A lesbian couple claims they were the victims of an anti-gay assault while attending a Baptist church in Memphis Tennessee.

Monique Stevens, who is a lesbian, said she and her partner were attending the 11 a.m. service at New Olivet Baptist Church because they wanted to meet the Rev. Kenneth Whalum Jr., who they intended to support in the Oct. 15 mayoral election.

An hour into service, Whalum told the congregation to bow to the ground and blow kisses to God, Stephens said, but she and her partner, who are agnostic, did not move.

She said Whalum and church members began calling them “devil worshippers” and “gay,” among other derogatory names. Security guards surrounded and pushed them out of the sanctuary. Stephens said her glasses were broken and both she and her partner of three years have bruises and scratches from the altercation. No arrests were made, police said.

Whalum, however, said the women were “being disruptive, boisterous and speaking loud. They had to have some kind of agenda to come in church like that.”

More from the Memphis Flyer:

When Stevens placed her arm around her partner, the women claim a security guard asked the two to leave the church, claiming he’d already called the police. They allege that a group of young men pushed them out of the church while others taunted them with calls of “bitch” and “devil worshipper.”

According to Rod 2.0, Pastor Whalum, who stood idly by as the event transpired, was a vocal opponent to proposed anti-discrimination ordinance back in July.

A new ad called “Together” began airing in Maine today advocating for marriage equality. The ad comes on the eve of a decision that may force marriage equality to a November vote provided enough signatures are gathered in opposition to the law, despite the governor having signed the measure on May 6. The 60 second spot is produced by Equality Maine, GLAD and MCLU.

Marriage equality in Maine is opposed by StandForMarriageMaine, as well as the usual suspects, the National Organization for Marriage and the Catholic Church.

The Human Rights Watch issued a report today condemning the violence committed against the LGBT community in Iraq, where it is suspected that hundreds have been murdered since 2004 as a part of a “social cleansing” campaign. From the Washington Post:

Although the scope of the problem remains unclear, hundreds of gay men may have been killed this year in predominantly Shiite Muslim areas, the report’s authors said, basing their conclusion on interviews with gay Iraqi men, hospital officials and an unnamed United Nations official in Baghdad.

“The government has done absolutely nothing to respond,” said Scott Long, director of the gay rights program at Human Rights Watch. “So far there has been pretty much a stone wall.”

Homosexuality was tacitly accepted during the last years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, but Iraqis have long viewed it as taboo and shameful.

Iraq’s human rights minister, Wijdan Salim, has expressed concern about the reported slayings, but few other government officials have addressed the issue publicly or indicated that they are disturbed by the reports.

CNN ran the following segment on the report.

In a New York Times Magazine interview over the weekend Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano fielded a few questions about the lesbian rumors that have followed her and other women in politics.

Men don’t know what to make of women who choose to be single. Rumors of lesbianism have dogged women in politics like you,Condoleezza Rice and Ann Richards.
Right. I think the more people get to know a person, the less that becomes an issue. It’s interesting. In Arizona when I first ran for public office, that’s when the rumors were going around, and of course I’m sure they go around now.

In 2002, during your gubernatorial campaign, you publicly denied rumors that you were a lesbian.
I just happen not to be married.

Are you seeing anybody now?
Yes, my staff.

Some food for thought…

Back in 2006, Napolitano was asked why she opposed Prop 107, an amendment which would have banned same-sex marriage in Arizona. The governor responded “Marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the law, and I believe that’s our tradition. I think Prop 107 goes way beyond that.”

When asked if her view was hypocritical because most people believed she was a closeted lesbian.

“No. No, and I’m offended by that question.”