Elton John and David Furnish opt for private gay wedding ceremony
Sir Elton John's gay wedding to his partner David Furnish will be a private affair after he turned sown an offer worth over £6m to broadcast the occasion.
The popstar and his entertainment producer partner will be one of the first couples in Britain to take advantage of the Civil Partnership Act, which will allow 'gay marriages' in all but name from the 21st December.
Western Isles becomes only place in Britain to ban gay marriages
The Western Isles (Eilean Siar) are to become the only part of Britain to ban gay marriages after local councillors and registrars agreed to a boycott.
Registrars are permitted under the Civil Partnership Act to refuse to conduct a ceremony on moral grounds. But councillors in Stornoway have voted to force the Isles to become the only place in Britain with a blanket ban on all gay ceremonies.
Czech Republic takes first step towards gay marriage law
The lower house of the Czech parliament approved a law legalizing civil partnerships for same-sex couples on Friday, in spite of strong opposition inside Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek's coalition government.
The Christian Democrats, the second largest group in the three-party government, refused to support the legislation, arguing that it damaged the traditional perception of the family.
The Prime Minister, Mr Paroubek supported the law, though he could not attend because of a European Union summit.
Gay couple defy Christian protesters to wed in Northern Ireland
A lesbian couple have become the first gay partners to tie the knot in a regular ceremony in Britain following the introduction of the Civil Partnerships Act. Christian protestors fail to prevent ceremony from taking place.
Grainne Close, a social worker from Belfast, and Shannon Sickels, a playwright from New York City became the first couple in the United Kingdom to marry in a regular ceremony.
Shayne wins X Factor then heads off to gay club to celebrate
Shayne Ward has won the television talent contest X Factor by a margin of just 1.2 percent over rival Andy Abraham. Immediately after being announced the winner, he headed straight off to a live performance at London's largest gay night club.
Mr Ward dedicated his victory to his mother Philomena saying: "this is for you mum, this is for you."
Chinese police shut down gay arts festival
Chinese police officials shut down the opening of a gay and lesbian cultural arts festival on Friday, an action participants are saying highlights deep-rooted intolerance toward homosexuality in the conservative country.
The festival was to be a weekend of films, plays, exhibitions and seminars on the issue of homosexuality, but police raided the opening reception on Friday night and participants said they were still negotiating on whether any of the events could go ahead.
Police express disappointment at lack of convictions for gay barman's killers
A leading policeman has expressed "disappointment" that the killers of David Morley were not convicted of murder.
A teenage girl, who can not be named for legal reasons, and her co-defendants Reece Sargeant, 21, Darren Case, 18 and a youth aged 17, were found guilty of the manslaughter of David Morley on Wednesday.
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur says he disappointed that the jury did not convict the gang of murder.
Ford will advertise in gay publications
Representatives for the Ford Motor Co. have announced advertisements featuring the company's eight vehicle brands will run in gay publications, responding to complaints from gay rights groups when Jaguar and Land Rover pulled their spots.
In a letter addressed to the groups, Ford said not only will it resume buying corporate ads featuring Land Rover and Jaguar, it will begin advertising Ford's other brands in gay-themed publications as well.
Candidates emerge in battle to replace anti-gay Massachusetts Governor
Barely 12 hours after anti-gay Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney announced he wouldn't be seeking a second term, candidates looking to replace him after next year's gubernatorial campaign fanned out across Massachusetts Thursday.
Attorney General Tom Reilly and fellow Democrat, Deval Patrick, made appearances in Boston, while Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey headed west for appearances in Boylston and Holyoke.
Gay couple claim to have lost £6000 in benefits since Civil Partnerships introduced
A gay couple from Kent claim that the introduction of the Civil Partnerships Act has meant a reduction in their level of state benefits of over £6000 per year.
Andrew Brettell, 63 and his 44-year-old partner have cohabited for 18 years and have held a joint mortgage since 1989.
Mr Brettell claims that ill health has meant he receives a pension credit.
Latvian Parliament amend constitution to ban gay marriage
MPs in Latvia have passed an amendment to their constitution barring gay marriages from taking place.
65 MPs voted in favour of the change, six voted against the change whilst nine abstained from voting.
Gay marriages have been illegal under civil law in Latvia since 1993 but the constitutional amendment ensures that any future recognition of gay relationships will be hard.
South African traditionalists warn that gay couples will be pariahs
Traditional leaders have warned that gay couples risk being treated as pariahs in rural communities in South Africa following last week's Constitutional Court ruling endorsing same-sex marriages.
Members of the National House of Traditional Leaders unanimously agreed during a three-day conference in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, that the endorsement disappointed them.
Sir Elton and David Furnish face £10,000 policing bill for wedding
Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish face a £10,000 bill to cover the policing of their gay wedding next week.
The pop star and his film producer boyfriend David Furnish have been in a relationship for tweleve years and are planning a relatively low-key ceremony at Windsor Guildhall. The hall was the venue for one of the year's key weddings; the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Lesbian appointed Conservative vice-chairman
Conservative leader David Cameron has appointed his party's first openly lesbian candidate his new vice-chairman.
Margot James, a Chelsea based millionaire businesswoman became the first openly lesbian woman to stand as a Conservative candidate when she contested the safe Labour seat of Holborn and St Pancreas at the last general election
Miss James is in a long-term relationship with girlfriend, Jay Hunt, 38, host of the BBC makeover programme Would Like To Meet.
Brokeback Mountain leads gay charge on Golden Globe Awards
The nominees for the 2006 Golden Globe Awards were announced from Hollywood yesterday and, as predicted, it was the year to be gay in Hollywood as gay films, performances and actors dominated the nominations.
The critically championed Brokeback Mountain scored seven nominations, the most of any film, including Best Picture - Drama, Best Screenplay and a Best Director nod for Ang Lee.
From the Blog