CORNERED: Newt Gingrich's Lesbian Half-Sister Candace Tells Rachel Maddow She's Supporting Obama!

Rachel Maddow spoke with Newt Gingrich's half-sister Candace Jones-Gingrich that she's supporting Obama because of Newt's position on gay rights.

"He's definitely on the wrong side of history when it comes to those issues."

Candace says that although he was invited, Newt did not attend her wedding.

HOPE: Hillary Clinton's Landmark Speech to the UN on LGBT Rights!

Here's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's historic and unprecedented speech to the UN today on LGBT rights.

Says Clinton, in her opening:  Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. In many ways, they are an invisible minority. They are arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed. Many are treated with contempt and violence by their fellow citizens while authorities empowered to protect them look the other way or, too often, even join in the abuse. They are denied opportunities to work and learn, driven from their homes and countries, and forced to suppress or deny who they are to protect themselves from harm.

NOT SWEET: Iowa Baker Refuses to Create Wedding Cake for Lesbian Couple, Cites Her Christian Beliefs

Lesbian couple Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers went to Victoria Childress for their wedding cake. At a taste-testing appointment they were told that she wouldn't do it for them because it conflicts with ther Christian beliefs.

Said Childress: "I didn't do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle. It is my right as a business owner. It is my right, and it's not to discriminate against them. It's not so much to do with them, it's to do with me and my walk with God and what I will answer (to) him for."

The couple says it was degrading: "It was like she chastised us for wanting to do business with her. I know Jesus loves me. I didn't need her to tell me that. I didn't go there for that. I just wanted to go there for a cake."

Video interview with Childress HERE.

ICON: Farewell To Barbara Grier, Pioneering Publisher Of Lesbian Books!

Farewell to Barbara Grier, a brave and resolute woman who had the wild idea to begin a serious lesbian publishing house in the dim and unenlightened January of 1972. The resulting company, Naiad Press -- which Grier co-founded with her lifelong partner, Donna McBride, as well as Anyta Marchant and Muriel Crawford -- became the biggest and most important lesbian publishing house in the world.

From the Los Angeles Times: By the time it folded in 2003, it had published more than 500 titles by authors such as Rita Mae Brown, Katherine V. Forrest, Jane Rule and Sheila Ortiz Taylor.

"She created Naiad Press because the mainstream would not publish any of our books," Forrest, whose career was launched by Naiad in 1983 with the publication of her novel "Curious Wine," told The Times on Friday. "Her accomplishments are just monumental, given the obstacles she faced. There was such virulent homophobia. Barbara was nothing if not fearless."

SLURRED: San Antonio Student Says She Was Beaten by Two Men Because She's a Lesbian!

Kristen Cooper, a student at the University of Texas San Antonio says she was beaten by two men who grabbed her and dragged her into their truck while she was waiting for a ride outside a Halloween party. The men, she said, began punching her, KENS5 reports.

“It was bad, it hurt really bad, it was like full fist and I tried to fight them off, but I couldn’t,” said Cooper.

Cooper said the men eventually dropped her off near 1604. Without a phone she claims she walked along the roadway until someone spotted her and called 911. Cooper said the only thing the men knew about her was that she was gay and during the beating she claims they were calling her anti-homosexual slurs.

SNUBBED: Lesbian Couple 'Humiliated' at Florida DMV!

Married couple Rachel and Charlotte Lambert-Jolley were reminded what inequality feels like during a recent trip to the DMV in Florida.

"You are five feet away from the people in the DMV and everyone starts whispering and talking," Charlotte explained, "it was uncomfortable."

"To have multiple people tell you, 'It's fine, it's fine,' [then] you go in there and think you are good, then boom!  It's a slap in the face, pretty much," Rachel said.

OUT: California Lawmaker Comes Out of the Closet, Cites Gay Bullying!

Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani tells the Stockton Record that she's gay: Galgiani, D-Livingston, said that by coming out now, she hopes to send a positive message to young people who are struggling to come to terms with their sexual identity.

"It sickens me that young people would think about taking their lives because of who they are," Galgiani said. Galgiani, 47, said it was not until well into adulthood, after she was elected to represent the 17th Assembly District in 2006, that she knew she was gay.

The Sacramento Bee adds: Galgiani's spokesman confirmed the report, saying the statement came during an interview on high-speed rail and other issues.

Galgiani's announcement brings the total number of openly gay state lawmakers to eight. Her addition would make the Legislature's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus, formed in 2002, the country's largest caucus recognizing openly gay legislators in the country, according to the gay rights advocacy group Equality California. Galgiani, who is termed out of the Assembly next year, is planning to run for a competitive Senate seat in the Central Valley next year.

TARGETED: Lesbian Couple Finds 'Kill the Gay' Scrawled on Garage, Noose on Doorstep!

A Parker, Colorado lesbian couple fears for their safety after finding "Kill the gay" scrawled on their garage and a noose on their doorstep, KWGN reports: The couple admits they’ve had an ongoing feud with their homeowners association at their Parker condo complex. They say their H.O.A regularly complains that the couple does not pick-up after their dogs. One neighbor said the two regularly have noise complaints.

The couple has notified Parker police who are investigating. Investigators take the reports of harassment seriously and they have increased patrols in the neighborhood.

ROYALTY: The Lesbian Homecoming King Of Patrick Henry High!

Patrick Henry High, in San Diego, has always "been a little bit ahead of the curve" on social issues, according to gay alum Ben Cartwright. Now, lesbian Rebecca Arellano has been named Patrick Henry's Homecoming King, according to San Diego's Channel 10News.

Perhaps Rebecca would have preferred to be a co-queen, along with girlfriend Haileigh Adams, but that's not how homecoming works. "If there was any other way to do it and have two lesbians who are a couple win, I would," she says. Haileigh Adams was nominated for homecoming queen; she'll learn whether she's won at the homecoming dance this evening.

Members of the Patrick Henry High community have so far been supportive of their lesbian prom king. During their inteview with Rebecca, according to 10News:... cars full of people drove by shouting out things like, "You guys are an amazing couple!"

See the station's interview with Ms. Arellano here.

TARGETED: 'Real World' Cast Member Threatens to 'Beat the Gay' Out of His Lesbian Housemate!

Real World: San Diego housemate Zach learned the phrase "beat the gay out of you" somewhere and decided to casually use it against his lesbian housemate in last night's episode, which didn't go down too well.  

TV Squad explains: This week, when Sam approached Zach to let him know that she and Ashley were waiting on him, a verbal argument over the ping-pong paddles escalated. Zach accused her of wanting him to go get ready so she could play, and she countered by saying she would throw the paddles over the edge of the porch.

"I will beat the gay out of you if you throw these paddles off the porch," he snapped. "Don't play that game with me."

SORDID: Linda Wall, 'Ex-Gay' Candidate in Virginia, Admits Lesbian Affair with Minor

Linda Wall, a conservative independent running for Virginia's House of Delegates who has lobbied Virginia's General Assembly on behalf of the Family Foundation, a group that opposes same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and abortion, says she's an "ex-gay" and admits to having had sexual relations with an underage student that cost her a job forty years ago, the AP reports: In an Associated Press interview on Wednesday, Linda Wall confirmed her sworn 2006 testimony in a lawsuit in which she admitted to "sexual relations with a minor" in the early 1970s when she taught physical education in Prince George County. The 61-year-old Wall said the affair was a long-ago, youthful mistake, not who she is now.

"I've never tried to hide that I was in homosexuality. If anybody Googles me, they would find that out there," Wall said.

"Forty years ago I was a different person. I was a heavy pot smoker with … impaired judgment and made some bad choices," she said. "You do that out of college sometimes. Some people do, some people don't."

XPOSED: LiLo Posing in Playboy for $1M!

It's a long way from The Parent Trap. Tabloid regular and occasional actress Lindsay Lohan is heading to the pages of Playboy magazine—for close to $1 million, reports TMZ. The famous girlie mag apparently offered $750,000, but LiLo wanted a full $1 million. She didn't get that much, but apparently she's getting pretty close to it. No one on either side is confirming yet, but TMZ says the shoot already began last weekend.

EGG SWAP: Australian Lesbians Propose A Trade!

Andrea and Alisa are a lesbian couple in New South Wales, Australia. They want a baby. They don't want to adopt, and they don't want to use the genetic material of some anonymous donor. Of the search for appropriate DNA, Elisa says: "It's not like looking through a catalogue for a pair of shoes. This is a potential child."

The couple sought an appropriate sperm donor through an ad in a gay publication. They met with a few putative papas, but none clicked.

Then, according to the Sydney Morning Herald: ... the pair conceived the idea of approaching heterosexual couples and arranging an egg-for-sperm swap.

EVER-GREEN: State's Largest Union Urges Passage of Marriage Equality in Washington!

Washington’s largest private sector union, UCFW 21, said on Thursday that it will support efforts to pass marriage equality there, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: “Domestic partnerships were a giant step forward and provided working families with important protections. However, only marriage can provide gay and lesbian couples and their children legal rights that provide essential protections such as social security, spousal and survivor benefits,” the 35,000-member union, which represents people in the retail and health care sectors, said in a statement.

Last month a poll conducted by Seattle political consulting firm Strategies 360 found support for gay marriage marriage in Washington state at at 54-35.

Washington's current domestic partner bill was called an "everything but marriage" bill because it gave same-sex partners the rights of marriage but not the label.

DISGUSTING: Pennsylvania Professor Humiliates Lesbian in Class!

Christina Santiago, a student at Eberly College of Business and Information Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania says she was attacked and humiliated in front of her classroom because she is a lesbian.

During a discussion that turned to homosexuality, her business professor, who has not been identified, called it "disgusting, unnatural, and abnormal" and when Santiago identified herself as a lesbian he told her that the words applied to her. The teacher continued, telling her that "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam.

Santiago's instructor complained about voluntary diversity training and said that students like Santiago were forcing their sexuality on him.

An investigation is underway and students have held at least one rally in support of Santiago.

GENDER LOVE: Glenn Close CAUGHT in Male Drag!

A new trailer has just been released for the Glenn Close drama Albert Nobbs, in which Close dons drag to work as a butler, and then falls in love with a woman.

THR writes: "The movie, directed by Rodrigo Garcia, is adapted from a short story by Irish novelist George Moore. Close, who co-produced and co-wrote the movie, first played the title character in a 1982 stage production and had been trying to mount a screen version ever since."

OFFENSIVE: Urban Outfitters' 'Vulgar' Navajo Collection Attacked!

Urban Outfitters might have thought it was getting all back to the land with its "Navajo" collection of kitschy clothing and accessories. But a Native American woman is angry about the campaign, which she say disrespects her heritage. Sasha Houston Brown, 24, of Minneapolis, has fired off a letter to the CEO calling the "inauthentic" offerings "cheap, vulgar, and culturally offensive." Some of the products the trendy retailer sells include the "Navajo Hipster Panty" and the "Navajo Print Fabric Wrapped Flask," notes ABC News.

The chachkas "make a mockery of our identity and unique cultures," Brown writes. Urban Outfitters hasn't responded to Brown. But a spokesman told ABC that the company is sticking to its guns. "The Native American-inspired trend and specifically the term 'Navajo' have been cycling thru fashion, fine art, and design for the last few years," he said. "We currently have no plans to modify or discontinue any of these products." Brown claims the products are not only offensive, but may be illegal under the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act. "It's illegal to sell any art or craft product in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe," she said.

National Coming Out Day: From Sean Maher to NPH, Ellen and Rosie!

Happy National Coming Out Day to everyone!

GAY VOTE: Two Gay Candidates Run for Mayor in San Diego!

Back in March I posted this story of 3 Gay Candidates for SD mayor, now they are 2....

And they're both Republicans!

Councilman Carl DeMaio and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis have partners. Voters don't seem to care either way about their orientation. And the third candidate for the Republican nomination, a former marine, was the sole state Republican assemblyman to vote for California's gay history bill.
It's a pro-gay phalanx! Though DeMaio, who recently spoke at a Rick Perry rally, is a bit controversial: Nicole Ramirez Murray, a longtime gay activist in San Diego (and former National President of the Imperial Court), criticized DeMaio in a recent column for the San Diego LGBT Weekly because DeMaio identified himself as single in a questionnaire for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

CURED: Michele Bachmann's Friend Claims She's No Longer a Lesbian!

Janet Boynes used to be a lesbian. No longer! She's over that now. The before-and-after pictures prove it. And she's helping others get over their homosexuality at Janet Boynes Ministries.

Interviewed on a radio show, Boynes was more than happy to talk about her past drug and alcohol addictions, her failed engagement to a man, and her painful experiences with rape. But don't ask her if she's friends with Michele and Marcus Bachmann - because that's personal.