Antonin Scalia
What's wrong with this country when Barney Frank can't call Antonin Scalia a homophobe without folks getting bent out of shape? In an interview with http://www.365Gay.com, Frank, the openly gay congressman from Massachusetts, was discussing [...]
Goodbye to Madam X
I last saw Le Roy Scott riding his battery-powered scooter up John R. street three weeks ago. He was headed toward Cathedral Terrace where he reigned - gaily content - on the ninth floor facing [...]
Transgender Day of Visibility
by John Corvino March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility. I'm supposed to participate in a panel that day. I'm a bit apprehensive. Like many gay people, I tend to tiptoe around transgender issues. This [...]
Have no ‘Doubt,’ the film is holy-crap good
Translating a play into a motion picture is much like being an unprotected-sex-seeking whore: It's risky business. "Doubt" knows. After premiering off-Broadway in 2004 - and winning lady-loving Cherry Jones, who played Sister Aloysius, a [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente 'Heathers' hopes to kill on Broadway Twenty years after the theatrical release of "Heathers," there hasn't been another teen movie quite like it. Its unique combination of coal-black satirical comedy, color-coded [...]
‘Tea’ time
By D. A. Blackburn 'Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales' 7 p.m. April 6 Arena Theatre, Michigan State University, East Lansing Free http://www.lbgtc.msu.edu In E. Patrick Johnson's world, sweet tea [...]
Bodybuilding – and beyond
By Dan Woog The Outfield When author Benoit Denizet-Lewis began researching "America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life," he wanted his book about addicts to include someone from the LGBT community. In "Todd" [...]
Madison, Wisconsin
by Andrew Collins Out of Town Of mid-sized cities, Madison is one of the gay-friendliest in America. The regional political ethos is tolerance, and the city's role as state capital and home base of the [...]
TV Spotlight: ‘Pedro’
Anyone watching "Pedro" last night on one of several MTV networks (check local listings for encores this weekend) probably cried a river. Dustin Lance Black, the award-winning "Milk" screenplay writer, wrote the harrowing and inspiring [...]
Be careful, Scorpio!
By Jack Fertig Q Scopes Venus is squaring Pluto, cranking up the heat in all relationships towards anger and/or "amour." The slightest impulse can ignite raging passions. Don't shy away from conflict. With Jupiter in [...]
Classic Elton Tunes
Q Puzzle Across 1 Fem accessory 6 What you might be in when you're out 10 Worn-out horses 14 Lover of Henry and June 15 Blows away 16 Ready to go in 17 Musical tribute [...]
Dear dwelling spaces
"I like the kitchen. Our kitchen gets lots of natural light. Plus, I can always find a snack." - James Melton, Detroit "I live in a tiny studio in New York. I don't have rooms." [...]
Home-related reads
1. "Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet - One Room at a Time," Beth Greer, Rodale Books, $15.95 Not anxious enough? Beth Greer's make-good book exacerbates the worry wart in all of [...]
A piece of (wood) work
by Jessica Carreras Heirloom Furniture Restoration is about the strangest hospital you'll ever see. Inconspicuously located down a bumpy dirt road on the west end of Ann Arbor, the shop is, mainly, a converted garage. [...]
8,000 reasons to buy in 2009
by Jeff Hammerberg Congress recently enacted legislation providing a tax credit worth up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes, so if a buyer gets the $8,000 perk [...]
Blue Cross is hurting an already ill-protected minority
I think Blue Cross's decision to stop coverage of gender reassignment surgery is just another corporate ploy and example of discrimination to oppress a weak, marginalized and voiceless minority who cannot seek or secure justice [...]
BCBSM speaks about cutting gender reassignment coverage
LANSING - As reported last week in Between The Lines, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has announced it will eliminate coverage of gender reassignment surgery in its single payer insurance program, effective immediately. That [...]
President Heather O’Brien
by Jessica Carreras Two years ago, Dykes on Bikes Detroit, a local chapter of the national group of lesbian motorcyclists, had two members. One of those two was Heather O'Brien. Today, the 39-year-old Dearborn Heights [...]
Same-sex Binational Couples in the United States A Demographic Overview
There are an estimated 35,820 bi-national same-sex couples who reported to the most recent Census. 58% of same-sex bi-national couples who reported to the Census are male-male, averaging 40 years old, while 42% are female-female [...]
Community Foundation names first Racial Equity recipients
by Jessica Carreras The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has announced their first-ever HOPE Fund grants awarded for the Racial Equity Initiative. The groups receiving the grants are Kick, The Agency for the LGBT Connect [...]
Mother of two set to be deported because she is a lesbian
By BTL staff WASHINGOTN, D.C. - Immigration Equality is optimistic that legislators will act on behalf of a Northern California family that may soon be torn apart. Due to immigration laws that discriminate against lesbian [...]
Wayne State works to make campus S.A.F.E.
On April 2 from 3:30-5:30 p.m., the Wayne State University GLBT Association, in collaboration with the Gender and Sexuality Community, will host a panel and training for allies of the LGBT community to make the [...]
Groundbreaking HIV/AIDS study investigates dangers of “down low” label
PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at Public Health Management Corporation published a study in the American Journal of Public Health showing that black men who have sex with men and women and identify themselves as on the [...]
Int’l AIDS Society blasts pope
by Rex Wockner Pope Benedict XVI's first-ever remarks on condom use were irresponsible, dangerous, ignorant, outrageous and insulting, officials of the International AIDS Society said March 20. Speaking to reporters March 17, Benedict said AIDS [...]
MEPs take up Russian gay rights crusade
by Rex Wockner Twenty-two members of the European Parliament have sent a letter to the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers complaining about Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's permanent ban on public gay events and similar [...]
Serbia bans GLB discrimination
by Rex Wockner Serbia's National Assembly banned all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation March 26. The vote was 127-59, one more vote than was needed for passage. Sixty-four deputies did not show up [...]
Conflicting reports on Venezuelan civil union bill
by Rex Wockner Venezuela's National Assembly is set to legalize same-sex unions with a new "associations of coexistence" law, MP Romelia Matute told reporters March 20. She said the law will extend "juridical and patrimonial [...]
Vilnius mayor: Gay march cannot be downtown
by Rex Wockner The mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, Vilius Navickas, said March 19 that gays can have a pride parade, but only far from downtown. "I respect everyone under the sun, and their personal lives, [...]
Hearing on Berry confirmation hints at increase in LGBT equality in government
By Lisa Keen The breezy confirmation hearing of openly gay Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry was a stark road-marker in LGBT community's journey toward equality. Sixteen years ago, the U.S. Senate became embroiled [...]
EQCA stages statewide meetings with the grassroots
by Rex Wockner Stung and damaged by criticism that the No on 8 campaign leadership was haughty, insular and unwilling to listen to outsiders, key player Equality California is now co-staging a series of community [...]
Gainesville voters retain GLBT rights law
by Rex Wockner Voters in Gainesville, Fla., rejected an amendment March 24 that would have repealed the city's law that protects GLBT people from discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and credit services. Charter Amendment [...]
N.H. House passes same-sex marriage bill
by Rex Wockner New Hampshire's House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage March 26 by a vote of 186-179. The measure now moves to the Senate. "This is a very proud day [...]
Sen. Kerry goes to bat for binational gay couple
by Rex Wockner U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has gone to bat for a binational gay couple, asking the Obama administration to let Genesio Oliveira return from Brazil to live with his husband, Tim Coco, [...]
Nominations now being accepted for the Pride Banquet
Award nominations opened March 1 for the 24th Annual Pride Banquet & Awards Ceremony, celebrating the outstanding achievement of people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied communities in southeastern Michigan. The Pride Banquet [...]
Affirmations offers free trial of Community Connections Board
FERNDALE - The time has come for the single LGBT people of the Detroit area to start hooking up at the Aff! At least that's the plan with Affirmation's new Community Connections Board, which allows [...]
A look into “his Germany”
Lev Raphael is standing in the doorway of his home, holding back one of his West Highland Terriers. Promptly he is in the kitchen, using his Braun coffee maker, an emblem of a fear of [...]
Coverage for gender reassignment surgery is a necessity
As the nation, and perhaps even the world, basks in the pride of the first ever Transgender Day of Visibility, we are reminded just how far there is to go before transgender people are both [...]
Village Players explore loyalty in ‘Pack of Lies’
'Pack of Lies' 8 p.m. March 27-28, April 3-4 2 p.m. March 29 and April 5 Village Players Playhouse 34660 Woodward, Birmingham Tickets: $15 http://www.birminghamvillageplayers.com BIRMINGHAM - To whom do you owe a greater loyalty [...]
Family searches for its heart at the Rep
Families. For better or worse, love them or hate them, the families we're born into are the foundations upon which our lives and histories are built. But what happens when familial secrets threaten to destroy [...]
MSU’s ‘Tommy’: an all-virtual design
By Taras Berezowsky Outdoors, the drab spring rain on a recent morning in East Lansing disclosed no hint of the dazzling artistry at work inside both the Departments of Theatre and of Gaming at Michigan [...]
A comedy not hard to swallow at Go Comedy!
I love a challenge - and the 10 p.m. show at Ferndale's Go Comedy! Improv Theater certainly is a challenging show for critics to review. It's not that the show isn't funny - trust me, [...]
Iowa Supreme Court unanymously strikes down gay marriage ban
By Lisa Keen "When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today's events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating [...]
Embrace competition, Sagittarius!
By Jack Fertig Q Scopes The Sun is aligned with Eris focusing our attention on our alliances and group identifications. Aspects from Mars and Jupiter make us eager to protect the group and expand its [...]