The trumpet player was one of 177 participants, from 26 states, performing with the Lesbian and Gay Band Association -- the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group in history to be invited to march in a presidential inaugural parade.

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Amy Johnson, executive director of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality group OutFront Minnesota, says that in the long run, routine rights that married couples may take for granted amount to all sorts of hidden costs for coupled but not legally married homosexuals.

CNN: Economy enters same-sex marriage debate

In fact, young black gay and bisexual men who are the only group in the black community where new HIV infections are increasing.

WHITEHOUSE: Addressing HIV in the Black Community