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04/19/2007


New Poll Shows Majority in Pennsylvania Support Marriage Equality

Pennsylvania

A new poll out from Franklin & Marshall College shows that a majority of Pennsylvanians — 52 percent — support marriage equality, while 41 percent oppose it.

Think Progress reports that similar favorability, though not by as wide a margin, was seen in a Quinnipiac poll released two weeks ago. They add:

Though Pennsylvania does not have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, such unions are still not recognized under state law. Support will likely continue to increase in the Keystone state not only because of national trends, but because of the neighboring influence of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, which all have either marriage equality or civil unions that could become marriage equality quite soon.


Brian Sims Is Now Pennsylvania's First Lawmaker Sworn In While Out

Sims"The tide has changed," said Brian Sims, a civil rights activist and former Bloomsburg University football player who became the first openly gay lawmaker elected to Pennsylvanis's General Assemly.

"2012 will go down in history as when being anti-gay puts you in the minority."

While Sims is the first person elected while out of the closet, Republican State Rep. Mike Fleck came out of the closet last month, a move Sims says will only accelerate the push for LGBT equality there.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Sims said that with two gay members, the legislature would have a more difficult time ignoring gay civil rights issues such as discrimination in the workplace and in housing - the focus of legislation he has already introduced - as well as hate crimes and bullying.

Sims also plans on using his new position to fight gun violence that plagues Philadelphia and the nation. "We had more murders last year in Philadelphia than in all of Germany," Sims said. "Some people may have a deer problem. We have a murder problem."

[Image via Current]


News: Ft. Bragg, Indiana Gay Nup Ban, CIA, Iowa Question

1NewsIcon The European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that the CIA tortured, shackled, beat and sodomized detainee Khaled el-Masri, a German national they claimed had ties to terror groups.

Metcalfe1NewsIcon Pennsylvania GOP state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe is going to introduce a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage there. "It is important that we support traditional marriage and have constitutional amendments to protect it at the state level. Marriage is a common good, not a special interest. Special interests should not have the right to redefine marriage for all of us," he said.

1NewsIcon Conservatives in Texas are looking for new ways to prohibit abortion, while liberals and concerned doctors in Wisconsin and North Carolina are fighting back against other right-wing attacks on a woman's right to choose.

1NewsIcon The new The Knife album is coming soon. Get excited here.

1NewsIcon The new poster for The Wolverine movie moves!

1NewsIcon Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo look beefy on the set of Foxcatcher.

1NewsIcon Drew Barrymore debuts new baby Olive on People cover.

1NewsIcon Matt Bomer does some pre-holiday shopping.

1NewsIcon On marriage equality and affirmative action at the Supreme Court: "Justice Anthony Kennedy is likely to be the swing vote in these cases, and many are predicting he will side with conservatives to limit racial preferences and with liberals to support gay marriage. Paradoxically, the very reasoning that could guide Kennedy to support marriage equality may bolster his decision to curtail race-based affirmative action, spurring colleges to adopt new approaches."

CCTV1NewsIcon The UK Network Rail Service turned CCTV footage of three ladies' embarrassing escalator moments into a PSA.

1NewsIcon Expect to see a lot of nude Matt Damon for his turn as Liberace's long-term lover Scott Thorson in the biopic Behind the Candelabra: "I had to come out of the pool, go over to Michael Douglas, straddle him on a chaise lounge and start kissing him... It's not like I kiss him just once. We drew it up like a football plan."

1NewsIcon Congratulations to new married couple Larry Duncan And Randell Shepherd, the Washington couple who became famous after a picture of them getting a marriage license went viral. Even though neither is particularly religious, they still married Sunday in a church. Said Duncan, "Enough people have told me, 'God hates fags. I want someone in a church to say, 'God loves fags,' to have that stamp on it."

1NewsIcon The University of Iowa is now asking applicants if they identify as LGBT, making it the first public university and only the second school in the nation to do so. "This is a question whose time had come. We think this will cause them to look more closely at the university because we value that part of who they are. We want students to feel we are receptive to and sensitive to their lifestyle and their description of themselves," said admissions director Michael Barron.

1NewsIcon Stephen Saland, one of the four GOP New York Senators to support marriage equality, has conceded defeat in his November election against Democrat Terry Gipson.

Deepwaterfootage1NewsIcon Fresh Deepwater leak? "CBS News has learned that BP is set to embark Thursday on the fifth day of a little-known subsea mission under Coast Guard supervision to look for any new oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon disaster."

1NewsIcon Equality and cents: "Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday he has been hearing from companies that fear that a measure that would put Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage into the state constitution might also prevent firms from offering benefits to gay couples"

1NewsIcon Ashley Broadway believes she is being excluded from the Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses in North Carolina, because she is a lesbian. "The facts here are simple: there is no legal need or justification for any spouse to be excluded from a group like this, which exists to provide support to the spouses and families of our military men and women and the communities they serve," said Outserve-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson.

1NewsIcon Are One Direction band members truly fascinating?


Pennsylvania GOP State Rep. Mike Fleck Comes Out

MikefleckMike Fleck, a Republican State Rep. from Pennsylvania, came out of the closet today, a closet he stayed in for nearly 40 years because of his religion and his relationship with the Boy Scouts of America.

"Coming out is hard enough, but doing it in the public eye is definitely something I never anticipated," said the lawmaker, who was married to a woman for more than adecade, according to PoliticsPA.

"I’m still the exact same person and I’m still a Republican and, most importantly, I’m still a person of faith trying to live life as a servant of God and the public. The only difference now is that I will also be doing so as honestly as I know how."

The Republican Party is all about the government needing to stay out of people’s lives. I’m not a one-issue person and it’s not a one-issue party," he said.

Fleck, who is 39-years old and an Eagle Scout, said his staff position with the organization contributed to his staying in the closet.

From the subscriber-only Huntingdon Daily News, which broke the story:

As an executive for the organization, Fleck said "now my livelihood depended on hiding my true sexual orientation, something I was very good at."

He continued that during his 20s, he firmly believed what he’s been taught, that homosexuality was a choice and so never felt in great conflict because he’d learned to suppress his feelings.

"I wanted to live a ‘normal’ life and raise a family," Fleck said. "I also believed that by marrying, I was fulfilling God’s will and I thought my same-sex attraction would simply go away."

Fleck also said that he tried religious therapy to rid himself of same-sex desires, but to no avail. "I sought out treatment from a Christian counselor, but when that didn’t work out, I engaged a secular therapist who told me point blank that I was gay and that I was too caught up in being the perfect Christian rather than actually being authentic and honest," he said.

As for his ex-wife, Fleck said she remains his best-friend. "My wife and I became closer than ever [after I came out to her], but it was bittersweet as we both concluded that the marriage was over," he said.


News: Nate Silver, Jeremy Renner, Marriage Money, Gaza

1NewsIcon Miami bar Tobacco road has been many things in its 100 years, including a gay bar.

Cookies-food-green-marijuana-weed-Favim.com-2217411NewsIcon With weed food possibly going mainstream in Colorado and Washington, CBS News takes a look at some cooks crafting foods that will make you smile.

1NewsIcon Some low ball estimates for immediate revenue Maryland, Maine and Washington could enjoy once same-sex marriages get up and running: "Wedding-related spending for in-state couples is projected be about $16 million in Maine, $63 million in Maryland and $89 million in Washington."

1NewsIcon On Dean Chambers' attacks on Nate Silver and his "voodoo statistics": "There was more than a touch of homophobia to the criticism (Silver is gay), not to mention an aversion to scientific rationalism that has come to characterize certain segments of the conservative right. (Gawker compared the attack to "something like a jock slapping a math book out of a kid’s hands and saying, 'NICE NUMBERS, FAG.'")"

1NewsIcon An Israeli airstrike on Gaza City killed eleven people today.

1NewsIcon Oh, Rupert Murdoch: "Why is the Jewish owned press so consistently anti-Israel in every crisis?"

Allenwest1NewsIcon Tea Party Rep. Allen West's supporters are losing their minds after election officials failed to meet a recount deadline, meaning that, as expected, Democratic rival Patrick Murphy will take West's seat in Washington, though not before more right wing protests, of course.

1NewsIcon Adam Roberts somehow got great chefs to share their best kept culinary secrets. Now he's passing them on to you. How delicious.

1NewsIcon "Because You're So Sweet"

1NewsIcon Just for the record, David Beckham is not leaving the LA Galaxy to play in Australia.

1NewsIcon Michael Fassbender rubbed up on co-star Ryan Gosling while shooting Terrence Malick's new film in Mexico.

1NewsIcon The happiest of birthdays to Rachel McAdams.

1NewsIcon Check out Fiona Apple's new track for This Is 40.

1NewsIcon Don't expect marriage equality in Pennsylvania, at least not without federal or SCOTUS intervention: "Gov. Tom Corbett and many in the Republican-controlled General Assembly oppose gay marriage, and state law barring it would have to be repealed or struck down by a court. Those on both sides of the issue say the commonwealth's political climate has not forced lawmakers to take a stand on the issue, which isn't viewed as a high priority."

Rennersnl1NewsIcon Jeremy Renner and the SNL cast had a ball sending-up The Avengers last night.

1NewsIcon The origin of Twitter-born words: "Jacob Eisenstein at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and colleagues examined 30 million tweets sent from US locations between December 2009 and May 2011... After collecting the data, the team built a mathematical model that captures the large-scale flow of new words between cities. The model revealed that cities with big African American populations tend to lead the way in linguistic innovation."

1NewsIcon Cynthia Deford, a lesbian mother in Washington state, has started a petition to ban teachers from campaigning for political causes in school after her daughter's teacher wore a button supporting a ban on gay marriage there.


Pennsylvania Voting Machine Filmed Changing Obama Vote to Romney: VIDEO

For the record:

VoteA Pennsylvania voter says that his electronic ballot changed a vote to Romney that he intended for Obama. While some are suggesting that the clip might be a fake, the uploader insists it is not. Commenters on YouTube are calling for the Justice Department to be notified.

YouTube user CentralPAVote writes:

My wife and I went to the voting booths this morning before work. There were 4 older ladies running the show and 3 voting booths that are similar to a science fair project in how they fold up. They had an oval VOTE logo on top center and a cartridge slot on the left that the volunteers used to start your ballot.

I initially selected Obama but Romney was highlighted. I assumed it was being picky so I deselected Romney and tried Obama again, this time more carefully, and still got Romney. Being a software developer, I immediately went into troubleshoot mode. I first thought the calibration was off and tried selecting Jill Stein to actually highlight Obama. Nope. Jill Stein was selected just fine. Next I deselected her and started at the top of Romney's name and started tapping very closely together to find the 'active areas'. From the top of Romney's button down to the bottom of the black checkbox beside Obama's name was all active for Romney. From the bottom of that same checkbox to the bottom of the Obama button (basically a small white sliver) is what let me choose Obama. Stein's button was fine. All other buttons worked fine.

I asked the voters on either side of me if they had any problems and they reported they did not. I then called over a volunteer to have a look at it. She him hawed for a bit then calmly said "It's nothing to worry about, everything will be OK." and went back to what she was doing. I then recorded this video.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

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