'Gomer Pyle' Actor Jim Nabors Marries Longtime Partner in Seattle

Actor Jim Nabors, who played 'Gomer Pyle' in the classic 60's sitcom of the same name, has come out of the closet after years of speculation, in an announcement that he married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, in Seattle on Jan 15.

Girl Leaves Tasty Treat And Heartfelt Letter Telling Parents She's Gay

The Place, California LGBTQ Youth Support

An LGBTQ youth support group known as The Place in Modesto, Calif. recently released a video that will have you smiling, tearing up and even laughing at times.

What Obama's Immigration Speech Says in White House Guidance About Gay Couples

President Obama gave a speech this afternoon in Las Vegas laying out his immigration reform plans, which include same-sex binational couples. Here's what it says in the White House fact sheet:

Keep Families Together. The proposal seeks to eliminate existing backlogs in the family-sponsored immigration system by recapturing unused visas and temporarily increasing annual visa numbers.  The proposal also raises existing annual country caps from 7 percent to 15 percent for the family-sponsored immigration system.   It also treats same-sex families as families by giving U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents the ability to seek a visa on the basis of a permanent relationship with a same-sex partner. The proposal also revises current unlawful presence bars and provides broader discretion to waive bars in cases of hardship.

Gay Football Player

In September 2012, Jamie Kuntz was kicked off his college football team within 24 hours of his coach learning he was gay. Since then, the All-Conference linebacker has not been able to find another team to play for.

But last week, Kuntz said he accepted an offer to try out for the Palomar College Comets in San Marcos, Calif. However, the school rescinded the offer within days of learning about Kuntz’s sexual identity and the events leading to his dismissal from the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS).

Living with a lie
Kuntz initially lied to NDSCS coach Chuck Parsons about a set of circumstances that would have outed him while on a team trip to Colorado. However, once safely back in his North Dakota dormitory 16 hours later, Kuntz confessed to those circumstances. He had been caught kissing his much older boyfriend while filming game footage in the stadium’s press box. The admission made Parsons only the third person in whom Kuntz had confided his deepest secret.
The day after the confession, Kuntz found himself out of the closet and out of football.

While the official line is that Parsons kicked him off the team for “lying” and “becoming a distraction,” Kuntz maintains his dismissal was solely the result of his sexual identity.


Kuntz decided to look into colleges in San Diego County, hoping that a more metropolitan area might be accepting of a gay player. His hopes seem to have been realized when Palomar’s coaching staff contacted him after reviewing his senior year highlight reel on YouTube.

Within three days of Kuntz reaching out to the Palomar staff, and as the SDGLN article was about to be published, Kuntz said he had been verbally offered a chance to earn a spot on the team’s 2013 roster. Subsequent text messages acquired by SDGLN between Kuntz and a member of the Palomar coaching staff appear to corroborate Kuntz’s impression.

Two days later Kuntz accepted Palomar’s offer, and the team’s linebackers coach Robert Bala was more than pleased. In a text message obtained by SDGLN, Bala responded to Kuntz’s acceptance:

“That’s great news!”
“I’m really excited for you and to have you. I will let the rest of the staff know. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to move forward with everything.”

Going forward and sideways
The following day, Bala called Kuntz and said as part of their due diligence, he needed to speak to Kuntz’s NDSCS coach. This forced a conversation Kuntz anticipated but was, perhaps naively, hoping to be able to have in person.
When he reached out to Palomar initially, he left out his “backstory” hoping to be judged by the same standard every other would-be college athlete is: on ability.

With no suitable option but to be forthcoming about the circumstances leading to his departure from NDSCS, Kuntz, unable to muster the courage to tell Bala on the phone, instead sent the following text message:

“I’m embarrassed to say, but I’m gay and that didn’t sit right with my coaches and when they found out I was dismissed from the team.”

Bala responded to the news warmly, texting back:

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed about anything. That’s your personal life and we do not reserve the right to judge. But I will need to speak with [Parsons] before we move forward.”

Why did Palomar say no?
As of the writing of this article, Palomar College’s head coach Joe Early did not reply to repeated requests by SDGLN for an interview to ask what part of Kuntz’s story caused the coaching staff to rescind its offer.


For his part, Kuntz recalled the conversation only vaguely.
“I kind of tuned out once they said ‘no’” Kuntz said, though he does remember the reasons they gave.

“They said it was very tough for an out-of-state student to come in and play because it’s hard to find work and housing and it’s more expensive,” Kuntz said. “He also said they didn’t want to send the wrong message to their team by bringing in someone who was kicked off another team.”

While it is true that students coming from outside California pay a higher “non-resident” tuition fee at colleges and universities, a review of public records shows the 2012 edition of the Palomar College Comets had 15 players from outside the Golden State, including some from Georgia, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, Oregon, American Samoa and even one player from Japan.

In California, while community college athletes can apply for and receive financial aid, they cannot receive athletic scholarships, so it’s unclear what challenges Kuntz would face financially that would somehow be more strenuous for him than it was for those 15 others.

“It makes me not want to be gay”
Given what SDGLN’s reporting has uncovered and the timing of the school’s decision to rescind the offer — just days after they found out he was gay — Kuntz says he wonders if the real reason he’s being denied a chance to earn a spot on the Palomar roster is a case of history repeating itself.

Palomar College has not granted SDGLN’s interview requests over the past week, including three made with the school’s public affairs office, so Kuntz may never know.

Kuntz is understandably frustrated. After more than a year since he played a snap in an actual game, he knows the clock is ticking.

“If I don’t get picked up by a team soon, my playing days could be over,” he said. While Kuntz is working hard at the gym to stay in shape in case he gets another opportunity, he says the speed and pace of the game can’t be made up for in the gym. “I need to play.”

Of this latest disappointment, “It makes me not want to be gay,” Kuntz said.

Boy Scouts May Finally Drop Ban on Out Scouts, Leaders

After intense backlash, the national Boy Scouts organization is finally considering dropping their ban on openly gay scouts and leaders, according to NBC News.

The decision will be considered by the national board of directors and, if green-lit, the new policy will leave it up to individual troops to admit out scouts and leaders. The board meets next week.

The organization has dug in its heels lately, declaring in July that it would not rescind its ban. It also successfully pressured a Maryland troop, via the Washington, D.C. umbrella troop organization, to remove a pro-gay nondiscrimination policy from its website.

But it's troops like the one in Maryland that may get the national organization to change the policy. NBC News says local troops have been applying pressure to the national organization to end the ban, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000. Aside from local groups, both corporations and President Obama have told the Scouts that the ban should end.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Romney Advisor Comes Out for Marriage Equality, Says GOP Lost the Culture Wars

‘No One Can Tell Me I Can’t Have Two Mothers, Because I Do’

The NBA‘s Denver Nuggets star Kenneth Faried says, “No one can tell me I can’t have two mothers, because I really do.” Faried recorded this video to support Colorado’s civil unions bill, and his two mothers, who have been together for eleven years.

Kenneth Faried, who is 23 and attended historic Morehead State University says he supports his moms, same-sex marriage equality, and the fight for civil unions in Colorado.

Jacob Rudolph Talks to Thomas Roberts About His Viral Coming Out

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

British government publishes bill to legalize same-sex marriage

The British government published a bill to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, and said lawmakers will get their first vote on it in Parliament next month.

The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill extends marriage to gay couples but excludes clergy in the Church of England — the country’s official faith — from having to carry out the ceremonies.

That is intended to placate religious opponents of same-sex unions — though it has not stopped criticism of the bill from religious leaders.

Rhode Island Governor Weighs In On House Bill’s Passage

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee tonight weighed in on the passage of a same-sex marriage equality bill by the House of Representatives.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILLS INTRODUCED IN HAWAII

Marriage equality legislation was introduced in Hawaii's House and Senate this morning, HRC reports:

If successful, Hawaii would be the 10th state in the union to allow the marriage for all couples, regardless of whom they love.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Baehr v. Lewin, the Hawaii State Supreme Court opinion that sparked our nation's marriage equality movement. In the opinion, Justice Steven Levinson said, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of the person's civil rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof because of race, religion, sex or ancestry.”

Scientists Develop HIV-Resistant T-Cells

Scientists at Stanford University have genetically engineered cells that are resistant to HIV, which could lead to an alternative therapy for people on heavy drug treatment plans.

According to a Stanford press release, the procedure uses molecular scissors to cut into T-cells, and then insert a series of HIV-resistant genes. The virus was therefore blocked from entering the cells, which is typically how it invades and then destroys the immune system.

Scientists also anticipated the ever-mutating forms of HIV by engineering the cell on multiple fronts to become resistant to the virus. Matthew Porteus MD, an associate professor at Stanford explained that by also inactivating the receptors that the virus typically uses to enter cells, the cell becomes even further protected.

"We can use this strategy to make cells that are resistant to both major types of HIV," he said. This tailored gene therapy could reduce or replace an HIVer's daily drug regimen, but clinical trials would still have to take place before the approach can be administered on humans.

"Providing an infected person with resistant T-cells would not cure their viral infection," assistant professor Sara Sawyer, PhD, added. "However, it would provide them with a protected set of T-cells that would ward off the immune collapse that typically gives rise to AIDS."

There are other issues that must be worked out with the genetically altered cells. Porteus cautions that the cells may rupture, causing a break elsewhere, leading to cancer or other cell aberration. He said it’s also possible the cells may not tolerate the genetic change.

Major Marriage Milestones This Week: Jan 21 Marriage News Watch

High school senior publicly tells 300+ students he is an LGBT teen

Imagine when you were in high school, standing up in front of everyone and telling them that you are gay.    Would you have done this?

You have to admire him.  Clearly, we are making progress in society.  Let's continue the work so all students will feel comfortable doing this... and get the same reaction from their peers.

MSNBC, Fox News & CNN's Predictable Inauguration Coverage

MSNBC, Fox News and CNN have all nestled into their roles as left, right and "color commentary" networks respectively, which is convenient when you're deciding how you want to get your news. But as Jon Stewart pointed out on Tuesday's "Daily Show", the predictability of the news outlets' reactions to major events, such as the second inauguration of Barack Obama, can still occasionally take you aback by how on-message it is.

Yes, Gays Already Have Same Civil Rights As Everyone Else

Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council  joined CNN‘s Soledad O’Brien to reflect on President Obama’s historic call to action on LGBT civil rights.

“We as social conservatives do not agree with the president’s attempt to link the modern homosexual movement with the women’s rights movement or the civil rights movement for African Americans,” said the FRC senior fellow. “The irony is that homosexuals already have all the same civil rights as anyone else.”

Stephen Colbert took apart Obama'ssecond inauguration

The Colbert Report
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RI'S EPISCOPAL BISHOP CITES EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Religious figures most often extract from their faith when speaking for or against marriage equality. Their spiritual life either confirms or condemns equality.

Bishop Nick Knisely, the Episcopal Bishop for Rhode Island, bucked that trend by citing both faith and science when he declared his support for marriage equality this weekend. He has weighed the empirical evidence and he has seen the light, he says.

"Part of what informs my opinion is that before I became a priest and then a bishop, I was a scientist. So I know the importance of trusting evidence that we see with our own eyes," he writes in a letter being distributed to parishioners this weekend.

I have seen what St. Paul describes as the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in the married lives of two men and of two women. I have seen relationships that are loving, mutual, and monogamous and that have lasted a lifetime. Jesus tells us that we must test each tree by looking at the goodness of its fruit (Luke 6:43-45). Across our congregations and communities, I can see the goodness of gay and lesbian couples and their families.

Santorum Blames American Downfall on Gay Agenda in Colleges

Former senator and Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum blamed the decline of America on indoctrinating the gay agenda in colleges across the country and the media.

 

"If you look at popular culture and what comes out of Hollywood, if you go to our schools and particularly our colleges and universities, they are indoctrinating in a sea of relativism and a sea of antagonism toward Christianity -- religion in general, but Christianity in particular," Santorum said, according to Right Wing Watch. He was a guest on "Washington Watch," a radio show hosted by Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. 

 

Perkins did, however, chime in to add that his Bible-owning third grade teacher regularly punished her students with a yardstick. 

 

"But that was…Before Repressive Government, back when God was still welcome in our schools," Perkins said. 

Marriage equality champion Chris Kluwe: ‘Everything a role model should be’

Today we remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who have paved the way for a more beautiful and equal America, including Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights activist who organized the 1963 Great March on Washington where King delivered his now famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

"We are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together. That is our generation's task - to make these words, these rights, these values - of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - real for every American."

Boy Scout Camp Leader Comes Out in YouTube Video, Speaks Out Against Anti-Gay Policies

Mocking Anti-Gay Traditional Marriage Ads

George Takei Defends Jodie Foster

Fox News' 'Tyranny' Hysteria Over Obama Gun Control Executive Orders

In Honor Of Gun Appreciation Day

Jon Stewart Takes On NRA Over ATF Limitations On Enforcing Existing Gun Laws

Scientists In Australia Tout “Potential Cure For AIDS”

Researchers in Australia report they’ve learned how to alter a protein in HIV to makes it block replication, rather than spread the virus that eventually leads to AIDS.

“What we’ve actually done is taken a normal virus protein that the virus needs to grow, and we’ve changed this protein, so that instead of assisting the virus, it actually impedes virus replication—and does it quite strongly,” said Associate Professor David Harrich of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. “I consider that this is fighting fire with fire.”

The modified proteins can’t cure HIV but, as published in Human Gene Therapy, they have protected normal ones from converting under laboratory conditions.

In theory, they would help keep the HIV at bay, and allow the immune system to function normally. Patients would still be HIV-positive but, says Harrich, “this therapy is potentially a cure for AIDS,”

The treatment, a form of  gene therapy involving the patient’s stem cells, could work after a single session.

'NOH8 Campaign'

  The iconic 'NOH8 Campaign', which started as a response to Proposition 8, recently marked its fourth anniversary in Hollywood. Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley's portraits of LGBT people and their allies proudly displaying their 'NOH8' with make-up and duct tape are unmistakable and have offered high-profile straight celebrities, politicians, and other public figures a way to show solidarity with the LGBT community.

Human Right Court Rules Religious Beliefs Do Not Trump LGBT Rights

In an historic, landmark decision the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that an individual’s religious beliefs do not trump the rights of an LGBT person and may not be used to discriminate against them. The Court, in Strasbourg, France, examined four cases brought by Christians from the UK, two of which related to their refusal to provide professional services to same-sex couples on the grounds it violated their religious beliefs.

Honey Boo Boo’s Uncle Poodle Reveals He’s HIV-Positive

I was adamant about getting my HIV status checked on a regular basis. On March 16, 2012, I tested negative. Then, in May of 2012 my test results came back positive. I knew it had been my boyfriend who infected me. I later learned he had been HIV positive and was not taking medication and had not bothered to tell me about it. I was advised that I should press charges and, hesitantly, I did. It was the right thing to do…He is [now] serving a 5-year sentence. I would have been cool with his HIV status if he had been honest. I don’t have an issue with the disease. I would have known how to protect myself.”

– Lee Thompson, aka Honey Boo Bo’s Uncle Poodle, discusses being diagnosed with HIV with Atlanta gay mag, Fenuxe.

Boehner Secretly Raises ‘Debt Ceiling’ Of DOMA Defense Budget To $3 Million

Speaker of the House John Boehner has again just secretly raised the “debt ceiling” on the budget of his hand-picked attorney who is defending DOMA in court. 

This is the third time Boehner has increased the budget for Paul Clement, the attorney whose track record on defending DOMA in federal court is zero wins. In 2011, Boehner promised his “BLAG”  – the supposed Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group that is includes Democrats but has a majority of Republicans — to spend up to $500,000 to defend DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

JODIE FOSTER COMES OUT AT GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

After years of avoiding any official confirmation, Jodie Foster just came out at the Golden Globe Awards.

Receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award for the many, many great films she has made over the past four decades, Foster first toyed with the audience a little, dancing around the issue before affirming that, yes, she is a lesbian. (She had previously thanked a female partner in a 2007 speech, but it was not an official, direct coming out.)

Well aware that people have been waiting for this moment for years, Foster explained that her delay wasn't based in shame, but in the fact that she came of age when there was a larger premium on privacy.

She was not of the era when gay or lesbian stars held press conferences to discuss their private lives, she said.

I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago, back in the stone age. In those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends, and family, coworkers and then gradually, proudly, to everyone who knew her. To everyone she actually met. But now, apparently I'm told, that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a primetime reality show. You guys might be surprised, but I'm not Honey Boo Boo child.

She went on, "If you had been a public figure since the time you were a toddler, if you had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you too would value privacy above all else."

Weight That I Carry Daily

The AP English class had to write an essay about a “weight that I carry daily” and one student decided to write about being gay. 

This was his response from his teacher:

“I am honored to be a witness to this weight being lifted off. You are an amazing, dynamic compassionate, ‘with-it’ young man who will give the world a gift just by you being you, offering your love & spirit. If people choose not to be comfortable with your honesty, their loss my friend—their loss.”

North Carolina Cafe Owner Hands Lesbian Couple Letter Condemning Homosexuality As They Leave

Ariel and Shawnee McPhail, a married lesbian couple from North Carolina, say Ed McGovern, the owner of the Sting Ray Cafe in New Bern, handed them a letter as they left his restaurant, condemning their homosexuality, WCTI reports.

McGovern says he didn't like that the couple was kissing outside his restaurant, which they deny doing.

"First of all, we didn't kiss. We don't kiss in public. We were holding hands," said Shawnee McPhail. "Secondly, if I did kiss my wife in public, what married couple would you go to and say, 'how dare you. You cannot hold hands and you cannot kiss in public therefore you deserve my judgement.'"

Reasonable Voices in Gun Control Debate

James Yeager, the CEO of a Tennessee-based gun company, said he will start killing people if President Obama tries to limit arms ownership: "I'm not fucking putting up with this. I am not letting my country be ruled by a dictator. I'm not letting anybody take my guns. If it goes one inch further, I'm gonna start killing people."

Sweden ends forced sterilization of trans

Sweden has officially ended the forced sterilization of transgender people after tens of thousands of Europeans fought to have the law repealed.

The legislation, which has been in effect in the Scandanavian country since 1972, meant a trans person must be sterilized or else their gender change is not recognized legally.

However, the practice was officially banned yesterday (10 January) after a ruling by the Stockholm administrative court of appeal on 19 December which said the law was unconstitutional and in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The decision follows a campaign by gay rights activists and appeals from Members of the European Parliament.

In February, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RSFL) and AllOut.org collected 47,689 signatures from European citizens urging Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt to speak out against the law, having previously remained silent on the issue.

Ulrika Westerlund, president of the RSFL, welcomed the abolishment of the law which is thought to have been used on up to 500 trans people.

Miss California Pageant this Weekend

Transgender beauty Kylan Wenzel competes in the Miss California pageant this weekend: "We all know that beauty is just skin deep.  Beauty is not something that is earned—it’s something you’re born with or the doctor helps you with, whatever. Beauty is what you do with it."

Nice when the "F"word is not acceptable

The No Homophobes Campaign recently released a very effective television ad meant to counter the tenaciously ubiquitous word "faggot."

The campaign, organized by the University of Albertaʼs Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, has been going hard after the word for a few years now, and last year found that Twitter users employed the anti-gay epithet 2.5 million times in a three month period last year, from July to September. That means that "faggot" is used on Twitter about 15 million times a year.

Gingrich Wants GOP To Understand 'Human Side' Of Gay Rights

Say what you will about failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, but the former Republican House Speaker is poised, either by design or by circumstance, to become one of his party's loudest voices on marriage equality. And that's a good thing.

A few weeks ago Gingrich said he's come to see the "reality" of our changing culture, and last night Gingrich told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren that he hopes the GOP will come to understand the "human side" of same-sex love.

An excerpt, via JMG:

I think this is a very complicated human problem and Republicans need to take a deep breath and understand we need to deal with the human side of this equation — and understand that we want to defend marriage in its classic form between a man and a woman. I don’t accept that there’s an alternative. The government can declare that a Ford truck is Air Force One. That doesn’t mean it can fly. It’s not that I want to change my belief. I think that in fact it’s a big mistake to be confused about this issue.

'Disgraced Financial Institutions Update'

Obama Administration Removes Anti-Gay Pastor From Inauguration

The Obama administration has decided to remove from the inauguration day proceedings an anti-gay Georgia pastor who has said gay people will go to hell. The choice of Reverend Louis Giglio to deliver the inaugural benediction created great anger within the LGBT and progressive communities, after Think Progress reported on Giglio’s 1990s anti-gay sermon.

BSA EXECUTIVES KILL APPROVAL OF GAY SCOUT'S EAGLE APPLICATION, SMEAR TEEN

Yesterday, 18 year-old Ryan Andresen and his family celebrated that he was one step closer to getting his Eagle award after an official Eagle Board of Review unanimously approved Ryan's Eagle application.

According to Eagle Scout and Scouts for Equality founder Zach Wahls, the volunteer Eagle Board of Review traditionally has authority over Eagle applications, and, if approved, a Scout leaves that meeting with an understanding that he is an Eagle Scout. In Ryan's case, the board chair took an additional step, and received verbal confirmation from Scout Executive, John Fenoglio, that he would approve Ryan's application.

But Ryan's victory was short-lived, as Fenoglio, a paid employee of the BSA, reversed course and rejected the board's unanimously approved application -- an unprecedented action. Local Scout volunteers speculate that Fenoglio's decision was heavily influenced by BSA national.

"It's an unprecedented move," says Wahls. "It's clear that Fenoglio's reversal was forced by BSA national. He's a paid employee, and unfortunately, National exerts a lot of influence over their staff. His reversal, however, is most disappointing."

"The Boy Scouts is a volunteer driven organization. What signal is the Boy Scouts of America sending to those volunteers, when they circumvent the local process and tell the official Board of Review that the volunteer board lacks authority?" questioned Ryan’s dad, Eric Andresen.

Indeed, the service of its volunteers remains the underpinning of the BSA. In 2011, the BSA reported 257,946,000 volunteer service hours, totaling $5,620,643,340 in services to support Scouting across America. How then can the BSA undermine its own volunteer leaders, the backbone of the organization?

The Andresen family is devastated, but what hurts them more is that BSA national would rather soil the official Eagle application process and pit local paid staff against volunteer leaders, than allow a gay Boy Scout to be awarded an honor he's earned.

This marks the second time Ryan has been rejected by Scouting leaders he looks up to -- just because he's gay. To make matters worse, BSA Executives – the unelected, paid brass helming an organization that touts the principles of honesty and integrity -- continue to malign Ryan in the national media. 

BSA national spokesperson, Deron Smith, falsely asserts Ryan disagrees with Scouting’s principle of ‘Duty to God,’ issuing the following statement to outlets including USA Today:

“The Eagle application was forwarded, by a volunteer, to the local council but it was not approved because this young man proactively stated that he does not agree to Scouting’s principle of ‘Duty to God’ and does not meet Scouting’s membership requirements. Therefore, he is not eligible to receive the rank of Eagle.”

Bonnie Hazarabedian, the District Advancement Chair who headed Ryan’s Eagle Board of Review, refutes that claim, however:

“Ryan did everything right in this process, with honor and honesty. He completed all of his requirements, he turned in his application along with the appropriate request for an appeal before an Eagle Board of Review, and he satisfied every member of the Board that he has earned the right to be recognized as an Eagle Scout. The Board reviewed all of Ryan’s scouting history, his advancement records, his Eagle project and his spiritual beliefs, and we are convinced that Ryan has more than demonstrated that he deserves the award.” (Emphasis added.)

“That BSA national executives would not only thwart the approval of, but also simultaneously lie about, the Eagle badge application of a committed young Scout is not only shocking, it’s shameful,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “The organization continues to use smoke and mirrors to preserve an outdated policy that is wholly discriminatory and continues to erode the integrity of the organization.”

The local Scouting community continues to stand by Ryan. Although it appears Scout Executive Fenoglio ceded to pressure from the national organization, Ryan's Scouting community – including the official Eagle Board of Review that unanimously approved Ryan's Eagle application -- does not support discrimination.

'TWO DISTURBED PEOPLE PLAYING HOUSE'

Pastor John Hagee was taking questions from viewers of his show "The Hagee Hotline" yesterday about gay marriage and being in God's favor. Hagee responded by saying anything other than a man marrying a woman is "two disturbed people playing house" Right Wing Watch reports.

Jon Stewart Calls Out Gun Control Opponents: 'It Is Absolutely The Time To Talk'

Same-Sex Couples Now Invited To Marry At Historic National Cathedral

The Washington National Cathedral, home to America’s Episcopal Church, has opened its doors to same-sex couples who wish to marry.

The Washington Post writes:

In some ways, the announcement that is expected Wednesday morning is unsurprising for a denomination and a diocese that long ago took up the cause of marriage equality. But the cathedral’s stature and the image of same-sex couples exchanging vows in the soaring Gothic structure visited by a half-million tourists each year is symbolically powerful.

New Zealand Not Offended By Ad Depicting Pope Marrying Gay Couple

New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed complaints against an ad depicting Pope Benedict XVI blessing a male couple at the altar, deeming it unlikely to cause widespread offense.

The ad is part of a new campaign by electric company Powershop, featuring the slogan “Same Power, Different Attitude.” Four-and-a-half story billboards went up in Auckland and Wellington, leading to four complaints to the ASA that the ad mocked Catholicism.

Gay Scout, Approved For Eagle Honor Despite Group's National Ban

In what may be a precedent-setting decision, a California chapter of the Boy Scouts of America has approved a gay former member's Eagle Scout application, despite the national organization's ban on gay participants.

Ryan Andresen, 18, was a scout from the San Francisco area when he was denied his Eagle Scout award in October 2011, NBC News reports. Andresen had come out in July and had completed all the requirements for the Eagle honor, including helping spearhead the construction of a “Tolerance Wall” at a local middle school to raise awareness about bullying.

But Andresen's troop leader refused to grant him the award. Frustrated, his mother, Karen Andresen, launched a Change.org petition in support of her son.

The petition received overwhelming support from 463,151 signers. In addition, California Senator Barbara Boxer and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom sent letters to the Scouts in support of Andresen.

Then, in December, local Boy Scout leaders approved an official Eagle Board of Review. Their decision in favor of Andresen was announced January 7.

'What Would Jesus Or Any Other Human Being That Isn't An A**hole Do'

Teen Awarded NPR's Top Storytelling Performance Prize for Powerful Tale About His Two Gay Moms

NPR Snap Judgment Performance of the Year was awarded in December to 15-year-old Noah St. John for his explosively moving story about his two moms and the moment he thought he might lose the family he had always known.

 

Person of the Year: Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin had just graduated from Smith College in 1984 as a double major in math and political science. The high school valedictorian and Madison, Wis., native had not yet secured a job, but she found an inspiration in Geraldine Ferraro, who that year became the first woman ever nominated for vice president on a major party’s ticket.

Kyle XY' Actor Comes Out

matt dallas

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@themattdallas

Starting off the year with a new fiancé,@bluehamilton. A great way to kick off 2013!pic.twitter.com/FQ9y4tHe

6 Jan 13

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ABC Family actor Matt Dallas decided to make a big announcement for the New Year -- he is gay, and he is engaged!

Dallas came out as gay with a simple tweet on Sunday night. The former "Kyle XY" actor revealed he is happily engaged to his boyfriend, musician Blue Hamilton, according to Towleroad.