Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s Top Headlines

Wheaton College’s Gay Grads Plan to Be Part of Homecoming
Two Gay Men Attacked By Gang in Possible Florida Hate Crime
Teacher Who Sent Student to Office for Homosexuality Remark Off Leave

Get even MORE breaking news from any of our live, constantly updated news feeds, now available in 12 languages:

English | Spanish | French | German | Dutch | Italian | Portuguese | Russian | Chinese | Korean | Czech | Greek

The high school teacher who disciplined a student for saying in class that homosexuality is wrong was placed on leave, according to a news report. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Kristopher Franks was placed on leave Sept. 23 and would return to work Friday. A Fort Worth Independent School District trustee told the newspaper that the district’s interim superintendent told the board that the incident had been investigated and was now resolved.

Read the full story from NBC.

Manuel Galan has not left his Immokalee home in a week. The 27-year-old fears being attacked for his sexual orientation. Galan is gay. “I’m scared to walk out the front door,” Galan said. “In case someone sees me, alone, they can do more damage.” Galan and his friend, Cirildo Soliz, were jumped by five males last week, according to a Collier County sheriff’s incident report. The two were walking together on Carson Road near Eden Avenue in Immokalee. The Sheriff’s Office is calling it a possible hate crime.

Read the full story from Naples News.

When Wheaton College alumnus Adam Hibma attends homecoming next weekend, he and several others will be sporting gray hooded sweat shirts with the number 1 on front, colored like a rainbow. The 25-year-old will be displaying school spirit among friends who openly recognize and support his identity as a gay man. In April, alumni supportive of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning community formed a group to help students who may be struggling with their sexual orientation. Members usually connect through emails and Facebook messages, but during the school’s traditional homecoming weekend, the group, known as OneWheaton, will host its own series of activities.

Read the full story from the Chicago Tribune.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today’s Top Headlines

Gay Pastor Under Fire After Man Dies at His Home
Appeals Court Tosses Gays in Military Lawsuit
Serbian Police Chief Warns of Violence During Upcoming Gay Pride March
Russian Region Outlaws All Gay Events, Pride Parade

Get even MORE breaking news from any of our live, constantly updated news feeds, now available in 12 languages:

English | Spanish | French | German | Dutch | Italian | Portuguese | Russian | Chinese | Korean | Czech | Greek

A new law outlawing all public displays of homosexuality, including Pride parades, has gone into effect in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia reports RT.com. The measure, which was drafted by several local activist organizations and religious groups, is being championed most vigorously by the Russian Orthodox Church. “All priests know that the souls of those who suffered through sinful homosexual experience are empty and desperate,” said Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the Russian Orthodox Church PR department, who added, “And it is this insecurity in a minute-long pleasure that forces these spiritually unhealthy people to hold marches and other public demonstrations.”

Read the full story from the Huffington Post.

A federal appeals court refused Thursday to decide the constitutionality of the military’s now-repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay troops, saying the issue has been resolved since Americans can enlist and serve in the armed forces without regard to sexual orientation. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco tossed out a lawsuit that had challenged the military policy as a violation of gay service members’ civil rights. In doing so, the appeals court also dismissed a Southern California trial judge’s year-old ruling that the policy was unconstitutional.

Read the full story from the Boston Globe.

Serbia’s police chief warned Thursday violence by extremists is likely during this weekend’s gay pride march, and urged the organizers to cancel it. Ivica Dacic said he made his warning so “bloodshed does not happen in Belgrade,” Serbia’s capital. A far-right extremist group has scheduled its own gathering on the same day, rising the prospect of violence.

Read the full story from the Washington Post.

The Rev. Mark Bidwell of Ferndale is coming under fire after police responded to an emergency call to his home on Sept. 21. Ferndale Police arrived to find 43-year-old Steven Michael Fitch unresponsive, reports the Daily Tribune in Royal Oak. According to the report, Bidwell, 52, and Fitch allegedly shot up crystal meth, then invited a third man over to Bidwell’s home. Bidwell is hospitalized, and Ferndale Police say that his position as a chaplain with the force has been terminated because of the incident.

Read the full story from The Michigan Messenger.

Today’s Top Headlines

Man Gets Prison in Bias Attack at NYC Gay Landmark
Gay Senator Leads Race for Ireland President
Obama Believes DOMA Will Be Settled Soon

English | Spanish | French | German | Dutch | Italian | Portuguese | Russian | Chinese | Korean | Czech | Greek

President Barack Obama said he thinks the courts will decide “fairly soon” whether to end the Defense of Marriage Act, hinting that he believes the courts will agree with his administration that the law is unconstitutional. “The position that my administration has taken, I think, will have a significant influence on the court as it examines the constitutionality of this law,” he said Wednesday at a roundtable with latino news outlets. “Once that law is put down — and I don’t know what the ruling would be — addressing these bi-national issues could flow from that decision.”

Read the full story from the Huffington Post.

Former IRA local commander-turned-politician Martin McGuinness will have to defeat an openly gay senator and a popular Labour party politician, among others, if he is to become president of the Republic of Ireland, it emerged Wednesday as the election ballot was finalized. Sen. David Norris completed an extraordinary comeback Tuesday, securing the political backing he needed to get onto the ballot after withdrawing over a sex scandal in August, then changing his mind and jumping back into the race.

Read the full story from CNN.

A man was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for an anti-gay attack at a bar where a 1969 riot became a defining moment in the gay rights movement. Matthew Francis, 22, didn’t speak at his sentencing. He pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to assault as a hate crime and to attempted robbery, but his lawyer said the October 2010 incident at the Stonewall Inn stemmed from drug and alcohol use, not hatred.

Read the full story from the Wall Street Journal.

Today’s Top Headlines

Census Reports 131,729 Gay Couples Married
Lesbian Actress Escorted Off Southwest Jet After Kissing Girlfriend
Patti Stanger Sorry for Saying Gay Men Incapable of Monogamy

Get even MORE breaking news from any of our live, constantly updated news feeds, now available in 12 languages:

English | Spanish | French | German | Dutch | Italian | Portuguese | Russian | Chinese | Korean | Czech | Greek

Patti Stanger has apologized for saying that gay men are incapable of being in monogamous relationships on a Bravo talk show Sunday. “I am so sorry. I did not mean to offend anyone with my comments last night on ‘Watch What Happens Live,’” she said in a statement to GLAAD.

Read the full story from the Washington Post.