Obama gay power, Armistead Maupin, ACLU

By Project Q Atlanta | Jun 6, 2012 | 12:45 PM

Ellen Degeneres and “Glee’s” Darren Criss draw latest big-ticket Obama donors, pioneer and newbie Lambda Literary Awards, ACLU fights for student’s anti-gay t-shirt, Wade Davis on gays in the NFL, court rules gay wedding discrimination, and more LGBT headlines.

• Darren Criss, Ellen Degeneres add star power to gay Obama fundraiser. The “Glee” star will sing, and the talk show host (top photo) will speak at a $1,250-a-plate dinner in San Francisco on Wednesday. LGBT donors make up a significant chunk of campaign contributions so far.

• Another high school, another T-shirt. This time, anti-gay. The ACLU says it was wrong for a Connecticut school to make a student remove a shirt featuring a rainbow logo with a slash through it. The ACLU says the kid has as much right to express his opinion as students in pro-gay shirts they’ve fought for.

• Gay marriage fast tracked to U.S. Supreme Court. After a federal appeals court declined Tuesday to review California’s Prop 8 being ruled unconstitutional, lawyers for gay marriage foes say they’ll “absolutely” petition the High Court to review it. They have 90 days, and if accepted, arguments could be heard as early as Spring 2013.

• Armistead Maupin heads up gay honors at Lambda Literary Awards. Comedian Kate Clinton hosted the Monday ceremony in New York with celebrity guests like Olympia Dukakis (middle photo, right) and Ally Sheedy. Pioneer Awards went to “Tales of the City” author Maupin (left) and Kate Millett, whose PhD thesis “Sexual Politics” caused a stir in 1970. Check out all of the Lammy winners.

• Court: photographer guilty of discrimination for refusing gay wedding. The New Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that a professional photographer who refused to take pictures of a same-sex couple’s commitment ceremony violated the state’s Human Rights Act. Another appeal is expected.

• Job offer rescinded after school learned teaching applicant was gay. Jonathan Zeng says he accepted a job at a Christian academy in Cincinnati. Hours later, they called back to ask if he is gay. The school’s board of trustees won’t comment, and Zeng is considering a lawsuit.

• Gay pol, gay rights groups to join march against NYPD. In an intersection of interest groups, lesbian mayoral candidate Christine Quinn, HRC and Empire State Pride Agenda takes to the streets with racially-based citizens groups on June 17 to urge the mayor to end the police “stop and frisk” policy that effectively codifies harassment of black and Latino men.

• Former NFL player Wade Davis on coming out, LGBT youth. The gay former Titans, Redskins and Seahawks defensive back (bottom photo) talks for the first time about why he didn’t come out while playing in the NFL and about his current job helping gay youths. A companion video to the interview:

Degeneres photo via Examiner; Maupin-Dukakis photo from Wall Street Journal; Davis photo by Outsports

Obama gay power, Armistead Maupin, ACLU

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