HOUSTON: Christian Group To Deliver Signatures On Anti-Trans Referendum

Earlier this year a Houston jury ruled that a petition drive to repeal that city's LGBT rights ordinance had too many invalid signatures to be placed on the ballot. Today the haters will try again.

Another petition drive over Houston's equal rights ordinance, or "HERO," is hitting City Hall Thursday morning. They're delivering 22,000 signatures on petitions to the city secretary's office at 10 a.m. This one calls for a referendum to define sexual identity as whatever was assigned at birth. It would put HERO on the same November ballot as the mayor's race. This new petition is just the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the ordinance, which is a sweeping anti-discrimination measure that triggered a passionate debate about the rights of gay and transgendered citizens. Shortly after it passed, socially conservative clergymen led a petition drive calling for a referendum on repealing it. But the city argued the petitions were fraught with forgeries and other problems that invalidated thousands of signatures.

Openly gay Houston Mayor Annise Parker will be term-limited out of office this fall. (Tipped by JMG reader McSwagg)

DENMARK: Political Gadfly Runs For Prime Minister With Nude Campaign Poster

Via the Local Denmark:

John Erik Wagner wants voters to know two things: 1) he is running for prime minister and 2) he is proud of his penis. He doesn’t stand a chance of winning, but say this for John Erik Wagner: the man’s got balls. Although to be fair, they aren’t on full display along with his penis in election posters that can be spotted all throughout Copenhagen. Wagner is running for prime minister as an independent and has a history of displaying a shall we say unconventional approach to politics. The 52-year-old from the Copenhagen district of Amager has been running in parliamentary, local and regional elections since 2005. Most of that was with little attention but that changed in 2013 when he burst onto the stage in his customary cowboy get-up during a live televised municipal election debate to protest the exclusion of smaller parties.

The uncensored campaign poster is here.

SCOTLAND: Another Secession Bid?

Yesterday's election in Britain may result in another bid for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) obliterated its opponents, taking 56 of Scotland's 59 seats in the Westminster parliament. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats could muster only one seat each. This marked a spectacular gain from the six seats the SNP won in the last United Kingdom election in 2010. But with the Conservatives securing victory across Britain overall to stay in power, a wide divide has opened up between England and Scotland. The results from Thursday's election immediately put the question of another referendum on Scottish independence at the forefront of minds north and south of the border. Scots voted against independence last September but the SNP, which led the drive, has surged in popularity since then and eclipsed the pro-union Labour Party, which has traditionally counted Scotland as a stronghold in Britain-wide elections.

In the September 2014 secession vote, 55% voted no.

LIVE VIDEO: British Election Results

BRITAIN: It's Erection Day!

Via Talking Points Memo: "British Conservative Party candidate James Duddridge has learned the importance of proofreading. The Member of Parliament on Tuesday tweeted a photo of one of his campaign flyers, which contained a massive error. 'It's Erection Day!' the leaflet read in blue, bold letters. The flyer was one crucial letter off, meant to urge conservative voters to turn out on Election Day on May 7." (Tipped by JMG reader Arthur)

UTAH: Openly Gay State Sen. Jim Dabakis To Run For Mayor Of Salt Lake City

"I believe a great mayor needs a big heart! The mayor is the leader of the City. It is the mayor's job to bring people together. Find common ground. Unite the community! A mayor needs to be out of his office. Out in the community - every day. Checking the pulse. Out in the neighborhoods. At the festivals. At the neighborhood barbecues. Sitting down with the Hispanic Community. Invading the west side with attention, jobs, and clean development. The mayor should be equally comfortable at the Utah Pride Festival or sitting at the LDS Conference! The mayor needs to be an active, uniting force, bringing our communities together! I pledge to do that." - Openly gay Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, in a press release announcing his bid for mayor of Salt Lake City.

RELATED: Dabakis, who is the co-founder of Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, married his husband in 2013 on the day that same-sex marriage became legal there. The ceremony was officiated by current Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, a Democrat, who has already announced his plan to run for a third term.

ISRAEL: Netanyahu Declares Victory

CNN says it's still too close to call.

ISRAEL: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Begs Right-Wingers To Vote Because Leftists Are Busing Arabs To Polls

Posted today to Netanyahu's Facebook page.

Netanyahu: Call Me Israel's "Bibi-Sitter"

Via the Times Of Israel:

After coming under fire for violating campaign regulations by using children in a political ad, Benjamin Netanyahu released a new campaign video on Saturday. While still riffing on the ‘children’ theme — and likening his political rivals to unqualified babysitters — the prime minister this time made sure there were no underage performers on-screen. The two Zionist Camp candidates, who are running on a joint Labor-Hatnua ticket, are currently locked in a tight race with Netanyahu’s Likud party, which, according to the most recent polls, currently leads the center-left coalition by a seat. The previous clip, which depicted Netanyahu as a responsible adult in a kindergarten class full of misbehaving children named after the leaders of various political parties, was banned by the Central Elections Committee. The video was nixed for violating campaign regulations barring parties from using children under the age of 15 in ads.