News Round-Up: October 11, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• The above graphic is dedicated to any and everyone considering National Coming Out Day... #comeoutcomeoutwhereveryouare

• Activists are warning people with HIV and other chronic illnesses to check small print when getting a new health insurance policy. Some insurers are refusing to allow co-payment assistance coupons from drug manufacturers from counting towards annual deductibles.

• Americans have ranked Barack Obama as the president who's done the best job in their lifetimes.

• Observing the 20 anniversary since Matthew Shepard was kidnapped and beaten then left to die on a cold Wyoming night tied to a fence, his parents have announced his remains will be interred at the Washington National Cathedral later this month.

• The 750,000 citizens of North Dakota, where Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is struggling in the polls, could very well decide for the country who controls the Senate after midterm elections.

• UK recording artist (and Randy Report favorite) Calum Scott offers his own coming out story for National Coming Out Day.

Scott recounts a painful part of his young adult life - processing the complex emotions of being a gay teen and letting the world around him aware of his sexual orientation. Friends abandoned him early on, and it hurt. But in the poignant profile, he says he found the courage to be honest about himself through music.

Marriage equality lawsuit filed in North Dakota

Every state in the US which has a law outlawing marriage equality now has a legal challenge filed in court.

Seven couples filed suit in Fargo, North Dakota, today taking aim at the state's same-sex marriage ban AND the state's failure to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

North Dakota passed it's ban on marriage equality in 2004.

Currently 19 states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex couples to legally wed.

(source)

North Dakota: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp supports marriage equality

"In speaking with North Dakotans from every corner of our great state, and much personal reflection, I have concluded the federal government should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private, and intimate relationships. I view the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief. The makeup of families is changing, but the importance of family is enduring." - Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), becoming the 52nd sitting U.S. Senator to endorse marriage equality.

(Via JMG)

North Dakota: Gay college football player dismissed from team

Jamie Kuntz was dismissed from the North Dakota State College of Science's football team after he was caught kissing his 65 year old boyfriend during an away football game.

The school feels that he was an ongoing distraction but Jamie thinks that his sexual orientation was a factor in his dismissal.

SB Nation's Amy K. Nelson gives excellent coverage to this very complicated story from all points of view, talking to Jamie, his teammates, and the school's athletic director for the first time on camera.