Growing Concern After Two Men Arrested In Northern Cyprus Sunday Under Colonial-Era Law Criminalizing Gay Sex

European MPs have voiced alarm after two men were arrested in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus under a British-era law criminalising gay sex. The BBC reports that on Sunday, two inmates at the central prison in Nicosia appeared in court charged with having "sexual intercourse against the order of nature.” Gay sex is not a crime in either Turkey or the Republic of Cyprus. Amid local fears of a crackdown on gay people, MEPs urged the Turkish Cypriot authorities to repeal the law. Marina Yannakoudakis, a British Conservative MEP, said Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu had given assurances that he would sign a repeal of the ban into law. However, the repeal is still to be debated in parliament in northern Cyprus despite repeated requests by gay rights lobbyists, local group Initiative Against Homophobia said. Mr Eroglu has not yet responded to a request by the BBC for comment. Sunday's court appearance marks the third occasion in eight months when arrests have been made based on Section 171 of the penal code. Introduced in 1929, it was effectively repealed in the Republic of Cyprus in the late 1990s after a European Court of Human Rights ruling. But in the Turkish-controlled north, the gay rights group Shortbus reports that it was used to justify the arrest in July of two men. Then, in October, a former Republic of Cyprus finance minister, Michael Sarris, and two other adult men were arrested. Mr Sarris crossed the border back into the Republic of Cyprus, thereby escaping prosecution, but the two other men remain under investigation in the north, according to the Intergroup on LGBT Rights at the European Parliament. Following the arrest of Mr Sarris, the Turkish Cypriot leader said he had advised the government that Section 171 "should be abolished without delay.” He noted that one of the political parties, Communal Democracy, had submitted a bill on its repeal to the territory's general assembly on October 25. However, according to Initiative Against Homophobia, the bill has not been debated. "The repeal stayed only in words - no further action has been taken," IAH's Reshat Shaban said. Mr Shaban said arrests under Section 171 had increased "significantly" last year and he feared a campaign was under way to influence public opinion against gay people. "The recent arrests create a certain understanding that LGBT people may be arrested at any time under laws which were found incompatible with human rights by the ECHR," he said, adding that, the government in the north was not accountable to any international institutions. Furthermore, some local media had published names and pictures of suspects despite closed court hearings, he said. Marina Yannakoudakis, who is a member of the European Parliament's High-Level Contact Group for Relations with the Turkish Cypriot Community, was also concerned about the "extremely derogatory tone" in which local Turkish-language media reported the arrests. The Conservative MEP said the Turkish Cypriot leader had to make good his promises of last year. "There must be an immediate moratorium on arrests under Section 171 and the men arrested last month must be released without delay," she said. "Draft legislation submitted by the Communal Democratic Party must be fast-tracked through the assembly to ensure that there are no further miscarriages of justice and Dr Eroglu must keep his promise to sign the repeal into law. It is important not only to change the laws in the north part of Cyprus, but to change attitudes to ensure that all Cypriot adults may engage in consensual sex - be it with the same or different gender - without fear of punishment or pillory." British Labour MEP Michael Cashman, who jointly heads the Intergroup on LGBT Rights, said Section 171 "wrecked lives.” He said he planned to visit Cyprus to meet Mr Eroglu and others in order to "encourage repealing this outdated piece of legislation which has no place in Europe - or anywhere in the world.”

Washington State Senate Approves Same Sex Marriage Measure 28-21; Bill 6239 Now Heads To House

A bill legalizing same sex marriage in Washington cleared its biggest legislative hurdle Wednesday night in a historic vote by the state Senate. The Seattle Times reports that lawmakers approved the bill 28 to 21. The measure now heads for the House where it is expected to easily pass as early as next week. The governor supports the bill as well. Washington would become the seventh state to legalize same sex marriage. The outcome, while expected, culminates more than decade of work by Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, the prime sponsor of the bill, and the gay and lesbian community. "A lot of people are just stunned, particularly people my age and older, to think this day would actually come in our lifetime," Murray told reporters before the vote. There was plenty of debate in the Senate with supporters arguing same-sex marriage was a matter of equal rights, while opponents said the law would impinge religious freedom. The final vote came after supporters of the bill fended off a push to let the voters decide. An amendment to put the measure on the November ballot, sponsored by Senator Brian Hatfield (D-Raymond), was defeated 23-26. Hatfield, who ended up voting for the bill anyway, said a decision this big should be decided by voters. Gay marriage opponents have promised to challenge any same-sex marriage law at the ballot. A referendum cannot be filed until the governor signs the legislation. The bill is SB 6239.

Anti-Gay Group OneMillionMoms.com Condemns J.C. Penny For Hiring Ellen DeGeneres

J.C. Penney hired Ellen DeGeneres to get some attention, and to date, she's delivering. OneMillionMoms.com, a project of the uber-conservative American Family Assn. in Tupelo, Mississippi, is upset that the retailer hired DeGeneres -- the openly gay host of the daytime talk show "Ellen" -- as a spokeswoman to help retool its brand, reports The Los Angeles Times. "Funny that J.C. Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the group wrote on its website. "More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless J.C. Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war, then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful." The website offers readers J.C. Penney phone numbers and invites them to express their displeasure. This drew a condemnation Wednesday from GLAAD, the gay rights organization, which dubbed the association a "hate group." Herndon Graddick, a senior GLAAD official, said in a statement, "While designated hate groups try to start 'culture wars,' it's clear that a vast majority of Americans today support Ellen as well as their LGBT friends and family members. Selecting an out performer who has inspired and entertained millions is not only a smart business practice, but a reflection of how LGBT Americans today are an integral and valued part of the fabric of our culture."

Proponents Of Effort To Repeal Unconstitutional Kansas Sodomy Law Request Hearing In Front Of Senate Judiciary Committee Who Classifies The Issue As “Sensitive,” Human Rights Campaign Alleges National Organization For Marriage Is Violating Minnesota Campaign Disclosure Rules, Proponents Of Constitutional Amendment Banning Same Sex Marriage In Minnesota Raised $830,000 In 2011, Toronto-Based Grazie Media Donation Allows GLSEN “Think Before You Speak” PSA To Air During Super Bowl, James Clementi Remembers Late Brother Tyler, John Barrow, Daniel Radcliffe Grows, David Beckham

It is a law that gay rights supporters call offensive and unconstitutional: the law makes sex between the same genders a crime in Kansas. “It's an unconstitutional law and it makes no sense to have it on the books,” said Kerry Wilks, Chairperson of the Kansas Equality Coalition. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that state laws cannot criminalize gay sex between consenting adults. In Kansas it's still a law, it’s just not enforceable. “It has mattered to some people, and just the fact that it's on the books should be enough,” said Wilks. According to KSN-2, supporters of a repeal will testify at a hearing Wednesday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s the same committee where a bill to repeal it last year stalled. "I think people will actually have trouble voting on this again,” said State Senator Jean Schodorf. “It is very sensitive.” Senator Schodorf is a member of the committee. She says the bill might have trouble coming to a vote because many legislators were uneasy about the topic the last legislative session. Schodorf is in support of repealing the law on a constitutional basis. “The state could be sued because it has been unconstitutional on various grounds,” Schodorf said. Anger is growing in the gay community. There was hope that this law would be on the state's repealer list of suggested laws to do away with. here were 51 recommendations on the list, but the list did not include the sodomy law. Gay rights advocates say that is sending the wrong message. "It's telling someone that who they are is wrong and that's not right,” Wilks added.”There's still hope that the legislature could act to once and for all take the language off the books. "Let's get rid of it and we won't have to talk about it anymore,” Schodorf said. The governor's office says there are still hundreds of recommendations of laws to repeal including the sodomy law. The office of the repealer says there will be more announcements in the future about additional laws. There is no indication on if sodomy is next on the list.

According to The Associated Press, a national gay rights group is calling for an investigation of disclosure reports filed by groups promoting an amendment to the Minnesota constitution to ban same sex marriage. The Human Rights Campaign accuses the National Organization for Marriage of illegally trying to avoid disclosing the names of donors to the November ballot campaign. The disclosure filed by the National Organization for Marriage’s fund for Minnesota names no individual contributors. Similarly, the Minnesota Family Council’s Marriage Protection Fund names no individual donors. But Jeff Sigurdson, assistant executive director for the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, says he saw nothing at first glance on the forms indicating any violations of the board’s rules. Leaders of the National Organization for Marriage and Minnesota Family Council say they fully complied with the disclosure requirements.

The principle proponents of a ban on same sex marriage in Minnesota raised $830,000 in 2011 in the latest signal that a fierce, high-dollar contest is taking shape over the proposed constitutional amendment. The Star Tribune is reporting that Minnesota for Marriage, a coalition of groups formed in an effort to get the marriage amendment approved this November, said that in addition to its fundraising, it also recruited more than 10,000 volunteers in 2011 to help. "Not only have we generated a great deal of financial support for the campaign, we have generated incredible, broad-based citizens support," said Minnesota for Marriage Chairman John Helmberger. The group has not publicly released its full report. As previously posted, the lead group in the effort to defeat the proposal, Minnesotans United for All Families, reported over the weekend that it raised $1.2 million in 2011 from more than 5,100 donors. Other groups that support the amendment also released fundraising figures Tuesday, the deadline for filing 2011 year-end campaign finance reports, state and federal. None of the pro-amendment groups released their reports publicly, but all 2011 state reports should be posted Wednesday morning on the website for the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (www.cfboard.state.mn.us). The Minnesota Catholic Conference said it reported raising $750,000 in 2011. The bulk of that came in a $650,000 contribution from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which tapped its investments to help fund the marriage amendment campaign. About $350,000 of the Catholic Conference funds went to Minnesota for Marriage. The Minnesota Family Council reported giving $226,000 to Minnesota For Marriage. The council reported that its marriage protection fund spent an additional $120,000 on its own in the amendment campaign.

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network and The Ad Council today announced the award-winning "Think Before You Speak" public service announcements will appear at Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, February 5. GLSEN will become the first LGBT organization in the country to share its PSA campaign targeting anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender language among teens with Super Bowl attendees at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. "GLSEN is thrilled to share the Think Before You Speak campaign's message of respect with tens of thousands of football fans attending the Super Bowl this year," said GLSEN Executive Director Dr. Eliza Byard. "The PSA campaign featuring Hilary Duff, Wanda Sykes and the NBA's Grant Hill has already reached millions of Americans across the country and we are truly grateful for this opportunity to increase awareness among a new kind of audience about the negative impact of anti-gay slurs." According to GLSEN's 2009 National School Climate survey, three-quarters of LGBT students hear slurs such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school and 9 in 10 report hearing anti-LGBT language frequently or often. Homophobic remarks such as "that's so gay" are the most commonly heard type of biased remarks at school. Research shows that these slurs are often unintentional and simply a part of the teens' vernacular. Most do not recognize the consequences, but the casual use of this language often carries over into more overt forms of harassment. The advertising opportunity was made possible as an in-kind donation to GLSEN by Toronto-based Grazie Media. The media company donated airtime for GLSEN's ongoing PSA campaign that will be displayed on a video billboard positioned directly in front of the Lucas Oil Stadium where Super Bowl attendees enter the stadium. "At one of the biggest sport stages around the world, the Super Bowl is a massive outlet to send a message," said Grazie Media Director of Programming, Events Vanessa Wojtala. "Our organization feels that GLSEN's presence at the Super Bowl is a wonderful way to raise awareness about the Think Before You Speak campaign." Grazie Media has also provided GLSEN's "Think Before You Speak" campaign with additional airtime at a major national sporting event to be announced soon by GLSEN.

Via Out magazine, Tyler Clementi’s gay older brother James pays tribute in the form of letters written to honour a complicated life cut too short.

British beauty John Barrow – former professional rugby player turned actor – graces the pages of GQ, and says he is not yet prepared to talk about Amy Whitehouse, whom he dated.

Daniel Radcliffe, who embraces pubic hair, by the way, featured in Esquire, grown up, smoking sexy.

The divine Mr. David Beckham dressed to the nines leaving the Connaught Hotel in London.

Mitt Romney Glitter Bombed In Minnesota; Calls It Confetti; Makes Awkward Hair Joke

For the first time, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney found himself on Wednesday on the receiving end of a shimmery welcome that's plagued some of his competitors - a glitter bomb. Walking on stage for a rally in Eagan, Minnesota, a protester in the crowd tossed glitter on Romney, who was flanked by his wife Ann and son Josh. Romney smiled, told the man to raise his hand, and treated the action as if it was a result of his Tuesday victory in the Florida primary. "Hey listen you guys, I'm delighted to be here with you, this is an exciting time, I'm happy for the celebration. This is confetti! We just won Florida!" he said. He then said, "Oh I've got glitter in my hair. That's not all that's in my hair, I'll tell you that. I glue it on every morning, whether I need to or not." According to a local reporter with WCCO, the protestor has glittered presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich. Erickson's motivations seem to lie with immigration - his father was reportedly deported to Colombia. In addition to Bachmann and Gingrich, Rick Santorum has been the repeated target of glitter bombs by other protestors. Security forces removed the man from the crowd, where about 300 came to see Romney, who was joined by former Senator Norm Coleman and former Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Legally Married Disabled Iraqi War Veteran Sues Federal Government Since She And Wife Are Denied Full Benefits

A lesbian Army veteran and her wife sued the federal government on Wednesday after they were denied military benefits afforded to straight spouses. The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit announced in Washington involves a 12-year veteran of the Army, Tracey Cooper-Harris. After leaving the Army she married Maggie Cooper-Harris in California in 2008. Two years later, Tracey Cooper-Harris was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she has received disability benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a result. But her application for additional money and benefits that married veterans are entitled to was denied. The couple's lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, argues that a federal law and military policy that resulted in the denial of benefits are discriminatory and unconstitutional. If the couple were straight they would receive about $125 more a month in disability payments as a result of Tracey Cooper-Harris' illness, which has no cure. In addition, Maggie Cooper-Harris would be eligible for approximately $1,200 a month in benefits as a surviving spouse after her wife's death. The pair would also be eligible to be buried together in a veterans' cemetery. "We're only asking for the same benefits as other married couples. We simply want the same peace of mind that these benefits bring to the families of other disabled veterans," said Tracey Cooper-Harris at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday. During her military service, Cooper-Harris helped take care of drug and bomb-sniffing dogs. She met her wife, a former teacher, when the two played on opposing rugby teams in California. They now live in Pasadena, California. The military has recently become more tolerant of gay service members. In September it ended its 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy and began allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly. But the Pentagon has said that a federal law enacted in 1996 that defines marriage as the legal union between a man and woman prohibits the military from extending benefits to the partners of gay service members, even if they are legally married in certain states. The Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged in a number of court cases, including one by military service members filed in Massachusetts in October. Those service members were suing over a wide range of benefits that married couples receive. The Obama administration has said it will not defend the law in court. The telephone message seeking comment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday was not immediately returned. Same sex marriage is now legal in six states and the District of Columbia. Tracey and Maggie Cooper-Harris were married in California during a brief window in 2008 when same-sex marriage was legal in the state before residents voted to ban it. Marriages performed before the ban are considered legal, though no new marriages are currently being performed. The couple is being represented by attorneys from the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights organization, and the law firm WilmerHale.

Four Men Convicted Of Killing 19-Year-Old South African Lesbian Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison; Hailed As Significant Sentences Although Three Men Convicted Of Killing Rhinos Were Sentenced Tuesday To 25 Years

A South African judge sentenced four men convicted of murdering a Cape Town lesbian to 18 years in prison Wednesday in a move activists said set a precedent for harsher sentencing in homophobic crimes. According to the AFP, a crowd outside the court burst into cheers and dancing, and gay-rights groups welcomed the sentence, which came three days after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon scolded African leaders for failing to do more to protect homosexuals on a continent where anti-gay prejudices are deeply entrenched. The four men were convicted in October of stoning, kicking and stabbing to death Zoliswa Nkonyana, a 19-year-old who lived openly as a lesbian, just metres from her home in the impoverished township of Khayelitsha in 2006. Magistrate Raadiyah Wathen said the four -- Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba -- had attacked Nkonyana because of her sexuality. The Triangle Project, a Cape Town gay rights organization, said that the verdict's language had set a legal precedent for sentencing in future hate crimes. "It was truly a significant victory for us in terms of setting some kind of precedent for future cases that involve an element of hate or discrimination or bias in respect of sexual orientation," Jayne Arnott, the group's director, told AFP. "The magistrate in the sentencing recognised that Zoliswa had a right to live openly as she chose, as a lesbian in the community, and that there was a clear indication of intolerance and hatred towards her on these grounds. Prosecutors, who had asked for 15-year jail terms, welcomed the sentence and said it sent a message that hate crimes would not be tolerated in South Africa, where violence against gays is common despite liberal laws that are the only in Africa to allow same sex marriage. But the men, who faced possible life sentences, got off more easily than three poachers who were sentenced to 25 years Tuesday for killing rhinos in a national park. "I had no idea that for rhino poaching you can get a bigger sentence than for murdering somebody. That's a bit of a jolt," said activist David von Burgsdorff of rights group People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty. But, he added, "The sentence could have been less also. We're happy with it. We think justice was served." Lesbians in South Africa are commonly targeted for attacks known as "corrective rape" by men trying to "cure" their homosexuality. Three years ago a man was sentenced to life in prison and another to 32 years for the gang rape, robbery and murder of Eudy Simelane, a lesbian activist who had been a midfielder on the national football team. In December, Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing South Africa of "desperately failing lesbian and transgender people" by not doing enough to stop attacks against them. UN chief Ban criticized African governments at an African Union summit Sunday for treating gays as "second-class citizens or even criminals.” Even under South Africa's liberal constitution, there is often a gap between law and practice, activists say. "That's the laws on paper. In practice, African societies... are very homophobic," Von Burgsdorff said, adding, "There are some progressive South Africans, but there's so much more to do to get the broader South African communities on that same page."