News
Bennington Comes Out With Pride
Openly Gay and Lesbian Candidates Campaign in VT
Four Vie for Two Legislative Seats
VT Equal Marriage Advocates Hail Advance in NJ
R.U.1.2?, SafeSpace Hold Open House
Passings
Rhode Islanders May Marry in Mass.
Passings
Gerry
Studds Dies at 69
BOSTON - Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress, died in
Boston in October at the age of 69. Studds was first elected in 1972 and
served 12 terms, representing Cape Cod and the Islands, New Bedford, and
the South Shore. He retired from Congress in 1997.
Studds was outed in 1983 when he was discovered
to have had a sexual relationship with a teenaged page years before. Studds
was censured by the House of Representatives, but won re-election.
"As the first openly gay member
of Congress, Gerry Studds was a pioneer. And one of the many lessons he
left is that one can lead an open and authentic life and do good,"
said Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign. "Gerry
was one of the first to understand the fear and inequity faced by gay
and lesbian service members and he worked tirelessly on their behalf.
Equally important, he was beloved by the constituents of his coastal district
for his advocacy on behalf of the fishing industry and the ocean environment.
Gerry Studds understood that the greatest contribution he could make to
his community was to do an extraordinary job, and that his why he was
resoundingly reelected time after time until he chose to retire."
"Gerry and his longtime partner, Dean
T. Hara, married in 2004; shortly after same-sex marriage became legal
in Massachusetts."
In Newsweekly reported that Hara
is being denied Congressional pension and death benefits "because
the federal Defense of Marriage Act blocks the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, which dispenses the benefits, from recognizing Studds' marriage,
according to a spokesman."
Information from the Associated Press, In Newsweekly, and the Human Rights Campaign.
Nigerian
Activist Shot to Death: Omololu Falobi Died in October
LAGOS, NIGERIA - The world lost one of its most talented and caring voices
in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, the Black AIDS Institute reported last
month. Nigerian journalist and AIDS activist Omololu Falobi was shot to
death in Lagos, Nigeria, on Oct. 5. He was 35 years old.
Details of Falobi's death are still
unclear, but what we know is that he was returning home when he encountered
a shootout involving armed robbers. He had just addressed a group of young
entrepreneurs about the importance of social responsibility in their careers.
Falobi, a Black AIDS Institute board member,
had himself been a model of social responsibility throughout his life.
"Omololu was instrumental in helping
to lay the early strategic foundation for the Black AIDS Institute,"
said Phill Wilson, the Institute's executive director. "He was a
quiet but clear voice on our board."
Falobi accomplished much in his too-short
life. He finished high school at 14, had a Masters degree by 26 and at
29 was named features editor of Nigeria's leading weekly paper, The Sunday
Punch. In 2000 Falobi left that position to take a leadership role in
educating his country and continent about HIV/AIDS. He became executive
director of the Nigerian group Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS), which
coordinates the efforts of African journalists to disseminate information
about the epidemic. From that post, he traveled the continent and the
world spreading his message: that people in all walks of life must contribute
if we are to win the fight against AIDS, especially in impoverished regions
such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Press release from the Black AIDS Institute.
Aleta Fenceroy Died in September
OMAHA, NE - Aleta Fenceroy, who for eight years ran the Fenceberry LGBT
news service with her partner, Jean Mayberry, died in September of cancer,
Gay.com reported.
The couple provided the email news service
daily to subscribers worldwide on matters of interest to the LGBT community.
Fenceberry was discontinued in 2004, partly because AOL no longer allowed
them to send out mass emails, "but mostly because the project had
taken over their lives," Gay.com said. Donations in Fenceroy's memory
may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Compiled this month by Editor Lynn McNicol