The offending tweet? (Get ready to be scandalized): "Congrats to Jason Collins."

Butler says he was contacted by a member of the church and told that he was in violation of his contract's "moral clause," and was no longer welcome to speak at the church. But, Butler went on to say, the member told him he would be welcomed back to speak if he would delete his pro-Collins tweet and "ask God for forgiveness." An offer that Butler, thankfully, declined.

More here:

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h/t Raw Story

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This theory holds that closeted young men in bigoted environments often respond by overachieving in certain areas, like sports or academics -- the idea being that it's an adaptive means of finding a sense of self-worth where they can. It can also serve to distract from their sexuality: As Andrew Tobias wrote in his 1976 memoir, "The Best Little Boy in the World," a key "line of defense" was his endless list of activities. "No one could expect me to be out dating ... when I had a list of 17 urgent projects to complete," he wrote.

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On Friday, the French Senate voted to approve same-sex marriage and adoption, a move that could bring about full change in the country as early as this summer (civil unions have been legal since 1999). France's justice minister Christiane Taubira, a vocal supporter of the measure, said Friday that the move would strengthen society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples" and  "move our institutions towards ever more freedom, equality and personal respect." Yet conservatives in the French government vowed to continue to fight against the bill, declaring that "nothing is definitive and the debate continues."

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During a post-CPAC media victory lap, the Hopkins neurosurgeon told Fox News that "no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality" can change the definition of so-called traditional marriage, which he said is a "fundamental pillar of society."

Carson was rebuked by students, faculty and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Dean Paul B. Rothman over his statement last week, and he sent Rothman a letter stepping down as commencement speaker on Wednesday.

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Comixology, the app behind "Saga," has issued a statement saying that they were responsible for the decision not to release issue 12, not Apple. Comixology attributes their decision to a "misunderstanding" of Apple's policies.  The statement in full:

To our customers -

In the last 24 hours there has been a lot of chatter about Apple banning Saga #12 from our Comics App on the Apple App Store due to depictions of gay sex. This is simply not true, and we’d like to clarify.

As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps.  Based on our understanding of those policies, we believed that Saga #12 could not be made available in our app, and so we did not release it today.

We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance.

Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12.

After hearing from Apple this morning, we can say that our interpretation of its policies was mistaken. You’ll be glad to know that Saga #12 will be available on our App Store app soon.

We apologize to Saga creator Brian K. Vaughan and Image Comics for any confusion this may have caused.

All the best,

David Steinberger
CEO and co-founder
comiXology

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The efforts of ALEC’s AIDS policy working group were published that year in a 169-page book containing 13 HIV-specific legislative recommendations. Some of those model laws would, after becoming real state laws, go on to effectively criminalize the behavior of people living with HIV and perpetuate a lasting stigma against HIV-positive people. Today, a majority of states have laws on the books that criminalize HIV exposure regardless of whether the virus was transmitted or there was an intention to infect another person with HIV.

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The role that American religious right leaders have played in fomenting anti-gay bigotry in Uganda has been well-documented, but never before with the emotional punch delivered by God Loves Uganda, a new documentary by Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“I love Uganda,” says Kapya Koama in the film’s opening words. But, “something frightening is happening that has the potential to destroy Uganda.”

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For years we've heard about the mythical coming out of the "gay Jackie Robinson": The first publicly out male athlete in one of the big pro leagues. In one fell swoop he's going to change the face of professional sports and open the floodgates for other gay athletes, just like Robinson did for black players.

The problem is, the first out athlete won't be the gay Jackie Robinson. He can't be.

Robinson was a very particular man at a very particular time in history. When we talk about the "gay Jackie Robinson," I'm afraid we diminish both of those pieces. In the process, we set a measuring stick so high we inadvertently push gay pro athletes deeper in the closet.

Robinson first swung a bat in Major League Baseball in 1947. That was eight years before Rosa Parks sat in the "wrong" seat. It was 15 years before the University of Mississippi was forcibly desegregated. The Civil Rights Act wasn't signed until 1964 ... eight years after Robinson retired.

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On Thursday, Dave Agema defended sharing Dr. Frank Joseph's “Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals” on his Facebook page, explaining in a statement to the Detroit Free Press that the article was "worth sharing given the debate over gay marriage that is happening in the Supreme Court." Agema added: “I strongly maintain my position in support of marriage between a man and a woman and I will not back down from my core beliefs in support of strengthening the family."

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Choice quotes from the always classy Coulter include:

I think you're going to have to do something about the gay bathhouses because AIDS is very expensive, and if I'm paying for it, how about discouraging that behavior?

If your argument is "Smoking: we all have to pay," then why not "Sodomy: we all have to pay."

After agreeing (!) with Coulter's assertion that AIDS is a "gay problem," host Geraldo Rivera tried to redirect the conversation to smoking bans, practically begging Coulter: “Can we get off sodomy for a moment?”

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Let's say, for example, you're a folk singer with a once-strong lesbian following who peaked in the late '80s. Let's say you went all "born-again, sanctified, saved-in-the-blood Christian" a few years back. Then let's say you show up for a gig in San Francisco, a town that is known for being, oh, on the gay-friendly side, at a gay-owned club called Yoshi's. And you reportedly start talking about how you're afraid that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry, and cap it off by telling the audience "You can go on Twitter and say 'Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.'" 

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Turns out, real estate was the answer.

After seeing a "For Sale" sign across the street from the anti-gay hate group Westboro Baptist's compound in Topeka, Kansas, Jackson decided to buy the property. Oh, and paint it to look like a rainbow flag.

As Jackson told the Huffington Post:

I didn't know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church? I got on Google Earth, and I was 'walking down the road,' and I did a 360 view. And I saw a 'For Sale' sign sitting in the front yard of a house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I'm going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag.

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The magazine -- Agens, which means "driving force" in Latin -- features androgynous fashion spreads and coming-out stories and may serve as a vital source of community and connection for gay, lesbian and transgender communities restricted from publicly organizing.

“The LGBT community has to deal with an information blackout,” editor-in-chief Milena Chernyavskaya told Ria Novosti. “Russian gay men and lesbians don’t know each other and think that they cannot be happy, because everyone around them abuses them.”

The Agens top editor also doesn't see the publication as a provocation, but as an opportunity to engage directly with Russian lawmakers: “We are aiming at a dialogue both with the readers and the authorities,” Chernyavskaya said. “If the deputies are unhappy with the magazine, I would like to talk to each of them face to face.”

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Artist Chris Sprouse has abandoned the digital series, saying the media firestorm over Card had become a distraction, according to a statement released Tuesday.

"It took a lot of thought to come to this conclusion, but I've decided to step back as the artist on this story," Sprouse said. "The media surrounding this story reached the point where it took away from the actual work, and that's something I wasn't comfortable with. My relationship with DC Comics remains as strong as ever and I look forward to my next project with them."

Sprouse's departure has put the project on hold while DC searches for his replacement. As a result, Card's "Superman" will not appear in the first collected issue this May.

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The ejection doesn't seem to have been entirely motivated by their public display of affection. It is worth noting that the smoochy couple singled out by security happens to be gay. Daniel Chesmore, 21, told the local Sacramento Fox affiliate this week, "I kissed him on the cheek. That’s how my boyfriend and I show affection." And, he said, "This is exactly what we did at the mall on Saturday." Chesmore adds that when he and his boyfriend, Jose Guzman, were confronted by a security guard, the man told them, "If you continue to kiss, you will be asked to leave the mall. Period … I counted you guys kissing 25 times." The couple also produced an audio of the guard telling them, "I told you before, we contact any couple" about this behavior.

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"They ask you like, 'Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? Do you like girls?'" Kasa said in an interview with ESPN Radio Denver. "Those kinds of things, and you know it was just kind of weird. But they would ask you with a straight face, and it's a pretty weird experience altogether."

The NFL combine is week-long showcase where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of coaches, general managers, and scouts. Basically, it's a week-long job interview.

"I know that the NFL agrees that these types of questions violate the law, our CBA and player rights," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "I hope that they will seek out information as to what teams have engaged in this type of discrimination and we should then discuss appropriate discipline."

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According to a report in the New York Daily News, Frankelly and his partner were on a downtown No. 2 train when a woman took a picture of the couple.

When Frankelly asked her why she was photographing them, the woman allegedly shouted:

“Feed your face, faggot." Another woman also chimed in, apparently asking Frankelly's partner: “Why you with that faggot?” he told the Daily News.

A fight broke out, and the woman and three others -- including one man -- began attacking Frankelly, the report alleges.

His partner tried to break up the fight, but no one other subway riders attempted to help. The group continued to punch Frankelly repeatedly in the face, leaving him with his left eye swollen shut and a deep cut above the socket.

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Last week, DC announced that Card was selected to write the first chapter in the digital "Adventures of Superman" series, and fans quickly responded with a petition calling on the company to renounce Card and "stand for equality":

DC Comics has just hired anti-gay writer Orson Scott Card for their new digital Adventures of Superman. He's written publicly that he believes marriage equality would lead to the end of civilization. He's also on the board of a notorious anti-equality organization. We need to let DC Comics know they can't support Orson Scott Card or his work to keep LGBT people as second-class citizens. They know they're accountable to their fans, so if enough of us speak out now, they'll hear us loud and clear.

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After a skirmish on the social network prompted one of his followers to make a homophobic remark, the Black Mamba swatted him away like he might an errant jump shot:

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And when a separate follower reminded Bryant that he called a referee a "fucking faggot" as recently as April 2011, Bryant was quick to admonish himself:

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