Stonewall Review Gay News
» Report: LGBT youth -- An epidemic of homelessness (NGLTF)
   › Executive summary (NGLTF)
   › Report text (NGLTF)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» U.K. report reveals extent of anti-gay taunts in schools (Pink News)
» Ontario court says gay sperm donations may be prohibited (National Post)
» Blair says churches will get no gay adoption exemption (Manchester Guardian)
   › Blair statement (10 Downing Street)
» Training helps gay families win hearts (San Francisco Chronicle)
» New York magazine's gay problem (Radar)
» Editorial: For shame -- Reject bill that would abolish gay student clubs (Salt Lake Tribune)
» Moscow bans "satanic" Pride parade (BBC)
   › Moscow Pride ban goes to the European Court of Human Rights (U.K. Gay News)
» Gibraltar gay rights record criticised (Pink News)
» Toronto Police to hold recruiting session for LGBT groups (Globe & Mail)
» Gay evangelical student says Christianity, gays compatible (Savannah Morning News)
» Column: Gays should be cautious before swooning for Clinton (Detroit News)
» Wyoming Senate committee passes gay marriage ban bill (Associated Press)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Backlash against Kenya gays and lesbians starts (Daily Nation)
   › Hope springs in Nairobi (Mail & Globe)
» Connecticut gays see marriage bill as next logical step (Connecticut Post)
» Gay on MySpace? The boss is watching (Amarillo Globe News)
» Hawai'i bills would allow civil unions for gays (Honolulu Star Bulletin)
» New Zealand queer youth ask schools to battle homophobia (Newsroom)
» Israel Supreme Court approves foreign same-sex marriages (Israel Today)
» U.K. Conservatives divided over gay adoption (London Telegraph)
» Laurel Hester documentary wins special Sundance award (UKGayNews.org.uk)
» Canterbury to discuss gays with Canada Bishops (Episcopal News Service)
» Anti-bully laws move forward in Florida and Iowa (365Gay.com)
» Massachusetts gay marriage foes raised hundreds of thousands (Boston Herald)
» Australia councils back gay unions (Melbourne Sun)
» U.K. Catholic Church threatens to violate new adoption law (The Scotsman)
» Christian Magistrate sues U.K. government over gay adoptions (National Secular Society)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Ohio discrimination rules to add sexual orientation, gender identity (Dayton Daily News)
» Wyoming Senate committee passes anti-gay marriage bill (Associated Press)
» Rugged Calgary woos gay tourists (CanWest News Service)
» Gay U.K. couple welcome new adoption law (Norwich Evening News 24)
» Iowa anti-bullying measure picking up steam (Associated Press)
» U.K. Catholic Bishops say compromise on gay adoption still possible (London Telegraph)
» U.K. Secretary puts faith in Catholic opt-out of gay adoptions (London Independent)
» The story of transgender athlete Stella Walsh (GaySports.com)
» Benedict attacks gay marriage again (City News)
» Unhappy as a boy, Kim became youngest ever transsexual at 12 (London Telegraph)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Transsexual bank robber nears parole (Ottawa Citizen)
» Duke adds gender identity to harassment policy (Duke Chronicle)
» French priest who supported gay unions mourned as national hero (Associated Press)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Gill launches national lobby group (GillAction.org)
» Mexico lawmaker proposes constitutional protection of gender identity (CBNNews.com)
» New York marriage bill may move within weeks (Times Union)
» Catholic U.K. Cabinet Minister sides with gays on adoption (Manchester Guardian)
» U.K. Cabinet rejects religious agency exemption on gay adoptions (Manchester Guardian)
» The loving gay family and the Archbishop next door (Manchester Guardian)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Hong Kong gays condemn ruling on gay marriage TV show (South China Morning Post)
» Gay adoptions solution still sought by Blair (Manchester Guardian)
» Kenya government asked to punish homosexuals (East African Standard)
» Anglicans back Catholics in U.K. gay adoption row (Manchester Guardian)
   › Canterbury and York's letter to Blair (Independent Catholic News)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Philadelphia judge dismisses lawsuit over protest at gay festival (Associated Press)
» Gay and lesbian rappers launch tour (Sound Slam)
» Ecclesiastic trial ends for gay Lutheran pastor (365Gay.com)
» Transgender clergy encouraged to come out (Newsweek)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Oregon activists seek National Stonewall Democrats board seats (Basic Rights Oregon)
» Virginia bill targeting gay-straight clubs moves forward (Charlottesville Newsplex)
» Gay helplines attacked by hoaxers (Pink News)
» U.K. Catholic Archbishop says church adoption agency will reject gays (Birmingham Post)
» Syphilis resurgence prompts call for yearly test for Australia gay men (The Age)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Wyoming bill would nullify other states' same-sex marriages (Associated Press)
» Gay-straight clubs thrive in north New Jersey schools (The Record)
» Agency settles suit with lesbian bus driver (Toledo Blade)
» Church exemptions to U.K. gay rights law opposed (Manchester Guardian)
» 3% of U.K. lesbians and gay men intend to adopt in next 5 years (247Gay.com)

Buckley now accused of sexual harassment

Stonewall Review Gay News
Raymond Buckley has now been accused of sexual harassment of male staffers of the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus, according to the Union Leader.

Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who had previously been accused of criminal possession of child pornography.

The Caucus has retained a private attorney to investigate the latest allegations against Buckley.

The Union Leader article is at www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=f75fab50-d3de-4c9a-b83f-6958b58c851a .

Friday, January 19, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Will new ENDA be transgender-inclusive? (Washington Blade)
» Most Brooklyn legislators still on the fence about gay marriage (Canarsie Digest)
» Anglican Bishop snubbed over his tolerance of gays (Evangelical Times)
» Tutu stands up for gays (Pink News)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» D.C. cop leaves groundbreaking LGBT unit (left) (Metro Weekly)
» Nigerian anti-gay laws about to pass (Pink News)
» McGreevey's ex-wife to write memoir (Yahoo!)
» Indiana gay teen creates gay-straight alliances (Associated Press)
» Gay bashing in Yorkshire (Yorkshire Post)
» U.K. Education Secretary stands up for gay song (Pink News)
» Statistics show foreigners flocking to Canada for marriage (Sun)
» First transgender religion summit this weekend in Berkeley (Bay Area Reporter)
» GLAAD wants apology from TV actor (World Entertainment News Network)
» Gay Lutheran minister faces church trial for having partner (Associated Press)
» Rhode Island Supreme Court wants more information on gay divorce case (Edge)
» Anti-gay marriage amendment revived in New Mexico (365Gay.com)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Suppressed Williams gay play to open in London (Pink News)
» Moscow court declines to review ruling banning Pride parade (Interfax)
» Czech gay man wins landmark discrimination case (Pink News)
» Gay U.K. brothers bashed by mob (Gay.com)
» Gay high school student gets hate mail for activism (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
» Plan for Warsaw monument to Nazi gay victims (UKGayNews.org)
» Baptist marriage foe will meet members of Oregon LGBT community (Register-Guard)
» Giuliani hires gay foe as 2008 campaign advisor (365Gay.com)
» New bid to curb Virginia gay student clubs (365Gay.com)

No Pulitzer this year, either

Stonewall Review Gay News
Longtime readers of the Stonewall Review will be amused and bemused by a small item that ran in an odds-and-ends column in the Concord Monitor.

The Stonewall Review has posted thousands upon thousands of entries since we converted to blog format in December 2004 -- as a review of our archive at www.stonewallreview.blogspot.com would show. And our masthead says that we provide "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender news." Nowhere does it say that we are affiliated with any other entity.

At least one reader at the Monitor missed all of that:

Bogus blog

Amid the Raymond Buckley developments last week were some interesting blog posts by someone named Levin Brand on stonewallreview.blogspot.com, a site purportedly linked to the National Stonewall Democrats (of which Buckley is an at-large member of the board of directors).

The blog denounced Buckley, calling for him to "step down or be removed immediately to protect the organization and its members."

But it turns out that the Stonewall blog is a bogus website, not reflective of the organization, said its communications director, John Marble.

"Ray Buckley has always been a strong ethical voice on our board of directors, and we've appreciated that," Marble said. "This appears to be just petty politics playing out among different individuals in New Hampshire. We look forward to be this being resolved shortly."

One may suppose that the item was written by a befuddled heterosexual who doesn't understand that "stonewall" is a generic LGBT term, much as "rainbow" and "lambda" are. (Note for the uninitiated: "LGBT" stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender".) A Google of the word "stonewall" will turn up mostly two types of results: queer and Confederate. There are all kinds of LGBT Stonewall bars, hotels, B&Bs, clubs, chambers of commerce, etc. -- and at least one blog; and all kinds of Stonewall Jackson bars, memorial associations, inns, historical re-enactment clubs, etc. All of them are unrelated to the National Stonewall Democrats -- including the one blog -- and all of them have as much right to use the generic "stonewall" as does NSD.

If the Monitor had contacted us, we would have been happy to clear things up; but they didn't.

A review of the Pulitzer Prize web site at www.pulitzer.org shows that the Concord Monitor has never won or been a finalist for any Pulitzer in any of several journalism categories. The Pulitzers are awarded for excellence in journalism, as well as in literature, drama, and music.

Buckley, the Butcher of Belgrade, and blood money

Stonewall Review Gay News "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when
his salary depends upon his not understanding it."
-- Upton Sinclair

The Raymond Buckley criminal investigation has taken an especially bizarre turn. Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who has been accused of criminal possession of child pornography.

The latest accusation is that Buckley was, or expected to be, in the pay of one-time Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. If true, it means that gay Democrat Buckley was willing to turn a blind eye to the Butcher of Belgrade's well-known enmity to both democracy and gays in exchange for a big payout.

Since the Buckley story broke on Friday, January 5, numerous sources have reported that he and accuser Steve Vaillancourt had a falling out years ago over rent that Buckley owed former landlord/housemate Vaillancourt. According to columnist Kevin Landrigan in today's Nashua Telegraph,

"Some claim that an out-of-court settlement put $1,000 in Vaillancourt’s pocket [even though] the alleged delinquency reached $20,000, according to Vaillancourt.

"On Thursday, Vaillancourt said Buckley assured him of being paid back because he expected a $100,000 payment from former [New Hampshire Democratic P]arty Chairman Chris Spirou for work the two did for ex-Serbian strongman dictator Slobodan Milosevic."

It turns out that Buckley's associate Spirou is a Milosevic henchman from way back. Spirou was an active participant in the Dayton Accord talks of 1995, in which Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian negotiators met at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to hammer out an agreement to end the vicious Bosnian war that Milosevic had launched.

Spirou was not, as one might expect, a member of or advisor to the American delegation. He served the Serbian delegation -- which was headed by Milosevic himself -- and not merely as an advisor. According to the February/March 1996 edition of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs,

"...serving as the only non-Serb member of the 10-person Serbian delegation, was former Democratic minority leader in the New Hampshire state legislature Chris Spirou....Spirou was born in Greece and shares an Eastern Orthodox religious tie with the Serbs. He told journalists he had "worked closely" with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, whose dream of "greater Serbia" is blamed by many Balkan experts for starting the whole imbroglio that has led to more than a quarter-million deaths in former Yugoslavia since 1991. "Our joint commitment is to bring peace to the Balkans," Spirou maintained.

The New York Times of November 18, 1995, was more succinct and more damning:

"...the Serbs have made an American a participating member of their delegation -- Chris Spirou, the former head of the Democratic Party in New Hampshire and a man who introduces himself as a 'close friend' of President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia."

Spirou later showed up during the 2000 Serbian presidential elections that Milosevic tried unsuccessfully to rig to maintain his grip on power. Spirou served as a supposedly unbiased official observer. In the days after the election, as Milosevic's attempts to steal the election were denounced by world leaders such as Bill Clinton, Spirou insisted that all was fine. According to the Serbian Ministry of Information, Spirou told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation:

"...I was very impressed with the way the elections were held at the polling places I visited. I saw a very civilized atmosphere in which people expressed their electoral will. I would especially emphasize that I did not see any policemen at the polling places. Everything was regular, I did not hear any complaints from any of the political parties' representatives. It was a normal civilized process in a democratic country...."

After mass demonstrations following the disputed election, Milosevic eventually conceded defeat and resigned. Less than a year later, he was extradited to The Hague to stand trial before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal on war crimes charges. Milosevic died in prison before his trial was completed.

The Landrigan column does not specify the work that Spirou and Buckley supposedly performed together on Milosevic's behalf. We will aver that it would make a fascinating story.

Was Buckley in the pay of the Butcher of Belgrade? If so, did any of that money find its way into the coffers of the New Hampshire Democratic Party or the National Stonewall Democrats? And if so, given the violence that Milosevic did to both democracy and gays, will either entity divest itself of those funds?

Buckley's devotion to right-wing U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman and to the conservative Democratic Leadership Council look downright quaint at this point.

The Landrigan column in the Nashua Telegraph is at www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070114/COLUMNISTS12/201140441/-1/opinion .

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs article is at www.wrmea.com/backissues/0296/9602048.html .

The New York Times article is at http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10F14FA395D0C7B8DDDA80994DD494D81 .

The Serbia Ministry of Information article is at http://www.serbia-info.com/news/2000-09/26/20719.html .

Monday, January 15, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Essay: Martin Luther King Jr. and gay rights (UKGayNews.com)
» Mexico Bishop criticizes plan to recognize gay unions (Associated Press)
» Transgender people face violence, obstacles (New Standard)
» Price: Speaker Pelosi needs to put protecting gay kids first (Detroit News)
» Turkey gay editor's obscenity trial postponed (Kaos)
» Alexandria schools consider sexual orientation curriculum (Associated Press)
» South Africa gay unions delayed by bureaucracy (Pink News)
» Russia republic debates gay marriage (Pink News)
» Madison councilmembers may protest gay marriage ban with addition to oath (Associated Press)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Human Rights Campaign hailed for election role (Boston Globe)
» Gay rights activists holds protest near Vatican (Associated Press)

Accusatory letter that prompted Buckley child porn investigation disclosed

Stonewall Review Gay News
The letter that New Hampshire state Representative Steve Vaillancourt sent to Governor John Lynch accusing Raymond Buckley of possessing child pornography has been released.

The text, as reported by the Concord Monitor, follows. Two sentences were deleted by the Monitor because of profanity.

December 26, 2006

Dear Governor Lynch,

I have followed with interest your comments about getting tough on those who use the Internet to prey on children and about how you want to put those who indulge in kiddie pornography away for a long time. I trust your concern and that of Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is genuine. When the Foley situation surfaced in Washington, there seemed to be some question as to how much Speaker Hastert knew in advance. For your benefit, I shall give you details here and an indication of how you can learn more about a particular individual should you so choose. I deliberately avoided doing this during the campaign, so as not to make it a political issue. However, I am not the only one privy to this information. I fear it is about to come forward from other sources and could prove harmful to the Democratic Party and the State of New Hampshire, especially at a time when the first in the nation primary is so much in the news.

The New Hampshire Democratic Vice Chair (and apparently a candidate to replace Kathy Sullivan as party chair) and Manchester City Chair Raymond Buckley has a long history with kiddie pornography. You may choose not to believe me, but the man lived in my home for 16 years, and I know details that would make the average person both sick and furious. I would be willing to take a lie detector test and suggest that others, including former and current elected officials, would, if so tested, tend to verify what I say. . . . I know for a fact that Mr. Buckley used to smuggle kiddie porn from Amsterdam and Denmark into the United States inside Newsweek and other magazines. You could not enter his room without stepping over kiddie porn strewn on the floor. I will never forget how Mr. Buckley became furious at me one day for letting Donna Soucy in the house and escorting her upstairs to his room without warning him in advance.

In 1998, Grolen Communications supplied Manchester Democrats with a computer. Mr. Buckley took it for his personal use and I discovered that under my roof, he began more and more to use the Internet to search for kiddie porn. That was one reason (of several) I was forced to evict him in July, 1999. I am a libertarian who believes that people should be free as long as they do not harm others. I also believe we have enough laws on the books now to crack down on those who harm others. In Mr. Buckley's case, we're not talking about shades of gray. We're not quibbling over a year or two regarding the age of consent. We're not talking about abuse of 12 and 13 year olds; we're talking about pre-pubescent four through nine year olds of a specific type. . . .

I cannot say I have ever seen Mr. Buckley having sex with children, and I cannot say he has continued his kiddie porn passion after I evicted him in 1999, but if a long history of possession of kiddie pornography is something you believe society needs to look at, here's a place to start looking. I can only assume that even a cursory investigation will convince you that Mr. Buckley is not the person Democrats or New Hampshire want in a leadership position.

Sincerely,

Steve Vaillancourt

161 Faith Lane, Manchester, NH 03103

The Concord Monitor article is at www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070112/REPOSITORY/701120394/1030 .

Friday, January 12, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Vigil held for victim in shoplifting-murder case (NBC-4)
» Mexico state likely to approve civil unions (Associated Press)
» Former Hawai'i gay union foe now lobbying for equality (Southern Voice)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Since 9/11, a blind eye to gay persecution (Gay City News)
» Anti-gay Harold Ford set to become head of DLC (The Tennessean)
» Africa Anglican Archbishops snub pro-gay U.S. Episcopal head (News24.com)
» New Jersey Attorney General says clergy can refuse civil unions (Reuters)
» Miami Mayor accused of breaking pledge to oppose gay civil unions (Miami Herald)
» Washington state same-sex marriage, partnership bills unveiled (Associated Press)
» Gay lobby board member opposes gay marriage to suit his own ends (Gay City News)
» Out lesbian joins Oregon Supreme Court (Gay City News)

National Stonewall Democrats board does nothing as name linked to child porn in media

Stonewall Review Gay News
The National Stonewall Democrats name has finally appeared in a news story along with the term "child pornography" in coverage of the ongoing criminal investigation of NSD board member Raymond Buckley.

Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who has been accused of criminal possession of child pornography. The New Hampshire Attorney General turned the matter over to the Manchester Police Department for investigation.

In a Union Leader article this morning, a spokesman for NSD says that the board has not met on the matter, and that, at best, there have been "brief conversations with some people on the board".

The Stonewall Review had called for Buckley's resignation or for his removal by the board before the National Stonewall Democrats could become linked in the media to child pornography.

Buckley neither resigned nor was removed. Cyberspace will now see to it that "National Stonewall Democrats" and "child porn" are linked together forever.

The Union Leader article is at www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Lynch%3A+Jury+still+out+on+Buckley+party+posts&articleId=496f9f27-48af-468a-a0f6-4a0677a6a521 .

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» U.K. Anglican Vicar says he will bless same-sex unions (This is Lancashire)
» Conservative Peers fail to back gay rights (U.K. Liberal Democrats)
» U.K. right-wing couple stir up trouble in Navajo-gay disagreement (Blackpool Today)
» AIDS Project Los Angeles launches black outreach (Gay.com)
» Gays included in Maryland sex education program (Gay.com)

Buckley child pornography investigation story goes national

Stonewall Review Gay News
The criminal investigation of Raymond Buckley has become a national story. Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who has been accused of criminal possession of child pornography.

The story had previously been covered by New England newspapers such as the Union Leader, the Concord Monitor, and the Boston Globe. The Associated Press picked up the story shortly after it broke, but the AP's copy had appeared mostly in those same New England outlets.

The Associated Press copy has since been picked up by MSNBC.com, which is read by hundreds of thousands of people every day. One such article is at www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16519350/ .

It's official: New Hampshire Attorney General says Buckley investigation is about child pornography

Stonewall Review Gay News
New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte stated in this morning's Nashua Telegraph that the criminal investigation of Raymond Buckley is about "an allegation of child pornography." Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who is under criminal investigation following a complaint related to illegal pornography.

Until now, news reports had not stated if the pornography in question involves underage subjects.

The Nashua Telegraph article is at http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/NEWS02/201090365/-1/sports .

"Pedophilia" stated for the first time in Buckley investigation

Stonewall Review Gay News
The unfolding criminal investigation of Raymond Buckley has seen the first use of the term "pedophilia" in a news report.

Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who is under criminal investigation following a complaint related to illegal pornography (see Stonewall Review; "National Stonewall Democrats stunner -- Board member Raymond Buckley under criminal investigation"; January 05, 2007; http://stonewallreview.blogspot.com/2007/01/national-stonewall-democrats-stunner.html ). News reports have thus far not stated if the pornography in question involves underage subjects.

The Union Leader is now reporting that a New Hampshire state legislator is accusing Buckley of having a "penchant for pedophilia". The legislator, Steve Vaillancourt, has been identified in news reports as having once lived with Buckley for 16 years and as having traveled abroad with him on multiple occasions.

When the original allegations were reported Friday evening, we predicted that it would be only a matter of time before the mainstream media made a connection between Buckley's legal problems and his association with the Stonewall Democrats if he did not leave the board and if all traces of his name were not removed from NSD's web site.

He did not resign, his name was not removed, and the Union Leader made the connection the very next morning. The words "criminal investigation", "illegal pornography", and "National Stonewall Democrats" are now inextricably linked on the internet as a consequence.

We reiterate that Buckley is considered innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty. Nevertheless, the inflammatory, sexual nature of the allegations against him make it unreasonable that he should continue on the board of directors of a national lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender political organization. If the allegations were serious enough to force him to end his quest for the chairmanship of the New Hampshire Democratic Party (which they did), they are serious enough to require his exit from the Stonewall Democrats.

The organization and its members must be protected from any association with this unfolding drama. So far, they have not been.

Because Buckley has not yet resigned, and because his name still appears on NSD's web site as a board member, it is just a matter of time before "pedophilia" and "child porn" are also linked with the National Stonewall Democrats name. Buckley's selfish disregard of his fudiciary duty to NSD's members as well as the inexplicable inaction by the Stonewall board will guarantee this avoidable result.

The latest Union Leader article is at www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Vaillancourt%3A+Charges+go+back+to+1999&articleId=ae350f18-c09d-40c3-be42-44a0088142fb .

Buckley criminal investigation linked to National Stonewall Democrats in media

Stonewall Review Gay News
The unfolding criminal investigation of Raymond Buckley has quickly caught up with the National Stonewall Democrats, as we predicted.

Buckley is the New Hampshire Democratic Party officer and National Stonewall Democrats board member who is under criminal investigation following a complaint related to pornography (see Stonewall Review; "National Stonewall Democrats stunner -- Board member Raymond Buckley under criminal investigation"; January 05, 2007; http://stonewallreview.blogspot.com/2007/01/national-stonewall-democrats-stunner.html ). It is still not clear if the pornography in question involves underage subjects.

We stated that Buckley should resign or be removed from the National Stonewall Democrats board of directors before a journalist Googled Buckley's name and connected the unfolding criminal investigation scandal with NSD.

Too late.

The Union Leader is now reporting that Buckley "is a national at-large board member of the National Stonewall Democrats, a lobbying group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered party activists."

As we stated before, Buckley's NSD board seat does not belong to him; he holds it in trust on behalf of the members of the National Stonewall Democrats. Buckley needs to step down or be removed immediately to protect the organization and its members, and NSD needs to remove all references to his name from its web site. Whatever the eventual disposition of the criminal investigation against him, Buckley needs to get his house in order, and he must not be permitted to drag the National Stonewall Democrats through his ordeal. We further fear that it is just a matter of time before the mainstream media drag Barney Frank's name into all of this as the founder of NSD.

Expect to see presidential candidates duck for cover as well. In his role as a New Hampshire Democratic Party officer, Buckley has managed to have his picture taken with just about every Democrat who looked in a mirror in the last decade and saw a future President. If the Clinton, Edwards, and Obama camps have any sense, they have already purged their digital image databases of all "little buddy" pictures that their candidates ever took with Buckley.

This isn't going to be over for quite a while, and it promises to get more sordid.

The latest Union Leader article is at www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Allegations+end+Buckley+race&articleId=d893c15d-b260-401f-bb08-1fdb18c40f9c .

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Nepal Maoists versus gays (Melbourne IndyMedia)

National Stonewall Democrats stunner

Stonewall Review Gay NewsBoard member Raymond Buckley under criminal investigation

The Union Leader reported minutes ago that Raymond Buckley, a member of the board of directors of the National Stonewall Democrats, is under criminal investigation following a complaint related to pornography. The article does not specify whether the pornography in question involves underage subjects. Buckley, who had been a candidate for the position of Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party in party elections later this spring, withdrew from that race earlier today.

In his capacity as an NSD board member, Buckley had chaired the board's Elected and Party Officials committee. Buckley had for some time been subjected to internal criticism for his failure to turn the committee into an effective liaison to these communities, as detailed in the Stonewall Review's premium newsletter in August 2005. Buckley's poor performance as the committee's Chair led one NSD insider to refer to the committee as a WOMBAT –- Waste Of Money, Brains, And Time.

Buckley has also been criticized and viewed with suspicion because of his support for right-wing Senator Joe Lieberman and because of his close affiliation with the conservative Democratic Leadership Council. Buckley also opposed expansion of the early presidential primary calendar to diverse states like Nevada and South Carolina -- a stance he could have been expected to take in his capacity as a New Hampshire Democratic Party official -- but he offended Democratic activists across the country by providing rationales for his opposition that appeared to some as patronizing toward ethnic minorities and as thinly-veiled racism.

At this writing, Buckley is still listed on the National Stonewall Democrats web site as an at-large board member. It is not clear if he has resigned or if his resignation has been demanded. It is not even clear if board members are aware of this unfolding story.

The Stonewall Review will speculate that an enterprising journalist will soon Google Buckley's name and quickly make the unpleasant connection between a criminal accusation involving pornography and a group that bills itself as America’s only grassroots Democratic lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organization.

Buckley, who is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, nevertheless should resign or be removed from the National Stonewall Democrats board of directors immediately. Buckley's board seat does not belong to him; he holds it in trust on behalf of the members of the National Stonewall Democrats, and their interests must be protected. NSD officers should move quickly to secure Buckley's exit from the board, and they should remove all references to his name from the organization's web site.

The Union Leader article is at www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Buckley+quits+race+for+state+Dem+chair&articleId=24ab4962-1f16-453b-8fe3-1d0a03085723 .

The National Stonewall Democrats board roster is at www.stonewalldemocrats.org/2005/05/about_us.php#more .

Friday, January 05, 2007

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Houston gay man's killers to be freed (left) (365Gay.com)
   › Paul Broussard's murder by ten men (Out Smart Magazine)
» Virginia right-wingers now targeting straight divorce (365Gay.com)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» New York county employees get partner benefits (Poughkeepsie Journal)
» Michigan town boycotts store over gay support (Bay Area Reporter)
   › Store web site (DaveysBasement.com)
» Pols split on gay marriage issue (Herald News)
» Nepal gays hit by Maoist clean up drive (India eNews)
» Golden State rings in rainbow of laws in 2007 (Bay Area Reporter)
» Health on a knife edge (Daily Telegraph)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Czech LGBT group notes achievements (Prague Daily Monitor)
» Czech group seeks partner law modification (Prague Daily Monitor)
» Gay marriage supporters pin hopes on new Massachusetts legislature (Associated Press)
» U.K. Who's Who lists same-sex spouses for first time (Pink News)
» Despite hostility, Florida teen leads charge for club for gay students (Associated Press)
» Gay marriages sweep Czech Republic (Gay.com)
» New Jersey town prepares for first gay unions (Courier Post)
» Ontario allows child to have three parents (Reuters)

Stonewall Review Gay News
» Shalikashvili column: Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell (New York Times)
» Right-wingers ask Queen to intervene to block anti-discrimination law (Pink News)
» New Jersey civil union benefits to end at state line (Star-Ledger)
» Northern Ireland split over gay rights (Gay.com)
» Survey: LGB people are online much more than heterosexuals (Yahoo)
» Protesters gather as Massachusetts lawmakers face gay marriage vote (Associated Press)

Stonewall Review
» Poll: 57% think another state will legalize gay marriage in 2007 (365Gay.com)
» Northern Ireland anti-discrimination laws take effect today (City Beat 96.7 FM)