A smattering of marriage equality and LGBT rights stories to share with you tonight.

TEXAS LESBIAN COUPLE WILL SPLIT AT JUDGE’S ORDER

A lesbian couple will no longer live together after a judge ordered it as a condition of a divorce settlement. The Dallas Voice reports:

Attorneys for Compton and Price issued a statement Monday saying the couple plans to comply with the order even though it is an unconstitutional violation of their right to privacy under case law including Lawrence v. Texas. The attorneys also requested that unlike Roach, the press respect the couple’s privacy since the case involves children.

PRESIDENT OBAMA MENTIONS GAY FAMILIES AT COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

An unexpected mention from President Obama at a commencement speech. Towleroad.com reports:

The crowd at the Morehouse College commencement ceremony over the weekend seemed momentarily stunned when Obama directed the gay men in the audience to be the best husband to their partners, but Obama held up one finger and stifled any dissent: “And that’s what I’m asking all of you to do: Keep setting an example for what it means to be a man. Be the best husband to your wife, or your boyfriend, or your partner. Be the best father you can be to your children. Because nothing is more important.”

ANTI GAY MOB AT GEORGIA PRIDE WAS LED BY PRIESTS

No big surprise here – a mob that disrupted a gay pride march in Georgia was led by a group of priests. AmericaBlog reports:

The NYT reports that Georgian Orthodox priests helped lead the mob of 20,000 people that violently attacked a small group of gay rights protesters in the capital of Tbilisi on Friday. What’s worse, a bishop in the church, Iakob Iakobashvili, who helped organize the counter-protests, refused to condemn the violence by his own priests.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND WILL ALLOW MINISTERS IN SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS

The Church of Scotland decided to allow ordination of openly gay ministers. Pink News reports:

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has passed a motion to allow the ordination and appointment of ministers in same-sex relationships. On Monday evening Assembly commissioners voted in favour of a proposal that allows liberal parishes to opt out of the church’s policy on homosexuality. The move has been welcomed by Scotland’s Equality Network, who say it is a positive step forward for a more equal society. However, General Assembly rules dictate it must be approved at a presbytery level and then rubber-stamped at next year’s gathering.

CHINA “GROUPON” TYPE SITE OFFERS GAY SUBSCRIBERS TRIP TO CANADA TO MARRY

A Chinese version of the site Groupon is giving away a gay wedding – in Canada – to one lucky couple. Gay Star News reports:

Meituan, a Chinese version of Groupon, the group deals website, is offering gay couples the chance to marry in Canada for free. ‘On 20 and 21 May, Meituan Rainbow Day, we support comrades [slang for gay people],’ the deal site says, ‘because we believe that marriage is not about similarities or differences, it’s about true love, regardless of gender’. Over 120,000 people have already registered to win the prize, which includes travel from China to Canada, one night’s accommodation and marriage registration fee.

NEW YORK SENATORS PUT PRESSURE ON TO PASS TRANSGENDER PROTECTIONS BILL

Now that marriage equality is a done deal in NYC, the push is on to pass a transgender protections bill. Queerty reports:

Now, the state’s two U.S. Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, are making it clear that the state should correct that problem and pass the Gender Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) in the current session. “We are proud of the great strides that have been made in the pursuit of fairness, justice and equality in recent years in our state, most recently with the passage of marriage equality for all New Yorkers, which we strongly supported,” the senators said in a letter. “Yet, the push for full equality has left thousands of our friends and neighbors behind; currently, transgender New Yorkers lack the statewide protections many take for granted. This measure would amend the New York human rights law to extend non-discrimination protections in employment, housing, public accommodations and access to credit to transgender New Yorkers. Passage of this bill will be a vital step on the path towards the goal of achieving equal protection for all.”

GAY “BLUES CLUES” ACTORS TO MARRY

Two actors form the touring “Blues Clues Live” show are planning to get married. Queerty reports:

Actors Tom Mizer and Travis McGhie are prepping for their upcoming nuptials by dropping wedding invitations in the mailbox, only this time, there’s no song and dance with a giant blue dog. The couple met while touring with “Blues Clues Live!”, a touring production based on the popular Nickelodeon kids show. McGhie served as Mizer’s understudy for Steve, the show’s leading role, but unlike most showmances between touring boys, this one actually lasted.

SNL FEATURES SEVERAL GAY MARRIAGE SKITS

This weekend’s Saturday Night Live featured several marriage equality skits. In the first, the show offered a remedy for gay summer weddings. The Huffington Post reports:

The sketch comedy showed featured a hilarious skit May 18 in which guests popped a new drug called “Xanax for Gay Summer Weddings” before heading out to their friends’ nuptials to reduce feelings of inadequacy while attending perfectly planned gay weddings.

Hit the link above for the video. In the second, Anderson Cooper was left at the altar. LGBT Weekly has the details:

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper played the groom in a surreal wedding scene send-off for Bill Hader’s Stefon character on the season finale of “Saturday Night Live.” Hader announced last week that he was leaving SNL after eight seasons to move to California and get more sleep, which meant his memorable characters were also saying goodbye. Stefon — Weekend Update’s New York City correspondent — gave one last report Saturday night, rushing off the set after telling anchor Seth Meyers, “You never respect me.”