Source: San Francisco Chronicle , Los Angeles Times , AFP SAN FRANCISCO -- The state Supreme Court, which in May determined that marriage is a fundamental right available to gay and lesbian couples, plunged back into the same-sex marriage wars today, agreeing to decide the legality of a ballot measure that repealed the right of gay and lesbian couples to wed in California. At the urging of both sponsors and opponents of Proposition 8, the justices voted 6-1 to grant review of lawsuits challenging the Nov. 4 initiative, with Justice Joyce Kennard dissenting, according to San Francisco Chronicle...(read ...

  Source: People , ContactMusic , Daily Telegraph , GayWired   People Magazine grants its annual "Sexiest Man Alive" award this year to Australian actor Hugh Jackman. As the magazine puts it, the actor is "all scruff and biceps" who "looms large in the epic Australia ." [ahem...] The role kept the 6'2" actor "dirty 95 percent of the time," according to the magazine "and left people stammering, 'Oh ... my ... God!" Who could ask for anything more?  But, of course, for this issue People provides far more. The magazine's...(read more) ...

Source: Wall Street Journal , Reuters eHarmony, Inc., which runs an online dating service for heterosexual couples, must now cater to a gay clientele, Wall Street Journal and other sources report. The shift in corporate strategy is the upshot of a settlement the California company reached today with the New Jersey attorney general's office, WSJ 's Law Blog reports. In its settlement eHarmony agreed to pay $5,000 to the original plaintiff who brought the case and  $50,000 in "administrative" fees to the New Jersey attorney general's office, according to a statement released...(read more) ...

Source: CNN , China Post , CNN 104 retired military officers have signed a document calling for the Obama administration to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports that a lead sponsor of a bill to repeal the US military's policy that restricts LGBT service members believes the law could be overturned in the first year of President-elect Barack Obama's administration. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) is a lead sponsor of a repeal bill which...(read more) ...

Source: Des Moines Register , KAAL TV Protesters in Iowa who joined the national protests last Saturday for marriage equality say they feel a particular sense of urgency because the Iowa Supreme Court takes up a case next month that will determine whether marriage for gay and lesbian couples is legal in that state The debate is expected to thrust Iowa into the national spotlight one month after voters in California, Arizona, and Florida approved marriage equality bans . Oral arguments are scheduled for Dec. 9, but the high court will probably take several months to issue a ruling, Des ...

Source: Chicago Tribune , Chicago Sun Times The team behind a plan to open Chicago's first public high school aimed at gay and lesbian students pulled the plug Tuesday on a watered down version of the plan. The Chicago Board of Education was set to vote on the proposal Wednesday, but the educators who had been pushing the plan asked to be taken off the agenda late Tuesday, according to both Chicago newspapers. As late as Tuesday morning, some advocates were pushing the idea that the change -- which deleted all specific references to gay students from the mission statement ...

Source: WCAX TV , Hartford Courant , WFFF TV Vermont Senator John Campbell says that he will reintroduce a bill in January that would recognize marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Campbell presented the same bill in last legislative session, which lead to the creation of the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection, WCAX TV reports. The commission held eight hearings across the state in 2007, and the early part of 2008, and ultimately submitted a report to lawmakers that said civil unions fall short of establishing equal rights and protections of legal marriage. Senator...(read more) ...

Source: UPI , Chi-Town Daily News , Chicago Tribune , Associated Press Some gay advocates in Chicago say they'll oppose a plan to open up a proposed Chicago high school reserved for LGBT students to other "disenfranchised" kids. The Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday the organizers of the project had decided to broaden the enrollment at what would be called "Social Justice Solidarity High School", but critics in the gay community said the move "watered down" the original idea. "I think it's frankly a caving in, and I think it's unfortunate," Andy...(read more) ...

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press , Wired , Minneapolis Star Tribune Call it a sign o' the times or just another miscalculated controversy, but Prince is strumming up headlines and a flood of blog posts again -- this time for allegedly speaking out against the sexual freedoms he used to champion. In particular, fans and critics alike took issue with the Purple One's comment about gay marriage: "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough.'" Minneapolis' most famous (and famously...(read more) ...

Source: Syracuse Post-Standard , News 10 Now , WSYR SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Family, friends and community members gathered to remember Moses Cannon, 22, Monday. Cannon identified as a woman and was known as "Teish". "We should be concerned and outraged that this happened, but I think we need to look deeper at the roots of where this hatred comes from," said Syracuse University LGBT Resource Center Director Adrea Jaehnig, according to News10 . Jaehnig says if the evidence points toward a hate crime, it should prosecuted as such. A 20-year-old Syracuse man who was arrested and charged...(read more) ...

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette One of the biggest contribution to the Prop. 8 campaign in California came from Colorado Springs-based right-wing anti-gay activist group Focus on Family. But the group headed by James Dobson now blames a "weak economy" and "cash-strapped donors" for a severe cash-crunch that has led it to eliminate 202 jobs and to cut its the budget from $160 million in fiscal 2008 to $138 million for fiscal 2009. The "ministry", as the group calls itself, laid off 149 workers, and cut another 53 vacant positions. The cuts announced Monday slash Focus'...(read more) ...

Source: KSL , Salt Lake Tribune , KUTV Salt Lake City -- Gay activists in Utah are gearing up to push five bills during next year's legislative session, and they're calling on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to help them. Today, a group of Utah parents with gay children came forward to support the bills. They're calling it a byproduct of California's Proposition 8. All these bills have to do with gay rights for couples and individuals, KSL reports. The laws address things like this: Does a partner have the right to see a loved one ...

Source: UK Gay News , PinkNews , GayNZ , Times of India A long-awaited decision by Nepal's Supreme Court recognizing full rights and protection to its LGBTI citizens has led to tears of joy from their gay community. The Supreme Court on Monday published its full written decision on a petition demanding both protection and rights for sexual and gender minorities, UK Gay News reports. It had announced its ruling with a summary in December last year , but hadn't published the formal judgement until today. In December, issued directives to the government to enact new laws or amend all ...

Source: Los Angeles Times , Reuters , AFP , Sacramento Bee   CA Prop. 8 California's Attorney General on Monday urged the state Supreme Court to consider whether Prop. 8 -- the marriage equality ban passed by voters this month -- was legal. "The profound importance of the issues raised by Proposition 8 warrants that this matter be reviewed and promptly resolved by the California Supreme Court," said the state's top lawyer, former governor Jerry Brown in a statement. Proposition 8, backed by social conservatives and religious groups, was passed by a margin of 52.5 to 47.5...(read more) ...

Source: Guardian , MTV , Daily Mail   Above: Gateley (left) and his video partner. Below: Gately (right) and his real husband, Andrew Cowles photos: via Daily Mail 90s Irish boyband Boyzone is getting back together with a twist that doesn't seem all that uncommon among former boybands: One of the now-adult members is out and gay. But what is a uncommon, is that the gay member of the band, Stephen Gately, forgoes the usual video pairing with a sexy female and instead cuddles up to a sexy guy in the band's intimate black and white vid for their single, ...

Source: People , Associated Press via Las Vegas Review Journal Her appearance alone was enough to get a crowd fired up. More than 1000 people gathered in Las Vegas to be part of nationwide protest against Prop. 8 , but comedian Wanda Sykes fired them up even more when, as People puts it, "she came out against Proposition 8 -- and came out of the closet, as well." She also said she was among the 18,000 directly affected by passage of the amendment because she married her wife on Oct. 25. She said she doesn't talk about her sexual orientation ...

Source: New York Times , Salt Lake Tribune CA Prop. 8 Despite consistent expressions of confidence from their spokespersons throughout the campaign, Protect Marriage, the main group that promoted Proposition 8 in California, was convinced that they were losing just weeks before the Nov. 4 vote, New York Times reports. "We're going to lose this campaign if we don’t get more money," the Times quotes Frank Schubert, chief strategist of the campaign as telling Prop. 8 supporters in late October. Times reporters Jesse McKinley and Kirk Johnson write that the appeal was phenomenally...(read more) ...

Source: Tucson Citizen , KNXV TV , Arizona Republic Tucson, Ariz. -- On the night before hundreds of thousands gathered throughout the country to protest the passage of Prop. 8 in California, almost 1,000 people of all ages gathered at a march in downtown Tucson to protest one of the other two bans on marriage equality that passed this month. On Saturday, coinciding with other national protests, thousands of protesters again took to the streets in Tucson, Phoenix, and elsewhere in Arizona. The crowds gathered Friday night and again Saturday to protest the passage of Proposition 102 , the Arizona...( ...

Source: Times of India , The Hindu , ZeeNews , Hindustan Times   John Abraham is often seen shirtless in Dostana , a Bollywood film that leads the industry as it tiptoes out of the closet. photo via Blurberry India's film industry, collectively known as Bollywood, isn't waiting for the dust to settle on the legal and political debate over Article 377, which criminalizes homosexuality. The wildly popular film industry, based in Mumbai, is already embracing gay themes. In past years, according to Times of India (TOI), gay characters appeared in film only as exaggeratedly effeminate male...(read more) ...

Source: KSL , Salt Lake Tribune , Deseret News Emotions ran high Saturday as thousands of people rallied in downtown Salt Lake, sharing their opinions on both sides of the issue of same-sex marriage. By police estimates, close to 3,000 people listened to speeches, held signs, and marched in support of what they feel should be a basic civil right: marriage.  As day turned to night Saturday, about 400 anti-Proposition 8 demonstrators descended on the south lawn of Utah's Capitol Hill to spell the word "equality" in 20-foot block letters using 10,000 candles, Deseret News reports...(read more) ...