Posts made by leatherbear

Darren Witham encouraged men to take part in sexual acts before claiming to be a police officer and demanding money

A man who blackmailed victims he approached for sex in a public toilet was jailed for four years today.

Darren Witham, 38, from Terrington, in Norfolk, blackmailed four men he spoke to in the toilet block off an alleyway in King's Lynn.

He approached the men and encouraged them to take part in sexual acts before claiming to be a police officer and demanding cash in exchange for his silence.

He appeared before Norwich crown court after earlier admitting two counts of blackmail and was sentenced to four years in prison, police said.

Detective Constable Darren Nurse said: "It took a great deal of courage for each of the victims to come forward and report each of the incidents to us.

"We were able to reassure the victims that all information disclosed to us would be handled sensitively and in the strictest confidence.

"Witham knew exactly what he was doing and set out to specifically prey on males using the toilet block.

"The impact his actions have had on each of the victims has been tremendous and they should be commended for the courage they have shown."

The victims cannot be identified for legal reasons.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - On a hot summer's day in 2008, 26-year-old physics student Ahmet Yildiz was shot dead when he popped out from his Istanbul apartment to buy ice cream.

The main suspect in the killing, a fugitive still wanted by Turkish police, is Yildiz's father, who could not accept that his only son was in a homosexual relationship.

The case, widely believed to be Turkey's first gay "honor killing", has inspired a movie "Zenne", which opened on January 13 and explores gay sexual identity and prejudice in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey.

"We had the movie idea in mind right after our dear friend Ahmet was killed," said Caner Alper, writer and co-director of the movie. "His story needed to be told."

Yildiz was born into a wealthy religious family in the ancient city of Sanliurfa, in Turkey's impoverished and conservative southeast, but moved to cosmopolitan Istanbul during his university years, seeking more freedom as a gay man.

In Istanbul, Yildiz started a new life and made new friends; he also began a gay relationship and eventually moved in with his boyfriend, who witnessed Yildiz's murder from the window of their apartment on the Asian side of the city divided by the Bosphorus Strait.

In the movie, Yildiz's character is encouraged to come out of the closet by a male belly dancer, or zenne, and a German photographer who has moved to Istanbul after a personal crisis in Afghanistan, where he accidentally caused the death of several children during a photo shoot. Both are fictional characters.

In real life, Yildiz's coming out as a gay man was seen as an affront in his deeply patriarchal and tribal family, even though his parents adored him, a cousin, Ahmet Kaya, told the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.

LOOKING FOR A "CURE"

Yildiz's father had urged him to return to their village and to see a doctor and an imam to "cure" him of his homosexuality and get married, but Yildiz refused.

"Ahmet loved his family more than anything else and he was tortured about disappointing them," Kaya was quoted as saying in the foundation's report.

After he was killed, the family did not claim Yildiz's body for a proper Islamic burial – an indication of the deep shame the family felt and that they had ceased to consider him one of their own. He was buried instead in a "cemetery for the nameless."

"The one scene I wasn't able to distance myself from the character I played as an actor was when Ahmet apologized to his father for being gay on the phone after coming out," Erkan Avci, a young actor who played Yildiz, told Reuters.

"It's such a great tragedy, so cruel and inhumane that anybody has to apologize for who he is."

Avci drew parallels between Ahmet's situation and his own as a Kurd from Diyarbakir province in a country whose Kurdish minority has long complained of discrimination and inequality.

"It would have been immoral for me to turn down this role, as a man who had to apologize for years for being Kurdish," he said.

"Zenne", which won five awards at Turkey's most prestigious film festival, the Antalya Golden Orange, has received a huge amount of attention in mainstream media and is reported to be having reasonable success at the box office.

With a $1 million budget, including financial support from the Dutch embassy, it opened in a luxury movie theatre in one of Istanbul's most fashionable neighborhoods.

Gays are normally depicted in Turkish movies as colorful and exaggerated secondary characters who add a comic element - hardly the main character of a story.

"Zenne" tackles head-on such sensitive issues as gay society, prejudice and equal rights for Turkey's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

"'Zenne' is a very special film for us. It brings to the screen some of the important issues for the LGBT cause such as hate crimes, the complications for gay men to forego the mandatory military service and coming out," said Umut Guner, spokesman for the Ankara-based Kaos GL, a LGBT group.

PREJUDICE

The film has not been welcomed in conservative circles.

Islamist daily Vakit called it "homosexual propaganda" by a gay lobby bent on "legitimizing perversion through their so-called art."

Despite being the only suspect, Yildiz's father is still at large and is being tried in absentia.

Friends and activists, who have attended some of the hearings wearing masks bearing Yildiz's portrait, say the authorities lack the will to find the perpetrator.

Alper and Mehmet Binay, co-directors of the movie and together as a gay couple for 14 years, said they heard their friend Yildiz receive death threats from his family over the phone.

Yildiz filed an official complaint but failed to receive any protection, they said.

"Honor killings," or crimes carried out against mostly women and young girls seen to have tainted the family's name, are not uncommon in Turkey, particularly in poor and rural areas.

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has repeatedly urged Ankara to take a tougher stance against such crimes.

MILITARY PRACTICES

Turkey is often held as an example in the Middle East for marrying Islam and democracy, but Turkish gay activists say Ankara's human rights record is far from perfect.

One practice particularly abhorred by rights groups is the method by which gay men can be exempted from the required 16-month military service: they have to prove their homosexuality in medical tests and are compelled to provide photos of them having sex with other men.

In the movie, two characters undergoing one such examination are forced to wear make-up and dress in women's clothes, while doctors perform anal examinations.

According to Article 17 of the health regulations of the Turkish Armed Forces, homosexuality is considered a "psychosexual deviance."

"Turkey is going through a democratization process, and the army needs to enter this phase, too," said Binay.

"We don't live in a dream world and we don't expect it to happen all of a sudden in such a deep-seated institution, but at least they could stop the humiliating practices against gay men."

Turkish rights groups reported 24 killings of gay and transsexual individuals in the last two years. In most cases, courts reduced the sentences or the perpetrators were not found.

In a report last year, Amnesty International urged Ankara to draw up laws preventing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and to punish perpetrators of homophobic attacks.

The EU in a separate report also last year said lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in Turkey "continued to suffer discrimination, intimidation and violent crimes".

LGBT activists say they get little sympathy from the AK Party, in power for a decade, which has its roots in political Islam and is known for its socially conservative stance.

Selma Aliye Kavaf, Turkey's former Women and Family Affairs Minister, made waves in 2010 when she said homosexuality was "a biological disorder, a disease that needs to be treated".

The current interior minister accused an outlawed armed organization with "engaging in every kind of immorality, including homosexuality".

Director Binay said he hoped the movie would help to change views both among government officials and the wider society, but believed that would not happen overnight.

"These movies will be made in Turkey as long as those from different identities refuse to learn to live together."

(Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia and Sonya Hepinstall)

LONDON – Three men were convicted Friday of distributing anti-gay leaflets, and prosecutors called it a landmark case regarding the prosecution of hate crimes regarding sexual orientation.

A jury found the men to have distributed leaflets calling for homosexuals to face the death penalty. Two others were acquitted of the same charge.

"Everyone has a right to be protected by the law and we regard homophobic crimes, along with all hate crimes, as particularly serious because they undermine people's right to feel safe," said Sue Hemming, chief of the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division.

She said in a statement that the leaflet showed a mannequin hanging from a noose and said gay people were destined to go to hell.

One witness testified he felt he was being targeted and feared he would be burned, Hemming said.

Ihjaz Ali, 42, Kabir Ahmed, 28, and Razwan Javed, 27, were found guilty in Derby Crown Court. Sentencing is set for Feb. 10.

The men were prosecuted under a relatively new law that took effect in 2010. It makes it a crime to promote hatred based on sexual orientation.

15-Year-Old Zac Shares a Letter of Love

On his eighth birthday, Zac found himself surrounded by police.

The woman whom he now refers to as his "birthmom" was arrested because, as Zac states, she had "many boyfriends and she did a lot of drugs and partying."

During the next three years Zac lived in 12 different foster homes before he was given some great news. A loving couple living in Berkeley, Calif. wanted nothing more than to adopt him – two gay, would-be dads named Arturo and Dave.

Zac's first thought: "Well, I never had a dad, now I get to have two!"

This past Christmas, Zac decided to read the following note to his dads, Arturo and Dave (lovingly referred to as "Dad" and "Dadio"), and his adopted brothers, Nick and Derrick, before they opened their presents.

Zac's note tells the story of his tumultuous upbringing, the anger and destructive behavior that resulted from the negative experiences he endured as a child, and, ultimately, the appreciation and love he has for his two dads, not to mention his adopted brothers, Nick and Derrick.

With the permission of his fathers, we share Zac's heartfelt letter with you.

To my Family,

This is the first Christmas letter that I have ever written. I feel like since I am getting older, I should start writing a letter to the family or just talk about how I thought the family's year has gone until Christmas.

Ever since I ended up in this family people have told me that I was lucky. I have always known that I am lucky, especially when I have two dads that love me so much as Dad and Dadio. My family is very special to me. Even when we fight and even when we argue, I know they will always love me. Yes I am a lucky boy to have ended up here after spending so many years in foster care and not knowing if I would ever have a family.

I didn't grow with a dad. My birthmom had many boyfriends and she did a lot of drugs and partying. My sisters and me were taken from her on my eighth birthday. It was not fun to have police in my room on that day. It made me sad and this sadness I carried for many years and it got me in a lot of trouble. Then I landed in a great foster home after having lived in 12 different homes in three years. It was when I lived there that both my foster mom and social worker told me there was a family that wanted me. There was a catch: it was two dads!

Honestly, it didn't matter to me. I told them, "well, I never had a dad, now I get to have two!"

The start was tough and rough, and I put them through hell and back. I did awful and nasty things to them both. I stole their credit card and spent thousands of dollars online. When we went on my first vacation out of the country, I stole stuff from a souvenir stand - they found out and made me go back to the shop to return the souvenirs and made me pay the lady who owned the shop for the stolen property which then I had to give to a local kid. I didn't get it and thought they were being mean.

When I stole their American Express and maxed it buying stuff online I was only 12 years old. They were very upset, but Dad made sure I got the message of how serious this was. He took me to our local police station and reported me to the police captain for having stolen again. I was taken to an interrogation room and talked to by three police officers. All the time there I only wanted my Dad to come in and bring me home. I wanted to turn time back to before my stealing so I would not be there and I would not have hurt my parents so much. I learned my lesson and NEVER stole again!

But Dad and Dadio brought not just me into this family. They also added my brother Derrick. What I can say about Derrick is that he is really cool, he is funny, he is an awesome gay guy, he is a one of a kind guy, he is my bro. Next they added Nick. Nick can get on my nerves sometimes, but in the end he is pretty cool. He is a fast leaner when it comes to math and multiplying numbers. And with that said, I will go to the roots of the family.

Dad and Dadio. They are my parents and they are always here when I need them.

When it is dark they are the light,
    When I feel frightened and chill's,
    They are the warmth I feel.
    When I am hungry they cook my meals.

I did not put a lot of time into the poem, but in the poem you see my parents. The people that show me the light. The people that warm my heart when it gets dark. The people that cook my meals. If I could only ask for anything for Christmas I would only ask for my family.

By Zac

Working with marriage-equality advocates Freedom to Marry, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the heads of several other major American cities will launch a new group backing same-sex marriage on Friday.

The announcement of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry is scheduled for Friday morning, when Bloomberg and others will be attending the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors being held in Washington. The group currently includes over 70 mayors from the across the country, a mixture that Freedom to Marry praised in a press release as coming "from cities and towns – large and small -- with diverse geographic, ethnic and political backgrounds."

In the same statement, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders strongly backed the need for laws allowing same-sex marriage, calling it a positive influence on the country. "Allowing loving and committed couples to join in marriage has benefits not just for couples and their families -- but also for society," he said. "Marriage encourages people to take responsibility for each other, provides greater security for children, and helps our country live up to its promises set forth in our founding documents."

Sanders, a Republican, is one of the new group's co-chairs, along with Bloomberg, Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, and Boston's Thomas Menino. The executive group represents both parties and, with Bloomberg, an independent, giving weight to the group's claims of bipartisan appeal.

Bloomberg's home state of New York became the latest state to allow same-sex marriage, passing a law through the state legislature in June of last year.

Another notable member of the group is former White House Chief of Staff and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. While the Obama administration sometimes faced anger from gay groups during Emanuel's tenture in the West Wing, he called New York's legalization of gay marriage a "good thing" in an interview last year and told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday that "I'm going to support [same-sex marriage] because I think it's the right thing, and it's consistent with our values."

By Lucas Grindley
DON'T SAY GAY X390 (PHOTOS) | ADVOCATE.COM

The "don't say gay" bill that failed to make it out of the Tennessee legislature
last year is back and being considered by a House committee.

Tennessee media reported that the bill was expected to be heard in the House
Education Subcommittee today. But the Associated Press reports that it was
delayed when some members of the committee said they needed more time to
understand its implications.

The legislation has been called the "don't say gay" bill because it would bar
teachers from discussing homosexuality in public school classes in kindergarten
through eighth grade. It managed to pass the state Senate on a 20-10 vote last
year. But the House ran out of time to consider it.

The state's Republican governor, Bill Haslam, had said it "probably is never
going to pass" in an interview last year with Nashville's City Paper. But
Republican representative Joey Hensley, who is sponsoring the bill, told AP that
he expects it will advance out of committee this year.

After the bill's reemergence, Jonathan Cole, president of the Tennessee Equality
Project, said he got loads of inquiries from people who planned to attend the
subcommittee hearing to ensure their side was heard. But even with the bill's
delay, the group warned its Facebook followers that "deferral does not mean that
we are out of the woods. The threat of this bill remains."

hXXp://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2012/01/18/Dont_Say_Gay_Bill_Returns_But_Is_It_Headed_for_Passage/


Saturday marked a major victory for opponents of proposed anti-piracy legislation Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which would target foreign-based websites violating U.S. copyrights.

House of Representatives bill SOPA and its Senate counterpart PIPA are designed to punish websites that make available, for example, free movies and music without the permission of the U.S. rights holders. Opponents of the bills, however, worry that the proposed laws would grant the Department of Justice too much regulatory power. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has called the measures "draconian." Other Internet giants who oppose the bill include Facebook, eBay, Mozilla, Twitter, and Huffington Post parent company AOL.

The White House on Saturday officially responded to two online petitions, "Stop the E-PARASITE Act" and "Veto the SOPA bill and any other future bills that threaten to diminish the free flow of information," urging the President to reject SOPA and PIPA.

The statement was drawn up by Victoria Espinel, Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator at Office of Management and Budget, Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, and Howard Schmidt, Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator for National Security Staff. They made clear that the White House will not support legislation that disrupts the open standards of the Internet.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," the statement read in part.

The White House statement went on to say, however, that the Obama Administration believes "online piracy is a real problem that harms the American economy" and that 2012 should see the passage of narrower legislation that targets the source of foreign copyright infringement.

The letter also highlighted the following four points:

Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small. […] We must avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet. […] That is why the Administration calls on all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders […] We expect and encourage all private parties, including both content creators and Internet platform providers working together, to adopt voluntary measures and best practices to reduce online piracy.

This is not the end of the debate, the White House statement emphasized. "Moving forward, we will continue to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis on legislation that provides new tools needed in the global fight against piracy and counterfeiting, while vigorously defending an open Internet based on the values of free expression, privacy, security and innovation," the letter also read.

Following the release of the White House's statement, SOPA sponsor and House Judiciary Chairman (R-Texas) Lamar Smith issued a statement of his own.

“I welcome today’s announcement that the White House will support legislation to combat online piracy that protects free speech, the Internet and America’s intellectual property," Smith said, according to The Hill. "That’s precisely what the Stop Online Piracy Act does."

On Friday, CNET reported that Smith said he will remove from the bill one of the most hotly contested provisions, Domain Name System requirements. Previously, SOPA had called for DNS blocking of infringing websites.

On Thursday, PIPA author Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said that "more study" was needed to asses the bill's DNS-blocking provision, the Wall Street Journal wrote.

The White House's statement condemned DNS blocking in regulatory efforts and said that it "pose ~~a real risk to cybersecurity and yet leave contraband goods and services accessible online. We must avoid legislation that drives users to dangerous, unreliable DNS servers and puts next-generation security policies, such as the deployment of DNSSEC, at risk."

A House Oversight Committee hearing on SOPA's DNS-blocking provision had previously been scheduled for January 18. However, according to Tech Dirt, Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-California) said that the hearing will be postponed for the time being and that the focus now should be placed on the Senate's PIPA bill, which Senate Majority leader Harry Reid has committed to moving forward in the next two weeks.

UPDATE: The Motion Picture Association of America Inc. (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have each released a response to the White House's position on SOPA and PIPA.

Michael O’Leary, Senior Executive Vice President for Global Policy and External Affairs for the MPAA said the following in a statement emailed to the HuffPost:

While we agree with the White House that protection against online piracy is vital, that protection must be meaningful to protect the people who have been and will continue to be victimized if legislation is not enacted. Meaningful legislation must include measured and reasonable remedies that include ad brokers, payment processors and search engines. They must be part of a solution that stops theft and protects American consumers. […] On behalf of the 2.2 million Americans whose jobs depend on the film and television industries, we look forward to the Administration playing a constructive role in this process and working with us to pass legislation that will offer real protection for American jobs.

In the same email, Mitch Glazier, Senior Executive Vice President of the RIAA, said, "[L]egislation is of no benefit, nor will we support it, if it allows the leading Internet companies to direct law abiding consumers to unlawful and dangerous sites."

David Hirschmann, President and CEO of the Global Intellectual Property Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reiterated the Chamber's strong support for both SOPA and PIPA. "The Administration's main concern, centered on DNS issues, has already been addressed by both Senator Leahy and Representative Smith. We also applaud Senator Reid, Senator Leahy, and Representative Smith for their commitment to move forward with pending legislation through an open and bipartisan process," Hirschmann said.~~

waiting on the next chapter/s  :cheers:

:love: This topic  :cheers:

:thx: for the furry asses  :cheers:

It is impossible at this point to be 100%positive who the "JUMP ON SEEDER" was for me to send a PM. The next time this happens send a Help Desk Request for quicker response time. The staff frowns on this practice and will PM the offender with a request to stop seeding the torrent in question and a warning not to do so again.

I have given you 150 seed bonus points to make up the difference you lost to this situation. These are from me not the staff way of correcting this problem.  :hug:

:thx: for your support of GT.ru through your uploads  :cheers:

leatherbear
GT.ru Staff Mod

@bernowald ~ excellent advice and answer to this question for all of our users to remember and follow.  :thx:

‘This country was founded by a bunch of men wearing wigs’

MANCHESTER, N.H. – "I am not Ron Paul!" shouted RuPaul, the famous drag queen (wearing men's street clothes), at the top of his lungs inside a cramped diner here, a picturesque little restaurant that presidential candidates have visited for years. "And I am not running for president of the United States!," he added.

Sleepy locals sipping their coffee looked up from their cups. What the hell?

And what was RuPaul doing in chilly New Hampshire just days before the state's first-in-the-nation primary? The back story: When Ron Paul first ran for president as a Republican in 2008, a picture posted online of a Ron Paul campaign sign altered to say "RuPaul for President 2008" spawned a viral joke that the septuagenarian statesman from Texas was actually RuPaul, the black drag queen. Now that Ron Paul is ranking at the top of the polls, after placing third in the Iowa caucuses, RuPaul is here to capitalize. Leaving Los Angeles behind for a few days, he's traveling the state "campaign-style" with television cameras in tow to prove once and for all that he is definitely not Ron Paul. The tour will feature in his reality TV show, "RuPaul's Drag Race," which airs on Logo.

The Red Arrow Diner, where RuPaul made his declaration on Saturday, is a must-stop on the presidential campaign trail, so there's nothing particularly strange about people gathering there, anticipating a glimpse of a candidate or a handshake. Yet Saturday morning brought a different mix of patrons: drag queens, RuPaul fanatics, gay activists, and rowdy high school students jostled amidst the regulars, including one angry local who was just trying to enjoy his  breakfast in peace. ("Don't bump me!" he grunted after absorbing an elbow in the ribs from a over-excited tween.) Earlier in the morning, a C-SPAN crew rolled up next to the diner in a deluxe campaign bus with the hope of talking to some Regular Americans. When all they could find were freaky and fabulous ones, C-SPAN split.

RuPaul greeted each person in the crowd, inside and outside the diner commenting on and complimenting various personal attributes. (One girl asked for a picture. "I'm short," she said, standing next to him. "You're not short. You're perfect," he replied.) Every few minutes he'd utter his "I am not running for president!" line.  As he made his way down the counter, extending his hand to every patron, he reminded them, of course, that he is RuPaul, not, Ron Paul.

Standing along the wall, a 19-year-old boy from Boston wearing rhinestone-studded stilettos, a pearl necklace and earrings and a mink stole waited patiently to see his hero. His name? "Gee-Gee Louise," he said, the "world's only drag burlesque dancer."

"I'm technically a drag queen," he said before getting his picture taken with RuPaul. "But I take my clothes off."

Several feet away, an old man stood alone, watching the scene unfold from a safe distance.

"I came to catch the flavor of the campaign," he said. "I was thinking more along the lines of Rick Santorum."

Eventually, RuPaul wrapped up inside and stepped back out into the frosty morning.

"You betta vote!" he whooped at the cheering crowd. "Remember, this country was founded by a bunch of men wearing wigs!"

"And heels!" a voice hollers from the scrum.

Somewhat surprisingly, RuPaul seems to have been made for the campaign trail. He's warm, great with eye contact and liberal with compliments.

But politics, of course, isn't really his game. Since the 1980s, RuPaul--which is his real name--has built a career around his flamboyant female alter ego. He's written music; he became the first drag queen super model; he hosted his own day time talk show; and is now the star of a reality show where transvestite competitors battle for his approval to become "America's next drag superstar."

Yet, for entertainment's sake, I planned a little test to verify that RuPaul is definitely not Ron Paul. He  agreed to meet with me in Manchester's Palace Theater, just a few blocks from the diner.

How do you feel about the printing of fiat money?

"Fiat? I do love that new J-LO car! I do love that."

Where do you stand on the merits of lowering the marginal tax rate to boost growth?

"I usually stand on six-inch platforms. It's actually not as tall as it looks."

Who is more fabulous? The economist John Maynard Keynes or Frederich Hayek?

"You better work!"

What does that mean?

"That's drag for no comment," a camera guy said.

Any predictions for the New Hampshire primaries or the general election?

"I'm not really a psychic...I'm more of a psycho, really."

We talked about the possibility of him endorsing a candidate.

"Well I do have a line of shoes coming out if that's what you mean," he says. "They're called Iron Fist shoes and the platform is amazing."

I also listed the names of candidates and asked RuPaul to say what first popped into his head.

Ron Paul

"Hotness!"

Rick Perry

"Feeeeeverrrrr!"

Newt Gingrich

"Uh-huh! That's right!"

"I'm not really a political person by nature," RuPaul said, yet his trip to New Hampshire has piqued his interest in the subject. His advice for the candidates? "I think they could probably have a lot more fun and not take it so seriously...I think that's a great message for everybody out there. I think politics is very similar to show business. I just think in show business we have better outfits."

New Hampshire GOP Debate

CONCORD, N.H. – Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were pressed on their support for gay rights during Sunday morning's GOP debate here, with both men saying that they support respect for the LGBT community but still don't want to see key policy changes -- like marriage equality and same-sex adoption -- put into place.

Romney said that while Massachusetts governor, a member of his cabinet was gay and he appointed judges regardless of sexual orientation, to show that he doesn't discriminate.

"At the same time, from the very beginning in 1994, I said to the gay community, I do not favor same-sex marriage. I oppose same-sex marriage and that has been my view," he added. "If people are looking for someone who will discriminate against gays or will in any way try and suggest that people -- that have different sexual orientation don't have full rights in this country, they won't find that in me."

"When was the last time you stood up and spoke out for increasing gay rights?" asked the moderator.

"Right now," he said to applause. He did not elaborate on what that increase would look like.

When the moderator asked Santorum if he would be a voice for "speaking out for gay rights" in the Republican Party, the former Pennsylvania senator replied, "I would be a voice in speaking out for making sure that every person in America, gay or straight, is treated with respect and dignity and has the equality of opportunity. That does not mean that I would agree with certain things that the gay community would like to do with changing laws, with respect to marriage or respect to adoption or things like that. You can be respectful. ... But just because you don't agree with someone's desire to change the law doesn't mean you don't like them or you hate them or you want to discriminate against them."

He cited his town hall meetings in New Hampshire, where he has been repeatedly questioned about gay rights.

"I listen to the other side, I let them make their arguments and we do so in a very respectful way. And you know what? We may not agree," he said.

When asked what he would do if one of his sons revealed he were gay, Santorum replied, "I would love him as much as I did the second before he said it. And I would try to do everything I can to be as good a father to him as possible."

Many gay rights advocates would no doubt dispute Santorum's characterization of his "respect" for gay men and women. He has said that children raised by same-sex couples will lead to "dysfunction" in society and that the "country will fall" as a result of same-sex marriage.

Al Parker is 

:cheers: I just love the old Black and White photos !!!  :cheers:

Good post!!! :thx: