Blenheim Ontario Gay Community Criticized For Not Supporting Tim Hortons Demonstration, Rick Mercer Suggests Public Figures Have Duty To Come Out In Order To Help Eradicate Gay Youth Suicide, 15-Year-Old Gay Ohio Boy Attacked By Bully Who Hunted Him Like An Animal, Shreveport Man Sentenced To 18 Years For Anti-Gay Hate Crime, Bi-Partisan Group Defends New Hampshire Same Sex Marriage Measure, Jonathan Groff Returning To Glee

The gay and transgender community in Blenheim, Ontario, is being criticized for refusing to participate in a protest against a Tim Hortons restaurant, which asked a lesbian couple to leave the property after they were seen kissing. CBC News reports that Sarah Fraleigh, the former president of Chatham-Kent Pride, said she would not attend the sit-in Thursday afternoon. She said her group has been attacked for taking a back seat in the matter, but defends her decision. "I do believe and support the girls, but I am not interested in attending this demonstration," Farleigh said. "We have done a lot to develop relationships in the community. We don't want to do anything to sever those ties." In an e-mail to CBC News, Tracy Lamourie, a social activist organizing the sit-in, called Blenheim's public reaction to the incident "small town anger" and said people are "circling the wagons" around the gay and transgender community in Blenheim. "The response of some members of the local gay community in Blenheim is somewhat understandable. There has been a lot of community heat," Lamourie said. "The local gay community has been feeling the chill. There is rampant homophobia around here." Staff at the Blenheim, Ontario, Tim Hortons asked a lesbian couple to leave after Rev. Eric Revie took offence over what he considered inappropriate displays of public affection between Riley Duckworth and Patricia Pattenden. Southwestern Ontario's gay and transgender community took exception the couple's ejection from the premises and some planned a protest. The protest was set to begin at 4:00 pm in the parking lot of the town's only Tim Hortons. A spokesperson for the Chatham-Kent Police Service confirmed they will have a presence at the protest.

It Gets Better – the alleged reassuring message for gay teens that has passed through the lips of everyone from Glee star Chris Colfer to Canadian Conservative cabinet minister John Baird – is not enough according to Rick Mercer has said in his latest signature rant, which has gone viral since it was posted online yesterday. The rant, a big departure from the absurd, light-hearted approach he usually takes to issues, was inspired by the recent suicide of 15-year-old Jamie Hubley from Ottawa, a boy who was bullied by classmates for being gay. Mercer says simply telling young people that the bullying will eventually end when they reach adulthood isn’t enough – they need things to be easier when they’re getting through the tough years of junior high or high school. He ends his rant by calling on gay public figures to be more open about their sexual orientation and serve as role models to gay youth. “If you're gay and you're in public life, I'm sorry, you don't have to run around with a Pride flag and bore everyone, but you can't be invisible, not anymore,” he said. Though the message was powerful, Mercer was criticized by some viewers for not ending his rant with a declaration about his own sexual orientation, although he has been openly gay for much of his career. Thursday morning, reports The Globe and Mail, appearing on radio, Mercer said that while he says he knew he was gay in high school, he didn’t tell anyone and never endured any bullying. He didn’t come out until his 20s. “The idea of kids out in high school is so foreign to me,” he said. If you’re a public figure, being out of the closet goes beyond telling your family, friends and colleagues, he said. For the sake of gay teens but perhaps even more importantly their close-minded bullies, it’s important to know there are plenty of successful adults out there who are gay. “It would be nice if there were more role models so people could say, ‘What about Rick Mercer? He’s gay. He went to this school.’ ‘What about Sergeant so-and-so?’”

A 15-year-old teenager at Union-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio, sustained a chipped tooth and a possible concussion after a classmate brutally ambushed and attacked him earlier this week for being gay. The assault, watched by classmates who did nothing to intervene was captured on cell-phone video and posted to Facebook. The young man’s name is being withheld, but he spoke to WSYX ABC 6 in Ohio. “I covered myself, I shielded my body, but he kept on hitting me,” he recalled. “And nobody did anything.” His mother (who is remarkably forgiving and stoic) says the three-day suspension his attacker received is not enough and is in discussion with the prosecutor’s office about pressing criminal charges. Ultimately though, she says she wants a safe environment for children like her son to learn in. “All those people who have that hate in their heart—they need to let it go. Because people are gonna be who they are.” The Union-Scioto Local School District does have a policy prohibiting harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, religion and disability, but not, predictably, sexual orientation or gender identity. Ohio House Bill 208, currently languishing in the legislature, would amend current laws to require that school policies prohibit harassment, intimidation or bullying based on any actual or perceived trait. “All students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have the right to a safe school and education,” says Equality Ohio Executive Director, Ed Mullen. “Students should not fear verbal harassment, cyber-bullying, or physical assault in our public schools.”

William David Payne II was sentenced Monday to 23 years in prison for a January attack on a man in a local nightclub. The Shreveport Times reports that Caddo District Court Judge Ramona Emanuel ordered Payne to serve 18 years for aggravated battery and the maximum of five years for a hate crime. She ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. Payne had entered a guilty plea last week to charges he attacked John Skaggs with a pool cue and was in court for a multiple offender hearing. Payne admitted to the multiple offender charge, a release from the court said.

A bipartisan group of New Hampshire residents, business owners and civic leaders is outlining why the state law allowing gays to marry should not be repealed, according to The Boston Globe. Standing Up for New Hampshire Families is holding a news conference Thursday to discuss Republican lawmakers' efforts to repeal the law that has been in effect almost 22 months. The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to recommend replacing the law with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. The bill would not enact the same civil unions law that was in effect before gays were allowed to marry. Bill opponents also say it has conflicting provisions that appear to bar the courts from recognizing same-sex relationships as valid, while declaring gay marriages in effect before the repeal took effect to remain valid.

Jonathan Groff, spotted attending the Ralph Lauren tribute Monday night at Lincoln Center in New York City, is returning to Glee, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His character of Jesse St. James will be a recurring character as the coach of New Directions rival Vocal Adrenaline.