Jan. 12: Today in Gay

I'm experimenting with what I hope will be a regular roundup of the most important, interesting and/or funky news of the day in LGBT America. Think of this as an extremely idiosyncratic queer front page.

Under the category of We Always Meant to Do This (and do attach a chagrined look to this link), Obama has given a role in the inauguration to openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. (For anyone who has been living under a rock: See Rick Warren.) As Ezra Klein very astutely notes:

Yeah. I'm sure the two (outrage over Warren and appointing Robinson) had nothing to do with each other. They just didn't want to announce Robinson till after they'd endured a month of harsh criticism and a thousand calls from furious gay donors threatening to withhold support from the party and an outpouring of anger from those who'd worked endlessly for Obama's nomination. All part of the plan. Sure guys.

Political Animal weighs in Robinson's role and reports on the growing lists of progressive pastors now involved in the inauguration.

Saturday marked another day of protest over Proposition 8. Karen Ocamb reports on the happenings in Los Angeles. The MSM reports on the Pittsburgh rally. Attendance at these rallies seems down from the Nov. 15 protests and other early demonstrations. My concern is that Stonewall 2.0 may sputter because the new activists are not coming up with a 2nd act. (Act 1 of the play: Take to the Streets. Act 2... um...) My feeling is that without political action, protests can be a dead end. Wockner is more optimistic as he rounds up news reports via Google News. The online organizers, Join the Impact, continue to push forward.

This is a teeny bit stale, but still news... Obama's incoming Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says our new president WILL keep his word to get rid of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell ban on gays in the military. Gibbs' comment comes at 4:21 in this video. This sounds great. I love the short, sweet answer, but words mean little, especially now that the campaign is over. It's time to govern. What I want to see is action. On the other hand I'm reasonable. I'll settle for a timeline and a plan.

Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard says he's "heterosexual with issues" as a new HBO documentary chronicles Haggard's fall. (Note that the documentary is by Nancy Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra Pelosi.)

A candidate for Republican National Committee chair claims we can all be "cured" of our gayness. My question: Can he be "cured" of his straightness?

Finally, a mental health break from the satirical site 23/6 video. For those of you, like me, who vividly remember those awful school films from the Fifties, this is truly eerie.

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

500 brave the cold in Kansas City to protest for marriage equality

Starting the rally with a convocation.

Sen. Jolie Justus

Kansas City School Board Member Airick Leonard West.

Lining the Street near The Plaza.

Cheering for horn honking gay-rights supporters.

Brrrrrrrr.... I just got back from the demonstration in Kansas City for marriage equality, and I have to admit that I'd much rather have been protesting in someplace a bit warmer. The rally started with sunshine and brisk winds and ended long after it had clouded over and started spitting pellets of ice on us.

My friend Colleen and I had driven into KC from Lawrence, and we were both thrilled that we attended. Colleen spoke for many, I think, when she said after the rally that she felt better for having made the trip, broken her silence and stood up for her rights.

At the rally, a United Methodist minister gave the convocation. Representatives of the Kansas-Missouri ACLU, the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of Kansas City, PROMO and GLSEN are among those who spoke. Kansas City Councilmember Beth Gottstein also revved up the crowd.

However, the speakers who energized the crowd the most were Jim MacDonald of the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, Missouri state Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, and Airick Leonard West, a member of the Kansas City, Mo., School Board. West wasn't originally on the list of speakers, but asked to added after showing up in the crowd. Justus took to the stage shouting that she was proud to be a senator and an out lesbian. West was greeted with a roar when he declared that gay rights ARE civil rights.

After the rally ended, we lined the streets with our signs and waved and clapped as passing drivers honked in support. There were a handful of anti-gay demonstrators, and I do mean a tiny handful. I only saw three or four shivering with their signs.

By the way, the crowd estimate is mine.

UPDATE -- I forgot to note that several people who spoke like Gottstein and West identified themselves as straight supporters. I know other straight supporters were in the crowd. I saw young and old there.