Illinois Governor Quinn Signs Civil Unions Act Into Law, Barbara Bush Breaks With Father And Supports Same Sex Marriage, Decision By Colorado Attorney General To Support Defense Of Marriage Act Condemned By Gay Activists, Archbishop Of Canterbury Warns Of “Demonizing” Homosexuals, Kellan Lutz, Armie Hammer Really Excited To Kiss Leonardo DiCaprio

Monday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, legalizing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “Here we are in 2011 on the eve of Abraham Lincoln’s 202nd birthday and I think this is very special,” said Quinn, joined by 20 politicians on stage and in front of hundreds of supporters inside a packed a hall in the Chicago Cultural Center. “We believe in civil rights and we believe in civil unions.”Illinois now joins five other states and in the District of Columbia in creating state-wide laws to provide the state-level spousal rights to same sex couples similar to those offered opposite sex spousal rights. Illinois’ new law offers more than 650 spousal benefits and protections. Attorney General Lisa Madigan said of the law If you enter a civil union, you can now visit your loved one in the hospital to make medical decisions and not be turned away. You can take time off to care for your partner and not lose your job. You can build and protect your family. This legislation represents a giant step toward equality.” The law comes into effect June 1st.

Barbara Bush, one the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will break ranks with her father Tuesday in a very public way, endorsing same sex marriage, the New York Times reports the 29 year old has recorded a video calling on New York to legalize gay marriage, describing the issue as a matter of conscience and equality. “I am Barbara Bush, and I am a New Yorker for marriage equality,” she says in a brief video sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, the gay rights advocacy group. “New York is about fairness and equality. And everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love.” As president, her father fought for a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. Barbara Bush is the latest child of prominent Republican to promote same sex marriage, and gay rights activists point out that the generational divide is evidence that the acceptance of gay marriage is blind to party affiliations or family values.

The Denver Post on Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and his decision to sign on last week to a brief supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, which is being challenged in court in Massachusetts. The federal measure, enacted in 1996, defines marriage as that existing only between a man and a woman for the purposes of granting federal benefits, and also allows individual states to reject definitions of marriage adopted in other states. According to Suthers spokesperson Mike Saccone, that is why Colorado joined four other states in arguing that DOMA be upheld in its entirety, saying “If it will affect a Colorado constitution provision, we get involved at that point. That’s exactly the case here.” In 2006, voters in Colorado passed Amendment 43 to the state Constitution, defining marriage as that between a man and a woman. Consequently, if part of DOMA is struck down, Colorado could be made to recognize same sex marriage sanctioned by other states. One Colorado, the gay marriage equality group, condemned Suthers’ decision, Brad Clark, the Executive Director, said that attorney general’s “actions are out of touch with everyday Coloradans.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking Sunday in Dublin, Ireland, warned against the “demonizing” of homosexuals, the Guardian reporting that Williams was referring ostensibly about the killing of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato, but in a larger sense about the continuing division in the Anglican communion worldwide over the ordination of openly gay bishops. Williams said Kato’s murder illustrates that “words have results” and that “You cannot go around sharing information about the identity of proposed lesbians and gay persons and urging people to ostracise them or worse ‘Hang Them’ as in the headlines of one of the Ugandan newspapers,” referencing the actions of the tabloid paper Rolling Stone published David Kato’s photograph with that headline – “Hang Them.”


Saturday, Kellan Lutz spotted out and about needed help to stand up.

E! Online.com talks to hotness Armie Hammer Sunday night at the SAG Awards about his new role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the Clint Eastwood-directed, Dustin Lance Black-written J. Edgar, DiCaprio in the title role, and Hammer as Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s reported lover, and that has Hammer excited. “It’s not just a kissing scene – it’s a ton of kissing scenes!”