Let's start with the bad news, shall we?

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta this weekend revealed that previous HIV infection stats were underreported by 40%.

[CDC] found that 56,300 people became newly infected with H.I.V in 2006, compared with the 40,000 figure the agency has cited as the recent annual incidence of the disease.

The findings confirm that H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, has its greatest effect among gay and bisexual men of all races (53 percent of all new infections) and among African-American men and women.

Bummer.

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Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, took another step toward full equality yesterday:

The Massachusetts state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill granting married same-sex couples equal Medicaid benefits, gay rights group MassEquality reported.

Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to sign the bill, which was passed by the state House on July 15.

The lawmakers' actions defy the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bans legally wed same-sex couples from receiving federally provided benefits such as Medicaid, the "safety-net" health care program administered by the states.

Supporters say Massachusetts can circumvent federal law by using only state dollars to pay for gay couples' benefits.

The move will especially benefit senior citizens, who face eviction and poverty under the current laws, say activists.

Fighting HIV/AIDS ain't cut and dry.

There are countless factors to be considered when combating the epidemic, especially in a continent as complex as Africa - and particularly with regard to homophobia:

The persistent and increasing outbreaks of violence against members of the gay community in Africa are jeopardising efforts undertaken to combat HIV, both within this group and across the population as a whole, Aids activists warned at a recent meeting in Limb, Cameroon.
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According to IGLHRC, 38 of the 53 countries in Africa still consider homosexuality as an offence punishable by sentences ranging in severity up to imprisonment.
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Even when MSM are aware, their exclusion from the majority of health policies on the continent means that it is difficult for them to obtain what they need to protect themselves from infection.

The most frequent problem is access to lubricating gel, explained Monvoisin. “Many [MSM] use butter or oil, but unfortunately this damages condoms.”

Well, they're using condoms - that's a step in the right direction.

Scottish lesbians aren't doing so well.

That is, of course, if you believe a new survey indicating that the nation's lady lovers are facing some uphill mental health battles:

A total of 500 Scottish women took part in the Prescription for Change survey, which was conducted by the charity Stonewall.

It found that 20 per cent of lesbian and bisexual women in Scotland had deliberately harmed themselves in the last year, compared to 0.4 per cent of the general population.

The study also found that five per cent of lesbian and bisexual women have attempted to take their own life in the last year.

The poll also shows that the ladies aren't taking proper physical precautions, like getting tested for cervical cancer and the such. You would think lesbians would like that sort of thing…

The gays have loads of reasons to hate on President George W. Bush.

He and his cronies did, after all, use us for political gain and continue to poo-poo on the idea of same-sex marriage.

Despite all that, however, Bush does deserve some lavender love, says activist David Benkof:

It is unquestionable that George W. Bush has done more to fight HIV/AIDS than any president in American history, including Clinton. The people pushing Bush to fight the epidemic at home and abroad are overwhelmingly conservative Christians — the same people we keep hearing gay leaders tar as narrow-minded and bigoted. Well, those narrow-minded bigots (who never had the president's ear during the Clinton administration) deserve far more credit for relieving suffering from HIV in this decade than gay men and lesbians did in the previous two decades combined.

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