UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA RECOMENDS RESEARCHING HIGHER HIV RISK FOR ABUSE SURVIVORS

A new study found a correlation between victims of child abuse and increased risk for HIV.

According to UPI:

Homosexual and bisexual men who were victims of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, says a U.S. study.

Those who reported regular childhood sexual abuse were at significantly greater risk for being HIV positive, were 7 times more likely to have ever exchanged sex for money and were 6.4 times more likely to be a current drug user than those who did not report abuse, according to the study published in American Journal of Public Health under "First Look."

Researchers at the Boston College, University of Minnesota, University of Texas School of Public Health and Boston University School of Public Health recommend further research to help determine how childhood sexual abuse contributes to sexual risk taking in homosexual and bisexual men and the types of interventions that may be most effective.


The only thing surprising about this finding to me is the fact that they haven't yet speculated why they think this is the case. My guess is child abuse often leads to a poor self-worth which can lend itself to self destructive behavior. Just a guess.

IT'S TIME AGAIN FOR THE AIDS WALK!

Hey fellow Minneapolites (is that a real word? It is now!) It's time to combine firming and toning your buttocks and doing something profoundly altruistic.

Dust off your sneakers and walk, volunteer or sponsor for the Minnesota Aids Walk May 20th.

According to the Minnesota Aids Project website:

Thousands of people have raised millions of dollars to stop HIV in Minnesota since our first Walk in 1988. This year’s Walk, presented by ING, continues Minnesota AIDS Project's tradition of raising dollars to prevent the spread of HIV and provide crucial services for individuals living with HIV.

Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP) provides services about half of all the people living with HIV in Minnesota. The funds you raise for the 2007 Minnesota AIDS Walk support MAP’s mission to lead the fight against HIV through advocacy, education and services. By walking you not only help generate much-needed dollars, your participation also raises public awareness and educates others about HIV.

So, click here for more details, and make me proud!

MINNESOTA'S NEW ARCHBISHOP CONSIDERS HOMOSEXUALITY A "DISORDER"

Minnesota's new Archbishop, John Nienstedt, a theological conservative from New Ulm, has a very dim view of homosexuality.

According to TwinCities.com:

He also used his column to air his views on homosexuality, saying people became gay or lesbian as a "result of psychological trauma" when a child is between the ages of 18 months and 3. Homosexuality, he wrote, "must be understood in the context of other human disorders: envy, malice, greed, etc."

Nienstedt also advised parishioners to avoid the movies "Brokeback Mountain" - "a story of lust gone bad," he wrote - and "The Da Vinci Code." He said Dan Brown's best-selling novel, later turned into a movie starring Tom Hanks, was "pure Evil in its intent" and "seeks to confuse the young, whose faith may be weak, and lead them astray."

TOP VATICAN OFFICIAL DECLAIRS GAY-MARRIAGE "EVIL"

In response to the Italian government's consideration of implementing gay rights and marriage laws, top Vatican official Angelo Amato (pictured with the Pope above) has declared same-sex marriage as "evil".

According to Yahoo News:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human face.

The attack by Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was the latest in a string of speeches made by either Pope Benedict or other Vatican officials as Italy considers giving more rights to gays.

In an address to chaplains, Amato said newspapers and television bulletins often seemed like "a perverse film about evil." He denounced "evils that remain almost invisible" because the media presented them as "expression of human progress."

He listed these as abortion clinics, which he called "slaughterhouses of human beings," euthanasia, and "parliaments of so-called civilized nations where laws contrary to the nature of the human being are being promulgated, such as the approval of marriage between people of the same sex ..."

Amato spoke at a time when the Vatican and Italy's powerful Roman Catholic Church are at loggerheads over plans for a highly controversial law that would give unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples some form of legal recognition.

The Church and Catholic politicians, even some in Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition, see the proposed law as a Trojan Horse and say it could lead to gay marriages.

Amato, who is said to be very close to Pope Benedict, criticized the media's coverage of ethical issues.

After denouncing "abominable terrorism" such as that carried out by suicide bombers, he condemned what he called "terrorism with a human face," and accused the media of manipulating language "to hide the tragic reality of the facts."

"For example, abortion is called 'voluntary interruption of pregnancy' and not the killing of a defenseless human being, an abortion clinic is given a harmless, even attractive, name: 'centre for reproductive health' and euthanasia is blandly called 'death with dignity'," he said in his address.

Gay rights group have criticized the Pope and Catholic Church officials in the past over such comments, accusing them of interfering in Italy's domestic affairs.

Groups opposed to gay marriage and recognition of unmarried couples are planning a national rally in Rome next month.

Italy's Roman Catholic Church, set up on diocesan and parish levels, has the organizational machinery to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. A huge turnout, which is expected, could be a major embarrassment for Prodi's government.

SOULFORCE MEMBERS ARRESTED AT MINNESOTA CAMPUS

10 Soulforce members were arrested at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato Minnesota Thursday when they took their protest onto school property.

Soulforce (founders Gary Nixon and Mel White pictured above) is an organization that travels the country staging protests at organizations they feel are oppressive towards GLBT-ers either politically or religiously.

According to WCCO News:


The Soulforce buses arrived shortly after 10 a.m. More than 50 Equality Riders formed a solemn, shoulder-to-shoulder line facing the campus, with heads bowed and Bibles open.

After the vigil wound on, the Equality Riders and some supporters from other Minnesota colleges stepped off the public sidewalk and onto Bethany Lutheran property.

After getting about halfway across the lawn, campus security told them to leave. Ten protesters, chosen beforehand, kept moving forward until police arrested them for trespassing. They were taken to jail and later released.

WEBSITE FOUNDER WAS HIGH WHEN PLUNGING TO DEATH

Gary Frisch, founder of the gay-dating website GAYDAR, was high on Ketamine when he jumped to his death last February.

According to the Daily Mail:

The co-founder of the world's biggest gay online dating agency jumped to his death from an eighth-floor balcony after a night of taking party drug ketamine, an inquest has heard.

Gary Frisch, who made millions by creating the Gaydar dating website in 1999, threw himself from his apartment in Battersea in February after an allnight session on the drug.

An eye-witness said Mr Frisch shouted "Waheey" just moments before he plunged to his death.

The 38-year-old had been receiving treatment for depression after his mother died the summer before and spent the weeks leading up to his death clubbing and taking drugs.

Darren Morris, who had been staying with Mr Frisch on the day he died, told of the moment he saw the businessman "somersault" over the balcony.

The pair had eaten an Italian meal and Mr Frisch stayed up all night on his own.

In the morning, he was sitting on the floor of the flat unpacking magazines saying "thank you Lord, praise you Lord". Mr Morris then saw Mr Frisch put music on and begin dancing around the flat before babbling incoherently and walking out onto the balcony.

He said: "I came into the living room and I saw him standing on the balcony with his hands on the rail. He somersaulted over the top." he told Westminster coroner's court.

Mr Frisch's brother Eric, who had travelled from their home country of South Africa, and former business partner and boyfriend Henry Badenhorst sobbed in court as details of his death were read out.

Estate agent Stephen Ruddock was standing outside a nearby building when he saw Mr Frisch's body hit the ground. He said Mr Frisch shouted "Waheey" moments before he plunged to his death.

Mr Ruddock said: "It was a celebratory thing. I saw his body come into my line of sight. It arced in the air and hit the ground."

Pathologist Dr Peter Wilkins said raised levels of ketamine were found in Mr Frisch's blood and liver.

He added: "It can have similar effects to LSD, confusion and hallucinations."

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the coroner, Dr Paul Knapman, said: "I don't think that it can be said he intended to kill himself.

"This is not suicide at all. He jumped to his death from the balcony of his flat on the eighth floor while under the influence of drugs."

The Profile bar in Soho, which Mr Frisch had been set to open with business partner Vince Power, will officially launch tonight.

UPDATE: HUGE TURN-OUT FOR GLBT RIGHTS RALLY!

Congratulations to OutFront Minnesota as well as to each and every person who helped make Thursday's rally such a success (photos above courtesy of OutFront Minnesota).

Over 5000 people attended the event.

According to Outfront Minnesota:

On Thursday, April 7th, approximately 5,000 supporters of basic equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Minnesotans gathered at the State Capitol in St. Paul as part of OutFront Minnesota's annual JustFair Lobby Day. In addition to attending the rally, over 1,400 people met with over 82% of the Legislature to explain why the amendment is harmful to Minnesota families and communities. For the third year in a row, crowd numbers exceeded expectations at what has quickly become the second best-attended GLBT event in Minnesota following Twin Cities Pride!

"These thousands of people came from across Minnesota, took time from work or school, brought their families, and took on the daunting task of finding parking to make a simple statement: GLBT Minnesotans are entitled to justice, to fairness, and to full equality under the law," said OutFront Minnesota Executive Director Ann M. DeGroot.

A primary reason that people were drawn to this year's event was the second attempt by legislators to begin the process of amending Minnesota's constitution to outlaw any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples and their families. The proposal was endorsed recently in the Minnesota House, but it has not yet been taken up by the Minnesota Senate. Rally participants called on the Senate to reject the proposal as a politically-driven attack on same-sex couples and their families that doesn't actually help anyone, anywhere.

Speaker after speaker, representing all aspects of the GLBT community and our invaluable allies; metro, suburban, greater Minnesota, and even national communities; diverse communities of color and of faith; and all age ranges, shared not just their opposition to amending the Minnesota constitution along these lines, but also offered a positive vision of what our community seeks to accomplish. Each presenter addressed from his or her unique perspective what a just, fair world would look like and welcomed rally participants to be a part of the work of making that vision – encompassing stable families, safe workplaces, schools, and communities, strong civil rights, and self-reliant GLBT individuals – a reality.

Special guest Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, brought the crowd to its feet by declaring that Minnesota's struggle for basic GLBT equality in all aspects of community life is part of a national effort to hold fast to the historic core principles that America has embraced for over two centuries.

In the audience, friends, couples, parents and kids, faith groups, and so many more applauded and cheered the numerous legislative and other allies appearing on the speaker's platform, as well as moving appearances by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus (pictured above) and former Viking and openly-gay dad Esera Tuaolo.

LESBIAN CHAIN-SAW KILLER SENTENCED TO LIFE BEHIND BARS

In a follow-up to our previous report, Daphne Wright was sentenced to life behind bars for the kidnapping and subsequent brutal murder and dismemberment of Darlene VanderGiesen last February. She had scattered the remains over a two state area, including MINNESOTA.

According to 365.com:

(Sioux Falls, South Dakota) A jury late Wednesday spared the life of a woman who killed an acquaintance and hacked up her body with a chainsaw, sentencing her to life in prison without parole.

Daphne Wright, 43, smiled after the verdict was read. Wright was convicted last week of kidnapping and murdering Darlene VanderGiesen, 42, in February 2006.

VanderGiesen's mother, Dee, told Wright that God had helped the family forgive her.

"We pray for you every day asking that God may touch your heart, that you may come to know his love and that you repent of your sins and seek God's forgiveness," she said.

Dee VanderGiesen told Wright's mother, Carolyn Tucker: "We both have lost our daughters. One to death and the other to prison time for as long as she lives. May God's grace be shown to you at this time of pain in your life."

Prosecutors said that Wright was jealous of the friendship VanderGiesen had with Wright's former lover and that it turned to rage that drove Wright to kidnap VanderGiesen, kill her, burn the body and cut it apart with a chain saw.

VanderGiesen's remains were found in a Sioux Falls landfill and a Minnesota ditch.

In closing arguments earlier in the day, prosecutor Dave Nelson said Wright, who like VanderGiesen is deaf, deserved to die by lethal injection because the mutilation was the act of a depraved mind. But he said he respected the jury's verdict.

"I think they reached this decision independently of any of the diversions of race, of deafness or anything else. I think they decided this case on the evidence," he said.

Wright's public defender, Jeff Larson, argued that she burned and cut the body as an afterthought and that the slaying was an isolated act motivated by jealousy.

Nelson told jurors their verdict would be just if they treated both women equally. VanderGiesen was white and heterosexual; Wright is a black lesbian.

After about eight hours of deliberation, jurors found that Wright had the depravity of mind, but they decided that she should not be executed for it.

The jury forewoman read the verdict, not the judge. It means Wright will spend the rest of her life at the women's prison in Pierre or the penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

It was South Dakota's first capital punishment case with a female defendant.

LAGUNA BEACH STAR GOES ON RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIC RANT

Laguna Beach star Jason Whaler made racist and homophobic slurs at Seattle Washington police officers who came to arrest him after he punched out a hotel security guard and passed out drunk in a hotel hallway.

According to 365gay.com:

Wahler, 20, a star of MTV's "The Hills" and "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," was arrested early Sunday for investigation of assault and criminal trespass. He posted bail and was released from the King County Jail nine hours later.

It was Wahler's third arrest since September, when he punched a city worker and tow-truck driver in Los Angeles. Last month, the judge in that case sentenced him to 60 days in jail - a sentence he was scheduled to serve beginning in May - and ordered him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous classes and a one-day program at the Museum of Tolerance for using racial slurs.

The police report said that shortly after midnight on Sunday, officers responded to the Waterfront Marriott hotel. A security guard told them there had been an altercation in the lobby, and that someone wrestled with Wahler to restrain him.

When the guard asked the pair to settle down or leave, Wahler shoved him in the chest and then punched him in the mouth, the police report said. Another person restrained Wahler and removed him from the building, but he came back a short time later.

Two police officers found him passed out on the third floor, reeking of alcohol, and woke him up.

Wahler then "repeatedly" called Officer C. DePina, who is not black, a "n-----" and a "f-----," DePina wrote in the report. "Wahler stated he was rich and would have my ass. Wahler made vague threats to assault officers."

It was not immediately known if Wahler, of Laguna Beach, Calif., had obtained a lawyer or if he had a publicist. The city attorney's office has 20 days to file charges, said spokeswoman Ruth Bowman.

Wahler was also arrested in March in Greenville, N.C., for investigation of underage drinking and resisting a public officer.

THEATRE EVENT: BODY AND SOUL

Opening tonight is Body and Soul, written by Deborah Fortson and directed by Teresa Mock.

It's a gripping drama featuring stories of the victims of sexual trafficking by local teens.

It begins tonight at 7:30pm at 1219 University Avenue SE in Minneapolis.

Call 612-331-1778 for ticket information.

LARRY BIRKHEAD'S GAY PAST REVEALED

Anna Nicole Smiths baby-daddy Larry Birkhead was outed as having previous same-sex partners.

According to Perez Hilton :

The two met at a cocktail party in Louisville around mid-2000 when Birkhead was a struggling real estate agent and writer, angling for a show business career in Hollywood.

"We were together for about two months and had sex eight to 10 times, always at my apartment. He often spent the whole night with me."

But Birkhead insisted on keeping their romance a secret. "I had been 'out' for a long time, but Larry was not out of the closet - and he was terrified about his family, who were devout Southern Baptists, finding out he was having a gay relationship," revealed Kerrick.

"He was especially afraid of his father finding out. He said, 'If my Dad knew about this, he would kill me!'

Birkhead's lawyers deny that he had a gay relationship with Kerrick, but Kerrick passed a rigorous polygraph test administered by a top-notch examiner.

And Kerrick says Larry didn't consider himself gay. "He was more comfortable saying he was bi-sexual," Kerrick told The Enquirer "I never knew him to go out with women when we were together, but I found out after we broke up that he had been seeing women." While Kerrick says Birkhead was inexperienced at gay sex, he found out later that he'd stolen Larry from another man!

Frankly, I'll be happy when the day comes that it's NOT news that someone had a same-sex experience.

MINNESOTA GLBT-ERS TO LOBBY AT CAPITAL FOR QUEER RIGHTS

Minnesota GLBT-ers will be gathering at the State Capital in St. Paul and meeting with lawmakers April 19th to lobby for same-sex partner rights during OutFront Minnesota’s justFair Lobby Day.

According to and OutFront press release:


“We will demonstrate that the commitment to stand for GLBT rights is as strong as ever,” says Ann DeGroot, OutFront Minnesota Executive Director. “Thankfully, we don’t have to fight an anti-marriage constitutional amendment this year. But in our effort to advance positive legislation such as domestic partner benefits for state employees and hospital visitation, we find the same opponents trying to keep us from gaining equality.”



The legislation that would benefit GLBT Minnesotans being considered this year are: Sate Employee Domestic Partner Benefits, Local Government Health Benefits, Hospital Visitation, and Sick Leave. Lobby Day participants will discuss these issues with lawmakers as well as the general importance of legislators representing their GLBT constituents.



The meetings with lawmakers serve a vital purpose because they inform lawmakers that they have gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and allied constituents who are affected by legislators’ votes. In 2006, the majority of the legislature was visited by Lobby Day participants.



Speakers at the 12 p.m. rally include:
• Mark Ritchie, Minnesota Secretary of State
• Lori Lippert, state employee who lost domestic partner benefits in 2003
• Jennifer Crisler, Executive Director, Family Pride
• Malcolm Himschoot, Minister, Plymouth Congregational Church

In addition to the rally and lawmakers meetings, attendees will participate in the Lobby Day Institute training sessions, provided in collaboration with the Minnesota School OUTreach Coalition, to help participants expand their political skills.



According to DeGroot, “The gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and allied community in Minnesota represents a political movement that will show its enduring power through all trials and triumphs. We look forward to showing that power and meeting with lawmakers on April 19th.”

REPUBLICAN SENATORS ATTEMPT TO BLOCK SAME-SEX MEDICAL BENEFITS BILLS

Senate Republicans are rushing to block any and all DFL introduced bills that attempt to bestow same-sex medical benefits.

According to the Star Tribune:

Republican legislators vowed Thursday to renew their drive for a state constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and civil unions, arguing that advancing DFL bills on health benefits for same-sex partners would undermine the state law that bans such unions.

"They're beginning to recognize same-sex domestic partnership relationships in the same way that marriage is recognized," said Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, sponsor of one of six identical bills that would put the proposed constitutional change on the November 2008 ballot. "They are laying a legal groundwork to invite a court challenge."

None of the GOP bills has drawn a single cosponsor from DFL majorities in the House. Rep. Dan Severson, R-Sauk Rapids, said his request for a committee hearing has been ignored and Limmer said he hasn't asked for one, which means the bills have little chance of advancing.

The two legislators, however, said they plan to try to add the measure to other bills on the House and Senate floors. Those efforts are likely to fail as well, but they would give amendment proponents a chance to debate its merits during televised floor sessions.

Meanwhile Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved and sent to the floor a bill that would increase the rights of domestic partners of patients to visit them in hospitals and other health care facilities. A similar measure is awaiting a House floor vote.

Under Senate File 1398, sponsored by Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, proof of a shared residence, joint financial commitments and responsibility for each other's welfare would establish a domestic partnership in the law. Patients or their families also could designate domestic partners.

Other bills gaining ground in the Legislature this year would force the state to offer the same health benefits to same-sex partners of its workers as to married couples, and allow local government units to do the same.

Limmer said all those initiatives fly in the face of DFL promises to avoid divisive social issues in this session. He said they also prompted Republicans to resurrect the proposed constitutional amendment, which has failed to pass the Minnesota Legislature in the past three sessions while voters in 27 other states have adopted similar measures.

OutFront Minnesota, the state's largest gay-lesbian advocacy group, is pushing for the domestic partnership bills that are advancing. Limmer said that indicates that a "gay agenda" to "promote same-sex domestic partnership as an equivalent to our marriage laws" is afoot at the Capitol.

Marty, however, said he is trying only to give legal recognition to "special relationships that the law does not recognize for any other purpose."

LESBIAN CHAINSAW KILLER FOUND GUILTY OF GRISLY MURDER!

43-year old Daphne Wright has been found guilty of murdering her ex-lover's best-friend, Darlene VanderGiesen, and sprinkling the chopped up and burned remains over a two-state area, including Minnesota (so watch where you step).

According to Queerty:

The lesbianic trio all met in a deaf support group. Though things started off on the right foot, the dissolution of Wright's relationship seemed to send her over the edge. Poor VanderGiesen never could have known her friendship with Wright's ex-lover would lead to her grisly February 1, 2006 murder. A jury heard how Wright allegedly kidnapped VanderGiesen, killed her, used a chainsaw to cut her apart, burned the bits and then stashed the remains in Sioux Falls, ND and Minnesota. Wright maintained her innocence and her lawyers claimed the prosecution used the dismemberment aspect to paint Wright as a total psycho when, in fact, she's a kitten.

The felonious-fem was convicted of premeditated murder first degree murder and kidnapping, and faces a possible death-sentence.

UPDATE: UGANDAN LESBIAN GRANTED ASYLUM IN ST. PAUL!

Ugandan Lesbian Olivia Nabulwala, who we previously reported was seeking refuge in Minnesota to avoid returning to her home land and certain persecution by her family, has been granted asylum.

According to Lavender Magazine:

A federal appeals court stopped the deportation to Uganda of a Minnesotan lesbian after she argued she would face persecution because of her sexual orientation.

Now living near St. Paul, Olivia Nabulwala fled her country after being beaten by family members, attacked by a stranger with her family’s consent, and assaulted by a mob at her university in Kampala.

An immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals denied her asylum application, in 2002 and 2005, respectively, stating that her experiences didn’t qualify as persecution if the government wasn’t the perpetrator.

The Eighth US Circuit Court of Appeals overruled those decisions, holding that the government’s inability or unwillingness to protect a persecuted person also could be grounds for asylum.

PICTURE OF THE DAY: RUPERT EVERETT DONS DRAG

Queer Heartthrob, and out-and-proud gay man, Rupert Everett (above)will be appearing in his new film, The Belles of St. Trinians in full, Camilla Parker Bowels-inspired, drag.

Check out the Daily Express for more details.

TAX-LAW IGNORES MARRIED SAME-SEX MINNESOTA COUPLES

Married Gay and Lesbian Minnesota couples will not be receiving any of the tax-breaks their heterosexual counterparts now enjoy.

According to 365.com:

Attempts to file a joint returns could lead to fines or other penalties, the IRS warns.

Two years ago a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a gay couple in Minnesota claiming they deserved a tax refund because they were legally married and should be granted married taxpayer status.

People who receive health insurance from their state or local government or through their employer for their spouses or domestic partners are additionally hit with taxes.

Spousal health benefits are not taxed. But, since the IRS does not recognize gay relationships the benefits are considered income. In some cases the tax outweighs any savings.

A study in 2004 found that gay families pay on average higher taxes and get fewer benefits.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Former Seattle Mariner Jay Buhner gets a handful of current players Raul Ibanez and Willie Bloomquist at the Mariner's opening home-game this past week.

DRUNKEN FIREFIGHTER CAUGHT IN PARK WEARING DRAG

No, I'm not making this up.

Steven S. Cole of Dayton Ohio (above) was arrested Tuesday afternoon while stumbling around a public park drunk and sporting a bikini and blonde wig.

According to the Associated Press:

(Mason, Ohio) A man wearing a woman's wig and a string bikini was charged with taking a drunken afternoon romp through a park, officials said.

Steven S. Cole, a 46-year-old volunteer firefighter, told an officer he was on his way to a Dayton bar to perform as a woman in a contest offering a $10,000 prize, the arrest report said.

He pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of drunken driving, public indecency and disorderly conduct.

Cole was arrested Tuesday after police received a report that an intoxicated man was walking and driving around Heritage Oak Park in Mason.

Police said Cole was wearing a blond wig, pink flip-flops and a red-black-and-white striped bikini with the top filled out by tan water balloons. The National Weather Service said it was around 60 degrees in the Mason area about the time he was arrested.

Cole's blood-alcohol test registered 0.174, more than twice Ohio's legal driving limit of 0.08, the arrest report said.

"He is obviously humiliated and embarrassed by the entire situation," said Cole's lawyer, Charlie Rittgers, who added that he is investigating the circumstances that led to the arrest.

Cole did not return a call seeking comment. He remained free on his own recognizance until trial, set for May 24.

Cole has been a Wayne Township firefighter since 2000. Township officials said he will be placed on administrative leave.

STD RATES SOAR TO RECORD HIGHS IN MINNESOTA!

Here is a bit of news that will make you itchy-scratchy (it did me), the State Health Department reported Monday that STD rates in Minnesota are at an all time high.

According to Postbulletin.com:

ST. PAUL -- Sexually transmitted diseases including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis climbed to a record high last year, the state Health Department reported on Monday.

The data show that 16,428 cases of sexually transmitted diseases were reported in 2006. Nearly 13,000 of those cases included people infected with chlamydia.

Nearly 70 percent of the chlamydia outbreaks were among teens and young adults. And almost one out of three chlamydia cases occurred in greater Minnesota.

"This represents an ongoing epidemic and trend in our state," said Peter Carr, who monitors the spread of sexually transmitted diseases for the Health Department, in a prepared statement.

Officials said there was a slight drop in gonorrhea cases last year, but the number still hovers around 3,300.

There were 104 cases of syphilis reported in 2006 -- most in the Twin Cities area. Gay and bisexual men accounted for 80 of those cases, the department said.

Untreated chlamydia or gonorrhea can lead to infertility, while untreated syphilis can cause blindness, brain damage, heart problems and death. The diseases often don't have initial symptoms, but their spread can be prevented with the use of condoms.

So, no excuses fellow frisky Minnesotans, get your vulnerable nether-regions down to the Red Door Clinic and let the lovely and talented folks there get you tested, then load you up with various latex accoutrement so you can get your freak-on safely!

QUEERS MAKING HEADWAY IN OFTEN HOMOPHOBIC WORLD OF RAP MUSIC

In a music genre long dominated by the hateful homophobic lyrics of Eminem and 50 cent (top photo), gay rappers like Deadlee (above) are starting to come to the forefront and take a stand against gay-bashing music.

According to the Utne Reader:

Anti-gay messages have been rampant in the hip-hop world for years. Artists like Eminem and 50 Cent pepper their lyrics with homophobic slurs and openly admit to disapproving of same-sex relationships. According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Eminem's third album, Marshall Mathers LP contained the word "faggot" 18 times. Similarly, AlterNet reported in 2004 that in an interview with Playboy, 50 Cent declared, "I ain't into faggots."

Despite harsh words from prominent MCs, queer rappers around the world are taking center stage. "Times are changing and if openly gay rappers aren't invited then we are kicking the door in," the Los Angeles-based queer rapper Deadlee tells Britain's Gay.com. Deadlee is the headliner for Homorevolution Tour 2007, what Gay.com calls "the first ever organized regional tour of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Hip Hop artists." The tour will stop in ten US cities this spring and has nearly two-dozen queer artists on the bill.

Another gay rapper taking part in Homorevolution is using his lyrical prowess to spread the word about prejudice. British MC QBoy is featured in Coming Out to Class, a documentary about dealing with homosexuality as a student. PinkNews.co.uk reports that the television broadcast of the film has inspired seven members of parliament to sign a motion "to introduce legislation to require schools to protect gay and lesbian children from the emotional harm and impaired educational attainment that results from bullying."

Some gay rappers argue that the menacing words thrown around by Eminem, 50 Cent, and bullying schoolchildren no longer hold any weight. "There are more homophobic lyrics in recent days, even as there has been more of a gay presence in the media," Tori Fixx, a queer rapper and producer from Minneapolis, told City Pages last year, but "calling somebody a fag is different than literally saying all batty boys need to be destroyed."

MINNEAPOLIS MAN ARRESTED AT COLLEGE PROTEST

Minneapolis resident Jarrett Lucas-21 ( pictured) was arrested, and charged with trespass during a protest at the Covenant College in Georgia.

Lucas is a member of the organization Soulforce, a group that travels the country via bus visiting organizations they feel discriminate against homosexuals.

According to WSBTV Atlanta:

Dade County authorties say bonds likely will be set today for four gay activists charged with trespassing at a northwest Georgia private school affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.

The group informed Covenant College administrators months ago they would be visiting as representives of Soulforce, a Lynchburg, Virginia-based organization sponsoring a bus tour of colleges to challenge policies they contend discriminate against homosexuals.

Brad Voyles, dean of students at Covenant, said the Soulforce group had refused a campus offer of meetings with student leaders, administrators and faculty in a designated room.

Voyles said Covenant students spoke to the group yesterday at the edge of the campus and they were warned they would be arrested if they trespassed.

Dade County Sheriff's Department Officer Shane Russell identified those arrested on misdemeanor charges as 21-year-old Jarrett Lucas of Minneapolis, 21-year-old Rachel Loskill of Southfield Michigan, 20-year-old Adam Todd Britt of Little Rock, Arkansas, and 23-year-old Bronwen Tomb of New London, Connecticut.

EVENT: ELIMINATE HATE WITH MARGARET CHO!

The Zesty Maragret Cho will be headlining 'Eliminate hate week" April 4th at the State University in Mankato.

The event is being held in the swanky CSU Ballroom at the aforementioned Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN starting at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $10 ($5 for students); you can order by phone at (507) 389-6076

You can also check out MSU's webpage for more info!

UGANDAN LESBIAN SEEKS ASYLUM IN MINNEAPOLIS

The deportation of Olivia Nabulwala back to Uganda was halted by a federal appeals court after it was learned Nabulwala was seeking refuge in the United States from her family who became abusive after learning she was a lesbian.

According to The Advocate:

A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals said the BIA misapplied the law and overstepped its authority in the case of Olivia Nabulwala, who sought asylum after the U.S. government tried to deport her for overstaying her visitor's visa.

According to Nabulwala, while she was in Uganda her father became very angry and an aunt physically abused her when she came out to her family while she was in high school. She said she needed hospitalization overnight after a mob attacked a meeting of a lesbian rights group she belonged to while she was attending university in Uganda, and on another occasion two relatives arranged for her to be raped by a stranger.

She came to the U.S. in 2001. Courts have established that gay people can qualify for asylum because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution, the 8th Circuit panel noted. But the immigration judge in Bloomington, Minn., who handled Nabulwala's case, Joseph Dierkes, denied her application, even though he found her story "generally credible" and said he did not doubt she suffered in Uganda because of her orientation.

The 8th Circuit panel said both the immigration judge and the BIA, which upheld the judge's decision, had misapplied the applicable laws and procedures. It also said the BIA had made findings of fact that it lacked the legal authority to make. The panel ordered the BIA to revisit the case. (AP)