"It's valuable for this region's gay and
lesbian community to have the support of
businesses and of leaders such as King....
The fact that Alan is out and rewarded and
supported for being out means so much for
other professionals," Daire Roebuck, who
serves on the LGBT Center board and is an
attorney, concluded.
— L.M.
National
Kerry leads on immigration equality
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. John Kerry
(0-MA) led 11 colleagues in an April 6 letter to
Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of
Homeland Security Janet Napolitano urging
immigration equality for legally married same-
sex couples who are currently discriminated
against under the Defense vf Marriage Act.
"We applaud the President's decision to
no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act
in federal court," the senators wrote. "With
DOMA as law, however, we are creating a tier
of second-class families in states that have
authorized same-sex marriage. The same
second-class status is imposed upon mar
riages between same-sex partners in which
one spouse is not a U.S. citizen. We urge
you to reconsider this position in light of the
administration's position that it will no longer
defend DOMA in federal court."
Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of
Immigration Equality, a national organization
that works to end discrimination in U.S. im
migration law, has also called for a change.
— D.S.
LGBT Health, Parti
• WASHINGTON, D.C. — National health
think tank’The Institute of Medicine issued a
report March 31 detailing health disparities
between LGBT and non-LGBT Americans
and calling for substantially increased
federal research into the medical concerns
of LGBT people. The report, "The Health of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
People: Building a Foundation for Better
Understanding," is meant to be a wake-up call
for government researchers and policymak
ers who have resisted asking LGBT-specific
questions in federal health surveys.
— D.S.
LGBT Health, Part II
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On April 1, the
Department of Health and Human Services an
nounced a number of steps it was recommend
ing to President Barack Obama to improve the
health and well-being of LGBT Americans.
The recommendations include prohibiting
workplace bias on the basis of sexual orienta
tion and gender identity for HHS programs and
employees; increasing the number of federally-
funded health surveys that collect sexual orien
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tation and gender identity data; and promoting
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HHS vvill take additional steps, integrat
ing an even stronger component focusing on
LGBT youth in ail anti-bullying initiatives, re
ducing the barriers encountered by prospec
tive and current foster and adoptive parents
who are LGBT, and requiring all organizations
serving runaway and homeless youth to be
equipped to serve LGBT youth.
— D.S
Study: 9 million LGBT Americans
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Williams
Institute, a leading think tank dedicated to
the field of sexual orientation and gender
identity-related law and public policy, has
released new research that estimates the size
of the LGBT community in the U.S. Drawing’
on information from four recent national and
two state-level population-based surveys, the
analyses suggest that there are more than
S million American adults who are lesbian, ■
gay or bisexual, comprising 3.5 percent of the
adult population. There are also nearly 700,000
transgender individuals in the U.S. In total, the
study suggests that approximately 9 million
Americans — roughly the population of New
Jersey — identify as LGBT.
— D.S.
Victory in Ark., Part I
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—The Arkansas
Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling
that a law prohibiting adoption by unmarried
couples who live together violates the Arkansas
Constitution. On Nov. 4,2008, Arkansas voters
approved a statutory ban on adoption and
foster parenting by unmarried individuals co
habiting with a sexual partner. The April 7 ruling
affirms a Pulaski County circuit judge decision
that Initiated Act I of 2008 intrudes on privacy
rights guaranteed by the Arkansas Constitution.
The victory leaves Mississippi and Utah as the
only states with adoption bans for unmarried
couples, including same-sex couples.
^D.S
Victory in Ark., Part II
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Advocates for LGBT
youth and education praised Gov. Beebe's April
1 signing of a comprehensive anti-bullying bill
that enumerates personal characteristics often
targeted for bullying, including race, religion,
sexual orientation and gender identity. The
bill, which also requires educatortraining, had
overwhelming support from legislators of all
parties and passed unanimously in the state
Senate. Arkansas is the 11th state to pass
an enumerated anti-bullying law. The others
that have such laws are California, Illinois,
Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
— D.S.
Global
British HIV rates up sharply
LONDON, U.K. — New Health Protection
Agency figures show that HIV infections
among gay and bisexual men in the U.K. have
risen by 70 percent in the last decade. In
2001,1,810 men who have sex with men were
diagnosed with the disease. Last year, the
number had risen to 3,080. It is estimated that
there are 30,000 gay and bisexual men living
with HIV in the U.K. today, although one-third
of these are thought to be undiagnosed.
— D.S
Sundays
Black Out Party
Mondays
Knock down, drag out #4
Tuesdays
Double Trouble Karaoke
with Ausia Lee from 10 pm - 12 am
and Tim McGee from 12 am - until
$2.50 Jager Tooter
Wednesdays
Jazzy^s Star Search with Savannah Dazie
$1.50 Pabst Blue Ribbon Canned Beer
$2.75 House Rum
Tliursdays
Flash Back Fever
Preview Show at 10:30 pm
Main Event at 12:30 am
Locals Mght with no cover, free pool, drink specials
Fridays & Saturdays
Fri., April 15 - Paris LeFaris, Jessica Diamond,
Aaltyoh Beigen
Sat, April 16- Dance Party with Imani Tate
Fri., April 22 - Kelly Brooks, Cianna Stephens,
Canovia, Rosy LaRoux
Sat, April 23 - Party with Akasha Tate
Fri., April 29 - Dominique Deveraux, Ausia He,
Savannah Dazie
Sat, April 30 - Dance Party with Manerva
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - M Cover
_ (excluding special holidays or events)
THE HOTTEST DANCE MUSIC ON THE BEACH WITH D.J. MACKEL
For booking Information {female impersonators/male dancers)
contact Ken @ 843.448.1180,1 Oam-1 pm
www.tlmeoutmbsc.com
April 16-29.2011 qnotes 7