Time to put your Bruce Springsteen record on, change into your flag-print jacket, and drink the last of your weekend 30-rack. It’s Sunday, and America’s only getting gayer from here on out.

This week, the land of the free was the land of the free-to-marry, with-child, acoustic-guitar-playing, walk-of-faming gay people. Oh, and President Obama also spoke to 3,000 of us in one room. Seriously.

Also there’s a slideshow of Brigitte Bardot.

Obama Keynotes HRC Dinner

President Obama was the Keynote Speaker at last night’s HRC National Dinner. It is his second time at the event, but a lot has changed since 2009. This was the largest event they’ve had yet, with over 3,000 people attending.

And what Obama had to say was not only about his work on gay rights – which includes hate crimes legislation, visitation rights, and the recent repeal on DADT – but also about Joe Solomnese (who’s recently announced that he plans to step down from the position), the HRC’s leadership, and patience:

“We are going to make progress. We are going to succeed. We are going to build a more peaceful union.”

Pentagon: Please, Have All The Marriages

The Pentagon yesterday declared that military chaplains shall, from that moment forward, be able to officiate gay unions, both  on- and off-base:

The Pentagon says a military chaplain may officiate at any private ceremony, but isn’t required if it would conflict with his or her religious or personal beliefs. The Pentagon also says Defense Department property may be used for private functions, including religious and other ceremonies such as same-sex unions, as long as it’s not prohibited by state or local laws.

Opponents of the policy said it conflicted with DOMA. But seriously, it’s a matter of time, especially with DADT in the past. So bring on the love!

Gay U.S. Rep Announces New Baby

Colorado Represenative Jared Polis is one of the few openly gay members of Congress, and he announced Friday that he and his partner, Marlon Reis, were celebrating the birth of their first child.

Caspian Julius, the baby boy, is doing well. He was born at 8 pounds, 12 ounces. The couple refuses to state whether the child came to them via an adoption. They also have not stated their view on C.S. Lewis’s The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or Prince Caspian, but.

Gay Needs Assessment is a Thing

The Chicago LGBT Community Fund will soon kick off its new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Needs Assessment: 

The Steering Committee of The LGBT Community Fund, a newly established identity-focused fund of The Chicago Community Trust, is seeking information on the needs of and issues facing Chicagoland’s LGBT community in order to allocate funding in a way that effectively meets those needs and addresses those issues. Morten Group will be conducting the assessment.

The project is being completed in two phases – first will be an online survey distribution with a minimum completion of 1,500 community members, and then will come in-depth interviews with LGBT community leaders. The assessment seeks to capture the voices of LGBT people from all areas of the Chicago greater region, and focus groups will be held to accomodate those who are further out from the main city. What will come of the assessment is a fundraising campaign to raise $1 million dollars over the next three years, matching a grant from the Trust. The Steering Committee will later distribute the money across Chicagoland to serve the LGBT community’s needs.

Kay Ryan Is a “Genius” For Real

Kay Ryan won the MacArthur Genius Award. Mere months after that Nobel-Prize-well-timed-to-be-during-AS-Pure-Poetry-week thing.

Brigitte Bardot Slideshow

B is for Brigitte, blonde, and black-and-white. Brigitte Bardot was sort of crazy and also anti-Semitic! Worth noting. Also worth noting: a vintage hottie.

Country Music Gets Gay

+ Toby Keith likes gay people:

“First of all, we’re going to stop somebody from getting a marriage license because they’re gay? You won’t stop them from living together, so what have you accomplished? … Wasting a lot of money here and a lot of time that could be spent working on this deficit that we’re under … I never saw the reasoning behind getting in people’s personal lives.”

+ Chely Wright hasn’t been invited to the Grand Ole Opry, where she performed regularly for 20 years, since she came out. And now she’s finally going back:

“I knew my story would reach some fans who thought they never knew or cared about a gay person. It’s hard to hate someone when you know them.”

Melissa Etheridge Gets a Star

On Tuesday Melissa Etheridge showed up to the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the unveiling of her star. The openly gay Grammy-winner was wearing leather (typical) and came to inspire:

“Let my life be an inspiration to anyone, gay, straight, breast cancer, woman, mother, any human being who receives the inspiration from my story,” said Etheridge at the unveiling that took place in conjunction with the launch of a “Pinktober” campaign supporting breast cancer research.

“You can have a dream that you can grown up in a small Midwestern town and believe, and desire, and create a life and end up with a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard,” she said.

Prairie Dogs Riding a Roomba

There’s nothing like an all-American prairie dog. Or vacuuming.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!