When Mormons light their massive and colorful Christmas displays tonight on the Mesa Arizona Temple grounds, thousands of candles may burn across the street in a vigil in Pioneer Park.

‘Idol’s’ Brooke White to turn on temple lights

Vigil organizers call it a demonstration of solidarity for gays and lesbians seeking full civil rights. They say their vigil was precipitated by Mormons’ staunch opposition to same-sex marriage with passage of amendments to constitutions in Arizona, California and Florida in the Nov. 4 general election.

“We are not going to march. It is not a protest. We will have our candles,” said an organizer, Robert Parker, an outspoken gay Mormon from Mesa. Parker hopes to get 5,000 people to assemble in the park “to stand in solidarity with gay Mormons who are stuck in the closet and need to know that we are working to help secure their civil rights.”

The dollars and votes of Mormons are viewed by the gay community as the deciding force for passage of state ballot propositions to amend constitutions to limit marriage to one man and one women.

Mormons contributed about $3 million of the $8 million raised in the “Yes on 102″ campaign to amend the Arizona Constitution, according to media reports. That proposition won with 56.2 percent approval. In California, where the state Supreme Court had ruled May 15 that gays and lesbians could legally marry, a fierce battle was waged over Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. It won with 52.3 percent. The Los Angeles Times estimated that about $20 million of the $35.8 million raised in support of Proposition 8 came from Mormons. More than $37 million was spent in California to oppose the amendment.

“We find it surprising that our church has been singled out” for harsh criticism, said Don Evans, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona. “This constitutional amendment was supported by the Catholic Church, which is far and away the largest church in Arizona, and it was also supported by the various evangelical congregations.”

All of those churches consistently opposed same-sex marriages, but “our church has taken the lion’s share of the protest,” Evans said.

Parker said he hopes that most of the 4,000 who took part Saturday in a march from Phoenix City Hall to the state Capitol will turn out in Mesa today.

It has been spontaneously coming together through a flurry of e-mails, blogs, texting, MySpace, FaceBook and other communications, said Annie Loyd, a community organizer, who has helped to plan today’s event.

 See What do Prop. 8’s Mormon supporters want? Boston Globe

Gene Robinson is a calming presence. The world feels less dangerous when you talk to him, and evils such as racism and homophobia seem less threatening and somehow distant.

The Bishop of New Hampshire seems never to tire of being the gay Anglican leader, a man sought after by press and public alike because he is out on a world that seems wedded to keeping people in the closet, with their mouths shut.

Bishop Robinson may be a figure of controversy for some in the Anglican communion, but for millions of others he is an inspirational voice.

He is more than a turbulent priest or a poster boy for gay rights - Gene Robinson is a man of God.

He visited London earlier this month to collect Stonewall’s Hero of the Year Award, and found time to speak to PinkNews.co.uk. His quiet faith was evident as he talked prophets, Prop 8 and progress.

PinkNews.co.uk: How do you feel about the election of Barack Obama?

I’m just so excited as most of America is. I actually had three one-on-one conversations with Barack Obama. I got into a world of trouble because I publicly endorsed him a year ago in June long before he was really one anyone’s radar screen.

Hillary Clinton was the presumed nominee. I think he’s the genuine article. He is who he seems to be.

See Interview: Bishop Gene Robinson on prophets, Prop 8 and progress
PinkNews.co.uk, UK

Three lawsuits have been filed, Democratic legislators along with the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles are rallying behind the cause, and protesters have lifted signs in the streets and called for boycotts.

Overturning Proposition 8, however, may be more a matter of time and patience than politics and pressure, according to experts analyzing trends in voting and polling results.

Proposition 8 passed Nov. 4 by 52-percent-to-48-percent margin, banning gay marriage in California.

That four-point margin was much slimmer than Proposition 22, a similar measure that passed in 2000 by a nearly 20 point margin, garnering 61 percent of the vote.

The difference in the vote totals from 2000 to 2008 indicates a trend in favor of gay marriage in California, experts said. That same trend is apparent nationally. Polls in 1996 showed 68 percent of people opposed same-sex marriage, but in 2004, opposition dropped to 55 percent, according to the Gallup Organization.

“I think the idea of same-sex marriage, say 15 to 20 years ago, was really new to a lot of straight people,” said Kim Buchanan, a USC law professor and expert on race, gender and sexual regulation. “When I was growing up, I learned marriage was between man and a woman, and if you are straight you don’t have a lot of reason to question that.”

See Experts debate polling, electoral trends on same sex marriage San Bernardino Sun

The number of gay men in China who are HIV positive has risen sharply in the last three years, according to a survey of Chinese cities conducted by the Ministry of Health.

Men with HIV make up 4.9 percent of the gay population, up from 0.4 percent in 2005, the Xinhua news agency said Friday, citing Hao Yang, deputy director of the disease control department under the Ministry of Health.

“Sex becomes the major way of AIDS transmission in China and its spread among men having sex with men is worsening notably. I think whether we can well control AIDS transmission among gays will greatly affect the future of the whole country’s battle against the epidemic,” Hao said.

Heterosexual sex was still by far the most common way for HIV to spread in China, accounting for 40.4 percent of new cases in 2008. Same-sex intercourse accounted for 5.1 percent of new infections, up from 0.4 percent on 2005, and drug use accounted for 28.3 percent, according to Hao.

See China sees sharp rise in HIV-positive gay men
Reuters 

TAMPA - Chicago, Philadelphia. Tampa?

Carrie West, who helped start the GaYbor District in Ybor City, wants to turn his community into one of the nation’s top destinations for gay men and lesbians.

“It’s revolutionary, I know,” said West, an owner of MC Film Festival. “But we can do it. Things are changing.”

Gay men and lesbians have had their share of setbacks in the Bay area. In 2005, Hillsborough County commissioners voted to prohibit any display of gay pride on county property. Then, in this year’s general election, 62 percent of Florida’s voters cast ballots to amend the state Constitution to prohibit gay marriage.

But amid all the high-profile heartbreak, there are signs large and small that the Tampa Bay area is growing more supportive of gay men, lesbians and their families. Consider:

The gay and lesbian community that left Ybor City in the early 1990s is returning to play a key role in its resurrection.

A local salsa instructor is satisfying a growing interest in a class for gay and lesbian dancers.

And in Palmetto, the nation’s first gay and lesbian retirement community is appealing to people nationwide seeking a slice of Florida paradise.

Perhaps no sign of support is clearer than the election of Kevin Beckner, the county’s first openly gay commissioner. He defeated Brian Blair, a supporter of the county’s ban on recognizing gay pride.

For many, the election of Beckner signaled a tidal change that gives gays men and lesbians some swagger in the community. Beckner’s success, they say, is part of something bigger.

See Despite Marriage Ban, Support Grows For Gay People
Tampa Tribune, FL 

Australia’s Health Minister Nicola Roxon has dismissed one of the new Men’s Health Ambassadors for co-authoring an anti-gay, anti-transgender report.

Warwick Marsh, president of Fatherhood Foundation, was one of 34 co-authors of 21 Reasons Why Gender Matters, a report which calls homosexuality a mental disorder.

Ms Roxon announced today that Mr Marsh would no longer be an ambassador on the panel.

“Mr Marsh has not repudiated his offensive comments. This makes his position as an Ambassador untenable and I have made a decision to dismiss him from this role,” she said.

See Health ambassador sacked for standing by anti-gay comments PinkNews.co.uk

On Dec. 2, Georgia voters will be asked to cast a ballot for the fifth, and likely final, time in 2008, in order to settle a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat, a state Public Safety Commission spot and a Court of Appeals judgeship. Other county races also appear on some local ballots.

When votes from the Nov. 4 general election were certified the week of Nov. 10, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss captured 1,867,090, votes, or 49.8 percent of the total vote, short of the 50 percent plus one Georgia requires for victory. Former Democratic state lawmaker Jim Martin garnered 1,757,419 votes, for 46.8 percent, and Libertarian Allen Buckley took 128,002 votes, or 3.4 percent.

While Chambliss is considered by political pundits to be the favorite due to his incumbent status and having received 100,000 more votes in the general election, the runoff could be close.

“I’ll tell you this, it’s not going to be a blowout either way,” Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham said. “Whoever wins this, it’s going to be close.”

Georgia Equality does not endorse in federal elections, but Martin has received support from two national gay political grou See Gay political groups back Martin in heated Senate runoff
Sovo.com, GA –

Also: Once more for Martin Sovo.com

Tomorrow evening Liverpudlians gay and straight will pay tribute to a young man murdered in an allegedly homophobic attack.

Two teenagers denied the murder of Michael Causer when they appeared at Liverpool Crown Court earlier this month.

James O’Connor from Halton and Gavin Alker from Runcorn, both 19, had previously been charged with causing grevious bodily harm to Mr Causer, who was 18 and from Huyton.

See Liverpool Cathedral to host memorial service for murdered gay teenager
PinkNews.co.uk, UK 

MIAMI — A Florida law that has banned adoptions by gay men and lesbians for over three decades is unconstitutional, a judge here ruled on Tuesday.

“The best interests of children are not preserved by prohibiting homosexual adoption,” the judge, Cindy S. Lederman of Miami-Dade Circuit Court, said in a 53-page decision. She said the law violated equal protection rights for children and their prospective parents.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said the state would appeal, and the case is likely to end up before the State Supreme Court.

Florida is the only state with a law prohibiting gay men and lesbians — couples and individuals — from adopting children. The Legislature voted to prohibit adoptions by gay men and lesbians in 1977, in the midst of a campaign led by the entertainer Anita Bryant to repeal a gay rights ordinance adopted by Dade County.

In 2005, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the Florida law.

Some states, like Mississippi and Utah, effectively bar adoptions by same-sex couples through laws that prohibit adoption by unmarried couples. Arkansas voters passed a similar measure this month.

The ruling on Tuesday will allow Frank Martin Gill, 47, a gay man from North Miami, to adopt two foster children whom he has raised since 2004. “Our family just got a lot more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving,” Mr. Gill said in a news release issued by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him.

See Florida Gay Adoption Ban Is Ruled Unconstitutional
New York Times, United States -

SAN FRANCISCO — A concert and a twilight march are planned for today in San Francisco to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the deaths of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were assassinated by another supervisor 30 years ago this week.

The event will begin at 4 p.m. with the concert on the San Francisco City Hall steps, followed by a twilight march to Milk’s camera store on Castro Street, event organizers said.

Speakers at the memorial will include family and friends of Milk and Moscone, and the musical portion will feature the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, members of the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco, the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band and the GLAM Youth Center.

See 30Th anniversary memorial for George Moscone and Harvey MilK San Jose Mercury News