New York City's mayoral contest is getting a lot of attention not only due to the battle between Democratic candidates Christine Quinn (who would be the city's first openly gay mayor) and Bill de Blasio, but also because of discussion of de Blasio's wife's sexual orientation. 

De Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray famously wrote the 1979 essay, "I Am A Lesbian" for Essence magazine. Now 34 years later, McCray has been happily married to de Blasio for 19 years and is a mother of two. 

McCray speaks to Essence about her journey after the jump!

110 members of the House of Representatives submitted a letter to President Obama, today, requesting that he sign an executive order banning employment discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Wow! In a bold move that, if passed, will certainly provide incentive for groups to embrace equality, California State Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach) and Equality California, today, announced the introduction of new legislation that would remove a state tax exemption for any youth group, that discriminates against members and leaders on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

And yep, that includes the Boy Scouts.

More after the jump. 

While we applauded Wyoming for putting issues like marriage equality and sexual orientation-based discrimination on the table in the state's House and Senate, we can't say we're thrilled by the results. 

Though we already knew that they'd rejected a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, today the Wyoming Senate rejected a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity 

Details after the jump. 

Tattoos on the butt or near sexual organs are as close to gaydar as the homophobic Russian Defense Ministry can get, apparently. According to the Ministry, tattoos in these regions indicate a person's sexuality, so it will naturally force soldiers to drop trou so that doctors can interpret their tattoos like some sort of inkblot Rorschach test.

The University of Iowa has broken the mold for public institutions today by becoming the first non-private school to ask applicants about their sexual orientation and gender identity. 

We watched this clip through gritted teeth as Missouri Reverend Phil Snider of Brentwood Christian Church argued with blinding zeal and hatred that sexual orientation and gender identity should not be added to Springfield, Missouri's nondiscrimination ordinance. 

The Reverend shamefully uses the Bible to promote fear and ignorance towards members of the LGBT community...and then something miraculous happens. 

So worth watching and we implore you to watch till the end. Clip after the jump!

Like in the pre-DADT-repeal army, "I'm gay" is sometimes all it takes to get out of serving on a jury. But a new bill introduced into the U.S. Senate by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen seeks to put an end to anti-gay discrimination often wielded during the jury selection process. 

Move over guyliner and tweezers—thanks to a new study out of Cornell University, researchers believe it's possible to accurately identify a person's sexual orientation based on their eyes alone. 

So, what, exactly, do scientists believe gives our queer eye away?

(...or adopt or stop being discriminated against...)

Speaking before the NAACP convention—which officially endorsed marriage equality a few weeks back—Mitt Romney flip-flopped and contradicted himself in one single hypocritical speech that drew boos from the audience. 

A new poll from CNN/ORC provides great news (the highest majority of Americans yet are in favor of marriage equality) before reminding us we still have plenty of work ahead (a large majority still believes that gays can turn straight). The bittersweet details follow. 

So here's an interesting question: Can an employer like gay employees too much?

Gay, human resources professional, Jamie Ardigo, is suing his former employer, J. Christopher Capital, after he was allegedly fired for trying to change the company's "discriminatory practices."

Ardigo charges that the owner of the company, Christopher Burch, uniformly discriminated against straight men (and ugly women??), choosing to only hire gay men and "beautiful women." 

More after the jump.