PhoboQuotable - Andrew Breitbart

"I am not endorsing gay marriage, I'm not endorsing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I will be the harshest critic of the activist gay left, who I fear more than al-Qaida. But for these people not to exist in a two-party system, for you to tell them they're not welcome in the big tent, I have a huge problem with that and I'm going to indulge in my all '80s Depeche Mode, Cure, New Order fetish and we're going to have a big 'ol gay party at CPAC." - Wingnut commentator Andrew Breitbart, announcing that he has joined GOProud's board of directors.

That's right, folks, GOProud has hired a guy who says that gay activists are worse than the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center. You can't make it up. Soon to join GOProud: Bryan Fischer, Tony Perkins, Peter LaBarbera.

Labels: Andrew Breitbart, GOProud, kapos, PhoboQuotable, Quislings

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Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Michael Musto

"Calvin, darling, you're embarrassing yourself. What's worse, you're embarrassing the whole community. You were never really that much of a gay hero in the first place. Remember when you suddenly had a wife because, as AIDS made it uncool to be gay, you took the wussy way out and closeted yourself so you could sell more T shirts and perfume? That was a hideous approach and I screamed my lungs out about it--but it was better than now! Now you've hooked up with that almost-21-year-old ex-porn star, Nick Gruber, and you're fawning over him as if this were real love and not a massive late-life crisis being acted out for the horrified masses. It's not going to work!" - Michael Musto, dishing Calvin Klein for the invitation to Gruber's birthday party, which describes the event at "the hottest ticket for New York's gay and fashion elite!"

Labels: Calvin Klein, gay porn, HomoQuotable, Michael Musto

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Via JMG: HUD Proposes Regulations Banning Housing Discrimination Against Gays

From the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which notes that a 2007 study showed that 30% of same-sex couples in Michigan faced discrimination when attempting to rent or buy a home.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today proposed new regulations intended to ensure that its core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. View the proposed rule announced today. “This is a fundamental issue of fairness,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “We have a responsibility to make certain that public programs are open to all Americans. With this proposed rule, we will make clear that a person’s eligibility for federal housing programs is, and should be, based on their need and not on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

HUD is seeking public comment on a number of proposed areas including: Prohibiting lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA-insured mortgage financing. FHA’s current regulations provide that a mortgage lender’s determination of the adequacy of a borrower’s income “shall be made in a uniform manner without regard to” specified prohibited grounds. The proposed rule would add actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited grounds to ensure FHA-approved lenders do not deny or otherwise alter the terms of mortgages on the basis of irrelevant criteria.

HUD is also launching the first-ever national study of housing discrimination against LGBT Americans. On Monday HUD begins accepting public comments on the proposed law. I'll post a reminder, you know the haters will be ALL over it.

(Tipped by JMG reader Anita)

Labels: federal government, housing, HUD, LGBT rights

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Celebs Weigh in on Gay Marriage

MSNBC - Hospitals Must Allow Visits For Same-Sex Partners

ViaJMG: IGLHRC Issues Statement On Iran

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission has issued a statement on yesterday's story about the possible execution by stoning of two young men in Iran for having gay sex. At IGLHRC's request, I pulled my first post on the story while they investigated. Via email:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has received reports of the imminent execution of two men in Piranshahr, Iran. By some media accounts, Ayub and Mosleh have been sentenced to death for raping a young man, filming their actions, and inserting images of President Ahmadinejad into the film. There have been reports that the men are scheduled to be killed by stoning on January 21. IGLHRC has been unable to confirm the allegations in this case.

This case is evidence, however, of much bigger problems in Iran: widespread abuse in the justice system and censorship of information. People, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender may be arbitrarily arrested, tortured, and convicted on baseless charges. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to know the facts that lie behind convictions.

IGLHRC condemns the use of capital punishment in all instances, including this one, regardless of the alleged acts with which the individuals have been accused or convicted. Likewise, IGLHRC condemns all forms of sexual violence and rape. We call on the Government of Iran to immediately annul any execution order related to this case, to end the practice of death by stoning, and to repeal the criminalization of same-sex activity.

"Iran has an impenetrable and opaque criminal justice system that makes knowing what is really happening inside the country impossible," said Hossein Alizadeh, Regional Coordinator for IGLHRC's Middle East and North Africa Program. "What we do know is that killing is wrong in all its forms, even when committed by the State."

I will update you at once when further information is available.

Labels: gay death penalty, IGLHRC, Iran

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22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards Nominees Announced

Via JMG: SAN FRANCISCO: Federal Judge Signals Intent To Overturn Portion Of DOMA

A federal judge in California has ruled that state employees may sue the federal government for excluding their partners from a long-term health care program.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland denied an Obama administration request to dismiss the suit Tuesday and signaled that she is likely to overturn provisions of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. But Wilken said the 1996 law actually changed the status quo by "robbing states of the power to allow same-sex civil marriages that will be recognized under federal law." She also rejected arguments that the law's sponsors put forth in 1996, that the legislation was necessary to promote procreation and preserve heterosexual marriage. The couples sued in April over the California Public Employees' Retirement System's refusal to enroll the spouses in a federally approved long-term care plan. State employees can buy coverage at below-market rates, use pretax dollars to pay premiums, and deduct future benefits from their taxes. The California agency has refused to sign up same-sex spouses because the Defense of Marriage Act denies federal tax benefits to any state that covers them.

Labels: DOMA, feds, health care, lawsuits, San Francisco

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THE BALLAD OF SARAH PALIN by LADY BUNNY

Via JMG: This Week In Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly on this week's cover:

Gay teens are suddenly popping up in major roles all over television, with Glee’s popular pairing of Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) leading the way. How did gay teens go from marginalized outcasts and goofy sidekicks to some of the highest profile — and most beloved — characters on the likes of 90210, Pretty Little Liars, and Skins? And more importantly, how is this affecting real-life teens still facing the daily high-school realities of bullying, discrimination, and ignorance? The new issue of Entertainment Weekly investigates the history of gay teens on TV — from the angsty Rickie on My So-Called Life to sensitive-soul Jack on Dawson’s Creek to the slew of groundbreaking characters on Degrassi. We talk to the producers who fought for such progress, the actors who held the career-defining roles, and the activists who cheer recent advances — but are still pushing for more.

Labels: Chris Colfer, Entertainment Weekly, GLEE, LGBT youth, television

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