The US House of Representatives has issued its first ever spousal ID to the same-sex partner of a member of Congress.

Democratic Representative Mark Pocan’s husband Philip Frank received the ID on April 26 after the House of Representatives Sergeant At Arms informed Pocan that his husband was now eligible to receive a spousal ID.

Previously Philip Frank had had to use a ‘designee’ ID which merely recognized him as a guest of Pocan’s in the House of Representatives.

I have a lovely friend. She is a transgender woman who lives in Nigeria. Her dream, at present denied her, is to be a professional dancer and actress. In her heart and in her spirit, she is both. As I think about her, I imagine the words and music from the song ‘Mirror and the Music’ from the show A Chorus Line encompassing her as she goes to sleep each night:

President Barack Obama is facing increased pressure to take matters into his hands when it comes to the long-stalled Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Obama received a letter on Wednesday (20 March) from 110 members of the US Congress asking him to sign ENDA into law by executive order rather than hoping a Republican-led House of Representatives will ever pass it.

Obama has said previously that he supports ENDA but would like to see it passed by Congress in much the same way the end of the anti-gay military policy Don't Ask Don't Tell was handled.

Marriage equality is 'one of the most radical ideas considered since child sacrifice' according to Joseph Farah, founder and CEO of World Net Daily, a right-wing US portal.

In an editorial, Farah ranted: 'The Conservative Political Action Conference is for conservatives – not for people who seek to undermine the Judeo-Christian basis of Western civilization with one of the most radical ideas considered since child sacrifice'.

At least 75 leading Republicans signed a brief to be submitted to the US supreme court aruging that gay marriage is a constitutional right.

According to The New York Times, who got a copy of the document, signatories include top advisers to former president George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of congress.

The world's only political party solely dedicated to LGBT issues, Ladlad in the Philippines, launched its election campaign yesterday.

The first day of campaigning started with a blessing at 7am from Rev Ceejay Agbayani from LGBTS community church and continued with canvassing in two markets in Manila and visits to the Home for the Golden Gays elderly care home for LGBT people and beauty salons where many Filipino trans women work.

A gay rights group in the Philippines has responded to Congress finally passing the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.

After a 10 year battle between Catholic conservatives and modern pragmatists desperate to tackle the Philippines' high birthrate and poverty, Congress passed the RH Bill at the end of December.

ProGay Philippines lauded the passage of the bill, but said that impoverished LGBT people will continue to suffer.

While the story of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk got its widest exposure through the 2008 feature film for which Sean Penn won an Oscar, it was an acclaimed 1984 documentary that first told his story on the screen.

On Wednesday (19 December), it was announced that the documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk, was among the 25 films chosen by the US Library Of Congress for preservation in its National Film Registry.

Lawmakers in Uruguay have voted to legalize gay marriage, with the act expected to be passed as early as next year.

The Marriage Equality Law was passed by the country's lower house of Congress yesterday (11 December) by 81-6 votes.

The bill now has to be debated by the Senate but is expected to be approved by the ruling coalition.

It will then be up to the presiden, José Mujicat, to sign the act into law.

A Colombian Senator has gone on a homophobic attack to express his opposition to gay marriage.

Roberto Gerlein said gay sex is 'excremental and deserves condemnation' on 20 November (Tuesday) during a session in Congress where politicians debated the legalization of gay marriage.

For nearly 20 minutes, Gerlein went on an anti-gay rant, saying that homosexuals are people 'born with the bad luck of having a smaller hypothalamus than heterosexuals, that's why gay people are born'.

Uruguay's government began voting on a same-sex marriage law this week.

After postponing vote hearings twice in the past year, Uruguay's congress will decide on a same-sex marriage bill introduced by one of the country's LGBT rights group, Colectivo Ovejas Negras, or Black Sheep Collective.

Parliament will debate one-by-one the 29 articles that would modify the country's century-old civil code to include same-sex couples under marriage, granting rights for legal registration and adoption.

California's Mark Takano who not only won a seat in the US House of Representatives this week, he also made history.

Takano, a Democrat, is the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the congress. He beat Republican candidate John Tavaglione in the race to represent California’s newly created 41st congressional district which covers Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris and Jurupa Valley.

A public school teacher for 23 years, the Japanese-American had twice before run unsuccessfully for congress in 1992 and 1994.