Over 100,000 protesters across the country and across the globe attended rallies and marched on Saturday in protest of California's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage. From Fairbanks, Alaska, where 32 people stood with signs in 6 degree weather as snow fell to San Diego, where 25,000 people marched on an unseasonably hot autumn day that reached into the 90s, supporters of civil rights demanded equality.

"This is the first time in U.S. history that the majority voted to strip the rights of a minority. Who will be next?" asked Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lori Jean, who also credited young people as the driving force of the movement, saying "We now pass the torch to you!" The protests, organized via the website www.jointheimpact.com, spread through sites like Facebook, Myspace & Twitter.

Many of you sent in photos, videos and stories of the day. After the jump, we present some of these snapshots from across the country. You may want to grab a hankie.

CONTINUED »

Melissa Neese has changed her tune!

The Georgia woman gained some fleeting notoriety last week after turning her Halloween display into a blood-curdling display of partisanship, by which we mean having the "Shadow of Death" lurking behind an effigy of Barack Obama.

Said Neese at the time: "It’s kind of like the shadow of death behind Obama. We’re kind of more of McCain advocates. It’s just to encourage people to vote. That’s about it. I haven’t really finished it [display]. I was going to put pumpkins and a vote sign up there."

Not everyone enjoyed Neese's morbid, easily misconstrued message, and now she's circulating an email begging for forgiveness and insisting she's changed things about. Rather than being haunted by the shadow of death, Obama's now flanked by a mannequin that appears to be Hillary Clinton, a figure many Republicans equate with the shadow of death.

Writes Neese in her entirely capitalized email, which also doubles as a nightmare of grammatic error:

FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO SAY SORRY TO ANY ONE THAT WAS OFFENDED BY MY DISPLAY. YOUR [sic] RIGHT IT WAS DONE IN BAD TASTE AND WITH OUT FOR-THOUGHT [sic]. THE REASON FOR THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

I SIMPLY DID NOT AND WAS NOT THINKING OF MR. OBAMA AS A BLACK MAN AND THAT IT WOULD BE LOOKED AT IN A RACIST WAY. I WAS NOT EVEN DONE WITH THE DISPLAY WHEN THE NEWS MAN CAME BY. I WAS GOING TO MIX HALLOWEEN AND THE ELECTION, WITH THE INTENTIONS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR WHO THEY WANTED AND MAKE THERE [sic] VOICE HEARD .

SINCE THIS HAS AIRED, I HAVE CHANGED MY DISPLAY AND IN MUCH MORE TASTE-FULL [sic] FASHION. SO NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN MARKED AS A RACIST AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE BY PEOPLE THAT DO NOT EVEN KNOW ME, BY THE WAY MARTIN LUTHER KING IS ONE OF MY HEROES OF ALL TIME.

Oh, well, in that case…

Read Neese's entire email, after the jump. We have not altered it in anyway except for breaking it into more manageable paragraphs.

CONTINUED »

Yee-haw!

Just when you thought the anti-Obama madness couldn't get any more insane, Georgia woman Melissa Neese erected this timely Halloween display, which includes both John McCain and Barack Obama. Note, however, that Obama has the "shadow of death" looming behind him, while McCain's a pristine as could be.

Despite acknowledging her McCain preference, Neese insists she's not trying to be incendiary:

“It’s kind of like the shadow of death behind Obama. We’re kind of more of McCain advocates,” said Neese.
…
Neese said neighbors and passersby need not worry.

“It’s just to encourage people to vote. That’s about it. I haven’t really finished it [display]. I was going to put pumpkins and a vote sign up there,” said Neese.

Because pumpkins will really tone down the message.

[via WSBTV]

Things are coming up justice for Michelle Bruce!

Georgia's Supreme Court today ruled that Bruce, who is a trans woman, did not mislead voters during her city council reelection campaign in Riverdale, Georgia:

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Monday found that the two political opponents who filed the lawsuit failed to produce evidence of fraud, misconduct or illegal action after claiming that Michelle Bruce bamboozled voters by identifying herself as female.

"This is a great victory for me and anyone who believes in equality," Bruce said in a statement. "It gives me hope that the Georgia Supreme Court did what was right and did not buy into hate-based politics."

Bruce, who lost the election, says she's taking online courses and hopes to become an elected official again in the near future.

Bob Barr obviously believes in selective memory.

The Libertarian presidential nominee told voters last week that he opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, a piece of legislation he wrote while the Republican Governor of Georgia. The turnaround garnered him some praise and gave Libertarian voters hope that their candidate would fight for their free-wheeling, states rights values. Too bad Barr doesn't really buy what he's selling.

CONTINUED »

Mike Gravel may have some competition! The presidential candidate, who yesterday ditched the Democrats for the Libertarian party, will now have to face off against former Congressman Bob Barr.

Georgian-based Barr told voters that he's "very seriously considering" throwing his name into the ring:

There’s been a tremendous expressed to me both directly and indirectly on the Internet. I take that support very seriously, and I think it also reflects a great deal of dissatisfaction with the current candidates and the current two-party system. So it is something, to be honest with you, that I’m looking very seriously at.

The move's a bit of a queer decision for former Republican Barr…

CONTINUED »

• Graham Norton doesn't see children in his future. Said the queer chatter box, "I don't think I could do children. They're hard work, and what if you fuck them up?" Oh, please! Nannies take care of the children - let them worry about fucking them up. Norton also says he wants to find his "other half".

• Georgian politicians are mulling a hate crimes revival. But will they include the gays?

• It'll be a happy new year in New Hampshire and Oregon. The states' respective civil unions and domestic partnership laws go into effect January 1st.

CONTINUED »

Gay politicians are nothing new. Gay Republican politicos? Well, they're a little more rare. No surprise, then, that Georgia's Brian Bates deserves a little attention. Though he lost a previous bid for Doraville's City Council, the 36-year old politico won this go-round by a tidy 58%.

The landslide, some say, represents a real watershed for southern politics:

Georgia Equality, the state's largest organization supporting gay rights, says he's the first openly gay Republican to win a race in the Deep South.
…
"When you are talking about local elections, it's about finding the most qualified candidate," said Kyle Bailey, political director for Georgia Equality. "This is a sign of progress of the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] community showing that we are your neighbors.

"Number one, Bates is representing the people of Doraville. But he also provides an important voice to the Republican Party and he could help the Republican Party in Georgia to move to a place where it's welcoming to LGBT."

What a wonderful world that would be…

CONTINUED »

Talk about dirty politics! A Riverdale, Georgia mayoral race got ugly this week when a website took aim at transgender city council woman Michelle Bruce. After posting a fairly unflattering picture of Bruce, the anonymous writer calls Bruce an "embarrassment" and repeatedly calls her a him:

The man…tricked us last election. He used an alias and fooled everyone into thinking he was a women! Michele Bruce was the name he used on the ballot and we all thought this was a woman. Just recently Mr. Bruce had to answer to the State Board of Elections for forging names on a recall petition for the Mayor in 04/05. This is the kind of constant harassment that the Mayor has had to put up with for the last four years. And it was not just Bruce… Riverdale is the laughing stock of the county with him presently in office.

Bruce maintains her innocence over the forging allegations, telling SOVO, "It's 'he say, she say' crap.” The politician also accuses current mayor Phaedra Graham of fueling the fire: "She’s gone around and said we need to get that transvestite out of office — that freak of nature.” Guess who we won't be voting for…

20-year old Pako Tabatadze made history when he became the first Georgian national to come out on national television. Unfortunately, the show's producers weren't feeling celebratory.

A contestant on GeoBar, a Georgian reality TV show, was expelled after saying on the first episode that he was gay.

Koba Davarashvili, the general director of Rustavi 2 TV, which broadcasts the highly popular show, confirmed on October 14 that the decision to expel Pako Tabatadze, 20, had been taken because of his on-air candor.

“GeoBar is a project, which first and foremost, should show young people's relationships and their drive for victory from a positive angle,” Davarashvili said.

And gay relationships are definitely not positive. In fact, our love lives are the most negative force in this entire world - except, perhaps, discrimination.