GOP Might Fire Illinois Chair For Support of Marriage Equality

Just last month, Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady started calling on lawmakers to support marriage equality. At the time, Brady said: "Giving gay and lesbian couples the freedom to get married honors the best conservative principles. It strengthens families and reinforces a key Republican value - that the law should treat all citizens equally."

This led many Republicans calling for his resignation. Even NOM demanded Brady step down from his post.

Yesterday, Brady received a phone call in which he was told GOP leaders plan to meet next month to discuss his possible removal. All this because of his vocal support for marriage equality.

WBEZ reports:

Brady’s ouster would require the weighted vote of three-fifths of the state central committee. The votes are weighted differently based on turnout in the March primary. Committeeman Jim Oberweis, a state senator, said there are enough votes to fire Brady.

“We’d have exactly the same reaction if suddenly Pat decided to talk about the merits of Obamacare,” Oberweis told WBEZ Friday. Brady has said his position on gay marriage is personal, and that he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the party when he made his original statement. He’s since refused to step down.

Brady also spoke to Crain's Chicago Busine about the news:

"Absolutely not," Mr. Brady replied when I asked if he's willing to change his mind. "The more and more I talk to people, the more I'm convinced. (Allowing same-sex marriage) is the right thing to do."

The GOP meeting is scheduled to take place March 9.

News: NOM, Mark Twain, Google, Toni Braxton

 NOM colleague Robert Gagnon compares gay-straight alliances to the KKK and skinheads.

 An authentic shirtless photo of a furry Mark Twain from the 1880s has made its way onto the Internet.

 One of two gay bashers in Kentucky apologizes to the victim two years after the attack: "I'm asking on your behalf if you'll have mercy on me."

 Kanye Kardashian and Kim Kardashian announce they're having a baby girl.

 Study says it explains the strong bond between many gay men and straight women: "...close friendships between straight women and gay men may be characterized by a unique exchange of unbiased mating-relevant information that may not be available in their other relationships." 

 Police car among property vandalized with swastkias and anti-gay graffiti in Bethesda, Maryland.

 Booed gay soldier Stephen Snyder-Hill will work with FreedomOhio to be lead advocate for marriage equality in Ohio.

 Goodbye, Jermaine Jackson. Hello Jermaine Jacksun.

Toni Braxton wants a specific film role: “I would like to play a lesbian … and do a whole make-out scene and the whole thing, just something completely different than people would expect from me. Not a lipstick lesbian, either.”

 Six actors who have taken home both Oscars and Razzies.

 Google vs. Apple - the former might be in the lead: "Google has successfully positioned itself as the one company poised to take advantage of the next wave of technological progress."

 Michelle Obama dances up a storm on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

 Are Republicans dropping their opposition to gay marriage? "The Republican Party may not be there yet, but...supporting gay marriage is the future of the GOP."

UFC President Dana White On Gay Fighters: 'If You Are Gay, I Could Care Less'

The first ever women's UFC fight will take place tonight and one of the athletes in the event, Liz Carmouche, is also the only openly gay fighter in the sport. 

Leading up to the fight, both Carmouche and UFC president Dana White are talking about the historic competition and about openly gay fighters. Carmouche tells AXS TV that she hopes her coming out will inspire others in the UFC to follow her lead:

"I hope that they can see that in such a testosterone and male-dominated sport, it would be so difficult to come out, that it's possible and they can do it too." 

White, who has commended Carmouche for her coming out last year, was asked yesterday how he would react if a fighter refused to compete against an opponent who was gay. According to Yahoo's Cagewriter blog, this was White's positive response: "Most of the guys that are in this sport are really good people. I honestly don't see a situation where that would happen, but if it did, I'd fix it."

White on inclusiveness in the sport: "If you're an athlete in the UFC and you are gay, I could care less. You will not be treated any different."

Watch AXS TV interviews with Carmouche and White, AFTER THE JUMP.

Texas Wedding Venue Refuses Gay Men

An anti-gay banquet facility in Texas has refused two men who wished to have their wedding reception at the venue. Ben Allen and Justin Hudgins, who have been together for eight years, plan to marry in Mexico in April. They also intended to hold a local reception for friends and family at the All Occasion Party Place located just outside of Fort Worth - that is until the owner told them she doesn't conduct business with gays.

KVUE reports on the refusal of service:

“She immediately responded with, ‘Well, no, I don’t do that,’ and that was just the end of that,” Allen said. “It felt like somebody had just hit me in the face.” But Allen said he was told by phone and by e-mail the business won’t serve gays.

“It is because of God that I will not be a part in your reception, and I know he loves you, but not what you are doing,” an employee at the hall, Robin Hearne, wrote to Hudgins in an e-mail he provided to WFAA. “I simply said I can not rent to you which is also my right.”

While the All Occasion Party Place has a Fort Worth address, it is apparently located just outside of the city limits. This prevents the application of Fort Worth's anti-discrimination laws. Allen and Hudgins are looking for an alternate location for their wedding reception.

Watch the KVUE news clip, AFTER THE JUMP.

Vatican Issues Denial Of 'Gay Lobby' Reports

Earlier this week, two Italian newspapers, The Panorama weekly and The Repubblica, both reported that Pope Benedict had resigned from his post due to "various lobbies, including a gay lobby." The Vatican has now responded - and they are none too pleased with the reports and the Italian media.

The Guardian reports:

The Vatican secretariat of state said in a statement: "It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the time of the beginning of the conclave … that there be a widespread distribution of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions."

According to The AFP, which calls today's statement by the Vatican "unusual," Catholic Church spokesman Federico Lombardi has also commented calling the reports "gossip, disinformation and sometimes calumny."

The Pope will officially step down this Thursday.

President Obama To Supreme Court: 'DOMA Is Unconstitutional'

President Obama's administration filed an historic legal brief late Friday that declares his belief to the US Supreme Court that DOMA is unconstitutional. The dossier was written by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.

According to NBC News:

The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court on Friday to throw out a section of a 1996 federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex marriage. 

The brief was filed Friday in United States v. Windsor, a case challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, the law that legally declares marriage to be only between a man and a woman. That section allows state and federal authorities to deny benefits to same-sex couples that are commonplace for heterosexual couples, like insurance for government workers and Social Security survivors' benefits.

This marks the first time a president has endorsed same-sex marriage rights in the nation's highest court. 

The brief reads in part: "Moral opposition to homosexuality, though it may reflect deeply held personal views, is not a legitimate policy objective that can justify unequal treatment of gay and lesbian people."

Read the entire document here.