MARCH 2011

Mar 31: Australia:
Tasmania to Recognise Gay Marriages, Partnerships and Unions from April 1.   A new Tasmanian law recognising overseas civil partnerships and same-sex marriages comes into effect tomorrow (April 1), the tenth anniversary of the world’s first legal same-sex marriages.

Mar 25: Cambodia/UK:
UK Appoints Openly Gay Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia.   Mark Gooding has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, it was announced yesterday.

Mar 24: USA:
Fiftieth Anniversary of Gay Rights Petition by Frank Kameny to Supreme Court Marked by Publication of Kindle Book.   Fifty years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Frank Kameny’s 1961 petition for a review of his U.S. Army Map Service dismissal for being a homosexual.  Eight years before the Stonewall uprising in New York, Kameny’s historic petition laid out the argument not only for the reversal of his dismissal but also for full civil equality for homosexual Americans, rooted in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Mar 23: USA:
Victory: Apple Dumps ‘Gay Cure’ iPhone App after 146,000 People Sign Online Petition.   Truth Wins Out and Change.org praised Apple last night after the company removed a virulently anti-gay iPhone app launched by Exodus International that promoted "curing" gay people.  The move came after 146,000 people signed a Truth Wins Out petition on Change.org calling on Apple to remove the app from iTunes.

Mar 23: UK:
UK-Acquired HIV Nearly Doubles in Ten Years: Gay Men Remain the Most at Risk Group.   New diagnoses for people infected with HIV in the UK almost doubled over the past decade, (from 1,950 in 2001 to 3,780 in 2010) according to new figures released today (Wednesday) by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Mar 22: UK:
Tatchell Calls for Renewed FA Action to Make Football Gay Friendly.   The Football Association (FA) needs to give a much stronger lead in tackling homophobia, Peter Tatchell of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation said yesterday.

Mar 22: European Union:
MEPs Welcome New Gender Change Law in Portugal but Are Concerned About Developments in Lithuania.   Members of the European Parliament have welcomed a new law in Portugal for transgender persons, but have expressed concern over a proposal to outlaw gender reassignment surgery in Lithuania.

Mar 18: European Union:
Cashman and in’t Veld Welcome New EU Proposals for Recognition of Gay Couples.   There was good news this week for gay couples in the European Union who are married or in some other form of legal ‘civil partnership’.

Mar 17:  Eastern Europe:
Journey With a Movie Camera Through ‘Gay’ Eastern Europe.   By Logan Mucha.  I’m gay, have a boyfriend and live in a country where a lot of LGBT people my age consider defending their rights secondary to going out and picking up.  It’s these sentiments that drove me to begin developing East Bloc Love, which has turned into something bigger than I ever imagined.

Mar 16:  UK:
Tatchell: Postpone East London Gay Pride.   Outrage! is not supporting the planned East London Gay Pride march scheduled for 2 April, Peter Tatchell said this morning.

Mar 13:  Russia:
Siberian City Gives Decisive Thumbs Down to Anti Gay Legislation.   By Nikolai Baev in Moscow.  The people of a Siberian city are indifferent to any laws prohibiting gay relationships, a survey published this weekend has found.

Mar 9:  Lithuania:
Lithuania Ignores European Court Decision and Proposes to Ban Gender Reassignment.   Lithuanian conservative parliamentarians, led by the chairman of the Committee on Health Affairs, registered a proposal yesterday to amend the Civil Code with a prohibition of gender reassignment surgery.

Mar 9:  Turkey and Montenegro:
LGBT Rights Are Part of EU Accession Conditions, say European Parliamentarians.   Today the European Parliament adopted two resolutions on Turkey and Montenegro’s progress towards joining the European Union.  The Parliament said that more steps are required to bring the two countries in line with EU standards in the field of non-discrimination.

Mar 5:  Serbia:
Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church Ordered to Apologise to Gays for Homophobic Gay Pride Rant.  The Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church could face a court hearing over his homophobic outburst following Gay Pride in Belgrade last October.

Mar 3:  Gibraltar:
Alvarez Steps Down as Gibraltar Gay Rights Chairman.  Felix Alvarez, the founder of Gibraltar Gay Rights, the equality rights group in the small British overseas territory, is to step down as chairman, it emerged this morning.