Some of us at Queerty have family in Chicago. Some of us don't. As we mentioned yesterday, the gay games are scheduled to kick off in Chicago this summer, and all events had venues secured… except rowing. The Gay Games organizers wanted to host the event at Crystal Lake but some bigoted locals had other ideas. A city council vote clocked in at 2-2, but just Tuesday, the full council voted again at 2-3. Does any of this really matter or not? Let's hear from the little people.

"I'm here because I've lived in this town pretty much all my life, and it makes me furious that the town I grew up in, a town that has expanded and succeeded, would be looking at barring this because of [sexual orientation]," Spoor said. "It shouldn't make a difference; it's a sport activity."

Spoor's comment to a reporter sparked several angry comments.

"I do not want these queers coming to my hometown," said Larry Reyer, 55, a mechanic and 29-year resident. "Like I asked before, what revenue are you bringing in? What are you bringing in except stirring up all these problems?"

Um, what problems? A bunch of guys waking up at 5 AM to row a boat across a lake? No wonder Jason Voorhees killed all those people at Crystal Lake – they were a bunch of idiots.

Well, OK, maybe not all of them. We hope he spares those uber-tolerant Renzi family members.

Crystal Lake gives OK to Gay Games [Chicago Sun-Times]

• The MSM has finally discovered the Brokeback Mountain parodies that have been filling our inboxes faster than shirtless pics of Clay Aiken. We're officially over both of them. [NY Times]

• While we're generally pretty unforgiving when celebs record themselves in their most private moments, we're going to take it easy on Texas A&M's Chris Walker. Not because he's half-naked and hot but because he's lip synching "Total Eclipse of the Heart." [Towleroad]

• Soccer star Ashley Cole is suing two UK newspapers for libel for printing gay orgy stories in which his name was never even mentioned. Makes perfect sense to us. [Press Gazette]

• Following the news that gay marriage is good for your health, we now get word that marriage bans are bad for us. [UPI]

• In talking about his being a gay role model, Westlife's Mark Freehily says "I don't know that I necessarily like it too much because, knowing me, I would probably say the wrong thing." We say don't stop talking about your sexuality, Mark. It's the only thing that gets the band press these days. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Steamworks, the bathhouse in Chicago, is doing something really incredible in the fight against AIDS. The club, which also operates clubs in San Juan, Toronto, and Berkeley, will begin free genotype testing for any man who tests positive for HIV.

For those who don’t know what genotype testing, read below:

Genotype testing is a process by which doctors can isolate what drugs will work on a specific virus, significantly cutting down on the trial-and-error method of prescribing a suitable treatment that doctors--and more important, HIV patients--would otherwise have to deal with. "It's a snapshot of where your virus is at--where your resistance is--and it eliminates a lot of the guesswork," says Kant. "I want to stress the importance of this. People in a low-income situation can now have this test without having to push and shove and beg and borrow to be able to benefit from this extremely expensive technology."

Not that we’ve been to a sex club or anything (yeah, right) but we’re just a little confused as to how the process will work. Will testing occur before or after checking your clothes? Will the doctors be on hand at 4am? Will the testing be a buzzkill to some of the party boys?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Steamworks [Official Site]
Seven Days in Chicago [New City Chicago]

• Australia's Treasurer says that gays should count their lucky stars the country doesn't criminalize homosexuality. Fortunately for him, being a total idiot is also still legal. [Sydney Morning Herald]

• The FBI has interviewed Morrissey to determine if he might be a threat. He might be if they mean being a talented musician in a world full of droning Simpson sisters. [Towleroad]

• Star Jones is very slow to catch on. She's only now beginning to suspect that her husband might be a big old 'mo. [A Socialite's Life]

• Newsflash! The Golden Girls are gay icons! [AZ Central]

• Yet another reason for New Yorkers to never leave Manhattan. AIDS/HIV cases are increasing in Long Island.[Newsday]

We don’t now how many times we have to start a sentence with “conservatives are up in arms,” but we’re pretty sure this won’t be the last. Conservatives are up in arms over a new curriculum that requires students to learn about homosexuality in health class. These people seriously need to get out more.

School districts around the country are finding opposition to a new health curriculum that includes teaching about homosexuality.

The schools bill it as making the curriculum more modern and expanding diversity education to stave off things like gay-bashing.

But many, like David Parker, the father of a 5-year-old at a Lexington, Mass., elementary school, said he calls it an advance for the "homosexual agenda."

If by ‘homosexual agenda,’ he means learning about gay and lesbian families, then yes it’s part of the agenda. Funny how you never hear about the “retarded people’s agenda,” of which this man is clearly trying to advance. (We apologize in advance to retarded people everywhere, associating you with these people and all.)

Anti-gay proponents focus on schools [Washington Times]

We present yet another reason to feel depressed about not having a date for Valentine’s Day. Everyone knows that married breeders live longer but a new report says so do coupled queers. So does that mean a dateless February 14th is detrimental to your health? Well, probably not as much as a hunting trip with Dick Cheney.

Reports the report:

Gay "marriage" could boost the mental and physical health of homosexuals, doctors believe.

Rates of depression, drug abuse and cancer are higher in the gay community than among heterosexual people.

The report doesn’t reveal if bulging biceps and an ass of steel are also important physical health benefits. But we can't think of much else that would help any queer land a man and, in turn, a walk down the aisle.

Gay marriage 'is good for health' [BBC]

HIV continues to be an overwhelming problem for the gay community and the rest of the world, but researchers at the Center for Disease Prevention have made a possible stride in preventing infection. The test, involving monkeys, continued the trend of using AIDS drugs for prevention.

Dr. Walid Heneine of the Centers for Disease and Prevention studied rhesus monkeys that were injected with a version of Truvada -- Gilead Sciences Inc.'s once-a-day pill that includes its drugs Viread, or tenofovir, and Emtriva, or emtracitibine.

The six monkeys that received the drug combination were all completely protected from infection. By comparison, nine monkeys that took part in a previous experiment all eventually became infected with the SHIV virus.

We have our fingers crossed for this one, but we do wonder if a “morning before” pill would really be all that valuable. Still, any progress is good progress, but we gays need to keep an eye on ethical considerations as well.

Drug combination prevents HIV infection in monkeys [Reuters]

• As if we needed confirmation, there's photographic evidence of the intellectual superiority of homophobes. Oh, wait, did we say "superiority?" [Towleroad]

• It looks as if Madonna will tour this summer. Prepare yourself for a concert stage full of disco balls, pink leotards, and roller skates. And $300 tickets. [Billboard]

• The HRC has come out with its list of "Best Places to Work" for the GLBT community. This is your opportunity to find out if your office truly is tolerant. [HRC]

• It's no AIDS vaccine, but tenofovir PrEp does sound encouraging. Even with that long and unpronounceable name. [NY Times]

• Time magazine has finally discovered an obscure little film called Brokeback Mountain. The movie gets a lengthy profile in its new issue. [Time]

Lesbians are twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as their heterosexual sisters, a new Norwegian study says. 42 percent of lesbians smoke compared with 27 percent of straight women.

"Although there is little Norwegian research on this area, American data indicate the same," Lund told Oslo daily Aftenposten, adding that the tobacco industry specially targeted lesbian and gay men to start smoking.

"The reason lesbian women smoke so much more than heterosexual women has an explanation. Cigarettes are used to cope with stress, a survival strategy," Lund said.

So, is this study for real or just bull? Next time we’re at a dyke bar we’ll keep our eyes peeled for proof. Who knows, maybe lesbians need something to suck on just like the rest of us.

Lesbians puff away [Page One Q]

Gone are the days when two horny strangers enter a bathhouse, towels barely covering their cracks as they gratuitously flirt with one another, and quickly (and heatedly) hop into a private room (or not so private room) for some nasty hanky panky. Actually those days will never truly be gone. But the city of LA wants to change the way things (and in that matter men) are done in its bathhouses.

New sex club rules:

Large signs must be posted at entrances prohibiting unprotected sex on the premises.

Owners are prohibited from admitting anyone clearly under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.

County health officials will begin issuing permits in mid-February.

Bathhouses and sex clubs will be required to set up HIV testing and counseling for at least 20 hours a week by March 1.

A sex club that violates the new rules can be closed in a similar way an errant restaurant or tattoo parlor can.

Counselors at bathhuoses? Just what you need; someone to act like a parent, making us feel guilty for giving that closeted twink you just met a rim job in the locker room.

Then again, you don’t have anything to worry about since you’re practicing safe sex, right? Right.

Supervisors Finalize Stricter Regulation of Gay Bathhouses [LA Times]

The recent increase of false-positive HIV results in the Oral HIV tests offered in clinics all over the country has prompted centers in San Francisco to propose some changes in testing.

Once approved by both the city's Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, the new guidelines will require providers to immediately use a finger prick test on any clients who receive a positive result from the oral test.

So might all of this cause the government to change its mind and not offer oral kits for home use as originally planned? Will they instead introduce finger pricks for home use? The orally fixated fag in us who faints at the sight of blood certainly hopes not.

City to Change Oral HIV Test Procedures [Bay Area Reporter]

The closest we’ve ever gotten to kickboxing is throwing in a DVD of a Jean-Claude Van Damme B-movie and hitting the pause button each time we thought we caught a glimpse of his package underneath his baggy shorts.

The fact that the sport can get you a toned and ripped body like his wasn’t something we thought about much. We just liked to watch.

We’re now thinking of picking up the sport (it's the perfect cardio workout) but we were only able to locate one gay owned and operated kickboxing gym and it just so happens to be in the UK.

One caveat in the gym’s description of the sport pretty much sums up how we handled a guy we dated in college whose bedroom antics were just a tad bit too rough for our tastes:

The focus is not to hit hard and 'damage' other members of the class - aggressive behaviour is not welcome in the school.

Yeah. Good advice.