Mary Jean Smith and her husband are sick and tired of wing nuts trying to cure gay people. "Regardless of what the "experts" say, there are no "former" homosexuals… They cannot live a lie. Our lesbian daughter cannot change her sexual orientation any more than our four heterosexual daughters can change theirs."

He may be a convicted killer, but Stuart Ellanson sure is honest!

The Wisconsin convict plead guilty to holding a dental assistant hostage last November. He also admitted in 1991 to murdering a man simply because he was gay. Ellanson's hostage drama earned him 15 more years in prison - he was previously sentenced to life.

So, what, they just keep him in a freezer for the next term?

Father knows best in Wisconsin. Straight gay marriage defender Bill McConkey garnered more press for his fight against the Badger State's ban on same-sex nuptials. The Associated Press recently talked shop with McConkey, whose lesbian daughter birthed his activist spirit.

Q: You've described yourself as a Christian, straight, married, father of seven. You're kind of an unlikely figure to be leading the charge on gay rights.

A: I've also been a Republican all my life, and people have said, that's certainly a conflict but I don't think so. The reason I don't is because it's consistent with my view of human dignity and human rights as opposed to government and the power of government. This is really an overreaching amendment.
…
Q: What remedy would you like to see if your suit is successful? Do you want gay marriage to be legal or do you simply want another vote on two separate questions?

A: That is one that I struggle with. I think ultimately I would say under the U.S. Constitution, the way it's written, we cannot constitutionally deny the right of gay people to be married. Neither can the government order a church and say you have to marry gay people. That's an important difference to me. With that caveat, I would say I think that gay marriage should be allowed. It makes me kind of uncomfortable when I say that because I've been raised differently. But that's where I've come after prayer and after thought - a great deal of hard thought - there is no constitutional way to do that.

If only more Republicans were as rational…

Wisconsin's ban on gay marriage may be dissolved. A county judge ruled that Bill McConkey can sue the state for their allegedly unconstitutional 2006 referendum that prohibited same-sex nuptials.

[McConkey's lawyer Lester] Pines said McConkey is trying to prove that the constitutional amendment, as it was submitted to the voters, violated Article 12 Section I of the Wisconsin Constitution.

Article 12 Section I states, according to Pines, that the Legislature must submit referendums to the voters separately. The amendment passed last fall posed two questions, Pines said.

The amendment says that marriage only between one man and one woman would be recognized in the state. It also states that legal status similar or identical to marriage would not be recognized. The amendment passed by 59 percent last year…

Wisconsin's government can still appeal the decision, but haven't said whether or not they will. If they do, well, this shit could be going on for years.

• Love him or hate him, you can't piss on Michael Lucas' new mission:

In the past few months I have run into about four acquaintances who have been brutally beaten recently in Chelsea, either during a mugging or for being gay. Interestingly, all of those attacks have occurred on the east side of 8th Avenue, around 22nd street, but I've also heard of other similar attacks in Chelsea and in Hell's Kitchen.

I am going to be writing a story about this in the New York Blade and interviewing people for it, including members of the New York Police Department, which has been almost completely unresponsive despite the fact that all four of the people I spoke to had filed reports.

If you or anyone you know has experienced such an attack in or around these areas in Manhattan please contact me directly at michael@lucasentertainment.com.

• Susan Stanton - the pre-op trannie formerly known as Largo, Florida, city manager, Steve Stanton - has lost her bid for Sarasota's city manager position.

• Andy Warhol's Interview for sale.

• Iowan Governor Chet Culver signed the state's anti-discrimination bill, thus ensuring that gays will be treated with the respect, dignity and nonchalance they deserve. Starting on July 1st, that is - until then, it's totally open season.

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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.

Wisconsin was not an official stop on our itinerary, but hunger forced us to stop at a place called the "Black River Crossing Oasis" sort of near Madison, WI. It first appearerd like a mirage on the horizon, and then we realized that yes, the giant mouse statue was real.

But that really was just the beginning of the Wisconsinian magic that awaited us. We saw a few more odd landmarks, ate some tacos unlike any we have ever seen, plus we learned a new word! All this after the jump.

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