USA: Updated Gay Marriage Map

Minnesota: Celebration In The State Capitol Rotunda

NYC: Cops Make Two Arrests After Midtown Gay Bashing

The DOMA Project: Missing Husband

More on this couple’s story is here.

Minnesota: Senate Passes Marriage Equality Bill 37-30

Joe.My.God. reports:

The Minnesota Senate will begin debate on its marriage equality bill at noon local time (1pm Eastern).   The bill is expected to pass and Gov. Mark Dayton is likely to sign it in a ceremony presently scheduled to take place tomorrow.  You can watch today’s proceedings live on the website of theStar-Tribuneand on the Senate’s official page.  You’ll probably want to save both links as high traffic often makes these streams crash.  Zoom, zoom, zoom, y’all.

AFER’s Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Obama On Collins: I Couldn’t Be Prouder

MONTANA: Sodomy No Longer Illegal

Joe.My.God. reports:

Montana’s governor has signed the bill repealing the state’s ban on sodomy. 

When Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed Senate Bill 107 decriminalizing gay sex, cheers erupted in the Capitol’s Rotunda. It had been 16 years after the state Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional and 24 years after gay rights activists began their fight to take government out of the bedroom. “I am not going to speak too long because, frankly, the longer I talk, the longer this embarrassing and unconstitutional law stays on the books,” Bullock said.

The victory, though a powerful one for the gay community in Montana, is highly symbolic with no tangible benefits aside from striking the obsolete law condemning gay sex from Montana code. The outdated code has not been used to prosecute individuals for years. And previous efforts to offer gays and lesbians protection under the law, including a push to prohibit civil discrimination, have been thwarted by a GOP-controlled Legislature.

Towleroad tips us to this clip.

Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Liked To RT Homophobic Tweets

Queerty reports:

Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was “as American as anybody,” according to one of his high school friends.
So it comes as no surprise that his Twitter account reflects the usual ramblings of a 19 year old, along with a few homophobic touches.
Tsarnaev’s tweets make it clear that he’s straight and likes women (and weed), but he can’t resist a few swipes at gays along the way.
“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet, probably the gayest thing I ever heard but don’t mind me I obviously just get wet,” Tsarnaev writes in one tweet.
In other cases, he liked to retweet not particularly funny jokes.

• “Oh, you’re gay? That must be a real pain in the ass.”
• “In a Grammar class : Teacher:- “HE does not like girls.” What is ‘He’ in this sentence. . ?? … . . Student :- Gay… . !!””Oh, you’re gay? That must be a real pain in the ass.”
• “If you were sleeping between a beautiful girl and a gay man, who’s side would you turn your back to?”

Compared to what Tsarnaev is accused of, these are incredibly mild. There are no death threats against gays or invocations about the wrath of God on homosexuals. Instead, what they highlight are the average, casually homophobic beliefs of a young straight American male. In that sense, Tsarnaev was depressingly a lot like everyone else.

Marriage Equality Nations

USA: Gay Couples Will Not Be Included In Immigration Reform Bill

Joe.My.God. reports:

The director of Immigration Equality said today that she does not expect that gay couples will be in included in the immigration reform bill about to be introduced in the US Senate. Michael Lavers reports at Washington Blade: 

“We are not expecting LGBT families to be included in the Gang of 8 bill,” she told the Washington Blade during a conference call ahead of a rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform on Wednesday that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol. “That in our minds means that of course the bill is incomplete.” Tiven’s comments come roughly three months after President Obama publicly unveiled an immigration reform proposal that includes bi-national gay couples.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler confirmed to the Blade  that “LGBT-specific language will likely not appear” in the bill. Nadler: “This is disappointing but not particularly surprising.”

Brendon Ayanbadejo: Four Gay NFL Players Might Come Out Together

Joe.My.God. reports:

Via SB Nation, an interesting quote from Ayanbadejo: 

“I think it will happen sooner than you think. We’re in talks with a handful of players who are considering it. There are up to four players being talked to right now and they’re trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together. It would make a major splash and take the pressure off one guy. It would be a monumental day if a handful or a few guys come out.”

In today’s interview with MSNBC, host Thomas Roberts brings up the above quote and asks Ayanbadejo about his history of LGBT activism and what may happen for him next.  Ayanbadejo was let go by the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, but he says that move was “just football” and unrelated to his advocacy to same-sex marriage.

LGBT & Undocumented

Marie Osmond For Marriage Equality

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