Dharun Ravi sentenced on charges related to death of Tyler Clementi; North Carolina pastor calls for concentration camps for gays/lesbians; and other news of the week from Bent Alaska’s Twitter feed @bentalaska.

Dharun Ravi, found guilty in charges related to the death of Tyler Clementi, sentenced to 30 days in jail

Dharun Ravi, convicted on March 16 on 15 charges related to the suicide death of his Rutgers University roommate Tyler Clementi (pictured at right) in September 2010, was sentenced on May 21 to 30 days in jail, 3 years probation, 300 hours of community service, a $10,000 fine, and counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. Ravi and a hallmate, Molly Wei, had used a webcam to spy on Clementi kissing another man; Ravi subsequently urged friends and Twitter followers to watch a second tryst between Clementi and his friend via webcam. These events led to Clementi’s suicide on September 22, 2010. Clementi’s death brought national and international attention to the issue of cyberbullying and the struggles of LGBT youth.

• Gay City News: Dharun Ravi Sentenced to 30 Days in Rutgers Webcam Spying | http://t.co/LciWlYiQ #

Dharun Ravi, a 20-year-old former Rutgers University student, convicted on March 16 in connection with incidents in September 2010 in which he used a webcam on his dormitory room computer to spy on his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, three years of probation, 300 hours of counseling on “cyberbullying” and on “alternative lifestyles,” and a $10,00 fine.

The jail time was based on concurrent 30-day sentences for six of the 24 counts on which Ravi was convicted. He was found guilty of multiple counts of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness and evidence tampering, and evasion of apprehension.

• RT: @TheAdvocateMag: Appeal Planned in Dharun Ravi Case http://t.co/Fq8PK7bA // Prosecutors want stronger sentence. #fb #

A jury convicted Ravi, 20, of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and lesser charges in March at the conclusion of a high-profile trial that followed the suicide of Clementi in 2010. The defense team had already planned to appeal the conviction, and lawyers for the prosecution announced Monday that they plan to appeal the sentence. Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan called the judge’s decision “insufficient under the sentencing laws of this state, the facts that were determined by a jury and long-standing appellate precedent,” according to the Star-Ledger.

Harvey Milk Day

March 22 was Harvey Milk’s birthday. Gay rights activist and San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, assassinated on November 27, 1978 by Dan White, would have been 82.

• It’s Harvey Milk Day: “Today my uncle would have been 82 years old, however, he gave us his life 32 years ago….” http://t.co/VMjatGyB #

Our Equality Movement across the globe will celebrate the life story, message, and legacy of my uncle Harvey Milk. Join thousands across the globe to honor his memory and celebrate his message of hope. We are asking you to celebrate Harvey Milk’s life story, message and legacy in celebrating globally on his birthday to give hope and inspire disenfranchised communities.

North Carolina pastor advocates concentration camps for lesbians and gay men

• RT: @gaycivilrights: Concentration Camp For Gays Pastor: America Reacts With Petitions And Protest http://t.co/KlGz1m2s #fb #

America is reacting to North Carolina Pastor Charles L. Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church, who reportedly twice this month called for the mass murder of the world’s homosexuals, including musing about how to kill off the entire gay population: Pastor Worley told his parishioners that he wants to airlift and drop all “lesbians” and all “queers and homosexuals” into an electrified fenced-in area so they can die out. Now, there is a planned protest, and petitions, and requests to the IRS to revoke the church’s tax-exempt status. Cable news networks, including CNN and MSNBC have also reported on Pastor Worley’s hate speech.

Here is an excerpt of a service posted to Providence Road Baptist Church’s website dated May 13, 2012 in which Worley calls for concentration camps and the ultimate death of “queers and homosexuals.” Watch:

Obama campaign’s LGBT outreach effort headed by outgoing HRC president

• RT: @metroweekly: Obama Campaign Launches #LGBT Outreach Effort, With @HRC‘s Solmonese Wearing Two Hats – http://t.co/mOoJ8riD #fb#

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese was on double duty today, serving as the main speaker on the launch of the Obama for America campaign’s LGBT outreach today. Earlier this year, Solmonese had been announced as one of the co-chairs for the campaign for President Obama’s re-election, which HRC endorsed in 2011.

Famous people

• Another sign of change. RT: @TheAdvocateMag: Adam Lambert first openly gay musician to debut at top of Billboard charts http://t.co/ID8idiGm #

With Trespassing Adam Lambert confirms his superstar status and makes history as the first openly LGBT vocalist to have an album debut at the number 1 position of the Billboard album charts.

• Another celeb comes out: Jim Parsons of “Big Bang Theory” reveals he’s gay in NYT profile http://t.co/Mwhv5Xu0 #fb#

Award-winning actor Jim Parsons reveals he’s gay and in a 10-year relationship, according to a New York Times profile.

[Parsons is starring in “Harvey” on Broadway, and last year was on Broadway in “The Normal Heart,” Larry Kramer’s play about the rise of HIV/AIDS in New York City.  Parsons is also slated to appear in the film version of “The Normal Heart.”]

Photo credits:  Tyler Clementi’s webcam shot of himself, as used in his public blogs; via Wikipedia.
Jim Parsons at “The Big Bang Theory” Panel, Comic-Con 2009, San Diego, CA, 24 July 2009. Photo by Kristin Dos Santos (watchwithkristin on Flickr); used [cropped] in accordance with Creative Commons license.