Concerned About Its Economic Effects North Carolina Governor Purdue Announces She Opposes Constitutional Amendment Banning Same Sex Marriage, Fourth Arrest Made In Connection To Immokalee Florida Gay Bashing, Scott Anderson Prepares To Be Ordained As Presbyterian Church’s First Openly Gay Minister, Tennessee Pastor Accused Of Having Gay Son And His Boyfriend Assaulted Is Arrested For Theft, Gay.XXX Domain Sold, Jesse Tyler Ferguson Shops, David Beckham, Tom Brady And Son Benjamin Slide

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue released a statement Friday saying she plans to vote against the marriage amendment - but not because she's in favour of same-sex marriage. Instead, WRAL reports, she says she is concerned about its economic effects. Her statement in its entirety reads: “My top priority is creating jobs. Too many people are out of work and I’ve heard from several business leaders who’ve told me that the proposed constitutional amendment will harm our state’s business climate and make it harder to grow jobs here. I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman: That’s why I voted for the law in 1996 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and that’s why I continue to support that law today. But I’m going to vote against the amendment because I cannot in good conscience look an unemployed man or woman in the eye and tell them that this amendment is more important than finding them a job. In addition, a number of legal experts have argued that this amendment, if passed, could eliminate legal protections for all unmarried couples in our state, regardless of sexual orientation. Right now, my focus, the General Assembly’s focus, and North Carolina’s focus needs to be on creating jobs.” Perdue's expected opponent in 2012, Republican Pat McCrory, is already on record supporting the amendment.

A fourth man has been arrested and accused of participating in the attack on two gay men in Immokalee, Florida, The Naples Daily News reports. Eleazar Alvarado, 22, of Immokalee, was arrested Thursday by Collier County Sheriff's deputies at his home. He was charged with misdemeanour battery. Alvarado's bond is set at $1,000. Manuel Galan, 27, and Cirilo Soliz, 21 say five or six men jumped them on Sept. 21 as the friends walked down Carson Road near Eden Avenue, according to sheriff's reports. They said the assailants were hitting, kicking, and punching them while yelling profane words and homophobic slurs. While it has been investigated as a possible hate crime by the Collier County Sheriff's Office, the State Attorney has yet to charge anyone with a hate crime and the Federal Department of Law Enforcement has not yet labelled it as such. Two of those arrested are juveniles who are charged with misdemeanour battery as well. Their names are not being released because they are juveniles. Jonathan Rodriguez, of the 3500 block of Carson Lake Circle, Immokalee, was arrested Tuesday by Collier County Sheriff's deputies at his home. He was also charged with misdemeanour battery. Soliz and Galan assisted deputies in identifying the assailants through the social networking site, Facebook.

More than two decades after Scott Anderson told his California congregation that he was gay and therefore must resign as its pastor, the Presbyterian Church is preparing to welcome him back. The Associated Press reports that Anderson will be ordained Saturday as the denomination's first openly gay minister, marking the latest mainline Protestant church to move toward accepting homosexual relationships. During a recent interview at his new church in Wisconsin, the 56-year-old Anderson recalled keeping his personal life a secret from 1983 to 1990. He told his congregation the truth and resigned after a couple learned he was gay and tried to use the information against him. "That was really the best and worst moment of my life," Anderson said. "It was the best because I was able to claim for the first time who I was as a gay man. That was incredibly empowering. But there was also the sadness, the grief of leaving the ministry and what I loved." Saturday's ordination was made possible by decades of debate over whether openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the church. The church constitution used to include language requiring that clergy live "in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." The Presbyterian national assembly last year endorsed removing that rule. The change was approved in May by a majority of the denomination's 173 regional church bodies. Jennifer Sauer, who attends Anderson's church, said she was thrilled about his upcoming ordination. "Anyone who knows Scott sees his extraordinary gift of ministry, his ability to preach the word, his compassion, his humility," Sauer said. "If there have been any negative rumblings at all, I sure haven't heard about it." But some conservatives who disapprove of ordaining homosexuals have threatened to leave, said Tom Hay, the director of operations for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. "The Episcopalians, the Lutherans, the United Church of Christ have all made this step and all have experienced losses," he said. "I would expect we will, too. I would grieve that and hope we can find better solutions than to break apart." Several reasons have been cited for the loosened restrictions: the trend in broader U.S. society toward accepting same-sex relationships, decreased interest in continuing the debate, and the departure of some conservative churches from presbyteries, which changed the balance of votes in some regions. Anderson said he felt a calling to the ministry when he was a sophomore in high school, several years before he became aware of his sexual preference. In his first year at a seminary, he fell in love with another man. "At that point I had to make a decision: Do I follow the call and stay in the closet, or come out and be honest about who I am and leave the seminary?" he said. The religious calling was strong enough that he remained. He expected anger and rejection when he finally told his congregation he would have to leave, perhaps for graduate school. Instead, he received love and affirmation — along with a check to cover the entire two years of schooling. Eventually, Anderson found his way back to a different congregation. His ordination means he'll be ordained to the job he already has. The only change is that he'll now be able to administer sacraments such as communion. Anderson predicted the trend toward accepting homosexual relationships would make the Presbyterian Church stronger in the long run. "It really says to the wider culture, here we have a church that not only talks about being created in the image of God and you're all created to be in relationship with one another, but also wants to live that message," he said. "That's going to give the Presbyterian Church a lot more integrity in its witness to the Christian faith."

ABC 7 Eyewitness News has learned about new allegations against the same Gibson County, Tennessee pastor accused of assaulting his gay son and his boyfriend. According to Trenton police, they recently arrested Pastor Jerry Pittman, of Fruitland's Grace Fellowship Church, on charges of stealing from a local business. "It's hard enough nowadays to trust people and I just can't believe that a pastor would even steal anything," said Trenton resident Hayley Gordon. Police arrested the 52-year-old on September 21, after his estranged wife told them she had heard from co-workers that he had been stealing from her business. "Our investigation into the incident that was reported showed that he and another gentleman did scrap copper at a scrap yard here in Trenton," Lt. James Wilson said. Investigators said he scrapped the copper at least three different times since August. It was hundreds of pounds, and worth more than $1,000. "It was quite a bit that they scrapped," Wilson said. This actually is not the first time Pittman has been arrested. Police said he was arrested back in 2006 for a simple assault charge. "It was over an incident where the daughter and the boyfriend had a joint child," Wilson said. "There were some accusations involving the father of the child, which was the boyfriend, and he confronted the father of his grandchild at a local grocery store." According to investigators, Pittman is charged with theft of more than $1,000. He bonded out of jail the day he was arrested, and his next court appearance will be October 28 at Trenton Municipal Court.

The internet address gay.xxx has been sold for $500,000, making it the most expensive domain name sold in an extension that is not yet publicly open for registration. The deal was made as part of the Founders Program offered by .xxx operator ICM Registry. The buyer is Liberty Media Holdings, aka Corbin Fisher, a Las Vegas-based gay porn production house.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson tweeted Tuesday that he and boyfriend Justin Mikita are about to begin a thirty day Paleo diet, and was spotted soon thereafter departing a Los Angeles Whole Foods.

David Beckham and wife Victoria take newborn daughter Harper to register for her passport Friday in Los Angeles.

Tom Brady on a slide with son Benjamin, while mother Gisele Bundchen and Tom’s son John look on.