Same-sex weddings got underway in New York State on Sunday. We’ll show you some of the happy couples and talk about the continued last gasp efforts of the rightwing to undo the marriage equality law.

The ban on open service on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the military will officially end September 20 as President Obama, Defense Secretary Panetta, and Joint Chiefs Chair Mullen certify that the armed forced are ready for us.

At the Contemporary Jewish Museum during a Gertrude Stein exhibit, two lesbians are stopped from holding hands by a guard. The museum will hold a Hand-Holding Day to make up for the offense.

During the horror in Norway this past week, two lesbian heroes risked their lives to save dozens of young people from the rightwing maniac who killed scores on Utoya Island. They drove their boat to the island on four separate occasions—dodging bullets each time—to rescue people from the water and taking them to shore.

The gay character, Kevin, from Archie comics gets his own comic book

Andy reviews two one-man shows by the great David Greenspan as he performs all eight roles in the 1925 play “The Patsy” and delivers the gay-themed “Jonas” which he also wrote.

“Unnatural Acts,” the hit play on the Harvard Secret Court of 1920 by Tony Speciale and the Plastic Theatre, has extended its run at the Classic Stage Company at 136 E. 13th Street through July 31. Andy saw it for the second time and liked it even more. Go to www.ClassicStage.org for more information.

LINKS IN THE NEWS

Marriage Equality Bus Tour: www.wearenome.org

H.E.R.O. Equality Walk: www.righttomarryAZ.org

Disney Gay Wedding: www.eqca.org

As same-sex marriages get underway in New York this weekend, we’ll speak with Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz, two lesbian pioneers, who are marrying after a 36-year engagement. Now residents of Florida, they have returned to their home state to marry legally at the LGBT synagogue on July 26. They are also the subject of a 2002 documentary, “Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House.” They were one of the plaintiff couples in the lawsuit from 1988-93 that won the domestic partners of NYC employees health benefits. You can read more about them and buy the DVD of their film atwww.RuthieAndConnieTheMovie.com

Connie Kurtz, 75, and Ruthie Berman, 77, will marry after a 36-year courtship
Photo by Bill Bahlman

Same-sex couples will be allowed to get married in New York State starting on Sunday. In New York City, so many couples want to marry that first day that a lottery system has been set up in each borough and it is open to gay and straight couples. THE LOTTERY CLOSES AT NOON ON THURSDAY, JULY 21. To read about that and how to marry in New York Citythereafter, go to: http://www.cityclerk.nyc.gov/html/marriage/lottery.shtml

For Frequently Asked Questions about getting married in New York State, go to www.NYCLU.or/marriageFAQ or to Lambda Legal at http://data.lambdalegal.org/publications/downloads/fs_marriage-equality-same-sex-couples-ny.pdf

The US Senate today held the first hearing ever in Congress on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages. You can read more about that atwww.freedomtomarry.org

Active duty military personnel in San Diego make history by marching as an organized group in the Pride march

The Justice Department tries to reinstate the stay against enforcing DADT, while the Obama administration says it will certify the lifting of the ban imminently

California Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill mandating that schools integrate LGBT issues into curricula. Opponents have filed to put an initiative on the ballot to block it.

The US Senate confirms the first out gay man with a life appointment to the federal bench

An Indiana man is rejected as a blood donor because he “appeared gay”

The Emmy nominations have been announced and are once again replete with out gay nominees and nominations for actors playing gay roles

“Unnatural Acts,” the hit play on the Harvard Secret Court of 1920 by Tony Speciale and the Plastic Theatre, has extended its run yet again at the Classic Stage Company at 136 E. 13th Street through July 31. Go to www.ClassicStage.org for more information.

Jess Burkle, Roe Hartrampf and Will Rogers in “Unnatural Acts,” a play about how Harvard conducted a witch hunt and purge of gay students in 1920.

LINKS IN THE NEWS

More US Census data re LGBT couples from the Williams Institute

Binational same-sex couples fighting deportation: www.StoptheDeportations.com

TRUTH WINS OUT: Michele Bachman’s family business, a clinic run by her husband Marcus, is exposed for trading in discredited “reparative therapy” to turn gay people straight and a media firestorm ensues. Got to www.TruthWinsOut.org for more info

A federal panel rules that DADT can no longer be enforced and there is a question about whether anyone in the government will defend it. And while the government has stopped enforcing the ban, it may go back to court to ask that it be reinstated.

Obama appoints an out lesbian to the West Point board. And a conference of out gay military personnel is planned. Go to www.outserve.org for the latest

California’s bill to mandate teaching kids the truth about gay lives is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. Call him on 916-445-2841 to demand that he sign SB-48. He is getting TONS of calls from the opposition. More info at http://www.nclrights.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=11481.0&dlv_id=15521

Same-sex marriages will start being licensed in New York on Sunday, July 24—and any eligible couple from anywhere can marry here. For questions about marrying in New York, go to http://www.nyclu.org/marriage-faq

We remember the contributions of Betty Ford to gay and AIDS causes, as well as to candidness about addiction and sexuality in American life

The Rupert Murdoch empire is crumbling! We’ll discuss the gay aspects of the scandal

A new drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea is found

Obama is going after medical marijuana after promising not to

Andy reviews Tyne Daly in Terrence McNally’s “Master Class”

NEW YORK EVENTS

The NYC LGBT Newfest film festival is July 21-28. Go to www.newfest.org for info

CBST is holding a forum on marriage in New York City on Thursday, July 21, 6:30 - 8:30 PM at 57 Bethune Street

New York State opens marriage to same-sex couples and jubilation ensues all Pride weekend. Our guest is NYS Assembly Member Daniel J. O'Donnell (D-Uptown Manhattan) who guided the bill through the Assembly four times.

In New Jersey, a lawsuit to win same-sex marriage will be filed in a state that now has civil unions that have not proven equal

In Maine, LGBT advocates and their allies plan a referendum to legalize same-sex marriages

President Obama raises big LGBT money but stops short of supporting same-sex marriage

Pride marches around the country are buoyed by the NY marriage win--but are marred by a gay bar raid in NYC, anti-gay vandalism in Chicago and a horrible accidental death in the LA march

West coast lesbian pioneer Jean Harris dies at 66

Census data shows many, many more same-sex couples reporting

A San Diego Catholic church cancels funeral for prominent gay businessman

Brazil judge okays same-sex marriage

LINKS IN THE NEWS

NY marriage facts
www.lambdalegal.org

Maine marriage
www.equalitymaine.org

NJ marriage
www.gardenstateequality.org

Serbia LGBT magazine
www.gayecho.com

For the first time, a United Nations body approves a resolution on LGBT rights

In the fight over marriage equality in New York State is going down to the wire with concerns about what religious carve outs will end up in the bill. For the latest, go to www.prideagenda.org

The White House can’t keep its story straight on President Obama’s “evolving” views on same-sex marriage. His spokesperson said not to expect a change in

A little good news on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal

GLAAD’s president, Jarrett Barrios, is forced out over collusion with AT&T to end Net Neutrality

Tracy Morgan begins his humiliation tour in New York under the auspices of GLAAD. We’ll show you what he had to say on Tuesday in Tennessee. One of the people he met with in New York was Elke Kennedy of South Carolina, whose son Sean was gaybashed to death in 2007. You can learn more about how she is trying to stop anti-gay bullying and violence at www.seanslastwish.org

A lesbian leader could succeed Anthony Weiner in Congress

A new study days half of college-educated LGBT people are closeted at work

A Michigan court strikes down a gay panic defense

The voters of Liechtenstein overwhelmingly approve a gay partnership law; the French parliament rejects marriage equality

Andy reviews “Unnatural Act” about Harvard’s Secret Court of 1920 that purged gay students, a new play about Bessie Smith, and “Spider-Man: Turn Out the Dark”

Alabama, Hawaii Census data analyzed by Williams Institute:
http://www3.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/home.html

PRIDE IN NEW YORK CITY

Trans Day of Action in New York is Friday at 3 PM in Foley Square
Drag March is Friday, 7 PM in Tompkins Square Park
Dyke March is Saturday at 5 PM starting in Bryant Park at 6th Av. and 42nd
Pride March is Sunday, Noon, kicking off from Fifth Avenue and 42nd St. and marching to the Village

OUR GUESTS THIS WEEK ARE ORGANIZERS OF THE 19th NYC DYKE MARCH, set for Saturday, June 25th, which steps out from Bryant Park behind the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street at 5 PM. Joining us are veteran activist Maxine Wolfe, one of the original organizers of the Dyke March, and Lauren Gulbrandsen, who has been with the organizers for three years. They will talk about their unique radical approach to marking Pride weekend in this march for women only that is supported by men and women from the sidelines.

Maxine Wolfe and Lauren Gulbrandsen of the NYC Dyke March
Photo by Bill Bahlman

IN THE NEWS ON GAY USA THIS WEEK

The marriage equality bill in New York picks up three new Democratic State Senators and two Republicans putting it within one of passage which is expected this week. We discuss how Governor Cuomo’s bill highlights the religious exemption in the bill but have learned that it does not go beyond any existing exemption in the state human rights law.

Another federal ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, this time in bankruptcy court

A federal judge denies to a motion from Prop 8 supporters that Judge Vaughn Walker, who overturned the proposition, should have recused himself because he is in a long-term relationship with a man

Civil unions get underway in Illinois with great fanfare

Connecticut passes a bill banning discrimination based on gender identity and expression

Tennessee activists file suit against anti-gay law

HHS Holds a Summit on LGBT youth issues

Repeal of DADT is expected to be certified before the retirement of Defense Secretary Gates on June 30. For an update, go to: www.army.mil/dadt

A young lesbian blogger in Syria is exposed as a 40-year old straight male hoaxer

GLAAD in turmoil over its support for AT&T’s corporate objectives

“Comedian” Tracy Morgan in his stand-up act says he would kill his son if he came out, then apologizes when condemnation rains down on his head

Sex does in another member of Congress, this time Anthony Weiner

The Tony Awards are the gayest and best ever, despite an opening number that Broadway is not just for gays any more. Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart” picks up three awards

Andy reviews the new musical of Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” having its world premier in San Francisco and two art exhibits on Gertrude Stein and her family

LINKS IN THE NEWS

CNN reports on “The ‘Sissy Boy’ Experiment” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-irAT0viF0

AARP’s new LGBT section online at www.aarp.org/pride

NYC protest for homeless LGBT youth is June 24th at 6 PM outside the Stonewall Bar

This week on Gay USA, we mark the 25th anniversary of the passage of the NYC lesbian and gay rights bill by screening a documentary on the subject, "Rights and Reactions: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial" by the late Phil Zwickler and the very much alive Jane Lippman. We thank the Phil Zwickler Charitable and Memorial Foundation for kindly giving us permission to bring you this award-winning documentary. You can learn more about the Foundation and Phil Zwickler at: http://www.pzfoundation.org/

To watch Rights and Reactions please got to:

http://www.pzfoundation.org/philzwickler/film/rights.html

 "RIGHTS AND REACTIONS"

The film looks at the battle over the NYC gay and lesbian rights bill in 1986, fifteen years after it was dreamt up by the Gay Activists Alliance and introduced as the first piece of legislation proposing to ban discrimination based on "sexual orientation." In the midst of the early years of the AIDS crisis, the bill finally passed.

The public hearings brought out the best and worst in New York. You will hear from Spokespersons for the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights including Joyce Hunter, Betty Santoro, Jim Levin and Andy Humm as well others campaigning for it including Harvey Fierstein, David Rothenberg, Damien Martin, Sister Jeanine Gramick, Rabbi Balfour Brickner, Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore, Professor Art Leonard, Lambda's Tom Stoddard, Manhattan DA Bob Morgenthau, Mayor Ed Koch, Council Member Miriam Friedlander, David Summers (just before his death from AIDS) and many others. Opponents include Council Members Susan Alter and Noach Dear, fundamentalist preachers and rabbis, radio host Bob Grant, the leader of the Catholic War Veterans, and more. It's a compelling social history and a debate that is far from over in America.

Ann and Andy will be back with all the latest news next week.

ABOUT GAY USA

The Gay USA website and podcast are available at GayUSATV

A new Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans thinks that 25% of their fellow Americans are gay or lesbian

A Texas court voids the marriage of a transgendered woman whose husband died fighting a fire

The federal government issues new guidelines to help protect transgendered employees

In Tennessee, activists fight back against the new law there banning local LGBT rights laws. For more information, go to www.tnep.org

A marriage equality supporting Democrat wins a special election for Congress in upstate New York in one of the most Republican districts in the country

NY’s Mayor Bloomberg gives a speech supporting marriage equality, but refuses to stop donating big bucks to the anti-gay Republicans who are holding it up. For updates on the campaign for the marriage equality bill in New York, go to: www.prideagenda.org

The Human Rights Campaign makes an early endorsement of Barack Obama for re-election

A gay boy in Maine is elected prom queen at his small town HS and his boyfriend king. We’ll have a video news report

Moscow police, colluding with Neo Nazis, crack down again on the Moscow Pride march in defiance of a court order

It’s the 30th anniversary of the date the Centers for Disease Control first published an article about a mysterious new illness that turned out to be AIDS. Hank Plante, an out gay veteran reporter who covered AIDS from the beginning, returns to KCBS for a series of reports on the epidemic. You can see the first installment at: http://www.lgbtpov.com/2011/05/aids-at-30-hank-plante-on-the-early-days-of-aids-in-san-francisco/

NOTE: There will be an AIDS March on June 8th at 11 AM starting in Bryant Park

The National Museum of American History, a part of the Smithsonian, has an exhibit on AIDS opening June 3 in Washington. Learn more at www.AmericanHistory.si.edu/hivaids

Why did Lady Gaga drop the gay lyrics from her “Born That Way” song while performing it on “Good Morning America”?

In a new movie with Ewan McGregor called “Beginners,” Christopher Plummer plays his dad, a man who comes out at 75

Tennessee bans laws protecting LGBT rights and its Senate passes a bill prohibiting even talking about gay subjects below the ninth grade. We’ll show you a clever response from actor and activist George Takei. To learn more about the fight in Tennessee, go www.tnep.org

Nevada passes protections for people of transgender experience and the Republican governor has signed the bills

Minnesotans will have to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2012. Go to www.outfront.org for more info

Rhode Island passes a civil unions bill, but an LGBT legal group condemns it

A bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act now has 23 sponsors in the US Senate. We will show you a statement of support from Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico.

The Gallup Poll finds majority support for same-sex marriage for the first time, joining other national polls

The New York Times names an openly gay op-ed columnist for the first time

Another anti-gay slur from an NBA basketball player, but veteran star Charles Barkley sticks up for us

Lisa Lampannelli donates $50,000 to GMHC—a thousand for every member of the Westboro Baptist Church who protested her appearance in Topeka

Andy reviews Broadway’s “Baby It’s You” about the Shirelles and the Jewish housewife from New Jersey who became their manager

The Broadway revival of Larry Kramer’s 1985 AIDS drama, “The Normal Heart,” picks up three big Drama Desk Awards

ABOUT GAY USA

The Gay USA website and podcast are available at GayUSATV .org

It was a BIG week for prominent people coming out: a CNN anchor, a basketball executive, and a former college basketball star

At a New York rally against same-sex marriage, an out lesbian confronts her grandfather who is the leader of the movement against same-sex marriage here. For updates on the marriage equality bill in New York, go to www.prideagenda.org

Minnesota moves to ban same-sex marriage in its constitution, but a poll shows Minnesotans aren’t buying it. To keep up with the struggle there, go to http://www.outfront.org/home

House Republicans try to stop repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

The Presbyterian Church USA opens its ministries to out LGBT people

Out lesbian Representative Tammy Baldwin poised to run for the US Senate in Wisconsin

On the International Day Against Homophobia, Moscow again moves to ban any pride celebration defying a court order

Uganda’s Kill-the-Gays bill dies in parliament but could be back in June

And a report on the famous Berlin Patient who is the first person who had HIV to have it cleared from his body.

Andy Humm co-hosts with Utahan gay activist Doug Jennings (r.) this week and with associate producer Bill Bahlman, who took this picture, next week. Ann Northrop returns to the show in two weeks.

BREAKING: After we taped this week, Minnesota's Republican-led Senate voted 38-27 to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2012 banning same-sex marriage. It is expected to pass the Republican-led House and is not subject to a veto from pro-gay Governor Mark Dayton of the Democratic-Farmer Labor party. The amendment bans same-sex marriage, but not civil unions. The state already bans same-sex marriage in law. To pass, the amendment needs a majority of those who show up to vote, not just a simple majority. We will talk on this week's show about a concerted campaign by the rightwing this year to push through anti-union, anti-gay, and anti-abortion measures through Republican-led state legislatures around the country.

The gay world and the world of theatre lose two giants: playwright Doric Wilson (1939-2011) who wrote gay-themed plays before Stonewall and participated in the Rebellion and Arthur Laurents (1917-2011), the man who wrote "West Side Story," "Gypsy," "The Turning Point," "The Way We Were" and much, much more

Two foreign same-sex spouses of Americans are given temporary reprieves from deportation after Attorney General Eric Holder asks an immigration board to reconsider a decision. Learn more at www.immigrationequality.org

Big push for opening marriage bureaus in New York to same-sex couples, though chief sponsor says votes are not there yet. Get involved at www.prideagenda.org

The Navy said it will do gay weddings on bases in states where same-sex marriage is legal once DADT is gone, but Republicans in Congress invoke DOMA to try to stop them. NOTE: After our taping, the Navy put the policy change on hold.

Tony Kushner is denied an honorary degree by the City University of New York’s board of trustees until an uproar ensues and the decision is reversed

Out lesbian Speaker Christine Quinn defends City funding to anti-gay religious parades in New York. See Andy's article at: http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/Civil%20Rights/20110510/3/3523

A teacher in San Diego is fired for putting a sex ad on Craig’s List

Uganda’s Kill-the-Gays Bill is on the front burner again in that nation’s parliament. Learn more at www.iglhrc.org

Brazil’s high court unanimously rules that committed same-sex couples are entitled to most of the same rights as married couples

A Derek Jacobi opens in triumph as “King Lear” in Brooklyn. Go to www.bam.org for more information on this production playing through June 5. Andy's review from Gay City News is at the end of this e-mail.

Larry Kramer, playwright, "The Normal Heart"
photo by Bill Bahlman

OUR GUEST THIS WEEK IS LARRY KRAMER, one of the pre-eminent gay and AIDS activists in the world, co-founder of both GMHC and ACT UP. An Oscar-nominated writer for "Women in Love" and the author of numerous books, his searing 1985 play "The Normal Heart" about the early days of the AIDS crisis, is having its Broadway debut and just garnered five Tony nominations for Best Revival of a Play, Best Direction of a Play (Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe), Best Actor in a Play (Joe Mantello as Ned Weeks), Best Supporting Actor in a Play (John Benjamin Hickey as Felix Turner), and Best Supporting Actress in a Play (Ellen Barkin as Dr. Emma Brookner). The production also features Patrick Breen, Mark Harelik, Luke Macfarlane, Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, Richard Topol, and Wayne Alan Wilcox. It is a must-see play in a limited 12-week run that ends July 12th. For more information about "The Normal Heart," go to http://www.thenormalheartbroadway.com/

Larry tells us about how this Broadway production came together more than 25 years after it was a hit at the Public Theatre. We'll talk about the continuing worldwide plague of AIDS, the state of the LGBT movement, and the progress on Larry's epic novel. We are honored to have Larry Kramer on "Gay USA." He joins us for the last quarter of our show.

IN THE NEWS ON GAY USA THIS WEEK:

A gay activist is shot and killed by an acquaintance in Elmira, NY

Gaybashers in Ohio burn eight horses to death in barn of gay man

More anti-gay slurs on the professional playing field

Rhode Island shooting for civil unions after same-sex marriage is shot down

Donald Trump explains why he is against same-sex marriage

Another “corrective” rape and murder of a lesbian in South Africa

The Catholic Church beatifies an anti-gay bigot

Gay-themed work garners Tony and Drama Desk nomination

We’ll review Tony Kushner’s new play along with a revival of “Born Yesterday,” a new take on “The Misanthrope” from David Ives at the Classic Stage Company, and the great Mark Rylance in Jez Butterworth’s “Jerusalem”

LINKS IN THE NEWS

Shut down "Sissy Boot Camps" in Malaysia 
www.allout.org

HIV Vaccine Trials
www.nycvaccine.org
www.topsandbottomswanted.org

The Atlanta law firm that agreed to defend DOMA on behalf of the US House pulls out of the case

A brutal beating of a transgendered woman at a Maryland McDonald's is videotaped and goes viral. 300 protested at the McDonald's, including the victim's mom and grandmother.

The proponents of California's Prop 8 have moved to overturn Judge Vaughn Walker's decision declaring it unconstitutional because of his personal life

An indictment of Tyler Clementi's roommate at Rutgers over his streaming webcam of Clementi's sexual encounter with another man just prior to Clementi's suicide

An arrest of a rightwing pastor as an accessory to kidnapping of the daughter in the Jenkins-Miller custody case

Moscow Pride MAY finally be getting a green light

"Stonewall Uprising" premiered on PBS's American Experience this past week. This great documentary can be viewed online in its entirety for a limited time at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/player/

We will review the Broadway productions of "War Horse" at Lincoln Center, the new musical "Wonderland" and the just-closed "High" with Kathleen Turner  

A suppressed report on how New York City museums censored LGBT content is unearthed at http://outhistory.org/wiki/OutHistory.org_Releases_Unpublished_Art_Report

ABOUT GAY USA

The Gay USA website and podcast are available at GayUSATV

OUR GUESTS THIS WEEK ARE FIGHTING DOMA IN COURT

We will talk with Edie Windsor and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan about their fight to get Edie’s marriage to the late Thea Spyer recognized by the federal government. She has had to pay more than $350,000 in estate taxes that she wouldn’t have had to if her late spouse was a man. Since President Obama and the US Department of Justice will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act because they see it as unconstitutional, Republican House Speaker John Boehner just hired a big high power lawyer to deny rights to the 81-year old lesbian widow.

Edie Windsor and Roberta Kaplan
photo by Bill Bahlman

You can learn more about the case at:
http://inr.synapticdigital.com/MarriageAct_37570/

or at the ACLU's website at:
http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/windsor-v-united-states-thea-edie-doma

Edie and Thea, who were together for 40 years before getting married, are the subject of a 2010 documentary, "Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement"

ALSO ON THE NEWS ON GAY USA THIS WEEK:

The US House holds a hearing on DOMA with the Republican chair calling for Obama’s impeachment for not defending it

Delaware enacts its civil union bill

Teen suicide—especially among gay teens—is higher in conservative regions

Jesse Jackson is sued for harassment of gay employee

Kobe Bryant fined $100,000 for using an anti-gay slur in a game

We’ll give you the gay angles on this year’s Pulitzer Prizes

In AIDS news, a big pre-exposure prophylaxis trial is stopped for lack of efficacy in women—but the drug works for men who have sex with men

Andy and Ann review “The Motherf***er with the Hat” which stars Chris Rock and Andy reviews “Catch Me if You Can,” a great revival of “Anything Goes,” and a new play about the movie business, “Picked” at the Vineyard Theatre

LINKS IN THE NEWS:

Marriages, Civil Unions  FreedomToMarry.org
School Protests  DayOfSilence.org
DOMA Case  ACLU.org/LGBTRights
Marriage Equality film premiering April 26 in New York  MarriageEqualityFilm.com

OUR SPECIAL GUEST THIS WEEK ON "GAY USA" IS MARTINA NAVRATILOVA

Martina Navratilova
photo by Bill Bahlman

Joining us this week for the last third of our show is Martina Navratilova, the greatest tennis player of all time and an out lesbian activist for 30 years now. Martina is in New York to receive one of four prestigious Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards for her contributions to sports and human rights. She talks with us about being out in the sports world, the state of LGBT rights in her homeland of the Czech Republic and her home state of Colorado, her survival of several health crises last year, her work promoting health and fitness through AARP, and her hopes for herself and our community in the future. We are honored to have the inspirational Martina Navratilova on our show this week.

You can learn more about our guest at www.martinanavratilova.com

IN THE NEWS ON GAY USA:

NOTE: We reported on an alleged gaybashing at the University of North Carolina this week. Sadly and outrageously, we learned after our taping that this was a hoax.

US military leaders tell skeptical Republicans in Congress that the training in anticipation of the end of the ban on open gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the service is going just fine

The US State Department documents abuses of LGBT rights around the world. Go to: www.humanrights.gov for more info

Nashville will require city contractors not to discrimination against their employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression

Maryland tabled a bill to prohibit discrimination against people of transgender experience

A transgendered man in NJ is suing for being excluded from a profession that is being limited to men who are born men. Go to www.transgenderlegal.org for more info

The Delaware Senate passed a civil unions bill and now it is on the House

The federal judge who declared Prop 8 in California unconstitutional, Vaughn Walker, has now officially come out

An Arkansas court strikes down the state's anti-gay adoption law

A leader of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage comes out for same-sex marriage

Do some Chinese people have "hysterical HIV"?

A gay or transgendered cave-person from 5,000 years ago is found in Prague

Andy reviews "Born Bad" at Soho Rep, "A Comedy of Errors" at Pace, "Macbeth" from the Cheek by Jowl company at BAM, Robin Williams on Broadway in "Bengal Tiger at Baghdad Zoo" directed by Moises Kaufman,  and a provocative new play by David Greenspan, "Go Back to Where You Are" at Playwright's Horizon

The hopes of bi-national same-sex couples are dashed by the Department of Homeland Security

In Washington State, out-of-state same-sex marriages will be recognized as domestic partnerships, but Colorado kills a civil union bill

Some same-sex married couples are refusing to lie about their marital status on their federal tax returns. For more information, go to: http://refusetolie.org/

House Republicans try to attack Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal

An out lesbian is nominated to the high court of Massachusetts and another one is nominated by President Obama to serve on a federal court

An anti-gay top cop costs New York City two million in damages—and he is still on the job

A gay corrections officer in Mississippi is reinstated with the help of the ACLU

A new book on Malcolm X delves more deeply into a relationship he had with a man, while in India, a book hinting at Gandhi’s crush on a man gets it banned in some states

The US Department of Health and Human Services steps up its attention to LGBT health issues. You can read the report at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/The-Health-of-Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-and-Transgender-People.aspx

Dan Savage has a best-selling book and is getting a show on MTV

We will review “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” with Daniel Radcliffe and “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR BI-NATIONAL COUPLES: We started this week’s show off excited about the news that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service was suspending deportations of non-citizen same-sex spouses of American citizens pending the resolution of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act which is being challenged—so far successfully—in the federal courts. NEVER MIND!  Even though the Obama Justice Department itself is not defending DOMA any more because they believe it is unconstitutional, they decided on Tuesday evening that they must still enforce the law. So the hold on these deportation proceedings is off. A story updating the situation from Metro Weekly is at the end of this e-mail.

For more information, go to www.immigrationequality.org

IN OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK:

Transgender rights protections pass in the Maryland House of Delegates, but things are iffier in the State Senate

The ACLU wants the help of public school students in making sure that your schools aren’t filtering gay content from getting to you via school computers. For more information, go to http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/dont-filter-me

The LGBT community mourns the losses of some giants: Elizabeth Taylor, playwright Lanford Wilson, actor Farley Granger

UN takes stand against violence against LGBT people

An update on the “kill-the-gays” bill in Uganda

REVIEWS: Harvey Fiestein and Christopher Sieber in “La Cage Aux Folles,” the Australian import, “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia,” Mike Birbiglia’s “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” and “Double Falsehood,” an 18th Century play based on a lost work by Shakespeare and Fletcher. Andy's reviews:

“Double Falsehood” at the Classic Stage Company: Remember this one from William Shakespeare and John Fletcher? That’s because it was lost. But Lewis Theobald wrote a version of it in the 18th century and that’s what the Classic Stage Company has ably mounted. It is a wild story drawn from Cervantes’ Don Quixote and essential viewing for those who want to exhaust the Shakespeare canon before they die—even though this play is at several removes from him.

“Arcadia” by Tom Stoppard alternates between the early 1800s and today in the same English country house and is so densely packed with ideas that I defy anyone to pass a test on it. Some of the erudition on display by Stoppard seems like showing off. But once you get past that and accept that you won’t understand everything being argued about on stage, there is a damned good play there that illuminates the nature of the passions we pursue in life. It’s a very good ensemble with standouts Billy Crudup, Raul Esparza, and Lia Williams.  

“La Cage Aux Folles” – now with Harvey Fierstein, who wrote the book for the show in 1983, as Albin and another great out actor, Christopher Sieber, as Georges. The show has never been better and never been gayer and that’s saying a lot. This is the production that originated at the little Menier Chocolate Factory in London directed by Terry Johnson. It came here with Douglas Hodge, who won the Tony, and Kelsey Grammar. Now it has more hear than ever with a great supporting cast as well including Wilson Jermaine Hereida of Rent fame as the “maid.” But this is Harvey Fierstein’s show.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert – depends too much on the nasty, sexist put down humor that give drag queens a bad name. This is a very gay show, too, but it takes a small Australian film and turns it into a bloated Broadway musical. There’s a lot of energy and countless costumes, but it is not redeemed by its appeal to cheap sentiment.

Mike Birbiglia’s “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” at the Barrow Street Theatre is dishing up the same wry and charming stand-up performance piece that he did in Sleepwalk with Me from 2009. He is endlessly self deprecating and analytical, but creates a character—himself—to which most people who have been through the relationship mill can identify. Very funny and ruefully true.

OUR GUESTS THIS WEEK: Mart Crowley and Crayton Robey on "THE MAKING OF THE BOYS"

Mart Crowley wrote the groundbreaking and controversial play "The Boys in the Band" that opened in New York in 1968 and ran for 1,001 performances. Now documentary filmmaker Crayton Robey, in "The Making of the Boys," looks back at the social context for gay people in which "Boys in the Band" was written and performed. This terrific documentary includes interviews with former cast members, Edward Albee who opposed the play at the time, veteran gay activists Larry Kramer and David Rothenberg, Dominick Dunne who was one of the executive producers of the movie version, Billy Friedkin who directed it, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, Democratic Party Treasurer Andy Tobias, and many, many more.

The documentary is now playing at the Quad Cinema in Manhattan, Lake Worth Playhouse in Lake Worth, FL, Zeitgeist Arts Center in New Orleans and will play in the coming weeks and months in Tucson, AZ, Huntington, NY, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Palm Desert, CA, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Columbus, OH, and Cleveland, OH. For more information on the schedule and venues, go towww.makingtheboys.com

Mart Crowley, playwright, "The Boys in the Band" and Crayton Robey, director, "The Making of the Boys"
photo by Bill Bahlman

IN THE NEWS ON GAY USA THIS WEEK:

NOTE: Our guest co-host with Andy Humm is Corey Johnson. Ann will be back next week.

A new poll finds majority support in the U.S. for same-sex marriage

New York City is sued over its policy requiring genital surgery before giving transgendered people new birth certificates

Obama administration charged with overcharging 13 who got arrested protesting DADT outside the White House

Montana on the attack against local laws protecting people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Police departments in Fort Worth and New Orleans taken to task over gaybashing

Armistead Maupin and his husband Chris Turner got a rude awakening in Alice Springs, Australia

The Uganda kill-the-gays bill is revived

Three gay Americans gaybashed in St. Lucia

Andy reviews an all-male “Comedy of Errors” in Brooklyn and John Leguizamo’s new show on Broadway, “Ghetto Klown”

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