Toby Ray Lasure, 33, the man accused of killing ex-boyfriend Christopher Tolliver, 31, in the parking lot of the Lexington Green Shopping Center last year was ruled competent to stand trial by Fayette Circuit Judge Kimberly Bunnell on Wednesday.

Republican activists threw out their party chairwoman Saturday, then bucked Texas Governor Rick Perry by pushing for a crackdown on illegal immigration similar to Arizona’s new law. New Texas GOP Platform: criminalize gay marriage and ban sodomy, outlaw strip clubs and pornography.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that U.S. President Obama could end up vetoing legislation that would lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military, depending on what is included in the upcoming defense spending bill.

The president of the anti-gay American Family Association of Kentucky, Dr. Frank G. Simon, is also in charge of the Louisville Tea Party, though not endorsed or recognized by the national Tea Party movement. Dr. Rand Paul, is scheduled to speak at Kentucky Freedom Fest 2010.

Not a single member of Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation has co-sponsored U.S. House Resolution 3567, the Respect for Marriage Act. It was quickly place in Committee, where it has remained buried since October 19, 2009. The Commonwealth’s U.S. House Delegation currently includes Ed Whitfield (R), Brett Guthrie (R), John Yarmuth (D), Geoff Davis (R), Hal Rogers (R), and Ben Chandler (D).

Experts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are midway through two days of hearings on whether a decades-old ban on gay men donating blood should stand or be lifted. Many states criminalize gay men donating blood, so even if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifts the federal ban, gay males in 37 states could still be prosecuted by the state they live in. Most states make gay men donating blood a felony, however, 3 states make it a misdemeanor offense. The Commonwealth of Kentucky is among the 37 states that prosecute.

Transgendered people in the United States will be able to get their new gender recognized on their passports without having to undergo gender reassignment surgery. The new policy is based on recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, widely recognized as a leading authority on transgender issues.

The Mormon Church has agreed to pay a $5,539.00 fine to the state of California for failing to file the proper paperwork during an anti-gay fight two years ago. Prop. 8, which restricted the definition of marriage couples to straight couples, effectively overturned the California Supreme Court’s ruling that gay couples should be allowed to marry.