Ireland Recognizes First Same Sex Civil Partnership, Police In India Arrest Dozens Of Suspected Gay Men And Charge Them With Public Indecency, El Paso Protestors Disrupt Anti-Gay Pastor Barnes And Noble Book Signing, Ricky Gervais Golden Globe Gay Scientologists Joke, Golden Globe Get Gayer, Dave Franco Flaunts It

The Independent reports on the first same sex couple to have their civil partnership recognized by Ireland, Glenn Cunningham and Adriano Vilar forming a civil partnership at a ceremony in North Ireland in 2010. Like other same sex couples who hold a previous civil marriage or partnership, their union was recognized under Irish law last Thursday, but their case is a critical first, since Vilar is a Brazilian in Scotland for the past two years on a student visa. Gay rights groups say there are several examples of same sex couples who have been unable to reside due to residency problems, travel restrictions, or because their unions were not recognized under the law. Hundreds of couples having formed union abroad are now able to have their relationships recognized by the state. Kieran Rose, of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, said “This is a new dawn for lesbian and gay couples. Civil partnership opens up a new vision for their relationships and their lives and creates the legal framework for a more secure future.”

The Times of India reports that “The Saharanpur police on Saturday filed the charge sheet in the gay party case charging the accused under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) obscenity in public places, police sources said today. Police had raided a dharamshala on Ambala Road in Saharanpur during the intervening night of December 25-26, 2010 and arrested 13 persons from the premises, while more than two dozen others fled the scene.” According to the report, the accused include the owner of a beauty parlour who argued that the party was actually a celebration for his birthday, but the police allege that most of the detained were strangers “which raised suspicion.” The ballot initiative implementation has been temporarily suspended, a lawsuit challenging it was filed last week, a federal judge ordering the city to preserve health benefits for gay and unmarried partners of city employees until the suit is settled sometime this April.

ABC-7 reports that protestors from El Paso Equality picketed a Barnes and Noble Saturday as the bookstore held a signing event for Tom Brown, an anti-gay pastor and author of a voter-approved ordinance that intends to deny health benefits to unmarried partners of city employees. Brown, who heads the Word of Life Church in East El Paso, Texas, believes that homosexuality can be cured, and was promoting his new book, Breaking Curses, Experience Healing, a book that argues homosexuality is a “curable psychological illness,” that despite the fact that American Psychological Association has maintained for decades that homosexuality is neither a mental disorder nor a personal decision. Lyda Ness-Garcia, the head of Equality for El Paso, said “We’re here to ask people not to support him financially. He makes a livelihood saying that he can cure people from homosexuality and mental illness and other issues. His agenda is hateful and we advised that Barnes and Noble not promote someone with a hateful agenda.” Brown said that the book is a guide to healing depression, homosexuality, bodily illness, fear, anxiety attacks, and anger, adding “We also deal with the healing of homosexuality through a step-by-step process of cleanliness, one can find healing through Christ.”

The Hollywood Reporter on Ricky Gervais, host of the Golden Globes, who said at Sunday’s awards ceremony during his opening monologue, "Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor -- two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay, so the complete opposite of some famous scientologists then," Gervais said before adding, "My lawyers helped me with the wording of that joke. They’re not here."

In addition to the openly gay Chris Colfer winning a Golden Globe, the Los Angeles Times reports that Jane Lynch won an award for best supporting actress in a comedy or musical television series, and Jim Parsons won for best lead actor in a television comedy or musical. Glee earned the award for best comedy or musical and The Kids Are All Right earned best comedy or musical motion picture, while star Annette Bening won for best actress.

The deeply dreamy Dave Franco, cuter, younger brother to James, is featured in Flaunt magazine, the openly gay 25 year, well, deeply dreamy.