Wash. tax initiative to include gay couples
The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports supporters of an initiative campaign to tax the earnings of couples making more than $400,000 annually wants to make sure the state’s domestic partners are taxed at the same rate as married couples.
An updated draft of Initiative 1077 was filed on April 23. It would tax couples with adjusted gross incomes greater than $400,000 annually, or incomes of more than $200,000 for individuals.
Gay advocates worried that domestic partners where only one person makes more than $200,000 would be subject to the tax. The new language needs to be reviewed by the state code reviser.
Survey: Heteros barebacking more than gays
Advocate.com reports a new survey by the New York City health department finds that women engage in unprotected anal sex with male partners far more frequently than gay men do.
According to Creative Loafing, which reported on the survey, “of the more than 100,000 NYC women who engage in anal sex each year, only 23 percent use condoms compared to 61 percent of men who have sex with men.”
The survey also reported that women who engage in unprotected anal sex get tested far less frequently than women who always use condoms, at rates of 35 percent and 63 percent, respectively.
Unprotected anal sex was more frequent among younger women under age 24 and women who have many sexual partners, according to the survey.
Activists look to preserve famed gay bar
USA Today reports some residents of Laguna Beach, Calif., are urging the city to give historic status to a building that housed a famous gay bar where Rock Hudson once held court.
Gay activists say the Boom Boom Room at the Coast Inn on Pacific Coast Highway is an essential part of the city’s history and have asked owner Steven Udvar-Hazy to find a way to preserve it.
Udvar-Hazy bought the property five years ago and closed the bar in 2008. The city approved his proposed renovation on April 14. He plans to turn the hotel into a boutique inn with a rooftop pool but no bar or restaurant.
After several hearings, the city has opted not to give the space a coveted “K” rating, which gives protected status and tax breaks for the owner.
— Larry Nichols