NewsWrap for the week ending January 10, 2015

SUMMARY

Kicked in the Apathy - At least four patrons are injured as several thugs invade a popular Russian gay nightclub, sending at least one club-goer to the hospital with critical injuries, as a Human Rights Watch report details the dramatic increase in homophobic violence since the 2013 passage of the country’s “no promo homo” law (with comments by HRW’s Russian researcher Tanya Cooper) …

No U Turn - a new Russian law bans transgender individuals from getting driver’s licenses because “mentally ill” people are more likely to be involved in serious auto accidents …

Welcoming Gesture - Vietnam repeals a ban on same-gender wedding ceremonies, although they still won’t be legally recognized, as Asia’s first out U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius takes his new post in Hanoi …

Marriage Stateside - the first conference of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 ends on January 9th with no marriage equality cases announced; the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas marriage cases, and SCOTUS decline's Louisiana District's appeal; lesbian and gay couples begin tying the knot in Florida …

Mammas Mia! - an Italian court makes history by legally recognizing a child born to a bi-national lesbian couple …

Backdown on Crackdown? - 26 men arrested during the police raid of a Cairo bathhouse go on trial -- then unexpectedly acquited (with comments by veteran global rights activist Scott Long about escalating anti-gay repression in Egypt) …

Queering the Kirk - the Church of Scotland edges closer to approving the ordination of openly gay ministers …

Going My Way - parishioners give Dublin Roman Catholic priest Martin Dolan a standing ovation for coming out ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text … download the podcast … or listen on Stitcher!

Queered Theology & Crazy-Making Lesbians

Week of August 11, 2014
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A homophobic trio (Rick Scarborough, Linda Harvey, and Rick Wiles) trumpets queer-caused crises --- but we slam them with trans-poet J. Mase III’s queer theology.

Author Amber Ault gives Sande Janagold a classic Sapphic warning: Leave the U-Haul behind! They discuss her book, The Wise Lesbian Guide to Getting Free from Crazy-Making Relationships and Getting on With Your Life.

And in NewsWrap: Ugandan lawmakers look to resurrect Anti-Homosexuality Law," rainbow cycles spin Pride around Hanoi, U.S. appeals court hears marriage equality 4-some, "homo promo" game not in the cards for Russian kids, and more news reported this week by Wenzel Jones and Gary Shaw (produced by Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending August 9, 2014

SUMMARY

Zombie Resurrection - Ugandan lawmakers race to reinstate the Anti-Homosexuality Law after it was overturned on a technicality by the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General appeals the ruling to the country's Supreme Court, and the government hires a high-priced D.C. public relations firm to improve its image …

And Yet Still Proud - about a hundred courageous Ugandan LGBT activists celebrate Pride on a beach in Entebbe …

Rainbow Spokespeople - a record-breaking Vietnamese crowd bicycles and motor scooters with Pride as part of Hanoi's third annual celebration …

Solemn Sails - two boats honor the AIDS activists and researchers lost in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight #17 about 15 minutes prior to the kick-off of the otherwise festive-as-usual Pride flotilla along the canals of Amsterdam …

Port in a Storm - several African delegates to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne reportedly seek asylum in Australia …

Menage a Quatre - a third U.S. federal appeals court hears six marriage equality cases from four states …

Hurricane Watch - four county clerks in Florida declare that state's ban on civil marriage for same-gender couples unconstitutional – but Attorney General Pam Bondi makes sure none can marry just yet …

Playing With Fire - the creators of a Russian "Truth Or Dare" card game are fined for the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations to minors," while a toy pencil sharpener salutes President Vladimir Putin from the rear ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... download the podcast … or listen on Stitcher!

NewsWrap for the week ending November 2, 2013

SUMMARY

Taipei Tipping Point - A marriage equality bill is introduced in Taiwan's legislature the day after more than 50,000 parade with Pride in Taipei …

Rings and Rainbows - hundreds demonstrate for marriage rights in Hanoi …

Experts Notwithstanding - a marriage equality proposal fails for the second time in the Australian state of Tasmania …

Who Do They Say That I Am? - the Vatican distributes an unprecedented worldwide survey asking for input from local Roman Catholic parishes about such contentious social issues as abortion, divorce, and marriage equality …

Cold Shoulder - Thomas Bach, the new head of the International Olympic Committee, refuses to meet with LGBT advocates during his visit to the Russian site of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi …

A League of Their Own - a group of Russian activists is planning a major sporting event in Moscow right after the Sochi Olympics that will be open to people of all sexual orientations …

He Blinded Me With Junk Science - discredited homophobic American psychologist Paul Cameron gives "expert" testimony before the Russian parliament claiming that one in three gay men has sex with children or wants to …

Open the Flood Gates - former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who oversaw the dismantling of Don't Ask Don't Tell, is tapped to lead the soon-to-be partially-gay-welcoming Boy Scouts of America ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted November 5, 2013.

NewsWrap for the week ending August 10, 2013

SUMMARY

Felicitaciones y los Mejores Deseos! - Uruguay begins offering marriage licenses to same-gender couples, becoming the second country in South America with such equality nationwide …

Penn's Spirit - Pennsylvania's Montgomery County defies the U.S. state's heterosexuals-only marriage law …

Even in Vietnam and Uganda - LGBT Pride celebrates its second birthday in both Hanoi and Entebbe …

Brakes on Bigotry - a "no promo homo" law is proposed and then quickly withdrawn in Armenia, while Lithuanian officials reject holding a referendum on such a law there …

Payback is a ... -  Putin's Russia continues to suffer economic and political backlash against government promises to enforce its law banning "gay propaganda" among native and foreign athletes and spectators alike when it hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi …

Välkomna! - Pride in Stockholm puts out the welcome mat for beleaguered celebrants from Russia …

Float You, Vladimir! - more than a half-million watch Amsterdam float its condemnation of Putin and support for a homophobia-free sports world …

Marching to the Russian Front - a pair of Canadian Olympians march in support of diversity in the 35th annual Pride parade in Vancouver, British Columbia ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Collins v. Closet & Teacher v. Diocese

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NBA player Jason Collins' "outing" wins championship coverage from ABC's George Stephanapolous and ersatz Comedy Central commentator Stephen Colbert, who laments the growing acceptance of "out" LGBT people in professional sports.

Fired lesbian Roman Catholic high school educator Carla Hale aims to teach her diocese a lesson (Free Speech Radio News reporter Evan Davis has the story of Columbus, Ohio).

And in NewsWrap: two more Brazilian states declare marital parity, Northern Ireland lawmakers quash marriage equality bill, Samoa decriminalizes "third gender," "Best Gay Friends" a hit in Vietnam, world's first elected "out" head of state retires, and more news reported by Rick Watts and Michelle-Marie Gilkeson (produced by Steve Pride).

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NewsWrap for the week ending May 4, 2013

SUMMARY

Lindo Maravilhoso! - Santa Catarina and Paraiba become the thirteenth and fourteenth states in Brazil to open civil marriage to lesbian and gay couples …

Not So Lucky - lawmakers in Northern Ireland reject a marriage equality proposal for the second time …

Jesus Wept - Cook Islands P.M. Henry Puna says his self-governing nation's "Christian values" prevent opening civil marriage to same-gender couples there …

Three's Company - a new penal code that took effect on May 1st in Samoa literally legalizes the lives of the fa'afafine, a third gender culture native to that island nation …

Lotus Flowers - LGBT rights appear to be blossoming in Vietnam, with government officials signaling that marriage equality may be on the horizon, and Youtube sensation "My Best Gay Friends," the nation's first gay sitcom, surpassing a million views (and counting) …

A Color A Day - about 12,000 people kick off "Tokyo Rainbow Week" with a parade through the capital city's upscale Harajuku shopping district …

Leave No Spaces Blank - the Supreme Court of the U.S. state of Iowa, which ordered marriage equality in 2009, unanimously rules that married same-gender couples can have both parents listed on the birth certificates of their newborn children …

Embargo Lifted - the U.S. State Department reverses itself and grants a visa to Cuban President Raul Castro's daughter Mariela to travel to Philadelphia to accept an LGBT "ally" award …

Bless Bless - the first open gay or lesbian to lead a national government, Iceland's now former Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, officially retires from politics after what she calls a "long and eventful" career ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

This week - Farewell Vidal & Bornstein's Trans-gressions

Now playing on This Way Out ...

Farewell Vidal & Bornstein's Trans-gressions

Author-essayist-playwright Gore Vidal gives a final history lesson from his own life, including reflections on his friendships with James Baldwin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and his decades-long relationship with significant other Howard Austen (excerpted from a May 2008 interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!).

Think of Kate Bornstein as "a work in transgress" -- she and correspondent Dixie Treichel discuss the original Gender Outlaw's ongoing transitions as revealed in her award-winning writings (including her new memoir, A Queer and Pleasant Danger.

And in NewsWrap: Vietnam considers the reality of equality, Jerusalem Pride takes back the street, U.S. low-prioritizes same-gender partner deportations, Connecticut case hastens "DOMA's" demise, hate groups get more than chicken feed from poultry politics, and more news reported by Jenn Mahoney and Rick Watts (produced by Wenzel Jones and Steve Pride).

To listen to the world's only syndicated weekly LGBT radio program, subscribe to our podcast at http://www.thiswayout.org ...

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Support Keep "This Way Out" on the Air ...

Stay in touch with our blog ...

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NewsWrap for the week ending August 4, 2012

SUMMARY

Revolutionary Vanguard - Vietnam's Justice Minister issues a surprising same-gender marriage proposal, while LGBT activists celebrate the Asian nation's first-ever Pride festival …

Take Back the Street - Jerusalem's 10th annual Pride marchers return to their route without the confrontations along the way as in past years with homophobic religious extremists …

Look the Other Way - the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announces new policies that will make deporting the foreign same-gender spouses of American citizens a "low priority" …

Hastening DOMA's Date with Destiny - a federal district court in Connecticut becomes the latest to declare the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, and backers of California's marriage equality-banning Proposition 8, judged to be unconstitutional by a federal appeals court, request a final verdict from the U.S. Supreme Court …

Trained Response - the U.S. national rail system promotes its "kids ride for half-off" offer to same-gender couple-headed families (AmtrakRideWithPride.com) …

Political Chicken Feed Not Paltry - P-FLAG – Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – disputes the common media wisdom that the controversy over the Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant chain and its anti-gay rightwing Christian president Dan Cathy is simply about religious freedom and free speech ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted August 7th.