Maryland Governor O’Malley Testifies Before Senate That Same Sex Marriage A Matter Of Protecting Children, American Family Association Attacks Macy’s Over Corporation’s Same Sex Marriage Support, Archdiocese Of Minneapolis/St. Paul Spent $650,000 To Support Same Sex Marriage Ban, Ecuador Says It Will Police Clinics Found To Force Gays To Change Sexual Orientation, Anderson Cooper Parties

Governor Martin O’Malley says legalizing same sex marriage in Maryland is a matter of protecting children. The governor, a Democrat, testified in support of his proposal to allow same sex marriages before the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee Tuesday afternoon, according to The Associated Press. O’Malley said the bill will offer certain legal protections to children of gay couples, providing parity with children of married, heterosexual parents. Last year, the Senate passed a version of the bill,but it stalled in the House, at least in part over legislators’ religious and family values concerns. The governor has said that this year’s bill offers additional protection to religious institutions that do not support same sex unions by adding language that draws on similar legislation passed in other states.

As more corporations show their support for same sex marriage, sadly, a few customers are pushing back. Starbucks, Microsoft, Group Health Cooperative, Nike, Real Networks, and Vulcan all recently announced their support of gay marriage in Washington state. "While some of our employees literally grew up around the corner, others have come from every state and almost 150 countries around the world. There simply is no substitute for their diverse backgrounds, perspectives, skills and experiences," says Brad Smith, Microsoft's VP for legal and corporate affairs. Spokespeople for those companies tell me their support of marriage equality has been "well received." But that is not the case for Macy's, a national department store chain, according to a report by MyNorthWest.com. A Macy's catalogue was sent to homes with a subtle message supporting same sex marriage. The wedding cake topper in the back of a stylish, classic automobile features two grooms. The close up version of the ad, though fuzzy, shows a same-sex couple on top of the cake. A group affiliated with the American Family Association has started an e-mail campaign urging Macy's to pull the image - which does not appear in the online version of the company's catalogue. "Just because gay marriage is legal in a few states does not mean this is appropriate marketing. As a conservative customer I will not support it," they say. The group also calls Macy's decision to support gay marriage "an irresponsible choice" that is "highly offensive and not family-friendly advertising." Macy's has made no secret of its support of marriage equality. A 2008 advertisement in California stated, "First comes love. Then comes marriage. And now it's a milestone every couple in California can celebrate." That was before California voters repealed granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples with Proposition 8. A Washington State House committee held a hearing on the marriage equality measure on Monday. The House Judiciary committee approved it on a 7-6 party line vote. As I previously posted, the full Senate is to vote on their version of the bill Wednesday, with full house action to occur shortly thereafter. The bill would then head to Governor Chris Gregoire’s desk for her signature. She will sign it. Opponents wishing to challenge the new law would have until early June to collect 120,557 valid signatures, the amount required to place a referendum on the November 2012 ballot.

"The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says it contributed $650,000 last year to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage. The archdiocese said Wednesday that it spearheaded a state-wide effort of Minnesota’s Catholic bishops. Archbishop John Nienstedt has come out strongly in support of the ban. He says it’s in line with fundamental church teaching that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The archdiocese says the money comes from investment income. The largest group working to defeat the amendment, Minnesotans United for All Families, said last week it had raised $1.2 million.

Ecuador will investigate and act forcefully against any clinics found to be trying to force homosexuals to change their sexual orientation, a Health Ministry official said last Thursday. Gay rights activists in the South American country say four clinics that engaged in coercive practices, three in the capital, have been shut down in recent months but that others still to operate clandestinely. "Sadly, authorities have not yet taken the corrective measures necessary to regulate the work of clinics that offer 'de-homosexualization' treatment,'" said Efrain Soria, director of Fundacion Equidad, an anti-discrimination group. Health Ministry official David Troya told The Associated Press the agency will deal firmly and drastically with any clinics that offer such treatments, which have been denounced by critics as abusive. Newly named Health Minister Carina Vance, who studied at the University of California and has publicly defended gay rights, is hiring someone to work exclusively on the issue, said Troya, an adviser to Vance. "We are going to take the necessary measures in a firm and drastic manner as regards this subject," he said. The ministry is "clear and emphatic" that in line with the World Health Organization findings, "homosexuality is not an illness and that as such a cure can't be suggested, so that whoever offers treatments is deceiving people and acting illegally," Troya said. Paola Concha told the AP that her family sent her in 2006 to a clinic to "cure" her of homosexuality. "I received physical and verbal aggression during the 18 months I was interned in one of these centers," she said. "Nearly daily they beat me, and many times I was handcuffed to a pipe." Concha said the women's ward of the clinic where she was held was later closed. She said other women who were "treated" along with her are afraid to go public with their stories. Troya said the few clinics offering "de-homosexualization treatment" that were shuttered by authorities were closed not because they offered such services but for other reasons, such as failing to meet sanitary standards. Soria, the anti-discrimination activist, said complaints had been filed in courts against all of the closed clinics. He said the clinics running "de-homosexualization" programs camouflage themselves by advertising that they treat such disorders as substance abuse.

The New York Daily News reports that Anderson Cooper was a different kind of host on Saturday evening. A source says the Anderson Cooper 360 anchor held a birthday party for openly gay party planner Josh Wood, of Josh Wood Productions, in the converted firehouse in Greenwich Village that Cooper bought for $4.3M in 2009. Cooper, “dressed casually in a T-shirt and glasses,” was “really social at the party [and] talked to all of his guests.”

Washington Senate Rules Committee Votes To Advance Same Sex Marriage Measure; SB 6239 Will Be Voted On Late Wednesday

The Senate will vote Wednesday on a measure to legalize same sex marriage in Washington State. The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move the bill to a floor vote. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who is president of the Senate, pulled the bill for advancement, saying "it would be hypocritical for me to not support this bill" because of work he has done with schools and diversity. "For me, this is not a religious question," said Owen, a Democrat. "It's a legal question." The committee advanced the bill on a 14-7 vote, with six of the seven Republicans on the committee voting no. Senator Cheryl Pflug (R-Maple Valley) is one of two Republican senators who have said they will support the measure. The bill is not expected to come up for a vote until late afternoon or early evening on Wednesday. It is expected to pass in the Senate with at least 25 votes, the number needed for approval. Five other senators - two Democrats and three Republicans - have not indicated how they will vote. If passed by the Senate, the measure moves to the House, which also has enough votes to pass the bill, and Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire supports the measure and said she will sign it into law. Opponents of same sex marriage have already promised a referendum battle at the ballot if Washington becomes the 7th state to approve gay marriage. Same sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Lawmakers in New Jersey and Maryland are expected to debate gay marriage this year, and Maine is likely to see a gay marriage proposal on the November ballot. A referendum can't be filed until after the bill is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gregoire. Opponents then must turn in 120,577 signatures by June 6. Washington state has had a domestic partnership law since 2007 and an "everything but marriage" expansion of the domestic partnership law since 2009. Gay marriage bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate this year, and received their first public hearings this month. Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who has spearheaded past gay rights and domestic partnership laws in the state, and is sponsor of the Senate marriage bill, said that he is anxious for Wednesday's vote. "Nothing is done until it is actually voted on," he said.

Empire State Pride Agenda Condemns County Attorney Appointment Of Candidate With Direct Ties To Anti-Gay Alliance Defense Fund

The state’s largest gay rights organization is calling on County Executive Daniel McCoy to withdraw his nomination for county attorney — a well-known conservative lawyer — calling the man's appointment an "insult and a grave danger to LGBT New Yorkers." The Albany Times Union reports that Empire State Pride Agenda entered the fray over Thomas Marcelle's appointment to the county's top legal post Tuesday, ratcheting up pressure on McCoy and fellow Democrats in the County Legislature to scrap Marcelle's nomination over concerns about his ties to a conservative organization that opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and separation of church and state. "Through is role as senior staff at the Alliance Defense Fund, Mr. Marcelle's resume is built on discrimination," Ross Levi, the organization's executive director, said. "At best, the county executive is being naive if he can't see how this appointment sends the wrong message to the people of Albany County." The group's legislative and political affairs director, Brian Coffin, meanwhile, has resigned his position on McCoy's transition team in protest, Levi said. McCoy has publicly defended his pick of Marcelle, a Conservative Party member and longtime counsel to the County Legislature's Republican minority, calling him a capable attorney well-suited to the rigors of the job. Marcelle's personal beliefs, whatever they may be, are irrelevant to his responsibilities as county attorney, McCoy has said. Marcelle himself, under questioning last week by county lawmakers who must confirm his appointment, said he would not let his private views affect his "sacred duty" to give the county the best representation he can. "I don't care how people conduct their personal lives," Marcelle told members of the legislature's personnel committee last week. "It's none of my business, and it's none of the government's business." Marcelle said he would uphold the state's new same sex marriage law "without hesitation." But Levi said Marcelle's voluntary association with the Alliance Defense Fund, which uses litigation to further its agenda, seriously calls Marcelle's statements into question. "That's a decision he made," Levi said. Marcelle told lawmakers that his work as senior counsel to the organization centered largely on cases involving free speech and defending equal access of groups to government buildings and forums — a subject that helped mint the Bethlehem attorney's legal credentials when he won a U.S. Supreme Court case for a religious group on the topic in 2001. Libby Post, a longtime local LGBT activist who helped found Empire State Pride Agenda 22 years ago, said opponents are about five votes shy of the 20 needed to block Marcelle's confirmation but will continue to lobby members of the County Legislature, in which Democrats hold a 29-10 majority. Post started the local campaign to oppose Marcelle this month, a move that some close to McCoy — the county's former Democratic Party chairman — chalked up to political manoeuvring among rival factions of the Democratic Party. Post has dismissed that idea. "It's an affront to all LGBT people that our tax dollars would go to support someone who does not have the interests of the entire community at heart," she said. A spokeswoman for McCoy could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

Two Gay Men File Federal Suit Against Cleveland Police Department Alleging That During 2011 Arrest The Couple’s Constitutional Rights Were Violated

Two gay men have filed a federal lawsuit against several officers from the Cleveland Police Department stemming from an arrest last April. The men claim they were subjected to derogatory name-calling and then hauled off to jail in their underwear, despite repeated requests to change clothes. FOX 8 reports that in a civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, nationally-recognized civil rights attorney David Malik alleges several officers from the Cleveland Police Department violated the couple's constitutional rights. "We were called faggots a lot by police, and I consider that a fighting word," said Jonathan Simcox. Simcox and his partner, Steven Ondo, claim they were subjected to, "excessive force and undisguised prejudice," because of their sexual orientation. "It was more humiliating than I can even explain to you," said Steven Ondo. In April 2011, Ondo and Simcox were walking home from a bar on the near west side when they started arguing. They say a neighbour, who happened to be an off-duty Cleveland police officer came outside and confronted them. "He came out over shouting, saying, 'Shut up, you`re disturbing the peace'," said Simcox. "I pushed to get past him, as soon as I did that he knocked me on the ground, and just started beating me, hitting me, standing over top of me, and punching me repeatedly." A few minutes later, Cleveland police showed up at their house. Ondo and Simcox were arrested and hauled off to jail. "At the time my hands were all cut up, I was covered in blood," said Simcox. The men said after they were released from jail, they were told no charges were being filed against them. About a week later, the men were upstairs sleeping inside their home when they heard a loud banging outside their front door. According to the lawsuit, "6 or 7 members of the SWAT/and or Warrant Team" were on a sweep that day. Ondo and Simcox said officers then informed them they were wanted on a warrant that was issued for, "assaulting a peace officer." The men said each time they tried asking questions, the officers became increasingly violent. "The officer in the glasses grabbed me by my shirt, and punched me twice in the face, after he punched me, he threw me up against the wall," said Simcox. Simcox says at the time of the arrest, he and his partner were wearing only underwear and t-shirts. When Simcox's brother asked police if he could get them some pants and shoes, one of the officers allegedly responded by saying, "You can go get them shoes, but faggots don`t deserve to wear pants in jail." The lawsuit states that the men were ordered to stand outside in their front lawn for five to 10 minutes while they were publicly humiliated. Ondo and Simcox were taken to jail and according to the lawsuit for, "at least one whole day their repeated requests for pants were denied." Civil rights attorney Sam Riotte said, "Jonathan and Steven's rights were violated in part of who they are, because they are homosexuals." As for the assault charge, Riotte said, "They went to trial, it was proven they didn't do anything wrong, they were found not guilty." FOX8 contacted the Cleveland Police Department seeking comment. Interim Law Director Barbara Langhenry issued this response: "The City of Cleveland is aware that the lawsuit has been filed and will appropriately address this legal matter in court. At this point, the City has no comment on this pending litigation." Riotte said, "[Police] have a lot of power, abuse of power, and it's something that threatens not just Jonathan and Steven, but everybody and so a way to prevent this is to stand up, speak out and say this is wrong," said Riotte. Simcox added, "The police are supposed to be there to help you now after this whole incident and everything happened, I would definitely think twice about calling them again. I mean, it was terrifying, it just changed my whole view on what really is safe."

Canadian Gay Solider Says He Received Death Threats While On Duty In Afghanistan, Opponents Of Maryland Same Sex Marriage Rally In Annapolis, Accused In Seattle Anti-Gay Taunts Pleads Not Guilty, Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy And Chris Pine, Leaked David Beckham H&M Ad

A Canadian soldier who served in Afghanistan says he received a threatening note, written by someone working at Kandahar Airfield, because he is gay. Warrant Officer Andrew McLean, who had tried to hide his sexual orientation, told CBC News that he found the letter on his work station in September, during his 4½-month tour of duty in Kandahar. "It said, 'You're gay. Because of this, minus-2' … that's metric [for] six feet, 6½ feet under?" McLean said in an interview from Winnipeg, where he recently took part in the Rick Hansen Relay. "I went through a lot of emotions. I went through anger, embarrassment, humiliation … fear for my safety." Canadian Forces officials said a harassment complaint was launched when McLean came forward with the discovery, but a full investigation could not be conducted without knowing who left the note at the NATO-run airfield. Officials told CBC News on Monday that McLean's complaint was taken seriously, and new military camp harassment policies were even developed as a result. McLean has since been moved to another job. McLean said he had spent years trying to hide the fact that he was gay. "I tried every trick in the book to be heterosexual," he said. When asked why, he replied, "Because that's the conflict. That's what society expects you to be. You see the negativity all around you, and why would anybody choose to confront that?" McLean said he was deployed to Afghanistan in mid-July and spent two months there before the note was left on his desk. "It was a gut punch," he said. "I had been there for two months, doing a really good job. We were working together." McLean said he struggled for two days before taking the threat (and the truth about his sexuality) up the chain of command. "These types of notes are what pushes people over the edge," he said. Now with his sexuality out in the open, McLean said he feels like he is 100-percent himself for the first time in his life. He said he hopes his experience will empower other gay men and women to take a stand. While he said he may never know who left the note on his desk in Kandahar, he said he won't ignore what happened. "If I don't stand up, who's going to stand up?" he said. "If I don't identify something, then who's going to identify it?"

More than 300 protesters filled a courtyard in front of the State House in Annapolis, Maryland on Monday evening, listening to ministers and chanting slogans in opposition to a same sex marriage bill introduced by Governor Martin O'Malley. "We ask the government to fix the problems we already have, not create new ones," said the Rev. Michael DeAscanis, a Roman Catholic priest in St. Agnes and St. William of York Parish in Baltimore. The crowd roared with approval and broke into a chant directed at state lawmakers: "Do your job! Do your job!" At another point, protesters yelled "one man and one woman" over and over again, stressing their support for traditional marriage. The Baltimore Sun reports that the rally was intended to set a defiant tone before a Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing scheduled Tuesday on O'Malley's bill to legalize gay unions. The governor is scheduled to pitch the legislation in person, a rare appearance before a legislative committee. A same sex marriage bill passed the Senate last year, but was pulled from the floor of the House of Delegates when Democratic leaders determined they were a few votes short of passage. That chamber never voted on the measure. Over the summer, O'Malley pledged to include a similar bill in his legislative package for the 2012 session, and put the full force of his office behind passing it. If he succeeds, most expect that it will be petitioned to referendum and voters will decide on the November ballot. On Monday, protesters latched on to remarks made last week by Maryland first lady Catherine Curran O'Malley, who called some delegates "cowards" for preventing the measure from passing last year. She later said she regretted her choice of words. One man, who declined to give his name, held up a sign that read "Katie O'Malley, Only 'Cowards' endorse the immorality of LIBERALS." Another held a handwritten sign that said "Mrs. O'Malley, I'm not a coward." Several Republican lawmakers wore yellow buttons with the phrase "Proud to be a coward. Defend marriage." Robin Robertson, 54, of Damascus said that he came to the evening rally because he feels "bullied" by "the gay agenda." A Catholic with five children, he said, "I feel like I'm having to accept something that I don't believe in."

The suspect in a hate crime case stemming from an alleged anti-gay taunt and threats in a parking lot at Pike and Broadway remains jailed after pleading not guilty to malicious harassment and a weapons charge in Seattle Municipal Court. Michael Roderick, 25, returned to court today for a pre-trial hearing. In the alleged bias crime, police say Roderick yelled anti-gay taunts and attempted to pick a fight with the victim in the parking lot on Thursday night, January 12th. After the victim reported the incident to 911 and police responded to the scene, Roderick reportedly approached officers and was pointed out by the victim. Police placed Roderick under arrest and found he was carrying an air pistol and alleged drug dealing paraphernalia including a scale and containers with drug residue. No drug charges are currently filed in the case. He is currently jailed on $5,000 bail. A female also arrested in the incident has been charged with assault and has pleaded not guilty.

Henry Cavill (and a pair of tight trousers) spotted leaving the Chateau Marmont.

Tom Hardy and Chris Pine attend the United Kingdom premiere of the film This Means War, co-starring Reese Witherspoon.

David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad.

Washington State House Committee Votes To Advance Same Sex Marriage Proposal

A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal to legalize same sex marriage in Washington State, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days. According to The Associated Press, the House Judiciary Committee approved its gay marriage bill on a party line vote, with seven Democrats voting for it, and six Republicans voting in opposition. Three Republican amendments were rejected, including one that would have added private businesses and individuals, such as bakers and photographers, to the religious exemption in the measure that doesn’t require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and doesn’t subject them to penalties if they don’t marry gay or lesbian couples. Representative Jay Rodne (R-Snoqualmie), called the bill “an act of raw political power to modify the definition of marriage,” adding, “There has been no compelling justification to abandon traditional marriage.” Opponents of same sex marriage have already promised a referendum battle at the ballot if the Legislature passes the bill and it’s signed into law. Senator Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who is sponsoring one of the bills, said Monday that he expects a floor vote on same sex marriage in the Senate on Wednesday. A Senate committee voted to advance Murray’s bill Friday. Before last week, it wasn’t certain the Senate would have the support to pass the measure, due to a handful of undecided Democrats. But last Monday, after the first public hearing on the issue, a previously undecided Democratic senator, Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island, said she would be the 25th and deciding vote in support of the measure, all but ensuring its passage. The state House already had secured enough votes to pass the bill, and Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire publicly endorsed the proposal earlier this month. The House bill is set to advance to a fiscal committee, but a date for a hearing has not been set. The same sex marriage bills have the backing of several prominent Pacific Northwest businesses, including Microsoft, Nike and Starbucks. If a marriage bill is passed during this legislative session, gay and lesbian couples will be able to be wed starting in June unless opponents follow through on their threat to file a referendum to challenge it. A referendum cannot be filed until after the bill is passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gregoire. Opponents then must turn in 120,577 signatures by June 6. Same sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Lawmakers in New Jersey and Maryland are expected to debate same sex marriage this year, and Maine could see a gay marriage proposal on the November ballot. The Maine Legislature previously approved gay marriage, but it was rejected by a 2009 state-wide vote, 53-percent to 47-percent. Washington state has had a domestic partnership law since 2007 and an “everything but marriage” expansion of the domestic partnership law since 2009. Representative Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle), and sponsor of the House bill, said that even though the state’s domestic partnership law has increased rights to gay and lesbian couples, lawmakers have continued to hear from people “whose families have been disadvantaged because they do not have the rights of civil marriage afforded to them,” adding, “I’m delighted that we are finally at a position where we can correct that injustice.” Under the bills being considered by the Legislature, the more than 9,300 couples currently registered in domestic partnerships would have two years to either dissolve their relationship or get married. Domestic partnerships that aren’t ended prior to June 30, 2014, would automatically become marriages. Domestic partnerships would remain for senior couples where at least one partner is 62 years old or older. That provision was included by lawmakers in 2007 to help seniors who don’t remarry out of fear they could lose certain pension or Social Security benefits.

Knoxville Restaurant Owner Martha Boggs Removes And Bans Anti-Gay State Senator Campfield; “He’s Gone From Being Stupid To Dangerous”

In Knoxville, Tennessee, there is no welcome for state Senator Stacey Campfield on the menu at one popular downtown restaurant. The News Sentinel is reporting that Martha Boggs, owner of the Bistro at the Bijou, said she ordered the controversial Republican legislator out of her restaurant Sunday in disgust over his recent remarks about the origin of AIDS. "He's gone from being stupid to dangerous," Boggs said today. "It's just my way of standing up to a bully." Campfield, of Knoxville, has made national headlines as sponsor of the Don't Say Gay bill, which he prefers to call "don't teach gay." It passed the state Senate last year after being revised to declare that only sexuality involving "natural human reproduction" can be addressed in classrooms. It currently awaits a House vote. He made news again last week after blaming the AIDS virus on men having sex with monkeys and calling the disease "virtually impossible" to contract via heterosexual intercourse. He made the comments during a radio interview on Sirius XM's LGBT channel, OutQ. Boggs said those remarks crossed the line. When Campfield walked in the door during Sunday brunch, she told him he was not welcome. "He didn't have much to say," Boggs said. "He left graciously." Campfield could not be immediately reached for comment this morning. The sign in front of the Bistro Monday reads, "Today's Special: Fried Chicken. Crispy Chicken Livers. No Stacey." The story will likely be updated.