A very nice first for the state of Utah. Utah Democrats made history Saturday afternoon, electing Jim Dabakis as state party chairman by a wide margin. He is believed to be the state’s first openly gay major party leader. Dabakis, who is an art dealer and co-founder of both the Utah Pride Center and Equality Utah, said his election shows …

From the website of the above name.

NOM heralds this ad with “The race for marriage voters in Iowa intensifies!!”

“The more that they attack Michele Bachmann on these grounds, the better her chances of winning the Iowa caucuses are. The Iowa base is extremely upset about same-sex marriage and I don’t think they’re going to look kindly on these attacks.” – Maggie Gallagher, defending Crazy Eyes.

Another set of Islamist posters have appeared around the poorer neighborhoods of East London. It is understood the posters were found last Thursday morning at council-managed housing blocks in Shadwell, next to the DLR and Overground station. They state: “You are entering a Shariah controlled zone. Islamic rules enforced.” Underneath, images declare that smoking, alcohol, music, drugs, prostitution and porn …

Exodus International will hold its 2012 annual “ex-gay” convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Did the Bachmanns have something to do with that? Amid news that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic performs therapy aimed at “curing” gays and lesbians of homosexuality, the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, announced it will hold its annual conference, “Exodus Freedom,” in St. Paul …

According to a post on Jane Fonda’s personal blog, wingnuts forced QVC to cancel a planned appearance to hawk her new book, Prime Time. Bottom line, this has gone on far too long, this spreading of lies about me! None of it is true. NONE OF IT! I love my country. I have never done anything to hurt my country …

As Maryland’s activists gear up to take another run at marriage equality, Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged his full support. “I certainly plan to be very active in support of it, and we’ll have other announcements in upcoming months,” O’Malley said at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City. O’Malley has long supported civil unions and has said …

Whoa. The final episode of Harry Potter broke all kinds of box office records over the weekend. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2” conjured an unprecedented $168.6 million in the U.S. and Canada in just three days, whizzing past the $158.4-million record set by 2008’s “The Dark Knight,” according to an estimate by distributor Warner Bros. The …

“I believe that at that point, there will be many more people who will realize, whether it’s a limo driver, a caterer, a D.J., photographer, town clerks or justices, they will come face-to-face with the fact that they’ve got to choose between their faith or supporting their families. So I think we’ll be looking at a lot of religious freedom …

Yowtch!

Bette Midler isn’t too pleased that Lady Gaga has launched a concert bit in which she dresses as a wheelchair-bound mermaid. Midler, of course, has been doing her Delores Delago character for decades.

‘I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people’s bedrooms and let these things get decided by states. We’d be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots. I think it’s wrong [gay marriage], but there are other things that I think are wrong that get decided …

I covered the below incident when it took place in 2009. CBN is looking for a fresh angle in light of the Bachmann situation.

For first time in American history, yesterday hundreds of openly gay servicemembers marched in a gay pride parade as the military town of San Diego cheered. The crowd roared as the group waving military flags and holding placards identifying their military branch walked past the thousands. Every branch of service was represented Saturday, including the Coast Guard. Marines and sailors …

The anti-gay Christianist hate group Capital Resource Institute filed the paperwork yesterday to launch a petition drive to place a referendum item on the 2012 ballot which would repeal California’s just-approved LGBT history bill. The Capitol Resource Institute is a hard-line, socially conservative organization that has long opposed efforts in California to expand rights for the LGBT population. Backers eventually …

Another winner from JMG reader Sean Chapin.

LaSalvia says he’s buying a gun, presumably for future bike rides.