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Paris: Gay couple beaten in homophobic attack

A Paris gay couple were brutally beaten this weekend. French gay rights groups say the recent protests against same-sex marriage have led to a rise in anti-gay physical attacks.

From The Local:

According to [Wilfred] de Bruijn, he was attacked with his boyfriend in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on Saturday night simply because they were gay. France’s gay rights groups say the savage beating comes as homophobic incidents are on the rise.

They blame the increasingly radical and stubborn anti-gay marriage movement.

Hours after being subjected to the beating, De Bruijn put the photo on his Facebook page. It has since been shared thousands of times across social media.

“Sorry to show you this,” the victim wrote. “It’s the face of homophobia. Last night 19th arr Paris, Olivier and I were badly beaten up just for walking arm in arm. I woke up in an ambulance covered in blood, missing tooth and broken bones around the eye. I’m home now. Very sad. Olivier takes care of me. Forbidden to work for at least 10 days.”

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Virginia: Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe supports marriage equality

McauliffeVirginia gubernatorial candidate (and former DNC Chairman) Terry McAuliffe told attendees at an Equality Virginia dinner on Saturday that he supports marriage equality.

However, he said he would not make repealing the 2006 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage a top priority, and instead focus on the economy.

From the Times Dispatch:

“We just went through this process here seven years ago; it’s in the constitution,” McAuliffe said in an interview at the 10th annual Commonwealth Dinner hosted by Equality Virginia, one of the state’s advocacy groups for gay rights, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
However, McAuliffe said he would not tolerate any form of discrimination in the commonwealth. “We’ve got to make sure that Virginia is open and welcoming to everybody,” McAuliffe said.
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South Dakota: Sen. Tim Johnson supports marriage equality

Sen. Tim Johnson (S.D.) leaves the Final Four. There are now only three Senate Democrats who oppose gay marriage—Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), and Mary Landrieu (La.).

“After lengthy consideration, my views have evolved sufficiently to support marriage equality legislation,” said Johnson. “This position doesn’t require any religious denomination to alter any of its tenets; it simply forbids government from discrimination regarding who can marry whom.”

Johnson’s has announced he plans to retire at the end of his current term (which ends in 2014) which gives him some room to maneuver in his socially conservative state.

In 2006, South Dakota banned not only same-sex marriage, but also civil unions and domestic partnerships with a constitutional amendment backed by 52% of voters.

There are now 54 sitting Senators who endorse same-sex marriage.

(via Time)

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Illinois: GOP State rep. Ed Sullivan Jr supports marriage equality

First we got Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk’s evolution to marriage equality

And now comes word that we have the support of Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr.

The Illinois House Republican came around to support same-sex marriage over the weekend, citing his gay mother-in-law as the impetus for his decision.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

State Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr., who is chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, said his decision to back same-sex marriage represented a personal and family evolution on the issue. Previously an opponent of civil unions, Sullivan told the Tribune that his mother-in-law, who lives in the southwest suburbs, has been in a same-sex relationship. “The first reaction from people might be, ‘Well he might be voting for that just because of his mother-in-law,'” Sullivan said. “The reality is, because my mother-in-law is gay, I have more of an understanding and familiarity with same-sex couples.”

A state representative since 2003, Sullivan and state Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove are the only House Republicans to publicly announce their backing of the same-sex marriage bill, which already passed the state Senate.

According to Rep. Sullivan, the Illinois House is still 12 or so votes shy of passing marriage equality.

But that could all change very quickly. “There is tremendous momentum leading up to this vote. I think we’re very close,” he said. “There’s many of my colleagues that have talked about this, that have said it’s the right thing to do.”

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Mad Men Season 6 premiered last night

So who watched the MAD MEN season premiere last night?

CBS This Morning ran this interview with cast members on Saturday in anticipation of the new season.

I love the show. I remember watching the pilot and being aware of how uncomfortable it made me in terms of how women were treated, minorities were treated… And then I realized I liked the accuracy and how this was bringing so much to the surface about what the 1960s were truly like.

Great character development. Great stories lines. If you don’t follow the show yet, I highly recommend 🙂

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Annette Funicello passes away at 70

The LA Times is reporting that Annette Funicello, the darling of TV’s “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the 1950s who further cemented her status as a pop-culture icon in the ’60s by teaming with Frankie Avalon in a popular series of “beach” movies, died Monday. She was 70.

The former Mouseketeer passed away from complications due to her multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled privately for years before going public in 1992.

Funicello is survived by her husband and three children.

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Utah: Sen. Orrin Hatch thinks civil unions could preserve “traditional” marriage

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah wants to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman, and he says one way to do that would be to offer gay couples civil unions.

“I’ll say this, I do believe this could be solved greatly by a civil-union law that would give gay people the same rights as married people,” said Hatch, who mentioned hospital visitations and tax benefits. “I think we can solve this problem without undermining the very basis of marital law in our country.”

Hatch said he doesn’t believe people choose to be gay, but “I draw the line on traditional marriage.”

Six states offer civil unions, including Colorado and Hawaii, while nine others and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is illegal in the rest of the nation.

More at the Salt Lake Tribune