President Obama pitched his new jobs plan to young people at North Carolina Sate University this afternoon, arguing that Congress should immediately pass the administration’s jobs bill to put America back to work. Obama made no mention of yesterday’s vote by the North Carolina senate to send to the ballot a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage, however, despite employers’ insistance that the measure could actually hurt the state’s ability to attract new businesses and hamper his goal of job creation. Before yesterday’s vote, more than 75 business leaders had signed a letter to the state legislature warning, “We write to oppose this extreme amendment because of the significant harm it will cause our state’s pro-business environment, its major employers, and efforts to spur job-creation in North Carolina.” The group argued that the amendment would “adversely impact the state’s workforce quality, regulations and living environment.”

Obama’s omission is particularly surprising given the positive reception it would have received from the college students assembled for the speech and North Carolinians across the state. A Public Policy Polling survey released last week found that 78 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 – 29 would vote against the anti-marriage amendment. Fifty-five percent of residents were opposed to it, including 63 percent of Democrats, 52 percent of independents, and even a plurality — 47 percent — of Republicans.

The White House did condemn the amendment in a statement issued last night. “The President has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson said in a statement. “While the President does not weigh in on every single action taken by legislative bodies in our country, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples. The President believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.”

Tammy Aaberg remembers her son, Justin.

Since her son Justin’s suicide last year, Tammy Aaberg has been standing up against the anti-gay bullying that led him to take his own life. Justin was one of nine students in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District who committed suicide over just a few years, deaths that many attribute to the district’s “neutrality” policy. The rule was instituted in 1995 and prohibits teachers and staff from talking about LGBT people, which creates complications for bullying intervention. Most of the district is in Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R) district, so tomorrow, Aaberg and CREDO Action will deliver 130,000 petition signatures calling on Bachmann to speak out against anti-gay bullying. CREDO Action’s political director, Becky Bond, explains the outreach to Bachmann:

BOND: As a congresswoman, a former Anoka-Hennepin student, and a mother Michele Bachmann is in an important position to speak out against this heartless rule, and the tragic suicides that have led public health officials to call the area a ‘suicide contagion.’ Instead, Bachmann has remained completely silent on this issue.

It’s true that Bachmann has not commented directly on the situation at Anoka-Hennepin, but her anti-gay record and connections to those trying to maintain the “neutrality” policy speak for themselves. In 2004, Bachmann condemned adding “homosexual curriculum” to schools, suggesting “it leads to the personal enslavement of individuals.” One of the biggest defenders of the harmful policy is Barb Anderson, spokeswoman for both the Parents Action League and Minnesota Family Council. She and her husband George Anderson have donated over $26,000 to Bachmann’s political career. Another strong proponent of the Anoka-Hennepin policy is Janet Boynes, the ex-gay advocate “friend” of the Bachmanns whose book Marcus Bachmann offers to patients in his Christian counseling clinics.

Aaberg will not be the first to challenge Bachmann to stand against anti-LGBT bullying. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called on her to do the same in July, suggesting her presidential credentials were in question if she could not condemn the harassment of young people.

Every time a public figure promotes anti-gay rhetoric, it funnels down and hurts young people. It’s unlikely Bachmann will reverse all of her homophobic positions, but Aaberg’s petitions will certainly draw into question Bachmann’s ability to respond to her constituents’ concerns.

Yesterday, during a discussion about Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s upcoming appearance at Columbia University, Greg Gutfeld — the co-anchor of Fox News’ The Five — suggested that the university should force Ahmadinejad to meet with gay students “because he denies the existence of homosexuality while people are executed in his country”:

GUTFELD: It’s going to be 12 students? They should all be gay…Unless they are going to do something to embarrass him. Like I think it would be great if they had gay students there — because he denies the existence of homosexuality while people are executed in his country. If Columbia, had any cahones…

Watch it:

In 2007 Ahmadinejad did deny the existence of gay people, despite his government’s commitment to executing them. Just last week, three men were hanged after being charged with sodomy and other crimes. Now, hundreds of Iranians are joining a Facebook page called “We Are Everywhere,” and many are making videos to share their stories. There are also at least two organizations that exist outside of Iran advocating for LGBT Iranians.

A former staffer for presidential candidate Herman Cain is alleging that the campaign attempted to hide the work of Scott Toomey, the openly-gay treasurer of his political action committee, after Cain supporters expressed concern over his sexual orientation. Testifying in court to secure unemployment benefits, the former staffer — Kevin Hall — explained that Toomey had a history of financial scandal, but said that pressure from supporters over his sexual orientation led Cain to cover up his involvement:

HALL: A conservative candidate, Mr. Cain is on the record as stating that he believes homosexuality is a sin and a choice. And they know that, if his top adviser, his highly paid adviser, is openly gay that it would cast a negative light on Mr. Cain and would cost him in his efforts to become president. Basically the campaign was trying to cover up the fact that Mr. Toomey was still involved. They asked … me to help them cover up that fact.

The Cain campaign did not dispute the allegation in court and Hall was awarded benefits.

The supposed cover-up provides insight into the exodus of staffers from Cain’s campaign in July amid rumors of “affairs, homosexuality and professional misconduct.” Cain previously said he “wouldn’t have a problem” appointing someone gay to his cabinet. That claim now seems to be in dispute.