Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) serve up more of the same lies and half truth’s in the Family Research Council video below. Watch:

For the record, the bill does not curb free speech; it only applies to people who commit physical acts of violence against other people. This is just more fear-mongering.

It appears the hate crimes bill will be voted on in the Senate later today, but is encountering resistance from the usual suspects, the measure being called “highly explosive!”

The Salt Lake City PD finally issued their report yesterday on a gay couple that was handcuffed and detained last month for refusing to leave after being harassed by LDS security guards for briefly kissing on church property. The full report, available here, appears to contradict the story told by LDS security guards at the scene.

Spokesmen for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Salt Lake City police department have thus far declined to specify the behavior that prompted guards to ask Matt Aune, 28, and his partner, Derek Jones, 25, to leave the plaza at 50 E. North Temple. Aune said that the guards “slammed him to the ground” while detaining him; a guard disputed that claim, according to the police report.

Aune and Jones said they have seen heterosexual couples holding hands and kissing without incident on the plaza. Church spokeswoman Kim Farah has said the Aune and Jones were not singled out for being gay and that they were “politely asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior.”

However, the police report does not indicate the men were given the option to stay if they stopped kissing or hugging. It states only that the guard told the men that “they need to leave [church] property for the behavior and that [it] is unwanted,” and that the men were detained when Jones said he would not leave.

Last weekend, nearly one hundred  protestors staged a “kiss-in” on church property in support of the couple. While LDS security was present, no arrests were made. Another kiss-in is scheduled for noon this Sunday.

Fort Worth mayor Mike Moncrief apologized yesterday for the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in June, which drew national media attention sparking claims of brutality and procedural violations.

About 250 people packed council chambers and another 150 watched on televisions in the hallway or overflow rooms as officials briefly discussed the June 28 joint raid by the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and the Fort Worth Police Department at the Rainbow Lounge, which left one man hospitalized with a serious head injury.

Moncrief told the meeting neither the TABC nor police had finished investigations into the raid, which initially had been called a routine license inspection. But the mayor said he has asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to review the department’s findings.

Someone in the audience then called out for an apology.

“If you want an apology from the mayor of Fort Worth: I am sorry about what happened in Fort Worth,” Moncrief said, as the crowd erupted in applause and stood.

More from the city council meeting below.

Investigations by the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission into the incident are still ongoing. Moncrief has asked acting U.S. Attorney James Jacks to review their findings once they have been completed.

While we should all be proud that a wise, experienced woman of color is on the cusp of becoming a Supreme Court Justice, I am frankly embarrassed by the sexism and racism on display by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama during Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings.

Here we have two white southern males, one afraid to come out of the closet, the other wearing his hypocrisy on his sleeve. First watch Senator Graham question Sotomayor’s temperament.

Graham is clearly talking down to Sotomayor, insisting that he “likes” her, and that she should appreciate that. He goes on to quote anonymous criticisms as if they were fact: she is a bully, angry, excitable and aggressive, terms often used by men afraid of strong women. Graham’s questions coupled with his statement yesterday, that “Unless you have a complete meltdown, your’re going to get confirmed,” how can you not reach the conclusion Graham’s remarks weren’t sexist? Can you imagine him questioning a man, particularly a white man, the same way? Nope. Don’t think so.

Next up… Senator Sessions questions why Sotomayor doesn’t vote like other Puerto Ricans of whom he approves, like Puerto Rican Judge Cabranes.

Sessions also said Sotomayor was “unsuitable for the bench” due to her past affiliation with an “extremist group” called the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). Strangely enough, the previously mentioned Judge Cabranes also happens to be a board member. Tell me, why is he so preoccupied with her race?

Oh well. Perhaps it’s just sour grapes. Sessions was once nominated to serve as a federal judge, but was eventually shot down by the committee on which he now sits, because he had a problem with people of color, having once said to a white civil rights lawyer that he was a “disgrace to his race” for litigating voting rights cases. The New Republic has a thorough rundown on the fine racist, I mean Senator, from Alabama.

As I said before, I am simultaneously proud and embarrassed by today’s hearings. But not surprised. The South has a long history of devaluing women and people of color. And some unfortunately carry on the tradition, even today.