Lady Gaga: 'I'm gay, my show is gay, my fans are gay'

Lady Gaga told Kanye West he had to accept the gayness of her show before they went on tour together.

Speaking to Out magazine, the star said she told the rapper that their US joint show, scheduled for October, had to remain gay to keep her fans happy.

She said she told him: "I just want to be clear before we decide to do this together: I'm gay. My music is gay. My show is gay. And I love that it's gay. And I love my gay fans and they're all going to be coming to our show. And it's going to remain gay."

In the interview, she discussed how gay culture had shaped her work.

“When I started in the mainstream it was the gays that lifted me up,” she says. “I committed myself to them and they committed themselves to me, and because of the gay community I’m where I am today.”

“I very much want to inject gay culture into the mainstream,” she added. “It’s not an underground tool for me. It’s my whole life. So I always sort of joke the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.”

Gaga appears naked yet artfully arranged on the cover of the September issue of Out.

Sweden approves same-sex marriage

Six of the seven parties in Swedish parliament have backed a proposal to introduce a gender-neutral marriage law.

The proposal passed today with a 261 to 22 vote and 16 abstentions.
The only party to oppose the ruling were the Christian Democrats, stating that the party wanted to maintain "a several hundred-year-old concept" of marriage.
It is not yet certain that the changes will affect church marriage ceremonies, but in February, a majority of Church of Sweden bishops said the church should no longer handle legal marriage registrations, DPA reported.

The new legislation comes into effect as of May 1st, replacing the current legislation established in 1995 approving registered partnership much like civil partnerships in the UK.
Couples with a 'registered partnership' can either retain this status or apply to the relevant authorities to have it amended.
The president of the Swedish Federation for LGBT Rights, Soren Juvas, called the ruling “a great victory” and Evon Frid of the Left Party said it was “a positive change”.
A poll for the Sifo Institute published in January 2008 found that 71 per cent of Swedes think gay people should be allowed to marry.

In January 2007 the Church of Sweden, which was disestablished in 2000, began offering religious blessings to gay unions and actively welcomed LGBT clergy.
A Lutheran denomination, it claims more than 7 million members out of a population of 9 million
Last year the Church agreed that marriage and partnership were equivalent forms of unions.
It recommended however that the term "marriage" be referred only to heterosexual couples.

Homosexuality in Turkey

Homosexuality is not illegal as such in the Republic of Turkey. However, owing to conservative values embedded in Muslim-majority Turkish society, homosexuality remains a taboo topic in public discourse.

History

Turkish LGBT rights activists created the Radical Democrat Green Party to campaign for a variety of issues, including support for LGBT human rights. Several of its members participated in a hunger strike in 1987 to protest the police harassment of LGBT citizens.
In 1988 the civil code was amended to allow for transgender people to have a sex change operation, under medical approval. In the 1990s the LGBT movement fought against government bans on LGBT conferences. This prompted the creation of Lambda Istanbul. In 1994, the Freedom and Solidarity Party banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity within the party and nominated Demet Demir, a leading voice of the community, to successfully become the first transgendered candidate for the local council elections in Istanbul.

In 1996 the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling and removed a child from her lesbian parent, on the grounds that homosexuality is "immoral". While bias motivated violence against gay and transgender people intensified as did efforts at government censorship, the desire of Turkey to join the European Union has forced the government to grant official recognition to LGBT rights organizations, respect a greater degree of the freedom of speech and the press and to entertain gay rights legislation. Gay themed conferences and gatherings now regularly take place, particularly in Istanbul and Ankara. In 2006 Turk Gay Club, Turk LGBT Community was created in Istanbul and several universities have LGBT associations and societies.

LGBT civil rights organizations

The major LGBT community-based civil rights organization is KAOS GL, established in 1994 in Ankara. Lambda Istanbul, a member of ILGA-Europe, established in 1993 in Istanbul, was dissolved in May 2008. The prosecution argued that its name and activities were “against the law and morality.” That ruling, sharply criticized by Human Rights Watch, was finally overturned by the country's Supreme Court of Appeal on January 22, 2009
During the early 1990s, the organizations' proposals for cooperation were refused by the Government Human Rights Commission. April 1997, when members of Lambda Istanbul were invited to the National Congress on AIDS, marked the first time a Turkish LGBT organization was represented at the government level. During early 2000s, new organizations began to be formed in cities other than Istanbul and Ankara, like the Pink Triangle Group in İzmir and the Rainbow Group in Antalya.

In 1996, another LGBT organization, LEGATO, was founded as an organization of Turkish university students, graduates and academicians, with its first office in Middle East Technical University in Ankara. The organization continued to grow with other branches in numerous other universities and a reported 2000 members. In March 2007 LGBT students organized for the first time as a student club (gökkuşağı - in English: rainbow) and Club Gökkuşağı is officially approved by Bilgi University.

During June 2003, the first public LGBT pride march in Turkey's history, organized by Lambda Istanbul, was held on the Istiklal Avenue. In July 2005, KAOS GL applied to the Ministry of Interior Affairs and gained legal recognition, becoming the first LGBT organization of the country with legal status. During the September of the same year, a lawsuit by the Governor of Ankara was filed to cancel this legal status, but the demand was rejected by the prosecutor. In August 2006, the gay march in Bursa organized by the Rainbow Group, officially approved by the Governor's Office, was cancelled due to large scale public protests by an organized group of citizens.

The organizations actively participate in AIDS-HIV education programs and May Day parades.
In September 2005, the Ankara Governor’s Office accused KAOS-GL of “establishing an organization that is against the laws and principles of morality.” It also attempted in July 2006 to close the human rights group Pembe Hayat (Pink Life), which works with transgender people, claiming to prosecutors that the association opposed “morality and family structure.”Both charges were ultimately dropped.

In 2006 Lambda Istanbul was evicted from its premises as the landlady was not happy with the fact that the organization was promoting LGBT rights. The organization was then dissolved in May 2008 by courts.

Penal code

Gay sexual conduct between consenting adults in private is not a crime in Turkey. The age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is 18. The criminal code also has vaguely worded prohibitions on "public exhibitionism,” and “offenses against public morality" that are used to harass gay and transgender people. Turkish towns and cities are given some leeway to enact various "public morality" laws. For example, it was once reported that in Adana males were prohibited from kissing in public, on the cheek. However, there has been no evidence of enforcement of this regulation. Men kissing as a form of greeting is common in Turkey.
Istanbul has a very open gay scene with around 20 bars and clubs plus various other venues such as cinemas and Turkish baths. Gay bars have been used to shoot pop videos and celebrities can often be spotted there. Turkish artists tend to have sympathies with gays, particularly in recent years.

Article 428 prohibits "obscene" and "indecent" books, songs, literature, etc.Although the extent that these conditions apply to homosexual themes in the media has been liberalized in recent years. The film Brokeback Mountain was permitted to be shown in select theaters, but the Turkish Culture Ministry ruled that no one under the age of eighteen could be in the audience. It should be noted that age limits applied to Brokeback Mountain in many countries. Several books with gay themes have been published recently including 'Volkan's story' - about a gay policeman. Bestsellers often include gay characters. In 1997, Hamam: The Turkish Bath was released. The film depicted a gay romance between a married man from Italy and a Turkish teenager. The film was successful internationally and was even broadcast on state TV. Gay characters have started to appear on television series, although often in stereotypical or very restricted roles. The popular gay themed TV series Will & Grace and Queer as Folk have both been broadcast in Turkey by Digiturk (also Six Feet Under and Angels in America by CNBC-E). Istanbul Film Festival (held every year by İKSV) contains some selected LGBT themed movies. The! F Independent Film Festival, held every year in Istanbul and with a smaller selection of films in Ankara, has an LGBT section.

It is worth noting that the culture of "honour killings" is another key factor within Turkish society - families murdering members (usually female) who engage in sexual/moral behaviours regarded as inappropriate. The death of Ahmet Yildiz, 26, may be the first known example of an honour killing with gay male victim. Institutions like the police and courts tend to ignore violence and murder committed in such circumstances.

Military law

In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male Turkish citizens between the ages of 20 and 41. However, the Turkish military openly discriminates against homosexuals and bisexuals by barring them from serving in the military. At the same time, Turkey - in violation of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights - withholds any recognition of conscientious objection to military service. Some objectors must instead identify themselves as “sick” – and are forced to undergo what Human Rights Watch calls "humiliating and degrading" examinations to “prove” their homosexuality.

The World's first lesbian Prime Minister

When it was announced earlier this week that Johanna Sigurdardottir was likely to be appointed prime minister, little did Icelanders realise that their small island would be making history.
If, as expected, she is confirmed as interim head of government later today, she will be the first openly gay person to do so. Not in Iceland, in the world.
A gay man did act as prime minister of Norway, but only for a matter of hours.
As head of a new left-green government, she should remain in office until elections in May.
When Visir, an Icelandic website, published a short article about how she could become the first openly lesbian head of government, the common response was annoyance towards that website for "making a big deal" out of such a non-issue as her sexuality.
A country of only 300.000 with a gay scene that is largely embedded into mainstream culture, Iceland is considered one of the safest places in the world to be gay.
Because of its small size Reykjavik's gay scene co-exists to a greater extent within mainstream nightlife than in Britain and the rest of Europe.
This is one reason why the Icelandic gay scene is so widely accepted as normal and a non-issue by the public.
Born in October 1942 it is fair to assume that Ms Sigurdardottir had a political upbringing. Her father served in the Icelandic parliament for the Social Democratic Party between 1959 - 1971 and was chairman of the civil service union.
It should also be noted that Sigurdardottir's family played a key role rise of trade unions in Iceland, her grandfather was one of the founders of Dagsbrun, the largest workers union in Iceland, and her grandmother served on the board of Framsokn the female-workers union.
In 1960 Ms Sigurdardottir graduated from The Commercial College, a private college funded by the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, a highly respect institution but also considered the breading ground for the Conservative party.
After graduating she worked as an air hostess for Loftleiðir (now Icelandair ) and later as an office worker at a box factory.
From early on in her professional life she was active within the trade union movement and served on the board of the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association in 1966 and 1969 and on the board of Svolurnar, the Association of Former Stewardesses, in 1975.
She was also a member of the Board of the Commercial Workers Union from 1976 to 1983.
In 1978 Ms Sigurdardottir was elected to Althingi (Icelandic parliament) for the Reykjavik constituency and has held her seat since then.
A Social Democratic party MP, later she became the vice-chairman of the party and served as Minister of Social Affairs in four cabinets from 1987 - 1994.
Personal animosity between Ms Sigurdardottir and party leader Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson led to a breach.
Ms Sigurdardottir accused Mr Hannibalsson and the party of going against its fundamental principles of social equality at the expense of the most vulnerable in Icelandic society.
The dispute ended in a humiliating loss for Ms Sigurdardottir and eventually her resignation from the party.She famously ended a speech with the words "my time will come" and walked out on the Social Democrats.
She then founded Thjodvaki (variously translated as "Awakening of the Nation" or the "National Movement") a breakaway party.
During the 1994 election Thjodvaki played heavily on the "my time will come" theme. The phrase has haunted her political career ever since.
Thjodvaki managed to get 4 MP's elected. The party was later credited as one of the stepping-stones in unifying the Icelandic political left.
After the 1994 elections it became apparent that the Icelandic left had become too scattered and would never stand a change of forming a government unless it would become more unified.
Ms Sigurdardottir and Thjodvaki became one of the founding parties of The Social Democratic alliance. The alliance was part of the coalition government that resigned en masse earlier this week. The alliance has been asked to form an interim government.
Ms Sigurdardottir, their choice for prime minister, is greatly respected by her colleagues, political opponents and the people.
She was recently voted the most trustworthy politician in Iceland with a 60% to 70% approval rating, despite serving in the government widely considered to be responsible for the financial meltdown.
The public knows her as someone that has strong and inflexible principles and an utter disdain for elitism and wastefulness.
She is remembered as the minister who refused to accept a personal chauffeur and a luxury car paid for by the public.
Instead images of her driving around in her tatty Mitsubishi endeared her to many Icelanders.
Ms Sigurdardottir is however strongly criticised for being difficult to work with and inflexible when it comes to negotiation.
This has proven difficult in a country where coalition government between two or more parties is the norm. She has also been criticised for not having enough understanding when it comes to reducing spending on social security.
This criticism has grown louder after she recently refused to accept any cutbacks in funding for any issues under the responsibility of the Ministry of Social affairs and Security despite what looks to become a record-breaking budget deficit.
Ms Sigurdardottir is also known for keeping her personal life out of the spotlight. She has never given interview about her sexuality or her personal life.
Her spouse is Jónína Leósdóttir a well known playwright, author and a journalist and the couple is registered in Iceland (the equivalent of a civil partnership).
Together they have three grown up children. She is described as as family oriented and especially close to her grandchildren, despite her busy career.

Homosexuality in Iceland

Iceland as culturally related Scandinavia, is a very liberal country concerning gay rights. The majority of the public is supportive of homosexuality, and gay pride parades are held every August.

Iceland is an isolated nation with fewer than 300,000 inhabitants; 80% of its barren and volcanic land is unpopulated. But surprisingly, there is a vibrant Icelandic gay scene largely unknown to the rest of the world. This is due mainly to Iceland’s lack of contact with other countries. “Exposure of foreigners to this unique country and its gay lives and culture is virtually non-existent.

Iceland’s gay scene in the ’70s was a time when if you ran into another gay person, it was by sheer coincidence. “If you happened to find someone who was gay, then you were more or less sure he would go to bed with you because the pressure was so great then.” It was not a question of cruising or being in love. Iceland’s capital and currently home to over 60% of the country’s population, served back then as a common gay meeting place, the city with a “friendly village feel” was the scene of the discos and nightlife in the ’70s that fostered Iceland’s emerging gay scene.

Today, meeting other gays is easier and no longer a matter of pure luck. The Icelandic community is open. “Icelanders are getting more accepting of gay people and more people have come out of the closet.

In 1978, the formation of Iceland’s first gay social club changed the scene forever. Samtökin 78 (www.samtokin78.is) became Iceland’s first gay and lesbian centre. It began as an organization that simply brought gays and lesbians together; it would grow to become Iceland’s central resource centre for queers. Hrafnkell Stefánsson, Samtökin’s office director, takes pride in his work: “We are Iceland’s biggest gay organization.” Both social and political in purpose, the organization offers a meeting place for local and foreign queers. It offers an extensive on-site library, a bar and meetings for gay youth. With almost 400 members, the organization receives support from the Icelandic and Reykjavik governments.

Laws governing Homosexuality were repealed in 1940. There is an equal age of consent set at 15.

Civil union for gay and lesbian couples were introduced in Iceland in 1996.
The legislation grants the full range of protections, responsibilities and benefits as marriage, and is only available to same-sex couples. A registered partner can adopt the other partner’s child, unless the child is adopted from a foreign country. All parties in Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, were in favour of the law; only one member of the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) voted against it.
On June 2, 2006 the Parliament voted for legislation granting the same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals in adoption, parenting and assisted insemination treatment. No member of the parliament voted against the proposal. The law came into effect on June 27, 2006. [1]
A law amendment which took force on June 27, 2008 allows the Church of Iceland and other religious groups to bless same-sex registered partnerships.[2]
A government committee is currently looking into allowing same-sex partners to get married.

The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson

The Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947)

Is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office on March 7, 2004. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as assistant to the retiring New Hampshire bishop.
Robinson is best known for being the first openly gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained a bishop in a major Christian denomination believing in the historic episcopate. His homosexual feelings were privately acknowledged in the 1970s, when he studied in seminary, was ordained, married, and started a family. He went public with his sexual identity and divorced in the 1980s. When delegates to the Episcopal convention were voting on the ratification of his election, he was a controversial figure. His election was ratified 62 to 45. After his election, theologically conservative parishes have aligned themselves with bishops outside the Episcopal Church in the U.S., a process called the Anglican realignment. His story has appeared in print and film.

A 1969 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, he has a B.A. in American Studies/History. In 1973, he completed the M.Div. degree at the General Theological Seminary in New York, was ordained deacon, and then priest, serving as Curate at Christ Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Upon moving to New Hampshire in 1975, Gene co-owned and directed an ACA accredited horseback riding summer camp for girls. As Founding Director of Sign of the Dove Retreat Center, in Temple, New Hampshire, he led retreat programs for vestries, diocesan committees, intergenerational groups, and all kinds of parish groups.
From 1978 to 1985, Gene was Youth Ministries Coordinator for the seven dioceses of New England, serving two years on the National Youth Ministries Development Team, where he helped originate the national Episcopal Youth Event. From 1983 until his election as bishop, Gene also served as Executive Secretary of Province I, coordinating all cooperative programs between the seven dioceses of New England.
Clergy wellness has long been a focus of Gene's ministry, and in the nineties he developed the A Being Well in Christ conference model for The Cornerstone Project, and led clergy conferences in over 20 dioceses in the U.S. and Canada. He initiated A Fresh Start, a two-year mentoring program for all clergy in new positions in New Hampshire, and co-authored the Fresh Start curriculum, now in use in nearly half of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Much of his ministry has focused on helping congregations and clergy, especially in times of conflict, utilizing his skills in congregational dynamics, conflict resolution and mediation.
Co-author of three AIDS education curricula for youth and adults, Gene has done AIDS work in the United States and in Africa (Uganda and South Africa). He has been an advocate for anti-racism training in the diocese and wider Church. He helped build the Diocese of New Hampshire's close working partnership with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, advocated for debt relief for the world's most impoverished nations, and lobbied for socially-responsible investment within and beyond the Church. He is a past member of the Board of the New Hampshire Endowment for Health, which works for access to health care for the uninsured. Bishop Robinson currently serves as a Trustee of the Church Pension Fund and a board member of the NH Children’s Alliance. He holds two honorary doctorates and has received numerous awards from national civil rights organizations. His story is featured in the 2007 feature-length documentary, For the Bible Tells Me So.
Gene enjoys entertaining and cooking, gardening, music and theatre. He is the father of two grown daughters and the proud grandfather of two granddaughters. He lives with his partner, Mark Andrew, who is employed by the State of New Hampshire's Department of Safety.

Gay Agenda on White House site

The new administration in the United States has already posted a lengthy statement on gay rights on the White House website.
The redesigned site is intended to "serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world," said Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House.
"Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future.
"WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement."
Under the heading 'Civil Rghts' the new administration sets out its agenda for the LGBT community.
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
– Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, colour, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
* Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
* Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defence of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognised unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
* Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
* Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
* Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
* Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma — too often tied to homophobia — that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
* Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections

Ban on openly gays and lesbian in the U.S military to be remove

US President-elect Barack Obama has said the ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people serving in the Armed Forces will come to an end.
75% of Americans agree that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law should be repealed, but some conservative activists have claimed that gay personnel will "destroy" the country's military.
Talk radio polemicist "Gunny" Bob Newman has even claimed that gays will mean more HIV+ soldiers, especially in the case of a blood transfusion from "an openly gay person with a very active sexual, open lifestyle."
While Mr Newman's claims have been roundly dismissed, not least because all applicants for military service are screened for HIV at enlistment and every then two years, other critics have used new opinion poll data to claim there is disquiet among Armed Forces personnel about an end to the ban.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Centre for Military Readiness (CMR), has appeared on the National Review Online and Fox News quoting a survey conducted by the Military Times which found that 58% of respondents oppose openly gay service and 10% claim they would not re-enlist if the ban were lifted.
The Centre for Military Readiness claims that a "sexual agenda" is being pushed that "advances the goals of gay activist groups."
Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a US federal law passed in 1993.
If army personnel are discovered to be LGB then they are sacked, but commanding officers are not allowed to ask about their sexual orientation.
Since 1993 more than 12,500 men and women have been dismissed.
The Military Times poll of those on active duty found that 71% would continue to serve if gays are allowed to serve openly.
Just under 10% said they would not re-enlist or extend my service and 14% said they would "consider not re-enlisting or extending my service."
"Before voting to repeal the law, members of Congress, and President-elect Barack Obama, ought to do the math," said Ms Donnelly.
"A rough estimate using Defence Department numbers for all service branches and components, totalling more than 2 million, indicates that a loss of one in ten (almost 10%) would cost the military approximately 228,600 people — more than the active-duty Marine Corps (200,000).
"If an additional 14% decided to leave, the voluntary exodus would translate into a loss of almost 527,000 — a figure approaching the size of today’s active-duty Army (more than 545,000).
"Estimates of losses in active-duty forces alone would range between 141,000 (10%) and 323,000 (23%)."
Researchers at the University of California-based Michael D Palm Centre, who study the gay ban, have rubbished her claims.
"The poll is not based on a random sampling pool but on the self-selected pool of readers of that publication who tend to be older and more conservative than the military population at-large, a fact which skews the results against gay service.
"Second, opinions about the policy are wholly distinct from actual behaviour, and bigoted attitudes do not predict discriminatory behaviour.
"When Britain and Canada polled their troops before ending their gay bans, two thirds said they would oppose the change and, in one survey, nearly half said they’d refuse to serve with gays; but when the changes were actually made, almost no one resigned. The same scenario played out at West Point when women were admitted."
Palm Centre researchers said that opinion in the military is actually far more favourable toward gay service than the Military Times poll suggests.
In the 1990s, the percentage of men in the Army who “strongly oppose” gays serving in uniform dropped nearly in half, from 67% to 37%.
In 2004, an Annenberg poll found that among junior enlisted personnel, a slight majority favored openly gay service.
In 2006, a Zogby poll of Iraq and Afghanistan vets found that 72% were “personally comfortable” around gays.
"The real news here is the opposite of what Donnelly claims,” said Dr. Nathaniel Frank, senior research fellow at the Palm Centre and author of Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America.
"While the media has reported it as news that the military opposes gay service, the trend is toward much greater tolerance: the 58% figure, which would actually be closer to 50% in a randomised poll, is a big drop from the 74% who opposed gay service in 1993, when the current policy was created.
"Gays already serve openly throughout the US military and we have no problems attributed to this; the force has hardly been destroyed."
An estimated 65,000 lesbian and gay service members serve on active duty and in the reserves of the United States military, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, an organisation dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel.

Lohan gone gay

Celebrity same-sex couple, actress Lindsay Lohan and DJ Samantha Ronson, were the subject of "gratuitously sexist and homophobic remarks" during the BBC3 television programme, The Most Annoying People of 2008, according to human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of the gay rights group OutRage!
The programme is scheduled to be repeated by BBC 3 tomorrow, 7 January, and is currently available to view on the BBC iPlayer.
Ronson was listed as the 43rd most annoying celebrity of 2008, out of 100 stars who were named and shamed in the two-part programme that was first broadcast on 30 and 31 December.
Commenting on Ronson's and Lohan's "bizarre inclusion in a line-up of mostly genuinely annoying celebrities", Peter Tatchell said:
"I fail to see how Lohan or Ronson qualify as annoying, let along most annoying. What is annoying about this lovely couple?
"I know it was meant as a light-hearted review of the year, but even so the BBC did not offer an even half-way convincing reason to justify their inclusion in this programme, which at times bordered on lesbophobic.
"The remarks by BBC Radio 5 presenter DJ Spoony and straight US porn actor Ron Jeremy were gratuitously sexist and homophobic. The BBC should have never broadcast them. The upcoming repeat should bleep-out their stupid, bigoted remarks. A public apology is due from the BBC.
"DJ Spoony should be suspended by the BBC and be allowed to resume presenting his Radio 5 programme only after he has apologised on air and promised not to repeat his homophobic garbage.
"Ron Jeremy's comments were needlessly offensive. They added nothing to the programme and should have been edited out. He's ugly, sexist and arrogant. No self-respecting woman, lesbian or straight, would want to have sex with him or even spend a minute in his company."
"During the programme, one male interviewee disparaged most lesbians as "munters and mingers" and suggested that glamorous, sexy female Hollywood superstars should be reserved for straight men," said Mr Tatchell.
BBC Radio 5 Live presenter DJ Spoony said of lesbians: "Let the munters and mingers get each other. That's cool. No one really wants them ones."
Referring to Lohan and Ronson, he added: "But when they're hot and fit...do you know what I mean, and Hollywood superstars, they should be saved for guys like...not me ...for other guys."
"Porn actor Ron Jeremy made sick references to wanting to have a threesome with the couple and ejaculating on them. It was all a bit crude and misogynistic," said Mr Tatchell.

LGBT Travelers worst destinations

We’ve covered some of the best places for the gay traveler to go, but what about the worst? What are the places that you should stay away from at all costs?

Here’s our list of some of the worst gay travel destinations in the world.

6. Poland

Ok, so Poland rarely tops vacation destination lists. It does, however, sport such attractions as sculpted salt mines, Warsaw’s historic ghetto and old town, and prime skiing mountains.

Despite the decent number of things to see and do, as well as the fact that it’s very cheap, it’s hardly the best place for an LGBT person to go out and do their thing. Not that there aren’t gay bars, Warsaw and Krakow sport some fine nightspots, but the official atmosphere there is very anti-gay at the moment. Run by a ultra-conservative Catholic regime, Poland has swung far to the right in recent years.

From the anti-gay legislation passed last year to the banning of several prides to the government’s farcical attack on gay teletubbies, Poland’s government, if not all of its people, is doing its best to make sure that gays are not welcome in the country.

5. Jamaica

A great place to be beaten by anti-gay lynch mobs!Jamaica is home to white sandy beaches, reggae and dancehall music, gorgeous natural beauty and murderous anti-gay thugs. Sounds fantastic! Wait, what was that last one again? The Caribbean is hardly the home of LGBT rights, but Jamaica is in a class of its own. Time magazine and several gay rights groups named Jamaica “The Most Homophobic Place in the World” in 2006. It doesn’t help that those reggae and dancehall stars the country is so famous for seem to have a thing for calling upon their listeners to murder gay people, which many of them seem all too willing to do.

Two of the biggest gay and AIDS activists in Jamaica, Brian Williamson and Steve Harvey, were murdered in the past few years. A crowd danced and celebrated around Williamson’s mutilated body afterwards. In 2004, a teenager whose father found he was gay invited a lynch mob to the boy’s school and nearly killed him. Mob violence against gays in the country is at epidemic levels, and it’s hardly limited to Jamaicans themselves.

In 2006 two American television producers working in the island were beaten into a coma by an anti-gay mob. If you absolutely must visit the Caribbean try Curacao or the US Virgin Islands, all of which target gay travelers. Give Jamaica a miss.

4. Egypt

Who wouldn’t want to go to Egypt? It’s got the relics of the most advanced civilization in ancient times, the Pyramids, the Nile and of course Cairo. Plus you can really get that authentic Egyptian experience by getting arrested and thrown in jail for being a homosexual. Bonus points and extra jail time if you’re HIV+! Unless jail, after a beating from the notoriously violent local police force of course, sounds like fun for the whole family for you then it’d be best to keep as far away as possible from Egypt as you can. The US State department has issued several official warnings about gay tourists traveling to the country –as they have about all the countries on this list incidentally- and Egypt has been busy recently tossing HIV+ citizens in jail with only the merest hint of a trial for the past few months. It’s ok though, several years in jail oughta teach them not to get AIDS or be gay. As every prison movie tells us, jail is the best place to go to avoid any type of homosexuality. That and the Navy. All kidding aside, do not go around announcing your sexuality in Egypt. Yes, there are gay bars in Cairo. That does not mean homosexuality is tolerated. Be very careful.

3. Uganda/Nigeria/Gambia

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh wants you dead if you are reading this.

Uganda, Nigeria and Gambia are our joint sub-Saharan African winners. They’ve all got that special anti-gay quality about them, but it’s just too hard to pick just one to stay away from at the moment. On the one hand, you have Gambia’s president announcing his intentions to kill all gay people, followed by the arrest of several gay tourists shortly afterwards. On the other hand, you have Nigeria and Uganda’s official churches promoting lynch mobs against homosexuals in the country and banning gay marriage. It’s a tough decision I know, but I think you can make the right one and just stay out of all of these countries for the moment.

2. United Arab Emirates

The UAE will here stand in as a representative for the Arab countries that you should never ever visit ever. They probably won’t kill you if you're a foreigner-from an allied country at least-that’s the good news. However, much like good buddy Saudi Arabia, homosexuality is illegal in the UAE and they are really touchy about it. In 2005 the US State Department named the UAE in its anti-gay document for arresting 26 people, then subjecting them to hormone treatments in an attempt to change their sexuality and make them straight. I can only imagine what they might try on a transgender traveler. If you must visit the Middle East try Israel, where their anti-gay feeling is generally confined to protests and shouting, rather than whips, beatings, and the occasional beheading.

1. Iran

These two teens were hung for being homosexual in Iran.Unlike the UAE, I cannot suggest that Iran will not kill you if you are arrested for practicing homosexuality within its borders. It’s certainly not shy about executing its own citizens for being gay, and these days it shows less and less concern about the outside world’s opinions. It’s a dangerous combination, and hardly makes for an ideal holiday. It’s too bad too, as Iran has some fantastic history and architecture that really would make for a fantastic journey.

Pope Benedict- "Homosexuality is a threat to humanity."

The head of the Roman Catholic Church has claimed that the existence of gay people is as great a threat to humanity as the destruction of the rainforest.
Pope Benedict XVI also attacked transgender people and claimed that a "blurring" of genders would lead to the extinction of the human race.
The pontiff made his remarks in an "end of year" address to the Vatican's central administration, the Curia.

The Pope said behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations is "a destruction of God's work."
Benedict also said man must be protected "from the destruction of himself" and urged respect for the "nature of the human being as man and woman."
"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement was outraged at this latest Papal outburst.
"It is comments like this that justify homophobic bullying that goes on in schools and it is comments like this that justify gay bashing," said LGCM chief executive Rev Sharon Ferguson.
"There are still so many instances of people being killed around the world, including in western society, purely and simply because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.
"When you have religious leaders like that making that sort of statement then followers feel they are justified in behaving in an aggressive and violent way because they feel that they are doing God's work in ridding the world of these people."
The UK based gay humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust has described the Pope's statement as clear evidence of paranoia.

"This must be the most ourtrageous and bizarre claim yet made by the Pope who has already got a well-deserved reputation as one the most viciously homophobic world leaders on a par with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe," said PTT secretary and trustee George Broadhead.

"The Vatican has already reinforced its anti-gay reputation by strongly opposing a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against gays, but this latest Papal outburst is clear evidence of an obsession about homosexuality which is tantamount to paranoia."
Last week the Vatican opposed a statement at the United Nations reiterating the universal human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans people.

According to Roman Catholics, gay people are disordered and called to a life of celibacy.

66 and counting

Yesterday a statement was read at the United Nations General Assembly in New York reiterating the universal human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people.
66 nations signed the joint statement, among them all 27 EU member states.
South Africa and the United States of America did not support the initiative.
The statement, which was a French initiative, was read out by Argentina's Ambassador the UN.
It does not create new rights and is not legally binding but instead builds on similar past initiatives.
It affirms the principle of universality: that all human beings, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are entitled to equal dignity and respect.
No-one should be subject to violence, harassment, discrimination or abuse, solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Louis Georges Tin, the founder of the Inernational Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), is behind the universal decriminalisation declaration.
He met with Rama Yade, France's minister of human rights and foreign affairs, earlier this year.
In September she confirmed that she would appeal at the United Nations for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality. The statement quickly became an international effort.
A cross-regional group of states coordinated the drafting, including Brazil, Croatia, France, Gabon, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The statement condemned killings, torture, arbitrary arrest, and "deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to health."
The participating countries urged all nations to "promote and protect human rights of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity," and to end all criminal penalties against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to calculations by ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association) and other organisations, more than six dozen countries still have laws against consensual sex between adults of the same sex.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a core UN treaty, held in a historic 1994 decision that such laws are rights violations – and that human rights law forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In 2006 IDAHO initiated a global campaign to end the criminalisation of same-sex relationships and secured the support of dozens of international public figures, ranging from Nobel Prize winners to writers, clergy,actors, musicans and academics.
"To decriminalise homosexuality worldwide is a battle for human rights," Mr Tin said.
"IDAHO has worked hard for two years to promote this issue. For us, the UN statement is a great achievement.
"I want to thank the many other people and organisations who have worked with us since the beginning, and more recently. I also want to remind everyone that ending the criminalisation of same-sex love will be a long, hard battle. To love is not a crime."
The 66 countries that signed the joint UN statement for LGBT human rights are:
Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria
Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria
Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic
Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg
Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway
Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania
San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
UK-based gay rights activist Peter Tatchell said:
"This was history in the making. Totally ground-breaking. It is the first time that the UN General Assembly has been presented with a statement in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)human rights.
"Securing this statement at the UN is the result of an inspiring collective global effort by many LGBT and human rights organisations. Our collaboration, unity and solidarity have won us this success."
"As well as IDAHO, I pay tribute to the contribution and lobbying of Amnesty International; ARC International; Center for Women's Global Leadership; COC Netherlands; Global Rights; Human Rights Watch;International Committee for IDAHO (the International Day Against Homophobia); International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC); International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender andIntersex Association (ILGA); International Service for Human Rights; Pan Africa ILGA; and Public Services International.
"The UN statement goes much further than seeking the decriminalisation of same-sex acts.
"It condemns all human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, urges countries to protect the human rights of LGBT people and to bring to justice those who violate these rights, and calls for human rights defenders who oppose homophobic and transphobic victimisation to be allowed to carry outtheir advocacy and humanitarian work unimpeded."
The New York Times reports that "nearly 60 nations" backed a counter statement read by Syria that claimed the gay rights "threatened to undermine the international framework of human rights by trying to normalise pedophilia, among other acts."
LGBT rights group ARC-International said:
"The signatories overcame intense opposition from a group of governments that regularly try to block UN attention to violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"Only 57 states signed an alternative text promoted by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
"While affirming the "principles of non-discrimination and equality," they claimed that universal human rights did not include "the attempt to focus on the rights of certain persons."
Australia and US not signed up to UN decriminalisation declaration
Burundi MPs vote to criminalise same-sex acts ahead of UN appeal
France to ask UN for universal decriminalisation of homosexuality
UK is "committed to promoting LGBT rights overseas"

United Nations Declaration calling for the global decriminalisation of homosexuality.

"The US government is one of the only western democratic nations that has declined to support a United Nations Declaration calling for the global decriminalisation of homosexuality. The Declaration will be put before the UN General Assembly this Wednesday, 10 December, which is Human Rights Day and the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," reports British gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of the London-based LGBT rights group, OutRage!

"It will be the first time in its history that the UN General Assembly has ever considered the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) human rights," he said.
"Although not be binding on the member states, the declaration will have immense symbolic value, given the six decades in which homophobic persecution has been ignored by the UN.
For a summary of the countries supporting the Declaration, see below.
"Even today, not a single international human rights convention explicitly acknowledges the human rights of LGBT people. The right to physically love the person of one's choice is nowhere enshrined in any global humanitarian law. No convention recognises sexual rights as human rights. None offer explicit protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity," added Mr Tatchell.

"Eighty-six countries (nearly half the nations on Earth) still have a total ban on male homosexuality and a smaller number also ban sex between women. The penalties in these countries range from a few years jail to life imprisonment. In at least seven countries or regions of countries (all under Islamist jurisdiction), the sentence is death: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Mauritania and parts of Nigeria and Pakistan:
See the global homophobia survey produced by the International Lesbian and Gay Association: http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileCategoryID=9&FileID=1165&ZoneID=7
"Unsurprisingly, the Vatican and the Organisation of Islamic States are leading the fight against the UN declaration."

Last week, the Papal envoy to the UN, Monsignor Celestino Migliore, explained the "logic" of the Holy See's opposition when he announced the Vatican's rejection of this week's decriminalisation declaration, as reported in The Times newspaper in London:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5268745.ece
The Monsignor argued that the UN declaration would unfairly "pillory" countries where homosexuality is illegal; forcing them to establish "new categories (gay people) protected from discrimination." Such laws would "create new and implacable acts of discrimination.... States where same-sex unions are not recognized as 'marriages,' for example, would be subject to international pressure."
"In other words, protecting LGBT people against discrimination is an act of discrimination against those who discriminate. Since the Vatican is against discrimination, it opposes discrimination against countries that discriminate. This is the mediaeval mindset of the Pope and his placemen," said Mr Tatchell.
"Never mind, there are already plenty of countries committed to supporting the UN decriminalisation declaration.

"It will be tabled in the General Assembly on Wednesday by France with the backing of all 27 member states of the European Union; plus non-EU European nations such as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Ukraine, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, Armenia and Macedonia. Russia and Turkey are not signing.
"The call for the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships also has the support of the Latin American states of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay - but not, notably, Columbia, Peru, Guyana or Venezuela.
"Only three African nations - Gabon, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau - are endorsing the declaration so far. South Africa has not signed up. No Caribbean nation has offered its support - not even Cuba.
"Although New Zealand is committed to the declaration, Australia is not. Nor is the United States. But Canada is a sponsor.
"No country in the Middle East, apart from Israel, endorses the declaration, and in Asia only Japan has agreed to approve it. China and India are silent on where they stand.
"The initiative for the UN universal decriminalisation declaration came from the inspiring French black activist and gay rights campaigner, Louis-Georges Tin, the founder of the http://www.idahomophobia.org/ International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). He lobbied the French government, which agreed to take the lead in getting the declaration tabled at the UN. Member organisations of the global IDAHO network then petitioned their individual governments to support it.

"A reminder as to why this UN declaration matters occurred last Friday, a sad anniversary. On 5 December 2007, Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year-old Iranian man, was hanged in Kermanshah Central Prison, after an unfair trial. A member of Iran's persecuted Kurdish minority, he was executed on charges of raping other boys when he was 13. In other words, he committed these alleged acts when he was minor. According to Iranian law, a boy under 15 is a minor and cannot be executed. At Makvan's mockery of a trial, the alleged rape victims retracted their previous statements, saying they had made their allegations under duress. Makvan pleaded not guilty, telling the court that his confession was made under torture. He was hanged anyway, without a shred of credible evidence that he had even had sex with the boys, let alone raped them. The lies, defamation and homophobia of the debauched Iranian legal system was exposed when hundreds of villagers attended Makvan's funeral. People don't mourn rapists. This execution was bared-faced homophobic judicial murder, according to Arsham Parsi, Executive Director, of the underground Iranian Queer Railroad, which helps Iranian LGBTs fleeing arrest, torture and execution.

"Makvan's fate is just one example of the thousands of state-sponsored acts of homophobic persecution that happen worldwide ever year. It shows why Wednesday's UN declaration is so important - and so long overdue," said Mr Tatchell
Further information:

Peter Tatchell and OutRage!

+44 207 403 1790
peter@petertatchell.net
www.petertatchel.net
ENDS

The Tearoom Trade Study

Author: James M. DuBois

Description: In the 1960’s, Laud Humphreys observed men having sex with men in public restroomsof parks as part of his dissertation research without disclosing his role as a researcher.

Headings: Classic Historical CasesCase

Type: Decision making The Tearoom Trade Study From 1965 to 1968 Laud Humphreys, an ordained Episcopalian minister, conducted dissertation research on men who have impersonal sex with men (Humphreys, 1970). Without disclosing his role as a sociology researcher, Humphreys played the role of “watchqueen,” that is, he looked out for intruders while men performed oral sex on men in the public restrooms of parks in major metropolitan areas. Because he passed himself off as a voyeur – one who derives sexual gratification from observing the sex acts of others – he was permitted to watch acts that occurred in bathroom stalls without doors. Among other things, he gathered data on locations, the frequency of acts, the age of the men, the roles they played, and whether money changed hands.He later disclosed his role to some men he had observed and interviewed them on their daily lives. Inother cases, he recorded his subjects’ license plate numbers to track where they lived. A year later, after changing his hair and attire, he interviewed these same men in their homes under the guise ofconducting an anonymous public health survey. Humphreys reported that he recognized the need to protect the confidentiality of his data. He never published anecdotes that included identifiers, and he protected his notes carefully. However, he was observing illegal behaviors and if his notes were subpoenaed he might have been arrested and imprisoned for refusing to hand them over. While he always assumed he would refuse to hand overthe records, after later spending some time in jail (unrelated to the study), Humphreys questioned how long he might have withstood the pressure. Among the positive outcomes Humphreys cites was dispelling myths that the men he studied were dangerous social deviants: he found that most were married to women and had children; only 14% were exclusively homosexual and identified themselves as gay. Many within the gay community welcomed his research and in some police districts it lead to decreased raids and sodomy arrests. Others were upset because they believed that his research findings – published in a paperback book – basically presented the average man with a “how to” manual, i.e., with information on how to obtain cheap impersonal sex with men.

Gays March in Haiti on world AIDS day

A small group of men openly declared their homosexuality during a protest in Haiti at the weekend.
The event, which was held to mark World AIDS Day, has been described as the first gay Pride march in the Caribbean.
The island nation of nine million people is deeply conservative, but about a dozen men wore T-shirts declaring they are masisi, a local slang word for homosexual.
UN and government officials took part in the march in the city of St Marc calling for better treatments and prevention campaigns.
The number of people with HIV has risen in every region of the world in the past two years, with the fastest increases being seen in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation said that in 2007 more than 33 million people live with HIV and AIDS worldwide and every day more than 6,800 people become infected with HIV, and 5,700 people die from AIDS.
Haiti has one of the highest infection rates in the world and gay men and lesbians face stigma and homophobic attitudes, though the voodoo community is accepting of homosexuality.
Michèle Pierre-Louis was able to take office in September as Prime Minister only after she had gone on the radio to deny rumours she is a lesbian.

Gay group backs Gay penguins

A pair of gay penguins has been stealing eggs from straight couples in an attempt to become 'fathers'.
The three-year-old male penguins who are kept in Polar Land in Harbin, north-east China attempted to conceal their theft by placing stones at the feet of the parents before waddling away with their eggs.

The deception however was noticed by the other penguins and the couple were soon ostracised from the group.
Keepers have decided to segregate the pair during hatching season to avoid disrupting the rest of the community.
Explaining the urge of the penguins to be fathers, a keeper from the zoo told the Austrian Times:
"One of the responsibilities of being a male adult is looking after the eggs. Despite this being a biological impossibility for this couple, the natural desire is still there.
"It's not discrimination. We have to fence them separately, otherwise the whole group will be disturbed during hatching time," he added.

Whilst examples of homosexuality in animals exist in many species, it is stories of penguins that have attracted the most attention.
In Germany, a zoo provoked anger from gay-rights groups when it attempted to mate a group of male penguins with Swedish female birds who were brought in especially to 'seduce' them.
The attempt failed however as the penguins refused to be 'turned', showing little interest in their would-be mates.
The children's book And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, published in 2005, tells the true story of penguins Roy and Silo, who formed a couple in New York's Central Park Zoo.
They attempted to hatch a rock, which was replaced by a rejected egg from a mixed gender couple by zoo keepers. They then adopted the baby penguin Tango as their own.
Several libraries stocking the book received complaints from people accusing the book of promoting homosexuality and being 'anti-family' as well as unsuitable for its age group.
It has attracted great controversy in US states with parents in Illinois and Missouri requesting the book be placed in a restricted or non-fiction section of the library.
"The complaints are that young children will believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle that is acceptable.

"The people complaining, of course, don't agree with that," said Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
The number of reported library complaints about And Tango Makes Three dropped from 546 in 2006 to 420 in 2007.

President-elect Barack Obama back gay rights

The next President of the United States has published a comprehensive list of action he will take on gay rights.

In a statement published on the Presidential transition website, Barack Obama and the Vice President-elect, Joe Biden, committed themselves to strengthening federal hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act.

The President-elect also committed to support civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples.
"Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples," the statement read.
"Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defence of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognised unions.

"These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights."
President-elect Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, "and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

"While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy," the statement read.

The President-elect said he would oppose a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the prohibition on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people serving in the US Armed Forces.
"Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve.
"Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation.
"Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic.

"Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defence goals."
President-elect Obama said he believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation.
"A child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not," the statement read.

The new administration will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies within 12 months of taking office.
"The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities," the statement read.
"Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system.

"Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users.
"Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma — too often tied to homophobia — that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as President."
The statement quotes a speech President-elect Obama gave in June 2007:
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do.

"Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans.
"It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
Barack Obama will take office on January 20th after a lavish Inauguration ceremony in Washington DC.

Homosexual laws around the world

Legend
██ No information
Homosexuality legal
██ Same sex marriages
██ Same sex unions
██ No same sex unions
██ Foreign same sex marriages recognized
Homosexuality illegal
██ Minimal penalty
██ Large penalty
██ Life in prison
██ Death penalty

Legal recognition of Same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage

Belgium Norway

Canada South Africa

Netherlands Spain

United State (CA, CT, MA)

Foreign marriages recognized

Aruba (Dutch only)

Israel

France

Netherlands Antilles (Dutch only)

United States (NY)

Civil unions and registered partnerships

Andorra France

Belgium Hungary (2009-1-1)

Czech Republic Luxembourg

Denmark New Zealand

Ecuador Sweden

Finland United Kingdom

Germany Iceland

Netherlands

Slovenia

Switzerland

Uruguay

Civil Unions Recognized in some regions

Argentina (C, RN, VCP)

Australia (TAS, ACT, VIC eff. 2008-12-1)

Brazil (RS)

Mexico (Coah., DF)

United States (CA, CT, DC, HI, ME, MD, NH, NJ, OR, VT, WA)