Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov may have banned the gay pride parade, but that didn't stop some tenacious activists from make their voice heard. Well, sort of. Since they weren't permitted to march down the street, the gays took a creative approach. And, yes, were met with protest:

Campaigners were too afraid to protest on the street, so a small group instead hung a banner calling for tolerance from an apartment window opposite Mr Luzhkov's offices.

As the four activists unfurled the banner, Orthodox priests on the street below denounced the "moral corruption" of homosexuality.

Their female followers, clutching crucifixes, threw eggs at the banner which was quickly pulled down by angry neighbors – to the cheers of passers-by.

The crowd also cheered - and jeered - when the four activists who hung the banner were arrested. They were later released. There were, however, other arrests and spots of violence:

A police spokesman told AFP 36 people had been arrested at the event at which Russian Orthodox and far-right opponents hurled eggs at gay activists and, in one instance, were seen punching a gay man to the ground.

Those arrested were mainly opponents of the pride event rather than gay activists — suggesting police were keen to minimise trouble rather than strictly enforce the ban.

Meanwhile, earlier , about twenty activists gathered outside the Pyotr Tchaikovsky Conservatory and chanted "No to homophobia." Many people claim the treasured composer was a bit bent, which would not please the nationalists much, we're sure.

Moscow's mayor cares more about Soviet tradition than Democratic progress.

Yury Luzhkov and his cronies today announced that gay rights groups are verboten from marching in this year's May Day celebration, a May 1 celebration of workers dating back to 1886.

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Russia's gay activists know how to plan ahead! Despite official resistance, proud homos have set a date for their annual gay pride event: May 31st. Last year's ended in blood and tears after protesters took out their anti-gay aggressions.

Let's hope things don't turn out so badly this go round.

• A majority of American citizens support same-sex civil unions, according to ABC News, but not all opinions are created evenly:

Overall, 55 percent favor allowing homosexual couples to form legally recognized civil unions, giving them the same rights as married couples in areas such as health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage. That's up from 45 percent in an ABC/Post poll in 2006; the previous high was 51 percent in 2004.
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On civil unions, support peaks among adults under age 30, and tanks among seniors. It's highest in the East and West, notably lower in the Midwest and South. Whites overall are more apt than blacks to support gay civil unions, and the idea wins more support among women (59 percent) than men (51 percent, and 47 percent among married men).

Interesting divide between single and married men, no?

• Reichen strips, fakes orgasm for Dante's Cove.

• Bob Allen jury cruises through park where alleged solicitation took place, one juror dismissed.

• Moscow court comes out against gay pride organizers. Anti-gay parade ban legal.

• Rosie O'Donnell offers more MSNBC explanation, professes love for Keith Olbermann.

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Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov takes shit from no one - not even the Council of Europe.

A Russian newspaper has published a series of letters in which numerous European officials, including secretary general of the council, Terry Davis, asked Luzhkov to compromise with gay pride organizers. In a missive dated January 31, Davis writes:

I am not keen to argue about such a sensitive issue in the media, and I would prefer to be in position to say that the Russian authorities have found a reasonable compromise, which respects the rights and human dignity of all individuals concerned.

A homophobe through and through, Luzhkov ignored Davis and others' pleas. Instead, he asked Russia's Department of Internal Affairs to cock block queer paraders.

Moscow officials, of course, won this battle, banning gay pride and have now found themselves marred in a legal battle. If only Luzhkov had taken Davis' advice.

Quite a quaint scene you see above. Unfortunately, as we all know, it's rare to see such open displays of Russian faggotry.

Russian homophobes certainly aren't shy. They definitely made their presence known during Moscow's bloody gay pride. And they raised more eyebrows when they announced they were going to wash a river to rid it of so-called gay pollutants.

Their park patrols, however, may be the most insidious of their plots against the gays. As we reported, anti-gay youths have been patrolling a local "cruising" area in an effort to reclaim their public space. While on the surface these sentinels may appear to be simply homophobes, NY Times puts the rise of Russian homophobia in a larger context.

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• Beth Ditto and The Gossip got down at Glastonbury. And when we say down, we mean as far down as she could go. Miraculously, her underwear made it further.

• Canadian Anglicans split on gay nuptials:

In a tense vote after nearly two days of debate at the church's synod in Winnipeg, lay and clergy members voted in favour of a motion that would have allowed dioceses in Canada officially to authorise blessings. But the church's bishops voted against the move by 21 votes to 19, meaning that the motion failed, because it needed to be passed by all three groups.

God almighty! Can't they just have a schism and get on with it already?

• Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov may find himself grounded. Human rights activists are protesting his anti-gay ways by asking the international community to restrict him to Russia.

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More anti-gay drama over in Russia. Less than a week after Moscow's bloody gay pride, a massive club called B1 Maximum has organized a so-called "March of the Sexual Majority". This fresh anti-queer crusade echoes Latvia's No Pride's reproductive slant: Via The Moscow Times: "[The march's] poster has the slogan "For the sake of life on Earth!" and shows a cartoon image of a man and woman holding hands, with a white circle marking the woman's womb." Hopefully girl has a ring on her finger, too…

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Meanwhile, in actual news, Moscow's mayor Yury Luzhkov insists that he'll never allow gays to march through his beloved city. You may recall Luzhkov refused to permit last year's march, setting off a legal battle gay rights activists promise to take to the Russian Supreme Court.

In a televised speech, Luzhkov reiterated his stance:

Last year, Moscow came under unprecedented pressure to sanction the gay parade, which can be described in no other way than as satanic… We did not let the parade take place then, and we are not going to allow it in the future.

Not surprisingly, gay organizers have taken offense at the comments.

Moscow Pride organizer Nikolai Alekseev replied to Luzhkov's speech, saying:

We are shocked by the statements of Mr. Luzhkov that “gay pride is a Satanist happening” and consider them as personal insult against the organizers and potential participants of the gay pride. Such words in respect to huge number of homosexual people who live in Russia are not worthy of an official of such high standing.

You're shocked? Really? Why? Luzhkov's made his political and social leanings known, so his vehemence really should come as a surprise. As for being insulted - well, yes, being called a "satanist" ain't the nicest thing, but think of all the other crude things he could have called you. Also, who's to say some of the gays aren't satanists? Sheesh, so narrow-minded…