A boycott of Barilla Pasta erupted after Guido Barilla, chairman of the "world's leading pasta manufacturer," made anti-gay remarks on Italian radio saying that his company would never use an LGBT family in its advertising.

America Blog's John Aravosis has the Radio 24 interview translation: "We won’t include gays in our ads, because we like the traditional family. If gays don’t like it, they can always eat another brand of pasta. Everyone is free to do what they want, provided it doesn’t bother anyone else."

Though, oddly enough, in favor of gay marriage, Barilla went on to admit that he opposed adoption by same-sex parents. He later explained in another interview, "the woman plays a central role in a family."

Italian gay group Equality Italia responded by slamming Barilla's statement as "offensive provocation" and then calling for a boycott of the company's pasta and sauces. "We accept the invitation from the Barilla owner to not eat his pasta," Equality Italia's Aurelio Mancuso said.

First of all, every good chef and home cook knows that the best dish is made with... love. Yes, love. And Mr. Barilla's statements regarding family do not seem terribly loving. We can't imagine the slew of gay parents we personally know taking his statements lightly.

And second, for those of you who plan on eschewing Barilla products, what dried pasta will you buy instead? To find out better options for you and your family, SFist asked Inside Scoop's editor Paolo Lucchesi, who is openly heterosexual and Italian, to tell us his favorites.

"I’m a big fan of Mattarello, which does sporadic pop-ups around town selling both fresh and dried pasta," Lucchesi explains. "Oakland’s Baia Pasta is another really good local option that’s available more readily at a lot of Bay Area shops and markets. Look how pretty."

De Cecco and Racconto are also good options.

[Chicagoist]
[Reuters]
[Atlantic]

Seeing as how the first singles dinner was such a success, Marcia Gagliardi (AKA Tablehopper) will host yet another dinner, this time for gay gentleman looking for love (or lust). But no pressure, boys. It will be a casual, cool affair with top-notch grub and bottle after bottle of choice wine.

Around 40 gay men will have an opportunity to meet, mingle, and have a sit-down dinner at MKT this Thursday. "A mash-up of speed dating and a wine tasting and a partay," is how she describes it. Executive chef Mark Richardson and restaurant chef Chris Aguirre will prepare the menu especially for the night. Here's the menu per Gagliardi's description :

During the welcome reception, there will be a Charbay cocktail with hand-passed appetizers like seasonal soup shots, gougères, and a Margherita pizza. During the tablehop event, you will have sparkling wine with MKT’s fantastic uni and soft-scrambled egg; 2011 Four Vines Naked Chardonnay and heirloom tomatoes with burrata; the 2011 BEX Nahe Riesling with fried green tomatoes; the newly released 2011 Alto Cinco Old-Vines Spanish garnacha with MKT’s superlative steak tartare (it’s really really good); the 2010 Maverick Amador County zinfandel with the MKT duck fat burger (uh-huh); the 2011 Avalon California cabernet with the BBQ prime beef short rib and Brentwood corn; oh yes, and Charbay’s lush Pomegranate Dessert Wine with the rhubarb, raspberry, and cardamom cheesecake. Hubba! (If you have some dietary restrictions, please let us know in advance—there is also a vegetarian option available.)

So, more or less, it's a downtown dinner for fun yet gastronomic gay dudes. Or any guys who dig other guys, really. Just be fun, be yourself.

The event (happening this Thursday!) is 21 and over only. It will run from 7pm-9:45pm. Tickets are $95. But can you put a price tag on love, marriage, and visions of adopted Romanian babies? No, you cannot. Because this opportunity at meeting Mr. Tiffany's Wedding Ring With Encrusted Black Diamonds is priceless.

Tickets can be purchased here.

What: It's Time for the Second Tablehopper Singles Event! (Gay Men)
Where: MKT Restaurant - Bar, Four Seasons, fifth floor, 757 Market (at Third), S.F.
When: Thursday, September 12,
Time: 7pm-9:45pm

During Friday's SF Opera gala, hordes fancy-smelling types sporting their finest threads showed up at City Hall to kick off the opera company's newest season. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, documentary filmmaker/wife of Lieutenant Governor of California Gavin Newsom, however, took time to pose in front of a gaggle of gays protesting the treatment of the LGBT community in Russian.

Of the men protesting here include local activist Michael Petrelis (at right, to the left of Siebel Newsom). Never thought we'd live to see the day when Petrelis appeared in a Drew Altizer photo, but there you have it. Delightful.

Also of note that night? Deepa Pakianathan and her headgear. Behold:

Previously: Photo: Sir Ian McKellen In Solidarity With Russian Gays

With 60% in favor, the Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to allow openly gay youth in the Scouts. The 22-year-old ban was based on a quote from the organization's oath, which states, "On my honor I will do my best….to keep myself physically strong, mentally alert and morally straight."

While this is a coup for LGBT youths interested in scouting, it's not an overall win for LGBT rights. The Scouts also voted to continue their ban on gay and bisexual leaders.

"The Boy Scouts of America will not sacrifice its mission, or the youth served by the movement, by allowing the organization to be consumed by a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue," the scouts said in a statement released after the vote. "While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting. Going forward, our Scouting family will continue to focus on reaching and serving youth in order to help them grow into good, strong citizens."

Reporting on the results, USA Today notes that the Scouts are predominately a faith based organization.

About 70% of all Scout troops are run by faith-based organizations, according to the Boy Scouts of America. About 37% are Mormon, 10% Methodist and 8% Catholic.

The issue has long been contentious. In 2000 the Supreme Court ruled that the Scouts could legally bar homosexuals from being troop leaders. The case centered on a gay Scout leader in New Jersey, James Dale, who was dismissed in 1990.

A similar case involving a gay Scout, Tim Curran, made it to the California Supreme. Curran a took a male date to his senior prom. The Mount Diablo Boy Scout Council then barred him from scouting activities and he sued. The California court ruled for the Scouts in 1998.

The proposal, which will go into effect on January 2014, was voted by more than 1,400 members of the organization's national council at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Following today's news, the crafty kids at The Onion published a bit featuring Max Lovell, 12, a fictional gay Buy Scout, who says, "This is great. I get made fun of every day for being gay, but now I’ll be called a dork, too."

All previous coverage on the Boy Scouts.

[AP]
[USA Today]
[Onion]

Kwame Harris, former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders offensive, will appear in court this week for allegedly assaulting his ex-boyfriend outside a Chinese food restaurant in August 2012. The fight, it seems, erupted over spilled soy sauce.

The San Mateo Daily Journal has the details:

Harris was to drive [his ex Dimitri Geier] to San Francisco International Airport but instead became upset when he poured soy sauce on a plate of rice, according to the suit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court.

The men argued for approximately seven minutes and Harris said he would no longer take Geier to the airport, the suit states.

As the men left to remove Geier's belongings from Harris' car so that he could instead take a cab, Harris tried pulling the other man's pants down and accused him of stealing his underwear, according to the suit.

Geier unsuccessfully tried pushing Harris away but the bigger man shook him violently and punched him in the arms, the suit states.

Geier has also filed suit against the retired player for assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and "both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress." He is free on $75,000 bail.

The 30-year-old former footballer played at Stanford before moving the NFL to play for the Raiders and 49ers. He's one of the few football stars to have (openly?) been in a gay relationship.

In a city that, let's face it, isn't as welcoming to the gays as it once was, Marke B. turned out a joyous and thoughtful review of LGBTs in 2012, touching upon both local and national queerdom ("Lamebows 2013: The gay gaffes and honey boo-boos of a very queer year"). The SFBG editor/columnist breaks down everything from the Castro's newfound prudishness to Michael Petrelis' potty shots to Sodastreamgate. But our favorite read goes to Mr. Vanderbilt himself, Anderson Cooper:

The fact is, you're late: "The fact is, I'm gay," Anderson Cooper wrote to blogger Andrew Sullivan by way of coming out. Anderson Cooper is the Clay Aiken of our generation.

Lovely. He doles out a similar mention to Kristy McNichol:

The fact is you're veeery late: As her 50th birthday approached, Kristy McNichol came out. "She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support," said her publicist. There are no kids who know who Kristy McNichol is.

Do yourself a favor and read Marke's piece in its entirety at SF Bay Guardian.

Gay dads. They're the worst. First, they rub in our face that they're got their collective shit together via strolling freshly born wee ones around the Castro, giving gay brethern the stink-eye all because they no longer have pupils the size of dinner plates come Saturday morning. And now, according to a recent San Francisco State University study, said dads have more or less taken themselves off the sexual-intercourse market because they've got to go home and burp little Sapphire. The SFSU study, published recently by the Journal of Couple and Family Psychology, documented the effects of entering into the woes of parenthood for 48 gay male couples in the Bay Area, "detailing the relationship issues that arose as a result of becoming parents." The results might shock you.

"A lot of them reported that with children at home they're exhausted so the frequency of sex decreases, which could mean less risk for HIV," SFSU sexuality studies professor Colleen Hoff explained to the BAR. "Roughly half the couples were in open relationships and reported there's less time and desire to act on that. All together, one might think that having children moves people toward a less risky lifestyle."

It gets worse. The BAR goes on to chillingly point out: "The reported decrease in sexual frequency was generally accepted by the couples as a direct result of prioritizing their children over themselves as they transitioned into a more mature stage of life." (Whatever happened to the boomer parents of yore who used to prioritize themselves over their children? Crazy world we live in today.) Further, couples also seemed to spend "less time with gay friends and more time with heterosexual parents, even moving to more suburban areas."

On the plus side, gay dads tend to look really hot. So very responsible, so very good-credit-score. So, you know, they've got that going for them too.

Previously: New Study Blames Spread of HIV/AIDS On Women, Sort Of

That's what we hear each year the week leading up to Pride, "Are you going to Juanita's?" No questions about that parade along Market Street. No queries about any dyke march. Nary a request to check out the live show at Civic Center. San Francisco Gay Pride is, and always has been for many locals, about going to Juanita More's (in)famous party at the Phoenix Hotel/Chambers. And what a scene it is, overflowing with flesh, perfect music, lots and lots of booze, and more. A lot more. This year, however, the party will be pieced into two locations: the first part at Chamber, in the heart of the Tenderloin, and the second at Jones, an open-air venue just above Geary.

SFist talked to More about why she decided to mix things up. She explains:

"I started thinking about having my annual Pride Party at two venues after the success of my Halloween party at Jones last fall. Over the past eight years the Phoenix / Bambuddha / Chambers space has gone through many changes. I know that it still conjures up images of a 'pool party' — though they haven't let anyone swim in that pool since 2005! The party is BIG. What started out as a little alternative party for my friends and I, has now turned itself into something of a legend with a life of its own. And, I'm proud to be the catalyst to support a different local non-profit each year with this event.

"I was asked when planning the event early this year: "'Do you think last years attendance was a fluke?' I was a little shocked. I feel like I'm on loop on a roller coaster ride; nothing I do is headed to stopping. By adding Jones into the mix, I am creating a completely new feel to the party this year. It's going to be sexy. Sexy...after dark. What I'm planning at Jones is like nothing else I've ever done before. Once night falls at the Phoenix / Chambers space the venue starts pushing everyone out. This year I'm giving my guests somewhere to be pushed out too. And, all for $25 the same price it has always been - bus ride included.

"No matter where this party is, it is my heartfelt goal to make each attendee feel like a guest in my own home."

And with that, we implore you to get tickets to Juanita's party on Sunday, June 24th. Fast. Tickets are still available at Sui Generis (2231 Market) and Retro Fit (910 Valencia), or you can purchase them at both venues when doors open. It goes from 3pm to midnight.

Oh! We almost forgot: From 10pm -1am THIS Sunday, June 17th, More will host an after-party at the Clift Hotel featuring The Scissor Sisters. That's right, the wonderful goddamn Scissor Sisters. They'll join her after their concert at The Fox Theater that same night. Stay Gold DJ's Pink Lightning and Rapid Fire will spin. Tickets are $10. Buy them NOW.

Emmy Award-winning comedian Sarah Silverman will grace San Francisco will her presence come Gay Pride. In fact, she'll act as Grand Marshal in the Pride parade. Pretty nifty, huh? She is as famous for her sharp potty mouth as she is for her acting and writing prowess. How so? Well, Silverman starred in and penned the much-missed The Sarah Silverman Show, and was recently in Sarah Polley's bittersweet (and very, very wonderful) Take This Waltz, where she plays an alcoholic who, along with Michelle Williams, shows us her vagina while taking a shower. (It's more complicated than that, of course.)

Silverman will be joined by two other famous types, Dot Jones (Glee) and Carmen Carrera (RuPaul's Drag Race) along the parade route. Other esteemed queers and queer-friendly Grand Marshals are: Gilbert Baker (creator of the rainbow flag), Willie Brown (not-so-secret ruler of San Francisco; Subway sandwich aficionado), Bishop Christopher Senyonjo (really into God), Edaj (choreographer, producer, emcee and DJ), Rebecca Prozan (super rad person; Director of Community Outreach for the District Attorney's Office), Sister Roma (face of the Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence), Olga Talamante (activist), Morningstar Vancil ("two-spirit, butch and as a folk-artist, veteran, and community builder"), and Gary Virginia (noted fundraiser, activist, and "24-year HIV/AIDS survivor").

Also, check out all of the Pride events going on this month, if the mood should strike. They've got everything from teaching your little kid to help build his or her readiness for kindergarten/preschool success to a crazy-ass dance party for bears and/or oversized gays. Check out all of the events going on this month at SFPride.org.

Previously: June Is Totally Gay Pride Month, Proclaims Governor Brown

In light of this week's announcement that Barack Obama supports gay marriage, making him the first-ever sitting U.S. President to make such a profound statement, response to the news has been mostly positive. Even noted conservative and Hunky Jesus hater Andrew Sullivan described himself as "uncharacteristically at a loss for words," adding, "Obama did more than make a logical step. He let go of fear. He is clearly prepared to let the political chips fall as they may. That's why we elected him. That's the change we believed in." Following are other reactions to Obama's "evolved" stance on same-sex marriage.

Former San Francisco mayor and current California Lieutenant Governor >Gavin Newsom beamed, "Historic moment. So proud to see our President come out in support of marriage equality and full equal rights for ALL Americans." He also said, "[Obama] didn't need to do this...We've got a president who puts everything on the line."

Political analysis of Obama's stance ranged from glowing to furious. New York Times notes:

"The very riskiness of what Mr. Obama did — some commentators were invoking Lyndon B. Johnson’s embrace of civil rights in 1964, with all the attendant political perils — made it hard to understate the historic significance of what took place at the White House on Wednesday.

" 'If you are one of those who care about this issue, you will not forget where you were when you saw the president deliver those remarks,' said Chad Griffin, the incoming president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group. 'Regardless of how old you are, it’s the first time you have ever seen a president of the United States look into a camera and say that a gay person should be treated equally under the law. The message that that sends, to a young gay or transgendered person struggling to come out, is life changing.'

John Cook of Gawker, however, had a different reaction, calling Obama's remarks on gay marriage "bullshit" and slamming the President for saying that marriage rights should be a state-by-state issue.

"Equality is not a state-by-state issue. There is no reason other than ignorance and hatred that two men can get married in New York and not North Carolina. At a time when vindictive hucksters are rolling out anti-gay marriage amendments across the nation, and when conflicting state and federal laws portend an insoluble morass of divorce, custody, and estate issues, and when gay Americans are turning to the U.S. Constitution and the courts to seek an affirmation of their humanity, 'it's a state-by-state issue' is a shameful dodge."

Meanwhile, the folks at the National Review Online were typically aghast at anything to do with gay marriage, clumsily noting that legally sanctioned marriage is for procreation.

"... The only good reason to have marriage laws in the first place — to have the state recognize a class of relationships called "marriage" out of all the possible strong bonds that adults can form — is to link erotic desire to the upbringing of the children it can produce.

"We have already gone too far, in both law and culture, in weakening the link between marriage and procreation. To break it altogether would make the institution of marriage unintelligible. What possible governmental interest is there in encouraging long-term commitments with a sexual element, just as such?"

While the editors at the New Republic were more than thrilled with the news, even if Obama's statement was a touch too late.

"Yes, it was a few years too late. Yes, his hand was forced by Joe Biden and Arne Duncan. Yes, his statement is just a statement—it does not change any law. And yes, we shouldn't minimize the role of an extraordinary civil rights movement—comprising millions of average Americans, gay and straight—in dragging our country over the past two decades toward the current moment, one where a president could feel politically able to take such a stand. But none of this should minimize the significance of what took place yesterday in Washington. President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage was both substantively important and politically brave. And he deserves enormous credit for it."

Back in San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee said in a statement that "we stand ready to begin marrying same sex couples, and we will take this hard fought fight all the way to the nation's highest court, if necessary."

On the celebrity front, both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert gave audiences their bent on the news, featuring gay jokes aplenty. Tyra Banks noted, "A fierce day for my gays and my prez @BarackObama - way 2 stand up 4 luv for ALL!" While Neil Patrick Harris tweeted, “@BarackObama: President Obama announces his support for same-sex marriage… Bravo, Mr. President, and thank you." And last but never least, tireless civil rights advocate Kim Kardashian blogged, "Wow… I just heard that President Obama has officially announced that he supports gay marriage!! This is such a huge step forward in our country’s fight for civil rights and I hope that today this will give hope to so many young people across the country."

Hard French, El Rio's award-winning afternoon queer dance party in the Mission District, turned soft over the weekend after several of its Facebook followers (i.e., commenters) took offense to their naming their Cinco de Mayo's party "Pico de Gallo." Some daytime disco fans thought the salsa-themed title was a touch racist. For whatever reasons. Furthermore, club promoters (quite cleverly) encouraged revelers to come dressed as their favorite Pico de Gallo ingredient — e.g., tomatoes, red onion, jalapenos, garlic, etc. Intended to mock the drunk, white frat boys and brogrammers who party in the Mission wearing sombreros on May 5th, some Hard French fans took umbrage and found the entire bit culturally insensitive. Some were angered yet begged for more "dialogue". Some simply didn't care. Either way it made for interesting commentary and fist-shaking that only voices on the interwebs can muster. A few choice Facebook moments:

• "Whitey, like others I know has left living in the 510 area 3 times, back to SF, a bit more distant from righteous rainbow coalition warriors + their champion of the "POC" talking stick of the more down than you! Enlightened youth brandishing...bollocky bastards, enjoying the Hard French vibes a few blocks away from my totally gentrified, lily-white Mission hipster douche bag pad a few blocks from El Rio." -- Tess Thomasjhagemann Jr.

• "It does not matter how many anti-racist meetings you've gone to or if you choose not to wear a sombrero for cinco de mayo... to me being white is racist. After acknowledging your racists existence work from there and attempt to de construct it but always keeping in mind you are a person whit the potential to be racist as fuck." — Ana. Bel

• "This is some racist bullshit." — [name redacted]

• "Hey y'all, can you change the theme to something that's not as problematic pico de gallo? You know, I kinda feel pretty awkward and all having my culture and heritage reduced to foodways. It's not like this shit doesn't happen all the time or anything." — Mari Miau

• ‎"The event page has become a place for hella white dudes refusing to acknowledge the experiences of the POC who have taken issue with this by mocking their 'sensitivity,' calling them reverse racists, and telling them to worry about things that are 'actually racist.' I think many of those comments have since gotten deleted but it has been such a bummer to realize the reality of one of the most (allegedly) 'radical' cities in the u.s. having a queer community filled with so many HRC gays and people who are so unabashedly racist. But what can you really expect from a party filled with white people appropriating music by black people for their own pleasure in one of San Francisco’s most gentrified neighborhoods. i guess what i’m trying to say is, white people, stay scared of oakland and move away/never move here cause we don’t need U." — Brandon Owens

• "Hey we got some über PC 'Radicals' up here too, the kind who like policing, shaming, bullying, attacking, dividing and assuming they hold the ability to speak on behalf of the entire Queer community, maybe we can get ours and yours together for a dance off?! When did our community get like this? When did it become cool/hip to get a degree in politics and use it against your own? When did it become ok to hold such dialogue via Facebook? Worrying about language at a queer dance party and the themes it uses is all very FIRST WORLD problems and usually those complaining are white privilege brats using their degrees and schooling to show they have a bigger dick! Piss off already none of this classy kids would have survived the '70s, '80s or '90s of queercore, homocult, Sissy Nation, Act Up, Stonewall or the aids epidemic!" — Airick Redwolf

• "Something tells me that Kris Jenner had something to do with this publicity stunt." — Brian Agard

• "Dialogue about racism, privilege and appropriating need to continue to happen on an open level within our queer communities. Although I am not a fan of infighting and the attacking comments that have happened throughout this discussion, I think that some very important issues are being raised. I hope that we as organizers and promoters of queer events in San Francisco can take this opportunity to create larger dialogue about what we are accountable for. Criticism is hard to take but is an important part of staying accountable to our communities. I hope we can organize a community meeting to discuss this face to face as it would be wonderful to have the opportunity to show our love and respect for one another and really address these important issues." — Danielle Jackson

• "You left out lime out of your ingredients list, which is the real crime here. Also, boycott Lime, they're the real enemy." — Walter Gómez

• "I don't have too specific of an opinion about the current heated discussion, especially because I do accept that I am excluded from a lot of the potential cross-fire by being born a white person, as well as not coming from a particularly poor family. However, I do want to say that although Hard French is mostly white, it is one of the only parties in the Bay Area that I do consistently see a decent amount of diversity." — Sam Kehl

• "I grew up in the south. You want to see and feel racism? Come with me to Polk County. You'll want to vomit. I found nothing racist in the description of the party. Good lord, San Francisco. Lighten the fuck up." — Rikki Jean Jensen

• "San Francisco, you are a legit parody of yourself." — Ryan O'Connell

• "I want to encourage folks especially other white people to check themselves on the snark factor in responding to people's concerns over this theme. Though not everyone feels that this theme is racist it doesn't excuse people saying hella racist and classist things in defense of the HF crew and party. Please don't mock or invalidate POC feelings and concerns about this issue." -- Caitlin Rose

• "So wait, I can't dressed as a tomato anymore?" — Diego Galvan

And it just goes on and on... and on. Hard French attempted to squelch the criticism by changing the name of the party to Fruit Salad, which seemed to work. (Saturday's fete was a resounding success.) Hard French responded to the mild-to-spicy controversy thusly:

We've always wanted Hard French to unite, not divide. We acknowledge and apologize for the fact that the context in which we were attempting to create a retreat from the normal Cinco De Mayo festivities was considered offensive to some people. Our intent with the theme of this month's Hard French was to create a space that was positive, free of culturally insensitive dress and behavior and therefore welcoming to all who would want to attend.

The words and tone used to discuss our party and our theme have reached a point where people, no matter where they stand on the issue, have had their feelings hurt. We believe that the issues being raised are very valid but we also feel that our Facebook event wall is not the best forum to have a critical dialogue. We want this dialogue to continue but in the interest of moving forward, we believe this dialogue would be best addressed face-to-face.

That said Hard French believes food is delicious and fruit is our favorite. So Hard French implores you to please get in touch with your inner fruit and channel IT instead of pico de gallo ingredients this month.

Meanwhile, on RuPaul's Drag Race...

Crazy person Sean Harris, senior pastor of the Berean Baptist Church in North Carolina, delivered a terrifying sermon on Sunday to his congregation suggesting that parents "crack" their fey sons' limp wrists, rein in daughters who appear butch, "punch" them if they act gay, and a slew of other child-abuse recommendations that are sure to horrify anyone with commonsense and a heart. Harris was speaking in support for North Carolina's Amendment One, the state's looming ban on gay marriage and civil union. Care of Good As You, who first reported the story, the transcript of the infamous sermon reads as follows:

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, “Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,” you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting to Butch you reign her in. And you say, “Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.”

You say, “Can I take charge like that as a parent?”

Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that."

For his part, Harris later said it was all in good fun. "If I had to say it again, I would say it differently, no doubt," Harris told the Fayette Observer. "Those weren't planned words, but what I do stand by is that the word of God makes it clear that effeminate behavior is ungodly. I'm not going to compromise on that." He also sadfaced on Twitter, "Even my apology is being judged by those who are supposed to be the most tolerant as insincere. At this point nothing seems sufficient."

Not true, Pastor Harris! Donating and/or volunteering to The Trevor Project (the leading national
organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth) would border on sufficient.

Via the church's website, Harris (born in the very liberal town of Newton, Massachusetts) lists his hobbies as reading, cycling, physical fitness, restaurants (Outback Steakhouse and Cracker Barrel are a few of his gastronomic favorites), snow skiing, NCCSA sports, and smiting homosexuals. Well, we made up that last part — we can only assume it would be one of his favorite activities — but it's nice to see that he keeps his body so tight and fit while spewing such unbridled hatred.

North Carolina is set to vote on the gay-marriage ban on May 8th.