News: Susan Boyle, Sharon Lubinski, Aretha Franklin, Scott McCoy

Gays aren't the only group that feels Obama is ignoring them.

It ain't a Warhol.

Aretha Franklin started the year with a hat, and she'll end the year with a mane!

Will gay troops get to testify openly about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?

Governor Paterson on reintroduction of marriage equality bill: "I won't reintroduce the issue unless I see substantial change in the position of the legislators. People don't want to go down on a losing ship and unless they're sure the votes are there, they're not going to vote that way," he said. "If I saw some change next year, I would introduce it."

Michelangelo Signorile talks to lead attorney in "bombshell" White House OPM health benefits case.

2010 Grammy nominations announced.

Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of first lesbian U.S. Marshal Sharon Lubinski.

UK teen gets four years in prison for trying to kill gay man: "The court heard the teenager went to 47-year-old Brian Monan’s home in Workington after setting up a meeting through an internet gay chat room. After having sex he turned on six gas taps in the kitchen and left the house. He returned to the house and tried to stab Mr Monan in the chest with a bread knife."

Susan Boyle smashes chart records with debut CD.

Rex Wockner interviews blogger Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God.

Openly gay Utah lawmaker Scott McCoy resigning from Senate: "If I want to be a partner in my law firm, I need to be a full-time lawyer and not a part-time lawyer and part-time legislator."

Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone have reportedly closed on a west village townhouse: "Designer Marc Jacobs (above) and his hot boyfriend Lorenzo Martone closed yesterday on their townhouse at Superior Ink in the Village, for which they paid $10.4 million and bought as a "white box" of empty space, reports The Post's Jennifer Gould Keil. The Bethune Street townhouse has nearly 4,400 square feet and comes with a private elevator, rear terrace and yard and a roof terrace, and connects to the garage for ultimate privacy."

Find the artist.

Adam Lambert talks about meeting Madonna.

Stuck Mars Rover makes key discovery: "Sulfates are minerals just beneath the surface that shout to us that they were formed in steam vents, since steam has sulfur in it. Steam is associated with hydrothermal activity – evidence of water-charged explosive volcanism. Such areas could have once supported life. And most amazingly, the boundary between the sulfate-rich soil and the soil with just the generic concentration of sulfates runs right down the middle of the stranded rover. Spirit is lodged on the edge of a crater -- sitting astride the boundary!"

Fort Worth withholds names of witnesses to June 28 raid on Rainbow Lounge.

Lady Gaga on her album covers: "My album covers are not sexual at all, which was an issue at my record label. I fought for months, and I cried at meetings. They didn’t think the photos were commercial enough.The last thing a young woman needs is another picture of a sexy pop star writhing in sand, covered in grease, touching herself.”

Utah Gov Voices Support for Gay Rights Initiative, Civil Unions

Equality Utah's 'Common Ground' initiative has not seen much success. Two of its bills have failed already. The first failed in committee on the second day of the legislature, and the second, which would have erased the portion of the state's same-sex marriage ban forbidding civil unions, was pulled. But the set of initiatives did receive support yesterday from Utah's Governor:

"Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a spokeswoman said Monday, backs Equality Utah's Common Ground Initiative, a legislative effort that would provide some rights to gay and transgender Utahns. Even more, the Republican governor favors civil unions. It's a position that runs counter to his political party and against the majority of Utahns -- 70 percent of whom oppose civil unions, according to a recent Salt Lake Tribune poll. 'He's long supported many of the ideas that are presented within the Common Ground Initiative,' said Lisa Roskelley, the governor's spokeswoman, noting her boss waits to endorse specific bills officially until presented to him in final form. 'He supports civil unions.' It's doubtful Huntsman's backing will lead to civil unions getting past the conservative Legislature. And it may not help the rest of this year's gay-rights legislative push, which already has shrunk from four bills to two."

As far as the remaining half of the gay rights initiative: "Of the remaining Common Ground bills, one would make it illegal to fire or evict someone for being gay or transgender. The other would allow two, unmarried cohabiting adults to file a "declaration of joint support" with their county recorder and gain benefits of inheritance and medical-decision making."

Homophobic Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka and Utah State Senator Scott McCoy debate the Common Ground initative on Utah's KSL5, AFTER THE JUMP...

No Common Ground: First of Five Gay Rights Bills in Utah Killed

The first piece of legislation presented in Equality Utah's 'Common Ground Initiative', a bill that "would have amended state law so that financial dependents -- besides spouses, parents and children -- could sue if a breadwinner suffers a wrongful death," suffered a quick defeat in the Utah Senate judiciary committee yesterday:

"A standing-room-only crowd listened to nearly two hours of testimony before the committee, led by Republican Sen. Chris Buttars, voted 4-2 against sending the measure to the Senate floor. Only McCoy, who is openly gay, and fellow Salt Lake City Democrat Ross Romero voted for the bill. Buttars, who was lobbied by a group of gay and bisexual activists at his West Jordan home earlier this month, didn't comment on McCoy's proposal during the meeting."

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: " Equality Utah's drive -- crafted in response to statements the LDS Church has made that it does not oppose some rights for same-sex couples -- includes creating a statewide domestic-partner registry and protecting someone from being fired or evicted for being gay. Sen. Scott McCoy's SB32 would have amended state law so that financial dependents -- besides spouses, parents and children -- could sue if a breadwinner suffers a wrongful death. The measure would have benefited same-sex couples, but also other nontraditional households, such as one in which a grandmother relies on a grandson for financial support."

The LDS statement, released in response to the uproar following the passage of Proposition 8, said that the Mormon church "does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights or probate rights."

Tuesday's vote cast doubt on five additional forthcoming bills in the 'Common Ground Initiative' legislation. Buttass has spearheaded anti-gay initiatives in Utah in the past, including legislation allowing schools to eliminate gay-straight alliances and other groups promoting tolerance.

Hundreds of supporters of the 'Common Ground Initiative' marched in Salt Lake City over the weekend ahead of the legislative session. Watch the report on that, AFTER THE JUMP...

Equality Utah Calls Bluff of Mormon Church on Gay Rights

Equality Utah and Utah's first openly gay state senator Scott McCoy held a news conference yesterday in response to a statement put out by the Church of Latter Day Saints following uproar over the church's massive funding efforts to pass Proposition 8 in California.

The Mormon Church put out a statement last week in an attempt to soften criticism of its anti-gay marriage campaign that read, in part, that the church "does not object to rights for same-sex couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights or probate rights."

Said McCoy: "Setting aside the marriage issue for now, there is so much in that space that is short of marriage that we need to talk about; and we're saying, 'Let's talk about it.'"

According to Utah station KSL, "Those issues include rights in medical care and hospital visitation, housing and employment protections, insurance rights for a partner, a statewide domestic partner registry. Repealing the second part of Utah's Amendment 3 would officially recognize gay couples. Most Utah legislators are not aware of the proposals, a few hesitating to comment until specific bills are available. This group knows there will be questions, resistance, even negative reactions. They're hoping to create a dialogue based on the common ground they say the LDS Church has laid down."

Watch the news report and conference clips, AFTER THE JUMP...