News: Maryland Gay Marriage, Stanley Bennett Clay, Bob Allen

· Maryland's highest court upholds the state's ban against same-sex marriage. "The Court of Appeals ruled that the state's 1973 ban on gay marriage does not discriminate on the basis of gender and does not deny any fundamental rights guaranteed by the state constitution. The court also found that the state has a legitimate interest in promoting opposite-sex marriage." Bills allowing gay marriage and civil unions will soon be introduced in the legislature. Read the ruling here

· California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will once again veto legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry.

· Last week. black gay HIV/AIDS activist Phil Wilson called for presidential candidates to address the AIDS pandemic. This week, more than 100 HIV/AIDS organizations issue a "Call to Action" statement "to all presidential candidates asking them to develop results-oriented, national HIV/AIDS strategies."

· Jury selection begins tomorrow in the case of Florida Republican State Rep. Bob Allen, who was arrested after offering $20 to perform oral sex on an undercover police officer. Attorneys for the state legislator—who argued the black undercover officer "intimidated" him—are requesting a continuance.

· ENDA moves forward and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) says he expects the House to pass the bill.

· Brotherlove has an insightful two-part interview with Stanley Bennett Clay, the prolific writer and author of Looker and applauds "the fact that it was written by an out, black gay man who is older than the majority of writers in his genre. While a lot of focus in black gay writing is on the down low, coming out and how to find a man, Clay uses those issues as backdrops with a mature aesthetic." Bennett Clay's In Search of Pretty Young Black Men review/interview on Rod 2.0 here.

Comments

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the title of clay's book is actually "in search of pretty young black men."