Ex-Scottish MP Fails To Be Re-Elected To Dundee Citizen Advice Bureau Because Of Anti-Same Sex Marriage Stance, Joplin Missouri High School Math School Cleared Of Making Anti-Gay Comments To Facebook Because Site Was Hacked, New York Senator Gillibrand To Introduce Bill Barring All State And Federally Funded Foster Care And Adoption Agencies From Discriminating Against Prospective Parents Because Of Sexual Orientation Or Gender Identity, Rally For San Francisco City Attorney Herrera, Anti-Gay UFC President Encourages Gay Fighters To Come Out, Henry Cavill Shirtless Sexiness

In Scotland, former SNP leader Gordon Wilson has failed in his bid to be re-elected to the board of Dundee's Citizens Advice Bureau. The BBC reports that members withdrew their support from Wilson over concerns about his outspoken criticism of gay marriage. The 73-year-old is chairman of Dundee-based Christian faith group Solas, which is calling for a referendum on same sex marriage. A Scottish government consultation on the issue was launched this month. In a statement, the director of Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau, Mary Kinninmonth said, "It's sad that the tremendous achievements and work of Dundee CAB has been overshadowed by an issue which called into question its commitment to equality of opportunity. The board of trustee directors is keen to confirm that it is fully committed to the aims and principles of the Citizens Advice Bureau and equality of opportunity for all. The work of the bureau remains unaffected." Wilson, who was Dundee East MP from 1974 to 1987, denied a statement by the CAB that he had resigned from his position and said that he had wanted to be re-elected. He told BBC Scotland that members of CAB were guilty of "religious discrimination" against him because of his belief that no government had the right to "redefine" marriage, adding "I'm rather saddened that they have discredited their own organisation." Solas joined forces with the Free Church in calling for the same-sex marriage referendum. The group argues that what it calls "this attack on marriage" is a violation of the human rights of traditional married couples under UN and European law. Currently, same sex couples can obtain legal recognition of their relationship through entering into civil partnerships but the ceremonies may not take place in religious premises and can only be registered by civil registrars.

A Joplin, Missouri teacher accused of making anti-gay comments on Facebook has been cleared."We've investigated and found no wrong-doing on the part of the teacher." Joplin Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff tells News Talk KZRG complaints were made about things high school math teacher Jim Whitney allegedly posted on Facebook. But apparently Whitney's Facebook account was hacked. "It's unfortunate when you're dealing with social media and dealing with technology and the potential for people to get on to other people's accounts and say things that shouldn't be said." Huff says the Joplin School Board was made aware of the situation at Tuesday's board meeting and no action was taken.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Friday that she would introduce a bill barring federally-funded foster care and child adoption agencies from discriminating against potential adoptive parents because of their sexual orientations or gender identities. The Albany Times-Union reports that Gillibrand (D-NY) will be the Senate sponsor of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, backed in the House by California Democrat Pete Stark. The federal government invests some $8 billion in the child welfare system annually, but Gillibrand doesn’t want that money ending up with adoption agencies and foster care entities that don’t consider LGBT parents as candidates to adopt. Five states prohibit same-sex couples from adopting children, and more than 20 others do not have legal guidelines addressing the issue. While New York does allow same sex couples to adopt, Gillibrand said hundreds of thousands of children nationwide could be helped by this bill. “New York is a leader on ensuring that any family can adopt children and sets a great example for the rest of the country,” Gillibrand said. “By removing all barriers for LGBT families to serve as foster parents, New York State has increased its foster parent pool by 128,000 prospective parents. This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families.” Stark has backed this legislation in the House for years, but it has gained little traction with Republicans. Stark said he appreciated Gillibrand’s willingness to introduce the bill in the Senate. “I applaud Senator Gillibrand for introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act in the Senate as we look forward to celebrating National Adoption Month in November,” said Stark.”It is time to put the best interests of children first and remove all discriminatory barriers in our child welfare system.” The Family Research Council, a national group that describes itself as a non-profit group advancing “faith, family, and freedom,” has said gay couples are “not suitable role models for children. The Human Rights Campaign, an LBGT rights advocacy group, said it appreciated the efforts of both Stark and Gillibrand. There are about 120,000 children nationwide awaiting adoption.

More than 100 people gathered Thursday in a Castro district plaza named after gay political icon Harvey Milk to commend San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera for his legal support of same sex marriage. The rally came a day after The Chronicle ran a front-page story that raised questions about Herrera's early commitment to defend then-Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision in 2004 to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The accusations - dismissed by Herrera as "a bald-face lie" - were levelled largely by anonymous sources with ties to the Newsom administration. November 8 voters will pick a new mayor and Herrera is one of the leading contenders. He moved quickly to try to reshape the potentially damning charges into an opportunity to showcase his support in the gay community. Standing with him was a trio of gay officeholders - state Sen. Mark Leno, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Scott Wiener. Also on hand were leaders of the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic clubs - two organizations often at odds with one another - and a large contingent of community activists, many with long histories in the legal and political fights for gay and lesbian rights. Leno, who has not endorsed in the race, said Herrera's commitment to same sex marriage is unimpeachable. "There is not a single city attorney in any city, in any state - anywhere - in the history of the United States of America who has so valiantly, so passionately, so professionally, so intelligently, so consistently and so successfully argued for equal marriage rights for all citizens," Leno said.

If the Ultimate Fighting Championship has gay fighters, the UFC president believes they should come out without concern."I'll tell you right now, if there was a gay fighter in UFC, I wish he would come out," UFC President Dana White said Thursday. "I could care less if there's a gay fighter in the UFC. There probably is and there's probably more than one." USA Today reports that White was responding to criticisms levied by the Las Vegas chapter of the Culinary Union and other groups who accuse UFC of being an anti-gay organization. In a letter to Anheuser-Busch and an online petition to Fox, the union and its allies cited statements by White and fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as proof that UFC has "a history of tolerating homophobic conduct." Anheuser-Busch's Bud Light brand sponsors UFC. Fox recently signed a seven-year deal to air UFC events. The most notable instance of White's use of harsh language came in April 2009, during a video tirade directed at reporter Loretta Hunt and sources she cited anonymously for a Sherdog.com story. In one of the only times he has expressed regret about his language, White quickly issued a video apology about his use of a term frequently associated with anti-gay sentiments, although he did not apologize for other portions of his rant.

More Henry Cavill shirtless sexiness from the Vancouver set of the Superman reboot, Man of Steel.