Deb Price from Creators Syndicate

Gay Californians Smile for Wedding Photos for 06/23/2008

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The moment California became the second state to start marrying gay couples, America's wedding album gained wonderfully memorable snapshots.

Who could not be touched by seeing wispy-haired Del Martin, 87, cutting a three-tiered wedding cake from her wheelchair, helped by her 83-year-old bride, Phyllis Lyon?

But the picture I'll most treasure is of a toddler in a pressed shirt and ...

Updated: Mon Jun 23, 2008

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Congress Learns ABCs of Transgender Bias for 06/30/2008

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When David Schroer applied to be a specialist on terrorism at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, his stellar resume led to a job offer.

The highly decorated retired Army colonel had served 16 years in Special Forces, with 450 parachute jumps and combat experience in Panama and Haiti. Following 9-11, Schroer directed a classified 120-person Pentagon group invol ...

Updated: Mon Jun 30, 2008

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Optimistic lesbian's feet follow her heart for 07/13/2008

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A famous Chinese proverb teaches that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

For Meg Sneed, a 25-year-old Arizona lesbian, journeys to change a thousand hearts begin with a single thought: There's power in sharing personal stories.

In 2006, she and other young activists in Soulforce, a gay-rights group devoted to the kind of peaceful confrontation practiced by Ga ...

Updated: Sun Jul 13, 2008

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Gay Families Push for Respect in Cyberspace for 07/21/2008

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Like many other couples wanting to adopt, Rosario Grennaro and Alexander Gardner eventually found themselves wanting to tap the geography-defying power of the Internet.

"We wanted to raise children. And we thought we could provide a loving home to a child that didn't have one," says Grennaro, an IBM computer researcher.

"We heard about people using the Internet. And ...

Updated: Mon Jul 21, 2008

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Hill Hearing Good First Step Toward Ending Gay Military Ban for 07/28/2008

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

On Sept. 11, 2001, Navy Capt. Joan Darrah's weekly intelligence briefing turned out to be anything but routine: She and her colleagues watched CNN's coverage of terrorist-hijacked planes ramming into the World Trade Center.

The meeting ended, the closeted lesbian captain left the Pentagon, and American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building. Seven people died in the place where she ...

Updated: Mon Jul 28, 2008

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Schools Get Timely, Gay-Friendly Reminders for 08/11/2008

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A high-school senior in Florida turned to a teacher's aide for help last September after younger students taunted her for being gay, saying "dykes" are "nasty," "gross" and "sick."

In doing the right thing, "Jane Doe" set off a shocking but ultimately inspiring chain of events in Panama City.

The resulting federal court ruling and ...

Updated: Mon Aug 11, 2008

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The Tale of the Wise Librarian for 08/18/2008

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Weddings are supposed to be joyful occasions.

But reading about Uncle Bobby's big day in a children's book upset a grownup library patron.

Fortunately, a calm and wise librarian, James LaRue, was there to guide the patron through the dark emotional woods that can be very scary after reading something unsettling.

That interaction — recounted on LaRue's MYLIBLOG — ...

Updated: Mon Aug 18, 2008

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Gay Coloradoan Heads Toward Election Milestone for 08/25/2008

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In 2000, after being elected to the Colorado State Board of Education, Internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Polis saw up-close the failure of public schools to meet the needs of new immigrant and homeless young people.

Tapping into the inventiveness that made him rich in the e-commerce world, Polis founded two charter schools for immigrant and homeless youth, and spearheaded th ...

Updated: Mon Aug 25, 2008

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Gay Republicans Prove Maverick Streak, Endorse McCain for 09/08/2008

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Warned that a publication would soon out him as gay, a Republican congressman decided in 1996 to come out voluntarily. Before telling the world, though, he first told his closest political friend, fellow Arizonan John McCain.

"There's something personal that's going to come out that I need you to know about me," Jim Kolbe recalled last week at a "Big Tent" luncheon of ...

Updated: Mon Sep 08, 2008

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Gay-Friendly Outreach Goes High-Tech for 09/15/2008

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Julian Bond, the chairman of the NAACP, urges viewers to "vote no" on a proposed amendment to Florida's Constitution that would prohibit legal recognition of any coupled relationship other than heterosexual marriage.

Pointing out that he's a Florida property owner and part-time resident, Bond adds that his respected civil-rights organization opposes the ban because: "It's ...

Updated: Mon Sep 15, 2008

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Successful Gay Businessman Fights to Break Tragic Cycle for 09/22/2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

"Why did God create me this way?"

That's what Mitchell Gold asked himself as a teenager in the mid-1960s as he hid his homosexuality from family and friends. The better he got at the hiding game on the outside, the more torn up he became on the inside.

What he called "the black cloud" swallowed him up. And he found himself thinking of ways to kill himself &mdas ...

Updated: Mon Sep 22, 2008

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Home-State Role Models Show Lawmakers the Way for 09/29/2008

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

When U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, pointed out that providing benefits to the partners of gay employees would be a smart way for Uncle Sam to attract and keep talented workers, she explained why she's sure: The strategy is a success in her home state.

"The state of Maine has already worked through (possible stumbling blocks). And has a lot of safeguards built in," ...

Updated: Mon Sep 29, 2008

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No Spring Chickens on Court's Left Side for 10/06/2008

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In a New York Times magazine article last year, telecommuting Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens told of his amusement at finding telltale traces of having been working with legal briefs at the beach by his Florida condo.

"One of my favorite memories is the time I was sitting (on the bench after a return from Florida). I shook the sand out of the brief!"

The magazin ...

Updated: Mon Oct 06, 2008

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Gay Group Lends Obama a Friendly Hand for 10/13/2008

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Want to know what kind of president Barack Obama would be for gay Americans? Just listen to his longtime gay friends.

That was the thinking of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) PAC, the political arm of the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group.

So after endorsing Obama, HRC sent a camera crew to Chicago to interview gay folks — like activist Gail Morse ...

Updated: Mon Oct 13, 2008

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Connecticut Strengthens Region's Embrace of Gay Couples for 10/27/2008

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A recent ruling by Connecticut's top court in favor of marriage for gay couples will speed up the marvelous synergy accelerating advances in the Northeast.

(If you, like me, are a bit geographically challenged, glance at a map as you read along.)

With the exception of Pennsylvania, the region's nine states have painted themselves gay-friendly lavender by protecting and nurturing g ...

Updated: Mon Oct 27, 2008

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Census Bureau Blurs Its Gay Snapshot for 11/03/2008

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Curling up with a 28-page questionnaire from the U.S. Census Bureau isn't my fantasy of how to relax after work.

But Joyce and I recently were picked along with 3 million other "housing unit addresses" to complete the annual American Community Survey. This nationwide survey, an upgrade from the old Census long form, provides a snapshot of how folks live in America.

Censu ...

Updated: Mon Nov 03, 2008

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Election Results Are a Bittersweet Moment for Gays for 11/10/2008

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

In his uplifting victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama told the story of 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper of Atlanta and the remarkable changes that have transpired during her lifetime.

Born just one generation after slavery, when people like her were barred from voting both because of the color of their skin and their gender, she saw America overcome the Depression, crush the Nazis, ...

Updated: Mon Nov 10, 2008

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Old Elephant Needs More Than Cosmetic Changes for 11/17/2008

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

As Republicans sift through the ashes of their latest defeat, the data shard that Democrats probably most hope their battered rivals ignore is this one:

Voters ages 18 to 29 — who cast nearly one in five ballots —favored Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain by 66 percent to 32 percent.

In contrast, voters ages 65 and older — about 16 percent of the 2 ...

Updated: Mon Nov 17, 2008

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Honest Abe Offers Gratitude Lesson for 11/24/2008

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

President-elect Barack Obama's great love of Abraham Lincoln has me spending chilly evenings curled up with a history book or two. Turns out that honest, sad-eyed Abe knew the importance of staying in close touch with gratitude, of giving thanks even in the midst of turmoil and disappointment.

In October 1863, President Lincoln was locked in the middle of the terrible civil war that was ...

Updated: Mon Nov 24, 2008

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Neglected Children Deserve Loving Homes for 12/01/2008

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Martin Gill and his partner, licensed foster parents in Florida, were planning to move, so they told a state child-placement official it wasn't a good time for them to take in two needy boys.

They put out the welcome mat, though, after the official begged them to give baby "James" and his 4-year-old brother, "John," a special Christmas.

When the brothers arrive ...

Updated: Mon Dec 01, 2008

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