Sweden: Gay Couple Marry After Fleeing Their Native Uganda Fearing Persecution 

The Local reports:

A couple who claim to be the first Ugandan men to be legally married face an uncertain future after recently tying the knot in a Swedish church, with one facing possible deportation that the other fears could result in his husband’s death.

Last weekend, Lawrence Kaala and Jimmy Sserwadda were all smiles as they exchanged vows in a crowded church in the north Stockholm suburb of Järfälla.

“It feels great,” Sserwadda tells The Local after the wedding, which was attended by more than one hundred guests – including Sweden’s EU Minister Birgitta Ohlsson.

“We had been separated in such a hostile environment; we didn’t know if we’d ever see each other again.”

The ceremony was supposed to be a fairy-tale ending to an improbable story for the two men who found themselves reunited in Sweden years after their relationship had been cut short due to persecution in their native Uganda.

“Uganda is about the worst place in the world to live as someone who is openly gay,” Sserwadda explains.

But while Sserwadda’s asylum application has been approved, Kaala learned just days before the ceremony that his application had been denied, meaning he will have to leave Sweden in two weeks if he doesn’t file an appeal.

“If they put him on a plane to Uganda now, they will be sentencing him to death,” says Sserwadda.

The two men had been in a long-term relationship in Uganda until one day in 2008 when Sserwadda suddenly fled the country shortly after being arrested and beaten for “promoting homosexuality”.

“I didn’t tell Lawrence. I know he would have insisted on coming with and that would have put our lives at risk. So I left him behind,” he recalls.

Sserwadda ended up in Sweden and was granted asylum on account of the risks he faced as a gay man if he were to return to Uganda. He became active in the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (Riksförbundet för homosexuellas, bisexuellas och transpersoners rättigheter –RFSL), helping other LBGT asylum seekers with their cases.

In the summer of 2011, Sserwadda’s story was featured in Kom Ut, a magazine published by RFSL, as part of a piece which compared LBGT asylum cases to a lottery due to inconsistencies and a lack of knowledge on the part of officials at the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket).

Unbeknownst to Sserwadda, a copy of the magazine landed in the hands of Kaala, who had also fled the increasingly threatening atmosphere in Uganda.

Through chance, Kaala also ended up in Sweden and was dumbfounded to see his former lover’s picture plastered on a magazine cover three years after Sserwadda fled.

Kaala phoned Sserwadda who was equally surprised to hear from the man he assumed he’d never see again.

“I was shocked. I thought it was a joke,” Sserwadda recalls.

“When we finally met in person, Lawrence said, ‘Yes, darling it’s me!’ As we hugged he then asked me why I had left.”

Sserwadda explained why he kept his plans to flee Uganda a secret and was soon forgiven for leaving his lover in the lurch. The two rekindled their former relationship, and began talking about having a wedding.

“If we could have gotten married in Uganda if we would have and when we found each other again here in Sweden it felt natural to go ahead with it,” he says.

Despite learning that Kaala’s asylum application had been rejected just days before the two were to walk down the aisle, they refused to allow the setback to dampen their spirits.

“We decided to focus on the wedding and worry about the possible deportation later,” Sserwadda explains.

He adds he’s frustrated that despite both he and Kaala being gay men from Uganda, where same-sex relationships are illegal and could be punishable by death under a proposed bill currently up for debate, their asylum cases have been treated differently by migration authorities in Sweden.

“They don’t believe his story,” he explains, despite Kaala having scars on his body that both claim came as a result of beatings suffered by Kaala because he is a homosexual.

According to RFSL chairwoman Ulrika Westerlund, the Migration Board has a long way to go in how it handles asylum applications from people claiming persecution on account of their sexual preferences.

“They haven’t succeeded in ensuring that everyone who works on asylum cases involving LGBT applicants has the right knowledge and competence,” she tells The Local.

While no official statistics exist on LGBT asylum cases in Sweden, RFSL provides assistance in around 60 to 70 cases a year, which the Migration Board estimates represents roughly one-third of the total, according to Westerlund.

“A lot of the rejections are strange. It’s as if they have no concept of what LGBT asylum seekers face back home,” she says, explaining that the success or failure of LGBT asylum cases often depends on the case worker assigned to review the application.

Officials at the migration agency claim they are playing close attention to the situation in Uganda and that the agency continues to work on a strategy for increasing workers’ competence on gender and LGBT issues. 

Westerlund adds that the wedding of Sserwadda and Kaala constitutes “new circumstances” which will be grounds for a planned appeal of the deportation order.

“News of the wedding has spread around the world, including to Uganda so it’s much more dangerous there now,” she explains.

While Kaala could now re-file his application to receive a Swedish residence permit on the basis of being married to Sserwadda, who is due to receive Swedish citizenship later this year, doing so would require to return to Uganda to file the required paperwork.

“He can’t go back there. He’d be arrested immediately,” says Sserwadda.

The couple now has until February 11th to file an appeal with the Migration Board.

“We haven’t had time for a honeymoon. We’ve been working around the clock since the wedding to get things in order,” he adds.

David Landes

USA: First Same-Sex Marriage Proposal In The White House

Gawker reports:

Active duty U.S. Marine Corps captain Matthew Phelps made history over the weekend by proposing to his partner Ben Schock inside the White House.
“Such a special night surrounded by wonderful people in an amazing place, and the best is still yet to come,” Phelps wrote on his Facebook page. “Thanks for all the wonderful greetings and messages, and thanks to Barack Obama and Michelle Obama for lending us your home for the occasion!”
After a photo of the historic proposal was shared by the American Military Partner Association, it was subsequently picked up and shared by many across multiple social networks.
“Ben and I are blown away by the amazing love and support we have received,” Phelps wrote in a follow-up post. “Thank you all so much for sharing in our joy and our lives.”

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.

Rosie O’Donnell Tied The Knot Already

The Huffington Post reports:

Rosie O’Donnell has tied the knot.
People magazine reports that the 50-year-old O’Donnell tied the knot with fiancee Michelle Rounds in a private June 9 ceremony. O’Donnell’s rep Cindi Berger told the magazine that although they originally had planned to wed in August, they opted to move the ceremony ahead of Rounds’ first surgery since being diagnosed with desmoid tumors, a rare disease that only affects three out of every million people.
“They got married but they haven’t had the wedding celebration,” Berger told the magazine.
O’Donnell also announced the news on her official blog, writing:

• we were to wed 10 days ago but her illness forced us to postpone the wedding luckily — as i was in ICU that day
• when it rains…
• things grow
• like love and flowers
• humans too
• so on we go
• we married in private
• before her surgery
• just the 2 of us

It’s a spot of good news for O’Donnell, who announced on her blog last week that she’d suffered a heart attack.

MSNBC Host Thomas Roberts To Marry Longtime Partner Patrick Abner

Queerty reports:

[…] MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts has been out since 2006 and come late-September, longtime partner Patrick Abner will make an honest man out of him. 
Roberts and Abner will marry in Manhattan with 150 guests in attendance so in preparation, Roberts has flown into full bridezilla mode.  He told The New York Observer, “I was on the treadmill for three miles this morning. I will be on it for three miles tomorrow. I had a Red Bull for lunch and I eat gum. I’m the typical groom!”
You say groom, we say “where’s the veil?”
After being canned at CNN — not a result of his coming out or so he claims — Roberts resurfaced at MSNBC where he’s taken a decidedly less objective stance than the silver-haired squire of Gloria Vanderbilt. Though he doesn’t necessarily make a beeline to LGBT-centric stories, Roberts believes that his seshuality can be an asset when covering them.
“Because I am who I am, I can provide a different viewpoint, because people at home might know who I am or where I’ve come from—and that’s O.K.,” the blushing anchor said.
His relative forthrightness doesn’t mean that Roberts begrudges Mr. Johnny Coming-Out-Lately. Rather, Roberts sounds proud of his former colleague. “Now people can stop asking me when do you think Anderson’s going to come out,” Roberts said. “I have had that for years! And I think it’s great … I think he’s in a place now where he wants that personal-professional synergy. And he deserves that.” […]

USA: Congressman Barney Frank Marries Longtime Partner James Ready

NY Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell Gets His Marriage License After 31 Years

Joe.My.God. reports:

Yesterday New York Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell and his partner John Banta finally got their marriage license after 31 years together. As has been well documented on this blog, O’Donnell is one of the chief architects of marriage equality in New York, having led his chamber to approve the issue in three consecutive years.

O’Donnell and Banta were at the City Clerk’s office in Downtown Manhattan on Wednesday to obtain their marriage license, but the ceremony and reception will be a much more elaborate affair taking place on Sunday. The guest list reads like a who’s who of New York politics and invitations have gone out to more than 400 guests. “I invited almost all of the members of the Assembly and almost all the members of the Senate who voted yes to come to my wedding, which, when you add their spouses, that’s a lot of people,” said O’Donnell. “So they were invited, and most of them are coming.” Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are expected, as is former Governor David Paterson; Cuomo cannot make it. Judith Kaye, the state’s former chief judge, will officiate.

O’Donnell represents Manhattan’s Upper West Side. In lieu of a wedding gift, how about a donation to his 2012 campaign?

Barney Frank To Marry To Marry Longtime Partner Jim Ready

ARKANSAS: Gay Couple Denied Engagement Announcement

NWA Homepage reports:

A same-sex couple planning to get married, says they were denied the opportunity to announce their engagement in the local newspaper.    

Cody Renegar and his partner Thomas say they wanted to celebrate their upcoming union with friends and family, by publishing their engagement in the Northwest Arkansas Times.

“We’re getting married this June, we’re going to have a pretty big blowout here, it’s going to be over 200 people.  It’s going to be really beautiful,” Renegar says.  “There’s a certain amount of validation that comes with putting it in the paper.  You know, you grow up with that, you see this, you love to look at these beautiful photos of couples.”

But when Renegar called to get information about submitting an engagement announcement, he says he was told the Times wouldn’t be able to run it.

The paper’s publisher says it is their policy to only print announcements for marriages legally recognized by the state, and Arkansas does not acknowledge same-sex marriages.

“It’s not a law for it not to be put in the paper, it’s a choice of theirs, it felt to me like they were making a stance.  Whether they were or not I don’t know,” Renegar says.

He says the paper’s position is a big letdown.

“You want to be recognized as a taxpayer, as a human being, as a person in love…it’s not that complicated for them to print a picture of people in love.”

We did ask the paper’s publisher for an on-camera interview, but he declined our offer.

The Northwest Arkansas Center for Equality and the Human Rights Campaign are asking the newspaper to reconsider it’s policy on printing wedding announcements.

Alan Cumming Got Married

Aretha Franklin Engaged To William Wilkerson

The Huffington Post reports:

Aretha Franklin is engaged to longtime friend William “Willie” Wilkerson.
The Grammy-winning singer told The Associated Press in a statement Monday that she and Wilkerson are considering a summer wedding, perhaps in Miami Beach, Fla. The Queen of Soul wants to follow the ceremony with a reception on a private yacht.
The 69-year-old jokes: “No, I’m not pregnant.”
Franklin and Wilkerson became engaged over the holidays.
She is considering Vera Wang, Valentino and Donna Karan to design her dress.
Franklin has been married twice before.

Ricky Martin Plans To Marry Boyfriend In New York

Fox News Latino reports:

Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin and his boyfriend Carlos Gonzalez will marry on Jan. 28 in New York, the El Nuevo Dia newspaper reported on its Web site Sunday.
Martin and his partner, according to a source close to the Puerto Rican daily, will wed in the U.S. city which last June 24 approved marriage between homosexual couples.
Since he announced his sexual orientation in March 2010, the artist, who on Dec. 24 turned 40, has expressed his support for marriage among people of the same sex.
He also said last June that he favors homosexual marriage in Puerto Rico, where it is still illegal.
“What I want is for them to say no to discrimination so that equality among us human beings may be a reality in my country,” said Martin at that time.
Martin, who on Nov. 4 was granted Spanish citizenship, admitted he is gay on March 27, 2010, calling his homosexuality “a gift,” on his Web page in a communique.
From that point on, the popular artist has participated in events supporting homosexuals, among them one last March in New York when he received the Vito Russo prize from Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for his promotion of rights equality for the gay community.
Martin took advantage of the event to confirm his much-speculated-about romantic relationship with Gonzalez.
“I only wanted to be free and I can say that today I’m free,” said Martin at the event at which he especially thanked “my partner, my boyfriend, Carlos. You’re the greatest.” 

Johnny Weir Married To Victor Voronov

The Huffington Post reports:

Love was certainly in the air, at least in the sports world, as 2011 gave way to 2012. First, Michael Jordan got engaged on Dec. 29. Then LeBron James proposed to his longtime girlfriend shortly after midnight at a New Year’s Eve party. And on that same night, figure skating champion Johnny Weirmarried his boyfriend Victor Voronov, an Atlanta-based lawyer.
“I’m married!” he Tweeted. “No more livin’ in sin!”
Weir had discussed his wedding plans In an interview with IceNetwork.com on Dec. 29.
“His name is Victor [Voronov], he’s kind of everything that I’ve ever looked for and aspired to be in a relationship with,” the three-time U.S. champion and two-time Olympian said. “We’ve known each other for a long time and we reconnected over the summer, and it’s just been a whirlwind. I’m very happy with my personal life and also my professional life, and I thank God I can be exactly where I’m at.”
The 27-year-old publicly revealed he was gay in his autobiography Welcome To My World, which was released in January 2011 and excerpted in People magazine. He had previously avoided direct answers to questions about his sexuality in the press.
“I’m not ashamed to be me,” wrote Weir. “More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself. What’s wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become.”
In June 2011, Weir was given the honor of being the grand marshal of the Los Angeles PRIDE Parade, one of the largest LGBT celebrations in the United States.
Weir and Voronov tied the knot in New York, a state that legalized gay marriage in June. The newlyweds departed the Empire State on Monday for their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

Lou & John, Married After 64 Years

Joe.My.God. reports:

Here’s the first paragraph from a great New York article,Reasons To (Heart) NY:

When the Columbia Library closed each night at ten, it was the custom of John Spofford Morgan, who was studying for a master’s in international affairs, to hop on the subway and head downtown to the New Verdi on West 72nd. Back then, there were two kinds of bars for gay men, he says: pickup joints and old-friends joints. The New Verdi was the latter, but it turned into the former when at around 10:30 on May 17, 1947, Louis Halsey walked in. “Love at first sight,” says Lou now. “Was it?” John wonders. “For me it was slower.” In any case, Lou and John spent the night together, just as they have spent most nights in the 64 years ensuing. Last month, they got married.

(Via - Boy Culture)

Occupy Wall Street Hosts First Gay Wedding

The Advocate reports:

Protesters returned to Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan on Saturday for an afternoon of events that included the first same-sex wedding to take place at Occupy Wall Street.

The New York Daily Newsreports that activists Jonathan Lopez, 19, and Ivan Cabrera, 18, were married in “an unofficial ceremony” in the park that became synonymous with the global protests against economic inequality. Same-sex marriages have been available in New York since the marriage equality law took effect in July, but Gothamist reports that the wedding was the first such ceremony at the park.

As many as 200 protesters came to Zuccotti Park on Saturday for the first time since police raided the area early last Tuesday morning, arrested about 140, and brought the two-month encampment to an end. Tents, tarps and other sleeping gear are now banned from the location. 

Cabrera, who had attended the protest since its start in September, told the Daily News, “They say we have freedom of speech, but we don’t. We’re nonviolent, and we got kicked out and hit. We’re trying to make this cause for the whole world.”