<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?photoid=1799437 <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4642420,prtpage-1.cms> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo.cms?msid=3360035 Chennai City prepares for gay pride march 11 Jun 2009, 0340 hrs IST, Priya M Menon, TNN CHENNAI: Theyre a section thats often invisible in a society that still disapproves of alternative sexual choices and even criminalises homosexuality. But, for the first time, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the city are making their voice heard by celebrating LGBT Pride Month, with a host of events and possibly even a Pride March on June 28. Across the world, June is celebrated as Pride Month to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969, when members of the LGBT community in New York fought against police harassment. The riots marked the start of the gay rights movement in the US and the rest of the world. In India, gay pride celebrations and marches have been held in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in the past, but for Chennai, it will be a first. We are still working out the logistics of the march in Chennai and will be applying to the police for permission in the next few days, says Aniruddhan Vasudevan of Shakti Center, a collective that aims to create public dialogue on gender and sexuality in Chennai. Shiva Kumar of Sangama, a Bangalore-based sexuality minorities rights organisation, who is in charge of organising the march, is optimistic about getting police permission. Many progressive policies have been instituted by the present government for the welfare of transgenders and we hope they will support our efforts, he says. Though people like to believe that Chennai is a conservative city, he pointed out that the TN governments policies had been favourable to transgenders and sexual minorities. Incidentally, Chennai Pride 2009 has already kicked off with events ranging from bharatanatyam performances and book exhibitions to panel discussions. Email: <mailto:modera...@gaybombay.in> modera...@gaybombay.in Web Sites: <http://www.gaybombay.in/> www.gaybombay.in <http://www.gaybombay.info/> www.gaybombay.info <http://www.gayindia.org/> www.gayindia.org E Groups: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gay_bombay> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gay_bombay <http://groups.google.com/group/Gaybombay> http://groups.google.com/group/Gaybombay GB Radio www.gaybombay.in/gbradio Orkut: <http://www.orkut.co.in/Main%23Community.aspx?cmm=22091955 > http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=22091955 Blogs: <http://gaybombay.blogspot.com/> http://gaybombay.blogspot.com <http://gaybombay.wordpress.com/> http://gaybombay.wordpress.com Twitter <http://twitter.com/gaybombay> http://twitter.com/gaybombay
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