By Ramy Eletreby

Transgendered Schoolteacher Keeps Her Job

Ocean County, N.J., fresh from a battle concerning granting worker benefits to same-sex partners, has extinguished another LGBT-related fire. This time, it concerned Lily McBeth, a 70-year-old MTF transgender substitute teacher at the Eagleswood School District, who took a leave of absence last year to undergo the transition. Though the school board voted 4-1 to allow her to return to her job, a group of parents demanded that they rescind their decision. Mark Schnepp, a 39-year-old parent of two children, placed a full-page ad in the local newspaper calling all parents to attend a public Board of Education meeting and have their voices heard. Though 100 people showed up to voice their concerns, several speakers at the meeting had praiseworthy things to say about McBeth, noting that she is well-liked by the children and she is one of the best teachers in the district. Without a vote, the board decided not to amend its decision to allow her to teach.

This situation sparked groups like Garden State Equality to call for an amendment to the state constitution to include the transgender community in the state's nondiscrimination law.

Gay Veterans Tour Nation Protesting DADT Policy

On Feb. 21, a group of gay and lesbian veterans gathered at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University to launch the Call to Duty Tour, a seven-week nationwide speaking tour calling for the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The tour features seven former servicemembers who question the logic in denying enlistment to capable and willing citizens when the current political climate has left the military desperate for recruits. "A lot of people have never known a gay or lesbian person and, as a result, have all sorts of misconceptions about what gays and lesbians are like, and no idea what impact "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has had on national security," said tour director Alex Nicholson, an Army veteran.

Meanwhile, seven paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C, are facing discharge after allegedly engaging in sexual acts on a gay pornographic Web site. Spc. Richard T. Ashley, Pfc. Wesley K. Mitten, and Pvt. Kagen B. Mullen face courts-martial on charges of sodomy, pandering, and engaging in sex acts for money. The remaining four soldiers remain unidentified and received such non-judicial punishments as reduction to the rank of private, 45 days of restriction to the unit area, 45 days of extra duty, and forfeiture of a month's pay.

California Episcopal Diocese Nominates Gay, Lesbian Ministers as Next Bishop

On Feb. 20, at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Episcopal Diocese of California announced the Rev. Robert Taylor, Dean of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, and the Rev. Bonnie Perry, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago, as two of the five nominees for its next bishop, which will be decided by election in May.

Taylor said the Anglican community should focus on issues other than sexual orientation. "I would say that the major global issue for the Anglican Communion is not the discussion of human sexuality," Taylor told The Seattle Times. "It's about the ministry we should be engaged in ending global poverty." Perry, who is in an 18-year relationship, agrees. "The folks in my interview were much more interested in what gifts and skills I would bring to leading the Diocese of California," she said.

Since 2003, when openly gay Rev. Gene Robinson was elected bishop in New Hampshire, there have been rumblings about a schism between the church in the United States, England, and Canada and churches in the Southern Hemisphere. Some fear election of another gay bishop might split the 77 million Anglicans permanently.

Bush Names Anti-Gay Minister to HIV/AIDS Council

President Bush appointed Rev. Herbert Lusk, an ex-Philadelphia Eagles football star and pastor of Philadelphia's Greater Exodus Baptist Church, to the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in January, according to an e-mail from the council's Executive Director Joseph Grogan, The Washington Blade reported.

Lusk serves on the board of advisors for Alliance for Marriage, a conservative organization that supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. On Jan. 8, Lusk hosted the Justice Sunday III rally in support of Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lusk invited conservative religious leaders Rev. Jerry Falwell and Focus on the Family's James Dobson to take part in the rally. Lusk is only one of five new appointees to the AIDS advisory council. Another appointee is Troy Benavidez, who serves on the national board of directors for the gay GOP group, Log Cabin Republicans.

The new appointees are set to be officially announced at the next council meeting on March 16 in Washington, D.C.

Greg Louganis Joins "Gay Games Ambassadors"

U.S. Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis joined the Gay Games Ambassadors in support of the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago, July 15-22. The Gay Games Ambassadors are an international group of prominent individuals supporting the goals and principles of the quadrennial Gay Games. Other ambassadors include Elton John, Melissa Etheridge, Billy Bean, and Billie Jean King.

Louganis will also serve as co-host of a star-studded gala, A Night of 100 Champions, set to take place Saturday, April 22, at the Cadillac Club at Soldier Field in Chicago. The gala serves as a benefit for the Games and will honor more than 100 individuals and organizations for achievement in sports, culture and support of the GLBT community.

Louganis notably used the 1994 Gay Games in New York as an occasion to come out publicly as gay and HIV positive.

Brokeback Loses Best Picture to Crash

Academy Award show organizers, playing on the momentum built by a series of best picture wins, referenced the gay love story Brokeback Mountain at several turns. The March 5 show opened with host Jon Stewart in bed with George Clooney, excited that it wasn't a dream. And perhaps acknowledging the Brokeback spoofs on the Internet, the show featured a montage from Westerns and buddy movies suggesting homoerotic interplay between virle lead actors.

Oscar voters awarded the groundbreaking film best score and best adapted screenplay, and conferred best director on Ang Lee -- then named the racism film Crash best picture.

Not everyone was shocked. "Despite all the magazine covers it graced, despite all the red-state theaters it made good money in, despite (or maybe because of) all the jokes late-night talk show hosts made about it, you could not take the pulse of the industry without realizing that Brokeback Mountain made a number of people distinctly uncomfortable," wrote L.A. Times critic Kenneth Turan. "So for people who were discomfited by Brokeback Mountain but wanted to be able to look themselves in the mirror and feel like they were good, productive liberals, Crash provided the perfect safe harbor."

"Voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who have had an historical addiction to making social statements by honoring movies making social statements, drew the line tonight at gay cowboys by awarding Crash with the best picture Oscar. In doing so, they deferred what would have been a watershed moment in the civil rights movement for gay and lesbian Americans," wrote openly gay blogger Matt Szabo. "And it's a missed opportunity that will take years to make up."

A similar claim could have been made about Felicity Huffman's best actress loss to Reese Witherspoon, whose "real woman" role was less profound than Huffman's performance of a pre-op transgender woman in Transamerica. Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for his inspired performance as Truman Capote. -- Karen Ocamb

Mardi Gras: A Tale of Two Cities

Mardi Gras in New Orleans offered hope of renewal to the Gulf Coast six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, killing more than 1,300 people. But Fat Tuesday was a tale of two cities. The French Quarter hosted revelers with beads and costumes, including New Orleans native Betty Degeneres who rode a float in the Orpheus parade. Openly gay TV talk show host Ellen Degeneres is helping to rebuild her hometown (www.ellentv.com). But just blocks away from the parade remained piles of debris and lives in ruin. Hurricane season starts three months from Feb. 28. -- Karen Ocamb