A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 19 patrons who were detained in a police raid on a gay bar in Atlanta, US. The claimants say they were subjected to excessive force and allege police made homophobic remarks.

A survey of New Jersey voters has found that a slim majority are opposed to legalising gay marriage. The research, carried out by Quinnipiac University, found that 49 per cent of 1,615 voters were opposed, with 46 per cent in favour. The remainder were unsure.

London's Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil was attended by the friends and family of two trans women murdered in the UK in the last month. Sarah Brown argues that more attention should be given to transphobia and its victims.

A scene in new video game Dragon Age: Orgins features a secret gay sex scene between a man an a elf. The new game, which has received high ratings, allows players to access the scenes by using the correct combination of chat-up lines on warrior elf Zevran.

A US trans woman who is serving life in prison for murdering her wife has had her request for hair removal therapy blocked again. Michelle Kosilek was denied the request by US District Judge Mark Wolf.

Actor Alan Cumming and Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill were honoured with OBEs yesterday at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Both were presented with their honours by Princess Anne.

Warren McGaw and Chris Rumble have become the first Australian gay couple to have their civil partnership ceremony legally recognised. Their ceremony was performed yesterday in Canberra in the ACT.

Political parties are being urged to publish their lists of MP candidates to show the diversity of the selection process. It is expected the data would include the numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans candidates.

Two police officers in Leith, Scotland, have been disciplined for sending homophobic emails to colleagues in the Gay Police Association and choir.

Children in UK schools will be taught about transphobic bullying and gender equality, it was announced yesterday. Ministers stressed the lessons would be age-appropriate.

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd will overturn legislation allowing legally-binding civil partnership ceremonies in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), it has been reported.

Lord Chris Smith, the first openly gay MP, will celebrate his 25th year in his career this month. Twenty-five years ago, he announced to a rally in Warwickshire that he was gay.

Two London universities have been attacked for inviting an extremist Islamist preacher to speak. Abu Usamah appeared in Channel 4's Undercover Mosque documentary, in which he was seen advocating the killing of gays and Muslims who leave their faith.

Statistics from the FBI have shown an 11 per cent rise in reports of homophobic hate crime across America in the last year. Most of those targeted were gay men.

The UNAIDS 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update, released today, shows that new HIV infections are down by 17 per cent over the last eight years around the world. But in the last eight years, there has been a 74 per cent rise in new diagnoses of infections of gay men in the UK.