'New York Times' Backs Barack Obama And His Equal Rights Fight, Too

The New York Times' editorial board "enthusiastically endorse" President Obama's reelection efforts.

In addition to approving of his handling of the economy, foreign fairs and maintaining a fair, balanced Supreme Court, the paper gives a thumbs up to Obama's work toward LGBT equality. Mitt Romney's archaic policies are less-than-admirable, the paper says:

The extraordinary fact of Mr. Obama’s 2008 election did not usher in a new post-racial era. In fact, the steady undercurrent of racism in national politics is truly disturbing. Mr. Obama, however, has reversed Bush administration policies that chipped away at minorities’ voting rights and has fought laws, like the ones in Arizona, that seek to turn undocumented immigrants into a class of criminals.

The military’s odious “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule was finally legislated out of existence, under the Obama administration’s leadership. There are still big hurdles to equality to be brought down, including the Defense of Marriage Act, the outrageous federal law that undermines the rights of gay men and lesbians, even in states that recognize those rights.

Though it took Mr. Obama some time to do it, he overcame his hesitation about same-sex marriage and declared his support. That support has helped spur marriage-equality movements around the country. His Justice Department has also stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act against constitutional challenges.

Mr. Romney opposes same-sex marriage and supports the federal act, which not only denies federal benefits and recognition to same-sex couples but allows states to ignore marriages made in other states. His campaign declared that Mr. Romney would not object if states also banned adoption by same-sex couples and restricted their rights to hospital visitation and other privileges.

This endorsement comes as no surprise, but it's always nice to see arguments laid out so neatly.

News: Sandy, Frank Lloyd Wright, Rubio, Peek-A-Boo

Is Bryce Chandler Joe Simpson's secret gay lover?

A couple in Phoenix, Arizona, are preparing to do battle with preservationists trying to grant landmark status to a Frank Lloyd Wright home they want to demolish for profit: "Just as Mr. Sells and Mr. Hoffman prepared to close on the deal, preservationists involved in protecting Wright’s legacy reached out to the city, asking that the house be considered for landmark status. Mr. Sells, 50, a technology entrepreneur, said he had no idea of its significance, or of the difference 'between Frank Lloyd Wright and the Wright brothers.'"

Ellen DeGeneres gives Halle Berry a spidery scare.

Hurricane Sandy is a'coming.

The storm's Caribbean death toll is 48.

1990s horror movies, a retrospective.

Pennsylvania lawmakers don't appear interested in the ongoing gay marriage debates swirling around them.

Alicia Silverstone says her first boyfriend was gay: "I've had so many crushes on gay boys. My first love was so gay, and I didn't know. I used to defend him because everyone would say he was gay, but he'd say he wasn't. Then, about six years later, he had the big talk with me."

Peek-a-boo explained.

The Carrie Diaries, a "prequel" to Sex and the City, has released a season preview and cast a love interest, a love interest we all know won't stand the test of time.

Gay activists in Jamaica taking on colonial era "buggery laws": "The legal challenge is being taken to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is modelled on the European Court of Human Rights. Jamaica is not a full member and any ruling would only be advisory and not binding; it would, nonetheless, send out a strong signal of international disapproval."

Good, sticky line from Romney supporter Marco Rubio about President Obama's policies: "They’re the ideas that have failed every time they’ve been tried. They’re expensive ideas. They’re the ideas of countries that people come here to get away from."

Gay men make great husbands, according to ladies interviewed by The Hindustan Times.

Check out the new video for Nicki Minaj's "Va-Va-Voom".

Gallup: LGBT Vote Could Swing Election Obama's Direction

According to a Gallup poll, if the 71% of registered LGBT voters who say they are voting for Obama actually do, they could tip the scale in the president's favor.

From Gallup, via the Williams Institute at UCLA:

A new Gallup Report finds that 71% of LGBT Americans who are registered voters support President Obama for reelection, while 22% support Governor Mitt Romney. From June to September, non-LGBT registered voters preferred Romney to Obama by one percentage point, 47% to 46%. However, when LGBT voters are added to electorate, Obama moves slightly ahead of Romney (47% to 45%).  These findings suggest that the highly Democratic vote of the LGBT population could be enough to swing a very close election toward Obama.

The findings are based on more than 120,000 interviews of adults in the US, which represents the largest representative sample of LGBT men and women ever collected.

The Gallup poll also found that 20% of self-identified LGBT people describe themselves as conservative or very conservative. Also most LGBT people approve of Obama's work -- 68% said they approve, while 28% said they disapprove of the president's job -- and LGBT people apparently are not registering to vote as much as their straight counterparts: "About three-fourths of LGBT individuals (74%) say they are registered or plan to register to vote, compared with 80% of non-LGBT men and women."

$22,000 Reward For Information In NYC Gay Activist's Murder

The New York Police Department, Mayor Mike Bloomberg's office and Crime Stoppers are offering $22,000 reward for information about the attack on LGBT activist Lou Rispoli, who died after being attacked last week.

Anyone for information should call 1-800-577-TIPS.

See the full flier AFTER THE JUMP.

Maine's Equality Movement Brings In Big Bucks: $963,700 In October

Activists and allies hoping to pass marriage equality in Maine raised massive amounts of dough in October, continuing their fundraising dominance over opponents.

According the Maine Sentinel, Mainers United For Marriage's latest FEC filings, reported last night, total $963,700 in funds raised for the month of October, $50,000 of which came from former GOP strategist Ken Mehlman. This brings their grand total up to $4.3 million.

Main rival Protect Marriage Maine did not meet last night's filing deadline, while the other opponents, Maine 4 Marriage and Maine Marriage PAC, raised $14,070 and $10,435, respectively.

A breakdown of some of the funds:

In the reports filed Friday, the Human Rights Campaign Maine Families PAC donated $30,000 to Mainers United; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders made a $25,000 contribution to Mainers United; Catholics for Marriage Equality reported raising $2,210; and Freedom to Marry Maine PAC reported raising $122,804, of which Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, contributed $50,000.

Now that the election is a little over the week away, the Sentinel says Mainers United for Marriage plans "switching [tactics] from persuasion to get-out-the-vote efforts, including phone banks, mailers and contacts with the few remaining undecided voters".

Ian McKellen's Years In The Closet Honed His Stage Craft: VIDEO

Ian "not Sir" McKellen stopped by the Acland Burghley school in England last week and in addition to reciting an impromptu monologue, the 73-year old British actor discussed growing up gay and how spending over 40 years in the closet helped him hone his craft.

There was no Graham Norton on the television at that time, no gay MPs, no-one talking about gay rights on the radio. So I dealt with it my trying to cut that part of myself off, to hide myself, to choke a part of me,” he said, according to Business Insider. "When you are made to feel you are so wrong for being who you are, that’s what you do."

McKellen, who came out in 1988, went on, "I think that’s why so many great British actors are gay - we spent so long pretending to be straight, to be someone else, that eventually we became very good at it."

Now that times have changed, McKellen told the students "[I wish] that every child, every teacher, every person in this room can be free to be who they are, whatever their sexual orientation”

Watch video of McKellen performing the aforementioned monologue AFTER THE JUMP.