Petition Calls On Facebook To Ban Page Outing Gay Ugandans

A fresh petition just popped up on change.org asking Facebook to suspend "Kampala Exposed: Facts and Rumors," a page based in Uganda's capital city and created to out gay people. Kampala Exposed's creators says the page is not there just to fight homosexuality, but to combat all "rot" in Uganda.

"This page was not created to fight against homosexuality in Uganda, it was created to expose the rot in society Why gays have turned into a page that is against them beats my understanding," they said before mocking the change.org petition. They also said that if gay people are so upset by their tactics, then they should just come out themselves, knowing full well the consequences of such a move.

Here's the change.org petition asking Facebook to ban Kampala Exposed:

This highly trafficked page is attempting to incite mob violence, firing, eviction and annihilation of named people in Uganda who are perceived to be gay - or rumored to be gay, or otherwise have angered the woman behind it in some personal way - by "exposing" them online.

This has resulted in disasters before; since the Ugandan newspaper Rolling Stone exposed 100 people as gay in 2010, those people have lived in fear and many have been attacked, lost their jobs and had to be relocated.

In 2011 gay human rights activist David Kato, one of the people "exposed" by the paper, was bludgeoned to death.

The page has been blocked and returned 6 times so far in two weeks with more and more hate speech. Facebook has clear policies on hate speech and harassment, but hasn't banned this page completely. We urgently need Facebook to permanently BLOCK the user's account, or otherwise prevent her from posting pages on Facebook.

Join us to stop more terror in Uganda in the wake of the pending "Kill the Gays bill" by signing this petition. We are counting on you. Thank you!

Think Facebook will listen?

News: Missy, Stonewalling Hagel, Da Vinci, Twenty Thirteen

Ask the Blue Coat internet security company to eliminate a filtering function that they themselves admit unnecessarily censors LGBT sites.

A We The People petition argues that a White House-backed reality show about VP Joe Biden would help bipartisanship. "Such a program would educate the American public about the duties and responsibilities of their Vice President, while providing a glimpse of the lighthearted side of politics even in the midst of contentious and divisive national debates," the organizers say. As of this writing, 1,352 people have signed that petition.

Republican Senators are already warning that Defense Secretary nominee to-be Chuck Hagel will face a tough confirmation hearing. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Hagel's past comments and votes on Iran and Israel will be a "matter of much discussion," even though the Kentucky Republican once said Hagel is a "a clear voice on foreign policy and national security." Sen. Lindsey Graham meanwhile described the nomination as an "in your face" move by a president "high on re-election."

Sen. Graham also said of Hagel, "If confirmed to be secretary of defense, [he] would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense towards the state of Israel in our nation's history."

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a candidate for New York City Council, wrote an exceptionally offensive email to a black real estate developer blasting him for backing Lopez-Pierre's rival, a Jewish man named Mark Levine. This is how that email ends: "Black people in Harlem can smell the Bitch in you. They know that you are a weak, little short man who sucks White/Jewish cock."

If Leonardo Da Vinci lived today, he would most likely be called "gay," yet he artist's sexuality appears to decidedly straight in the new Starz original series Da Vinci's Demons, the trailer of which was just released.

"I know I am not the best looking man in the world but surely no woman could fail to be dazzled by this shirt? The gold shirt has been one of my dreams." So says 32-year old money lender Datta Phuge of his internationally renowned $22,000 splurge.

Hey Britney, Missy would like to work with you.

"25 Of Jared Padalecki’s Sexiest Photos." Nuff said.

Texas Chainsaw 3D was number one at the box office this weekend.

Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says guns in movies are "just entertainment."

The Vatican's semi-official newspaper continues to support the idea that LGBT equality is like socialism and will destroy civilization as we know it. Yawn.

Though "hashtag" was the American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2012, "marriage equality" was voted most likely to succeed: "The argument was that while the word hashtag has been around since 2007, this was the year of the hashtag. This was the year that hashtag was everywhere in the Twittersphere and beyond. It was creating social trends, reflecting social trends, making memes go viral," said ADS voting member and University of Michigan Professor Anne Curzan.

Gay hero Northstar covers next month's Astonishing X-Men #59, and he looks fierce.

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee hopes that passing marriage equality will help improve the state's image, attracting new business, new visitors and maybe some "creative" new residents. "We want to be very inclusive, welcoming everybody," he said. "And in particular (to the) creative, energetic people that so often are associated with the gay community."

Hendrik Hertzberg on the awkward pronunciation of 2013: "A question... [when] you got to the mention of '2013,' did your inner reading voice say 'two thousand thirteen'? Or did it say, as I hope and expect, 'twenty thirteen'?..."

Gay bowler Scott Norton on the impact his and his husband's on-air kiss has had: "I didn't even know anything was going to come of it. It happened on Sunday and then nothing came of it... And then it exploded and all of the credit goes to Jaime Perez and the International Art of Bowling for all they've done. They've really turned this into something special."

Gay men in Australia are asking the government there to follow in the footsteps of its Commonwealth cousin the UK and expunge old anti-gay convictions from people's records: "For an unknown number of older gay men, historical convictions for consensual sex continue to cast a shadow over their lives. Despite Victoria decriminalizing gay sex in 1981, these men are still prevented from applying for some jobs, such as teaching, or taking on volunteering roles."

British Prime Minister told The Telegraph that he would like to stay in office until 2020 and concedes that his proposals for marriage equality in England were not delivered as concisely as possible, particularly with regard to religious institutions. He made clear, "[The proposal] is about what the state does, this is the civil part of marriage. We're not changing what happens in church or synagogue or mosque."

The Chicken Goat Clucks Important Message, 'Be Yourself': VIDEO

Have you ever tried to teach an old goat new tricks? It's impossible! They're as stubborn as - well, as stubborn as goats. Goats do what comes natural, and, like those equally headstrong humans, their personalities vary. Take for example this guy, he's a goat who people expect to "bah," but he's happiest when he's clucking like a chicken. And there's nothing wrong with that!

He first hit the internet a few days ago, so you may have already seen him, but even if that's the case, you can still watch and learn AFTER THE JUMP.

Italian Premier Backed By Vatican Says Marriage Equality Up To Parliament

Rather than falling in line behind his anti-gay political backers at the Vatican, Italian Premier Mario Monti told Sky TG24 TV today that he thinks marriage equality should be decided by Parliament, not him or any outside force.

[Monti] says gay rights issues — including gay marriage —should be decided by Parliament, not his government if he wins.

Monti told Sky TG24 TV on Sunday that issues involving personal dignity are more important that economic reforms.

But he stressed that his coalition forces, which include pro-Vatican centrists, came together to work on the more "urgent" task of achieving economic growth in recession-mired Italy.

He says the new Parliament will have a greater role than the government in dealing with gay rights.

Though he didn't say whether he supports same-sex marriage, the fact that Monti didn't claim gay marriage would destroy civilization, as perpetually paranoid pal Pope Benedict does, is notable enough.

Baltimore Commish Leads Rally Against Anti-Gay Violence

Yesterday, to raise awareness of violence targeting gay people, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts declared, "I want to come together as a community and make sure we connect and do the right things for every part of our community."

"If there's more that we can do, if there's more that I can do, I am here to serve you," he said at the rally, held outside the liquor store where Kenni Shaw was beaten on Christmas.(Before and after, seen at the right.)

The police can't yet prove this was an anti-gay attack, and Batts told The Baltimore Sun the evidence does not point to one, but that does not mean that this is not a perfect opportunity to broaden Baltimore's understanding of hate crimes.

Rally organizer Rev. Kinji Scott, a gay Baptist preacher, told the paper, "In our community in the past we've had people beat, raped and murdered, but we've not had much action in terms of violence against black gay men. [And] you have Kenni Shaw who is willing to stand up when most people are quiet and afraid."

It wasn't a particularly large rally - maybe about 40 people - but it's a start, and Batts' apparent commitment to using this as a positive, learning experience will hopefully make a huge impact.

Jake Shears Is Not Buying Azealia Banks' 'Context' Argument

Gay singer Jake Shears has waded into the Azealia Banks versus Perez Hilton feud, and he's definitely not standing by Banks, who blew up her gay fan base by called Hilton a "messy faggot" on Twitter.

Banks claimed that her bisexuality, the context of her remark and a complicated hierarchy of gendered denigrations of both gay men and women, made her use of the f-word a-okay, but Shears, frontman for Scissor Sisters, disagrees, writing, "It all about context. And right now, I'm sorry, but context is not on your side." He also reminded Banks that singer Donna Summer was "ostracized" for years for her past comments about gay fans, something that may very well happen to Banks.

GLAAD also came out against Banks. "[That] is an ugly, archaic word that was used to stigmatize a population of people who suffer high rates of violence both here in the U.S. and abroad," said Matt Kane, the group's Associate Director of Entertainment Media. "As far as we’ve come in this society, seeing it used by an artist many young people may look up to is painful, but even more so for those young fans, many of whom GLAAD has heard from."

GLAAD also offered, via Twitter, Banks an opportunity to open a dialogue that they hope will help her change her ways, or at least change her word choice.