Handpicked Queer Headlines: ‘Intolerance’ Among Gays, End Gay Blood Ban, LGBT Education Law…

Truth Wins Out on FRC’s Claim of ‘Intolerance’ Among Gays  Earlier this week, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins slammed Truth Wins Out, the group that recently went undercover at Marcus Bachmann’s Minnesota clinic to investigate reparative therapy rumors (rumors it confirmed). In an op-ed, Perkins called the subsequent media coverage a “drummed-up controversy” and wrote of Truth Wins Out, “These self-styled apostles of ‘tolerance’ should try practicing a little themselves.”                                                                                                                                                                    

Will Latest Attempt to End Gay Blood Ban Work? The U.S. department of Health and Human Services is once again looking at changing its policy that bans men who have sex with men from donating blood. The HHS described the current policy as “suboptimal” and asked a group of experts, known as the Blood, Organ, and Tissue Safety Working Group, to look into ways of changing it. As it stands, any man who had sex with another man since 1977 cannot donate blood. A new policy could allow certain gay or bisexual men, possibly those who have abstained from homosexual sex for a certain time, to donate.                                                                                                                                                                                  Group Targets California’s LGBT Education Law The Fair Education Act (SB 48), authored by State Sen. Mark Leno and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown earlier this month, requires social science curriculum to include the historical contributions of LGBT people, and has been criticized by the group Stop SB 48 “as selective treatment of history by requiring that only events that reflect positively on people in the LGBT community may be discussed.”

Jon Stewart Exposes Don Lemon’s Aversion to CNN’s Silly Antics: VIDEO

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Rick Santorum Pledges To ‘Go To New York’ And Repeal State’s Same-Sex Marriage Law At a campaign stop in Ankeny, Iowa, Rick Santorum reiterated his criticism of Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) for saying he was “fine” with New York enacting a same-sex marriage law and pledged to personally fight for its repeal. “I am not, as some in this race have said, OK with New York doing what they’re doing. What New York did was wrong. I will oppose it and I will go to New York, if necessary, to help overturn it,” he said. He also predicted that marriage equality would undermine “every traditional value in this country” and said that the nation has fought wars to protect that idea. AUDIO

 

ANTI-GAY CHRISTIAN GROUPS CAN NO LONGER PROFIT OFF APPLE  After a Change.org petition gathered more than 22,000 signatures, Apple has removed their iTunes store from the Christian Values Network (CVN). When customers make purchases through CVN, a donation is made to the religious charity of the customer’s choice, and anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council use the service to raise money. Companies like Microsoft, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Delta Airlines, and BBC America have all recently removed their stores from the network.

Tags: Family Research Council, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, Jerry Brown, LGBT, Mark Leno, Same-sex marriage, Tony Perkins, Truth Wins Out