North Carolina House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell (R) was very involved in the effort to advance a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, arguing that the measure would “protect” marriage in the state. The measure passed through both chambers last week in a matter of 24 hours and will now be on the May ballot.

This morning, Folwell came under fire on the radio show “Charlotte Talks,” as host Mike Collins challenged him on why he supports banning same-sex marriage, but not divorce:

COLLINS: You have said marriage is every society’s foundation, and if government sanctions marriage, it should also protect marriage. If that is true, why not put a constitutional amendment on the ballot banning divorce? [...] Wouldn’t it be more protective of the institution to ban divorce?

FOLWELL: Well, the divorce rate in this state and in this country is horrific. I have as much concern about that as I do the defense of marriage.

COLLINS: Wouldn’t that be defense of marriage?

FOLWELL: Sure.

COLLINS: Well then why not put that on the ballot?

FOLWELL: Somebody has a right to do that.

COLLINS: Why don’t you do it?

FOLWELL: [long pause] I don’t have an answer.

Listen to it:

Folwell was correct about one thing: North Carolina does have a high divorce rate — higher than the national average, in fact. But his responses (or lack thereof) make it clear that he and the state’s Republican leadership have little concern with “protecting” marriage. They are motivated by anti-gay animus and nothing more. Equality North Carolina’s Interim Executive Director Alex Miller was on hand and challenged Folwell about his alliance with anti-gay pastors who describe homosexuality as “deviant,” “abomination,” and a “death-style.” Folwell said it was important that they had a voice, but countered, “I don’t accept what the ministers say, you understand.”

ThinkProgress filed this report from Los Angeles, California.

At the California Republican Party convention held in Los Angeles last weekend, a number of social conservative groups purchased sponsorship tables. The Christian Coalition of California, a state chapter of the national organization founded by Pat Robertson, handed out pamphlets and urged attendees to continue to highlight the supposed dangers of what they called the “gay lifestyle.”

ThinkProgress spoke to Robert Newman, the head of the California Christian Coalition, who said his group would be mobilizing its members to repeal the gay education law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) earlier this year. Newman said the law, which “adds sexual orientation to the state’s existing anti-discrimination protections that prohibit bias in school activities, instruction, and instructional materials,” is unnecessary and encourages sexually transmitted diseases. The law also compels school districts to teach LGBT history alongside history of other California ethnic and minority groups.

Asked about the epidemic of gay suicides, Newman dismissed the issue, saying, “I hardly think bullying is a real issue in schools.” He reasoned that some level of bullying is “part of the maturational process” and that the law should be repealed because “there’s no reason to have a special bill for say three percent of the population, period.”

Watch it:

For a transcript click more. Read more

The Defense Department is expecting “business as usual” tomorrow when the 1993 Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is formally repealed and gays and lesbians can serve openly in the armed forces. Officials will acknowledge the end of the ban at a 2 p.m. press conference tomorrow, Stars and Stripes’ Leo Shane reports, and finish updating regulations barring dismissal of or discrimination against gay servicemembers and the “collection of any data related to troops’ sexual orientation.” But the government will otherwise remain mum on what many have described as “one of the most dramatic personnel changes in U.S. military history.”

Gay and lesbian servicemembers are also anticipating a low-key affair. A recent survey from Outserve — a group representing active duty gay soldiers — found that “nearly 80 percent are already out to military co-workers, with about half of those deciding to publicly acknowledge their sexual orientation in the weeks leading up to repeal.” More results:

– 77.5 percent are out to “everyone in my unit”

– 60 percent say they will either come out to “no one who doesn’t currently know” after repeal is implemented or simply “don’t know” what they’ll do.

– 55 percent expect that colleagues will treat them “generally free from discrimination ” after the ban is lifted

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will host a DC event tomorrow to commemorate the end of the policy with elected officials and veterans.

Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) continues to demonstrate that mocking the gay community while dismissing their struggles is key to her campaign strategy. A series of recent anti-gay comments show just how committed she is to demonizing a significant number of citizens, including her constituents.

After Anoka-Hennepin mom Tammy Aaberg delivered 200,000 petition signatures from individuals calling on Bachmann to address anti-gay bullying in the Minnesota district she represents, her office initially had no comment. But when she was asked about it at a campaign stop on Friday, her only response was, “That’s not a federal issue.” When faced with a constituent’s concern that led to her son’s death, Bachmann’s response was simply that bullying is not her problem. Given that she thinks the entire Department of Education is unconstitutional, the response is consistent, but no less insulting to the life of Justin Aaberg or the many young people whose lives are at risk in American schools. Of course, given her silence on the recent anti-gay murder in her hometown, she might not have any interest in addressing anti-gay violence whatsoever.

Then on Friday night, Bachmann appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and he asked her about the Christian counseling clinics she runs with her husband Marcus. She attempted to make a joke about the harmful ex-gay therapy they offer, a joke that got NO laughs:

LENO: Well, that whole “pray the gay away” thing. I don’t get that.

BACHMANN: Well, see, I think, when I heard that, I really thought it was kind of a mid-life crisis line — “Pray away the grey” — that’s what I thought it was.

Watch it:

Bachmann reiterated that their clinic offers support for “whatever issue” anyone has, even if it means offering therapy that violates professional counseling standards. Despite the feigned ignorance her “joke” required, she is no stranger to ex-gay therapy — she endorsed the ex-gay ministry Love Won Out back in 2004. Hundreds of ex-gay survivors have shared their stories about the harm they endured through different forms of reparative therapy, just like what the Bachmanns offer in their clinic. For her to make light of their trauma adds insult to injury, a reinforcement of the harm her clinics are already known to perpetuate. (The Courage Campaign did a much better job of bringing levity to the issue with its “You Can’t Pray Away The Gay” flash mob last week, directed at Bachmann.)

Bachmann has shown that she doesn’t care about the harm her constituents endure or her contributions to that harm. It is unclear how she thinks this approach benefits her campaign, but it seems unlikely she’ll be backing down any time soon.