Village conducts 19 unions
By: Capital News 9 web staff

Nineteen more gay couples walked the aisle Saturday in another round of same-sex weddings in New Paltz.

The Hudson Valley village became a focal point of the national
gay marriage debate when Mayor Jason West wed more than two dozen same-sex couples in February. Since then, a series of ministers have married more than 160 gay couples.

A pink Victorian bed and breakfast has become a sort of same-sex marriage mill on alternating Saturdays. Charles Clement, co-owner of the B & B, said they won't stop until everyone's equal
protection under the law is recognized.

B'rak Asher of Ulster Park, who wed Doreen Dunn, said the weddings are a statement that times are changing and they are no longer willing to hide who they are.

Opponents say they are considering further civil legal action to try to stop same-sex weddings.



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Gathering protests Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Parade
By: News 10 Now Staff


Saturday was a special day in Syracuse.

The Common Council unanimously agreed to declare the day Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day. A big crowd turned out for a parade, followed by a festival.

People marched through downtown, some carrying flags, others signs. They celebrated the day with the idea that the events are for the entire city of Syracuse.

When the Common Council unanimously agreed to declare today Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day, protestors gathered outside City Hall to voice their displeasure.


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Bangkok Hotel Segregates Guests With HIV
by The Associated Press


(Bangkok, Thailand)  Activists are up in arms after a Bangkok hotel hosting an AIDS workshop moved all the participants - half of them HIV positive - to one floor, asked them to eat in a separate area, and told cleaning staff to take precautions.

The incident, which took place earlier in the week, happened just a month before the Thai capital is to host the 15th International AIDS Conference that is expected to be attended by more than 10,000 participants.

Some 70 Thai government officials, voluntary agency workers and people with HIV/AIDS in the workshop were initially given rooms on various floors when they checked into the Prince Palace Hotel, said Nimit Tienudom, head of AIDS Access, an advocacy group.

But when hotel officials realized that some of the people had AIDS because of skin lesions, they moved everybody to one floor the next day, he told The Associated Press.