TYROL, Austria – Chretien van der Leest and Edwin Veldt are Dutch citizens living in Tyrol, Austria where they run holiday homes. When the Netherlands legalized marriage for same-sex couples in 2001, the couple married. However in Austria, based on a decree by the Austrian minister of the interior van der Leest and Veldt’s marriage…
WASHINGTON – Today Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has announced that the Department of Defense will be extending additional benefits to same-sex partners of servicemembers. Panetta also stated that while the Defense of Marriage Act still remains law the Department faced legal limitations in regard to extending full benefits. Panetta’s statement follows: “Seventeen months ago, the…
Unless Congress acts by March 1, a series of automatic cuts—called a sequester—that threaten thousands of jobs and the economic security of the middle class will take effect. There is no question that we need to cut the deficit, but the president believes it should be done in a balanced way that protects investments that…
WASHINGTON – Everett Dwayne Avery, 26, of Detroit, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara after pleading guilty to committing a hate crime by assaulting a man because the man was gay. Avery was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The assault…
What could be better than a cookie? Not much, right? Well, to my lesbian friends and my more outrageous gay brothers I offer you this: The Palm Springs Fine Art Fair begins next week and it aims to enchant fairgoers on its Valentine’s opening night preview with an art installation inspired by the work of…
MOVIE REVIEW Warm Bodies Written and Directed by Jonathan Levine Starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich Rated PG-13 At your local multiplex This winter, two of my students are writing research papers on why zombies are such a popular topic in media culture. And what they’ve taught me is that, while horror trends…
thursday, feb. 7 The Bluest Eye The Bluest Eye tells the story of one year in the life of a young black girl in 1940s Ohio. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and schoolmates. Left to fend for herself, she blames her dark skin and prays for blue…
The lady in the picture was wearing the biggest scowl you’d ever seen. The photo was taken long ago and it made you wonder what happened that day to make her so snarly. Was there a death, lost crops, an accident, bad weather, or did the photographer make her angry? You’ll never know but you…
Well, I’ll be off to Seattle next week, then San Francisco and Oklahoma. I recently spoke at a women’s conference and Texas activists and fundraisers from throughout the Midwest in Houston. But I’m here in San Diego this weekend … hooray … as I’ve gotten to hate flying. Last week, District 4 openly gay City…
dvd of the week Stephen Chbosky adapted his own novel for the screen and made a movie even more acclaimed and beloved than his book, which is a tall order. In Pittsburgh in the 1980s, Charlie (Logan Lerman) is a depressive outcast who befriends and is befriended by his high school’s one gay student Patrick…
