Video | 'My Boyfriend is Gay' by Hailey Rowe, who performs this week at Driven Music Conference

Singer Hailey Rowe, whose YouTube hit, My Boyfriend is Gay, has had more than 150,000 views since Feb. 1, performs this week at Driven Music Conference in Fort Lauderdale.

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Fired gay Ohio teacher outed in mother's published obituary: Catholic educators union won't back her

ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A gay teacher challenging her firing by an Ohio Catholic school says the local union for Catholic educators has decided not to proceed with her complaint.

Carla Hale said Monday the grievance committee for the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators isn't supporting her efforts to get back her job as a physical-education teacher. The association hasn't returned telephone calls seeking comment.

Hale also filed a complaint with the city of Columbus, which prohibits firings based on sexual orientation.

Hale says she was fired from Bishop Watterson High School after her partner's name was revealed in her mother's published obituary and someone complained.

Bishop Frederick Campbell says Hale was fired not because of her sexual orientation but because she violated the church's moral teaching by having what he describes as a "quasi-spousal relationship" with a woman.

Minnesota Senate OKs gay marriage; Gov. Mark Dayton to sign marriage equality law on Tuesday

BY PATRICK CONDON AND BRIAN BAKST
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Spurring onlookers' cheers, the Minnesota Senate voted Monday to make gay marriage legal, putting the state on the brink of becoming the 12th to allow same-sex couples to marry. Gov. Mark Dayton immediately announced he would sign the legislation Tuesday.

The Senate vote of 37-30 came four days after the House passed the bill on a 75-59 vote. When the tally was announced after more than four hours of debate, a huge cheer erupted in the chamber and gallery, where spectators stood and applauded.

Minnesota will become the first state in the Midwest to make gay marriage legal via a legislative vote. Iowa legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 through a court ruling. Under the legislation, gay couples will be able to get married starting on Aug. 1.

Last week, Dayton, a Democrat, called the bill "one of those society-changing breakthrough moments." His staff scheduled a signing ceremony for 5 p.m. Tuesday on the Capitol steps.

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'Do it all': Singer Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's younger daughter, offers advice for going into show business

Jared Kenwood, a journalism student at Broward College, recently interviewed singer Lorna Luft, one week before she began treatment for breast cancer.

Luft, Judy Garland's younger daughter, spoke to Kenwood March 19 at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, where she performed her tribute show, Songs My Mother Taught Me.

“If you want to go into this business, you have to learn to do it all. Don’t learn how to be vocal aerobics and stand on a stage and not do anything else but that. There is something in between the songs called dialogue and you have to be an actor and learn how to be choreographed,” Luft told Kenwood.

Click here to read more at The Judy Garland Experience website.

Florida gay activist raising money to produce, direct social justice documentary, 'London Innovators'

From LGBT activist Jeff G. Peters of Tallahassee, who grew up in North Miami Beach:

London Innovators examines the global impact of some dynamic individuals & groups helping to shape the world we live in.

London Innovators is an inspiring new feature documentary. The film is being made in cooperation with Southbank Oia Films LLC. We have a lot of wonderful, dedicated people involved with this film project. We hope you'll join us! Your contribution and help in promoting the project is the key to the success of this film. We truly appreciate your help! You're getting involved at the crucial beginning phase of the documentary. Help us make this one of the most successful Indiegogo film campaigns!

My name is Jeff G. Peters and I'm the Director/Producer on this project. I have a background in the arts with an emphasis in film, literature & theatre. I've been the Executive Producer on several films including, Gods Cartoonist: The Comic Crusade of Jack Chick, and Dead Buffalo. I've also produced movie sountracks. I'm a judge with the Tallahassee Film Festival and serve on the board of Anhinga Press, one of the oldest publishers of beautiful books of poetry - here in the US. I have a passion to bring innovative indie films to audiences. To that end, I've raised money and helped bring many indie films to art cinemas; films including the award winning, Immokalee U.S.A.

Click here to read more at indiegogo.

LGBT youth groups in South Florida to benefit from 'You Can Play Night' at Miami Marlins game June 14

News release from South Florida Gay News and Miami Marlins:

“YOU CAN PLAY NIGHT” PROMOTES EQUALITY IN SPORTS, BENEFITS LOCAL LGBTQ YOUTH GROUPS

Ft. Lauderdale – May 13, 2013 – South Florida Gay News (SFGN) and the Miami Marlins have teamed up to host an evening of baseball to promote equality in sports and to benefit South Florida area LGBT youth organizations.  “You Can Play Night” will take place Friday, June 14 at Marlins Park beginning with a social mixer at 5 p.m. followed by the baseball game versus the St. Louis Cardinals at 7:10 p.m.

“With the recent announcement of Jason Collins coming out as a pro athlete, the timing for ‘You Can Play Night’ is perfect,” said Justin Wyse, Sales Manager for SFGN. “The message the You Can Play Project makes to LGBT youth and their allies who are involved in sports is that locker rooms should be safe and sports venues should be free from homophobia. Athletes should be judged on talent, heart and work ethic and not sexual orientation. We are delighted to partner with the Marlins to bring this message to our local youth.”

Tickets to “You Can Play Night” start at $20. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to South Florida LGBT youth programs, including Pridelines Youth Services, Safe Schools South Florida, The Pride Center, NVEEE, Sunserve, Youth Pride Band and The Alliance for LGBTQ Youth. For tickets, order before June 10 at www.marlins.com/ycp.

“You Can Play Night” is sponsored by Storks Bakery, Dugout Sponsor; 93.9 MIA, Mark’s List, Hotspots, Wire Magazine, She Magazine, and The Murry Agency Public Relations, Media Sponsors. Special thanks go to the Gay and Lesbian Business Exchange (GLBX), the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC), Greater Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC) and Rainbow Business Coalition (RBC).

2 Russians arrested for brutal homophobic killing

ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW -- Investigators say a 23-year-old Russian man was brutally beaten and left to die by his companions after drunkenly telling them he was gay.

A former schoolmate of the victim and another man have been arrested for the killing, which happened on Friday.

The RIA Novosti news agency on Monday quoted an investigator in the southern city of Volgograd saying that one suspect admitted that he and another suspect decided to haze the victim by sending him home naked then "decided not to stop there."

Investigators say the victim had such severe injuries, including to his genitals, that he could not initially be identified. His name has not been released.

Gays face serious social stigma and official pressure in Russia, where parliament voted to ban "homosexual propaganda" earlier this year.

Gallery | SAVE Dade, now 20 years old, celebrates eighth annual Champions of Equality reception

More than 600 supporters helped SAVE Dade celebrate its 20th anniversary Friday night with the gay-rights group's eighth annual Champions of Equality reception held at the Hilton Miami Downtown hotel.

Champions of Equality honorees: U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Miami; Miami-Dade Commission Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa; and state Rep. David Richardson, Florida's first openly gay legislator.

Hall of Champions honorees: gay rights pioneers Fran Bohnsack and James Pepper.

Political celebrities included three visiting members of Congress (Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.; Mark Takano, D-Calif.; Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona); Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez; and mayors and commissioners from throughout Miami-Dade County.

Click here to view more pictures from the reception. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff. 

Sizzle Miami returns May 23-28; view the schedule

Sizzle Miami returns to South Florida Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-28, 2013. Here are the details with links to the website.

Native Americans torn over gay marriage

BY ROB HOTAKAINEN, MCCLATCHY WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- For Heather Purser, the first pang came more than a decade ago as she gathered clams on Puget Sound’s Chico Beach, watching her cousin’s new husband assist with the digging. She figured she’d never have a legal spouse to help with the backbreaking work.

Then Purser, a member of Washington state’s Suquamish Tribe who knew she was gay at age 7, decided to act: She led a personal lobbying campaign that ended with her tribal council voting in 2011 to approve same-sex marriage.

“I realized that I do have the power to change my situation,” said Purser, who’s now 30 and a commercial seafood diver from Olympia, Wash.

With more Native Americans making similar demands, the Suquamish tribe is one of three that have signed off on marriage by same-sex couples, laws that apply only on their land. Legal analysts predict that more tribes will follow, giving new rights to what many Native Americans call “two-spirit” individuals, who carry both a feminine and masculine spirit.

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