September 2010 Archives

"Glee" creator Ryan Murphy and "The Kids Are Alright" are among the honorees at Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays' (PFLAG) first annual L.A. Event fundraiser.

The party takes 6-11 p.m. Friday on the rooftop at the London West Hollywood hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd. General admission tickets are $150 and VIP tickets are $250.

Click here to purchase tickets.

The party will be hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, who play the gay couple on ABC's comedy hit "Modern Family."

Murphy, who is openly gay, will receive the group's National Outstanding Award for creating, writing and directing FX's plastic surgery drama "Nip/Tuck" and Fox's musical-comedy "Glee," now in its second season.

The romantic comedy hit "The Kids Are Alright," which stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as a lesbian couple raising two children in suburban America, will receive the group's National Outstanding Motion Picture Award.

Also attending the event will be "Glee" star Jane Lynch, a co-chair of the benefit, and actress Pauley Perette, a strong supporter of marriage equality.

By Jill Serjeant, Reuters

LOS ANGELES - "The Good Wife" is getting a gay brother; new teen TV show "Hellcats" features a lesbian cheerleader; and as for "True Blood" - TV watchers need two hands to count the vampires who will suck the blood of either gender.

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters on prime time U.S. television is growing, with 58 regular LGBT roles on network and cable shows this season, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a report on Wednesday.

But don't celebrate too much. The 23 LGBT regular characters on scripted network shows like Emmy-winning comedies "Modern Family" and "Glee" account for only 3.9 percent of regular characters, and only 1 out of 125 characters on the CBS network are gay. So the networks still have a lot of improving to do.

On mainstream cable networks, the number of regulars jumped to 35 from 25 last year, with HBO's surreal vampire drama "True Blood" taking the crown as the most inclusive program on TV with six recurring characters who are either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Thirty-two additional recurring roles appear on broadcast and cable TV shows, but GLAAD lamented the fact no black LGBT characters exist on network comedies and dramas.

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios said the increase in gay and lesbian characters on TV reflects "the shift in American culture toward greater awareness and understanding of our community."

"The recent critical and commercial success of shows like 'Modern Family' and 'Glee' clearly indicate that mainstream audiences embrace gay characters and want to see well-crafted stories about our lives," Barrios added.

ABC's mockumentary-style "Modern Family" won the Emmy for best comedy series, and earned another Emmy for the actor who portrays one-half of a gay couple raising an adopted baby. Popular Fox musical comedy "Glee" won a best directing Emmy and features an eclectic cast, including a gay teen and a high school singer raised by two men

Click here to read the full story.

Out at the Movies screens six short films - which recently debuted at San Francisco's Frameline34 and Outfest 2010 -  9 tonight at the Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach.

The shorts range from 6 to 22 minutes. The evening closes with a Q&A with Nick Corporon, director of the short "Last Call."

The night starts with Patricia Villetto, the self-proclaimed "comedy whore extraordinaire."

Admission is $10 per person.

Out at the Movies is a monthly LGBT film-screening in Long Beach. It takes place the last Thursday of every month at 9 p.m.

Out at the Movies is produced by the Artful Thinking Organization. For more information, www.artfulthinking.org

Asher Brown, 13, fatally shot himself in the head Sept. 23 at the family's home in Cypress, Texas. Brown's parents said their gay son had been harassed, bullied and abused for 18 months at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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California's bizarre 60-year-old mandate to cure homosexuality came to a quiet end late Monday, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2199  that strikes the offensive language from state law.

Although little effort was ever expended on the project, state lawmakers in 1950 enacted and in 1967 re-enacted Section 8050 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, requiring state health officials to seek the "causes and cures of homosexuality."

The so-called gay cure law was enacted in response to the 1949 molestation murder of 6-year-old Linda Joyce Glucoft, a Los Angeles girl was killed by the grandfather of one of her playmates. Public outcry over the crime was so intense, then-Gov. Earl Warren called a special session to deal with sex crimes.

Among the results of that special session was Section 8050, declaring the State Department of Mental Health "shall plan, conduct and cause to be conducted scientific research into the causes and cures of sexual deviation, including deviations conducive to sex crimes against children, and the causes and cures of homosexuality..."

The man who murdered Glucoft was not gay.

The bill was introduced by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, 54th District, who likened the existing law to race restrictions on deeds. Even though the law is no longer enforced or acted upon, it has no place in California's code books, she said.

"It was misguided and foolish at the time," said Lowenthal. "It's completely unacceptable now."

One in five people living with HIV don't know they have the infection, according a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an article published Monday in the Press-Telegram.

The study falls close to the third annual National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which was recognized on Monday. The day is meant to reflect on how HIV/AIDS has disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men and urge people to get tested.

Other highlights from the study:

More than 1 million people are living with HIV in the United States.

White men who have sex with men account for the largest number of new HIV infections for any group in the U.S., followed by black men.

Gay and bisexual men account for more than half of all new HIV infections in the U.S. each year, as well as nearly half of people living with HIV.

HIV infections in gay and bisexual men have been increasing since the early 1990s.

In Long Beach, which has a large gay community, 6,017 cases of AIDS have been reported in the city since the first case in 1983, according to statistics from the Long Beach Health Department, according to the Press-Telegram article.

Michael Davis, HIV epidemiology program supervisor, said the city started officially recording HIV cases in 2006, after a state law was passed requiring health care providers and laboratories to report cases of HIV infection by name to local health departments.

Since then, 1,335 cases of HIV have been recorded in Long Beach, he said, adding the number of new HIV infections has remained relatively steady, according to the article.

Of those infected by HIV/AIDS, 92 percent were men and 74 percent contracted the disease through male-to- male contact.

The AIDS Assistance Foundation is holding its Halloween sale preview party fundraiser.

The annual event takes place 6-9 p.m. Friday at the foundation's thrift store, 2011 E. Fourth St.

Tickets are $10 and include refreshments, appetizers and raffles.

The fundraiser also gives attendees first pick of the thrift store's vast trove of Halloween costumes, vintage and designer clothing, jewelry, shoes, bags, accessories before going on sale to the public Saturday.

The thrift store's Halloween sale runs through Oct. 31.

All money raised benefits local agencies, such as the C.A.R.E Program at St. Mary Medical Center and the Substance Abuse Foundation.

The thrift store is open Monday to Wednesday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, 562-987-5353.

The AIDS Food Store of Long Beach is holding it's "A Day in Paradise 3...An Affair of the Heart" fundraiser.

The all-day benefit takes place Saturday at Paradise Restaurant and Piano Bar, 1800 E. Broadway. A pancake breakfast is on the menu from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner is served from 5 to 11 p.m.

The restaurant will donate 20 percent of the day's proceeds from food purchased to the AIDS Food Store.

Jazz musician Robert York and his trio will perform throughout the day.

Raffle prizes will be drawn, including a 46-inch flat screen television, an iPad and a beach cruiser bicycle.

The AIDS food store was founded in 1985 by members of the Christ Chapel of Long Beach Church. Food is distributed to clients on the second and fourth Saturday of the month at the Church, 3935 E. 10th Street.

Pancake breakfast and raffle tickets are on sale at Paradise Restaurant and Piano Bar and the church. For breakfast information and dinner reservations, 562-590-8773. For information about the AIDS Food Store, 562-438-5303.

Martin Sherman's 1979 play "Bent" is about the Nazis' attempt to exterminate gays in 1934 Germany. The title refers to the slang "bent," used in some European countries to mean homosexuals.

The Long Beach Shakespeare Company presents "Bent" through Oct. 9 at the Expo Backroom Theatre, 4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for the general public. It is staged 8 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. It is not recommended for kids.

For more information, 562-997-1494 or www.lbshakespeare.org.

The Press-Telegram's Al Rudis interviewed director Denis McCourt, who said the play is about more than the Nazis' efforts to eradicate gays. Among other things, he said it's a love story.

Click here to read the story.  

(Toby Gant stars in "Bent." Photo courtesy of Henry Josefsberg)

By Gene Johnson, Associated Press writer

TACOMA, Wash. - A federal judge ruled Friday a decorated flight nurse discharged from the Air Force for being gay should be given her job back as soon as possible in the latest legal setback to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton came in a closely watched case as
a tense debate has been playing out over the policy. Senate Republicans blocked an
effort to lift the ban this week, but Leighton is now the second federal judge this
month to deem the policy unconstitutional.

Maj. Margaret Witt (right) was suspended in 2004 and subsequently discharged under the "don't
ask, don't tell" policy after the Air Force learned she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman. She sued to get her job back.

Leighton hailed her as a "central figure in a long-term, highly charged civil rights movement." Tears streaked down Witt's cheeks and she hugged her parents, her partner and supporters following the ruling.

"Today you have won a victory in that struggle, the depth and duration of which will
be determined by other judicial officers and hopefully soon the political branches of
government," the judge told her, choking up as he recalled Witt's dramatic testimony
about her struggles.

The ruling was the second legal victory this month for opponents of "don't ask, don't
tell," and it throws the law into further disarray.

The LGB2Network - the new Long Beach-based LGBT professionals networking group - and Sip Lounge host the SIP Sun(days) pool party Saturday.

The party takes place 1-5 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, 111 E. Ocean Blvd. DJ Lezlee, a resident at Here Lounge in West Hollywood, will spin. The $15 admission includes complimentary parking and towels. Buy advance tickets here.

Must be 21 and older with ID. For more information about Sip Lounge, 562-499-2507.

LGB2Network "seeks to connect young gay, lesbian and bisexual professionals within the Long Beach community, to provide a creative and social environment where our members and guests are encouraged to network with other professionals. By promoting business contacts and relationships, our professionals will advocate for each other within our network," said founder and Long Beach resident Heber Siqueiros, who relocated from Miami.

LGB2Network meets every third Thursday evening of the month, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at a different venue throughout Long Beach.

For more information, info@lgb2network.com or or www.lgb2network.com

The Press-Telegram's Tim Grobaty published a column Monday with memories of Liberace's Long Beach concerts. His writings were in response to news that the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas will shutter its flamboyant doors Oct. 17.

Liberace first toured Long Beach Feb. 17 and 18, 1947. The 26-year-old performer - who was born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, but had already Cher-ized his name to simply Liberace - embarked on his first world tour with two concerts at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Grobaty wrote.

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Sigourney Weaver says in high school she was a "very low form of life" and she survived the turbulent years because her expectations of herself were "very low" and she made fun of herself faster than anyone else.

Weaver shared these musing on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Tuesday night while promoting her new film, the comedy "You Again," which opens Friday.

In the movie, Weaver plays a wealthy aunt who arrives in town for her niece's wedding and has a score to settle with the groom's mother, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who she tormented in high school.

During the interview, Weaver also pokes fun at her height during high school, saying her dance partners only stood as tall as her chest.

Weaver also can be heard on the audio version of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Audiobook): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race." 

Protesters lamented the closing of what might be called the museum of bling in Las Vegas today.

About two dozen people rallied outside the Liberace Museum, hoping the candles will not be blown out, according to KTNV.

But museum officials have said the venue - located 5 miles from the Vegas Strip - will, after a 31-year run, close Oct. 17, the victim of low attendance, mortgage debt and the lack of a steady income stream, according to an MSNBC article.

Officials are considering a number of options, among them, relocating the museum closer to the strip or even taking part of Liberace's memorabilia on the road, according to KTNV.

The museum - whose design is as flamboyant as the piano man himself - houses hundreds of gaudy items owned by Liberace: a rhinestone-encrusted Baldwin grand piano; a collection of sequined, bejeweled and rhinestone-studded costumes and feathered capes and a rhinestone-covered automobile.

Liberace died Feb. 4, 1987 from AIDS-related complications. He was 67.

After leading Senate Republicans in blocking the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' Sen. John McCain became testy with  testy with two reporters who questioned him on some of the more controversial features of the military's ban on openly gay service, according to a Yahoo! News blog.

One of the reporters, Kerry Eleveld of the Advocate, asked McCain about troops' private emails being searched by the military to prove they were gay.

 "We do not go out and seek. Regulations are, we do not go out and seek to find out if someone's sexual orientation. We do not," McCain shot back.

When Eleveld questioned him further on the issue, McCain raised his voice.

He then began repeating "It's not the policy," again and again, as the reporters brought up the case of Air Force Maj. Mike Almy, who was discharged after his emails were searched.

McCain may have been defensive and testy because of his selective memory - Almy testified in front of McCain and the rest of the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 10 about his dismissal from the Air Force after investigators searched his emails.

Click here to read the full article.

The Red Circle Project at AIDS Project Los Angeles hosts a new support group for Native Americans-Alaska Natives who identify as two spirit-gay-transgender. They're encouraged to participate in cultural networking, healing support and sharing their experiences.

The meeting takes place 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Center Long Beach, 2017 E. Fourth St.

For more information, please contact Elton Naswood, program coordinator, 213-201-1311 or enaswood@apla.org, or Michelle Enfield, outreach specialist, 213-201-1395 or menfield@apla.org.

More than 300 undocumented students - some of them LGBT - attend UCLA.  Most of them were brought to the United States as children and have few, if any, memories of their birth countries, according to published reports.

Despite great obstacles, the students were admitted to UCLA but struggle to complete their educations because they are ineligible for government financial aid.

A scholarship fundraising reception, "Standing with the Students: Out, Proud and Undocumented," will be held 3-6 p.m. Sunday at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Village at Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood.

A recent campaign inspired by Harvey Milk encourages students to "come-out" as undocumented to their teachers, peers and law-makers to put a human face on their plight.

The "Standing with the Students" reception will feature four LGBT undocumented UCLA student activists sharing their personal stories.

One of the student speakers will be Diego Sepulveda, 22, featured in the above ABC News segment.

Other speakers, including Rep. Judy Chu (D-32nd District), will discuss proposed legislation to resolve their dilemma and the need to build bridges across race, sexual orientation and immigration status.

Reception admission is a suggested donation of $25.

A drama about a closeted female United States Marine officer, a Latino drama set in Peru and a documentary exploring Los Angeles significant LGBT history are a few of the films at this year's Long Beach Queer Film Festival.

A sneak peek at at the festival takes place 7 p.m. Saturday at the Long Beach Pride office, 1017 Obispo Ave. The event also will highlight audience favorites from past festivals. Food and beverages will be provided.

from the Associated Press

LONDON - Sacha Baron Cohen, who played the outrageously flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter "Bruno," has been signed up to star in a movie about flamboyant rock star Freddie Mercury, producers said Friday.

Peter Morgan, who wrote "The Queen," is working on a screenplay about the frontman of the band Queen, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1991.

The as-yet-untitled film will climax with Queen's barnstorming appearance at the 1985 Live Aid concert in London.

The announcement was made by GK Films, which is producing with Robert De Niro's Tribeca Productions and Queen Films.

Production is due to begin next year, and a director has yet to be chosen.

Founded in 1971 by Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor, Queen scored hits with songs including "We Are the Champions," "We Will Rock You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."

May told the BBC that the band supports the project, and May and Taylor will oversee the music for the film. There was no word on whether Baron Cohen will imitate Mercury's grandiose singing style, but the comedian has appeared in several musicals, including Tim Burton's film version of "Sweeney Todd."

May said the choice of Baron Cohen, creator of wannabe rapper Ali G, Kazakh journalist Borat and Austrian fashionista Bruno, "will probably be a shock to a lot of people, but he's been talking with us for a long time."

"He's been in on this project since we started talking about it seriously with Peter Morgan a couple of years ago." May said.

Six hot men will strut their stuff in evening wear and designer underwear and participate in a question-and-answer series while vying for the title of Orange County Mr Gay.

Long Beach Mr Gay needs men of all ages, shapes and sizes for the competition. Anyone interested can contact Xavier Espejo, one of the producers, xavieropresents@gmail.com or view the event's Facebook page.

Yaz, the 80s pop-electronic duo of Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, won't go; they'll release "Reconnected Live" Sept. 28.

The double CD documents the duo's highly anticipated 2008 summer tour - the first time Clarke and Moyet had reunited in over 25 years.

Watch Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet's preshow ritual before they played New York City here.

The iTunes release features an exclusive track, the previously unreleased and much sought after "Get Set," recorded in 1983 and used as the theme to the BBC Children's TV show  "Get Set For Summer."

"Reconnected Live" features classic tracks from Yaz's albums 1982's "Upstairs At Eric's" and 1983's "You And Me Both," including "Don't Go," "Only You" and "Situation."
 

Listen to a sampler of Reconnected Live here:

http://soundcloud.com/muterecords/sets/yazoo-reconnected-live-sampler.

The union of Clarke, who had just left Depeche Mode, and Moyet lasted only two albums and 24 concerts worldwide, but left an unforgettable mark on pop.

For more information, check out www.yazooinfo.com, www.myspace.com/yazooofficial or www.alisonmoyet.com.

The 2010 Out & Equal Workplace Summit offers participants more than 100 workshops, networking opportunities, speakers and the chance to showcase their company as an organization that values LGBT workplace equality.

The event is scheduled for Oct. 5-8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Registration is available here.

The summit also includes a a full day seminar targeted to LGBT nonprofits interested in building partnerships with corporate community and the media. It will include a media training session to assist community activists and staff of local LGBT organizations with developing media outreach campaigns to generate additional media coverage for LGBT issues in their local communities.

Continental breakfast and lunch are included with a $95 registration for this event.

For more information about the summit, click here.

John Cameron Mitchell's sexually provocative 2006 comedy-drama "Shortbus"is the latest film in the Reel Queer Cinema series.

The story follows an ensemble of emotionally challenged characters (LGBT and heterosexual) trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly artistic-sexual salon loosely inspired by various underground-NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000s.

The film includes a variety of explicit scenes of sexuality.

"Shortbus" screens 9  p.m. Wednesday at the Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach. Tickets are $10 and limited to people 17 and older with ID. They can be purchased at the door or here.

A collaboration between the The AMP Organization and Mondo Celluloid, Reel Queer Cinema is a Long Beach-based LGBT film series bringing gay-themed cult classics to the big screen.

U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips in Riverside struck down Thursday the military's ban on openly gay service members, ruling that the policy violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights guaranteeing free speech and due process under the law.

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What's one of Tim Gunn's golden rules? Don't be carried down five flights of steps by bodyguards and then demand people lie about it not happening. Acknowledge your bad behavior instead of having a hissy fit when someone calls you on it.

Are you listening Anna Wintour?

Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne and mentor to the designers on Lifetime's "Project Runway," promoted his new book, "Gunn's Golden Rules," on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Tuesday and shared an anecdote about Wintour, the editor-in-chief at Vogue.

Gunn witnessed Wintour leaving Peter Som's 2006 fashion show, but instead of taking the elevator, Wintour was carried down five flights of stairs by bodyguards. When Wintour found out the obnoxious scene would be in Gunn's book, she ordered her minions to have Gunn retract it and apologize, Gunn told Stewart.

Watch the clip to hear the priceless story. 

Gunn will sign copies of the book 7 p.m. Thursday at the Borders in Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd.

Gunn's book also includes a hilarious episode of Vogue's Andre Leon Talley looking like a bird as he's being hand-feed grapes. For Talley and Wintour, the emperor has no clothes.

Apart from fashion industry gossip, the fashion guru writes about coming to terms with his sexuality and his homophobic father, who worked with former FBI director J, Edgar Hoover.

Click here to read a recent interview Gunn did with the New York Daily News where he talked about his parents and being celibate for many years.

By Lisa Leff, Associated Press writer

SAN FRANCISCO - California health officials violated state privacy laws
by giving personal information about thousands of HIV-positive welfare recipients to
a nonprofit group serving people infected with the virus, three legal groups
said Thursday.

The ACLU of Northern California, Lambda Legal and the AIDS Legal Services Alliance
fired off an angry letter to California Department of Health Care Services director
David Maxwell-Jolly demanding an explanation for what the groups termed "a gross
affront" to patient confidentiality.

Norman Williams, a health department spokesman, said staff members and lawyers have
reviewed the situation and do not see a problem. The records released to the AIDS
Healthcare Foundation did not include the patients' HIV status or the names of their
doctors, medications or insurance carriers, he said.

"We provided very limited information to AHF about certain beneficiaries, and that
was to be used for the purpose of contacting individuals to let them know they were
eligible for these additional services," Williams said. "We believe our actions
comply with the law."

ACLU staff attorney Elizabeth Gill said health officials have acknowledged turning
over the names, addresses and telephone numbers of an estimated 5,000 HIV patients to
the Los Angeles-based foundation during the past two years.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein said his group sought the information to recruit clients for a statewide outreach, education and case management program for low-income, HIV-positive Californians the foundation was under contract with the
state to run.

Gill, however, said the disclosures were improper because California has specifically
prohibited the release of patients' identifying information to third parties since
the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when public fear and confusion about how the
disease was spread put people at risk of losing jobs and homes.

"This is the most sensitive medical information out there," Gill said. "It should
take one second to come to the conclusion that gee, someone on this list may not be
open about their HIV status, and if they get a call or a letter from an AIDS-only
service provider, isn't that going to be a problem for them? No one thought this
through? It's shocking."

Sharing a person's HIV status without permission or without authorization for public
health purposes is a violation of state law punishable by a civil fine of up to
$25,000.

By Raquel Maria Dillion
Associated Press writer

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge on Thursday declared the U.S. military's
ban on openly gay service members unconstitutional and said she will issue an order
to stop the government from enforcing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy
nationwide.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said the ban violates the First and Fifth
Amendment rights of gays and lesbians.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibits the military from asking about the
sexual orientation of service members. Under the 1993 policy, service men and women
who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in
the privacy of their own homes off base, are subject to discharge.

In her ruling, Phillips said the policy doesn't help military readiness and instead
has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed services by hurting recruiting
during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills
and training.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member group that includes current and former
military members, filed a lawsuit in 2004 seeking an injunction to stop the ban's
enforcement. Phillips will draft the injunction with input from the group within a
week, and the federal government will have a week to respond.

The U.S. Department of Justice can file an appeal but there was no immediate word of
that. After-hours e-mails and calls requesting comment from government attorney Paul
G. Freeborne and from the Pentagon were not immediately returned Thursday
evening.

Government lawyers said the judge lacked the authority to issue a nationwide
injunction.

The lawsuit was the biggest legal test of the law in recent years and came amid
President Barack Obama promising he will work to repeal the policy.

from Associated Press

RIVERSIDE - A federal judge in Southern California has declared the U.S. military's ban on openly-gay service members unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips on Thursday granted a request for an injunction halting the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.

Phillips says the policy doesn't help military readiness and instead has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed services.

The lawsuit was the biggest legal test of the law in recent years and came amid promises by President Barack Obama that he will work to repeal the policy.

Government lawyers argued Phillips lacked the authority to issue a nationwide injunction and the issue should be decided by Congress.

The injunction was sought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member gay Republican group that includes current and former military members.

Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Color Purple" will kick off the 2010-2011 Broadway Series at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

The musical opens 8 p.m. Oct. 8. Additional performances are scheduled for 2 and 8 p.m. Oct. 9 and 2 p.m Oct. 10. Tickets, $28-$67, can be purchased at www.cerritoscenter.com or 562-467-8818.

"The Color Purple" is a moving saga spanning 40 years in the life of Celie, a woman who, with love and determination, finds the courage and strength to triumph over a life of abuse and tragedy. The story explores such timely issues sexuality, domestic violence and racism.

The musical showcases a colorful musical score encompassing jazz, ragtime, gospel and the blues.

By Lisa Leff, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's highest court has refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a conservative legal group's request to force the governor and attorney general to defend the voter-approved Proposition 8.

The court did not explain why it turned down the request by the Pacific Justice Institute.

Earlier Wednesday, lawyers for Brown and Schwarzenegger said the attorney general and governor have discretion to choose which laws they challenge or defend.

Last week, a midlevel state appeals court rejected a similar request by the Pacific Justice Institute without asking for Brown or Schwarzenegger's input. But the high court invited them to weigh in before it makes its decision.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8 in August as a violation of gay Californians' civil rights.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has said the overturning of Proposition 8 is one of the issues it will take up when it hears oral arguments in early December.

Anderson Cooper challenged Focus on the Family's Candi Cushman Wednesday night about the group's attempts to prevent school officials from talking about homosexuality when LGBT students are being harassed.

That logic is a little twisted. It's like talking about racism but not addressing race. Follow that line of thought?

Focus on the Family is the anti-LGBT, radical religious group that despises anything or anyone remotely supportive of the LGBT community.

Cushman was joined on a panel which included GLSEN executive director Eliza Byard and Rosalind Wiseman, author of "Queen Bees & Wannabees."

The discussion also touched on federal legislation making its way through Congress which aims to prevent anti-LGBT bullying and discrimination in public K-12 school.

Cushman and the Family fiends are also tiffed about a GLSEN booklet, "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth," which was written by a coalition of 18 medical, mental-health and education organizations.

The booklet is being sent to public schools across the county to help them combat anti-LGBT bullying and discrimination, according to GLSEN.

Cushman and the crue say it promotes homosexuality. Of course, they come to that conclusion via the winding road of inaccuracies and misleading statements, according to Alvin McEwen at the Huffington Post.

From the Associated Press

The complete "Nip/Tuck" series and all its cosmetically enhanced glory, whose six seasons featured several LGBT characters, is coming to DVD.

The gift set will hit stores Nov. 2 and feature all 100 episodes on 35 discs, plus 11 featurettes, unaired scenes and gag reels. It will sell for $198. 70.

The series follows friends-business partners-doctors Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), two talented, hot-shot plastic surgeons whose initial query of patients, "Tell me what you don't like about yourself," sets the stage for a series filled with secrets and deception.

Although the doctors clients aspire to cover up their pain, the surgeons are the ones who truly wear the masks of anguish, unhappiness and disillusionment.

"Nip/Tuck" has showcased several LGBT characters over the years, including :

The deliciously attractive Famke Jansen, who played Julia's (Joely Richardson) MTF life coach.

The erotic dream Christian had where he and Sean elope on a gay trip together during a time when Christian is questioning his own sexuality.

Liz Winters (Roma Maffia), a lesbian with a sense of humor, who plays an anesthesiologist working under Christian and Sean. Liz is very secure in her sexual orientation and dates Alanis Morissette with a dramatic flair for several episodes.

Portia de Rossi played a manipulative lesbian mom whose teen daughter wanted to go under the knife.

The list goes on and on. Click here for a comprehensive run down on the show's LGBT characters.

"Nip/Tuck" was created by Ryan Murphy, who created the uber-successful, Emmy Award winning "Glee."

"The Vampire Diaries" creator Kevin Williamson says he's not quite sure when and he's not quite sure who, but one of the show's characters will come out, possibly during the second season, which premieres Sept. 9 on the CW, according to published reports.

"It's one of those things that needs to feel organic and seamless," Williamson told a group of reporters in July Beverly Hills, where he was at The CW's party for the Television Critics Association press tour, according to Blastr.com "I don't want it to be a character that comes in and is a one-off. I want someone to come in and have a reason and a purpose and really push that story forward the way I want to do it, and they're so important to the story that without them the show won't happen. That's what I want."

The gay writer-director says he doesn't want a repeat of the coming-out story line on "Dawson's Creek," but it's important to him to have a gay character on the show.

"I always feel like I don't have enough diversity on my show, and that is one of the things I'm very conscientious of," said Williamson, according to Blastr.com. "And not just gay characters. Any diversity. In anything, I want everyone represented. I want everybody on the show."

In other "Vampire Diaries" news, "The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season" (Warner Brothers, 2009-10, $69.97) was released on Blu-Ray and DVD Tuesday.

The blood lusty series is set in the town of Mystic Falls, where teenager Elena Gilbert (Nina
Dobrey) is trying to put her life back together after her parents have died. She
finds comfort in the friendship with a new student of the undead, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Of course, Elena doesn't have a clue to Stefan's bloodsucking, which he is trying hard to control.

Elena eventually discovers the truth when Stefan's evil brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder)
arrives in town. Damon has no problem with draining folks of their blood and is hell bent on being a troublemaker AND claiming Elena as his property. These vampire bad boys always have control issues and the need to stalk their wannabe girlfriends.

Adding blood to the fire, Damon's competitive and toxic desire for Elena means a battle royale with his brother, Stefan.

The show is based on a series of books by L.J. Smith. Among the extras are deleted
scenes, a gag reel and featurettes "Into Mystic Falls" and "A New Breed of Vampires."
The four-disc set includes 22 episodes.