9th District Court asks CA Supreme Court for assistance in Prop. 8 trial; Northern Trust announces financial planning services for LGBT and non-traditional families; Barnes & Noble partnering with GLSEN to help fight bullying; OutMilitary.com launches as new social networking site for gay soldiers; Elton John is the biological father of his new baby with husband David Furnish.
- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asked the California Supreme Court today to assist them in deciding if Prop. 8′s supporters have legal standing to defend the gay marriage ban. The state’s high court will now decide if supporters can defend a ballot initiative even if public officials (in this case, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state attorney general Jerry Brown) refuse to. If the California Supreme Court decides that Prop. 8 supporters do have legal standing, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals would then decide on the constitutionality of the law. If they are found to not have legal standing, Judge Virginia Walker’s ruling that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional would stand. Read more at Prop 8 Trial Tracker.
- Northern Trust, a Chicago-based financial institution announced today services aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and non-traditional families. John McGowan, the program’s leader, said, “Northern Trust recognizes the definition of family has evolved. We have been helping LGBT clients develop wealth management strategies for decades and have the experience to deal with unique legal, tax and wealth transfer challenges. The creation of this group will help ensure our strategic focus will be executed more broadly across our network.” Northern Trust has offices in 18 states and 16 international locations.
- Barnes & Noble is partnering with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to fight bullying during the eighth annual No Name-Calling Week, presented by Cisco, later this month. According to a press release, all Barnes and Noble stores will hold a special story time on Jan. 15 at 11am. From Jan. 15-23, stores will have No Name-Calling Week educational materials available for teachers and educators. Several GLSEN chapters (including Southeast Michigan) will host in-store panel discussions during the week of Jan. 15-23. ”Bringing awareness to the seriousness and severity of name-calling, teasing, bullying and cyber bullying is very important to Barnes & Noble. We’re pleased to be partnering with Simon & Schuster and GLSEN for such an important effort,” said Mary Amicucci, vice president of Children’s Books for Barnes & Noble.
- A brand-new website, www.OutMilitary.com, aims to be a social networking site for LGBT military personel. Creator John McKinnon built the site to help connect gay and lesbian service members. He does however urge caution in posting revealing information before the DADT repeal is official.
- It has been revealed that Elton John is the biological father of his and husband David Furnish’s new son Zachary. A friend of the singer told PopEater.com that “Elton really wanted the child to have his genes. He has a god-given talent and wanted to pass that one to a child. And after years of discussion and thought, Elton and David decided together that Elton’s sperm would be used.” Zachary was born to a surrogate on Christmas Day.
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