Anti-marriage amendment fails House vote, again
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday once again rebuffed the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in the U.S. Constitution. The [...]
Gay Games VII gets underway
CHICAGO — The heat is on — and Gay Games VII is underway, too. As the Windy City wilts under an intense heat wave, nearly 12,000 athletes representing 65 countries will brave the blistering heat [...]
Godchaux campaign seeks additional volunteers
BIRMINGHAM - Patricia Ann "Pan" Godchaux, who is running for U.S. Congress against incumbent Joe Knollenberg in the Aug. 8 primary, needs more volunteers for her campaign. Rep. Knollenberg, who has an anti-gay legislative record, [...]
Single-pill treatment for HIV becomes a reality
By Bob Roehr The quest for a single-pill once-a-day treatment for HIV became a reality when the FDA approved Atripla on July 12. It combines the already approved drugs efavirenz (Sustiva), tenofovir (Viread), and emtricitabine [...]
Deborah Labelle fights for incarcerated children before the U.N.
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman ANN ARBOR - More than 300 children under the age of 18 in Michigan's prisons are serving a life sentence without a chance of parole, according to Ann Arbor attorney Deborah [...]
Gay marriage loses in Connecticut, Nebraska, Tennessee
By Bob Roehr The struggle for gays and lesbians to marry suffered setbacks in Connecticut, Nebraska, and Tennessee last week; with each loss coming at different stages of that process. Connecticut A Connecticut judge ruled [...]
Douglas McIntosh: 1962-2006
Architect and preservationist Doug McIntosh's efforts to help rebuild Detroit may be over, but his life partner will carry on his legacy. "It's going to be my job now," said Scotty James, who was with [...]
Metra Picnic promotes freedom of affection
Around 1,000 people mingled, held hands and kissed at the 27th Annual Metra Magazine Picnic, held July 9 at Salt River Park in Lenox, Mich. And the affection didn't feel awkward, organizers said. "We first [...]
Court decisions attack LGBT civil rights
By Jay Kaplan This month has not been the greatest month for LGBT civil rights. On July 6, the New York Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) ruled 4-2 that it is constitutional to [...]
Report: Marriage equality would benefit children
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman Brooke Kilyanek lives with her partner Emily Sippola and their five-month-old baby, Sanna, in Washtenaw County. Kilyanek is there when Sanna wakes up every morning, and is there to help put [...]
Robert ‘Reebe’ Hatcher
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman HIGHLAND PARK - A young man with "a lot of faith" was taken from the LGBT community on June 27, when Robert "Reebe" Hatcher died of complications resulting from a heart [...]
Rainbow House needs help
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman YPSILANTI - They have the volunteers. They have a family in need. Now, all the Rainbow House Project needs is more money. Twenty-one thousand dollars' worth, to be exact. "With the [...]
Stick it to the right
You may not want to take time out to vote in the Aug. 8 primary. After all, it's summer, and most of us would rather be out by a pool or sitting in a sidewalk [...]
All Politics is Loco: Something old, something new
By Sean Kosofsky Has the marriage bug gotcha yet? It seems that everyone is talking about marriage equality everywhere you go. Almost overnight it seems that the litmus test for whether someone is pro-gay depends [...]
Transmissions: The tipping point
By Gwendolyn Ann Smith In the book "The Tipping Point," Malcolm Gladwell discusses that one moment where the unique becomes common, and when dramatic - even chaotic - change can occur. It is hardly a [...]
Parting Glances: Gaymes with Scatterpin
FRIDAY (AM): I ride backpack on Sister Scatterpin's Heavenly Harley, the two of us heading to Chicago for Gay Games VII. Sister keeps to an ecumenical 85 mph on I-94, with a meditational pullover at [...]
New York marriage decision: homophobia runs deep
by Matt Foreman I never expected New York's high court to rule for us on marriage. For a lot of solid legal reasons, New York was never in the first tier for marriage test case [...]
The right side: not all bad
By Gregory Wright The midterm elections are upon us! In a few short months the first statewide elections of the year will be held. Will you vote? Despite it not being a presidential election year, [...]
Art & Around for the period July 20-29
ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN/GARDEN TOURS: Edsel & Eleanor Ford House Summertime Behind the Scenes tours include "Staff Life on the Estate," "The Secrets Behind the Paintings" and "Cotswold Architecture"; plus Special Interest Tours "Modernism on the Cutting Edge" [...]
The laughs are backstage at Planet Ant
REVIEW: 'Curtain Call' "Curtain Call" runs late night Thu.-Sat. at Planet Ant Theatre, 2357 Caniff, Hamtramck, through July 29. Tickets: $5. For information: 313-365-4948 or http://www.planetant.com. In this gossip-obsessed world of ours, people seem more [...]
Detroiter Keegan-Michael is ‘key’ to The 313
PREVIEW: 'The 313' "The 313" performs Thu, July 27 (8 & 10 p.m.) and Sat., July 29 (11 p.m.) at Planet Ant, Hamtramck and Fri., July 28 (8 & 10 p.m.) and Sat., July 29 [...]
Curtain Calls ONLINE
Professional Theater News from Around Town: Breathe Art presents a Summer Reception and Evening of Theatre DETROIT - Breathe Art Theatre Project invites the public to 1515 Broadway in Detroit on Wednesday, July 26 for [...]
Theater Events for the period July 20-29
PROFESSIONAL THEATER/OPERA: All Childish Things It's "Star Wars" fanaticism gone too far when a nerd, his two friends and one girlfriend plan a caper to heist the greatest collectibles ever. Planet Ant Theatre, Hamtramck. Thu.-Sun., [...]
Concert Connections
This Week: The Hidden Cameras Fri. 7/21/06 Magic Stick, Detroit Dixie Chicks Fri. 7/21/06 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Counting Crows & Goo Goo Dolls Fri. 7/21/06 DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston Anita Baker Sat. 7/22/06 [...]
Now PLaying
Compiled by Q Syndicate Clerks II Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) plans to move to Florida with his fiancee, Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach). But on his last day flipping burgers at Mooby's, freedom seems like a mirage [...]
You can take it with you
LANSING - When Marilyn Gard watched as Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, separating friends and family, she felt obliged to help out. "Hurricane Katrina hit and drove home the sad fact that we, as individuals, [...]
Car salesman, softball player squashes stereotype
ROYAL OAK - As an avid softball player on the Metro Detroit Softball League and car salesman at Royal Oak Ford, Garrett McCloskey crushes the gay male stereotype. "It's like a regular Joe doing his [...]
Lauper returns to Games
CHICAGO - Cyndi Lauper hardly needs an introduction. As a renowned figure in the gay community, with an illustrious number of hit tunes and a recent part in the Broadway play "Threepenny Opera," Lauper is [...]
Newly Hatched
By Brandon Voss They refer to it as "the Incident." At the heart of "the Incident" are 15 words that frontwoman Natalie Maines of the Texas-based Dixie Chicks spoke at a London concert in March [...]
Dixie Chicks not making nice
The rebellious Dixie Chicks make sure, with the unapologetic "Taking The Long Way," that they're Bush-bashing remark won't soon be forgotten. "I opened my mouth and I heard myself," lead vocalist Natalie Maines sings on [...]
Crooner keeps it country
Country honky-tonker Julie Roberts doesn't tone down the twang for her sophomore album "Men & Mascara." Good for her - and us. With her smoky, blues-influenced voice, Roberts glides through a 12-track collection and which [...]
Out now on DVD
Project Runway: The Complete Second Season (2005) (Weinstein Company) When "Project Runway" asks, "Are you in, or are you out?" they aren't asking about your sexuality. But they might as well be. "Project Runway" is [...]
‘Project Runway’ season three begins
As the third season of fashionista reality show "Project Runway" unfolds, contestant Jeffrey Sebelia is giving a nod to Detroit - on his neck. The 36-year-old from Los Angeles has a tattoo that worms around [...]
Ahoy, matey: Writer/director returns to Michigan for whale of a good show
Randy Wyatt bends genders in 'Moby Dick! The Musical' GRAND RAPIDS - It won't be a merry band of men swabbing the decks of the Pequod in the Circle Theatre's upcoming production of "Moby Dick! [...]
New Streisand bio author has bad case of diva envy
Diva bios, in my humble experience, generally fall into two distinct categories: Those that gush and those that dish. Either the writer is so enthralled by his subject that he fills page after page full [...]
Marriage News from Around the Country
Court reinstates anti-marriage amendment LINCOLN, Nebraska - A courts reinstated Nebraska's voter-approved ban on equal marriage on July 14. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a judge's ruling last year that the ban [...]
National News Briefs
National Security Ten-year vet discharged for attending pro-marriage rally WASHINGTON - The United States Navy has initiated discharge proceedings against a 10-year veteran who attended a June 3 rally in support of equal marriage on [...]
Creep of the Week: Kentucky State Sen. Richard Roeding
Kentucky State Sen. Richard Roeding Okay, so on July 13 the University of Louisville's board of trustees voted 14-1 to offer health insurance to domestic partners of school employees. This prompted Kentucky Sen. Richard Roeding [...]
SHe Said July 20, 2006
"I can sum up the Republican agenda in nine words: Burning the flag, spurning the fag and earnings that lag." - U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) as quoted by the Tallahassee Democrat, July 16, 2006. [...]
What would change?
New guidelines issued by Centers for Disease Control could radically decrease the number of HIV-infected people who don't know that they are infected, and could expose others to the disease. The CDC recommendations include: *Routine [...]
HIV/AIDS testing – just another check up?
By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman ATLANTA - The number of people who are infected with HIV and don't know it, both nationally and in Michigan, could decrease radically under proposed government guidelines that would make testing [...]
Maria Cebreco: Differently-abled, open-minded and proud
After Maria Cebreco received the crown for "Ms. Wheelchair Michigan 2006," two young girls scurried to the stage and gazed into her eyes. "I saw how they looked at my crown, my hair, my face [...]
CMU named best LGBT campus
The Advocate selected Central Michigan University as one of the "100 Best LGBT Campuses" and will be acknowledged in a special College Guide released on Aug. 1. "I believe that CMU was selected because of [...]