Houston Mayor Annise Parker: We'll Take This To The Voters And We'll Win

"Obviously, I am disappointed and believe the court is in error with this eleventh hour ruling in a case that had already been decided by a judge and jury of citizens. Nonetheless, we will proceed with the steps necessary for City Council to consider the issue. At the same time, we are consulting with our outside counsel on any possible available legal actions. Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance is similar to measures passed by every other major city in the country and by most local corporations. No matter the color of your skin, your age, gender, physical limitations, or sexual orientation, every Houstonian deserves the right to be treated equally. To do otherwise, hurts Houston’s well-known image as a city that is tolerant, accepting, inclusive and embracing of its diversity. Our citizens fully support and understand this and I have never been afraid to take it to the voters. We will win!" - Houston Mayor Annise Parker, via press release.

Quote Of The Day - Brian Sims

(Tipped by JMG reader Brandon)

Quote Of The Day - Daniel O'Donnell

"Ever since I was a boy, I dreamed of being a politician. But when I was imagining it, there were no openly gay politicians to look up to. I didn't think an openly gay person could be elected to public office. I pursued a legal career, not in the hopes of switching to politics, but as an alternative I could enjoy. My husband, John, and I hid our relationship for more than a decade -- not even sharing an apartment for fear of discovery. By the late 1990s, attitudes had shifted enough that I began to entertain a run for office. By 2002, I had been elected as the first openly gay man in the Assembly. Still, it would be almost another decade before marriage equality finally came to our state. [snip] On New York's anniversary, let us rejoice in our partnerships, and then use them to keep fighting for true equality, freedom from workplace discrimination, and rights for the transgender community. As we await the Supreme Court's decision, I'm hopeful that the justices will choose to open doors for the next generation of LGBT youth. I am excited to see what they can achieve when the way is cleared for them. - New York Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, celebrating the state's fourth anniversary of same-sex marriage.

INDIANA: South Bend Mayor Comes Out

"I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am. Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business. But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her. And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community."- Mayor Pete Buttigieg, writing today for the South Bend Tribune.

RELATED: Buttigieg was first elected in 2012 at the age of 30, making him the youngest US mayor of a city with a population over 100,000. In 2014 he left office for seven months to serve in Afghanistan with the US Navy Reserves. (Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

Quote Of The Day - Daniel O'Donnell

"As for many, there is a deeply personal element to this historic victory for me. I am very recognizably Irish-American, from my face to my name, but until these last few weeks, I have often felt that I don’t belong. Last month I was invited to Ireland by the Lawyers for Yes Campaign to help kick off the final weeks of advocacy. As the legislative sponsor of Marriage Equality in New York State, I shared my experience on the fight to achieve equal rights. Irish people from all over the world returned home to vote in this election. I returned to the birthplace of my family to help in any way I could. I feel proud to be Irish in a new way today after the people of Ireland declared that one can be Irish and gay and recognized in loving same-sex relationships. Thank you, Ireland, for voting for another step toward universal human rights for all." - New York Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell, in a letter published today by the New York Times.

LONDON: Gay Businessman Launches 2016 Mayoral Campaign With Animated Video

Via the Guardian:

The Tory-supporting businessman Ivan Massow has launched his bid to become the next mayor of London with a candid YouTube video in which he introduces himself as “gay, ex-alcoholic and dyslexic”. Massow, 47, said the 70-second pop art-style animated video gave an “honest warts-and-all” portrayal of him. Brighton-born Massow has lived in the capital for 25 years and in the 1990s briefly shared a Mayfair home with the now senior Tories Michael Gove and Nicholas Boles. He joined his local Young Conservatives and became chairman aged 14, left school with one O-level, and set up Massow Financial Services, which grew to be valued at more than £20m. He became chairman of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, but was sacked in 2002. A year later, his business venture folded. He has previously said he stopped drinking after an intervention by Joan Collins when he stayed at the actor’s St-Tropez villa.

LUXEMBOURG: Gay PM Gets Married

Via Reuters:

Luxembourg's prime minister on Friday becomes the first serving leader in the European Union to marry someone of the same sex, and only the second worldwide -- and all in a tiny, mostly Catholic country often considered rather conservative. Xavier Bettel, 42, and his civil partner Gauthier Destenay are among the first gay men to exercise their right to wed since the Grand Duchy in January become the latest EU state to extend full rights to same-sex marriages. A lawyer who became mayor of the city of Luxembourg at 38, Bettel has long been open about his sexuality and plays down its significance. He notes that his coalition deputy is also gay. Five years ago, Johanna Sigurdardottir, then the prime minister of Iceland, became the first serving leader in the world to marry a same-sex partner.

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in eleven of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)  Civil unions are legal in eight EU nations: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in nine EU nations: Bulgaria, Cyprus*, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

*A civil unions bill advanced in Cyprus last week.

New York City Council LGBT Caucus Backs Boycott Of Gay Hoteliers

Posted yesterday to the Facebook page for the boycott of hoteliers Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass:

STATEMENT - LGBT CAUCUS - NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

"Owning businesses that cater to the LGBT community comes with a heightened level of responsibility. For the proprietors of the OUTnyc and Fire Island Pines, hosting anti-LGBT politicians like Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson in their home - for whatever reason - was the height of irresponsibility. We hope that the events of the last week send a message to businesses that serve our community: you cannot make money from our community and support those who don't support our basic civil rights."

LGBT Caucus - Council Members Daniel Dromm (Queens), Corey Johnson (Manhattan), Carlos Menchaca (Brooklyn), Rosie Mendez (Manhattan), Ritchie Torres (Bronx), James Van Bramer (Queens)

‪#‎BoycottFIPOut‬

CHICAGO: Gay Aldermen Threaten To Relocate Pride Parade Over Rowdiness

Via the Chicago Tribune:

If the Pride Parade doesn’t clean up its act, 2015 might be the last year it marches through Lakeview, two North Side aldermen are warning. “If there is not a serious improvement in the parade’s impact on surrounding residents' quality of life this year, the next step is to assemble an advisory group to make recommendations for moving the parade out of the Lakeview community,” stated a joint release from Ald. Tom Tunney, Ald. James Cappleman [PHOTO] and the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The 2014 Pride Parade drew hundreds of thousands of attendees, and eight people were arrested for event-related activities, according to the Tribune. One was charged with criminal damage to property for allegedly jumping up and down on top of a Chicago police squad car, denting the roof. Tunney and Cappleman said that this year’s parade, which will be June 28, will be subject to stricter public safety standards, including more enforcement of laws against drinking in public. If those aren’t successful in taming paradegoers’ partying, the aldermen said, the parade could have to move.

The aldermen have not suggested a new location.

Rep. Jared Polis Intros House Bill To Stop Rep. Steve King From Introducing Bills

From the official site of openly gay Rep. Jared Polis:

On the heels of Rep. Steve King’s outrageous announcement Wednesday of his “Restrain the Judges on Marriage Act,” Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02) today proposed the “Restrain Steve King from Legislating Act.” The bill would prevent Steve King from abusing taxpayer dollars by substituting the judgments of the nation’s duly serving judicial branch of government with his own beliefs.

“For too long, Steve King has overstepped his constitutionally nonexistent judicial authority,” Polis said. “Mr. King has perverted the Constitution to create rights to things such as discrimination, bullying, and disparate treatment. These efforts to enshrine these appalling values as constitutional rights were not envisioned by the voters, or by King’s colleagues who must currently try to restrain his attempts to single-handedly rewrite the nation’s founding principles on a bill-by-bill basis.

“I urge the House to bring this bill to the floor. If passed, my bill would preserve the right of millions of voters in all 50 states who would prefer that Steve King refrain from legislating a role for himself in their marriage decisions.”

(Tipped by JMG reader Dustin)

TRAILER: The Runner-Up

Billboard reports:

The political baptism of Clay Aiken will be explored with the premiere of the new docu-series, The Runner-Up, premiering Tuesday night (April 7) on the Esquire Network. From the very first frame, the cameras follow him from his initial days stumping door to door to the nail-biting drama leading to the results of the primary election as the American Idol and Celebrity Apprentice alum campaigns for a North Carolina Congressional seat in 2014. What the cameras did capture was Aiken-a Democrat- unfiltered. He curses like a sailor, micro-manages his staff -- a key example is when he obsesses over the proper way signs are displayed for oncoming traffic -- and says some politically incorrect statements about his Democratic opposition, Keith Crisco, who attacked him in campaign advertisements stating he did not show up for meetings of a presidential committee for people with disabilities. He also takes selfies on the campaign trail with unsuspecting voters who did not even realize he was running for office, records robo-calls with his cell phone, and stews over how publicity for his campaign is being run. All of this -- and the nail biting drama of waiting for primary results -- is captured in four days worth of footage. And that’s just the first episode.

The Esquire Network used to be the Style Network. Find it on your local cable provider here.

Barney Frank To Atheist Politicians: Stay In The Closet About Your Atheism

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.

Barney Frank: LGBT Folks Are Beating Prejudice Because They Stopped Hiding

Former Rep. Barney Frank was on Meet The Press yesterday where he said this:

“Well, I tell you, our reality as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people beat the prejudice. I mean, the central mechanism is that we stopped hiding. And it turns out we weren't what the stereotype was. But clearly, there was a point when the notion that I could get married to Jim while I was still in Congress would've been the most bizarre possibility. I remember the time I got married, someone said, 'Well, would it be controversial if you got married while you were still in Congress?' And the answer was, yes it was. A lot of my colleagues were mad that they didn't get invited. So our reality is that. On the other side, I think the fundamental issue, and it does go back to a Clinton campaign statement, "It's the economy, stupid."”

ALABAMA: Gay Lawmaker Threatens To Reveal Colleagues' Adulterous Affairs

"I will not stand by and allow legislators to talk about ‘family values’ when they have affairs, and I know of many who are and have. I will call our elected officials who want to hide in the closet out. It is pretty well known that we have people in Montgomery who are or have had affairs. I just want them to be careful what they’re saying, some of it might come back to stick on them." - Openly gay Alabama state Rep. Patricia Todd, speaking today to the Montgomery Times-Daily.

IRELAND: Health Minister Comes Out

Via the Irish Times:

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has come out publicly this morning, saying he is a “gay man”. “I am a gay man, it’s not a secret, but not something that everyone would necessarily know but isn’t something I’ve spoken publicly about before,” he told Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio 1. “It’s not something that defines me,”he said. “I’m not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It’s just part of who I am, it doesn’t define me, it is part of my character I suppose”. Across the course of a wide-ranging interview, in which the Dublin West TD discussed his Indian heritage, struggling with an introverted nature and an ambition to leave politics after another 15 years, Mr Varadkar said he wanted to make clear there were no hidden agendas on his behalf going into the same-sex marriage referendum set for May this year. “There’s a referendum on marriage equality coming up too, and I just want to be honest with people. I was thinking about the arguments that I might make, and all the arguments that I was going to make were kind of detached” he said, speaking on his 36th birthday.

(Tipped by JMG reader Chaz)

Magic Mondays With Rep. Mark Pocan

A former professional magician, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has launched a weekly video series in which he uses magic tricks to explain the workings of Congress. Now in his second term, Pocan won Tammy Baldwin's former House seat on the day she was elected to the Senate.

Headline Of The Day

Details. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

NEW JERSEY: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Ban "Gay Panic" Defense

Gay New Jersey Assemblyman Tim Eustace has introduced a bill that would ban the use of the "gay panic" defense.

Under New Jersey law, a defendant can be charged with manslaughter – a lesser charge than murder – if, among other things, the crime “is committed in the heat of passion resulting from a reasonable provocation.” Eustace’s bill states that that a provocation can not be interpreted as reasonable if it is based on “the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the homicide victim’s actual or perceived gender identity or expression,” including “circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, non-forcible romantic or sexual advance toward the actor, or if the victim and actor dated or had a romantic or sexual relationship.”

Earlier this year California became the first state to institute such a ban.

NEW YORK CITY: At The Out 100 Party

Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims and boyfriend Brandon McMullin were among the gay glitterati in attendance at last night's Out 100 party at Stage 48 in Hell's Kitchen. Also seen above are Out 100 honorees Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson with his husband Cheng He, journalist Chris Geidner, Liz Margolies, founder of the National LGBT Cancer Network, and her trans activist husband Scout, director of LGBT Health Link. Orange Is The New Black actress Lea DeLaria hosted and pop singer Mary Lambert was among the performers. I hung out for a bit with NYC Councilman Corey Johnson and Dan Pepitone (above) and caught glimpses of Jason Collins and Zachary Quinto, but didn't get a chance to grab a photo, dammit.