gay concert

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invited prominent gay activists including Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to its Christmas concert in Salt Lake City over the weekend. lack, software entrepreneur Bruce Bastian, and a handful of Utah gay activists were among the VIP guests at the Saturday concert in Salt Lake City.

A Russian official warned that if Madonna does indeed speak out against an antigay law recently passed in St. Petersburg banning the dissemination of "gay propaganda," she and concert promoters could face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles, or US$16,700.

Britney Spears gave a special shout-out to gay youth who attended her concert in San Francisco Sunday afternoon. The front section of the floor was reserved for a group of teenage LGBT fans from the Larkin Street Youth Center and the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center. Spears called out to them from the stage. "They're in the front row," she said. "Thanks for coming."

A city court in Moscow Friday upheld a decision to ban LGBT pride parades for the next 100 years. The decision affirms a Moscow municipal government ruling banning public gatherings that could be classified as gay pride marches from March 2012 until May 2112.

The response to folk singer Michelle Shocked's antigay tirade at a San Francisco club has been swift: a Change.org petition asking for club- and theater-owners to cancel her shows is gaining traction, with performances canceled from Illinois to Oregon.