From AP: Supporters of a lesbian mother will present a petition at the Boy Scouts of America’s annual meeting in Orlando to protest her removal from a troop in Ohio.
Deborah Tyrrell’s supporters will present the petition with more than 275,000 names when the Boy Scouts’ meeting begins in Florida Wednesday.
Tyrrell was removed last April as a leader of the troop near Bridgeport, Ohio. Boy Scouts’ policy prohibits gays from being adult leaders.
Among those who will present the petition is Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, an Iowa college student who was raised by lesbian mothers. A video of Wahls urging Iowa legislators not to end civil unions went viral last year.
Scouts spokesman Deron Smith says there are no plans to change the policy but the group values freedom of expression.
UK gay mag Attitudehas released its annual Naked Issue and, in honor of the London Olympics, they put out rugby star Gareth Thomas on the cover.
Joining Thomas in the buff are reality starJay of Geordie Shore, singer Rod Thomas, Olympic high jumper Robbie Grabarz and out actor Andrew Hayden-Smith (Doctor Who). The au naturel spread helps raise awareness of the National AIDS Trust HIV testing campaign.
Via press release: Grammy Award-winning guitarist Tom Morello of “Rage Against The Machine,” singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, Tim McIlrath of the punk rock band “Rise Against,” international touring hip-hop artist Brother Ali and Mike McColgan, the original lead singer of “Dropkick Murphys” and the lead singer of the “Street Dogs,” are all hitting the stage in Madison to turn out the vote in a Wisconsin recall election that looks too close to call.
The “Get Out The Vote’ Rally, sponsored by We Are Wisconsin, will provide a massive boost to canvassing efforts days before the recall election on June 5.
The event, which will be held at the Madison Labor Temple at 1602 S. Park St., is free to the public with a sign up to volunteer to help get out the vote. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
“Gov. Scott Walker messed with Wisconsin workers and now it’s time to pay the piper,” said Morello. “I’m headed back to Madison with some friends to help yank that right-wing extremist out of office like a bad tooth. We are ready, willing and able to use our music to help rally the troops to do the hard work of knocking on doors and getting out the vote during the last critical hours of this recall election.”
Three different polls released in the past week have shown a dead heat with challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett having clear momentum and a superior field operation. Both sides have consistently said the election will come down to whom has the better ground game and turns out its base.
I met the great Ms. Eartha Kitt and saw her perform. We should all be so focused and driven – in the very best ways possible. She was a force of nature.
Two teens, ages 18 and 19, are currently being held in custody at the St. Louis County Jail after what witnesses says was a homophobic assault by possibly more than 9 others, many high school seniors, at a graduation party near Duluth, Minnesota.
Max Pelofske, 21, of Duluth, said he came to a party at the pit to offer his congratulations to a friend’s sister, who will graduate from Proctor High School in several days. The friend, Kelly Johnson, also 21, said she and Pelofske had been at the unsanctioned gathering of about 50 people, mostly current and former Proctor students, for about five minutes when a boy approached her and Pelofske.
“He told me to look him in the eyes, and I was really confused because I’d never seen the guy before,” Pelofske told the News Tribune. “He asked me: ‘Are you gay?’ And I said, ‘Yes. Is that OK?’ ”
After that, Pelofske said he was struck in the head by a flying beer can, and a crowd of boys surrounded him, threw him to the ground and began punching and kicking him.
“I tried to get up, but I kept getting knocked back down,” said Pelofske, who described his alleged assailants as “all laughing and smiling.”
“They were trying to throw me into the fire,” he said.
Johnson said at least nine boys were involved in the attack.
“I thought they were going to kill him,” Johnson said, estimating that the beating went on for five to 10 minutes. She said she tried to intervene but was pushed away. “I was screaming, ‘Just let us leave!’ ”
Johnson refuted that account, saying Pelofske was attacked by a large group, not a single individual, and never attempted to fight back or to throw anything at anyone. She also said that she and Pelofske had been at the gathering only five minutes or so and had consumed no alcohol. She said they both asked for breath tests when police arrived to document they had not been drinking.
Pelofske was released from the hospital Sunday morning with bruised ribs, a swollen face, and foot marks all over his back and legs.
“After they’re arraigned and charged, the assault charge should show whether it’s a crime of bias,” Sgt. Brent Donahue of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department told the News Tribune. “It’s an open investigation at this point.”
The 19-year-old in custody is being held on pending charges of assault in the fourth degree — which is a crime of bias, Donahue said — and possession of marijuana. The 18-year-old’s pending charges are unknown.
