Gay British Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans Denies Rape, Sexual Assault Charges Following Arrest: VIDEO

Nigel Evans, the openly gay Tory Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, was arrested yesterday on charges of sexual assault and rape, the Guardian reports:

Detectives visited his home in Pendleton, Lancashire, on Saturday morning following allegations made by two men who were in their 20s at the time of the alleged attacks, which are said to have taken place at the property in July 2009 and March 2013.

The house and his car were searched by officers while Evans was held in custody at Preston police station. He was released on police bail until 19 June.

The prime minister, David Cameron, is understood to have been informed about the arrest of the 55-year-old, MP for Ribble Valley since 1992, one of the few Tory strongholds in the north. John Bercow, the Commons speaker, last night told the Daily Mirror: "It's been a total shock. Nigel is a popular and well-liked character. No one can quite believe what's happened."

Evans denied the charges in a statement to reporters on Sunday:

After being granted bail, Evans told reporters: "Yesterday I was interviewed by the police concerning two complaints - one of which dates back four years - made by two people who are well known to each other and who until yesterday I had regarded as friends.

"The complaints are completely false and I cannot understand why they have been made, especially as I have continued to socialise with one as recently as last week."

Watch Evans speak to reporters, AFTER THE JUMP...

No further details regarding the charges have been disclosed by police.

Evans said he would temporarily step aside as deputy speaker while fights the allegations, and thanked Facebook followers for their support.

Plaque Honoring Victims of Nail Bomb Attack at UK Gay Pub Missing

In 1999, the Admiral Duncan Pub on Old Compton Street in London's gay SoHo district was bombed. Three people died. Now a plaque in memory of Andrea Dykes, John Light and Nick Moore has gone missing, No To Hate Crime reports:

Mark Healey from 17-24-30 noticed that it had gone during recent checks. “If anyone has taken the plaque I hope that they will return it. It is a shame that it has gone missing as we approach the 14th anniversary of these horrific attacks.”

Mark has been in touch with the Moore family, St Anne’s Church, the local police and Westminster Council – unfortunately no-one knows where the plaque is.

A new plaque is on order.

More background on the Admiral Duncan attacks:

The Admiral Duncan bombing was the third of three nail bomb attacks carried out by David Copeland who wanted to stir up fear and hatred so that the British National Party would be elected. Luckily his plan failed but not before he had planted three bombs over the course of three weeks targeting the Black communities of Brixton (17th April), the Asian communities of Brick Lane (24th April) and the Gay communities of Soho (30th April).

The three nail bomb attacks left three people dead in Soho and over 150 people injured (47 people in Brixton, 6 in Brick Lane and 97 in Soho).

News: 'Functional Cure,' Odawa, Winston-Salem, Marc

At least 7 Cincinnati City Council members pulled out of city's St. Patrick's Day parade because of the parade's decision to ban the gay education group GLSEN.

South, a 1959 ITV teleplay about a Polish soldier sent to the American south during the Civil War and starring tv star Peter Wyngarde, may be the first television program to feature an open discussion of gay attraction. "[Does he love] the plantation owner's angry niece, Miss Regina, or the tall, blond, rugged officer who arrives suddenly – a handsome man called Eric MacClure."

Awesome: "A church in Winston-Salem has announced it will stop performing all marriages until United Methodist pastors are allowed to officiate at marriages for same-sex couples."

The Odawa Indian tribe in Michigan legalized same-sex marriage and celebrated by uniting two men, Tim LaCroix and Gene Barfield, in marital bliss. The federal government, of course, will not recognize this lovely union or its historic significance.

"At CPAC, gay marriage on back burner"

Kitty knows how to keep warm.

"Faux fur" jackets Marc Jacobs' label sells at Century 21 are actually made of dog fur.

Kathy Bates joins the cast of American Horror Story season 3, which concerns witches and will officially be called American Horror Story: Coven. Expect to see plenty of scenes featuring Bates and Jessica Lange "going at it," says creator Ryan Murphy.

Justin Bieber will do whatever it takes to be butch.

New Games of Thrones season 3 international trailer features some new footage for those of you who need a fresh fix.

A run down of some of the politicians and other notable public figures who have reversed course and come out in favor of marriage equality.

The Boston Phoenix, an alt-weekly paper that has published since 1966, announced that it will close its doors. Susan Orlean, the New Yorker writer who got her start at the Boston Phoenix, told the Boston Globe, "It's like finding out your college has gone bankrupt and is gone. I am a child of the alt-weekly world and I feel like it has played such an important role in journalism as we know it today."

Here's a Facebook page encouraging you to change your Facebook profile picture to show you support marriage equality.

Research into how revive extinct creatures continues. So what will happen to the phrase "go the way of the dodo?"

Is fact action the key to slowing HIV's devastation? "Treating people with HIV rapidly after they have become infected with the virus that causes Aids may be enough to achieve a 'functional cure' in a small proportion of patients diagnosed early, according to research."

UK 'Lesbian Kiss' Ad for Harvey Nichols Draws Fire

A Harvey Nichols ad depicting what some complainants said depicted an inappropriate lesbian kiss has been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority, the HuffPost reports:

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 17 complaints, nine that the images were unsuitable to be seen by children because they appeared to show a lesbian kiss, 10 that they were sexually explicit and two that the phrase "love thyself" in combination with the pictures was offensive on religious grounds.

Harvey Nichols pointed out that the ads did not depict a lesbian kiss but rather a woman kissing herself, which was also made clear by the text.

But the retailer disagreed that a lesbian kiss might be deemed offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable for children, arguing that "the advertising industry should be in the vanguard of those promoting and supporting the equalities espoused by anti-discrimination laws, including those concerning sexual orientation".

Said the ASA:

"Because we considered that it was sufficiently clear that the posters showed one woman about to kiss her mirror image, and because we also considered that they were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence even if interpreted differently, we concluded that the ads were not offensive, irresponsible or unsuitable for untargeted display because they appeared to portray a lesbian kiss."

Lawrence O'Donnell on the UK's Marriage Equality Vote and the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: VIDEO

In a segment on The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell lauded the UK House of Commons vote this week to approve marriage equality, highlighting the story of Oscar Wilde, imprisoned for "gross indecency" for homosexuality 118 years ago, referencing a poem Wilde wrote while jailed there.

Said O'Donnell:

"Tonight in England, Oscar Wilde would not have to hide in clefts in the rocks and would not have to weep in secret valleys.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Jon Stewart Mocks the UK Parliament's Gay Marriage Debate: VIDEO

Jon Stewart looks at the UK's marriage equality debate versus the one in the United States and notes that it lacks a certain omniscient all-powerful being.

"Tories, I know the stakes are lower over there because Britain doesn't have hurricanes every time two dudes kiss, but try it once more, and this time put some feeling into it!...Five hours of debate and not one mention of the slippery slope of incestuous pedophile orgies?"

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...