News: Gay Pride Suppression, Hillary Clinton, Russia, JJ Abrams

A gay man in Boynton Beach, Florida, is being accused of trying to start abstract "trouble" after his neighborhood association nixed his pride flag. The man, Dave Armstrong, says his neighbors are just homophobic. "I said, 'Listen, everybody else has an American flag on the front of their property, so why can't I have my pride flag right out here?'"

An Atlanta man is suing Georgia after state rejects his three gay-themed vanity license plates, "4GayLib," "GayPwr" and "GayGuy:" "All three were denied because they were already on a list of more than 10,000 banned tags, the state's 'bad tag list'. 'There are some limits that are proper but none of this makes any sense,' [Attorney Cynthia] Counts said. 'It's completely contrary to any first amendment principals.'"

The Connecticut Senate approved the state's first openly gay Supreme Court justice.

MSNBC panels says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was "at her very best" during yesterday's Benghazi hearings.

New rules from the Kremlin demand military officers inspect recruits' bodies, including their genitals, for tattoos that may indicate gang or gay affiliation. "The reason for getting tattoos could indicate a low cultural or educational level," the directive reads. "If an influence by external factors is determined, for example, persuasion or direct coercion, this indicates the malleability of the young man, his disposition to submit to another's will."

Scotland Yard says it has arrested three people suspected of being involved in a "Muslim street patrol" that recently assaulted a gay man in London.

More about corporations turning on the Boy Scouts for the Scouts' tenacious homophobia, including a chart on who's giving how much to the organization. (Click on image to expand.)

David Hall, the former Air Force sergeant booted under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, discusses his experience as a "citizen co-chair" during President Obama's second inauguration. "I think he tried to put us all at ease and talk to us as normal people," he said of the commander-in-chief's demeanor.

Rather than joining the momentum that will most likely usher in marriage equality in Rhode Island, and simultaneously going against his party peer, Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Democratic State Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III plans on introducing a bill that will put same-sex unions to a popular vote, rather than allowing lawmakers to decide.

Despite outcry from LGBT students, Chick-fil-A will stay put at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school, however, agreed to give them $1,500 to see if they can start an anti-bullying and general awareness campaign on such a small budget.

Stephen Dorff found some relief in the Roosevelt Hotel's bushes.

Here are the president's remarks on the Pentagon lifting the ban on women in combat: "Today, by moving to open more military positions—including ground combat units—to women, our armed forces have taken another historic step toward harnessing the talents and skills of all our citizens..."

Polish lawmakers begin debating civil unions.

Why didn't Sheryl Crow tell the world that former lover Lance Armstrong was doping?

David Beckham in a "fashionable dressing gown."

Is JJ Abrams going to direct the next Star Wars flick?

"Does lightning cause migraines?"

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.

Italian PM Monti Now Saying No To Marriage Equality

One has to assume Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's pals at the Vatican weren't pleased with his previously laissez-faire approach to marriage equality, because the lawmaker, up for reelection, has changed his tune.

Monti surprised observers earlier this month by saying that marriage equality was up to the Parliament and only the Parliament. Now he's saying, "never mind:" families should only be one man, one woman and their offspring.

"My thought is that the family should be made up of one man and one woman, and I consider it necessary that children should grow up with a mother and a father," Monti said yesterday, according to Reuters, marking the first time he's brought up social issues during his bid to keep his post. 

"Parliament can find other solutions for other kinds of unions and cohabitations."

Hundreds Of Thousands Protest Marriage Equality In Paris: VIDEO

Police estimate about 120,000 people took to Paris' streets today to protest marriage equality there. Organizers, mostly Catholics or Muslims who believe in "traditional marriage" and secular activists who oppose same-sex couples raising children, claim about 500,000 people turned out.

Either way, it was a massive rally, just the latest indication that the Socialist government led by President François Hollande faces stiff, sustained opposition to their plan to expand marriage laws to include same-sex couples.

The BBC has a report from the action:

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Paris over plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children.

Three big marches were converging on the Champs de Mars, next to the Eiffel Tower.

…

The "Demo for all" event was being led by a charismatic comedian known as Frigide Barjot, who tweeted that the "crowd is immense" and told French TV that gay marriage "makes no sense" because a child should be born to a man and woman.

Centre-right UMP President Jean-Francois Cope said the rally would be a "test" for the president because there were "clearly millions of French people who are probably concerned by this reform".

The far-right National Front is also opposed to the change, although its leader Marine Le Pen stayed away from the march, arguing the issue was a diversion by politicians from France's real problems.

Despite the support of the Church and political right, the organizers are keen to stress their movement is non-political and non-religious, and in no way directed against homosexuals, BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield reports.

I've included a video report from today's protest AFTER THE JUMP.

Topless Femen Activists Arrested Protesting Pope's Anti-Gay Policies

Four women from Femen, the oft-topless activist group that fights for women's and LGBT rights, were arrested at St. Peter's Square at the Vatican while the Pope was speaking today.

Baring their chests, and with slogans like "In Gay We Trust" and "Homophobe shut up" painted on their backs, the women were there to shake their collective fist at Pope Benedict and the Vatican's consistently hateful, discriminatory and increasingly outdated policies demonizing LGBT people.

Before their arrests, the Femen activists had to contend with irate Catholic pilgrims who tried to run them off. The scene was very reminiscent of when anti-gay activists started beating up the women during an action in France last November.

See some more shots from today's action AFTER THE JUMP.

News: 'We Do,' Zayn Malik, Italy, Outkast

Anti-gay activist Brian Brown is in France trying to stir up more homophobia in the nation's debate about marriage equality.

Former Smithsonian researcher Tim Gold and his husband Mitchell Gold, of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Furniture, hope to open an LGBT history museum.

The Campaign for Southern Equality will take its "I Do" campaign to Virginia next week, where same-sex couples will try to get marriage licenses to protest nuptial discrimination.

Italy's High Court ruled yesterday that same-sex couples can adopt.

The Vatican, predictably, is pissed. "Monogamous families constitute the ideal place to learn the significance of human relations and represent the social and anthropological environment in which the best type of growth is possible," bioethicist Adriano Pessina wrote in the Vatican's newspaper, clearly basing his argument on the homophobic assumption that same-sex couples are incapable of monogamy.

The world's 100 oldest living Oscar nomineees.

Dallas city officials recorded a 13-minute "It Gets Better" video.

"Why Is NBC Sports Sponsoring America’s Largest Gun Show?"

James Yeager, the man who promised to start killing people if President Obama tries restrict access to deadly firearms, has had his gun permit suspended.

Sorry, Star Wars fans, but the Obama administration says we can't afford the $850 quadrillion it would take to make a Death Star. Also, do we really need a device capable of blowing up planets?

Hot: Outkast (Andre 3000 and Big Boi) got back together to help Frank Ocean on his track "Pink Matter."

Paying it woofward: Dog teaches puppy how to walk down the stairs.

Sorry, but Johnny Cash did not write a song called "I'll Have The Wine," though I'm sure he wanted to...

Jeremy Renner shines fabulously at Hansel and Gretel premiere in Mexico.

Happy 20th birthday to One Direction singer Zayn Malik.

And congratulations to all the winners at the International Web TV Awards.

Canadian Blood Services wants gay men to be able to donate if they haven't had sex with a man in the past five years. The AIDS Calgary Awareness Association says that's not enough: the entire ban must be lifted.

A wonderful profile of openly gay boxer Orlando Cruz.

Only one-in-seven Americans approve of Congress. Shocking, I know.

Legacy: "George Prescott Bush is gearing up to run for a little-known but powerful office in a state where his family already is a political dynasty and where his Hispanic roots could help extend a stranglehold on power Republicans have enjoyed for two decades." That office? The Texas Land Commission.