Santorum Tells Gay Man He Doesn't Deserve 'Privilege' of Marriage: VIDEO -
At a campaign stop in Fulton, Missouri today, a gay man asked Rick Santorum, "Who are you to tell me that I don't have the same rights as anyone else in this country?"
Santorum told the man that he's entitled "like any other person to equal treatment under the law" but not "special treatment" and that marriage is "for the purposes of having children and continuing...civilization," Think Progress LGBT reports.
"It is an intrinsic good…And as a result of that, we extend a privilege. We extend certain privileges to people who do that because we want to encourage that behavior..."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1057 -
FLASHBACK: Whitney Houston's 1991 Super Bowl national anthem performance.
FORTUNATELY, UNFORTUNATELY: Unfortunately, a skier got caught in an avalanche. Fortunately, she was wearing her BCA Float 30 avalanche airbag.
THREE'S COMPANY: Suzanne Somers and Joyce Dewitt reunite, mend feud after 30 years.
SAINT BERNARDS: Lots of 'em.
For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.
News: Nova Scotia, Roseanne Barr, Amphipods, Daniel Radcliffe -
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings refuses to budge on endorsing marriage equality.
More "ex-gay" looniness from pillow-beater Richard Cohen and PFOX's Greg Quinlan.
Gay Nova Scotia couple awarded largest defamation damage award in Nova Scotia history ($425K) from Mississippi blogger who targeted them in a campaign of homophobic harassment.
Rosanne Barr announces run for President.
Edmund White recommends five novels where beautiful writing and gay themes come together.
Mariah Carey X-Factor rumors swirl.
Ellen and Daniel Radcliffe make $5,000 Super Bowl bet to benefit the Trevor Project. Radcliffe: “I am a Giants fan. I was christened a Giants fan when I arrived in NY. I did Equus there. The first time. But it was this year I really got into it."
Utah lawmakers consider LGBT anti-discrimination bill, for fourth consecutive year: "The bill sponsored by Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, would protect gay, lesbian and transgendered people from losing a job or housing. Senate Bill 51 would also allow people to freely participate in political activities outside of their work without fear of retribution. A committee hearing on the bill, introduced Wednesday in the Senate, will likely happen early next week. McAdams said even if the bill fails to get out of committee, it is still a success after discussion of the bill was stymied by Republicans last year."
Brad Pitt's favorite word is "Daddy" and his favorite curse word is, um....
David Furnish won't be watching Madonna's Super Bowl show.
California marriage equality activists Robin Tyler and Diane Olson to divorce. "'It’s a divorce, not a gay divorce,' said Tyler, 69, the CEO of Robin Tyler International Tours and Cruises for Women.'We had a very successful, happy relationship for a long time.' Tyler said she filed for divorce on Jan. 25, 3½ years after the couple wed on June 16, 2008. A family law hearing is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Los Angeles."
American Independent: How NOM is shilding its donors from Minnesota voters.
Warren Buffett will joke about a lot but he draws the line at proposing to a man.
Prisoner adds hidden pig to Vermont police car license plates: "State officials Thursday pointed to the failure of the quality assurance office within the Vermont Correctional Industries Print Shop in St. Albans to detect a prisoner-artist’s addition made four years ago to the traditional state police logo. A spot on the shoulder of the cow in the state emblem was modified into a pig."
Gay UK church attendant horrified by sexual assault charge from female parishioner: "I would have no reason to touch her breasts, no wish to touch her breasts."
VIDEO: Ab Fab's Pats and Eddy do some real-life modeling.
Massive crustaceans pulled from ocean depths near New Zealand.
Susan G. Komen foundation teams up with handgun manufacturer to offer pink gun.
McGill University has Canada's first gay frat and it's causing controversy: "While some might have thought that would sufficiently encompass transgendered individuals who consider themselves male, McGill’s main LGBT group, Queer McGill, wasn’t happy when it saw the frat’s literature. Queer McGill thought the language separating 'males' and 'those who identify as male' implied that transgendered individuals were somehow not real men. They were 'just pretending to be men,' explained Queer McGill administrator Elyse Lewis, 20."
Gay candidate faces tough battle Sunday in Finland run-off presidential election,
Police investigating possible anti-gay hate crime on Boston train: "The incident took place at 10:30 p.m. on Monday night as the 48 year-old male victim was a passenger on a Mattapan-bound high-speed trolley in the vicinity of Butler Street station. According to MBTA Police, the two men 'assaulted the victim while berating him with racial and homophobic slurs.' The two suspects— who have not yet been identified or caught— allegedly tried to pull the victim off the trolley to continue the assault."
Virginia Passes Adoption Bill Allowing Agencies to Deny Gays Based on Religious Beliefs -
Earlier today I posted about the discriminatory adoption bill pending in the Virginia legislature. The bill allows private adoption agencies to deny service to gay people based on religious or moral beliefs.
It passed both houses, the AP reports:
The state House voted 71-28 to pass the legislation Friday. Earlier in the day, a Senate committee endorsed its version of the Republican-backed measure on an 8-7 party-line vote. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign the bill.
Supporters say the measure protects religious freedom. Opponents argue that the government, which contracts with dozens of private, state-licensed child placement agencies, should not sanction discrimination.
Gay Couple Files Suit, Claims Cleveland Police Beat and Humiliated Them, Called Them 'Faggots': VIDEO -
Jonathan Simcox and his partner Steven Ondo have filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming they were harassed, beaten, and humiliated by police in a series of events stemming from an argument with a neighbor who is an officer.
In the first incident, Simcox and Ondo said they were brought to jail in their underwear following an altercation with the neighbor. About a week later, another incident occurred:
According to the lawsuit, “6 or 7 members of the SWAT/and or Warrant Team” were on a sweep that day. Ondo and Simcox said officers then informed them they were wanted on a warrant that was issued for, “assaulting a peace officer.”
The men said each time they tried asking questions, the officers became increasingly violent.
“The officer in the glasses grabbed me by my shirt, and punched me twice in the face, after he punched me, he threw me up against the wall,” said Simcox.
Simcox says at the time of the arrest, he and his partner were wearing only underwear and t-shirts. When Simcox’s brother asked police if he could get them some pants and shoes, one of the officers allegedly responded by saying, “You can go get them shoes, but faggots don`t deserve to wear pants in jail.”
Watch FOX8's report on the charges, AFTER THE JUMP...
Asparamancer Knows Your Future Before You Do: VIDEO -
Jemima Packington is the world's only Asparamancer, meaning she predicts political, sporting events, the weather, and other things by throwing asparagus on the ground and reading it.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
I predict someone's pee probably stinks.
(via dlisted)
Man Reported Overboard on Atlantis Gay Cruise in Caribbean -
Passengers were awakened early Friday on the 'Allure of the Seas' Atlantis Caribbean cruise and told to assemble for an emergency count because a man was reportedly overboard off the Mexican coast, KABC Los Angeles reports:
"An ABC7 photographer aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise charter said passengers were awakened Friday morning by an emergency announcement, saying a man was believed to be overboard. The ship's captain confirmed the incident to passengers and said all rescue attempts are being made. An emergency assembly was called so passengers could be counted. The ship was on its way back to port in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It stopped Friday off-shore near Cozumel, Mexico."
The man has not been identified.
Twitter user @DarienneLake tweeted about the incident: "there was an announcement for someone to contact services at 6:30am, then at 7am we went to muster stations to be accounted...at 9am we were allowed back to our rooms. They have search boats looking for glitter in the water. Currently in Cozumel."
Educator: 16 Million Women Married to Gay Men in China -
A Chinese educator estimates 16 million women are married to gay men in China due to social stigma:
Professor Zhang Bei-chuan at Qingdao University, an authority on AIDS and HIV, says that due to traditional family values in China, about 90 percent of homosexual men get married because of pressure to conform.
"But their wives are struggling to cope and their plight should be recognized," he said on Thursday...
...Xiao now runs a website called "Homeland of gays' wives", which has 1,200 registered users and provides support and advice.
"The website makes them feel they're not alone and empowers them to make the right choices," she said.
Zhang said that getting their voice heard was the first step to raising public awareness.
Image from a gay wedding held in Beijing a year ago.
M.I.A. is a Bad Girl in the Desert: VIDEO -
M.I.A. files her nails atop a two-wheeling BMW in her new clip for 'Bad Girls'.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
JC Penney to 'One Milllion Moms': We Won't Fire Ellen -
Earlier in the week I wrote about the AFA group One Million Moms' campaign against JC Penney to fire Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson because she's an "open homosexual".
But as it stands, this campaign against Ellen won't impact J.C. Penney's decision. In an emailed statement to Yahoo Shine, J.C. Penney confirmed it "stands behind its partnership with Ellen DeGeneres."
More than 25,000 people signed a petition drawn up by GLAAD to support Ellen, and 95% of the L.A. Times readers supported JC Penney hiring Ellen in a poll.
Also, did you see Ellen challenge Michelle Obama to a push-up contest this week?
Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...
Angry 'Ex-Gay' Nurse Rages 'Homosexuality is Not a Civil Right' at NJ Marriage Equality Hearing: VIDEO -
Here's another intense video from what I would call an extremely damaged gay man and human being at yesterday's marriage equality hearing in New Jersey.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
Greg Quinlan from Roxbury:
"Homosexuality is not a civil right. Civil rights are based on innateness, whether or not you were born that way. To date, there is zero evidence that anyone is born a homosexual. Zero. In fact it's homosexual researchers and scientists that are proving that homosexuality is not innate and has no biological ideology. Homosexuality is not immutable. People do change. People have a right of self-determination. They can choose to change from being gay to straight. Why can't they choose to change from being straight to ga?
"People do it all the time. There are many ex-gays. Anne Heche, to name one. Sinead O'Connor. And myself. I left the homosexual lifestyle almost 20 years ago. Lived as a homosexual activist for 10 years of my life. I'm a registered nurse. I watched 100 of my friends and acquaintances die of AIDS before I stopped counting. I've seen lots of things but homosexuality does not deserve to be codified or recognized as marriage in any state."
Quinlan is the president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX). He also demanded an apology from the bill's sponsors for calling people of faith 'bigots':
“I want to talk first of all about something I heard from the very beginning by people of this Legislature that we are bigots as people of faith, because we do not hold that homosexual marriage should be codified. That somehow we are bigots and we are ideologues because we are people of faith. I want to address that hate. Everyone in this room who is a person of faith deserves an apology from one of the sponsors of this bill for calling us bigots.”
NJ Teen Makes Heartbreaking Plea to Lawmakers to Let Her Gay Dads Marry, 'Be Equal': VIDEO -
Don't miss this video.
At yesterday's hearing before New Jersey's House Judiciary Committee, 15-year-old Madison Galluccio made an emotional and heartbreaking plea to lawmakers to let her two dads, John and Michael Galluccio, marry and let her family feel equal.
Said Gallucio:
"I do have to say that New Jersey has made me feel discriminated, like I'm some sort of outcast. But guess what New Jersey? I'm no outcast. I am Madison Galluccio, and I am part of the Galluccio family. My parents will be married, and I will make sure that this happens till the day that I die. So please, will you help me? Help me feel equal. We aren't different. I'm not different. And I shouldn't have to be forced to feel like I'm different. This is my family, and I want us to be able to have the same rights as you. So NJ, please give me my freedom."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
The measure advanced on a party line vote.
New Hampshire House GOP Releases 2012 Agenda Marriage Equality Repeal is Not On It -
The AP picked up on a glaring omission from the New Hampshire GOP's 2012 agenda:
Republican House Leader Rep. D.J. Bettencourt of Salem introduced the House Republican agenda Thursday. Bettencourt said the House was focusing on changes to economic and education policy that would bring job creators to New Hampshire and put citizens back to work.
Hot-button social issues like gun rights, immigration and labor laws were all absent from the agenda. The most noticeable omission was gay marriage, which is the target of several bills aiming to repeal it.
Bettencourt said the Legislature did not need to spend much time on gay marriage. "If their minds aren't already made up, it's something they're intimately familiar with," said Bettencourt of his fellow Republicans.
Governor John Lynch this week vowed to veto any marriage equality repeal bill that comes across his desk.
Certain Republicans have also said recently that fellow party members who lean in a libertarian direction may prevent a marriage equality repeal bill from passing. Last week I also reported that former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman had been lobbying GOP lawmakers against repealing the bill.
NJ Governor Christie Tells Democrats Voter Referendum on Same-Sex Marriage is 'Bargain of Your Life': VIDEO -
Here's video of NJ Governor Chris Chirstie's speech yesterday in which he called himself "magnanimous" for calling for a popular vote on gay civil rights, via Think Progress LGBT.
Said Christie:
Put it on the ballot, let it be voted on….I’ve told every Republican in the state legislator to vote to put it on the ballot. They need three-fifths to put it on the ballot. The Republicans have two-fifths in the legislature. So that means the Democrats only need to come up with one-fifth of the legislature…this is the bargain of your life. I’m giving you two-fifths! And the polls they show me say that if it goes on the ballot, it will lose. How much more magnanimous can I be? What else do you want me to do? Go campaign for it too? Look, I’m doing the best I can here!
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
Adam Lambert is Reportedly Queen's New Frontman -
The UK's Daily Star is reporting Adam Lambert has confirmed that he is going to be joining Queen as its frontman this year.
Said Lambert: “After the EMAs, I heard faint little slithers of a backlash from people saying: ‘You can’t replace Freddie Mercury.’ But I already knew that. There’s no intention in my mind of replacing Freddie. That’s impossible. The way I’m choosing to view it is that it’s a great honour and one I’m in no way going to shirk... Being asked to front Queen is the best thing that can possibly happen."
DAtes included in Lambert's tour with Brian May and Roger Taylor include the Sonisphere Festival and a date at Knebworth in England, where Queen played their final gig with Freddie Mercury in 1986. Mercury died in 1991.
