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because we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian. This has evidently wounded a good number of people."

"I have family members myself who are gay and lesbian, so it's part of our lives. So I'm sorry for the hurt,” he continued. “When I was talking, I was speaking out of fear that I have for the church's liberty and I was reaching for an analogy which was very inappropriate for which I'm sorry."

"I didn't realize the impact of what I was saying... Sometimes fear is a bad motivation," he concluded in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

(Two days after the cardinal's apology, however, Pope Benedict XVI told the diplomatic corps in the Vatican that same-sex marriage threatened the future of humanity.)

U.S. rape definition now includes men

Washington, D.C.-After 85 years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is changing its definition of rape to include men as victims and survivors.

The current federal definition specifies "carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." That definition, which excludes oral or anal penetration, is used for the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. State definitions of rape, including Ohio's, are more inclusive.

The new federal definition is, "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim," regardless of gender.

The change came about after years of lobbying by survivor advocacy groups, and Attorney General Eric Holder called it "long overdue." He said that the new definition will allow the FBI to get a more accurate perception of the extent of rape across the board. It also would allow federal victim compensation funds to go to men and boys who have been raped.

The government has a number of different reports on sexual crimes, which use separate metrics to measure the extent of the crimes. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reports reported 84,767 rapes in 2010, for instance, while the Justice Department's National Crime Victimization Survey, put out by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, showed 188,380 sexual assaults in 2010.

Marriage bill is New Jersey priority

Trenton, N.J.-A bill to legalize full same-sex marriage was introduced into the state legislature on January 10, referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Two years ago, a similar measure died in the New Jersey Senate. Now, however, legislative leaders in both chambers are calling it a major priority.

The same day the bill was introduced, Assembly GOP leader Alex DeCroce died in the statehouse, but it is not expected to delay work on the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act. Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, who did not vote on the bill two years ago, is leading support for the bill.

While Democrats have majorities in both chambers of the legislature, Republican Gov. Chris Christie has signaled opposition to the bill, and may veto it if it reaches his desk. The state provides civil unions for same-sex couples, but the civil rights commission has opined that it falls short of the full equality mandated by the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Both United States senators from New Jersey and the state's seven Democratic House members have urged the legislature to pass the bill.

Washington marriage may pass

Olympia, Wash.-While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is likely to veto a marriage equality bill, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire will lead the charge passing a similar bill in her state.

Gregoire announced her support on January 4, laying out the reasons for introducing such a bill and talking about her personal growth on the issue. She noted that, while her religious views sometimes conflict with her political duties, she came to realize that

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religions can do what they want, while the government should never discriminate.

In 2004, she supported legal rights for same-sex couples, but opposed full samesex marriage.

Five days after the bill was introduced, attorney Stephen Pidgeon filed an initiative to countermand the bill. If it gets enough signatures to go on the ballot and passes, it would change the law to specify that marriage is "between one man and one woman."

However, Pidgeon was unsuccessful in his 2009 initiative to overturn Washington's domestic partner law, and the new definition would be statutory, so courts could rule it unconstitutional.

Arizonan may be first bi House member

Phoenix, Ariz.-Kyrsten Sinema, the state's first out bisexual lawmaker, will run in the state's newly-drawn 9th Congressional District.

If she is victorious, she will be the first open bisexual member of Congress, joining gay Reps. David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Jared Polis of Colorado.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is leaving the House to run for the Senate in November, replacing Sen. Herb Kohl, who is retiring and has endorsed Baldwin for the seat. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts is retiring as well.

Sinema was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2004, and is running for Congress to oppose Gov. Jan Brewer's policies. Brewer championed a law to require police to check the IDs of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, among other things. The Obama administration sued in federal court to block the measure.

Sinema, who is currently a state senator, will have to resign from the senate to run for Congress.

Alan Turing honored with a stamp

London-The gay man who broke the Nazis' Enigma code, which led the Allies to victory in World War II, will have his own postage stamp in a series on "Britons of Distinction" to be released in February.

Alan Turing laid the groundwork for the modern computer before being arrested in 1952 for having sex with a man who later robbed his house. After reporting the robbery to the police, he admitted to the sexual relationship, which was then still illegal under British law.

Turing was convicted of gross indecency and underwent chemical castration before killing himself in 1954.

While his trial and conviction led to a few years of vilification in the public eye, Turing's contributions to the war efforts and computing in general quickly led to his canonization as a father of modern computing, starting in 1966 with the first presentation of the Turing Award by the Association for Computing Machinery.

This year has been named Alan Turing Year, and countries across the world are holding events to celebrate his life and influence on computing in the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Pittsburgh county gets DP benefits

Pittsburgh-While Cuyahoga County Council members wait for a definition of "domestic partner" before considering passage of domestic partner benefits, Allegheny County, Pa. Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced on January 5 that he was issuing an executive order granting domestic partner benefits to county employees.

Fitzgerald ran, in part, on the promise of extending the benefits. Former executive Dan Onorato, who lost his bid for Pennsylvania governor, was prodded by the Human Rights Campaign to pass the benefits, as recommended by the county's human relation commission two years ago.

Fitzgerald said the order would be issued before the February 2 county council meeting. He also said that he would budget $25,000 for the Human Relation Commission, which investigates allegations of discrimination. It is the first time the county is actually funding the commission. Fitzgerald also promised to either attend the commission's meetings or send a staff mem-

ber.

Compiled by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Harris.

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January 13, 2012 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 7

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