News: Alex Sink, Kuwait, The Who, Gerard Butler, Sydney, Universe

Paper: Two same-sex marriages have been conducted in Kuwait, under strict security.

OUT100 announced.

Goth strippers: Cast for Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" video revealed.

Wingnut rally today over hate crimes: "The Rally for Religious Freedom is meant to raise alarm over the nation's new Federal 'hate crimes' law just passed by Congress and signed last month by President Obama. The intention of the rally is to assert the freedom of speech of ministers and Christians in general to declare biblical truth in the public square. The Rally will also expose the unconstitutional nature of the hate law. Ministers from various denominations will preach from the Bible, especially those parts that speak to the sin of homosexuality. This will serve to reassure ministers and Christians that they are free to do the same."

Advocates express optimism on New York marriage equality.

Complete unknowns The Who to play Super Bowl.

I See You: Leona Lewis to try and duplicate Celine Dion success by singing James Horner-produced theme song from James Cameron's Avatar.

Gerard Butler is dressed to kilt in Glasgow.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink says state's ban on gay adoption must go: "We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home -- a home that's determined not by any law. The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.

Virgin Airlines gets behind Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Frank Bruni on Ellen & Portia.

Thinking about changing your name if you get married?: "Since the federal government doesn’t recognize the right to same-sex marriage, even if you get married in a state that allows it, whether you can get the name change processed by Social Security or the passport office merely with the marriage certificate and required forms currently tends 'to be hit and miss,' said Emily Doskow, an attorney in California who specializes in same-sex and transgender family issues..."

Madonna visits slums and billionaires in Rio.

Streaming stars: Scientists find signs of a neighboring universe?

Equality California honors Attorney General Jerry Brown for efforts to overturn Prop 8.

Corpus Christi: Terrence McNally play depicting gay Jesus sparks protest in Orange County.

Former Mr. Gay UK, police officer Mark Carter, says he suffered homophobic abuse after winning competition: "In particular, he detailed how - when attending the scene of a domestic violence incident in 2005 - a gang circled him and began shouting homophobic abuse. 'I could hear shouts of 'queer' and 'faggot',' he said. But despite his instincts, he never called for back-up for fear of retribution. 'I didn't want to call for back-up and put other officers in danger because I didn't like the insults they were throwing at me. But deep down I knew it was wrong,' he said to the BBC."

A $17 million grant has been awarded to Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues by theNational Institute on Drug Abuse to study the epidemic of meth use and HIV.

Male model fix: Arthur Sales.

Gay community in Philippines mulls protest rally following gay party's rejection by the elections commission.

Media Matters has the anti-gay goods on Palin ghostwriter Lynn Vincent: "In her many years writing for World, Vincent has authored several columns on gay rights issues, frequently deriding gay men and lesbians as abnormal and 'devian[t],' often trafficking in hackneyed stereotypes of the gay community. Vincent even went so far as to lament the American Psychiatric Association's decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder, and she also wrote that the struggle for gay rights differs from that for African-American civil rights and women's suffrage, in that it will not "benefit society at large."

Rep. Pete Stark Introduces Anti-Discrimination Adoption Bill

Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) has introduced a bill that would restrict federal funding for states with adopion or foster care laws that discriminate on the basis of marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Stark writes, in his introduction of HB 3827:

"On any given day, there are approximately 500,000 children in the child welfare system.  Over 125,000 of these abused and neglected children are waiting to be adopted.  There is an acute shortage, however, of adoptive and foster parents.  The result is that many children, particularly minority and special needs children, languish in foster care without permanent homes. The severe developmental, emotional, and educational costs to children raised in foster care are well documented.  The 25,000 youth who never find a permanent family and “age out” of the system each year are more likely than nearly any other group to become homeless, incarcerated, or suffer with mental illness or substance abuse.

"Despite the shortage of adoptive and foster parents and the terrible consequences of long stays in the child welfare system, some states have enacted discriminatory bans prohibiting children from being placed with qualified parents due to the parent’s marital status or sexual orientation.  Currently, over 65,000 adopted children and 14,000 foster children are living with a gay or lesbian parent.  Studies suggest that upward of 2 million gay and lesbian individuals are interested in adopting or fostering a child.  Yet, statewide discriminatory bans and the practices of individual adoption agencies have resulted in fewer children being placed in safe and permanent homes.
 
"Congress invests over $8 billion in the child welfare system each year and we should not accept policies that use Federal funds to enact barriers to adoption and close the door to thousands of potential homes.  Multiple studies have found that adopted and foster children raised by gay and lesbian parents fare just as well as their peers being raised by heterosexual parents. 

"When considering a potential placement for a child, the only criteria should be what is in the child’s best interest and whether the prospective parents can provide a safe and nurturing home.  Bigotry should play no part in this decision."

Stark's bill is called the 'Every Child Deserves a Family Act'. According to the Washington Blade, "The legislation, Stark said, also would restrict funds for states where restrictions are put in place by agencies, individual social workers or judges, or where restrictions are part of the common law of the state. For states that don't comply with the law, federal officials could withhold from the states funds provided to them for child welfare services. The bill also calls for a Government Accountability Office study within five years to examine how states are complying with the new rules. The bill is modeled after the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act, a law Stark helped shepherd through Congress in 1994 that prohibits racial discrimination in foster care and adoption placements."

Stark's bill currently has no co-sponsors, though it does have the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Pelosi shares the view of child welfare groups that children 'should have the security of two fully sanctioned and legally recognized parents, whether those parents are of the same or opposite sex.'"

Montana High Court Upholds Historic Same-Sex Parent Custody Ruling

Montana's Supreme Court yesterday upheld a ruling by a Missoula, Montana district court judge last October, awarding custody rights to Michelle Kulstad. Kulstad had raised two kids with her partner Barbara Maniaci for nearly a decade. The kids were legally adopted by Maniaci, who sought sole custody when the couple split.

The Flathead Beacon reports: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday backed District Judge Ed McLean's ruling last year that granted Michelle Kulstad joint custody of the two children — a 9-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. The children were adopted by Kulstad's former partner, Barbara Maniaci, in 2001 and 2004. State law does not allow both members of a same-sex partnership to adopt. After the relationship ended, Kulstad filed in January 2007 to receive parenting rights. Maniaci, who is now married to a man, filed a motion to dismiss Kulstad's petition."

Justice James Nelson addressed anti-gay discrimination "in the strongest of language," reports The Missoulian:

"In his specially concurring decision, Nelson denounced discrimination against gays and lesbians as 'bigotry' and called it 'a prevalent societal cancer grounded in bigotry and hate.' ... 'I remain absolutely convinced ... that homosexuals are entitled to enjoy precisely the same civil and natural rights as heterosexuals, as a matter of constitutional law,' he wrote. Nelson sided with the 6-1 majority that upheld a ruling giving parental rights to a Missoula woman who had been in a 10-year lesbian relationship that included two children legally adopted by the other woman in the partnership. The other woman had left the relationship and married a man, and did not want to grant parental rights to her former lesbian partner. The court ruled that the former partner has a 'parental interest' in the children and a right to joint custody. Nelson said the case shows that until the courts recognize homosexuals as 'equal participants with heterosexuals in our society ... with exactly the same civil and natural rights, lesbian and gay citizens will continue to suffer homophobic discrimination.' ... 'Regrettably, this sort of discrimination is both socially acceptable and politically popular,' he wrote."

More from the Flathead Beacon: "Justice James Nelson concurred with the decision, but added: 'Maniaci and her defense team attempt to avoid the one issue that makes this case uniquely important — the elephant in the room: whether homosexuals in an intimate domestic relationship each have the right to parent the children they mutually agree that one party will adopt (or, presumably, conceive.) The District Court and this Court have properly answered that question in the affirmative...Sadly, however, this case represents yet another instance in which fellow Montanans, who happen to be lesbian or gay, are forced to battle for their fundamental rights to love who they want, to form intimate associations, to form family relationships, and to have and raise children — all elemental, natural rights that are accorded, presumptively and without thought or hesitation, to heterosexuals."

New Orlean Saints Linebacker Scott Fujita Speaks Up for Gay Rights

New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita talks about why he is endorsing the National Equality March and why he supports gay rights in an interview with Dave Zirin in the Huffington Post:

"By and large in this country the issue of gay rights and equality should be past the point of debate. Really, there should be no debate anymore. For me, in my small platform as a professional football player, I understand that my time in the spotlight is probably limited. The more times you have to lend your name to a cause you believe in, you should do that...A year ago or two years ago, I remember reading about an initiative that was proposed in the state of Arkansas. It was some kind of measure that was aimed at preventing adoptions by single parents. Now, the way I read that and the way that I translated that language was that only heterosexual, married couples could adopt children. As an adopted child that really bothered me. I asked myself, what that is really saying is that the concern with one's sexual orientation or one's sexual preference outweighs what's really important, and that's finding safe homes for children, for our children. It's also saying that we'd rather have kids bounce around from foster home to foster home throughout the course of their childhood, than end up in a permanent home, where the parent, whether that person's single or not, gay or straight. Either way, it doesn't matter. It's a home that's going to be provided for a kid who desperately needs a home. As an adopted child, that measure really bothered me. It just boggles my mind because good, loving homes for any child are the most important thing."

Fujita, who is straight, married, and has kids, also discusses homophobia in the locker room and whether or not his views on gay rights make him a target for mockery among teammates.

Adds Fujita: "I have no concern about that whatsoever. I know who I am. My wife knows who I am. I don't care one way or the other Dave. I imagine that when some of this gets out guys in the locker room might give me a hard time, and they always give me a hard time. They call me the Pinko Communist Fag from Berkeley. I'm used to it. I can take it all."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-zirin/why-i-support-the-nationa_b_310890.html"

Elton John and David Furnish Take Adoption Search to Africa

The Telegraph's Richard Eden reports: "'We were in Africa for the [Sir Elton John] Aids Foundation and met a boy, and immediately thought about adopting him,' the film producer (Furnish) disclosed at the launch of Stephen Calloway's book Gosling: Classic Design for Contemporary Interiors, at the Ritz...'When we found out he had a maternal grandmother, and brother and sister, we realised it wouldn't be the right thing to take him away from the family he had there,' he told me."

Meanwhile, the mother of Lev, the Ukrainian orphan that the couple has given up hope of adopting, is speaking out:

"The mother, known only as Marina, told the Sun newspaper that she wanted to get her life back on track so that she could retrieve her son from the Ukrainian orphanage where he now lives. 'I love him so much and desperately want him back so I can hold him,' she told the tabloid in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. The woman, an impoverished alcoholic who is HIV positive, had both of her children taken away from her by social workers, according to the newspaper. 'I know Elton fell in love with my Lev. I saw him holding him and kissing him on TV and in the newspapers. I understand Elton's feelings. Lev is a very funny and cheerful boy. It's impossible not to love him,' she said. 'But I'm going to overcome my problems. I so much want my babies back.'"

After Elton expressed interest in adopting from the Ukraine in early September, he was thwarted by an official who said he couldn't adopt because he's gay and too old.

News: Boston Red Sox, Joy Behar, Salt Lake City, John Travolta

Rep. Steve King (R-IA): Same-sex marriage part of push for socialism.

UN to get visit from WBC.

DreamWorks and Showtime to chronicle development of a Broadway musical, from inception to opening night: "Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are well versed in adapting tuners for the big- and smallscreen, are in negotiations to join the project, as are tunesmiths Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. DreamWorks TV toppers Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank are shepherding the project with Spielberg."

Today in deep-fried pareidolia.

Celebrities band together to protect insurance companies.

Two popular gay venues in Sydney to close — The Midnight Shift and The Flinders Hotel.

AfterElton talks to Modern Family's gay dads, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

Joy Behar to Ukraine: Let Elton adopt. "Mr. Pavlenko, here are some tips about family, youth and sports. Family doesn't mean a huddle of orphans sharing a few soiled mattresses, it's not youth if you die of AIDS before you reach kindergarten, and wrestling over dinner scraps is not a sport. But that could be Lev's fate now, because the Ukrainian government said Elton and his beau David Furnish are too old to adopt the boy. It sounds like the real reason is they're too gay."

White House to see picket line on weekend of National Equality March?

Courier: Microsoft's tablet computer?

Neil Patrick Harris lights up for new photo shoot.

Orange County Board of Education opposes 'Harvey Milk Day': "The addition of commemorative exercises reduces important classroom time in core subject areas. Instructional time is at a premium and students cannot afford to lose quality educational time."

Tom Ford seeks $50 million investment.

Man gets life sentence for gang rape and murder of South African lesbian track star Eudy Simelane: "Ms Simelane was approached after leaving a pub and robbed of her mobile, trainers and cash. She died from wounds to the abdomen after being gang raped and stabbed 12 times. Her naked body was dragged towards a stream and dumped." Two others were acquitted.

Boston Red Sox rookies hazed in drag.

70th anniversary: The history and promises behind The Wizard of Oz. "What's also rather striking, especially considering its suffragette heritage, is the way the film and Garland became such an iconic part of the gay movement. I'm not going to pretend that I know very much about the current iconography within the gay and lesbian community, but I know that the film used to represent acceptance and a fervent belief that things could (and would) be better."

John Travolta takes the stand in extortion trial.

Trial underway for gay Salt Lake City man beaten by his neighbors after removing their children from a rowdy party they were having: "She claimed the children were in and out of Latu's home during the party and said the parents were guilty of child neglect. 'No one was supervising these kids,' Gustin told jurors. She suggested that when Latu found her daughter and nephew missing, 'she needed someone to blame' and picked Bell. Bell was dragged from his home by his then-shoulder length hair and his head was repeatedly smashed against the pavement, Gustin said. Blood was oozing from his right ear and he still suffers hearing loss, she said. Someone used a piece of broken glass to cut Bell's throat, chest and one of his toes. Bell's partner, Fair, also was beaten, and a large TV was thrown onto his head."