| Transcript |
20
OUT ON THE BAYOU
DECEMBER 31,1999 • HOUSTON VOICE
Available for the Holidays
Chocolates bu Ulark
Gourmet Fresh
Ground Coffees
for sale by the pound
Tooptsres
1830 W. Alabama (713)522-7662
WE WILL CLOSE AT 3:00 PM ON NEW YEAR'S EVE,
WE ARE CLOSED ON NEW YEAR'S DAY & WILL
RE-OPEN AT 8:00 AM ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2000
SEE US FOR YOUR CATERING NEEDS
Lets Kill
The Boss
j ((MINI
Kai"aoy.<
r Twenty Hundred & One
A Space Oddity
1209 CAROLINE AT DALLAS
713.759.9323 - fax 713.759.6812
Lunch: M-F 11am - 5pm
Dinner: M-Th 5pm - 9:30pm • Fri & Sat 5pm - 10pm
"HOME COOKING - ITALIAN STYLE"
Delivery to all lofts & apartments in Downtown Houston
Catering available for lunch and dinner meetings,
banquet facilities, and take-out available!
Plan your Christmas party with
aobejprwru&i,
TAUAN <JRISTORANTE
JBIi.
JACKSC
ito5epn.u
^-AtAI IAN (J RI3TORA
lo5epruri£5
-^ITALIAN U RISTORANTE
•LIVE MUSIC • EVERY THUDS • SPELLBOUND
MAKE YOUR NEW YEAR'S
RESERVATIONS TODAY
■ 3615 MONTROSE BOULEVARD • 713-529-0088 2
I 1ST
■LIVE JAZZ • TUESDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY BRUNCH •
reran
year in review
AROUND THE NATION 1999
January
AOL, Merriam-Webster
dump anti-gay thesaurus
In response to pressure from activists,
Merriam-Webster announced it would remove
offensive synonyms for the word "homosexual" that had been included in a thesaurus on
the company's web-site and America Online.
Words included as synonyms for "homosexual" included fag, faggot, fruit, homo, invert,
queer, uranian and uranist.
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
discharges highest since 1987
According to figures released in January,
the military discharged 1,145 service members in 1998 for violating the DADT ban on
openly gay soldiers, the highest number of
discharges since 1987. Discharges from the
Air Force were more than 30 percent higher
than in 1997.
'Barebacking' on the rise,
new epidemic feared
A study released by the Centers for Disease
Control showed the proportion of gay men
who reported engaging in unprotected anal
intercourse, known as barebacking, rose from
30.4 percent in 1994 to 39.2 percent in 1997, a
near 30 percent increase. The report fueled
fears that a new generation of gay men
would be decimated by HIV/AIDS.
February
Tinky Winky outed by Jerry Falwell
According to the February issue of Rev.
jerry Falwell's National liberty Journal,
Tinky Winky—a character on the popular
"Teletubbies" television show—is gay and
a dangerous role model for children. "He is
purple—the gay pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle—the gay pride
symbol," the group said, also noting that
Tinky speaks with a boy's voice but carries
a red purse-like bag.
March
Billy Jock Gaither, an
Alabama man who
cared for his ailing
parents, was
stabbed, beaten to
death with an ax
handle and his body
burned on a pyre of
tires Feb. 19 by two
men who claimed a
pass by Gaither
prompted the attack.
Gay man brutally
murdered in Alabama
Steven Eric Mullins and Charles Monroe
Butler confessed to the Feb. 19 murder of
Billy Jack Gaither, a gay textile worker from
Sylacauga Alabama. Gaither was stabbed,
beaten to death with an ax handle, and his
body burned on a pile of tires. Mullins told
authorities he killed Gaither because
Gaither made a pass at him. In June,
Mullins pleaded guilty to capital murder;
in August, a jury convicted Butler of murder and kidnapping.
April
Shepard killer gets life in prison
Russell Henderson, one of two men
charged with the October 1998 killing of
gay University of Wyoming student
Matthew Shepard, pleaded guilty to kidnapping and felony murder to avoid a possible death penalty. He was given to two
consecutive life sentences.
May
San Francisco 'Equal Benefits'
ordinance upheld
A federal judge upheld important portions of San Francisco's landmark "Equal
Benefits" ordinance, which requires companies that contract with the city to provide
domestic partner benefits. In July, United
Airlines, a plaintiff in the ATA suit, became
the first airline to offer full domestic partner
benefits, including health insurance.
American Airlines and U.S. Airways quickly
followed suit.
June
Hormel appointed
ambassador to Luxembourg
While Congress was on a 10-day break for
Memorial Day, President Clinton offered a
"recess appointment" to James Hormel,
which will allow the openly gay philanthropist to serve as ambassador to Luxembourg
until January 2001. Hormel, who became the
United States' first openly gay ambassador,
was first nominated to the post by Clinton in
October 1997, but Republican senators
opposed the nomination and refused to
allow it to come to a vote.
July
Vatican shuts down ministry to gays
In a move that rocked the already shaky
relationship between gays and the Catholic
Church, the Vatican's Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith ordered a well-known
American nun and priest to halt their 25-
year ministry to gay and lesbian Catholics.
The Vatican had been investigating Father
Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Grannick
for more than 10 years.
Senate passes gay-inclusive
hate crimes bill
Gay rights advocates declared victory
July 22 when the U.S. Senate passed the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an
amendment to a spending bill. But
because the House version of the budget
bill did not include the measure, it
required approval by a conference committee. In November, under pressure
from Republican Congressional leaders,
conferees and White House negotiators
allowed the hate crimes bill to be
dropped. The HCPA would add sexual
orientation, gender and disability to
existing federal hate crimes laws.
|
