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Some 29 British members of parliament have signed a motion that condemns the arrest of two gay men in Malawi and calls for the country to decriminalize homosexuality.

The House of Commons Early Day Motion denounces the charges faced by Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, who were married in a traditional African ceremony late last year. They face up to 14 years in jail under British colonial-era laws against homosexuality in Malawi.

Currently, Steven and Tiwonge are being held in Chichiri Prison in Blantyre, where they reportedly have been abused in custody.

Read more on this story at Advocate.com.

The Hawaii state senate approved a bill that would legalize civil unions by a vote of 18-7 Friday. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the final vote came after an amendment to change the effective date, which would have retroactively enacted civil unions, of the legislation failed to garner enough votes to pass.

The state house will now consider the amended bill, HB 444 SD1, which contains the changed effective date. If passed by both the house and a conference committee, the bill would then head to Gov. Linda Lingle’s desk. Though she may veto the bill, the legislature’s Democratic majority may have enough votes to override her veto, according to the Associated Press.

Read more on this feature at Advocate.com.

More than 200 gay activists gathered outside Salt Lake City, Utah’s capitol building to call for a common ground with lawmakers. The activists, joined by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, said their intention is to peacefully share their personal stories with others.

“If people don’t know who they’re voting against … they don’t so much mind taking away our rights,” said Black, who last year won an Academy Award for his screenplay for Milk. “I did not come to Salt Lake City to protest. I came here
to introduce myself and to share a message of love and respect.”

Officials from Equality Utah said their efforts on Capital Hill will be scaled back this year. Last year, the group was unable to push a bill past legislative committee.

“We’re going to focus on our municipal efforts,” Equality Utah Director Brandie Balken told the Deseret News. “The way we’re able to change policy is by getting people on the ground to support those policies. In looking at what happened with our very common sense bills last year, we saw we needed to do more work on the ground.”

Equality Utah was influential in getting passing Salt Lake City’s nondiscrimination ordinances in November. The Mormon Church publicly supported the ordinance.

“They brought stakeholders to the table, and we want other municipalities to have a chance to do the same thing,” Balken said.

Taco Bell claims a transphobic spot that had LGBT activists riled up last week has been yanked from the air – but a similar ad is still playing on Los Angeles radio stations as of Sunday, January 24.

Earlier this month, BorderHouseBlog.com reported on the radio spot in which a male and female are discussing a value priced $.89 taco. At the end of the ad, the woman says, “Well, I have a surprise for you. I was born male, my name was Claudio,” to which the man in the ad screams, “Ew.”

GLAAD got involved, and a spokesperson for Taco Bell quickly issued the following statement. “We sincerely apologize as the ad was not meant to offend anyone and as soon as it was brought to our attention, we immediately stopped airing it.”

An ad airing Sunday morning in Los Angeles on KIIS-FM during Ryan Seacrest’s weekly American Top 40 countdown offers a similar punch line.

In this ad, after a fight between the man and the woman, the woman says, “Well then I don’t feel so guilty telling you… [I wasn’t born] Martha.” The woman’s voice then changes to a man’s voice, which says, “I’m Marvin.”

A spokesperson for Taco Bell could not be reached on the weekend to comment on the ads still airing. Advocate.com will continue to reach out to Taco Bell for comment.

The owner of Sin City’s glitziest gay nightclub, Krave, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Owner Sia Amiri, who operates the Krave nightclub and the nearby Harmon Theater, will continue to run the businesses during the bankruptcy process. Both Krave and the Harmon — which hosts magic and hypnotist shows — are located in the Miracle Mile Shops on Harmon Avenue, the site of construction and street closure during the building of the mammoth CityCenter project across the street.

Krave — known for acrobatic performances, gorgeous male and female go-go dancers, and celebrity hosts like Janice Dickinson — currently has $3.5 million in liabilities.

http://www.kravelasvegas.com/

The Justice Department is stepping in to defend a gay high school student who was bullied for being effeminate.

The department’s Civil Rights Division has asked a judge for permission to intervene in the 15-year-old student’s lawsuit against Mohawk Central School District, according to National Public Radio. The case hinges on Title IX, the section of the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender. The Obama administration is claiming that Title IX also covers discrimination based on gender stereotypes.

Get the full story at the Advocate.

Nepal’s newest constitution will be the first in Asia to guarantee equal rights to sexual minorities, according to the Hindustan Times.  

Nepal is scheduled to draft its new constitution by May. It will include antidiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex citizens.

“Rights for LGBTIs have been well drafted in the new constitution. They will ensure nondiscrimination and separate citizenship IDs for third-gendered people,” Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay lawmaker, said in the article.

The Republican great-granddaughter of former president Herbert Hoover has come out for same-sex marriage on FoxNews.com, of all places.

Margaret Hoover, the young conservative commentator and Fox News contributor, penned a column urging fellow Republicans to support gay marriage, linking the cause to the push to legalize interracial marriage in the 1960s. Hoover timed the column to the current federal trial in San Francisco that will decide whether California’s Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.

“Gays and lesbians are our friends, neighbors, doctors, colleagues, sisters and brothers,” Hoover writes. “Does it sit well with you that because of their sexual orientation, a factor outside one’s control, that they should have less rights and protections in the eyes of the law?”

Get the full story at the Advocate.