The new plates will be available beginning in February, and feature the logo of the Indiana Youth Group, an Indianapolis-based group that supports children in the LGBT community. The group's volunteers travel throughout the state providing support for often-troubled adolescents.

Indiana’s American Civil Liberties Union had sued the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles in September 2010 after the organization’s request for the plate was twice denied.

The group accused the BMV of lacking clear standards to evaluate plates and violating the First Amendment by using unilateral discretion in ruling on applications.

The Indiana Youth Group said after the lawsuit was dismissed in January 2011 that they would apply for the new plate a third time, which was approved last month by the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Micah Clark, Executive Director of the American Family Association of Indiana, reacted to the news, telling a christian website Tuesday:

"You have to question what the BMV was thinking when they approved a license plate for a group which recruits teens into the homosexual lifestyle. Since health risks do not seem to matter, what is to prevent a cigar club from now getting a license plate from the BMV?

"State agencies should be neutral in the politically charged culture war especially the promotion of homosexuality among minors.

"It is very disappointing that Indiana is the first state in the nation to have a license plate celebrating youth involved in homosexual behaviors," said Clark.

Bil Browning, founder of the Bilerico Project, and a longtime Indiana LGBT rights activist, told LGBTQ Nation Tuesday that he was "not surprised to see that Micah Clark is up to his old tricks."

"Mr. Clark espouses his far-right views on LGBT rights all across Indiana, but his organization seems to do little else," Browning said. "Indiana Youth Group, on the other hand, spends its time helping suicidal youth and college planning."

Browning noted that while Clark calls for the state to remain "neutral in the politically charged culture war," he has previously advocated for the "In God We Trust" license plate.

The specialty plate costs an additional $40 with $25 directly benefiting the group which provides training for schools and service agencies and works to promote tolerance.

Dan McGinn

McGinn told the Evansville Courier & Press that he had lost his brother to AIDS and had been a lifelong witness to issues like gay bashing. Sponsoring the revision in code to provide equal opportunity for all citizens in the areas education, employment, access to public conveniences and accommodations and the purchase or rental of real property, was his chance to help, he said.

"I'm in a position where I could help eliminate all of this," he said. "That's why I'm interested in helping."

The approved ordinance also defined sexual orientation as being male or female sexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, real or perceived, by orientation or practice.

McGinn said defining those terms in city code would provide an opportunity for discussion in the community. That, he said, would result in a better understanding.

McGinn also said perhaps the biggest impact the community will see from the revision is how it bolstered the city's efforts to grow areas like Downtown and the Arts District.

"By broadening our statute and adding four different types of people, it will let people know we are nice people, and we are tolerant," he said. "We want to let the rest of the state and the rest of the world to now discover the great people of Evansville."

"Talking about the issues is what helps to eliminate the prejudice and bigotry," he said. "I think a more open, free society will let people know we're starting a trend where we're trying to let them know we're accepting of all lifestyles."

Evansville Courier & Press

The Valparaiso, Ind.-based Kenneth J. Allen & Associates -- a law firm devoted exclusively to the practice of accident and injury law -- filed suit on behalf of Alisha Brennon, whose spouse, Chicago LGBT activist, Christina Santiago, died when a sudden fluke windstorm on August 13 collapsed the stage at the Indiana State Fair, causing the structure to crash down on spectators gathered for a concert.

Brennon and Santiago were newlyweds, having entered into a civil union in Illinois two months prior to the accident, but Indiana does not recognize the civil unions or marriages of gay and lesbian couples.

"This will be a first step toward equal rights for same-sex couples in Indiana and another milestone in the fight for equality in America," said attorney Kenneth Allen.

Gay Chicago reports that Allen has also filed suit on behalf of another lesbian couple impacted by the Indiana stage collapse, and is seeking to lift the state's cap on damage suits:

Allen also represents Beth Urschel, whose partner, Tammy VanDam, was also killed in the stage collapse. Urschel and VanDam had been married in Hawaii more than 10 years ago, a union that, again, was not recognized in Indiana.

On Aug. 19 Allen filed suit on behalf of Urschel in LaPorte County, Ind. Circuit Court, seeking $60 million in damages based on claims that the stage was improperly constructed and that fair officials and promoters were negligent by failing to heed warnings of the impending storm and high winds. In that suit, Allen also seeks to overturn Indiana’s ban on recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages and civil unions.

[...]

Allen also filed suit Sept. 26 in federal court seeking to overturn Indiana’s 40-year-old $5-million cap on damages in cases such as the stage collapse.

“The cap on damages is arbitrary and capricious,” said Allen. “It is not indexed for inflation nor does it take into account the shear number or extent of the injuries. It represents the worst kind of government interference. Justice requires that the cap be overturned in this case.”

Indiana's Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in statement that his office would defend the state’s laws on damage caps and recognition of same-sex couples.

Santiago was the programming manager for the Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP) at Chicago’s Howard Brown Health Center. Brennon was also seriously injured in the accident.

Hinkle, 64, acknowledged that he paid 18-year-old Kameryn Gibson "to have a good time," yet insists in an interview with The Indianapolis Star that he had no intentions to have sex with him.

The Star reported last week that Gibson met up with the legislator after Hinkle answered Gibson's ad on Craigslist, which read that he was looking for a "sugga daddy."

The pair met at the Indianapolis JW Marriott hotel, where Gibson said that even though Hinkle offered him $80 plus tip to spend time, he got cold feet when he found out Hinkle was a lawmaker.

Gibson stated that Hinkle then tried to keep him from leaving, exposed himself to the teenager, and then offered him and his sister cash and expensive electronic devices in exchange for their silence about the encounter.

Hinkle told The Star that he is not gay and "doesn't know" why he responded to the ad nor why he paid Gibson. He also acknowledged his actions while stupid were in no way criminal and in response to public statements made by the Gibson siblings told the Star, "These people are lying through their teeth."

Kameryn and his sister are standing by their story.

On Tuesday, Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma told the media that he was stripping Hinkle of his chairmanships of the Government and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Interim Study Committee on Driver Education.

The Speaker also pleaded for Hinkle to step down from his position as a state representative, saying he should take time to focus on his personal life.

"His continued service in the Indiana House is a distraction from that priority," Bosma said in a statement, "and a detriment to the continuing work of the legislature."

According to the Star:

Hinkle said resigning would be an acknowledgment that the Gibsons’ version of the encounter was the truth.

When asked why he had contacted Gibson and why he had used his personal email address, Hinkle replied, "I don't know. I'm telling you, I don't know."

Hinkle has also denied that he is gay.

"I say that emphatically," he said. "I'm not gay."

Santiago was the programming manager for the Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP) at Chicago's Howard Brown Health Center.

With a heavy, heavy heart we report that Christina Santiago was amongst those killed in the Indiana State Fair accident.

Before the band Sugarland was able to perform, strong winds knocked down the stage onto the crowd. Christina was amongst the 4 killed instantly. Her partner, Alisha Marie Brennon, a member of the Chicago Force, was also in the crowd and is currently in critical condition.

via: The L Stop

In a press statement released Sunday afternoon, Howard Brown President Jamal M. Edwards said "the sudden and devastating loss of Christina has left the entire community, including her Howard Brown Health Center family, heartbroken."

"She has been a leading and driving force in the expansion of our women's health services division and a powerful advocate for all LGBT women," said Edwards.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels called the accident an "unthinkable tragedy" and said the wind burst was a "fluke" that no one could have foreseen.

Warning: the video below is disturbing:

Dozens of people — including several children — remained hospitalized Sunday, many with life-threatening injuries.

State Rep. Phillip Hinkle, who recently voted in favor of a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, responded to a local posting on Craigslist and offered the young man $80 plus tip to spend time with him Saturday night at the JW Marriott hotel, according to an email exchange provided to The Indianapolis Star.

Phillip Hinkle

The emails, sent from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address, ask the young man for "a couple hours of your time tonight" and offer him cash up front, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time."

The email exchange is in response to the Craigslist posting in which the young man -- who lists his age as 20 in the ad but says he is 18 years old -- says, "I need a sugga daddy."

The young man told The Star that they met, but that he tried to leave after the man told him he was a state lawmaker. He said the lawmaker at first told him he could not leave, grabbed him in the rear, exposed himself to the young man and then later gave him an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 cash to keep quiet.

The Indianapolis Star

The young man, Kameryn Gibson, told the Star he posted the Craigslist ad in the "Casual Encounters" section under "m4m," which is shorthand for men for men.

The Craigslist ad was posted at 7:37 a.m. Saturday. The ad shows two pictures of Kameryn Gibson, shirtless with pants pulled below the top of his underwear.

The ad’s text features one written line: “Email me and I’ll tell you everything you need to know!”

Forty-seven minutes later, he received a response from phinkle46 @comcast.net, with the email signature “Sent from Phil’s iPad.”

“Cannot be a long time sugar daddy,” the email reads, “but can for tonight. Would you be interested in keeping me company for a while tonight?”

The email offers “to make it worth (your) while” in cash, and offers a personal description: “I am an in shape married professional, 5’8″, fit 170 lbs, and love getting and staying naked.”

Fifteen minutes later, Kameryn Gibson replied: “Yes I can!” He also sent along his phone number.

What followed was an email exchange between phinkle46 @comcast.net and Kameryn Gibson. One email from Hinkle’s account asks “what will make you happy for giving me a couple hours of your time tonight?”

Read the complete exchange at The Indianapolis Star.

Gibson said that Hinkle picked him up and took him to the hotel. Gibson said he was given a room key and instructed to go into the hotel first, because they couldn't be seen together.

Once Hinkle arrived at the room, Gibson said Hinkle told him he was a lawmaker and showed him his identification card.

Gibson said that when he got cold feet and tried to leave, Hinkle tried stopped him.

Gibson excused himself to the bathroom. There, he called his sister Megan. She said she would come get him immediately.

When Gibson came out, he said Hinkle told him he couldn't leave. Gibson called his sister again. This time, Megan told him to put her on speakerphone.

"I started cussing him," Megan told The Star. She also threatened to call the police and the local media.

Kameryn and Megan Gibson said Hinkle then offered his iPad, a BlackBerry and $100 in cash.

On the drive home, Megan Gibson said she began receiving phone calls on Hinkle's BlackBerry, including one from a woman who identified herself as Hinkle's wife.

"I was like, 'Your husband is gay,'" Megan told the caller.

Hinkle, 64, is married, Catholic and has been a member of Indiana House of Representatives 92nd District since 2000.

Michael Griffin

A jury in Indiana has convicted Michael Griffin, an ex-Marine, for the murder of 53-year-old Don Belton, an openly gay professor at Indiana University.

Griffin admitted to jurors that he killed Belton in December 2009 by stabbing him 22 times with a knife that had a 10-inch-long, double-edged blade.

Griffin had claimed Belton, an assistant English professor, raped him on Dec. 25, 2009, after a day of heavy drinking at Belton's Bloomington home.

He said he killed Belton two days later in a rage when he confronted him about the alleged assault.

The verdict came after 12 hours of deliberations. Griffin, now 27, faces a maximum sentence of 65 years.

According to the bill, “only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.”

The second sentence effectively would ban legislators from enacting civil unions in the future.

The Indy Star reports:

Democratic Sen. Tim Lanane of Anderson argued that attitudes toward same-sex marriages are rapidly changing and the amendment would make it difficult for future changes in state law.

Current state law prohibits gay marriages. Amendment sponsor Sen. Dennis Kruse of Auburn says the measure would provide maximum protection for the basic family unit of society.

Indiana Republican legislators are worried that the same thing will happen in their state as it did in Iowa, where in 2009, the state Supreme Court overturned the law banning same-sex marriage.

The Senate vote was 40-10. The Indiana House has already approved the measure.

The good news is that Indiana law requires that the General Assembly passes the measure again in 2013 or 2014, and then approved by voters (in 2014) before the state constitution can be amended.

Indiana has two years to get the right people in office.

Same sex marriage is already illegal in Indiana, but the legislature wants to prevent judges from overturning the current ban.

Indiana Republican legislators are worried that the same thing will happen in their state as it did in Iowa, where in 2009, the state Supreme Court overturned the law banning same-sex marriage.

If they are successful in passing a constitutional amendment, the courts would have no power to overturn it.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports:

The proposed language specifically says “only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.”

The second sentence effectively would ban legislators from enacting civil unions in the future.

The bill has already passed the House, and with the committee’s passage it now moves on to the full Senate.

The good news is that even if the Senate passes the bill, Indiana law requires that it be voted on again by the next elected legislature (in 2014) before it moves on to a final vote by citizens. So Indiana has two years to get the right people in office.

Rito Osorio

Rito Osorio says he was targeted because of his sexual orientation, and said he clearly remembers another teen shouting gay slurs at him before being stuck in the face several times.

WHAS-TV reports:

"I was sitting at lunch and he tapped me on the shoulder and said hey man we got to talk. So I said ok I didn't think anything of it. I got up and followed him in the bathroom. I went in there and I looked around and it was packed. When I looked back he hit me and he kept hitting me and hitting me," said Osorio.

Osorio says the student used gay slurs when he attacked. The student was later arrested for battery with injuries.

The attack left Orsorio with several face fractures and a broken nose.

"He had a piercing under his lip, and that had been pushed up into the maxilla bone and chipped it, so it is stuck up there and is going to have to be surgically removed," said the victim's mother Andrea Osorio.

The Sellersburg Police Chief says he doesn't believe this is a hate crime, rather a simple case of one student attacking another student.

The attacker, an un-named 16 year-old student, claimed that Osorio was spreading "rumors" that he too was gay, and that was the reason for his attack.

Orsorio's mother said she feels as if the situtation is being brushed under the rug.

The proposed amendment would also prohibit civil unions, stating that any legal status “substantially similar” to marriage for unmarried people is not valid.

The vote took place after less than 30 minutes of debate.

The Evansville Courier-Press reports:

“The basic unit of society is the family, and the cornerstone of the family is marriage. Marriage is, and should be, the union of one man and one woman,” said the gay marriage ban’s author, Rep. Eric Turner, R-Marion.

Rep. Mary Ann Sullivan, D-Indianapolis, called the ban “a blow that hurts thousands across this great state, and taints our constitution with the language of hate,” and said she has friends and neighbors who are “deeply, deeply hurt by this legislation.”

The bill now heads to the State Senate, where it has passed several times in recent years -- previously, it has been in the State House where the measure failed, but until this year, the House had been controlled by Democrats.

If approved by the Senate this year, the proposal must be considered and approved again either in 2013 or 2014. If passed by the General Assembly a second time, the measure will be placed on the ballot in November 2014.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, urged the Indiana Senate to reject the bill.

“Constitutions should be respected as shields of fairness for all, not used as weapons to discriminate and harm,” Wolfson said.

Same-sex marriage is already prohibited under Indiana law, but proponents of the bill say the ban is necessary to prevent a situation like the one in Iowa, where in 2009, the Iowa State Supreme Court unanimously overturned the state’s law prohibiting same-sex marriage, declaring it unconstitutional.

Same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state of Indiana, but marriage equality opponents say it needs to be in the constitution.

The state Senate has passed the constitutional ban in recent years, but it has always died in the House, which Democrats controlled up to this year.

The Indianapolis Star reports:

The Republican-controlled committee approved the bill 8-4, sending it to the House floor for amendments and consideration.

Several previous efforts to add a ban on gay marriage to the constitution have failed, but this year could be different since Republicans now have a majority in both houses.

Even if the measure passes this year, however, it would still have to be approved by another, separately elected legislature and then in a referendum by voters, before being placed into the state’s founding document.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Eric Turner (R-Marion, Ind.) said it's a matter of protecting the existing law from being declared "unconstitutional" in court.

"It's state sanctioned discrimination. Two straight people can go to Vegas, be intoxicated and be married by an Elvis impersonator and what we're saying in Indiana is that two people in a committed relationship that care for each other can't achieve that status. I really have a hard time understanding that," said Unitarian Minister Andy Burnette.

The city is investigating whether the owner of "Just Cookies" engaged in discrimination last week when he cited moral objections to homosexuality as his reason for declining a customer's request to provide rainbow-iced cookies for a "National Coming Out Day" event at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Because the bakery operates within the city-owned Indianapolis City Market, the city may have the right to penalize the business, which could include receiving a fine or facing eviction.

Heather Browning, a coordinator for social justice education in the Office of Student Involvement at IUPUI, said when she called to place the order, and explained the nature of the celebration, "the gentleman told me that it was against their morals and values to do so, and then hung up on me."

David Stockton, who owns Just Cookies with his wife Lily, said Wednesday that he told a caller to the bakery that he did not feel comfortable preparing a special order for a group that endorsed homosexual activity, and that he wanted to set what he believes is the right example for his two "impressionable young daughters."

But Lily Stockton, in an interview on HLN, back peddled, saying the bakery didn't have "enough colors" as the reason for refusing the order.

According to Wayne Schmidt, president of the City Market Board, there could be grounds for taking away their stand in the market. "I'd hate to lose them, but we can't tolerate any kind of discrimination like that."

The Indiana Youth Group helps children in the gay, lesbian and transgender community. Volunteers travel throughout the state providing support for the often-troubled teens.

The Indianapolis-based youth organization said it was denied a request for a specialty plate twice. The specialty plates raise money and public awareness of the sponsoring groups, which can charge a fee of up to $25 per plate. In addition, the BMV charges a $15 fee that goes to the state.

The group applied for a specialty license plate in 2008 and was denied without being given a reason, according to Mary Byrne, Executive Director of the group.

When she re-applied last year, Byrne said she was informed by phone that the BMV didn't feel her organization was statewide.

The group accused the BMV of lacking clear standards to evaluate plates and violating the First Amendment by using unilateral discretion in ruling on applications.

But BMV spokesman Dennis Rosebrough said the Indiana Youth Group was turned down because it failed to provide evidence that its services have a statewide impact and because it planned to use the license plate funds to pay staff salaries. The money, he said, cannot be used for operating expenses. [Indianapolis Star]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit on the group's behalf in U.S. District Court Thursday.

Indiana currently offers 78 specialty plates and will have 11 new plates in 2011.

Billy Lucas (via Facebook)

Billy (William) Lucas, a student at Greensburg Community High School in Greensburg, IN, was was found dead in a barn at his grandmother's home Thursday evening -- he had hanged himself.

Friends of Lucas say that he had been tormented for years. [WTHR-TV]

"He was threatened to get beat up every day," friend and classmate Nick Hughes said. "Sometimes in classes, kids would act like they were going to punch him and stuff and push him."

"Some people at school called him names," Hughes said, saying most of those names questioned Lucas' sexual orientation, and that Lucas, for the most part, did little to defend himself.

"He would try to but people would just try to break him down with words and stuff and just pick on him," Hughes said.

Decatur County Coroner Doug Banks said Lucas left a note, but that it didn’t refer to bullying or blame anyone; Lucas reportedly never self-identified as gay.

A Facebook memorial page created in Lucas' honor, begins with this bio: "Everyone made fun of him at school and he couldn't take it anymore so he decided to end his life".