The commonwealth of Virginia has traditionally been a Republican stronghold -- the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won the state was in 1964. But with recent polls showing Sen. John McCain only slightly ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, Virginia remains up for grabs. And the last two statewide offices -- for governor and U.S. senator -- have been won by Democrats. Given the close nature of the presidential race, Jerry Falwell, Jr., chancellor of Liberty University, recently launched an ambitious effort to register all 10,500 eligible student voters at the fundamental Baptist institution in Lynchburg, Virginia. Falwell kicked ...

The Soulforce 2008 Equality Ride, a nationwide bus tour that promotes acceptance for gays and lesbians on Christian college campuses, will start this year's tour with a Wednesday visit to Liberty University — the first time the group will be allowed on campus. In 2006, more than 20 Equality Ride activists were arrested for attempting to enter Liberty's campus to donate gay-affirming Christian books to the library. This year's visit will mark the group's first visit to Liberty since Jerry Falwell Jr. assumed leadership after the death of his father. Riders say they hope the campus' zeal for politics ...

So remember when I told you about Kristie's two flat tires?Well, I called Carmax and told them how the spare tire on the car we just bought in January disintegrated upon first use and they told me it was my fault for not checking the tire pressure on a weekly or at least monthly basis.First of all -- WHO THE FUCK DOES THAT? Seriously? Raise your hand if you ever checked the tire pressure of your SPARE TIRE. Don't lie.I've had cars that not until YEARS after I'd had the car did I need to use the spare ...

Dear Carolyn: I'm 50, divorced 10 years, put two kids through college, and have become involved with a woman. I suppose I'm gay now. My office is having an off-site at a nice vacation spot. I've been on "vacations" with my partner in connection with her job and enjoyed them. After much internal turmoil, I decided that fair is fair and I will not hide her or that part of me from my older-generation, religious office mates. These people will gossip. Is it better to just tell them during the "reveal some part of yourself" portion of the off-site? ...

Sarah Palin, the socially conservative GOP veep nominee, is not opposed to gay people. Heck, some of her best friends are gay. "I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships," Palin told CBS' Katie Couric Tuesday night when asked about churches, including Palin's, that promote conferences to convert gays into heterosexuals through prayer. See One of my best friends is gay, Sarah Palin tells Katie Couric New York Daily News, NY ...

It used to be called "the love that dare not speak its name" -- particularly in Hollywood, where the revelation of homosexuality was believed to be a career-killer. Now, out gays and lesbians are as casually visible as the cover of People magazine, which has recently run stories on Ellen DeGeneres' wedding to Portia de Rossi and Clay Aiken's decision to discuss his sexuality. So, in a time when self-declared bisexual Tila Tequila can have a highly rated MTV show on looking for a partner of either sex, Lindsay Lohan talks about her relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson and ...

who were given a direct order to ride in the city's gay pride parade last year should be awarded up to $1 million apiece because they were sexually harassed at the event, their attorney told a jury Tuesday. Charles Limandri said firefighters John Ghiotto, Jason Hewitt, Alex Kane and Chad Allison were called names and subjected to cat-calls, hostile language and other sexually explicit acts by scantily clad parade attendees on July 21, 2007. See Price Tag for Firemen's Gay Parade Trauma San Diego 6, CA - ...

  The Fates 3, the voluptuous trio that sings a mean backup to daily events in a place called the House of Light, say that “Vogue is the official language” of their world. But though the poses of high fashion figure flamboyantly here, this pronouncement doesn’t begin to do justice to the richness of the lingo spoken by the characters in “Wig Out!,” the new play by the astonishing young dramatist Tarell Alvin McCraney, which opened on Tuesday night at the Vineyard Theater. The outcasts in this gutsy, pulsing portrait of uptown drag queens and the men who love ...

The hunky hetero who sued after his beefcake shots ran in a gay men's magazine insisted Tuesday he's got no beef with his gay male fans. Model Benjamin Massing filed suit last week against Genre magazine and photographer Rick Day, alleging he never signed off on publication of the steamy shots. RELATED: STRAIGHT MODEL SUES GAY MAG OVER 'VULGAR' PHOTO Massing was smacked with a gay backlash after the Daily News reported he was upset gay strangers who saw his buff bod in the mag were propositioning him for sex. "Some have mischaracterized me as homophobic, ...

Miley Cyrus' upcoming birthday extravaganza at Disneyland is sure to cost her some fans as it clashes with the annual Gay Days celebration.   Disneyland, California, announced that it will close on October 5 for Miley's 16th birthday bash, forcing thousands of gay visitors out onto the streets for their celebrations. It seems that the not so-squeaky-clean teen is adding to her diva image by failing to share the venue with possibly one of her biggest fan bases. See Miley Cyrus Birthday Bash Leaves Gay Community Out In The Cold ...

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization that works to elect openly gay candidates to political positions and the largest gay political action committee, announced today that it has endorsed 100 candidates, making this endorsement slate the group's largest ever. Gay candidates are running for office at all levels of government, from school boards to Congress, according to a press release. See Record number of gay candidates running for office Sovo.com, GA  ...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger bowed to the far right today, vetoing a bill to make birthday of gay political icon Harvey Milk a statewide "day of significance." While he respected the measure's intent, Arnie argues Milk's "contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level." The AP reports: 'Conservative groups had lobbied Schwarzenegger not to sign the legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco.Milk became the nation's first openly gay man to hold a prominent political office when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977.He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by ...

NEW DELHI: “Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil should be more progressive,” Health Minister A Ramadoss said on Tuesday, while referring to his Cabinet colleague’s stand against legalizing homosexuality. “I will ask for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention once he returns to India,” Ramadoss said. “World over, people are accepting homosexuality. The home minister should be a lot more sensitive. How can we control physiological feelings of people,” he added. The ministries of health and home have been at loggerheads over the issue of de-criminalisation of homosexuality. While the health ministry wants section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which ...

Editor's note: Bryan Batt, who plays the closeted art director Salvatore Romano in the Emmy award-winning cable TV series "Mad Men," has acted in nine Broadway and nine Off-Broadway productions, such as "Sunset Boulevard," "Beauty and the Beast," "Jeffrey" and "Starlight Express." Batt, who is 45, has been acting for 23 years. He spoke to CNN.com about being an openly gay actor. "We have to work toward acceptance on all levels," says actor Bryan Batt, who is openly gay. (CNN) -- There was once a time when the revelation of one's homosexuality in Hollywood was thought to be a ...

Some of Florida's Latino faith community leaders - including Diocese of Miami Auxiliary Bishop Felipe J. Esteves, El Rey Jesus Church Pastor Guillermo Maldonado, Riverside Baptist Church Pastor Otto Fernandez - stand in support of writing bias to Florida's state constitution.  Recently they gathered to support of Amendment 2 (The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment). The irony is that these faith leaders are playing into the hands of the very politicians who seek to win campaigns by demonizing immigrants in general and Latinos in particular. "I am pleased to join other faith leaders, churches and organizations in their support of the ...

Immigration Equality: "timing of these regulations is deeply troubling" New York, NY, September 30, 2008 - Two months after Congress voted to repeal the ban on HIV-positive travelers to the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday that it will issue regulations which purport to "streamline" the waiver application process for HIV-positive short-term visitors. The move comes nearly two years after President Bush directed the agency to streamline the process and fails to follow Congress' mandate to end the ban.   "The timing of these regulations is deeply troubling," said Victoria Neilson, Legal Director of Immigration Equality.  ...

It is a statistic surprising even to those it describes: Same-sex couples in the Bronx are more likely to have children than those in any other New York City borough, according to a study released last month, and perhaps more than any county in the country. For Ron and Greg Poole-Dayan, whose 7-year-old twins were born to a surrogate mother, it’s a matter of geography. Their home in Riverdale puts them a bit closer to family, as well as the Berkshire Mountains, where they go hiking. For Carmen Quinones, a recovering addict and a substance abuse counselor with four ...

When lesbian activist Del Martin died last month at age 87, she left behind a record of unparalleled achievements in fighting for gay rights. She also left behind her wife, Phyllis Lyon. But the 83-year-old widow said she’s “doing all right” despite Martin’s death Aug. 27, in part because she has “an awful lot of friends around” and has received “incredible” support. “I’ve gotten cards from people we knew, and then some from people we didn’t know from anywhere,” she said. “This response just goes to show that there were a whole lot of people who knew about her ...

The crowds who turn out Oct. 12 for the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative’s annual Fall Garden Party will get more than an afternoon of fun and fundraising. They will also be treated to the first glimpse of an online health assessment and networking tool that leaders of two of the city’s top lesbian organizations hope will revolutionize their thinking about not only physical health, but how to build healthy communities. The web-based health survey was developed with help from volunteers with the CDC, and if successful, it could become a model for gay organizations around the country. It will ...

Wilkerson to press ahead with write-in campaign Sonia Chang-Diaz remains the Democratic nominee in the 2nd Suffolk District Senate race, following a Sept. 27 hand recount of ballots cast in four wards in the district. "It feels great," Chang-Diaz told reporters when the recount wrapped up today at mid-afternoon. "I am very honored to finally be able to assume that title officially." Incumbent state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson had been hoping to overtake Chang-Diaz in the recount after Wilkerson came up short by 228 votes in the Sept. 16 primary. Wilkerson campaign manager Boyce Slayman told reporters when the counting ...