Recently in Gay & Lesbian News Category

This may not come as a surprise to anyone, but...  gay governor James McGreevey's estranged wife didn't know he was having a gay affair while they were married.

According to the ghostwriter of Dina Matos McGreevey's upcoming tell-all memoir, she had no clue that her man was screwing other men then coming home to crawl in the bed with her.

Elizabeth Stone, the uncredited co-author of "Silent Partner," due out May 1 by Hyperion, spoke about her experience Saturday during a Fordham University panel discussion on memoir writing for students and alumni, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Sunday.

This is the first time anyone has heard from Matos McGreevey since she stood behind her husband, then New Jersey governor, as he announced he was a "gay American."

"Dina McGreevey lived 10 years with a man who was gay, but she didn't know he was gay," said Stone, who teaches English and journalism at Fordham. "People who have loved ones who betray them: What do they do when they find out? They have to go back and re-experience."

In an excerpt Stone read from the book, Matos McGreevey, 40, said the book has been a "healing venture" and urges people to "tell others your story as I tell you mine. Don't let others tell you."

Stone also said Matos doesn't really believe that McGreevey is actually gay, she thinks he's bisexual.  Maybe he's on the bi now gay later program.

Autopsy results say that Andrew Anthos, a 72-year-old gay activist, did not die of a hate crime.  His family says they reject the findings. 

According to the Associated Press, Wayne County Medical Examiner Dr. Carl Schmidt said Wednesday that Andrew Anthos died of natural causes likely from a fall. 

Schmidt said presented evidence did not support reports that he had been the victim of a hate crime.  As a result, Detroit police are closing the case.

Andrew Anthos died on Feb. 23, just over a week after his family says he was beaten by a young man.  Anthos' family says the man followed him off a city bus, hit him in the back of the head with a lead pipe and called him a gay slur.

"If you want to say he wasn't murdered, OK. But you can't say he wasn't attacked, that it wasn't a hate crime," Anthos' cousin Athena Fedenis told the Associated Press.

Most media outlets and the gay community have reported Anthos' death as a hate crime.

"Project Runway" and the indy film "Quinceanera" were the big winners at the annual GLAAD media awards this year, but it was Patti LeBelle and "Dreamgirl" Jennifer Hudson who took the spotlight.

R&B singer LaBelle received a special achievement award, presented by Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, for championing gay and lesbian rights and participation in the fight against AIDS.

"I didn't know you were this nice," LaBelle told Hudson at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 18th annual media awards. "I thought you were a bitch," she joked, noting that she had never met Hudson before their joint appearance.

LaBelle spent most of her acceptance speech praising Hudson, a losing "American Idol" contestant who won an Oscar last month for her debut portrayal of a pop singer in the musical "Dreamgirls."

In a passing-of-the-torch moment that brought a cheering audience to its feet, the pair launched into an a cappella rendition of "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." Hudson appeared astonished by LaBelle's tribute, saying "You are who I idolize."

The GLAAD awards were held Monday night. Other celebrity presenters included Oscar nominee Julianne Moore, "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, director John Waters, pop singer Hilary Duff, and former basketball professional John Amaechi, who recently came out as the first openly gay National Basketball Association player. 

HBO's "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise," about Rosie O'Donnell's groundbreaking gay family cruises won the documentary award.

Rosie gave a nod to tennis legend Billie Jean King, subject of another nominated documentary, saying "if it hadn't been for Billie Jean King, there wouldn't have been a gay movement."

The soap opera "All My Children," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Nightline," along with The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Details Magazine and columnist Frank Rich were also honored.

Staten Island has elected its first openly gay candidate making Matthew Titone the fourth openly gay person to serve on the New York State Legislature.

Titone received 2,888 votes, over 1000 more than his nearest competitor.  As we first told you earlier this week, his victory was really no surprise.

Titone, a democrat, will join Deborah Glick, Daniel O'Donnell and Tom Duane in Albany, all openly gay elected officials. 

New York's Governor Elliot Spitzer is also extremely gay friendly.  He recently appointed Sean Patrick Maloney, an openly gay man, as his first deputy secretary.  Maloney also ran for NY attorney general last year. 

After dating for more than four years, journalist Antonio Medina, 38, and economist Jorge Cerpa, 31, signed documents that officially recognized them as a couple under a banner that read: "Civil Union Law: Your right to choose."

Medina and Cerpa were the first gay couple united under Mexico City's new Civil Union Law. 

The new law grants same-sex couples inheritance rights and social benefits similar to those enjoyed by married heterosexual couples. It reflects a growing acceptance of homosexuality in what has traditionally been a macho society, as well as a willingness by Mexico City - the second municipality in the country to legalise same-sex unions - to join the international debate on gay 'marriage'.

Congratulations to these two and hopefully many more who will become 'husband and husband' under this new law!!

The same people who have banned gays from marching in the New York City St. Patrick's day parade have just banned New York's bravest too!  The fire fighters will still get to march, but they won't lead the parade as they usually do.

The chief organiser of the annual St Patrick's Day parade in New York, which takes place today, has incensed the city's firemen by accusing them of turning up drunk and making the Irish look bad.

Members of New York's fire department - many of whom are Irish-Americans - will no longer be marching at the head of the 246-year-old parade after they were accused of skipping planning meetings, ignoring direction and spending the day getting drunk.

Many New Yorkers revere their firemen - popularly dubbed "The Bravest" - as the heroes of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the city. The slur on their good name has caused widespread anger and prompted interventions all the way up to Michael Bloomberg, the mayor.

Isn't this holiday all about getting drunk?  I thought that was the purpose of this parade.

During his radio address the Mayor said,

"Usually, I march with the Police Department the whole way. This time, I'll try to march with the Fire Department as much of the whole way as I can. My advice to the guy running the parade is: Look, nothing's perfect. Lighten up! You have rules. Rules are there to be guidelines. Don't enforce 'em at this level."

Many members of the New York City council are marching in Dublin to support openly gay city council speaker Christine Quinn who is not welcomed to march in NYC due to her sexual orientation.

Can we ban the whole parade and start over??

Gay rights activists demonstrated outside the Times Square Army recruiting center in Manhattan on Thursday to denounce recent comments made by a senior U.S. military official.

New Jersey's former gay Governor James McGreevey lead members of 'ACT UP New York', an AIDS coalition, and other groups as they protested remarks made by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace.

"He's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and ironically, his statement was a blessing in so far as it ripped apart the façade of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell', 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' at it's core says gays are second class citizens. If you're truthful as to who you are, you'll be discharged," said McGreevey.

While speaking to the Chicago Tribune Monday, Pace called homosexual acts, "immoral" and said the United States was "not served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral."

Now he is basically eating his words.

General Peter Pace, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he regrets saying that homosexuality was "immoral" saying his remarks reflected only his personal opinion. 

General Pace started the controversy by telling the Chicago Tribune that the military should not condone immoral acts, such as homosexual relations.  However, he still really hasn't apologized.

"I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Gen. Pace said in an interview.

His remarks sparked protest from a diverse array of people, including gay activists, democrats, and a senior republican senator.

Robert Gates, defense secretary, commented:

"I think personal opinion really doesn't have a place here. What's important is that we have a...statute that governs 'don't ask, don't tell'. That's the policy of this department and it's my responsibility to execute that policy as effectively as we can. As long as the law is what it is, that's what we'll do."

The Service members Legal Defense Network, a group that supports lifting the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, said Gen. Pace's comments were ­"outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful to the 65,000 lesbian and gay troops serving in our armed forces".

How do such stupid people get such powerful positions??

Cyndi Lauper

Lauper said that she believes more Americans would be supportive of equal rights for gays if they knew the discrimination they faced.

The tour will kick off in Las Vegas on June 8 and end in Los Angeles on June 30.

One dollar from each ticket sold will go to benefit the Human Rights Campaign.