Savage walkout, gay teen hero, Hawaii marriage

By Project Q Atlanta | May 1, 2012 | 12:32 PM

Dan Savage goes too far – again, gay student plays Twitter “angel” to other bullied youth, anti-gay group cleared to defend state marriage ban, “lesbian” swans reunited, trans rights in New York, NatGeo’s “American Transgender,” and more LGBT headlines.

• Gay teen considers suicide, fights back instead. Bullying got so bad for Matt Shankles (top photo) when in 8th grade that the Iowan took a box of X-Acto blades into a bathroom stall. He didn’t die. The now-16-year-old recently revealed himself as the kid behind a Twitter account that encourages fellow students being harassed.

• Boy Scouts board member quits over lesbian den mother’s ouster. David J. Sims resigned from the Board of Directors of the BSA’s Ohio River Valley Council, citing the decision to remove Jennifer Tyrrell from her son’s Cub Scout troupe as “wholly discriminatory.”

• Social conservative group defends Hawaii’s anti-gay marriage law. A federal judge ruled that Hawaii Family Forum has the right to pick up legal defense of the state’s ban on gay marriage. Hawaii has civil unions for gay couples, and the state has declined to defend the ban on full marriage rights.

• Dan Savage offends teens, slams bible. After telling high school journalists to “learn to ignore the bullshit in the bible about gay people,” some walked out. As they did, Savage (middle photo) the author, sex columnist and founder of the “It Gets Better Project” called the walk-out “pansy assed.” He later apologized for the insult part. Like last time.

• Fifth time the charm for transgender rights in New York? The New York Assembly approved the anti-discrimination measure once again on Monday. It moves to the state Senate, where has stalled it four previous times.

• Ordinance banning anti-LGBT discrimination weighed in Jacksonville. City council members in the Florida city debate the measure next week. It’s being pushed by businesses and Jacksonville’s former mayor.

• ‘Lesbian” swans returned to Boston pond. Romeo and Juliet (bottom photo) caused waves when it was discovered the cohabitants are both female. After spending winter in a zoo, they’re be back together on Tuesday as “Boston’s favorite same-sex couple.”

• NatGeo debuts “American Transgender’ Tuesday. The cable network debuts an hour-long documentary looking at the lives of three transgender people and their families at 8 p.m on Atlanta Comcast channels 138 and 839. Watch a preview:

Shankles photo by Patch; Savage photo from YouTube; swans photo via BosGuy

Savage walkout, gay teen hero, Hawaii marriage

Facebook Conversations

Disqus Comments