Big Gay News

Gay Candidate Faces Tough Battle in Finland Vote

Bradley Traynor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:07:20 +0000

For his supporters, Pekka Haavisto’s breakthrough into Finland’s presidential runoff defies fears that tolerance is waning in Finland. The gay environmentalist who lives with an Ecuadorean immigrant faces off Sunday against a veteran conservative. But they have no illusions about Haavisto’s chances. “I like Haavisto. He’s softer and is on the side of poor, but he won’t win,” said Tiinu Wikman, 23, a cosmetologist in Helsinki.

Read the full story from the Associated Press.

Gay Marriage Proponents Decry Ruling on Prop 8 Trial Video

Bradley Traynor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:03:18 +0000

Same-sex marriage proponents expressed disappointment Thursday in an appeals court decision to keep video recordings of the historic Proposition 8 trial sealed, saying the public is being denied an opportunity to bear witness to the “baseless foundation of fear” that opponents waged during the proceedings. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the tapes should not be made public because the trial judge promised the defenders of Proposition 8 that they would be used for internal court purposes only, a clear victory for opponents of same-sex marriage.

Read the full story from the LA Times.

Big Gay News for Friday, Feb 03 2012

Bradley Traynor — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:01:18 +0000

Today’s Top Headlines

Anti-Gay Teen Twitter Account Sparks Student Outrage
Gay Marriage Proponents Decry Ruling on Prop 8 Trial Video
Gay Candidate Faces Tough Battle in Finland Vote

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Big Gay News for Thursday, Feb 02 2012

Bradley Traynor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:55:21 +0000

Today’s Top Headlines

Alarm After Arrests in North Cyprus Under Gay Sex Law
Pastor Calls for Nationwide Starbucks Boycott Over Gay Marriage
One Million Moms to JC Penney: Fire Ellen, She’s Gay
WA Senate Approves Bill to Legalize Gay Marriage

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WA Senate Approves Bill to Legalize Gay Marriage

Bradley Traynor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:36:18 +0000

The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, bringing the state a step closer to becoming the seventh to allow lesbian and gay couples to wed. But the threat of a ballot challenge looms. The packed public galleries burst into applause as the Senate passed the measure on a 28-21 vote Wednesday night after nearly an hour and a half of debate. Four Republicans crossed party lines and voted with majority Democrats for the measure. Three Democrats voted against it.

Read the full story from CBS.

One Million Moms to JC Penney: Fire Ellen, She’s Gay

Bradley Traynor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:33:28 +0000

One Million Moms — a project of the American Family Association — is very angry at JC Penney. No, not because it sells sweater vests (heck, Rick Santorum is a fan of those), but because the Texas-based department store has hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokeswoman. And DeGeneres is — cue the scary music — gay, and open about it.

Read the full story from Reuters.

Pastor Calls for Nationwide Starbucks Boycott Over Gay Marriage

Bradley Traynor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:32:12 +0000

A Christian pastor is calling for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks for the company’s support of same-sex marriage in Washington. In a message published online a day before Washington’s Senate passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Pastor Steven Andrew of USA Christian Ministries predicted that the Seattle-based coffee giant could lose 80 percent of its customers if Christians get their coffee somewhere else — a number he bases on his contention that 80 percent of Americans are Christian while just 1-to-2 percent of the population is homosexual.

Read the full story from KING5.com.

Alarm After Arrests in North Cyprus Under Gay Sex Law

Bradley Traynor — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:30:22 +0000

Euro MPs have voiced alarm after two men were arrested in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus under a British-era law criminalising gay sex. On Sunday, two inmates at the central prison in Nicosia appeared in court charged with having “sexual intercourse against the order of nature”. Gay sex is not a crime in either Turkey or the Republic of Cyprus.

Read the full story from the BBC.

Big Gay News for Wednesday, Feb 01 2012

Bradley Traynor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:54:36 +0000

Today’s Top Headlines

Gay Arizona Legislator Announces Run for Gabrielle Giffords’ House Seat
Minnesota Foes of Gay Marriage Raise $830K
NJ Gov Christie Apologizes for Statements Linking Civil Rights to Gay Marriage

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NJ Gov Christie Apologizes for Statements Linking Civil Rights to Gay Marriage

Bradley Traynor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:11:29 +0000

A week after Gov. Chris Christie raised the ire of civil rights leaders and his Democratic foes for saying people would have preferred to have a referendum on segregation in the South, tonight he apologized. “Anybody who was offended by what I said, if you’re listening out there tonight, I apologize for that,” he said on New Jersey 101.5’s monthly radio call-in show. “I didn’t mean to offend anybody, and if I did I’m sorry.”

Read the full story from the NJ Star-Ledger.

Minnesota Foes of Gay Marriage Raise $830K

Bradley Traynor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:08:59 +0000

The lead group pushing to ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota raised $830,000 in 2011 in the latest signal that a fierce, high-dollar contest is taking shape over the proposed constitutional amendment. Minnesota for Marriage, a coalition of groups formed in an effort to get the marriage amendment approved this November, said that in addition to its fundraising, it also recruited more than 10,000 volunteers in 2011 to help.

Read the full story from the Star Tribune.

Gay Arizona Legislator Announces Run for Gabrielle Giffords’ House Seat

Bradley Traynor — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:07:08 +0000

An openly gay Arizona state lawmaker announced Tuesday that he will enter the race to fill the congressional seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who resigned last week. Dr. Matt Heinz, a staff physician at Tucson Medical Center, and a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 29th District in Tucson, told reporters that he’s similar to Giffords, politically.

Read the full story from LGBTQ Nation.

Big Gay News for Tuesday, Jan 31 2012

Bradley Traynor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:04:55 +0000

Today’s Top Headlines

Washington House Committee Approves Gay Marriage Bill
Group Blasts Macy’s for Catalog Showing Gay Couple on Wedding Cake
‘Don’t Say Gay’ Senator Asked to Leave Tennessee Restaurant

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Group Blasts Macy’s for Catalog Showing Gay Couple on Wedding Cake

Bradley Traynor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:01:23 +0000

Department store giant Macy’s is reportedly under attack by a group affiliated with the American Family Association for the retailer’s apparent support of gay marriage.
A Macy’s catalogue sent to customers in the mail shows a wedding cake with two groom figurines on top, mynorthwest.com reported Tuesday. The cake is stuffed in the back of an automobile with a license plate that reads “I do.” The image was reportedly part of an advertisement seeking to convince people to join Macy’s Star Rewards Program and does not appear in an online version of the company’s catalogue.

Read the full story from FOXNews.com.

Washington House Committee Approves Gay Marriage Bill

Bradley Traynor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:46:59 +0000

A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days. The House Judiciary Committee approved its gay marriage bill on a party line vote, with seven Democrats voting for it, and six Republicans voting in opposition.

Read the full story from CBS.