Florida High School Student Suspended for Defending Gay Student from Attacker: VIDEO

Mark Betterson, a student at East Lee County High School in Lehigh Acres, Florida, was suspended for 10 days after trying to stop another student from beating a gay student, WFTX reports:

Mark Betterson says he realized he had to do something when he saw a fellow student throw milk in another's face, use gay slurs, and then start to hit him. James Griffin, 18, is charged with battery. His alleged victim, 18-year-old Jonathan Colon, who is openly gay, walked away with bruises on his head. Many who saw the fight say it could have been worse if Betterson didn't step in.

Said Betterson: Johnathan was just going to stand there and get beat up. And if I didn't jump into it, it would have gotten serious. I was just trying to break up the whole thing because it's jst not fair for somebody to get beat up for something that he is."

Watch (warning: autoplay), AFTER THE JUMP...

Ireland to Recognize Foreign Gay Marriages if 2015 Referendum is Approved

Ireland is planning a public referendum on same-sex marriage before the summer of 2015, and made a new announcement yesterday:

A Department of Justice spokesman last night confirmed that – prior to the referendum – same-sex marriages in England and Wales would be recognised as civil partnerships in Ireland.

If the referendum allowing same sex marriage in Ireland is passed, however, unions that took place in 45 foreign countries will be granted retrospective recognition as marriages in this jurisdiction.

James Franco's Gay 'Hot Sex' Art Collages with Seth Rogen: PHOTOS

James Franco has turned his Kimye spoof motorcycle outing with Seth Rogen into a series of art collages to accompany an interview in the next issue of Vman, SheKnows reports.

The collages even feature a bit of political commentary. Check out the bottom one,
AFTER THE JUMP...

Marcus Brandon May Be the First Out Gay Black Congressman, from NC

Clay Aiken is not the only gay man running for Congress from North Carolina, the Washington Blade reports:

If he wins his bid to represent North Carolina’s 12th congressional district in the U.S. House, he could become the first openly gay black person elected to Congress.

Brandon, 39, says that distinction would be “really significant” because black people within the LGBT community tend to suffer most in terms of discrimination, but he asks potential supporters to look at his full body of work as the reason to back his candidacy.

“I tell people don’t vote for me because I’m gay, [but] because I passed more bills than anybody in the race,” Brandon said. “And so, we’re about effectiveness. So, for people to see my work, it really makes it a much more powerful conversation to say, ‘You know what, we really don’t care about his sexuality; we’re just glad he put 10 new schools in our district.’”

Find Brandon's campaign website HERE.

U.S. Military Dog Taken as Prisoner of War in Afghanistan: VIDEO

Taliban forces in Afghanistan recently captured a military dog, a Belgian Malinois, in the first known instance of a dog being taken as a prisoner of war. Evidence of the captor was posted to Twitter this week by a known disseminator of Taliban propaganda, the WaPo reports:

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the dog was captured after a long firefight between coalition forces and Taliban fighters in the Alin Nigar district of Afghanistan’s Laghman province in late December.

“The mujahideen valorously put tough resistance against the troops for hours,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. The dog, he said, carries the rank of colonel and was outfitted with sophisticated electronic devices.

“The dog was of high significance to the Americans,” he said.

The U.S. military has confirmed that the dog was captured after it was attached to a British special forces unit. It wears a protective vest and carried rifles and a GPS device that Taliban fighters hold in the video.

The dog can be seen looking sheepish and confused in the video.

“I know for sure the handler is devastated,” [Kevin Dredden, a former Air Force dog handler and Afghanistan veteran] said, noting the tight bonds that handlers and military dogs forge.

Dogs are given ranks that make them senior to their handlers, a practice designed to ensure that the humans treat the animals with deference. They have a rank patch on their body armor.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Lotus Apologizes for Posting Pro-Gay Tweet Featuring Photo of Two Men Kissing

Formula 1 team Lotus was forced to apologize after publishing a tweet that featured two men kissing with the message: "Ahead of the opening ceremony, we would like to wish all athletes a successful 2014 Olympic Winter Games #Sochi2014"

The BBC reports:

The Lotus F1 tweet upset top management and shareholders of the team, who are owned by the investment group Genii Capital, because it was causing problems for their business.

Genii is a multi-billion pound company with investments around the globe, including significant interests in Russia.

The Lotus team have a new Russian backer, mobile phone company Yotaphone. Its parent company Yota Devices is poised to buy a 10% shareholding in the team.