Towleroad Talking Points: Football, Shameless and a Gay Wolverine

PHOTO OF THE DAY: A Montana state senator hates gays but loves to dance with them! 

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at today's top stories

GAY ISSUES

With news that the number of Republicans signing an anti-Prop 8 brief has reached over 100 names, Former Bush Press Secretary David Frum explains why he has flipped flopped to the pro-gay side. There is terrible news in Mississippi where an openly gay mayoral candidate has been found dead. No word yet on the cause of death. 

And there will be a lot less nudity come this summer in Fire Island. 

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WINGNUTTERY

Apparently one's sexual preference has a great bearing on one's ability to play football, as scouts at this week's NFL combine are trying to find out which players might be gay. An Alabama GOP leader recently compared Obama to Hitler, but the best part of her rant is when she confuses the title of the novel "1984". Also MoMA is trying to keep a lid on the relationship between Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg lest it offend anyone. 

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ENTERTAINMENT

Cameron Monaghan, who plays teen gay Ian on Shameless, responded to twitter questions by coming out as straight. That sound you hear is a collective sigh from young gays everywhere. At this past weekend's Independent Spirit Awards, the best indie scripts of the year got the ever popular bad lip reading treatment. And if Hugh Jackman stars as Wolverine in the adaptation of X-Treme X-Men he won't be helping those gay rumors one bit. 

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VIDEOS OF THE DAY

This is the worst day of beauty anyone has ever had! And Jimmy Kimmel gives out the award for best acting in everyday life. 

Former Bears QB Jim Miller: Religious Culture Won't Allow a Gay Player in the NFL 'and We Should Wise Up and Accept It'

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim Miller appeared on "The McNeil and Spiegel Show" on WSCR-AM 670 in Chicago today and weighed in on the topic of gays in the NFL, the Chicago Tribune reports:

“There are some religions that are just not going to accept a gay individual in the locker room,” Miller told "The McNeil and Spiegel Show" on WSCR-AM 670. “So now, are you as an organization going to bring that element into your locker room and think everything is going to be OK?

"Last time I checked, whether it’s Christianity or Muslims or other religions that are out there, they’re just not going to accept it. They're just not. It's just not realistic for Mike Florio or any progressive or liberal to think that everything is going to be OK in the locker room and we should all just wise up and accept it.”

Asked his stance on whether gays should be accepted, Miller said, “I could care less. You can play football or you can’t. I’m just giving you my point of view that certain factions of a locker room will not accept it. ... That's the reality of the situation.”

In a radio interview this week, NFL prospect Nick Kasa reported that some NFL scouts had asked him about his sexual orientation, prompting an investigation by the NFL. Kasa's remarks followed statements earlier in the week from sportswriter Mike Florio indicating that there was interest from recruiters in knowing whether Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o is gay, that it was "the elephant in the room" at the Combine, and that scouts were too nervous to ask.

Gay Couple Denied Use of Banquet Facility in Fort Worth, Texas Finds 'Burn Fag' Painted on Their Fence

Over the weekend, Steve reported on a gay Texas couple who were told by a gay banquet facility outside of Fort Worth that they would not hold their wedding reception.

Ben Allen and Justin Ryan Hudgins found “Burn FAG” spray-painted in black across their fence last night, the Dallas Voice reports:

The couple lives in Everman, a town in Tarrant County located southeast of I-35W and I-20, less than 10 miles from Downtown Fort Worth. Allen said it happened sometime after 7 p.m. last night. Everman police were called and promised extra patrols in the neighborhood for the next month.

The couple has been together eight years and bought the house two years ago. They haven’t had trouble in the past. Hudgins’s mother lives four blocks up the street. The daughter of the town’s mayor lives on their block. After police took the report, Allen said they covered the graffiti with a blanket because there’s an elementary school across the street.

Allen told the Voice that they had been receiving homophobic threats on Facebook following media reports about the discrimination they had faced.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1316

SHARK ATTACK: Man killed by Great White in New Zealand.

OREO COOKIE SEPARATOR: For those who just want the cookie and not the creme.

MILWAUKEE POLICE CHIEF: Embarrasses Lindsey Graham at gun hearing.

TEARJERKING ASSIST: Get out your Kleenex.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

News: Antonin Scalia, Gummy You, Harry Styles, Frank Rich, Austin

Socarides: Mehlman's mission. Geidner: Mehlman's quest.

Department of Defense tries to fix ban on gay web sites, doesn't.

Pianist Van Cliburn dies at 78: "His publicist, Mary Lou Falcone, confirmed the death, saying that Mr. Cliburn had been treated for bone cancer and that he died at his home, which he shared with Thomas L. Smith, who survives him."

VIDEO: Harry Styles of One Direction gets hit in the nuts with a shoe.

Harvard Magazine: How same-sex marriage came to be. "People who believe that gay marriage contravenes God’s will are not likely to stop opposing it simply because their prospects of success are diminishing. Moreover, religious conservatives who condemn gay marriage will continue to influence Republican politicians who need their support to win primary elections. Thus, an intense struggle over marriage equality is likely to continue for several more years, even though the ultimate outcome is no longer seriously in doubt."

Justin Timberlake to duet with Marcus Mumford on new soundtrack.

Gay llama farmer whose plight was highlighted by Buzzfeed, receives thousands in donations, and thanks supporters: "I would like to take a moment and thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for the love that everyone has shown for me and the animals. I appreciate your words of encouragement and understanding."

Justice Antonin Scalia calls key provision of the Voting Rights Act a "racial entitlement".

A gummy replica of yourself?

Butch lesbian writes about hating the TSA: "They need to make some changes. There should be another way to do this, another way to handle those of us who don't conform to gender stereotypes, so that we don't feel less than human. I'll let you know what the TSA says. How awesome would it be if something came of this? Until then -- and I've said this before, but it bears repeating -- remember that it's butch to be yourself, no matter the cost or what some stupid machine thinks of you."

Gay man who spent 21 years in prison for child molestation before being exonerated wants his name cleared.

Frank Rich on the Republican scramble to support marriage equality: "The die is cast on this issue, and the signatories are belatedly getting ahead of history before it flattens them like a tank. Generational turnover alone assumes gay marriage will be a done deal in America; public opinion on this issue has moved faster than any civil-rights battle in our history."

Prince Harry gets his groove on in Lesotho.

Kathy Bates joining American Horror Story in Season 3.

Austin, TX gay summer social scene, Splash Days at Lake Travis threatened by boating limits at Hippie Hollow.

Judge upholds Canada's hate speech laws: "The judgment in the case of William Whatcott of Saskatchewan reaffirms the Canadian approach to hate speech, that it can be limited by law to address the problem of hate speech, unlike the American approach, in which speech cannot be limited except in the most extreme circumstances."

Inside the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

Pluto's new moon to be named Vulcan. "Vulcan received nearly 200,000 votes among the 450,000 cast during a two-week contest."

Sarah Palin: Feds are "stockpiling bullets in case of civil unrest".

NYT profiles Idaho couple in piece about the disparities in same-sex marriage law between states: "Mr. Johnston and Mr. Irwin, as both proudly gay and proudly Idahoan, said they had thought about taking a Sunday drive to get married, then dismissed the idea out of hand. Marrying across the border and returning home to a place where none of it had legal meaning, they said, or picking up and moving to Washington to obtain marriage protections, would mark equal measures of surrender and defeat. For them, the battle for rights and recognition is to be waged here at home, in a deeply conservative state where same-sex marriage remains, for now, an unlikely dream."

Nude Sunbathing Banned on Fire Island Beaches

Nude sunbathing has been banned on beaches all along Fire Island, Newsday reports:

A decades-long tradition of nude sunbathing on Fire Island beaches is coming to an end this summer: Fire Island National Seashore authorities have announced plans to enforce long-standing laws banning the practice...

...Koschmann also said some social media sites carry invitations to meet for public sex on the beach.

The fact that public nudity is illegal in New York was another compelling reason to change the policy, since FINS maintains joint jurisdiction with the state, she said. The ban also will be enforced at four other Fire Island beaches where nude sunbathing is known to take place -- including the tract of land in front of Sailors Haven, from Point O' Woods to Cherry Grove.