[OutVoice] A "Transamerica" road trip + Svend's political comeback + global GLBT news

[TWORadio at aol.com]

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                           The week of 12/12/05 on
                          T H I S    W A Y    O U T
   (hosted this week by Greg Gordon and produced with Lucia Chappelle)
 Parent and child transcend transition during a "Transamerica" road trip;
   Canada's Sven Robinson controversially returns to the campaign trail;
 U.K. queer couples "civilize" their partnerships but Latvians march away
   from the aisle, same gender unions make news in New York, Wisconsin,
 Massachusetts and Connecticut, U.S. Supremes consider forced recruiting,
the religious right shifts Ford's queer-friendly gears, and more GLBT news

* In "NewsWrap": Over a thousand gay and lesbian couples across the U.K. 
register their relationships under the new Civil Partnerships Act, but a 
constitutional ban on same gender marriage passes its second of three required readings 
in the Latvian Parliament...  a New York state appeals court rules that 
judges cannot redefine marriage to allow queer couples to wed...  Wisconsin's state 
Senate approves a constitutional amendment to ban any legal recognition of 
same gender couples... while still needing the state legislature's approval, 
supporters of an initiative to eliminate marriage equality in Massachusetts 
submit many more than the required number of petition signatures to make it 
eligible for the 2008 ballot... statistics show that far fewer lesbigay couples 
sought civil unions registration in Connecticut than those seeking marriage 
licenses in Massachusetts during the same initial 6-week period each became legal... 
in a case with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" implications, the U.S. Supreme Court 
hears a challenge to a law requiring universities getting federal money to allow 
military recruiters on campus... seemingly caving to a boycott threatened by 
the anti-queer American Family Association, Ford Motor Company confirms that 
it's pulling ads for its luxury brands from all gay publications... and other 
GLBT news from around the world [written this week by JON BEAUPRE, LUCIA 
CHAPPELLE and GREG GORDON and reported by GREG GORDON and JON BEAUPRE).

* Just over 18 months ago, pioneering openly gay MP SVEND ROBINSON resigned 
from the CANADIAN parliament after admitting he'd stolen an expensive ring from 
a jewelry auction.  Robinson told reporters at the time that he'd been 
experiencing severe emotional distress and had "just snapped."  He later said he'd 
been diagnosed with a mild form of bipolar disorder and has since, he says at 
the request of some mental health groups, been speaking publicly on that issue. 
 Robinson has announced his return to political life as the New Democratic 
Party candidate in VANCOUVER CENTRE, the heart of Vancouver's queer community.  
"This Way Out" correspondent HEATHER KITCHING ["QueerFM"/CiTR-Vancouver] talks 
with Robinson about his controversial comeback candidacy in the January 23rd 
federal election against an arguably popular LGBT ally, Liberal MP Dr. Hedy 
Fry.

* Bree is highly educated, conservative, and transsexual.  She's living in a 
poor section of Los Angeles and working two jobs to save money for her final 
sexual reassignment surgery, when she receives a fateful phone call.  It's 
Toby, a jailed teenage hustler looking for his father -- and Bree is shocked to 
discover that a heterosexual encounter during her life as a man resulted in a 
son.  Bree wants no part of Toby, but her therapist insists she must confront 
her past and withholds legal permission for Bree' s final operation until she 
has met the boy.  Grudgingly Bree dips into her precious operation fund and 
flies to New York to bail Toby out, and they begin a "TRANSAMERICA" journey.  Gay 
director DUNCAN TUCKER's "Transamerica" stars FELICITY HUFFMAN ("Desperate 
Housewives") and KEVIN ZEGERS ("Air Bud").  Along with clips from the movie, This 
Way Out's STEVE PRIDE chats with the principals about a road trip film that 
covers a lot more than geography [www.PrideOnScreen.com]. 
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