Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns appeared on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss a lawsuit filed on behalf of five students in Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District, which is reportedly in Rep. Michele Bachmann's congressional district.  The suit challenges a policy that requires faculty to remain “neutral” on matters related to LGBT people. Earlier in the day, David McFarland, the acting director and CEO of The Trevor Project, spoke to openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts about the policy and the lawsuit against it. In the Washington Post, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones wrote about marriage equality in New York and said, "that gays and lesbians are taking the commitment of marriage this seriously may help heterosexuals appreciate what they have, and what they may have begun to take for granted." Perez Hilton also applauded The View's co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck for criticizing anti-gay activists who held protests on July 24, the day New York’s marriage law took effect. Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation this week released a video as part of the "It Gets Better Project."  The only member of the delegation who did not appear in the video was Sen. Scott Brown (R). A spokesperson for Brown said, “Scott Brown has a strong record at the state and federal level against bullying and believes that all people regardless of sexual orientation should be treated with dignity and respect. His main focus right now is on creating jobs and getting our economy back on track.” The Baltimore Orioles also recorded a video for the “It Gets Better Project” featuring Jake Arrieta, Jason Berken, Zach Britton, Kevin Gregg and Michael Gonzalez. Orioles Director of Communications Greg Bader said in a statement, “Bullying of any kind, for any reason, is unacceptable to our organization, and we are pleased to have our players speak out against this behavior in the hope it will provide encouragement to LGBT youth, and all children, who are facing hatred and prejudice.” In North Carolina, the state House Republicans on Wednesday proposed expanding their session to consider constitutional amendments, including one aiming to ban marriage for same-sex couples. Republican lawmakers said they want to use the issue to mobilize so-called conservative voters, but Wake Forest political science professor John Dinan said he doesn’t believe the issue will draw many who are not already interested in voting for president or governor. The Houston Chronicle reports that some Texas officials recently wrote letters to commissioners in the Amarillo office of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in opposition of the approval of the parole of Jon Buice, who killed gay Houston banker Paul Broussard in 1991. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday asked experts on blood donations to reexamine the policy that prevents gay and bi men from donating blood. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Representative Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) both applauded the move, with Kerry saying, “HHS is doing their due-diligence and we plan to stay focused on the end game – a safe blood supply and an end to this discriminatory ban.”