Sugar's Rainbow - Friday Edition

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog reminds us that Southern Baptists, who didn't renounce slavery until 1995, are refusing to accept gay rights as civil rights.  The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. disagrees.  There's an in-depth report of the SBC's intolerant stance on ClaarionLedger.com.  Says Stan Buckley, former senior pastor at Jackson's First Baptist Church:  "The convention believes that while culture is going to constantly change, the truth of Scripture does not change."  (Except in matters of slavery and shellfish and murdering disobedient children and women remaining silent in churches.)

NOM and the Family Research Council have resurrected one of FRC's old pamphlets that compares same-sex nuptials to bestiality.  This is how they plan on attacking Maine's latest push for marriage equality.  Jeremy Hooper at Good As You connects those dots.  (If nothing else, the propaganda of hate groups is predictable.)

Three exhaustive posts on Box Turtle Bulletin refute that recent "study" by University of Texas professor Mark Regnerus which suggests kids raised by committed gay and lesbian couples don't fare as well as those brought up in traditional households.  Regenerus bristles at the avalanche of criticism he's received for slipshod methodology.  Jim Burroway observes:  "His response so far has boiled down to this: don’t pay any attention to how he used his tools. Just look at how shiny and expensive they are. But as every craftsman will tell you, it’s not the tools that make the better product, but the care of the craftsman who uses them wisely."  (The ex-gay "therapists" at NARTH are rushing to defend Regnerus' fundie-friendly conclusions, which are countered by three decades of credible - and contradictory - research.)

Minnesota's anti-gay zealots are organizing statewide rallies to persuade consumers to "Dump General Mills" because the cereal giant promotes tolerance.  Zach Ford walks the dog for Think Progress.

Country music star Carrie Underwood is having to defend herself from fans bigots over her remarks about equality.

On Pam's House Blend, Alvin McEwen provides videos that contradict professional homophobe Matt Barber's "Christian" outreach to "average everyday homosexuals."  It's a hoot. 

Learn why Ohio's gay community is optimistic about the future on the Chicago-Sun Times.  (Among other things, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County Attorney Anita Alvarez will not be defending the state's gay marriage ban.  They have referred to the 16-year old law as unconstitutional.)

The gay dads featured in JC Penney's ad campaign will be marching with the company during Sunday's NYC Pride.