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NEW YORK (AP) — Ricky Martin is no longer denying the rumors: He's confirming that he is gay.

In a statement posted via Twitter in both Spanish and English, Martin said: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

For many, Monday's announcement will come as no surprise; the "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer's sexuality has been speculated about for years. But the Puerto Rican star, who got his start as a child in the teen group Menudo, never directly addressed it and was usually seen at events with beautiful women on his arm.

Martin, 38, said he decided to reveal the truth after working on his memoirs helped him realize that he had to be free with himself, and not keep any more secrets.

"From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside," he said. "Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth. And this is something worth celebrating."

Martin said one of the reasons why he kept his homosexuality hidden was because he was told by some that it would hurt his career. While his U.S. career peaked after the release of his 1999 self-titled English album, a multiplatinum success that included the hits "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "Shake Your Bon-Bon," he is still a hugely successful Latin artist.

U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) introduced an amendment this month to help combat the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, but no openly gay member of Congress has signed on.

Hastings called the bill the "Honest and Open Testimony Act" (HR 4180) and said its intent is to enable "honest and open discussion" in Congressional hearings by active-duty LGBT service members "without fear of retribution."

"I realize that this issue is considered controversial," said Hastings, in introducing his bill Dec. 2, "but it should not be ... As Congress prepares to debate the future of ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ with hearings in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, we must ensure that we hear all sides of the issue and especially from active-duty GLBT service members."

Legislation to repeal Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell (DADT) was introduced by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Mass.) in March but is widely expected to be addressed as an amendment to the defense spending authorization bill in early 2010.

Hastings said his "Honest and Open Testimony Act" will help promote the repeal of DADT by addressing a "major barrier to an inclusive, transparent, and complete hearing process -- fear of retribution for testifying honestly and openly about the consequences of ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ in the Armed Forces."

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, speaking on the eve of a major gay-rights march, told gay supporters on Saturday he would fight for their causes and renewed a pledge to end restrictions on their service in the U.S. military.

To a standing ovation at a dinner held by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, Obama said he would "end 'don't ask, don't tell,' That's my commitment to you."

Obama, who was referring to the policy prohibiting openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military, was seeking to shore up his support among gays and lesbians who backed him strongly during last year's presidential campaign.

Many gay activists are frustrated he has not moved more quickly to carry out promises, such as overturning the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from forcing states to recognize gay marriage.

Activists plan to march in Washington on Sunday to urge action on those issues.

At the dinner, Obama acknowledged that work on those issues was "taking longer than you'd like" as the push to overhaul healthcare and dealing with the economic crisis dominate his domestic agenda which many feel have also largely fallen far short of election promises.

But he promised "unwavering" support for broadening the rights of gays and lesbians and said he would not allow the issue to be sidetracked [in the future, at some unknown point].

"Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach," said Obama, who made history as the first African American president and compared the push for gay rights to the struggles in the 1960s to end discrimination against blacks.  People throughout the world stood in awe as America elected a black president, something that would be virtually impossible throughout Europe.

Marijuana activists in the State of California are rushing ahead with pot-legalization measures to be placed on the 2010 ballot, setting the stage for a confrontation with the federal government’s laws criminalizing marijuana.

California already is home to a thriving medical marijuana marketplace with scores of storefront dispensaries, selling pot to customers with a doctor’s prescription.

Marijuana decriminalization advocates sense the time is ripe to push for pot legalization, when the financially beleaguered state is desperate for new sources of tax revenue.

However legalizing pot for casual users on a city-by-city basis in California, would certainly create conflicts with federal law making marijuana illegal. But it’s unclear how far the federal government would go to impede a state law legalizing small amounts of pot for personal use.

Federal agencies tasked with enforcing the law, are only concerned with pursuing large-scale drug trafficking. It’s unlikely the DEA would institute a crackdown of small-time casual users.

Additionally, the Obama administration under Attorney General Eric Holder, called a federal truce on raiding state marijuana dispensaries that were in compliance with state laws, allowing the storefront shops to operate without federal interference.

DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said, “Marijuana is illegal under federal law and DEA will continue to attack large-scale drug trafficking organizations at every level.” And President Obama has made clear he does not support the legalization of marijuana.

But the White House is also is reevaluating its drug policies to emphasize prevention and treatment, rather than incarceration.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday he planned to nominate an openly gay lawyer as the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. If confirmed by the Senate, David Huebner would become the third openly gay ambassador in U.S. history and the first pick by this administration.

In a statement released from the White House, Obama said he looked forward to working with Huebner and is confident he will represent the United States well in the Pacific region.
 

Seattle — Seattle-based Microsoft Corp. has donated $100,000 to the campaign to retain a gay partner law in Washington State, the Seattle Times reported.  The campaign seeking through Referendum 71 to retain the latest expansion of the state's domestic partnership law, up for a public vote on Nov. 3

The group Washington Families Standing Together is lobbying voters to approve Referendum 71, the ballot measure that puts a gay-inclusive domestic partnership law up for a vote in November. If passed, it would extend a 2007 domestic partnership law for a second time, granting gay and lesbian couples all the remaining state-provided rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage. The law has been labeled the "everything but marriage" law by the media.

Microsoft's donation is the largest the group has received to date, the paper reported.

Last week, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution urging voters to approve the referendum.

The anti-gay marriage group Protect Marriage Washington submitted nearly 138,000 signatures on July 25, which placed on hold the gay partner law that was scheduled to begin the following day.

Opponents say the domestic partnership law is unlawful because it violates a 1998 gay marriage ban approved by legislators and deemed constitutional by the state's Supreme Court.

Protect Marriage has raised only a fraction of the money reported by gay rights supporters. Washington Families says it has raised $780,000, while donations to Protect Marriage total $60,000.

A Moscow court on Tuesday ruled against two lesbians seeking to become Russia's first legally married gay couple.

Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko said the Tverskoi District Court upheld a decision by the city's civil registry that said Russian law defined marriage as between a woman and a man.

"We want recognition of our relationship by society and the state. We are a family already, we live together and share household chores," Shipitko said. "We also would like to have children. That is why we want legal recognition of our union."

Nikolai Alexeyev, a longtime Russian gay rights activist who is serving as the women's lawyer, told reporters that they plan to fight the ruling.

"We understand quite well that it is a long road that must be taken before such unions will be recognized. But I have no doubt this recognition will come," he said.

The two women said they planned to fly to Canada later this month to marry and then return to Russia, in a bid to force authorities to recognize the marriage.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in the 1990s, but many Russians are vehemently opposed to expansion of gay rights or gay-rights demonstrations.

Photo:  Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko smile in a court room in Moscow.