In 1994, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys came out publicly in an interview for the UK gay magazine, Attitude. It was then when they had just released the album Very which includes a remake of Village People's Go West.

I just turned 18.

I was just in the process of coming out to myself that I was gay, in Hong Kong (which explains the British magazine). And I started reading Attitude regularly.

Although I honestly don't remember anything from that interview, knowing someone who publicly admitted his sexuality was a big deal for me. I can't tell you exactly how I reacted or how I felt at the time, but one thing that I knew for sure: I wasn't alone. There is someone out there whom I know for sure that he shares the same sexuality as mine.

15 years later, the PSB is coming "west" from the UK for their US tour this month. I can hardly wait to sing and dance to Go West again with Neil in New York in a couple of days. Well, I surely hope that it's on the run-down.

To all of you closeted celebrities out there, please do everyone a favor and come out. You will make a difference.

Almost one year ago, the US Senate voted against the HIV ban. On July 20, 2008, President Bush "signed the re-authorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which included a provision eliminating the HIV ban from the Immigration and Nationality Act." (Immigration Equality, 1/14/2009).

Today, the Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) finally published its proposed regulations to lift the HIV travel and immigration ban in the Federal Register for a 45-day period of public comment.

It has certainly taken a long time and a lot of lobbying effort to reach this monumental point: when the HHS finally published its proposed regulations, before issuing the final regulations -- the day when all HIV-infected individuals will not be discriminated against from entering the country. Please respond to the HHS with your supportive comments.

We continue to thank and applaud Immigration Equality for their dedicated commitment to end this discrimination against all HIV-infected individuals. Kudos!!!

Watch this video to find out what we can expect to happen next, now that the California's Supreme Court has upheld it's ruling on Prop 8, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised in California." And this ruling definitely makes the repealing of DOMA more important than ever.

A self-identified lesbian youth talks about her life being homeless and gay in Chicago. (current.com)

Recently This American Life published a story about 2 transgender 8-year-old and their parents.

From This American Life:

Lilly and Thomasina have a lot in common. They’re both 8 years old. And they were both born boys, although it became clear pretty early on that they'd prefer to be girls. There aren’t all that many kids in the world like them, but recently, at a conference in Seattle on transgender parenting, they met. And they immediately hit it off. They could talk about things with each other that they'd never been able to share with other friends back home. And that’s comforting, even if they never see each other after the conference ends....

As President Obama sworn-in earlier today as the 44th President of the United States, White House has launched its new website, WhiteHouse.gov. Inside the agenda of the new office, listed under civil rights, is Obama's promise to support the LGBT community:

1. Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
2. Fight Workplace Discrimination
3. Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples
4. Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
5. Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell
6. Expand Adoption Rights
7. Promote AIDS Prevention
8. Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS

It's official.

This coming Wednesday will be Human Rights Day (as well as the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The United Nations General Assembly will hold a special meeting to commemorate the occasion.

During the meeting, the General Assembly will call for a de-criminalization of homosexuality for all the countries. Currently, being gay can land you in prisons or get you executed in more than 80 countries. This will be the be the first international human rights convention that acknowledges the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.

Oh, and guess who will be opposing it? The Vatican.

In other words, the Vatican doesn’t think that we should stop persecuting, or let’s just say, killing, GLBT people. I shouldn’t be so surprised by their constant effort to “protect traditional marriage” by sacrificing the gays. However, it also brings up so much anger and issues that I have with this religion I was brought up in, so much that I wish I could de-baptize myself right now, even though I refuse to call myself a Catholic anymore.

P.S. To be fair, the Organisation of The Islamic Conference will also be opposing it. However, I'll leave it to my Islamic friends to get their frustrations out.

A joint press release (read below) was released yesterday by major Catholics reform groups, expresses their support of same-sex marriage rights to bishops who are meeting at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, MD. And at the same time, during the first day of the conference today, president Cardinal Francis George urges bishops to continue to confront President-elect Obama's support on abortion rights. Had Obama supported same-sex marriage, you know for sure that would be their #1 agenda.

As a sidenote, Andrew Sullivan pointed out earlier today that the SF Coronicle reported on how the Catholics were in fact working with the Mormons on their Prop. 8 battle.

We Chinese queers have reappropriated the term comrades, or tong-zhi (同志), to describe ourselves for almost 20 years. Literally, tong-zhi means "having the same will." It's used to describe not only homos, but also bisexuals and transgenders. It's more like the term LGBT, or in fact, "queer", which really embraces everyone who have the same intention and goal to reach equality for the LGBTs.

Four Chinese queer films will be coming to New York later in September during the Chinese LGBT Film Festival, titled "Comrades," during which we can get a glimpse of the lives of queers through the lens of a bunch of Chinese filmmakers.

It's worth mentioning that the first tong-zhi film festival in mainland China in 2001 was shut down by the Chinese National Security Agency.

For more information, visit Asia Catalyst.

On Wednesday, the US Senate has voted against the HIV Travel Ban, which has been barring HIV+ foreigners from entering the country since 1987. The bill will now go to the joint committee and GW for final approval. It's most likely going to pass, as GW has already shown approval for it. If it's signed, HIV+ individuals will be allowed to visit the US without a special waiver, although they will still be banned from obtaining permanent residency.

Andrew Sullivan, an HIV+ non-resident alien residing in the US, states that, "it's one of the happiest days" of his whole life. "For two and a half decades, I have longed to be a citizen of the country I love and have made my home. I now can. There is no greater feeling," he says.