Two young men electrified a conservative South African town when a picture of them kissing prompted anger–mostly from area males–but also spoke to gays of passion, commitment… and normalcy. The photo, capturing a moment in time, is immortal–but a month after it was taken, one of the young men is dead, and the other in critical condition, following a car crash.

The photograph of Bjorn Czepan and Mark Dean Brown kissing was taken by Vanessa Smeets at a Stellenbosch University event called Kiss in the Avenue. Gay and lesbian couples participated in the event this year; the photo of Czepan and Brown made the front page of the school paper, Die Matie.

The two young men were students at another school, Cape Town University, but they nonetheless became instant “symbols for tolerance and gay rights at the predominantly Afrikaner [university],” reported British newspaper The Guardian on Sept. 9.

Full Story from Edge Boston

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But in March, O’Malley endorsed an opinion by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler that allows the state to recognize the out-of-state marriages of gay couples.

And he went further on Thursday, implying that he would sign a gay marriage bill if approved by legislators, the Washington Post reported. O’Malley made his remarks on DC-based WTOP’s Ask The Governor radio show.

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The results come from the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. Not all gay couples will be counted in the survey because some chose to identify as roommates, others felt their relationship couldn’t be defined, and some found their living situation made it impossible for them to identify as couples.

“Same-sex couples are identified in Census data when one partner is ‘Person 1′ in a household and designates the other as a husband, wife, or an unmarried partner,” according to a press release from the Williams Institute. “The survey found that one in 10 individuals in same-sex couples opted to identify as roommates on their Census forms. An additional 5% of couples are not identified because they live in a household where neither partner is Person 1.”

Full Story from the Advocate

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And today didn’t disappoint. There is a piece, Ten Facts About Counterfeit Marriage, which supposedly gives a point-by-point reason as to why gay marriage is wrong.

Now many of the points are basic arguments with no facts backing them up as to why heterosexual marriage is “pure as the driven snow” and how gays and lesbians want to drive a bunch of tire tracks into this snow.

Full Story from AlterNet

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U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips said the ban violates the First and Fifth Amendment rights of gays and lesbians. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base.

In her ruling, Phillips said the policy doesn’t help military readiness and instead has a “direct and deleterious effect’” on the armed services.

Full Story from the NY Times

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GetEQUAL plans to close down the intersection of Castro and Market streets in San Francisco this afternoon in a protest over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s inaction on ENDA. The group similarly shut down the Las Vegas strip in August during Netroots Nation. Today’s action is scheduled for 5pm local time. Via press release:

“We pay taxes, contribute to the economy, and create American-paid jobs that provide products and services world-wide. Yet we continue to be treated unequal and Speaker Pelosi has the power to bring us one step closer to being fully-protected American citizens – and workers,” said Dan Fotou, a California GetEQUAL supporter and participant in today’s rally. “As Speaker Pelosi and other members of Congress are out campaigning to keep their jobs, they should know we have every intent of continuing our campaign to keep our jobs, too. Speaker Pelosi has said that ‘our impatience is justified’ – but what isn’t justified is the unfulfilled promises she continues to make to the LGBT community. It’s time for Speaker Pelosi to do the right thing and schedule an immediate vote on ENDA.”

Full Story from Joe.My.God

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–USA, CA, Los Angeles: 09/09, Voter Canvass Training, The Village, 6:30-9:30 PM.
–USA, CA, West Hollywood: 09/09, Equality Network Meeting, TBD, TBD.
–USA, GA, Savannah: 09/10, Queer Power March, Johnson Square, 6 PM.
–USA, ME, Hancock Co: 09/09, Community Conversation on Marriage Equality, TBD, 6-8 PM.

If Senate Bill 1716 makes it onto the agenda for the November legislative veto session, that question may be answered next year.

While LGBT advocacy organizations are hopeful about the proposed bill, politicians voiced concerns that other issues may take center stage this fall.

Full Story from Edge Boston

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There is a good reason that Iran’s theocratic dictatorship denies the existence of gays inside the country. An honest acknowledgment of reality would force the authorities to acknowledge that Iranian gays are regularly marginalized, harassed, tortured, and executed. Sometimes, they are forced into gender-altering operations. Ahmadinejad’s claim also called attention to the hypocrisy of the international community on the issue of gay rights in Iran. President Ahmadinejad’s absurd claim received overwhelming disapproval, yet when Iranian homosexuals are routinely abused and lawfully executed simply for their sexual preferences, that same international community, and the “progressive” Left that claims to champion gay rights, are deafeningly silent.

More recently, hundreds of thousands of Americans protested to overturn California’s Proposition 8, the legislation introduced on the California ballot in November of 2008 limiting the definition of a legal marriage to exclude same-sex unions. The measure passed and incited protests and demonstrations across California and the rest of the nation. Homosexual couples fervently began to file lawsuits with California’s Supreme Court. Prior to election day, opponents raised $43.3 million in their campaign to turn down the proposition, making it the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot. It exceeded every campaign in the country except the presidential race.

Full Story from Front Page Mag

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The definitive statement means the ability of Prop 8 proponents to appeal will depend entirely on the legal standing of the Yes on 8 coalition.

[Updated 9/8/10: After the print edition went to press, the California Supreme Court late Wednesday refused to order the governor and attorney general to appeal federal Judge Vaughn Walker's decision that overturned Prop 8, the state's same-sex marriage ban.]

Full Story from the BAR

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