Perhaps its because of declarations like this latest on the GOP field:

"The absurdity that protecting LGBT Americans from discrimination is fomenting anti-religious bigotry should make anyone's head hurt. It's a straw man argument from a paper tiger candidate."

For those of us who have to read organizations' press statements all day every day, its a lot more enjoyable when one gets the feeling that the author of the statement gives a damn about what they're saying.

This is definitely a sterner Stonewall. Stonewall is starting to sound like a very different organization, with bolder language more akin to that of the other side of the queer aisle at GOProud or Log Cabin Republicans. How do you feel about this sort of strong language?

Full statement after the jump.

Well I've been peachy. In May I received my Master's Degree from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I also was named one of the Windy City Times' '30 Under 30' LGBT voices.

Oh yeah, and I moved to Washington D.C. and got a job at the Washington Blade.

Now I'm not only generating content for our Facebook and our Twitter, as well as honing our new iTunes and Android App, I'm writing articles for the oldest LGBT print publication in America, and the widest read and cited local LGBT newspaper in the country. I'm surrounded by the history of our community every day when I go to work: forty years of photographs, stories and lives.

In 1985 my grandparents won the lottery.

They didn't win a lot, and they split it with some other families, but it was still a pretty big idea. I was three-years-old. There was one thing and only one thing I really cared about in the world at three-years-old, and that was Michael Jackson. Well, probably my teddy bear, Louie, too, but mostly Michael. Michael was a mainstay in our home. Every day I insisted we listen to Thriller. I used to spend my afternoons practicing my adorable three year old dance moves, or creating stream-of-consciousness Crayola interpretive art pieces visualizing the sonic goodness I was consuming.

After all, I was three-years-old, and Michael Jackson was just about the best music I'd ever heard. Well, Michael and Madonna, of course. I was obsessed with both. But I do believe that my mom preferred Michael to Madonna anyhow, so we definitely spun that old vinyl out on the daily.

This week we sit down with Out's Editor in Chief, Aaron Hicklin, to discuss the list, the backlash, and what this could tell us about opportunities for people of color and trans people in our society as a whole. I also ask Aaron if there is a way to be more inclusive without destroying the spirit of the list - find out what he says.

Listen to our 20 minute interview, after the jump.

Luckily, we have a brilliant crew with us, because there are some really important stories we need to dive into. This week, join us as we discuss the brutal apparently anti-transgender beating in a Maryland McDonald's and a discussion of whether or not publicizing this video is helpful. We also dissect the Tennessee Senate's "Don't Say Gay" bill attempting to silence public school employees from discussing "homosexuality" and all things adjacent in Tennessee's K-12 schools. Finally, we also go full-force at the House Republicans' incredibly expensive defense of DOMA: the legal landscape, the law firm behind the move, and what some activists want to do to send a message to opponents of equality.

We also get an update on the Chick-Fil-A anti-gay charity fiasco: is one university about to say goodbye to the chain because of their anti-gay giving?

[UPDATE: Find out who voted how after the jump.]

Thanks to hundreds of calls being made by people all over Illinois and all over the nation, the Senate panel in charge of overseeing SB 1123 rejected the discriminatory amendment to the bill, and sent the anti-gay set packing out of Springfield. The vote was very close: seven to six with one abstention. I'll update this post with the official roll later today.

"This is a huge victory for the LGBTQ community and families across Illinois," Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of The Civil Rights Agenda, said in a press release late Wednesday morning. "This is also a huge win for the tens of thousands of children that are in the adoption and foster system and need loving families. We applaud the members of the Executive Committee that voted no on this bill. They have shown that discrimination in any form is unacceptable." Full disclosure: I sit on the Advisory Board for TCRA.

All good news, but the question remains, however: why did the historically pro-LGBT sponsor of the civil unions bill, Democratic Senator David Koehler, push this horrific amendment in the first place?

The anti-gay bill being hammered through Illinois in record time - the bill that will allow adoption agencies to deny loving, capable families the ability do deny based on "sincerely held religious belief" - is (wait for it) an almost totally Democrat-sponsored bill.

"We are expecting this bill to pass the committee and will most likely pass the Senate as well," said TCRA Executive Director, Anthony Martinez. "This is an all-hands on deck moment. We need every community member to contact their Senators and vote NO on SB 1123."

I thought Senator Dave Koehler was the only Democrat on the bill. Koehler was the sponsor of the civil unions bill that passed in the lame duck session last year and has a lesbian daughter that just got engaged and plans to take advantage of those civil unions. However, this had all the markings of a GOP bill. Then William Haine (D) was added. Then I found out through a mailer from The Civil Rights Agenda that Edward Maloney and Thomas Johnson were added. So far, the only Republican on the bill is Johnson.

This is not a GOP bill, this is a Democrat bill, and we need your help. Find out how after the jump.

Hidden carefully by Sen David Koehler in SB 1123, a bill to assist the blind - like an arsenic pill hidden in a crême brulé - beneath text allowing for raises for County Clerks, the Conservatives waited until 5pm today, in the 11th hour of this bill before its Wednesday committee vote, to slide in amendments that seek to do everything possible to tear apart the lives of LGBT people in Illinois.

We're talking insidious here.

The bill would amend the recently passed civil unions bill in Illinois to not only allow adoption agencies to discriminate against lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the adoption process - something currently illegal in Illinois currently, and has been Illegal for years with no negative consequences - the bill would also dismantle the Human Rights Act in the most dastardly way.

Religious institutions would be able to discriminate in these matters against anyone for any religiously motivated reason. Race, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, it doesn't matter. The GOP wants you out of the job if they don't like the cut of your jib. This law that protects us from discrimination from our state-funded and regulated institutions was amended to include sexual orientation and gender identity in 2005, and the far right has been seething since. Now is their chance.

We just had too much to talk about to give up, so even when we lost almost all of our round table participants, we knew "the show must go on." Lavi Soloway of Masliah and Soloway and the Stop the Deportations Project, was the only round table participant to not be lost to technical difficulties, however, Lavi was able to hold his own alone with Joe and myself.

This week, with news about LGBTQ population numbers, gay adoption developments, the National Organization for Marriage's bus tour organizer switching sides--and Lavi's area of expertise - the struggle for same-sex binational couples becoming very complicated; we had quite a workload.

Joining us prior to the round table was Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon Jeana Frazzini to discuss marriage equality efforts in that state. Also, we sit down one-on-one with Executive Director of Equality Florida, Nadine Smith to discuss the "Refuse to Lie" campaign encouraging married same-sex couples to be honest about their marriages when filing taxes this year.

The round table talked quite a smorgasbord of topics, and the technical issues afforded us the opportunity to host a more intimate and detailed round table than in the past. Check it out after the jump.

The super tech-savvy organization promoting straight allies get involved in the political process pushing for LGBTQ equality, is celebrating the launch of its New York initiatives with a big event hosted by its newest Advisory Board member, Chelsea Clinton.

"I'm really excited we've been joined by an amazing initial host committee," said Friendfactor founder, Brian Elliot. "They represent each a very different part of the story that's very much friend factor - its not about politics, its about straight friends helping their gay friends. I've been very impressed with Chelsea's support."

I'd be excited about this line-up as well, which seems about as likely as a Beatles reunion. Even more after the jump.

Jeremy's work has the exhaustiveness of a gumshoe investigative reporter - with thorough, very well-researched pieces that get picked up by major news outlets and progressive organizations all the time.

Jeremy was also very intimately familiar with the hateful NOM anti-gay bus tour across America, which - as Bilerico readers will remember from a notorious stop in Indianapolis - brought out some of the worst and dangerous hateful and angry bigots in America. The messaging was scary, as evidenced by this sign from Indiana that went everywhere on the web.

So imagine Jeremy's sense of satisfaction this morning when he broke the news, NOM bus tour organizer Louis Marinelli has come out for marriage equality.

Today, however, Sean released a serious original dance song, and I can't stop playing it. Sean describes it as a song about being "true to yourself," and "not holding back."

In an email to me, Sean wrote "The song is dedicated to LGBT youth who should never be ashamed to be themselves and should always go for it."

The song is amazing, and this is definitely his best video ever. If this doesn't end up on Logo's NewNowNext I'm going to write and record my own parody protest song aimed at the 'Big L!'

It's after the jump.

Lavi Soloway returns to the interview chair this week to discuss his legally married clients Monica Alcota and Cristina Ojeda, their win in immigration court, and why the prosecutor and the judge both agreed with Soloway over the need for delay in light of new DOMA developments.

Two immigration districts have put all cases on hold involving legally married same-sex binational couples. Are we about to see a total halt to the break-up of binational families based on DOMA's discrimination?

We'll tackle this on our round table as well as get the skinny on state-wide developments, strategies on ENDA, and a whole lot more. Find out the who and the what and give it a listen after the jump.

Many of us "livetweeted" the event as it happened--I covered the event on my account @ReallyPhilReese throughout the day. Joe Mirabella was the first of the Bilerico contributors to get a reaction published. Now I'm curious to hear from those who were not there: those LGBTQ experts in immigration, marriage, youth homelessness, suicide, and family acceptance who want to join in on the conversation.

Over the course of the day, we were introduced to leaders of social justice organizations and services from across America to discuss the work they're doing and need bloggers' and journalists' assistance in promoting.

I'd joked with Sean that we should write a song together with the "f" word in the title since three of Billboard's Top 100 implied the "f" word in the title last week. I predicted a surefire #1 hit for us. Well, he didn't make that song with me, but he did make this sweet Gaga takeoff that I believe Mother Monster herself has probably jammed out to several times since it went live.

Great job Sean.