NORTH CAROLINA: Anti-Gay GOP State Senate Candidate Is Former Drag Queen

North Carolina GOP state Senate candidate Steve Wiles is campaigning on a platform in support of his state's ban on same-sex marriage. What he is not campaigning on is that he once performed in a Winston-Salem gay nightclub as Miss Mona Sinclair.

Wiles, 34, was in his early 20s when he worked at the now-defunct nightclub, Club Odyssey, according to co-owner Randy Duggins and former employee Gray Tomlinson. “He is Mona Sinclair,” Duggins said, referring to Wiles’ female persona. Wiles’ responses over the past three weeks have ranged from categorical denial to tacit admission. “I have already apologized to the people who matter most to me for the things I did when I was young,” Wiles said this week, declining to clarify for what he has apologized. The comment was made in the last of three separate interviews. At first, Wiles denied the claim. “That’s not me,” Wiles said three weeks ago, referring to Mona Sinclair. Wiles responded “no” when asked whether he was gay. This week, Wiles’ campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter handle were taken down.

The Winston-Salem Journal notes that Wiles not only served as Club Odyssey's drag show emcee in 2001 and 2002, he was a promoter of the 2011 Miss Gay America pageant until he was suspended for "conduct unbecoming the pageant." A pageant official has declined to disclose what that conduct was. In 2012 Wiles stumped for the successful passage of Amendment One, which enshrined anti-gay bigotry into the state constitution. While his campaign website has been taken down, his personal Facebook page is full of Tea Party rants about gun rights and includes several photos of Wiles posing with notoriously homophobic Rep. Virginia Foxx at a "Taking Back Our Freedom" rally. 

(Tipped by JMG reader Rob)

UPDATE: This afternoon Wiles posted a message on his Facebook page.

I'm sure many of you saw my glowing recommendation in the Winston Salem Journal - I'd like to apologize to everyone because, unlike the currently appointed NC Senator in District 31, I made mistakes. My job was embarrassing - I had to have a job! Nobody died, leaving me a millionaire capable of living in North Carolina's most expensive neighborhood. One thing I will say, I learned from my mistakes - the Republican party, under the leadership of Scott Cumbie who threatened me with my past if I ran against an incumbent Republican, seem intent to fight within the party and join in the fight with every bigot and racist they can find. I understand the gay community does not share my support for the Marriage Amendment - I RESPECT THAT and am very happy to discuss my views with any of my friends in the Democrat party and gay community. Meanwhile, I regret the fact that something so trivial would cloud an otherwise decent campaign....What more could be expected though? When policy fails, attacks begin.

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore: First Amendment Only Applies To Christians

"Buddha didn’t create us, Mohammed didn’t create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures. They didn’t bring the Koran over on the pilgrim ship Mayflower. Let’s get real, let’s go back and learn our history. Let’s stop playing games." - Alabama Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Roy Moore, telling a local anti-abortion group that the First Amendment only applies to Christians. Moore was booted from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a copy of the Ten Commandments from his courtroom. He ran unsuccessfully for Alabama governor in 2006 and 2010. He was reelected as Chief Justice in 2012.

PSA For The gAySPCA

(Tipped by JMG reader Jake)

Barber: Obama Is Like Josef Goebbels

"Crushing dissent and terrorizing into silence those with traditional values is no small task. Serving up a palatable fascism cocktail cannot be effectively accomplished without following a specific recipe. First, start with genuinely hateful and racist remarks by people like Sterling. Totally destroy them both publicly and privately and then move on to those with mainstream beliefs on such things as sexual morality and marriage. Next, disingenuously equate the two, add three cups of fascism, a dash of anti-Christian hate, whip to a frenzy and voila! It’s a cultural Marxist paradise. Mozilla, anyone? Barack Obama once said, 'If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.' Or was that Josef Goebbels? Oh well, six of one." - Hate group leader Matt Barber, writing for World Net Daily.

Todd Starnes Flogs His Book On Fox News

Of course the claims he makes have been totally debunked.

HRC: Boycott Brunei's Hotels

"There are a number of hotels and venues in the Los Angeles area that aren’t owned by foreign leaders and governments that allow for the execution of its LGBT citizens. We’re encouraging members of the LGBT community and our allies to consider those options instead of the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Hotel Bel-Air––which are part of the Sultan’s Dorchester Collection. In addition, we’re calling on organizations that have upcoming events scheduled at these hotels to move them to other locations. I have attended various events at both hotels over the past several years. But given the extreme nature of these developments, I feel strongly that we in the LGBT community and our allies should take our business elsewhere." - Chad Griffin, head of the Human Rights Campaign.

RELATED: The Feminist Majority Foundation will stage a protest outside the Beverly Hills Hotel on Monday. The event is being organized by Mavis Leno, the wife of former Tonight Show host Jay Leno.

Red-Caped Loons Go To Indiana

Inside The Second Avenue Subway

Gizmodo took a tour of the Second Avenue subway and has posted some great photos as well as the video below. The 72nd Street station reminds me of the DC Metro. And that's a very good thing.

New York City's new 2nd Avenue subway line is a construction project of truly monumental scale. Decades of planning and billions of dollars have led to the near-completion of Phase 1 of the tunnel running underneath Manhattan's Upper East Side. Gizmodo was lucky enough to take a tour through a section of the caverns and passages that will soon be a bustling subway line. Boring the two miles of Phase 1's tunnels began in 2010, with the project scheduled to be completed in 2016. It will eventually carry around 200,000 riders between 63rd Street and 96th Street. All four phases of the line, once completed, will run from 125th Street all the way down to Hanover Square at the southern tip of Manhattan. This won't wrap up for many years, however, as funding is procured on a phase-by-phase basis.

(Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

SEATTLE: Feds Take Over Gay Nightclub Arson Case, Terrorism Charges Possible

The federal government has taken over the case of Musab Masmari, who is accused of setting a fire in a Seattle gay nightclub as more than 700 patrons celebrated on New Year's Eve. The change in jurisdiction means that terrorism or hate crime charges are more likely.

A friend of Musab Musmari’s contacted the FBI in early January to say that he was concerned that Musmari “may be planning some terrorist activity,” according to search-warrant documents filed earlier in King County Superior Court. The friend, who was not identified by authorities, worked as a confidential informant for the FBI and Seattle police after the fire, the documents say. The friend also told investigators that Musmari, on a number of occasions, expressed his “distaste for homosexual people” and thought they “should be exterminated,” the documents said. Police say that Musmari avoided a security check at Neighbours by entering an adjacent bar called Therapy Lounge. He then passed through an interior door between the bars into the two-floor dance club and was seen on surveillance footage walking around with an object that appeared large enough to contain a one-gallon gas can, according to the state charging documents.

Masmari is a California-born US citizen and was raised in Libya. He was apprehended in February as he attempted to flee to Turkey on a one-way ticket. (Tipped by JMG reader Todd)

Darrell Trigg For Christian President Of The Christian States Of Christian America

Darrell Trigg is running for president as the candidate of the Christian Party, whose platform calls for establishing Christianity as the official state religion, mandatory Bible study in public schools, the criminalization of homosexuality, the banning of curse words and pornography from television and the internet, and prison sentences for adulterers. Watch the uncharismatic Trigg's campaign clip below.

SEATTLE: Gay Mayor Ed Murray Reaches Labor Deal For $15/Hour Minimum Wage

Openly gay Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has struck a deal with local labor groups that could result in a $15/hour minimum wage, which would be the highest in the nation. Via the Associated Press:

The mayor’s proposal gives businesses with more than 500 employees nationally at least three years to phase in the increase. Those providing health insurance will have four years to complete the move. Smaller organizations will be given seven years, with the new wage including a consideration for tips and health care costs over the first five years. Once the $15 wage is reached, future annual increases will be tied to the consumer price index. Murray said 21 of 24 members of his minimum wage task force, which included representatives of business, labor and community groups, voted in favor of the plan. “I think that this is a historic moment for the city of Seattle,” Murray said. “We’re going to decrease the poverty rate.”

San Francisco's minimum wage is currently the highest at $10.55/hour. Murray's plan must now be approved by the Seattle City Council.

Russia Bans Gay Obama Donors

Five major Obama campaign bundlers from the LGBT community have been put on a secret list of those banned from visiting Russia. Via the Daily Beast:

The Kremlin has expanded its secret “black list” of Americans banned from Russia to include Obama campaign fundraisers tied to the LGBT community and senior Congressmen, diplomatic sources tell The Daily Beast. Moscow’s list, these sources say, was expanded in retaliation to the Obama administration’s attack on the assets of key business associates of Vladimir Putin in March. The Russian government has been working for months to expand the list in response to the three rounds of sanctions against Russian officials, businessmen, and institutions. But unlike the United States, which made all three rounds of sanctions public, the Russian government only publicly revealed one list of sanctioned Americans, which included top Senators and White House officials. The contents of the subsequent additions to the Russian list, however, remain officially undisclosed. [snip] Diplomatic sources confirmed to The Daily Beast that the expanded and still-secret Russian sanctions list includes five top Obama campaign bundlers as well as about a dozen top Senators and Congressmen who were not included in the first list. The names of the specific bundlers remains a secret, but a focus was put on those with ties to the gay and lesbian community; it’s a reflection of the ongoing fight between the Kremlin and the White House over Russia’s laws punishing the promotion of LGBT “propaganda.”

Since the list is secret, the only way those on it will find out is if they apply for a visa to visit Russia.

QUEENS: Subway Derails, Multiple Injuries

A Manhattan-bound F train derailed today in Woodside, Queens. Many passengers were evacuated via a tunnel hatch to the street.

At least 19 people were hurt after a train derailed near a Queens subway station on Friday, officials said. About 1,000 people were riding the Manhattan-bound F train when it slid off the track near the station at Broadway and 65th St. in Woodside about 10:30 a.m., officials said. "You could just feel yourself coming off your seat," said Irvelle Cadet, 24, who was riding on the seven-car train to a job interview. "I was sideways at one point. Then the conductor came over the speakers to say it derailed." Transit officials said they will be looking at the speed of the train and the condition of the tracks to determine what caused the derailment.

NOM Cheers Author Who Says That Gay People Are Worse Than Murderers

"After the person murders someone or looks at pornography, they come to see that what they did was actually wrong, they can’t excuse it and moral order is restored and they’re contrite for having done so. But what if you organize your life around something that is wrong? Then you must construct a more permanent rationalization that prevents your conscience from returning to tell you that you’ve just done something profoundly wrong. This is exactly the case with active homosexuals, now extended to homosexual marriage, where they have to say that wrong is right and not only is it right but it’s normative, morally normative, so we need to teach it, we need to bless it in marriages, we need to ordain it in churches and we need to enforce it in our laws. And that is what is happening." - Robert R. Reilly, former assistant to Ronald Reagan, speaking about his latest book Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything.

NOM Chairman John Eastman: "Reilly has drawn on his extensive knowledge of classical political philosophy to explain the full scope of the dangers inherent in the modern homosexual rights movement. The movement threatens our very understanding of human nature, and hence of the American political regime that derives its understanding of rights and legitimate government from that nature. This book is a stark warning that should be read by every lover of liberty, and a call to action for those who would preserve it."

C-FAM head Austin Ruse: "This book is magnificent, a real achievement. For anyone interested in taking our country back from the sexual radicals, you must know how they did it, so rapidly, efficiently, even brutally. The gay rights movement slid through American institutions, both public and private, like a hot knife through butter."

NARTH Founder Joseph Nicolosi: "If you read only one book on homosexuality, natural law theory, and the radical changes now being instituted within our culture, let it be this one! Reilly exposes the unscientific reasons why homosexuality was normalized in the [American Psychiatric Association] diagnostic manual. He offers us some intriguing new material. In a clear, systematic, and engaging style, Reilly show us the inherent futility of same-sex acts, and eloquently explains what marriage really is. This book should be required reading for anyone who writes our laws in fact, for anyone with cultural decision-making power. We must not allow the surging political tides to obscure what you and I 'can't not know' about the nature and purpose of sexuality."

UN Demands US Stop All Executions

From the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

The suffering of Clayton Lockett during his execution in Oklahoma on Tuesday 29th April, may amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment according to international human rights law. It also appears to run counter to the 8 th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states that “…nor cruel and unusual punishment [shall be] inflicted.” We note that the execution of a second man in Oklahoma, scheduled later on Tuesday, was stayed by the Governor, who has ordered a review of execution procedures and protocols.

The prolonged death of Clayton Lockett is the second case of apparent extreme suffering caused by malfunctioning lethal injections reported in 2014 in the United States. The other case was that of Dennis McGuire, executed by the State of Ohio on 16 January 2014 with an allegedly untested combination of drugs.

The UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have both previously called on the United States to review its execution methods in order to prevent severe pain and suffering. Most recently, in March 2014, the Human Rights Committee recommended the US ensure that lethal drugs used for executions originate from legal, regulated sources, and are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The apparent cruelty involved in these recent executions simply reinforces the argument that authorities across the United States should impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and work for abolition of this cruel and inhuman practice. Thirty-two out of 50 states in the US still have the death penalty in their laws (in addition to the US government and the US military). Eighteen states in the US have abolished the death penalty, most recently Maryland in 2013 and Connecticut in 2012.

The UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.

Bolding is mine.

SOUTH DAKOTA: GOP Rep Says Gay Sex Is "One Way Alley For The Garbage Truck"

"Certainly there are board-certified doctors in our state who will attest to what seems self-evident to so many: gay sex is not good for the body or mind. Pardon a crude comparison but regarding men with men, we are talking about a one-way alley meant only for the garbage truck to go down. Frankly, I’d question the judgment of doctor who says it’s all fine. This indeed is a matter of being on the wrong side of history considering that homosexuality has been a notable marker of the downfall of past civilizations, not their rise. It’s not hate for a physician to speak up about something that is harmful to human health. It is not unloving to tell people you don’t have to have sex with and marry someone to love and be loved by them. As one who performs marriages and counsels couples as part of my professional life, marriage is the last thing I’d recommend to someone who simply wants to be loved and legitimized." - South Dakota GOP state Rep. Steve Hickey, in an open letter he's trying to get a local newspaper to publish. Hickey is pastor.

We Are The Brave - Sparrow (Morel Mix)

The Real Reason You're Circumcised

LOS ANGELES: Chapter Head Of NAACP Resigns Over Donald Sterling Scandal

CNN reports:

The Donald Sterling scandal has claimed collateral damage: the president of the NAACP's Los Angeles chapter. Leon Jenkins resigned Thursday, after the civil rights group came under fire for its plans to present a lifetime achievement award to the Los Angeles Clippers owner. The NAACP chapter rescinded its offer Monday after Sterling's racist remarks came to light. But the damage was done. The backlash the group faced was brutal. "Please be advised that the legacy, history and reputation of the NAACP is more important to me than the presidency," Jenkins said, in announcing his resignation. He said he was stepping down to separate the organization from the "negative exposure I have caused."

LA Pride Adds Roller Disco

Frontiers Magazine gushes:

Even more than securing top-notch talent for its weekend festivities, teaming up with the likes of L.A. nightlife impresarios Luke Nero and Andrés Rigal could be Pride's smartest move to date. Christopher Street West, the organization responsible for putting on L.A. Pride each summer, has announced that the duo will be producing this year's ultimate VIP experience: Thunder Ground, an outdoor pop-up roller rink and disco. This is L.A. Pride's first-ever ticketed VIP experience, and if the turnout is anything like the two nightclub kingpins are able to secure for popular party Plastic Fantastic (Saturdays at Eleven in West Hollywood) or the now-defunct but still-infamous lot party Summertramp, it's bound to be a huge hit.

Roller disco + booze? Should be interesting.

Baltimore Landslide

There's some screaming, so you might want to turn it down.

HomoQuotable - Shepard Smith

"News team- Good morning from Los Angeles. I came to Fox News 18 years ago because they agreed to hire me. I’ve stayed with Fox News because of my relationship with Roger Ailes. He’s my boss, my friend and my steadfast supporter both professionally and personally. Things you might read today are horseshit. As phony as 24-hour breaking news on The Plane Channel. Stand down. Big love. See y'all Monday. Unless breaking news changes everything." - Shepard Smith, responding to Wednesday's Gawker story in an email to fellow Fox staffers.

FLORIDA: Majority Support Marriage

From a new Quinnipiac poll:

Florida voters support 56 - 39 percent allowing same-sex couples to marry, with 57 - 39 percent support among women and 55 - 40 percent backing among men. Support is 65 - 31 percent among Democrats and 64 - 30 percent among independent voters, with Republicans opposed 64 - 32 percent. Every age group supports same-sex marriage except voters over 65 years old, who are divided with 45 percent in favor and 49 percent opposed.

Florida's Amendment 2 passed in 2008 with 62% of the vote. The poll released this week also shows that former Gov. Charlie Crist now has a ten point lead over Gov. Rick Scott.

IDAHO: Marriage Case Begins Monday

Idaho's marriage equality case begins on Monday in federal court.

Four Boise-based same-sex couples are challenging Idaho’s constitutional ban after Ada County refused to issue marriage certificates or recognize marriages from other states. Similar bans in other states, including Utah’s, have recently been struck down in district-level federal courts and are under appeal. The Idaho suit was filed in November against Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and Ada County Clerk Chris Rich. In their request, the couples argue that Idaho’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Argument will be heard before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale at 9:30 a.m.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

TRAILER: The Case Against 8

The film won Best Documentary Direction at Sundance and will air on HBO next month.

ARKANSAS: Marriage Ruling In One Week

An Arkansas judge said yesterday that he will issue his marriage equality ruling by next Friday at the latest. Via the Washington Blade:

In a notice dated May 1 to attorneys in the case, Summer McCoy, a law clerk for the Pulaski County Circuit Court, says Judge Chris Piazza will take an addition week to consider the issue, then make a decision. “Judge Piazza has asked me to notify you that he would like to take an additional week to consider the case law, briefs of parties, and arguments of counsel,” McCoy writes. “He feels confident that he will have a ruling for the parties no later than Friday, May 9th.” The clerk doesn’t say whether the judge is inclined to rule one way or another on marriage equality when he makes his decision.

There are two marriage cases pending in the state. This one is Wright Vs Arkansas.

GEORGIA: Gay Couples Rudely Denied When Applying For Marriage Licenses

Via the Savannah Morning News:

The Probate Court is responsible for issuing marriage licenses, and the couples made their way up to the courthouse’s fifth floor, the location of the Probate Court, but they say their warm welcome at the courthouse suddenly turned sour. “We knew we would get denied,” Hardnett said. “But it was still discouraging to be treated in that manner. “We watched a heterosexual couple approach the clerk before us, and she handed them their application on a clipboard with pens, but when we approached she just handed us the application with no pens or clipboard. “It was obvious her attitude was already very discouraged.” Majors agreed about the cool reception from the clerk. “One couple with us had already gotten legally married in Maryland, and they were told they couldn’t fill out a marriage license, but I know they let them do that in other counties in Georgia, like Fulton,” Majors said.

It's worth noting that in other instances like this, the clerks have almost all been very kind when issuing their denials.

Maggie Gallagher: We Have Totally Lost

"The rapid collapse of opposition to gay marriage we are witnessing did not just happen, and it was not inevitable. But it is. The question now on the table is: will orthodox Christianity (and other traditional faiths), be stigmatized and marginalized as the equivalent of racism in the American public square?  Will Biblical morality be wiped out as an acceptable public position in America? Or will we regroup, rebuild as a subculture, and survive to become the possibility of a new foundation in the future? Hiding or pretending is not going to help us, now.  We have to face the truth." - Maggie Gallagher, writing for the American Principle Project. (Tipped by JMG reader Todd)

Jon Lajoie - Please Use This Song

Hate Group Offers Free Legal Defense To Those "Fired" Over Prop 8 Support

Via press release:

Alliance Defending Freedom and the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund are jointly offering free legal analysis and possible pro bono representation to anyone losing his or her job or suffering other job-related consequences because of past support for California’s constitutional amendment affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman. ADF organized the effort in the wake of the recent forced resignation of Brendan Eich as CEO of Mozilla simply because he had contributed $1,000 to the Proposition 8 campaign. In addition to Eich, others have also been pressured out of their jobs since voters adopted the amendment in 2008.

Meanwhile the ADF fights viciously against any legislation that protects LGBT people from employment discrimination.

RELATED: Did the ADF provide free legal defense to their own lawyer who was sent to prison for making child porn with her daughter?

HomoQuotable - John Paulk

"It’s funny, for those of us that worked in it, behind closed doors, we knew we hadn't really changed. Our situations had changed - we had gotten married, and some of us had children, so our roles had changed. I was a husband and father; that was my identity. And the homosexuality had been tamped down. But you can only push it down for so long, and it would eke its way out every so often. I went to a gay bar - not looking for sex, which is what people thought - but because I was missing my community. I was looking to sit in a place with people I felt comfortable with, and that was other gay people.

"I would be in hotel rooms, and I would be on my face sobbing and crying on the bed. I felt like a liar and a hypocrite. Having to go out and give hope to these people. I was in despair knowing that what I was telling them was not entirely honest. I couldn’t do it anymore. For 25 years I felt guilty and filled with self-loathing, trying to reject this part about myself. I’m culpable - I spread the message that my sexuality had changed, and I used my marriage as proof of that." - Former "ex-gay" poster boy John Paulk, quoted in a Newsweek article about the movement he once led.

RECOMMENDED: Read the full story.

May Day Parade Held In Red Square For First Time Since Soviet Union Breakup

An estimated two million Russians crowded into Red Square today as 100,000 marched in the first May Day parade held in Red Square since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Thousands of trade unionists marched with Russian flags and flags of Putin's ruling United Russia party onto the giant square beneath the Kremlin walls, past the red granite mausoleum of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin. Many banners displayed traditional slogans for the annual workers' holiday, like: "Peace, Labour, May". But others were more directly political, alluding to the crisis in neighbouring former Soviet republic Ukraine, where Russian troops seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula in March, precipitating the biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. "I am proud of my country," read one. "Putin is right," said another. Unlike Kremlin leaders in Soviet times, Putin did not personally preside at the parade from atop the mausoleum. But he carried out another Soviet-era tradition by awarding "Hero of Labour" medals to five workers at a ceremony in the Kremlin. He revived the Stalin-era award a year ago.

Many photos are here.

RuPaul Drives Henry Rollins Part 2

FRC Fail: Senate Confirms Pro-Gay Lawyer To Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals

Last month the Family Research Council launched a petition campaign which called on its followers to demand that the US Senate block the confirmation of pro-gay lawyer Michelle Friedland, who was nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Obama last August. Friedland represented several gay couples on behalf of Equality California's failed challenge to Proposition 8 and Tony Perkins wanted revenge for that outrage.  But in a 51-40 vote that broke along party lines, the Senate has confirmed Friedland thanks to the November repeal of filibuster rules for judicial appointments below the Supreme Court. All 29 seats on the Ninth Circuit bench are now filled for the first time in 22 years. (Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

Robertson: Don't Argue With Atheist Swine

Pat Robertson says Christians should refuse to engage in online arguments with atheist "swine." Start at 3:15 for that bit or start at the beginning for Robertson's explanation of the Illuminati.

FLORIDA: Dem Lawmaker Mocks NRA With Zombie Apocalypse Amendment

Democratic Florida state Sen. Dwight Bullard is attempting to thwart an NRA-backed and vaguely worded bill that would grant the right to carry concealed firearms during declared states of emergency. Bullard has submitted an amendment would retitle the bill as the Zombie Apocalypse Act.

Senate Bill 296, which Bullard proposes to amend, would allow Florida gun owners without the proper permits to carry concealed weapons during a state of emergency, an idea supported by the National Rifle Association but vehemently opposed by the Florida Sheriff's Association and other critics who say the language is dangerously vague. Bullard's amendment would replace the bill's title language -- "An act relating to carrying a concealed weapon or a concealed firearm" -- to reframe it with the flesh-ripping end times scenario he says is the situation best suited for such a gun-toting free-for-all.

Bullard: "For me, as laughable as the amendment might seem, it's equally laughable that people who haven't gone through the proper training, the background check, the license to carry -- we're saying because of a hurricane or flooding or sinkhole, these individuals have gone from gun owners to concealed carry permit holders. I'd argue a crisis is probably the last instance in which you want someone who is not a concealed permit holder to carry a weapon."

IDAHO: Retired Colonel Offers Burial Plot To Lesbian Widow Refused By Cemetery

A retired colonel has offered his burial plot to a veteran Idaho lesbian who was refused the right to be buried in a military cemetery next to her late wife, who also served in the armed forces.

The push by U.S. Navy veteran Madelynn Taylor and a woman she married out-of-state comes as four Idaho lesbian couples are challenging the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and a broader debate over gay nuptials nationwide. Taylor told a Boise TV station the state military cemetery denied the pair burial as they did not have the Idaho marriage license required under its rules. Her longtime lesbian partner, Jean Mixner, died in 2012. "I am happy to give my fellow veteran that small peace of mind," retired U.S. Army Colonel Barry Johnson, a 27-year veteran, wrote in an open letter published on Wednesday in the Idaho Statesman newspaper. "And I do it to honor all the great Americans I've served with along the way - gay, straight, whatever." It was unclear if the cemetery would allow the transfer. The Idaho Division of Veterans Services said the cemetery's policy remains unchanged.

From Colonel Johnson's letter:

As a lifelong Idahoan and a 27-year Army veteran of two wars, I've worked beside heterosexuals, gays, lesbians and bisexuals. I've really never wanted to hear about anybody's sex life or sexual preferences, one way or another. Besides, everybody more or less knew who is who regardless, and I don't recall anybody in the military ever saying a thing about it. Never. Frankly, the only thing traumatic about the policy change for our armed forces of allowing gays to openly serve our country was all the media making a big deal about it. It didn't change a thing for any of us doing the job.

Serving in uniform has always been about earning trust and has never been about sexuality. Most of us just shrugged and endured sitting through hours of mind-numbing briefings on a change that essentially changed nothing. Then we have Madelynn Taylor, who seems like one heck of a lady. She cared for another person with all her heart and had to watch that person die. She is a veteran. She loves her country. She wants her partner by her side and she wants to eternally rest among veterans in the state she made home. Madelynn, you deserve that.

Read the full letter.

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Scumbags In The White House Are Lying About Benghazi

“Our Democratic friends, for the most part, have been in the tank over Benghazi. Some guy said this about me yesterday on the left: The only reason I cared about this was because I have six Tea Party opponents. Well, if that’s true, I’m the biggest scumbag in America. I don’t think that’s true; I know it’s not true It would be almost impossible for Lindsey Graham — given who I am and what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years — not to care about those in harm’s way, who get killed, and not go on to hold the administration accountable that lied about it.  The scumbags are the people in the White House who lied about this.”- GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, keeping it classy.

Tea Party Head: Use Heroin For Executions

"If the left insists that we use drugs to execute people, why not just a massive overdose of opiates? Every big city cop who has worked for any length of time tells stories of finding heroin addicts who shoot up pure heroin, OD and are found with the needle still in their arm. According to some press reports, when actor Phillip Seymore Hoffman overdosed, death was so fast, the needle was still in his arm. Why don’t we simply use very pure heroin to execute inmates? The left is screaming about the execution of Lockett, but who really cares if he suffered a little? If the left doesn’t like lethal injection, there are lots of other ways to kill condemned inmates. Hanging works pretty well. So do the firing squad, the gas chamber and the electric chair." - Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips, reacting to the outcry over Oklahoma's botched execution.

INDIANA: Marriage Case Begins Tomorrow

One of Indiana's pending marriage equality cases opens tomorrow.

Attorneys will ask the court to compel Indiana to continue to recognize the marriage of a lesbian couple from Munster, as well as to extend the freedom to marry to all Indiana same-sex couples. Friday’s arguments are the latest chapter in a federal lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal in March in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of five Indiana same-sex couples seeking to overturn Indiana’s gay marriage ban. Judge Richard Young ordered Indiana earlier this month to recognize the out-of-state marriage of Niki Quasney and Amy Sandler. He said not doing so could cause the couple irreparable harm because Quasney has ovarian cancer and doctors do not know how much longer she will live. The judge’s order expired after 28 days, so attorneys are asking Young to now extend the ruling.

The Indiana Attorney General’s office is defending the state.

New Harlem Hate Church Message

The other side reads: "The spirit which bombed the Sixteen St. Bapt. Church in Birmingham has moved in Harlem and assailed our church." Via Duncan Osborne.

CORRECTION: I mistakenly wrote Montgomery in the first draft of this post. The sign does say Birmingham.

Slam Poet Patrick Roche - 21

(Tipped by JMG reader Stray Kat)

Iowa Reforms HIV Criminalization Law

Yesterday the Iowa House approved a bill that reforms draconian HIV transmission laws. The bill was approved by the state Senate in February. Current Iowa law makes it a felony to expose someone to HIV without their knowledge whether or not transmission takes place or if condoms had been used.

The Iowa Legislature has sent to the governor a measure lessening the penalties for people who unknowingly expose someone to HIV with no intention of infecting them. The House in the early morning hours Thursday passed a version of the bill the Senate had approved in February. The Legislature worked overtime to adjourn for the year passing the bill at around 2 a.m. The bill changes a current law that says if someone exposes a partner to HIV without their consent, they can be convicted of a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. It creates more general rules about infectious diseases, making people eligible for 25 year sentences only if they intend to transmit a disease without someone’s knowledge.

One Iowa reacts via press release:

"After 5 long years of fighting to change Iowa's law, those of us living in Iowa with HIV and AIDS can finally breathe a sigh of relief," said Tami Haught, Community Organizer with CHAIN. "We commend the leadership in the Senate and the House for understanding the importance of this bill and the need to modernize Iowa's draconian 709c law. None of this would be possible without the bipartisan support of Senators Matt McCoy, Steve Sodders, Charles Schneider and Rob Hogg; in addition to Representatives Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, Chris Hagenow and Chip Baltimore. The changes in this new bill are a step in the right direction. "While the bill that passed today will have a lasting and positive effect on the lives of many Iowans who currently live with HIV and AIDS in our state, our work is far from over," Haught added. "We must continue our outreach and education within the public sphere about the realties of those living with HIV, to dispel the harmful stereotypes, stigma and misinformation often associated with the disease. Our hope is that by beginning to modernize the laws in Iowa, it will signal other states with similar legislation to do the same. HIV is not a crime; our laws here in Iowa and across the country need to reflect this fact."

RELATED: In October 2013 the Iowa Court Of Appeals upheld the conviction of Nick Rhoades, a gay man who did not disclose his HIV+ status to a sex partner he met online in 2008. The other man, who did not become infected, called police after learning of the man's HIV status even though condoms were used during their encounter. At his trial, Rhoades pleaded guilty on the advice of his counsel at the time and was sentenced 25 years in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender. The sentence was suspended several months later and Rhoades was placed on five years of probation.

UPDATE: Lambda Legal writes to advise us that the Iowa Supreme Court heard a second appeal of Rhoades' case in March 2014. A ruling is expected very soon.

Marriage Status Chart

Embiggen or view here.

TORONTO: Mayor Rob Ford Takes Rehab Leave As New Crack Video Surfaces

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford announced yesterday that he is taking a leave from his duties and will seek help after the Globe & Mail revealed that its reporters had viewed a new video which allegedly shows Ford smoking crack.

The footage comes to light weeks after Mr. Ford embarked on a re-election campaign styled on the importance of second chances and forgiving mistakes. Nearly a year ago, the mayor thrust himself into worldwide infamy when another drug dealer, Mohamed Siad, tried to sell another video of the mayor allegedly smoking crack to media outlets in Canada and the United States. At the time, the mayor denied using the drug, only to later admit that he had smoked crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor” and said that he was not an addict. Since then Mr. Ford has been filmed numerous times in public appearing erratic and acting impaired. In each instance, the mayor has admitted to drinking, but never to using drugs. A few weeks ago when asked directly if he was continuing to use drugs, Mr. Ford said: “You guys ask stupid questions.”

The drug dealer that showed the clip to reporters has reportedly offered to sell his video for six figures.

The drug dealer who approached The Globe said that the audio on the three clips was not available because the speaker on his phone was broken when he recorded the footage. The dealer said he supplied the crack that was smoked that night and that he had decided to sell the footage to “make money.” He supplied an alias to The Globe and urged the paper to publish his nickname because: “I want someone to come to me.” The Globe is not publishing that nickname because of concerns about the drug dealer’s intentions. The Globe cannot confirm the substance inside the pipe.

Screengrabs from the video are here.

God Approves Of Firing Squads

TRAILER: A Matter Of Faith

From Ken Ham's Answers In Genesis:

A Christian girl, Rachel Whitaker (Jordan Trovillion) goes off to college for her freshman year and begins to be influenced by her popular Biology professor (Harry Anderson) who teaches that evolution is the answer to the origins of life. When Rachel's father, Stephen Whitaker (Jay Pickett) senses something changing with his daughter, he begins to examine the situation and what he discovers catches him completely off guard. Now very concerned about Rachel drifting away from her Christian faith, he tries to do something about it!

TENNESSEE: Activists Seek Couples Willing To Marry "Fast" After Ruling

 Via the Tennessean:

Tennessee advocates for same-sex marriage recognition are looking for couples willing to run to local courthouses the day those become legal, plus officiants to perform ceremonies and volunteers to help with security and logistics. It's an effort to prepare the state for a scenario like the one in Michigan, where same-sex marriage was legal parts of March 21 and 22 before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio issued a stay on a lower federal court's ruling. More than 300 same-sex couples wed in that time. A much more narrow Tennessee same-sex marriage case is pending before the same appeals court — three same-sex couples' marriages were recognized here for a little more than a month before the appeals court issued a stay.

It's not clear when a ruling is expected.

RUSSIA: Anti-Gay Lawmaker Denounces Eurovision As Gay Propaganda

Via the Guardian:

St Petersburg legislator Vitaly Milonov – who sponsored a local law against homosexual propaganda in 2011 that helped pave the way for a similar federal law last year – has written a letter to Russia's Eurovision selection committee asking it not to send Russian musicians to the 2014 competition in Copenhagen in May. Calling the event a "Europe-wide gay parade," Milonov argued that Russian performers' participation would "contradict the path of cultural and moral renewal that Russia stands on today". In a tweet, the lawmaker called for a full boycott of the "Sodom show". "Even just broadcasting the competition in Russia could insult millions of Russians," Milonov said in the letter, according to a statement from his press service. "The participation of the obvious transvestite and hermaphrodite Conchita Wurst on the same stage as Russian singers on live television is blatant propaganda of homosexuality and spiritual decay."

Milonov later tweeted that a boycott wasn't necessary but "that pervert from Austria" should be banned from competing.

TEXAS: Christian Group Launches Petition Against LGBT Rights Ordinance

From a petition created by Texas Values Action:

I am opposed to the proposed "Human Rights" Ordinance and ask that you stop this dangerous proposal from moving forward. The proposed ordinance is a threat to public safety, people of faith, and the private sector of Houston. The ordinance will put women and children at risk by allowing men to access women's bathrooms and changing facilities and would force employers and private business owners to violate their religious and moral convictions. This is the worst possible time for government to be increasing its interference in the strong and growing private sector of Houston.

While the Mayor has declared this proposal a "public emergency," no evidence of any systemic discrimination has been provided necessitating such a wide-reaching governmental power grab. Further, I reject the false and immoral premise of this proposal that would seek to equate race with sexual conduct. The M ayor and City Council of Houston have a duty to protect the safety, religious freedom, and economic health of their citizens. This proposed ordinance fails on all three accounts. I ask that you vote no on this dangerous proposal and stop the proposal from moving forward.

The bill was debated yesterday by the Houston City Council Quality Of Life Committee. The full City Council is expected to consider the bill on May 7th.

At Houston's LGBT Ordinance Hearing

Open Thread Thursday

What's on your DVR right now?

Improv Everywhere: Mannequin Mob

This time they ended up in handcuffs.

BRUNEI: Sharia Laws Begin Tomorrow

The first stage of Brunei's brutal set of Sharia laws goes into effect tomorrow. The third and final stage, which calls for death by stoning for committing homosexual acts, goes into effect in 2015.

The move - delayed from last week - came from the Sultan. "Today... I place my faith in and am grateful to Allah the almighty to announce that tomorrow, Thursday 1 May 2014, will see the enforcement of Sharia law phase one, to be followed by the other phases," AFP news agency quoted him as saying. The penal code will be introduced over three years, with offences in the first phase covered by fines and prison sentences, the Brunei Times reported. Amputations come under the second phase, and stoning, for crimes including adultery and homosexual acts, under the third phase. When he announced it last year the Sultan, 67, one of the world's wealthiest men, called the code "a part of the great history of our nation".

The Human Rights Campaign reacts:

“LGBT citizens in many countries around the world remain persistent targets of harassment, arrest, violence, and torture for simply being who they are,” said Ty Cobb, director of Global Engagement at the Human Rights Campaign. “The decision by the government of Brunei to soon become the 8th nation to allow the death penalty against LGBT people is horrific and sickening.”

The sultan of Brunei, who assumed the throne 47 years ago, is worth an estimated $20B and lives in an 1800-room palace. With a population of only 400K, Brunei has the sixth-highest standard of living in the world due to its immense oil reserves.

RELATED: A boycott of the sultan's luxury hotels around the world is underway.

Kickstarter: Do I Sound Gay?

Fascinating project. Details here. (Via Andrew Sullivan)

Gawker: Fox News Demoted Shepard Smith For Wanting To Come Out

An interesting claim from Gawker:

In the summer of 2013, according to multiple sources with knowledge of their exchange, Shepard Smith approached Fox News president Roger Ailes about publicly coming out. The newly attached anchor was eager, at the time, to finally acknowledge his sexuality. “It’s time,” he told Ailes and other colleagues. “It’s time.” Instead, Ailes informed Smith that the network’s famously conservative audience would not tolerate a gay news anchor. Ailes’ answer was definitive: Smith could not say he’s gay.

“This came up during contract negotiations,” a Fox insider told Gawker. “Shep wanted to and was ready to come out, and Roger just said no.” Smith, one of Ailes’s first and most loyal disciples, acquiesced to his boss’s demand, and dropped the matter. But the discussion worried enough Fox executives to prompt Smith’s removal, in September 2013, from the channel’s coveted prime-time lineup. According to a Fox insider with direct knowledge of negotiations, Smith’s desire to come out was a large factor in the dramatic move.

According to Gawker, Fox executives first went on "high alert" after Smith brought his boyfriend to a company picnic. It was shortly after that when Smith reportedly approached Ailes.

Smith and Ailes have issued a joint statement in reaction to Gawker's story: "This story is 100% false and a complete fabrication. As colleagues and close friends at Fox News for 18 years, our relationship has always been rooted in a mutual respect, deep admiration, loyalty, trust, and full support both professionally and personally."

A top Fox executive named in Gawker's anonymously-sourced story has also issued a statement denying their claims. 

"Over the past 18 years, we’ve had the privilege of working with Shepard Smith throughout his incredible rise from a field reporter to chief news anchor and his recent promotion to managing editor. Throughout his entire tenure here, Roger Ailes and I have fully supported him in both a professional and personal capacity. We have never asked Shep to discuss or not discuss his private life, and the notion of us having an issue with anyone’s sexuality is not only insulting, but pure fiction. We renewed his contract in June 2013 based on this full support as well as his exemplary journalism. He’s the gold standard of this profession and we’re extremely proud to call him the face of our news division.”

We've long known that Shepard Smith is gay and Fox management has now issued a de facto acknowledgment that they've always known too. Yet Shepard Smith has still not publicly come out. It's all so bizarre.

LIVE VIDEO: Houston City Council Hears LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

Watch it live right now. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

This Is An Ad For Something

I especially dig the ponytail move.

(Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

AFA Narrowly Escapes Tornado Strike

Aksarbent points out that Monday's tornado in Tupelo, Mississippi left the American Family Association headquarters unscathed but destroyed over a hundred homes that were also in the twister's path. We get blamed for hurricanes, floods, and everything else. How about a little credit to Gay Weather Control for sparing the AFA? You're welcome, Bryan Fischer!

Jenifer Lewis - I Know Where I've Been

On Monday night Carnegie Hall hosted a tribute to Broadway's powerhouse gay songwriting duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Among the performers were Patti LuPone, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Kerry Butler, Megan Hilty, and Jenifer Lewis, who brought down the house with I Know Where I've Been from Hairspray.

HomoQuotable - Michelangelo Signorile

"When given an opportunity to apologize for his Prop 8 donation after it got attention earlier this month, a week after he was named CEO, Eich refused, and even implied to The Guardian that he and people like him were an asset at the company since Mozilla is global and anti-gay regimes are prevalent around the world, using the example of Indonesia. He refused to comment to The Guardian on his support of Pat Buchanan, a man who's been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks as well and engaged in diminution of the Holocaust, in addition to attacks on other groups. When you can't take back having supported Pat Buchanan and other virulently anti-gay politicians, there's only word for you: bigot.

"Donald Sterling is a bigot too. He also has free speech. And that speech, as the owner of a professional sports team, has consequences that most of us agree are warranted. Brendan Eich has free speech as well. But when he faced the consequences of that speech -- brought on by the free market, not forced by any intervention -- many applied a double standard, defending him. And that reveals how, no matter how many books are written by ambitious heterosexual reporters about how we gays have supposedly won, homophobia is alive and well -- and openly tolerated -- in America." - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

Gays Don't Get It, We Are A Theocracy

Headline Of The Day

Details. From a related petition:

For Christians, torture is not a joke or a political punchline, but a ghastly reminder of the suffering of Jesus upon the cross. By equating it with Holy Baptism -- the act by which we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection -- Sarah Palin is blasphemously twisting our faith into a weapon of hatred and violence. No media outlet should cover her remarks without reporting on how sincere Christians of all theological and political persuasions are appalled.

Infighting! (Tipped by JMG reader Paul)

John Grant - I Try To Talk To You

Gay singer/songwriter John Grant, whose 2013 hit Pale Green Ghosts topped my year-end list of favorites, has joined up with Hercules & Love Affair, whom you may know from their huge 2008 smash Blind. Great track, lovely vocals, gorgeous dancing.

UPDATE: Hercules & Love Affair's Andy Butler speaks about the lyrics: "I asked John to dig deep with his lyrical contribution. I had no idea he would dig so deep. He tackled the story of becoming HIV positive, and while I mentioned to him that he did not need to go there if he was not comfortable, in that beautifully punky, spirited and courageous way he has about him, he told me that was what the song was going to be about. What came of it is an elegant song featuring John pouring his heart out."

Tweet Of The Day - GQ Magazine

The Tea People are furious.

OHIO: Gay Couples File First Challenge To State's Ban On Same-Sex Marriage

Two weeks ago a federal judge ordered Ohio to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages. That ruling is being appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court. Today one of the plaintiffs in that case joined in filing Ohio's first full-on challenge to that state's constitutional ban.

With the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, the state joins 14 others where state constitutional bans are being targeted as violations of the "equal protection" clause of the 14th Amendment. Several couples are listed as plaintiffs in the case filed by Jennifer Branch of the Downtown-based law firm Gerhardstein & Branch. Her partner, Al Gerhardstein, this year won a narrower case to force Ohio to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states. That ruling is being appealed by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who told The Enquirer he will also fight this newest suit. Michelle Gibson, 52, is lead plaintiff in the new case. She and her partner Deb Meem have been together since 1995, when they met as professors at the University of Cincinnati, and want to get married. Gibson has multiple sclerosis and can no longer walk, making it difficult to travel to get married in a state where it's legal.

Ohio is also appealing last year's ruling that the state must recognize gay spouses on death certificates. DeWine reacts to today's lawsuit: "We are going to do what we have to do. This would appear to be an incremental strategy. They started with the death certificate, then the birth certificate. Now we're moving to the whole thing. It's not unusual."

NORTHERN IRELAND: Legislature Rejects Marriage Bill By Vote Of 51-43

Via the Guardian:

Amnesty International has warned that a legal challenge is likely to the Northern Ireland assembly's decision to block a gay marriage equality bill. A Sinn Féin motion to bring in gay marriage to Northern Ireland was defeated by 51 votes to 43. It was the third time in the past 18 months that Stormont has rejected same-sex marriage. But the human rights organisation said those who had used their veto in the assembly were "like latter-day King Canutes, trying in vain to hold back the tide of equality". Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty's programme director in Northern Ireland, said: "States may not discriminate with regards to the right to marry and found a family on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. "That obligation is clear in international law. This means that marriage should be available to same-sex couples in Northern Ireland, just as it is now in England and Wales and will shortly be in Scotland."

Before the vote local Catholic authorities wrote to every Stormont member to demand their opposition.

Conchita Wurst Channels Cher

Actor Bob Hoskins Dies At Age 71

Actor Bob Hoskins has died of pneumonia at the age of 71.

The star won a Bafta and was Oscar nominated in 1987 for crime drama Mona Lisa, in which he starred opposite Sir Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane. He announced he was retiring from acting in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob," the actor's wife Linda and children Alex, Sarah, Rosa and Jack said in a statement. "Bob died peacefully at hospital last night surrounded by family, following a bout of pneumonia. "We ask that you respect our privacy during this time and thank you for your messages of love and support."