For those who care (like me!) Renzo Rosso, the owner of Diesel, plopped down an unspecified amount of cash to acquire Dutch avant-garde fashionistas Viktor & Rolf last week.

Only The Brave, Diesel's parent company, also owns Dsquared, among a number of other trendy brands. Their revenues last year were almost $2 billion. That's a lot of gays buying expensive denim.

Of course, this means that you'll probably see Viktor & Rolf stores popping up all over the place soon. Woo-hoo! If they're anything like V&R's fashion shows, we're in for a treat:

Yesterday's tragedy—in which a lone gunman walked into a Knoxville, TN church while kids were performing "Annie" and shot several people, killing two of them—is becoming more and more despicable with recent news:

Jim D. Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter in which he stated his “hatred of the liberal movement,” Owen said. “Liberals in general, as well as gays.”

And:

“It appears that church had received some publicity regarding its liberal stance,” the chief said. The church has a “gays welcome” sign and regularly runs announcements in the News Sentinel about meetings of the Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays meetings at the church.

[Knoxville News Sentinel]

Out and About Tennessee reports that the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is also home to a cafe that serves as a community hub for LGBT high school youth from the surrounding area.

No children were injured, at least. The gunman was subdued by churchgoers, one of whom died as a result of his injuries.

If Obama wins, that is. A 2006 bill that would repeal the law, written by California representative Ellen Tauscher (D), now has 132 co-sponsors in the House. Obama supports a repeal; McCain doesn't.

Democrats expect to gain larger footholds in the House and Senate after November's election, making the timetable for a lifting of the ban on gays and lesbians in the military pan out as early as next year. Certain that Dubya would veto, they are holding out until after the election is decided.

When president Clinton introduced the ban in 1993, only 44% of Americans believed homosexual people should serve in the military. That number is now at 75%. Amazing what a high-profile war will do to change peoples' minds, eh?

More, from the SF Chronicle:

Since 1994, 12,342 service men and women have been discharged, according to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a gay rights group. Discharges peaked at 1,273 in 2001, then dropped by about half after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

Ah. Suddenly, when the military needs us most, they are only able to enact this silly law about half the time. Figures. Meanwhile, the Brits have been recruiting gay soldiers for years...