British Conservative Member Of Parliament Calls Same Sex Marriage Measure Proposal “Completely Nuts,” India Supreme Court Seeks Homosexual Population And Number Of Gay Men Infected With HIV, New York City Gay Community Senior Centre Opens, New York City Gay Boutique Hotel Opens, American Horror Story Second Season Will Revolve Around Jessica Lange

In the United Kingdom, a Conservative Member of Parliament has described proposals to allow same sex marriage as "completely nuts.” The BBC reports that in the House of Commons, Peter Bone urged the Church of England to block the plans, as it believed marriage had to be "between a man and a woman.” Fellow Conservative Tony Baldry, representing the Church, promised it would make "detailed submissions" to the government. But the Home Office said all couples should have the choice of marriage. A consultation is under way on proposals to allow civil partnership ceremonies to be held in a religious setting. In the Commons, Baldry said, "So far as the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and many other faith groups are concerned, marriage is a union between one man and one woman. That is the point we are putting forward responsibly and clearly in the consultation paper." But speaking at Commons questions, Bone, MP for Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, said, "Wouldn't it just be very simple to write back and say: 'Marriage is between a man and a woman so this is completely nuts'?" A Home Office spokeswoman said, "If a couple love each other and want to commit to a life together, this government believes they should have the option of a civil marriage irrespective of their sexual orientation. We are working closely with all those who have an interest in the area to understand their views." She added, "We are absolutely not changing religious marriage, or requiring religious groups to go against their traditions. Our consultation will look at how to open up civil marriage to same-sex couples."

India's Supreme Court has asked the government for the number of homosexuals in the country and the number of gay men infected with HIV. The judges are hearing a challenge to a 2009 Delhi High Court ruling which decriminalized same sex relationships. Many political, social and religious groups want the 148-year-old colonial-era law reinstated. On Tuesday, the court criticized the government for its shifting stand on the issue of decriminalizing gay sex. Last week, senior government lawyer PP Malhotra told the Supreme Court that homosexuality was unnatural and immoral. Within hours, the home ministry disowned the lawyer's statement and said he had read from the wrong file. And on Tuesday, the health ministry said it supported a Delhi High Court order decriminalizing gay sex. On Thursday, Judges GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhyaya said "the data which was put before the Delhi High Court had not been placed here" and ordered the government to provide the information on the next date of hearing. The judges also criticised the government for not doing their "homework" in the case. "You should have done your homework before coming to the court," they told an official present in the court. The government says there are 2.39 million HIV-infected people in India. In 2009, authorities told the Delhi High Court that 8-percent of homosexuals were HIV-infected. The 2009 ruling was welcomed by India's gay community, which said the judgement would help protect them from harassment and persecution. Many people in India still regard same sex relationships as illegitimate, but rights groups have long argued that the law contravened human rights. Section 377 of the colonial Indian Penal Code defined homosexual acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and made them illegal. But the Delhi High Court said the colonial-era law was discriminatory and gay sex between consenting adults should not be treated as a crime. Until the high court ruling, homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison term. Earlier this month the Supreme Court began a debate on the legality of decriminalizing gay sex in private between consenting adults.

New York City celebrated the opening Thursday of what city officials say is the nation's first full-service senior center designed specifically for the gay community. According to The Associated Press, a standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the SAGE Innovative Senior Center in Manhattan's Chelsea neighbourhood. "This is long overdue," said Lillian Barrios-Paoli, commissioner of the city Department for the Aging. "We are beyond thrilled." The center is operated by the Department for the Aging and SAGE, a 34-year-old social service agency. SAGE stands for Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders. Robert Philipson, a 77-year-old retired jewellery salesman, said he started going to bereavement counselling at SAGE after he lost his partner of 50 years. "When you find yourself alone at 77 and you've built your life around another person, you are at somewhat of a loss as to where to go next," he said. "SAGE filled that gap." Philipson said he and his late partner used to go to a straight senior center nearby and were welcomed there, but that center could not meet all of his needs when his partner died. "They did not have the orientation to understand my position as a gay mourner," he said. Although Thursday was the center's official opening, it started serving meals last month. Unlike most senior centers that serve lunch, the SAGE center serves dinner, albeit during the senior-friendly hours of 4:00 to 6:00 pm. The suggested donation is $2 for dinner but no one is turned away. "It saves money for me," said Mary Hynes, 75. She added, "a lot of the guys that I know, they come here and have their dinner. Otherwise they wouldn't feed themselves. They live alone and they don't want to cook for themselves, so they'll go without eating." In addition to meals, the center will offer a range of services including fitness classes, health seminars, cultural outings and computer classes. It joins New York City's network of 258 senior centers across the five boroughs. SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams said the center is going to change the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders in New York with its array of programs. "And it is going to be ... a beacon of light all across this country," he said. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the city's most powerful openly gay elected official, said the opening of the center represents another milestone for gay New Yorkers, who last year gained the right to marry in the state. "There was a time not so long ago when both of those things would have seemed impossible," Quinn said. "And we are sending a message today that the impossible is not only possible, it is expected." Speaking for herself and three other openly gay City Council members who attended the ceremony, she added, "Save us a chair. We can't wait to be here someday ourselves."

Also in New York City, The OUT NYC located at 510 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, a 105-room, sleek, three-story structure with a glass façade that is the first gay hotel in the city opened Thursday. “I had a vision five years ago,” to create a gay hotel that would be conveniently located, said Ian Simpson Reisner, a managing partner of Parkview Developers, which owns THE OUT NYC, but would also “be a relaxing home base resort-style retreat where guests can stay, eat and play.” MSNBC reports Reisner said he drew much of his inspiration from both Ian Schrager and André Balazs, whose elegant hotels with cutting edge décor are very gay friendly. THE OUT NYC, Reisner said, is similar in conception and style, but is a gay hotel that is very straight friendly. By marketing it as a “straight-friendly” urban resort, it sends the clear message that the property welcomes gays as well as straights, and tourists as well as locals, he said. THE OUT NYC is part of a global trend, said Darren Cooper, senior consultant for Out Now Consulting, an international company based in the Netherlands that specializes in marketing to the gay community. “Traditionally gay-owned and or operated hotels and guesthouses have been located in vacation resorts, and catered almost exclusively to the gay leisure traveler,” Cooper said. But since 2003 there has been growth in larger, metropolitan, upscale, boutique hotels that are predominantly aimed at the LGBT community but also marketed as "straight friendly." The LGBT community is announcing that it is now “part of the mainstream, but that straights are welcome, too,” he said. Cooper cited a number of reasons for the increase, including the fact that post 9/11, the LGBT travel market “showed remarkable resilience, a fact that was not lost on the global travel industry as well as gay entrepreneurs and hoteliers.” Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University, said the fact that up to 10 percent of the population self-reports as being gay “creates an opportunity” for hotels that appeal to a substantial demographic. The change in marriage laws may also play a role in the increase. THE OUT NYC “will be an attractive offering for LGBT audiences and their straight friends visiting the City on the heels of the passage of same-sex marriage,” said Kimberly Spell, chief communications officer for NYC & Company. And the hotel’s opening “is another example of how New York City continues to evolve and reinvent itself.” Rooms at THE OUT NYC will start at $250 a night and include wireless high speed Internet, flat screen TVs, in-room MP3 docking stations, workplaces and mini-bars. Valet parking will be available. Eight “Sleep Shares,” hostel-style rooms that sleep four, will be equipped with four full-sized beds, personal TVs, a bathroom, and privacy curtains. These innovative shared accommodations, from $99 per person, were designed to “help make the property affordable to a younger demographic,” Reisner said.

The second season of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story will revolve entirely around a character played by Jessica Lange, but not Constance, the character Lange played in season one. “We have designed the second season of American Horror Story completely around her character,” Murphy tells Entertainment Weekly exclusively. “Last year Jessica came in with Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott. This will really be the Jessica Lange show so I’m very excited about it. We are designing this amazing new opposite of the Constance character for her. She and I have spoken about different things. She has a lot of ideas, and has a lot of input into her character. She told me some things she has always wanted to play as an actress. She’s a great collaborator and a great friend.”