Manhattan Judge Laura Drager made a lesbian's tear-soaked dreams come true today!

Drager ruled that "Beth R" can sue her longtime labial love, "Donna M" for divorce. The once happy couple were married in Canada on Valentine's Day (dumb!) back in 2004, but things fell apart once they got back here to America. Donna M wanted the marriage voided, but Drager invoked the recen decision to honor out-of-state gay nuptials.

We don't know why the women don't want to be named, but this story's got "blind item" written all over it:

of Donna M.'s lawyers, Bettina Hinden, noted the ruling also allows Beth R. to seek custody of Donna M.'s two daughters, even though she never legally adopted them.
…
Drager's decision describes both women as in their 40s and working in media.

"They met in late 1999 and soon thereafter entered into an intimate relationship," Drager wrote.

They moved in together, and Donna M. had a baby via artificial insemination in October 2003. They tied the knot in front of family and friends in Toronto on Valentine's Day in 2004, and Donna M. gave birth to another girl in 2006.

Anybody got a clue?

No word what this judicial development this means for our other upset lesbian duo, Molly Caldwell and heiress Helina Avery. We know this much is true: lesbians do it big - and we're never marrying one!

Finally, a Michael Lucas feud we can endorse! The pugnacious porn producer launched a fresh crusade today against - gasp! - himself!

Russian born Lucas sent out an open letter today questioning why one of his flicks, The Intern, won more GAYVN honors than another title, Gigolo. He complains that Gigolo received "raging" reviews and basically pleads that the GayVN's recognize the penis-heavy piece as the masterpiece he perceives it to be. Be sure, however, that Lucas does not want to raise the comparative bar too high:

My company has many questions about this situation. I do want to be clear: I am NOT comparing "Gigolo" to any other company's work. I am making a simple comparison to this movie and "The Intern." Even a retard wouldn't make the mistake that "Gigolo" is on a totally different planet. It's like comparing champagne to Coca-Cola, like comparing a diamond to a rock.

What sort of rock? Something hard and craggy, we're sure…

Read the entirely narcissistic conspiracy after the jump…

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Hi, readers! Editor Andrew Belonsky here. I rarely write in first person unless in interview mode, but there's something I'd like to discuss with you - something very important that requires your undivided attention. (Not pictured.)

Now, you may be surprised to hear this, but my penis got grabbed three times last week. Three times! That's pretty incredible for someone who rarely leaves his desk and hasn't had sex since 1873.

Under different circumstances I would have been thankful for such a high volume of phallic attention, but none of the aforementioned gropes were invited - or welcome.

Boy can't catch a break in this town…

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Lane Hudson and Matt Foreman know a little something something about the gay rights movement. As the outgoing leader of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Foreman has helped spearhead a number of movements in Washington, New York and throughout the rest of the United States. The activist tells us he caught the activist bug after witnessing the atrocities of West Virginia's coal mining industry and only later got involved in the nascent gay rights movement. Foreman later got caught up in the more progressive, grass roots-oriented gay rights movement. Hudson, meanwhile, has been involved in activism since his wee years, when political active family members informed his social consciousness. The former Human Rights Campaign staffer gained notoriety after exposing Mark Foley's inappropriate exchanges with congressional pages. He lost his job for his involvement in that scandal and now works as an independent gay rights activists and contributes to Huffington Post. Just in case you didn't know…

The editorial union of these men counts as the first in a sporadic series called "Homo Encounters," during which our editor moderates a conversation between two notable homos from various fields. Today's one super Tuesday, so we thought Hudson and Foreman could offer some interesting thoughts on where the gay movement remains today - and where it's meant to go tomorrow. We don't want to give too much away, but be prepared for the pros and cons of incrementalism, how the Democrats can shape up (or ship out), why the federal level ain't the shit and which political enemies should be our mentors - after the jump, naturally.

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North Carolinian Jim Neal headed north to New York last night for a DL21C-sponsored event. The openly gay Senatorial candidate greeted well wishers and do-gooders at a lovely little joint called Retreat, which we enjoyed for all the hard wood.

We snapped some shots of the happenings. Neal's speech covered much of what he told us in part one and part two of our exclusive interview. Our editor did raised two questions, one privately and one publicly. The first question: "What do you think about John Edwards dropping out of the race?" Neal said he was sorry to see Edwards go, particularly because the former Senator used his platform to highlight the ravages of poverty. Belonsky said that was true, but added that perhaps the White House wouldn't be the most effective place for him. Edwards should, instead, start a non-profit a la Bill Clinton and/or Al Gore.

The next question, which came after Neal's speech, concerned the candidate's ideas on American inclusion. Neal told the audience that "American democracy doesn't belong to the politicians, but to the people". All of these people live in America, said Neal, and should thus have an equal say in policy matters - or at least be brought to the table.

Belonsky asked Neal how he would approach extremist, fundamentalist groups such as the KKK and the Westboro Baptist Church. Neal replied that such "fringe" groups are motivated by emotion-based logic, rather than reason and, thus, aren't prepared to fight fair. He also said that the secular and spiritual must remain distinct, but later referred to "the man upstairs," a monotheistic god. It's queer, isn't it, that so many politicians insist on dividing religion and the state - which is right, rather than Right - yet favor the Western concept of the G-man. Just a thought.

Anyway, click the thumbnails for the action. We've included cute little captions. Well, we think they're cute.

Senatorial candidate and Queerty feature subject Jim Neal flew into New York to get down with the big apple's big homosexuals. Head on over to Retreat (37 W. 17th St.) around 6pm and schmooze with Neal, his pals, us and other queer folk.

New York City Comptroller William Thompson Jr joined the Gay Center and the NYC pension fund in calling for corporate America to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Said Thompson: "We must work together to make sure that corporate America embraces acceptance and affords all employees the same protections…"

Gay New Yorker's once spent their nights cock grabbing, bitch slapping and binge drinking. Now they talk about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. God this town is boring!

Rupert Murdoch's New York Post can't quit it's homophobic ways. The daily featured a story yesterday entitled, "Evil Lesbian Mom Left Toddler To Die: DA". Classy!

New York City's tourism bureau put together a fabulously deluded advert for the Big Apple.

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New York City Speaker Christine Quinn may not be advocating for animals, but she knows more needs to done to save human lives.

The 41-year old sappho-politico penned a letter to the NY Times celebrating the city's commitment to HIV awareness. The city, however, can only do so much:

In order to help New Yorkers, the City Council and the Health and Hospital Corporation announced additional Council financing of $5.6 million for public hospitals to expand rapid H.I.V. testing. This investment has helped the hospitals expand their reach beyond AIDS centers and prenatal care clinics to offer rapid H.I.V. testing to current hospital patients, visitors to the emergency rooms and outpatient clinics.

Rapid testing helped hospitals test almost 134,000 patients last year, and allowed doctors and counselors the chance to provide education and services on the spot if a person tested positive.

Increasing the availability of testing can be vital in the early detection of H.I.V., and early detection can be the crucial factor in fighting this devastating illness.

The only way to truly combat this crisis is to ensure that all New Yorkers take a simple first step — learn their H.I.V. status.

You heard the woman - go get yourself an HIV test. It does a body good.

Jim Naugle would shit! New York City yesterday unveiled the big apple's first pay toilet (seen above, being adored by Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff).

The $100,000 throne costs a mere quarter - the same price as the NY Post - and allows the user 15-minutes of pure, unadulterated potty privacy. That seems like an awfully long time, but it is in Madison Square Park, home of the famous - and famously dirty - Shake Shack.

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As health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden warns of fresh infections, New York City's health department announced that HIV/AIDS-related deaths have dropped in the big apple:

HIV/AIDS deaths dropped from 1,419 in 2005 to 1,209 in 2006. The decline was reflected in both sexes and all ethnic groups.

"Numbers this low have not been seen since 1984, when New York City recorded 952 deaths from AIDS," the health department report said.

Heart disease and cancer remain the city's biggest killers. The NYPD's currently on the lookout for these grim reapers.