Lt. Dan Choi ripped up an Obama For America (OFA) flyer this afternoon during a panel at Netroots Nation when he was confronted by an Obama volunteer who attempted to explain away the President’s opposition to same-sex marriage:

NICK TSCHIDA (Obama volunteer): I can’t say I’m for marriage equality, but as a bisexual man, I would take a bullet for both of you.

CHOI: You say you’re not for marriage equality?

TSCHIDA: I can’t, no as a….

[RIPPING SOUND]

CHOI: Did you not understand? Here! I believe that I’m an equal citizen.

TSCHIDA: I understand that, but Obama hasn’t gone officially on record for it…

CHOI: Then, don’t tell me that I’m a bad person, go tell him that he should believe in my full equality and then report back.

TSCHIDA: Civil unions?

Watch it:

“I think if Obama doesn’t endorse my full marriage equality and my personhood in this country, then I have no business supporting him and I don’t think a lot of the people who are first time votes will either,” Choi said at a panel called ‘What To Do When The President Is Just Not That Into You.’

Multiple sports teams continue to generate videos for the “It Gets Better” campaign, but it’s unclear what actions the teams are taking to make it better for not only players, but stadium staff and fans. Yesterday, the Minnesota Twins announced they would be contributing a video, but today brings news of a lesbian couple who were recently disparaged by a security guard at a Twins game. CityPages reports:

Taylor Campione and Kelsi Culpepper — two lesbian women from Minneapolis — were recently scolded by a Target Field security guard for what they call a “brief kiss.”

After seeing the quick peck on the lips, the guard told the women that “we don’t play grab ass here” and that they must “adhere to the 10 Commandments” while at the stadium.

“That ruined our entire evening,” says Campione. “We were super upset, we felt super uncomfortable.”

Though the guard has been reprimanded, he has retained his job. The couple has filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, calling for a zero-tolerance harassment policy at the stadium. The team’s spokesperson, Kevin Smith, has said that the team will reach out to the couple to try to make amends, because they want to make sure everyone feels welcome. In fact, the Twins have been reaching out to LGBT groups since as early as 2001.

The baseball teams’ videos are the latest in a series of steps forward to reduce homophobia in athletics. By committing to staff education and training workshops, sports teams could help create a more positive environment not just on YouTube, but at their own games as well.

Despite assurances from Texas Governor Rick Perry and the American Family Association that their controversial state call to prayer “has nothing to do with a particular policy issue and everything to do with bringing people together to pray for the welfare of our country,” opposition to “The Response” is mounting.

The Houston Clergy Council (HCC) is the latest religious group to join forces with LGBT activists in denouncing the anti-gay, religious exclusivity of the prayer.

In a statement released earlier this week, HCC writes:

The American Family Association and its leadership have a long track record of anti-gay speech and have actively worked to discriminate against the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The American Family Association and its leadership have also been stridently anti-Muslim, going so far as to question the rights of Muslim Americans to freely organize and practice their faith. We believe it is inappropriate for our governor to organize a religious event funded by a group known for its discriminatory stances.

Texas’ Jewish community is also telling Perry enough is enough. The National Association of Jewish Legislators (NAJL) expressed “disappointment and shock” over Perry’s “divisive and exclusionary” event. NAJL member and Texas State Rep. Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) commented further, “I’m disappointed that Gov. Perry would choose to align himself or affiliate with an organization that is on record as being exclusionary in nature.”

Michael Diviesti, head of the LGBT advocacy group GetEQUAL said that he has never seen such strong bonds between the LGBT and religious community. “These are groups that decided on their own they were going to have a response to this. After everyone created their own protest, we all sort of found a way to incorporate these separate events.”

As Perry and the AFA continue to argue the prayer is for people of all faiths and backgrounds, all one has to do is pick up a copy of the Texas Tribune and read how the AFA has said all non-Christians are going to hell to know that the only goal of “The Response” is to further an agenda of discrimination, intolerance and hate. — Jennifer Kalaidis

Following New York’s lead, New Jersey lawmaker Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D), the state’s only openly gay lawmaker, has introduced a same-sex marriage bill in the legislature:

In New Jersey, it’s the first time a lawmaker has put forward a bill on gay marriage since it was defeated in the state Senate in January 2010 — just before Gov. Chris Christie took office.

Nor is it likely to go much further in New Jersey this time. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, says he’ll sign a measure approving gay marriage, but Christie, a Republican, is not so inclined. Although supporters say they’ve persuaded several New Jersey Democrats who abstained last time to vote yes, that won’t matter unless they can get every Democrat on board and pick off three Republicans to make a veto-proof majority of 27 votes.

Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, said the best way to pursue gay marriage is through the courts.

Christie reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage during a CNN interview on Tuesday, saying, “I believe we can have civil unions that can help to give the same type of legal rights to same-sex couples that marriage gives them.” New Jersey passed civil unions legislation in 2006.

Former New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree has shot a video for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), in which he claims that same-sex marriage will push the country towards anarchy, rooting his opposition to civil marriage in religious dogma:

TYREE: You can’t teach what you don’t have, two men can’t teach a woman how to be a woman. That’s just simple that’s just common sense, not political, I approach more from an angle of prayer…If they pass this gay marriage bill… what I know will happen if this does come forth is this will be the beginning of our country sliding toward, it’s a strong word, but anarchy. If you trace back to other cultures, other countries, this will be the moment that our society loses its grip with what’s right.

Watch it: