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The date is now official. The South Carolina Pride 2010 festival to be held in Finlay Park, Columbia, South Carolina on September 4, 2010 as part of a week of events providing a Pride-filled way to spend Labor Day weekend. All South Carolinians, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are encouraged to attend the exciting, family-friendly SC Pride events. Enjoy food, fun, music, and vendors all day! Admission to the park & parade is free.
2010 marks a year of new changes for the organization that plans Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride events in the state of South Carolina.
South Carolina Gay Pride Announces Date Change & New Events This Year
The date is now official. The South Carolina Pride 2010 festival to be held in Finlay Park, Columbia, South Carolina on September 4, 2010 as part of a week of events providing a Pride-filled way to spend Labor Day weekend. All South Carolinians, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are encouraged to attend the exciting, family-friendly SC Pride events. Enjoy food, fun, music, and vendors all day! Admission to the park & parade is free.
2010 marks a year of new changes for the organization that plans Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride events in the state of South Carolina.
“We are excited about the changes coming to SC Pride in the year ahead,” said Tamera Tedder, President of South Carolina Pride Movement. “We’ve redecorated the Harriet Hancock Center and expanded our plans for the SC Pride 2010 festival to make it an entire weekend of events. Changing the date of SC Pride 2010 was necessary for success.”One new change for 2010 is the reorganization of the Mr. & Mrs. SC Pride Pageant system. A series of preliminary pageants will be held in cities throughout the state starting with a contest at Time Out in Myrtle Beach on May 7, 2010 and ending with a statewide competition in Columbia in August. Applications, fees, rules, and more details about the Mr. & Mrs. SC Pride Pageant can be found at www.scpride.org. SC PRIDE 2009 had approximately 8,000 attendees, according to police estimates, with over 70 vendors. The Pride Festival draws attendees from not just South Carolina but Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and beyond. All South Carolinians, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are encouraged to attend the exciting, family-friendly SC Pride events in Finlay Park. Enjoy food, fun, music, and vendors all day! The South Carolina Pride Movement is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy, education, support, and celebration of the GLBT community in South Carolina. The South Carolina Pride Movement is located on 1108 Woodrow Street in Columbia. For more information contact Tamera Tedder, President, at (803) 771-7713, prideinsc@yahoo.com, or visit www.scpride.org.
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The South Carolina city of Charleston became the second in the state to approve GLBT anti-discrimination protections.
Columbus had approved such measures previously. Charleston both widened the scope of its existing anti-discrimination law regarding housing, and added a new ordinance to prevent discrimination in public accommodation that covered the civil rights spectrum, from age and race to gender identity and sexual orientation, reported local news station WCBD, an NBC affiliate, on Nov. 24.
The news station reported that the ordinances were brought to the city’s mayor. Joseph P. Riley, last summer by a group of local GLBT equality and human rights organizations, including the South Carolina chapters of the Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans, the American Civil Liberties Union, and South Carolina Equality. The article noted that those organizations had also promoted similar protections in Columbus.
"It’s a step forward in the right direction in making sure that we are not discriminating against anyone," said Council Member Gary White.
"The passing of these ordinances is consonant with Charleston’s historic reputation as one of America’s friendliest cities and a place that is welcoming to all people," the executive director of the South Carolina office of the ACLU, said Victoria Middleton, told the media. "And they also affirm the constitutional principles shared by all Americans of non-discrimination and equality under the law."
Last month, similar protections were passed in Salt Lake City, with the backing of the Mormon church, which had been a main supporter of the anti-gay California ballot initiative Proposition 8 last year. The narrowly approved Proposition 8 rescinded the existing right of gay and lesbian families to marry in that state.
But Mormon officials indicated that there was no contradiction to opposing marriage equality in California and then supporting gay-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances in Utah’s capital city. "The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," said the church’s director of public affairs, Michael Otterson.
But South Carolina Baptists conveyed a much different message in approving a pair of anti-gay resolutions at the Nov. 10-11 annual convention of their faith. One resolution opposed the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian troops; the other stated the church’s opposition to a recently adopted federal hate crimes law that covers GLBT Americans, reported Q Notes in a Nov. 13 article.
The convention fell back on claims that protections for gays would impede the exercise of religious freedoms, stating that the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Protection Act, which is the first federal law to extend protections to GLBT citizens and which President Obama signed on Oct. 28, "could effectively kill the First Amendment freedom of speech by criminalizing any verbal opposition to homosexuals and/or their lifestyle."
Although religious conservatives have often made that charge, the law only pertains to criminal acts of physical violence in which victims are targeted on the basis of sexuality, among other factors such as race, religion, and disability. FBI statistics show that in 2008, anti-gay bias crimes rose by 11%--the third year in a row that anti-gay hate crimes have increased.
"These numbers are unacceptable," said Joe Solmonese, president of the GLBT lobbying organization the Human Rights Campaign. "While it is so important that we have the new federal hate crimes law, it is critical to ensure that we continue working with the Department of Justice to ensure the safety of LGBT citizens.
"We have to prosecute each hate crime to the fullest extent of the law, but we also need to get at the roots," added Solmonese of the rising rate of anti-gay violence. "When we don’t know each other as human beings, ignorance breeds misunderstanding, which breeds hate, which too often this year led to violence. We have to keep fighting the prejudices and stereotypes that underlie these acts."
The South Carolina Baptist Convention urged members to contact government officials and seek the repeal of the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in order "to keep freedom of speech in our pulpits and the public square."
At the same time, the convention offered reassurances that it did not actively promote anti-gay violence, exhorting people to "avoid acts of hatred and violence toward lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered persons and treat our fellow citizens with the kind of civility we would prefer to receive ourselves." The convention framed the issue of not subjecting gays to violent crime in religious terms that view homosexuality as a "sin," asking "all believers to love and show compassion toward lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered persons, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is able to bring true freedom from error and to set free the captives of sin."
Reported By EdgeBoston
Charleston, S.C. Passes Pro-Gay Rights Law
The South Carolina city of Charleston became the second in the state to approve GLBT anti-discrimination protections.
Columbus had approved such measures previously. Charleston both widened the scope of its existing anti-discrimination law regarding housing, and added a new ordinance to prevent discrimination in public accommodation that covered the civil rights spectrum, from age and race to gender identity and sexual orientation, reported local news station WCBD, an NBC affiliate, on Nov. 24.
The news station reported that the ordinances were brought to the city’s mayor. Joseph P. Riley, last summer by a group of local GLBT equality and human rights organizations, including the South Carolina chapters of the Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans, the American Civil Liberties Union, and South Carolina Equality. The article noted that those organizations had also promoted similar protections in Columbus.
"It’s a step forward in the right direction in making sure that we are not discriminating against anyone," said Council Member Gary White.
"The passing of these ordinances is consonant with Charleston’s historic reputation as one of America’s friendliest cities and a place that is welcoming to all people," the executive director of the South Carolina office of the ACLU, said Victoria Middleton, told the media. "And they also affirm the constitutional principles shared by all Americans of non-discrimination and equality under the law."
Last month, similar protections were passed in Salt Lake City, with the backing of the Mormon church, which had been a main supporter of the anti-gay California ballot initiative Proposition 8 last year. The narrowly approved Proposition 8 rescinded the existing right of gay and lesbian families to marry in that state.
But Mormon officials indicated that there was no contradiction to opposing marriage equality in California and then supporting gay-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances in Utah’s capital city. "The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," said the church’s director of public affairs, Michael Otterson.
But South Carolina Baptists conveyed a much different message in approving a pair of anti-gay resolutions at the Nov. 10-11 annual convention of their faith. One resolution opposed the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian troops; the other stated the church’s opposition to a recently adopted federal hate crimes law that covers GLBT Americans, reported Q Notes in a Nov. 13 article.
The convention fell back on claims that protections for gays would impede the exercise of religious freedoms, stating that the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Protection Act, which is the first federal law to extend protections to GLBT citizens and which President Obama signed on Oct. 28, "could effectively kill the First Amendment freedom of speech by criminalizing any verbal opposition to homosexuals and/or their lifestyle."
Although religious conservatives have often made that charge, the law only pertains to criminal acts of physical violence in which victims are targeted on the basis of sexuality, among other factors such as race, religion, and disability. FBI statistics show that in 2008, anti-gay bias crimes rose by 11%--the third year in a row that anti-gay hate crimes have increased.
"These numbers are unacceptable," said Joe Solmonese, president of the GLBT lobbying organization the Human Rights Campaign. "While it is so important that we have the new federal hate crimes law, it is critical to ensure that we continue working with the Department of Justice to ensure the safety of LGBT citizens.
"We have to prosecute each hate crime to the fullest extent of the law, but we also need to get at the roots," added Solmonese of the rising rate of anti-gay violence. "When we don’t know each other as human beings, ignorance breeds misunderstanding, which breeds hate, which too often this year led to violence. We have to keep fighting the prejudices and stereotypes that underlie these acts."
The South Carolina Baptist Convention urged members to contact government officials and seek the repeal of the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in order "to keep freedom of speech in our pulpits and the public square."
At the same time, the convention offered reassurances that it did not actively promote anti-gay violence, exhorting people to "avoid acts of hatred and violence toward lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered persons and treat our fellow citizens with the kind of civility we would prefer to receive ourselves." The convention framed the issue of not subjecting gays to violent crime in religious terms that view homosexuality as a "sin," asking "all believers to love and show compassion toward lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered persons, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is able to bring true freedom from error and to set free the captives of sin."
Reported By EdgeBoston0
Boy's Mom Killed in S.C. Hate Crime Says New Law Is Step Toward Preventing Hate
The mother of a Taylors man who was punched and died outside an Eastside bar two years ago said Thursday she hoped President Barack Obama’s signing of new hate crime legislation is a step toward preventing hate crimes in South Carolina.
Elke Kennedy was an invitee to the president’s ceremony in Washington commemorating the signing of a law that in part expands the reach of the federal government to pursue hate crimes that local authorities don’t.
The new law, Kennedy said, provides some comfort in the May 2007 death of her son, 20-year-old Sean Kennedy, who was killed after Stephen Moller punched him. However, Kennedy said more needs to be done to change attitudes toward hate crimes.
“The bill alone is not going to change people,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do at home.”
Kennedy said she believes the death of her son classifies as a hate crime. However, an attorney for Moller said in court that police statements show that Moller didn’t know that Kennedy was gay until he was told afterwards.
Moller was originally charged with murder, but a grand jury instead indicted him on involuntary manslaughter, which Moller pleaded guilty to and received about a year in prison while facing a maximum sentence of five years.
Kennedy suffered irreparable brain damage after Moller punched him once outside an Eastside bar, according to court testimony.
Moller, who last summer was released from prison, told police that he became angry when Kennedy inadvertantly brushed his face with his hand. This contact came after Kennedy had reached into a car in which Moller was an occupant after someone asked him for a cigarette, according to testimony.
Moller then got out of the car and punched Kennedy, according to testimony.
The new law, adopted as part of the $680 million defense authorization bill, is known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Shepard was an openly gay Wyoming college student who was tortured and left to die on a fencepost.
Byrd was a black Texas man who was killed by three white men who beat him, chained him to the back of a truck and drug him three miles. Two of the men were known white supremacists.
Family members of both men were present with Kennedy during Obama’s speech announcing the new legislation.
The new law allows federal authorities to prosecute hate crimes when local authorities don’t. It also broadens the definition to include, among race, those crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
Boy's Mom Killed in S.C. Hate Crime Says New Law Is Step Toward Preventing Hate Crimes
Boy's Mom Killed in S.C. Hate Crime Says New Law Is Step Toward Preventing Hate
The mother of a Taylors man who was punched and died outside an Eastside bar two years ago said Thursday she hoped President Barack Obama’s signing of new hate crime legislation is a step toward preventing hate crimes in South Carolina.
Elke Kennedy was an invitee to the president’s ceremony in Washington commemorating the signing of a law that in part expands the reach of the federal government to pursue hate crimes that local authorities don’t.
The new law, Kennedy said, provides some comfort in the May 2007 death of her son, 20-year-old Sean Kennedy, who was killed after Stephen Moller punched him. However, Kennedy said more needs to be done to change attitudes toward hate crimes.
“The bill alone is not going to change people,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do at home.”
Kennedy said she believes the death of her son classifies as a hate crime. However, an attorney for Moller said in court that police statements show that Moller didn’t know that Kennedy was gay until he was told afterwards.
Moller was originally charged with murder, but a grand jury instead indicted him on involuntary manslaughter, which Moller pleaded guilty to and received about a year in prison while facing a maximum sentence of five years.
Kennedy suffered irreparable brain damage after Moller punched him once outside an Eastside bar, according to court testimony.
Moller, who last summer was released from prison, told police that he became angry when Kennedy inadvertantly brushed his face with his hand. This contact came after Kennedy had reached into a car in which Moller was an occupant after someone asked him for a cigarette, according to testimony.
Moller then got out of the car and punched Kennedy, according to testimony.
The new law, adopted as part of the $680 million defense authorization bill, is known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Shepard was an openly gay Wyoming college student who was tortured and left to die on a fencepost.
Byrd was a black Texas man who was killed by three white men who beat him, chained him to the back of a truck and drug him three miles. Two of the men were known white supremacists.
Family members of both men were present with Kennedy during Obama’s speech announcing the new legislation.
The new law allows federal authorities to prosecute hate crimes when local authorities don’t. It also broadens the definition to include, among race, those crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.2
On the night of September 22, 1989, this island was devastated by Hurricane Hugo. Hugo did far more damage than hurricanes of previous decades. Hugo killed 26 residents and did nearly $6 billion in property damage. The massive hurricane destroyed 109 houses on the island and caused extensive damage to many others. The winds and storm surge from Hugo caused terrible erosion on the island. I installed cable trunks after I began dredging sand which has been quite the task to say the least. With the island now almost fully recovered, property values have began to increase and the additional service of broadband internet access has placed the community into modern times.
The official end of Summer happens this weekend and I'm packing my things up and heading back home to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend. I've spent my entire Summer on a small barrier island located just off the Intercoastal Waterway outside Charleston, South Carolina. Many of you know that in addition to managing the GorgeousBoys Online Entertainment Network I took on a contract this past Winter to bring the small island community of 2,333 High Speed Internet Access. To date I've installed over 300 "drops" in the community (not including multi-family dwellings).
Being in the south, food is awesome here on the island is awesome. I've enjoyed traditional Lowcountry specialties such as fresh local shrimp & grits, hushpuppies, oyster roasts, red rice, sweet tea and fruit cobbler. One of the things the island is perhaps most famous for is that in 1934 composer George Gershwin who lived here and wrote “Porgy & Bess”. I recently carefully added internet to his former home.
As we close the Summer of 2009 up I wanted to wish you a very safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend and give you a short eye candy gallery of some of my favorite photos this Summer collected by us here at GorgeousBoys.
HAPPY LABOR DAY
Eye Candy: Summer's End & Happy Labor Day!
On the night of September 22, 1989, this island was devastated by Hurricane Hugo. Hugo did far more damage than hurricanes of previous decades. Hugo killed 26 residents and did nearly $6 billion in property damage. The massive hurricane destroyed 109 houses on the island and caused extensive damage to many others. The winds and storm surge from Hugo caused terrible erosion on the island. I installed cable trunks after I began dredging sand which has been quite the task to say the least. With the island now almost fully recovered, property values have began to increase and the additional service of broadband internet access has placed the community into modern times.
Charleston's Rainbow Row
Me At Work
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Washington, D.C.-based activist and blogger Mike Rogers claimed today he had enough evidence to confirm South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is gay. Bauer had been the subject of longstanding rumors, including those passed on by former South Carolina congressional candidate Linda Ketner.
Rogers, who says he has a 100 percent track record outing public officials, said he is first and foremost a reporter who deals in facts.
Rogers said he has met with several men who claim Bauer hit on them. He has also met with a man who said he had sexual relations with Bauer two different times.
Still, Rogers said, those few stories were not enough evidence to make a report on the Palmetto State’s second-in-command.
S.C. Lt. Gov. Bauer is Gay?
Washington, D.C.-based activist and blogger Mike Rogers claimed today he had enough evidence to confirm South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is gay. Bauer had been the subject of longstanding rumors, including those passed on by former South Carolina congressional candidate Linda Ketner.
Rogers, who says he has a 100 percent track record outing public officials, said he is first and foremost a reporter who deals in facts.
“I’m a reporter. I meet with people and I talk to them,” he said on his blog. “Then based on a review of all of the facts, I report closet cases that hurt the gay community. You may not like my style, but I have a track record of 100%.”
Rogers said he has met with several men who claim Bauer hit on them. He has also met with a man who said he had sexual relations with Bauer two different times.
Still, Rogers said, those few stories were not enough evidence to make a report on the Palmetto State’s second-in-command.
“I was led on a path to chatting with acquaintances of the source and two former employees of Bauer who served on his staff between 2004 and 2007,” Rogers writes. “They reported to me that on on a total of three occasions Bauer spent hours alone with men in hotel rooms. Each of them explained that the visits were with younger men who were not on the staff of the Lt. Governor nor had any official reason to be with him. The two men each confirmed that they had not known each other and each described similar circumstances under with these interactions occurred. One of them confirmed that he was told by the Lt. Governor’s visitor he had a sexual encounter with Bauer.”Rogers has successfully outed several high-profile politicians, including Ed Schrock, Mark Foley and Larry Craig. Rogers’ reports were made before the politicians either confirmed it or were caught in unsavory sexual situations, such as Craig’s arrest for solicitation in a Minneapolis airport. In June, one-time congressional candidate Linda Ketner, who is lesbian, claimed Bauer and other South Carolina officials were gay.
“We have more gay people serving in South Carolina than probably in anyplace in the United States; they’re just not out of the closet,” Ketner told blogger Howie Klein. “We have an awful lot of people in the closet — Lindsey Graham, Glenn McConnell who’s our Senate president pro tem, our Lt Governor [André Bauer].”She later apologized for her remarks. In June, Rogers told Q-Notes he would only report on suspected closeted, anti-gay politicians when he was certain of the facts.
“As always, I support the reporting on closeted, anti-gay politicians who work against the interest of the gay community,” he said. “I am careful to only report on cases of which I have 100 percent confidence and encourage others to not use rumors, whether longstanding or recent, as a basis for outing.”At the time, he encouraged South Carolinians to do the appropriate research into allegedly closeted politicians’ records and actions and have all the facts before going public with any evidence. In recent weeks, Bauer has called for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s resignation. If Sanford resigns, Bauer will become governor.
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The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, condemned the early release of Stephen Andrew Moller, who was convicted in June of 2008 in the death of 20-year-old Sean Kennedy. Sean's mother, Elke Kennedy, was informed of the release by automated message Wednesday night. Witnesses testified at trial that Kennedy's attacker shouted anti-gay slurs while punching Kennedy outside a Greenville, SC bar in May of 2007.
Gay Killer Released
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, condemned the early release of Stephen Andrew Moller, who was convicted in June of 2008 in the death of 20-year-old Sean Kennedy. Sean's mother, Elke Kennedy, was informed of the release by automated message Wednesday night. Witnesses testified at trial that Kennedy's attacker shouted anti-gay slurs while punching Kennedy outside a Greenville, SC bar in May of 2007.
[MEDIA not found]
"This adds insult to injury. To release a man just one-year after his sentencing in this heinous crime and to inform the victim's mother through an automated recording is despicable," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "Sean Kennedy was violently attacked for no other reason than his sexual orientation. This is a text book case of why we need to pass federal legislation that would bring stiffer penalties and provide local authorities with the full resources of the U.S. Justice Department to address vicious hate crimes."
"They say one thing and do something else," said Elke Kennedy, Sean's mother. "He should have served every single day of the already short sentence, instead he was released from prison one week early. Where is the justice?"U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. highlighted Sean Kennedy's case last week while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of federal hate crimes legislation. Holder, the first time an Attorney General has testified in favor of this legislation, said Sean's death was an example of an "appalling crime" where "state prosecutions may not always fully vindicate Federal interests." Both Elke Kennedy and Joe Solmonese submitted written testimony at the hearing in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909). To read the testimony, visit www.HRCBackStory.org. The legislation, which was passed in the U.S. House by a vote of 249-175 in April, would provide local police and sheriff's departments with federal resources to combat hate violence. The legislation is currently awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate.
"Sean is among many American's who are targeted just because of who they are. These crimes not only harm individuals, they terrorize entire communities," said Solmonese. "After more than a decade and nine successful votes in Congress, there is no good reason for any delay on bringing hate crimes legislation to the President's desk. We must finally pass this bill and start the important steps to erasing hate in our country."U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), the Kennedy family's senator, recently wrote a shocking letter to local priests and pastors advocating against hate crime legislation. DeMint, who has regularly spoken out against the LGBT community, wrote the following in reference to hate crimes legislation: "Many pastors hesitate to explain that government policies have helped cause the decline of America's culture, morality and spirituality. … I am writing you today to remind you that religious principals and biblical teachings produced the values and polices that made America exceptional, prosperous, and good." The Matthew Shepard Act gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias. It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers, or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias motivated crimes. To learn more about Sean Kennedy's story and HRC's working coalition to pass hate crimes legislation, visit www.FightHateNow.org. The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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S.C. House lawmakers have given key approval to a new teen dating violence policy that excludes references to gay relationships. A bill that would require schools to provide resources to teens about dating violence passed the South Carolina State House Thursday. Debate over LGBT inclusion has turned a seemingly innocuous piece of legislation into a firebrand.
Palmetto State LGBT activists are furious over an amendment to the bill, offered by Republican Greg Delleney. The amendment, which was approved for the legislation, prohibits the Department of Education from including mention of same-sex relationships in materials designed to educate teens on dating violence.
Gay debate erupts in SC
S.C. House lawmakers have given key approval to a new teen dating violence policy that excludes references to gay relationships. A bill that would require schools to provide resources to teens about dating violence passed the South Carolina State House Thursday. Debate over LGBT inclusion has turned a seemingly innocuous piece of legislation into a firebrand.
Palmetto State LGBT activists are furious over an amendment to the bill, offered by Republican Greg Delleney. The amendment, which was approved for the legislation, prohibits the Department of Education from including mention of same-sex relationships in materials designed to educate teens on dating violence.
“I don’t want the Department of Education or school districts to teach children in grades six through 12 about (same-sex) relationships,” Delleney said.According to The State newspaper, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joan Brady, said she supported Delleney’s amendment.
“My intent is to make sure that every child is protected,” Brady said. “But the predominant occurrence of teen dating violence occurs in girl-boy relationships.”
Gay Advocates are outraged!
check out more of the story at Q-Notes
So what do you think, is South Carolina discriminating against us gay people again or what?
Weigh In Your Comments!
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Parole Denied
A South Carolina Parole Board denied early parole for Stephen Moller, a man who threw a fatal punch to Sean Kennedy after using an anti-gay slur. Kennedy was openly gay. Initially charged with murder in the case, Moller was jailed for seven months before the charges were reduced to manslaughter. At that point, Moller was released on bond.
Moller then plead guilty to punching Sean Kennedy outside a Greenville, SC bar, killing him. Kennedy fell and struck his head, causing a fatal brain injury. In June of last year, a South Carolina judge sentenced Moller to five years in prison on the manslaughter charge, suspended to three years and reduced by seven months for time he had already served. After Moller was sentenced, Kennedy's mother, Elke Kennedy said that the punishment was far too lenient.
The vote of the three-member panel was unanimous based on the nature and seriousness of the crime. Moller began serving his sentence at Ridgeland Correction in November of 2007 and is due to finish his sentence in July.
Be sure to visit Sean's Memorial Website - SeansLastWish - click image below.
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Sister Trys S.C.
Could lesbian stun GOP incumbent in S.C.?
With a few days to go before Election Day, several gay and gay-friendly candidates in races across the nation are eclipsing or closing in on their opponents.
One key race is the U.S. House contest from South Carolina’s 1st congressional district, where Democrat Linda Ketner is challenging incumbent Rep. Henry Brown (R-S.C.).
According to an Oct. 22 poll by Research 2000, Ketner, who is a lesbian, trailed Brown by 11 percentage points, with Brown earning 48 percent and Ketner taking 37 percent.
But an Oct. 27 poll by Survey USA had Brown leading Ketner, 50-45, with a margin of error of about 4 percent. Five percent of those surveyed were undecided. The poll also reported that 20 percent of likely voters are black, a group that Ketner leads 7 to 1, so a large black turnout on Election Day would benefit the Democratic challenger.
Hastings Wyman, the founding editor of Southern Political Report, said that the race is “leaning Republican, but only leaning,” and that Ketner can win.
“Fifty to 45 points is a weak lead for an incumbent,” he said. “She’s not the favorite, but she’s got a shot.”
Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, said that Ketner is “performing surprisingly well in a strong conservative district,” and it is “possible” for her to win.
Denis Dison, a Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund spokesperson, said the organization has been involved in Ketner’s campaign.
“She was endorsed early in the process, and we’ve been working with her ever since,” he said. “We have not made direct contributions, as we’re temporarily not a federal PAC, but we have done mailings for her. We were also paid by her campaign to do work for her with folks on our list who want to help fund openly LGBT candidates.”
Brown voted last year against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation. He also voted in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006.
Ketner, a businesswoman, is a founding member of South Carolina Equality and served on the organization’s board of directors for years. She is no longer on the board, but remains a major donor.
Ketner’s sexual orientation has not been an issue in this race, something that Wyman attributes to Charleston, one of South Carolina’s largest cities, being in the congressional district.
“Charleston is a port city, and it is traditionally not a fundamentalist Christian city,” he said. “I’m not saying that Charleston is really liberal, as they’re generally fairly conservative, but they show some liberal sides.”
Also drawing attention is Colorado’s Jared Polis, who is running for the open U.S. House seat in Colorado’s 2nd District.
Polis is running against Republican Scott Starin. Polis, who is expected to win, would become the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a non-incumbent and join Reps. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin as Congress’ only out members.
Rouse said that his organization’s “highest priority” for U.S. Senate elections is Jeanne Shaheen, the former governor of New Hampshire, who is running against incumbent Republican John Sununu.
“Shaheen is a strong supporter of the GLBT community, especially when she was governor,” Rouse said. “She started moving New Hampshire in a much more GLBT-friendly direction. She repealed an adoption ban for gays and lesbians and supported a GLBT civil rights bill. She will be a strong ally for us in the Senate.”
GAY-RIGHTS OPPONENTS
Two other races pit strongly anti-gay U.S. House members against pro-gay, Democratic challengers. And the course of both races recently changed.
Last week the National Republican Campaign Committee pulled advertising from the re-election campaigns of Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (Colo.).
In Colorado, Musgrave is trying to fend off Democrat Betsy Markey. A poll published Aug. 28 by SurveyUSA found that 50 percent of respondents favored Markey while 43 percent favored Musgrave.
Musgrave, who came to Congress in 2003, introduced the Federal Marriage Amendment in the House during the 108th and 109th Congresses. She also voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
“A Musgrave defeat would mean recognition that stomping on the GLBT community could lead to being kicked out of Congress,” Rouse said.
Bachmann, another anti-gay lawmaker who is running against Democrat Elwyn Tinklenberg, made headlines Oct. 17 when she questioned whether Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama harbors “anti-American views.”
