After having their applications denied multiple times, lesbian motorcyclists in San Francisco have won approval to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes," says a lawyer for the group. The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office says the phrase could be seen as insulting to lesbians and had rejected applications by the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent to trademark "Dykes on Bikes," reports Reuters

A court has cleared the way for a student to sue an Orange County school district and her principal for telling her mother she is a lesbian, announced the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday. U. S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled that Charlene Nguon, 17, may go forward with her suit against the Garden Grove Unified School District claiming violation of privacy rights, reports The Associated Press.

The highest level court in the United Methodist Church has defrocked a lesbian minister for violating the denomination's ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexual" clergy. A church panel decided in December the Rev. Irene "Beth" Stroud, 35, engaged in practices the church has declared incompatible with Christian teachings. The decision was based on her being in a lesbian partnership.

Sheryl Swoopes of the WNBA's Houston Comets, opens up to ESPN The Magazine about being a lesbian because she's "tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. " Swoopes, honored last month as the WNBA's Most Valuable Player, adds that she didn't always know she was gay and fears that coming out could jeopardize her status as a role model, "Do I think I was born this way? No. And that's probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are. "

The UK is searching for its favorite lesbian or gay novel, with works by Alan Hollinghurst and Sarah Waters among the early picks. The brainchild of Manchester publishing agency Commonworld, the Big Gay Read is open to any lesbian or gay-themed novel in a public vote.