Gay Kansas News: Week of 4/4/2010
April 12, 2010, 10:20 pm
Filed under: Education,Gender Identity,HIV/AIDS,News Summary,Nondiscrimination,Opponents,Pride,Protests,Religion,Youth | Tags: Westboro Baptist Church, Protests, LGBT, gay, Kansas, Safe Schools, Fred Phelps, University of Kansas, Catholic Church, Education, Kansas City, Missouri Southern State University, Nondiscrimination, universities, National Catholic Reporter, UMKC, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Charleston, Kansas City Pride, Power & Light District, P&L, Cordish, festival, Queer the Census, census, FDA, blood donation, Virginia, lesbian, Des Moines, Iowa, Religion, West Virginia, Liberty Press, Show Me Pride, KU, Pittsburg State University, PSU, MSSU, Bethany College, Lutheran Church, Pride, gaypril, bathrooms, HIV, AIDS, Ottawa University, GSA, gay-straight alliance, Community of Christ Church, William Burroughs, John Canafax, Blacksburg, Montcoal, Portland, Maine, Jerry Bacidore, LaSalle, Illinois
Filed under: Education,Gender Identity,HIV/AIDS,News Summary,Nondiscrimination,Opponents,Pride,Protests,Religion,Youth | Tags: Westboro Baptist Church, Protests, LGBT, gay, Kansas, Safe Schools, Fred Phelps, University of Kansas, Catholic Church, Education, Kansas City, Missouri Southern State University, Nondiscrimination, universities, National Catholic Reporter, UMKC, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Charleston, Kansas City Pride, Power & Light District, P&L, Cordish, festival, Queer the Census, census, FDA, blood donation, Virginia, lesbian, Des Moines, Iowa, Religion, West Virginia, Liberty Press, Show Me Pride, KU, Pittsburg State University, PSU, MSSU, Bethany College, Lutheran Church, Pride, gaypril, bathrooms, HIV, AIDS, Ottawa University, GSA, gay-straight alliance, Community of Christ Church, William Burroughs, John Canafax, Blacksburg, Montcoal, Portland, Maine, Jerry Bacidore, LaSalle, Illinois
- There’s a new Liberty Press issue.
- LGBT activists are planning a protest on June 4th of Kansas City Pride‘s decision to begin this year’s festival at the diversity challenged Power & Light District.
- The University of Kansas and Pittsburg State University held annual pride weeks. At KU, students are creating an inventory of gender neutral bathrooms. Activists tried to tie PSU’s events with the campaign to add sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination policy at Missouri Southern State University. UMKC is organizing Gaypril pride month. Lutheran Bethany College will hold pride events next week.
- The Kansas City Star and Topeka-Capital Journal report on the Census Bureau‘s decision to count same-sex couples.
- The Kansas City Star reports on the FDA‘s ban on blood donations from gay men.
- The Ottawa Herald profiles Ottawa University‘s LGBT student group.
- The Community of Christ church’s world conference was held in Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reports LGBT issues were on the agenda.
- The Kansas City Star profiles locally based National Catholic Reporter.
- The Wichita Eagle remembers gay man and Kansas resident William Burroughs.
- Ft. Worth, Tex., resident John Canafax writes a letter to the Topeka Capital-Journal against WBC.
- WBC protested in Blacksburg, Va., Charleston and Montcoal, W.V., Des Moines, Iowa. They no-showed in Portland, Me.
- LaSalle, Ill., veteran Jerry Bacidore is organizing a protest of WBC inside the Phelpses’ church.
Gay Kansas News 3/25/2010
March 25, 2010, 11:31 pm
Filed under: Allies,Business,Courts,Elections,Employment,Legislatures,Marriage,Military,News Summary,Opponents,Organizing,Protests,Religion,Violence | Tags: Kansas Equality Coalition, Westboro Baptist Church, Elections, Protests, obituary, LGBT, gay, Kansas, Courts, Missouri, same-sex marriage, Fred Phelps, Colorado, health, Oklahoma, The Laramie Project, Marriage, Oklahoma legislature, Kansas City, DADT, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Military, Ottawa Herald, Tommy Felts, Steve Russell, Violence, Employment, Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Hays, KEC Northwest Chapter, Matthew Shepard Act, Nebraska, Organizing, hate crimes, FDA, blood donation, Human Rights Campaign, HRC, Family Research Institute, KEC, KEC Northeast Chapter, SB 1965, Tea Party, congress, PROMO, lesbian, HRC Kansas City, Corporate Equality Index, CEI, DC, District of Columbia, Business, Joe Solmonese, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Tivol, Robin Carnahan, Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa, Religion, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas, federal government, Nelson Parnell, Springfield, Webster University, Bobby Myers, drag, Robert Gates, Defense Department, Food and Drug Administration, Ike Skelton, celebration, Iowa judiciary, Matthew Marshal, Phillip Nelson, attack, vandalism, Tulsa Beacon, Tim Gill, New York, Fight Back New York, FBNY, New York legislature, Citizens Project, billboards
Filed under: Allies,Business,Courts,Elections,Employment,Legislatures,Marriage,Military,News Summary,Opponents,Organizing,Protests,Religion,Violence | Tags: Kansas Equality Coalition, Westboro Baptist Church, Elections, Protests, obituary, LGBT, gay, Kansas, Courts, Missouri, same-sex marriage, Fred Phelps, Colorado, health, Oklahoma, The Laramie Project, Marriage, Oklahoma legislature, Kansas City, DADT, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Military, Ottawa Herald, Tommy Felts, Steve Russell, Violence, Employment, Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, Hays, KEC Northwest Chapter, Matthew Shepard Act, Nebraska, Organizing, hate crimes, FDA, blood donation, Human Rights Campaign, HRC, Family Research Institute, KEC, KEC Northeast Chapter, SB 1965, Tea Party, congress, PROMO, lesbian, HRC Kansas City, Corporate Equality Index, CEI, DC, District of Columbia, Business, Joe Solmonese, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Tivol, Robin Carnahan, Omaha, Des Moines, Iowa, Religion, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas, federal government, Nelson Parnell, Springfield, Webster University, Bobby Myers, drag, Robert Gates, Defense Department, Food and Drug Administration, Ike Skelton, celebration, Iowa judiciary, Matthew Marshal, Phillip Nelson, attack, vandalism, Tulsa Beacon, Tim Gill, New York, Fight Back New York, FBNY, New York legislature, Citizens Project, billboards
Kansas
- STICKY: After the loss of local activist Steve Brown, KEC’s northeast Kansas chapter will reorganize at a meeting on Mar. 27.
- STICKY: KEC meeting to organize a northwest Kansas chapter has been rescheduled for Apr. 10.
- We just got back from HRC Kansas City‘s fourth annual celebration of corporate equality, where HRC president Joe Solmonese spoke. Solmonese highlighted HRC programs besides CEI that address needs of LGBT Americans. Congratulations to the winners and the event’s gold sponsors (Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Tivol). We were saddened not to see any KEC or PROMO members we recognized; is HRC Kansas City stovepiped? We heard talk about post-ceremony discussions on how HRC Kansas City, which is supposed to cover Omaha and Des Moines, might organize more in Omaha. It was also reassuring to see Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Robin Carnahan mingling, even if she left the event early.
- Westboro Baptist Church is planning a picket of Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Tex., for showing The Laramie Project.
- The Ottawa Herald’s Tommy Felts defends Tea Partiers and discusses a gay libertarian friend.
Nearby
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that FDA may lift its ban on blood donations from gay men by this summer.
- The Springfield News-Leader notes the death of Rev. Nelson Parnell, an LGBT ally.
- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch profiles St. Louis’s gay film festival QFest.
- Webster University’s student newspaper profiles gay student Bobby Myers and reports on the school’s recent drag ball.
- Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued new policies to make dismissals under DADT more difficult. Missouri Democratic congressman Ike Skelton, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, has been a leading opponent of repealing DADT.
- Iowans will celebrate the first anniversary of marriage equality.
- Oklahoman Matthew Marshal writes a letter to the Muskogee Phoenix criticizing state senator Steve Russell‘s attempt to exempt Oklahoma from federal LGBT hate crimes law. Oklahoma state hate crimes law does not cover LGBT people.
- The Tulsa World reports Oklahoman Phillip Nelson, while taking out his trash, was beaten and had his home vandalized because he was gay. KOKI 23 Tulsa has video of the bruised victim. As just mentioned, Oklahoma authorities will not treat the event as a hate crime.
- Conservative newspaper The Tulsa Beacon editorializes against same-sex marriage in D.C.
- Conservative One News Now reports on gay Colorado political donor Tim Gill’s involvement in New York’s same-sex marriage campaign.
- The Washington Times reports that the recession has hit church budgets hard, including Colorado-based Focus on the Family.
- The Colorado Springs Gazette reports pro-gay Citizens Project is paying for billboard ads that promote diversity.
- Colorado Springs’ Focus on the Family continues its rebranding with a new, softer daytime talk show.
- The Family Research Institute, also in Colorado Springs, opposed the new DADT policies by claiming statistics that gays and lesbians account disproportionately for sex offenses in the military.
