AFP: LGBTs 'Call in Gay' to protest same-sex marriage ban

VIA AFP/GOOGLE NEWS:

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Gays across the United States were urged to skip work on Wednesday as part of the latest protest against recent votes outlawing same-sex marriage in several regions.

The "Day Without A Gay" protest appeared to have had little economic impact but organizers said they had accomplished their main goal of raising awareness of their campaign without shutting down businesses.



Activists had encouraged people across the United States -- both gay and straight -- to call in "gay" for work and spend the day doing volunteer tasks. They also asked gays and lesbians to avoid shopping as a way of showing the economic power of the gay community.

But merchants in the Castro, the heart of San Francisco's large gay community, said it was mostly business as usual on a chilly Wednesday morning.

"It seems to be about the same. The cold weather has brought about a little bit of slowness on the streets, but it's mostly normal," said Don Forfang, a barber at Louie's Barber Shop.

The Day Without a Gay protest was created by Sean Hetherington, a personal trainer and stand-up comedian in Los Angeles, as a reaction to the November 4 passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. Florida, Arizona and Arkansas also approved bans on gay marriage last month. It was timed to coincide with Wednesday's celebration of International Human Rights Day, and took its inspiration from the 2006 immigrants rights protests that shut down schools and businesses from California to Texas.

Hetherington said the main goal of the protest was to increase awareness of the gay community, not to undermine businesses.

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365Gay: Guilty plea in gay porn producer murder

FROM 365GAY.COM:

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania -- One of two men accused of killing a gay porn producer, who he thought was a competitor, has been sentenced to life behind bars.

Under a deal with prosecutors, Joseph Kerekes pleaded guilty Monday to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. It is expected he will testify against his onetime lover Harlow Cuadra, who is still facing a first degree murder charge in the 2006 slaying of Bryan Kocis, the owner of Cobra Video.

Both Kerkes and Cuadra originally were charged with first degree murder and prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.

At a preliminary hearing last year, two medical examiners testified that Kocis died of massive blood loss after his head was nearly sliced off.

Luzerne County Coroner Dr. John Consalvo testified that Kocis suffered between 28 and 29 post mortem stab wounds before his home was torched in an attempt to cover up the killing last January.

When Kocis’ body was discovered by firefighters, more than 80 percent of the body was covered by third-degree burns.

Homicide detectives were able to find Kocis’ computer in the charred remains of the rural home and forensics scientists salvaged and reconstructed part of the hard drive.

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~~~

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