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It's been a rough end to what started out as a record-breaking season for openly gay characters on the small screen.

After NBA player Jason Collins broke that barrier this week, the National Football League is making sure it will be ready for any coming out party. Earlier this year, at least three college football players said they had been asked about their sexual orientation during NFL recruitment interviews, sparking calls for the NFL to do more to fight discrimination. Just hours before Collins' coming out statement was published by Sports Illustrated on Tuesday, the NFL - America's most popular sport, with $9 billion a year in revenue - released a ‘workplace conduct statement' regarding sexual orientation.

The first openly gay man in a major American team sport may turn out to be former Middle Tennessee State kicker Alan Gendreau, who hopes to get a shot at the NFL this year. And, if he’s successful, that could translate into millions of dollars in endorsements and speaking engagements, experts say. Whether it’s the Sun Belt Conference’s leading scorer or someone else, the athlete who makes sports history by coming out will likely be sought after by companies that want to appeal to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, whose annual buying power last year was estimated at...

SAN ANTONIO -- The battle for same-sex marriage equality took an interesting turn in San Antonio late Wednesday night as gay rights advocates ambushed a Chick-fil-A with signs and posters. More than two dozen Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) messages covered the windows of the fast food restaurant in the 1300 block of Austin Highway. Workers at the business weren't aware of the signs until they arrived for work Thursday morning. They had no comment. Some of the signs which were taped to the chicken franchise's window read, "Government can not dictate love," "Support love note hate," and "Your...

Libertarian Internet impresario Matt Drudge, who delights in mischief above all else, is no doubt enjoying the sh*tstorm he created Wednesday by splashing the N-word seven times in bold capital letters (spelled out except for substituting “*” for the “i”) at the top of his Drudgereport.com homepage. DRUDGE REPORT Matt Drudge from The Drudge Report. (Michael Caulfield/AP) Other than going for shock and awe, Drudge’s purpose wasn’t entirely clear, although he linked his repetitively epithetic headline to a film review of Quentin Tarantino’s latest violent mockudrama, Django Unchained, about a mid-19th Century former slave (played by Jamie Foxx) who wreaks...

<p>The first same-sex marriage at West Point’s Cadet Chapel will be celebrated Saturday – when a military veteran and her partner exchange vows roughly one year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving in the military.</p>

In a disgraceful breach of fiduciary responsibility to shareholders, Disney Execs allowed their television network to willfully and premeditatedly expose millions of children and families to two men performing homosexual acts with one another. This was in the middle of the afternoon's highly rated college football game coverage on Thanksgiving Weekend. This is a clear example of incompetent executives abusing shareholder assets, undermining the reputation of the brand and the trust that the word Disney used to convey. This was all committed for the selfish desire of advancing their own lascivious agenda...(video)

A San Francisco couple is waiting to find out if the U.S. Supreme Court will take their case challenging the 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. Karen Golinski and Amy Cunninghis got married during the brief window in 2008 when gay and lesbian couples could tie the knot in California. Golinski immediately tried to add her wife to her employer-sponsored health care plan. But because she is married to another woman and works for the U.S. government, her otherwise routine request was denied...

The issue of whether Americans should approve "same-sex" marriage continues to be debated heatedly in the 2012 election cycle. President Obama has "evolved" on the issue to the place where he supports "same-sex" marriage, making no distinction between the time-honored institution of marriage as being between one man and one woman and a relationship between two people of the same sex. The issue emerged recently in a September 20th debate in the U.S. senatorial contest in Virginia between George Allen (R) and Tim Kaine (D). Former Governor Kaine, when asked about the issue, couched his answer in terms of civil...

Today I went out into the field here in Chicago looking to talk to some of the striking teachers but no one in a red-shirt was anywhere to be found (or, if they were wearing one, they had nothing to do with the teachers’ union strike). A journalist friend of mine asked me to nose around and see if I could uncover anything about slain Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was rumored to be gay. A former “roommate” of Stevens by the name of Austin Tichenor lives and works in Chicago and while making calls to friends of mine in the...

<p>The show about a gay couple who want a baby and the surrogate they hire is generally sweeter than co-creator Ryan Murphy's other shows.</p> <p>"The New Normal," which premieres Tuesday on NBC, concerns Bryan and David (Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha), a gay couple who want a baby; Goldie (Georgia King), the young woman they hire as a surrogate mother; Goldie's quirky-precocious 8-year-old daughter, Shania (the invaluable Bebe Wood); and her problematic grandmother, Jane (Ellen Barkin).</p>

Since when does serving up junk food give someone a license to preach? Politics and all things fried, fatty and fast are becoming intertwined to the point of absurdity. We’ve got the Papa John’s pizza guys weighing in on the health-care debate, while the burger slingers out west at In-N-Out can’t serve up a cheeseburger without a Bible verse. The craziness of fast-food commentary on social issues became obvious to me when I stumbled into a totally earnest discussion at a party last week by a bunch of Washingtonians who personally support the right to same-sex marriage, but are also...

As usual, the Waynesville, Ohio public school had to back down against the powerful gay Lamda Legal organization which lawyered up for a gay student who wanted to wear a "Jesus Is Not A Homophobe" tee shirt in school. Well, the student, not knowing much about Jesus to begin with, should have understood that Jesus fears nothing, but he will judge many things, such as adultery, homosexuality, etc. if there is no repentance. I asked the Ohio judge, who made the decision, if a student could be allowed to wear a shirt saying, "God Judged Sodom and Gomorrah." The said...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A transgender woman who wants to be Miss Universe said Tuesday that a rule requiring contestants to be born as women should be dropped, whether or not she gets a chance to compete. "I do not want any other woman to suffer the discrimination that I have endured," said Jenna Talackova, who underwent a sex change four years ago.

TMZ has learned ... Chaz Bono will be hitting the hardwood on the new season of "Dancing with the Stars."

(Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates bluntly told Marines on Sunday that they won't be able to opt out of their enlistment just because they disagree with a government decision to end a ban on gays serving openly in the military. Gates, who is on a tour of Afghanistan to bid farewell to the troops before stepping down at the end of the month, was quizzed by a Marine sergeant about the controversial policy during a question and answer session at a base in southwestern Helmand Province.

Budweiser’s new ad seems to be the latest in controversial commercials. The company’s promotion features a soldier returning home to his… boyfriend? “Hey man, it’s me. I’m coming home,” the soldier anxiously reports to his phone pal. While the young soldier prepares for his return home, his friends and family prepare a surprise celebration, complete with Budweiser beer, obviously. When the soldier arrives, he immediately embraces his telephone pal. He then hugs a young woman before greeting his parents. LINK TO YOUTUBE OF AD So who is the man awaiting the soldier’s homecoming? Is it the soldier’s significant other? Is...

The New York Times is reporting that, in the wake of the overturn of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, prominent homosexuals are gearing up a "war room" in order to try to finish the job of destroying the natural family and one-man one-woman marriage in America. "The new group, Equality Matters, grew out of Media Matters, an organization backed by wealthy liberal donors — including prominent gay philanthropists — that has staked its claim in Washington punditry with aggressive attacks on Fox News and conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. It will be run by Richard Socarides, a former...

Apparently no aspect of Western culture is impervious to the in-your-face tastelessness of the homosexual movement. Imagine dragging yourself through the grim task of selecting a casket for a lost loved one and being confronted with this: Funeral directors in Germany are bidding for the pink pound — by launching coffins specially designed for gay customers. The caskets feature homoerotic artwork on the outside and come with a series of tastefully luxurious plush designer interiors, say makers Mike Konigsfeld and Tom Brandl in Cologne, Germany. The designers — who have lived together for more than 10 years — say the...

Portia DeGeneres could be the first celebrity to dance with a same-sex partner on "Dancing With the Stars." The hit competition series is "planning to feature a same-sex couple. You're at the top of the list,"Ryan Seacrest told Portia (who changed her last name from de Rossi to DeGeneres) on his radio show yesterday. The proclamation seemed to surprise DeGeneres, who is married to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Goodness, you really do break news," she said. Rather than flat out pooh-pooh the notion, DeGeneres said, "I'm not gonna pass, let me think about it. I used to be a...

(CNSNews.com) – An immigration bill introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Thursday includes the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their non-citizen same-sex partners. “Now is the time to reform our nation's cruel and broken immigration system,” Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said in a press release following the introduction of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. “Today, there are 12 million undocumented immigrants, including at least half a million LGBT people who are forced to live in the shadows of our society.” LGBT stands for...

Gay marriage is not going away as a highly emotional, contested issue. Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that bans same-sex marriage, has seen to that, as it winds its way through the federal courts. But perhaps the public has reached a turning point. A CNN poll this month found that a narrow majority of Americans supported same-sex marriage--the first poll to find majority support. Other poll results did not go that far, but still, on average, showed that support for gay marriage had risen to 45 percent or more (with the rest either opposed or undecided). That’s a big...

Despite NBC's decision to allow same-sex couples to apply for its "Modern Love" wedding contest, there were none among the four finalists revealed this morning on the "Today" show. When the call for entries opened earlier this summer, the "Today" show faced pressure from GLAAD after the network said couples needed to be eligible for marriage in the state of New York to enter. Executive producer Jim Bell met with GLAAD to discuss the contest and its rules and, following that meeting, "Today" extended the contest deadline and announced that it would allow same-sex couples to apply. Viewers can now...

KGUN 9 POLL: Do you agree with the decision made by Judge Vaughn Walker in overturning California's gay marriage ban? Yes No Undecided

After a meeting with gay and lesbian activists on Thursday, NBC's "Today" show said it is changing the rules for its annual wedding contest to allow same-sex couples to apply for a ceremony conducted on morning TV. NBC extended the deadline for applications until Monday. Already thousands of couples have expressed interest in the on-air wedding, which the top-rated morning show has sponsored for a decade, a spokeswoman said. "We're thrilled that `Today' show's `Modern Wedding Contest' now recognizes what most fair-minded Americans have already concluded — a wedding celebrates love and commitment, whether the spouses are straight or gay,"...

Macy's Department Store in Boston has broken new ground in its cutting-edge support of "gay pride" and the homosexual / transgender movement. As an official "Gay Pride Week" event, Macy's downtown Boston store held a fashion show MC'd by a well-known Boston drag queen. "Jujubee" is a man who dresses as a woman and performs at various drag queen and cross-dressing events. (And it's been holding similar celebratory events in 16 cities nationwide, according to a company spokesman in our video!) The event was open to the public, held in the men's department of the downtown Macy's store, and widely...

Miley Cyrus is not that innocent. Taking a cue from fellow ex-Disney star Britney Spears, the "Hannah Montana" star simulated a girl-on-girl kiss with a female backup dancer during her Thursday night performance on "Britain's Got Talent." Unlike Spears, however, who famously lip locked with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Awards, Miley stopped short of actually kissing the dancer - the two only thrust their lips toward one another.

As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists. LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the...

NORTH TUSTIN – A controversial play that drew protesters in November will return to the Church of the Foothills for an Easter Sunday performance. "Corpus Christi" depicts Jesus as a gay man living in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas, playwright Terrence McNally's home town. The cast of 13 portray Jesus and the 12 Apostles. "It's a story of love and a story of passion, and the story of Christ, so actually it works out very well to have it on Easter," said Pastor Mike Holland of Church of the Foothills. Holland said the group chose to do the play on Easter...

'Grey's Anatomy' Among GLAAD Nominees THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: January 13, 2010 LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For the fourth year running, the ABC television network leads nominees for media awards from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The network has earned eight nominations for the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards, with ''Brothers & Sisters,'' ''Grey's Anatomy,'' ''Private Practice'' and newcomer ''Modern Family'' among its contenders. The GLAAD Media Awards honor the fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — They had to travel to the ends of the Earth to do it, but two Argentine men succeeded in becoming Latin America's first same-sex married couple.After their first attempt to wed earlier this month in Buenos Aires was thwarted, gay rights activists Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took their civil ceremony to the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, where sympathetic governor backed their bid to make Latin American history.The couple exchanged rings Monday in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, closer to Antarctica than Buenos Aires. The informal ceremony was witnessed...

First on TVNewser: American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert won't be appearing on "Good Morning America" tomorrow. TVNewser has learned ABC News canceled the concert after Lambert's sexually charged performance at the American Music Awards Sunday night. Lambert led men on leashes, dragged a woman by her foot, and smashed a man's head into his crotch, all while singing his new single "For Your Entertainment." ABC, which aired the awards show, received about 1,500 phone calls from people complaining about the performance, a number ABC calls "moderate." An ABC News spokesperson tells TVNewser, "given his controversial live performance on the AMAs...

Lithuania MPs ban gay ‘promotion’ AFP/Vilnius Lithuanian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly yesterday to overturn a presidential veto of a child-protection law that bans what supporters say is the promotion of homosexuality. The law, due to come into force in March 2010, bars the “public dissemination” of information favourable to homosexuality, claiming it could harm the mental health and physical, intellectual and moral development of youngsters. The legislation - which also covers bisexuality, polygamy, images of heterosexual intercourse, death and severe injury, the paranormal, foul language and bad eating habits - does not specifically define public dissemination nor set down the punishment...

For thousands of Americans, Tax Day was a moment to protest what they see as bloated budgets and a pile of debt being passed on to their children. For CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the word "teabagging" in a sentence. Teabagging, for those who don't live in a frat house, refers to a sexual act involving part of the male genitalia and a second person's face or mouth. So when the anti-tax "tea party" protests were held Wednesday across the country, cable anchors and guests -- who for weeks had all but...

President Obama says he wants to reverse "Don't Ask Don't Tell," the Clinton-era policy that prevents openly gay men and women from serving in the military. But so far the White House has been noncommittal about how and when he will try to make that happen. In an effort to prod the president and Congress to act, activists -- gay, straight, military and civilian -- will converge on Capitol Hill Friday to rally behind an effort in the House to overturn the policy, which has been a continuing source of controversy since it became law 15 years ago. "The repeal,...

As much as many of you may be absolutely addicted to that cup-o-joe in the mornings, on April 15, I would strongly advise you not to take your kids in or near a Starbucks. Otherwise you might be stuck explaining a few things that you probably believe they are not yet ready to be confronted with. Because I refuse to give the group doing this exercise any traffic I'll simply show you what's on the page:

Why do we -- men and women, gay and straight -- find Rachel Maddow sexy? Daphne Merkin's "Butch Fatale" about the newly minted MSNBC icon, hidden among the overpriced handbag porn and fluffy profiles of last weekend's New York Times T style magazine, is more complicated than it appears. As Merkin writes, it isn't often that mainstream culture celebrates the attractiveness of butch lesbians. Sure, we admire femmes like Portia de Rossi and Lindsay Lohan. But for the most part, lesbians who wear suits, cut their hair short or otherwise don't conform to traditional standards of beauty -- the Ellen...

A British school that staged a gay version of Romeo and Juliet - called Romeo and Julian - has been accused of 'mind-blowing' political correctness. The play, which was performed by teenagers at a mixed school in east London to coincide with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) History Month, has caused a stir in parliament. Drama teacher Jo Letson reworked Shakespeare's play to challenge 'homophobia and homophobic bullying'. The version was praised by actor Sir Ian McKellen when he saw it last month, reports The Telegraph. Calling for a debate on political correctness during questions on upcoming Commons business,...

The current Newsweek has an article by Lisa Miller pretending to take seriously the idea that the Bible looks favorably upon homosexual love and is properly used in support rather than rejection of same-sex marriage.  Here's the final paragraph. My friend the priest James Martin says his favorite Scripture relating to the question of homosexuality is Psalm 139, a song that praises the beauty and imperfection in all of us and that glorifies God’s knowledge of our most secret selves: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.� And then he adds that in his heart he believes that...

Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer of the film and stage musical “Hairspray,” has done the country a major, if inadvertent, service. He has composed a brief musical piece against California Proposition 8 that takes only three minutes to reveal the ignorance and hate that pervades so much anti-Proposition 8 activism. This short musical, viewed more than 2 million times on the Internet, features major Hollywood talents playing (through song) two groups on a beach -- gay men and women in beach clothes and a stuffy formally dressed church group composed of whites and blacks. Its message begins with a...

Saturday night I took my wife of 34 years to MovieLand to screen a comedy romance entitled “Zach and Miri Make a Porno,” a film whose Internet “Tomatometer” consensus proclaimed it “fresh,” “charming” and “an old fashioned romantic comedy.” The Washington Post’s Neely Tucker observed, “Everyone on screen seems to be having so much fun,” and The New York Times’ A. O. Scott bubbled, “a gee-whiz romantic-comedy formula that would not be out of place on the Disney Channel.” Since the wife and I are suckers for old-fashioned romantic comedies, I ponied up $30 for tickets and a bucket of...

SNIP Then, he was informed it was a gay and lesbian bar, we were told she doesn't do those kind of venues. She doesn't do gay and lesbian bars and clubs. I thought it was kind of strange considering she's a lesbian. SNIP

WASILLA — Responding to news reports about then-Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin asking a librarian how she would feel about banning books, a San Francisco man has donated two children’s books dealing with homosexuality to the Wasilla Library. Mike Petrelis, a 49-year-old who files Freedom of Information requests for a living, said he was aghast to read reports of Palin’s 1996 inquiry about banning certain books at Wasilla’s library. The news — old news in the Mat-Su Valley, but new in the Lower 48 — prompted Petrelis to send to Wasilla “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate,” both children’s books...

For those familiar with the antics of shock comic Sacha Baron Cohen , it was a case of déjà vu, all over again. On May 28, he outraged a crowd of unsuspecting guests at a Carrollton office park by luring them to what they thought was a new talk show on "family values." [Click image for a larger version] Hello, Arkansas. As an encore early last month, he outraged a crowd of 1,600 by luring them to what was billed as cage fighting. Police say the show was designed instead to capture the reactions of the unsuspecting to the sight...

Heinz is set to challenge some viewer expectations with a light-hearted TV campaign that features two men sharing a kiss. The TV commercial, which promotes a new range of dressing called Heinz Deli Mayo, breaks tonight and will be supported by a press campaign. Heinz' new ad opens with a family on a normal morning routine with a young boy and girl getting ready for school and their father preparing for the office. The young boy and girl go to the kitchen to get their sandwiches, which are being prepared by a man with a New York accent dressed in...

Revealed! The most incredible string of words you've never heard before. Plus: Bill O'Reilly loses - It is nearly summertime in the Year of Our Google, and here in the golden land known as California the following startling and once-inconceivable lament can now be heard: Dammit, with gas zooming toward five bucks a gallon and airlines doubling fares and charging me for a single checked bag, how the hell am I going to afford to travel to all my gay friends' legal weddings across the state this summer? Please note the historic power therein. Because such a peculiar, momentous string...

A new color graces the gay pride rainbow flag: fire engine red. Members of the Austin Fire Department Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Friends will take part in the Austin Pride Parade today, riding on a fire truck and marking the organization's second appearance in the annual event that celebrates the gay community in Austin. Lt. Jan Wesson, who leads the group, said it received great support last year from attendees, who named the truck "Best Vehicle." "That was just the highlight of my career," said Wesson, who has served in the Fire Department for 24 years and came out...

A state lawmaker from New Albany backed a bill this year that would give employment and housing protection to Ohio's gays and transsexuals. That took some courage because the Senate leaders of his party, the Republicans, have no patience for the legislation. And similar bills never have received much attention in Ohio, let alone on-the-record hearings. But Sen. David Goodman said his active endorsement of Senate Bill 305 was a no-brainer after a conversation in March with his father, a prominent Harvard-trained lawyer. That day, he reminded his son why Jewish law firms first opened in Columbus: No one else...

This Clovis High School yearbook is out and is raising eyebrows with pictures and quotes from gay couples who attend the school.

The 20th annual meeting of the nation's second most powerful homosexual activist group is welcoming some new participants -- and a very recognizable sponsor. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is holding its annual "Creating Change" conference in Detroit this week. Its sponsors claim to have trained more than 30,000 activists since 1988. Peter LaBarbera with Americans for Truth About Homosexuality has reported on the event in the past. "It's essentially a grassroots training conference for homosexual, bisexual, transgender -- and now, it turns out -- sadomasochistic activists," says LaBarbera. The event originally focused on homosexuals, but has expanded...