Children Speak for Same-Sex Marriage BBC to address portrayal of gays and lesbians – “Last year was arguably a bad year for the corporation’s treatment of gay issues. In December, there was outrage over a debate on the BBC website titled ‘Should homosexuals face execution?’, while Ofcom received complaints about a gay adoption joke made by Jonathan Ross in May.” Miami Beach Says No to Trans Discrimination Queer Leaders Slam Germany’s Gay Foreign Minister Under Attack: Can Harold Ford Survive New York’s ‘Angry Gays?’ Let’s hope not Fantastic Rep. Alan Grayson: Fight now or ‘kiss your country ...

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has a great piece in the Huffington Post about his testimony in the federal trial challenging Proposition 8, and about his decision to support marriage equality. Here's a bit of it: Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I came so close to making the wrong decision, and to endorsing government-sanctioned discrimination. As it turns out, I was reelected to a second term the next year. My position on marriage equality definitely made it more difficult. But I know I would have regretted vetoing that resolution a lot more than losing ...

A little excerpt from the Proposition 8 trial currently going on in California, featuring Prop 8 supporter William Tam: Boies pointed to a position from Prop. 8 supporters that gays were 12 times more likely to molest children, a fact Tam said he believes. Where'd you learn that? Boies asked. I don't recall, Tam replied. "I'm asking you what you read?" Boies asked, voice rising, wanting to know how that could be put out to support Prop. 8. "I don't remember," Tam said. "Was it a book?" Boies kept on. "An article?" he asked. "Who wrote it?" "I don't know," Tam said. Boies continued to ...

"Isosexual" was proposed as a term to describe gays and lesbians because it is defined as characteristic of or pertaining to the same-sex. It was meant to be used as a substitute for what was seen as female exclusion in the term homosexuality, the term however never caught on. ...

“I want him to succeed. But I am very upset by what he’s not done in terms of rights of gays and lesbians. I understand it tactically in a campaign, but at this point I don’t know. There is some belief that he actually doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage. But it’s fundamentally inexcusable for a member of the Democratic Party to stand on the principle that separate is now equal, but only on the basis of sexual orientation. We’ve always fought for the rights of minorities and against the whims of majorities.” – San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaking with ...

Nick Taylor-Vaisey over at Xtra has written a great article this week on Gay Life and World War II. How the Second World War changed gay life — During the war, gays and lesbians fought, survived and transformed their worlds. Paul Jackson, the author of One Of The Boys, Homosexuality in the Military during World War II [...] ...

The "Russian River" is an area North of San Francisco that has become a popular tourist attraction among outdoorsy and wine appreciating gays and lesbians. ...

This post continues the summaries of the Prop 8 trial. Summaries of Days 1 and 3 can be found here.Day 3At the start of Day 3, the Prop 8 side attempted to demonstrate that gays and lesbians do not face discrimination and are not politically powerless. The purpose of this argumentation is an attempt to show that gays are not a "suspect class." So, the Prop 8 attorney tried to get Dr. Chauncey to admit that shows like Will and Grace, Brokeback Mountain, and Philadelphia are popular and that Nancy Pelosi is a "powerful ally" of the LGBT ...

In a NYT column, Maureen Dowd talks to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom about his political fortunes and those of President Obama. Says Newsom: "I want him to succeed. But I am very upset by what he’s not done in terms of rights of gays and lesbians. I understand it tactically in a campaign, but at this point I don’t know. There is some belief that he actually doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage. But it’s fundamentally inexcusable for a member of the Democratic Party to stand on the principle that separate is now equal, but only on the basis of sexual orientation. We’ve always ...

Charleston City Paper’s Greg Hambrick reports on an effort to organize a local Pride festival and parade: Local gays and lesbians [...] ...

With Gavin Newsom's prospects for higher office looking virtually nonexistent (by his own admission and seeming contentment), the pro-equality mayor is speaking to Maureen Dowd about those in his own party who've helped keep equal rights down by choosing to view the San Francisco mayor's own principled actions as "controversial" rather than simply fair. On his pre-marriage placement on a Democratic party shortlist, and his post-marriage shift into persona non grata-dom: “There were five of us,” he said, with a teasing nostalgia. “A guy named Obama. I’m like ‘Why is he in here? This is ridiculous. I mean, he’s a state senator. ...

More than Police are looking into an incident Monday night at Revolution nightclub in Orlando, Florida in which the tires of more than two dozen cars were slashed: "Monday night at Revolution is billed as an evening catering to mostly Hispanic gays and lesbians, according to the club's Web site. Police investigators have not confirmed if the incident is considered a hate crime, but some victims said the tire slashing made them think it was an attack against their sexuality and ethnicity. 'There are cars at the nearby apartments and I have not heard of any tire slashing happening there last night,' patron Miguel ...

Some see a bad omen in the U.S. Supreme Court intervention into the federal Prop 8 challenge and its decision to block broadcast of the trial: Legal experts on the left and right gleaned three insights from the high court intervention:First, the justices are following this case closely. They typically rule on appeals after cases are decided. It is rare for them to intervene in a pending trial. Second, the court's conservatives do not trust Walker to set fair rules for proceedings. Their opinion described how he had given shifting explanations of his plans. This suggests Walker's ruling on Proposition 8 may be viewed ...

"We Republicans have often found ourselves on the wrong side of civil rights struggles since the 1960s, but there was a reason that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father is said to have supported Republicans. Republicans were historically the party ever-expanding freedom to disenfranchised minorities, from newly liberated slaves to giving women the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony was a Republican. By supporting the AFER trial we have an opportunity to establish our historic credibility on civil rights issues once again. But we should support marriage equality because it is the right thing to do. Gays and lesbians are our friends, neighbors, ...

And our opposition's aggressive, irresponsible ignorance continues. This quip from the Family Research Council, in regards to the Obama administration's promise to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell: "Here our servicemen are sacrificing their lives to wipe out global terrorism, and their commander-in-chief's biggest worry is throwing a coming out party for gays and lesbians." [Source] Alright, let's process this line for a second. First, it pits "servicemen" against gays, neglecting to acknowledge the many gay, lesbian, bisexual soldiers who are serving in silence, as well as the countless supportive allies in our armed forces. The general idea FRC ...

From Day 3 of the Prop 8 trial via LGBT POV. Karen Ocamb citing some liveblogging of the trial by Davina Kotulski:DAY 3 MORNING YOU ALL HAVE BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN AND IT EVEN GOT AWARDS— GAY DISCRIMINATION IS OVERThompson, the smug attorney for the Proponents of Prop 8, is taking the position that gays are not being discriminated against any more and so that cannot be the reason that Prop 8 passed.He makes a point and then asks Professor Chauncey if that is correct.He’s mentioning Will and Grace, the movie Philadelphia, and Brokeback mountain as evidence that LGBT people are not being discriminated again.NANCY PELOSI IS A GAY RIGHTS ...

The defense cross examines Professor Chauncey. [UPDATE] 8:59 [Defense Attorney] Thompson is now cross-examining Professor Chauncey about changing medical and psychological opinions on homosexuality. It’s very apparent, based on his line of questioning, that Thompson is making Chauncey admit that things are just hunky dory for gays and lesbians — that we’ve “moved beyond” discrimination. That shows like “Will and Grace” are popular, that “Philadelphia” and “Brokeback Mountain” were successful box office hits, and that gays have a “powerful ally” in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I’ve been concerned by how many times that Chauncey is agreeing with the cross-examination’s ...

Zeng Anquan and Pan Wenjie are making headlines in China for a wedding ceremony held at a bar in Chengdu in China's Sichuan Province on January 3rd. China Daily reports: "The couple finally made their choice - to get married in a bar frequented by male homosexuals, which was unprecedented in the city. More than 200 of the couple's friends who shared their orientation were invited to the wedding but many guests who saw their wedding photos were surprised to find the bride in the white wedding gown was a man. 'Gays in Chengdu hardly tell others they are gay. ...

GOProud's Chris Barron: In a case of truly strange bedfellows, the gay left has joined the most radical elements of the social conservative movement in attacking GOProud's participation [in the Conservative Political Action Conference]. You can understand the fear of extremists on the far right: They know the impact GOProud's sponsorship will have on undercutting their anti-gay message. These people rely on manipulating fear of what is unknown or different. But why is the gay left so angry about it? The answer is simple. They are far more interested in politics then they are in achieving equality of opportunity for gays and ...

I was saddened to learn that Canada has lost one of its most influential gay rights activists over the holiday. Peter Corren died last week after a long battle with cancer. He fought several important court and human rights cases alongside his husband and longtime partner, Murray Corren. The court cases were often funded out of their own pocket and helped gay people all across Canada gain adoption rights, marriage rights, and anti-discrimination policies in schools. Both of the Correns were often maligned by opponents of equal rights for gays and lesbians, particularly over exaggerations regarding a curriculum review to ensure anti-discrimination ...