Protest Scheduled as Anti-Gay NJ Firemen Seek Reinstatement

The town of Secaucus in Hudson County New Jersey may reinstate three firefighters who made anti-LGBT death threats against, and threw condoms at, a same-sex couple who lived next door to the firehouse. In a $4.8 million verdict that came out of taxpayers' pockets, a court ruled against the town and the firefighters, who were forced to step down. But now, the brand new mayor, himself a firefighter, may reinstate his friends back onto the force.

Garden State Equality is holding an urgent rally and speak-out at the Secaucus Mayor-Council meeting this Tuesday night.

January 26 at the Secaucus Municipal Government Center
1203 Paterson Plank Road.
Please arrive at 6:00 pm if you can.

Questions? Contact Garden State Equality's field manager at Troy Stevenson or cell (405) 802-8229.

Crossposted via Planetransgender.

Rapper Bow Wow Doesn't Want Gay Barbers

American rap-artist Bow Wow made ridiculous statements via a live chat yesterday, which demonstrated his insecurity and homophobia around gay people.

"During the chat Bow Wow revealed how uncomfortable he gets around gays.

He talked about a time where he needed a haircut and had his people go and find him a barber. But after noticing the barber was gay he told them that he didn’t want the haircut anymore.

He said he didn’t want a gay barber touching his head" (BET).

Much of the money Bow Wow has made over the years has been touched by gay people, but he never seemed to mind.

Bow Wow's Myspace Page

Anti-Gay Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle Replaced By Pro-LGBT Jack Seiler

Jack Seiler has won the position for Fort Lauderdale mayor in what looks to be a major shift in policy with regards to LGBT issues. The former mayor Jim Naugle was staunchly anti-gay accusing the gay population of high rates of public sex and promiscuity, when the actual police record showed very few arrests of gay people for such behavior, numbers on par with arrests of heterosexuals involved in such activities.

Jack Seiler was not endorsed by gay groups, there were 2 other openly gay candidates running, one was Earl Rynerson who was unfairly scrutinized by Fox News.

The shift in power appears to be positive with the new mayor saying "one can look to his 8 year record to see his support of the LGBT community," he goes on to say he strongly supports domestic partnerships and gay adoption rights, calling the idea that gay couples shouldn't be allowed to adopt "ridiculous."

Jack Seiler's message to the LGBT community:


Video of Jack Seiler addressing anti-gay Jim Naugle's comments:


http://jackseiler.com/

Stop Early Parole for Sean Kennedy's Killer

In May of 2007, in Greenville, South Carolina, Sean Kennedy, a 20-year-old gay man was leaving a bar when Stephen Andrew Moller called him a homophobic slur and hit him in the face so hard that Kennedy's brain separated from its stem. Moller left him on the sidewalk, unconscious, and Sean died later than night from his injuries.

Sean Kennedy’s family will never see justice done for Sean. Because of the inadequacy of South Carolina murder laws and the lack of hate crime statutes, his killer, Stephen Andrew Moller, could be out of prison as early as February. We must protest this injustice and ask the parole board to make Moller serve the remainder of his sentence.

Moller was plea bargained down to involuntary manslaughter and received a suspended 5 year sentence for his crime. Because of the credit he received for time he served before his sentencing, the longest possible time he will have to serve in prison is until September 2009. Despite the violence of his crime, he could be eligible for parole by this coming February, meaning that he will have served only 8 months since his sentencing in prison.

The parole board is currently conducting an investigation to decide whether to allow him to have a parole hearing, so it is critical that they hear from you that Stephen Andrew Moller violently murdered Sean Kennedy and should serve the remainder of his sentence!

Please consider writing a letter to the parole board and ask them to deny Stephen Moller parole and serve out his sentence. In your letter, please remind the board of the violent and unprovoked nature of Moller’s offense and the pain and suffering it has caused in the lives of Sean Kennedy’s family and friends. If you have the time, please write a personal letter by hand or by computer, as those will be the most effective, and if you knew Sean or his family personally, please include that information.

Also, please let Elke know if you send a letter and if possible, send her a copy of the letter, so she can have copies to take with her to the parole hearing.

Be sure to include Moller’s full name and ID number:
Stephen Andrew Moller - SCDC ID # 00328891.

Send your letters to:
Department of Probation Pardon and Parole Services
2221 Devine Street, Suite 600, PO Box 50666
Columbia SC 29250

For more information on Sean's murder and Sean's Last Wish, please visit www.seanslastwish.org

Send George W. Bush a Retirement Card!

After eight years of treating gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans like second-class citizens, George W. Bush is about to leave office. Send him your own personal retirement card celebrating this historic occasion.

Send Bush a personalized Happy Trails card from the LGBT community and allies.