Towleroad Talking Points: Deen, Weiner and a Mormon Mom

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at today's top stories

WINGNUTTERY

Celebrity chef (and butter enthusiast) Paula Deen released two videos today begging for public forgiveness for her ridiculous racism. We shall see if anyone listens. A congressman from Georgia wants schools to drill gender stereotypes into children's heads early in life so no one ends up being gay. A blogger who made a name for himself by outing prominent anti-gay lawmakers says that he knows of three anti-gay members of Congress who are gay; one of whom he is planning to out. 

Anthony Weiner has finally addressed his lack of outrage over a voter telling him that Christine Quinn is a "dyke" but is it too little too late? A bunch of anti-gay activists have signed a letter pledging to defy any pro-gay Supreme Court rulings. The Orthodox Church in the tiny country of Moldova has banned pro-gay government officials from taking communion and things aren't much better state side in North Carolina where death row inmates can now legally be discriminated against because of their race. 

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ENTERTAINMENT

The Disney Channel has announced a major milestone with the inclusion of a lesbian couple in an episode of one of their shows. Also Snooki really wants to have a little gay son. 

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VIDEOS OF THE DAY

A new documentary premiering at an LGBT film festival in San Francisco documents people from diverse backgrounds coming to terms with family members being gay, including the very moving story of a Mormon mom who supported Prop 8 until her perspective was changed by her gay teenage son. And during a pre-Wimbledon event Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov (the boyfriend of Maria Sharapova) staged a strip-tease contest. 

Ashton Kutcher Channels Apple Founder Steve Jobs in New Biopic: VIDEO

Here's the new trailer for jOBS, the upcoming biopic about the late Apple founder.

Yahoo! writes:

If the trailer is any indication, "Jobs" is a particularly abbreviated and fractured biopic; indeed, ten years go by in about a second and a half of screen time as Jobs is back at Apple seemingly right after he got kicked out of it. This impression is certainly in sync with the first round of reviews that came out of this year's Sundance Film Festival, the general consensus being that "Jobs" is a reasonably entertaining but ultimately too simplistic a portrait of a very complex man to truly resonate, a movie that "can't get a handle on how to portray its subject," according to IndieWire.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Department of Education to Collect Anti-LGBT Bullying Data Nationwide

GLSEN's executive director Eliza Byard reports:

Just a few minutes ago, the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education made a groundbreaking announcement – it intends to collect data in schools nationwide about anti-LGBT bullying as part of its Civil Rights Data Collection, an influential survey that is used to inform government action.

I’m proud to say that GLSEN’s longtime leadership in Washington urging the government to take action played an integral role in making this change happen...

Byard attributes the change in part to  a trip to D.C. with three GLSEN student leaders to meet Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. She was told at the White House in May on Harvey Milk Day that because one of the students asked Duncan to investigate such data collection, he made the request to the department.

Adds Byard:

LGBT-inclusive data collection may seem like a wonky goal. But let me tell you, data drives decision-making, and what is measured is what is valued when it comes to government action. Liam, one of GLSEN’s amazing student leaders, secured a huge advance for LGBT youth nationwide.

Robyn Does Some Gender-Bending in Snoop Dogg Collaboration: VIDEO

Swedish pop star Robyn today dropped a video for "U Should Know Better", a three-year-old track featuring Snoop Dogg from her Body Talk Pt. 2 album, and the video features a pair of gender-flipped doubles for the two singers.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Obama Nominates Gay Man as U.S. Ambassador to Australia

John Berry, the former director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, was nominated Friday as U.S. ambassador to Australia, the White House announced on Friday.

On background from the White House:

John Berry served as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management from April 2009 to April 2013.  Previously, he was the Director of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park from 2005 to 2009, and the Executive Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation from 2000 to 2005.  From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Berry served as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget at the Department of the Interior.  From 1995 to 1997, he was Director of Government Relations and Senior Policy Advisor at the Smithsonian Institution.  He joined the federal government in 1994 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the Department of Treasury.  Before joining the Department of Treasury, Mr. Berry was the Legislative Director for U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer.  Mr. Berry received a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park and an M.P.A. from Syracuse University.

The Washington Blade notes that Berry would be the first openly gay ambassador to a G-20 country. His nomination needs to be confirmed by the Senate.

Hundreds Of Anti-Gay Activists Pledge To Defy Any Supreme Court Ruling Favoring Marriage Equality

Over two hundred Christian anti-gay activists and organizations have signed a letter threatening to ignore any upcoming Supreme Court ruling favoring gay marriage. The letter, filled with inflammatory rhetoric, has been signed by a "who's who" of anti-gay bigots including Dr. Ben Carson, Tony Perkins, Bill Donohue, Bishop Harry Jackson, James Dobson, and Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern. Additionally, Southern Poverty Law Center designated "hate groups" such as American Family Association and Family Research Council have also signed on.

From the letter:

"As Christian citizens united together, we will not stand by while the destruction of the institution of marriage unfolds in this nation we love. The Sacred Scriptures and unbroken teaching of the Church confirm that marriage is between one man and one woman. We stand together in solidarity to defend marriage and the family and society founded upon them. The effort to redefine marriage threatens the proper mediating role of the Church in society."

The letter goes on to say that "redefining marriage" is the "line we must not draw and one we cannot and will not cross." Considering the fact that Tony Perkins and others have predicted that any ruling in favor of gay marriage will lead to civil war or revolution, one has to wonder just how these anti-gay bigots intend to resists such a ruling. 

Read the document, AFTER THE JUMP...

Freedom Foundation's Marriage Solidarity Statement 06-2013