Johnson County North Carolina Sheriff’s Office Says Arson Evidence Does Not Suggest Hate Crime, Survey Reveals Majority Of Kentuckians Support Anti-Discrimination Ordinances Protecting Gay And Transgender Individuals In Areas Of Employment And Housing, San Francisco Rainbow Honour Walk Committee Announce Names Of First Inductions And They Do Not Include Harvey Milk, River Viiperi, Smoking Sexy Sam Lawson, Alex Pettyfer, Hayden Christensen

An update on a previous post, WRAL-TV reporting that in North Carolina, Johnson Country Sheriff Steve Bizzell says that there is no indication as of yet that a fire set to the home of a gay couple is a hate crime, despite previous reports that the two men had been harassed for over one year. “As the investigation moves forward, if we see any indication that the hate crime status applies, we will consider it,” he said. Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives joined sheriff’s detectives Monday in the investigation. A search warrant released Monday indicates that the blaze, which destroyed the home, was set from within. Sheriff Bizzell declined to comment on the current investigation, but did say his office was aware of two previous reports, one recorded December, 2009, when someone placed a note in their mailbox saying “move sinners,” and a second recorded November 1st, when a homophobic slur was left on the back of the home.

The Lexington Courier-Journal reports on the release of a new study that reveals more that 83-percent of Kentuckians believe that gay and transgender individuals should be protected from discrimination in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. The survey of 600 registered voters was commissioned by the Fairness Coalition, an organization of five groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights. The protection from discrimination finding marked an increase from 2004, when 65-percent of those surveyed said they supported such protections. Coalition leaders said they hoped the results would prompt state legislators to approve or at least debate two General Assembly bills that would add legal protections for gay and transgender individuals by amending Kentucky’s civil rights law. The results arrive as the coalition launches a campaign to underline the findings in advance of a rally February 23rd at the State Capital in Frankfort, coalition leaders saying that the growing social acceptance together with the high-profile repeal of the military ban prohibiting openly gay service personal could provide the momentum absent in previous years.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that after much consultation, a coalition of Castro District residents and merchants have chosen the first 20 names of the city’s Rainbow Honour Walk, a proposed block-long collection of influential gays and lesbians whose names will be displayed in much the same way as the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After lengthy debate, the committee narrowed the first 20 names to a pool of people who were openly gay, but are now deceased. They include Allen Ginsburg, Frida Kahlo, Oscar Wilde, and Sylvester James, the legendary funk star from the seventies. Left off the list, Harvey Milk, a decision that co-chair of the project, Isak Lindenauer, said was deliberate. “If we can only do 20 to begin with, let's not choose a person who already has two, three, four things named for him. Let's honour people who haven't," Lindenauer said, pointing to a list of things in San Francisco that honour Harvey Milk.

The ridiculously hot River Viiperi as photographed by Zeb Daemen.

The smoking sexy Sam Lawson photographed by Jesper Brandt.

Pretty Alex Pettyfer spotted in New York City Monday.

Also seen in New York Monday, was Hayden Christensen, attending a screening of Vanishing On 7th Street.