The 47-year-old former Culture Club frontman, whose real name is George O'Dowd, was convicted of false imprisonment last month for jumping on, dragging across the floor and handcuffing to a wall 29-year-old Audun Carlsen. O'Dowd reportedly had an accomplice for the beginning of the 2007 altercation, but he left after Carlsen was manacled and has not yet been identified.

Carlsen was eventually able to free himself and ran out of the apartment in his underwear with the chain-wielding, cocaine-crazed O'Dowd chasing after him, the court heard.

The Rev. Gene Robinson, a gay Episcopal bishop, will say a prayer at an inaugural event at the Lincoln Monument on Sunday; a gay and lesbian marching band will take its place in the official presidential parade; and a slew of gay parties and inaugural balls will be held in the nation's capital before and after Obama takes the oath of office.

But the gay-themed events have some conservative critics expressing concerns that while the celebration may be gay-friendly, it won't be family-friendly.

A coalition of activists is planning to protest The King Center's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren as keynote speaker on the federal observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

The Jan. 19 event in Georgia is the day before the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, who has chosen Warren to give the inaugural invocation. Warren had backed the recent Proposition 8 ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in his home state of California.

Full story: Gay Activists Will Protest Warren at MLK Event

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop says he is disappointed he was not picked to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration next week.

Instead New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson will offer a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural event on Sunday. He said it stings a little that he was not picked for Tuesday's events, but says he believes Obama's selection of the Reverend Rick Warren is intended to include all Americans.

Full story: Gay Bishop Upset He Wasn't Picked for Inauguration

Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-man, is planning to unleash the world's first homosexual superhero in a new television programme.

Lee has reportedly created a character called Thom Creed, a high-school basketball player who is forced to hide his sexuality as well as his superpowers.

It is not known what kind of powers Creed will display.

Lee, the former head of Marvel Comics - who also created the Hulk and the X-Men - will unveil Creed in an hour-long television special made in the US. [source]

Six weeks after passing a gay rights law, the Kalamazoo City Commission has voted to rescind it.

The commission voted Dec. 1 to make it a civil offense in the city of 7,200 to discriminate in housing, public accommodations or employment based on sexual orientation or being transgender.

The American Family Association of Michigan submitted petitions with about 1,600 signatures seeking the law's repeal. If officials found at least 1,273 signatures valid, the commission would have had to rescind the law or put it on the ballot.

The commission voted 7-0 Monday night to rescind it.

The House Republican leader in Maine is proposing to bolster the state's law restricting marriage to one man and one woman by making it a constitutional amendment, ensuring that gay marriage will be debated this legislative session.

Rep. Josh Tardy is expected to introduce the amendment. Legislation to allow gay marriage in Maine is also being introduced. As it stands, Maine has a domestic partnership registry that's open to gay couples.

The new proposed amendment states: "Only a marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized."

In previous legislative sessions, the proposed amendment stated: "Marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one man and one woman. This constitution or any other Indiana law may not be construed to require that the marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

Turner said that the changed language is meant to be clearer. It would not bar domestic partnerships, he said, but would bar civil unions.

FEBRUARY 12th FREEDOM TO MARRY DAY

On National Freedom to Marry Day, Thursday, February 12, 2009, at local marriage counters in cities all over the country, same-sex couples will request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk's Offices to raise awareness of the harms and impact that the inability to marry causes on their families. This national event is hosted yearly by Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) and this year they have asked Join the Impact for our help to make this their largest Marriage Counter Action yet!

PepsiCo has refused a request by AFA to remain neutral in the culture war. The company indicated that it will continue major financial support of homosexual organizations. AFA wrote Pepsi two times (on October 14 and October 29) requesting a meeting to discuss Pepsi's neutrality in the culture war.

In the last two years, Pepsi has given $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and $500,000 to the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The $1,000,000 was to be used to help promote homosexuality in the workplace. Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.

In 2008, the PepsiCo Foundation awarded a grant to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to support a national program specifically designed for workplace environments.

The initiative seeks to promote further understanding and equality in the places where people spend much of their time at work.

Among the values promoted by the PepsiCo Foundation is ensuring a work environment that is respectful and where associates are valued for their contributions.

Supporters of the November ballot measure that banned gay marriages in California have filed a lawsuit seeking to block their campaign finance records from public view, saying the reports have led to harassment of donors.

"No one should have to worry about getting a death threat because of the way he or she votes," said James Bopp Jr., an attorney representing two groups that supported Proposition 8, Protect Marriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage California.