Morning Sweep

An opinion piece by a straight writer in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin hits the proverbial ball out of the park in its attempt to rationalize why allowing gay people to marriage is simply the right thing to do.

The New York Times profiles Assemblymember Daniel O'Donnell--the openly gay sponsor of the marriage bill that recently passed in the NYS Assembly--for its "Public Lives" column.

In another effort to streamline, PlanetOut, Inc. announced that it will be closing its international offices.

The Matthew Shepard Act (hate crimes bill) has been introduced in the U.S. Senate alongside other amendments to the defense authorization bill.

A little bit of news analysis: right now it's unclear as to whether or not the strategy of mixing the legislation into a wider debate on U.S. presence in Iraq will ultimately result in the bill's passage. It could prove to be either a politically expedient move or one that ultimately results in a presidential veto, should Bush be unhappy with what certain parts of the bill say about curtailing the Iraq mission. Regardless, right now this strategy gives the bill its best chance for passage.

You can do some lobbying of your own here.

Some people are not happy that Mike Gravel, a pro-marriage (and darker-than-night horse) presidential candidate, was not invited to participate in HRC/Logo's gay debate.

Here's the police report that was filed after Florida Republican state representative Bob Allen was detained for soliciting an undercover officer for oral sex.