It has long been a bone of contention whether being gay is a choice or a compulsion.And Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is sticking to her guns after she admitted for her it was the former, despite having to endure a homosexual backlash.

She has been lambasted by the LGBT community for making her feelings known as a public speaker, but has now spoke out in the New York Times to underline her feelings on the matter.

The 45-year-old who is engaged to her long-term partner Christine Marinoni, said: ‘I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line “I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.”‘And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. ’And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me.

‘A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out.’I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.’

NY Times

A surge in wedding licenses following the Marriage Equality Act means a quarter of new marriages in the state of New York are between same-sex couples.

According to figures released by the New York Post, the number of of applications for licenses rose by a third on the same period last year.

Of the 5,587 applications filed in early August, the city of New York estimates 1,400 were gay couples.

The number has been estimated as applications in the state no longer require genders to be specified.

Instead, the figures for this summer were compared with the same period over the last three years, where the number of applications was around 4,200.

The City Clerk, Michael McSweeney, told the Post: “Last week, we averaged 335 license applications a day, busier than ever.

“We’ve had to work extra hard to handle the increase, but even as same-sex marriage starts to feel routine here, everyone seems profoundly happy to be here.”

Will Young was voted a good role model

Gay singer Will Young has been voted the best role model for young gay, lesbian and bisexual people in an online poll.

The poll, conducted by gay rights charity Stonewall, asked 1,003 of its supporters to vote on a selection of gay British music personalities.

Young came first with 58 per cent of the vote, while Alison Goldfrapp came second.

Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke was third, followed by Joe McElderry, who recently came out. Lady Sovereign was ranked fifth.

Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill said: “Young people involved with Stonewall tell us that role models help them overcome the homophobic bullying that’s rife in Britain’s schools.

“Pop culture is hugely influential to young people so it’s encouraging to see more openly lesbian, gay and bisexual British pop stars.

“Joe McElderry is already recognised as a role model so the scene is now set for him to become every bit as popular with young gay people as Will Young.”

The Puerto Rican star said: “I have a boyfriend and two sons, yet women still try to get me into bed.

“They say very beautiful, very erotic things to me about what they want to do with me, which is nice, but I’m not interested.”

Martin, who said recently that he hopes to have a daughter one day, also discussed his boyfriend, stockbroker Carlos Gonzalez Abella.

He said: “My partner, my boyfriend is very sexy, very smart, very compassionate, but the most important thing [is] he loves my children. It’s very beautiful. Super cool. I am very happy.”

More info: Pink News

Do not miss the opportunity to get the latest available rooms for these dates in an offering that includes:

• 20% discount on room rate
• Breakfast
• Free wifi
• Free access to the Wellness

This offer will be available only for bookings made via mail (barcelona@axelhotels.com) enclosing this newsletter until the 15th. June.

Subjected to availability

Valid until June 15

The administrators of the now-removed group had stated: “This page is for those of us against ALL gays, man and woman alike. Those of us who are tired of seeing them flaunt it like it is a badge of honor and acceptable. Spread it like wildfire. Suggest to all your friends.”

A comment in response to complaints from other Facebook users read: “And go ahead and report this page all you want. It attacks nobody directly and is in complete compliance with my rights as a citizen of the USA.”

Facebook’s Terms of Service state: “You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.”

The New Anti-Gay Movement’s response to messages to the above effect as posted by pro-gay users was this: “By definition this page does not in any way or form count as ‘hate speech’. While there is a very thin line, this is on the proper side of it. It does not promote violence, intimidation, harassment or other misconducted sic actions. It exists solely as a point of view to be shared by others that share the same ideal. Our right to voice our feelings towards gays is no more in the wrong than your option to voice an opinion FOR it.”

The Pride team are currently preparing a programme covering five days of events from 10-14 August. They are hoping  to attract a diverse crowd. A spokesperson said: “We want to show the general public and of course visitors from abroad that, Prague can host a complete pride festival.

“Prague is one of Europe’s main LGBT travel destinations and we are organising a festival the city can be proud of. By now we already know there will be a wide variety of events organized by our many partners.”

The festival will include everything from corporate workshops on diversity to a sports event, theatre performances, exhibitions, cinema, an event for children, guided city tours and discos and circuit parties.

“It is really great to see organisations and venues from the community, as well as mainstream bars and clubs, that really want to make it work. They all plan to organise something interesting to add to the programme,” the festival director said.

The highlights of the festival are the parade and concert on Saturday 13 August. There will be a festive parade through the city centre in the early afternoon. Individuals, companies and organisations will all join the celebration. The route will take the participants to Střelekcy Island where many local and international stars will perform. The line-up is a secret at present but the organisers promise it’s impressive.

The director said: “The parade is new for Prague and we expect about 1,500 people to walk with us. Many more people will be interested in the concert and festival venue, where we hope to receive thousands of guests.”

Their website offers a preliminary overview of the programme, plus more information on the concert line-up, as and when it becomes available.

www.praguepride.com

The coolest summer nights are experienced at Sky Bar, the open-air bar-lounge on the top floor of the hotel. Enjoy the Berlin night with a perfect mixture of music, exquisite cocktails, friends, leisure and glamour, while you admire the spectacular views of the city. And since we believe that things are made up of more than one color, Sky Bar surprises you both night and day.

Sky Bar offers:

Thursday:

• Bargain Thursday: Menu of the day 2 for 1. Evey thursday evening.

Friday:

• Friday Fancy Girl: Summerly barbecue buffet on the terrace. Every first and third friday.

Saturday:

• Saturday Spanish Flavours: Tapas, Vinos & C0. Every second and fourth saturday.

Start to enjoy the spring and summer, take advantage of the weather and have fun in the best enviroment in Berlin at the Sky Bar.

Sky Bar opensfrom 6 to 10 pm every friday and saturday.
Dinner opening hours:  7 to 11pm.

For the third year running, Barcelona is well into the preparations to welcome you to the most important LGBT pride festival in the Mediterranean – Pride Barcelona’11. The main celebrations will be on the weekend of the 24th, 25th and 26th of June, but entire festival includes a program that runs from the 18th to the 28th!

30 charitable associations, many local businesses and the entire LBGT community have again united to organise a new pride for the city – offering ten days of culture, sport, debate, entertainment and parties. Pride Barcelona is a major free not-for-profit event that both celebrates the best of the Catalan capital, but also promotes inclusion and visibility in the major Catalan towns and cities.

Spain is a shining example of LGBT Rights, and is already on the global map for pride celebrations in Madrid and Maspalomas – always reaffirming our open, respectful and tolerant character. Barcelona is now firmly placed on that map – growing bigger and better every year.

Barcelona Pride could not be organised without the support and generosity of the sponsors and collaborators. Axel Hotels is one of them and we want to invites you to come to the gay Pride and stay at the Axel Hotel Barcelona.

Come and experience Pride Barcelona 2011. See for yourself why this new event is now among the greatest pride celebrations in the world!

“The freedom to pursue one’s own sexuality is part of an individual’s freedom of expression,” said Justice Carlos Ayres Britto, the writer of the opinion.

The vote was 10-0. One justice abstained due to previous statements in favor of same sex civil unions.  A few here in the States will argue this ruling is nothing but separate and equal. Advocates in Brazil are having none of that.

“There is something to celebrate this result,”  said Cleber Vicente, project coordinator for the Rainbow Group in Rio de Janeiro (as reported by the country’s state run the state-run Agencia Brasil). “It is a struggle that stretches for over 15 years.”

This decision makes Brazil and Argentina as the two South American countries to recognize gay relationships. [UPDATE: As Jay reminded in the comments, Uruguay passed civil union legislation in December of 2007]

The separate but equal debate is worth having, but this decision is all success. Sure the word marriage is missing, but please consider this: a country, with an extremely large Roman Catholic population, just gave legal recognition/rights to gay families. If this isn’t a win, then the word is meaningless.