Retiring Openly Gay Idaho Senator Nicole LeFavour To Work From Outside Legislature To Pass Bill Protecting Gay People From Discrimination, New Poll Reveals Majority Of Registered New Jersey Voters Support Same Sex Marriage, Ken Melham Apologizes For Role In 2004 George Bush Campaign That Demonized Marriage Equality, Archie Comics Same Sex Marriage Issue Sells Out, Tyler Posey, Prince Harry Belize Beautiful

The New York Times reports that lawmakers next door in Washington State just voted to legalize same sex marriage. In Idaho, they will not allow a bill to be formally filed that would protect gay people from basic forms of discrimination in areas like education, employment, public services and real estate transactions. Next door, the lawmaker who leads the Senate’s most powerful committee, Ways and Means, is the same one who led the gay marriage bill to passage. The lawmaker, Senator Ed Murray of Seattle, is gay. In the final floor debate, he invited all of his colleagues to his wedding. In Idaho, the lawmaker who has spent eight years working for what might seem far less controversial goals is the only openly gay member of the Idaho Legislature. Now with the session well under way and a gay rights bill again showing little sign of getting a hearing, the senator who has been its champion, Nicole LeFavour, plans to become the former only openly gay lawmaker in the Idaho Legislature. Ms. LeFavour, 48, has decided not to seek re-election, for what she says is a very painful reason: she has had enough and she expects things to only get harder. “My partner Carol has put up with a lot of stress and has stood by me as I dealt with a lot of loss,” Ms. LeFavour wrote in a blog post last month. “She’s so smart and keeps me laughing through the hardest times but you can only ask that of someone for so long.” It was not startling when Ms. LeFavour, a writing teacher and a longtime activist on human rights issues, was elected to the State House in 2004, and then to the Senate in 2008. Her easy victories reflected shifting demographics in Boise, which in recent years has become more liberal, relatively speaking. Yet her district, which encompasses the Capitol and gentrified historic neighbourhoods nearby, is just one of 35 Senate districts in a state that remains very conservative, and Ms. LeFavour has constantly found herself outnumbered on issues she cares most about, whether she has been fighting cuts to schools or promoting anti-bullying legislation. This year, the state is moving to closed Republican primaries, a shift that even Republicans say is causing some lawmakers to sharpen their conservative positions to preserve their seats. LeFavour has lost patience. “People are just being politically unbelievably spineless,” LeFavour said in an interview. And so she has made the human rights bill her priority. She has been joined by a campaign called Add the Words, Idaho, which has brought hundreds of people to the Capitol to place handwritten notes on windows and doors urging lawmakers to pass the bill. (The words that would be added to state discrimination laws are “sexual orientation, gender identity,” inserted between “race, color, religion, sex” and “or national origin.”) Yet last month, the Senate State Affairs Committee, in a voice vote led by Republican leadership, refused to allow the bill to be introduced. “My colleagues are not discriminators in their hearts,” said Senator Denton Darrington, a Republican from Declo first elected in 1982. “But some people think this is a step toward gay marriage. I would expect that that’s a logical progression. It has been in other places.” LeFavour will leave a legacy. This fall, Nate Murphy, a 22-year-old school board member from Pocatello who is openly gay and views Ms. LeFavour as a role model, is considered a strong candidate to win an open seat long held by Democrats. Mr. Murphy said that he had been “surprised by the disrespect” the gay rights bill had been shown by Republican leaders this year. “If I end up getting elected,” said Mr. Murphy, who would assume the role of the only openly gay lawmaker in the Legislature, and the youngest, “that is certainly an issue I’ll fight for.”

New Jersey’s political stalemate over same sex marriage appears to have support in the polls: A majority of residents favour the measure, but they also want the chance to decide in a state-wide referendum. The Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday showed that support for same sex marriage hit a new high, 57-percent, but two-thirds of registered voters said they would rather cast ballots than see the societal change made through legislation. Voters, to a degree, also appeared to be of split mind on the issue when asked to choose whether gay couples should be allowed to marry, join through civil unions or not be recognized at all. Responding to that multiple-choice question, less than half, 47-percent, supported marriage rights. One-third, 34-percent, preferred civil unions and 13-percent wanted no recognition. Another 6 percent had no opinion. Voters’ views on the subject appeared influenced by religion. Half of Catholics and Protestants opposed gay marriage. Voters who attend religious services weekly services were opposed, by a margin of 54-percent to 39-percent, while two-thirds of those who attend services less frequently support same sex marriage rights. The Legislature, controlled by Democrats, passed a gay marriage bill last month. Governor Chris Christie, who had vowed to veto it, sent it back with his conditional veto, which offered to create an ombudsman to see whether same sex couples’ civil rights were being violated. Christie also wants a voter referendum on the matter. State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset), said the poll showed evidence that it is the Legislature’s obligation to let New Jersey voters decide the issue. “We do the best service to our residents by eliminating politics from this decision and allowing the people of this state to define their society and culture,” Bateman said in a statement. Democrats have contended that gay marriage is a civil right and ought to be guaranteed by the state’s leaders as a matter of principle.

Few political figures in contemporary politics represent America’s transformation on same sex marriage as much as former Republican strategist Ken Mehlman, who managed George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign. After years of whisper campaigns about his sexual orientation, as well as personal criticism for managing Bush’s re-election, Mehlman announced in 2010 that he is gay; since then, despite taking criticism from both right and left, he has fought on behalf of equality. When Salon magazine asked Mehlman, a partner at a New York private equity firm, to handicap same sex marriage as a state and national political-electoral issue today, he said that, “Most polls now show that a majority of Americans support gay marriage. What you see in Maryland and Washington, and states like New York earlier, is a reflection of politicians representing their constituents.” As for his role in the 2004 Bush campaign and its exploitation of marital politics, Mehlman is both candid and remorseful. “At a personal level, I wish I had spoken out against the effort,” he says. “As I’ve been involved in the fight for marriage equality, one of the things I’ve learned is how many people were harmed by the campaigns in which I was involved. I apologize to them and tell them I am sorry. While there have been recent victories, this could still be a long struggle in which there will be setbacks, and I’ll do my part to be helpful.”

Despite attempts by a conservative American mothers' group to have it pulled from sale, the new Archie comic, which features a same sex marriage, has just sold out. Tracing the adventures of the teenagers Archie, Betty and Veronica in the small town of Riverdale, the Archie storyline has been running for 70 years and is one of America's most popular comic series. Its publisher described the marriage of Kevin Keller, the series' first gay character, in the latest issue as "a historic moment", announcing Thursday that the Life with Archie #16 had sold out. The strong sales follow a call from the American Family Association's website One Million Moms for Toys R Us to stop selling the new Archie issue. The conservative Christian group is concerned that "children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store". "Please remove all the same-sex 'Just Married – Archie' comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it," they have written to the retailer. Homosexuality is a topic which is "too complicated" for children to understand, say the mothers, and "a trip to the toy store turns into a premature discussion on sexual orientation and is completely uncalled for.” But Archie Comics co-chief executive John Goldwater has said that the company "stands by" the new issue. "Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It's an idealised version of America that will hopefully become reality someday," he said. "We're sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people." Announcing yesterday that the Kevin Keller issue had sold out, Goldwater said that Archie's fans "have come out full force to support" the gay character. "He is, without a doubt, the most important new character in Archie history. He's here to stay," Goldwater added.

Tyler Posey makes yet another appearance on GuyswithiPhones.com, in a shower, sadly completely clothed. (Site NSFW)

Prince Harry arrives in Belize City, Belize as a part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee tour.