Alabama High School Forbids Lesbian Couple from Attending Prom

The ACLU has intervened in the case of a lesbian high school student in Alabama whose principal has forbid her from attending prom with her girlfriend:

"Cynthia Stewart, a 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School in northern Alabama, is a member of her school’s prom planning committee, had personally raised over $200 for the prom, and created the theme her classmates had chosen for the dance.  She is also an out lesbian. When Cynthia approached her principal to ask if she could bring her girlfriend with her to the prom, he said no.  He also made Cynthia remove a sticker she was wearing that said, 'I am a lesbian,' telling her, “'You don't have that much freedom of speech at school.' Cynthia’s aunt and guardian, Kathy Baker, then appealed the principal’s decision to the school board.  But the board let the decision to bar Cynthia from bringing her girlfriend to the prom stand."

The school has apparently threatened to cancel the prom for everyone should Stewart bring her girlfriend.

UPDATE: School reconsidering request!

Alabama Lawmaker Wants to Cut Off Domestic Partner Benefits

Saying the University of Alabama Birmingham's policy of offering health benefits to same-sx partners runs counter to the state's ban on same-sex marriage, state lawmaker DuWayne Bridges has been gathering support for a proposal to block the benefits, the Birmingham News reports:

"Rep. DuWayne Bridges, R-Valley, said support is building among Republi­cans for a bill that would prohibit the use of tax dol­lars for domestic partner benefits. 'I don't think the univer­sity should waste money by making a liberal or politi­cally correct statement,' he said Thursday. The bill would be aimed at the University of Ala­bama at Birmingham, which last month began al­lowing employees to enroll domestic partners of either sex in its health insurance plan, with benefits begin­ning Jan. 1. UAB officials have said they need to offer domestic partner benefits so their medical school can compete with other top schools, which routinely do so."

Openly gay state rep. Patricia Todd spoke out against the Bridges plan: "We don't know how many gay, lesbian and transgender people there are in the country or even in Alabama, but we know that we're present and we make a contribution and we're not asking for any more or less than any other group of folks. We just want equality. Like it or not, Rep. Bridges, the world is chang­ing and people are accept­ing more diversity."

News: Ken Cuccinelli, Detroit, Rumer Willis, Malaysia, Britney Spears

Gay Detroit City Council candidate Charles Pugh under scrutiny after Detroit Free Press pulls endorsement because of foreclosure on condominium.

Kathie Lee Gifford as a gay droid for Halloween.

Watch: Britney Spears' new video for "3".

Homophobic bigot Randy Thomasson is urging his followers to call schools and school boards and force them to erase Harvey Milk Day from their curricula.

NYT looks at Annise Parker's race to be the mayor of Houston, Texas: “I always told voters the truth. There is an element of, ‘Well, if she will tell us the truth about her sexual orientation she will tell us the truth about anything.’”

LOL: ChristWire on how the Golden Girls turned an entire generation of American boys gay.

WATCH: Brand new trailer for James Cameron's Avatar, starring Sam Worthington.

ICANN votes to liberalize country web domains: "This means that in a few months, folks will finally be able to type URLs in languages using non-Latin alphabets. For instance, in China, websites will be able soon be in Chinese; in the Middle East they might be in Arabic or Hebrew; in Greece in Greek letters, Russia in Russian letters."

Pete Wentz got a tattoo of Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta on his leg.

Autistic artist Stephen Wiltshire draws 18-foot mural of New York City from memory after 20 minute helicopter ride.

Body 2 Body: Malaysian queer anthology is first of its kind.

Rumer Willis to play a lesbian on 90210: "This isn't a fling. We're coming at this [relationship] from a genuine place and not going, 'Let's do a titillating story that will grab some promotion.' This is a real aspect of teenager life that's interesting...And there's been a real void in the 90210 universe in terms of gay and bisexual characters."

Indiewire looks at this year's gay Oscar hopes: "This year could also find as many as three best pictures helmed by gay men. In addition to 'A Single Man,' there’s Rob Marshall’s 'Nine,' and Lee Daniels’ 'Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,' the latter of which also features a major gay character.  What I think is really interesting here - and what speaks volumes to social systems in behind-the-scenes Hollywood - is Lee Daniels’s prospective nomination.  If he gets nominated for best director, it would be much more monumental because he is African-American than it would be because he is openly gay."

Twilight's hunk wolf Alex Meraz takes it off.

First look: Cheyenne Jackson on 30 Rock.

The Real World: Starship Enterprise.

Birmingham school board enacts LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policy.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli: "My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society."

Ever want to hear from a Tired Old Queen who loves movies? Here's your chance.

True Life: MTV looking for athete coming out stories.

Esera Tuaolo on Larry Johnson's "faggot" slur: "What is also crippling to an athlete is hearing slurs like that thrown around like it's just the thing to do. When you use (gay slurs) and you use it in a negative term, it's the same as calling a woman a (expletive). Or the same as calling an African-American the (expletive). It's demeaning to another human being. And it's not right."

Anti-Gay Birmingham Mayor Blames Racism for Bribery Conviction

Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Larry Langford, who in May 2008 refused to sign a Gay Pride proclamation, allow Pride banners on city property, or sign a parade permit because, he said, it was inappropriate for governent to endorse a lifestyle ("If I were to sign the permit to put up banners on city right of ways I would be condoning that which I don't condone.") has been convicted on 60 counts of taking bribes:

"A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker. As a convicted felon, Langford was automatically removed from the office that he won in a landslide in 2007. The jury deliberated less than two hours before returning its sweeping verdict on all 60 counts after hearing six days of testimony. Prosecutors claimed Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving as president of the Jefferson County Commission. In exchange, they claimed, Langford sent lucrative bond business to investment banker Bill Blount. Langford, 63, showed no emotion when the verdict was read. He was allowed to remain free on bond until his sentencing and he agreed to forfeit $241,843. Outside the courtroom, Langford and his wife, Melva, blamed the conviction on race. 'They struck as many blacks off that jury as they could,' he said. Three of the 12 jurors were black."

Langford has been involved in controversial scandals in the past, including one involving a charity, and, strangely enough, gay porn star Ryan Idol.

News: Showgirls, Sam Adams, The Louvre, John Barrowman, Atlanta

Death of culture: McDonald's moves into the Louvre.

A Showgirls sequel?

Lady Gaga appeared on the MTV reality show Boiling Point three years ago — here's the video.

Weekly Standard defends military gay ban: "Another way to put this is to say that honor, which is by the testimony of soldiers throughout the ages of the essence of military service, includes the honor of being known for heterosexuality, and that, for most heterosexual males, shame attends a reputation as much for homosexuality as for weakness or cowardice."

New York Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to endorse William Thompson for NYC mayor.

NYT Consults Blog on anti-gay bullying.

The Onion to release range of greeting cards.

Glee preview: The boys sing "It's My Life".

Artist's painting finds buyer after he vandalizes it with graffiti.

Paul Hogarth: Defeating Question 1 in Maine about mobilizing the base. "If every Mainer votes in the upcoming election, Question One will lose – and conservatives who’ve won on 'gay marriage' in every state where it has been on the ballot will suffer a humiliating defeat. But this is an off-year election, and young people who strongly support marriage equality are much less likely to turn out. And while voters in liberal Portland are with us, I have gotten this apathetic shrug from people – saying it shouldn’t even be on the ballot."

Gourmet magazine folding after 68 years.

Trial starts for Alabama judge accused of sex-for-leniency trades: "The respected circuit judge once was the Democratic Party's choice to be the first black federal judge in south Alabama. Then his career collapsed under allegations that he brought inmates to his office and spanked them with a paddle. Later, an indictment accused him of sexually abusing male inmates in exchange for leniency. The trial on charges of sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse, extortion, assault and ethics violations is set to start Monday."

Professor calls for Gay and Lesbian Studies curriculum expansion in Massachusetts...

Sean Penn beats up another paparazzo.

John Barrowman storms London's West End in La Cage Aux Folles.

Male model fix: Marlon Teixeira.

Roman Catholic Bishop faces child porn charges.

Signature-collecting deadline looms in Portland Mayor Sam Adams recall campaign: "The campaign won't reveal exactly how many signatures they have, but organizers emphasize they need more than 32,000. Sunday is their last full day to collect signatures to get a recall of Mayor Adams on what they hope will be the November ballot."

Miss Gay Indiana pageant hits Muncie.

Documents indicate gay bars not targeted by police in Atlanta.

Three Americans share 2009 Nobel Prize for Medicine: "Americans Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak were named winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for research that has implications for cancer and aging research. The trio solved a big problem in biology: how chromosomes can be 'copied in a complete way during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation,' the citation said."

News: Otter, Angels in America, Maine, L Word, Gravy Wrestling

Angels in America to get New York revival.

Diane Sawyer to replace Charles Gibson as ABC World News Tonight anchor.

30-year-old Joel Hicks wins UK Gravy Wrestling championship. Video.

Real Housewife of Atlanta bares her titties for the gays.

UK farmer unleashes pigs to deter gay men from cruising in his woods.

Gay Pride group settles lawsuit with city of Birmingham, Alabama: "The group filed the federal lawsuit in 2008 over Mayor Larry Langford's attempt to withhold a parade permit from the group and his banning city workers from installing parade banners on city property. David Gespass, an attorney for Central Alabama Pride, said the city will craft a nondiscrimination policy when it comes to hanging banners and will pay the group's costs and legal fees. The city will pay $40,350 for legal fees and the lawsuit filing fee."

Family Research Council's Tony Perkins headed to Maine to fight marriage equality.

Meet the guy who's casting Maine's anti-gay marriage equality ad.

Cate Blanchett struck with radio, injured during performance of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Peter Facinelli and co-star Haaz Sleiman pucker up for Nurse Jackie.

The L Word to go real life: "Show will follow six lesbians in Los Angeles as they go about their lives -- a lesbian answer to Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise. Project is dependent on casting, the net said; if all goes as planned, "The Real L Word" would debut sometime next year."

25 lesbian tattoos.

Dolphin slaughter suspended in Japan: "Today is September 1st, the first day of the dolphin slaughter season in Japan. But when I arrived today by bus from Kansai Airport with media representatives from all over the world, the notorious Cove from the movie was empty. There were no dolphin killers in sight. So today is a good day for dolphins!

Gay resort opens in Tampa.

Albino otter spotted in Scotland!

WATCH: Whitney Houston performs in Central Park.

Hungarian police give go-ahead for Gay Pride parade on Saturday.

The 5 Gayest Beaches in Southern California.

Washington State Senator Ed Murray won't enter Seattle mayor's race: "Murray had been considering a write-in campaign after T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan and Sierra Club activist Mike McGinn advanced to the November general election in last month's primary. In a statement released Tuesday, Murray says he needs to focus on the upcoming campaign to get voters to approve Referendum 71, which has qualified for the November ballot."