27 Nobel Laureates Join Sir Ian McKellen To Protest Russia ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law

1. Novelist JM Coetzee, geneticist Sir Paul Nurse, chemist Sir Harry Kroto, and 24 other Nobel laureates have called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to repeal the country's "gay propaganda" law. The 27 leaders in science and the arts published an open letter to Putin and the Russian people calling for the repeal of the law. Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Harry came up with the idea--the pair have been chums since their days at school. McKellen signed the letter "Ian McKellen (aka Henry V/Gandalf)." Read the letter in full in The Independent.

2. According to The Washington Blade, there is a mounting campaign to put gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin on a US postage stamp.

3. The New York Times reviewed Against Me!'s Music Hall of Williamsburg performance. The band's new album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, comes out Jan 21 and is the first LP the band released after lead singer Laura Jane Grace began her gender transition. The Times seemed to be out looking for transphobia at the show, but it doesn't seem like they found it. Listen to the album here on NPR.

4. Only a day after the Nigerian President signed a new law that criminalizes same-sex unions and all LGBT organizations in the country, the country's police have already begun rounding up men for just being gay.The Atlantic Wire has the full story.

5. A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

6. Rap duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed "Can't Hold Us" on a New York City bus and the video will make you grin like an idiot. It's glorious. Check out the video below: