Today, the Obama campaign launched a new effort to rally lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters for the President’s reelection. The “LGBT Americans for Obama” website features blog posts, pride merchandise, and upcoming LGBT-related campaign events. On a conference call this morning, outgoing HRC president Joe Solmonese highlighted Obama’s accomplishments and his hopes for the future:

SOLMONESE: I think that collective understanding of where we’re going is how we’re really going to shape the agenda for the next administration. Obviously, we have landmark issues that we need to continue to address, continue to move on, like the repeal of DOMA, like the passage of a fully inclusive ENDA.

So, that’s the kind of ongoing conversation that we’ll have. I think one of the things that we all recognize, and I think the president recognizes this, and we saw this during the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ is that the makeup of Congress is going to have a lot to do with that. And that is why those fights and the fight that we do everything we can to take back an LGBT-friendly House of Representatives are going to have a lot to do with how that agenda gets shaped. And hold what we have in the Senate, and hopefully add to those numbers.

Despite that brief mention of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the call avoided discussing the President’s refusal to sign an executive order that would protect LGBT employees of federal contractors from discrimination. Still, in the wake of Obama’s recent endorsement of marriage equality, the campaign has incredible momentum to energize LGBT voters. Accompanying the launch is a video touting Obama’s support on LGBT issues, narrated by Glee‘s Jane Lynch:

Wolf Blitzer just teased his new interview with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who expressed that he has “no problem” with marriage equality:

BLITZER: You were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs when you installed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the U.S. military that prevented gays from serving openly. I know you changed your attitude over these years, but what about gay marriage? Are you with the President in supporting gay marriage?

POWELL: I have no problem with it, and it was the Congress that imposed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, though it was certainly my position and my recommendation to get us out of an even worse outcome that could have occurred, as you’ll recall. But as I’ve thought about gay marriage, I know a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones, and they are as stable a family as my family is, and they raise children. And so I don’t see any reason not to say that they should be able to get married.

Powell went on to say he believes the American people are coming around on this issue too. Watch it:

Powell is one of many prominent leaders who have followed President Obama’s lead in supporting the freedom to marry for all families.

Conservative groups that claim to support families are outraged today that Target has begun selling a series of t-shirts supporting National Pride Month, featuring rainbow designs and messages like, “Love is love,” “Pride,” and “Harmony.” Target has pledged that 100 percent of sales (up to $120,000) will go to benefit the Family Equality Council, which advocates for same-sex couples and their families. But Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council conveniently missed the memo about who Target is supporting, despite the fact it’s on the store’s website and in all other news reports about the special offer:

PERKINS: Target’s slogan is “expect more.” And when it comes to their politics, Americans do. Hello, I’m Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. One of America’s biggest companies isn’t just named Target–it’s becoming one. Starting May 20, the mega-chain’s introducing a new line of same-sex “marriage” merchandise that says, “Love is love.” Target promises to donate 100% of the profits to a national homosexual group–but they don’t specify which one. Retail analyst Britt Beemer says that Target’s strategy isn’t “very smart,” especially in conservative states, where it does the biggest business. “Anytime a retailer gets away from doing what they should be doing by being involved in a social cause, [they] lose.” The company said it wanted to “resonate beyond fashion.” But if they’re looking to resonate with Americans, they ought to try defending marriage. According to voters, the country’s still very opposed to redefining it. Let Target know that its agenda isn’t your style. Log on to target.com, scroll down, and click “Contact Us.”

It seems odd that Perkins is the only person who doesn’t know what organization Target is supporting, but perhaps he simply doesn’t wish to explain why the Family Research Council is at odds with the Family Equality Council. It’s also probably not “very smart” to attack a store for making a business decision in which they are not actually trying to make money. Besides, despite whatever Perkins might spin about state ballot initiatives, polling continues to show that a majority of Americans support marriage equality.

The American Family Association is also angry at Target, but at least Tim Wildmon acknowledged that the store “purposely” chose to “offend” him by “donating cash to support the Family Equality Council’s push for legalizing homosexual marriage.” Given that AFA claims there is a “War on Christmas” because department stores do not feature enough Christmas messaging in December, this new campaign of theirs is arguably a “War on Gays.”

Target faced a large backlash in 2010 when it gave $150,000 to support anti-gay Republican Tom Emmer for governor of Minnesota. Last year, court documents revealed that Target executives have previously expressed concern that they might be perceive as supporting same-sex marriage. The Minnesota-based company has remained neutral on a proposed marriage inequality amendment on the ballot in November.

Illinois Sen. Kyle McCarter (R)

The state of Illinois already enumerates bullying protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but a new bill, HB 5290, would strengthen the laws to require that all schools maintain a bullying prevention policy. Such a policy would publicly define bullying for each district, lay out procedures for reporting and investigating incidents, and implement trainings, services, and interventions to help promote a positive climate. But this week, the Illinois Senate rejected the bill, heeding concerns from a local hate group that the bill was too pro-gay.

Sen. Kyle McCarter (R) appears to be the leading opponent of the bill, but his talking points parrot the Illinois Family Institute, a fringe spin-off of the American Family Association that has been declared an anti-gay hate group in its own right. McCarter and the IFI insist that the bill should include an “opt-out” provision for any students who don’t want their anti-gay religious beliefs challenged with basic knowledge about the nature of sexual orientation:

MCCARTER: There are anti-bullying programs that have an agenda, to only protect one class of individuals. Some of these programs are very good. They indeed encourage kids not to bully. But there are programs throughout the United States, used in some high schools and universities, that really have just a pro-homosexual agenda, and nothing but that.

McCarter seems to believe that this policy would be a step toward mandating programs about homosexuality, though nothing in its text lends itself to this claim. Reports even suggest that the only reason the bill has been opposed is because its chief House sponsor, Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D), is openly gay and because LGBT groups like Equality Illinois have endorsed it. HB 5290 is a simple opportunity to make sure schools actually implement anti-bullying efforts, but conservatives like McCarter seem overly concerned that young people might actually learn that gay kids deserve to be treated with respect.

Though the measure failed by one vote on Tuesday, it could still pass if called for another vote in the coming week. Twelve senators voted “present” and some supporters were absent, so the bill is not dead yet.

The Christian Broadcasting Network covered the bill, featuring a comment from the IFI’s Laurie Higgins calling the proposed interventions “indoctrination sessions on homosexuality”: