News: DOMA, Jesus Christ, Scott Evans, Le Mystique, Steve Jobs

DOMA repeal effort heating up: Nadler to introduce bill, HRC delivers surveys.

Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Community Churches rile bigots with billboards that say Jesus loved gays. Church website.

And this is what they mean when they say 'Jesus freak'.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California to provide harassment and discrimination prevention training as part of the settlement of a lawsuit involving football players who harassed the lead actress in a production of Rent and used anti-gay slurs in a Facebook video.

Minneapolis promoters First Avenue dump 'murder music' singer Buju Banton: "While seven shows have been cut, Banton’s tour still includes 20 other scheduled stops."

Ohio anti-discrimination ordinance to get floor vote.

Check out Saturday Night Live's upcoming line-up.

One Life to Live's Scott Evans talks about acting with his mom, coming out.

Randi Reitan: This mom is heading to the National Equality March.

Lesbian couple married in Iowa wants name-change in Nebraska. State says no.

A majority of Minnesota State Fairgoers approve of equality for gays and lesbians: "In the adult survey, participants were asked 15 questions; teens were asked 11. A total of 6,702 adults answered poll questions, and 476 teenagers. ... The adult poll asked: 'Would you support legislation that would provide same-sex couples with the same legal and economic rights and responsibilities as married couples, such as providing health care insurance coverage for one another, inheritance and pension benefits, hospital visitations and medical decision making?' More than 61 percent said yes and almost 34 percent said no."

Whitney Houston hits #1, looks to Oprah season opener.

Drag queen to sing at Giants game.

Part two of Outsports' interview with Johnny Weir: "I think everyone has the right to ask people anything. But the way I see things like coming out parties and being very theatrical and making such a big spectacle of things, I just don’t agree with making it a big spectacle. I was born Johnny Weir, whatever that entails. People can make their own assumptions and people can talk and people can chat, but it doesn’t change who I am and all of these things that contribute to my life."

Le Mystique: Montreal's oldest gay bar closing its doors.

Steve Jobs talks to the NYT David Pogue following Apple's iPod event yesterday.

Ashton Kutcher thinks pink.

Maine marriage equality opponents to rally in Augusta on Sunday: "More than 1,000 gay-marriage opponents are expected to rally in Augusta for an evening event Sunday featuring religious and conservative leaders from across Maine and the country. It's the second such rally held in the state capital this year and it's designed to inspire and motivate same-sex marriage opponents, said the Rev. Bob Emrich, of Plymouth, one of the organizers."

Justice for Jimmy Lee Dean: Singleton Gets 75 Years for Gay Bashing

Bobby Singleton was sentenced to 75 years in prison (15 more than requested by prosecutors and twice the length of his accomplice Jonathan Gunter) for the July 2008 assault on Jimmy Lee Dean, which left Dean disfigured and forever changed. Singleton and Jonathan Gunter beat Dean and then kicked and stomped on him as he lay unconscious in the street in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood. Gunter was sentenced to 30 years in prison in March.

The details that came out in court this week of Singleton's actions were horrific:

"Dallas County jurors convicted Bobby Singleton of aggravated robbery Wednesday and later heard the recordings of the phone call from jail during the punishment phase of his trial. '[I'll] say I'm a faggot, too,' Singleton said in the call to an unidentified woman. 'Let 'em prove I ain't gay.' He then spoke about how he and his friend Jonathan Gunter beat Jimmy Dean in July 2008 as Dean walked home. Gunter has been convicted and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Dean said Singleton inflicted more damage than Gunter by kicking him in the face...In the phone call recording, Singleton and the woman laughed about how Dean's 'nose was dangling.' Singleton says he called Dean 'you punk [expletive]' and stomped him two or three times. The woman told Dean that he went too far. 'You did too much,' she said. 'You just went and didn't stop.'"

Singleton wrote in a confession to police: "We figured they would be easier targets because their [sic] are a lot of homosexuals around the area."

Said Dean after the verdict: "Dean said afterward that he was overwhelmed by the jury's decision. He said he thought there might only be one juror who thought Singleton should get the 60 years prosecutors requested for aggravated robbery. 'I think it shows the jury does understand,' Dean said. 'It makes the next two people who go into any neighborhood, and pick out anyone, think twice.' He also said the verdict gives him 'faith in people' and said the days are gone when criminals received a lesser sentence because the victim is gay. 'This sets a precedence for anything like this that happens,' Dean said. 'Maybe this will set a standard for anybody, no matter what your sexual orientation is, a violent crime is a violent crime.'"

An interview with Dean recorded shortly after the assault on him, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: 'Ex-Gays', Neil Patrick Harris, Favre Goat, Swine Flu, Ireland

Neil Patrick Harris to guest judge on American Idol.

The "Michael Jackson is alive" conspiracies start.

Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays LOSE court case, portray it as "precedent setting" victory. TWO: "In a breathless press release PFOX called their failure a 'precedent setting case' and claimed that the Court ruled that 'former homosexuals are a protected class that must be recognized under sexual orientation non-discrimination laws.'  What the court actually did was disagree with DC’s Office of Human Rights, which had said that ex-gays are not covered under the D.C. Human Rights Act, because a protected a group must show immutable characteristics."

Ryan Gosling works up a sweat at the gym.

CBS 5 profile on Congressional hopeful Anthony Woods.

Utah homophobe Chris Buttars attacks Salt Lake City non-discrimination ordinance: "I've never seen any facts. I see these wild accusations. Let's say someone is gay, but [he's] also a terrible employee -- is that possible? [He gets] fired for something else. You know the gay community is going to claim [the employer] did it because he's gay."

Chris Brown instructed to stay away from Rihanna for five years.

Adam Lambert joins charity to help public schools in need of arts and music funding.

Dallas: Jimmy Lee Dean testifies against Bobby Singleton in Oak Lawn gay bashing case.

CDC: Gay and bisexual men contract HIV/AIDS at a rate 50 times that of the general population.

Irish Cardinal Sean Brady speaks out against same-sex civil unions: "The book of nature is one and indivisible. It takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations—in a word—integral human development. Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other."

Owner of Castro bar Blackbird dies of swine flu: "He was 41 years old, and was in Palm Springs at the time of his infection, and he had not been traveling abroad, according to business partner Shawn Vergara."

SICK: Purple Favre goat found in car trunk.

Washington Referendum 71 signature error rate still within limit: "Elections officials said Tuesday they've checked more than 110,000 Referendum 72 signatures. Backers of the measure want to overturn Washington's new "everything but marriage" same-sex domestic partner law. Officials say 97,261 signatures have been accepted and 13,027 rejected. The overall error rate is 11.81 percent, up from the 11.72 percent rate reported Monday."

Trial for Dallas Gay Basher Bobby Singleton to Begin Monday

The trial for Bobby Singleton, who with Jonathan Gunter beat Jimmy Lee Dean and the kicked and stomped on him as he lay unconscious in the street in July 2008 in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood, is set to begin on Monday. Gunter was sentenced to 30 years in prison in March.

The Dallas Voice reports:

"Now, LGBT advocates, including the lone eyewitness to Dean’s attack, say they’re hoping Singleton will receive an even longer sentence. Singleton, 30, is scheduled to stand trial beginning Monday on the same charge, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison. 'He’s not going to get less than 30 years, that’s for damn sure,' said Michael Robinson, who witnessed the crime. Robinson was walking alongside Dean on Dickason Avenue, between Reagan and Throckmorton streets, immediately prior the attack. He noted that Singleton also allegedly tried to flee from nightclub security guards following the attack, and boasted about the crime after being taken into custody near the scene. In addition to a more severe punishment for Singleton, Robinson and others are hoping for a bigger turnout from the LGBT community during the trial. Only a handful of people from the LGBT community attended Gunter’s trial, despite Robinson’s efforts to publicize the case."

Watch a 2008 report on the attack, which always breaks my heart, if you want to see how this man's life was changed by the beating. Tragic. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Dallas Episcopal Bishop Rejects Church's Acceptance of Gays

Bishop James Stanton on the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas won't acknowledge a resolution passed at the recent General Convention of the church with regard to gay clergy and  the blessings of gay unions, the Dallas News reports:

"The General Convention passed a resolution noting that some states now allow gay marriage, and calling on the denomination to 'develop theological and liturgical resources' in response. The resolution stopped short of authorizing rites for gay unions. The resolution does say that bishops – particularly where gay marriage is legal – 'may provide generous pastoral response' to all members. Stanton said such language appears to give a 'green light' to blessings of gay unions."

Said Stanton to clergy: "We will not consent to the election of a bishop living in a same-sex relationship, and we will not allow the blessings of same-sex relationships."

Fort Worth Mayor Apologizes for Gay Bar Raid at City Council Meeting

The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and the Fort Worth Police Department raid of the Rainbow Lounge late last month was the centerpiece of an emotional Fort Worth City Council meeting attended by 500 people last night during which the mayor apologized and several activists were led out after interrupting the proceedings.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

"[Mayor Mike] Moncrief told the meeting neither the TABC nor police had finished investigations into the raid, which initially had been called a routine license inspection. But the mayor said he has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to review the department's findings. Someone in the audience then called out for an apology. 'If you want an apology from the mayor of Fort Worth: I am sorry about what happened in Fort Worth,' Moncrief said, as the crowd erupted in applause and stood."

Seven members of the Dallas-area activist group Queer LiberAction were escorted from the meeting after demanding the Rainbow Lounge incident be moved up on the meeting's agenda, reports the Star-Telegram:

"'Hear us now! Hear us now!' five men chanted in a hallway outside City Council chambers. The men, believed to be members of Queer LiberAction, a Dallas-based gay rights group, were led out of the building by city marshals. Inside the meeting, the group's founder, Blake Wilkinson, repeatedly interrupted Mayor Mike Moncrief. 'We're sick and tired of being put on the last of the list,' Wilkinson said. Moncrief, at one point banging his gavel to try to regain order, attempted to explain the 'house rules' to Wilkinson, stating that the agenda would not be changed but that everyone who wished to speak would be heard."

Additionally, Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead has named "an interim liaison to the GLBT community.": "

Officer Sara Straten, a 17-year police veteran, will fill the role by attending meetings, events, and various GLBT functions and report to the chief. Meanwhile, the police department will search for possible funding for a full-time position at which time Chief Halstead will seek input from various community leaders to ensure their involvement in the selection process."