Gay News

(Newser) - Fruit flies were gay one hour and straight the next in a recent study in which researchers used drugs to flip the switch of sexuality, reports LiveScience. When scientists disabled a gene called genderblind, male flies courted other males; they reverted to pursuing females only hours later when given a gene and drug combo that altered brain synapses. More »

(Newser) - Philadelphia will evict the Boy Scouts from a municipal building known as the group’s birthplace, citing its exclusion of gay members, the New York Times reports. The city requires renters to put nondiscriminatory language into leases; the BSA has fought the stipulation at the building where it's held the $1-a-year lease since 1928. A deadline passed this week; eviction is set for June 1. More »

(Newser) - Sure, Condoleezza Rice is trying to broker Mideast peace, but isn't she really gay? Like Hillary Clinton? And isn't John Edwards having an affair? A recent spate of articles has swung the political spotlight on gossip, the Times of London reports—and the Columbia Journalism Review is so concerned that it hosted a panel this year to discuss government funding of serious newspapers. More »

(Newser) - A gay rights coalition marked today, the 14th anniversary of the enactment of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” with a renewed push against the law. Activists planted 12,000 American flags on the National Mall to commemorate the troops discharged under the policy and sent an open letter to Congress signed by 28 retired generals and officers urging its repeal, the Army Times reports. More »

(Newser) - Stanford students want co-ed dorm rooms, and the administration may take them up on the idea. "It's not about sex," one student told the San Jose Mercury News , but about feeling "comfortable in your living space." Transgender students started the initiative to build on the school's anti-discrimination policies, but now both gay and straight students have rallied behind the idea. More »

(Newser) - Modern love has snubbed its nose at the state, writes Stephanie Coontz in an op ed piece in the New York Times , with 40% of US children now from unmarried parents. So it's time for the law to follow suit, and get out of the marrying business. Marriage licenses—a relatively recent phenomenon, historically—are about conferring "spousal" legal benefits, and those should go along with committed relationships, without regard to marital status.  More »

(Newser) - Gamers in Singapore may now buy Microsoft's Mass Effect despite a female-female love scene. The country has decided to allow the sale of the video game under an M18 rating, reports Singapore's Straits Times , after previously banning it due to a scene showing a human woman and an alien woman kissing. More »

(Newser) - Singaporeans anticipating Microsoft’s much-ballyhooed Mass Effect video game should stop anticipating. Thanks to a scene in which a human woman kisses and caresses an alien woman, Singapore has banned the action-RPG, Reuters reports. Microsoft said it would respect the ban, but outraged gamers decried the decision as too strict. Sex between men is against the law in Singapore. More »

(Newser) - It took more than 30 years, but House Democrats today passed a bill banning workplace discrimination against homosexuals, the New York Times reports. Thirty-five Republicans joined 200 Democrats to pass the legislation, which would amend the Civil Rights Act and safeguard workers against discrimination because of their “actual or perceived sexual orientation.” Ted Kennedy says he