Gay Kansas News: Week of 4/11/2010
April 19, 2010, 10:10 pm
Filed under: Allies, Courts, Education, Elections, HIV/AIDS, Legislatures, Marriage, Military, News Summary, Nondiscrimination, Opponents, Pride, Protests, Religion, Sports, Youth | Tags: AIDS, athletes, Augusta Gazette, Avila College, Baker Orange, Baker University, Barb Shelly, Bernie Papin, Beverly Eckert, blood donation, Christian Legal Society, CLS v. Hastings, Community of Christ Church, congress, country music, Courts, DADT, Denise L. Eulert, domestic partner benefits, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Education, Elections, Employment, FDA, first amendment, Forty Under Forty, Fox News, Fred Phelps, free speech, funeral pickets, gay, gay-straight alliance, GSA, health, health care, HIV, hospitals, James Dobson, James Stewart Jr., Jennifer Knapp, Jerry Moran, Jolie Justus, Jonathan Shorman, Jonathan Turley, Kansas, Kansas City Star, Kent Bush, KU, Lauren Bornstein, lesbian, LGBT, Margie Phelps, Marriage, Max Rothman, medicine, Military, Missouri, Missouri legislature, MU, music, National Day of Prayer, National Day of Silence, Nondiscrimination, Pride, Protests, R.L. Barger, Religion, Roll Call, Ryan Thomas Campbell, Sam Brownback, same-sex marriage, Shauna Blackmon, Snyder v. Phelps, Sports, Supreme Court, taxes, The Advocate, Todd Tiahrt, Tony Perkins, Topeka Capital-Journal, UMKC, universities, University Daily Kansan, University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Vicki Tiahrt, Westboro Baptist Church, Winfield Daily Courier
Filed under: Allies, Courts, Education, Elections, HIV/AIDS, Legislatures, Marriage, Military, News Summary, Nondiscrimination, Opponents, Pride, Protests, Religion, Sports, Youth | Tags: AIDS, athletes, Augusta Gazette, Avila College, Baker Orange, Baker University, Barb Shelly, Bernie Papin, Beverly Eckert, blood donation, Christian Legal Society, CLS v. Hastings, Community of Christ Church, congress, country music, Courts, DADT, Denise L. Eulert, domestic partner benefits, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Education, Elections, Employment, FDA, first amendment, Forty Under Forty, Fox News, Fred Phelps, free speech, funeral pickets, gay, gay-straight alliance, GSA, health, health care, HIV, hospitals, James Dobson, James Stewart Jr., Jennifer Knapp, Jerry Moran, Jolie Justus, Jonathan Shorman, Jonathan Turley, Kansas, Kansas City Star, Kent Bush, KU, Lauren Bornstein, lesbian, LGBT, Margie Phelps, Marriage, Max Rothman, medicine, Military, Missouri, Missouri legislature, MU, music, National Day of Prayer, National Day of Silence, Nondiscrimination, Pride, Protests, R.L. Barger, Religion, Roll Call, Ryan Thomas Campbell, Sam Brownback, same-sex marriage, Shauna Blackmon, Snyder v. Phelps, Sports, Supreme Court, taxes, The Advocate, Todd Tiahrt, Tony Perkins, Topeka Capital-Journal, UMKC, universities, University Daily Kansan, University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Vicki Tiahrt, Westboro Baptist Church, Winfield Daily Courier
- Kansas Senate candidate Todd Tiahrt joined anti-gay national figures Tony Perkins and James Dobson’s wife in opposing a federal judge’s ruling that the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional. Tiahrt released a statement on his congressional website, but it’s no longer there. Tiahrt’s wife hasn’t deleted a tweet promoting the association though. In the now-deleted release, Tiahrt said:
Judge Crabb’s ruling was an offense to our constitutional rights and radically seeks to overturn more than two centuries of historic precedent rooted in Judeo-Christian values. Our Founding Fathers understood the absolute need for dependence upon God, and we are no less in need of his assistance today than when our country was founded.
- Kansan and Christian country star Jennifer Knapp comes out as lesbian. Columnist Kent Bush comments in the Augusta Gazette.
- The Kansas City Star notes that the candidates vying for Sam Brownback’s senate seat—Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran—are both extremely conservative, including both opposing same-sex marriage.
- The Winfield Daily Courier republishes a Washington Post editorial taking the side of the Christian Legal Society in the high profile Supreme Court case CLS v. Martinez.
- The University Daily Kansan, KU’s student newspaper, published articles by Lauren Bornstein about DADT, Max Rothman about LGBT athletes, and Jonathan Shorman and Shauna Blackmon about the Phelpses’ protest of KU’s pride week.
- The Baker Orange, Baker University‘s student newspaper, writes about the university GSA’s observance of the National Day of Silence.
- Kansas City Star editorial board member Barb Shelly writes about President Obama’s guarantee of hospital visitation access for LGBT people.
- The Kansas City Star reports that James Stewart, Jr., an Avila College student, is working against the FDA’s ban on blood donation by gay men.
- The Maneater, the University of Missouri-Columbia’s student newspaper, reports that in a University of Missouri-system survey, a majority of UMKC faculty voted in favor of offering domestic partner benefits to LGBT faculty and staff.
- Kansas Citian, Missouri state senator, and out lesbian Jolie Justus made The Advocate’s Forty Under Forty list.
- KTVI 2 St. Louis reports that the Community of Christ conference in Kansas City last week punted on dealing with LGBT issues.
- Kudos to University of Kansas student Ryan Thomas Campbell for winning a prestigious Chancellor’s award for his LGBT activism.
- The Topeka Capital-Journal runs an AP story on Snyder v. Phelps.
- Roll Call published a guest op-ed by George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley on Snyder v. Phelps. Margie Phelps responded in a letter in this morning’s edition (pg. 4).
- The Topeka Capital-journal published letters about the Phelpses from R.L. Barger of Springfield, Ill., Denise L. Eulert of Topeka, and Beverly Eckert of Lee’s Summit, Mo.
- The Kansas City Star published a letter by Bernie Papin of Lenexa criticizing American courts for rulings favoring the Phelpses.
- Fox News notes that the Phelpses avoid taxes by claiming to be a church. (We’re a little miffed Fox News criticized the Phelpses in the context of taxes, but we’ll take what we can get.)
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Gay Kansas News 3/24/2010
March 24, 2010, 8:05 pm
Filed under: Allies, Courts, Education, Elderly, Elections, Legislatures, Marriage, News Summary, Opponents, Organizing, Parenting, Protests, Religion, Youth | Tags: AARP, American Association of Retired Persons, anal sex, Bob Bennett, Carol Beier, Catholic Church, Charleston, Chris Steineger, Colorado, Columbia, congress, Courts, DC, Denver, District of Columbia, Durango, Education, Elections, Fire Beier, Forward Kansas, Fred Phelps, FWKS, gay, Hays, HB 2079, Joplin, Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas Equality Coalition, Kansas judiciary, Kansas legislature, Kansas Supreme Court, KEC, KEC Northeast Chapter, KEC Northwest Chapter, Kevin Smith, lesbian, LGBT, lobby day, lobbying, Mark Sanford, Marriage, Missouri, Missouri legislature, music, Organizing, Parenting, Pat Roberts, PROMO, Protests, Red State, Rita Cromwell, Sam Brownback, same-sex marriage, Seth Gold, South Carolina, Utah, Vi McCoy, Washington University in St. Louis, Westboro Baptist Church, WUSTL, Youth
Filed under: Allies, Courts, Education, Elderly, Elections, Legislatures, Marriage, News Summary, Opponents, Organizing, Parenting, Protests, Religion, Youth | Tags: AARP, American Association of Retired Persons, anal sex, Bob Bennett, Carol Beier, Catholic Church, Charleston, Chris Steineger, Colorado, Columbia, congress, Courts, DC, Denver, District of Columbia, Durango, Education, Elections, Fire Beier, Forward Kansas, Fred Phelps, FWKS, gay, Hays, HB 2079, Joplin, Kansas, Kansas City, Kansas Equality Coalition, Kansas judiciary, Kansas legislature, Kansas Supreme Court, KEC, KEC Northeast Chapter, KEC Northwest Chapter, Kevin Smith, lesbian, LGBT, lobby day, lobbying, Mark Sanford, Marriage, Missouri, Missouri legislature, music, Organizing, Parenting, Pat Roberts, PROMO, Protests, Red State, Rita Cromwell, Sam Brownback, same-sex marriage, Seth Gold, South Carolina, Utah, Vi McCoy, Washington University in St. Louis, Westboro Baptist Church, WUSTL, Youth
Kansas
- STICKY: After the loss of local activist Steve Brown, KEC’s northeast Kansas chapter will reorganize at a meeting on Mar. 27.
- STICKY: KEC meeting to organize a northwest Kansas chapter has been rescheduled for Apr. 10.
- Kansas Equality Coalition reports that one of its priorities, Senate Substitute for H.B. 2079, stalled in the Kansas Senate yesterday. The bill would close a campaign finance loophole that allows unlimited, anonymous donations to judicial retention elections. In related news, Forward Kansas is calling out Democratic senator and secretary of state-candidate Chris Steineger’s abstention on a vote related to the bill.
- Senator Pat Roberts is cosponsoring an amendment to the health care reform legislation to stop the District of Columbia from recognizing same-sex marriage. This is Roberts’ second attempt at overriding D.C.’s city council. Senator and gubernatorial candidate Sam Brownback joined him in the first attempt.
- Actor/comedian Kevin Smith, who is coming to Kansas City this weekend, tweets that his next movie Red State is a go. Smith says the movie is inspired by Fred Phelps. Not surprisingly, we noted last week that Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest Smith’s Kansas City appearance.
- WBC took a break from their Charleston, S.C., protest to protest Mark Sanford’s fidelity in Columbia.
Nearby
- KOMU 8 Columbia reports on PROMO‘s Missouri legislature lobby day. We thank all of the day’s sponsors listed on PROMO’s website.
- Missourian Rita Cromwell writes another anti-gay letter to the Joplin Globe, this time about AARP’s promotion of homosexuality.
- Coloradoan Vi McCoy writes a nasty anti-gay letter to the Durango Herald News.
- Coloradoan Lester Wall writes a letter to the Boulder Daily Camera on the LGBT community’s response to a Catholic school’s decision to bar children of LGBT parents.
- Denver’s Gayzette profiles gay circuit DJ Seth Gold.
- Last but not least, Washington University in St. Louis’s student newspaper writes about anal sex.
Gay Kansas 