Religious Left

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"There's a saying that when a door closes, God opens a window. That's also true of LGBT activists," says Perry, who found creative ways to share the message of LGBT rights in Singapore. During 40 years of human rights activism, Rev. Dr. Troy D. Perry, founder of Metropolitan Community Churches, has been picketed, taunted by extremists, and arrested for civil disobedience. Perry knows what it is to be the target of hate mail campaigns and the recipient of death threats. Occasionally, a church or organization has canceled a speaking engagement by the outspoken human rights leader. But recent actions by Singapore marked the first time an entire country had banned Perry from public speaking engagements. Rev. Perry was part of a recent six-member delegation to Southeast Asia from Metropolitan Community Churches. The delegation, led by Rev. Pat Bumgardner, chair of the Moderator's Global Justice Team of MCC, was scheduled to conduct speaking engagements, workshops

That didn’t take long. Mitt Romney just sent out a statement about an Iowa court’s decision striking down the state law banning gay marriage: “The ruling in Iowa today is another example of an activist court and unelected judges trying to redefine marriage and disregard the will of the people as expressed through Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act. This once again highlights the need for a Federal Marriage Amendment to protect the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.”

In the 1990s, Colorado attempted to yank all possibility of legal protections away from GLBT people. This week, the state welcomes its first same-sex adoptive parents. . "People say, they need two parents. We say, they’ve got two parents," said Jeannie DiClementi, quoted in the Rocky Mountain News article that was posted yesterday. . DiClementi and her partner Mary Ross are the first Colorado same-sex couple to adopt under a newly enacted state law that provides for second-parent adoption, which allows grandparents, aunts and uncles, and same-sex parents to adopt children. . Said DiClementi, "This is a victory for children." . The bill was signed into law last May by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, who said at that time, "This law gives children in a one-parent family a chance to grow up in a two-parent home." Continued the governor, "This law will give children a better chance to succeed." . http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&

Two American priests were consecrated Thursday as Anglican bishops in Kenya, the latest in a string of conservative priests who are defecting to African churches in a dispute over gay clergy. Bill Atwood of Texas and William Murdoch of Massachusetts left the Episcopal Church -- the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion -- because it allows the ordination of gay priests. The spiritual head of the Anglican Communion , Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has asked African archbishops not to consecrate U.S. priests to help avoid a schism. Kenyan Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said there had been no direct communication with Williams over the Thursday's ceremony. Williams has no direct authority to force a compromise because each Anglican province is self-governing. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/08/30/Kenya.anglicans.ap/

Gay rights groups on Thursday fiercely criticized Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann for bowing to pressure by religious parties in his decision to redraft inheritance laws. The revised bill would preclude homosexual couples from inheritance laws that apply to people in common-law marriages. The chairman of the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association, Mike Hamel, said that "since the beginning of his miserable term, the Justice Minister has been resolute to set Israel back 30 years." Friedmann's new bill contradicts the recommendations of a public commission headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel. The commission was appointed in 1999 to reform the 1965 inheritance law. The minister decided to limit the proposed inheritance law to "a man and a woman who lead a family life in a joint household." The original bill, which the committee approved, however, proposed to regard all "partners who live together in a common household

Overturning an earlier ruling that upheld a lesbian minister's right to perform same-sex weddings, a Presbyterian appeals court decided last week that the minister had violated church policy. The Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission, representing Presbyterian churches in California, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, ruled 6-2 August 23 that the Reverend Jane Spahr should be rebuked for marrying gay and lesbian couples. "For me, this kind of decision again perpetuates a second-class attitude. It not only perpetuates myths and stereotypes, but some people will feel it gives them license to do violence," Spahr said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Spahr has served as a Presbyterian minister since 1974. Early in her career she founded the Ministry of Light in Marin County, which became Spectrum Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, in San Anselmo. More recently she started a national Presbyterian group for LGBT people called, That All May Freely Serve. Alt

“A Massachusetts man handcuffed and hauled to jail after he objected to a public school teaching his kindergarten-age son about homosexuality and refused to leave a meeting has gone to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking justice. The man, his wife and another family are battling what they describe as a court order for segregation, after a judge ruled if they didn’t like the school’s advocacy for homosexuality, they could take their children and leave. They also are arguing that U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf’s statement that “as it is difficult to change attitudes … after they have developed, it is reasonable for public schools to attempt to teach understanding and respect for gays and lesbians,” actually is unconstitutional. The appeal is in the case brought by David and Tonia Parker and Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, who have children of school age in Lexington, Mass. They alleged district officials and staff at Estabrook Elementary School violated state law and civil rights by

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning. 2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall. 3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. 4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal. 5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed. 6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children. 7. Obviously gay parents will raise

It's a fact the Bible Belt has the highest divorce rate. It's also a fact that "Red states" (republicans) have a higher divorce (outside of Nevada, which really doesn't count) rate then "Blue states". Also, the United States has a higher divorce rate then any other country in the world! Here's some links: http://www.state.ok.us/osfdocs/budget/table25.pdf http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_div_rat-people-divorce-rate http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/weekinreview/14pamb.html?ex=1258174800&%2338;en=4f927c5f27fb9966&%2338;ei=5090 http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/31/walking_the_walk_on_family_values/

Regarding the anti-gay movement in Oregon to petition new Gay rights laws the Portland Mercury (newspaper) dispatched writers to check out five Portland-area evangelical churches—churches whose pastors helped organize the "Pastors and Religious Leaders Day at the Capitol" against these same gay rights bills on April 5—to see how the campaign is going. Would hundreds of Christians be lined up to sign against equality, or is the campaign truly faltering? http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=400391&category=34029

Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, a New Hampshire resident, came out in support of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. http://www.towleroad.com/2007/08/gay-episcopal-b.html

The only openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Church has unveiled plans for a civil union with his longtime partner, unleashing an attack by church conservatives who call it a publicity stunt. New Hampshire's Episcopal Bishop, Gene Robinson, tells the British Broadcasting Corporation that he and his partner of 18 years, Mark Andrew, 53, will have a civil union shortly after the state's civil union law goes into effect next year. http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/08/082307roun.htm

Gay Episocopal Bishop Gene Robinson, a New Hampshire resident, came out in support of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. http://www.towleroad.com/2007/08/gay-episcopal-b.html

Peter Akinola, the Nigerian archbishop, and his pals in the conservative “Global South” movement gave North American “brothers” until the end of September to cease and desist in ordaining queer clergy. You can read the entire article at: http://www.queerty.com/news/the-akinola-ultimatum-20070820/

As if being Gay isn't enough stress for a young man, add religion into the situation and the stress levels skyrocket. I saw this posting on another blog today and found it quite moving: http://gayspirituality.typepad.com/blog/2007/08/still-and-know.html

It seems to me there is a distinction between Religious affiliation and Political affiliation. It also seems many blur the distinction (ie: websites with a similar name to this one). A "Religious left person" is not required to be Republican. I submit, there are many Democrats with "religious left" thinking as well as other political affiliations.