom has taken the calculated risk that his bold initiative will help him get to Sacramento. It is unclear whether this sells in Fresno and Bakersfield and San Diego - or for that matter, in Santa Rosa. If there is lingering aversion to gay rights in Marin and Sonoma counties, it is not evidenced by voting behavior that has sent a lesbian (Carole Migden) and a gay (Mark Leno) to the state Senate in successive elections. Leno made passage of a same-sex marriage law one of his signature issues while in the Assembly and soundly defeated former Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation, who was not more than a lukewarm proponent of the idea. If polls are reliable, the California electorate now favors same-sex marriage by a small margin. During the 2004 presidential election, 13 states adopted measures opposing same-sex marriage or variants of it that would have favored stronger civil rights for gays. Many are states that Obama hopes to pry from Republican grip, including Missouri, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Montana. While Obama supporters will be pleased by his stance, diluted though it was, it is bound to stoke the fires of the red-state evangelicals who are not that enamored of McCain, but were the bedrock of Bush's two victories. Of course, if the November measure passes nullifying the court's edict and reversing the hard-fought gains for gay marriage advocates, and Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Florida - which have similar ballot measures - do the same, Obama may find himself less enthused about joining Mayor Newsom on the steps of City Hall. What is clear is that this issue has climbed to the top of the Democrats' agenda and is likely to come up as one of the platform planks at the August convention - with supporters more organized than ever. But the Obama team may have already concluded that issues such as the plunging economy, soaring gas prices and the abominable war will offer the Democrats a decisive edge that will put gay rights issues on the margins of voter concerns, where they cannot do much harm. Regardless of the short-term prognosis, a Marin-bred politician with high ambitions has helped to put in motion forces that could affect the outcome of the presidential election in a close race election. Richard Rubin of Strawberry is a Democrat activist, writer and president of a San Francisco public affairs consulting firm. He also teachers at USF and UC Berkeley. Helms' AIDS legacy? Fear, misunderstanding Note to Republican Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina's senior senator: There are things you honor and things you let fade into the dust. The late Sen. Jesse Helms' AIDS legacy is in the latter category. It belongs in the dust. Sen. Dole tried to name an AIDS relief bill in the Senate after Sen. Helms, who died July 4. The effort went nowhere with her peers. Good. The bill is a milestone. It triples spending for a program that has treated and protected millions in Africa from the scourges of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. But Jesse Helms' name should not be on it. Helms remained throughout his life harshly opposed to homosexuality, and blamed homosexuals for the development and spread of the disease in this country. “There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy,” he once said. In later years Sen. Helms changed his mind about foreign relief programs for AIDS. He worked for funds to stop the spread of the disease in Africa and to assist its victims there. That carries weight, but not as much weight as inflaming public fear and misunderstanding about the disease (and homosexuals) in America. He never developed compassion for victims here or tempered his hate-filled statements. That's Sen. Helms' legacy on AIDS, and nothing will erase it. Tuesday, July 22, 2008 (07-22) 16:40 PDT Washington - -- Democrats are preparing next year to lift the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays in the military, an uneasy culture-war compromise instituted under the last Democratic administration, should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the Walnut Creek Democrat, said a hearing Wednesday by a House Armed Services subcommittee is aimed at educating Congress and the public in preparation for a full-scale push to end the policy, first imposed in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, in the next Congress. By then, Democrats expect to have won the White House and to have expanded their House and Senate majorities. Tauscher introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal the ban and allow gays to serve in the military, along with 121 co-sponsors in 2006. But Democrats have not moved it forward under President Bush because they are certain of his veto. Another 11 co-sponsors have since signed onto her bill, but so far only five Republicans have done so. Obama supports repeal. Should Republican Sen. John McCain, who opposes repeal, become president, Tauscher said Democrats might force the issue. Polls show solid public support for lifting the ban, which passed its 15-year anniversary July 19. An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 75 percent favor repeal, a number that has climbed steadily since the start of the Iraq War. Still, many Democrats are wary. "Politicians are well known for not wanting to take a position until they have to," Tauscher said. "But I'm confident that under the right political environment, with the right president ... we'll have all conditions that will be right for us to pass the repeal and have the president sign it." Memories of how the issue consumed the first months of Bill Clinton's presidency remain seared in many minds on Capitol Hill. Having faced campaign accusations of draft dodging and Pentagon skepticism about his suitability as commander in chief, Clinton was hit by an intense backlash when he inadvertently made ending the military's outright ban on homosexuals one of his first projects upon taking office. The uproar led to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" compromise between then Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn, D-Ga, Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell and Clinton. It allowed men and women to serve in the military without being asked about their homosexuality, so long as they kept it secret. Unlike the earlier ban that was formalized as a service-wide policy during World War II, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was enacted into law, requiring that any changes be made by Congress. Since 1994, 12, 342 service men and women have been discharged, according to Service Members Legal Defense Network, a gay rights group. Discharges peaked at 1,273 in 2001, then dropped by about half after the terrorist attacks of 2001. "A lot of lawmakers seem scarred by Clinton's war wounds in early 1990s," said Nathaniel Frank, a senior researcher at the Palm Center policy research institute, an affiliate of UC Santa Barbara and author of a forthcoming book on the ban. "It was a combination of the fact that it was poorly handled by (Clinton), they underestimated the resistance, and by allowing the country to pause and 'study' the issue, that allowed opposition to fester," Frank said. Of all gay rights issues, lifting the military ban receives among the widest public support. Public opinion has nearly reversed since 1993, when only 44 percent believed homosexuals should serve. Large majorities of active-duty military, however, oppose repeal, according to a survey by Military Times, which found 31 percent supporting repeal and 57 percent opposed. "Public opinion in favor of allowing gays to serve in the military has risen steadily in the Bush years, in part because people feel in times of war anyone who wants to serve ought to be able to serve," said Nathaniel Persily, a legal policy expert at Columbia University who follows gay issues. At the same time, he said, "opposition to expansion of gay rights is often more intense than is support. That's true of same-sex marriage, where most proponents are tepidly in favor, while those who oppose it strongly oppose." The Pentagon itself is deferring to Congress. No Pentagon officials will testify at Wednesday's hearing, which will feature mainly retired officers on both sides. Tauscher said Pentagon officials were not invited because, "They always have the same answer: It's the law, and we do what the law says. It's not informative. Retired officers have been more outspoken, including Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who reversed himself to support repeal last year. More than 50 high-ranking retired officers have signed a statement urging that the ban be lifted. Former Sen. Sam Nunn said last month that he was open to revisiting it. The ban on homosexuals is based on the idea that they damage discipline, morale and trust, complicate assignments of personnel who work in close quarters and hinder recruitment. Frank contends that studies have produced "no evidence that gays undermine military effectiveness" and that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy itself has caused "enormous talent losses in occupational categories where the military is badly stretched," including Arabic linguists. A General Accountability Office study in 2005 showed the military lost 800 service members in 161 occupations deemed mission critical. The British and Israeli militaries do not ban homosexuals, he said, and studies have shown the ban "requires service members to be dishonest with one another and makes it difficult for them to bond with one another and makes it tough, in many documented cases, for gays and lesbians to access military support services that are taken for granted by straights, because you can't speak openly with a military chaplain, psychologist or even a physician in many cases without risk their jobs." Given Clinton's experience, Tauscher conceded that the gay ban might not be the first thing Obama would tackle, facing two wars and economic problems. "I would say that President Obama is going to be enormously busy the first few months," Tauscher said. "This is important, and it's going to be brought up in the first year, but the president makes these decisions in consultation with Congress." Obama suggested he would go slowly in an interview with Military Times this month in which he was asked if he could stand the political heat on the issue. "Precisely because I have not served in uniform, I am somebody who strongly believes that I have to earn the trust of the men and women in uniform," Obama said. E-mail Carolyn Lochhead at clochhead@sfchronic Posted: July 15, 2008 - 12:00 pm ET (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) A 21-year-old man who police say was abducted and sexually assaulted at the home of a paper-mill worker credits his family's love with helping him survive the ordeal. "I'm just thankful to be alive and glad to be back home with my family and friends," the man told the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. Edward Lanphear, 46, was charged with 12 felonies in the abduction, beating and sexual assault of two young men who police say were chained naked inside his home. He is jailed in lieu of $1 million bond. The 21-year-old was able to escape from Lanphear's garage in rural Wisconsin Rapids last Tuesday and ran to a nearby home to seek help. Lanphear realized police were on the scene and brought the 23-year-old man from the basement, investigators said. "I'm glad it turned out the way it did," the younger man told the paper. "I'm glad I helped out (the 23-year-old's) family. I wish there was more that I could do." The 21-year-old said his thoughts were close to his family during his captivity. "Everything that I've gone through - the turmoil I went through the last couple of days - they were closest to me and helped get me through all of it," he told the newspaper. His mother said she was proud of her son. "I'm glad he felt so loved from his family he had something to fight for," she said. "We're so proud of his courage and strength and ability to stay focused and do what had to be done." The Associated Press generally does not identify people who allege they have been sexually assaulted; naming his mother could reveal the victim's identity. The man told the Daily Tribune he is doing well and is grateful for the support he has received from the community. "I know this will scar me for the rest of my life, but it's not going to change who I am," he said. "It's made me stronger." According to a criminal complaint, Lanphear picked up the 23-year-old, weary from a night of drinking, as the Wisconsin Rapids man sat at a curb July 4. Lanphear then hit the man over the head and abducted him. He kidnapped the 21-year-old early Tuesday morning after the man got drunk at a local bar and passed out in his truck, the complaint said. Court records show the Wood County sheriff's department confiscated more than 20 guns, chains, prescription medications, a computer and pornography from Lanphear's home. The search-warrant records show chains, cables and padlocks were taken from iron pipes around a mattress on the home's basement floor that was described as the "captive bed." A nylon rope fashioned into a noose was also recovered. The records said investigators also found a highlighted copy of the July 7 Daily Tribune that contained information about the search for the missing man who was found alive at Lanphear's home. Aussie Gays Win Pope Protest Battle Posted: July 15, 2008 - 8:00 am ET (Sydney, Australia) A court struck down a new law Tuesday that banned people from annoying participants of a Roman Catholic youth festival in Australia that the pope plans to attend, ruling that the law restricted free speech. The ruling handed down on the opening day of the six-day World Youth Day festival paves the way for activists to hand out condoms and coat hangers - symbolizing abortions - to pilgrims in a demonstration planned for Saturday. Three federal court judges ruled that the law was invalid under Australia's constitution because they limited freedom of speech. The new regulations had made behavior that caused annoyance or inconvenience to festival participants punishable by fines up $5,300. The legal challenge was brought by two activists from the NoPope Coalition, a group of gay rights and secular activists. The coalition is planning a rally on Saturday at which activists said they would wear T-shirts condemning Pope Benedict XVI and hand out condoms and coat hangers to pilgrims taking part in a procession through Sydney. "We now have a lot more confidence to take to the streets to condemn Pope Benedict's policies against condom use, against contraception, against homosexuality," said Rachel Evans, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. "We are glad that the court has ruled that we do have the freedom of expression to communicate our political views on Saturday." The New South Wales state government introduced the regulations for July only, saying they were the same sort of powers authorities normally have to quell potential trouble at big sporting events. Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell said the church had not asked for the special rules, and had no problem with the right to protest legally. Pope Benedict XVI is in Sydney for World Youth Day, which officials say has attracted more than 200,000 pilgrims from around the world. The pontiff does not have any public events until Thursday, when he tours Sydney Harbor and delivers a major address. The festival culminates with a papal Mass on Sunday. ABC Honored For Gay Union First Posted: July 14, 2008 - 10:00 am ET (New York City) The union between the gay characters Kevin and Scotty in the season finale of ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" helped the network win the highest praise Sunday from an advocacy group that pushes for more visibility of such characters on television. It was the first wedding ceremony of two gay or lesbian characters in a prime-time scripted series, said the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. ABC has had other historic moments, including introducing a gay character to "Soap" in 1977, having a gay teen in "My So-Called Life" and Ellen DeGeneres coming out on "Ellen" as well as in real life. ABC ranked highest among the broadcast networks in hours where gay and lesbian characters were portrayed, with FX topping the 10 cable networks monitored, GLAAD said. ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Corp. and FX by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. "We know that programming to lesbian and gay viewers is good business and these are two networks that realize the social and economic benefits of including images of our community in their programming," said Damon Romine, GLAAD's director of entertainment media. FX was praised for "Nip/Tuck," which GLAAD said had one gay, lesbian or bisexual character in every episode. "Rescue Me" had a minor storyline with a gay couple having a commitment ceremony and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" had a transgender character. Fox, also owned by News Corp., and NBC both had "failing" grades from GLAAD. While GLAAD was pleased by the inclusion of gay characters on "House" and the games "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance," the group didn't like a "New Amsterdam" episode where two lesbian characters fell in love with a straight man. GLAAD is pushing NBC to include more gay characters, particularly after the prominent lesbian doctor Kerry Weaver left "ER." Robinson Refuses To Be Silenced Over Anglican Gay Summit Posted: July 14, 2008 - 8:00 am ET (London) The first openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop was barred from a once-a-decade Anglican meeting so he wouldn't become a focus of the global event. Anglicans on all sides of the issue agree: The strategy has backfired. New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson has been embraced by sympathetic Anglicans in England and Scotland who view his exclusion as an affront to their Christian beliefs. Robinson plans several appearances on the outskirts of the Lambeth Conference to be what he called a "constant and friendly" reminder of gays in the church. "I'm just not willing to let the bishops meet and pretend that we don't exist," Robinson said in an interview Sunday with The Associated Press before preaching at St. Mary's Church Putney. "They've taken vows to serve all the people in dioceses, not just certain ones." The Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, did not include Robinson and a few other bishops in the conference as he tried to prevent a split in the world Anglican Communion. The 77 million-member fellowship - the third-largest in the world behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians - has been on the brink of schism since Robinson was consecrated in 2003. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S. Robinson and Episcopal leaders had tried for years to negotiate a role for the New Hampshire bishop at Lambeth, but were unsuccessful. He resolved to come to England anyway. "I'm not storming the pulpit to wrestle the microphone from the archbishop," Robinson said. "My agenda is this: What does the church's treatment of gay and lesbian people say about God? You've got all these people talking about gays and lesbians being an abomination before God. Does that make you want to run out and go to an Anglican church and sing God's praises?" Robinson preached Sunday at the 16th-century parish on the Thames River, despite a request from Williams that he not do so. A protester briefly interrupted the sermon, waving a motorcycle helmet and yelling "Repent!" and "Heretic!" before he was escorted out. An emotional Robinson resumed preaching, asking parishioners to "pray for that man" and urging them repeatedly not to fear change in the church. On Monday night, Robinson will join Sir Ian McKellan at a London literary festival for the British premiere of "For the Bible Tells Me So," a documentary about gay Christians that features Robinson. Next Sunday, after the Lambeth Conference holds its opening worship in Canterbury Cathedral, Robinson will join Anglican gays and lesbians in a separate service nearby. He will then sit in the public exhibition hall near the assembly sessions to be available for conversation. A group of Episcopal bishops have organized two private receptions where Anglicans from other parts of the world can meet him. When the conference ends Aug. 3, he heads to Scotland where he has been invited to preach at Anglican parishes. Robinson was a target of death threats at his consecration and wore a bulletproof vest throughout the ceremony. He said the threats resumed a few months ago when he published a book about his religious views. He has arranged personal security in England, but said he could not disclose details. Donors are covering the cost for the extra protection, he said. His partner of two decades, Mark Andrew, is traveling with him but declined to be interviewed. Bishop Martyn Minns, a former Episcopal priest who now leads a breakaway network of U.S. conservatives, said in a recent interview that although organizers of the Lambeth Conference intended to move the topic off Robinson, their plan was bound to fail. "He will end up getting all the attention," Minns said. Minns was also barred from Lambeth. He was consecrated by the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria, which created the U.S. parish network despite an Anglican tradition of respecting the boundaries of other provinces. For many theological conservatives, Robinson's consecration was the final straw in a long-running debate over how Anglicans should interpret Scripture. Last month in Jerusalem, traditionalists created a worldwide network of conservatives to separate from liberal Anglicans without fully breaking away from the communion. More than 200 conservative bishops are boycotting Lambeth because Episcopal leaders who consecrated Robinson will be there. Robinson said he felt "pretty devastated" when he learned he would not be allowed to participate in the conference, a key meeting that affirms membership in the communion. He said he was also worried that he would flub his appearances in England this month. "I so want to be a good steward of this opportunity. I want to do God proud," he said. "I have this wonderful opportunity to bring hope to people who find the church a hopeless place."
Pride dancer shot by cops had drug history
Is the Golden State ready to elect a gay-rights governor?
What was Sen. Dole thinking? That was wrong for the country then, and it's wrong now to try and honor it.
Democrats prepare for battle over lifting of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
by The Associated Press
by The Associated Press
by The Associated Press
by The Associated Press