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Canadian Gays at Double Risk of Violence (BGN)
Gay NY Officers Criticize TV Anchor Case (BGN)
Journal of the Plague Years: 1981—2008 (BGN)
Nepali Gay Men Contesting Poll Hope to End Taboo (BGN)
Ads Tout Mass. as a Gay-Friendly Destination (BGN)
African Lesbians Demand Greater Rights (BGN)
School Apologizes to Teacher Subjected to Homophobia (Gay Wired)
Turkey’s Anti-War Diva (Time Magazine)
Pope, ahead of U.S. trip, speaks of abortion, gays (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Vigil held for openly gay teen, search continues for shooters (7 News Miami)
Gay Porn Star Twins Charged In Crime Spree (CBS News)
Legislators denounce gay-union foes’ claim (The Des Moines Register)
human rights pioneers in gay marriage debate (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Air New Zealand’s “Pink Flight of Fabulosity” (Scoop.co.nz)
Huckabee Assumes Gays Respect Anti-Gay Views (Gay City News)
Lesbian Magazine Cover ‘Censored’ by UK’s Leading Newsagent (Gay Wired)
ENDA United Has Its Say (Gay City News)
Douglas schools get lesson in Transgender 101 (Douglas County News Press)
Two Attacks, One Death In Hate Crimes Against Gays (CBS4 Miami)
Gay Marriage Opponents Criticize Iowa Democrats (KWWL Iowa)
Gay cops upset at bid to drop anchor’s charges (CNN.com)
With mullahs gone, drag queen hopes to perform again (Express India)
Transgender Inmate Says Treatment Stopped (The Advocate)

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OTTAWA, Feb. 28 (UPI)

The odds of gays and lesbians being victims of violent crime in Canada was nearly double that of heterosexuals, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

Using data from the 2004 General Social Survey, which for the first time asked respondents for their sexual orientation, the agency also found bisexuals were 4.5 times more likely to be attacked than the straight population.

Compared with heterosexuals, a higher proportion of gays and lesbians were single, living in an urban area, and were engaging in 30 or more evening social activities per month than heterosexuals, the report said.

Despite the increased risk, more than 9 out of 10 gay, lesbian and bisexual Canadians said they were “somewhat” or “very” satisfied with their personal safety, which is close to the number of heterosexuals who said so, StatsCan said.

© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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Judge Rules Lesbians Can Divorce in NY (BGN)
New Evidence Emerges In Gay Porn Producer Murder (365Gay.com)
Eatery offers $5,000 reward in gay attack (Sun-Sentinel)
Okeechobee asks courts to rule on Gay-Straight Alliance (TCPalm.com)
N.Y. transwoman’s bias suit OK’d (Gay.com)
2nd Attack Has S. Fla. Gays Wary (365Gay.com)
Officer denied promotion over gay Facebook page (Daily Telegraph)
Police to fly flag for gays (NewsWales)
Pashtuns get their groove back cross-dressing artists (Seattle Times)
Orientation job stance on agenda for Medford schools (The Mail Tribune)
County opposes ban on gay blood donors (San Jose Mercury News)
Daly City Hospital Allows Transgender Surgery (CBS 5 Bay Area)
Lauderdale attack on gay man seen as hate crime (Sun-Sentinel)
Chronicle late in covering gay comics (San Francisco Chronicle)
Gay Rights Groups Respond to Murder of Gay Teenager (Gay Wired)
Minister Faces New Charge for Marrying Lesbian Couple (The Advocate)
New Life for a School Film on Gay Tolerance (NPR)
Commission Decries Civil Unions As Unequal (CBS News)
Presbyterian pastor defends wedding gays (Planet Out via Yahoo! News)

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NEW YORK, Feb. 26 (UPI)

A lesbian couple who cannot be legally married in New York can be divorced there, a state judge has ruled.

The couple, identified as Donna M. and Beth R., married in Toronto in 2004. Donna gave birth to two daughters conceived by artificial insemination during their relationship, one before and one after the wedding.

Supreme Court Justice Laura Drager granted Beth’s petition to sue for divorce and for custody of the children in New York, the New York Post reported. The judge, sitting in Manhattan, ruled that the New York Legislature has not specifically made same-sex marriage illegal and found that the law’s ban on recognizing “abhorrent” marriages does not apply to same-sex ones.

Raul Felder, one of the city’s best-known divorce lawyers, said that he plans to appeal the ruling on behalf of Donna M.

“The judge’s decision was scholarly and well thought out, but it sets aside 200 years of decisional and statutory law in New York,” Felder said. “She wants to change the law. That’s something for the Legislature to do.”

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Al Capone’s Grandson Releases Memoir (BGN)
Elton John Party Raises $5.1M for Charity (BGN)
Sex-change inmate says treatment stopped (AP via Yahoo! News)
Calif. Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Case (365Gay.com)
Presbyterian pastor defends wedding gays (Gay.com)
Santa Clara To Oppose Ban On Gay Blood Donation (KTVU 2)
Gay Porn Twins Arrested for Robbery Spree (Gay Wired)
Prison For Man In Attempted Gay Pride Firebombing (365Gay.com)
NY Court Hears Lesbian Divorce Case (365Gay.com)
Gay man attacked outside popular Lauderdale eatery (Sun-Sentinel)
Nepal Gays Run For Office Despite Law (365Gay.com)
New bill to guarantee transgender civil rights (The Daily Free Press)
Foster bid refused over ‘beliefs’ (BBC News)
Council to demolish ‘homosexual hang out’ (ABC via Yahoo!7 News)
Life for gays is far from easy (Colorado State Collegian)
Commission decries civil unions as unequal (The Daily Targum)
Lesbian Band Wins D.C. Music Award (The Advocate)
City Says No Plans to Close Sex Venues (Gay City News)

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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25 (UPI)

The 16th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party raised $5.1 million in Los Angeles Sunday night, the foundation announced Monday.

The Oscar night gala, which was held at the Pacific Design Center and co-sponsored by Chopard and VH1, was one of the evening’s best attended parties, organizers said.

Guests included Marion Cotillard, Tom Wilkinson, Amy Adams, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi, Sean Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford, Josh Groban, Faye Dunaway, Sean Combs, Seal and Heidi Klum, Prince, Kate Beckinsale, Billy Joel, Courtney Love, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Petra Nemcova, Jeremy Piven, Roberto Cavalli, Minnie Driver, Simon Cowell and Herbie Hancock.

Also attending the event, which included dinner, a musical performance by Elton John and a live auction, were Natasha Henstridge, Larry King, Eric McCormack, Jason Lewis, Jonny Lee Miller, Brett Ratner, Jason Retiman, Rupert Murdoch, Jennifer Coolidge, Russell Simmons, Cheryl Tiegs, John Waters and Ziyi Zhang.

John and his partner David Furnish were the gala’s hosts.

Established in 1992, the non-profit foundation said it has raised more than $125 million to support HIV/AIDS prevention and service programs in 55 countries around the globe.

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BOSTON, Feb. 26 (UPI)

The new book “Son of Scarface: A Memoir by the Grandson of Al Capone” documents a man’s unexpected connection to the notorious Chicago mob boss.

New Era Publishing said Boston resident and New Jersey native Chris Knight discovered he was Capone’s grandson when he was 13, just days after his father died.

In his book, Knight chronicles his own life from his father’s death to the alleged abuse and isolation from others that he suffered at the hands of his mother to growing up gay to searching for the truth behind his father’s secret past, even when his mother insisted he and his sister keep the truth a secret.

Assisting Knight in his quest to prove his connection to the infamous crime figure were historians, genealogists and private investigators who uncovered information that led to the conclusion Knight is Capone’s grandson, the publisher said.

In an effort to help children who suffer abuse, Knight is donating a portion of the proceeds from his book to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

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Gay Jamaican Cop Eyes Asylum in Canada (BGN)
Gay Rights Movement Gets $65 Million Boost (BGN)
More Anglican Breakaways in Canada (BGN)
Martin’s Looks, Sexuality in Question (BGN)
First-Ever Program to Help Black Gays Get Elected (BGN)
Appeal Filed In NY Gay Marriage Ruling (365Gay.com)
Iranian Gay Refugee Risks Deportation From The UK (Scoop.co.nz)
Protesters fight for same-sex marriage rights (News 10 NBC Rochester)
In Search of Gay Surfers (The Advocate)
Groups Seek To Increase Gay Black Politicians (365Gay.com)
Gay Rights Movement meets PN (Times of Malta)
Protests in Rome against the deportation of gay Iranian refugee (Adnkronos)
Pakistan blocks “anti-Islamic” YouTube (Gay.com)
Vast Majority Of Officers Support Military Gay Ban (365Gay.com)
State report finds flaws with civil unions (Montclair Times)
Few Clues In Killing Of Florida Trans Teen (365Gay.com)
Payback for insult leaves homeless man hospitalized (St. Petersburg Times)
Local colleges coordinate on Queer Town Meeting (Bennington Banner)
Iran’s ‘diagnosed transsexuals’ (BBC News)
Soap fans say gays slighted (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
City Folds Gay Health Office (Gay City News)
Snubbed by NYC Pols, HRC Answers Its Critics (Gay City News)
No to gays running for public office – survey (Jamaica Gleaner)
Attacks Show Easygoing Jamaica Is Dire Place for Gays (New York Times)
Transgender students in area classrooms (Douglas County News Press)

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 25 (UPI)

Three more Anglican parishes in Canada voted to break with the national church and join a more conservative organization, The Globe and Mail reported Monday.

At issue is the Anglican Church of Canada’s willingness to support same-sex marriage. The weekend splits brought to 15 the number of Canadian parishes joining the conservative Southern Cone, based in South America, the report said.

Two of the parishes were in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the other was in St. Catharines, Ontario, the newspaper said.

Last week, the Niagara diocese in Ontario filed court papers challenging the breakaway groups on ownership of the churches and their assets. That case is to be heard in court Friday, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, some of the breakaway parishes could be setting themselves up for more problems, as some have female pastors, which the Southern Cone doesn’t endorse, church officials said.

© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.