After becoming the 4th State in the United States of America to legalize same-sex marriage back in April, same-sex couples began to legally marry in the great State of Vermont yesterday on the first full day that the law legalizing the practice went into effect. Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan, a couple from New York, were the first same-sex couple to marry in Vermont at the stroke of midnight on September 1, 2009 … here are a couple photos from their joyous wedding ceremony and some deets about the first day of same-sex marriage in Vermont:

After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn’t wait another minute to get married. So they didn’t. With Vermont’s new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday. The start of gay weddings, which came nine years after Vermont’s first-in-the-nation civil unions law, prompted demonstrations Tuesday in Montpelier and Burlington. Five members of the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., carried signs and sang songs but were outnumbered by counterdemonstrators preaching love and tolerance. The state’s gay marriage era dawned even before dawn Tuesday, with a pair of midnight weddings. At the Moose Meadow Lodge in Duxbury, Slimback and Sullivan tied the knot at 12:01 a.m. The two Whitehall, N.Y., men said their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who’s also a Justice of the Peace, presided. “It feels wonderful,” said Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan’s last name as his own. “It’s a day I’ve been long waiting for, and a day I truly honestly thought would never come.” Slimback said he and Sullivan, 41, have long wanted to cement their relationship with a wedding, but since they couldn’t legally marry in New York they chose Vermont. Vermont is one of four states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. New Hampshire’s law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010. Vermont, which invented civil unions in 2000 after a same-sex couple challenged the inequality of state marriage statutes, was a mecca for gay couples who to that point had no way to officially recognize their relationships. Since then, other states have allowed gay marriage, as did Vermont, which in April became the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislative decree and not a court case. In another midnight ceremony, Claire Williams, 34, and Cori Giroux, 27, were married in their South Burlington home, with about 20 people attending. They were wed by attorney Beth Robinson, a founder of Vermont Freedom to Marry.

First and foremost, much love and congrats to the happy couples who were married yesterday … and much love and congrats goes out to all those making their way to Vermont to make their marriage dreams come true. Marriage equality in Vermont seems extra special to me because Vermont is the first State in our country to legalize same-sex marriage by legislation … active and public work took place among the State’s lawmakers and a conscious effort to afford marriage equality to all it’s State’s citizens won out. It is a glorious day for marriage equality in our country. The US still has a very long way to go but by following the lead of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa our country will truly be the Land of the Free one day. Again … love and congrats! Well done, Vermont!!!

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The news that fans of the Gossip Girl book series have been waiting to hear has finally come. Playboy cad Chuck Bass, who has an affinity for the ladies as well as the gents in the book version of the series, will indeed be exploring the realm of same-sex fraternization in the TV version of the series. Michael Ausiello of Entertainment Weekly broke the news late yesterday that Chuck Bass, played by Brit Ed Westwick, will be kissing a dude in the third ep of the coming Fall season … which is good news because this plot development does take place in the book series. I am very happy to know that producers of the TV show are keepin’ it real. Here are pics of Westwick in costume on the set of GG here in NYC yesterday:

Spotted: Chuck Bass sucking face with a dude! It’s true! Multiple Gossip Girl insiders confirm to me exclusively that the CW phenom is currently shooting an episode for its upcoming third season in which Ed Westwick’s legendary lothario kisses another man … First things first: Sorry to disappoint, but no, it’s not Chace Crawford. Westwick’s “romantic” interest is up-and-comer Neal Bledsoe (CSI: NY, Guiding Light), who’s guest-starring in episode 6 as Josh Ellis, NYU’s head of freshman affairs. Since Josh is tasked with selecting an incoming student for the honor of delivering the freshman speech, he’s, shall we say, a person of interest to Blair. In fact, she’s so determined to snag the slot that she goes so far as to pimp out her boyfriend to the gay guy in charge. The catch? All you need to know is there is one. Oh, and wait until you hear what Chuck says to Blair following the lip-lock. (Must. Resist. Temptation. To. Spoil.) It was only a matter of time before GG played the maybe-gay card with Chuck, who swung both ways in Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl books.

Well, it’s about time. Not for nothing but a show as fun as Gossip Girl really needs to up its gay factor … and, sorry, Serena’s gay little brother ain’t really gettin’ the job done. Now, I have not read the GG books but I’ve been well informed of Chuck Bass’s proclivities for the man-on-man action. Sure he dabbles but dabbling can be fun … which, I’m sure, we’ll see acted out this coming season on the TV show. Perhaps once the other GG guys see how much fun Chuck is having they’ll wanna join in, too (I’m talking to you Nate Archibald)! This new development deffo makes Gossip Girl must see TV … at least for me.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Speaking at the panel discussion for his upcoming film Sherlock Holmes at 2009 San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, Robert Downey, Jr. revealed to fans that there may be some overt man-on-man “love” (ie. affection) going on in the film. While he didn’t go so far as to say that Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr. John H. Watson would be lovers, he did reveal that the men are very, very close in the film … as a result of, what he calls, “circumstantial homosexuality”. Shoot, whatever he calls it … I’m all for it!

Will Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson be the latest bromance to hit Hollywood? Robert Downey Jr., who plays Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic fictional character opposite Jude Law’s Watson in Guy Ritchie’s remake of Sherlock Holmes thinks he and Law have some sexy chemistry together. “It’s called circumstantial homosexuality,” he jokingly told the press at Comic-Con Friday, after leading lady Rachel McAdams suggested the film’s central love story is really between the sleuth and his sidekick. The two actors took to each other even before Law signed on to the part. Downey was sent to meet his future costar and “sell” him on the role and “Jude walks down the hall and my assistant – who never cares about anything – is standing in the hall and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, there he is!’ He was dressed in that kind of fabulous, super expensive, under-dressed way. “I said, ‘Dude’ – and literally before he said he was going to do the movie, before he said that he was available, before he said that he either did or didn’t want to be courted, we just started talking like two serious actors about what would need to happen to make this work as a piece of straight drama. We just became really close really quickly, because we just rolled up our sleeves and started working from jump.” Downey said Law, who is currently performing Hamlet on stage in London, “is so the right arm of this movie.” But good thing for the ladies, the film isn’t just about male bonding. Downey shares some romantic moments with McAdams – but “not enough for my taste,” he said.

Oh man … how awesome is this. You gotta love actors that are secure enough in their manhood that they can willingly and believingly play male characters that show love and affection for one another without it necessarily being a gay lovestory. While I would have no problem with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson being lovers, that development doesn’t really jibe with the lore that we all know and love. That said, the men are very close and I’m happy to know that that closeness will be respected in the film version of the book series. I have full confidence that RDJ and Jude will do great justice to the beloved characters that they portray … and if they want to take the relationship to a bromantic level, who are we to argue?

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June is Gay Pride Month and all month long cities around the world have been throwing Pride celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot which gave birth to the Gay Rights Movement in this country. NYC hosted their Pride Parade this weekend and, by all accounts, really threw a great party. Here are some photos from this weekend’s Pride Parade in New York City:

Decades after a riot at a Greenwich Village bar sparked a movement for equal rights, gay New Yorkers celebrated their gains at Sunday’s gay pride parade and lamented the state has not legalized same-sex marriage. The annual march down Fifth Avenue commemorated the Stonewall rebellion of 40 years ago, when patrons at a gay bar resisted the police. The several days of disturbances that followed the uprising became one of the defining moments of the gay rights movement. The celebration was tempered by the knowledge that other states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa, have legalized same-sex marriage before New York. “Hopes and dreams and expectations have been raised, and there is nothing worse than to for people to have their hopes die out, to have the rug pulled out from under them,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, New York City’s most prominent openly gay elected official. Gov. David Paterson said he remains hopeful that the state Senate will pass a same-sex marriage bill — if it can resolve the partisan stalemate that has paralyzed it. “If we have an end to the stalemate in Albany I would think that it would be passed shortly after,” he said, referring to the state capital. “We believe we can pass the bill.” This year’s march featured the usual mix of seasoned activists, dazzling drag performers and floats blasting disco beats. A faux Liza Minnelli in a slinky dress and spiky wig lip-synched New York, New York atop the Stonewall Inn float. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center’s float was sponsored by the Broadway musical Shrek, whose ogres-need-love-too message was apparently a good fit. Flavia Rando marched with the Gay Liberation Front, which began in 1969 after the Stonewall uprising. “It feels like we changed the world,” Rando said. “We started a global movement.” In addition to Paterson, one of the parade’s grand marshals, elected officials marching included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer. Parade organizers claimed as many as 500,000 participants. That number was difficult to verify, but many thousands marched or lined Fifth Avenue to watch. Spectator Mark Jester of Maryland, visiting New York for the first time, said the parade was “awesome,” especially the drag queens. “I have a lot of respect, because if I would do that at home I literally would have to fight,” he said. Danielle Staub of the Bravo reality show The Real Housewives Of New Jersey marched in heels that rivaled a drag queen’s and said gay people deserve the right to marry. “My two marriages didn’t last as long as most of the gay community’s partnerships,” she noted. As part of the year-long celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Dutch encounter with New York, Amsterdam officials held a contest for couples to marry in that city, where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2001. The winners, five couples with one Dutch partner and one American partner, will travel to Amsterdam for its August gay pride celebration and get married there. “We kept saying we were going to do it here once it was legal in New York state,” said contest winner Stephan Hengst, who was born in the Netherlands and now lives in Highland, New York, with his partner Patrick Decker. “We hope to see it become legal in New York very soon.”

We really have come a long way, baby. Altho there is still a long way to go for members of the GLBT community to enjoy equal rights in all areas (including marriage) in this country, there is MUCH to celebrate and be PROUD of this year. 4 States have legalized same-sex marriage in this country this year alone and we’re only halfway thru 2009. They join Massachusetts and Connecticut who legalized the practice previously. The tide of true freedom for all is coming our way … I’d say that’s a great reason to celebrate.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

A week ago today, TMZ broke the news that Cher’s daughter Chastity Sun Bono is in the process of undergoing gender reassignment in order to become a man (now named Chaz Sun Bono). The report was substantiated by a statement from Bono’s publicist:

“Yes, it’s true — Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz’s hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his ‘coming out’ did nearly 20 years ago. We ask that the media respect Chaz’s privacy during this long process as he will not be doing any interviews at this time.”

I have been reticent in passing along every single bit of info about Chaz’s gender reassignment that has come out since this news broke because a personal issue like gender reassignment should not be taken advantage of. But, there is one development that I think is very important to highlight therefore I’ve decided to share it with all y’all. Cher, Chaz’s mother, has issued a statement in support of her child’s desire for gender reassignment and I feel it is very important to share. Here are a couple pics of Chaz with girlfriend Jennifer Elia out together earlier this week and the full text of Cher’s statement of support:

“Chaz is embarking on a difficult journey, but one that I will support. I respect the courage it takes to go through this transition in the glare of public scrutiny, and although I may not understand, I will strive to be understanding … The one thing that will never change is my abiding love for my child.”

Kudos to Cher for making such a public declaration of love and support for Chaz as he transitions into a man. While I cannot, for the life of me, fully understand the magnitude of such a life changing event, I know that the love and support of one’s family can go a long way in helping ease the stress and trauma of something as epic as gender reassignment. I understand that Chaz began his gender reassignment last June (2008) and has already been thru the psychological counseling required of gender reassignment patients. Chaz still has much to go thru to complete the process, including extensive surgery (including a double mastectomy). I wish nothing but success, love and happiness for Chaz Bono. Again, while I cannot fully understand I can absolutely respect and support his decision to transition.

[Photo credit: INFdaily; Source]

Happily married couple Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are the latest celebs to join the NO H8 campaign to fight for marriage equality for same-sex couples in this country. Ashl33n were on hand to participate in a photoshoot here in LA yesterday to add their starpower to the cause … here is a pic of the pair on the set of their photoshoot:

Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz are keeping their mouths shut for gay marriage. The couple are the latest celebs to take part in NOH8, a campaign supporting efforts to overturn Proposition 8. They were shot by photographer Adam Bouska on Monday with the campaign’s signature look: “NOH8″ painted on their cheeks and duct tape over their mouths as a symbol of the pro-gay voices not being heard. Ashlee also holds a wedding veil in the pic. Which other rocker was in the studio with them? Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus also posed for NOH8. Like the Wentzes, Hoppus took part in the big Hollywood rally and protest shortly after the California Supreme Court upheld the ban on same-sex unions. “My son asked me one time, ‘Some guys have girlfriends and some girls have boyfriends, but do boys sometimes have boyfriends?’ ” Hoppus told us at the rally. “I said, ‘Yeah, all kinds of people love different kinds of people. And that’s the world we live in.’ ” Bouska launched NOH8 with his partner Jeff Parshley in November after the passage of Prop 8. Shanna Moakler and a gaggle of other former beauty queen titleholders posed for the campaign shortly after the Miss California Carrie Prejean controversy erupted in April.

Click HERE to see the impressive collection of photos that have been already taken for the No H8 campaign. I think it says a lot that so many straight allies are standing up for the rights of same-sex couples to marry in this country. While there has been much progress in the fight for marriage equality thus far (particularly in the New England States and Iowa), there is still so much work to be done. Much love and respect goes out to Ashlee, Pete, Mark and the rest of the folks who have stepped up to fight the H8.

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Adam Lambert, the runner-up in this year’s American Idol competition, is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine. As was widely expected, Lambert opens up in the coverstory titled Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert and comes clean about his much speculated-about sexuality … telling Rolling Stone that he doesn’t think “it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that [he's] gay”. On that account, I think he’s right. Here is Adam’s RS coverphoto and a portion of his coverstory interview:

American Idol’s glamtastic runner-up Adam Lambert opens up in the next issue of Rolling Stone, speaking frankly about his sexuality, though he doesn’t think his revelation is particularly shocking. “I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I’m gay,” Lambert says in the new issue of Rolling Stone, hitting newsstands this week. The flamboyant Idol singer hits our cover and bares all, talking about his childhood (”I started to realize I wasn’t like every other boy,” he says), the drug-fueled Burning Man epiphany that led him to AI (”I realized that we all have our own power, and that whatever I wanted to do, I had to make happen,” he tells RS) and his run on the show (”I was like, ‘I’m going to glue rhinestones on my eyelids, bitch!’ “). And yes, he talks about his sexuality. “Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, ‘I’m going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,’ ” he tells us. “I didn’t want the Clay Aiken thing and the celebrity-magazine bullshit. I need to be able to explain myself in context. “I’m proud of my sexuality,” Lambert adds. “I embrace it. It’s just another part of me.” Ultimately, however Lambert tells RS contributor Vanessa Grigoriadis that there are other parts of his life that he’s trying to keep front and center. “I’m trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader,” he says. It was that mission — and his Burning Man “psychedelic experience” — that lead him to Idol after years in musical theater. “I knew that it was my only shot to be taken seriously in the recording industry, because it’s fast and broad,” he tells RS. He details his experience on Idol, his true thoughts on winner Kris Allen and how his sexuality impacted his Idol run in our cover story, “Wild Idol: The Psychedelic Transformation and Sexual Liberation of Adam Lambert,” which hits newsstands this week.

I’m happy to hear that Adam is proud of his sexuality and choosing to openly discuss a personal matter like that on the cover of a major magazine is pretty much proof of that fact. I completely understand why he wouldn’t want to talk about any of his personal biz while he was competing on American Idol. While it works to the advantage of some competitors to talk to the voting audience about their wife/husband and kids, we still live in an age where discussing your homosexuality would still work against you. In any event, it’s very cool that Adam is finally feeling free enough to talk about his life as openly and honestly as possible. After the jump, check out a few behind-the-scenes photos from Adam’s Rolling Stone covershoot …

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