Here’s our daily round-up of the marriage equality / LGBT rights stories that don’t warrant a full posting on the blog, or that we didn’t have time to add. We’re able to get more news and analysis to you this way every day – enjoy!
Pop Culture: Courtney Love, Ricky Martin, talk-show host Andy Cohen and “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy are among those joinging Elton John’s pledge to ditch their Dolce & Gabbana clothes and support the boycott. full story
Pop Culture: Sir Elton John has been spotted carrying a Dolce & Gabbana bag – just days after he pledged to “never” wear the brand “ever again”. A representative said John was carrying food in the bag, not D&G products. full story
Pop Culture: Nichi Vendola, an openly gay Italian politician, spoke out against D&G, saying “In D&G’s lofty position, they don’t understand gay hate kills.” full story
Pop Culture: Glenn Beck came to D&G’s defense. full story
Pop Culture: Tony Perkins at the FRC threw his support behind D&G. full story
Pop Culture: Madonna alsop responded to D&G’s comments, saying “all babies contain a soul”. full story
Australia: The U.S. Ambassador to Australia has made an impassioned plea for gay people to come out of the closet, saying it is only by being honest that positive change for LGBTI people will occur. full story
Australia: Australian lawmakers will debate a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage for the third time in five years next Thursday amid hopes Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will finally allow his MPs to vote with their consciences on the issue. full story
Costa Rica: Costa Rica will this week put forward a plan to allow same-sex civil unions based on previous initiatives to change the law in the Central American nation, a government official said on Wednesday. full story
Japan: Politicians have formed a multiparty group to look at LGBT rights before the 2020 Olympic Games. full story
UK: A Pentecostal reverend, a major anti-gay protagonist, who called homosexuals evil, is set to speak at St James Church, Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, in the United Kingdom and activists are outraged. full story
UK: Conservative Cabinet Minister Eric Pickles has apologized for his record on gay rights – branding his previous views “narrow-minded” and “prejudiced”. full story
UK: New polling has revealed that Londoners are the least likely in Great Britain to support a gay or transgender child. full story
UK, Northern Ireland: A lawyer has implied that if a bakery is prosecuted for refusing to bake a ‘support gay marriage’ cake, Muslims could be forced to bake images of the Prophet Mohammed. full story
USA: The Texas Tribune asks if LBJ would have supported marriage equality. full story
USA: Lawmakers reintroduced am anti-bullying bill in Congress on Wednesday named after Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University student who committed suicide in 2010. full story
USA: VOA News looks at growing support for marriage equality among young evangelicals. full story
USA: As the Presbyterian Church moves to recognize marriage equality, Time looks at three other denominations that already do. full story
USA: In a new Huff Post/YouGov poll, Thirty-four percent of voters say they’d prefer a presidential candidate to support gay marriage, and just 26 percent say they’d prefer a candidate to oppose it. full story
USA: A federal court ruled Monday that the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) prohibits disrimination against a patient based on their gender identity full story
USA: Susan G. Komen Founder Nancy G. Brinker supports conservative values, which she says are consistent with same-sex marriage. full story
USA: Former congressman Barney Frank took Ben carson to task for comments that being gay is a choice. full story
USA: CNN on Wednesday premiered a documentary short film on its digital platforms about a 7-year-old transgender boy. full story
USA, Alabama: A probate judge is asking the Alabama Supreme Court to concede that gay couples can marry in Alabama if the U.S. Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional later this year. full story
USA, Alabama: Mobile County Probate Judge Don Davis ignored a federal court order by denying same-sex couples the opportunity to obtain a certificate of marriage. full story
USA, Alabama: The Mobile County Probate Judge also has filed his opposition brief to the request for a class action status. full story
USA, Alabama: In the case filed when Mobile County refused to open its probate office to allow same-sex couples to get married, Chief Justice Roy Moore has filed a motion to dismiss the allegations against him and a brief in support. full story
USA, Alabama: Federal Judge Callie V.S. Granade has ruled that the plaintiffs in the case, same-sex couples represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), can amend their complaint to add new plaintiffs and defendants to the case. full story
USA, Arkansas: Rep. Greg Leding (D) says he’s dropping his proposal to expand Arkansas’ anti-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity because he couldn’t get support for the bill. full story
USA, California: A San Diego city council panel on Wednesday morning voted to amend the City of San Diego’s policies and practices to add gender identity and gender expression as types of unlawful discrimination. full story
USA, California: A thirteen year-old transgender teen gave a powerful coming out speech at his school. full story
USA, Idaho: Idaho Republican lawmakers upset with federal judges overturning same-sex marriage bans across the country are pushing Congress to impeach judges who rule in favor of marriage equality. full story
USA, Illinois: A measure to ban “conversion therapy” for youth passed with a 9-5 vote out of the House Juvenile Justice and System Involved Youth Committee. full story
USA, Indiana: Lambda Legal is urging the state House to vote ‘No’ on a right to discriminate bill that recently passed out of committee. full story
USA, Iowa: An anti-gay, “family values” politician was caught reading “Sex After Sixty” on the House floor. full story
USA, Kentucky: The Washington Blade profiles the Kentucky plaintiffs. full story
USA, Massachusetts: Massachusetts must do more to help meet the needs of the state’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth, a new report says. full story
USA, Michigan: East Grand Rapids has become the state’s 36th city to add protections for the LGBT community in its non-discrimination ordinance. full story
USA, Michigan: Faith-based adoption agencies could refuse to participate in adoptions that violate their religious beliefs under bills approved Wednesday by the Republican-led state House. full story
USA, Missouri: Two proposed Missouri laws would prohibit the creation of “gender neutral” facilities. full story
USA, New York: Empire State Pride Agenda announced that a prominent transgender rights activist has been named as co-chair of its foundation’s board of directors. full story
USA, Ohio: Wednesday, Dayton city commissioners unanimously approved a resolution supporting marriage equality. full story
USA, South Carolina: Four anti-marriage equality bills are pending in the state legislature – a right to discriminate measure for clerks, another for state agencies or individuals, a third to take pay away from clerks that do issue licenses to same sex couples, and a fourth calling for a US constitutional convention to ban marriage equality. full story
USA, South Carolina: A South Carolina woman’s new essay about being raised by her lesbian mom contains a surprising revelation: she opposes marriage equality. full story
USA, Texas: Dot429 checks in on the Texas student who was forced out of his Christian school for being gay. full story
USA, Texas: Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuot against a new FMLA rule that would let gay employees take time off from work to care for their ailing spouses. full story
USA, Washington, DC: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced a resolution in the Senate on Wednesday calling on Congress to kill the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014, a city approved bill that would protect LGBT students from discrimination at D.C. based religious schools. full story
USA, Wisconsin: Marriage equality in the state is one year old. full story
Just an opinion.. Elton is talented but a self serving windbag and a hypocrite.
Tony Perkins needs to start Job hunting. When we win in June his $ will dry up.