Gays In India Celebrate First Anniversary Of Decriminalization Of Homosexuality, First Gay Bookstore Opens In India, Ireland Passes Civil Partnership Bill, 2012 London Olympics To Sell Pride Badges, GLAAD Gets Angry At Today Show Exclusively Straight Wedding Contest, Real World Ryan Might Hate Gays But Seems A Lot Gay Himself

Friday, hundreds of Indian gay rights advocates and supporters marked the first anniversary of a landmark court ruling that decriminalised homosexuality and hopefully set a stage for full equality for gay men and women in the deeply conservative and religious country. July 2nd, 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that made sex between two people of the same gender a punishable offense by up to ten years in prison, and although actual prosecutions were rare, the law was employed to harass perceived homosexuals. Friday’s celebration was titled 365 Without 377 and rally attracted activists from several Indian cities, including Bangalore, Calcutta, and New Delhi.

The ruling has had an obvious impact on India – a catalyst for change in climate of conservationism – as evidenced by the opening of an online gay bookstore, Queer-Ink, that launched this past Friday, Azaad Bazaar, India’s first LGBT Pride store, located in Mumbai, and Indjapink, the country’s first online travel site dedicated solely to gay travellers.

Despite an obvious opposition from the Catholic Church, a civil partnership bill passed in Ireland at all stages of government, the legislation recognizing same sex couples in civil partnerships, the Bill meant to establish an extensive platform of rights, protections, and obligations for gay couples who register as civil partners. Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that “our society has changed substantially in recent decades. While marriage is more popular than ever, other forms of relationships have become increasingly common; they create some difficulties in the legal system and require in our law a measure of recognition and of protection.” The legislation will not come into effect until the fall of 2010.

The London 2012 Olympics is set to sell special badges aimed at the gay community, the pin badge, the first of its kind in connection to an Olympic Games, will feature a rainbow flag and the London 2012 logo. Gareth Thomas, the openly gay rugby player, has urged people to “wear their pin badge with pride and help us achieve greater inclusion in sport.” The badges will be sold this Saturday at London Pride as well as be available from the London 2012 online shop, retailing for five pounds.

GLAAD is taking aim at NBC and The Today Show that after it was announced that a contest called TODAY’s Wedding: Modern Love is effectively closed to same sex couples. According to GLAAD, in 2005, the morning show invited gay couples to participate in its Hometown Wedding as long as those couples resided in states where same sex marriage was legal. However, The Today Show says that the venue for the 2010 contest will be in New York, where currently gay couples cannot legally marry.

The Real World Back to New Orleans premiered this week, and while it features the usual unctuous suspects, including the token gay stereotype (who also happens to be of color: a twofer), there is Ryan Leslie, a hairstylist from Arizona who hates gays – HATES GAYS – but who seems so gay – SO GAY! There are apparently an additional 25 Things to Hate About Ryan.