USA: Trans Beauty Queen kylan Wenzel To Compete In Miss California 

Joe.My.God. reports:

Transwoman Kylan Arianna Wenzel, 26, will compete in this weekend’s Miss California pageant. Karen Ocamb reports at Frontiers: 

In April, following international fallout when pageant officials disqualified 23-year-old Miss Canada Jenna Talackova after learning she was a transgender woman, Donald Trump and his Miss Universe Organization announced a significant rule change to allow trans women to compete for any of their pageant titles. Because of that rule change, 26-year-old Kylan Arianna Wenzel of Century City left her job as a shift manager at Jamba Juice, moved her sex reassignment surgery up six months and decided to pursue her life-long dream of confidently entering the Miss California beauty pageant. “The first time I watched a beauty pageant was when I was 11, in 1997, when Miss USA won Miss Universe. And ever since then, it’s kind of been implanted in my brain,” Wenzel told Frontiers during a Jan. 3 phone interview. “I wasn’t sure how it would happen for me, but it was something I put out there.

Saturday’s preliminaries will feature 229 contestants. Only 20 will go on to compete in the televised finals on Sunday night.

BuzzFeed: Meet The Hero Of The Marriage Equality Movement, Edith Windsor 

Go read it.

Uganda: Gay Youth Worker Joseph Kaweesi Arrested For “Recruiting” Teens Into Homosexuality

Gay Star News reports:

On New Year’s Eve, Joseph Kaweesi, LGBT youth worker and advocate, was arrested by Ugadan police and charged with crimes relating to homosexuality.
According to reports from Uganda, Kaweesi, one of the founder of the LGBT group Youth on Rock Foundation, is being held at Kawempe police station, in Kampala, capital of Uganda.
Frank Mugishu, of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) charity, confirmed that Kaweesi was arrested yesterday (31 December 2012) by police officers.
According to Mugishu he was charged with ‘carnal knowledge (homosexuality)’ and ‘recruiting youth into homosexuality’.
LGBT rights advocate Melanie Nathan told Gay Star News that she received information that attorneys have spoken with Kaweesi and that plans are being made to try and bail him.
Speaking with GSN Nathan, who is from South Africa but based in the USA, said: ‘it would seem to me that the police are preempting the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (also known as The Kill the Gays Bill) which has been introduced into this parliament and has yet to pass.
‘The arrest may be political as anti-gay catalysts for the Bill try and drum up more support for its passage.
‘Although there is an existing law which people can be charged under for “carnal knowledge or defilement,” there is currently no law that speaks to the so called “recruitment” of homosexuals.
‘While we all know such is impossible to do, the Ugandan AHB seeks to make the misnomer a crime.
‘If Kaweesi’s charges are pursued the facts may be difficult to prove and certainly the aspect of “recruitment” could be thrown out by a competent court of law’.
Earlier this week, the office of SMUG was broken into and vandalized, with much its equipment having being stolen.
Activists stated that the information stored on some of the computers, containing addresses and telephone numbers of LGBT Ugandans may now put them at risk.
Both male and female homosexual activity is illegal in Uganda - under its penal code ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
According to a 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 96 percent of Ugandan residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, making Uganda the fifth most homophobic state out of 45 countries surveyed.
In November 2012, the speaker of the parliament of Uganda promised to enact a revised anti-homosexuality bill, providing for harsher penalties against suspected LGBT people and anyone who fails to report them to authorities, including long-term imprisonment and the death penalty for what the law terms ‘repeat offenders’.
The bill is due to be put to the vote early this year when parliament reconvenes.

ESPN Airs Pro Bowling Champion Kissing His Husband After Winning Final Match

Out Sports reports:

In what might be a first, ESPN this weekend showed an openly gay male pro athlete kissing his husband and they did not shy away from describing the relationship. The event was the 2012 PBA Chameleon Championship in Las Vegas, held in November, but shown on TV this Sunday.Scott Norton won the event over Jason Belmonte and afterward broke down and cried in memory of a friend who had died. He was then shown kissing his husband, Craig Woodward, as they exchanged affectionate words (video below). During the telecast, ESPN’s announcers referred to Woodward as Norton’s husband or spouse.I am indebted to JW, himself gay and a bowler, and Jaime Perez, who runs iabowling.tv, and shoots footage of bowling events, for their reports. Perez and his partner are themselves bowlers and friends with Norton.

AFER’s Matt Baume: 2012 Marriage News Recap

Mexico Reportedly Lifts Gay Blood Ban

Blabbeando reports:

A little noticed Mexican health norm first approved in August and then published in the country’s regulatory Official Federation Diary on October 26th has gone into effect today essentially doing away with a two-decade ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, reports Animal Político.

The old norm (NOM 003-SSA2) explicitly banned gay and bisexual men from donating blood based on their “practices” and their “increased probability of acquiring HIV or hepatitis infection”.

The new norm (NOM 253) eliminates specific bans on gay and bisexual men and instead bans blood donations from people with HIV or hepatitis and their partners and people who engage in “risky sexual practices” regardless of their sexual identity.

In the new blood donor norms “risky sexual practices” are defined as those that may include “contact or exchange of blood, sexual secretions or other bodily secretions between someone who might have a transmittable disease and areas of another person’s body through which an infectious agent might be able to penetrate.”

The United States and a number of Latin American countries which includeArgentina, Chile and Colombia have been mulling lifting similar longstanding bans that have been in effect since the HIV/AIDS crisis broke through decades ago.

If this report is correct, Mexico might be the first country in the American continent to lift such a ban. 

With this, and the recent ruling by the Supreme Court striking down the ban on gay marriage nationwide, Mexico is now leading the path on equality in Latin America and beyond.

FRANCE: Tens Of Thousands Rally In Paris For Gay Marriage

Click here for the story at Reuters.

AFER’s Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Dutch Caribbean Island Country Saba Legalises Gay Marriage

Joe.My.God. reports:

The tiny Caribbean island of Saba has legalized same-sex marriage. 

Two men were recently married in Saba, marking the first ceremony of its kind in the region and setting off a frenzy of calls from gay couples in other Dutch Caribbean islands seeking to marry, said Julietta Woods with Saba’s Civil Registry office.”People keep calling me every second,” she said by telephone this week. As part of the Netherlands Kingdom, the islands of Saba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius have to recognize same-sex marriages. While Bonaire and St. Eustatius have balked at the idea of legalizing such unions, the idea has been embraced in Saba, long considered a gay-friendly destination. “We’ve seen it as a human rights issue,” said Saba council member Carl Buncamper, who is openly gay. “It is important to give the partners equal rights when it comes to inheritance and other benefits.”

The Netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.

Ian McKellen On Anderson Cooper: I’ve Never Met A Gay Person Who Regretted Coming Out

United Kingdom: Scotland Introduces Marriage Bill

Gay Star News reports:

The Scottish government launched the ‘Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill’, which will introduce marriage equality, yesterday (12 December) alongside a 14-week consultation on its implementation.
The draft legislation will allow same-sex marriage in Scotland and give all religious and belief bodies (for example Humanist) the right to conduct same-sex marriages, if they wish to do so.
The bill will also remove the requirement on a married or civil partnered transgender person to divorce before obtaining full Gender Recognition.
In addition the bill will introduce religious and belief ceremonies for civil partnerships.
Finally, the bill will allow civil marriages to take place anywhere a couple and their registrar choose.
The Scottish government will now be consulting on the implementation of the draft bill, including the details of the legislation and proposals relating to religious bodies and celebrants, freedom of speech, education and employment.
Following the close of the public consultation on 20 March, the Scottish government will make any changes to the bill that are considered necessary, then introduce the bill for a vote into the Scottish parliament.
It generally takes at least 6 months for a bill to go through parliament, so if the bill is introduced by May or June, it might be passed by around the end of 2013.
Depending on unforeseen changes to the timetable the first same-sex marriages in Scotland should take place in 2014.
Tom French, policy coordinator for the Equality Network charity, welcomed the bill and said: ‘Today Scotland has taken a huge step forward towards full equality for LGBT people.
‘Equally religious bodies should have the freedom to choose for themselves whether to conduct same-sex marriages, currently all religious bodies are wrongly banned from doing so regardless of their beliefs.
‘These proposals are fair and progressive, and as a result we expect the final legislation to get the backing of a clear majority in parliament’.
All the major Scottish political parties welcomed the bill.
Alex Neil Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and Scottish Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, said; ‘We are introducing same sex marriage in Scotland because it is the right thing to do.
‘We are striving to create a Scotland that is free, tolerant and fair and I am pleased to say there is support across the chamber for this significant step.
‘I am absolutely clear that this should not impact on religious freedom and no religious body will be compelled to solemnise same-sex marriages.’
Johann Lamont MSP, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, said: ‘Equality for LGBT people in the UK has always been advanced by the Labour Party, from equalising the age of consent, introducing anti-discriminatory policies, introducing civil partnerships and promoting equality across Europe and beyond. We look forward to scrutinising the bill’.
Ruth Davidson MSP, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, said; ‘I support the principal of equal marriage’, adding she will work to ensure that religious protections are in place’.
Willie Rennie MSP, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: ‘This bill represents a proud step forwards for equality in Scotland.
‘Equal marriage is the right and natural step towards the modern, tolerant and progressive Scotland we all want to see’.
Patrick Harvie MSP, out bisexual leader of the Scottish Green Party, said: ‘I’m delighted that Scotland will be pressing ahead with legislation which recognises the equal status of mixed-sex and same-sex relationships, and gives them all the same right to marriage.
‘I believe they should all have the same right to civil partnership too, and I’ll look forward to debating that in parliament.
‘Equality should mean equality for everyone, on their own terms.’
Over 14 Scottish religious leaders, from the Quakers, Episcopal, Unitarian, ministers of the Church of Scotland and Liberal Jeduasim have welcomed the bill and said they look forward to solemnise same-sex marriage.
Despite the bill ensuring opt out for religious bodies who do not wish to conduct same-sex marriages and guaranteeing religious freedom, some Scottish religious leaders said religious bodies are not ‘protected’ enough against the bill and called for ‘more safeguards’.
Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said that ‘leading legal opinion’ has warned that the government’s proposals will have an ‘adverse’ impact on ‘religious freedom and a wide range of civil liberties.’ and may ‘discriminate unjustly’ against religious bodies.
Rev Alan Hamilton, convener of the Church of Scotland’s legal questions committee, said: ‘We have also expressed concerns about the speed with which the government is proceeding with this and what we fear will be inadequate safeguards for religious bodies and ministers and people of faith who view this as being contrary to their beliefs’.

Uruguay: House Overwhelmingly Approves Same-Sex Marriage By 81-6 Vote

Joe.My.God. reports:

Rex Wockner and Andres Duque have the good news: 

Eighty-one of the 99 members of Uruguay’s House of Representatives voted to legalize same-sex marriage this evening. Twelve members of the chamber were not present for the vote.The bill now advances to the Senate, where support is equally strong, according to LGBT activists. President José Mujica plans to sign the measure into law in early 2013. “Very happy here!” said Álvaro Queiruga of the LGBT lobby group Colectivo Ovejas Negras (Black Sheep Collective). Uruguay will be the 12th nation to offer same-sex marriage nationwide. Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Mexico (where same-sex marriage is legal in the Federal District, i.e. Mexico City, and in the state of Oaxaca, and those marriages are recognized nationwide).

Yet another victory in our best year ever. So far!

REPORT: Gays Earn More, Owe Less

Joe.My.God. reports:

According to a study released yesterday by Prudential, gay people tend to make more and owe less that most Americans.

Respondents not only reported significantly higher annual incomes — $61,500 compared with the national median of $50,054 — but they also carried about $4,000 less in debt than the average American and had $6,000 more in household savings. They were even slightly more likely to have jobs in the first place, with an unemployment rate of 7% versus the national rate of 7.9%, Prudential found.

A combination of factors play into this, said Michele Meyer-Shipp, chief diversity officer at Prudential. To start, LGBT individuals are generally well-educated, with more than half of respondents receiving at least a bachelor’s degree, and tend to live in higher-income areas, she said. ”It flows down — you have a higher level of education, access to higher paying jobs in areas where there are good salaries, and more disposable income to allocate to things like saving and retirement,” Meyer-Shipp said.

Anti-gay groups already use the presumed relative affluence of the the LGBT community as “proof” that we do not suffer discrimination. This latest study will surely add to that claim.

WASHINGTON: 140 Gay Couples To Marry At City Hall On December 9th In Seattle

Here’s a fundraising pitch for decorations and to make everything “completely free” for the participating couples.