ATLANTA
--
One
shareholder's
attempt
to
get
Atlanta-based
soft
drink
giant
Coca-Cola
to
drop
sexual
orientation
from
its
non-discrimination
statement
fizzled
when
he
didn't
appear
at
last
week's
annual
meeting
to
support
it.
Hou-Yin
Chang,
a
South
Carolina
resident
who
owns
49
shares
of
Coke
stock,
proposed
the
measure
asking
Coca-Cola
to
end
its
support
for
"the
homosexual
lifestyle
and
other
deviant
lifestyle
behaviors."
The
Coca-Cola
Company
held
its
annual
meeting
April
16
in
Houston.
"Neither
Mr.
Chang
nor
his
proxy
was
on
hand
to
present
his
proposal,
and
a
vote
can
only
be
held
for
a
shareowner
proposal
if
it
is
properly
presented
at
the
meeting,"
said
Racquel
White,
spokesperson
for
the
company,
which
recommended
that
stock
holders
vote
against
the
measure.
Chang
cannot
submit
any
more
resolutions
for
two
years,
she
said.
Meanwhile,
pro-gay
resolutions
pushed
by
shareholders
at
J.C.
Penney
and
FedEx
prompted
those
companies
to
announce
plans
to
amend
their
non-discrimination
statements
to
include
sexual
orientation,
according
to
New
York
City
Comptroller
William
C.
Thompson,
who
filed
the
resolutions
on
behalf
of
city
pension
funds.
The
city's
five
pension
funds
hold
$23.3
million
in
J.C.
Penney
stock
and
$60.6
million
in
FedEx
stock.
Family
of
slain
Tenn.
activist
files
wrongful
death
lawsuit
KNOXVILLE,
Tenn.
--
The
family
of
a
Knoxville
gay
activist
strangled
by
someone
he
met
at
a
local
gay
bar
sued
the
man
who
admitted
killing
him,
the
Knoxville
News-Sentinel
reported.
In
the
wrongful
death
lawsuit
filed
in
Knox
County
Circuit
Court,
Joseph
Camber's
family
seeks
$2
million
in
damages
from
Chad
Allen
Conyers.
Camber,
who
co-chaired
Knoxville
Pride,
was
last
seen
April
20,
2002,
leaving
the
Carousel
II,
the
Knoxville
gay
bar
where
he
worked
as
a
bartender.
His
body
was
found
early
the
next
morning.
Conyers
was
sentenced
to
15
years
probation
after
pleading
guilty
March
21
to
voluntary
manslaughter.
During
sentencing,
Conyers
apologized
for
the
killing,
but
offered
no
explanation
for
how
it
happened.
Under
a
procedure
known
as
judicial
diversion,
if
Conyers
does
not
violate
his
probation,
his
record
will
be
cleared.
Sirius
launches
first
24-hour
gay
satellite
radio
NEW
YORK
--
Satellite
radio
broadcaster
Sirius
announced
April
15
the
launch
of
OutQ,
providing
around-the-clock
"complete
news
and
entertainment
programming
for
the
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgender
community,"
the
company
said
in
a
statement.
Jay
Clark,
Sirius
vice
president
of
entertainment
and
information
programming,
noted
that
the
company
already
offers
other
specialized
material,
including
conservative
shows.
"When
you
have
100
streams
of
programming,
you
can
step
out
a
little
bit,"
he
told
the
Los
Angeles
Times.
The
gay
service
will
broadcast
live
shows
weekdays
from
3
a.m.
to
6
p.m.,
with
hourly
news
breaks,
as
well
as
replays
and
"best-of"
programming.
OutQ
is
available
to
all
of
Sirius'
subscribers,
who
pay
$12.95
per
month,
as
well
as
on
the
company's
Web
site,
www.sirius.com.
Current
hosts
include
Wayne
Besen,
John
McMullen,
Michelangelo
Signorile,
Derek
Hartley
and
Romaine
Patterson.
Sirius
cited
some
30,000
subscribers
last
year,
according
to
the
New
York
Times.
Competitor
XM
cites
500,000.
Cincinnati
hate
crime
law
faces
legal
fight
CINCINNATI,
Ohio
--
Equal
Rights
Not
Special
Rights,
a
group
opposing
gay-inclusive
legislation,
asked
the
Hamilton
County
Common
Pleas
Court
for
an
injunction
April
9
to
stop
the
city's
new
hate
crimes
law
from
taking
effect,
the
Plain
Dealer
reported.
The
group,
which
includes
state
Rep.
Tom
Brinkman
(R-Cincinnati),
contends
the
law
violates
the
city's
one-of-a-kind
charter
amendment
banning
laws
based
on
sexual
orientation.
The
amendment,
approved
in
1993
by
63
percent
of
voters,
bars
the
City
Council
from
enacting
or
enforcing
laws
that
give
gays
"any
claim
of
minority
or
protected
status,
quota
preference
or
other
preferential
treatment."
The
city's
new
hate
crimes
law,
passed
two
months
ago
in
the
wake
of
an
anti-gay
murder,
says
that
crimes
based
on
age,
disability
or
sexual
orientation
can
lead
to
six
months
in
jail
and
a
$1,000
fine.
"The
city
is
going
out
of
its
way
to
protect
people
based
on
sexual
behavior,"
said
David
R.
Langdon,
attorney
for
the
gay
rights
opponents.
Ky.
gay-straight
club
can
meet
in
high
school
ASHLAND,
Ky.
(AP)
--U.S.
District
Judge
David
Bunning
ruled
April
18
that
the
Boyd
County
school
district
must
allow
the
Gay-Straight
Alliance
to
meet
on
campus
and
treat
it
no
differently
than
the
Bible
club.
Bunning
granted
a
request
from
the
ACLU,
representing
students
who
filed
suit
against
the
school
district,
for
an
injunction
to
give
equal
access
to
the
Gay-Straight
Alliance.
The
school
district
banned
all
school
clubs
in
the
wake
of
controversy
over
the
gay
group,
but
Bunning
concluded
from
two
days
of
testimony
that
some
student
groups,
including
the
Bible
club
and
drama
club,
continued
to
meet
on
campus
despite
the
ban.
From
staff
and
wire
reports.
