Laurel Hester, the former lieutenant with New Jersey’s Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office who won her fight to pass on pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree, last month, lost her battle with lung cancer on Saturday in the couple’s home in Point Pleasant. This New York Times piece, forwarded by Sue, quotes Ms. Andree: “I can’t help but feel relieved that she’s not in pain anymore and she’s going to be taken care of… She’s done a lot of good.”

The Worcester Telegram reported that an estimated 175 to 200 people attended the Mr. Hetero Contest held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA on Saturday.

Protesters gathered outside with ““Hate Has No Home Here” signs and staged a Queer Kiss-In.

Meanwhile, inside of the hall, a ex-gay guest speaker shared how Jesus helped him find his new life.

The guest speaker was a 22-year-old who said he found his way to God after experimenting with homosexuality, which he said he now sees as a sin. The young man said he explored his sexuality after discovering Internet pornography at age 12. By the time he was 15, he realized he no longer liked women and had sexual relations with two men.

He was 16 when he heard a Bible teaching that showed him a new way, which he said helped him realize he was living in sin.

Seven men competed to be Mr. Hetero; “they had to talk about uses for duct tape, show how they proposed to their wives or how they would propose to someone, and they had a food-guessing game in which they had to identify what they were eating while wearing blindfolds.” No word on who won.

Previous post: “Mr. Hetero Contest Celebrates God’s Design”
The Republican: “200 gather to see Mr. Heterosexual”
Worcester Telegram: “Mr. Hetero draws small crowd“

Jen forwarded the news that, according to CampaignMoney.com, a “website that lets you see for yourself the hidden world of American political campaigns,” Robert Guzzardi, owner of Philly’s 12th Street Gym (called a fixture of the city’s gayborhood by Rubber Hose), has already contributed over $4000 to Senator Rick Santorum’s 2006 reelection campaign.

Here’s a quote from Rick Santorum regarding Lawrence v. Texas from back in 2003:

“If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything.”

Definitely worth your four minutes: “Polly-Wally” by Kirby Ferguson

(Heel click: Susie Bright)

Ralph got good news at the vet today. He lost almost a pound!

Start weight: 18.9 lbs
Current weight: 17.11 lbs
Goal weight: 13.9 lbs

Ya think his face looks any thinner?

Jen posted about Larry King focusing on trans topics on his February 15th show here, and you can find a link to the show’s transcript in the comments under her post.

Michigan State University paper “The State News” published this piece on T.J. Jourian’s appearance on the show.

Here’s an excerpt:

Jourian sat in the FOX affiliate television studio in Lansing while he spoke via satellite to King.

During the show, King asked, “T.J. Jourian, when did you start to have different feelings?”

“Well, that was pretty much early on,” Jourian replied. “But I didn’t really start questioning my gender until I was in college and around the age of 20. So it’s only been about four years now that I’ve really started identifying as a transmale.”

“Transmale meaning you want to be a woman?” King asked.

“No, transmale is another term for female to male, so transmale would be wanting to transition into a male identity,” Jourian said.

“Wait a minute,” King said. “Are you a girl?”

“I was born in a female body,” Jourian said. “I wish to transition to a male one.”

“But you look like a male,” King said.

“Yes, because I guess I am one,” Jourian replied.

“But you look like a male and you sound like a male,” King said.

“Well, that term is actually called passing,” Jourian said. “I pass pretty well for someone who hasn’t gone through the transition yet.”

According to King’s publicist Bridget Leininger, King would not comment on the interview.

“Larry likes to have his interviews stand on their own,” Leininger said.

Jourian said some of the questions weren’t framed the way he would have liked, but he expected the questions from King to be blunt.

“(I have) seen previous Larry King episodes, and that’s his style — to be kind of on semi-attack mode all the time and ask questions pretty aggressively,” Jourian said. “Another part comes from him not having any awareness of the language around transgender people.”

Jourian said the episode will help raise awareness of transgender issues throughout the world.

Many of you remember T.J. Jourian from Transgeneration.

Quotes from Buck Angel in this week’s Village Voice “La Dolce Musto” column by Michael Musto:

“…And I don’t need a piece of meat between my legs that doesn’t work.”

“…A lot of guys want to fuck a pussy; they’re just not attracted to a woman. And here comes Buck Angel! Two holes are better than one!”

“I’m generally very threatening to straight men… In my work I’m saying you don’t need a penis to be a man. What does that say about them? Straight men are all about their cocks!”

Why you should visit Joey Comeau’s site for his book Lockpick Pornography:

“True or false,” I say, “A man should never hit a woman.”

“Wrong.” I say into the phone. “No. No. No. Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that gender is an illusion? I mean, what if a pussy little faggot punched one of those chunked up body builder girls with a clit like a three foot cock? I mean, that right there is vaginal-dentata-night-terrors three feet from being realized, isn’t it?”

Thanks for telling me about it, Jen!

French Connection’s new ad campaign for their spring and summer collection, featuring a violent martial arts fight between two women and a lesbian kiss, set to begin to coincide with London Fashion Week, aired for the first time last night and didn’t go unnoticed; the complaints are rolling in.

According to an ASA spokeswoman: “A lot of the complaints are about the violence but some are concerned about the sexual content, which refers to the lesbian kiss.

“Some are also complaining that it has been created just to shock and they feel that is a problem.”

She added that the ASA will be monitoring the ad and complaints over the next week before deciding whether to investigate.

The ad is part of a £2m campaign by Beattie McGuiness Bungay for French Connection’s spring and summer collection.

It is directed by David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones in the style of martial arts movies such as ‘Kill Bill’, under the slogan “fashion versus style”. The fight includes a headbutt and clothes being ripped off, as well as the kiss.

Lawyers for seven same-sex couples asked New Jersey’s Supreme Court yesterday to overturn an appeals court ruling stating the issue of gay marriage belongs to the state legislature and make New Jersey the second state where gay marriage is legal. The court is expected to rule in a few months.

Read “New Jersey top court urged to allow gay marriage”