NewsWrap for the week ending June 8, 2013

SUMMARY

Praise the Lords - Overwhelming approval in Britain's House of Lords of the "Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill" in its second reading, following full approval in the House of Commons, all but assures its ultimate passage, so the Church of England abandons its efforts to defeat the measure and says it will now work to "improve it" …

Two in One - the 4-million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elects Reverend Dr. R. Guy Erwin of Southern California as its first openly gay and first Native American bishop …

Follow the Money - Germany's highest court rules that tax laws that treat same-gender couples unequally are unconstitutional …

Wǒ Yǒu Yǒng Qì - Changsha, a city in central China's Henan province, hosts about 80 brave activists at what organizers call the largest-ever public demonstration for LGBT rights in the country's history …

Para o armário, nunca mais! - more than a million people celebrate in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo at what's billed as the world's largest LGBT Pride event …

Choose the Right - supportive Mormons and unauthorized uniformed Boy Scouts highlight the annual Pride march in Salt Lake City, Utah …

New Pride, Old Wounds - record crowds celebrate Pride in Tel Aviv, while speakers reflect on the breaking news of arrests in the horrific 2009 shooting spree at the Israeli city's LGBT center …

"Serena Morena?" - 59-year-old Mexican soap star Sebastian Ligarde tells a national magazine that "I'm gay, and I say this with pride" ….

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NewsWrap for the week ending January 5, 2013

SUMMARY

Full Steam Ahead - A judge makes Sao Paulo the latest Brazilian state to open civil marriage to same-gender couples …

Put on the Brakes - an expected December 26th Senate vote on a marriage equality bill in Uruguay is postponed until April …

Under Consideration - lawmakers in Taiwan hold initial hearings on a bill to give limited marriage rights to the island's same-gender couples …

Sweet Victories - first-ever voter-authorized marriages of lesbian and gay couples are celebrated in Maine and Maryland, while marriage equality bills progress in Illinois and Rhode Island …

Steel Magnolias - five lesbian couples make news applying for marriage licenses in the state of Mississippi …

Text Offense -Cameroon appeals court upholds the 3 year prison sentence of a man convicted of "homosexuality" for simply sending an "I love you" text message to another man …

Hound the Gays - continuing harassment and worse against LGBT activists in Uganda includes the arrests of two gay youth workers, the vandalizing and burglary of the offices of Sexual Minorities Uganda, and what the nation's leading newspaper reports as "tens of thousands" of people hearing preachers in churches and sports stadiums across the country demanding passage of the so-called "Kill The Gays Bill" when parliament reconvenes in February …

By the Light of the Silvery Dyke - a little corner of the moon is named for late lesbian astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space …

Viva la First - a lesbian and her partner become the proud parents of the first baby born in 2013 in France ….

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