Minnesota officially became the 12th U.S. state to approve same-sex marriage May 14 when Gov. Mark Dayton appeared before a jubilant crowd to sign a marriage equality bill into law. As thousands cheered outside the state Capitol with rainbow and American flags, Governor Dayton signed the bill that makes it possible for same-sex couples to get married. Minnesota is the first Midwestern state to do so through a legislative vote.

“What a day for Minnesota,” Dayton told the spectators, who huddled on the steps of the State House in St. Paul. “What a difference a year and an election can make in our state.”

Dayton’s signature came just a day after the state Senate approved it with a 37-30 vote, the Associated Press reported.

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should certainly include the right to marry the person you love,” he noted.

Echoing those sentiments was State Rep. Karen Clark and Sen. Scott Dibble, who are both openly gay.

“I wish everybody could be right here and see what I see,” Dibble, who thanked his husband of four years during his speech, noted. “Today is a day for rejoicing and celebrating in Minnesota. The dream of a life filled with joy, a happy, healthy family — that sounds so normal — and it’s gonna come true.”

Dibble went on to call the bill’s passing “a legacy we can be proud of.”

The first lesbian and gay couples will be allowed to tie the knot when the law takes effect on Aug. 1.

“What a day for Minnesota!” Dayton, a Democrat, declared moments before putting his signature on a bill. “And what a difference a year and an election can make in our state.”

The bill was signed a day after it was approved by the Senate in a 37-30 vote.

“It is an overwhelming joyful day, the culmination of years of work. Two years ago it would have been unimaginable to be here,” said Jake Loesch, communications director with Minnesotans United, a LGBT group. “It was incredible, we had 7,000 people cheering as the bill as signed, it was probably the biggest crowd the Capitol has ever seen,”

Gay activists from all over the USA cheered this decision.

“The transformative nature of people talking about their love and their lives is clear, as we see in reaching this milestone in Minnesota, and in the fact that a clear and growing majority of Americans supports the freedom to marry,” said Rea Carey, executive director of National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

“The many years of door-knocking, phone calls and poignant conversations about why marriage matters have made a difference.”

And Minnesotans United tweeted: “Freedom prevails. Thank you, Minnesota!”

The push for gay marriage was a quick change from just six months ago, when LGBT supporters had to mobilize to turn back a proposed constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex unions. Minnesota already had such a law, but an amendment would have been more difficult to ever undo.

But voters rejected the amendment, and the forces that organized to defeat it soon turned their attention to legalizing gay marriage. Democrats’ takeover of the Legislature in the November election aided their cause.

“There is still a lot of work to be done. Now we have to make sure that all the legislators that made this day possible will be reelected,” said Loesch.

Source: Associated Press

Returning to the Old Port with an expanded presence – enlarging its main outdoor site at Quai Jacques-Cartier, hosting a series of beach parties at Plage de l’Horloge and offering festival goers a tranquil green space on Bassin Bonsecours Island – Divers/Cité 2013 is sure to be an unparalleled summer happening for visitors and locals alike.

Having collaborated for many years with Def Mix and Stereo Productions – two of the global house music scene’s heavy-hitter labels – Divers/Cité’s Sunset Party and La Grande Danse are reconfigured to celebrate both their milestones this year. Toasting 25 years of Def Mix, David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, Hector Romero and for his first time in Canada, DJ Memê come together on the D/C stage
for what is guaranteed to be one hell of a birthday party. Stereo! OnTour is a traveling collective of the label’s hottest DJs performing together: label founder, Chus L. Esteban and partner in-crime Pablo Ceballos, (a.k.a. CHUS + CEBALLOS) share the Grande Danse stage with four of the label’s greats: New Iberican League member, David Penn, Patrick M and Montreal’s Nicola Torriero and Marciano.

Rounding out the exceptional musical offerings, Divers/Cité is also pleased to welcome: Psy-trance innovators, Infected Mushroom, Horse Meat Disco, Will Automagic, jojoflores, François K, Abel, Denise Benson, and D/C favourites, Ana Paula, Isaac Escalante, Stephan Grondin, and Alain Jackinsky.

Of course, no edition of Divers/Cité would be complete without North America’s biggest drag show, Mascara. Again this year, La Reina, Mado Lamotte promises a sequined extravaganza with over a hundred drag queens performing with glitz and glam. Not to be missed!

Heating up summer in the city, the New Divers/Cité!

http://diverscite.org/wp/

 The 30th anniversary Annual Global Convention of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association in Chicago (2-4 May) is not only the LGBT tourism industry’s premier networking and educational event, but also an opportunity to honor individuals and companies that have improved the landscape of gay and lesbian travel.

The annual awards are selected by the IGLTA board of directors from the association’s membership of tourism businesses in more than 80 countries. “These distinguished professionals have raised the bar in our industry in so many ways, from travel marketing and media to supporting Chicago’s gay community to placing LGBT visibility at the forefront of Montreal’s tourism outreach,” said IGLTA Chair Tanya Churchmuch. “As we celebrate a milestone anniversary as an association, it’s especially fitting to recognize these individuals, who each have dedicated more than 20 years to making the world more welcoming for LGBT people.”

• The Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award: Charles Lapointe, President/CEO of Tourisme Montreal, a longstanding advocate for gay tourism in Canada’s second-largest city. He has led the tourism bureau since 1989.

• The Chair Award: Thomas Roth, President/Founder of Community Marketing, Inc., for helping businesses better understand the LGBT market since 1992.

• Community (based in the IGLTA convention host city/country): Center on Halsted, which provides public programs and social services to more than 1,000 LGBTQ people a day. It was founded in 1973 as Gay Horizons, a volunteer-run telephone helpline and meeting place for gays and lesbians.

• Pioneer: Dee Farrell, co-director of Rainbow Tourism International, publisher of multiple gay travel sites in Sydney, Australia. She was one of the 25 delegates to attend the 1983 inaugural meeting of IGLTA (then IGTA) in Hollywood, Fla.

• Travel Writer: Manuela Kay, CEO of Special Media SDL, Germany’s biggest LGBT publishing house, and chief editor of its lesbian title, L-MAG. She has covered LGBT issues since 1986.

 A guest DJ in most of the best dance events and gay clubs in Montréal for years, Rauhofer was 48.

The New York-via-Austria DJ is best known for his dance remixes of songs by Madonna, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Rihanna and even Yoko Ono. He also started the tribal house label Star 69. In 1999, under the name Club 69, he won the Grammy for Remixer of the Year for his reworking of Cher‘s “Believe.”

“It makes me sad, not only that I have lost a friend, but that the world has lost an amazing talent and that future generations will never get to understand the magic that Peter created night after night all over the world,” Russo wrote. He added, “I ask that his true fans keep his legacy alive by sharing his music with anyone who may not have had the opportunity to experience it for themselves.”

Source : Rolling Stone

Source: NBC

The Senate’s 12-9 vote sends the bill to Democratic Gov. Jack Markell, who supports the measure and  signed the bill. It would go into effect July 1.

“I think this is the right thing for Delaware,” the governor said after the vote, while posing for pictures with supporters outside his legislative office. “It took an incredible team effort.”

Gay rights activists and their supporters in the chamber erupted in cheers and applause following the Senate vote.

Delaware’s same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Democrat-controlled legislature last month, barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The bill won passage two weeks ago in the state House on a 23-18 vote.

While it doesn’t give same-sex couples any more rights or benefits under Delaware law than those they have in civil unions, supporters argued same-sex couples deserve the dignity and respect of married couples. They also noted that if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars married gay couples from receiving federal benefits, civil unions would not provide protections or tax benefits under federal law to same-sex couples in Delaware.

Opponents, including scores of conservative religious leaders from across the state, argued same-sex marriage redefines and destroys a centuries-old institution that is a building block of society.

Under the bill, no new civil unions will be performed in Delaware after July 1, and existing civil unions will be converted to marriages over the next year. The legislation also states that same-sex unions established in other states will be treated the same as marriages under Delaware law.

The bill does not force clerics to perform same-sex marriages that conflict with their religious beliefs. But under an existing Delaware law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, business owners who refuse to provide marriage-related services to same-sex couples for reasons of conscience could be subject to discrimination claims.

Delaware joins neighboring Maryland and the nearby District of Columbia as jurisdictions that have approved gay marriage. Last week, Rhode Island became the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, with independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee signing the bill an hour after its final passage.

Minnesota appeared poised to legalize gay marriage after the Democratic speaker of the state House said Tuesday that a gay marriage bill endorsed by the governor and likely to pass in the state Senate also now has enough backing in his chamber. The House will vote on the measure Thursday, and if it passes, the Democratic-led Senate could vote on it as soon as Saturday

For an indecisive student in high school or university, the day is also important to possibly understanding the logistics behind a career in politics. According to first time participant Zac Johnstone, it is crucial to participate in Rainbow Day on the Hill “because it is an amazing opportunity to see how parliament works through the perspective of a queer MP.”

The goals for the day offer a similar motive – the development of the future leaders of Canada. Through the Women in House program, Mr. Morin notes that: “several of the inspired women from that day became MPs in Parliament.” Through the encouragement of LGBT youth on the hill, members of parliament and ambitious youth alike would love to see those results occur from this event.

Alongside the goals of the day, participant Zoe Easton has increasingly high hopes. “For LGBT youth interested in a political career, Rainbow Day on the Hill day is the best place to establish their political goals after meeting their queer national role models.”

By Anna Desmarais (JersVision.org Team)

Lawmakers debated the bill for two hours before voting. Green MP Mojo Mathers received rousing applause after she told the house how her daughter went to her first formal with her girlfriend last year. “Like countless other young women, she hopes for love, marriage, children and a house with a white picket fence. All of those options are available to her older sister.”

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay.

The 15^TH Annual Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will feature 65 films from 15 different countries including feature-length movies and short films that chronicle the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender communities.

The Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is presented by HBO Latin America and Miami-Dade County.  For more information, to view film trailers, or to purchase tickets or memberships, please visit www.mglff.com.

This evening will be an occasion to present you with the different stages of the project and to introduce our various intervention tools, while enjoying a glass of wine to celebrate together.

This research and intervention project has had as a goal to increase the access of trans people aged 55 and older to health care and social services. A study was conducted with 12 older trans people and with five service providers offering them services, and allowed to identify trans elders’ needs, the barriers they meet, and the factors facilitating their access to adequate care and services.