Another Oregon Baker Denies Baking Wedding Cake for Gay Couple: VIDEO

Back in February, Sweet Cakes, a Gresham, Oregon bakery found itself the target of protest after it said it would not bake a cake for a lesbian couple's wedding. The Oregon Labor Bureau is reportedly still investigating.

Now Fleur Cakes, a baker in Mt. Hood, Oregon, has denied a wedding cake request from a couple for the same reason. Erin Hanson and Katie Pugh (pictured above) thought they had found the perfect baker.

Not so, KOMO News reports:

"I mentioned Erin in passing, and said a 'she' in passing too, in the email. A few days later she called back and that was today. And called and verified it was a same-sex wedding," Pugh said.

And that's when Fleur Cakes said it wouldn't bake the cake.

The business is also Regentin's house. She was out of town but spoke to KATU News on the phone.

When asked if she was aware it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation for a business that serves the public, Regentin said: "I believe I have the liberty to live by my principles."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

And, if you're interested, here is Fleur Cakes' Facebook page.

Marriage Equality Polls Well in Oregon: 49 Percent Favor, 42 Oppose

A new poll reveals that 49% of Oregonians favor marriage equality and 42% oppose. 9% remain undecided.

Marriage equality will be on the ballot in November 2014.

Joan McCarter at DailyKos sees optimism in the polling question:

Saying yes to "changing the Oregon constitution" instead of a much more neutral question like "do you support or oppose same sex marriage" indicates that a 49 percent level of support is pretty solid. That's very encouraging, 18 months ahead of the election, and not out of line with polling from PPP last December that found 54 percent of voters think "same-sex marriage should be allowed in Oregon."

Federal Appeals Court: U.S. and Oregon Bans on Same-Sex Marriage Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court judge has issued yet another ruling against bans on same-sex marriage. This one applies to both federal bans and a ban in the state of Oregon, The Oregonian reports:

Harry Pregerson, a judge with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, made the declarations in deciding that the federal government had discriminated against Portland lawyer Alison "Tex" Clark based on her sexual orientation.

Clark, an assistant federal public defender, married photographer Anna Campbell last June 23 in British Columbia, where same-sex marriage is legal. On July 12, she applied for federal health care benefits for Campbell, but was denied and subsequently appealed.

"Getting the opinion was a salve for the pain of getting a letter from the government last year saying our marriage was not recognized by the federal government," Clark said Thursday.

Opponents of Marriage Equality Lose Challenge to Ballot Initiative Language in Oregon

Basic Rights Oregon is deciding between two versions of a voter initiative to bring to the ballot that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The language on both reads:

Amends Constitution: Recognizes marriage between couples of same gender; protects clergy/religious institutions' refusal to perform marriages

Opponents of same-sex marriage challenged the language with the Attorney General's office, and lost, The Oregonian reports:

The attorney general's office on Friday announced its final wording on a ballot title  -- and it rejected the legal argument from an attorney for the Oregon Family Council that the title should reflect the notion that the initiative would require every governmental agency in Oregon to issue marriage licenses.

Basic Rights Oregon, the gay-rights group sponsoring the initiative, has rejected that argument as absurd.  It says county clerks would continue to be the only ones issuing marriage licenses if this initiative is approved by voters.

Either side can appeal so there may be more legal challenges ahead, but this is where things stand at the moment.

Is This Oregon School Principal Being Fired Because He's Gay? - VIDEO

A group of parents is demanding answers from the Gresham Barlow School District board, claiming that they're not renewing Principal Tom Klansnic's contract because he's gay. Klansnic has worked in the district for nearly ten years, KATU reports:

Denise McCloud is among the parents standing up for Klansnic to find out why his contract is not being renewed. She’s leading a group of parents to attend Thursday night’s district board meeting to find answers. “You know that’s what we’re trying to teach them. That we all stand up together,” she said. “That we all need to be looking out for each other. That we have each other’s back.”

Klansnic's lawyer is considering a lawsuit and believes that indeed, his sexuality is at the root of it:

“Mr. Klansnic went through a divorce and he revealed openly that he was gay. And his relationship with the distict changed almost immediately.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

UPDATE: There's a Change.org petition calling on the school board not to get rid of him.

News: Queen Elizabeth, Daft Punk, Rhode Island, CPAC

Two Oregon men were attacked by a wrench-wielding man hurling anti-gay epithets as they walked their pink poodle. Police are looking into whether or not the incident can be considered a hate crime.

Queen Elizabeth has been hospitalized with gastroenteritis, an intestinal inflammation typically caused by a virus. Apparently these commoner viruses do not know the 86-year old is royalty!

Gay and lesbian couples, and the wedding industry, are gearing up for spring and summer ceremonies in Maine.

Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb sees marriage equality on the horizon. Civil unions, he says, are just the first step.

Lincoln Chafee, the independent governor of Rhode Island, where same-sex marriage recently passed the state House, makes an economic argument for passage: "Without marriage equality in Rhode Island...very desirable employer(s) will consider the difficulties and costs of hiring in Rhode Island against conditions in other Northeastern states. And the company may simply feel it's wrong to deny its gay and lesbian employees a fundamental freedom: the right to marry the person they love in the state they call home."

Could docs have a path toward a potential "HIV cure" for newborns? "A baby born with the AIDS virus appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection... A doctor gave this baby faster and stronger treatment than is usual, starting a three-drug infusion within 30 hours of birth... That fast action apparently knocked out HIV in the baby's blood before it could form hideouts in the body."

Sequestration and HIV.

While litigation can create positive change in some cases, it likely won't work when it comes to breaking down homophobia in the NFL, says NBC Sports' Mike Florio.

"Palestinians Only" buses coming soon to Israel.

Gay Orthodox Jewish group preps for their first seder in Jerusalem.

Obama's second term will continue to see the judiciary undergo long overdue demographic shifts: "Reelected with strong support from women, ethnic minorities and gays, Obama is moving quickly to change the face of the federal judiciary by the end of his second term, setting the stage for another series of drawn-out confrontations with Republicans in Congress."

James Franco admits he teases people about his sexuality, and that questions about it are now a big part of his public persona. "One of the things that's very much part of my public image is the question of my sexuality. It's not something that bothers me in the slightest. It hasn't gone away and I get asked about it from all sides. It's partly my doing and partly not my doing," he tells Attitude.

From a New York Times op-ed called "The Perils of Perfection:" "Barriers and constraints — anything that imposes artificial limits on the human condition — are being destroyed with particular gusto. Superhuman, another mysterious start-up that could enliven any comedy show, promises to offer, as its co-founder recently put it, an unspecified service that 'helps people be superhuman.' Well, at least they had the decency not to call it The Übermensch."

Right wing magazine the National Review blasts CPAC for banning the gay group GOProud and not inviting Chris Christie: "...As friends of CPAC and fellow conservative advocates, we nevertheless regret that CPAC has excluded the gay conservative group GOProud and declined to invite New Jersey governor Chris Christie."

Daft Punk teases a new album.

The best type of reporters are the ravishing kind...

Jack the Giant Slayer topped the weak weekend box office with a meager $28 million.