WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three Republican presidential candidates, Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, have signed the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) Marriage Pledge. NOM’s marriage pledge was offered to all serious announced candidates for the G.O.P. nomination. An opportunity to sign the Marriage Pledge will be extended to Texas Governor Rick Perry and other major candidates, if and when they enter the race.

In signing the pledge, the candidates swear to: support and send to the states a federal marriage amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, appoint judges and an attorney general who will respect the original meaning of the Constitution, appoint a presidential commission to investigate harassment of traditional marriage supporters and support legislation that would return to the people of D.C. their right to vote for marriage.

Gay Man Wins Right to  Be an Ordained Minister

MADISON, WI – Openly gay Scott Anderson, 56, won the right to be ordained by the USA Presbyterian Church. Anderson is believed to be the first gay person in a long-term same-sex relationship to be approved for ordination by the denomination.

The church’s judicial commission  dismissed a case against Anderson by opponents of gay ordination. Opponents brought the case last year, arguing Anderson could not be ordained because he was in an open relationship with a man. At the time, church rules required clergy members to live in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness. However, a shift in thinking earlier this year happened when a majority of the church’s regional bodies voted to allow openly gay men and women in a same-sex relationship to be orda

ined.

Another Indian Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage

SEATTLE, WA – A second American Indian tribe has adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage. The Suquamish Tribal Council of Washington state voted to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The new law gained the support of more than 100 tribal leaders in their most recent meeting.

The law permits the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, regardless of their gender, as long as they’re at least 18 years old and one of the people is a member of the tribe.

Same-sex marriage is illegal in the State of Washington, but the state legislature has approved a measure stating they will recognize same-sex marriages that took place in other jurisdictions and other nations. The legislature has also approved a bill called “Everything But Marriage,” which grants same-sex couples many of the same rights as married couples except for using the word “married”.

The Coquille Indian Tribe in southern Oregon is the only other tribe that recognizes same-sex marriage.

New Data Shows Annual HIV Infections in U.S. Relatively Stable

ATLANTA, GA – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s first multi-year estimates from its national HIV incidence surveillance find that, overall, the annual number of new HIV infections in the United States was relatively stable at approximately 50,000 each year between 2006 and 2009.  However, HIV infections increased among young men who have sex with men (MSM) between 2006 and 2009, driven by alarming increases among young, black MSM – the only subpopulation to experience a sustained increase during the time period.

The new estimates were published online in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.  The incidence estimates are based on direct measurement of new HIV infections with a laboratory test that can distinguish recent from long-standing HIV infections.

“More than 30 years into the HIV epidemic, about 50,000 people in this country still become infected each year. Not only do men who have sex with men continue to account for most new infections, young gay and bisexual men are the only group in which infections are increasing, and this increase is particularly concerning among young African American MSM,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. “HIV infections can be prevented. By getting tested, reducing risky behaviors, and getting treatment, people can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Warner Brothers Sets November for Release  of J. Edgar

HOLLYWOOD, CA – Warner Brothers Studios has set November 9th as the release date for the film, “J. Edgar,” a biopic on the first director of the F.B.I. being produced by Clint Eastwood. The motion picture completed filming in February.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and was written by Dustin Lance Black; the timing of the release will make it eligible for nomination for next year’s Academy Awards. In addition to DiCaprio, the cast includes Armie Hammer (from The Social Network) as Hoover’s assistant and closeted lover, Clyde Tolson; Josh Lucas as aviator Charles Lindbergh; Ed Westwick as Agent Smith, an operative gifted with writing skills; Damon Herriman as Bruno Hauptmann, the man convicted of kidnapping and killing the Lindbergh baby; Judi Dench as Hoover’s mother; Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk who ended up being Hoover’s personal secretary; Ken Howard as lawyer and jurist Harlan F. Stone; Jeffrey Donovan as Robert F. Kennedy and Stephen Root as Arthur Koehler, a wood specialist at Forest Product Laboratories who uses his expertise to help Hoover investigate the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby by tracing the origins of the ladder used by the perpetrator.

Major Psychology Group Comes Out to Support Gay Marriage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The policy-making body of the American Psychological Association (APA) voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support full marriage equality, a move that observers say will have a far-reaching impact on the debate. This was the world’s largest organization of psychologists’ strongest stand to date in support of same-sex marriage and cited new research in their decision.

The group, with more than 154,000 members, has long supported full equal rights for gays, based on social science research on sexual orientation. Now, the nation’s psychologists, citing an increasing body of research about same-sex marriage, as well as increased discussion at the state and federal levels, took the support to a new level.

The resolution points to numerous recent studies, including findings that many gay men and lesbians, like their heterosexual counterparts, desire to form stable, long-lasting and committed intimate relationships and are successful in doing so.

Rupert Murdoch to Cash in on Gay Marriage

NEW YORK, NY – According to Gay City News, Rupert Murdoch’s New Corp is ready to cash in on same-sex marriage with a new magazine, Wedding Pride: The Magazine for Gay and Lesbian Wedding Planning. The first issue will hit newsstands this September with an initial 35,000 copy run, which will likely remain confined to the gay-friendly communities of Chelsea, Park Slope, Fire Island, Montclair, South Orange and Asbury Park.

Murdoch’s News Corp. is most famous for its other publications, such the New York Daily News and its cable Fox News Channel.

“Glee” Star to Replace Daniel Radcliffe in  “How to Succeed”

NEW YORK, NY – The producers of the 50th anniversary production of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” announced last week that Darren Criss, of Fox’s Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning hit television show, “Glee,” will make his Broadway debut as J. Pierrepont Finch, performing a strictly limited three week engagement from January 3, through January 22, 2012. He will replace Daniel Radcliffe, who will play his final performance on Sunday, January 1, 2012.

Criss plays Blaine Anderson, Chris Colfer’s love interest on “Glee”.

Esurance Donates $50K  to The Trevor Project

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Esurance, the online car insurance company, announced that the company donated $50,000 to The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBT youth.
Esurance recently launched the charitable giving campaign on its Facebook page. For each new “Like,” the company donated $10 to The Trevor Project to help support the Trevor Lifeline, a 24/7 crisis intervention phone hotline offering free and confidential suicide prevention counseling to youth nationwide.

With Twitter and Facebook support from The Trevor Project itself, and the mentions from celebrities such as Perez Hilton, Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block, and others spreading the word, Esurance quickly reached its stated goal of $50,000.

Ann Coulter to Serve  as Honorary Chair of GOProud’s Advisory Council

WASHINGTON, D.C. – GOProud, a national organization of gay conservatives, announced that Ann Coulter was joining the organization’s Advisory Council as Honorary Chair. Coulter’s official title will be “Honorary Chair and Gay Icon”.

“Ann Coulter is a brilliant and fearless leader of the conservative movement, we are honored to have her as part of GOProud’s leadership,” said Christopher Barron, Chairman of GOProud’s Board in a written statement. “Ann helped put our organization on the map. Politics is full of the meek, the compromising and the apologists – Ann, like GOProud, is the exact opposite of all of those things. We need more Ann Coulters.”

Coulter responded with “I am honored to serve in this capacity on GOProud’s Advisory Council and look forward to being the Queen of fabulous.”

Coulter joins Margaret Hoover, Grover Norquist, Andrew Breitbart, Liz Mair, Chuck Muth, Lisa De Pasquale, Christian Josi, Roger Stone, Andrew Langer, Kathryn Serkes and Bob Carlstrom on the GOProud Advisory Council.

Coulter is the author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob is Endangering America,” as well as seven other New York Times bestsellers: “Guilty: Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America,” “If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans,” “Godless: The Church of Liberalism,” “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must),” “Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism,” “Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right” and “High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton”.

A Film Review by WARREN DAY

If you were born past 1938, you’re a part of the comic book hero generation, for it was that year Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1, with Batman coming out in 1939.  And then, in 1941, Captain America.

So almost every American alive today can’t remember a time when there weren’t costume heroes who either possessed some unusual power or had access to some powerful gadgets and machines (and had to face villains with scary nicknames).

These heroes were also stalwart examples of the classic molds formed in mythology – their character true blue, their blood valiantly red, and their reputations lily white (as were their faces). Then, in 1962, it began to change with the appearance of Spider-Man, for Peter Parker was a tortured soul both before and after he was bitten by a radioactive spider. The superheroes emerging from the 1960s on were all top candidates for the psychiatrist coach (i.e., The Hulk, X-Men, Ironman, Blade, Hellboy, and so forth). Even solid citizen Batman was reconstituted as The Dark Knight.

What’s refreshing in “Captain America: The First Avenger” is that it not only takes place in the 1940’s, but it also returns to the steadfast values and clear-eyed stance of those times. In almost all the superhero movies of recent years – and there’s been a ton of them – they’re marked by cynicism, irony, angst, a smartass attitude and existential confusion, but you won’t find an ounce of those things in this film’s 121 minutes.

There’s something charming and disarming about its unabashed sincerity, idealism, and its conviction toward values that are often made fun of in other films. It’s a rip-snorting, crowd-pleasing, patriotic fourth-of-July action movie that’s rooted in a primal fantasy that’s at the heart of so many myths and comic books – namely how the 98 pound weakling becomes a brave and brawny champion.

When we first meet Steve Rogers, he’s in the process of failing his fourth army physical. He’s a scrawny, short and sickly kid (it’s a marvel of CGI how they put Chris Evans’ face on that body), but he’s picked for an experimental procedure that turns him into a super soldier with a body any Adonis would envy, and who’s more than the equal of any schoolyard bully or wannabe world conqueror.

The script, the director and, most of all, Chris Evans, makes both Steve and his alter-ego Captain America so likeable, admirable and yet still vulnerable, that you’re willing to excuse the implausibilities inherent in any superhero movie, something we weren’t willing to do with The Green Hornet, The Green Lantern or any other green hulky thing.

The cast contains a bevy of good actors who seem to be having so much fun that it’s contagious for the rest of us. Stanley Tucci plays a German-accented scientist who’s a good and wise Dr. Frankenstein. Hugo Weaving, who’s become the go-to actor for fantasy films (“Lord of the Rings,” “The Matrix,” “V for Vendetta,” “The Wolfman”) has a field day as the super Nazi (and super nasty) Red Skull (Weaving gives him a lisp that makes him sound like a hissing snake). And it’s great camp to see Toby Jones, the Truman Capote look alike, running around as the bad German-accented scientist.

While it was inevitable to have an American as Captain America, the recent trend has been to cast British subjects as our homegrown comic book heroes, like Christian Bale as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart as Professor X. Sarah Palin will be claiming that Paul Revere made his midnight ride to warn us, “The British actors are coming!”
My concern about this throwback-to-another-era film is that it will undergird the simplistic and history-defying notion that military might always makes right, and that what we need to do in other countries is to go in and unilaterally kick some ass.

“Captain America” is a fun movie that should appeal to those in both blue and red states, but I just hope no one tries to turn it into a rallying cry for a bushwhacked foreign policy.

Chris Evans had played the conventional wise-cracking and sarcastic superhero in the Fantastic Four films, but here, he’s the exact opposite and delivers a sincere and nuanced performance as both the before and after Steve Rogers. As we’ve seen with other actors in other films, this isn’t an easy task, for Captain America is not cool or hip, but he is unusually smart, has a pure heart and is highly principled. It’s a welcome sight to see such an old-fashioned hero back in action on the silver screen. This movie proves there’s still a lot of mythological power left in stories about the undervalued runt who turns into the leader of the pack.

By TROY MAILLIS

Going Down in LA-LA Land is premiering at this year’s Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival as the coveted final night feature.  Based on the novel penned by Andy Zeffer, this film explores the ups and down, and trials and tribulations of trying to make it in Hollywood. What would you do to survive and achieve your ultimate dream? Directed by Casper Andreas, the film stars Matthew Ludwinski as “Adam,” a Hollywood newbie looking to get his start in the world of lights—camera—action. We recently caught up with Matthew to talk about his starring role, the steamy sex scenes and working with Casper Andreas.

Going Down in LA-LA Land is premiering on the final night of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Will you be in Miami for the opening? How do you feel about the film being the closing night feature?
I won’t be able to make the opening, but all of us involved with the film are excited and honored to be the closing night feature.

What did you do to prepare for your role in Going Down in LA-LA Land? Did you spend any extra time getting in tip top shape?
Of course! I’m a vain actor! Whenever I have an important acting or modeling job I always try to step it up a bit. And Carbs—I didn’t even LOOK at so much as a slice of whole wheat toast, which was difficult because during those long night shoots they sometimes had to bring in a second meal for the cast and crew at 2 a.m. and it was always something delicious and awful like “Jack in the Box” tacos and cheeseburgers. I also gave up alcohol two weeks before, and then the month of the shoot, which is what I’m going to use as my excuse for getting a little *ahem* sloppy at the wrap party.

Did you read the book by Andy Zeffer? If so, what did you think?
I knew that Casper had the rights to the book long before he cast me as the lead, so I bought and read the book before Casper had even finished the script. After reading it, I knew it was the perfect part for me. I was dying to play that role! It’s fun to imagine oneself in various tragic situations, and this particular situation involves a sexy combination of porn, prostitution and Hollywood romance. Getting to play that role let me live in that world for a bit without any of the pesky consequences.

Are there any parts of your character you identify with? Most of them. I mean, what actor wouldn’t?

My character is sort of an “everyman” actor type. He’s a young man with big dreams and not a lot of resources. I’ve certainly been there!As an actor, did you experience any similar situations as your character when getting started in the business?
Absolutely. I know what it’s like to feel objectified. I know what it’s like to feel used. I know what it’s like to feel desperate. And every actor has thought at some point about the casting couch, and has had the thought, “I wonder if it is possible to sleep my way to the top?” But really his whole journey from arriving to Hollywood bright and excited to the process of his disillusionment—I’ve experienced all of that. I think most actors have.

You show a lot of skin in the film. Do you get nervous in situations like that

How intense were the sex scenes? Were you able to let go and have fun?
I had fun in almost every scene, and I wasn’t nervous about the sex scenes. My costars were so great, and everyone was very comfortable and committed. Occasionally I would freak out and worry that my “sock” was slipping off. But it didn’t, so we’re good!  The pool scene was sort of difficult logistically. I was much more nervous about the scene where I had to be drunk and dance around wildly in my underwear. But that ended up being a blast.

The film deals a lot with sex and porn. Do you have a favorite porn star?
Who says I watch porn? I’m an actor on a limited budget and I have to content myself with those free 30-second porn clips on the Internet, and those clips don’t usually credit the performers. Maybe I ought to buy some porn DVDs, you know, just to support the arts more.

What was it like working with director Casper Andreas?
Casper and I were already friendly from working together on his film, “Between Love and Goodbye,” a few years ago. I knew we liked each other and would get along. We became good friends working on this movie. It made coming to work everyday a blast! I also came to ADORE the two other leads, Allison Lane and Michael Medico. Working with people you like is such a joy. I couldn’t wait to start each day.

Do you think roles like this “type cast” you as only being able to play one certain type of character?
I hope not! I certainly don’t mind being cast as the boy-next-door, but of course I want to do other things. In case you didn’t notice, I’m a complex multi-faceted being! My character “Adam” was such a sweet little ingénue though, so I think it’d be fun to play someone really evil and diabolical next time.

What other types of roles are you looking to sink your teeth into?
Well naturally the next step in my career is to play a sexy vampire/werewolf, and then Hamlet. Maybe a sexy vampire/werewolf Hamlet – then I could retire.

Are there any directors or actors out there who you would love to work with above all others?
Jim Carey and Nicole Kidman, because I am a blend of both. So maybe they could play my parents.

What do you want the audience to take away from watching the film or following your character from beginning to end?
That I’m an awesome actor with great hair! Ha! But really I think this movie tells a great story and I just hope people enjoy it.

“Bullied” chronicles the story of Jamie Nabozny, a student from Ashland, Wisconsin who stood up to his anti-gay tormentors with a federal lawsuit. The suit led to a landmark decision that held school officials accountable. Despite that ruling, anti- LGBTQ bullying continues to be a severe problem. Today more than 80 percent of LGBTQ students report being harassed at school. Schools across the country still are unwilling or afraid to openly address anti-gay bullying.

The panel discussion after the movie will feature the Southern Poverty Law Center, Sheriff Al Lamberti and Paul Hyman from the Pride Center. Admission is a $100 tax-deductible donation.

For more information contact Jason Burns at (954) 463-9005 or jburns@PrideCenterFlorida.org.