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Exercise your voice - Vole November
P a 7b
noted . notable . noteworthy GLBT issues
'X ^
VOLUME 18 . ISSUE 12
SINCE 1988
Gobierno chileno dispuesto a
interceder para aclarar asesinato
de gay
7 The Buzz: Ellen DeGeneres’
new talk show
V.'WW* %- KOTES. COM
OCTOBER 2 5 . 2003
Homeless organization
refuses assistance from
MCC Charlotte 13
Fred Phelps’proposed
Matthew Shepard
‘monumenf 09
President Clinton calls
for end to ‘Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell’ 14
New Delhi
court considers
decriminalizing
gay sex 15
General Gayety:
Deviled Politics 27
South Carofina
College of Charleston
staff and students in
uproar over gay
studies rebuff 25
i^ii us about you:
partnered .single
. male . female
.18-35 .36-52
. 53-69 . over 70
Q.POLL RESULTS:
President endorses 'Marriage Protection Week'
LGBT groups respond with
'Marriage Equality Week'
VVASHINGTON, D.C. — Marriage Protection
Week, a time set aside by nearly two-dozen
right-wing groups for targeted advocacy against
same-sex marriage, was observed Oct. 12-18.
Participants nationwide organized public rallies,
collected petition signatures, lobbied elected offi
cials and more to stop gays and lesbians from
securing marriage rights.
The campaign was bolstered by an Oct. 3
proclamation from President George W. Bush
officially recognizing Marriage Protection Week.
LGBT and progressive activists were outraged by
the move.
“By issuing this proclamation, the president
has added the prestige and credibility of his office
to these groups’ attacks," said Human Rights
Campaign Executive Director Elizabeth Birch.
in his decree. Bush tried to downplay the dis
criminatory aspects of Marriage Protection Week
by avoiding any reference to same-sex marriage.
The document’s only
nod toward his posi
tion appeared in the
phrase "marriage is
a union between a
man and a woman.”
The remainder of the
proclamation extoled
the virtues of mar
riage and the presi
dent’s support of it,
though one state
ment stood out as an
olive branch to gays:
“And we must con
tinue to create a
compassionate, wel
coming society,
where ail people are
treated with dignity
and respect.”
Despite protests from LGBT organizations. President George W. Bush
endorsed 'Marriage Protection Week.'
Matt Foreman, the executive director of the
But opponents were not placated by such
political maneuvering.
see MARRIAGE on 4
Mystery surrounds
of CA lesbian couple
Depression and financial woes possibly led to deaths
by Paul Dehn
GORDA SPRINGS, Calif. — Residents of the tiny seaside town of
Gorda Springs. Calif., have been rocked by an ongoing investigation into
the deaths of a lesbian couple found dead in an ocean-view resort which
frequently caters to celebrities and the wealthy. Police have uncovered
what appears to be a bizarre suicide pact between the two.
The women, who shared a home in Long Beach, left several letters in
their cabin at the Gorda Springs Resort, Monterey County sheriff’s Cmdr.
Fred Garcia told the [San jose] Mercury News. ”ln the reading of the letters,
it appears they were very despondent, very unhappy,” Garcia said.
They also ap
peared to have been
planning their deaths
for some time. One
letter is dated a
month ago, the other
was an ongoing jour
nal kept by computer.
Abigail Tapia, 27,
and Jacqueline Toves,
26, were found side-
by-side and face-up
on a queen-size bed,
wearing t-shirts and
panties, with garbage
bags taped securely
over their heads.
Toves was wearing a
Schwarzenegger
appoints conservative
lesbian to
transition team
Abigail Tapia and Jacqueline Toves were
found in this bed at the Gorda Springs
Resort after an apparent double suicide.
grinning Halloween mask over the bag, while a feathered mardi gras
styled mask lay on the night stand by Tapia. Both women’s hands were
bound with duct tape, although Tapia’s were wrapped loosely enough
so her hands hung at her side.
"There was no indication of foul play, and there was no indication of
see MYSTERY Off
Lesbian Tammy
.Bruce is a feminist,
pro-choice FOX
News commentator
who accuses the
'radical gay elite'
of targeting chil
dren
by Ed Walsh
LOS ANGELES, Calif.
— She
believes
the “radi
cal gay
elite” tar
gets chil
dren, is
“dis
mayed”
by the
issue of
transgender rights and is a good
friend and strong supporter of Dr.
Laura Schlessinger. She is also the
former president of the Los
Angeles chapter of the National
Organization of Women, openly
lesbian and now one of the 65
members of the transition team
for California’s Governor-Elect
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Tammy Bruce: 'GLSEN is a notion
al organization with one thing in
mind: getting to your child
through the open door at school.'
Tammy BrUce, the author of
“The New Thought Police,” and
more recently, “The Death of
Right and Wrong,” told listeners
to her radio talk show on KABC
in Los Angeles this week that her
views in support of a fiscally
conservative government as well
as support for gay rights and
abortion rights are in sync with
see APPOINTS on 6