New York City's Speaker and acknowledged lesbian Christine Quinn may not have been able to march be barred from the city's St. Patricks Day Parade, but that didn't stop her from celebrating in Dublin. Of her emotional trip:

The fact I’m here in Dublin and able to march and participate in inclusive events should send a message of how backwards the New York parade is.

Go, Quinn, Go!

Included in Ireland [NY Blade]

As New York City Council Speaker and notable lesbian Christine Quinn heads to Ireland for St. Patrick's day, NYC-based Irish Queers are planning their 16th annual protest against the parade's ban on the bent boys (and girls). The group will gather at 58th and 5th Avenue at 10:30am tomorrow to raise their voices. Their Irish peers in the homeland, meanwhile, will coordinate a simultaneous strike. Of the conflict, Irish Queer Tierney Gleason says:

This is about more than a parade – it’s about whole communities. When parade organizers voice hatred toward Irish and Irish-American LGBT people, they foster intolerance and ultimately violence against LGBT people in immigrant communities.

As Irish Queers, we persist in living our Irishness and queerness simultaneously. We won’t let a bunch of religious-right businessmen tell us we’re not Irish just because we don’t fit their agenda.

That's right, Gleason! Do not, under any circumstance, allow some homo-haters to ruin your day of drunken madness. Plus, considering that Saint Patrick spent a time of his life as a slave, we're pretty sure he'd approve of your rabble-rousing. But, then again, we've never been tight with the Saints. We actually heard it from one of our in-the-know demon pals...

Christine Quinn's nothing if not a rebel. The openly gay NYC city council speaker has announced that she's flying to Dublin to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade. The international trip's a protest against New York's march, which bans gay people because of their allegedly sinful ways. Quinn has previously tried to change their homo-hating ways, but to no avail. Of her planned protest, Quinn remarked:

I hope this sends a message that [gays marching in the parade] is a nonissue. Marching in Ireland as opposed to standing on the sidelines in New York City sends a much stronger message. Irish-Americans and Irish people in Ireland are incredibly open and inclusive. The discriminatory stance of the Fifth Ave. parade is really a thing of the past.

That's right, girl! Plus, we hear Irish girls are easy.

• In New Jersey, a former high school student got the OK from an appeals court – even though he missed the filing deadline – to sue the school district on charges his then-band teacher infected him with HIV during their sexual relationship. [AP]

• Though the military's discharging of 726 service members under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy last year represents a 10 percent increase over 2004, there's no evidence to show there's been an increased effort to force out members. [NYT]

• In Australia, the federal government is expected to move for a ban on gay couples from abroad being allowed to adopt children from the county. Such policies are usually left up to states – where some allow gay citizens to adopt, others not – but P.M. John Howard is likely to assert federal power over the matter. [Pink News]

• Big Pharma companies Gilead and Merck announced they'll be providing once-daily HIV pill Atripla to developing nations around the world. No word yet on which countries will receive the drug, and at what cost. [Advocate]

• In New York City, City Council speaker Christine Quinn – almost always an ally in gay rights – is at the center of criticism over a push to have the city's nightclubs install security cameras at entrances and exist. Critics say it's a privacy violation, especially for gay men and women not open about their sexuality. [NYT]

• In Britain, Price Harry cops a feel. [The Sun]

• Those ever so blunt Dutch ask Missy Elliott if she's either gay or straight. Even that bitch Barbara Walters couldn't get to this level of awkwardness. [MTV via Arjan]

• Oh and Keanu Reeves? Still not gay either. [Pink News]

• Looks like this Ashley Cole controversy has made Brits just as lawsuit crazy as Americans. [Pink News]

• Christine Quinn is Irish, New York's City Council Speaker, and a dyke. And she won't be marching in this week's St. Patrick's Day parade. [NY Post]

• Forget the 100K, what Chloe Dao really wants is a new Saturn. [NY Post]

We are so very proud when our fellow fags who end up with powerful and high profile political positions. Okay, maybe not all of them.

But the good ones in the bunch deserve our kudos. Like brand new City Council speaker of New York City, Christine Quinn. She's made NYC history as the Council's first openly gay speaker.

With both her father and longtime partner in the audience for her acceptance speech, Quinn suddenly became a little weepy:

As her eyes welled up yesterday talking about how proud she was to serve as speaker, Quinn denied she was crying.

"Never. I'm Irish. That would never happen in public," she said.

And more significantly a dyke. Everyone knows lesbians don’t cry in public.

Or in baseball.

QUINN MAKES HER-STORY [NY Post]

It won’t be official until tomorrow, but it appears like an out and proud lesbian will be awarded the speaker position in New York’s city council. Christine Quinn could become the second-most powerful city official and get an extra “0” tagged on to the end of her annual salary. There is much love for the dyke coming from everyone, including her former opponents, even though come of them have decided to compare her to different dessert flavors.

"It's almost like choosing between chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate swirl ice cream," he said. "In the end, both are equally pleasing to my palate."

Still another compliments her handshake:

"When I shake her hand, I know that her word is good, and that's very important," he said.

We can guarentee you that Quinn’s handshake is so much stronger (and manlier) than his own.

Council Ready to Fill the Job of Speaker [NY Times]