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Prague: HIV infection rates rising fast
THURSDAY, September 2, 2010 (Prague Post)

Four years ago, Petr Sobek was like most anyone else - he knew HIV existed, but didn't pay much attention to it.

"I thought it could not happen to me, and it was my mistake that I allowed myself to have sex without a condom," the 39-year-old Sobek said, sitting in the garden at Lighthouse (Dum svetla), the Prague 8 HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment center where he now works and lives.

Sobek is one of a growing number of HIV-positive Czechs, with annual new cases occurring at four times the rate they did a decade ago. In July, for the third consecutive month, 20 new HIV cases were diagnosed, bringing the number of HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed from January to July this year to 118, according to Džamila Stehlíková, the national manager for the HIV/AIDS program in the Czech Republic. In July, five new cases of full-blown AIDS were diagnosed, she said.

If growth continues at the same pace for the rest of the year, new HIV cases this year will top 200 nationwide, a 400 percent increase over 10 years ago. Over the same period, government spending on HIV/AIDS prevention has dropped precipitously. In 2010, the Health Ministry has earmarked 3.5 million Kc ($179, 212), less than 15 percent of what it spent in 2001.

In short, experts say, by slashing funding for prevention, education and treatment over the past decade, the government has accelerated the spread of the deadly virus.

The total number of HIV/AIDS cases recorded in the Czech Republic since monitoring began in 1985 now stands at 1,462 HIV-positive, with 312 cases that have progressed to AIDS. The virus has killed 160 people. Half of all those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, around 700, live or lived in Prague.

New cases this year will equate to about 14 percent of all cases since monitoring began.

In 2010, government funding for prevention programs was budgeted at 7 million Kc - 1.5 million Kc less than in 2009 - but that number was further halved to 3.5 million Kc during additional rounds of budget cuts, Stehlíková said.

Miroslav Hlavatý, director of Lighthouse, said that in 1996, during the early years of government-funded HIV/AIDS prevention programs, the government provided 66.9 million Kc of funding.

"The difference is pretty high, and it almost threatens the existence of such organizations that work with HIV/AIDS," Hlavatý said, adding that he thinks the number of HIV/AIDS cases is actually much higher as most still go unreported and undiagnosed. With the exception of one educational program financed primarily by the European Union, about 75 percent of Lighthouse's annual budget depends on funding from the Health Ministry. The rest of the money comes from donors, but increased dependence on the private sector creates serious problems, Hlavatý said.

"Companies are afraid to give money to HIV/AIDS programs because they don't want to be connected with it," he said.

Hana Malinová, executive director for Bliss Without Risk, a nongovernmental organization that works with female sex workers to address HIV/AIDS, estimates there are 10,000 sex workers in the Czech Republic and says her organization does not have enough funding to offer sufficient preventive health services.

"For a very long time, we've had low numbers of HIV cases, so it's thought it's not necessary to take more care," Malinová said. "The good situation is not manna from heaven - it is the hard work of prevention teams."

And here, experts say, is the problem. Relative success fighting HIV/AIDS in the developed world in the later 1990s and early 2000s has lulled people into a false sense of security, allowing HIV/AIDS to make a comeback.

Bliss Without Risk received no money from the Health Ministry this year, and Malinová said money from other ministries, the city of Prague and the EU Social Fund was strictly limited to specific projects.

Recent successes in combating and limiting HIV/AIDS cases among intravenous drug users are in jeopardy because of a funding crunch, said Viktor Mravcík, head of the Czech National Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. The number of people contracting HIV through injecting drugs decreased to seven cases in 2009 from 17 in 2007.

"However, the 2010 situation shows that money is not enough to buy [clean] syringes to distribute to drug users, so there are limitations and constraints that could lead to a worsening of the situation," Mravcík said.

Awareness among the general public about the spread of HIV/AIDS is the other main problem, agency workers say, because while the numbers do reflect some clear "risk groups," the tendency for officials to emphasize those groups is dangerous.

"Unfortunately, we still talk about risk groups, so we still talk about gays and those who use drugs, and this makes heterosexuals and non-drug users think HIV infection cannot happen to them," Hlavatý said.

Sobek says he is shocked by the ignorance among young people.

"Young girls think [birth control] pills will save them from getting HIV," he said. "They just don't have a clue."

An estimated 57.5 percent of those with HIV in the Czech Republic are men who have sex with men, while 30.5 percent are heterosexuals. Two and a half percent are drug users. The majority of those contracting HIV are between the ages of 20 and 29, Hlavatý said.

While budget cuts have left education and prevention lacking, the upside of national HIV/AIDS policy is that those who are diagnosed do receive treatment, according to the United Nation's 2010 Country Progress Report on HIV/AIDS. People living with HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic receive treatment at seven centers around the country, which is fully covered by health insurance. Those with uncertain legal status in the country get treatment covered by the national AIDS prevention budget.

Patients who choose alternative regiments of treatment provide a co-payment and can sometimes receive help from the World Health Organization, Hlavatý said.

HIV testing is free and obligatory for all pregnant women, as well as screening of all blood and organs to be donated, and HIV testing for all others is partially subsidized, the report said.

The main problem is not the treatment of the virus, Sobek said, but whether people are willing to dedicate time, effort and money to prevent it.

"People don't consider it a big problem," Sobek said. "They don't realize it's still incurable. It really cannot be cured, and they will never be healthy again."

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Tasmanian LGBT activists welcome recognition of Interstate and overseas same-sex unions
TUESDAY, August 31, 2010 (Pink News)

Legislation has been passed by the State Lower House in Tasmania which will allow same-sex couples in interstate or overseas unions to be automatically recognised under Tasmanian law without the need to re-register their status.

Tasmanian LGBT activists have welcomed the move. Couples in Tasmanian Deeds of Relationship (a form of civil partnership) are already recognised in other states of the Australian Commonwealth and in some overseas countries, and reciprocal recognition of couples will bring significant benefits to those travelling in, or relocating to, Tasmania.

Rodney Croome, spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group said: "Couples in Tasmanian Deeds of Relationship have benefited in a range of areas from being recognised in places like the UK and New Zealand, and couples coming to Tasmania will benefit in similar ways when their unions are recognised here.

"For example, if a same-sex couple in an interstate or overseas union is travelling in Tasmania and one partner is taken ill, the other can rest assure they will automatically be considered next-of-kin.

"A couple in an existing union relocating to Tasmania can also rest assured their relationship will be respected without the need for a long and costly re-registration process."

An amendment banning the recognition of overseas same-sex marriages as Tasmanian Deeds of Relationship, as proposed by State Liberal Michael Ferguson, has been voted down. Had it been passed, only civil partnerships made overseas would have been recognised in Tasmania. Mr Croome labelled the now-defeated proposition "inconsistent".

He added: "Overseas same-sex marriages are already recognised in Australia by Federal Government agencies like the Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Immigration, and by numerous large corporations from Telstra, through QANTAS to the Commonwealth Bank, so it extreme and inconsistent to say they should not be recognised as Deeds of Relationship in Tasmania.

"It would also be inconsistent and overly-harsh to recognise couples who made civil unions vows in Auckland or London, but then to tell same-sex couples married in, say, Vancouver or Madrid, that their solemn vows mean nothing in Tasmanian law."

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Nepal holds first gay Pride parade
FRIDAY, August 27, 2010 (Pink News)

Hundreds attended Nepal's first ever gay Pride procession yesterday in the country's capital, Kathmandu.

Despite heavy rain, a crowd of young men and women in colourful costumes and masks marched through the city in a display of Pride.

The celebrations coincided with Gai Jatra, a historical festival held in memory of the recently deceased, in which participants also dress up and parade through the streets.

Back in 2001, Sunil Pant, Nepal's only openly gay MP and head of the Blue Diamond Society, the country's pioneering gay rights organisation, made the decision to use the Gai Jatra festival to encourage Nepalese LGBT people to walk in public without hiding their sexual identity.

At that parade, LGBT participants hid their faces behind masks for fear of being identified, but things were different yesterday.

Mr Pant said: "From this year, our march has become internationalised. We have the support of the Irish parliament, the American ambassador to Nepal, Scott DeLisi, has sent a message of solidarity and the march saw the participation of the British ambassador, John Tucknott.

"Thousands of gays die worldwide every year, some of natural causes, some due to AIDS/HIV and many due to violence. In Nepal, there were 10 known deaths last year. But no one remembers them. Our gay parade ends with a candle-light vigil in memory of those who died last year. This is about equality for all."

Last week saw Nepal’s first foreign gay "wedding", also in Kathmandu, between a British man and his Indian partner.

Although there are no laws legalising same sex marriages in Nepal, marriages conducted by priests are generally accepted by Nepalese society.

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Meth use among young gay men remains a pervasive problem
WEDNESDAY, August 25, 2010 (Seattle Times)

Jordan Duran sat down to coffee downstairs from his office at Gay City Health Project on Capitol Hill. His calm presence and sweet smile reveal little of the horror this 26-year-old has put his mind, body and spirit through.

Just a few years ago, Duran wandered the streets outside Gay City a skeletal form of his current self. Homeless, sick and estranged from his family, he would look away from passers-by, including some of his current colleagues — all the while completely loaded on crystal meth.

"In my brief moments of clarity I knew my life was supposed to be better than this," Duran said. "Growing up I had so many dreams ... but I completely lost myself."

Meth use among gay men has been a pervasive problem for decades, particularly in the western United States. Here in King County, about 10 percent of gay and bisexual men used crystal meth in a given year, according to data from Public Health — Seattle & King County. These rates are twice as high in men under the age of 30.

And gay men who use meth are among the highest risk for contracting HIV, according to local studies, perhaps because of the drug's libido-boosting effect or the lack of inhibitions and invincibility people feel when using.

Local organizations have been reaching out to meth users in the gay community, hoping to pave their path to recovery by offering counseling, support groups and other resources.

"While meth affects everyone because its so highly addictive, it's a particular problem for those in the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) community," said Arnold Martin, who works for Project NEON, a program for gay and bisexual men struggling with meth use.

"The shame of being gay and an outcast, the low self-esteem ... the drug allows you to not feel, to not care; it knocks down the barrier around self-esteem."

For the full article, click here...

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Gay men 'continue to top list' in contracting STIs
WEDNESDAY, August 25, 2010 (Pink News)

Figures released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) this morning have shown that the state of sexual health among the UK population is poor, with STI rates reaching record levels. The figures have also revealed that gay men are of particular concern.

Terrence Higgins Trust’s Chief Executive Sir Nick Partridge said: "It’s staggering that almost half a million people each year are affected by preventable sexually transmitted infections. Gay men continue to top the list, accounting for two thirds of syphilis and over a third of gonorrhea diagnoses last year, while being only 6% of the population.

"We know about the risks of HIV transmission and these figures show that it’s just as important to be aware of STIs too. Getting an STI, like chlamydia or gonorrhea, makes it much easier to pick up or pass on other, more serious infections, including HIV."

The Terrence Higgins Trust run several STI prevention campaigns, including Young and Free, which seeks to encourage young people to get tested for chlamydia, an STI that can often go unnoticed because of the relative lack of symptoms, but can lead to serious problems if left untreated.

According to the HPA's figures, chlamydia among gay men and men who have sex with men has risen 341 per cent in the last ten years.

Mr Partridge added: "We know how to reduce the risks: enjoy safer sex, use condoms, and if you’ve had unsafe sex go to a GUM or community testing clinic. All sexually active gay men should have a full sexual health screen and an HIV test at least once a year. We can – and we must – improve our sexual health."

Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk, Jason Warriner at THT said that although websites such as Gaydar and the new Grindr iPhone app had increased opportunities for meeting for sex, there was no hard evidence that the popularity of social neworking sites made a significant contribution to the rising statistics.

Mr Warriner cited Netreach, the new service from Terrence Higgins Trust for Gaydar users in England and Wales, which allows users to talk to trained outreach workers in the website's chat rooms or on the general chat boards. He added: "The key thing [to know] is that websites such as Gaydar can also be used as vehicles to get across messages and offer advice about safe sex, which is what we aim to do with Netreach."

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New US poll report finds changing attitudes to homosexuality
MONDAY, August 23, 2010 (Pink News)

According to new national research, Americans have become more accepting of homosexuality of the past 16 years, with over half of those polled saying they support civil unions.

As reported in the Desert Sun, a 1994 Pew Research Centre poll had found that under half its respondents agreed that homosexuality was "a way of life" that should be accepted by society.

But the Public Religion Research Institute's new report, released last Friday and compiled from a selction of public studies done over the last 20 years, said support for same-sex civil unions had risen from 45 per cent in 2003 to 57 per cent in 2009. The increase in support for same-sex marriage was more modest, but still showed an rise in support from 30 per cent in 2003 to 38 per cent in 2010.

Among religious respondents to the recent polls, Latino Catholics showed more movement toward supporting gay marriage (at 57 per cent) than Latino Protestants (at 22 per cent).

National polls by the Pew Centre have apparently found that younger Americans are much more accepting of LGBT people, and researchers reportedly say that the generational divide over the issue will eventually bring about a collision.

Daniel Cox, director of research for the Public Religion Research Institute and co-author of the report said, "The clergy risk alienating a significant number of young folks if they take a real hard line approach on same-sex marriage".

Despite such encouraging statistics, in the Proposition 8 issue, 52 per cent of Californians voted for the constitutional amendment which bars gay men and lesbians from marrying. When District Judge Vaughn Walker recently ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, it was expected that same-sex couples would be able to resume wedding plans last week, but opponents were successful in their plea that the ban should remain in place until they have appealed.

The ruling is currently being challenged in federal court, and the ban will remain until December when further proceedings against its lifting are to take place.

Experts believe it wil be another two years before the case comes before the Supreme Court.

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A third of HIV-positive gay men show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder
THURSDAY, August 19, 2010 (Pink News)

A study has found that one third of gay and bisexual men diagnosed with HIV show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Researchers from the NHS Foundation Trust in London surveyed 100 gay and bisexual men who had been diagnosed with HIV. The study results were published in the latest edition of the journal AIDS Patient Care and STDs

They found that 33 per cent of the men met the criteria for having PTSD, which is a psychological disorder that can develop in people who have experienced or witnessed traumatic events.

Symptoms can include flashbacks, guilt, depression, addiction and physical complaints such as headaches.

The researchers were surprised to find that beginning antiretroviral therapy was marginally the strongest trigger for PTSD developing and theorised that this may be because the men feared how a medication regime could affect their lives.

They concluded: "Such appraisals could include catastrophic expectations about the limitations a medication regime may impose on social or occupational functioning thus leading to traumatic fear, or the perceived failure of alternative medicines and lifestyle remedies leading to traumatic helplessness."

Other triggers were feeling physically ill as a result of infection or experiencing the death of a loved one from HIV.

Significantly, the actual diagnosis of HIV was described by 55 per cent of men as traumatic but this was not in itself a trigger for PTSD.

Matthew Hodson, head of programmes at GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, said the study was a "sharp reminder of the huge emotional stress that HIV infection can cause".

He said: “If you become infected, you will probably have to take medication every day for the rest of your life to keep your immune system functioning. In addition to anxieties over treatment failure, or fear of how it will affect their social and work lives, people with HIV have to deal with stigmatisation. There is the constant knowledge that there will always be the possibility of them infecting partners. If they discuss their status with partners, they face rejection. If they don’t discuss their status, they are vilified.

“Amongst my own friends, I see how devastating it can be to be diagnosed positive, and how starting medication in itself is often traumatic. We need to get to a point where, as gay men, we are supportive of each other and where we can openly discuss HIV status and safer sex.”

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Judge: Calif. gay marriages can resume Aug. 18
THURSDAY, August 12, 2010 (MSN)

SAN FRANCISCO — The federal judge who overturned California's same-sex marriage ban ruled Thursday that gay marriages can resume starting Aug. 18.

The decision by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker means gay and lesbian couples will have to wait six days before they can get married. That gives gay marriage opponents time to appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. If the appeals court fails to act by 5 p.m. local time next Wednesday, then gay marriages can go forward.

Walker struck down the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban last week in a case many believe is destined for the Supreme Court.

But he moved to suspend gay weddings until he could consider arguments from both sides on whether the marriages should be allowed during an appeal of his ruling.

Dozens of gay couples gathered outside City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday awaiting the judge's ruling.

Read judge's ruling on stay (PDF)

Lawyers for gay couples, California Gov. Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed legal motions last week asking that same-sex marriages be allowed to resume immediately.

Those motions were filed two days after Walker struck down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.

California voters passed Proposition 8 as a state constitutional amendment in November 2008, five months after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions and an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples already had tied the knot.

Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Pellerin, president of the California Association of Clerk and Elected Officials, said county agencies that issue marriage licenses will be ready to serve same-sex couples whenever they get the green light to resume.

Before deciding the case, Walker heard 13 days of testimony and arguments.

Defense lawyers argued that the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.

The judge dismissed the notion that gay Americans were seeking a new right as opposed to one already guaranteed them under the Constitution.

He said that preventing gays from marrying does nothing to strengthen heterosexual unions or serve any purpose that justifies the ban's discriminatory effect.

"Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions," Walker wrote. "Like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples have happy, satisfying relationships and form deep emotional bonds and strong commitments to their partners."

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Marriage Equality Win in Mexico
WEDNESDAY, August 11, 2010 (The Advocate)

The marriages of same-sex couples performed in Mexico City must be recognized by all Mexican states, the country's supreme court ruled Tuesday.

Though Mexico's 31 states now must recognize such unions from Mexico City, none are required to sanction gay marriages performed within their locales.

The court ruled last week that the Mexico City law permitting marriage rights for same-sex couples is constitutional, rejecting an appeal by federal prosecutors, who argued that it violated mandates to protect the family.

In a 9-2 vote, the supreme court found that states are obligated to honor legal contracts formed elsewhere in the country, the Associated Press reports.

Mexico City legalized gay marriage in March, and it includes the right for same-sex couples to adopt children.

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Schwarzenegger: Let same-sex weddings resume now
MONDAY, August 9, 2010 (Associated Press)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who twice vetoed legislation that would have legalized same-sex marriage, has surprised gay rights supporters by urging a federal judge to allow gay couples to resume marrying in the state without further delay.

Lawyers for Schwarzenegger, Attorney General Jerry Brown, two gay couples and the city of San Francisco all filed legal motions Friday asking Chief U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker to implement his ruling striking California's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional.

"The Administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California," the Republican governor's lawyers said on his behalf. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."

In his 136-page decision overturning Proposition 8 Wednesday, Walker said he was ordering the state to cease enforcing the 22-month-old ban. But he agreed to suspend the order until he could review the briefs submitted Friday.

The measure's sponsors have asked the judge to keep the ban in effect until their appeal of Walker's ruling invalidating Proposition 8 is decided by higher courts.

They argued in court papers filed earlier this week that resuming gay marriage now would cause legal chaos if the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or U.S. Supreme Court eventually reverse Walker's ruling.

It was unclear when the judge would decide whether to grant a stay that would prevent marriage licenses from being issued to gay couples during the appeals process.

If he does clear the way for same-sex couples to wed, lawyers for sponsors of Proposition 8 said Friday they would seek an emergency order from the 9th Circuit to prevent that from happening.

The governor and attorney general almost always defend state laws when they are challenged, regardless of their personal views. But in this case, both Schwarzenegger and Brown refused to participate in fighting the lawsuit aimed at overturning the ban, even though they both were named as defendants.

That left the job of defending Proposition 8 to its backers, a coalition of religious and conservative groups known as Protect Marriage.

Although Schwarzenegger opposed the ban when it appeared on the November 2008 ballot and said after the election that it he hoped a court would overturn it, he officially took a neutral position in the lawsuit.

During the year it was in Walker's courtroom, the judge several times pointedly told the governor's lawyer he was interested in knowing Schwarzenegger's position on the case. Schwarzenegger's Friday motion was his boldest pronouncement on the issue.

"His support today and at other critical junctures in our struggle against this discriminatory measure goes a long way in helping us realize our ultimate dream of achieving full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, the state's largest gay rights group.

In 2005, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill approved by the Legislature that would have legalized same-sex marriage. At the time, California had a law passed by voters in 2000 limiting marriage to a man and a woman. The governor said in his veto message he thought it was wrong for lawmakers to overturn a popular vote. He took the same position when the Legislature passed a second gay marriage bill two years later.

In May 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned the 2000 law and same-sex couples were allowed to wed. But Proposition 8 overrode the court's decision by amending the state Constitution.

Brown, the Democratic nominee who is seeking to replace Schwarzenegger when he is termed out of office this year, was more active than Schwarzenegger in supporting the lawsuit that led Walker to invalidate Proposition 8, submitting legal papers calling the ban unconstitutional.

Brown also said Friday that it's time for gays to begin marrying again.

"While there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by this court's conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," Brown said in his legal filing.

The legal team of David Boies and Ted Olson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of two gay couples that led to Walker's ruling, also submitted a motion in conjunction with the city of San Francisco, another plaintiff.

They all argued that since the judge declared Proposition 8 to be illegal, gay couples should be able to marry now.

Boies and Olson said gay couples "will continue to suffer irreparable harm if Proposition 8's irrational deprivation of their constitutional rights is prolonged."

Santa Cruz County Clerk Gail Peelers, president of the California Association of Clerk and Elected Officials, said county agencies that issue marriage licenses will be ready to serve same-sex couples whenever they get the green light.

During the window in 2008 when same-sex marriage was legal in California, the state changed its marriage license applications to be gender-neutral so applicants only had to check boxes indicating "bride" or "groom" if they chose to.

At the same time, Peelers said local officials do not want to be in the position of being asked to issue licenses if Walker enforces his decision only to have an appeals court later impose a stay. It would be better for all involved to have the process be unambiguous, she said.

"We don't want to issue a couple who are in love and want to get married a $75 license and then turn around a minute or a week later and say that license is no longer valid," she said. "We don't want anyone to be in the position of being led down that path."

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Judge overturns Calif. gay marriage ban
WEDNESDAY, August 4, 2010 (MSNBC)

SAN FRANCISCO — In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's decision to overturn the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, came in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians.

Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriages in California five months after the state Supreme Court legalized them, passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008 following the most expensive campaign on a social issue in U.S. history.

Attorneys on both sides have said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.

Anticipating such a scenario, lawyers for the coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored Proposition 8 in 2008 filed a legal brief Tuesday asking Walker to stay his decision if he overturns the ban so same-sex couples could not marry while an appeal was pending.

"Same-sex marriages would be licensed under a cloud of uncertainty, and should proponents succeed on appeal, any such marriages would be invalid," they wrote.

Walker presided over a 13-day trial earlier this year that was the first in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality.

Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.

Opponents said that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.

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Prop. 8 Ruling Today
WEDNESDAY, August 4, 2010 (The Advocate)

U.S. district chief judge Vaughn Walker will issue a written decision on the federal challenge to California's Proposition 8 on Wednesday.

High-profile attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies argued for the repeal of Proposition 8, representing two same-sex California couples in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. The ballot initiative, passed with 52% of the vote, overturned a California supreme court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage from June to November 2008.

Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, believes Walker will strike down Prop. 8 on grounds that it violates equal protection principles of the U.S. Constitution. Even if Chemerinsky is wrong, the case will likely head to the ninth circuit court of appeals, but that will "surely take more than a year," he says.

UPDATE: According to the court, a decision in Perry will be filed between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Pacific time on Wednesday. The decision will be available soon after on the court's website.

Advocate.com requests its readers to share photos or video of events pegged to the Proposition 8 ruling on Wednesday. Please send your materials to photo@advocate.com, and you may see your shots on the site.

Check out this list of planned Day of Decision activities happening throughout California and around the country.

Los Angeles: 6 p.m. | West Hollywood Park | 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.

San Francisco: 5 p.m. | Castro & Market

San Diego: MARCH: 6 p.m. @ 6th and University avenues | RALLY: 7 p.m.,
LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre Street

Long Beach: 6 p.m. | Bixby Park, Junipero & Cherry Avenue at Broadway
Street

Sacramento: 6 p.m. | Party in the parking lot behind McMartin Realty
at K and 21st Streets, for dancing and celebration with music and bands.
If Prop 8 is somehow upheld we will march to the capitol in protest.

New York City:
New York City Supreme Court
60 Centre St.
New York, NY
7pm - 9pm

Boston:
6:00pm @ Copley Square, outside Copley T stop on Boylston Street

Denver:
Colorado Responds- Prop 8 Decision Day Rally
Lincoln Ave between Colfax and 14th
6:00pm - 7:00pm

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Indian company makes condom for gay men
TUESDAY, August 3, 2010 (GayNZ.com)

A condom especially for gay men is being made by one of India's leading condom manufacturers.

Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) say a study found that many gay and bisexual men were not using condoms because those designed for vaginal sex caused discomfort.

They have created a new kind, Spice Up, which will contain extra lubrication.

India legalised homosexuality just last year and its society is slowly becoming more tolerant, Pink News reports.

A NACO executive has told Indian media "We want to bring about a behavioural change in the habits of these men, which is difficult because they are a closed group and do not respond well to advice from outsiders. We have, therefore, roped in some peer leaders to carry our message across and hope this will work."

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Jerusalem hosts subdued gay pride march
FRIDAY, July 30, 2010 (STLtoday)

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Thousands of Israelis marched calmly Thursday in Jerusalem's longest gay pride parade despite opposition from anti-gay demonstrators.

The subdued march from Jerusalem city center to the parliament building contrasted with flamboyant gay pride parades elsewhere in the world. Organizers said they were adjusting to the city's religious character and using it to promote their political agenda.

Carrying rainbow banners, several thousand demonstrators walked along the 1.5 mile (2.5 kilometer) route. Absent were standard features of many such parades - multicolor floats carrying scantily and provocatively dressed participants, loud music, wild costumes and explicit public examples of homosexual activity.

Even so, a few dozen black-suited ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters at the beginning and end of the route held signs denouncing homosexuals, with slogans like "Gays Play in Hell, Not Jerusalem." Many ultra-Orthodox Jews consider homosexuality to be an abomination.

Marchers said such opposition has forced Jerusalem's gay community underground in most parts of the city.

"In a religious society, a lot of people still don't realize we actually exist," said Sarah Weil, 26, who helps run an organization for lesbians who are also Orthodox Jews.

The march marked the one-year anniversary of a shooting attack at a Tel Aviv gay youth center that killed two.

"This is first of all a march of mourning," said organizer Yonatan Gher, "and at the end we will try to put the mourning behind us and look forward to the coming year, and declare tonight the beginning of gay rights year."

Thousands of Israeli police guarded the marchers.

The Jerusalem parade has been marred by violence in the past. In 2005, an Orthodox Jewish protester stabbed three marchers. Organizers said the fear of attack still keeps many people at home.

But parade participants say there are signs the climate in Jerusalem is changing.

"I don't think it's dangerous anymore," said Yair Lieberman, 23. "But even if there's danger, that shouldn't stop us from walking."

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Prevention Is Failing to Target MSM When They’re Young Enough
THURSDAY, July 29, 2010 (POZ Magazine)

If we are going to prevent HIV transmission in young men who have sex with men (MSM), we must find strategies to reach them when they are in their early teens. So say researchers who presented a study Monday, July 19, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

HIV infection among young MSM is often a conundrum. Studies show that they understand what sexual acts place them at highest risk for HIV infection, but many engage in unprotected anal intercourse with other men of unknown HIV status. What is paradoxical and frustrating is that when prevention researchers ask the young men why they engaged in high-risk behaviors, they typically respond that they didn’t think that what they were doing would lead to becoming infected.

To better understand the context behind this kind of reasoning, D. Dennis Flores III, from Emory Healthcare in Atlanta and his colleagues conducted interviews with 10 young MSM from that city who had recently been diagnosed with HIV. Nine of the men were African American, and one was Latino. Their ages ranged from 18 to 24. The interviews with the young men covered four topic areas: risk behavior, HIV education, the Internet and healthy role models.

As has been found in previous studies, the majority of the young men had viewed themselves as either unlikely or very unlikely to contract HIV in their lifetimes, and half reported experiencing coercion and sexual abuse at the time of sexual initiation.

One 18-year-old participant, Nathaniel, described his own sexual initiation: “I had to be around 13… He worked at my school, he was around 30, a janitor. He was always nice to me for no reason. I mean, I kind of guessed it after a while. He would talk to me. One day I just left school with him. The most we ever did was oral; we didn’t do anything else. But after that, like, he tried talking to me more about leaving school. I really didn’t like him after that.”

Flores and his colleagues found that while all the young men had undergone sex education while in middle school or high school, none reported that these classes included information about gay sex. Moreover, only one of the young men reported having any gay role models while growing up. This meant that relevant sex education occurred on the Internet, which from a sexual risk perspective, can be quite perilous. When these young men went online, most of them saw graphic high-risk sexual encounters, and this behavior quickly became what they perceived as normal and desirable.

“[The Internet] sure has taught me a lot of tricks,” explained 24-year-old Adrien. “Things that I never thought were humanly possible. It gave me a reference. I guess it was kind of revolutionary for me ’cause I’d never seen two men, like, actually get enjoyment out of it. So it was like getting exposed to that was, like, wow, you know…different.”

One of the most important findings, said Flores, was that by the time the young men encountered prevention messages and programs targeted to young gay men, higher-risk sexual activity had already become the norm. For some, they contracted HIV before having ever encountered targeted prevention information.

Flores concluded his presentation by stressing that targeted education, focused on young MSM, should be occurring as early as elementary or middle school and that parents should be taught to be supportive and to teach their sons how to avoid sexual coercion. Moreover, Flores’s team recommends engaging young MSM who are out about their sexual orientation to serve as peer educators and role models for other young men. Lastly, Flores stressed the critical need to use new technologies online to reach young MSM with prevention methods before it is too late.

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Same-sex relationships increase self-esteem, decrease homophobia in teens
THURSDAY, July 29, 2010 (HealthCanal)

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Involvement in a same-sex relationship boosted self-esteem in teen males and lowered internalized homophobia in teen females who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual, a new University of Michigan study shows.

Surprisingly for the same teens, having an opposite-sex relationship had no affect on self-esteem, depression or anxiety.

Dating in adolescence is critical to developing sexual and social identities, says Jose Bauermeister, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. It's even more salient for gay, lesbian and bisexual youth because there is such a stigma attached to their sexual orientation.

Studies have shown that these teens may suffer more psychological distress, victimization, physical threats and violence than heterosexual youth. Gay, lesbian and bisexual teens who conceal their sexuality, often have a lower self-image or internalized sense of homophobia—which can lead to depression and anxiety.

Bauermeister's research group set out to determine the influence of same-sex and opposite-sex relationships on symptoms of depression, anxiety, internalized homophobia and self-esteem over time in 350 gay, lesbian or bisexual teens from three Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender drop-in centers in New York City.

The protective effects of same-sex relationships are different for young men and women, says Bauermeister, who oversees the SPH Sexuality and Health Lab. A same-sex relationship is protective in that it reduces internalized homophobia for girls even after only one relationship. For men, a same-sex relationship is protective in that it raises self-esteem, but the relationship must be prolonged.

Bauermeister and his research team checked back with the study participants for two years after the baseline interview. They were surprised by how little effect participation in opposite sex relationships had on the group of kids in the study. This contrasts with existing literature.

"I actually expected to see more associations between psychological distress and having an opposite-sex partner," Bauermeister said. "But there was no association with self-esteem, depression or anxiety. The literature seems to suggest that creating a bond with a partner may be protective. However, we found having an opposite-sex partner is not protective, but it's not harmful either."

Opposite-sex relationships did increase internalized homophobia in boys, but this association disappeared as youth grew older.

The research team also considered other types of relationships in their analyses.

"There's also a protective effect of being out with your friends," Bauermeister said. "Again it seems to also go with both increases in self-esteem for boys and with decreased internal homophobia for girls. All types of relationships seem to matter here."

The takeaway?

"Providers and caregivers of (gay, lesbian and bisexual) youth need to create supportive environments where kids can talk about and support their sexual identity, which may include their dating experiences with same-sex and opposite-sex partners," Bauermeister said.

The paper, "Relationship trajectories and psychological well-being among sexual minority youth," will appear in the journal Youth and Adolescence in August.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health has been promoting health and preventing disease since 1941, and is ranked among the top five public health schools in the nation. Whether making new discoveries in the lab or researching and educating in the field, SPH faculty, students and alumni are deployed around the globe to promote and protect our health.

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Study Finds PrEP Is Safe in Gay and Bi Men
WEDNESDAY, Jully 28, 2010 (AIDSMeds.com)

PLEASE NOTE: The results of this study do not indicate whether or not PrEP is effective in preventing HIV infection. Those results are expected later this year. This study simply shows that the drugs are safe for use. Using latex or polyurethane condoms with water/silicone-based lubes is still currently the best way to prevent HIV infection during sex.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) is safe for men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a U.S. study presented Friday, July 23, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Vienna.

PrEP is one of the most promising prevention tools on the immediate horizon. With PrEP, HIV-negative individuals take antiretroviral drugs to prevent becoming infected with the virus. The first PrEP studies are testing tenofovir alone (Viread), while several later studies are testing tenofovir plus emtricitabine (Truvada). Currently, all studies are looking at daily ongoing use of the drugs, but future trials are planned with intermittent dosing. The first efficacy results are expected later this year, but researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta presented findings from a safety study at this year’s IAC.

For that study, CDC-4323, Lisa Grohskopf, MD, from the CDC and her colleagues enrolled 400 HIV-negative MSM. All reported having had anal sex with a man at least once during the previous year. The men were recruited in Atlanta, San Francisco and Boston. The majority were white, while 15 percent were African American, 9 percent were Hispanic and 4 percent were Asian or Pacific Islanders. Ultimately, 373 completed the course of the study.

There were four arms of the study. Half of the men in the study began taking tenofovir or a placebo right away. The second half were followed without study drugs for nine months and then given tenofovir or a placebo. This helped the researchers better understand how a person’s risk behavior might change after beginning to take PrEP. The study was not designed to determine whether tenofovir could prevent HIV transmission, only whether or not it was safe compared with a placebo. All of the men were tested for HIV regularly and received rigorous HIV prevention counseling and condoms throughout the study.

Grohskopf and her colleagues found that men taking tenofovir had no more side effects than men taking a placebo. Two side effects of primary concern have been kidney and bone problems, which has been found in a small number of people with HIV who have taken the drug as treatment. Grohskopf’s team measured the men’s creatinine clearance—a measure of kidney function—and did bone scans to detect any potential problems in that regard. The team found no additional kidney or bone problems in those taking tenofovir, compared with a placebo.

CDC-4323 was also designed to measure how the participants’ HIV risk behavior changed during the study. Though data on this issue is still being analyzed, Grohskopf reported that a preliminary analysis found that taking PrEP did not appear to lead study participants to forgo condoms or take other HIV risks.

“We didn’t find any increased risk of harm in medical terms, and on the behavioral side the preliminary work we’ve done also suggests there is no increased risk,” Grohskopf told Reuters News.

Given the promising results from a large tenofovir microbicide study—with a 39 percent reduction in HIV transmissions in women who used the tenofovir gel—establishing the safety of oral tenofovir provides even more hope that this strategy could be employed if the efficacy studies are successful.

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Nepal to hold first gay Pride march
WEDNESDAY, July 28, 2010 (Pink News)

Nepal's only out gay MP has said that his country will hold its first Pride march this year.

Sunil Pant told AFP that he hopes 3,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people will join the event, to be held on August 25th in the capital Kathmandu.

The date coincides with a traditional festival in which men dress up as women. The festival has been adopted by gay groups in recent years.

Mr Pant, who is his country's best-known gay campaigner, said: "We want to make this a truly international event.

"Nepal has made so much progress on gay issues in the last few years, and we hope to spread hope and inspire others."

The country only decriminalised homosexuality in 2007 but Mr Pant is credited with turning around its attitude to LGBT issues.

Gay rights are expected to be enshrined in Nepal's constitution, while a gay marriage law is being considered.

Earlier this year, tourism bosses announced that they hoped to attract one million tourists a year, up from 400,000 currently.

They are already discussing the prospect of holding gay weddings at the base of Everest and giving gay couples the chance to enjoy their honeymoons with tours on elephant-back.

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Laws against homosexuality 'spreading HIV infections'
WEDNESDAY, July 21, 2010 (Pink News)

Anti-gay laws in the Asia-Pacific region are causing higher rates of HIV infections, the UN has warned.

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), such laws mean that gay men and trans people are less likely to seek medical help and be aware of how to prevent HIV transmission.

In a statement released at the World AIDS Conference in Vienna, the UNDP said: "Some 19 of 48 countries in the Asia Pacific region continue to criminalise male-to-male sex.

"These laws often taken on the force of vigilantism, frequently leading to abuse and human rights violations. Correspondingly, HIV prevalence has reached alarming levels among men who have sex with men and transgender populations in many countries of the region."

Some of the countries in the region which criminalise gay sex are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Kiribati and Malaysia.

The report said that while some of these countries identify men who have sex with men of being at particular risk of HIV, police target gay men and trans people leading to assaults, extortion and imprisonment.

It added that health workers, many of whom are gay or trans, are also targeted, which leads to the disruption of safer sex and health care schemes.

Events on HIV prevention and publicity materials are often censored, the UNDP said, while banning gay sex discourages support groups being set up.

The report claimed that half of all new HIV infections will be found in gay and bisexual men by 2020 if current trends continue.

It recommended repealing anti-gay laws, supporting community-based education and implementing anti-discrimination policies across the region.

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Most Men in Long-Term Study of HIV Report Low Use of Illicit Drugs
WEDNESDAY, July 21, 2010 (Science Daily)

ScienceDaily (July 21, 2010) — Most older gay and bisexual men enrolled in a long-term study of HIV used recreational drugs infrequently over a 10-year period, report University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researchers at the XVIII International AIDS Conference.

The study explored the drug use habits of 1,378 HIV-positive and negative gay and bisexual men, ages 44 to 63, enrolled in the Pitt Men's Study, part of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), which began in 1983 and is the longest-running National Institutes of Health-funded investigation of HIV/AIDS.

Study researchers surveyed participants about their use of recreational drugs (poppers, crack, cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy) between 1998 and 2008. They found that 79 percent of participants reported infrequent drug use, and three subgroups emerged: nearly 6 percent who reported consistently high drug use; more than 7 percent who increased their drug use; and 7 percent who decreased their use of drugs.

"We know that drug use among men who have sex with men contributes to a host of health problems, including HIV infection, but we know very little about how drug use changes as these men age," said Jessica G. Burke, Ph.D., study author and assistant professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health. "Previous studies have linked drug use in gay men to risky sexual behaviors and to higher rates of HIV infection, but most of these studies have focused primarily on specific time-points and on younger men."

According to Dr. Burke, the data will provide needed insights to develop interventions for preventing and treating drug use among gay and bisexual men as they age. Moving forward, she will be combining these results with qualitative data collected through interviews with participants about their experiences with drugs.

"Although a majority of participants reported infrequent drug use, three subgroups of men displayed distinct patterns of use over 10 years of midlife. Understanding more about these subgroups and the factors that lead to drug use will give us a better understanding of how we can address this behavior among similar individuals."

Study co-authors include Sin How Lim, Ph.D., Michael Marshal, Ph.D., Anthony Silvestre, Ph.D., Steven Albert, Ph.D., and Ronald Stall, Ph.D., all of the University of Pittsburgh; and David Ostrow, Ph.D., of the Chicago MACS and David Ostrow and Associates. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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UK: 'Gay couples will get equal right to marry'
TUESDAY, July 20, 2010 (Telegraph)

Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said that the Government will allow same-sex couples to have “civil marriage” with same legal status as marriage between a man and a woman.

His comments follow moves by a Lib Dem minister to allow homosexual couples to have religious elements to their civil partnership ceremonies.

Under current rules, same-sex couples can contract a civil partnership, which is recognised in law but not given the same status as marriage for a heterosexual couple.

Mr Hughes predicted that before the next general election, the law will be changed to give an equal right to full marriage.

“It would be appropriate in Britain in 2010 to have civil marriage for straight people and gay people equally,” he said.

“The state ought to give equality. We’re halfway there. I think we ought to be able to get there in this Parliament.”

Earlier this month, Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, said the Coalition was considering allowing same-sex couples to include key religious elements in civil partnership ceremonies.

The full equality that Mr Hughes advocated would go further than that, although he insisted any change would be limited to civil marriage and would not place any obligations on religious groups to marry same-sex couples.

Mr Hughes, regarded as being on the left of the Lib Dems, has been critical of some Coalition policies and has threatened to reject parts of the Government’s Budget package.

But, in comments to Yoosk.com, an internet-based interview site, he backed the Coalition and said it was increasingly following a Lib Dem agenda.

“All the time, we are making Tories, at least Tories in government, more enlightened and that must be good for the country,” he said.

During the election campaign, the Conservatives were the only main party to suggest that they would consider allowing full homosexual marriage. Some lawyers say that would be easier to legislate for than altering existing laws on civil partnership and civil marriage.

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Older people with HIV 'substantially more disadvantaged than peers'
TUESDAY, July 20, 2010 (Pink News)

Research into the experiences of HIV-positive people over the age of 50 suggests they face "substantial" disadvantages compared to the general population.

According to the study ‘50 Plus’, the first national study of ageing and HIV, they have worse health, are poorer and fear for the future.

The majority of older people with HIV are gay and bisexual men.

The study is to be launched tomorrow in Vienna at AIDS 2010, the 18th International AIDS Conference, by charities Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and Age UK for The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

It studied the experiences of 410 people aged over 50 and receiving HIV treatment.

Findings show that older people living with HIV are twice as likely to experience other long-term health problems alongside HIV, such as high blood pressure, kidney and liver problems and arthritis, with two-thirds having treatment for these conditions.

This group is also financially disadvantaged in comparison to people their age without HIV. They are less likely to be working, less likely to have a financial cushion for their retirement and more reliant on state benefits. Many have serious financial worries for their future.

Older people with HIV are less likely to be homeowners and more likely to live in social or private rented housing. One respondent commented: “Since I was diagnosed in 1985 I regarded this as a death warrant and ceased to make any pension provisions.”

Older people with HIV state good quality health and treatment information as their highest priority, but three-quarters have fears about needing health and social care in the future.

One interviewee said: “I also fear that, in case I need to be cared for, the carer would be as ill-informed and prejudiced about HIV as the rest of the general public.”

Terrence Higgins Trust’s head of policy, Lisa Power, said: “As a result of effective treatment options, and our ageing population, the over 50s are now the fastest growing group of people with HIV in the UK, and there’s a long way to go regarding support for this group. Older people with HIV are living with high levels of uncertainty about their future health and social care and need substantially more support than their peers."

THT, Age UK and The Joseph Rowntree Foundation are calling for a range of improvements to help older people with HIV.

These include tackling homophobia in health and housing services, improved emotional support and social opportunities to prevent isolation and better information sharing between organisations aimed at older people.

The full ’50 Plus’ report will be available from October 2010 on The Joseph Rowntree Foundation website.

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In US cities, HIV linked more to poverty than race
MONDAY, July 19, 2010 (Associated Press)

ATLANTA (AP) -- Poverty is perhaps the most important factor in whether inner-city heterosexuals are infected with the AIDS virus, according to the first government study of its kind.

The study, released Monday, suggests that HIV is epidemic in certain poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods. And, more significantly, poor heterosexuals in those neighborhoods were twice as likely to be infected as heterosexuals who lived in the same community but had more money.

Federal scientists found that race was not a factor - there were no significant differences between blacks, whites or Hispanics.

Health officials have long believed poverty drives HIV epidemics, but there have been few studies to back that up. Some research actually contradicts that belief: Studies in Tanzania, Kenya and some other African countries actually found that wealthy people were more likely to be infected than the poor.

"In the United States, we haven't have a history of looking in depth at the association between poverty and HIV," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of HIV/AIDS Prevention for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mermin oversees the CDC team that did the new study.

More often, studies have focused on the race of HIV patients, their sexual orientation, or whether or not they use intravenous drugs.

The CDC report was released at the international AIDS conference in Vienna.

The study involved a survey in 2006 and 2007 of 9,000 heterosexual adults, ages 18 to 50. They answered questions on a computer about their income, condom use and other details and were given HIV tests.

The research was done in high-poverty neighborhoods in 23 U.S. cities. It focused on heterosexuals who don't use intravenous drugs; that group accounts for about 28 percent of Americans living with HIV. It did not involve gay or bisexual men, who have the highest rates of HIV in the United States.

The results: HIV was detected in 2.4 percent of the people who were living below the federal poverty line, which in 2007 was an annual income of roughly $10,000 or less for an individual. The 2.4 percent translates to roughly 1 in 42 people.

In contrast, infections were found in 1.2 percent of people in the same neighborhoods who made more money than the federal poverty guideline. That's 1 in 83 people.

Both rates were higher than the national average, which is 0.45 percent, or 1 in 222 people.

The results suggest that people in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be infected because they live among more people who are infected. Perhaps more people in such neighborhoods have used illegal drugs or had other experiences that put them at higher risk, Mermin said.

"It's epidemiological bad luck," he said. He described the situation: "I'm in a community where when I meet a new (sexual) partner, the chance that they would have HIV is much higher than if I were wealthy and living in another geographical area."

Officials need to start looking at the AIDS epidemic in a different light, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, who chairs global health studies at Emory University's school of public health.

"You talk about 'Can we decrease the HIV burden in the United States?' I would say, 'What can we do to decrease poverty in the United States?'" del Rio said.

He noted there are diseases that are more prevalent in certain racial groups, for genetic reasons. Sickle cell disease, which is most prevalent in blacks, is one example.

But there's no clear biological reason why the infection rate is eight times higher in blacks than whites, and three times higher in Hispanics than whites. But understanding that blacks are disproportionately poor probably does explain why the rates are higher, del Rio said.

He was an author of a smaller, recent study that found that 60 percent of Atlanta's HIV cases were located in a downtown area of the city with high proportions of blacks, IV drug users and people living in poverty.

An estimated 1 in 272 Americans is infected with HIV, according to 2006 estimates. In other terms, more than 1.1 million Americans are living with the AIDS virus. The number has grown since 2006, CDC officials believe.

Officials believe the annual number of new HIV infections has been hovering around 55,000 a year since the late 1990s.

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Gays march in Poland to demand equal rights
MONDAY, July 19, 2010 (365gay.com)

(Warsaw, Poland) Thousands of gays and lesbians from around Europe marched through Poland’s capital this weekend to demand equal rights and more tolerance in this heavily Roman Catholic nation.

The parade, part of the EuroPride gay rights festival, is meant to give a boost to the fledgling gay rights movement in Poland. Gay rights were strongly repressed during the communist era, and gays and lesbians have struggled since communism fell 20 years ago for acceptance in a society still strongly influenced by the church.

“We feel like they are 20 years behind the Netherlands,” said Ad Bakker, a 39-year-old from Holland who traveled to Warsaw to show solidarity with Polish friends. “But the atmosphere is good and we hope that EuroPride will help.”

A Polish friend of his, Sebastian Blaszczyk, 36, said the situation in Poland “gets better and better every year,” but the country still has far to go in accepting gays.

An initial police estimate put the number of participants at 8,000.

At the head of the parade were women on motorcycles wearing vests that said “Dykes on Bikes.” They were followed by trucks carrying people dancing and waving to the beat of pop songs like the Village People’s hit “YMCA.” Demonstrators waved rainbow flags and banners – many in English – calling for a more tolerant society.

“It’s OK to be Gay,” said one banner. Another said: “We’re queer, we’re here and get over it.”

As the activists moved slowly through the city, they passed small, scattered groups of counter-protesters who jeered and heckled them. Police said they arrested eight people – some of whom threw eggs and one of whom attacked a police officer – for trying to disturb the march.

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Irish Pres. Signs Gay Partners Bill
MONDAY, July 19, 2010 (The Advocate)

Ireland’s President Mary McAleese signed the country’s Civil Partnership Bill into law Monday morning, offering same-sex couples protections including access to pensions, inheritance, power of attorney and more.

The bill had been making its way through the various legislative bodies and McAleese was expected to sign it sometime in August. It is not expected to take effect until the fall.

“This is a great day for Ireland. Lesbian and gay people, their parents, families, friends neighbors, colleagues can now look forward to celebrating their civil partnerships in the near future," said Kieran Rose of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network. “It is a tribute to the openness and welcoming nature of Irish society and the commitment of all our legislators and is a major civil rights milestone for lesbian and gay people."

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Court strikes challenge to DC gay marriage law
THURSDAY, July 15, 2010 (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- D.C.'s highest court has ruled against opponents of the city's same-sex marriage law, saying they cannot ask voters to overturn it.

Opponents had wanted to challenge a law that took effect in Washington in March allowing same-sex couples to marry. They attempted to get approval to put an initiative on the ballot asking city voters to define marriage in the city as between one man and one woman. But city officials balked, saying a district human rights law barred initiatives that would authorize discrimination.

On Thursday, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled 5-4 that officials had the authority to keep the measure off the ballot and acted appropriately.

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ENDA no longer on Senate agenda
THURSDAY, July 15, 2010 (365gay.com)

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is not on the agenda for Senate floor action for the next few weeks, prior to the August 9 recess.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate will take up work on as many as nine matters during the next month, but none of those are ENDA.

The nine include the Defense authorization bill, which incorporates language aimed at repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; and the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. They also include Wall Street reform, energy (including oil spills), and the extension of unemployment benefits.

The Hill, a newspaper reporting on Congress, said Senate Democratic leaders met Tuesday and, in consultation with President Obama, decided to focus on these latter three bills during the next two weeks. It also suggested the three bills were chosen, at least in part, for their ability to bolster support for Democrats during the mid-term elections in November.

Congress returns from its summer recess on September 13, and The Hill said “Senators acknowledge…little legislating will be possible” between September 13 and elections.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged the administration’s deep concern about the mid-term elections. He told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, “there is no doubt there are enough [Congressional] seats in play [in November’s mid-term elections] that could cause Republicans to gain control” of one or both chambers.

A number of recent polls show Republicans gaining support over Democrats among voters. A July 7-11 poll of 1,288 registered voters by ABC/Washington Post found that 47 percent would vote for the Republican in their Congressional district, while 46 percent would vote for the Democrat. Sixty-two percent said they were inclined to “look around” for other candidates than their current representative in Congress. Other polls showed similar findings.

There are 255 Democrats and 178 Republicans in the House; 56 Democrats, 41 Republicans, and 2 Independents in the Senate.

In May, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said ENDA and a measure to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would get floor votes this year. She reassured a group of LGBT leaders that, while a measure to repeal DADT may move first, ENDA would also move under her watch.

The DADT repeal measure did get a floor vote by the House in May and passed; it also passed a Senate committee –both as part of an annual Defense spending bill. The full Senate is expected to consider the measure before the August 9 recess.

But the dwindling number of legislative days and the growing number of urgent legislative and political priorities have squeezed ENDA out.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, said Tuesday, “Passing ENDA this year is a top priority for the Speaker, but we believe that passing ENDA before DADT repeal has been finalized, jeopardizes both initiatives.”

”Until then,” said Hammill, “we should encourage the Senate to develop a course for ENDA to ensure that when the House passes the legislation, the Senate can move quickly to send the legislation to the President’s desk.”

Rep. Barney Frank, chief sponsor of the bill, could not be reached by deadline this week.

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Argentina Passes Gay Marriage Bill
THURSDAY, July 15, 2010 (The Advocate)

In a debate that lasted well into the early hours of Thursday morning, Argentina's senate voted 33-27 to make theirs the first country in South America to legalize same-sex marriage.

Gay rights activists had predicted a close vote. According to reports, debate in Buenos Aires lasted until 4 a.m.

The subject of marriage has been a hot-button issue in Argentina for the past several months. In December, José Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre (pictured) became the country's first legally married same-sex couple because of a legal loophole.

Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson issued the following statement early Tuesday morning: "Today's historic vote shows how far Catholic Argentina has come, from dictatorship to true democratic values, and how far the freedom to marry movement has come as twelve countries on four continents now embrace marriage equality. Argentina's vote for the freedom to marry marks an important advance for fairness and family values as more couples around the world will now share in marriage, with families helped and no one hurt. Today's vote adds momentum to the international movement to secure the freedom to marry for all loving and committed couples.

"Key to Argentina's human rights achievement was strong leadership from legislators and the president. It is time we see more of our own elected officials standing up for the Constitution and all families here in the United States. America should lead, not lag, when it comes to treating everyone equally under the law."

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Obama promises commitment to combating HIV/AIDS
TUESDAY, July 13, 2010 (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Tuesday a new strategy for combating HIV and AIDS fulfills America's obligation to stopping the spread of the virus and rooting out the inequities and attitudes on which it thrives.

The strategy sets a goal of reducing new infections by 25 percent over the next five years; getting treatment for 85 percent of patients within three months of their diagnosis; and increasing education about the virus, even in communities with low rates of infection.

"Fighting HIV/AIDS in America and around the world will require more than just fighting the virus," Obama said at a White House reception honoring the work of those in the HIV and AIDS community. "It will require a broader effort to make life more just and equitable."

While medical breakthroughs have greatly improved quality of life for the 1.1 million Americans living with HIV, the U.S. has struggled to lower the rate of new infections. The new strategy sets a goal of reducing new infections by 25 percent over the next five years.

About 56,000 people in the U.S. become infected each year, a rate that has held steady for about a decade.

"We've been keeping pace when we should be gaining ground," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at a separate event unveiling the strategy earlier in the day.

Part of the strategy for lowering new infections relies on targeting HIV prevention efforts at the highest-risk populations, which include gay and bisexual men as well as black Americans, far more than is done today.

That means finding creative ways to spread successful local programs that help HIV-negative people stay that way, as well as providing education and treatment for people who are living with HIV to reduce their chances of spreading the virus, said Chris Collins of the Foundation for AIDS Research, one of the many groups who advised administration officials during the months-long process of devising the strategy.

The administration is allocating $30 million from the massive health care overhaul Congress passed earlier this year toward implementation of the new plan.

Some AIDS activists criticized the plan for not setting more ambitious goals and for not funding the benchmarks it lays out.

"The president's plan is so flawed that it might actually represent a step backwards in combating HIV and AIDS in the United States," said Charles King, president of Housing Works, a community-based AIDS organization.

The strategy aims to copy some of the steps credited with spurring the success of a Bush administration policy to fight AIDS in hard-hit developing countries. That includes setting specific targets and mandating coordination among different government agencies to guard against missteps and wasted, duplicated efforts.

"We've never had that kind of coordinated, accountable effort to address AIDS in America, and that's what we need," Collins said.

There is a new HIV infection every 9 1/2 minutes in the U.S. But about one of every five people living with HIV doesn't know it.

Access to care plays a role in prevention, too, because the more virus in someone's bloodstream, the easier it is for that person to spread infection through such things as unprotected sex.

In one step toward reducing disparities in access to care, the Obama administration on Friday reallocated $25 million to states that have waiting lists for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, which provide treatment help for the uninsured and underinsured.

The National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors reported that more than 2,200 people in 12 states were on waiting lists for ADAP help as of last week.

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Federal Judge In Boston Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
THURSDAY, July 8, 2010 (Huffington Post)

BOSTON (Associated Press) -- The federal law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define the institution and therefore denies married gay couples some federal benefits, a federal judge ruled Thursday in Boston.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled in favor of gay couples' rights in two separate challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, a 1996 law that the Obama administration has argued for repealing. The rulings apply to Massachusetts but could have broader implications if they're upheld on appeal.

The state had argued the law denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in Massachusetts, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004.

Tauro agreed and said the act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens in order to be eligible for federal funding in federal-state partnerships.

The act "plainly encroaches" upon the right of the state to determine marriage, Tauro said in his ruling on a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley. In a ruling in a separate case filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Tauro ruled the act violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"Congress undertook this classification for the one purpose that lies entirely outside of legislative bounds, to disadvantage a group of which it disapproves. And such a classification the Constitution clearly will not permit," Tauro wrote.

Nancy Gill, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit brought by GLAD, said she is "thrilled" with the rulings.

"I'm so happy I can't even put it into words," she said.

Gill and Marcelle Letourneau married in Massachusetts in 2004 after being together for more than 20 years.

When Gill, a U.S. postal worker, tried to add Letourneau to her family health plan, she was denied. The couple were forced to get separate insurance for Letourneau, who has a medical transcription business at home and does administrative work for the local Visiting Nurse Association.

Letourneau called the rulings "life-changing."

"I can get on Nancy's insurance," she said. "That's just a huge victory, and it gives us peace of mind."

Coakley called it a "landmark decision" and "an important step toward achieving equality for all married couples in Massachusetts."

The Justice Department had argued the federal government had the right to set eligibility requirements for federal benefits - including requiring that those benefits go only to couples in marriages between a man and a woman.

Opponents of gay marriage said they were certain the rulings would be overturned on appeal.

Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, called Tauro's ruling "judicial activism" and said Tauro was a "rogue judge." Gay marriage advocates will keep pushing their agenda in the courts, she said, but noted voters consistently have rejected gay marriage at the ballot box, including in a recent California vote.

"We can't allow the lowest common denominator states, like Massachusetts, to set standards for the country," Lafferty said.

Tom McClusky, senior vice president of the conservative Family Research Council, said the rulings result in part from "the deliberately weak legal defense of DOMA" that the Obama administration mounted on behalf of the government.

"While the American people have made it unmistakably clear that they want to preserve marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman, liberals and activist judges are not content to let the people decide," McClusky said in a statement.

The law was enacted by Congress in 1996 when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriage and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize such marriages. The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording pension and other benefits to same-sex couples.

Since then, five states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage.

Boston College professor Kent Greenfield, a constitutional law expert, said the rulings could have a legal impact outside Massachusetts if they're appealed and a higher court with a broader jurisdiction agrees.

An appeal would be considered by the First Circuit, which also includes Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire.

"One things that's going to be really interesting to watch is whether the Obama administration appeals or not," he said.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department is reviewing the decision.

Greenfield added the rulings might encourage other attorneys general who oppose DOMA to sue to try to knock it down.

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Mexico City sees 271 gay weddings in 4 months
WEDNESDAY, July 7, 2010 (365gay.com)

(Mexico City) Mexico City has seen 271 gay and lesbian couples get married since the capital enacted the first law in Latin America explicitly allowing same-sex marriages.

The city government says there have been 142 marriages between men and 129 between women in the four months since the law went took effect March 4.

The government said Tuesday that 18 foreigners were among those married, and the rest were Mexican citizens. The largest number of marriages occurred in the first month after the law took effect.

Mexico’s Supreme Court is considering challenges to the law, which applies only to the capital, but the measure will remain in effect while the review is under way. A decision is expected sometime around August.

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Lingle Vetoes Civil Union Bill
WEDNESDAY, July 7, 2010 (The Advocate)

Hawaii governor Linda Lingle has vetoed legislation that would have legalized civil unions in her state, while gay rights groups seem to be readying a lawsuit over her decision.

"After months of listening to Hawaii’s citizens express to me in writing and in person their deeply held beliefs in supporting or opposing House Bill 444, I've decided to veto" the bill, Lingle said Tuesday at a press conference in Honolulu.

The Republican governor clearly wasn't swayed by 7,500 letters, postcards, and petition signatures in favor of the legislation that were delivered to her by gay rights groups. Lingle was also presented with the results of a 2009 poll showing public support for civil unions.

The state house passed the legislation in April, after the senate approved it in January. Lingle, an opponent of marriage equality, has stated she believes civil unions will lead to same-sex marriage.

Evan Wolfson, the executive director of the group Freedom to Marry, was one of the attorneys in the historic case in which Hawaii's supreme court ruled, in 1993, that denying gay couples the right to marry was unconstitutional (after years of back-and-forth in the courts, the state would eventually amend its constitution to allow legislators to ban same-sex marriage). In a statement Wolfson said, “In the 1990s, Hawaii began the ongoing international movement toward ending gay couples' exclusion from marriage and was the first U.S. state to create a legal status to provide some state-level recognition and protections for same-sex couples.

“In the historic Baehr case, the Hawaii supreme court acknowledged a constitutional mandate to treat same-sex couples equally. Governor Lingle's decision to veto the civil union bill is deeply disappointing and unnecessarily delays Hawaii's journey toward fairness and equality. Governor Lingle has rejected the will of the state legislature and the advice of countless business and faith leaders, and turned her back on the committed couples and Hawaii kin who have expressed their support for this measure. Freedom to Marry urges the Hawaii state legislature to overrule Governor Lingle's veto and take an important step toward fairness and equal protection for same-sex couples in Hawaii.”

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Doctors declare 'gay cure' therapies harmful
FRIDAY, July 2, 2010 (Pink News)

The annual meeting of the British Medical Association has declared that therapies to 'cure' gay people of homosexuality are harmful.

The body met in Brighton yesterday and more than two-thirds of doctors present backed a call for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other mental health standard-setting bodies to reject the treatments and ban their use in codes of practice.

Health departments should also investigate alleged cases of conversion therapy being funded by the NHS, the meeting agreed.

Research published last year found that a sixth of registered British therapist and psychiatrists have attempted to "cure" patients of homosexuality.

Tom Dolphin, the proposer of the motion and the vice-chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said: "Sexuality is such a fundamental part of who a person is that attempts to change it just result in significant confusion, depression and even suicide.

"You can’t just wish away same-sex attraction no matter how inconvenient it might be."

But Cardiff consultant neurophysiologist Gareth Payne said there was no "gold standard" evidence that conversion therapy did not work and was harmful.

He added that it was important to respect the wishes of patients who asked for the therapy.

Earlier this year, gay journalist Patrick Strudwick published an expose of 'ex-gay' therapists and began a campaign group to persuade medical bodies to condemn the treatments.

He went undercover for the article, telling two therapists he was struggling to cope with attraction to men and wanted to be straight.

One therapist, named only as Linda, tried to convince him he must have been sexually abused as a child by a member of his family.

The other, who PinkNews.co.uk later revealed was homophobic former Northern Ireland MP Iris Robinson's advisor, tried to make Mr Strudwick sexually aroused during his therapy.

Mr Strudwick told the Independent that the BMA's declaration was a "watershed moment in the struggle for gay equality".

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India gays celebrate 1 year since landmark verdict
FRIDAY, July 2, 2010 (Associated Press)

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Hundreds of Indian gay rights activists and their supporters celebrated the first anniversary Friday of a landmark court ruling decriminalizing homosexuality and marking their gradual acceptance in the deeply conservative country.

Members of Mumbai's gay community danced, sang, laughed and hugged each other in the city's sprawling Azad Maidan park as speakers recalled the long years of struggle to get Indian courts to change the country's law.

On July 2 last year, the Delhi High Court struck down a law - Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - that made sex between people of the same gender punishable by up to 10 years in prison. While actual criminal prosecutions were rare, the law was frequently used to harass people.

"I'm very excited. It's honestly independence day for us," said Arun Mirchandani, 28, who recently published his first book titled "You Are Not Alone" which deals with being homosexual in India.

The rally was part of an event dubbed "365 Without 377" that brought together gays, lesbians and civil rights activists in five cities across India, including New Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore.

Vikram Doctor, an organizer of the event, said the verdict has reduced incidents of police harassment.

Other participants said the court's ruling had brought the issue of homosexuality into the open and people were discussing it in public, a dramatic change in conservative India where even heterosexual sex is generally talked about in hushed tones.

"It does mean a lot. People don't avoid us these days," said Anshuman Bludagoti, a student at the Institute of Hotel Management.

Before the verdict, Bludagoti said if he and his male friends held hands on the train, people sitting next to them would leave. But now "it's a lot more open than last year," he said.

Despite the greater openness, Bludagoti wore a mask at the rally. He said he had not revealed his sexual orientation to his family.

Rally participants said they still have a long way to go to ensure that the Supreme Court upholds last year's verdict. Many religious leaders have opposed the high court's verdict, arguing that gay sex should remain illegal.

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Icelandic leader in milestone gay marriage
THURSDAY, July 1, 2010 (Associated Press)

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Iceland's prime minister made history last week when she wed her girlfriend, becoming the world's first head of government to enter a gay marriage.

But fellow Nordic nations hardly noticed when 67-year-old Johanna Sigurdardottir tied the knot with her longtime partner - a milestone that would still, despite advances in gay rights, be all but inconceivable elsewhere.

Scandinavia has had a long tradition of tolerance - and cross-dressing lawmakers and gay bishops have become part of the landscape.

"There is some kind of passion for social justice here," respected cross-dressing Swedish lawmaker Fredrick Federley said. "That everybody should be treated the same."

Gay rights activists said Europe in general has a better record on accepting gays at the highest levels of government than the United States.

"In the current climate of U.S. public opinion it is impossible to imagine a U.S. president who is openly gay and who marries their longtime partner," said Peter Tatchell, spokesman for the London-based gay human rights group Outrage.

"In Europe the reaction is completely different - people just don't care."

Although no openly gay American has made a potentially winning run for president, gay men and lesbians have made significant advances in recent years in winning other elected offices in the United States, often while being open about their same-sex partners.

In Europe, the situation varies.

Several top-level politicians are openly gay, including Sweden's Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, considered a possible contender for the 2012 presidential elections.

But a gay head of government would be impossible in strong Catholic nations.

"We will never see a gay prime minister in Italy. The power of the Catholic Church is too strong," said Giuseppina Massallo, 60, from Sicily who lives in Rome. "We have institutions that make us believe that ... being homosexual is simply not the right thing to do."

The 32-year-old Federley occasionally swaps his parliamentary suit and tie for heavy makeup and revealing dresses as drag queen Ursula. Federley has been openly gay for nine years and his sexual identity has never been an issue in politics.

His cross-dressing only hit the headlines when critics in February questioned which Federley accepted an alleged media junket to the Canary Islands: Fredrik the lawmaker or Ursula the drag queen?

Gays in politics would be inconceivable in Africa, where 37 countries have anti-gay laws and where Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe has described same-sex partners as "lower than dogs and pigs."

Ugandans were shocked to hear of Sigurdardottir's marriage to her partner with whom she had been in a registered relationship since 2002. The partnership was converted into a marriage on Sunday, when a new law legalizing same-sex marriage went into force. The Icelandic leader has two adult children from a previous marriage.

"Their society is finished, they have no morals," said Uganda's ruling-party spokeswoman, Mary Karooro Okurutu, described the marriage as "disgusting."

The East African nation frowns on homosexuality and is considering proposed legislation that would impose the death penalty for some gays. The bill has sparked protests in London, New York and Washington.

The Nordic countries have been at the forefront of gay freedoms.

In 1989, Denmark became the first country in the world to allow registered gay partnerships and Sweden's Lutheran church last year ordained its first openly gay bishop.

All five Nordic nations reached top-ten rankings in a 2010 study of the legal situation for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Europe.

Even Finland, the remotest country in the region, which has been slower than its neighbors in adapting to Scandinavian lifestyle trends scored six out of 10 points.

Russia and Ukraine both received bottom-rankings in the 2010 Rainbow Europe index by ILGA-Europe, a non-governmental umbrella organization representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups.

Even in the neighboring Baltic countries that have a long history of dealings with the Nordics, gay tolerance is generally low.

Same-sex marriages are not legal and are generally frowned upon in Estonia, Latvia and particularly in predominantly Catholic Lithuania.

Gay pride marches in Latvia and Lithuania typically attract crowds of angry counter-demonstrators far larger than the marches themselves.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip concedes he is "somewhat conservative" on the question of gay marriages.

"I consider marriage a holy matrimony between a man and a woman," Ansip said Wednesday. "But I do fully accept that same-sex partners possess the same kind of legal guarantees as registered marriages currently do."

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Chinese gay man sues over blood donation ban
THURSDAY, July 1, 2010 (Pink News)

A Chinese man is suing a Beijing Red Cross centre for refusing to accept his blood donation because he is gay.

According to AFP, Wang Zizheng went to the centre in June to give blood and declared he was gay on a form.

He was told that under Chinese health regulations, he could not donate blood because of his sexual orientation.

Many countries ban gay and bisexual men from donating blood because of the risk of HIV.

Gay campaigners argue that would-be donors should be accepted on an individual basis which focuses on risky behaviour, rather than sexual orientation.

China's 1998 ban means anyone who states they are gay or lesbian on a blood donation form is automatically disqualified from donating. However, the is no penalty for lying on the forms.

Mr Wang has filed a case against the centre for discrimination, China Daily reported.

He was quoted as saying "for thousands of homosexuals in China, someone has to stand out" and added that he was seeking an apology from the centre.

He added: "I agree with having restrictions on homosexuals; it is just they have to be scientific."

Mr Wang is waiting for his case to be accepted by a court.

Last July, a lesbian group set up a campaign to be allowed to donate blood.

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