Gay
news
wasn’t
just
made
in
the
courts
in
2003.
Apart
from
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
decision
overturning
sodomy
laws
and
rulings
on
same-sex
marriage
in
Massachusetts
and
Canada
that
brought
hard
fought
victories
for
gay
rights
proponents,
there
was
big
news
out
of
Hollywood,
New
Hampshire
and
on
the
presidential
campaign
trail.
Five
gay
guys
turned
television
on
its
head
as
“Queer
Eye
for
the
Straight
Guy”
became
TV’s
most
talked
about
show.
Rev.
V.
Gene
Robinson
was
consecrated
in
New
Hampshire
as
the
first
openly
gay
bishop
in
the
Episcopal
Church,
and
Democratic
presidential
candidates
campaigned
hard
for
gay
votes.
Below
is
a
recap
of
the
year’s
most
notable
gay
news
events
(in
no
particular
order)
that
happened
outside
of
the
courtroom.
Things
just
keep
getting
better
for
Carson
Kressley,
Kyan
Douglas,
Ted
Allen,
Thom
Filicia
and
Jai
Rodriguez.
The
cast
of
Bravo’s
“Queer
Eye
for
the
Straight
Guy,”
known
as
the
Fab
Five,
went
from
obscurity
to
breakout
stars
of
TV’s
latest
reality
makeover
craze.
Each
week,
the
Fab
Five
take
a
frumpy
straight
guy
in
need
of
help
in
fashion,
decorating,
food,
culture
and
grooming
and
transform
him
into
a
hip,
well-dressed
metrosexual.
 |
| The
cast
of
‘Queer
Eye
for
the
Straight
Guy’
helped
Bravo
win
record
ratings.
(Photo
by
Chris
Haston/courtesy
of
Bravo) |
The
show
debuted
on
July
15
and
quickly
became
one
of
the
most
watched
shows
on
cable
television.
The
show
is
regularly
watched
by
more
than
3
million
people,
a
record
for
Bravo.
The
ratings
were
so
hot
that
NBC
—
Bravo’s
parent
company
—
aired
some
episodes
during
its
popular
“Must
See
TV”
Thursday
night
lineup
and
has
licensed
the
show’s
concept
in
Britain
and
Scandinavia.
More
recently,
the
show’s
stars
have
cashed
in
on
their
success.
The
Fab
Five
negotiated
a
significant
pay
raise
for
the
second
season.
Filicia
has
discussed
as
the
new
spokesperson
for
the
Pier
1
retail
chain,
while
Kressley
is
doing
ads
for
Marshall
Field’s
department
stores
and
recently
signed
a
book
deal.
Bravo
also
hit
paydirt
in
2003
with
the
reality
show
“Boy
Meets
Boy,”
in
which
a
hunky
gay
suitor,
James,
had
to
narrow
a
field
of
15
potential
mates
to
win
a
prize.
The
surprise
twist
was
that
some
of
the
mates
were
straight
and
out
to
trick
James
in
order
to
win
a
prize
of
their
own.
In
the
end,
James’s
gaydar
proved
sound
and
he
chose
24-year-old
gay
Californian
Wes
as
his
mate.
The
series
drew
more
than
1.5
million
viewers,
the
second
best-rated
show
in
Bravo
history
behind
“Queer
Eye.”
Meanwhile,
on
CBS,
a
gay
couple
won
the
“Amazing
Race,”
a
reality
show
where
teams
of
two
race
around
the
globe
competing
for
a
$1
million
cash
prize.
Reichen
Lehmkuhl
and
Chip
Arndt
beat
out
11
other
teams
and
celebrated
their
one-year
anniversary
on
the
show.
Lehmkuhl,
28,
is
a
pilot
and
graduate
of
the
U.S.
Air
Force
Academy,
while
Arndt,
36,
graduated
from
Yale
and
Harvard
Business
School
and
works
as
a
financial
consultant.
The
two
broke
up
shortly
after
their
victory.
 |
| Gene
Robinson
became
the
first
openly
gay
bishop
in
the
worldwide
Anglican
Communion,
causing
a
split
in
the
church.
He
resisted
calls
to
step
aside
saying
that
he
believed
he
was
answering
God’s
call.
(Photo
by
Jim
Cole/AP) |
For
most
of
the
summer
the
Episcopal
Church
was
deeply
divided
over
gay
issues.
In
June,
Episcopalian
leaders
voted
to
make
Rev.
Gene
Robinson
the
next
bishop
of
New
Hampshire.
Robinson
is
gay
and
lives
with
his
partner.
In
the
months
before
the
announcement,
the
worldwide
Anglican
Communion
—
of
which
the
Episcopal
Church
belongs
—
had
debated
the
issue
of
gays
in
the
church
after
Dr.
Jeffrey
John
was
appointed
to
be
a
Bishop
of
Reading
in
England.
John,
at
the
urging
of
his
friend
Dr.
Rowan
Williams,
the
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
and
head
of
the
77
million
followers
of
the
church,
declined
the
position
to
avoid
splitting
the
church.
But
Robinson
consistently
said
that
he
felt
a
calling
from
God
and
overcame
the
pressure
to
step
aside.
Many
of
his
followers
said
that
the
church
was
going
through
another
step
in
its
evolution,
very
similar
to
when
it
first
ordained
women.
Robinson
told
the
media
that
there
have
been
many
gay
bishops
before,
but
he
was
the
first
to
live
openly.
Since
he
was
consecrated
in
November,
a
number
of
Anglican
churches
around
the
world
have
notified
the
Episcopal
Church
they
are
breaking
ties.
Other
conservatives
withheld
their
donations
to
the
national
church.
Still,
some
people
joined
the
church
as
a
result
of
the
publicity
surrounding
Robinson.
U.S.
Rep.
Mark
Foley
(R-Fla.)
was
outed
by
a
Florida
weekly
newspaper
in
May
as
he
was
gearing
up
to
run
for
an
open
U.S.
Senate
seat.
After
the
story
was
reported
in
this
newspaper,
Foley
took
the
unusual
step
of
staging
a
news
conference
to
announce
he
wouldn’t
talk
or
answer
questions
about
his
sexual
orientation,
saying
he
believed
that
to
be
a
private
matter.
Despite
the
rumors,
Foley
was
the
leading
candidate
to
win
the
Republican
nomination
for
the
Senate
seat
being
vacated
by
Sen.
Bob
Graham
(D-Fla.),
who
was
running
for
the
Democratic
nomination
for
president
at
the
time
but
has
since
pulled
out.
Graham
decided
against
running
for
his
Senate
seat
even
after
his
presidential
campaign
ended.
 |
While
preparing
for
a
...
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