For a quarter of a century, the unfettered voices of LGBT people have been broadcast around the world on "This Way Out: The International LGBT Radio Magazine." It's distributed weekly to over 200 local community and online radio stations around the world, can be heard via podcast and direct satellite (World Radio Network), and is available on CD by subscription. For our whole story -- including how you can contribute -- please visit our website!

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Sayre’s Sodomite Satire!


Our merry meeting with writer-comedian Justin Sayre (Abby Dees and Wenzel Jones share the laughter)!

A Rainbow Minute celebrates Eccentric British Power Boat Racer Marion Carstairs (produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns, read by John DeBoer)!

And in NewsWrap: Taiwan’s top court mandates marriage equality, money score defeats World OutGames, two gays whipped in Aceh as Indonesian raids rise, Human Rights Watch confirms government complicity in Chechen gay genocide, and more international LGBT news reported this week by Wenzel Jones and Michele Yeater (produced by Steve Pride, written by Greg Gordon).


Older shows are archived at Radio4All (Show them some love!) 



This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Gosh and Golly Gorsuch!


Trump Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil glides around confirmation hearing questions posed by Senators Dick Durbin, Diane Feinstein and Al Franken, and Gay USA’s Ann Northrup and Andy Humm dissect the dizzying dance!

And in NewsWrap: Taiwan’s top court tackles marriage equality, Queensland dethrones the "gay panic defense,” the U.S. counts 2017’s eighth slain trans-woman of color, Energy Secretary Perry zaps a gay student body president, the Osage Nation opens marriage to same-gender couples, the Yellow Ranger morphs into a Power lesbian, and more international LGBT news reported this week by Frances O'Brien and Wenzel Jones (produced by Steve Pride, written by Greg Gordon).


Older shows are archived at Radio4All (Show them some love!) 



This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Barack’s LGBT Rights Round One!


Do remember Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the day President Barack Obama repealed it in December 2010 through the voices of Obama, gay military activist Aaron Tax, Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), repeal “poster soldier” Army Lt. Dan Choi, and Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.)!

Plus “Queer Life & Lit” commentator Janet Mason reads up on those thrilling days of yesterqueer in The Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQI Activism by Adrian Brooks and Literary Philadelphia by Thom Nickels!

And in NewsWrap: Taiwan moves to equalize civil marriage and ban "the cure,” North Carolina lawmakers double-cross Charlotte and keep their "bathroom bill,” a U.S. federal judge says religious freedom trumps affordable care for trans people, a trans Cub Scout is sent packing, and more international LGBT news reported this week by Wenzel Jones and Frances O’Brien (produced by Steve Pride, written by Greg Gordon).

or Hear It on Stitcher!

Older shows are archived at Radio4All (Show them some love!) 



This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

NewsWrap for the week ending July 25, 2015

SUMMARY

We're Human, It's a Right - The European Court of Human Rights decides for the first time that same-gender couples are entitled to some form of legal recognition …

Inviolable Identity - Italy’s highest court rules and the lower house of the Polish parliament decides that a trans-person can change their legal gender without having reassignment surgery …

Marry Us! - Taiwan’s capital city of Taipei petitions the island’s high court to open civil marriage to same-gender couples …

New Boss, Old Boss, Etc. - Nigeria’s new president Muhammadu Buhari rejects anti-LGBT law reform during a state visit to the U.S. …

Bringing It Home - President Barack Obama pushes LGBT rights in Kenya and Ethiopia …

The Vote's On You - the Texas state Supreme Court orders the city of Houston to put its 2014 City Council-enacted LGBT anti-bias ordinance to a public vote …

Over the Rainbow - a Saudi Arabian educator and his school apparently violate Islamic “anti-rainbow” ideology …

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

NewsWrap for the week ending June 20, 2015

SUMMARY

Kiss and Jail - Two men get four month jail terms in Morocco for kissing in public, and perhaps up to 20 men are arrested in the Moroccan city of Agadir for homosexuality …

Uninvited Guests - Saudi Arabian "morality police" net several arrests in simultaneous early morning raids on two "gay parties" in Jeddah …

March Today, Miss Tomorrow - Israeli lawmakers reject an LGBT anti-bias bill …

Greens Left Lonely - Austria's National Assembly overwhelmingly votes down a marriage equality resolution …

2 For 2 - Taipei becomes the second city in Taiwan to symbolically recognize same-gender couples …

Where God Won't See You - the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., the Southern Baptist Convention, publishes a guide on to how to avoid hiring LGBT people and how to defend charges of bias by former LGBT workers, while Convention President Ronnie Floyd tilts at marriage equality windmills …

Duel to the Demonstration - a Seoul court overturns a police ban of the 15th annual Korea Queer Culture Festival's event-capping Pride parade …

Big Pink - record crowds light up Singapore's annual Pink Dot rally for LGBT rights …

Organic Organizer - a Baltimore, Maryland widow defiantly responds to a neighbor's complaint of having a "relentlessly gay" garden — with a little help from her friends …

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Rappin' Transboy to Singin' Transman!

Week of November 17, 2014
Listen to the Podcast!
Listen on Stitcher!

Singer/songwriter Joe Stevens transposes gender keys in conversation with Dixie Treichel (including a sample from the title cut from his new solo CD, Last Man Standing).

There's style and stylin' for hate and hope from the ridiculous fashion musings of Jehovah’s Witness leader Anthony Morris III to the sublime coming out rap by Camp Aranu'tiq's 8-year-old transboy Alex.

The Great Mademoiselle who mentored several gay composers is profiled in a Rainbow Minute (produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns at WRIR-FM/Richmond, Virginia, read by John Deboer).

And in NewsWrap: Botswana recognizes lesbigay rights, homophobic Nigerian vigilantes claim 25 busts, Saudis jail gay social media nudist, New South Wales passes "bring your own marriage" bill, high school gender swap helps Japanese students see differently, and more news reported this week by Carole Meyers and Wenzel Jones (produced by Wenzel Jones and Steve Pride).

Subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss a show! 

Get CDs of the regular show and specials from our archives at our website, thiswayout.org!

Like our Facebook page ... 

Stay in touch with our blog ... 

Rate and Review the show on Stitcher ... 

Follow @TWORadio on Twitter! 

This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, November 20, 2014

NewsWrap for the week ending November 15, 2014

SUMMARY

We're Here, We're Queer - Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana win the legal right to exist …

Beyond the Law - Nigerian vigilantes say they've taken 25 gay men into custody and turned them over to authorities for violating Islamic law …

Facebutt - a Saudi Arabian gay man gets a three year sentence for posting his nude photos and offering free gay sex on social media sites …

Mad Man - the owner of "Gayway," an ostensibly gay Asian news and entertainment website based in Taiwan's capital of Taipei, faces up to two years in jail for posting "obscene" pictures to promote his gay erotic massage parlor …

BYO Marriage - New South Wales becomes Australia's third state to recognize the civil marriages of same-gender couples legally performed elsewhere …

How Many Is That? - a District Court makes South Carolina the latest U.S. state to have its ban on civil marriage overturned …

Counties On It - clerks in a growing number of Kansas counties begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples despite state officials' vows to continue defending the ban in court, while Mississippi county clerks prepare to issue licenses to same-gender couples anticipating an imminent ruling by a District Court judge overturning the "Magnolia State" ban …

Courtship Rituals - all parties agree to forgo oral arguments for a directed verdict by a federal judge in a case challenging Montana's ban, a federal judge refuses to dismiss a challenge to South Dakota's ban, and Nebraska officials promise to fight a pending challenge to their ban by the ACLU …

Their Michigan - plaintiff couples appeal last week's aberrant 6th Circuit ruling upholding bans in Michigan and three other states, while Michigan officials ask a court to invalidate the marriages of some 300 same-gender couples who legally wed during the few days in March between a district court decision overturning the ban and a stay being issued pending appeal …

Dis-dress Signal - Malaysia's Deputy PM calls for a challenge to last week's Court of Appeal decision overturning a state's laws against cross-dressing …

Rebirthing Process - new Mexico City legislation allows trans people to change the gender designation on their birth certificates without medical examinations or court orders …

Wide Angle - "Sex Change Day" teaches students at a Japanese high school a valuable lesson ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... download the podcast … or listen on Stitcher!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, November 08, 2014

Taiwan Queer Film Fest!

  Week of November 3, 2014
Listen to the Podcast!
Listen on Stitcher!

The unique Asian island of Taiwan hosts its first International Queer Film Festival, highlighting human stories that make equality real. Festival coordinator Victor Stevenson explores the event, as well as the politics and culture of the country, with correspondent Keith Perron.

Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert "massages" the U.S. military -- and the foolishness rubs off on Comedy Central’s faux conservative commentator Stephen Colbert!

And in  NewsWrap: Singapore barrels backwards on homosexuality, sodomy charges against Ugandan activist dismissed as new anti-gay law gets fast-tracked, Sri Lanka claims constitutional LGBT protections while defending sodomy law, Latvia bans hateful Russian sitcom star, and more news reported this week by Natalie Peoples and Ryan Pest (produced by Wenzel Jones and Steve Pride).

Subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss a show! 

Get CDs of the regular show and specials from our archives at our website, thiswayout.org!

Like our Facebook page ... 

Stay in touch with our blog ... 

Rate and Review the show on Stitcher ... 

Follow @TWORadio on Twitter

This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Identity, Activism and Allyship!

Week of October 20, 2014
Listen to the Podcast!
Listen on Stitcher!

Sapphic Nomads Maggie Young and Katie Cook stop in Mumbai to delve into India's culture wars -- fundamental to women's and LGBT liberation -- with psychologist and activist Deepak Kashyap.

Reading A Positive View of LGBTQ (Ellen D.B. Riggle and Sharon S. Rostosky) and Living Out Islam (Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle), Queer Life & Literature Commentator Janet Mason finds that identity is an ongoing process for everyone.

Brooklyn, New York-based Black/Trans/Queer/Rowdy-as-Hell Poet J Mase III has some worthwhile words for shaky supporters with #AllyFail.

And in NewsWrap: Roman Catholic bishops pull proposed pastoral LGBT welcome mat, Kyrgyzstan continues down repressive road, Palau decriminalizes gay sex, same-gender Scots plan New Year's Eve weddings, marriage equality continues marching across the U.S., Taiwanese scientists christen a diversity poster-snail, and more news reported this week by Natalie Peoples and Michael LeBeau (produced by Steve Pride).

Subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss a show! 

Get CDs of the regular show and specials from our archives at our website, thiswayout.org!

Like our Facebook page ... 

Stay in touch with our blog ... 

Rate and Review the show on Stitcher ... 

Follow @TWORadio on Twitter

This Way Out was funded this week by the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation, the Yavanna Foundation, the estate of Christopher David Trentham, and by our generous listeners. Donate today to help support our work -- and the free distribution of the show to non-commercial radio stations -- at thiswayout.org!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, October 20, 2014

NewsWrap for the week ending October 18, 2014

SUMMARY

Gratus Interruptus - An extraordinary gathering of Roman Catholic Church bishops in Rome considers an LGBT semi-welcoming document, but the move is so controversial that even a compromise attempt ultimately fails …

Dancing With Draco - Kyrgyzstan lawmakers overwhelmingly approve a worse-than-Russia's "no promo homo" bill that punishes offenders with up to a year in prison …

Free To Be - the Pacific island nation of Palau decriminalizes gay sex …

Slate Cleaning - New South Wales looks to join the states of Victoria and South Australia to expunge criminal records of those arrested for consensual adult gay sex before the law's repeal …

Love's Lasting Flame - Paris memorializes the last gay couple in France who were burned at the stake for homosexuality …

Auld Lang Syne - Scotland will celebrate marriage equality on New Year's Eve …

Weddings March - Arizona, Alaska and Wyoming join the growing number of U.S. marriage equality states – and related developments …

Steadfast in the Streets - Taiwan LGBT activists pressure lawmakers to unjam a marriage equality bill …

Aegista Diversifamilia - the name Taiwanese scientists have given to a newly-discovered species of land snail endemic to the island honors the struggle for civil marriage rights ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted October 21, 2014.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, May 12, 2014

NewsWrap for the week ending May 10, 2014

SUMMARY

Paranoid Puzzle Box - Nervous about the impending 25th anniversary of the military's democracy-crushing Tiananmen Square action, Chinese authorities detain nine gay activists who were preparing to lead a Beijing seminar critically examining "civil society and the state" …

Watch Out for PrideWatch.tw - a new marriage equality lobbying group is born in Taiwan …

Another "Beat the Stay" Race - lesbian and gay couples race to the altar in Arkansas as it becomes the latest of the United States to have its same-gender civil marriage ban declared unconstitutional …

The Guest & The Refugee - Uganda President Yoweri Musevini takes heat at a U.K.-Uganda business conference in London, while high-profile Ugandan gay activist John "Longjones" Wambere seeks asylum in the U.S. …

Forever Sticking It Out - the U.S. Postal Service prepares to issue a first class "forever" stamp honoring trailblazing gay politician Harvey Milk on what would have been his 84th birthday …

Still Whipping Up A Frenzy - international demand for Tom of Finland's homoerotic images on a series of Finnish first class stamps crashes the website selling them ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted May 13, 2014.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

On With ENDA & "Kill Your Darlings”


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid advances the Employment Nondiscrimination Act -- but what will happen in the House? Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel orders non-compliant states to issue IDs to National Guard members for same-gender spousal benefits.

Michael C. Hall and Daniel Radcliffe star in John Krokidas and Austin Bunn's Beat poet murder mystery movie involving Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and the enigmatic Lucien Carr (a preview by Steve Pride).

Plus -- a Rainbow Minute crowns the not-so-closeted King James I and His Favorite (produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns, read by Phil Pollard).

And in NewsWrap: Taiwan takes a look at marriage equality, Vatican vets social questions in  global survey, I.O.C. snubs Russian LGBT activists, ex-Defense Secretary may open the Gates to the Boy Scouts, and more news reported by Christopher Gaal and Michelle-Marie Gilkeson (produced by Wenzel Jones and Steve Pride).

To listen to the world's only syndicated weekly LGBT radio program, subscribe to our podcast at http://www.thiswayout.org ...

Like our Facebook Fan page ...

Subscribe to our bi-weekly CDs and check out other special gift offers

And follow TWORadio on Twitter!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, November 04, 2013

NewsWrap for the week ending November 2, 2013

SUMMARY

Taipei Tipping Point - A marriage equality bill is introduced in Taiwan's legislature the day after more than 50,000 parade with Pride in Taipei …

Rings and Rainbows - hundreds demonstrate for marriage rights in Hanoi …

Experts Notwithstanding - a marriage equality proposal fails for the second time in the Australian state of Tasmania …

Who Do They Say That I Am? - the Vatican distributes an unprecedented worldwide survey asking for input from local Roman Catholic parishes about such contentious social issues as abortion, divorce, and marriage equality …

Cold Shoulder - Thomas Bach, the new head of the International Olympic Committee, refuses to meet with LGBT advocates during his visit to the Russian site of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi …

A League of Their Own - a group of Russian activists is planning a major sporting event in Moscow right after the Sochi Olympics that will be open to people of all sexual orientations …

He Blinded Me With Junk Science - discredited homophobic American psychologist Paul Cameron gives "expert" testimony before the Russian parliament claiming that one in three gay men has sex with children or wants to …

Open the Flood Gates - former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who oversaw the dismantling of Don't Ask Don't Tell, is tapped to lead the soon-to-be partially-gay-welcoming Boy Scouts of America ….

Complete NewsWrap text and this week's podcast to be posted November 5, 2013.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, September 20, 2013

NewsWrap for the week ending September 14, 2013

SUMMARY

Re-engagement - Hawai'i's governor calls a special session of the state legislature to pass a marriage equality bill …

Arrest That County - a judge in Pennsylvania orders Montgomery County to stop issuing marriage licenses to lesbian and gay couples in defiance of a state ban against them …

Ask the Ref - the New Mexico Supreme Court agrees to issue a statewide marriage equality ruling after several counties begin issuing licenses to same-gender couples …

Two Spirit Day - Washington state's Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation becomes the fifth Native American tribe to open marriage to gay and lesbian couples …

Ganbei - more than 1200 equality supporters celebrate a traditional "wedding banquet" outside the presidential palace in Taipei to push the Taiwan government toward enacting marriage equality …

Good for the Wild Goose - out filmmaker Kim Jho Gwang-Soo symbolically marries his longtime partner Kim Seung-Hwan on a bridge in Seoul in Korea's first-ever public gay wedding …

Could It Be ... Saaa-tin??? - Greek Orthodox Church Patriarch Bartholomew I condemns same-gender unions as "sinful, reprehensible," and a "new invention," while Roman Catholic Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota John Nienstedt thinks that marriage equality is the Devil's handiwork …

Don't Rain on My Parade - the organizer of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi pleads with the IOC to find a way to stop the global outcry over Russia's so-called "no promo homo" law because it's overshadowing his preparations for the upcoming Games …

Pied Piper - a Russian lawmaker proposes legislation to deny child custody to gay and lesbian parents and to even remove from their homes kids who are already living with gay or lesbian parents …

Psycho - Tony Perkins of the U.S. Family Research Council, a Southern Poverty Law Center-certified hate group, bakes up another rightwing boycott against another pro-LGBT company in a widely-distributed radio diatribe against Minnesota-based Betty Crocker  ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Obama Inaugurates Equality

Gay inaugural "firsts" enliven U.S. President Barack Obama's second, ably elucidated by MSNBC analysts Rachel Maddow, Jonathan Capehart, Andrea Mitchell, and Frank Rich.

Plus -- One Today delivered by gay Cuban-American inaugural poet Richard Blanco.

And in NewsWrap: Russians okay "no promo homo" law and look for gay tattoos, U.K. government formally proposes marriage equality, Maltese civility and Kiwi nuptials equality take baby steps forward, marriage-seeking gay couple drops their Taipei lawsuit, Rhode Island's House approves marital parity, gay loyalties split at the Super Bowl, and more news reported by Rick Watts and Pamela Brooks (produced by Vash Boddie and Steve Pride).

To listen to the world's only syndicated weekly LGBT radio program, subscribe to our podcast at http://www.thiswayout.org ...

"Like" our Facebook Fan page ...  

Support Keep "This Way Out" on the Air ... 

And follow TWORadio on Twitter!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

NewsWrap for the week ending January 26, 2013

SUMMARY

From Russia, With Hate - LGBT rights activists are assaulted and arrested in Moscow and at least one other Russian city protesting the proposed law to outlaw so-called "homosexual propaganda," which the country's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly approves in its first reading, while Kaliningrad becomes the tenth Russian region to enact a similar law, and Russia's Defense Ministry says the buttocks and genital areas of all new recruits should be closely examined for tattoos, which it says are strong indications of homosexuality …

Political Pre-Nup - U.K. government formally publishes legislation to open civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples in England and Wales …

Broad Agreement, Long Engagement - both major political parties in Malta express support for some form of legal recognition for same-gender couples …

Because It's Good For You - a select committee of the New Zealand Parliament hears testimony about the benefits of marriage equality as part of the legislative process to make it legal …

Three Strikes - Polish lawmakers reject civil unions for lesbian and gay couples …

Judicial Discouragement - the gay couple in Taiwan that had sued for marriage equality announces that they're dropping their case …

As If It Never Even Happened - a court in Beijing rules that women in unhappy marriages with gay men can end them through more socially-acceptable annulment rather than divorce …

Hope Springs Eternal - Rhode Island House overwhelmingly passes a bi-partisan marriage equality bill …

Rock Mountain Pass - Colorado Senate committee passes a civil unions bill along party lines …

LGBTailgate Parties - gay American football fans can root for either team in the upcoming Super Bowl, which features Baltimore Ravens linebacker and outspoken equality ally Brendon Ayanbadejo, and San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who says he'd welcome a gay player on this team ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Ambassador James Hormel

The rebirth of the controversy around Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel's infamous 1998 insult notwithstanding, the first openly gay US ambassador proves that he was and is Fit To Serve (an interview by Steve Pride).






And in NewsWrap: Brazil barrels toward marriage equality, marital progress stalls in Uruguay, Taiwan's top court stokes hasty marriage proposal, wedding bells ring in Maine and Maryland, love texts and queer whiskey seal Cameroonian convictions, the sun will never set on Sally's special spot, and more news reported by Sarah Sweeney and Michael LeBeau (produced by Steve Pride).

To listen to the world's only syndicated weekly LGBT radio program, subscribe to our podcast at http://www.thiswayout.org ...

"Like" our Facebook Fan page ...  

Support Keep "This Way Out" on the Air ... 

And follow TWORadio on Twitter!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 ….

Read the complete NewsWrap text ... or listen to this week's podcast.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,