News Items

1. According to the BBC, Antonio Ruiz is the first gay man to receive a letter of apology from the Spanish government for being imprisoned in 1976 for being gay.  Mr. Ruiz received both a letter and nearly $6,000 in reparations for three months that he was incarcerated under a law enacted during the Franco Regime.  Although Franco died in 1975, the law was still in effect after his death.   Ruiz's letter and compensation were made possible through Spain's Historical Memory Law of 2007, which recognizes victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco Regime.

2. Many LGBT groups are expressing outrage at the Grammy nomination of an singer who has called for the murder of gay men.  The singer, Buju Banton, sings in “Boom, Bye Bye” that “faggots get up and run” when he comes, that “they have to die,” and that he will shoot them in the head or “burn them up bad.”  He not only has refused to stop singing the song, but has insisted, “There is no end to the war between me and faggots." In a statement, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center said, “It’s an affront to LGBT people, and to all fair-minded people around the world, that Buju Banton was nominated."


3. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has spoken out against the nomination of the first out lesbian to be assistant bishop of Los Angeles.  Asking that the bishops of the Communion continue to acknowledge  a "gracious restraint" in order to hold the church together, Williams reminded all that Rev. Mary Glasspool's position as assistant bishop was not final, and that there was still time to stop her appointment.  His quick response to Glasspool's selection was especially difficult for many since he has yet to condemn the Ugandan "Anti Homosexual Bill of 2009," graciously or otherwise.

4.  It looks like we may be seeing a vote on equal marriage rights in New Jersey this week after all.  Since Gov. John Corzine has promised to sign the bill into law before he leaves office in January and because his successor has vowed to veto it, the next few days are the only opportunity to pass an equal marriage bill.  It remains quite uncertain, however, if the bill will pass the legislature.