Hal Sparks Marries Smith and Pyle in Mock Ceremony at Kitson

Queer as Folk's Hal Sparks married Smith & Pyle band members Missi Pyle and Shawnee Smith in a faux ceremony at L.A. retailer Kitson recently. The ceremony was a promotion for the "All Love Is Equal" T-shirt line by Revenge Is... E!'s Giuliana Rancic hosted the event. The T-shirt benefits Love Honor Cherish, one group behind the initiative effort to Repeal Prop 8 in 2010.

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News: Martha Stewart, Tel Aviv, Hate Crimes, Oaxaca, Joey Arias

FBI: Anti-gay hate crimes increase 11%.

Joey Arias brings 'Arias with a Twist' to L.A.

Dangerous: Martha Stewart has some strong words for Sarah Palin.

Should PEPFAR money to Uganda be cut off?

Report: 4,000 Anglican priests to join Catholic Church. "Under the Vatican’s initiative, Anglicans, turned off by their own church’s embrace of gay clerics, women priests and blessing of same-sex unions, can join new parishes, called ‘personal ordinariates’, that are headed by former Anglican prelates."

Formed following the passage of Proposition 8, gay rights group celebrates first anniversary in Orange County.

Man attacked after climbing into bear enclosure at zoo in Bern, Switzerland.

Did J Lo fall so people would notice her performance?

Canada border guards seize PG-rated gay films headed for Inside Out Film Festival: "All three movies have been shown in Canada before. Patrik 1.5 is a PG-rated film about a gay couple's foibles adopting a child in Sweden. Clapham Junction is R-rated, but by no means obscene. I Can't Think Straight, the other film seized, is a relatively mainstream movie which had a theatrical release this summer. It stars Lisa Ray."

WATCH: Janet Jackson's new video "Make Me".

Selected entries from National Geographic's International Photography contest.

GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios on former KC Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, anti-gay slurs, and homophobia in professional sports: "I hope the league moves beyond individual suspensions and instead enacts zero-tolerance policies that start to address the danger of homophobia in sports."

Denver evangelical church opens doors to all.

Nude sunbathing initiative led by gay rights activists rejected in UK.

Stonewall Family: World of Warcraft highlights Gay Guild.

Jude Law does his fitness routine for students at NYU.

Male model fix: Nicholas Lemons.

Oaxacan town holds drag festival: "The annual dance and festival of the muxes celebrates a group of homosexual men who don elaborate makeup and traditional dress to dance and crown a queen, all with the support and excitement of the local community. Zapotec Indian culture in the Juchitan area, 277 km south of the Oaxacan capital, treats male homosexuality with openness."

Health care plan to include prayer?

Carrie Prejean's brother on her sex tapes: "If they were put in front of me I'd probably watch it."

Akron and Summit counties in Ohio mull anti-discimination ordinance protecting gays and lesbians.

Geri Halliwell has a revelation: not all hairdressers are gay.

Tel Aviv evicting gays from public park cruising area: "The new policy is divisive even within the LGBT community itself, as some of its leaders sided with city hall. Yaniv Weizmann, founder of the Proud Youth organization and a city council member, told Haaretz that the park's historic role was over. 'The community has matured,' he said. 'We can walk around in broad daylight in Tel Aviv. Something that was relevant when we were a persecuted and oppressed community is no longer relevant today.' Others see establishment leaders like Weizmann as traitors to the cause."

News: Oprah, Popcorn, RuPaul, Jeanne-Claude, Coelacanth

Prop 8 defenders still haven't handed over documents even after third order from judge?

Oprah show finished in 2011.

The abs and poetry of hot NJ Guidos.

NJ Democrats search for spine on marriage equality as state senator says economy takes precedence.

Judge orders OPM to offer health benefits to lesbian employee and family: "It was the second order from a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge in two days rebuking the Office of Personnel Management for denying insurance coverage to the same-sex spouses of court-supervised employees. The agency, whose director was appointed by President Obama, intervened in both cases in February and invoked the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that bars federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples."

Rallies: Activists rallied in front of NYC's Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Office yesterday in response to the horrific murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. They also rallied in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are more vigils and rallies happening this weekend.

Uganda: Rallies in response to Uganda's proposal to make "aggravated homosexuality" punishable by death took place in New York and D.C. yesterday.

Coelacanth: Baby specimens of living fossil photographed for first time.

Boy George to join Celebrity Big Brother in UK.

Senator Arlen Specter likes Barney Frank's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" suggestion: “I think the better strategy would be the one that Frank suggested. If you have it as a stand-alone bill, it’s going to be filibustered for sure. But if you attach it as an amendment — that’s what was successful with the hate-crimes amendment — I think that’d be best.”

NOM spent $112,736.75 on losing NY candidate Doug Hoffman.

New Yorkers looking for something to do this weekend might want to try Anti-Twink.

90210's Trevor Donovan shows off.

Meet the Season 2 cast of RuPaul's Drag Race.

Wrap-artist Jeanne-Claude dies of complications from brain aneurysm at 74: "Recognizable by her orange-dyed hair, Jeanne-Claude was a fixture of the international art scene and was a highly visible New York personality. Along with Christo, she created 'The Gates,' a 2005 public art project consisting of 7,503 orange rectangular structures draped with fabric and erected throughout Central Park."

Window Media publications South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine will continue to publish, under new owners.

"Ex-gays" setting up shop in Palm Beach this weekend.

Yikes: "A medium-sized popcorn and medium soda at the nation's largest movie chain pack the nutritional equivalent of three Quarter Pounders topped with 12 pats of butter, according to a report released today by the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest."

Playgirl writer: Levi Johnston saved us. "Playgirl pulled out all the stops to make this shoot a media circus -- overexerting itself financially to compensate Levi and bring on board new and old staff members to see the project through (including wunderkind party promoter Nardicio and myself, Playgirl's editor-in-chief from 2006 to 2008); and marketing the hell out of all things Levi (an ironic Levi Johnston line of Playgirl condoms due out in the spring, a Levi Johnston poster complete with signature). The 36-year-old magazine miraculously rose from the ashes of the Phoenix to become in recent months a relevant brand name once again."

News: Nate Berkus, ENDA, Ken Keechl, Argentina, Beenie Man

Following judge's ruling, paperwork issued for Argentina's first same-sex marriage.

Kardashian sisters don duct tape for NoH8 campaign.

Joe Jackson's last money grab before MJ's fillings?

Retired military chaplains come out in support of repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

ENDA mark-up postponed.

Philippines elections board (COMELEC) says gays "overly represented" in Congress: "Comelec second division chairman Nicodemus Ferrer was defending the poll body’s rejection of the application of gay-rights group Ang Ladlad for party-list representation. 'I have been telling them, you are not under-represented… actually you are over-represented in the Lower House and Upper House,' Ferrer told reporters in an interview. But Ferrer declined to name names."

While Levi does Playgirl, Neil Patrick Harris does Playboy.

Ken Keechl takes over as first openly gay mayor of Broward County, Florida.

Petition Obama to support federal court challenge to Prop 8.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida in Orlando and nearby gay-owned business hit by anti-gay graffiti: "...a swastika and the words 'Gay Pawer,' 'Die Fags,' 'Go To Hell' and other homophobic slurs. Damage to the two buildings is estimated to be over $1,000.The Center is currently working to cover the messages on the building to deter additional damage."

Horrific undercover investigation of treatment of pigs on factory farms.

Anti-gay Jamaican singer Beenie Man's appearance at Australia's Big Day Out has been canceled: "A statement from the Big Day Out's producers today says that while the concert organisers believe the controversial musician has now renounced homophobia, the storm of protest this week after the announcement that he was in the line-up means his continued involvement would prove too divisive."

Anderson Cooper helms Elton John AIDS Foundation event in NYC.

Chris Pine suits up for GQ's 'Man of the Year'.

Oprah interior designer Nate Berkus to get his own syndicated daytime show.

Max Blumenthal on Palin's ghostwriter Lynn Vincent: "Vincent may have been an effective literary collaborator, but like Palin herself, she entered the project with considerable political baggage. Vincent’s commentaries for World are punctuated by inflammatory characterizations of gays, minorities and liberals that have already provided fodder for Palin’s critics. Among Vincent’s most strident statements were her description of homosexuality as a 'deviant' mental disorder and labeling of President Barack Obama as the 'face of the minority survivor' of abortion, which she dubbed the 'Black Genocide.'"

Tim Gunn on the one item of clothing he can't stand: "I cannot wrap my brain around the ubiquity of Crocs. Kelly Ripa [on "Live with Regis and Kelly"] said, 'I insist that you put them on because they're so comfortable.' And I put them on. I am looking down at my feet, and I feel like I have hooves! They're horrible. If we all succumbed to the comfort trap, to dress as if we never got out of bed -- then we should never get out of bed."

Five New Initiatives Filed to Repeal Prop 8?

KSBW Sacramento reports that five new initiatives to repeal Proposition 8 received approval on Monday. Proponents must gather 694,354 for each: "All five measures begin with language stating that each would repeal current provisions in the state constitution that restricts marriage between a man and a woman."

News: Alex Sink, Kuwait, The Who, Gerard Butler, Sydney, Universe

Paper: Two same-sex marriages have been conducted in Kuwait, under strict security.

OUT100 announced.

Goth strippers: Cast for Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" video revealed.

Wingnut rally today over hate crimes: "The Rally for Religious Freedom is meant to raise alarm over the nation's new Federal 'hate crimes' law just passed by Congress and signed last month by President Obama. The intention of the rally is to assert the freedom of speech of ministers and Christians in general to declare biblical truth in the public square. The Rally will also expose the unconstitutional nature of the hate law. Ministers from various denominations will preach from the Bible, especially those parts that speak to the sin of homosexuality. This will serve to reassure ministers and Christians that they are free to do the same."

Advocates express optimism on New York marriage equality.

Complete unknowns The Who to play Super Bowl.

I See You: Leona Lewis to try and duplicate Celine Dion success by singing James Horner-produced theme song from James Cameron's Avatar.

Gerard Butler is dressed to kilt in Glasgow.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink says state's ban on gay adoption must go: "We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home -- a home that's determined not by any law. The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.

Virgin Airlines gets behind Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Frank Bruni on Ellen & Portia.

Thinking about changing your name if you get married?: "Since the federal government doesn’t recognize the right to same-sex marriage, even if you get married in a state that allows it, whether you can get the name change processed by Social Security or the passport office merely with the marriage certificate and required forms currently tends 'to be hit and miss,' said Emily Doskow, an attorney in California who specializes in same-sex and transgender family issues..."

Madonna visits slums and billionaires in Rio.

Streaming stars: Scientists find signs of a neighboring universe?

Equality California honors Attorney General Jerry Brown for efforts to overturn Prop 8.

Corpus Christi: Terrence McNally play depicting gay Jesus sparks protest in Orange County.

Former Mr. Gay UK, police officer Mark Carter, says he suffered homophobic abuse after winning competition: "In particular, he detailed how - when attending the scene of a domestic violence incident in 2005 - a gang circled him and began shouting homophobic abuse. 'I could hear shouts of 'queer' and 'faggot',' he said. But despite his instincts, he never called for back-up for fear of retribution. 'I didn't want to call for back-up and put other officers in danger because I didn't like the insults they were throwing at me. But deep down I knew it was wrong,' he said to the BBC."

A $17 million grant has been awarded to Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues by theNational Institute on Drug Abuse to study the epidemic of meth use and HIV.

Male model fix: Arthur Sales.

Gay community in Philippines mulls protest rally following gay party's rejection by the elections commission.

Media Matters has the anti-gay goods on Palin ghostwriter Lynn Vincent: "In her many years writing for World, Vincent has authored several columns on gay rights issues, frequently deriding gay men and lesbians as abnormal and 'devian[t],' often trafficking in hackneyed stereotypes of the gay community. Vincent even went so far as to lament the American Psychiatric Association's decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder, and she also wrote that the struggle for gay rights differs from that for African-American civil rights and women's suffrage, in that it will not "benefit society at large."