MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show has been following Uganda’s “kill the gays” bill for weeks and was happy to confirm reports from the U.S. State Department that the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is committed to vetoing the dangerous bill.  The story has resonated amongst LGBT groups in the U.S. as investigations have led to many ties between the bill and social conservative legislators and religious leaders in the U.S.

Following reports that the Ugandan President plans to kill the bill, five GOP congressman have spoken out against the bill.

Joe.My.God. featured Maddow’s update this morning.  Here’s the clip:

Last week, the Philippines Commission on Elections (Comelec) denied a petition by the country’s Ang Ladlad LGBT Party to participate in the 2010 national elections, because “the definition (by Ang Ladlad) of the LGBT sector makes it crystal clear that petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs.”

Ang Ladlad had filed their petition on the grounds that the Philippines’ LGBT community was under-represented in the Congress.  Now, Comelec second division chairman Nicodemus Ferrer has responded to this, according to the Philippine Star, saying that gays are actually over-represented.

Comelec second division chairman Nicodemus Ferrer was defending the poll body’s rejection of the application of gay-rights group Ang Ladlad for party-list representation.

“I have been telling them, you are not under-represented… actually you are over-represented in the Lower House and Upper House,” Ferrer told reporters in an interview. But Ferrer declined to name names.

But he said that by getting elected, gay officials have already proven that members of the third sex can be part of the “mainstream community” and should therefore not be considered marginalized.

In support of his decision, Ferrer reference a Penal Code which condemns “those who shall publicly expound or proclaim doctrines openly contrary to public morals.”

Uruguay has passed a bill that will allow transgender Uruguayans to change all government documents to reflect the name and gender of their choice.  Although it took an official statement that the measure does not constitute a legalization of gay marriage, the bill passed easily. According to the BBC, the bill will have tremendous positive results for the country’s transgender population:

Diego Sempol of the pressure group Ovejas Negras (Black Sheep), told BBC Mundo its approval was a “big step forward for transsexuals” and said it would ease their integration into the education and health systems, as well as the labour market.

“We often find it hard to get jobs, because the way we look doesn’t match our documents. I don’t look at all like the person on my ID, nor does my name reflect my identity”, said Fabricio, who was born a woman.

The new law is one of a series of measures putting Uruguay at the forefront of gay rights legislation.

The move was met with intense criticism from the Roman Catholic Church, which vowed to support candidates who promote “Christian values.”

Guido Westerwelle, leader of Germany’s Free Democratic Party, is slated to become the country’s first openly gay Vice-Chancellor. The FDP finished second in national elections Sunday, but the party formed a coalition with the winning Christian Democratic Union. The UK Telegraph provides a profile of Westerwelle:

The 47-year old from Bonn will become Germany’s first openly homosexual vice-chancellor and could win more than the normal three cabinet positions traditionally reserved for the junior partner in a coalition government.

…

Mr Westerwelle had his official coming-out when he attended Angela Merkel’s 50th birthday party in 2004 with his partner, businessman Michael Mronz, and has said he would like to have a family.

Westerwelle, the first openly gay leader of a major German political party, is often credited with increasing his party’s appeal with younger voters.

A gay Australian politician’s courage in coming out is winning him support for election.  Simon Berger, a member of Australia’s Liberal party who wrote Coming Out as a Conservative Liberal in 2006, is receiving praise and may be nominated to run for the Bradfield seat, which the Sydney Morning Herald characterizes as the “Liberal Party’s safest seat.”

The former Coalition minister Nick Minchin, for whom Mr Berger once worked, has written a reference backing Mr Berger for Bradfield. He says the essay showed eloquence, conviction and courage and was ”testament to Simon’s well-balanced, considered approach to politics”.  He is believed to be favoured by [current seat holder] Dr. Nelson and is considered a front runner, along with Paul Fletcher, Julian Leeser, David Coleman and Sophie York.