Sin City Opens Arms to Gay Scene

Municipalities in Texas, Ohio make the list

(NEWSER) - It might not shock you to discover that San Francisco has the largest concentration of gays and lesbians in America, but you might be a bit more surprised to learn that Columbus, Ohio, comes in at No. 16, ahead of Los Angeles (No. 18) and Miami (No. 20). The Daily Beast runs down the 20 cities with the highest proportion of same-sex couples:

• San Francisco: Ranks No. 1 with 12.4 same-sex couples per thousand households, 60% of which are men.

Ssempa 'wants to redeem people,' says US pastor

(NEWSER) - A controversial Ugandan pastor who claims that many gays are pedophiles who deserve death is being supported by an evangelical "megachurch" in Las Vegas. Pastor Martin Ssempa is a powerful force behind Uganda's anti-gay bill—which would criminalize homosexual activity and impose the death penalty for gay sex with a minor. Yet the 6,000-strong Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas is financially supporting Ssempa's church. Ssempa has been "misrepresented," insists Canyon Ridge pastor Kevin Odor. More»

Surprise: San Francisco tops list

(NEWSER) - After compiling its list of the most conservative-friendly counties in the US, the right-leaning Daily Caller now brings it with the top counties for liberals:

• San Francisco. With liberals, unions and gays, “surprise, surprise,” Chris Palko writes.
• Montgomery County, Md. This DC suburb is rich, educated, and home to “the bureaucrats conservatives despise.”

(NEWSER) - Protesters around California are gearing up for tomorrow's state Supreme Court session on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the voter referendum that banned gay marriage, the Los Angeles Times reports. The decision isn’t due for 3 months, but the opinion is already written, and the court's stand may be revealed in the judges' responses to oral arguments, which will be televised. More»

(NEWSER) - What do President-elect Barack Obama and a 1970s gay activist have in common? Grassroots backing and a yes-we-can ethos, Rachel Abramowitz writes in the Los Angeles Times. “I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living,” said Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor and gay-rights activist played by Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant’s upcoming movie, Milk. More»