8/20/2012 This Way Out

Program 1272

Hosted by Greg Gordon and produced with Lucia Chappelle

 "NewsWrap": Germany's highest court rules that a 2010 law giving same-gender couples in registered partnerships the same land transfer tax exemptions as married heterosexual couples should be applied retroactively; a U.S. federal judge in Hawai'i rules that opening civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples is the province of state lawmakers or a popular vote, not the courts, while oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by 8 same-gender couples seeking marriage equality in Nevada are scheduled for late November; a Malaysian-born gay minister who married his African-American boyfriend in New York last year fulfills a vow to hold a traditional Chinese wedding banquet in his native country, while a married gay male couple scores an Argentinean "first" by being listed as the two fathers on the birth certificate of their surrogate-delivered newborn baby boy; courageous Ugandan LGBT activists brave police harassment and widespread homophobia to celebrate Pride in Entebbe with a weekend of parties, a small film festival, and a beach parade, while hundreds of thousands cheer Amsterdam's 17th annual Pride flotilla along the Dutch city's historic canals; pop diva Madonna makes good on her promise to defy a St. Petersburg ban on "promotion of homosexuality to minors" during a concert in Russia's second-largest city; and American Family Association mouthpiece Bryan Fischer calls for an "Underground Railroad... to deliver innocent children from same-sex households" (written by GREG GORDON with thanks to REX WOCKNER, produced by STEVE PRIDE, and reported this week by JASON PROCTOR & SARAH SWEENEY) 



"This Way Out" Entertainment Correspondent STEVE PRIDE might've gotten lost among the well-over 100,000 humans and super heroes at last month's 2012 SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL -- but his target was clearly in sight. It was a panel discussion on queer cartooning featuring an all-star cast of artists who've used their intelligence, irreverence, and imagination to tackle the complex issues of identity and cultural change. JUSTIN HALL, the editor of "NO STRAIGHT LINES: FOUR DECADES OF QUEER COMICS" [Fantagraphics Books], moderated the discussion. His impressive collection prompted Steve to ask him about it – after no less a "Dyke To Watch Out For" than ALISON BECHDEL sang its praises... after first considering "Everyday Life in Vermont"



It began with an academic question about Truman Capote and blossomed into an examination of the lives and times of about a dozen "EMINENT OUTLAWS: THE GAY WRITERS WHO CHANGED AMERICA" [Hachette Book Group US]. Author CHRISTOPHER BRAM discussed some of the other gay literary lights profiled in his book, including Christopher Isherwood, Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee, with RICHARD WOLINSKY on his "Bookwaves" program on KPFA-FM in Berkeley.