Montreal-born Xavier Dolan offers new film, ‘Heartbeats.’
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To ensure equal access to HUD programs, LGBTs must be counted, activists say.
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Gay Quebecois director
– ut e s. in al ko nl on ec r o ers Ch rte p po nd Re , a a s re fied y A ssi Ba cla he ts, s t ar It’ s, w ne
To count or not to count?
see Arts
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BAYAREAREPORTER
Vol. 41
. No. 11 . 17 March 2011
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
AOF silent on next payments
DOMA repeal introduced
by Seth Hemmelgarn
by Lisa Keen
ore than two weeks after its annual Oscar gala, Academy of Friends isn’t saying when it will make another payment on the tens of thousands of dollars it owes to its community partners from the Alan Keith 2010 event. However, a board member said the organization is examining its future, including the possibility of selecting partners without inviting groups to apply. AOF, which holds its pricey Academy Awards gala each year, had pledged last
hen Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) introduced the Respect for Marriage Act in 2009, he conceded there was little chance for passage in the 111th Congress. Absent from the 102 co-sponsors that year was Representative Senator Dianne Barney Frank (D- Feinstein Massachusetts), the most veteran and influential of the three openly gay members of Congress. He said the bill had “zero” chance of passage. Also missing was thenHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) as co-sponsors, and there was no companion bill in the Senate.
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ony Carter and Carlos Radilla, a couple visiting from Los Angeles, struck a pose with stilt walker and balloon artist Chris Corrado before the passing of the 160th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Market Street Saturday, March 12.
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Bully pulpit for anti-bullying confab Report details bi ‘invisibility’ T
es specific to anti-LGBT bullying, the need to address it came up numerous times in breakout sessions he White House held a highand in remarks. visibility conference on bulKevin Jennings, the openly gay lying prevention March 10, assistant deputy secretary for the ofwith the president and first lady fice of safe and drug-free schools at calling on parents, teachers, stuthe Department of Education, and dents, and communities to address the founder of GLSEN, said in a call the problem together. Members of with reporters that bullying has Congress last week introduced sevreached a “tipping point” where it “is eral LGBT-inclusive bills designed no longer tolerable.” What pushed it to address bullying and harassment to that point, he said, was the media of students. attention surrounding a string of In his opening remarks, Presifive suicides last fall related to antident Barack Obama said the one LGBT bullying. overarching goal of the conference The event also served to launch First lady Michelle Obama talks with Emily, left, and Sarah Buder, authors was “to dispel the myth that bullying the website www.StopBullying.gov, of Letters to a Bullied Girl: Messages of Healing and Hope, during last is just a harmless rite of passage or which consolidates federal anti-bulweek’s Conference on Bullying Prevention at the White House. an inevitable part of growing up.” lying resources for students, parents, “Bullying can have destructive educators, and others. On the consequences for our young people,” the Trevor Project. homepage is a prominent rainbow-colored box tiObama said. “No school can be a great school until it is first tled “LGBT Bullying,” which links to LGBT-speThe president also noted that bullying is “more a safe school,” said Education Secretary Arne Dun- cific information and resources. likely to affect kids that are seen as different, can. The conference also highlighted several private, whether it’s because of the color of their skin, the And Secretary of Health and Human Services national campaigns to address bullying, including clothes they wear, the disability they may have, or Kathleen Sebelius asserted, “Bullying is not an ed- ones from the National Education Association, the sexual orientation.” ucation problem or a health problem – it is a com- American Federation of Teachers, and the NaAttending the event were senior administration munity problem.” tional PTA. officials and approximately 150 students, parents, Breakout sessions led by other administration MTV said it would launch a new coalition – of teachers, advocates, and others, including repre- officials discussed school policies and programs, which the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against sentatives from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Ed- campus and community programs, and cyberbul- Defamation will be part – to fight bullying and inucation Network, the Human Rights Campaign, lying. Although there were no sessions or speech- tolerance online. page 13 the National Center for Transgender Equality, and
he San Francisco Human Rights Commission unanimously adopted a groundbreaking report examining the consequences of rendering bisexuals “invisible” at its meeting last week. The report, Lindasusan Ulrich which bi community members applauded, is believed to be the first of its kind. “I’m so excited and relieved. It’s been such a long time coming. I had a good sense that it would pass, but to not have it even be a question? At the end I’m just so grateful to be a part of it,” said Lindasusan Ulrich, author of the report, entitled, “Bisexual In-
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Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton
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