Page 1 Consider (02/07)

Coming Out: Outsports is reporting that John Amaechi, a former player with the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic, will become the first NBA player to come out as gay. Amaechi is slated to make the announcement publicly on an episode of ESPN's "Outside The Lines" to air Feb. 13. His book, published by ESPN Books, "Man In The Middle," in which he chronicles his NBA career and directly addresses the travails of being a closeted professional athlete, will be released the following week. (Outsports)

Truly Stunning: An Albany, Ore., father used a 100,000-volt stun gun on his 18-month-old son, police said Monday. Rian Whittman -- who doesn't even know how to spell his own name let alone raise a child -- has been accused of assault and criminal mistreatment. Police said he used it "multiple times" over three weeks. A police spokesman said there were up to 10 instances. (AP)

Some Vacation: A French man accused of advocating the killing of gay people on a Web log has been charged with incitement of murder in the Caribbean island of Martinique, a prosecutor said. The suspect -- identified only as a 38-year-old man from Fort-de-France -- surrendered to authorities Friday in Martinique and was held in jail for two days before being released, prosecutor Claude Bellanger said Monday. Bellanger said the man told investigators that he created the blog — which called for "death to (homosexuals) ... death without exception" -- while on vacation in the U.S. city of Atlanta. The Web page also called for the killing of certain media personalities and government officials whom it alleged to be gay. (AP)

Mr. Beckham Goes to Washington: Could this idea of David Beckham getting Americans into soccer really have legs? (WP)

Failing Citizenship: The leader of a Catholic group pushing an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution banning gay marriage has been charged with a civil rights violation in addition to an assault charge in relation to a December demonstration in Worcester. Larry Cirignano, the leader of Catholic Citizenship, was formally charged Tuesday with interfering with civil rights. I'm sure the Good Lord would be proud of his behavior. (365Gay)

Grand Slam: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova will be honored at the 30th anniversary gala for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. At the May 12 event in San Francisco, Martina will receive the Voice and Visibility award, which honors those who have demonstrated a commitment to LGBT rights. (Advocate)

First and Foremost: Two bloggers hired recently by Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards were criticized Tuesday by a Catholic group for posts they had written elsewhere on the Internet. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, demanded that Edwards fire Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan. "John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots," Donohue wrote in a statement. "He has no choice but to fire them immediately." Donohue cited posts that the women made on blogs in the past several months in which they criticized the pope and the church for its opposition to homosexuality, abortion and contraception, sometimes using profanity. I'm guessing Donohue is eagerly awaiting Edwards' proposed constitutional amendment to ban free speech and freedom of the press, too. (AP)

Rough Justice: One of the men charged with killing Michael J. Sandy is set to be released on bail today. I understand the American judicial system, but isn't there a point where even an alleged crime is so grievous that someone is considered a threat to society and bail is denied? (The answer is yes, and judges are authorized to deny bail in such cases). I don't care if it's $1.3 million or not, Anthony Fortunato does not deserve to walk free at all unless a jury finds him not guilty. (GayCity)