New data from the Census Bureau, and analyzed by the Williams Institute, found that Provincetown, Mass., has the highest population of same-sex couples. West Hollywood, Calif., which was once No. 1, has dropped out of the top five. The New York Times examined cities that made the top 10 for the first time: Pleasant Ridge, Mich.; New Hope, Pa; and Rehoboth Beach, Del. Gary Gates of the Williams Institute said, “As the baby boomer generation ages into retirement we see its impact really strongly in the geography.” Lawyers are scheduled to present closing arguments Thursday in the trial of Brandon McInerney, the California teen accused of murdering classmate Lawrence King. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell decided Tuesday that jurors in the case could opt for a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter if they find McInerney not guilty of either first-degree or second-degree murder. The anti-gay positions of some Republican presidential candidates continue to come to light. The Swampland blog on Time.com pointed out that in his first book, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) compared the lives of gay and lesbian people to alcoholism and wrote, "Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink. And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.” Washington Post writers Jonathan Capehart and Greg Sargent both highlighted and criticized the passage in blog posts on the newspaper’s website. Paul Thornton examined the anti-gay views of Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). Thornton wrote about how the public has received these anti-gay positions: "Perry's and Bachmann's views aren't weighed against President Obama's 'evolving' stance on same-sex marriage; rather, they are simply ridiculed. It says as much about our society as it does the candidates. It gets better indeed." While filling in for Hardball host Chris Matthews, Ron Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan, criticized anti-gay positions held by Santorum and took particular issue with Santorum’s comparison of marriage equality and paper products:

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The Kentucky Equality Federation on Wednesday requested that the federal government investigate the attack of a lesbian couple and their family that occurred at a fireworks display on July 4. The couple says a crowd shot fireworks at the family and hit and kicked one of the women while saying anti-LGBT slurs. Lake County School District Superintendent Susan Moxley this week reinstated Jerry Buell to his teaching position. Buell was suspended after he made anti-gay comments about New York's marriage law on his Facebook page. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Buell is scheduled to speak at a rally sponsored by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel, which is representing Buell. Elmhurst College added a question to its admission application about whether applicants would consider themselves "to be a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community?” The question will appear on applications for new students hoping to enroll in the school in the fall of 2012. Those who answer “yes” may be eligible for a scholarship.