Malawi Gay Couple Offered Asylum By Britain, Jerry Brown Joins Suits Against Fred Phelps, Iowa Conservative Clergy Move To Ban Gay Marriage, Iowa Senator Equates Gay Marriage Ban To Ban On Service Without Shirt And Shoes, Contest To Marry At Toronto Pride, Jane Lynch Marries Partner In Massachusetts, Glee To Add Christian Character, Outing Daniel Craig

According to a report from Malawi, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga have been offered asylum by Britain. The two men, arrested December 28th after holding an engagement ceremony in advance of scheduled spring wedding ceremony, were held in custody without bail, charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency, convicted and subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labour. Only after international condemnation and threats that foreign aid would be substantially reduced did the president of the African country release and fully pardon two. They have been hiding since, their exact whereabouts unknown, since the response by Malawians has been mostly negative.

Jerry Brown, California Attorney General and presumptive Democratic candidate for governor, today announced that he has joined the case pending before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the family of a Marine, Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder of Twentynine Palms, California, killed in Iraq on March 3rd, 2006. His funeral was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church who contend that God kills service members since American tolerates gays. Matthew’s father sued for invasion of privacy and emotional distress. A trial court awarded the family $10.9 million, which was reduced by the judge to $5 million. An appeals court, however, citing the guarantee to free speech protected by the 1st Amendment, threw that verdict out and ordered the Snyder family to pay Fred Phelps, founder of the WBC, some $16,500 in court costs. In a statement accompanying the decision by Brown, he said that “free speech is a cherished American right, but disrupting a private funeral with vicious personal attacks on the grieving family goes too far.”

A petition signed by 834 Iowa conservative clergy member, accompanied by a letter signed by social conservative groups that says same sex marriage “is defined by the Bible as immoral and sinful” is being sent to all candidates for the Legislature and state-wide offices, said Chuck Hurly, the director of the anti-gay Iowa Family Policy Center. According to the IFPC, if candidates do not call for a gay marriage ban, they will not be supported at the ballot box –the conceit that there exist a separation of church and state apparently lost on the clergy members who participated.

Also from Iowa, an editorial from state Senator Merlin Bartz, a Republican, who recently went on the record as opposing camp grounds geared towards gays, that suggests, with a kind of dizzying stupidity, that an opposition to gay marriage does not denote discrimination, but rather a discernment that initially appear discriminatory, but are in fact practices which are “defensible, rational and promote certain standards in our communities that have mutual benefit to virtually all.” As an example, Bartz produces the “no shoes, no shirt, no service” policy and the “requires a high school diploma or an equivalent GED” dictum.

Gay marriage has been legal throughout Canada since 2005, and to celebrate mancrunch.com is offering an opportunity for ten same sex couples from around the world to marry in Toronto, Ontario, during the city’s Pride Parade, on a float, July 4th. The trip and accommodations are included, and the deadline for entries is June 21st.

Congratulations to Glee's Jane Lynch and longtime partner Lara Embry, a psychologist, the marrying over Memorial Day weekend at the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, Massachusetts, one of five American states that legalizes gay marriage, as well as the District of Columbia. The wedding was an intimate affair, 21 invited guests gathered in the early evening of May 31st.

Glee creator Ryan Murphy meanwhile says he has added a conservative Christian character for the fall of 2010. “I’m adding a Christian character,” Murphy said. “We’ve taken a couple jabs at the right wing this year, so what I want to do with this character is have someone who Christian kids and parents can recognize and say, ‘Oh look – I’m represented there, too!’ If we’re trying to form a world of inclusiveness, we’ve got to include that point of view as well.” The character, yet to be cast, will be female and will not accept Kurt Hummel’s sexual orientation. Murphy adds that Rachel’s gay fathers will likely remain unseen for at least one more season.

The outing of Daniel Craig continues, reports that the 42 year old hotness “shared a steamy kiss with a smoking-hot guy in the parking lot of a gay bar” May15th, outside the Roosterfish Bar in Venice, California.