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VIDEO: NV Sen. Kelvin Atkinson and John Amaechi on MSNBC

MSNBC's Up with Steve Kornacki hosted a great panel on Saturday to discuss Jason Collins' coming out. The panel included Washington Post columnist Mary Curtis, the newly out Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson and John Amaechi, who was the first former NBA player to come out as gay in 2007. The panel discussed the future of LGBT in sports, as well as the role of Christianity in the locker rooms and on the playing fields.

"Jason Collins isn't the distraction," said Amaechi. "I've sat in locker rooms with players who told me [the Bible] says homosexuality is disgusting. But yet they told me about the two women they slept with the night before who were not their wives. I'm interested in consistency of conviction. To Chris Broussard and others, where was your outrage at the players who beat up their partners?"

"I've heard that often the past two weeks," added Atkinson. "Why do some folks choose one 'sin' to focus on? There are so many othe things happening. Why do they choose one 'sin' to demonize people? Let people live their lives."

On April 22, Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson publicly revealed that he was gay as the senate voted to repeal the same-sex marriage ban from the state constitution. The North Las Vegas Democrat became the state senate's second out Black lawmaker. Patricia Spearman—a Black openly lesbian minister—defeated a powerful two-term incumbent senator in the 2012 Democratic primary.

Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

 

VIDEO: Nevada Sen. Kelvin Atkinson's Coming Out Speech

On Monday evening, Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson publicly revealed that he is gay as the senate voted to repeal the same-sex marriage ban from the state constitution. "I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay [man]," said the senator.

Watch the video WHEN YOU JUMP ...

Black Lesbian Patricia Spearman Ousts Incumbent in NV Senate

In what has been described as an "impressive show of force" for the progressive wing of the Nevada Democratic Party, a Black openly lesbian minister defeated a powerful two-term incumbent senator in the Democratic primary. The Rev. Pat Spearman becomes the first openly lesbian elected to the Nevada legislature, reports the Nevada Stonewall Democrats.

Spearman will not face a Republican in November and her election is almost a certainty, reports the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Backed by liberal-leaning groups, Spearman, who is black, gay and an evangelist minister, had attacked Sen. John Lee for being too moderate and not doing enough to help constituents. She picked up 63 percent of the vote, compared with 37 percent for Lee, a 15-year legislator.

"This was a victory for the people," said Spearman, who is expected to win the Democrat-dominated district in North Las Vegas in November. "I am so humbled by the people's response and the confidence they placed in me. I commend my opponent for a spirited campaign and wish him the best in his future." [...]

The Las Vegas Sun adds:

Lee’s re-election bid was a key test for progressives, who after five years of state budget cuts and concessions on sacred cows like public employee bargaining, had felt Democrats in Carson City had drifted too far to the right. To do it, they had to take on their party’s establishment — Sen. Harry Reid had endorsed Lee.

Lee’s re-election provided the almost perfect test case for the liberal groups, led by Erin Neff of ProgressNow Nevada Action, environmentalists and lesbian and gay activists. His votes and bills in Carson City had drawn their ire. This was the first time in memory that Nevada progressives have taken on an incumbent lawmaker.

Spearman will also become only the second Black women elected to the Nevada senate. The current Senate Majority Leader, Steven Horsford, is also Black and very progressive on LGBT issues.

The Nevada Democrat would become the nation's fourth Black openly lesbian state legislator, following Georgia's Simone Bell and Keisha Waites, as well as Mary Washington of Maryland. There are two Black gay men serving in state legislatures—North Carolina's Marcus Brandon and Georgia's Rashad Taylor.

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HOT: Fitness Model Mario Tweets His Muscles + Training

Thankfully everything that happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. Las Vegas-based fitness model and Apple "Genius" Mario tweets his gym progress via Instagram and iPhone.

You're welcome! One more AFTER THE JUMP ...

VIDEO: NV Sen. Majority Leader Horsford's Message to LGBT Youth

Thanks to Derek Washington for the heads up. Nevada Sen. Majority Leader Steven Horsford—also a candidate for Congress—tells LGBT youth that "it gets better" in this new video message.

"I was bullied as a kid and as a parent I never want my three children to feel that pain," says Leader Horsford. "If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender and someone has bullied you or tried to harass you, reach out and tell someone. We're hear for you. It gets better and don't give up."

Horsford was elected to represent North Las Vegas in 2004. Four years later he became the state’s first Black senate majority leader. If elected to Congress, Horsford would become Nevada's first Black representative on Capitol Hill.

Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Nevada GOP Gov. Sandoval Signs Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill

A very good day for the LGBT community in Nevada. Despite significant opposition from within his own party, the new Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill today prohibiting discrimination against transgender employees.

Sandoval will also sign two other bills that will ban gender discrimination, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

Assembly Bill 211, [signed] today, passed the Assembly 29-13 and the Senate 11-10, with all of the opposition coming from GOP lawmakers. The bill prohibits discrimination in employment based on gender identity or expression. Gender identity or expression, according to the bill, means gender-related identity appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned gender at birth.

The Assembly on Monday approved the two other anti-discrimination bills on transsexuals in public accommodations and housing. The vote was 29-13 and the bills are on their way to the governor. All 13 "no" votes were cast by Republicans.

[Dale Erquiaga, senior adviser to the governor] said the governor wanted to sign all three at the same time, but the two bills approved Monday haven't arrived in time.

The move comes one day after Tennessee's Republican governor signed legislation that will roll back some LGBT protections in Tennessee.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have broad laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender expression and/or identity, according to gay and transgender rights groups. Before this week's progress in Nevada, the most recent state to enact trans protections was Massachusetts in February.

Sandoval was elected in November 2009. The governor is the first Latino elected to statewide office in Nevada.

Nevada GOP Sen. John Ensign to Resign Amid Ethics Probe

The adulterous, "family values" conservative Republican senator who went public with his extramarital affair after he was blackmailed will resign. Nevada Sen. John Ensign announced he will resign his seat on May 3, due to the Ethics Committee investigation over his affair with a former campaign aide.

"It is with tremendous sadness that I officially hand over the Senate seat that I have held for eleven years,” said Ensign. "The turbulence of these last few years is greatly surpassed by the incredible privilege that I feel to have been entrusted to serve the people of Nevada. I can honestly say that being a United States Senator has been the honor of my life."

The senator, who has served since January 2001, was a rising star in the party when he admitted to an extramarital affair in 2009. His parents reportedly wrote a $96,000 check to his former mistress and her family, leading to an investigation by the Federal Election Commission, which was later dismissed. It was later revealed that Ensign may have violated Senate ethics rules by arranging for his former mistress's husband to take a job as a lobbyist with a Nevada consulting firm in an attempt to hush the matter up.

Adds the Los Angeles Times: "The decision now to resign with more than 20 months left in his term would spare him prosecution by the Senate Ethics Committee, which in February named a special counsel to investigate potential violations of ethics rules and federal law."

In the 1990s, Ensign blasted former President Bill Clinton and demanded his resignation in the Monica Lewinsky affair. The "staunch Christian conservative" also voted for the proposed federal marriage amendment during the Bush Administration. In 2010, Ensign reversed his support for "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and voted for repeal.

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PHOTOS: Amir Khan Strips Down to Boxer Briefs for Weigh-In

I'll never stop looking flawless, vows Amir Khan, as the British boxing phenom (once again) strips down to boxer briefs during the "head to head" weigh-in with Argentina's Marcos Maidana. The WBA junior welterweight champ is now 24-1 with 17 knockouts after Saturday's big win over Maidana in Las Vegas.

Too bad they didn't go nose-to-nose, like in Khan's last few fights. A few more pics AFTER THE JUMP ...

Las Vegas COGIC Pastor Arrested on 11 Sexual Abuse Counts

This is becoming a sadly familiar story. Yet another pastor in the rabidly anti-gay Church of God in Christ—the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States and the second largest African-American denomination—is accused of sexual misconduct against teenage boys. A Las Vegas pastor was arrested on 11 sexual abuse charges ... five years after a similar case against him was dropped, reports the Las Vegas Sun.

Billy Eckstine McCurdy, 57, pastor of the Revival Temple Church of God in Christ, was taken into custody at 1 p.m. Friday at his home in North Las Vegas without incident, police said. The alleged victims say they were forced into a sexual relationship with McCurdy, police said. They allege he used his position in the church and biblical scriptures to control them and force them into sex acts, police said.

Police said McCurdy spent a great deal of time with young people, including on youth trips to Arizona and California. Police said he conducted events at his home with young men, including sleepovers, and allowed teenagers — two victims involved in the case, among them — to live with him for extended periods. According to the criminal complaint, the alleged crimes happened between April 2007 and October 2009.

The teen boys testified at a grand jury, which indicted McCurdy last Thursday on six counts of sexual assault and five counts of open or gross lewdness. McCurdy is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail, adds the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Detectives believe "other victims" have not come forward.

Similar charges were dropped in 2005, after North Las Vegas Police arrested McCurdy after a teenage boy told investigators the pastor fondled him while they slept in the same bed. Will McCurdy's congregation stand by their pastor ... again? Or will they blame the boys for coming forward?

This becomes only the latest charge of sexual misconduct within the Church of God in Christ, which is well known for attracting many closeted black gay men and rivals the Catholic Church for the many sexual predators within its leadership. COGIC is embroiled in numerous lawsuits and criminal investigations around clergy sexual abuse—there is a micro-site on the Church website—and has been accused of covering up sexual misconduct cases for decades. On January 30, a former COGIC pastor was sentenced to 20 years on charges he raped a teenage girl some 25 years ago. One church reportedly has four convicted pedophiles on its payroll. And in March 2010, an Alabama COGIC bishop was also accused of sexual misconduct.

In November 2010 at the Church of God in Christ's Holy Convocation Youth Service in Memphis, the infamously "ex-gay"—or should we say merely "re-closeted"—Grammy Award winning gospel singer Donnie McClurkin delivered an incendiary rant against gays and gay youth and compared them to vampires.  Glass houses, stones, etc..

 

PHOTOS: Mayweather Smiles and Wears Gucci SS2010 in Mugshot

Floyd Mayweather Jr. serves up "BQ Realness" and a fitted top from Gucci's SS2010 collection in this booking photo from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The boxer posted bail on a grand larceny charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint on Friday..

Mayweather's lawyer claims the charge stems from an allegation that Mayweather took an iPhone (smh) from his ex-girlfriend and mother of three of his children. Josie Harris has a different story and says Mayweather "pulled her hair, punched her in the head and twisted her arm while she screamed for their children, who range in age from seven to 10 years old, to call 911."

Maybe it was just "trash talking" and "just a joke" ...

The pretty boy boxing champ exits the Clark County Detention Center in a matching Gucci belt AFTER THE JUMP...