Calif. event for Gandhi book canceled
(New York) An educational organization has canceled an event planned for a Mahatma Gandhi biography that was banned in part of India after reviews hinted the father of the nation’s independence had a gay relationship.

The event, in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph Lelyveld’s “Great Soul,” was to have been hosted April 13 in Santa Clara, Calif., by the Foundation for Excellence, a nonprofit that provides scholarships for students in India.
“We didn’t want to be involved with any controversy because that is not the purpose of our organization – we are not a literary society that encourages debate and discussion on different authors and their books,” foundation spokesman Abhu Shukla told The Associated Press on Friday. “So, it is correct that we canceled because of the controversy.”

Although not out yet in India, “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India” has been banned by a western state there after reviews suggested Gandhi had a homosexual relationship with a German named Hermann Kallenbach. More bans have been proposed in India, where homosexuality was illegal until 2009 and still carries social stigma.

The book, which as of Friday afternoon ranked No. 80 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list, was published this week in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, whose spokesman Paul Bogaards said he knew of no problems for events scheduled in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other cities.

The author has said the book, about Gandhi’s struggle for social justice and the evolution of his social values, is being misinterpreted. He told the AP earlier in the week his work doesn’t allege Gandhi was gay or bisexual but that “he was celibate and deeply attached to Kallenbach. This is not news.”

In a statement Friday, Bogaards called the foundation’s decision to cancel the book event “shameful” and “one that reeks of censorship.”

“Their decision to cancel is based on misinformation, not facts,” Bogaards said. “Mr. Lelyveld is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and it is the foundation’s great loss that their members will be denied an opportunity to hear him.”

Lelyveld, a former executive editor of The New York Times, won a general nonfiction Pulitzer for “Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White” in 1986.

Prop 8 on the ballot: What you think


By Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief, 365gay.com
On Tuesday, we told you that Equality California is thinking about putting a repeal of Proposition 8 on the 2012 ballot.
Then we asked you what you thought.
The answers came roaring in. Here are a few excerpts.

“Game on,” said Jasun Mark. “I’m sick of being told ‘every time it comes up for a vote, the people vote it down’ and want to take that absurd talking point away from them.”

Jay agreed: “We need to go back to the polls. It is obvious that the Courts will not give us justice. The outrageousness of the California Supreme Court’s deciding to take a year to decide a minor question of standing, and the Ninth Circuit’s refusing to lift the stay on Judge Walker’s decision declaring Prop 8 unconstitutional means that it will take years before we get a definitive ruling on Prop 8, much less on marriage equality itself.”



Slow down, said john412. “Human/civil rights should never be put to a popular vote even if you are confident you can win. Such a move would be a bad precedent to set.” He added, “It is not wise to initiate an expensive campaign during a presidential election. We really need to focus efforts and funds to take back the House and to keep the White House, and not having to jump yet another hurdle we put on the track.”

Right, said bgcat57. “One of the simple tenets of the Constitution is that the majority should not control the rights of a minority.” He quoted John Kenneth Galbraith: “Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.”

And sparky_413 added, “We didn’t vote on civil rights in 1964 so why are we now? And why are rights of gay people seen as something different than civil rights? Oh, that’s right, because the majority says so. Makes perfect sense to me. Why are we putting up with this? Why are we even asking this question? What we ought to be doing is going after the bigots behind Prop 8 first. Tax the churches that held political rallies and recruited from the pulpit.”



But michaelandfred disagreed. “I actually think this would be a good idea. I think Californians were pretty shocked and embarrassed with themselves that this passed in the first place. That the land of the liberals were so duped by advertising and propaganda. With all the law suits, the No Hate campaign and the new statistics showing a majority of Americans favor marriage equality, I think it would be a good way for “the people” to rid themselves of a nasty piece of discrimination that the majority never really wanted.”

Lance Wiliams said he’s been waiting long enough. “I live in California and have someone that I want to marry NOW. I’ve been waiting patiently for years to get marriage back, and the sad fact is that I might be waiting years more if this is left up to the courts. . . . if the people of California are willing to make this right before the courts do, I’m ALL FOR IT! I just want Prop. 8 to be gone.”

Just be patient, said ChrisTB. “If we can get a supreme court ruling that banning same sex marriage is a discriminatory law, we would have more ammunition in later battles. Be patient for the long haul!”