Was President Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina responsible for an allegedly infamous (we'll admit we've never heard of it until today) anti-gay campaign ad that aired in Montana in 2002?

According to Joshua Green of Businessweek, he was.

More after the jump.

Big news today in Rhode Island!

Under the order of Governor Lincoln Chafee, same-sex couples married out of state but residing in Rhode Island will now receive the same rights, benefits, and obligations of heterosexual married couples.

More after the jump!

We hear the Balitmore Aquarium is a great spot for a wedding, and we look forward to it being a gay wedding as we add one more state to the list in our battles won for nationwide marriage-equality. Today Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed the bill that will give gay and lesbian couples the right to marry in the state. The new law will take effect January 2013. So what happens now? 

Joe Solmonese, who is in the process of departing his position as the head of the Human Rights Campaign, has been named one of President Obama's 35 national co-chairs for the 2012 campaign. 

It's a notoriously tough job-market out there, but the Human Rights Campaign is now hiring! All you need is a winning smile...along with an outstanding record of community achievement and Rolodex that'd make Hillary Clinton weep with envy. Toss aside the Help Wanted section with the ad for "Lunchtime Shift Chippendale Cocktail Server" highlighted and follow the jump to see what exactly the nation's largest LGBT rights organization is looking for in its next leader!

HRC is continuing to develop campaigns to gain public support for our community. This time, it's a series of promos featuring prominent Americans who support same-sex marriage. Find out what makes this campaign significant and groundbreaking  after the jump.

While protests by every day citizens are happening for and against New Jersey teacher Viki Knox, Governor Chris Christie has, himself, spoken out about the teacher. Details after the jump.

Unsurprisingly, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese has released a stern statement following yesterday's mistrial ruling in the Lawrence King murder trial. 

It was teased over the weekend, but today the Human Rights Campaign officially announces the departure of HRC President Joe Solmonese, effective in 2012. 

General Colin Powell, who disagreed with the Clinton Administration's proposal that GLBT should be able to serve openly in the military, has today released a statement that switches his opinion of DADT to a position that supports the discriminatory law's repeal.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign was quick to issue a response.

“General Powell has made clear that his position is about effectiveness...

We may have had a feeling that things were bad, but little did we know that hate crimes against GLBT Americans increased by 11% in 2008, according to the FBI. The sobering statistic was only released today, but already the Human Rights Campaign has issued a response.

Said HRC President Joe Solmonese, “These numbers are unacceptable. While it is so important that we have the new federal hate crimes law, it is critical to ensure that we continue working with the Department of Justice to ensure the safety of LGBT citizens.”

Solmonese went on to say, "We have to prosecute each hate crime to the fullest extent of the law, but we also need to get at the roots. When we don't know each other as human beings, ignorance breeds misunderstanding,...