GLAA Forum

Eric Massa: Hello, sailor

Dana Milbank takes a look at Glenn Beck's ill-fated interview with former congressman Eric Massa:

Just seven minutes into Glenn Beck's hour-long interview of Eric Massa on Tuesday evening, things had already gone very wrong.

Conservatives had hopes that the now-former Democratic congressman from Upstate New York, who resigned abruptly under an ethics cloud, would deliver the goods about corruption and strong-arm tactics in the Obama White House and Congress. But instead, Massa served up an icky new confession.

"Now they're saying I groped a male staffer," he volunteered. "Yeah, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me. It was my 50th birthday."

The right wing thought it had stumbled upon a pot of gold in Massa's charge of strong-arm tactics by the House Democratic leadership. That lasted about a day, as Massa's story kept changing and getting weirder and more implausible. Somehow, when you're charged with sexually harassing male staffers, changing the subject to health care reform and claiming that Rahm Emanual argued with you while naked in the shower of the House gym doesn't seem like a coherent response. Last night, when Larry King asked Massa, "Are you gay?" Massa refused to answer and said the question was an insult to gay people. Huh? He also said, "Ask my wife. Ask my friends. Ask the ten thousand sailors I served with in the Navy." Oh, come on, we know sailors have a code of silence about that sort of thing.

WaPo reports here, here, here and here. Jonathan Capehart comments here. I don't remember seeing such overcoverage since the big blizzard. Presumably in this case the story will melt away faster than the snowbanks did, as Republicans look for better dirt. They haven't had a good week, considering also the furor over Liz Cheney's over-the-top smears against DOJ attorneys that has earned her denunciations even from conservatives. Keep trying, guys.

First same-sex marriages celebrated in D.C.

This is the best-quality video of this morning's ceremonies at HRC that I've seen so far. WaPo reports:

In a joint ceremony at the Human Rights Campaign, three of the first gay couples to marry under the city's new law said their vows in emotional services that underscored the historic significance of the day for Washington, D.C. Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway, and Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes, exchanged their rings Tuesday. (Anna Uhls/The Washington Post)

Post ombudsman responds to reader complaints about gay kiss

WaPo ombudsman Andy Alexander deals forthrightly with complaints from a number of readers about a front-page photo last week of two men kissing after filing their marriage license application at D.C. Superior Court. He quotes some of the hostile reader responses, some epithet-laden, then writes this:

Did the Post go too far? Of course not. The photo deserved to be in newspaper and on its Web site, and it warranted front-page display.

News photos capture reality. And the prominent display reflects the historic significance of what was occurring. The recent D.C. Council decision to approve same-sex marriage was the culmination of a decades-long gay rights fight for equality. Same-sex marriage is now legal in the District. The photo of Ames and Ariga kissing simply showed joy that would be exhibited by any couple planning to wed – especially a couple who previously had been denied the legal right to marry.

There was a time, after court-ordered integration, when readers complained about front-page photos of blacks mixing with whites. Today, photo images of same-sex couples capture the same reality of societal change.

Much of this is generational. Subscription cancellations notwithstanding, the Post could hardly hope to compete in the modern marketplace if it based its editorial decisions on the delicate sensibilities of an aging, shrinking portion of the populace. I am in a good mood today after seeing three weddings, so rather than respond to those readers' curses with curses of my own, I will just say to them, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples are getting married, which will soon be thousands whether you like it or not because we worked for a long time within our democratic system to achieve this victory, so have a nice day.

(Hat tip: Barrett Brick)

Video: DC's first three religious same-sex wedding ceremonies

This video by the Human Rights Campaign shows three couples married in consecutive ceremonies this morning at HRC headquarters. First, Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, followed by Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway, and finally Rev. Elder Darlene Garner and Rev. Lorilyn Candy Holmes. There were lots of tears in the house as family, friends, and marriage equality advocates witnessed a long struggle for equality being fulfilled.

CNN video here.

Video: DC's first same-sex civil wedding ceremony

DC Agenda provides video of the civil marriage ceremony in D.C. joining Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi this morning.

A fine day for a wedding (or three)

At 10:00 this morning, which is the first day when same-sex couples obtained their D.C. marriage licenses, I was a guest at the weddings of three couples at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters on Rhode Island Avenue. Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were married by the Rev. David North; Reginald Stanley and Rocky Galloway were married by the Rev. Sylvia E. Sumter; and Rev. Elder Darlene Garner and Rev. Lorilyn Candy Holmes were married by the Rev. Dwayne Johnson. (I am told these were not the first; a gay couple reportedly had arranged a civil ceremony at D.C. Superior Court earlier in the morning.)

Outside in the sunshine to greet the guests as they arrived were the Rock Creek Singers of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, who sang "What More Can I Say" from Falsettos and "Marry Us" from NakedMan. Inside, a cellist played prior to each of the three ceremonies. One of the most moving elements of the day was provided by Helena and Zoe, the baby daughters of Reggie and Rocky. They illustrated better than anything else what this is ultimately all about — that our victory protects families.

On hand to celebrate and toast the three happy couples (who truly glowed with happiness) were Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Council members David Catania and Jim Graham, as well as gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, who will be 85 on May 21. Also present was a large phalanx of television news cameras and reporters. We will post video. Congrats to all who are marrying this week and in the days to come, and to all who helped make possible these simple and profound legal commitments that confirm commitments already made and lived.

Virginia college students protest Cuccinelli's anti-gay policies

WaPo reports:

Campus activists across Virginia put spring break on hold Monday to mobilize against Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who has riled student groups with a letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Good.

Anti-gay Calif. state senator admits he's gay

AP reports from Sacramento:

Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn said Monday he is gay, ending days of speculation that began after his arrest last week for investigation of driving under the influence.

Ashburn, who consistently voted against gay rights measures during his 14 years in the state Legislature, came out in an interview with KERN radio in Bakersfield, the area he represents.

Ashburn said he felt compelled to address rumors that he had visited a gay nightclub near the Capitol before his DUI arrest.

"I am gay ... those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long," Ashburn told conservative talk show host Inga Barks.

The 55-year-old father of four said he had tried to keep his personal life separate from his professional life until his March 3 arrest.

Well that's an interesting way to describe a habit of saying one thing and doing another. The more common term for it is hypocrisy. If treacherous closet cases like Ashburn were all exposed, not only gay people but society as a whole would be a lot better off.

Massa: Democrats "set me up"

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who resigned Monday in the face of ethics investigations into charges that he sexually harassed male staffers, is now lashing out at Deamocratic leaders, saying they set him up to decrease to 216 the number of "yes" votes needed to pass health care reform in the House. Massa is now being championed by the likes of Glenn Beck. I don't know the truth of the charges, but Massa's creepy behavior this week doesn't make me sorry to see him go.

Ken Starr condemns Liz Cheney attack on DOJ lawyers

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Appearing on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Ken Starr, the Dean of Pepperdine University and former special prosecutor, condemns Liz Cheney's "Al Qaeda Seven" attack against Justice Department lawyers as a beyond-the-pale smear that undermines America's system of justice. A Pentecostal coworker yesterday told me that the End Times are approaching and that the Rapture will happen in 2012; she cited recent earthquakes as evidence. If I am agreeing with Ken Starr on something, perhaps the woman is right.

Eugene Robinson weighs in here.