"HATE CRIME" REACTIONS: George Washington University students react to the alleged hate crime committed against a straight student last week. Here's what Marika Lee, events chair of campus LGBT group Allied in Pride, told Metro Weekly: ''I don't think in any way that this incident is indicative of the climate at GW towards LGBTQ students. GW is a very welcoming school and provides a warm atmosphere for LGBT students, in my opinion.''

AFTER THE JUMP: The lost romance of your dad selling you off to a strange man against your will; how Maryland legislators failed in same-sex marriage; how you can go "from homosexual to holiness" (it involves a late-night baptism in your "friend's" bathtub):

REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS of heterosexual courtship, back in the Elizabethan era? This anonymous press release does: "the majority of female readers believed they were most likely to find the men of their dreams during the Elizabethan era, where male suitors would go to lengths to court them. Nearly 70% agreed that the Elizabethan era modeled the ideal time period of courtship. Among other time periods, a little over 20% of readers thought the hunter-gatherer society was appealing because they could 'stay at home while the men went out to hunt.' About 10% disclosed that they would appreciate the hippie era of 'free love.' No respondents expressed that they preferred our present-day society in the Information Age." Lena Chen on this romantic age, when women could "be used as pawns in property alliances and have no say over who you marry anyway, given that important decisions like that are left up to the men."

THE WASHINGTON POST gives notes on the legislative process that has stalled a same-sex marriage bill in Maryland for another year: "It's probably a pipe dream to hope for stiff-spined legislators who take principled stands on issues and stick to them, even at peril to their reelection prospects. Advocates now seem to believe that the better strategy is to cultivate grass-roots support, perhaps by means of a more aggressive and better-targeted PR campaign than they have conducted so far. They say they'll try again for legislation in Annapolis next year. Here's hoping they prevail.

THE GERTRUDE STEIN DEMOCRATIC CLUB, an organization of LGBT Democrats in the District, has announced its endorsement for the at-large council seat. With the highest number of votes: interim seat-holder Sekou Biddle. And the runner-up: Vincent Orange. Wow. Orange has certainly come a long way since his mayoral run in 2006, when he came out against gay marriage, said that marriage advocates were not "morally fit to run this city," and added, "I'm saying same-sex marriage is not condoned by the Bible." Years later, Orange denied that he made the remarks and pledged to "uphold" same-sex marriage law in the District. He later testified that he came to reconcile his religious views with same-sex rights as a lobbyist for Pepco.

"IMMEDIATELY I FELL IN LOVE WITH JESUS": Over a soaring piano soundtrack, ex-gay Carlos describes how Jesus "fixed" him through a late-night baptism in his "friend's" bathtub. From the GLAA Forum: "This 'ex-gay' commercial features a sad young man and the usual ridiculous logic: anti-gay intolerance will make you miserable, then we'll rescue you by helping you suppress your homosexuality while hurling cherry-picked biblical passages at you." Also, a fashion-forward "From homosexual to holiness" T-shirt.