Amnesty decries global anti-gay abuse
Ben Townley, Gay.com U.K.
Amnesty International launched an appeal Monday for international governments to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from abuse after a gay rights activist was attacked in Ecuador. The human rights organization made the appeal after gay rights activist Patricio Ordóñez Maico survived an attempt on his life earlier this month in the South American country.

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House committee approves constitutional gay marriage ban
A constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman passed out of a House committee Tuesday. The resolution by Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, would insert current state law into the Tennessee Constitution. Tennessee law already defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman, and says "any policy, law, or judicial interpretation that purports to define marriage as anything other than the historical institutional and legal contract between one man and one woman is contrary to the public policy of Tennessee." The law also says that if any other state or foreign jurisdiction issues marriage licenses to any other combination of people, such marriage would be "void and unenforceable in this state." Dunn told the House Children and Family Affairs Committee the law should be enshrined in the constitution because "unfortunately, the Tennessee Supreme Court has showed they would rule however they want, regardless of what is in there." Dunn said he hesitated to bring up the resolution but that he was forced to act by what he called Tennessee's activist judiciary. "I didn't want to see us get into the same shape as some other states," he said, referring specifically to Massachusetts, where the state Supreme Court found the right to homosexual marriage in that state's constitution.