As the world continues to learn more about coronavirus and its spread, it's vital to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. However, it's also important to make sure that the information being distributed is from credible sources. To that end, Between The Lines has compiled, [...]
House Republicans fail again to reverse domestic partner benefits for state employees
By Tara Cavanaugh LANSING- Republican lawmakers in the Michigan House made a second attempt on April 14 to reverse benefits for live-in partners of state employees. Republicans gained 3 Democratic supporters for a total of [...]
Boehner wants DOJ to pay House to defend DOMA
By Tara Cavanaugh House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today that the House "plans to protect taxpayers from any cost associated with the Obama administration's refusal to [...]
Queeries: My boyfriend wants me to sext him
By Steven Petrow Q: Many of my friends are sending naked pictures of themselves to their boyfriends, and they don't seem to think twice about it. I'm a competitive gymnast on my high school's team, [...]
Coming out – as a family
Dear Jody Q: My girlfriend "Julie" and I are having a disagreement and I am thinking this may be a "deal breaker" for me, so I hope you can give us some sage advice that [...]
Book Marks: ‘Pornography’ packs ‘an impressionistic punch’
by Richard Labonte "Wingshooters," by Nina Revoyr. Akashic Books, 250 pages, $15.95 paper. Xenophobia is rampant in rural Vietnam War-era Wisconsin, and for most of Revoyr's fourth novel, it's focused squarely on almost-10-year-old Michelle LeBeau, [...]
Ann Arbor Summer Festival announces 28th season
The Ann Arbor Summer Festival recently announced its headlining indoor performances as well as a special outdoor attraction for the 2011 season. From Hollywood celebrities and hip-hop circus to sequined drag artists and inflatable sculptures, [...]
Gov. Snyder killed my career
By Eric A. Haynes This January, as I was moving to the Detroit area from Los Angeles, everyone asked me why I was heading to Michigan. To work in film production, duh! With Governor Snyder's [...]
Exclusive: Sex and the Seedy
There's not much city in "Meet Monica Velour," but there's sex - and a trailer park and a very haggard-looking Kim Cattrall. The "Sex and the City" actress plays the title character, a washed-up porn [...]
PBS to air ‘Stonewall Uprising’
In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois and gays frequently found themselves being hauled off to jail, their names splashed in the next day's newspaper. The vast majority of medical authorities [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente Watch Out, Betty White's going to punk you NBC wants to be back in the Betty White business. And who can blame them? The 89-year-old spent seven seasons with The Peacock [...]
Q Scopes: Pace yourself, Scorpio!
By Jack Fertig Mercury turning direct while conjunct Mars in Aries will open up daring, impulsive ideas. Both planets are opposing Saturn in Libra so those ideas are sure to hit walls of critical feedback. [...]
Taylor-made for the Big Screen
Across 1 Eagle or chicken hawk 5 "Life Goes On" daughter 10 Susan B. Anthony dollar, e.g. 14 Be reminded of S&M, e.g. 15 Minnesota state senator Spear 16 Kinky coif 17 Ps on the [...]
Tragic ”night, Mother’ is compelling drama
By John Quinn Lisa Melinn and Diane Hill star in "'night, Mother." Photo: Breathe Art Theatre Project It was Aristotle, godfather of all theater critics, who first wrote of "catharsis." Briefly, it refers to [...]
A full-throttle ‘Full Monty’
By Martin F. Kohn Jason Cabral, Cal Schwartz and Adam Crinson in "The Full Monty." Photo: Robert Lima Editor's note: Generally, Between The Lines does not review shows produced by the state's college and [...]
Pigeon Creek steeps ‘Merchant’ in merriment
By Bridgette M. Redman Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" is rightly considered a problem play for today's audiences, consisting as it does of strong anti-Semitism and the heart-breaking ending in which Shylock is forced to [...]
Intelligence and laughs at Andiamo Novi
Men. We're simple creatures, really. If you feed us, pat us on our heads occasionally and tell us how wonderful we are, and take care of certain carnal needs, we're yours for life. Or so [...]
Two new Thursday night hits at Go Comedy!
If nothing else, Metro Detroit's improvisers are a creative bunch - and Ferndale's Go Comedy! Improv Theater has established a cool niche for itself by scheduling a slate of original scripted shows on Thursday nights. [...]
Don’t wait for Godot to head to The Abreact
With little character background, only a vague sense of time and place, and a far-ranging discussion that covers a multitude of philosophical, religious, psychological and political topics, it's no wonder Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" [...]
“Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”
By John Quinn The headline is a well-known quote in comedy circles. These "last words" are attributed to theatrical types ranging from actor Edmund Gwenn to playwright George Bernard Shaw. Whoever it was, he was [...]
Out of Town: California’s Hwy. 1, Los Angeles to San Francisco
by Andrew Collins It's true that most who travel between the West Coast's largest gay meccas, Los Angeles and San Francisco, do so by way of a simple one-hour flight. But there's a great reason [...]
Dutch university gives transgender man new diploma
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The president of the executive board of the University of Amsterdam, Karel van der Toorn, presented transgender activist and alumnus Justus Eisfeld with a new diploma reflecting his correct gender [...]
Euro Parliament scolds Macedonia
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS In adopting its annual report on Macedonia's progress toward joining the European Union, the European Parliament on April 7 told the nation to legally ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. [...]
Gay groups denounce draft of Hungarian Constitution
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Hungary's Parliament was scheduled to vote April 18 on a new national constitution that LGBT groups say is problematic. ILGA-Europe - the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, [...]
India’s Supreme Court considers ruling that legalized gay sex
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS India's Supreme Court was scheduled on April 19 to begin hearing 15 separate appeals of the Delhi High Court ruling that struck down the nation's ban on gay sex in [...]
Moscow Pride: 6th time’s the charm?
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Gay activists will try again next month to stage a gay pride march in Moscow. This time, they are armed with a final ruling from the European Court of Human [...]
Day of Silence speaks volumes
By Ruchi Naresh Jay Theden, 20, participated in the April 15 Day of Silence. She said after losing her best friend, she was silenced by death. BTL photo: Ruchi Naresh DETROIT- Observed across the [...]
A vulnerable triple threat: Senior, black, gay
By Ruchi Naresh There is a triple threat facing the elder African American LGBT population in the Detroit area. Even though small in number, this particular group of people encounters difficulties in finding retirement homes, [...]
Local activist to speak at national NAACP forum
DETROIT- Curtis Lipscomb, the new executive director of KICK, the agency for LGBT African-Americans, will speak as a panelist at a national NAACP forum in Detroit on Saturday, April 30. Speakers and participants at the [...]
ACLU seeks records about state police searches of cellphones
By BTL staff DETROIT- The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan urged the Michigan State Police to release information regarding the use of portable devices, which can be used to secretly extract personal information from [...]
Gay rodeo gears up for July
The Michigan International Gay Rodeo Association will again produce the Greater Motown International Rodeo July 22-24 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Belleville, Michigan. It is an amature gay rodeo run under the guidelines of [...]
Support local GLSEN at June fundraiser
GLSEN of Southeast Michigan is planning a fundraising event on June 18 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Detroit Yacht Club. The evening will include appetizers, a cash bar, and a raffle along with a [...]
Between Ourselves: Emily Dievendorf
by Tara Cavanaugh Emily Dievendorf joined Equality Michigan as Director of Policy in 2010. Prior to that, she worked in the Michigan House of Representatives, since 2002, for Democratic state legislators Alexander C. Lipsey (Kalamazoo) [...]
House holds ‘defending marriage’ hearing
By Lisa Keen Democrats came out swinging Friday, April 15, during a House subcommittee hearing titled "Defending Marriage," about the Department of Justice announcement that it would curtail its defense of the federal ban on [...]
CA Senate bill mandates gay history in schools
By Lisa Leff SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people would be added to the lengthy list of social and ethnic groups that public schools must include in social studies lessons under a landmark [...]
Delaware approves civil unions
By BTL staff DOVER- Delaware is now the seventh state to allow same-sex civil unions after winning approval in the House of Representatives April 14. The bill now goes to the governor to sign. After [...]
Chicago elects 2nd gay alderman
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS Chicago voters elected the city's second openly gay alderman April 5. James Cappleman will represent the 46th Ward on the North Side. Gay Alderman Tom Tunney has represented the heavily [...]
Gay bills introduced in Congress
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS Two recurring LGBT-rights measures were introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in April - the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Uniting American Families Act. ENDA would ban [...]
Maryland trans rights bill dies
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS A transgender nondiscrimination bill that had passed the Maryland House of Delegates died in the Senate on April 11. Senators voted 27-20 to return it to committee. The development took [...]
EMU shows us why we need LGBT history taught in schools
Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported that state Republicans are trying to strike back at Eastern Michigan University ("Dismissal of EMU counselor who refused gay student draws GOP fire," April 15). The school dismissed [...]
William Donohue
Creep of the Week Are all Catholic priests child molesters? No, of course not. Are some Catholic priests child molesters? Yes, indeed. But you know what? There are child molesters in schools and in other [...]
Kobe Bryant throws an anti-gay slur at a referee during a game and gets slapped with a $100,000 fine from the N.B.A. Was his punishment enough?
Only a $100K?!? For being a hate monger it should have been more. Can't stand this guy. -Darren Cardinal I love how he says it was "in the moment" and does not reflect his feelings. [...]
A petrifying fairy tale
Parting Glances Once upon a time there was a forest. It was a small forest with only twelve trees. Over the years - perhaps a hundred or two - the forest sheltered both foreign born [...]
Health, humor, history
Compiled by Howard Israel S/he said "It is important for Afro American and African Diasporic gay men to understand that they have a history of loving and desiring one another that is worth acknowledging and [...]
Will gay marriage undermine monogamy?
By John Corvino Recently I received the following inquiry via my website: "As a single older closeted gay man, I don't understand how we can ask for marriage rights when so many gay couples don't [...]
Hundreds of law students protest graduation speaker
By Tara Cavanaugh U.S. Senator Rob Portman, a U-M Law School graduate, will give the commencement address to the law school this spring. ANN ARBOR- Students at the University of Michigan's Law School are [...]
DVD Lowdown: ‘Black Swan’ and ‘Phillip Morris’
'Black Swan': Killing me softly The who-danced-what hoopla surrounding the berserk ballerina movie Natalie Portman won a Best Actress Oscar for is inconsequential to how fantastically she plays a self-destructive dancer. Whether the actress did [...]
Election 2012: Gavin Newsom, Elizabeth Birch (and me)
by Mark Segal (April 7, 2011) President Obama officially announced (to no one's surprise) that he was a candidate for reelection. The following day, I was on a conference call to kick off the LGBT [...]