New Hampshire Republican-Controlled House And Senate Determined To Repeal State Same Sex Marriage Law Despite Insistence By Democrat Governor Lynch That He Will Veto Such A Bill, Gay Couples Eager To Sign Orlando Domestic Partnership Registry, Chicago Cardinal Vainly Attempts To Explain Comment Equating Ku Klux Klan And Gay Rights Movement, Lance Bass Stupidity, Neil Patrick Harris, Rob Kardashian

Repealing New Hampshire's same sex marriage law is among the several critical issues facing the Legislature heading into 2012, but lawmakers might not vote on these issues until after the January 10 presidential primary. The Boston Globe reports that House Republican Leader D.J. Bettencourt says the House most likely won't cast its votes until January 11 or January 18. Bettencourt says the presidential candidates should have the spotlight until after the primary. "The presidential candidates have a hard enough time getting their message out. This is the time for them to shine. We want them to get all the attention possible," said Bettencourt, of Salem. When the Legislature convenes January 4, it will instead take up a handful of vetoed bills before taking up legislation held over the summer and fall. Both sides of the same sex marriage debate expect the Republican-controlled House to pass the bill that would replace the law legalizing same-sex marriage with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. The measure would allow anyone to refuse to recognize civil unions. The Republican-controlled Senate also is expected to support repealing gay marriage, but Senate Republican Leader Jeb Bradley said he can't predict if there will be the votes needed to override a veto. Democratic Gov. John Lynch promises to veto the bill if it reaches him. Since the same sex marriage law took effect last year, more than 1,800 gay couples have gotten married in New Hampshire, the state Division of Vital Records shows. Though advocates of the repeal bill say those marriages would remain legal under the measure, critics are not so sure. They argue the bill is so flawed that existing marriages may not be recognized by the courts. "Civil unions has to be in the bill if we're going to pass something and marriages that occurred while legal have to be grandfathered," Bradley said. "My understanding is the bill doesn't do either of those things. For me, that is a problem, personally." The House put off voting on the bill last session to keep the focus on the state budget. Republicans campaigned on promises they would pass legislation resulting in more jobs and GOP leaders did not want other issues to be a distraction. But despite efforts to tamp down the debate, Republican presidential candidates were put on the spot to give their positions on gay marriage, not just the economy. And a bipartisan group supporting the same sex marriage law is soon launching a television ad defending it and urging lawmakers not to vote to repeal it. The 30-second ad shows people saying New Hampshire believes in freedom for everyone.

In Florida, gay advocates expect a rush of same sex couples at Orlando’s City Hall when the city's new domestic-partnership registry opens next month. And not all of those couples will be from Orlando, nor will all of them be gay, supporters of the law predict. The Orlando Sentinel reports that the City Clerk's Office already has begun accepting appointments for couples to sign the registry once it officially opens. All 16 appointments available January 12 — the registry's first day — were quickly taken. "I think there's going to be incredible interest. We're going to see a big surge in the beginning," said Equality Florida field director Joe Saunders. The registry does not carry the legal privileges of a marriage or civil union. Rather, it bestows a handful of rights in certain situations. Couples who record their relationships in the registry are entered in a government database and then can visit each other in the hospital or jail, make health-care decisions for an incapacitated partner and plan a partner's funeral. Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan pushed for the registry, noting that same-sex couples are often barred from seeing their partners during medical emergencies because state law doesn't recognize them as family. Gay people are sometimes unable to execute a partner's funeral plans for the same reason. "It's not as many rights as marriage, but it helps couples during very difficult times," Sheehan said. Straight couples who are not married sometimes have the same problems. The registry also is open to them, and some straight couples are among those who have scheduled appointments. Sheehan and her partner, Jocelynn White, are scheduled to be the first couple to sign Orlando's registry. The registry only applies to hospitals and other institutions in Orlando. Still, people who live outside the city are allowed to sign up. Mayor Buddy Dyer said he expects some non-residents to do that because anyone in Central Florida could at some point be a patient at Orlando Health or Florida Hospital, the region's two biggest hospitals. Both are in Orlando and thus required to treat registered partners as family members. The registry may also prompt visitors from other states to sign up while vacationing in Orlando. Metro Orlando saw 51 million visitors last year, and with Gay Days and Orlando Pride is already a popular destination for gays. States that have legalized same-sex marriage, such as New York and Vermont, have seen those from out-of-state visit specifically to be married there. "People do sometimes travel to states that have legalized marriage to obtain a marriage license even though it's not recognized by their home state,'' said Cindy Sproul of Rainbow Wedding Network, a company that helps gay couples plan their weddings. "I know many, many, many couples that have traveled to the state of New York from another state that hasn't legalized it, and they have their own reasons for doing that." Rainbow Wedding Network will hold a Gay and Lesbian Wedding Expo at the Crowne Plaza Orlando on January 15, in part because of demand from gay couples in Central Florida. There's no way to know whether residents of other states will join Orlando's registry, which carries fewer rights than same-sex marriage. But some couples who were planning an Orlando vacation anyway might add a stop at City Hall to sign the list. Dyer said some might see it as a form of travel insurance: If someone were injured while vacationing here, at least their loved one could be by their side in the emergency room and help make health-care decisions. For others, the registry would be a chance to have the government, for the first time, officially acknowledge their relationship — even if it's not their hometown government. "There were many couples in Florida who went to California or Massachusetts or states like Vermont to get married because they think it is important to have a government recognize their relationship, and to get the legal benefits even if some of those rights aren't available in Florida when they come back," Saunders said, adding, “There is a history of our families looking for ways to say publicly and openly with the force of government that they are a family."

In Chicago, Francis Cardinal George made a few pastoral visits on Christmas Day and at one point explained the controversial remarks he recently made about the gay community and the Ku Klux Klan. On his first stop Sunday morning, the cardinal celebrated mass with detainees at the Cook County Jail. Later, reports ABC-7, he visited seriously ill children and their families at Children's Memorial Hospital. In a recent interview, the cardinal commented on the route of the gay pride parade, which might have forced a church to cancel mass. He equated the views of some gay rights activists to that of the Klan. On Sunday, he tried to soften those remarks. "Obviously, it's absurd to say that the gay and lesbian community are the Ku Klux Klan, but if you organize a parade that looks like parades we've had in our past because it stops us from worshipping God, well then that's a comparison, but it's not people-people - it's parade-parade," said George.

Lance Bass unwittingly used a transgender slur while guest hosting Access Hollywood Live on Thursday morning. The episode featured guest Billy Eichner, a comic promoting his upcoming Fuse game show, Funny or Die’s Billy On the Street, which quizzes unsuspecting people on the streets of New York. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bass and Eichner, along with AHL co-host Kit Hoover were discussing the best places for Eichner to talk to people, when Lance suggested, “So you need to go to Christopher and Hudson and get those trannies on the corner there — that would be perfect." Eichner agreed, saying, "I love a tranny," before realizing their gaffe. "We're not supposed to call them trannies anymore. Did you see that Neil Patrick Harris called them a tranny on Twitter?" Replied Bass, "Oh, no? Great, now I'm going to get in trouble."
He added that he "didn't get the memo." Meanwhile, Hoover asked what the "new name" was, to which Eichner responded, “Really, really gay?"

Neil Patrick Harris spotted Friday shopping at Barney’s New York in Beverly Hills.

Also on Friday Robert Kardashian Junior (and his principle asset) spotting running errands in Brentwood.