Coming Out In the Jury Pool

L.A. Vess has a column at LesbiaNation.com about her recent experience in a jury pool in South Carolina. For her, it became more than a day of reading and waiting when she and her fellow potential jurors were told the list of facts they would all be required to state about themselves: name, address, length of residence, employment, education, legal marital status and spouse's employment.



The remainder of the column discusses her reaction and response to being legally forced to declare herself single due to her being legally barred from being legally otherwise with the person she loves, and what she learned about equality, visibility and coming out.

RAF: Ask, Tell and Be Proud

While here in the US the continued application of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is ending military careers, keeping some of the bright and the best from enlisting in the first place, and in some cases leaving the military short-handed (such as in Arab language translators), such is not the case in the UK.



Gay men and lesbians were similarly barred from service in England's military until January 2000, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK had violated a man's human rights by discharging him because he is gay. The case was Lustig-Prean and Beckett v UK.



Well, the RAF has straightened up and is flying right (so to speak), and is taking part in this Sunday's Pride Parade and Festival in Manchester. In addition to having a float carrying eight waving RAF members, they will also have a mobile recruiting station. This is no small event, either. Manchester Pride is "ten starry days and nights of partying, parade, film, arts & entertainment, sport and debating." Perhaps the RAF's presence will mark the beginning of a true Manchester United.