Middle Tennessee State University is celebrating is 101st year as an institute of higher learning and may soon see its first "all gay" fraternity among its Greek ranks.

The national gay and allied men's fraternity "Sigma Phi Beta" welcomed senior Brandon Thomas of MTSU into its brotherhood and Thomas is now working on bringing a chapter of the fraternity to the MTSU campus in Mufreesboro.

Many LGBT students across the Midwest and South are seeking to launch their own Greek organizations due to a lack of acceptance and opportunities within their own college communities.

Campus Pride founder and author Shane Windmeyer told the press "Where there is more fear, you want to form something on your own so you can have ]]>New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo reaffirmed marriage equality at a NYC Press Conference where he announced the creation of a new state agency.

This new agency, the Department of Financial Services, will begin a probe of the way life-insurance companies pay out death claims, especially to those gay and lesbian couples who reside in the state or who may have been married in the state.

The agency is a merger of the State's banking and insurance departments.

At the heart of the investigation is why 172 life insurers were slow to seek out beneficiaries of policyholders who passed away.  Cuomo told the press that as more gay and lesbian couples marry in New York, this issue has ramifications for their future security.

Cuo]]>The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Jamie Nabozny fled his family's farmhouse in northern Wisconsin after years of brutal bullying at school.  In addition, Nabozny suffered physical and verbal attacks at school as well.

In 1996, a jury found three Ashland School District school administrators liable and for the first time held a public school accountable for not stopping anti-gay abuse.

Nabozny was named a Defender of Human Rights by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.  He continues to spread his message at schools and other venues around the country.  Nabozny  says: "Still, there's so much more to do."

Source:  Thomas M. Garnet, Staff Writer
If politics make strange bedfellows, consider this one a marriage made in heaven.  NPR is reporting that hedge fund manager Paul Singer of Elliot Management has donated $1 million to Mitt Romney's superPac.  Ironically, Singer has contributed more than $8.5 million to the gay marriage cause, something Mitt Romney has publicly come against.

In 2009, Singer's son and son-in-law got married in Massachusetts.  Singer told the press, "I believe a generation from  now, gay marriage will be seen as a profoundly traditionalizing act.  It will have channeled love into the most powerful social institution on earth: marriage itself."

While Romney has long opposed gay marriage, Singer has a reputation of making his view on ]]>Countering sometimes popular assumptions that the Hispanic community is somehow at odds with the gay community, a new report co-released by the National Council of La Raza and Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) finds that Latinos are, in fact, as open and tolerant, if not more tolerant, than the general population in the U.S. when it comes to LGBT issues.

The report, entitled "LGBT Acceptance and Support: The Hispanic Perspective," offers an in-depth look at how Latinos view gays and lesbians within their own community, as well as the level of support for LGBT issues.

The report, funded by the Arcus Foundation, tells us that Hispanics are actually more inclined to support legal same-sex marriage and to be more accepting of gays and ]]>As it turns out, coming out of the closet is good for your health -- if your family members are supportive, that is.

A new study conducted by the Boston University School of Public Health found that two thirds of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in a representative Massachusetts sample experienced significantly less mental health and substance abuse problems if they received positive support from their parents after coming out.

"Given the high rates of suicide and self-harm among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth -- and the high costs of treating mental-health and substance abuse disorders -- it's critical that we understand what we can do to promote better health for LGBT kids," says Emily Rothman, Ph.D who co-authored the study.
The Washington Post is reporting that LGBT civil rights groups will continue to apply political pressure on the White House over the President's recent refusal to proceed with signing a nondiscrimination executive order.  Some believe that Obama's decision is a political one designed not to create controversy during this election year.

One liberal donor is claiming that he is willing to spend more than $100,000 to support a "We Can't Wait" campaign to confront the Obama Administration.  Jonathan Lewis, son of billionaire Democratic benefactor Peter Lewis, told the press "This isn't a broken promise President Obama can blame on Congress.  He has not been able to provide a single valid reason for why he is now refusing to sign ]]>Fox News is reporting that London transport officials have blocked an Christian group advertising campaign suggesting gays can be turned from homosexuality to  heterosexuality.  The group Core Issues Trusts was scheduled to promote its "reparative therapy" to turn gays straight for two weeks starting Monday on five London bus routes.  The advertisements were to read, "Not Gay! Post-gay, ex-gay and proud.  Get over it."

London Mayor Boris Johnson told the press: "London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world.  It is clearly offensive to suggest being gay is an illness someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses."

Source:  Th]]>"While the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state," says Obama's Minnesota campaign spokeswoman Kristen Sosanie, "the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples."

President Barack Obama's Minnesota campaign office announced yesterday that they oppose a state ballot initiative that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.  Obama has repeatedly said that he does not support initiatives that single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples.

The Obama campaign in North Carolina issued a similar statement in March with the same language in opposition to Amendment On]]>23 year old actor Paul Iacono, best known for his role in the MTV show "The Hard Times of RJ Berger" is coming out to the public.  Michael Musto reports that Iacono will talk about it for the first time in an interview with the Voice.

The actor is best remembered for the MTV series about a teenager who is anatomically gifted.  The series ran for two seasons and in the second season episode "Steamy Surprise," Iacono's character RJ discovers that Max (played by Jayson Blair), a popular jock and bully on the show, is secretly gay when he sees  him in the locker room showers making out with another guy.  RJ is in love with the girl Max was dating but still promises he won't tell anyone until Max is ready to come out.