The state of Wisconsin as a whole may have voted to ban same-sex marriage, but the majority of Madison officials maintain the necessity of gay rights.

Voting on whether or not to offer an elective pro gay nups pledge, 14 out of the city's 18 council members affirmed their commitment to fighting the good fight by approving a measure that will allow members to add said pledge to their induction oath.

The move's being hailed as a landmark for our nation, as Madinson's the only city to offer such testimony. Debating the issue, Mike Verveer said, "Many of us will breathe a lot easier if we are allowed to make this additional statement..." His colleague Cindy Thomas (pictured), however, isn't so keen: "When people from afar hear about our vote on this, we will become a laughingstock."

People aren't laughing at the oath, Cindy. They're laughing at you.

We were a bit over whelmed by the Imeldific-ness of that last post and ended up on an incoherent, truly magical trip around the virtual wonderland that is the internet. But, like so many trips, this too had to end. This particular wake-up call came in the form of this story via PageOneQ.

It seems three Milwaukee living lesbians were leaving the popular "women's bar", Walker's Pint when they got into a bit of a tussle with an unidentified man. Actually, it's more than a tussle...

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This here's the first of four 30-second ads produced by a group of New Jersey blog-ctivists from BlueJersey.com. Part of the "Think Equal" campaign, the commercials aim at changing people's minds about gay marriage in New Jersey.
New Jersey's The Herald reports:

Jeff Gardner, a Hawthorne attorney and a BlueJersey.com blogger, said the ad targets people who have not given marriage equality much thought by highlighting the practical differences between the designations of civil union and marriage.

"The difference is in the level of acceptance that comes with the term 'marriage,'" he said. "Marriage is the only currency of commitment that the world, the nation and the state of New Jersey understands and accepts."

Of course you remember when New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled that gays have equal rights as straights, but deferred the legal semantics to the legislature. The commercials come as lawmakers mull their decision, which is expected before the end of the year.

This isn't the first time interested parties have taken to the tube to spread their gay-marriage related ideas. Back before the elections, a conservative group exploited children to oppose gay nups. Marriage in Wisconsin, of course, never came to fruition. Let's hope BlueJersey's commercials can have just as strong - but far more progressive - results.

As you know, Wisconsin voted last week to restrict marriage to a man and a woman. Pretty shitty, right? It's the kind of news that makes you want to move to Mexico, where civil unions have just passed. But don't break out the sombrero yet, Wisconsinites, because Democratic Senator Jon Erpenbach's got a plan to take a bit of the bite out of the bill.

Written by some pretty staunch conservatives, the bill not only bans homo-nups, but also also limits certain rights for straights, such as domestic partner benefits. Insisting the bill's too broad, Erpenbach (pictured) wants to tweak the language a bit. Don't get too excited, though. He's not looking to open the door to "marriage", although his efforts may open the door to civil unions.

The Capital Times reports:

Erpenbach said Friday his proposal would honor the ban on gay marriages, but rectify potential problems in the second sentence of the referendum, which he said stripped legal rights from straight and same-sex unmarried couples. Those protections include the right to receive domestic partner benefits and have legally binding contracts, including wills.

In addition to expanding certain rights, Erpenbach's also hoping to add the homos to the state's anti-discrimination amendment. (Which, really, should have been done a long time ago...)

While it's easy to get excited about by all this, Erpenbach's got his work cut out for him. After drafting the amendment, it will have to pass it in both the state Assembly and the state Senate. While the Democrats totally rule the Senate, the GOP still maintains control of the Assembly.

If, by some miracle, Erpenbach can get both branches to approve the amendment, Wisconsin will hold a state-wide referendum. Given that 59% of Wisconsin voters used their power to implement the ban, however, certainly doesn't bode well.

Still, let's not be defeatists. Better to stay optimistic, right?

• Is Donkey Kong art? French Culture Minister, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres seems to think so. [International Herald Tribune]

• Does former Wisconsin congressman Steve Gunderson think the proposed marriage amendment's anti-gay? Yes. [La Crosse Tribune]

• What does Madonna like? Pissing people off, of course. [Star Magazine]

• So, how much did Art Cologne make this year? Oh, about $95 million. [Bloomberg]

• What can be done about Judaism and homosexuality? Jesse Green has some ideas. [Nextbook]

• Should journalists call Larry Craig gay? Some say yes, some say no. [Poynter Online via The Cup of Joe]

We've been all over Wisconsin today! First we had the story on Elton John's $20K donation to Fair Wisconsin. Then we posted that nasty "Vote Yes" video. Now, we bring you what will most likely be the last Wisconsin note of the day (tear).

The Coalition for America's Families, the homo-hating organization led by the former Wisconsin GOP chairman, Steve King (pictured on a recent trip to hell) has donated $385,000 to the Vote Yes for Marriage campaign.

Shit, that's a lot of money. They must really want that proposed amendment that would further constrict marriage's parameters.

Ryan Foley (!) from The Associated Press reports:

The money from the Middleton-based Coalition for America's Families will help fund television advertisements meant to bolster conservative turnout on Nov. 7.

Vote Yes for Marriage in turn has booked at least $266,000 in television advertisements in the Milwaukee and Green Bay markets to try to sway voters in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. The group released its first ad on Monday.

We're assuming that commercial is the same one that produced our aforementioned rainbow chunks.

We feel really bad for you guys up in Wisconsin. Hopefully you have digital recording and can just fast-forward through the media blitz.

Our friends over at Good As You just sent us this advert urging voters to vote yes on the proposed anti-gay nuptial amendment.

It's gross not only because it's fueled by homo-hated, but it exploits children to spread a political message and then it portrays said children as easily confounded ninnies. Sure, children may not be as in tune as adults, but they're hardly idiots. Sadly, such tactics definitely grab voter attention.

Maybe Fair Wisconsin can use some of Elton John's loot to make their own commercial.

If there's one thing Elton John's got, it's cash. (Well, cash and talent, of course.) And, like any good homo-activo, he's using it to do some good.

The 59-year old singer donated $20,000 to Fair Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to squashing the proposed ban on gay-marriage in next week's vote. The Washington Blade reports:

The donation showed up in a campaign filing with the state Elections board today. Voters will decide the issue a week from tomorrow.

John made the donation to Fair Wisconsin October 23. It was among the gifts that helped the group raise $2.5 million in the last reporting period.

While we think that's super of Elton (especially considering he doesn't even live in The States), we can't help but wonder why he chose Wisconsin to receive the loot. Similar votes will be taking place in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia next week.

Maybe he just really likes cheese.

Yesterday we newly issued Williams Institute a newly issued report that says the number of gay couples in America has escalated about 30% over the past five years, a statistic conservatives will no doubt use as part of their anti-homo campaign.

Well, today the report has been dissected a little more to show that in that period, the amount of gay couples in Iowa have sky-rocketed by a whopping 58%. This rise in homo-lovin' makes Iowa the state with the fourth largest increase, falling behind Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska, which have a 70% surge.

Wow. We had no idea so many homos lived in the Midwest. No wonder we can't get a date. (Cue mawkish music and Jesse Trautmann essay.)

Earlier: Homos, Homos Everywhere!

We were checking out what our friends over at The Advocate have cooking and came across this essay from a man named Ray Vahey. In it, he describes how he and his lover, Richard Taylor, were together for nearly 50 years, until Taylor died. In that last year together, however, the men made big moves by coming out as lovers and joining the fight for gay marriage. If you're in the mood for a good love story and don't mind tearing up in front of co-workers check it out. If you're not into love stories, well, you're a monster. Not into crying in front of co-workers...well, we're not either, so you guys can save the story until you're home and let it all out.

• In Alabama, Patricia Todd – set to become the state's first openly gay state legislator – was ousted (along with the woman she defeated in a runoff vote) for violating a financial disclosure rule no other candidate has obeyed since 1998. [AP]

• In Wisconsin, researcher Rob Carpick – responsible for bringing in millions of dollars in grant money – quits his position at the University of Wisconsin at Madison because it doesn't offer health insurance benefits for his partner. He's headed to the University of Pennsylvania. [Wisconsin State Journal]

• In Vermont, Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson – the nation's first gay couple to enter a civil union – have split.

• In Nepal, two men prepare to get married — in the country's first openly gay wedding. Meanwhile, homosexuality remains a crime, punishable by a year in prison and a fine. [Times of India]

• In Massachusetts, an inmate's fight to have the state pay for his sex change operation now rests in the hands of a federal judge. If the court rules in Robert Kosilek's favor, it will be the nation's first state-sponsored transgender operation in history. [AP]

• In Britain, tabloid The Sun apologized for yesterday's cover story showing Prince Harry grabbing a girl's breasts at club. Not only did the rag get the nightclub wrong, they got the date of the photos wrong: They were taken in August 2003, not August 2006. [Guardian]

• In Ohio, a gay rights group has abandoned its effort to have Cincinnati voters decide whether gay men and women should be protected under the city's anti-discrimination ordinance after many of its signatures were acknowledged to be forgeries. [AP]

• In Kansas, two boys have confessed to stealing the rainbow flag – yes, that rainbow flag – waving outside a Meade bed and breakfast. The boys' father last week brought them to the B&B to apologize to the owners. [Out Q News]

• In New Mexico, the beating an 18-year-old gay man in Edgewood last month is now being attributed to the attackers' wanting to "scare him straight" after he allegedly touch the butt of one of the suspects. [Out Q News]

• Marcia Cross is still fuming over Barbara Walters asking her whether she is a lesbian. The question came during a live The View segment — and beforehand backstage, Walters told Cross she would have to ask her about it. [Scoop]

• In Wisconsin, tourism officials are worried that the industry will take a hit if voters in November greenlight a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. [AP]

• In Estonia, police launch a formal investigation into the attacks on the gay pride parade held in the nation's capital Tallinn over the weekend. [Advocate]