Queerest Quotes from 2005

(Link) While the bubbly's chilling for New Year's Eve 2006, let's take a look back at what our friends -- and enemies -- had to say during the year we're leaving behind...

Lesbians on Ice

(Link) A writer heads for Antarctica to write a book on the eccentrics who live there and finds herself a girlfriend while she's at it. (If you don't have a Salon.com account, you can read the entire article in Comments here. That's what the JIC Posts are for.)

South's OIdest Lesbian Bookstore May Close

(Link) Since 1974, Charis Books & More has been a focal point for Atlanta's womens community. But after 30 + years, the store's owners wonder: "Do feminist bookstores even need to exist anymore?"

Pentagon: Queer Kiss-In Deemed "Credible Threat"

(Link) Kissing your girlfriend is now a possible act of terrorism, so pucker up and be a rebel!

Study: Generation Gap Affects LGBT Communication

(Link) Sure, those kids today are comin' out of the closet earlier, but they're completely unaware of the decades of activism that made it safer to open up. Hey, you punks get off my lawn!

Maine's Anti-Discrimination Law Now in Effect

(Link) After a 30-year effort and two attempts to stop it, Maine becomes the last of the New England states to bar discrimination against gays and lesbians.

2005: Was It Good For You, Baby?

(Link) With so many other countries opening the way for same-sex marrige,Detroit News' Deb Price likes to think of this past year as "The Year of Global Warming". Still feels chilly in here, though. Toss another fundie on the fire, will ya?

Dykes & the C-Word

(Link) Are hard drinking and heavy smoking really giving lesbians cancer in greater numbers than their straight sisters? New studies show that...well, maybe not.

California Anti-Marriage Groups Postpone Fight

(Link) Citing a laundry list of why they're backing down, two California groups striving to crush the prospect of same-sex weddings slither off into the distance. And good riddance, we say!

Interview: Melissa Etheridge

(Link) Melissa Etheridge talks about her start in the biz, her relationship with Tammy and how life is better after 40 -- even if you have to fight through cancer to get there.

Virginia Governor Orders Protections for State Workers

(Link) Mark Warner, governor of the state with the harshest anti-queer laws in the US, has pushed through a pro-queer employment law. Virginians react: “If the state passes a law like this, a public school teacher all of a sudden puts a picture of her so-called partner on her desk!" Oh, the horror...

Portia De Rossi Voted One of TV's Sexiest Women

(Link) A recent poll gives the future Mrs Ellen Degeneres a hottie stamp of approval: “Did I mention her affiliation with the lesbian party? Every guy knows that just multiplies a woman's sexiness, imagination running amok with possibilities.” Keep dreamin', boys.

Laurel Hester's Wonderful Life, Part Three

(Link) This is the final part of our three part series about Laurel Hester, the woman whose terminal cancer has embroiled her in a domestic partnership benefits controversy with the local government in Ocean County, New Jersey.

New Bill Makes Felons of Binational Couples

(Link) Republicans are pushing a bill that would criminalize the US half of binational couples -- particularly those who can't marry their partners and make 'em legal spouses. "If a U.S. citizen were living with [an undocumented] partner, he or she could be subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment, mandatory foreclosure of homes or assets."

California Lutheran School Facing Expulsion Lawsuit

(Link) Although the two grrls weren't smooching publicly, a California high school booted them out because there is still a bond of intimacy ... characteristic of a lesbian [relationship]. ... Such a relationship is unchristian." Atheists and Jewish students are still welcome to attend, though.

Laurel Hester's Wonderful Life, Part Two

(Link) This is the second part of our three part series about Laurel Hester, the woman whose terminal cancer has embroiled her in a domestic partnership benefits controversy with the local government in Ocean County, New Jersey.

Feds Go After Lesbian-Baiting Coach

(Link) Former Penn State player joins a new team , this time of lawyers, who plan to point out to Coach Rene Portland that dyke-bashing isn't just mean -- it's illegal.

Lesbian Asylum Seeker Ends Hunger Strike

(Link) She seeks safe haven in a new country because homophobic violence in Zimbabwe will kill her. After nearly killing herself by skipping food for 33 days, she finally got the UK's attention.

Laurel Hester's Wonderful Life, Part One

(Link) When a New Jersey cop was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she hoped to pass on her pension benefits to her partner. The group that handles those benefits first ignored her claim, then they denied it. Finally, they simply ran away, leaving behind a dying woman in a wheelchair.

Wal-Mart Flirts with US Queer Market

(Link) With the company's UK stores happily selling same-sex wedding goodies, Wal-Mart ponders how they might appeal for the US queer dollar. Cue the American Family Association with a heapin' helpin' of Righteous Indignation (tm)!

Indianpolis Bans Anti-Queer Discrimination

(Link) Despite efforts to block it by a host of conservative groups, the measure passed on the second go 'round by a single vote. Sit back and watch as tolerance breaks out all over Hoosier Land!

Pentagon Keeping Tabs on Queer Groups

(Link) If you thought "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was bad enough, now your softball team is being labeled as a possible Al Qaeda front? Puh-leeze.

Lesbian Couple First to Wed in UK

(Link) Begorrah! The Irish beat the English in the race to tie the same-sex knot. The couple gets bonus points for being one of those transcontinental romances that actually worked out.

Sundance Film Fest's 2006 Lesbian Lineup

(Link) With that gay cowboy movie getting so much attention, it's nice to know there are a few grrl-oriented indie flicks we can hope to see.

UK's Tories Appoint Out Lesbian Vice-Chairman

(Link) Perhaps the only time you'll see the words "lesbian" and "conservative" in the same sentence.

State Senator Wants to Ban Gay-Straight Clubs

(Link) "Oh, that silly Sen. Buttars,'' said Dani Eyer, executive director of the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "What would we do without him?"

Study: Women Do Go Wild for Hot Monkey Love

(Link) A new scientific study shows what the Discovery Channel has known for years: that women in particular are heated by those animal mating scenes. Coming soon: hot grrl-grrl bonobo monkey action!

US's First Civil Unioned Couple Breaks Up

(Link) After five years of being the first couple in the United States joined in a legal civil union, Vermonters Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson are calling it quits. Even sadder, domestic violence seems to be the issue.

Ford Flips, Will Put More Ads in Queer Mags

(Link) In a decision that's sure to ruffle fundie feathers, the Ford Motor Company will return to advertising vehicles in GLBT mags -- and will now include the company's entire lineup of rides.

"The Breakup Notebook" Gets a Rave

(Link) That gay cowboy movie may be getting lots of airtime, but a funny and sincere little lesbian musical is gathering lots of attention in the world of live theater.

Iowa Couples Suing for Marriage Rights

(Link) You just never hear things like "radical" and "Iowa" in the same sentence, but six Iowans are suing for the right to be just as married as their boring, stable, hetero neighbors.

Former Players Say Coach is Anti-Lesbian

(Link) Former Penn State players are coming forward with more tales of Rene Portland's homophobic coaching techniques -- which apparently include threats, humiliation and derogatory remarks aimed at those she perceived to be lesbians.

Now on Sale: LWord Bling & Perfume

(Link) So what if you don't look like Shane. Now you can smell like her -- for only $75 a pop! Whether you get as much action is all up to you.

Queer Clubs Fear Impact of D.C. Smoking Ban

(Link) With nanny states (and cities) banning indoor smoking, bars fear for the future: a sudden drop in patronage, hordes of drunken dyke smokers hovering on the sidewalk outside, the cost of replacing the cocktail peanuts with bowls of Nicorette and Skoal Bandits.

LGBT Groups Ask Ford to Reinstate Ads

(Link) Sure you might not be able to afford a Jaguar, but those Ford Motor Company ad dollars keep your queer publications in print. Speaking of ads, click a few in here, Scrooge. Broadband's not getting any cheaper, ya know.

Government Study: 1 in 16 Brits is Queer

(Link) A study of the "pink pound" (LGBT spending power) and the financial implications of the UK's new Civil Partnership Act shows that about 6 percent of that country's population -- about 3.6 million people -- bat for their own team. Is it in the water?

Lesbian Candidate Wins Post By a Few Hundred Votes

(Link) Despite being outspent by her opponent, Sue Lovell won her post on Houston's City Council by a mere 579 votes. "If you think that your vote doesn't count, this is an example that it does," Lovell said.

Supermodel Ex Says Angelina Still Makes Booty Calls

(Link) Supermodel Jenny Shimizu says she and Angelina Jolie still "get together" since they hooked up during the filming of "Foxfire" in 1993. She also says Brad's nuts if he thinks Angelina's gonna become the wifey type.

Lesbian Teen Sues Christian High School

(Link) Ninth-grader Jessica Bradley didn't expect to be booted out of school for kissing her girlfriend. And Covenant Christian School didn't expect her dad to hit back with a million-dollar lawsuit over it, either.

Wal-Mart Introduces Queer Wedding Gift Line

(Link) Although the "fundie/family friendly" chain carries only bible stories and Ann Coulter rants in its book section in the US, the UK branch is selling up a storm of queer cards, commitment rings and gay gifties now that same-sex civil unions are legit there.

"Dykes on Bikes" Now Federally Protected

(Link) US Patent and Trademark Office backs down from last year's refusal to trademark the group's name, claiming it was "disparaging to lesbians" (and freeing it up for use by money-making enterprises). "Dykes on Bikes" is now trademarked and the property of the original non-profit group itself.

High School Trip to See "Rent" Too Queer for the Crowd

(Link) Shocked to find that it does not reflect the typical smalltown Rhode Island lifestyle, Focus on the Family calls the film "an in-your-face glorification of homosexuality and lesbianism." Glorification of lesbianism? Woo hoo! Put us down for a big ol' pack of tickets to see that flick!

LGBT Americans Slow to Warm to Civil Unions

(Link) Trends are showing more nuptials taking place in a state that offers full marriage over one that offers civil unions. Lack of committment or just that American habit of shopping for the best deal?

Lesbian Couple Sentenced in Assault

(Link) How to make Woman on Woman violence worse than it already is? Make it two against one.

Oklahoma's Anti-Gay Adoption Policy Under Fire

(Link) When same-sex couples are afraid to even take their adopted kids to visit the state, you know something's wrong. Lambda Legal lawsuit takes on the harshest anti-gay measures in the country.

Interview: Lesbian Novelist Lauren Sanders

(Link) Curve magazine chats up Lambda Literary Award winner, Lauren Sanders about her latest novel -- a scary romance called "With or Without You."

Fundies Now Aiming at Queer-Friendly Corporations

(Link) Not satisified with infiltrating the US government, Christian fundamentalists are setting their sites on disrupting commerce. Remember how they scared us all away from Gay Day at Disney?

Tampa Woman Sues Lesbian Cheerleader

(Link) When two NFL cheerleaders get busted making out in a bathroom stall, there's just not enough publicity to go around. What to do? Bring on the lawsuits, of course!

Deck the Halls and Queer Up the Family Tree

(Link) Because the Nuclear Family (tm) is not the norm, a Canadian Queer Parenting Initiative makes a family tree for the rest of us -- and the posters are selling like hotcakes.

Domestic Violence Leads to Manslaughter Conviction

(Link) Said a friend of longtime couple: "These were two intelligent and articulate women who loved each other very much, so we all still can't understand why it ended like this."

Court to Release Tape of Gay Policy Debate

(Link) The US Supreme Court will be debating whether to overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- then releasing an audiotape of their arguments with each other about it. No word on when the dance remix will be available yet.

Focus on the Family Dumps Wells Fargo

(Link) Focus on the Family cleans out its Wells Fargo account, citing its promotion of the "radical homosexual agenda." Not sure what our agenda is exactly? See Badphairy's "Extempore" for the details.

Court: Okay to Deny Insemintion to Lesbian

(Link) A California apellate court has decided that two doctors who denied IVF treatment to a lesbian client were within their rights to do so -- because Guadalupe Benitez and her partner of 15 years are not legally married.

KD Lang Sues Business Manager for Theft

(Link) With access to the Canadian songbird's checkbook, kd's manager indulged her constant craving for cash to tune of several thousand bucks. For "fees" and "expenses", of course.

Lesbian Teen Wins Privacy Suit Against School

(Link) To punish 17-year-old Charlene Nguon for being openly affectionate with her girlfriend, her high school decided to out her to her parents and force her to change schools. Discipline or invasion of privacy? Survey says...

Jewish Dating Service Now Open to Same-Sex Searches

(Link) Dating meshugeneh shiksas got you all fahklempt? Stop wasting your time using Focus on the Family's dating site and find yourself a nice Jewish grrl instead!

HRC Publishes Buyer's Guide of Queer-Friendly Companies

(Link) COMMENTSJust in time for the socially-conscious gift-giving season, the Human Rights Campaign gives us a list so we can shop at the places that "nice" instead of "naughty" to us all. And yes, we did snicker a bit that "Eating Out" is listed as a category...

Schwartzenegger Names Out Democrat as Chief of Staff

(Link) No, Susan Kennedy is not just openly Democratic. She's been married to her partner Susan since 1999. How ticked off are the Republicans about it? Enough so that they've already dedicated a website to "stopping" her.

Same-Sex Marriage Coming to South Africa

(Link) A lesbian couple challenges the definition of common law marriage and voila! South Africa joins other enlightened nations in legally recognizing the bond between "wife and spouse".