Bea Arthur, 86

Legendary stage and television star Bea Arthur died at her home this morning at age 86. Family members say the Tony and Emmy winner had been battling cancer, but no other details are yet available. Below, I've compiled some of my favorite Bea Arthur television moments. Make sure you play the clip with Rock Hudson in which he and Bea sing a song about recreational drugs - they even mention poppers. What a sad, sad day. Even when I was a wee lad, when I first saw Bea Arthur on All In the Family, I somehow knew I was witnessing greatness.

Georgia: DA Considering Charges In Bullied-To-Death Case

The district attorney's office Dekalb County, Georgia is investigating the case of 11 year-old bullying victim Jaheem Herrera to determine if criminal charges can be filed.

DeKalb County DA Gwen Keyes Fleming said she cannot promise that anyone will be prosecuted. "Really what we're trying to get an understanding on what the law is and what the facts are, and see how the two merge and how any kind of criminal activity can be put together from the two -- and right now I can't answer that until we look into it a little bit more," Keyes Fleming said. She said she will need the dates and times of bullying incidents at Jaheem's school -- along with the names of anyone involved. Questions attorneys for the family may be able to answer. "I know it's not a formal investigation yet, but we believe that once she looks into it, in Georgia there are certain laws that call someone to be a mandatory reporter in incidents of crime and we believe that there was at least one crime perpetrated in this bullying incident," said the family's attorney, Gerald Griggs. While criminal liability may be a long shot, civil liability for the little boy's suicide may not be. Especially if the school failed to report any acts of violence against him or others.

I'm not aware of anybody being successfully prosecuted for anti-gay bullying that resulted in a suicide. While the likelihood of that happening in Jaheem's case appears slim (judging by the DA's words), one very likely result of the investigation will be that school administrators around that nation will step up their enforcement of anti-bullying rules. Nothing speaks like potential jail time and the threat of the multi-million dollar judgement. From tragedy, progress.

(Via - Rod 2.0)

Carrie Prejean Is From The Future

This guy kills me. You might remember his hilarious take on the hip-hop expression "no homo", which I posted last year. Jay Smooth is a hip-hop radio DJ here in NYC.

(Tipped by JMG reader Seattle Tony)

Teabagger Busted For Making Terrorist Threats Via Twitter

A tea party protester in Oklahoma has been arrested for making terrorist threats via Twitter.

An Oklahoma City man who announced on Twitter that he would turn an April 15 tax protest into a bloodbath was hit with a federal charge of making interstate threats last week, in what appears to be first criminal prosecution to stem from posts on the microblogging site. Daniel Knight Hayden, 52, was arrested by FBI agents who identified him as the Twitter user CitizenQuasar. In a series of tweets beginning April 11, CitizenQuasar vowed to start a "war" against the government on the steps of the Oklahoma City Capitol building, the site of that city's version of the national "Tea Party" protests promoted by the conservative-leaning Fox News.

"START THE KILLING NOW! I am willing to be the FIRST DEATH!," read a tweet at 8:01 PM that day. "After I am killed on the Capitol Steps, like a REAL man, the rest of you will REMEMBER ME!!!," he added five minutes later. Then: "Send the cops around. I will cut their heads off the heads and throw the[m] on the State Capitol steps." Hayden's MySpace page is a breathtaking gallery of right wing memes about the "New World Order," gun control as Nazi fascism, and Barack Obama's covert use of television hypnosis, among many others.

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog: "Wow, you mean a potential domestic terrorist was associated with gun issue? Funny, but that's exactly what the Homeland Security report said - the one the Republicans and the religious right wanted us to ignore?

Aravosis is referring to an April 14th Homeland Security report that warned of armed extremists within the right-wing movement. The report was widely denounced in the wingnutosphere as evidence of the Obama administration's intent to shut down all opposition and take away guns.

Obama At The Holocaust Museum

Yesterday while speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Museum, President Obama mentioned homophobia in a list of "hatred that degrades its victim." Obama:

"To this day, there are those who insist the Holocaust never happened - who perpetrate every form of intolerance — racism, antisemitism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, and more — hatred that degrades its victim and diminishes us all. Today, and every day we have an opportunity, as well as an obligation to confront these scourges. To fight the impulse to turn the channel when we see images that disturb us, or wrap ourselves in the false comforts that others' sufferings are not our own."

Video here.

(Via JMG reader Simeon and Towleroad)

Denial Of The Year

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster: "I would not describe any section of our site as 'sex related.'"

Wait, what?

In case you haven't been paying attention, less than one month after the Craigslist-related murder of gay ABC newsman George Weber, tabloids have dubbed another customer of the site as the "Craigslist Killer" after being apprehended for murdering a woman who advertised "erotic massage" there. The story has lead the evening news and been front-page fodder here in NYC for several days now.

Connecticut's attorney general says: "Craigslist has the means - and moral obligation - to stop the pimping and prostituting in plain sight. Like any bricks-and-mortar establishment, Craigslist has the responsibility and power to prohibit prostitution, pornography, and inappropriate behavior on its premises."

So. Buyer beware? Really beware? Or do you think the government might be justified in taking a site like Craigslist down in the name of public safety, as some are demanding?

UPDATE: I should have made it clear that I think this is all a bunch of hooey. (Except for Buckmaster's dumbass "no sex on CL" denial.) CL is certainly not the only place to meet potential killers. They're just having a super-bad run of publicity right now.

Advocate Interviews Miss USA Judge Alicia Jacobs On Miss California Flap

As well as expressing support for marriage equality and speaking of her recent participation in a gay wedding, Miss USA judge Alicia Jacobs tells the Advocate that she had to take her blog post about Carrie Prejean down because of the hateful comments she was receiving. In that post, Jacobs implied that Prejean had her breast implants paid for by her openly gay mentor, the head of the California USA pageant.

UPDATE: A script in the Advocate's video player was slowing down our load time. View the clip at their site here.

The New Susan Boyle

Plucked eyebrows, leather jacket, hair de-frizzed. It will be interesting to see how Susan Boyle's fame goes now that she looks like a normal middle-aged woman. Obviously, a huge portion of her skyrocket to internet view count history was driven by her previously dowdy appearance. If she looked like this when she first appeared on Britain's Got Talent, I'd wager we've have never heard of her.

Top Five Nude Beaches

It's a glorious day here in NYC and so it feels right to hip you to the Advocate's just-posted list of the top five nude gay beaches. I've never been one of those "naked people" and I've done a pretty good job of staying out of the sun for the last 20 years, so no, I won't go to Sandy Hook with you. Anyway, it's mildly interesting that the one nude beach I went to many years ago is Advocate's #1.

1. Haulover Beach, Miami
2. Hippie Hollow, Austin
3. Hanlan's Point, Toronto
4. Little Beach, Maui
5. Wreck Beach, Vancouver

The Advocate's story has advice on where to find the 'mos at each of the above.

Tomorrow: Blowoff Brooklyn

Saturday night Blowoff returns to Southpaw in Brooklyn where Manhattan's hirsute will rub furry shoulders with outer-borough homo hipsters. Doors open at 10pm, tickets are $15 advance and at the door. Next month Blowoff makes its Chicago debut on the Saturday night of IML weekend at Metro. Embiggen the image for details. You'll want to make very sure you get advance tickets for this one.

UPDATE: Here's a great new interview with Bob Mould.

HRC Takes On Iraq Abuses

The Human Rights Campaign is lobbying the State Department on behalf of the gay men being murdered and tortured in Iraq. Via HRC Backstory:

Recently, openly-gay Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) travelled to Iraq and witnessed the dire situation of Iraqi’s LGBT community firsthand. He returned to raise his strong concerns with the State Department. The Council for Global Equality, of which HRC is a member organization, has been in communication with the State Department in Washington, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, calling on them to investigate this critical situation and to intervene with the Iraqi government. Our fellow Council member, the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, has also directly called on the Iraqi Minister of Human Rights to take action. Grassroots activists have organized protests in New York and San Francisco.

Last month, the U.S. abandoned the past administration’s opposition and joined a UN resolution supporting the human rights of LGBT people. It is imperative that the State Department now put that commitment into real practice. HRC, working with the Council for Global Equality and our coalition partners, will continue to lobby the State Department to condemn the violence against LGBT people in Iraq and pressure the Iraqi government to end the persecution.

Thousand-Hand Guan Yin

Andrew Sullivan posted this yesterday and I can't stop watching it. All the performers are deaf, making their synchronization to the music even more stunning.

Cornell Student Canned From Leadership Of Christian Group After Coming Out

Upstate in Ithaca, a Cornell student was asked to step down from his leadership role in a campus Christian group after he told them he had accepted his homosexuality. The school's student newspaper suggests that a school-funded group should not be permitted to discriminate.

A campus Christian group that receives funding from the student activity fee is coming under scrutiny after a student was asked by advisors to step down from its leadership team when he told them that he had openly accepted his homosexuality. This incident is also raising questions about the effectiveness of campus mechanisms for addressing instances of discrimination. Chris Donohoe ’09, who joined the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship when he was a freshman, said he had been openly struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith in Chi Alpha before he was asked to step down from the leadership team by Matt and Tracy Herman, the organization’s pastors. The Hermans, both members of Chi Alpha at Missouri State University before graduating in 2002, became Cornell Chi Alpha’s campus pastors in 2006.

The student filed a bias report with the school administration but was told no action could be taken because he was permitted to remain in the Christian group.

Yahoo Pulls Plug On GeoCities

Remember ten years ago when Yahoo! paid $4.6 billion for GeoCities?

A posting on a Yahoo help page for GeoCities on Thursday said the service was no longer accepting new customers and that it will be closing later this year, with more details about how individuals can save their data coming this summer. The move comes a few days after Yahoo said it would lay off nearly 700 workers, or 5 percent of its workforce.

I'm just surprised to learn people still have GeoCities sites.

More On Bullying From Anderson Cooper

I'm quite amazed how much coverage this issue is finally getting. It just sucks that it took the suicides of young boys to get here.

Iowa's State Workers Urged To Refuse To Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

The Iowa Family Policy Center and the Alliance Defense Fund are encouraging Iowa's county recorders to exercise their "right of conscience" and refuse to process marriage license applications from same-sex couples. Former Iowa legislator Ed Fallon has responded by filing ethics charges against state Sen. Merlin Bartz for circulating a petition and creating a website in support of the anti-gay groups.

"It's really important that state lawmakers respect their oath of office and we have really serious questions about whether that's happening in this case," Fallon said. Fallon pointed to public comments Bartz has made urging recorders to refuse to comply with an April 3 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state's ban on gay marriage. Fallon argued that the oath of office lawmakers take requires them to follow the law and urge others to do the same. "We shall obey and encourage people to obey and support the laws of this state," said Fallon. "This clearly seems to be inconsistent with that." Bartz has supported a petition being circulated by the Iowa Family Policy Center, urging county recorders to defy the law. The complaint also questioned whether public money was used to develop and maintain a Web site that Bartz used to promote the petition. Fallon noted that the Web site lists as contacts Republican legislative staffers "who are entirely funded at taxpayer expense."

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is warning workers in county recorders' offices to process the paperwork of gay couples or face the penalty of law. Miller: "If necessary, we will explore legal actions to enforce and implement the court's ruling, working with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health and county attorneys." Iowa begins granting same-sex marriage licenses on Monday. The Alliance Defense Fund is offering free legal defense to any state worker that refuses to comply.

Is Westboro Planning A Jonestown?

Blogger Gossip Boy picked up on a bizarre (even for them) posting on one of Westboro Baptist Church's sites that seems to hint that the sect is planning some kind of mass suicide similar that done by Jim Jones' People's Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. An excerpt from the post:

BECAUSE IT’S ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE…THAT’S WHY DUMMY! We are particularly urgent about it, because the time is shortly to come when we will grant you your wicked wish, Doomed america! Let us see how that is shortly now to play out, my angry little sodomite-loving friends. It’s about time for us to leave this place. When we’re done, we will leave your filthy land and be placed safely out of the reach of the horror that will then land upon you swiftly and certainly – in one hour. We pray it to be any day now, for the promises of our God are sure and certain. We finished our job in Napa County – one of the few we have left – and then went to tell the Saints of our God-blessed exploits and our joy.

We gotta go, peeps! We gotta go! And when we do, it’s time for this filthy nation to receive of all the plagues that your Creator has promised. The reason there is such urgency in those words … such passion in the irresistible call from our Saviour, Husband, and Friend … is because when that time comes for this rebellious nation – which is spiritually called Babylon and has become literally Babylon by the inexplicable and forcible snatching of that Mesopotamian land where ancient Babylon sat – it is going to be very fast and very violent, such that all mankind is utterly and simply amazed. Check out the words, fools … it’s all about the words!

Gossip Boy:

Westboro recently lost a massive lawsuit and are bordering on bankruptcy. Their protests have resulted in a backlash from parties well beyond gays and lesbians. Their dynamic leader Fred Phelps is in bad health and some claim near death. Now they want to end their mission and go be with God. When a cult like this starts talking about the end, then it’s time to move in and get the children out.

This could be their usual bullshit, it could be some plan to pack up for a foreign country (who would have them?), or it could be some bizarre mass suicide pact. Who can tell with these nutters? Personally, I'd like to keep them around because every time they leave the house, they drag thousands more to our side. I know some of you will feel compelled to say, "Good, I hope they do off themselves!", but as Gossip Boy points out, remember that much of their flock consists of brainwashed kids.

(Tipped by JMG reader AML)

NH Committee Kills Marriage Bill

The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 yesterday to recommend that a marriage equality bill not move forward to the full Senate for a vote.

Chairwoman Deborah Reynolds, a Democrat, said she doesn't think New Hampshire is ready for gay marriage. Republicans who voted against it said marriage is an institution created and defined by God as between one man and one woman. Two years ago, the Legislature approved, and Gov. John Lynch signed, civil unions for gays, which provide all the rights of marriage, except in name. Lynch has not said specifically whether he would veto the gay marriage bill.

Now what?

Carl Walker-Hoover's Mother On Ellen

The mother of "bullied to death" 11 year-old Carl Walker-Hoover appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show to demand an end to school bullying.

Alabama House Approves Resolution Honoring Miss California

Yesterday the Alabama House of Representatives approved a resolution "honoring" Miss California USA Carrie Prejean for speaking out against gay marriage. The House approved the resolution by Rep. Jay Love by a general voice vote. The comments on the Birmingham News' coverage are generally scornful of Love's move.

Michael Rappaport Pays Gay Alimony

When your ex-wife can't marry her girlfriend, you have to keep paying that alimony.

Other Contestants Disagree With Miss CA

Miss USA contestants from states where same-sex marriage is legal are speaking out.

Miss Vermont: "Everyone has a right to their own actions. But I totally disagree with Carrie. I have a very different perspective on gay marriage and I would have never said what she said."

Miss Connecticut: "In general, when you're answering a question like that, you have to be politically correct about it. I would've answered differently to help accommodate all beliefs. It's a decision between two individuals, and not just a man and a woman."

Miss Massachusetts: "It's really hard to think that people still think that way. But at the same time, there's a lot of girls in pageants who wear their religion on their sleeve. If that's what she thinks, I give her credit for expressing that, but that's not how I feel. If two people are in a loving relationship, regardless of their sexual orientation, I think they should have equal rights."

Miss Iowa: "Being from Iowa, I'm proud to say that our state has interpreted the Constitution to say that gays have the right to marry."

And the overlooked winner of the pageant, Miss USA Kristen Dalton, sort of punts on the question: "In short, I would say everyone should be able to enter into a civil union, where they're legally recognized as a couple and earn the same rights as a married couple. I'm not going to say whether or not I think it should be defined as marriage because that's up to our politicans and our elected officials."

Fort Lauderdale Opens Nation's Largest LGBT Circulating Library

Today the Stonewall Library and Archives had its official opening in Fort Lauderdale. Via press release:

Stonewall Library & Archives (SLA), the largest independent circulating library of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) materials in the US, officially opened its new facility in downtown Fort Lauderdale today with a cadre of city and county elected officials and dignitaries on hand. Easily moving past its onetime designation as a “controversial” gay library, SLA was presented with proclamations from both the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. "Today, we’re setting Stonewall Library & Archives on a national course,” said executive director Jack Rutland. “We’re a lending library, a cultural center, an art gallery and museum, a research facility, and a place for everyone in the community to learn about our past and chart our future. Stonewall Library sits in Fort Lauderdale, but our impact is felt on the national stage.”

Father Tony attended a pre-opening party at the library last night and found it "amazing!"

Bullied To Death

Today the Boston Globe published an editorial titled Bullied To Death in which the paper decries anti-gay bullying and points out how much worse the situation can be for children in the inner-cities.

Relentless bullying, including anti-gay slurs, by students at the New Leadership Charter School in Springfield pushed sixth-grader Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover to take his own life, according to his mother. The quality of interventions by school officials is unclear. But an act so desperate by one so young is a clear reminder of how schools can become torture chambers for students perceived as different.

Massachusetts led the nation in 1993 by crafting an anti-discrimination law for gay and lesbian students. But the law is only as effective as the educators who implement it. And the stakes can be higher in poor, urban districts like Springfield, where nonconformity too often draws aggressive attention. Teachers or administrators who ignore even a single degrading comment in that environment can open the door to a world of pain.

Gay blogger Rod McCullom: "Bullying is much more intense in poor, urban school districts because this is where children (and their "parents") are taught to glorify "thug" culture. So it becomes unfortunately all-too-common in the black community to taunt and harass boys and young men who do not act like thugs. How many more children have to be bullied to death until we learn this wrong?"

Hate Crimes Bill Passes Committee

Despite attempts by Republican legislators to add unborn children, pregnant women, and members of the military to the protected classes, today the House Judiciary Committee narrowly approved the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act* by a vote of 15-12. GOP reps also attempted but failed to strip gender identity protections from the act. The bill will go the full house for a vote as soon as next week.

*Formerly known as the Matthew Shepard Act.

PhoboQuotable - Timothy Dolan

"We believe that human beings are hard-wired with a sense of right and wrong. It's sort of in our DNA. And there are certain things that deep down we just know, because nature, and nature's God has implanted that sense within us. That's what philosophers, not even Catholic ones, like Aristotle, call natural law. There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA...Hard-wired into us is a dictionary, and the dictionary defines marriage as between one man, one woman for life, please God, leading to the procreation of human life. And if we begin to tamper with the very definition of marriage, then we're going to be in big trouble. We're not anti-gay -- we're pro the most basic definition of marriage." - New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan speaking to the New York Post.

Kinda funny that Dolan cites the known-to-be-a-'mo Aristotle, innit?

Report: Masters & Johnson Faked Their "Gay Conversion" Study

The religious right loves to cite a famous claim made by noted sex researchers Masters and Johnson that they had "successfully converted 70%" of their gay patients to heterosexuality. However Scientific American is now reporting that assistants who worked with the duo back in the 70's never saw any evidence of the research and believe that Masters made up the work.

When the clinic's top associate, Robert Kolodny, asked to see the files and to hear the tape-recordings of these "storybook" cases, Masters refused to show them to him. Kolodny—who had never seen any conversion cases himself—began to suspect some, if not all, of the conversion cases were not entirely true. When he pressed Masters, it became ever clearer to him that these were at best composite case studies made into single ideal narratives, and at worst they were fabricated. Eventually Kolodny approached Virginia Johnson privately to express his alarm. She, too, held similar suspicions about Masters' conversion theory, though publicly she supported him. The prospect of public embarrassment, of being exposed as a fraud, greatly upset Johnson, a self-educated therapist who didn't have a college degree and depended largely on her husband's medical expertise.

A last minute attempt was made to remove the fraudulent chapter from the duo's now-famous book, but it was too late.

RELATED: The New York Times is covering the story today.

(Tipped by JMG reader Richard)

Equality California Invites Miss CA USA Carrie Prejean To Meet LGBT Students

Equality California wants Carrie Prejean to understand the power homophobia has to hurt LGBT youth, especially in light of two recent suicides caused by anti-gay bullying. EQCA has invited Prejean to meet gay leaders and LGBT youth.

Equality California (EQCA) has invited Miss California Carrie Prejean to meet with leaders from her home state lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations, LGBT students and a family headed by a same-sex couple to start a dialogue about who LGBT people are and the harm that is caused by denying LGBT community members equality. "Miss California probably doesn't realize how hurtful her statements are, especially to LGBT youth," Kors said. "But this is about something much bigger than the issue of marriage alone, and I have to believe that if she meets us, she will come to see our humanity, and at the very least, I hope she will understand that what she says as Miss California can either hurt people or bring them together."

Read their letter to Prejean here. (PDF)

Routine

Walgreens, Second Avenue, 8:30am....

Little Old Lady: Is this on sale?
Clerk: No, next in line please.
Little Old Lady: Do you know when it goes on sale?
Clerk: No, next in line please.
Little Old Lady: You're not very helpful.
Clerk: Sorry, next in line please.
Little Old Lady: Fuck you.
Clerk: OK, next in line please.

Shepard Smith Live: "We Are America! We Do NOT Fucking Torture!"

The Million Man Armed Militia March

If you thought the teabaggers were scary and paranoid, how about a "Million Man Armed Militia March" on Washington DC, supposedly set for July? Here's a partial transcript from a YouTube video promoting the event.The clip was taken private last night.

A peaceful demonstration of at least a million — hey, if we can get 10 million, even better — but at least one million armed militia men marching on Washington. A peaceful demonstration. No shooting, no one gets hurt. Just a demonstration. The only difference from any typical demonstration is we will all be armed.

One million armed wingnuts marching on DC. What could possibly go wrong?

Poll: New Jersey Supports Marriage

A new poll shows that New Jersey voters support marriage equality by a 49-43 margin. New Jersey presently allows civil unions, but the legislature will likely be voting on a marriage upgrade this summer. Who will beat NJ to being state #5?

The Auto-Tuned News

Strangely fantastic. Love the bit with Katie Couric.

You may recall a similar clip about Sarah Palin that I posted last year. That one is still in my favorites file.

Connecticut Legislature Codifies Marriage Equality, Grants Religious Exemptions

Yesterday both chambers of the Connecticut legislature overwhelming approved a bill codifying the approval of same-sex marriage by the state Supreme Court (in other words, creating the legal codes to support the ruling.)

Although the bill passed easily, there were three hours of "heated debate" as Christianist groups like the Family Institute of Connecticut tried to insert a "conscientious objector" amendment which would have allowed any business to deny services to a gay wedding party.

Lawmakers endorsed an amendment that allows religious organizations, associations and societies to effectively opt out of the requirements of the law. That means that a group such as the Knights of Columbus would not be required to rent out its function halls for same-sex wedding receptions. Nor would a Catholic priest be obligated to preside over such a union. But both the House and Senate emphatically rejected expanding that circle of exemptions to include individuals and businesses such as florists and justices of the peace. To do so, they said, would be akin to enshrining discrimination in state statute.

When all was done, this is how one legislator summed up the day: "This is probably the last time these issues will ever be discussed in the state legislature."

AC360: Signorile On Miss California

At The Maine Marriage Hearing

Gone: Anoop Desai & Lil Rounds

Not very surprising, other than the abrupt fashion in which Lil was booted at the beginning of the show. Oh, and if you haven't been able to log onto Facebook tonight, it probably melted down from all the digital acid thrown at disco oldsters Freda Payne and Harry Wayne Casey. Yowtch! Y'all know that KC is family, right?

Open Thread Thursday

How is the recession affecting you personally?

Paterson Backs Off On Call For Immediate Marriage Equality Vote

Just a few days after his press conference calling for an immediate vote on his marriage equality bill, New York Gov. David Paterson now says he'll defer to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith as to when to bring the bill to the floor.

Sen. Malcolm Smith of Queens backs the measure but wants to first secure the 32 votes needed necessary, and he has been missing a few. Announcing his support last week, Paterson urged putting it on the floor of the Legislature for debate despite an uncertain vote. Talking to reporters again Wednesday, Paterson said he won't tell Smith what to do. "On this particular bill, there are a lot of other issues related to it," Paterson said. "Senator Smith knows the inertia of the Senate better than anyone else. I'll stick with his judgment."

Some LGBT activists had opposed Paterson's plan for an immediate vote. Openly gay state Sen. Thomas Duane claimed last week that he had secured the necessary Republican support to pass the bill, but declined to identify the Senators in question.

Killer Of Transwoman Angie Zapata Found Guilty By Colorado Jury

Allen Andrade was today found guilty of the July 2008 murder of transwoman Angie Zapata, whom Andrade beat to death with a fire extinguisher after learning Zapata's birth gender. When arrested, he told police he had killed "it".

After two hours of deliberation, a Weld District Court jury found Allen Andrade guilty of the first-degree murder of Angie Zapata, guilty of a hate crime and guilty of car and identity theft. Andrade, 32, of Thornton was on trial for the beating death of Zapata, 18, last summer. The pair met through a social networking Web site, and planned a meeting days later. Andrade came to Greeley and stayed with Zapata for two days, ending with Zapata's death. Attorneys say Andrade beat Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher. Andrade confessed to beating her not only once, but a second time, after Zapata had woken up from the first beating, according to police affidavits.

Andrade's attorneys attempted a "trans panic" defense, but prosecutors proved that he know of Zapata's birth gender at least 36 hours before the murder.

RELATED: Pam's House Blend blogger Autumn Sandeen has been covering the trial in person. Check out her excellent work.

PhoboQuotable - Matt Barber

"If H.R. 1913 becomes law, actual violence or injury need not take place for a “hate crime” to occur. For example, if a group of Christians are at a 'gay pride' parade and a one of them gently places his hand on a homosexual’s shoulder and shares that there is freedom from homosexuality through a relationship with Jesus Christ, then, voila, we have a battery and, consequently, a felony “hate crime.”

"But the Christian needn’t even touch the homosexual. If the homosexual merely claims he was subjectively placed in 'apprehension of bodily injury' by the Christian’s words then, again, the Christian can be thrown in prison for a felony “hate crime.” The FBI has included mere words – “insults” and “intimidation” – in calculating “hate crimes” statistics and – under the current political regime in Washington – there’s every reason to believe they’ll subjectively consider “insults” and “intimidation” (read: traditional sexual morality) for purposes of prosecuting “hate crimes.”

"Yes, it’s a brave new world and with H.R. 1913 – among other things – a once free America has moved, both literally and figuratively, a quarter of a century beyond Orwell’s 1984." - Liberty Counsel spokesdouche Matt Barber writing about the hate crimes legislation currently before Congress. Barber contends that most hate crimes against gays are either fabricated or were crimes unrelated to the victims' homosexuality.

Fighting The Lies About Religious Freedom

Via the Empire State Pride Agenda:

One of the most dominant myths used by forces opposed to marriage equality is that allowing same-sex couples to marry would somehow negatively affect religious institutions or apply restrictions to their freedom to worship as they choose. Although this myth is patently false, that has not stopped some opponents from using the claim to lead people to believe their religious freedom is in danger. Fortunately, in New York, we do not need to speculate on how religious institutions, spiritual life and the freedom to worship will be affected if the state passes a law allowing same-sex couples to marry. New York needs only to look to our neighbor to the east, Massachusetts — where marriages for same-sex couples have been legal since 2004 — to see that the worries about such a law negatively impacting people of faith have been unfounded.

This Is Not A Parody

"Love Not Laws aspires to show that Margaret Mead was correct when she said 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.'"

(Via - Towleroad)

Preserving Marriage Equality In Iowa

Anti-gay haters in Iowa are trying every trick in the book to overturn marriage equality. Here's how One Iowa is responding. Contribute to keeping this ad on Iowa's airwaves here.

Another Judge Speaks

Another judge in the Miss USA pageant, former Miss USA Alicia Jacobs, has blogged her reaction to the debacle. And ooh, she throws some shade.

The beginning of Prejean's answer was ok...but, she made the mistake of not knowing when to shut her mouth. As she continued to speak, I saw the crown move further & further away from her. When she finished, she looked strangely proud for a moment. Personally, I was STUNNED on several levels. First, how could this young woman NOT know her audience and judges? Let's not forget that the person asking the question is an openly gay man, at least 2 people on the judges panel are openly gay. Another judge has a sister in a gay marriage. Her very own state pageant director, KEITH LEWIS is an openly gay man who has been a very generous benefactor of hers...in many ways. Did I mention I was STUNNED?

I was also personally insulted & hurt. Prejean's words hit very close to home for me. Some of the most important people in my life, happen to be gay. A few months ago, on November 1, 2008, I was maid of honor at the wedding of my very dear friends, Robert Aganza & Jorge' Rodriguez. I flashed back to that beautiful wedding ceremony, where everyone in the room was crying tears of joy & love. How can she be saying this, is all I could think in that moment. Remembering that we were on live television, I actually recall having to close my wide-opened mouth, I then looked over to Perez, who was seated right next to me, he was just shaking his head, he actually seemed a bit hurt? Then came the very loud booing in the theatre, followed by "a word from our sponsors."

Jacobs has apparently thought better of the line I bolded above. Here's how it initially appeared as reported in the Los Angeles Times: "KEITH LEWIS is an openly gay man who has been a very generous benefactor of hers...in many ways. (2 ways in particular....if you get my drift??)"

"2 ways in particular." Bwa ha ha.

Authorities Intervene At Home Of 12 Year-Old "Ex-Gay" YouTuber

Edge Boston is reporting that local authorities have visited the home of ChristianU2uber, the 12 year-old boy who came out as "ex-gay" on YouTube and became the hero of the Christianist right after suffering hundreds of vicious comments.

[C]oncern voiced at Internet news resources, blogs, and forums for Scott’s well-being seem to have had a result. EDGE received an email from Sgt. Chris Meehan of Texas’ Collin County, which includes suburban Dallas. Sgt. Meehan, who is attached to an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, told EDGE, "I have been working on several cybertips reports that have been received regarding Christianu2uber. "Several news publications were referenced on this, including your recent article," Sgt. Meehan added. "I wanted to update you that we have located this 12 year old, and spoke to him and his parents about this situation," Sgt. Meehan wrote. "I know many readers expressed concern for his well-being and safety. He has decided to delete his youtube [sic] site and videos, and we will provide him counseling and assistance to get through this situation."

Several LGBT blogs, including this one, voiced concern about the child's well-being and the appropriateness of his parents allowing him a YouTube account. It's great to see him getting the proper help.

Second Cativersary

Two years ago today I brought Shelley home from the East Harlem ASPCA. She was 18 months old, very undersized, timid, and FIV+. She's still not very talkative, but has put on five pounds and spends most of her waking time demanding attention or patrolling the windows to make sure that the elderly German shepherd across the alley doesn't learn how to climb our fire escape. The above is her "wake up and make me breakfast" look.

The Story That Won't Die

It is killing me that of all people, Perez Hilton is now a marriage equality talking head. That said, he actually does OK against wingnut radio host Dennis Prager. In the clip on the right, Sean Hannity fawns and drools over Miss California.

Rainbows Are Gay Is OK

Another one for the ACLU win column. Remember the Arizona kid who wasn't allowed to wear a rainbow wristband to school?

Peoria Unified School District is now allowing a gay 14-year-old student to wear a rainbow wristband at school following demands from the American Civil Liberties Union. Eighth grader Chris Quintanilla wore a rainbow wristband with the words "Rainbows are gay" to Parkridge Elementary School in March. Natali Quintanilla, the boy's mother, said the principal called her and told her he would not allow Chris to wear the wristband. Quintanilla contacted the ACLU following the incident; the union wrote a letter to the district demanding it rescind its ban on the wristband, saying the ban was a First Amendment violation.

(Tipped by JMG reader Richard)

And Yet The Enzyte Ads Continue

Kellogg's has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for false advertising practices related to its claim that kids who eat Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast have a 20% increased attention span over kids who skip breakfast. Because they don't. Not even close.

Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer-advocacy group based in Washington, said grocery store aisles have become "a minefield of misleading information." He said he hopes the FTC's announcement signals that the government "will no longer tolerate misleading health claims in food advertising." While smaller companies have made exaggerated health claims, "it's truly disappointing to see a major company like Kellogg's stoop to that level," Silverglade said.

Kellogg's will stop the ads but admits no wrong-doing. Oh, their potential fine? $16K. That'll learn 'em. (I'm still pissed at Kellogg's for dropping Michael Phelps.)

New York Just Isn't That Into You

This is an artist's reimagining of NYC's subway map. The work is from a 2000 show, but is making the rounds of Gotham's blogs this week.

Maine Marriage Hearing Live Stream

Maine's marriage equality hearing is about to begin at the Augusta Civic Center. Watch the live stream of the proceedings here. Our supporters are wearing red.

UPDATE: Things appear to have gone well for our side!

A public hearing on the Maine Legislature’s gay marriage proposal has opened with a standing ovation for the bill’s sponsor. Sen. Dennis Damon received a roar of approval at Wednesday’s hearing when he said the time has come to recognize same-sex marriages in Maine. He said his proposal — backed by 60 co-sponsors — "recognizes the worth of every man and woman among us." Gay rights activists have set a goal of establishing gay marriage in all six New England states by 2012, and they’re already halfway there.

In other good news, Maine Gov. John Baldacci now says he is "keeping an open mind" on the bill.

Susan Boyle's Competition

Can Miss California Sue?

A Fox News "legal analyst" claims that Miss California Carrie Prejean has a case for religious discrimination and should sue the Miss USA pageant.

Prejean fielded a question during Sunday night's pageant from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton about whether every state should legalize same-sex marriage. Prejean replied that she is opposed to gay marriage, and her answer may have cost her the crown. She finished second to Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton. "She lost it because of that question," Hilton said Monday. "She was definitely the front-runner before that." Hilton, who is gay, said he gave Prejean a zero for her answer, and that may have made the difference in the outcome. Prejean, who attends San Diego Christian College, said she saw the question as a test of her faith — a religious trial that could have her finishing in the money, if she decides to sue. Any contestant in the pageant would be upset over losing, but it's the special circumstances surrounding Prejean's close call that would give her grounds to sue, Colwin said. "It's her religious beliefs which prompted her to say 'I don't believe in same-sex marriages.' So she was espousing her beliefs," and could sue for a violation of Title VII, which forbids discrimination on the basis of religion.

Not everyone agrees.

But other legal experts say the suit would be dismissed as frivolous because there was no government involvement in the contest and no violation of rights in that private enterprise. "The First Amendment insulates interference with religion from the government — it does not insulate religious interference with anyone else," said Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior legal analyst for FOX News. "I don't think the litigation would get to first base." If anything, Napolitano added, Prejean "has a cause of action against 'The Donald' — against the people who run this thing" for choosing biased judges. A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, which co-owns the Miss USA pageant, directed questions to a spokeswoman for the Miss USA pageant, who declined to comment

The "analyst" also says that Prejean could sue for "psychic injury." Wait, what?

That Ball Is Outta Here

Call me a bad New Yorker, but I find it a little giggle-worthy that the brand new fancy-schmancy Yankee Stadium, which was built with tax-exempt city bonds at a cost of $1.5B, is poised to be a record-setting home run factory. This, despite "expert" wind evaluations that promised the new field would be no more batter-friendly than the old one. At the current rate, the new stadium will see 400 homers this season versus 160 last year at the old field. How many millions did the Yankees just spend to hire hotshot pitchers? FAIL.

Louisiana Couple Files Federal Suit Over Denial Of Marriage License

A gay couple in New Orleans is asking a federal judge to overturn that state's ban on same-sex marriage after being denied a marriage license.

Kristoffer Bonilla, 33, and John Thomas Wray, 18, are asking a federal judge to strike down the constitutional amendment, which lawmakers and voters overwhelmingly approved in 2004. The men filed the lawsuit against several state and local officials on April 2, the same day they said they were denied a marriage license. It claims the state's marriage amendment violates the First Amendment "by curtailing the right to marry based upon a religious interpretation of the nature and purpose of marriage itself." "By failing to articulate a legitimate, compelling and secular interest for the restriction on marriage, the state has necessarily established a wholly religious civil institution," it says.

In 2005 the Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage after a lower court struck it down because the amendment violated a rule that requires that constitutional changes cover only one subject. So far no national LGBT rights group has commented on this lawsuit.

Adam Lambert - If I Can't Have You

Tonight was disco night on American Idol and out of seven performances we got three Donna Summer songs (Hot Stuff, Dim All The Lights, She Works Hard For The Money) and two Bee Gees songs (Stayin' Alive and If I Can't Have You). Because that's all there was to disco. Feh. Anyway, Adam blew everybody away, as usual, although Kris' slowed-down take on She Works Hard was quite good. This video will likely have a short life on YouTube.

Trivia: If I Can't Have You was the B-side of Stayin' Alive! True story!

Rising Hope: NY GOP Legislators To "Vote Conscience" On Marriage Bill

The Advocate is reporting that the Log Cabin Republicans have engineered an agreement with New York's GOP that will allow legislators to "vote their conscience" on Gov. Paterson's marriage equality bill rather than be pressured by their party to vote against it.

The development could be particularly important in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim 32-30 majority, four Democrats have already said they would vote against the marriage bill, and equality advocates will need to pick up a handful of GOP votes, give or take, in order to pass the legislation. Strategists expect the legislation to sail through the Assembly which already passed the very same bill in 2007, 85 to 61. Jeff Cook, legislative advisor for the Log Cabin Republicans, said the decision stood in stark contrast to the tack taken in 2007 when Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco and the GOP leadership pressured Assembly Republicans to vote against marriage equality. "We were successful in that environment in getting four Republicans to vote 'yes,' making it the first bipartisan vote on marriage in a legislative chamber," Cook said. "But we would have probably done better is there was a 'vote of conscience.'"

The LCR is calling this move an "important turning point" in the battle.

I must grudgingly admit that the LCR has been churning out some surprisingly positive work over the last week, first generating very pro-gay statements from Meghan McCain and former New Jersey governor Christine Whitman, and now this.

Judy Shepard Calls For Hate Crimes Law

Broadway Beauty Pageant 2009

Last night my loyal companion Aaron accompanied me to the third annual Broadway Beauty Pageant where five male Broadway stars competed in the categories of talent, swimsuit, and question & answer. Emceed by four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh and celebrity judged by Seth Rudetsky, SNL's Ana Gastayer, Tony winner Beth Leavel, and playwright Charles Busch, the evening was a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center, NYC's homeless shelter for LGBT youth.

And what a night it was! Symphony Space was packed to the rafters with Gotham's gay glitterati who were treated to a top-notch production featuring some of the greatest talents Broadway offers. The five contestants were drop-dead amazing, the judges were hilarious, and Tovah Feldshuh was in prime form. My personal highlight was chatting with Beth Leavel, whose performance in The Drowsy Chaperone played a huge part in bringing me back to that show four times (the only Broadway show I've seen more than once, in fact.)

Like American Idol, the audience chose the winner - a tough call for most us, I'm sure - but it was Hair's Anthony Hollock who brought down the house with his combination trumpet solo/tumbling pass/Irene Cara impersonation. Mr. Broadway 2008 (Xanadu) Marty Thomas closed the show with a hilarious/serious take on I Will Always Love You and then it was downstairs to the after party. Fantastic night, great cause, fabulous show. Congratulations to Ali Forney Center executive director Carl Siciliano and Broadway Beauty Pageant creator Jeffrey Self. I love my people.

Full size versions of these photos can be found here.

Bad News Antidote

Possibly NSFW. No peen, plenty of butt.

On Fark

The best part about "news of the weird" site Fark.com is the headlines. Example: "Dog named Porterhouse wins the 2009 Beautiful Bulldog pageant, beating out another dog who made some unfortunate comments about gay marriage."

Newsom Makes It Official

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has officially declared his candidacy for governor of California.

Miley Cyrus Tweets Her Support

Mock Twitter all you want, but when the most popular teen star in the world says something like this, millions and millions of LGBT rights supporters are born.

(Via - Boy Culture)

The Wingnuts Have Outdone Themselves

Just when you think the bizarre lies of the Christianist right cannot possibly get any more outrageous, they go and outdo themselves........

Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition is claiming that the hate crimes act currently before Congress will legalize numerous types of sexual crimes because the American Psychiatric Association lists certain sexual fetishes under a long list of "sexual orientations"

Got that? Because the hate crimes act will increase punishments for crimes based on sexual orientation, nobody can be prosecuted for sexual crimes. Did you head explode yet? Follow the bouncing logic:

The main purpose of this “hate crime” legislation is to add the categories of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” “either actual or perceived,” as new classes of individuals receiving special protection by federal law. Sexual orientation includes heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality on an ever-expanding continuum. Will Congress also protect these sexual orientations-zoophiles, pedophiles or polygamists? Gender identity includes such gender confused behaviors as cross-dressing, she-male, drag queen, transvestite, transsexual or transgender. Under the Act, neither “sexual orientation” or “gender identity” are really defined. How can a law be enforced if the new classes receiving special protection remain undefined?

The sexual behaviors considered sinful and immoral by most major religions will be elevated to a protected “minority” class under federal law. Once “sexual orientation” is added to federal law, anyone with a bizarre sexual orientation will have total protection for his or her activities by claiming that Congress sanctions their appearance, behavior or attitudes. Inevitably this will negatively affect the performance of co-workers who are forced to work alongside of individuals with bizarre sex habits. Imagine working next to a person who gets sexual pleasure from rubbing up against a woman (Fronteurism) or enjoys wearing opposite sex clothing. These are “sexual orientations.”

Here's a partial list of the crimes the Tradition Values Coalition says will become legal under the Matthew Shepard Act, which is now known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009:

• Fronteurism -- which involves a man approaching an unknown woman and rubbing up against her buttocks. This is criminal behavior.
• Incest -- which is a crime (sex with a daughter or son).
• Necrophilia -- a crime (sex with a corpse).
• Pedophilia -- a crime (sex with an underage child).
• Prostitution -- a crime in most states.
• Zoophilia -- (beastiality) which is a crime in numerous states.
• Voyeurism -- which is a criminal offense in most states.

Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee is expected to approve the hate crimes act for a vote by the full House. If it finally becomes federal law, Lou Sheldon must expect that the nation will erupt into a coast-to-coast orgy of corpse fucking.

Tomorrow: Florida Supreme Court Hears Gay Adoption Case

Tomorrow the Florida Supreme Court will hear the case regarding the Florida Bar, which recently supported a repeal of the ban on gay couples adopting. Wingnuts lawyers contend that the Bar cannot do that and still claim to represent Christian lawyers. Via the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council:

In January, the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar voted unanimously (with one recusal) to allow the Family Law Section to file an amicus brief supporting 11th Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman's November 25, 2008, decision to declare F.S. §63.042(3) unconstitutional and to allow homosexual foster parents to adopt two brothers they had nurtured for four years. Liberty Counsel, an anti-gay lobbying organization based in Florida, filed a petition at the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that the Bar should remain neutral in the state's homosexual adoption controversy. To watch the oral argument live online at 10:400 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, click here.