Gunman opened fire at Tel Aviv gay club; being called "hate crime"

UPDATE @ 12:30 a.m.: Three people are now dead following this shooting.

Via Haartez, disturbing news of an attack at a gay club in Tel Aviv. Two people are confirmed dead. Authorities are already calling it a "hate crime," not a terrorist attack:

A gunman shot dead two people and wounded at least thirteen others in an attack at a central Tel Aviv gay club Saturday night before fleeing the scene.

Israel Police said that the incident at the Ha'agudah club, on Nahmani Street, did not have a terror motive. The two victims were initially identified as a young man and a young woman.

Channel 10 television said a police manhunt for the gunman was underway in the city. The channel also said that the police have closed all the gay clubs in Tel Aviv.

There's a reason the gay bars were all closed. This was viewed as an attack on the gay community.

Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz, Israel's only openly gay lawmaker, condemned the attack, which he called a hate crime.

"This is without a doubt the worst ever incident targeting the gay community in Israel. It has the characteristics of a hate crime, of someone who attacked to blindly strike out at every person on the spot."

I've learned a lot about the Israeli gay scene from our friend, Eytan Fox, the director of movies like "Yossi and Jagger" and "The Bubble." I've never been to Tel Aviv, but it's apparently a very open and gay-friendly city. Read the rest of this post...

Sailor accused in murder of August Provost committed suicide

Sailor August Provost was brutally murdered early last month. An arrest was made a couple weeks later. Now, comes the news that the suspect has killed himself:

The U.S. Navy says a sailor charged with the murder of a seaman has committed suicide in the brig at Camp Pendleton.

A Navy news release says Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, of Lancaster, was found unresponsive in his cell Friday afternoon. He was rushed to the base hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Officials say the apparent cause of death was asphyxiation.

The release says Campos had last been checked early Friday afternoon.

Campos was charged with murder and other offenses in the June 30 shooting death of August Provost. Provost, a 29-year-old seaman from Houston, was shot several times in the sentry station at Camp Pendleton.

H/T RainbowPhoenix. Read the rest of this post...

SpiritualPolitics Blog: "Catholics heart same-sex marriage"

I came across this research on Catholics and same-sex marriage in today's Washington Post (actually, my b.f. Carlos found it). That article led me to the Mark Silk's blog, Spiritual Politics:

A new study by Columbia political scientists Jeffrey Lax and Justin Phillips (h/t Robbie Jones), forthcoming in the American Political Science Review , ranks states according to public support for same-sex marriage and civil unions. Putting the rankings together with the 2008 Trinity ARIS survey reveals that six of the eight states where 50 percent or more of the public supports gay marriage are the states with the highest proportion of Catholics, ranging from Rhode Island at 46 percent to New York and California at 37 percent.

Fascinating. And, Silk followed up with an additional post looking at the numbers here and here.

I grew up Catholic and have watched the change on gay issues in my family first hand. When Carlos and I were in Maine for the Fourth of July, my mother wasn't around for a couple days. She was at a same-sex wedding in Toronto. Yes, my 73-year old who goes to mass every week -- and would go to mass every day if she could fit it in -- supports marriage. And, her bishop, Richard Malone, is leading the charge to repeal Maine's new same-sex marriage law. That's not going over well with his flock.

Anyway, great findings by Mark Silk. And, I love his conclusion:

In other words, support for same-sex marriage is directly related to the proportion of Catholics in a given state. Way to go, bishops!

Read the rest of this post...