For much of history, homosexuality has been a taboo subject.&nbsp; Often, it has been considered a crime in itself. Yet today, millions of gay and lesbians are not only open about their sexuality, they are campaigning for new laws that are changing the world's attitudes and political views on homosexuality.&nbsp; <br /> &nbsp;http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 28 Aug 2008 7:41:16 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35997/lesbian-rights-pioneer-dies.html?refid=rss_all_defaultVeteran lesbian rights pioneer Del Martin has died in San Francisco at age 87. Martin, founder of one of the first gay rights organizations, Daughters of Bilitis, had been in declining health for years, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. She and her partner were among the first same sex couples in California to marry.http://www.newser.com/story/35997/lesbian-rights-pioneer-dies.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 28 Aug 2008 0:33:37 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35288/pro-obama-site-aims-to-convince-undecided-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultActivists are launching a website to line up support for Barack Obama among the 15% of still-undecided lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered voters, the Advocate reports. LGBTforObama.com emphasized the Democrat’s gay-friendly record, and spotlights “a star-studded lineup of bloggers.” The founder conceived the project to stop John McCain capturing a fraction of the gay vote similar to the 24% the GOP garnered in 2004.http://www.newser.com/story/35288/pro-obama-site-aims-to-convince-undecided-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Aug 2008 11:38:21 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35361/courts-finally-catching-up-to-societys-views-on-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe California Supreme Court’s landmark decision in May to grant gays the right to marry is based on a simple but inevitable idea, Andrew Sullivan writes in the Atlantic : Gay marriage is just marriage, and gay people are no different than straight people. As homosexuality moved from being considered a disorder to just an involuntary difference, the law had no choice but to follow. California simply acknowledged “an emergent cultural consensus,” Sullivan writes.http://www.newser.com/story/35361/courts-finally-catching-up-to-societys-views-on-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 20 Aug 2008 12:58:12 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/35187/religion-no-excuse-for-not-treating-gays-calif-court.html?refid=rss_all_defaultCalifornia doctors must provide services to gays and lesbians in line with all other patients, even if it conflicts with their religious beliefs, the state’s supreme court ruled today. The justices unanimously shot down an effort by a San Diego County fertility clinic's physicians to use religion as grounds for refusing artificial insemination to a lesbian couple, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.http://www.newser.com/story/35187/religion-no-excuse-for-not-treating-gays-calif-court.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 18 Aug 2008 15:38:47 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34989/degeneres-to-wed-tomorrow.html?refid=rss_all_defaultEllen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s intimate wedding will take place this weekend in California, Us Weekly reports. The daytime gabber and her 35-year-old bride announced their intentions to wed following the Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling this spring. "Planning a wedding is very stressful. It's crazy. My gardener is now invited," DeGeneres, 50, has said.http://www.newser.com/story/34989/degeneres-to-wed-tomorrow.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 15 Aug 2008 8:20:04 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34908/blacks-support-gay-marriage-as-much-as-whites.html?refid=rss_all_defaultConventional wisdom hold that African-Americans are overwhelmingly against gay marriage, but recent trends in voting show blacks have more problems with homophobia than any other group, writes gay-issues scholar Timothy Stewart-Winter for the LA Times. In fact, "views on same-sex marriage are a rapidly moving target that's tough to pin down, even for experts."http://www.newser.com/story/34908/blacks-support-gay-marriage-as-much-as-whites.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 14 Aug 2008 8:46:50 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34559/hiv-rates-rise-for-gays-ignored-by-world-programs.html?refid=rss_all_defaultEven as fewer people are dying from AIDS, new HIV infections continue to rise at alarming rates among the global gay and bisexual population, who are tageted by less than 1% of the $669 million spent on prevention worldwide, AP reports. In 86 nations, homosexual sex is considered a crime, and in seven countries it's punishable by death, according to the Foundation for AIDS Research,http://www.newser.com/story/34559/hiv-rates-rise-for-gays-ignored-by-world-programs.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 09 Aug 2008 20:55:05 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33877/mass-allows-marriages-for-out-of-state-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMassachusetts will now allow gay and lesbian couples from other states to marry there. Gov. Deval Patrick today signed a law overturning a 1913 measure originally crafted against interracial marriage, the Globe reports. Massachusetts is the second state, after California, to allow same-sex marriages, regardless of residence. A flood of couples is expected from New York, which does not marry gay couples but recognizes unions from elsewhere.http://www.newser.com/story/33877/mass-allows-marriages-for-out-of-state-gays.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 31 Jul 2008 15:30:16 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33709/gay-gallery-owner-in-fla-alleges-police-discrimination.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe owner of an erotic art gallery in St. Petersburg plans to sue the city following a police raid, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Bill Schramm was arrested last week on charges of unlawfully exposing private parts—his exhibit featured a naked man hanging from the ceiling, running afoul of an ordinance that forbids establishments that serve alcohol from displaying genitals—and battery of an officer.http://www.newser.com/story/33709/gay-gallery-owner-in-fla-alleges-police-discrimination.html?refid=rss_all_defaultWed, 30 Jul 2008 12:17:36 CDT