Sen. Lamar Alexander: Video Games a Bigger Problem Than Guns - VIDEO

Because "video games affect people."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Writes Jed Lewison: "To repeat, those words came from the lips of a United States Senator. A Republican United States Senator, to be precise. Supposedly, he's one of the brightest bulbs in the Senate Republican conference. The first President Bush thought he was so smart that he appointed him to be Secretary of Education for the entire nation. And yet despite (or perhaps because of) these illustrious credentials, Lamar Alexander babbles forth this nonsense without the slightest hint of embarrassment or self-doubt."

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords Tells Senate Panel 'We Must Do Something' About Gun Violence: VIDEO

With the assistance of her husband Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords traveled to D.C. to deliver a profoundly powerful opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on gun violence.

Said Giffords:

"Thank you for inviting me here today. This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats and Republicans. Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: James Franco, Barbara Walters, Albuquerque, Bird Strikes

A 15-year old boy has been charged with the shooting deaths of two adults and three children in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Police say the teen had at least one assault rifle.

Five people were injured in separate incidents during yesterday's "Gun Appreciation Day."

Vicco, Kentucky, population 344, may be the smallest town in America to ban anti-gay discrimination.

What promises made during his first inaugural speech did President Obama keep?

Can former NYC Mayor Ed Koch's AIDS record be discussed without whispers about his sexuality? "Absent the hostility, a more speculative version of this position is offered in the film by Ethan Geto, a media and political strategist, who says simply that during the epidemic "it would have been so incredibly valuable for a popular mayor of New York to declare he was gay."

Labour MP Paul Flynn is introducing a bill that would allow gay royals to marry and for their children to be potential heirs to the British thrown.

This is horrific and graphic but definitely something you should pay attention to: video of a CVS manager strangling a homeless shoplifter to death while pedestrians hold the man down. No criminal charges are pending.

Daniel Radcliffe is already tired and "weirded out" by all the questions about the gay sex in his new film, Kill Your Darlings. "What weirded me out the most last night was people were asking me all these questions about the gay sex scenes. I was like: 'You know I did Equus?'. Some people are asking me questions like this is a more shocking subject, which is so strange," he said.

A review of James Franco's Interior Leather Bar, an homage to the graphic gay sex cut from the controversial gay classic Cruisin': "Interior Leather Bar does contain one very graphic sex scene - a tender encounter between two men we are told are a real-life couple, which seems to be entirely against the film's idea of re-queering gay sex. And in general it's much more about talking about sex than actually showing it, which also makes its claims toward provocation a little weaker."

Did you see Jennifer Lawrence host Saturday Night Live?

ABC News' Barbara Walters was hospitalized after falling and hitting her head at an inauguration party.

Loneliness is bad for your health: "[A new study] reveals that people who are lonely experience more reactivation of latent viruses in their systems than the well-connected. Lonely people also are more likely than others to produce inflammatory compounds in response to stress, a factor implicated in heart disease and other chronic disorders."

More on American anti-gay crusader Brian Brown's efforts to block marriage equality in France.

Want to stop bird strikes? Turn up the bass.

Jared Padalecki's a hot daddy.

Justin Bieber shared his butt with the world.

When Florence Welch met A$AP Rocky.

Hundreds of activists gathered to say adieu as Steven Goldstein prepares to step down as Garden State Equality's executive director.

News: Dear Abby, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bette Midler, 'Guy Code'

GQ magazine, Andy Cohen discusses why straight guys love his show: "I show a bunch of boobs and asses and good-looking women. I get your wives and girlfriends playing drinking games. I get 'em wound up, I get 'em drunk, and just when they're at the point where.... [then] I'm off the air.'"

MTV2's testosterone-laden show Guy Code will be addressing the gay spectrum next week, and most of the gents agree there is such a spectrum.

They don't illustrate like this anymore.

On gun control and gay marriage: "...The long-term trend on gun control, unlike gay marriage, has been a rise in opposition. As recently as April, the Pew Research Center put out a report noting the divergent trends on the two issues, noting that 'on gun control, Americans have become more conservative; on gay marriage, Americans have become more liberal.'"

  Michael Triplett, president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, has died at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer. From the group's website: "His quiet demeanor masked a steely resolve and an uncanny ability to push our organization forward. Michael quickly became someone who could be relied on both to provide sage advice as well as the time and energy to help us accomplish our goals…. Michael was truly a joy for all of us to work with, and his loss will be felt among our organization for years to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with his partner, Jack and his family in Alabama."

An unknown number of hostages are dead during a state-run raid to end a siege in Algeria.

This camera can capture 3D images of falling snow.

Chris Christie calls the NRA ad attacking the President for using Secret Service for his children "reprehensible."

Sorry, conservatives, but Bette Midler is right about Ronald Reagan and the mentally ill.

Hateful Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins is wrong about It Gets Better, which he calls a "deceptive lie."

Pauline Friedman Phillips, the woman who wrote the Dr. Abby column as Abigail Van Buren, died at the age of 94.

A Toronto man accused of murdering his husband is now asking for the victim's $2 million life insurance and is also demanding his mourning family never see a dime.

Nicholous Hoult looked refreshingly hot at the Rome premiere of Warm Bodies.

You will be forgiven for taking some time to watch Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj hate one another.

Heads up, Australia - Robert Pattinson brought his guitar.

Matt Bomer is designing men's apparel inspired by his show, White Collar.

There's a new support group for GBT men in Atlanta who have been victims of hate crimes.

Retired Baptist Rev. Howard Bess stands with gay students at evangelical Wheaton College: "I am one of those supporters though I am not gay. Wheaton College is my alma mater and I am proud to be a Wheaton graduate. I found Wheaton to be a home for a rigorous academic education, and Wheaton’s student body and faculty comprised the greatest group of people I have ever known. They were dedicated, hard-working and highly principled. To them, Christ was Lord; nothing else was so important."

British Evangelical leader Steve Chalke comes out for recognition of same-sex relationships: "When we refuse to make room for gay people to live in loving, stable relationships, we consign them to lives of loneness, secrecy and fear."

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is again leading the call for Homeland Security and the Justice Department to guarantee that married bi-national same-sex couples not be deported or separated before the Supreme Court rules on marriage equality. "By taking these interim steps, vulnerable families affected by DOMA can remain together until the Supreme Court issues its decision," Gillibrand and other senators wrote. "Preserving family unity is a fundamental American value and is the cornerstone of our nation’s immigration law."

"No more wedding jokes, please," says Kim Kardashian.

Rachel Maddow Takes On The NRA Trolls: VIDEO

Rachel Maddow was all fired up for her take down of the NRA yesterday. The specific topic? The gun rights group's advert attacking "elitist hypocrite" President Obama for using Secret Service to protect his daughters, a smear offensive both to common sense dictating such protections for the first family and to those of us who know the unwritten rule: president's children are off limits.

To Maddow, NRA's commercial is just another example of right-wing trolling. It is a schtick, she says before running through a brief history of trolling of "purposeful outrage" and how this schtick reveals a group or individual's political impotence: if you have to go to these lengths, you're truly desperate. And, what's more, when one looks at how much money is spent on trolling, that shtick turns out to be a huge waste of money.

Watch Maddow - and, toward the end, fellow gay MSNBC staffer Steve Kornacki - say it like it is AFTER THE JUMP.

Obama Unveils Plan to Reduce Gun Violence: VIDEO

President Obama has unveiled his gun plan, the HuffPost reports:

The proposal, which comes at the end of a month-long review process spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden, is broken down into four key subsections: law enforcement, the availability of dangerous firearms and ammunition, school safety and mental health.

In an effort to touch on all four of those elements, the president recommended requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales; reinstating the assault weapons ban; restoring a 10-round limit on ammunition magazines; eliminating armor-piercing bullets; providing mental health services in schools; allocating funds to hire more police officers; and instituting a federal gun trafficking statute, among other policies. The cost of the package, senior officials estimated, would be roughly $500 million, some of which could come from already budgeted funds.

Because these recommendations require congressional approval, the administration is supplementing its proposal with 23 executive actions that will be taken immediately. Those actions include requiring federal agencies to hand over relevant data for a background check system; providing law enforcement officials, first responders and school officials with better training for active shooting situations; directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence; and many more.

Watch part of his press conference, AFTER THE JUMP...