Free Republic

Recording artist Cindi Lauper performs during the closing ceremony of the Gay Games VII at Wrigley Field in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (July 22, 2006)

In the early years of AIDS, when many people thought a deadly disease dubbed "the gay cancer" might be transmitted via drinking glasses or doorknobs, Congress added HIV to the list of infections that could prevent a foreign visitor from entering the country. Nearly two decades later, as the international Gay Games begin in Chicago this weekend, the law still bars any HIV-positive foreigner from visiting the U.S., whether it is to play basketball, attend a business meeting or stand up in a family wedding. Though immigration officials have granted a waiver to allow athletes to attend the games--just as...

STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL DISSOCIATION FROM THE 2006 AND ALL FUTURE SO-CALLED "GAY GAMES" Marcella V. Meyer, M.D., M.P.H, 10416 South Bell Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60043, claiming beneficial ownership of 200 shares of common stock, submitted the proposal set forth below. RESOLVED: That in the best interest of our company Kraft Foods Inc. as well as in the public interest, Kraft Foods does hereby disassociate itself from the 2006 and all future so-called "gay games", and that no future financial support be given for the 2006 "gay games" or any other future activities supporting, proselytizing, promoting or encouraging homosexual activity or life...

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (AP) -- Among the items on the City Council's agenda seems a simple matter: Whether to give rowers a permit to have a boat race this summer on a small man-made lake. But because the rowers are gay - participating in something called the Gay Games - what would normally be a mundane debate about parking and street closures is instead a heated battle between those who see the event as a threat to their small-town way of life and those who see such views as simply small-minded. On Tuesday, the City Council was scheduled to discuss...

This year the Seventh "Gay Games" -- an Olympic-style event with an unusual twist -- will be held in Chicago July 15-22. However, a leading corporate sponsor of the games may have gotten into a public relations nightmare that won’t go away. The other day I received three emails from the brokerage firm where I maintain three investment accounts: one a fund to keep me from starving in my “golden years,” and the other two set up to provide a college fund for two of our grandsons.The purpose of these emails was to notify me that Kraft Foods, Inc., of which I...

A conservative group is pressing the Bush administration to revoke special visas allowing HIV-positive foreigners to compete in a Chicago sports event. A 1993 federal act prohibits people with dangerous diseases from entering the United States without a special visa. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Homeland Security granted the visas for those competing in the upcoming Gay Games in Chicago. A similar waiver was granted for the 1994 Gay Games in New York. But Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, said HIV-positive people will threaten the public. He said the eight-days of sporting events will be less sport...

State Dept. Lifts Ban on HIV –Positive Visas for ‘Gay’ Games      2/23/2006  The ‘Gay’ Games, a homosexual mock Olympics, will be held in Chicago July 15-22, 2006. Thanks to the work of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, (D) and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, (D-Illinois), the U.S. State Department has created a special “designated event status” for the event which will allow HIV infected athletes and spectators to enter the country despite a national prohibition. This matter is greatly troubling to Peter LaBarbera, President of the Illinois Family Institute, who notes that ‘gay’ bathhouses and sex parties are already on the entertainment...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/03/attack_at_gay_bar_leaves_3_injured/

Focus on the Family objects to donation to gay rights group. The conservative Christian group Focus on the Family has closed all its Wells Fargo accounts because the San Francisco bank contributed to a gay rights group that promised to use the funds to "fight ... the anti-gay industry." A Focus on the Family official would not disclose how much money the organization kept with Wells Fargo, its primary bank, but said the nonprofit group's income was $146 million last year. "We don't expect corporate America to do our bidding on the issues, but when they use the proceeds from...

Thank you for your e-mail regarding Walgreens role as the official HIV/AIDS Prevention Sponsor for the 2006 Gay Games, an athletic event to be held in Chicago. As you are likely aware, we have heard from many people on this issue. As Walgreens CEO, I want you to know why we are doing this. Whether you disagree or agree, we think it only fair that you understand our reasoning. I cannot be more emphatic when I say that this sponsorship has everything to do with healthcare. We are advocating HIV/AIDS awareness. We are taking no position on the gay lifestyle....

A conservative Illinois Christian group is once again chastising a corporation for sponsoring the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. The Illinois Family Institute in Glen Ellyn is squaring off against Walgreen Co. for its $100,000 contribution to Olympic-style games to be held in July. Walgreens joins PlanetOut Inc., which runs an online network for the gay community and the national gay television network Q Television, as a Platinum-level sponsor of the event. The Illinois Family Institute recently attacked Harris Bank and Kraft Foods for each contributing $25,000 to the Gay Games VII. "The Gay Games are about homosexuality, and I...

CHICAGO - The five Republicans on the county board withdrew their names from a routine proclamation welcoming the 2006 Gay Games to Chicago. The Illinois Family Institute is urging Democratic commissioners to do the same. "There's a big difference between tolerating and celebrating homosexuality," said Peter LaBarbera of the group. "For governments to be using taxpayer money and big corporations spending money to sponsor this, we think the average Joe sees that as being just a little bit off." The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the ceremonial proclamation without opposition last month as one of a group of routine...

Dear Caroline, Kraft Inc. is sponsoring the upcoming Gay Games in Chicago. I want to show you what Kraft proudly supports. But before I do that, you need to read what Marc Firestone, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Kraft Foods Inc., said in refusing to cancel their sponsorship. "Diversity is more than a word many people like to say. At Kraft we truly respect all kinds of differences. And diversity is not a selective concept. By definition, it's nothing if not inclusive. We respect diversity of ethnicity, gender, experience, background, personal style and yes, sexual orientation...

Two conservative Christian groups are criticizing Kraft Foods Inc., and Harris Bank for contributing $25,000 each to the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. Gay Games officials say it's the first time any of their sponsors have been attacked since the quadrennial sporting event began in 1982.

Marketing campaign lauds Illinois travel ahead of Gay Games By Kathy Bergen Tribune staff reporter Published March 31, 2005 With Gay Games VII coming to Chicago in July 2006, the state is launching its first targeted push for gay and lesbian travelers, broadening its efforts to sell Illinois to niche markets. "We will have our first-ever media-familiarization trip focusing on the affluent gay and lesbian market," Jan Kostner, deputy director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism, told 600 travel professionals gathered Wednesday at the 18th annual Illinois Governor's Conference on Tourism.

Plan rejected. Local organizers vow they'll press on without official sanction or name A huge athletics event for gays will be held in Montreal in 2006 - but it won't officially be the Gay Games. The Federation of Gay Games, which licenses the event, rejected Montreal's plans to hold the games under its logo, the local organizing group said yesterday. Montreal 2006, the group organizing the event, said two years of negotiations with the federation reached an impasse over financing and the number of athletes who would take part. Montreal had been chosen in 2001 to hold the 2006 games....

Local organizers at odds with federation over budget MONTREAL - The Gay Games have existed for more than 20 years as an example of brotherhood, sisterhood and, in the case of transgendered athletes, a bit of both. But fraternity has gone out the window as a bitter dispute among organizers jeopardizes the next edition of the Games, planned for Montreal in 2006. Those behind the successful Montreal bid accuse the international Federation of Gay Games of undermining their dream of bringing the Games into the big time. They initially envisaged 24,000 participants, creating an event bigger than the Olympics. The...