Carolina Consequences!

The conflict around North Carolina’s anti-LGBT HB2 cranks up as civil disobedience protestors converge on the state capitol and President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Pat McCrory, and comedians Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert speak out.

And in NewsWrap: marriage equality becomes reality in Colombia, same-gender couples march down two island aisles, Australian P.M. Turnbull predicts marriage plebiscite triumph, Egypt imprisons another 11 gay men for "debauchery,” jihadists hack two Bangladeshi activists to death, Tennessee lawmakers give therapists a license to discriminate, the Salt Lake City Council comes out for Harvey Milk, and more international LGBT news reported this week by John Dyer V and Wenzel Jones (produced by Steve Pride, written by Greg Gordon).

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This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org.

NewsWrap for the week ending June 13, 2015

SUMMARY

Against the Grain - Germany’s upper house of parliament defies Chancellor Angela Merkel by passing a marriage and adoptions equality resolution …

Ireland Reverberates - civil unions bills for same-gender couples advance in Italy and Greece …

Safe Zone - an Arkansas judge upholds the validity of the marriages of some 500 gay and lesbian couples who wed before a federal court ruling overturning the state’s ban was appealed …

Last Chapter of Anita - Florida lawmakers finally repeal a decades-old ban on fostering and adoption by lesbians and gay men …

Declare Yourself - Colombia no longer requires trans people to undergo invasive medical exams before changing their gender on official documents …

Marching On - Pride parades in Nicosia -- without disruption this year -- and in Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo …

Spells and Misspells - Dumbledore and Gandalf get fantasy-married in Topeka, Kansas across the street from the hideously homophobic Westboro Baptist Church, whose cult members are still reeling from accidentally damning the Ivory Coast in a protest of Ireland’s marriage equality landslide …

Read the complete NewsWrap text here.

NewsWrap for the week ending February 21, 2015

SUMMARY

Long Betrothal - Finland's president signs a marriage equality bill into law that won't take effect until 2017   

A Day in May - Ireland's Prime Minister sets the date for the national marriage equality referendum for May 22nd …

Moore Arguments - some Alabama probate judges are still refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-gender couples …

Breaking With Convention - a second Tokyo district hints at offering partnership certificates to lesbian and gay pairs, and Japan's Prime Minister tells parliament that the constitution doesn't permit marriage equality …

Yours, Mine, But Not Theirs - Colombia's highest court allows same-gender couples to adopt their partner's biological offspring, but refuses to open adoption to lesbian and gay couples more generally …

Time Warped - two men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana are arrested for "crimes against nature," even though the U.S. Supreme Court declared such laws unconstitutional in 2003 …

First, A Pig Flies - a Wyoming Republican is ejected from a state House committee for trying to amend an LGBT anti-bias bill with an effective date of "when hell freezes over" …

Notrump Ruling - a Washington state judge rules that religious belief does not give a business open to the public a license to discriminate against gays and lesbians …

Bouncing Baby Bias - after "much prayer," a Detroit, Michigan pediatrician refuses to treat the 6-day-old baby daughter of a lesbian couple  ….

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Ambush at the 7th Circuit

Week of September 1, 2014
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7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Richard Posner, Ann Claire Williams and David Hamilton scoff at Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher's "bad breeder behavior"-based inequality arguments, as attorneys Camilla Taylor and Kenneth Falk represented the plaintiffs. Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner and Freedom To Marry's Evan Wolfson comment on the hearing.

And in NewsWrap: Ecuador engages civil unions; Utah's marriage case climbs the Supreme Court ladder; Switzerland, Italy and Colombia each adopt rights for same-gender parents; Berlin's out mayor opts out; lipstick lesbians wear beauty queen crowns in Spain and Ireland; more news reported this week by Wenzel Jones and Carole Meyers (produced by Steve Pride).

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This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

NewsWrap for the week ending August 30, 2014

SUMMARY

Engaged - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa announces the advent of civil unions for lesbian and gay couples …

Stairway to SCOTUS - equality-seeking plaintiffs in the challenge to Utah's ban on civil marriage for same-gender couples join state Attorney General Sean Reyes in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case …

Blaming Breeders' Bad Behavior - a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing challenges to Indiana's and Wisconsin's bans batters state lawyers with logic …

Moms, Dads and the Kids - coupled same-gender parents win adoption rights in Switzerland, Italy and Colombia …

Poor But Sexy, So Long! - Berlin, Germany's long-serving out Mayor Klaus Wowereit announces that he'll step down in December …

Ultimate Lipstick Lesbian - two-time Miss Universe entry from Spain Patricia Yurena Rodríguez comes out on Instagram …

Will Irish Eyes Be Squinting? - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Maria Walsh, the reigning Rose of Tralee, "a global celebration of Irish culture," comes out in an interview with the "Irish Sun" – which could make things a bit sticky for New York City's Ancient Order of Hibernians ….

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Hillary's Choices

Week of June 23, 2014

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Former US Secretary of State (and generally presumed future presidential candidate) Hillary Rodham Clinton expounds on international transgender rights and engages in a heated marriage equality debate that creates a continuing firestorm regarding her commitment to the cause.

Jon Stewart's The Daily Show "cures" the Texas Republican revival of "reparative therapy."

And in NewsWrap: Luxembourg jumps the broom, thousands promote pink families in Hong Kong, but there's little passion for marriage inequality in the U.S., Ugandan activists get last-minute visas for Toronto World Pride, the Obama administration hits the marriage recognition wall, pro-equality President Juan Manuel Santos is reelected in Colombia and more news reported this week by Christopher Gaal and Natalie Peoples (produced by Steve Pride).

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This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

NewsWrap for the week ending June 21, 2014

SUMMARY

Take It To the Bank - Luxembourg lawmakers overwhelmingly approve civil marriage and adoption rights for lesbian and gay couples …

Stomping Grapes - Italian Senate is slated to debate a civil unions bill in September …

Thy Will Be Done - the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) blesses same-gender marriages …

Family Faire - Hong Kong doesn't like gay and lesbian couples tying the knot at the British consulate, even as thousands create a Pink Dot for Pride in the city's Tamar Park …

Not So Much - barely 2,000 homophobes rail against equality at the much-ballyhooed National Organization for Marriage rally in Washington, D.C. …

Second Thought Welcome - Canadian Immigration reverses itself and grants visas to several LGBT Ugandan activists to attend the World Pride 2014 Human Rights Conference in Toronto …

Up Against the Wall - the Obama administration has apparently gone as far as it can go in extending federal spousal benefits to married same-gender couples, leaving it up to Congress and/or the Supreme Court to finish the job …

Salud! - being in favor of marriage equality doesn't hurt the re-election bid of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos ….

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ENDA Encore & Blog This Way

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The effort to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act returns to the U.S. Congress as a committee hearing led by Senator Tom Harkins takes on the bill -- and the activists like Heather Cronk of GetEQUAL, and Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality -- that won't go away. (Alice Ollstein  of Free Speech Radio News reports from Washington.)

Paul Vitagliano's blog and book were both Born This Way, and he tells Angela Brooks how you can still participate in the project.

Conan O'Brien heals Pat Robertson's Facebook tummy ache.

And in NewsWrap: Colombian judge says yes to gay couple's marriage proposal, Kolkata Pride walkers question normalcy, Tel Aviv massacre redefined as hate crime, and more news reported by Wenzel Jones and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending July 15, 2013

SUMMARY

Cracking the Wall - A civil court judge in Bogota is set to preside over the first marriage of a same-gender couple in Colombia…

Toothpaste Leaving Tube - three same-gender couples are suing for the right to wed in Costa Rica after lawmakers "accidentally" approved marriage equality legislation on July 1st …

Barn Door Won't Close - riding the wave of the U.S. Supreme Court's DOMA and Prop 8 rulings, lawsuits filed this week push for marriage equality in three more states – Illinois, Pennsylvania and North Carolina – while a legal demand for marriage equality is being planned in Virginia …

Sexual Diversity Yes, Violence No - an estimated 1500 LGBT people and their supporters participate in the 12th annual Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk in India …

One For Our Side - a regional court in Russia declares that the rough arrests of some 60 people trying to rally for LGBT Pride in St. Petersburg on June 29th violated their right to freedom of assembly …

Irrational Motive - Israeli authorities charge an apparent religious fanatic with murder and attempted murder as hate crimes in the 2009 shooting rampage at a weekly youth group meeting at Tel Aviv's LGBT Center that left two dead and 11 injured …

Frightening Conclusion - new research suggests that homophobia may be at least partially rooted in a fear of unwanted same-gender sexual advances …

No Accounting For Taste - global accounting giant Ernst & Young didn't realize that their new "E-Y" brand is the same name as a Spanish magazine catering to gay men that features plenty of young guys posing in their underwear ....

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NewsWrap for the week ending April 27, 2013

SUMMARY

14 and Counting -  French lawmakers give final approval to a marriage and adoptions equality bill, but not without violent protests and assaults on police and gay people by its opponents …

Not the Last Word - the overwhelming rejection by Colombian lawmakers of a marriage equality proposal defies a Constitutional Court order …

Hope Fulfilled - Rhode Island has all but officially become the 10th U.S. state to open civil marriage to same-gender couples …

First State Not Far Behind - a marriage equality measure passes in the Delaware House and heads to the state Senate, where activists predict passage …

DOMAster Diving - the Nevada Senate becomes the first legislative chamber in the U.S. to overturn a constitutional amendment defining marriage as exclusively heterosexual, as Senator Kelvin Atkinson of North Las Vegas comes out during floor debate …

Foul Blocking - the U.S. State Department denies permission to leading Cuban LGBT rights advocate Mariela Castro to accept an "ally" award at a civil rights summit in Philadelphia …

Singapore Sodomy Strategy - Singapore gay couple Gary Lim and Kenneth Chee announce their challenge in the Court of Appeal, the highest judicial body in the land, of an April High Court ruling upholding the city-state's sodomy law …

Magic Moment Muddied - Mongolian lawmakers discuss LGBT rights for the first time ever, but some of their comments suggest a long learning curve to liberation …

Reactionary and Proud - San Francisco Pride honors whistle-blowing gay U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, then it doesn't ….

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Queer in Kyrgyzstan & Matt Fishel

"Sapphic Nomads" Katie Cook and Maggie Young's latest "audio postcard" comes from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where tradition fights liberation.

LGBT music expert JD Doyle features British singer/songwriter Matt Fishel's debut gay political power pop album, Not Thinking Straight, featuring his "radio friendly" hit.

And in NewsWrap: France and Uruguay both on the cusp of marriage equality; controversial clash derails debate on marriage proposal in Colombia; Zambian activist arrested for demanding decriminalization; Singapore, Montana and Virginia each confront sodomy laws; "wizardly tribute" to the "Iron Lady" makes news in Britain, and more news reported by Tanya Kane-Parry and Michael LeBeau (produced by Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending April 13, 2013

SUMMARY

Edge of Our Seats - Legislators in France and Uruguay each push marriage and adoptions equality to the brink of reality …

Who Started It? - Colombia's Senate President blames "disruptive" LGBT people for indefinitely postponing a marriage equality bill there …

Profile in Courage - brave Zambian gay activist Paul Kasonkomona is jailed for "inciting the public to take part in indecent activities" …

Taking the Loh Road - Singapore High Court Justice Quentin Loh upholds the city-state's sodomy law …

Grizzly Come Lately - lawmakers in the U.S. state of Montana repeal sodomy law …

That Vaginal Probe Homophobe, Again - Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli loses a federal appeals court bid to keep the sodomy law on the books in his state …

Really Most Sincerely Dead - less-than-fans of recently deceased former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher boost a "tribute song" (of sorts) from a 1939 MGM movie starring one of history's most enduring gay icons onto BBC Radio 1's Top 40 Music Chart ….

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NewsWrap for the week ending April 6, 2013

SUMMARY

No Stopping It Now - Uruguay appears to be a few months away from being the latest country to open civil marriage to lesbian and gay couples …

Blocked Border Crossing - a judge in Paraguay refuses to register a gay couple's legal Argentine marriage …

Coming Attraction - the Colombian Senate is reportedly scheduled to debate a marriage equality bill in the coming week …

Family Friendly - the French Senate begins debate on a marriage equality measure that also includes adoption rights …

Local Control - the city of Bisbee, Arizona prepares to fight the state over its civil unions ordinance …

Cures AIDS, Sees Devil - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh once again almost literally tells gays and lesbians to drop dead …

Rough Cuts - a government office in Nepal is apparently bent on destroying the country's pioneering 12-year-old LGBT Blue Diamond Society …

Once More Unto the Breach - activists in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, plan a ban-defying Pride event …

Goal! - a Brazilian import charges fans of his adopted St. Petersburg football team with racism and homophobia …

Suffer the Little Children - St. Petersburg "hometown boy" and President Vladimir Putin calls for a ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by foreign same-gender couples …

Friendly Persuasion - a critique from above proudly waves during his visit to Amsterdam to participate in the Netherlands-Russia 2013 Year of Friendship ….

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NewsWrap for the week ending May 26, 2012

SUMMARY

Father's Day - Colombia's Constitutional Court approves the adoption of two young brothers by a single openly gay American man in what equality activists describe as a landmark ruling …

Don't Laugh at Us, Argentina - Buenos Aires opens legal Argentinean marriage to gay and lesbian tourists …

Third Strike - yet another U.S. federal appeals court rules the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, unconstitutional …

I've Been to a Marvelous Party - New York City Council President and leading post-Bloomberg mayoral candidate Christine Quinn marries her longtime partner in what reports call "one of the biggest social gatherings of political elites in recent memory" …

Is It Enough? - New Jersey Superior Court judge controversially sentences Dharun Ravi, whose webcam spying drove his gay Rutgers University dorm roommate Tyler Clementi to commit suicide, to 30 days in jail, probation, a fine, and community service …

We'll Be Back - violent assault on one of its organizers follows the announced cancellation of Kiev's first LGBT Pride march due to threats of violent opposition …

Yellow Brick Road - San Diego, California thoroughfare is officially renamed Harvey Milk Street on what would have been the pioneering gay human rights activist's 82nd birthday …

Not With a Bang - multi-award-winning actor Jim Parsons, best known as "Sheldon Cooper" on the CBS-TV sitcom The Big Bang Theory, quietly comes out …

Freedom in Flight - first "out" graduates at any U.S. military college since the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell get their diplomas at the Air Force Academy ….

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