Wisconsin Gaze

A U.S. district judge ruled July 22 that a discrimination case concerning a woman who was denied surgery because she’s HIV-positive can proceed to trial.

In February 2009, Lambda Legal and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin filed suit on behalf of Melody Rose, 36, after Dr. Steven Cahee of Fond du Lac refused to remove her gallbladder due to concerns about HIV transmission. Rose underwent the procedure at a different medical facility.

GAMMA Milwaukee holds its second open mic and potluck night at the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center on July 31. There is no cover charge or registration fee. The event is open to the public, and every one is encouraged to bring a favorite dish to share.

GAMMA’s Richard Goldberg says all types of performance are welcome: song, dance, spoken word, comedy. “People can perform whatever they want, it’s an adult show,” Goldberg says.

Fair Wisconsin PAC and Human Rights League PAC have released their joint 2010 fall election endorsements. The groups previously announced their endorsement of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett for governor.

“We are excited to support so many pro-fairness candidates from across Wisconsin as we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the passage of domestic partnership protections,” said Fair Wisconsin executive director Katie Belanger. “These candidates have shown a commitment to advancing equality in Wisconsin, and we look forward to working with them in the next legislative session.”

Republicans have filed a challenge to U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s nomination papers.

The Young Republicans of Dane County allege Baldwin, a Madison Democrat, listed her campaign office as her address on the papers rather than her voting address.

Efforts are underway to generate a large grassroots protest to meet the National Organization for Marriage’s anti-gay “Summer for Marriage” tour when it arrives in Madison on Tuesday, July 27, for a noon rally at the State Street entrance of the Capitol.  A coalition-based counter-rally and march in support of the freedom to marry will begin at 11 a.m. on the UW-Madison’s Library Mall, in the 700 block of State Street, proceeding up State Street to the Capitol.

“Everywhere that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) caravan goes, they need to be shown that they do not represent majority opinion,” coalition leader Jesse Otradovec, with the Queer Student Alliance, said. “Our highest hope is that if we’re successful and we can significantly outnumber them when they come to Madison, we can be a force for turning back this tour.”

A woman who raised two adopted children for years in a same-sex relationship is not considered their parent under Wisconsin law, an appeals court ruled in late June.

The court ruled against a woman who was seeking legal guardianship of two children for whom she had been a stay-at-home mother. The District 4 Court of Appeals ruled that only the woman’s former partner is their parent since the adoptions were done under the partner’s name.

OutReach, Madison and south central Wisconsin’s LGBT community center seeks nominations of individuals, organizations and businesses that have made outstanding contributions to Madison’s LGBT community in the past year.  The awards will be presented at OutReach’s 18th Annual Community Awards Banquet, to be held Friday, September 17th, at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.

A committee of community members reviews the nominations and selects award recipients. Past award winners, OutReach staff and board members are not eligible.

A federal agency is accusing a Kentucky company of permitting a sexually hostile work environment in one of its Wisconsin pharmacies.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said it has filed a federal lawsuit naming Covington, Ky.-based Omnicare Inc., which does business as Pinnacle Pharmacy.

Retired Madison police officer James Arthur Witalison, 60, died on April 27 of congestive heart failure. As a pioneering openly gay officer, Witalison played an important role in building a gay-friendly police force in the city.

A celebration of Witalison’s life was scheduled to be held at Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., on July 16. Retired Madison police chief David Couper, who is now an Episcopal priest, will officiate. Couper hired Witalison in 1980 and initiated many of the reforms that brought greater racial, cultural, gender and sexual orientation diversity to the Madison Police Department (MPD).