Get Equal New Mexico Plans Protest Of Anti-Gay Albuquerque Pastor, Five Former Anchorage Mayors Endorse Ballot Measure Extending Protections Against Discrimination To Gay And Transgender Citizens, Western Washington Episcopalian Bishop Says Same Sex Marriage A “Conservative Proposal” That Should Be Adopted By Both Church And Society, South Carolina License Plate Advocates Equality For Gays In State That Prohibits Same Sex Marriage, Miley Cyrus Explains Her Marriage Equality Tattoo

According to Action 7, A gay rights organization said it's offended by some comments made by an Albuquerque pastor, and the group plans to protest his next service. Get Equal New Mexico said they will protest Pastor Steve Smotherman on Sunday after he made comments about the governor's decision to appoint an openly gay commissioner to the Public Regulation Commission. He was quoted on NMpolitics.net as saying, "I think that if your message is that God is love, and that we love each other as human kind, then that's a stronger message than standing up there and using the pulpit to say the "homosexual agenda" is moving forward and that we didn't elect the governor to be in this position to do that." The governor's office told Action 7 News that she made her decision based on the candidate's level of experience and qualifications, not on his sexual orientation. Action 7 News contacted Smotherman about the organizations plan to protest on Sunday but he declined to comment.

Five former Anchorage mayors on Friday endorsed an April ballot measure to extend legal protections against discrimination to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents of the city. If passed, reports The Anchorage Daily News, the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative would expand municipal code to prohibit discrimination on a basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity. Anchorage residents will vote on the initiative on April 3. Former mayors Rick Mystrom, Jack Roderick, Matt Claman, Tony Knowles and U.S. Sen. Mark Begich all spoke in support of the One Anchorage campaign, which backs the initiative, at a press conference held in South Anchorage. Begich appeared by video phone link from Washington, D.C. "This isn't a Democratic thing or a Republican thing, it's just simply the right thing," said Mystrom, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2000. Roderick, who served from 1972 to 1975, said that to him, the issue was a simple matter of fairness. "In order to have a great community, everyone should be treated the same," he said. "That's the essence of democracy and I think, still, the essence of Anchorage." The last time the former mayors had gathered was for the swearing-in of Mayor Dan Sullivan in 2009, said Claman, who served as interim mayor that year. The living former mayors not in attendance at Friday's press conference: Tom Fink, mayor from 1987 to 1994, and George Wuerch, who served from 2000 to 2003. Both were caught up in controversies involving gay and lesbian rights during their terms. In 1993, Fink vetoed a narrower ordinance protecting city employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Reached by phone at his home Friday, Fink said he wouldn't vote for the ordinance and didn't feel discrimination was a problem in the city. In 2001, Wuerch ordered city workers to remove a gay-pride exhibit from a public library. Jim Minnery of the Alaska Family Council, a conservative Christian group that opposes the initiative, said he wasn't surprised by the line-up. "Typically this gets divided down political affiliations," he said. Mystrom is a Republican; Roderick, Begich, Knowles and Claman are Democrats, although candidates for city office in Anchorage don't run on partisan tickets. Minnery's group has been lining up support among Alaska legislators and Anchorage Assembly members and had plans to hold a "pastors' briefing" for local church leaders, he said, adding, "We're working with a number of elected officials who will come out and endorse us at some point. The current mayor is probably the most popular mayor we've had in a long time. And he has obviously not endorsed it. And I think that speaks volumes." Mayor Dan Sullivan wasn't immediately available for comment Friday afternoon. Campaign organizer Amy Coffman said Sullivan's office had been informed that the gathering would be taking place. The Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative is similar to another city ordinance passed by the Assembly in 2009. It was vetoed by Sullivan. Sullivan has said he believes a ballot initiative is "appropriate" because it allows citizens to weigh in on the subject. Coffman said bringing current and former elected officials together in support of the campaign would be a powerful and public affirmation of the campaign's view that the status quo needs changing. "It's encouraging to have former lawmakers and leaders saying yes, it's true, this needs to happen," she said. She was surprised by some of the former mayors' responses. "It's one of the most beautiful things about the Alaskan resident," she said. "We make assumptions all the time, but until you have the conversation, you never know what the answer is going to be."

The Episcopal bishop in Western Washington, in sharp disagreement with Catholic prelates, believes that same-sex marriage is "a conservative proposal" that should be adopted "not only in our society but in our church." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the Right Rev. Greg Rickel, Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Olympia, argues in a blog post published without fanfare to the diocesan website, that, "It seems to me we have held our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in a Catch-22. We say they cannot live up to our values because they cannot be married or even blessed in their union. While many of them have begged for this, it is still not possible. What they ask of us, the church and the government, is to put boundaries around their relationship, to hold them in the same regard and with the same respect, which would also mean that we expect the same from them." The Episcopal Church has wrestled with the issue of "inclusion" over years, gradually moving to accept gay and lesbian clergy -- two of whom have been elected as bishops -- and to provide rites for same sex couples. Bishop Rickel predicts marriage equality with be approved at the church's upcoming General Convention. The church's evolving position has generated serious opposition, particularly following election of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. Parishes have withdrawn from the Episcopal Church -- often generating litigation over church property -- and the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Fort Worth and San Jaoquin proclaimed themselves Anglicans and severed ties with the parent church. A few parishes, and one prominent Episcopal bishop, have joined the Catholic Church. Washington's four Catholic bishops issued a strong appeal, two weeks ago, that the Legislature maintain the current definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, in testimony to the Washington state Senate, warned of "the grave challenge this legislation poses to the common good." But Rickel takes a very different argument. "Christianity has held, when considering relationships of all sorts -- but especially in relation to two people in marriage -- fidelity to be our value,'' writes the Episcopal prelate. He depicts marriage equality as an action in furtherance of the common good. "They (same-sex couples) are not asking for special treatment," Rickel writes. "They are asking for equal treatment. They are asking to be accountable as a couple, in community. "To me, this is a conservative proposal. I am for it, and I hope we will finally make way for this to happen, not only in our society, but in our church." The Washington state Senate passed marriage equality legislation on a 28-21 vote Wednesday night. The state House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing on the measure for Monday morning. House approval is considered likely. Governor Chris Gregoire, a Catholic, supports the legislation and promises to sign it into law. Opponents have vowed to collect the needed 120,577 valid voter signatures to force a referendum in the November election. Washington would be the seventh state to legalize same sex marriage.

A new South Carolina license plate available for sale next week advocates equality for gay residents in a state that not only bans same sex marriage, but any other type of domestic union. The executive director of South Carolina Equality said Friday the plate provides a way for people to show they support equality for lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual residents. Christine Johnson said the need for equality extends far beyond marriage to more basic issues, such as employment and housing. South Carolina is among just three states with the plate. Maryland was first in 2008. Indiana also offered the plate this year. “I hope when people see the plate, if they identify as LGBT, I hope they’ll feel supported knowing someone else out there believes in equality. I hope people accept the opportunity to allow their car to reflect that support,” Johnson said. “The message is: There are allies and not everyone is homophobic.” According to The Associated Press, the plates will be available Monday at Department of Motor Vehicles offices state-wide, for an additional $25 over the cost of a standard license. The “on-demand plates” will not be produced until ordered, DMV spokeswoman Beth Parks said. Half of that fee will go to South Carolina Equality, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, for outreach efforts such as educating groups on equal protection laws, Johnson said. State law allows non-profit groups to create specialty plates by either collecting 400 prepaid applications or making a $4,000 deposit. Equality board member Dean Pierce paid the $4,000 deposit last fall to jumpstart the application process. For him, the message is personal. “It’s difficult to grow up gay in South Carolina. We’re looking for ways to make it easier for kids coming up behind us. We owe it to them to make it easier for them,” the 43-year-old Spartanburg County native said. “We’ve made advances. If you’d talked to someone in South Carolina 10 years ago, or even five years ago, the idea of a GLBT license plate would’ve been a ridiculous thought.” In 2006, 78-percent of voters passed an amendment to South Carolina’s constitution defining marriage as between only one man and one woman. The definition was already part of state law, but legislators argued the constitution needed to be changed to bar recognition of same sex unions from other states. Pierce believes even that ban will eventually change. “In the younger generations, there’s a willingness to accept the idea that people really are equal,” he said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. Things as subtle as a license plate should help.” The Equality plates themselves are subtle, with “SC EQUALITY” across the top over a blue background. The non-profit’s logo of two green rings encircling the state is featured on the left, next to “EQ” and the license number. “We have a long way to go. Frankly, unless people make a conscious decision to be engaged and out themselves as LGBT and out themselves as allies, it will go even slower,” Johnson said. “We can make so much more progress if people will be a little courageous and not let the other side dominate.”

Writing at Glamour.com Miley Cyrus explains why she a tattoo supporting marriage equality. Cyrus says, “When I shared a picture of my tattoo on my Twitter page and said, ‘All LOVE is equal,’ a lot of people mocked me—they said, ‘What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!’ And I said, ‘Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love.’ The debate resulted in a lot of threats and hate mail to people who agreed and disagreed with me. At one point I had to say, ‘Dude, everyone lay off.’ Can't people have friendly debates about sensitive topics without it turning into unnecessary threats? I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color? One day I read online about the head of Urban Outfitters donating to a presidential candidate who does not support equality for everyone. I was shocked and disappointed that a company with such diversity would exclude such a large group of people. I can no longer bring myself to shop there.