Openly gay U.S. Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson entered into a civil union with his longtime partner, Mark Andrew, in a private ceremony. About 120 guests attended the New Hampshire ceremony. The two have been partners for 20 years. Five years ago, Robinson became the Church's first openly gay bishop. Pictured: Bishop Gene Robinson ( right ) at civil-union ceremony with partner Mark Andrew. Photo courtesy of Rev. Irene Monroe ( See Rev. Irene Monroe's take on page 11. )
An online video series aimed at increasing safer sex among gay men recently went live. The Web site, www.hivbigdeal.org, uses online video in hopes of motivating men who have sex with men to engage in safe sex. The video series is titled 'HIV Is Still a Big Deal,' which blends the fictional story of Josh with research-based education methods in order to create an effective intervention tool.
Two gay activists have been added to Democrat Barack Obama's presidential election team. Former Stonewall Democrats Executive Director and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action fund Public Policy & Government Affairs Director Dave Noble has been named the Director of the LGBT Vote. Brian Bond, executive director of the Democratic National Committee's Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council, has been named the director of constituencies.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil-rights organization, has revealed its latest T-shirt for the summer season—and the clothing item was designed by Christian Siriano, winner of Project Runway's fourth season. The 100-percent organic cotton shirt features a hand-drawn design of a superhero character named 'Fierce Equality,' and is available at www.hrc.org/siriano. Pictured: Christian Siriano models his T-shirt.
In a recent Bay Windows interview with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and his family, his youngest daughter came out of the closet. In the article, Katherine Patrick, 18, said she is a lesbian, but didn't come out to her parents until after a proposal to ban gay marriage was killed by state lawmakers last summer. The family described her coming out as a 'nonevent,' and expressed how proud they are of her. The governor and his daughter will be marching in the upcoming Boston Pride Parade.
