Aug 11, 2010
Costa Rica Court Rejects Vote on Same-Sex Civil Unions
Costa Rica's constitutional court has blocked a referendum that would have let voters decide if same-sex civil unions should be allowed in the Central American country.

Read more at: Costa Rica Court Rejects Vote on Same-Sex Civil Unions

Aug 04, 2010
Prop 8 Overturned, Unconstitutional
Judge Vaughn Walker today overturned Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, calling it unconstitutional. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8," Walker wrote in his ruling. "California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result."

Read more at: LAist

Jul 16, 2010
Argentina Passes Gay Marriage Bill
In a debate that lasted well into the early hours of Thursday morning, Argentina's senate voted 33-27 to make theirs the first country in South America to legalize same-sex marriage.

Read more at: The Advocate

Jul 13, 2010
Will Phillips, 10-Year-Old, Won't Pledge Allegiance To A Country That Discriminates Against Gays
November 16, 2009 on CNN - Will Phillips appeared on CNN Monday morning with his father, Jay, to discuss his refusal to say the pledge of allegiance.

"I've grown up with a lot of people and I'm good friends with a lot of people who are gay and I think they should have the rights all people should, and I'm not going to swear that they do," the ten-year-old Phillips said.

See the video at: YouTube - Will Phillips, 10-Year-Old, Won't Pledge Allegiance To A Country That Discriminates Against Gays

Jul 11, 2010
Satrang participates in Los Angeles Pride Parade
This year marked a historical first for Satrang as the organization presented its first-ever float at the parade in West Hollywood, accroding to a press release. The float was adorned with flags from countries in the South Asian diaspora and incorporated cultural symbols, music, dance and costumes.

Satrang participated in the two-day LA Pride festival with its own booth, at which it provided information about its organization and had South Asian music, decorations and free Henna tattoos for everyone by professional artist Erum Gwaduri.

Funds for the float and booth were raised by donations from community members, collections at the Ms. & Mr. Satrang event and grants received by LA IFC and Liberty Hill Foundation. Satrang was also honored with a %500 grant from Christopher Street West Association, Inc. for its support of the South Asian LGBTIQQ community.

Excerpt from India West newspaper published in Los Angeles on July 2, 2010
Click here to see the whole article.

Jul 08, 2010
Federal gay marriage ban is ruled unconstitutional
The federal law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define the institution and therefore denies married gay couples some federal benefits, a federal judge ruled Thursday in Boston.
Read More at: SFGate

Jun 25, 2010
The Spiritual Significance of Pride
June is Pride Month for millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people across the country. During this time each year, we commemorate the weekend of June 27-29, 1969, when the patrons of the Stonewall Inn bar in Greenwich Village, fed up with police brutality and harassment towards the LGBT community, resolved to fight back. This turning point represented the birth of the modern LGBT-rights movement.

Read more at: The Huffington Post

May 26, 2010
Surrogacy still not an option for Indian gay, lesbian couples
According to the draft `Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2010' prepared by a 12-member committee headed by Dr P M Bhargava under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which was submitted to the health ministry recently, till gay and lesbian relationships are legalised in India, gay couples would not be allowed to have children through a surrogate.

Read more at: Times of India

May 20, 2010
Expedia.com opens Gay Store
Expedia.com users can search for LGBT-friendly hotels and destinations on their new LGBT Store starting today.

Read more at: Expedia welcomes LGBT travelers by opening Gay Store | Travel On the Dollar

May 17, 2010
Portugal's President Ratifies Gay Marriage Law
Portugal's conservative president announced Monday he is reluctantly ratifying a law allowing gay marriage, making the predominantly Catholic country the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.

Read more at: Portugal's President Ratifies Gay Marriage Law

May 17, 2010
Gay couple could get 14 years in prison
A gay couple in Malawi who celebrated their union in a traditional engagement ceremony could be sentenced to up to 14 years of hard labor, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Steven Monjenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, conducted a traditional engagement ceremony in late December in Chirimba, near Blantyre. After news reports surfaced of the same-sex engagement, they were rounded up by Malawi's police and charged under colonial-era sodomy laws. Their sentencing is Tuesday.
Read more at: CNN.com

May 10, 2010
Welcoming gay travelers to Seattle
A new website, Travel Gay Seattle, has been launched to tap into the lesbian and gay travel market. At www.thegsba.org/travel, travelers can find Seattle tips and reviews, and book plane tickets, hotels and more. The Greater Seattle Business Association launched the website, with support from Alaska Airlines. The association is a chamber for commerce for LGBT-oriented businesses — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

Apr 23, 2010
Queer film festival in Mumbai
In an attempt to improve the image of gay persons in a nation where homosexuality still carries a heavy social stigma, the first edition of the Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, titled 'Kashish', kicked off here on Thursday, April 22, 2010.

Read more at: OneIndia News
Mumbai Queer Film Festival

Aug 16, 2009
Gays barred from NY India Day Parade
The Federation of Indian Associations has barred the South Asian Lesbian Gay Association from the huge annual India Day Parade in Manhattan, on Sunday August 16.
Read more

Jul 10, 2009
India Supreme Court steps into gay sex law dispute
India's Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a petition from a Hindu astrologer who is seeking to annul a recent landmark ruling that decriminalized gay sex.
Read more