The pope made the comments in his Christmas address to the Vatican bureaucracy, one of his most important speeches. ...
01:35 PM, Dec 22, 2012
London: The British government has said it will introduce a bill next year legalising gay marriage but banning the Church of England from conducting same-sex ceremonies. Equalities minister Maria Miller said on Tuesday the bill will authorize same sex civil unions, as well as religious marriages if religions decide to 'opt in'. But she says the legislation will make it unlawful for the Church of England and the Church of...
10:57 PM, Dec 11, 2012
Washington: Same-sex couples in Washington state started saying wedding vows early Sunday morning, just minutes into the first day they could marry after the state's gay marriage law took effect. Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples picked up their marriage licenses as early as 12:01 am Thursday, but because of the state's three-day waiting period, the earliest weddings could take place was just after midnight, early Sunday morning. Some courthouses,...
04:51 PM, Dec 09, 2012
New Delhi: Hundreds of gays, lesbians and transgenders marched on the streets of the capital on Sunday protesting discrimination against them and demanding their right to live a life of dignity. Holding banners and rainbow-coloured flags, around 1,000 people marched from Barakhamba Road to Jantar Mantar on Sunday afternoon to register their protest against police excesses and forcible marriage by family. With their faces covered with masks, the participants were...
06:40 PM, Nov 25, 2012
Kolkata: Thanks to Indian gay-tour operators, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community across the world is vying for India as the ultimate 'pink' tourist destination. "LGBT tourists want the same things as any traveller: to feel safe and welcome. India is becoming more popular with gay travellers since the high court decriminalized homosexuality in 2009. Feeling welcome is not only a reference to local hospitality, but also to...
12:08 PM, Nov 22, 2012
Hyderabad: When I spoke to my parents about my sexual orientation, they almost disowned me. They never accepted my relationship with my partner, shares Smruthi Narayan. Her partner Shwetha Pai points out, Its not a disease or a mutation and is not even limited to one community or country. The fact that such people can be born anywhere is something that people fail to understand. Everybody plays the blame game....
01:32 PM, Jul 24, 2012
Chennai: It was on June 25, 1978 that the rainbow flag representing gay pride was flown for the first time at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. Thirty-four years have passed and things remain more or less the same for this marginalised section. The visibility of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender) and now the Q (Queer) and I (Intersex) community, has increased in Chennai, with the recently hosted...
11:57 AM, Jun 25, 2012
New Delhi: I first spoke to Rose Venkatesan, India's first transgender television host and radio jockey, two years ago when she had just returned from Thailand after a sex change operation. On Tuesday, during a telephone call from Chennai, she said she was excited about the launch of her own political party with a dramatic agenda aimed at sensitizing people towards the plight of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual...
07:43 PM, Mar 13, 2012
New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has filed a formal affidavit in the Supreme Court, coming in support of decriminalisation of gay sex among consenting adults saying the decision was taken as early as July 2009 by a GoM comprising Union ministers of Home, Law and Family Welfare. The affidavit comes in the backdrop of the rebuke of the Centre by the apex court on February 28 and earlier hearing...
12:16 PM, Mar 04, 2012
New Delhi: Expressing displeasure for not furnishing details of homosexuals' population, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked for all relevant records from the Centre about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people, including their number and the number of HIV-infected among them. A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said the data which was put before the Delhi High Court has not been placed here and...
01:39 PM, Mar 01, 2012
New Delhi: In an embarrassing goof-up, the government on Thursday tied itself in knots in the Supreme Court by first disapproving decriminalisation of gay sex terming it as "highly immoral" and later taking a different line, drawing sharp criticism from the bench. In 2009, the gay community celebrated a landmark verdict by Delhi High Court for decriminilising gay sex in the country but three years later the government disapproved of...
10:15 PM, Feb 23, 2012
New Delhi: The goof-up by the government over hearing on decriminalisation of homosexuality on Thursday has drawn sharp criticism from the Supreme Court. The Home Ministry first told the Supreme Court it opposes the decriminalisation of gay sex in the country by terming it as "highly immoral" and later took a different stand. The government sources said that the Additional Attorney General read out an earlier stand by the government ...
07:28 PM, Feb 23, 2012
New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Thursday seems to have goofed up in the Supreme Court during the hearing on decriminalization of homosexuality. Government sources said that the Additional Attorney General read out an earlier stand by the government instead of the latest in the apex court. The Home Ministry also later clarified and said that they have not taken any position on homosexuality. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) P...
02:24 PM, Feb 23, 2012
New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Thursday opposed decriminalisation of gay sex in the country before the Supreme Court. "This is highly immoral and against the social order," the Ministry told the apex court. The Section - 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) reads 'Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished'. The offender could have to face...
12:44 PM, Feb 23, 2012
New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Thursday opposed decriminalisation of gay sex in the country before the Supreme Court. "This is highly immoral and against the social order," the Ministry told the apex court. The Ministry said that India's moral and social values are different from those of other countries and India cannot be guided by them. Delhi High court had earlier passed a judgement which decriminalized Section -...
12:09 PM, Feb 23, 2012
Belgaum (Karnataka): In a dark room in Belgaum district, they sit together looking comfortable. They are in an office and are not even distantly related. But, as is often true of sexual minorities, the homosexuals and transgenders assembled here are as closely knit as biological families. Their biggest complaint is non-acceptance from society, and their strength is Sweekar, a community-based organisation that works to support the sexual minorities and spreads...
03:09 PM, Nov 30, 2011
New Delhi: Donning rainbow-coloured scarves and attire and gyrating to drumbeats, hundreds of people from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community created a carnival-like atmosphere on Sunday at central Delhi's business and shopping hub of Connaught Place as they marched in the fourth edition of the Delhi Queer Pride Parade. The parade that commenced from Barakambha Road and culminated at Jantar Mantar caused a major stir as passers-by...
01:20 PM, Nov 28, 2011
New Delhi: Pulsating drum beats, rainbow hues adorning the crowd, and faces beaming with pride and joy - the capital's alternate sexuality community got together Saturday to celebrate the second anniversary of the Delhi High Court's landmark ruling decriminalizing homosexuality. The over 200 people who gathered at Jantar Mantar were throbbing with excitement, though the evening's message was clear - there's still a long way to go. "This is a...
01:13 PM, Jul 03, 2011
