National Gaze

The number of Americans newly infected with the AIDS virus each year has been holding steady at about 50,000, according to a government report released Aug. 3.

But a U.S. health official said just keeping the number stable was unacceptable, noting a dramatic increase in new HIV cases among young gay and bisexual black men.

The ACLU of Florida says it has reached a settlement with the city of Miami Beach over the wrongful arrest of a man who called 911 to report two police officers beating and kicking a handcuffed gay man.

Under the settlement reached Aug. 1, the city must pay Harold Strickland $75,000 and enact new policies regarding the reporting of police misconduct.

DADT is gone in 60 days.

Certification for repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military came July 22, with the signatures of President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen.

For the second time in less than a month, Colorado Springs police are investigating an assault in which the victims say anti-gay slurs were made.

Two homeless men told police that two men made anti-gay slurs before stabbing them. The incident follows one in which at least one person reported he was beaten because the assailants believed he was gay.

Video showing the use of long-discredited “ex-gay” therapy at a Minnesota counseling center owned by Michele and Marcus Bachmann has led to a pledge drive: Republican presidential aspirants are being asked to repudiate reparative therapy.

Since her declaration of candidacy earlier this summer, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has become a focus of LGBT groups who want to make sure voters know her record as a conservative social warrior. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights group, now issues regular “Better Know Bachmann” reports, part of the group’s “Call It Out” campaign against homophobia and transphobia.

A 23-year-old transgender person has been fatally shot, and police in the District of Columbia are investigating whether it’s a hate crime.

The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. July 21 in the 6110 block of Dix Street NE. Police identified the victim as Myles Mclean, who is also known to friends as Lashay Mclean.

Police in Southern California say a man who was punched in the face for saying he is gay is the latest victim in a string of attacks on gay men over a two-week period.

Long Beach police have stepped up patrols in the area where the incidents occurred. The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports that among the incidents was the July 24 attack on Martin Sanchez.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on July 20 held a first hearing on Democratic legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and return the federal government to its historic role of deferring to states on marriage.

The hearing was on the Respect for Marriage Act, legislation sponsored by Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in the Senate and Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in the House. The bill’s first lines make clear the intent: “A bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for state regulation of marriage.”

California school children will learn about the gay civil rights movement in their social studies lessons under legislation signed in July by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The school children may also learn a few lessons about politics and right-wing ballot campaigns.

Two New York City women say a Vermont inn refused to host their wedding reception because of the owners’ anti-gay bias. The couple is now suing, alleging discrimination under the state’s public accommodations law.

Kate Baker and Ming Linsley say they were turned away by the Wildflower Inn, a 24-room inn in Lyndonville, when they told the inn the wedding would have two brides but no groom.