News: Meghan McCain, India, Alan Cumming, Joe Solmonese, Boyzone

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese suggests that the time frame in his 2017 letter can be seen as a "narrow window" in the scope of the gay rights movement.

Straight Italian couple sues cruise company after showing up for their vacation to discover they were departing on Italy's first gay cruise: "My clients were also left embarrassed because among the passengers were people they knew and had no idea that were gay, which was uncomfortable for all parties."

Gay Al is feeling tender.

Iowa NAACP President announces support for anti-gay gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats.

Report: Iran hanged a man last week for gay sodomy.

Gay activists plan kiss-in at Fort Worth Stockyards: "The kissing booth will be on Exchange Street, right in the heart of the Stockyards and its bound to stir up controversy. In fact, one old cowboy has been quoted as warning gays that if they are not careful, they might be in for a whuppin'."

Dan Savage has never slept with Janet Napolitano.

A Spice Girls musical?

Gus van Sant and Bret Easton Ellis collaborating on film adaptation of Vanity Fair article "The Golden Suicides".

Gujarat state in India becomes home to the country's first elderly home for gay men: "The brainchild of Manvendra Singh Gohil, popularly known as India's gay prince, the project will be ready to accommodate elderly homosexuals by the end of the year. Manvendra Singh Gohil says, 'We will offer food, drinks and medical facilities for the people staying here, it will be their home.' The Rs 25-crore project will be home to 50 elderly gay men to start with. Requests for accommodation have already started trickling in."

Alan Cumming in new photo shoot from David LaChapelle.

Gecko madness!

Boyzone to hold Stephen Gately vigil on night before the funeral: "Grieving Boyzone bandmates plan to stay in the church with Stephen Gately's body the night before his funeral. Ronan Keating, 32, Mikey Graham, 37, Shane Lynch, 33, and Keith Duffy, 35, have taken the decision because Gately 'would not want to be there on his own', a source close to the group revealed."

No! Mia Michaels quits So You Think You Can Dance.

Passerby mistakenly frees female killer of London gay man: "Police are looking for three young people including two blonde teenagers who were caught on CCTV arguing with Baynham and his 30-year-old companion. The victim's friend grabbed one of the girls, receiving cuts and bruises in the process, but the girl was freed by members of the public who wrongly thought she was being assaulted, said Detective Chief Inspector Clive Heys, who is leading the inquiry."

Britney Spears shoots video for new single "3".

Meghan McCain creates Twitter furor with cleavage photo.

Muslim football team kicked out of league for refusing to play gay team.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler: Repeal DOMA now.

Lesbian says she was the victim of a hate crime at the National Equality March.

Bishop Gene Robinson will be appearing tonight at an event in Portland, Maine: "Join us for an evening of edification and education as we gather to worship God and to hear the words of the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. Sponsored by the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine, Rev. Ann Fowler, the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, the Equity Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, and Integrity Maine"

Paris Hilton Called Out by Drag Queen, Booed at Gay Club in Milan

There was momentary confusion and a lot of booing at the Borgo del Tempo Perso club in Milan where Paris Hilton appeared last night. The event was called Join the Gap, and was organized by the gay rights group Arcigay. 

After being asked by a drag queen if she would hold up a sign the said "No Homophobia" and she appeared to refuse or misunderstand, instead calling for the music to begin, she was roundly booed by the audience.

She later agreed to hold the sign, and everything was better again.

Gays in Italy have recently been targeted by homophobic violence. Hundreds protested earlier this month in Rome after bomb attacks in the city's gay district.

Watch Hilton's appearance, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: #uknowhowiknowuregay, Sharks, Steve Hildebrand, Maine

1,000 take to the streets in Friday protest over homophobic attacks in Rome.

Jesus on Mars?

Jeremy Piven hits the beach.

Has-been rapper Fabolous behind offensive #uknowhowiknowuregay Twitter trending topic.

Obama advisor Steve Hildebrand thrashes President, Dems: "I gave up a lot to elect Democrats, and I expect them to give it up for me. I’m going to speak loudly. The Republicans don’t have power unless the moderates and the Blue Dogs give it to them — which is what they’re doing now."

Des Moines, Iowa man claims he was removed from a bar for being gay.

Ted Haggard apologizes for violating an entire congregation.

Nampa, Idaho's transgender candidate Melissa Sue Robinson, who recently announced she was suing Twitter over fake account defamation, gets profiled by AP: "This farming and manufacturing town of about 83,000 residents, where a sugar factory and a local hospital are among the biggest employers, doesn't seem to be all that concerned that Robinson previously lived as a man."

New Zealand transgender MP visits Nepal.

Beach closed: Great White Sharks tagged off Cape Cod.

USA Today on Judy Shepard, her new book, and a federal hate crimes law: "Shepard, who loves playing mah-jongg and drinking martinis, admits to being 'flummoxed' at times about the gay and lesbian world. But, she adds, 'It's not important that I understand it. It's important that I accept it.'"

Britney Spears shocks concert crowd with actual singing.

Washington Post ombudsman on Brian Brown NOM puff piece: "Hesse said she decided to let Brown tell his story, as opposed to extensively quoting what others say about him. Her editors didn't object to the concept. Having Brown's story told in his "voice," Hesse reasoned, would allow readers to best assess his arguments. Fine in theory. But it deprived readers of hearing from others who have battled Brown and find him uncivil and bigoted. To them, he represents injustice. They should have been heard, at length."

NOM's Maggie Gallagher spews lies on Maine radio show.

Calvin Klein model Jamie Dornan launches international male model search.

Scientists identify trio of genetic mutations linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Schwarzenegger's phones blitzed over 'Harvey Milk Day': "So far, the governor’s automated phone line for constituents has received more than 100,000 calls about the bill, most against it, according to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s office."

Real World's Scott Herman shows off his assets.

Little Britain's David Walliams is nominated for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize for his book about a cross-dressing schoolboy. The prize honors the funniest books for children.

Church of Scotland selects gay man, Scott Rennie, to train as a minister.

Maine Archbishop Richard Malone asks churches to fill coffers for fight against marriage equality: "The bishop has asked churches to take up a special second collection next weekend to support Stand For Marriage Maine, the group leading the effort to repeal Maine's same sex marriage law."

Italian Catholic Editor Resigns After 'Defamatory' Gay Smears

Dino Boffo, editor of Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), has stepped down after Vittorio Feltri, the editor of Il Giornale, a paper with ties to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said he was gay and the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Said Boffo: "My life, the life of my family and that of my newsroom have been violated in an act of sacrilege I had never thought imaginable."

The Times reports: "Mr Feltri, who is leading an aggressive 'counteroffensive' to 'unmask' critics of scandals in Mr Berlusconi's private life, had unearthed a 2004 incident in which Mr Boffo paid a fine for alleged telephone harassment of the wife of an unnamed man whom Il Giornale claimed had been his gay lover, adding that he was a homosexual 'known to the police for this kind of activity'. In Avvenire today Mr Boffo issued a detailed ten-point rebuttal of the allegations. He admitted being fined in a harrassment case, but denied suggestions of a homosexual relationship. The editor said he was resigning because of the damage to his family and newspaper by Il Giornale."

Feltri's actions were apparently in response to criticism by Boffo of Berlusconi's "immoral" lifestyle: "Massimo D'Alema, an opposition leader and former Prime Minister, said allegations that Mr Berlusconi had spent US election night last November with Patrizia D'Addario, a prostitute who has given magistrates alleged recordings of the encounter, were 'not gossip'."

Hundreds Protest in Rome After Attacks in City's Gay District

Hundreds protested near Via San Giovanni in Laterano (aka Gay Street) in Rome on Wednesday night, following a bomb attack earlier this week.

ADN Kronos reports: "There was widespread panic when two letter bombs were thrown at a bar in a gay neighbourhood in the centre of the Italian capital Rome late Tuesday in an escalation of anti-gay violence. Italian media reports said the explosive devices were thrown from two motorcycles. Several people were injured in the attack, and one was taken to nearby San Giovanni Hospital for aid. 'It all happened very quickly unleashing panic in the streets. There were people screaming and running everywhere,' said the president of Italy's national gay rights organisation, Arcigay, Fabrizio Marrazzo, quoted by Italian media. 'If anyone would have been closer [to the explosions], someone would have lost their life,' Arcigay said on the organisation's website on Wednesday."

A recent surge in violence has many concerned: "Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said Wednesday that the attacks were 'extremely worrying' and promised to beef up security in areas frequented by homosexuals. Vladimir Luxuria (above), a transgender activist and former PM, commented that 'Rome isn't a safe city for gays' and warned of 'a cycle of homophobic terrorism'. Monday's incident is the third case of homophobic violence in Italy in under a week. Last week, a young man was stabbed in an attack near the site of Rome's summer gay and lesbian festival. Days later, a pair of tourists in Naples were beaten up by a gang of young men. The incidents spurred a gay musician in Rome to come forward saying he'd been assaulted by a man shouting insults earlier in August."

Mayor Gianni Alemmano has condemned the attacks. The gay rights group Arcigay plans to hold torchlight marches every Friday night calling for stricter laws against anti-gay violence.

An Italian news report on the attacks, AFTER THE JUMP...

Italian National Football Coach Lippi: I'd Never Allow a Gay Player

 

Italian national football team coach Marcello Lippi is under fire for remarks that he'd never allow an openly gay players on Italy's team, USA Today reports:

"Lippi was quoted on an Internet television program as saying a gay couple on the field would create 'conflict' in football-mad Italy, where games and the lives of its top players are dissected in detail in national sports dailies and television talk shows. 'We're not talking about a cultural question, but of a mechanism of interests for whom a relation of this type would enter into conflict,' Lippi told the KlausCondicio program. 'Even if from a cultural perspective people would approve and be able to understand and accept such a situation, it would nevertheless be exploited so much that it would end up negatively.'"

Gay rights group Arcigay responded: "We are tired of hearing politicians, singers and coaches who fuel... a climate that is by now poisoned by fear and suspicion. We don't want to be afraid any more, and we hope that people in the public eye will have the courage to affirm the dignity of everyone to live their own lives, their relations and loves in broad daylight."

Lippi's remarks are similar to those made last year by former managing director of Italian football club Juventus Luciano Moggi, who said that football is no place for gays and he feared for players in the locker room.

Of course greasing up your teammate's pecs in the locker room for a Dolce & Gabbana underwear shoot is totally acceptable.