Spanish artist Salvador Luna and his partner, Antonio Hernández, have come up against some opposition over their newest show, 1 + 1 = Nous. The ceramicists' commentary on gay marriage had been scheduled to open at Sótano Uno hall this month, but now it may not see the light of day.

The venue in question once counted itself part of a convent. Though it hasn't been used as such in years, one Catholic priest objects to showing a gay-themed show in the once holy space. Calling for an end to the exhibit, Father Gonzalo Martín says:

What [the artists] are saying is that two men kissing makes a family, and this is their opinion, not that of the Church. We are doing no more in objecting than insisting that the Town Hall complies with the terms of the agreement we signed in handing over the convent. It states specifically that no activities are to be allowed to take place there that are contrary to Church teachings.

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There were so many comments this week that we don't even know where to begin with this week's Queerty ReBUTTal. So, rather than offending someone by not picking their comment - they were really all lovely, thank you - we're using this space to feature an electronic exchange between ourselves and a reader.

The topic? Alexis Arquette. We won't give away the details, but we will say the reader blows up Arquette's spot, if you know what we mean...

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American IdolerSanjaya Malakar may have dodged gay rumors, but Spanish Fame Academy graduate Daniel Zueras has taking his hit like a champ. In fact, he's been fueling the fire - in video form, of course.

The video for the singer's first single, "No Quiero Enamorarme (I Don't Want To Fall In Love)", features Zueras getting more than a little friendly with a hetero couple. And all that sexual steam - must be that shower scene - has some YouTube patrons steaming. Typically Spanish reports:

The bisexual and steamy nature of the video for the first single from Daniel Zueras has upset some of the users of YouTube who have flagged the content as inappropriate.

Record company Vale Music posted the video on the site and are keen to change the good boy image of the singer...

Gracias.

While we're on the subject of movies: the government of Catalonia, Spain has granted filmmaker Conrad Son a £10,000 grant to make "women-friendly erotic films". Pink News UK reports:

Officials in the north-eastern Spanish region have deemed the erotic films useful in spreading the Catalan language.

Mr Son told ABC newspaper that as an experienced pornographer, he would be able to keep his films erotic rather than explicit.
...
The films, with titles like Laura is Not Alone and The Memory of Fish, see female characters go on erotic adventures, including lesbian sex.

Spain's left-leaning parliament has passed a law that will allow transsexuals to change their name and gender without undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Basque News reports:

The new legislation requires transsexuals to present an official medical diagnosis stating a clinically proven case of gender dysfunction and to have undergone appropriate treatment for two years before changes in identity documents can be performed.

• Window Media just hired J. Brotherlove as their new blogger. (PS: Congrats!) [SOVO]

• An ancient 41 square mile iceberg fell into the ocean, providing another chilling example of global warming. (PS: We're totally fucked!) [CNN]

• Only 35% of gay kids tell their doctors they're gay. (PS: Do they get a lolly?) [The Advocate]

• A Madrid restaurant's been fined 12,000 euros for refusing to cater a gay wedding reception. (PS: Take that!) [Typically Spanish]

• Korean men are taking on the Ministry of Women and Family over a pledge against prostitutes. (PS: We wish we had such simple problems.) [The Korea Times]

• An illustrated Angelina Jolie wishes you a happy New Year. (PS: She'll cutcha!) [Celebitchy]

The Spanish government may break new ground by providing financial compensation for homos tortured under dictator Francisco Franco's bloody regime. Perceived as a threat to the so-called masculine nationalist movement, thousands of fags got carted off to mental institutes and jails, where they were maimed, tortured and murdered. UK's The Independent reports:

During Franco's homophobic dictatorship, gays were jailed or locked up in sinister mental institutions known as "correction camps". With echoes of the Nazi atrocities against gays, they were given electric shocks in the belief that this would rid them of their homosexual urges. Inmates were forced to watch pornographic films featuring women in an effort to show them a sex life that was deemed "natural" by the conservative authorities.

In an effort to rectify the past, Justice Minister Juan Fernando López Aguilar's considering a special, reconciliatory pension for the men and women who suffered under the tyrant, offering a €800 a month, plus a one-off €12,000 pay-off.

While the move's certainly a big step for the country, does cash money really hold the power to alleviate years of post-traumatic stress disorder? Does it bring back the thousands who died while in jail? Will it quell residual pains, aches and suffering? The answer's undoubtedly "no". Sure, it'll help people get on with their lives in a capitalistic way, but it in no way holds the institutions and people responsible for their deeds, most notably the Catholic Church - one of Franco's closest allies.

What do you think, reader? Should the government's amend the past by throwing dough at victims, or should they save their energies for more constructive purposes, such as investigations and subsequent trials of persons responsible for torture and murder?

• Anti-Gay Spanish Fascists in Madrid are just so gay. [365 Gay]

• Talk about injustice: FOX cancelled the OJ Simpson special. Now we're all going to have read about how he didn't commit murder. (But not the book, that was cancelled, too) [FOX News]

• Twiggy fears her own creation: "terrified" of skinny models. [Daily Mail]

• Pete Doherty may be the biggest fuck-up in history. That or the biggest drug addict, we can't decide. [CNN]

• Star Tribune settled with former BFF GLBT Pride/Twin Cities after refusing to publish their advert. Now they're BFF again. [Editor & Publisher]

• South Africa's health department has amended inflated figures of people receiving HIV-related care. Which is a bit disheartening, of course. [allAfrica]

• GLAAD be damned! Kim Ficera's got some words on the potency of homo-words. [AfterElton]

• The Logo kids ask the biggest question in all the gay land: who is the ultimate diva? We vote for Morrisey. [NewNowNext]

• William Sledd: yet another a gay man who thinks he's the most fashionable thing on the planet. Everyone knows that title belongs to us. [The Daily Reel]

• Dozens of Uganda's most famous songsters are singing to help AIDS victims. (Except, we're assuming, not the gay ones.) [allAfrica]

• Why dye your own roses when you can buy 'em for $6 a pop? Because you're gay, silly, that's why. [Dirt]

• BBC says no to gay dancers, only to backtrack and say they don't. Not surprisingly, people aren't convinced. [UK Gay News]

• Some Spanish activists are none-to-pleased over a dictionary's heterofied definition of marriage. And, you know what, they're gonna spell it out for you. [The Advocate]

• Paris Hilton's butt is so yesterday. Today's all about Stuart Townsend's tush. [!! omg blog !!]

• In California, the State Assembly passes legislation banning discrimination in public schools based on sexual orienation. This measure, of course, is the lesser result of a previous push to also force schools to include notable gay historical figures in textbooks. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could still veto the bill. [SJ Mercury News]

• In Israel, Jerusalem is set to play host to another pride demonstration. After WorldPride's mixed results and controversy, the city's Open House for Pride and Tolerance decided over the weekend it would hold its own gay pride ceremony in the capital. [Free Republic]

• The Democratic National Committee yesterday passed new regulations to increase LGBT representation at its national convention. Starting with the 2008 event, new delegate selection rules will increase the number of gays and lesbians attending the convention. [Gay Wired]

• In Madrid, four mathematicians were awarded with the Fields Medal, which is given away every four years. Grigory Perelman, a recipient of the honor for his work in solving a "key piece" of the infamous Poincaré conjectur, did not want the award. [NYT]

• The case for circumcision: It can cut female-to-male transmission of HIV by 60 percent. "Scientists estimate that over the next 20 years, circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 6 million infections and 3 million deaths." [Slate]

This summer, two men named Alberto will marry each other in Spain. This would be no big news, except they are both privates in Spain's Air Force and it will be the first wedding of its type since same-sex marriage was legalized in Spain last summer.

One of our favorite recent stories was about the two gay Mounties in Canada that will be married soon in Nova Scotia (we love them. Photo evidence here), and now it's happening in Spain, where, according to one of the Albertos, "... there are superior officers who will make life difficult for me, and they are already doing so."

The two men will not be wearing their military uniforms during the ceremony even though they are permitted to, so as not to "antagonize" the military, which is too bad because it would make for lovely wedding photos.

Spain To Have Its First Military Gay Wedding [365 Gay]

Finally a government has realized that a person's gender is not determined by what is between their legs, and may change the law to reflect that reality. The government of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is backing a law that would allow transgender people to legally change their gender documents without undergoing sexual reassignment surgery.

This is the first law of its kind that we have heard about, and we think it is wonderful news, as it reinforces the notion that a person can be one gender while living with the parts of the other gender, and some are perfectly happy doing so without undergoing surgery that can be very expensive and disfiguring. Zapatero also legalized gay marriage in largely Catholic Spain almost immediately after taking office. We love him (and not just because of those sexy blue eyes).

Spanish government backs transsexual law [PinkNews]