Right to Marry: Lesbian activist to walk 96 miles to encourage dialogue about same-sex marriage in Arizona...
Peace in the Pines: Vigil held June 29 in response to hate crime during Pride festivities...
Charges Filed: Alleged perpetrator of hate crime in Flagstaff charged with felony...
Thank You For Being a Friend: Community leaders remember Arizona GLBT pioneer Carol Mueller...
Crime Time: Phoenix police caution GLBT community about increased hate crimes that may occur because of the November marriage amendment...
Go Storm!: Phoenix rugby team visits Dublin for the Bingham Cup...
On the Air: Equality Arizona Radio celebrates first anniversary...
All of Us: QSpeak youth embark on Valley GLBT community history project...

Buffalo Area Gay Vet Fights To Change “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”

Chautauqua County, N.Y — A western New York native who served his country in Iraq has been kicked out of the Army because of his sexuality. Darren Manzella now says his new mission is protecting the rights of homosexuals in the military.

The former sergeant and army medic told his commander in 2006 he was gay. In June he was officially discharged.

The 30-year-old Chautauqua County native says it wasn't until his appearance in December of 2007 on CBS's 60 Minutes that the army took action. By March of this year, he says the Army sent him a letter informing him that he was being recommended for discharge because he violated "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

"The people that enforce this policy are an older generation from when homosexuality was banned all together,” Manzella said. “There was no ‘Don't Ask Don't Tell,’ there was just no tolerance for that."

Manzella continues his fight to repeal the rule. He currently lives in Washington, D.C., and works for the Service Members Legal Defense Network, an organization working to repeal the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.

California's Governor Resigned to Gay Marriage

San Francisco — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says it's a "waste of time" to try to get an anti-gay marriage measure on the November ballot.
Schwarzenegger told NBC's Meet the Press that he personally feels marriage should be between a man and a woman, but he doesn't want to force his belief on anyone.

San Francisco's first gay pride parade since gay marriage was legalized in the state June 16 reflected the new reality. A lesbian motorcycle group took part dressed in bridal veils, wedding gowns and leather. Other marchers also displayed their new status.

Huge crowds lined the parade route. Tourism officials predicted the biggest turnout ever.

In New York City, Gov. David Paterson took part in a gay pride parade.

ACLU Applauds Congressional Hearing on Gender Identity in the Workplace

Washington, D.C. — The American Civil Liberties Union June 26 applauded the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions for holding the first-ever congressional hearing on transgender issues and gender identity discrimination in the workplace. Chaired by Representative Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), the committee heard from retired Army Colonel and ACLU client Diane Schroer. The ACLU is currently representing Schroer in a Title VII sex discrimination lawsuit against the Library of Congress.

"We wish to thank Representative Andrews for holding this historic hearing, and giving Colonel Schroer the opportunity to tell her story before Congress," ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Christopher Anders said. "Colonel Schroer's testimony gets at core American values, those of equality and fair play. Regardless of our gender identity, we all deserve a fair shot at job opportunities and advancement.”

ACLU officials hope Schroer’s testimony compels the committee and Congress to act to protect transgender individuals from discrimination in the workplace.

Anglican Conservatives Launch New Challenge

New York City — Conservatives from the world's largest Anglican provinces, who are angered by liberal thinking in churches in North America and elsewhere, are creating a global fellowship that challenges worldwide Anglican unity, but stops short of a formal split.

The plan was adopted at the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem. The summit was called by Anglican leaders in Africa and parts of North America and Australia outraged by what they consider a  “false gospel'' in liberal churches.

Opponents played down the significance of the new fellowship, contending the Anglican Communion already has networks of like-minded churches. But theological conservatives insist they are at the beginning of a movement that will alter the centuries-old Anglican family.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. Anglican body. Anglicans in developing countries — where the fastest-growing and largest churches in the communion are located — mostly hold to a more literal interpretation of the Bible. The archbishops, or primates, of the provinces of Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Southern Cone based in Argentina were among those at the Jerusalem event.

The Jerusalem meeting was held just ahead of a once-a-decade gathering of all Anglican bishops, called the Lambeth Conference.

Some of the more than 200 bishops in Jerusalem plan to boycott Lambeth, which begins July 16 in England.

Preacher Arrested At Wichita Gay Pride Fest

Wichita, Kan. — An outspoken opponent of gay rights was arrested June 29 as he led a protest against a gay pride festival in Wichita.

The city's GLBT community held its annual parade followed by a festival at Naftzger Park. Wichita Pride rented the park for the day from the city and more than a thousand people held a picnic, took in a stage show and hunted for arts and crafts from local vendors.

For the second year in a row, Rev. Mark Holick and about 20 of his followers from the Spirit One Christian Center rallied near the park and handed out Biblical tracts condemning homosexuality.

At one point Holick entered the park, paying the $5 admission fee, but when he began handing out his literature was asked to leave.

The Wichita Eagle, quoting witnesses, reports that Holick asked for his money back. The witnesses told the paper that Holick threw it at Thomas Witt, vice president of Wichita Pride, striking him on the arm.

The incident was captured on video by a pridegoer.

Holick was arrested on suspicion of battery.

It is not the first time he has been charged with attempting to disrupt a pride celebration.

Last year he was arrested and charged with charge of criminal trespassing. The charge was later dropped but Holick has filed a federal lawsuit against the city alleging that his constitutional right to free speech had been violated.

International briefs

Bulgarian Extremists Attack Gay Pride Parade With Rocks

Sophia — Extremists throwing rocks, bottles and gasoline bombs have attacked the Bulgarian capital's first gay pride parade.

Police say they prevented the extremists from harming the 150 or so people in the procession through Sofia. No serious injuries have been reported.
Police say they detained about 60 people for harassing the parade participants.

Gays face widespread hostility in Bulgaria and opposition to the June 28 parade was fierce. The far-right Bulgarian National Union had called for "open resistance" to the gay pride parade with a campaign featuring posters that say: "Be Intolerant, Be Normal."

Bulgaria's influential Orthodox Church had said the march should be banned, as it undermines the country's Christian traditions.

Malaysia's Anwar Again Accused Of Raping Male Aide

Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against a male aide who accused him of sodomy, vowing to clear his name in the second sex scandal of his life to have thrown the country's politics into turmoil.

“I went through hell before,'' Ibrahim told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, referring to the first upheaval a decade ago when he was accused of committing sodomy with his family driver and an aide.

The accusations led to his ouster as the deputy prime minister in 1998, when he was arrested and beaten up by the national police chief. A court later exonerated him.

Ibrahim, who recently revived his political career and is seen by some as the next prime minister, has denied the new sodomy accusation, dismissing it as a political conspiracy.

Anwar filed a defamation suit through his lawyers June 30 in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, seeking unspecified compensation from his aide who made what Anwar branded as a “malicious'' police complaint.

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