Uganda holds 'thanksgiving' event for anti-gay law (with BuzzFeed video)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KAMPALA, Uganda -- President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has launched fresh condemnation of gays, saying they deserve punishment because homosexuality "is criminal and it is so cruel."

Museveni, who last month signed a bill strengthening criminal penalties against homosexuals, said Monday that he is "now mobilizing to fight" Western gays he accuses of promoting homosexuality in Africa.

Museveni spoke at a "thanksgiving service" organized by a coalition of Ugandan religious leaders and government officials who said the president deserves credit for defying Western pressure.

Thousands of Ugandans attended the raucous event in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, many of them schoolchildren who sang and danced to anti-gay tunes that also railed against the West.

Some European countries and the U.S. have cut, delayed or reviewed aid to Uganda over the law.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31 (with four HRC videos ‘Debunking the Myths’)

Today, March 31, is the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

From HRC Blog:

Observed each year on March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility is a day to celebrate the courage it takes to live openly and authentically, while also recognizing the leadership of transgender and gender nonconforming trailblazers who have led the charge in the fight for equality.

Click here to read more.

Here are four videos recently published by HRC, a series titled Debunking the Myths on Transgender Health & Well-Being:

Medical professionals, transgender, and gender non-conforming people discuss the myth that surgeries are the most important action for transgender people.

Corporate business-people and transgender individuals deny the claim that providing benefits for the transgender community cost companies too much.

Youth well-being professionals talk about the importance of supporting gender variant children & youth.

Medical professionals & transgender people debunk the myth that Transgender healthcare is "special".

Elton John to have 'quiet' wedding with partner; releases 40th anniversary 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Elton John and his partner David Furnish are planning a low-profile wedding in May, following a change in British law allowing gay marriages.

The singer told NBC's Today show that he wants to celebrate "very quietly," and added: "It will be a joyous occasion and we will have our children."

The two men, who have been in a civil partnership since 2005, have two children.

In quotes released on NBC's website Monday, the singer said: "We shouldn't just say 'Oh, well, we have a civil partnership, we're not going to bother to get married'. We will get married."

Same-sex marriages were allowed for the first time in Britain Saturday, when a new marriage law came into effect.

Last week, John released a 40th anniversary edition of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, his 1974 album featuring hits including Candle in the Wind and Bennie and the Jets.

Here's the news release:

GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD SUPER DELUXE BOX SET includes:

*Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - 2014 Remaster

*Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Revisited - nine, new cover versions of classic songs from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road performed by Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Fall Out Boy, Hunter Hayes, Imelda May, John Grant, Miguel featuring Wale, The Band Perry, and Zac Brown Band.

*Beyond The Yellow Brick Road - single B-sides and bonus tracks

*Elton John Live At Hammersmith Odeon - Complete show, December 1973

*Elton John And Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye To Norma Jean And Other Things DVD

*100 Page Hardback Book - packed with rare photos, memorabilia and a new essay containing interviews with Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Amazon.com currently is selling the box set for $57.13.

Weslee Lim wins 2014 scholarship from Anita Priest Whispering Angels Foundation and Unity Coalition

From Anita Priest Whispering Angels Foundation and Unity Coalition, via Facebook:

Anita Priest Whispering Angels Foundation & the Unity Coalition | Coalición Unida are proud to announce WESLEE LIM as the 2014 Scholarship recipient, offering South Florida LGBT students a chance at higher education

Miami, Florida- March 31, 2014…After a successful first year of partnership, common goals, fundraising & giving back to the community, the Anita Priest Whispering Angels Foundation & Unity Coalition|Coalición Unida are thrilled to announce the 2014 LGBT Scholarship recipient: TEK H. “WESLEE” LIM

Tek H. Lim (Weslee Lim) is majoring in International Business at Florida International University. He is originally from Cambodia and transferred from Limkokwing University of Creativity Technology to FIU in 2011 to pursue his degree and life in the United States. Throughout the years of his education in America, he developed a strong interest in photography through travels and digital art painting via art and charity events. Continuing his strong passion for humanity and community involvement for his own people in a struggling Cambodia, Tek continues to advocate for equality and those in need here in Miami. Tek plans to continue his education, personal, and professional growth while continuing to give back to society here and overseas.

Mr. Lim received his award at the Wick Theatre on March 30th at the Whispering Angels Gala.

Established in 2007 in memory of her later partner, renowned Interior Designer Anita Priest, the “Whispering Angels” Memorial Scholarship program founded by Sandra Holiday is a legacy program that provides a scholarship for the LGBT community to advance their education in the area of Design & the Arts and now - Education.

Unity Coalition|Coalición Unida (UC|CU), the first & only organization for the Latino| Hispanic|LGBTQ Community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) - advancing Equality since 2002, is proud to once again partner with the Whispering Angels Foundation for 2014, and look forward to the expanded categories for scholarship consideration, to further assist our communities in the pursuit of a college education.

ELIGIBILITY
- You must be a resident of So. Fla.
- Completed and signed application
- Recent photo or digital photo in jpg, gif, or bmp format
- Most recent academic transcript to be sent by the school by e-mail or by mail
- Be 21 or older.
- At least two and no more than three letters of recommendation (At least one of these must be from an
individual familiar with your work in South Florida (no family members)
- A scan of Driver’s License / State Issued ID
- I authorize the Anita Priest Scholarship Committee to review and discuss my grades and other records
concerning me that are maintained by my school or submitted by me for consideration. This authorization is
being granted to this Committee as it pertains to my being considered for a Scholarship Award.

Winning applicants are awarded a $2,500. scholarship for tuition expenses related to Design, the Arts or Education – paid directly to the school.

FOR INFO on the Anita Priest Whispering Angels Foundation and Scholarship Application, visit www.whisperingangelsfoundation.com or www.unitycoalition.org.

Despite new law, Ugandan cleric ministers to gays

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Young men sing hymns and recite the Bible before the Rev. Christopher Senyonjo gives a sermon on human sexuality. When the service is over some go to his desk, one by one, for counselling no other Ugandan religious leader is known to offer gays.

Dressed in a purple shirt and white collar that highlight his Anglican faith, Bishop Senyonjo doesn't organize his Sunday evening prayers for homosexuals only. But his sermons attract many gays who are familiar with his sympathetic views in a country where other Christian preachers have led Uganda's anti-gay crusade.

For ministering to homosexuals, Senyonjo has become estranged from Uganda's Anglican church. He was barred from presiding over church events in 2006 when he wouldn't stop urging his leaders to accept gays. The parish that he once led doesn't even acknowledge his presence when he attends Sunday services there, underscoring how his career has suffered because of his tolerance for gays in a country where homosexuals —and those who accept them — face discrimination.

"They said I should condemn the homosexuals," he said, referring to Anglican leaders in Uganda. "I can't do that, because I was called to serve all people, including the marginalized. But they say I am inhibited until I recant. I am still a member of the Anglican church."

Click here to read more.

At midnight, United Kingdom holds first weddings for same-sex couples

BY JILL LAWLESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON -- Gay couples in Britain waited decades for the right to get married. When the opportunity came, it took just a few minutes to make history.

Londoners Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway were among the first to tie the knot when Britain's new marriage law came into effect Saturday.

The two men wed in front of about 100 guests at their local town hall in the London borough of Camden — one of several locales holding late-night ceremonies to mark the occasion. By 10 minutes past midnight they were married, with a kiss and a registrar's declaration: "You are now husband and husband."

It's a sign of a profound shift in attitudes in a country that little more than a decade ago had a law on the books banning the "promotion" of homosexuality.

"Some people say, 'You gays are trying to redefine marriage,' but the definition of marriage has already changed," said Treadway, a 20-year-old student originally from Los Angeles. "Now it's between two people who love each other."

Most Britons agree. Polls show about two-thirds of people in the country back gay unions, and support is highest among the young. Britain has seen none of the large street protests against gay marriage that have taken place in France.

Click here to read more.

Gay couples find uneven access to health insurance

BY ANN SANNER

ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Nearly every day for three months, Carl Bechdel had to make calls or send emails to try to get family insurance coverage for his husband and himself under President Barack Obama's landmark health law.

The Harrisburg, Pa., couple had sent an insurer their application and a month's premium in early December but heard nothing. Weeks later, they were told their application was not processed because Pennsylvania doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. So Bechdel pushed back, repeatedly explaining their predicament in phone calls and emails. Finally, they got a call and apology from the president of the insurance company last month, plus a family plan that started in March.

"It was never a matter of price. It was a matter of respect," said Bechdel, a 60-year-old retired attorney who married Dan Miller in 2012 in Washington, D.C.

For gay couples, access to family insurance plans under the law is not guaranteed this year, and their options run the gamut, mirroring in part the patchwork of state laws governing same-sex marriage that have changed rapidly in recent years.

In Iowa, where gay marriage is legal, insurers selling plans in the marketplace created under the law offer policies to gay couples and families. But the major company in Tennessee's marketplace does not offer coverage at all to same-sex couples. Policies vary by insurer in Florida. And in Ohio, a couple sued for access to family insurance plans.

Click here to read more.

International AIDS expert Dr. Michael Saag to read from new book, 'Positive,' at LGBT Visitor Center

Michael Saag, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research, will read from his new book, Positive: One Doctor's Personal Encounters With Death, Life and the US Healthcare System, 3 p.m. Saturday at the LGBT Visitor Center in South Beach.

From Saag's website: "Positive traces the life of Michael S. Saag, MD, an internationally known expert on the virus that causes AIDS. But this book is more than a memoir: Through his story, Dr. Saag also shines a light on the dysfunctional US healthcare system, proposing optimistic yet realistic remedies drawn from his distinguished career."

Here are details of the book reading:

Saturday, March 29 at 3:00 PM
LGBT Visitor Center
1130 Washington Ave. – 1st Floor
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Hosted by Books & Books

Impulse to host Pumped on April 11, the after party for Gay Mr. America & Women’s Championships

From Impulse Group – Fort Lauderdale:

The OFFICIAL after party for Gay Mr. America & Women's Extravaganza Championships. Enjoy Open Bar from 10pm to Midnight and dance the night away until close at Rok Bar in South Beach Located at 1905 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, Fl 33152

Get PUMPED and Act on Impulse!

Benefiting Impulse Group Fort Lauderdale an organization, based in South Florida, dedicated to the advancement of safe sex awareness and practice among young, sexually active gay men between the ages of 18-35. In collaboration with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Click here for tickets ($50, plus $3.74 service fee) and information.

Attorney in Puerto Rico who wed another woman in Massachusetts sues for island to recognize marriage

BY DANICA COTO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Puerto Rico attorney who married her longtime partner on the U.S. mainland has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have their marriage recognized in her home territory.

The lawsuit comes as the debate on gay rights intensifies in Puerto Rico, where legislators and religious groups have recently clashed on several issues.

The suit filed Tuesday by attorney Ada Conde challenges the constitutionality of Puerto Rican laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman, as well as those that prohibit same-sex marriage and the recognition of such marriages.

Conde said she has been in a relationship for nearly 14 years with Ivonne Alvarez, an accountant and financial adviser whom she married in Massachusetts in August 2004.

"We wish to enjoy the same social privileges and contractual rights ... and not to be treated as we are being treated as second-class citizens," she said.

Click here to read more.