Gay Canadian Couple To Close Restaurant- Sick Of Anti-Gay Abuse

Dave Claringbould being interviewed by CBC News

By Brody Levesque | MORRIS, MANITOBA -- A gay couple in Morris, Manitoba, announced that they are closing their restaurant, planning to serve their last meal there April 13 after only being open four months, because of ongoing anti-gay abuse leveled against them and their employees.

Dave Claringbould, a 35-year-old chef originally from the UK, has worked in the restaurant business across Canada cooking in kitchens for the past 15 years. Claringbould said that when he and his partner opened a restaurant in rural Manitoba, they knew some people might have a problem with them being gay. But the couple was also not expecting open hostility and blatant ignorance. He and his partner didn't hide their relationship Claringbould said, but he noted that they but didn't flaunt it either.

In February, he said a group of regular customers found out they were gay and stopped coming. Others verbally attacked the couple in the restaurant and around town. 

"We were asked if somebody was going to catch something off of the plate because we had prepared the food on it," Claringbould said in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press Tuesday. He added that his partner calmly dealt with the customer and told the man he would be okay; 

"We were very hurt and upset by it. Some of the narrow-minded things that have been said to us are absolutely shocking."

The attitude in the small town has mostly been supportive towards Claringbould and his partner, which as the story spread nationally across Canada earlier this week, the ensuing debate caused the town's government to publicly weigh in with a statement on its website released Wednesday, by the town's chief administrative officer Brigitte Duerksen:

Regrettably, the Town of Morris (population: 1800) will be losing a small business in a few short days. This restaurant only recently opened (December 2012), and by most accounts received very good reviews.
[...]
Pots N Hands is run by two openly homosexual men, one of whom is a certified chef, and until very recently, was just one of many small businesses within our boundaries, and one that we as representatives of the town, believed was doing as well as could be expected of any new restaurant. Sadly, this is not the case, and the prevailing sentiment seems to be that it is due to the fact the owners have not been accepted by all because of their personal lives.
[...]
The Town of Morris is saddened to be losing a business run by two very polite individuals, and especially under these circumstances.

Not everyone has expressed support as another local restaurant owner, George Ifantis, who runs George’s Burgers & Subs, said he has nothing against the Pots N Hands owners, but understands that some customers might be uncomfortable with the men’s sexuality.

“A lot of people don’t like it,” said Ifantis. “You don’t know what they’re doing in the kitchen.”

The mayor and the town's folk have offered the couple resources to help their business to stay open, but for Claringould it’s not enough to convince him and his partner to stay — though they harbor no hard feelings.

“There’s many great people here,” he said. “We’ve been supported by a lot of local people and local businesses that don’t deserve any negative impact from this.”

Around The Nation

Florida

Senate Subcommittee Passes Statewide Domestic Partnership Registry Bill

TALLAHASSEE, FL --  The Florida State Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs subcommittee Monday passed the 'Families First bill' [SB 196] in a 5 to 4 vote. The measure would provide limited legal protections for same-sex unmarried partners creating a statewide domestic partnership registry. The bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary committee for its review and vote before it is sent on to the full Senate. 

Equality Florida's president, Nadine Smith noted in a press release after the subcommittee's vote;

“A majority of Floridians already live in a local community that has a domestic partnership registry. Places like Pinellas County, Volusia County, Orange County, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Key West, Tampa, Orlando, Gainesville, Tavares, Clearwater and North Miami already have registries. 

The Families First bill would eliminate the patchwork of policies and allow people to have important legal protections for their family, no matter where they live. 

[...] Local Domestic Partnership Registries now protect roughly 50% of Florida's population. The protections are vital especially since the state has a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality."

Legal observers point out that under current Florida law, persons in unmarried domestic partnerships who are barred from civil unions and marriage by Florida's passage of Amendment 2 in 2008, are unable to enjoy the legal protections such as hospital visitation, correctional facility visitation, end of life decision making and burial arrangements.

An identical Florida House version of the bill, HB 259, is currently pending before the House judiciary Committee.

Poll: Same-Sex Marriage Still Unlikely Soon In Virginia

Photo via University Of Mary Washington

By Brody Levesque | FREDERICKSBURG, VA -- As the nation's highest court deliberates two critical cases that will set legal precedence for same-sex couples in the U. S., across the river in Virginia a new poll shows little support for marriage equality.  A new poll from the University of Mary Washington Center for Leadership and Media Studies shows that support has only slightly increased since the 2006 ballot question that not only amended the state's constitution to read;  "That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions." That amendment also banned any form of civil union for any unmarried partnered couple in the state.

The Mary Washington poll asked, "Do you favor or oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally in Virginia?"

Accordingly the results broke down into those supporting same-sex couples the right to marry - 45%, those opposed - 46%, while 5% reported that they were unsure or didn't know and 4% refused to take the poll among the 1,004 registered voters surveyed.

After a heated debate and advertising campaign in 2006, the Virginia Marriage Amendment was approved on the November 7, 2006 ballot with 57.06% approving the measure and 42.94% opposing. Political analysts pointed out that marriage equality opponents had in fact spent less than those in favor of in a nearly 2 to 1 ratio. According to the Virginia State Board of Elections, donors to the campaign for the measure spent a total of $415,170 while donors to the campaign against the measure spent a total of $1,963,309.

The Mary Washington poll director Stephen Farnsworth noted:

As a group, African-Americans were most critical of same sex marriage, with 40 percent supporting same-sex marriage legalization and 54 percent opposing it. Hispanic respondents were most supportive, with 64 percent supporting gay marriage and 34 percent opposing. For whites, 50 percent oppose gay marriage and 46 percent support it.

Politico pundits in Richmond told LGBTQ Nation that while the state's northern counties, which comprise the suburbs of Washington D.C. tend to vote along more progressive lines, the rest of the state, particularly the south-eastern Hampton Roads area, which is home to the U. S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet along with major U.S. Air Force installations, tends to vote consistently conservative. That factor coupled with the current Republican controlled legislature and governor's office makes it likely that the state will continue to resist immediate changes.

Today's Headlines From LGBTQ Nation Magazine

HRC apologizes for treatment of transgender, immigration rights activists

Ga. GOP chair: Gay marriage will lead to fraud by straight people marrying each other

Delaware’s lone U.S. Congressman supports same-sex marriage

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey: ‘I can no longer in good conscience’ oppose gay marriage

Boy Scouts reject Utah troop sponsored by gay rights group

Screaming youngster tells gay friendly church they are going to hell, gays are worthy of death

World News

Northern Ireland

Gay Rights Are Very Much Problematic In Northern Ireland

BELFAST -- For editor and founder of MyGayZine Danny Toner-an online magazine aimed at the LGBTQ community in Northern Ireland- his hope to have the first print edition ready for this year's Belfast Pride was crushed when a local printer he had contacted refused to work with the magazine because of its readership.

In an e-mail to Toner, Blufire Media owner Nick Williamson wrote; "Unfortunately due to the nature of the magazine we are unable to give a quote." 

After Toner pressed for a further more detailed explanation Williamson responded with;

"There are some types of work I do not feel comfortable taking on and this is definitely one of them. To work alongside (even printing for) the LGBT [community] would be in contradiction to my own faith and so I will have to let this quote slide." 

The story broke in The Guardian UK newspaper Friday which noted that MyGayZine does not contain any adult content. Recent issues offered features regarding homophobia, gay life, travel and culture, as well as crosswords and recipes for carrot and ginger soup.

In an interview, Toner told the Guardian:

"This is my seventh month producing the magazine," Toner said. "I started it up as a home project and it's grown and grown. So after a couple of months building up enough capital, I started looking into getting it printed. 

We'd been advised not to go to local printers but to opt for foreign ones because it'd be cheaper, but we were against the idea – we wanted to stick with local people. 

Once he [Williamson] came back and was open about the reasons for refusing, I was shocked about how blatant he was. I felt hurt and annoyed and confused. Why? How could anybody refuse a service just for that one reason? It was embarrassing too – it's shaming."  

Toner has since forwarded the e-mails and lodged a complaint with the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland. Under the Equality Act 2010, the refusal to offer goods or services on the grounds of sexual orientation is illegal in the UK which includes Northern Ireland. Toner also has reached out to a local attorney whose specialty is LGBTQ legal issues;

"Part of the reason we started this magazine in the first place was in order to fight homophobia and to bring it to people's attention. Things have improved for gay people in Northern Ireland in the last five or six years but there's still a long way to go."

Williamson has refused to comment.

The Guardian also reported Friday that Amnesty International and local LGBT equality rights organisation the Rainbow Project, are prepared to take Northern Ireland's coalition government to court over its refusal to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

The Northern Irish lawmakers, in a vote late last year, made Northern Ireland the only part of the United Kingdom where LGBT people are excluded from the UK's same sex marriage bill, which was passed in the House of Commons in February.

Spokespersons for both rights groups told The Guardian "it is inevitable that the LGBT community will use the Human Rights Act and European human rights legislation to force Northern Ireland to bring the law into line with Britain."

Legal proceedings will be set to be tried in Belfast, which was the first city in the UK to host a gay civil union in 2005.

Shannon Sickles and Grainne Close were partnered in a civil ceremony at Belfast City Hall, however under the current laws, they are prevented from being married in there. Speaking about their 2005 ceremony they said;

"People felt proud that Northern Ireland was in the media for something positive, after years and years of negative media coverage all over the world. 

But they added: 

"In order for us to exercise our right to marry, we would have to leave NI. We've made a life for ourselves here in Belfast, and we should have the same rights afforded to us as other citizens and be able to make a choice about marriage for ourselves."

Editor's Note

Unexpected circumstances prevented our publishing on Wednesday & Thursday of this week. We apologise for the inconvenience to our readership and thank all of you for your patience.

Today's Headlines From LGBTQ Nation Magazine

Ten years to the day since Lawrence v. Texas, same-sex marriage reaches the high court

Participants to history: Plaintiffs depart for historic day at Supreme Court

The day in pictures: Observers eager to witness history at Supreme Court

Supreme Court plaza packed on first day of same-sex marriage cases

Prop 8 hearing: U.S. Supreme Court could avoid ruling on gay marriage ban

Listen: U.S. Supreme Court releases audio of Prop 8 hearing

Jon Tester: Another U.S. Senator previously opposed to gay marriage reverses course

Three same-sex couples challenge Utah’s gay marriage ban

Highs and lows as Supreme Court justices take marriage issue on a roller coaster ride

The day in pictures #2: Courtroom participants, observers meet the press

Around The Nation

Utah

Salt Lake City BSA Council Survey Shows 83% Oppose Lifting Ban

SALT LAKE, UT -- The results of a survey published Monday found that eighty-three percent of the Boy Scout leaders, parents and representatives from troops in the Great Salt Lake Council oppose lifting a ban on gay leaders and Scouts.

The survey was sent out via email ahead of the upcoming nationwide vote of all Boy Scout councils by the Boy Scouts of America on May 23 about whether to alter membership rules.

In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Rick Barnes, The Great Salt Lake Council’s Scouting executive said that the survey is designed to not allow respondents to be anonymous. This factor caused University of Utah statistics professor Andrew Jorgenson to note that the survey’s response rate and design are problematic.

The Tribune pointed out that currently the survey has a response rate of 11 percent.

"Methodologically speaking, (11 percent) is an extremely low response rate," Jorgenson said. "It can certainly increase the likelihood that the results are not representative of the broader population they’re trying to survey."

The results show that of 4,600 people who have responded so far, 70 percent say they will be less involved or will quit Scouting if the ban ends. Fourteen percent say they would like to see a change in the policy.

Jorgenson said the survey may not represent the views of the 41,000 leaders and parents queried by the council.

According to Barnes, respondents are being identified by their email address, "to make sure that only those we sent surveys to can reply." Recipients can return their surveys until the end of this week.'

Longtime Scout leader Michael Clara, who is also a Salt Lake School District board member and an active Mormon, did not return the survey. He told the Tribune that Scouts have the right to decide with whom they want to associate.

"I’m willing to support whatever the decision is," said Clara, who was endorsed by Equality Utah, which advocates for gay civil rights. "I support their current position now, but I don’t see how their position is in opposition to gay rights."

He added: "Just because headquarters is having an issue doesn’t mean we’re having an issue on the local level."

Barnes also said that roughly 98 percent of the Great Salt Lake Council’s troops are sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Oregon

Portland High School's Transgender Students Get Unisex Bathroom Option

PORTLAND, OR -- A senior high school in Northeast Portland solved a problem for its Transgender students by  redesignating four former student restrooms and two staff bathrooms as unisex bathrooms. Kristyn Westphal, the Vice-Principal at Grant High School, said that school officials acted after guidance counselors informed them that the school's ten transgender students were uncomfortable with traditional bathrooms.

"We just need to make sure that all students are safe and comfortable here, and that they have their needs met," Westphal told The Oregonian. "If they feel unsafe using the bathroom, that's a problem."

Westphal added that the newly minted unisex bathrooms will be open to all students 

The efforts by the high school- Portland Public Schools' largest- is a first for the district and is an uncommon move nationwide for K-12 schools, as Transgender rights has become a more prevalent issue.

The bathrooms throughout the school were changed to "unisex" in February. For those restrooms containing two bathroom stalls, school personnel installed interior locks to prevent multiple students from using them at the same time.

The conversion cost less than $500, most coming from changing to interior locks.

The Oregonian reported that Grant's Scott Morrison a 17-year-old senior, who was born a female but identifies as a male, said he appreciates the privacy of the new rooms.

Two years ago, Morrison would start his day by picking between a "boy outfit" and "girl outfit" he would lay on his bed. Before long, he was only choosing men's clothes -- and eventually decided to stop identifying as a woman. 

But though Morrison became comfortable with telling friends to call him Scott or use male pronouns, the bathroom was still a place fraught with anxiety and fear. Before long, he stopped drinking water to avoid choosing between using the boys or girls bathrooms. 

He no longer has that problem, he said. "You don't even have to think about it, and that's great," he said. 

Morrison said the new bathrooms are the best fit for him right now, as he undergoes hormone therapy. 

In the girls bathroom, he felt "confronted by gender" as he maneuvered around girls fixing their makeup in front of the mirror. In the boys bathroom, he worried someone would ridicule him or tell him to leave, which happened to him in a public restroom. 

The setup might not be every Transgender person's preference, but for Morrison, "it's a godsend."

Sasha Buchert, communications manager of Basic Rights Oregon, called the change a positive step forward.

"It seems like a really wonderful partnership between student advocates trying to create a safe space for transgender and nonconforming students and the school system to find a solution that will ensure folks can go to school and focus on learning."

Delaware

Delaware NAACP Chapter Supports Same-Sex Marriage

NAACP Delaware chapter head, Richard Smith

WILMINGTON, DE -- In an online video posted by LGBTQ Equality Rights group Equality Delaware last Thursday, the president of the state's chapter of the NAACP, Richard Smith said; “Our gay brothers and sisters should have the freedom to marry the person they love.”

Smith pointed out that the NAACP national board declared its support for same-sex marriage initiatives across the nation in the summer of 2012. In an e-mail to the Delaware On-Line media outlet Smith said,

“Civil marriage equality is a clear cut issue for the NAACP – it’s simply about equal protection under the law. People may have their own personal or religious views on this issue, but that’s not what is at issue here. This is a matter of civil marriage not religious marriage.”

Equality Delaware’s campaign for same-sex marriage in Delaware has revolved around endorsements from individuals and groups across the state.

Lisa Goodman, the group's president said the NAACP endorsement is evidence of an inaccurate portrayal of the black community’s stance on gay rights.

“I think there has been a misconception in certain areas relating to African-American support for marriage equality, which has been created in part or perpetuated in part by those who are against equality,” she said. “What we’ve seen nationally is that the politics of division are not long effective on this issue.”

A new poll released earlier this month shows that a strong majority of Delaware voters want the state’s General Assembly to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.

The poll, commissioned by Equality Delaware, found that voters support marriage equality by a 17-point margin, with 54 percent of voters in favor of extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, compare to 37 percent opposed.

Additionally, 80 percent of respondents said legalizing same-sex marriage would have no effect on their own lives or marriage.

“This poll shows that Delawareans, like a majority of Americans, believe in marriage equality,” said Goodman.

WATCH:

Out of the mouths of the children- truth

By Brody Levesque | WASHINGTON -- Thursday starting at around 5PM, I watched the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee as it commenced a hearing on the two pending pieces of legislation that would grant same-sex couples in the state the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.

In full disclosure, no, I didn't last all the way through till the bitter end some 12 hours later at 5AM and quite frankly, by 10:30PM I was barely interested as the non-stop parade of testifiers opposing the bills had worn me out with the constant tedious droning of negativity, vitriol, and outright lies.

But, earlier, I sat through an amazing bit of testimony, [which you may watch in the video below] by a sixth grade student defending his family.

What 12 year old Matthew Lannon told the assembled Senators including his aunt who was sitting on the dias, State Sen. Donna Nesselbush, had echoes of what another young man proclaimed as he too defended his family a couple years back before the entire Iowa House of Representatives.

"All they want is to be treated fairly. But unlike most of you, they have to come again here year after year and explain over and over why their love is equal to yours." Lannon said. "This year, you have the opportunity to change that. I say, choose love.”

Lannon testified that he has two moms and two dads who have been together for 14 years, telling the lawmakers;

"My parents, and all the other gay and lesbian people here, just want to be happy."

Two years ago, then 19 year old Zach Wahls spoke out against a House measure, which had it been enacted, would have disfranchised same-sex couples in his state.

"Our family really isn't so different from any other Iowa family," said Wahls. "When I am home, we go to church together, we eat dinner, we go on vacations."

Wahls hit a home run in most people's eyes who had later watched the YouTube video of his testimony when he told legislators;

"In my 19 years not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple," he said. "And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character."

Zach and Matthew are the perfect poster children for why marriage equality is needed. Unlike the arguments that I heard over and over again about the biblical reasons to deny same-sex couples their civil rights and full equality, which nearly all were based on the use of the human reproductive organs, [It's all about penises and vagina's with the opposition it seems.] Matthew and Zach eloquently articulate the real reason we need equality, 'love is love.'

I guess what pains me most, is that it is still necessary for kids like Matt, and young men like Zach, to have to worry about something they ought not, and that is the safety of their families, and the need to constantly defend them.

WATCH:

Brody's Journal

What if? Imagine... 

Around The Nation

Michigan

Michigan Legislators Approve Committee a Bill Legalizing Health Care Discrimination

LANSING, MI -- Members of the Michigan Senate Committee on Health Policy held a hearing on and voted in support of Senate Bill 136 Thursday, which provides health care professionals with legal protections should they decide to discriminate against a patient or co-worker based "on religious beliefs, moral convictions, or ethical principles sincerely held by an individual or entity."

The legislation, sponsored by Republican State Senator John Moolenaar would existentially legalise discrimination in Michigan on religious or moral grounds.

Equality Michigan's Director of Policy Emily Dievendorf said in a press release after the vote;

"At a time when our Governor is working to reform and improve healthcare in Michigan, extremists within his own party are choosing to waste our money by doing the opposite and finding ways to keep people from potentially life-saving health care. 

In complete contrast with the Hippocratic Oath, Senator Moolenaar (R - Midland) is suggesting that we empower health professionals to first do harm by using a license to discriminate to turn away a patient based on any arbitrary criteria. 

Denying emergency room care to a Jewish patient care over disagreements on religious text is not what they had in mind when asking professionals to pledge to the Hippocratic Oath. This reprehensible bill must be stopped before it becomes embarrassingly clear that Michigan is a state which prefers hate over compassion."

The measure now heads to the full Senate.

Sacked West Virginia Teacher Denies Allegations She Turned Her Pupils Gay

Kelli Burns, (Right) Interviews with local paper.

By Brody Levesque | HAMLIN, WV -- The Lincoln County Board of Education in Hamlin,WV last Thursday voted to terminate Guyan Valley Middle School teacher Kelli Burns after thirteen contentious hours of hearings and testimony over a three day period of time spanning the past two months. Burns, who is openly lesbian, in an interview told The Lincoln Journal that she was comfortable exposing what she termed the "completely inexcusable trashing” of her sexuality and her "so-called lifestyle” by the school system.

Speaking with LGBTQ Nation Thursday, The Lincoln Journal's Managing Editor, Sean O'Donoghue said that Burns told the paper that the school system and the board’s legal counsel had "stooped low” in allowing "unbelievably spurious and slanderous unsubstantiated statements” about her personally and professionally to be presented as evidence.

"Their actions and words, all of them, will come back to haunt them in one way or another as this whole debacle plays out in the press and courts. This includes those witnesses who, in their testimony against me, stooped so low as to disparage my personal and professional self with libel and slander, with especial attention to criticizing my sexuality and so called lifestyle. 

As well as (board counsel) Rebecca Tinder, who allowed completely low and spurious evidence that I tried to turn students gay and forced them to cross dress, among numerous equally slanderous and utterly untrue statements in her official prosecution of me,” said Burns.

She also voiced her dismay at board members for allowing what she termed an "unbelievable circus” to continue.

The investigation into Burns started January 25, 2013, when she was presented with an initial termination notice which was signed by schools Superintendent Patricia Lucas, who immediately suspended Burns without pay and recommended to the school board that she be fired.

According to the reporting in The Lincoln Journal, the specific grounds for dismissal leveled against Burns were not revealed by Lucas or her central office team per school district policy. School Board members are also precluded from discussing the hearings which were conducted behind closed doors.

During the hearing process, it was also alleged that Burns had shown naked pictures of herself to students using an iPad, an allegation she vehemently denied to the paper.

The story has been a hot topic for discussion with locals in this small mountain town and as an ongoing front page story for The Lincoln Journal newspaper, which itself has come under fire for publishing a comment made to the paper's telephone "Gripes and Gratitudes" line Tuesday referencing the Burns story.

The anonymous caller left a voice-mail message that said:

"We were really glad to hear that School Board is getting rid of them queers. The next thing is we need to get rid of all the niggers, the spics, the kikes and the wops. You know even them Catholics, they are wrong as baby eaters. We need to clear them people out and have good, white, God fearing Christians and everybody else needs to be put to death for their abominations. We'll keep Lincoln County white and right. Thank you."

During Thursday's interview with LGBTQ Nation, the paper's Managing Editor O'Donoghue noted, that in his opinion, the voice-mail left was no different than an unsigned letter to the editor. In context with the comments left on the paper's website and in the various conversations and discussions that are ongoing around town, he felt it appropriate to highlight the comment.

In an op-ed published Thursday, O'Donoghue wrote:

The person who submitted the gripe to our gripe line last week ... [...] Our staff debated whether to publish the gripe this week, given the hatred and bigotry expressed by the caller. The gripe was submitted in response to the ongoing teacher firing story.

[...] The caller also wanted the county to get rid of the Catholics, who he termed "baby eaters.” The usual disconnect between the expressions of hate and the supposed Christianity of the caller was on full display. We decided to publish the gripe to show that such levels of ignorance and intolerance remain in full force in our communities. All readers are entitled to their views on the teacher firing story, and indeed any story that we publish. We feel pity, however, for those who resort to racial slurs to give full voice to their "beliefs” and their "godliness. 

O'Donoghue Interviews Burns -- WATCH:

Story Of Gay Teen Allegedly ‘Stoned To Death’ In Somalia Likely Faked

By Brody Levesque | NAIROBI, KENYA -- Reports from two LGBTQ Equality groups in Eastern Africa alleging that a gay Somalian teenager was stoned to death as a punishment for homosexuality- by members of an Al Qaeda linked Islamic rebel extremist group- may prove to be false.

According to a report published Monday by Identity Kenya, a Somali LGBT equality rights group, Somali Gay Community, in a series of posts on their Facebook page, alleged that the teen, Mohamed Ali Baashi,18, was buried in a hole up to his chest and then killed with rocks thrown at him by members of Al Shabaab on Friday, March 15, in the small village of Barawe, located roughly 50 miles Southwest of the Somalian capital city of Mogadishu. 

The Somalia group said the young man was accused of sodomy and was stoned to death by Islamic rebels while horrified villagers were forced to watch.

In the report according to Identity Kenya, Somali Gay Community claimed that a judge announced that Baashi, along with a man who had been accused of murder, had both confessed to their crimes. The alleged murderer got a more swift punishment, he was shot to death.

"This is their day of justice," the judge, told the hundreds of villagers who had been forced to attend. 

"We investigated, and this man did what Muslims shouldn't do and as a result, he will be stoned to death and the one that killed someone will be shot because homosexuality is more punishable in Islam," the judge is alleged to have said.

Identity Kenya was unable to verify the claims or the alleged stoning and efforts to reach the Somalian group have not been successful.

The Somalian group also posted graphic pictures to accompany the posts which were allegedly of the aftermath of the stoning and a group picture of the Islamic rebel court.

LGBTQ Nation has discovered that the copyrighted pictures were lifted from a series of non-related articles in other publications globally from 2008, 2009, and 2010.

The group's claims were also reported by U. S. LGBT blog sites, Towleroad, Queerty, Joe.My.God along with the Advocate magazine. 

Around The Nation

Pennsylvania

For One Week, Pennsylvania High School Has Gay-Straight Alliance

Chambersburg Area Senior High School

CHAMBERSBURG, PA -- In an attempt to avoid litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU), the Chambersburg School District notified the ACLU Wednesday afternoon that until the March 27 meeting of the school board, a Gay-Straight Alliance Club can gather at the Chambersburg Area Senior High School. The board's notification also indicated that the GSA Club also can enjoy every benefit of a school club until the board meets to vote on the issue.

Vic Walczak, the ACLU's Pennsylvania legal director, said that had the school district had not acted before the deadline, the ACLU would have been headed to U. S. District Court to file a lawsuit next week. Walczak told the local paper that he believes the case is nearly a certainty.

"We've never had to go to court on this issue," said Walczak. "We went back and pulled records on the issue. Since 2009, Chambersburg would be the fourth district we have had to send a letter to. All three settled before court." 

Walczak added that while a fight over a GSA has never entered the courts in Pennsylvania, he noted that nine court cases nationwide backed the ACLU's position. He cited the three Pennsylvania districts that had required a letter before school board members relented and allowed a club: Waynesboro Area School District in 2009, Brownsville Area School District in Fayette County in 2012, and Hermitage School District in Mercer County in 2009. 

According to the Public Opinion newspaper, the American Family Association's Pennsylvania Chapter says it's not that simple.

"We believe strongly the school board made the right decision at the end of last month," said Diane Gramley, AFA Pennsylvania director. "We believe the ACLU is using some tactics along with Equality Pa. to force the school board to change their mind on the issue."

She noted a seldom-used portion of the federal Equal Access Act of 1984 - the law the ACLU says the school board violated when it denied the Gay-Straight Alliance club. The Equal Access Act guarantees equal opportunity and treatment for all non-curricular, student-led clubs. 

"(The Equal Access Act) also has the portion about not approving a GSA," said Gramley. "If you look at the Equal Access Act, it was first instituted to allow good news [christian] clubs to participate in schools." 

Gramley said that the school board could abolish every single club - the school has around 30 - to remove the need for equal access adding that the school board didn't have to approve the club and could require parental signatures for all clubs at the school.

"Other states have done this - school boards have passed policies which would require parental consent for student participation in any club," Gramley said.

The ACLU's legal director questioned the veracity of Gramley's suggestion regarding requiring parental consent;

"Is there something wrong with this club that someone would need to have a note signed," said Walczak. "If they want to pick a fight they can do that."

New Jersey

NJ Governor Christie Undecided On Legislation To Ban Ex-Gay Therapy

NJ Governor Chris Christie, (R) * File Photo

STONE HARBOR, NJ -- Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie said that he's undecided on whether the state should ban the controversial use of "gay conversion therapy." Christie told reporters that he only knows little about the method.

"I'm of two minds just on this stuff in general," he said."Number one, I think there should be lots of deference given to parents on raising their children. I don't — this is a general philosophy, not to his bill — generally philosophically, on bills that restrict parents ability to make decisions on how to care for their children, I'm generally a skeptic of those bills. Now, there can always be exceptions to those rules and this bill may be one of them."

The governor said he had yet to look at the bill and as is his custom, won't review the legislation until the final version hits his desk after passage by the state's lawmakers.

Last year, the California state legislature passed a similar bill that was signed into law in September by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Following months of legal maneuvers by both supporters and opponents, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an emergency order last month putting the California law on hold until it can hear full arguments on the issue.The law was set to take effect Jan. 1.

After a hearing in Trenton on Monday, the Senate’s health committee approved a bill that would ban licensed counselors from using “conversion therapy” on gays. Supporters called the practice damaging and demoralizing, while bill opponents accused state lawmakers of interfering with the counselor-patient relationship and intruding on parents' rights.

Reporters also asked the governor about Ohio Sen. Rob Portman's decision this past week to support same-sex marriage after his son revealed to him he is gay. While he still opposes same-sex marriage, Christie praised Portman, a fellow Republican;

"But as far as how it affects my view, no," Christie said, "because that question implies that somehow this is a political judgment and for me it's not."

Around The Nation

Florida

Florida Appeals Court Upholds Ruling That Sending Threats Via Facebook Constitutes Crime

1st District Court Of Appeals, Tallahassee, Florida

TALLAHASSEE, FL -- A Florida Appellate Court has upheld a lower court's ruling that sending threats via Facebook can be criminally prosecuted under state law. The 1st District Court of Appeal upheld a Duval County circuit judge's refusal to dismiss a case against defendant Timothy Ryan O'Leary, who posted a Facebook status threatening a relative and her same sex partner in 2011.

In court documents describing the case, O'Leary had posted a Facebook status on his personal page that identified the relative and her partner by name and stated:

“FUCK my [relative] for choosin (sic) to be a lesbian and fuck [the partner] cuz you’re an ugly ass bitch . . . if you ever talk to me like you got a set of nuts between your legs again . . . I’m gonna fuck you up and bury your bitch ass. U wanna act like a man. I’ll tear the concrete up with your face and drag you back to your doorstep. U better watch how the fuck you talk to people. You were born a woman and you better stay one.”

In a unanimous ruling, the three-judge panel found that the threatening statements posted by O’Leary could be considered “sending” for the purposes of the law. [A Florida Statue specifies that sending such communication(s) to any person “containing a threat to kill or to do bodily injury to the person to whom such letter or communication is sent,” or a family member of the person, constitute a second degree felony.]

The relative addressed in the statement did not see the post on O’Leary’s site but found out about it from O’Leary’s cousin Michael O’Leary. O’Leary had argued that he had not violated the statute because the threats in question were only posted on his personal page, not “sent” directly to his relative.

In its ruling the Appellate Court disagreed ruling that “by posting his threats directed to his family member and her partner on his Facebook page, it is reasonable to presume that appellant wished to communicate that information to all of his Facebook friends."

The court added, "Had the appellant desired to put his thoughts into writing for his own personal contemplation, he could simply have recorded them in a private journal, diary or any other medium that is not accessible by other people. Thus, by the affirmative act of posting the threats on Facebook, even though it was on his own personal page, appellant ‘sent’ the threatening statements to all of his Facebook friends, including Michael.” [O'Leary v. State of Florida, 1D12-0975.]

Legal analysts see this as a landmark ruling that will set precedent for future cases in the state.

Kansas

Anti-Gay Westboro Baptist Church Gets A Lesson In Pride

Courtesy of Equality House

TOPEKA, KS, -- A progressive nonprofit organization's co-founders told LGBTQ Nation Tuesday that a Google Earth search led him to buying a house last December directly across the street from vehemently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.

Today, the house got a new paint job- the brightly coloured stripes of the rainbow flag, symbol of the LGBT equality movement.

Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, an organisation founded in 2004 to facilitate charitable programs for the environment with special emphasis on rain forests along with a multi-nation deworming program, said that curiosity about the church one day led him to seek out more information.

Jackson found the church on Google Earth's streetview and "as I walked down the street, I saw a for sale sign on a house across the street." Jackson said that the house he saw on Google had been sold when he called the number on the sign but when he reached out to another Topeka realty company, it turned out that there was another house down the same block that was directly across from the church so he bought it. 

Jackson told LGBTQ Nation that his non-profit had settled on naming the home "Equality House," and that he and his organisation are launching a new campaign to counter his new neighbor's protests and anti-gay vitriol.

"Planting Peace's mission is to spread peace. We have orphanages, medical programs and a rain forest conservation program all over the world," Jackson said adding, "Our goal with this is to raise awareness, stand up to bigotry, and promote equality." 

All the funds we raise form this project will be used to create and sustain anti-bullying programs. 

An estimated 4,000 kids commit suicide each year because they hear a message that they are "less than".  It is our goal to help change that message. We thought no better place to start that message than countering the message of the Westboro Baptist Church."

When asked about the decision to paint the flag on the side of the house, Jackson said he had that intention from the beginning but it wasn't until recently the weather cooperated. 

"Look, I always was very interested in equality and activism for gay people, and the kids killing themselves with some of it influenced by their [Westboro's Protests] actions, it made sense. I've wanted to do something, and I knew when I saw that house for sale that it all came together."

Jackson said that he's already "met the neighbors" who have been very friendly thus far and as the painted flag took shape Tuesday, came over from their compound directly across the street to take pictures. He noted that a few minutes before the phone interview with LGBTQ Nation Tuesday afternoon, Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro founder Fred Phelps, had been out front with her camera taking pictures of the Equality House's new paint job.

Jackson says he and his colleagues at Planting Peace are creating a a drop-in center at the house designed to support LGBTQ anti-bullying efforts. He said that the organisation has created a CrowdRise page, which as already raised over $10K with the ultimate goal of raising more than a million dollars to support equality efforts.

"We want this house to be a message that where there's hate, there's also love. But we also want to raise awareness and capital, and we want to put all that money into creating and sustaining anti-bullying programs, along with supporting anti-bullying programs that already exist," he said. 

"Beyond the symbolic message of the home, it will be utilized by volunteers to live here, and these volunteers will work on promoting equality anywhere in the world and managing these anti-bullying initiatives that we plan on creating."