this year Norway joins Canada, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa

According to a new consumer survey, one of the largest and most comprehensive of gay and lesbian consumer habits and brand perceptions, gay and lesbian consumers said they have a more favorable impression of companies or products that feature gay imagery in their advertising.

22% of high-ranking military officers support eliminating "don't ask, don't tell" as a means of increasing troop recruitment

58% high-ranking military officers support lowering education standards as a means of increasing troop recruitment

Under DADT two people every day are dropped from the military for being gay.

However, increasing numbers of high-ranking military vets are pushing for a repeal of DADT. Read more here.

Data from the Center for a New American Security, a non-partisan, national security think tank in Washington DC

In 2007, the U.S. Army issued 511 felony waivers to recruits who were convicted felons... of these, 2 were convicted of making terrorist or bomb threats!

There are an estimated 65,000 lesbian and gay servicemembers currently in the U.S. military.

Gays serve openly in the mililary in 23 of the 26 NATO countries. The United States, Turkey and Portugal are the exceptions.

10,870 gay military personnel have been discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy since it was enacted in 1993.

• Canada, best country
• Buenos Aires, international city
• New York City, domestic city
• Provincetown, domestic gay resort town
• Royal Palms, Fort Lauderdale, gay resort
• Zoom Vacations, small tour operator
• Atlantis, large tour operator
• Celebrity and  Norwegian, cruise lines
• Virgin America/Atlantic, best airline

Penn State and NYU published their urban study in the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. More than 90% of young lesbians and more than 80% of gay males expect to be partnered in a monogamous relationship after age 30. Two thirds of females and more than half of males expressed likelihood that they would raise children in the future; of these, 58% of males and 54% of females expect to be raising their own biological children. The mainstreaming of lesbian/gay youth will significantly impact culture and politics.

If you have any additions or thoughts, please contact Chuck Willis at chuckwillis@comcast.net. Our thanks to him for this enormous effort.

• the Princeton Review's Gay & Lesbian Guide to College Life
• the Advocate's College Guide for LGBT Students

For example, it is distressing to realize that thousands of gay people live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities without any staff or other residents knowing critical parts of their lives. These elders are deprived the opportunity to be themselves and to tell their story. They miss out on true inclusion in their own community because they have to be guearded about what they say. As a result, staff and residents never get to truly know them. Finally, they are deprived the life review process necessary for a good death.

Contact: Tina Barker, Larimer County Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 498-6803 or email tbarker@larimer.org

"SRLP works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence."
    The project is named for civil rights pioneer Sylvia Rivera, veteran of the 1969 Stonewall uprising and a tireless advocate for all those who have been marginalized as the "gay rights" movement has mainstreamed.
Be an ally...

• As in Boston, NYC, SF and DC, work to push the homeless shelters to place residents according to gender identity and safety rather than birth gender.
• To prevent harrassment and foster safety, establish gender-neutral bathrooms where you work, shop, go to school, eat or get services.
• support inclusion of trans health coverage in the benefits package at your job, school, or state Medicaid program.

≡≡  13 states have ENDAs that protect sexual orientation as well as gender expression

≡≡  7 states have ENDAs that protect sexual orientation but not gender expression

≡≡  30 states have no laws to protect GLBT workers

→  Equality Index Report  [pdf]
→  Best Places to Work 2008
→  Buying for Equality

A new study from the Univ of CA at Davis reports that Nearly four in 10 gay men and about one in eight lesbians and bisexuals in the United States have been the target of violence or a property crime because of their sexual orientation.   Survey respondents had an average age of 39. Most had attended some college. Two thirds were white, 16% black and 13% Hispanic. Data collection for the study was supported by a grant from the Gill Foundation.

The FBI announced that hate crimes against gays make up 16% of total documented hate crimes in the United States in 2006, up from 14% in 2005.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reported last year that 47 percent of gay and lesbian teenagers have seriously considered suicide and that 36 percent have attempted it.   The National Institute for Mental Health notes that this number may be low, because some teenagers who commit suicide may not be out to their families or friends.