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Today’s Podcast Headlines
Retired Officers Urge ‘Don’t Ask’ Repeal
McCain: Gay General Tied to Clinton
McGreeveys Fight Over Daughter’s Party
Stanford U. Considers Coed Dorm Rooms
Oklahoma Man Charged in Gay Man’s Death

Additional Podcast Headlines off the BGN Wire
Uruguay Set to Legalize Gay Civil Unions [Union-Tribune]
General: Clinton had Nothing to do with Debate Question [Dallas Morning News]
White Supremacist Charged in Gay Man’s Death [Advocate]
TSA Plan Could Make Travel Particularly Unsafe for Some [C|Net]
Presidential Race Turns a Negative Page [BGN]
Amsterdam to Study Gay Bashers [Spiegel]
Asia-Pacific Must do More Tackle Gay AIDS Crisis-Group [BGN]
Canada Anglican Hierarchy Seeks Canterbury Rescue [BGN]
Transgender Woman In Trouble Again [News9]
Australian Law will Recognize Gay Unions [Sydney Morning Herald]
Two Held Over Transsexual’s Murder [Channel 4]
Lithuanian Authorities use Security to Ban Gay Events [Pink News]
Macho Argentina Warms to Gay Dollars and Euros [International Herald Tribune]
School Board Wrestles with Gay-Straight Club Recognition [Shakopee News]
U.S. Aims to Take HIV Tests to High-Risk People [BGN]
Bank Wants Gays to Come Out [News.com.au]
Guy Turned Girl Seeks Love on Reality TV [ABC News]
Australia’s Talk-Radio King Abdicates [BGN]

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PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 29 (UPI)

Stanford administrators are trying to figure out how to take the final step in coeducation at the California university — coed dorm rooms. Many of the students pushing for the change say that it is about comfort, not about sex — although some of them are couples who say they should be free to share a room if they wish.

“Our motivation is that to be a healthy student, you need to feel comfortable in your living space,” Katherine Roubous, a senior and organizer of the Genderblind Task Force, told the San Jose Mercury News. Stanford opened its first coed dorms in 1966, although men and women originally lived on different floors. About 30 colleges already allow students of opposite sex to live together. The major advocates of the change at Stanford are transgender students.

Thomas Schultz, a freshman who belongs to the Stanford Conservative Society, said he does not believe many students really want coed rooms. He also said that some creepy guys might opt for coed living to exploit female roommates.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI)

CNN should have revealed that a retired general who asked about gays in the military at the Republican debate is a Clinton backer, John McCain said Thursday. Brigadier Gen. Keith Kerr, a co-chair of a veterans group that supports Sen. Hillary Clinton, came out as a homosexual when he retired after 42 years in the military, The Washington Times reported.

At Wednesday night’s debate, he asked candidates for their position on gays in the military and then said that he thinks members of the U.S. military are professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.

“I think that should have been revealed,” the Arizona senator said of Kerr’s ties to the New York senator. “I think that should have been made public if this individual was a member of another — any other campaign, then people would, obviously, have a better way of judging the quality of the question.”

David Bohrman, who produced the debate for CNN, said that Kerr would not have been selected to ask a question if his political affiliation had been known.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

ELIZABETH, N.J., Nov. 29 (UPI)

A New Jersey judge has ruled the daughter of former Gov. James McGreevey may attend the elaborate 6th birthday celebration her father is planning. The former Democratic governor has reportedly hired face painters, clowns and ponies to entertain his daughter Jacqueline, The (Newark) New Jersey Star-Ledger reported Thursday.

McGreevey’s estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, refused to let her daughter attend the party, saying the child was scheduled to be with her that weekend. The couple separated shortly after James McGreevey disclosed he is gay. The court intervened and Union County Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy ruled that Jacqueline could attend the party at her father’s Plainfield home — provided she is returned to her mother immediately afterward.

Dina Matos McGreevey, who said she was not aware of the party until two weeks ago, agreed with the compromise. “The hatred they have for each other overrides everything, including their child,” the judge told the parents.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI)

Twenty-eight retired U.S. generals and admirals have released a letter calling for an end to the military’s don’t ask, don’t tell policy. The letter urged the U.S. Congress to repeal the law, which allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military so long as their sexual orientation is kept a secret, and allow homosexuals to serve openly, The New York Times reported Friday.

“We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” the letter said. “Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish.”

The officers wrote that an estimated 65,000 gay men and lesbians are currently serving in the military and the number of gay veterans has surpassed 1 million. They have served our nation honorably, the letter read. The letter arrives on the 14th anniversary of the legislation that put the policy in place and coincides with planned rallies on the National Mall by groups opposed to the provision.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

 

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Today’s Podcast Headlines
GOP Presidential Candidates Defend ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
French Drag Queen Suspected in 18 Killings
Abstinence Funds Target of Debate
China AIDS Rate Slows, Main Transmission Now Sex
White Males Complain About Diversity Video
Lesbian Author and Advocate Jane Rule Dies at 76

Additional Headlines off the BGN Wire
Porter: No Flip-Flop on Gay Rights [BGN]
Experts Question HRC’s ENDA Survey [Washington Blade]
US Hate Crimes Bill in “Serious Jeopardy” [Pink News]
Gay Blackmailer is Jailed for Three Years [BGN]
Gay Nuptials Could Bring Tax Gain to MD [Baltimore Sun]
Gay LAPD Officer Testifies About Betrayal, Intimidation [Daily News LA]
Classmates Draw “Gay,” Nazi Symbol on Boy’s Chest [Advocate]
Hurst Says Stepdad Ran at Him with a Butcher Knife [Daily Breeze]
Transsexual Hen Comes Home to Roost [Cape Argus]
Gay Blackmailer is Jailed for Three Years

Visit The BGN Wire, In THREE Languages
The latest news in English »
Las últimas noticias en español »
Les dernières nouvelles en français »

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI)

Health researchers from U.S. academic institutions issued a letter to Congress seeking a reduction in or elimination of funds targeted for abstinence education.

Citing “multiple scientific and ethical problems,” the letter questions the viability of withholding “potentially life-saving information” regarding birth control and the neglecting the health issues of homosexual, bisexual and transgender youths, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.

“We strongly urge Congress to reconsider federal support for abstinence-only education programs and policies,” the letter concludes, followed by the signatures of health researchers from Columbia University, Yale and four other institutions.

The U.S. government allocated more than $200 million for abstinence education, the Times said.

President Bush, however, vetoed a $606 billion bill for exceeding expectations on discretionary spending, including abstinence education.

Congressional aids said the abstinence funds were “a likely target” for cuts in the bill, but the National Abstinence Education Association issued pleas to Congress, asking it to preserve the funding, saying lower teen pregnancy and birth rates indicate the program is effective.

© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.