10/1/2012 This Way Out

Program #1,278

Hosted by Greg Gordon and produced with Lucia Chappelle

SEGMENT #1 – "NewsWrap": Australia's Parliament soundly defeats federal legislation to open civil marriage to lesbian and gay couples, but some states and territories forge ahead with their own marriage equality measures; some French LGBT activists call the Socialist government's marriage equality proposal less than equal; contrary to previous predictions that the U.S. Supreme Court would consider challenges to bans on marriage equality at its September 24th conference, that now may not happen until after the November elections; Statistics Canada issues what may be inflated census figures about the number of married same-gender couples in the country; Jamaica's Education Minister pulls a controversial high school Health and Family Life textbook that he says is a bit too gay-friendly; British theater producer David Cecil is finally released on bail in Uganda but still faces 2 years in prison for staging unauthorized performances in Kampala of a gay-affirming play; and "out"-spoken U.S. CONGRESSMAN BARNEY FRANK of MASSACHUSETTS celebrates the September 20th one-year anniversary of the official end of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" with MSNBC's RACHEL MADDOW (written by GREG GORDON, with thanks to REX WOCKNER, produced by STEVE PRIDE, and reported this week by WENZEL JONES and RICK WATTS)

NEW ZEALAND's Parliament approved a marriage equality bill in the first of three readings earlier this month. The measure's adoption rights and religious exemptions are the focus in the conclusion this week of "This Way Out" correspondent ROSS STEVENSON's 2-part conversation in AUCKLAND with the legislation’s driving force, "out" M.P. LOUISA WALL

The third win in a row as Best Comedy Series for ABC-TV's gay-inclusive "Modern Family" at the annual Emmy Awards on September 23rd again reminds us that positive LGBT images in the mainstream media have increased dramatically in the last three decades. But one U.S. television network that got a big red "F" on its GLAAD report card this year -- CBS -- got an even worse grade from the community in April of 1980 for "GAY POWER, GAY POLITICS", a so-called documentary about SAN FRANCISCO's LGBT community hosted by HARRY REASONER, with "on-scene" reports by GEORGE CRILE, and produced by the network's highly influential news division (with comments by venerable activists CLEVE JONES, HARRY BRITT, JIM KEPNER, IVY BOTTINI, and ARMISTEAD MAUPIN; political consultant PACY MARKMAN; and intro/outro music from "Dirty Laundry" by DON HENLEY)