At the annual National Prayer Breakfast on February 4, President Obama condemned Ugandan legislation that would penalize homosexual people for engaging in homosexuality. Speaking before a room filled with sponsors of the breakfast, the Fellowship Foundation–an organization linked to efforts to pass the anti-LGBT bill–Obama called the measures “unconscionable” and “odious.”

60 members of Congress have signed a letter addressed to President Obama urging him to pass the comprehensive immigration-reform Uniting American Families Act with language that allows LGBT U.S. nationals to sponsor their partners
in binational families.

The European Parliament reaffirmed today that securing LGBT rights were an important consideration for candidate countries applying to join the European Union.

A school program for LGBT students recently opened in Los Angeles. A collaboration with Opportunities for Learning, the anti-harassment school would offer around 40 7th through 12th graders an alternative program with an independent study angle. Students meet with an instructor twice a week and spend the other weekdays completing a full day of schoolwork at home.

If you are planning on spending your Valentine’s weekend eating pints of Chubby Hubby and watching Love, Actually fourteen times, fear not! Single Mingle will be hosting their Big Gay Valentine’s Day show at Spybar (646 N. Franklin) on Saturday, February 13. Single Mingle utilizes familiar dating game elements in a live environment that allows the crowd to size each other up and pair off while three predetermined contestants vie for the hand of one lucky lonesome. Doors open at 6 PM followed by two shows separated by an intermission.

If you’re looking for something to do with a special someone this weekend, head to Chicago’s Freedom to Marry Day events, which will include a demonstration by the LGBTQA Liberation Network on Valentine’s Day outside Holy Name Cathedral (735 N. State St.) picketing Cardinal Francis George and his efforts within the Catholic church to staunch equal marriage. Meet up at 10:30 AM, just in time for mass! London will be holding a similar demonstration that day to protest a visit by the Pope, organizing for a secular Europe as well as LGBT and women’s rights.

If you haven’t been actively avoiding Wal-Mart like it was H1N1, now you have more justification: a gay couple was recently banned for life from the chain after being harassed by Niles, MI store security for reportedly shoplifting, claims that were quickly verified by local police as untrue. Litigation to sue the couple at ten times the amount of items claimed as stolen is underway, the rationale being they were “uncooperative” by refusing to enter a closed-off detention room with their 11-year-old twins. While the couple talked to the police, the young boys were kept in the detention room and are now experiencing nightmares and other emotional trauma. The smiley-face mascotted store that purports to be family-friendly apparently stops short of that definition when it comes to same-sex couples.

On the other side, current enemies to gay rights legislation may be seeking some unity with the LGBT community: Salt Lake City passed two bills endorsed by the Mormon Church that ban employment and housing discrimination against LGBT people, the first city in Utah to do so. Even with a predominately Church-affiliated legislature and a governor who has stated that discrimination against LGBT people should not be made illegal, things are starting to look on the progressive side for the state.

An open and affirming church in (veh-ry) conservative Orange County, CA has decided to stage a performance of the controversial play “Corpus Christi.” The play follows a narrative positing Jesus as a gay Texan man in the 1950s, which is sure to angry up the blood of more than a few Bible-thumpers in the area. Church of the Foothills state that their intention is to begin a dialogue about the intersection of sexual orientation and spirituality with what they deem a respectful handling of the issue by playwright Terrence McNally.

An Alabaman teen who was recently denied attendance to her school’s prom if she brought her girlfriend as a date may be able to attend after all. After intervention by the ACLU and a near-cancellation of the entire event, Tharptown High School officials say the will allow Cynthia Stewart to attend with her girlfriend as long as the out-of-district teen passes a screening. Stewart is part of the prom planning committee and helped raise more than $200 to fund the dance.

President Obama signed the Shepard-Byrd Act into law today, which adds gender identity, sexual orientation and disability as categories to the federal hate crimes law. The bill was originally drafted in 1996 and has increased momentum since the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. in 1998. After more than a decade, the rights many activists fought for is finally coming to fruition, and this bill’s importance lies in being one of the most inclusive LGBT issues currently in the public consciousness.

Army Secretary John McHugh stated to the Army Times on October 25 that he believes the Army can handle the repeal of DADT, a belief he shares with the more than 13,500 servicemembers who have been discharged for their bi- or homosexuality.

OMG-zors! Scholastic, like, totally retracted their ban of a book featuring a character with lesbian moms. Lauren Myracle’s Luv Ya Bunches was sidelined from Scholastic book fairs and clubs for crude language–like the especially vile “crap,” “sucks” and “geez,” WTHuh?–and for including a normalized depiction of homosexual characters. After complaints from bloggers and queer rights groups, Scholastic decided to allow the book to be featured in their book clubs.

A genderqueer student was named homecoming queen at William and Mary College, representing the class of 2011. Jessee Vasold says that ze does not identify as male or female but was surprised and honored by the decision. Vasold is currently the undersecretary for the college’s GLBT Affairs.

We knew there was a reason Dorothy was our favorite. The estate of Bea Arthur has bestowed $300,000 on the Ali Forney Center in New York, a non-profit working to provide homes to LGBT youth who have been disowned by their families. The donation will be used to build a new 12-person facility.

Note: We’re retooling our News section to cover news in a way more fitting to our voice and with slightly more editorial comment. Take this moment to ogle our new side image as well.

With all eyes on the national repeal of DOMA, we may have overlooked the inequity in our own state. But just last week, State Senator Heather Steans proposed the Equal Marriage Act to the state senate. This is the first bill to be introduced in the Illinois senate, but it meshes well with the current Same-Sex Marriage and Religion Freedoms Act by Representative Greg Harris in the state House.

Even though it has long been proven that gay men are not the only carriers of HIV, only making up about half the newly infected rate in the U.S., no one CC’ed blood donation centers. A Canadian man recently filed a countersuit against Canadian Blood Services who were suing him for not revealing his status as MSM when donating between 1998 and 2002. MSM are one of the few major groups, and the only one based on sexual practice, to be denied as blood donors based simply on the demerit of having homoerotic intercourse since the arbitrary date of 1977 (because no one could possibly have had AIDS before then). Kyle Freeman’s lawsuit asserts that all applicants should be reviewed based on their behavior and not their identity and is another example in a long list of people fighting to change this near-universal policy.

On Thursday, October 1, a Texas judge ruled that the state ban on same-sex marriage violated the equal protection clause in the state constitution when deciding in a case of same-sex divorce. The attorney general filed an accelerated appeal, but the court will go ahead and file the divorce papers in the meantime. Speculation is high as to whether or not this will mean a trend toward marriage equality in the state or if this is an isolated instance.

The murder of British consul John Terry in his current home country of Jamaica is now being claimed by some to have been motivated by homophobia. An alleged note was found along with Terry’s body that was a threat to gay men, and although Jamaican police believe that the motive was not a hate crime due to evidence, especially no sign of forced entry into Terry’s home, Jamaica still has a history of violence toward homosexuals and a standing law that convicts men who have sexual contact with each other to ten years in prison.

On Wednesday, September 9, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to allow adoption for lesbian and gay couples. This follows precedence set by Uruguay in allowing same-sex civil unions and for LGBT students to attend military academies.

New Jersey Stonewall Democrat president Barbra Casbar Siperstein became the newest member of the DNC’s governing body last Friday. Siperstein is the first transwoman to be elected to a position with the DNC and joins 5 other recent LGBT appointments.

Today, Rep. John Nadler of New York introduced a bill to Congress to be known as the “Respect for Marriage Act of 2009.” The bill looks to repeal the current federal DOMA that prevents same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits and recognition. In other news to bolster this repeal, The Huffington Post reports that the divorce rate in the first state to legalize gay marriage 5 years ago are the lowest in the country. In fact, they’re lower than the national divorce rate was in 1940, before the start of World War II. Does this signify the beginning of a gay baby boom?

Researchers with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative have identified two new antibodies that resist HIV, the first find in over a decade. The antibodies only exist in a handful of people with HIV, but researchers hope that the relative accessibility to the sites on the virus the antibodies work against will show progress for a vaccine.

Chicago Public Schools have a devised a new advisory council on LGBT issues after grassroots organizing by a group of young students. The reforms that have developed are a student justice handbook that trains students and teachers on how to respectfully treat LGBT peers as well as include gender identity and expression in the list of protections. Renaissance 2010 schools, including military academies, may choose not to follow CPS policy on these issues.

A Navy sailor was abused by fellow sailors and commanding officers for over two years for being homosexual. Joseph Rocha, who was discharged under DADT, developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the abuse he suffered, and 93 other incidents of abuse are alleged against the same officers who abused Rocha.

Melissa Sue Robinson, a transwoman and former Republican, is running for mayor of a small Idaho town. Robinson is hoping that the people of Nampa will become more acquainted with her and more understanding of the issues facing transgender people.

A novel about a cross-dressing 12-year-old boy is nominated for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress is about Dennis and how he deals with his desire to wear girls’ clothes to school. The Dahl Funny Prize was started in the UK in 2008 to reward the funniest books for children, one for ages 6 and under and one for children 7 to fourteen.

After pressure from LGBT rights groups, including Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network, LiveNation and AEG Live have decided to cancel the U.S. tour for “murder music” and “kill gays” reggae star Buju Banton. Although his lyrical content at U.S. performances usually shies away from his brutal and dangerous calls to murder homosexuals found on his albums, Banton would have profited at the expense of the LGBT community, including at Chicago’s House of Blues at a scheduled October 1 performance.

After 2 months, the Texas liquor board has finally made decisions on the agents involved in a Fort Worth bar raid that saw a number of gay men injured on the same night as the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. 2 agents and a supervisor off-site were fired, effective September 2, and 2 additional supervisors were disciplined.

On Friday, August 28, the body of Larry Frankel was found in Rock Creek Park in D.C. Frankel was the State Legislative Counsel for the ACLU and was an openly gay man active in the marriage equality struggle. The details of his homicide are still being investigated.

Despite their best efforts, the National Organization for Marriage saw their leading candidate for Iowa’s House of Representatives lose by a small margin to pro-gay marriage Democratic candidate Curt Hanson in a special election. Marriage equality advocates hope this helps retain same-sex marriage in the state in the wake of campaigning by NOM to overturn it.

To celebrate marriage equality in their home state of Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s will be renaming one of their beloved flavors, “Chubby Hubby.” “Hubby Hubby” will be available for the month of September, but will revert to its original title after.

A pair of meetings to be held this week at Lakeview’s police station are being used as platforms to demand answers and justice in the case against Officer Richard Fiorito. Fiorito is alleged to have made nearly 600 DUI arrests or tickets in the last 3 years, an enormous amount going to LGBT drivers who claim that charges against them were falsified and that Fiorito verbally harassed them for their sexual orientation or gender expression. The meetings will take place at 7 PM on Wednesday (LGBT subcommittee) and 6 PM on Thursday (District Advisory Committee) at 3608 N. Halsted, the station out of where officer Fiorito works.

The District of Columbia’s Superior Court ruled that ex-gays could be protected under sexual orientation laws. The group PFOX, which supports ex-gays, filed a discrimination charge against the National Education Association for not allowing them to present at the annual NEA conference.

A gay Tucson man was convicted yesterday of assaulting a trans woman who is a Vietnam Veteran. Richard Ray Young was allegedly drunk when he approached Janey Kay at an ATM and began verbally and physically abusing her. Young was given a $1,000 fine and sentenced to 30 days in jail plus three years probabtion.

Now that nearly half of New Jersey residents believe same-sex couples should have marriage equality, the legislative session meeting Nov. 3 will discuss a marriage equality bill for the state. New Jersey already allows civil unions, but these do not guarantee the same rights as civil marriage.

Scientists at the University of Utah discovered that by isolating certain genes in the brain to read as male, they could cause same-sex attraction in female worms. Although there is no conclusive evidence of what causes sexual orientation, this study falls on the genetics side of the nature vs. nurture debate.

LGBT rights organization Human Rights Watch claims that reports from doctors show hundreds of gay men have been tortured and killed in Iraq over the past year. The murders have been by militia and zealot groups, but the Iraqi government has no protections in place for LGBT citizens.

The Lutheran Church, following precedents by the Episcopal and other churches, is now deciding whether or not to allow openly gay and lesbian people in relationships serve as clergy. The national church is split on emphasizing acceptance and diversity over remaining true to traditional scripture, leaving many congregations to speculate as to the final decision.

A 61-year-old trans woman from the UK performed her own gender reassignment surgery in her home bathroom. Roland Mery asked her wife to call an ambulance immediately after using a scalpel to remove her own genitals, stating later that she was not able to afford reassignment surgery in hospital and would have to wait two years for professional help.

On Monday, President Obama stated his displeasure with the national Defense of Marriage Act while the Justice Department simultaneously put forth a motion to dismiss a case by a gay couple looking to overturn the federal law. The current administration claims to oppose the moral foundation of DOMA while defending its legality and desire to have the decision to overturn it be through the legislature rather than the judiciary.

Anchorage, Alaska mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed an LGBT rights bill the city assembly had put through this past week. Sullivan stated he saw no reason for the ordinance. The assembly can overrule the veto within three weeks if they decide.

On August 5, APA psychologists refuted that ex-gay therapy is effective and declared it detrimental to mental health. The APA has long criticized the practice of reparative therapy, but after overwhelming evidence against this form of therapy, have suggested therapists recommend patients lead celibate lives or consider switching churches or out of situations that are compelling them to be straight.

The U.S. military is currently investigating reports made by two Iraqi citizens at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Lebanon that U.S. soldiers were responsible for the execution deaths of gay Iraqis. The men showed photographs of the executed men’s bodies, but there is no proof yet that their deaths were caused by American soldiers nor that they were even homosexual.

On Sunday, Argentina’s Attorney General Esteban Righi filed Supreme Court briefs to allow same-sex marriage for couples in the country. Critics complain that civil union rights would be easier to obtain and that Righi is hoping to defer to the legislature, but many are hopeful that this will lead to progress for the LGBT community.

A Wisconsin library that came under fire stocking a Francesca Lia Block novel about a homosexual teen is now being criticized by Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays for not containing any literature by “ex-gay” authors. PFOX claims that the the library is ignoring “material written by ex-gays or with a heterosexual slant.” We guess they don’t carry The Great Gatsby, Atlas Shrugged or most of modern literature with a “heterosexual slant”?

The new Newlywed Game is looking for same-sex couples to participate in a relaunch of the series. Couples have to have been married in a state that has legal equal marriage.