Obama orders hospitals to grant gay couples visitation rights

Gay rights activists have applauded President Obama’s signing of a memorandum this week that affords gays and lesbians’ partners medical power of attorney.

The memorandum instructs the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement new policy that will prohibit discriminative hospital visitation rights.

In the past hospitals could bar visitors to a seriously ill patient if they were not related by blood or marriage.

The new directive affords patients the right to designate visitors and, crucially, that those rights are respected. Tragically it comes too late for long-term partners of gay patients who in the past were denied access to dying loved ones.

Although gay activists have campaigned for years to end the discrimination it is thought the recent high profile case of same-sex partners Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, 39, inspired the new ruling.

Langbehn and Pond had been partnered for seventeen years when Pond collapsed whilst they were on holiday with their adopted children in Miami, Florida.

Despite being shown power of attorney documents hospital officials took eight hours to decide if they would permit Langbehn to visit her critically ill partner, by which time Pond had entered into a coma.

She was eventually granted permission to see Pond for five minutes as a priest performed the last rights.

The tragic case received high profile media attention highlighting the vulnerability of same-sex couples in times of crisis.

This week The President phoned Langbehn personally offering an apology and thanking her for her courage moments after issuing the memorandum.

In a statement issued on her family blog Langbehn praised and thanked The President for recognizing her case and issuing the new directive.

The memorandum also benefits patients without partners or children and members of some religious orders who wish to designate someone other than a family member to make medical decisions.

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David Cameron invited to Gay party

Conservatives leader David Cameron has been invited to attend a gay street party - to be held outside the party’s headquarters this Sunday.

Campaigners say ‘The Big Gay Flashmob’ event is being held to invite the Tory leader to clarify his party’s gay policies.

Organiser Peter Tatchell told gay media site Pink News: "Right now, the Tories don't have any official lesbian and gay rights policies.

"The Conservative Party annual conference has never voted for gay equality and there are no gay rights policies in any Tory policy document. The Conservatives are offering the gay community no new measures to remedy the remaining vestiges of homophobia."

The Tory party has been accused of sending “mixed messages” on gay rights. Cameron recently appeared on the cover of gay magazine Attitude where he pledged a commitment to full equality for gays and lesbians. Yet last week shadow home secretary Chris Grayling inferred that hotels should have the right to bar gay guests.

The party has also come under fire for its European affiliation with the Polish Law and Justice party who strongly oppose gay marriage and gay equality.

"David Cameron talks about gay rights but he hasn't got any specific gay rights policies. He isn't saying what he would do for gay people if he became prime minister. We want to know.” Lesbian activist and co-organiser of Sunday’s event, Tamsin Omond told Pink News.

"Sunday's street party will be a lot of fun. We hope David will join us. This is his big opportunity to end the confusion and outline his policies to ensure gay equality. We want him to join us – and to bring Chris Grayling too."

A Facebook page advertising Sunday’s party has so far attracted over 1200 revelers confirming their attendance.

Tatchell and Osmond have delivered a ‘pink and fluffy’ invite to the Tory headquarters.

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Related Link: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2010/04/08/campaigners-to-tell-cameron-to-come-out-for-gay-rights/

Ricky Martin: I’m Gay and blessed

Latino pop star Ricky Martin has announced via his website that he is a “fortunate homosexual man”.

Years of speculation over the singer’s sexuality have been laid to rest after Martin posted a lengthy blog in which he states: “A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life.

“From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside.”

He goes on to explain how loved ones and associates advised him against coming out: ‘Many people told me: “Ricky it’s not important”, “it’s not worth it”, “all the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse”, “many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature”.’

The Puerto Rican born singer eventually announces he’s gay in the final line saying: ‘I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am blessed to be who I am’

Martin’s sexuality wasn’t exactly showbiz’s best kept secret - photos of the 38 year old sharing beach space with his male partner have been clogging up gay blogs for months. In 2008 he fathered twin boys born to a surrogate mother.

The Livin La Vida Loca singer says it was his two boys who inspired him to be open: "This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day.

“To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change.”

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation President Jarrett Barrios said Martin's coming out is monumental.

"When someone like Ricky Martin comes out, hundreds of millions of people now have a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay," Barrios said. "His decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide."

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Gay victory for prom girl McMillen

A federal judge has ruled that a student’s rights were violated when her school refused her and her girlfriend permission to attend its prom.

Earlier this month Itawamba Agricultural High School in Mississippi denied senior student Constance McMillen’s request to wear a tuxedo and escort her girlfriend to the event.

After Miss McMillen challenged the decision via the American Civil Liberties Union, the school decided to cancel the prom informing the students they would have to organize their own private function.

The case has in the past week grabbed world media attention following the American Civil Liberties Union’s decision to sue and force the school to reverse the decision.

An outpouring of public support for the student has since snow-balled - including an invitation to appear on the Ellen Degeneres’s Talk Show where Miss McMillen received encouragement from the host and a $30,000 university scholarship.

Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, said: “Prom is supposed to be about all students being able to express themselves, have fun, and make memories that will last the rest of their lives.

“Constance has a constitutional right to take the person she’s dating to the prom, just like any other student at any other public school.”

This week the court ruled the school’s decision unconstitutional but declined to force it to reschedule the event since a replacement private function had already been announced – open to all students, including McMillen.

The ACLU quoted the 18 year old in its announcement celebrating the outcome: “It feels really good that the court realized that the school was violating my rights and discriminating against me by cancelling the prom. All I ever wanted was for my school to treat me and my girlfriend like any other couple that wants to go to prom

“Now we can all get back to things like picking out our prom night outfits and thinking about corsages”

Several gay and lesbian students have since taken Constance’s lead, challenging similar same sex discrimination at their schools in regards to prom events.

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U.S. Military Personnel: Gays are OK

A new survey conducted among Iraq and Afghanistan service veterans reveals that military personnel feel ‘very’ comfortable with gays serving openly in the armed forces.

The poll carried out by Lake Research Partners and American Viewpoint, Inc registered an overwhelming majority of 73% responding positively when asked how comfortable they would feel serving along gays and lesbians open about their sexuality.

Sixty percent agreed that sexual orientation has no bearing on a service member’s ability to perform their duties, including 42% who strongly agree.

Overall 81% serving in the Air Force, 78% in the Navy, 67% in the Army, and 68% in the Marines agreed it was acceptable to let gay personnel not only serve, but to be open about their sexuality.

Currently, gay men and women are permitted to serve in the U.S. military as long as their sexuality is not disclosed.

The highly controversial Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy which prevents gays and lesbians from serving openly was introduced by the Clinton administration in 1993.

Mounting criticism of the policy, both within and outside the military, is putting pressure on the U.S. government to repeal the law.

Results of the survey which was announced by the Vet Voice Foundation show that the notion that today’s military members are uncomfortable around gay and lesbian people is unfounded says the report.

‘This recent bipartisan survey, conducted among service members in the United States, in many ways runs counter to the idea being asserted by many, that service members in the military cannot handle this change [Gay military personnel disclosing their sexuality]’ comments Vet Voice Foundation.

Notably, it is younger Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have the most positive attitude towards their gay colleagues. Eighty percent of veterans aged below 35 said they were personally comfortable serving alongside gays and lesbians.

Last month the US military’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff publicly denounced DADT calling for its withdrawal.

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Related link: http://www.vetvoicefoundation.com/new?id=0002

GaGa and Beyonce go Gay in new video

Lady GaGa and Beyonce play lovers on the run in a nine minute promo to accompany their new single, “Telephone”.

The video, which mimics female fugitive flick “Thelma & Louise” opens with GaGa arriving in prison, suitably flamboyant with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.

Same-sex innuendo features from the get go with uber-butch female prison wardens and jail-birds alike ogling GaGa as she’s stripped and thrown in a cell.

Beyonce plays GaGa’s partner in crime, Honey B who bails her out and the two set off on a Thelma & Louise type murder spree poisoning the patrons of a diner.

The final shot shows the two stars clasping hands as they escape the crime scene in their ‘Pussy Wagon’.

Lady GaGa’s meteoric rise to fame has been fuelled by a strong gay following who hail her as the new Madonna. “Telephone” features on the singer’s second album The Fame Monster and was originally written with Britney Spears in mind.

In support of her core fan base GaGa, real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has become an advocate for gay rights.

Last October she joined the National Equality March in Washington in support of ending discrimination against the LGBT community.

She told Out magazine: “When I started in the mainstream it was the gays that lifted me up. I committed myself to them and they committed themselves to me, and because of the gay community I’m where I am today.”

Earlier this year the 24 year old hosted a Marriage Equality benefit in aid of same-sex partnerships.

“I feel intrinsically inclined toward a more gay lifestyle," She has said , "I myself am not a gay woman – I am a free-spirited woman.”

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Daniel Radcliffe: I’m not Gay, get over it!

Just because you support gay equality doesn’t mean you are necessarily gay - a highly complex concept that apparently seems to confound and amaze many people.

Harry Potter heartthrob Danielle Radcliffe has once again had to ‘deny’ persistent internet rumours that he prefers guys to girls.

When asked about it in an interview with MTV this week the young star said: “If people want to say that, they can. I’m not. I’m straight.”

“My favourite thing I saw was a guy on the internet who said, ‘Of course he’s gay – he’s got a gay face,’ which I thought was kind of an odd thing to say anyway” he laughed.

And the reason why?

The 20yo has proved himself to be one of that ultra rare commodity: straight men who actively support gay equality. Part and parcel of this is sometimes being on the receiving end of homophobia himself. Rather than let it get him down it inspires Radcliffe to take action.

After making a large donation to the Trevor Project, a suicide and crisis prevention helpline for LGBT people, he has now agreed to film an advert against homophobia.

Last year Radcliffe appeared on the cover of gay glossy “Attitude” and says he has always been outspoken when it comes to gay rights.

"I grew up knowing a lot of gay men, and it was never something that I even thought twice about—that some men were gay and some weren't," he recently explained to reporters in New York.

"And then I went to school and for the first time I came across homophobia. I had never encountered it before. It shocked me.

"I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals," he said. "Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it."

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