Religious Left

Anglican leaders from Scotland and Mexico are expected to call for gay people's full inclusion in the church, in a row which has split the Communion. Their call is anticipated at a conference in Manchester Cathedral to promote "inclusive theology". Archbishop Carlos Touche-Porter of Mexico, and Primus Idris Jones of the Scottish Episcopal Church, are taking part in the conference. It is thought that were the US branch of the Communion to leave or be expelled, it would take several other liberal national churches with it, possibly including both Mexico and Scotland.

There aren't often spectators at meetings of the Waterloo Catholic District School Board's Family Life Advisory Committee. But last night, some 50 people turned out to listen to a discussion on if the board should remove a resource book accessible only to teachers. Local group Defend Traditional Marriage and Family objects to "Open Minds to Equality" because it presents homosexuality as "morally neutral," said group spokesperson Jack Fonseca in his presentation to the committee. "To the extent that some people may potentially be led by the book 'Open Minds' to reject scriptural teaching on homosexual acts, to that same extent, they will have been led to reject Jesus." 'Open Minds' is "an educator's sourcebook of activities to help students understand and change inequalities based on race, gender, class, age, language, sexual orientation, physical/mental ability and religion," says the blurb on the back of the book.

Peter Akinola, Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), yesterday rejected assurances by U.S. Anglican Bishops to halt ordination of gay bishops. Akinola described the assurances as "not a whole-hearted embrace of traditional Christian teaching. Instead of the change of heart (repentance) we sought, what we were offered was a mere temporary adjustment," he said in a statement. In a bid to save its members in the U.S. from churches who support homosexuality, Akinola floated a branch to cater for them. The branch known as Convocation of Anglican in North America (CANA) will consecrate an additional four bishops this December.

In his 2002 gubernatorial bid Mitt Romney supported "age-appropriate" sex education. Today he doesn't. Mitt Romney will issue a statement this morning condemning the Democratic candidates for their refusal at last night's debate to rule out teaching about gay issues to second-graders.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Calling same-sex marriage a civil right , more than a dozen San Fernando Valley clergy members joined a statewide effort Wednesday to pressure the California Supreme Court to end the ban on gay marriages. Ahead of what is widely expected to be the next major state Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, reverends, pastors and rabbis met at St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Hollywood to announce they would file 30 amicus briefs, formal documents intended to persuade courts on an issue. The religious leaders, who were joined by 90 civil-rights organizations across the state that also filed briefs, are hoping to influence the court's decision on an upcoming review of a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on gay marriage. Performing legalized marriage ceremonies - same-sex or heterosexual - is a basic religious freedom that should be left up to each clergy member, said the Rev. Jay Atkinson, senior pastor for Unitarian Universalist Church of St...

Thankfully, General Pace will be retiring soon. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, caused a stir at a Senate hearing Wednesday when he repeated his view that gay sex is immoral and should not be condoned by the military. "Are there wonderful Americans who happen to be homosexual serving in the military? Yes," he told the Senate Appropriations Committee during a hearing focused on the Pentagon's 2008 war spending request. "We need to be very precise then, about what I said wearing my stars and being very conscious of it," he added. "And that is, very simply, that we should respect those who want to serve the nation but not through the law of the land, condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law." I guess he's used to ordering people around.

I thought this was pretty funny so thought I'd share. http://www.maximonline.com/Iranisfaaabulous/video/6118.aspx

Yesterday I saw Bush speak at the United Nations. He was condemning a few countries, including Iran, for Human Rights violations. Listening to this almost made me ill. It almost made me ill because I remember in January of 2006 the Bush administration was aligning itself with Iran on a initiative to deny United Nations consultative status to organizations working to protect the rights of LGBT people. " This vote is an aggressive assault by the U.S. government on the right of sexual minorities to be heard. It is astonishing that the Bush administration would align itself with Sudan, China, Iran and Zimbabwe in a coalition of the homophobic. " Scott Long, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch

NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) — The US Episcopal Church has agreed to halt ordination of gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions, straining to try to prevent a painful split in the global Anglican Communion. The church leaders who bowed to international pressure on those issues, however, also vowed late Tuesday to continue to fight for the recognition of the civil rights of homosexuals. Tom Shaw, the bishop of Massachusetts, indicated that same-sex blessings might continue. "Coming from a state, the only state, that has marriage equality in the United States, I am especially pleased for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in the church that we included the statement by the primates where they said that if there were personal, pastoral reasons for the blessing of same-sex unions that was something that was understood," he said at a press conference.

ST. GEORGE, Utah - The leader of a polygamous Mormon splinter group was convicted Tuesday of being an accomplice to rape for performing a wedding between a 19-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl. "Everyone should now know that no one is above the law, religion is not an excuse for abuse and every victim has a right to be heard,'' said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose office endorsed the prosecution in Washington County. Defense attorney Wally Bugden, who told jurors that Jeffs was a victim of religious persecution, declined to comment. Jeffs is also charged in Arizona with being an accomplice to both incest and sexual misconduct with a minor for arranging marriages between two underage girls and relatives. Jeffs is also under federal indictment in Utah on charges of fleeing to avoid prosecution. Jeffs was in a red Cadillac Escalade in which investigators found more than $57,000, cell phones, prepaid credit cards, wigs and sunglasses.

In what may be a prelude to other attempts nationwide, a campaign is under way for a 2008 ballot initiative that would amend the Florida constitution to outlaw gay marriage . That drive is being fueled by the Florida Family Policy Council – which is affiliated with James Dobson’s Focus on the Family — and a local outfit called the Community Issues Council. High-profile Religious Right leaders helped draw attention to the Florida anti-gay marriage drive by co-sponsoring a so-called “Family Impact Summit” at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Fla., over the weekend. The three-day event was replete with speakers who bemoaned gays as societal threats and pleaded for evangelical Christians to not become complacent in the public policy arena. The underlining message of the conference was not subtle – the outcome of the 2006 elections was disappointing, but don’t give up. So conference speakers urged the gathering of around 300, many of them local pastors, to become informed on the issues...

Inside Fort Lauderdale City Hall, a contingent of gay white men squared off against black ministers this month, arguing over civil rights . Outraged over the ministers' decision to announce their support of Mayor Jim Naugle's crusade against homosexuals on Sept. 4, about 20 gay activists wearing red shirts and AIDS pins condemned the clergymen the next day for not being sympathetic to their cause -- one they say mirrors the African-American struggle. The ministers did not agree. Now the debate over gay rights threatens to drive a wedge between members of South Florida's black community. Despite the support that many black ministers showed for Naugle, the local NAACP took a public stand against the mayor, calling his crusade a ``hate campaign.''

Military officials are investigating an Army specialist's allegations that he was harassed for being an atheist but said Saturday they have found no trace of the officer listed as a defendant in the soldier's lawsuit . Spc. Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit this past week against a Maj. Paul Welborne and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. In a series of e-mails to Mikey Weinstein, the foundation's founder and president, Hall said he feared for his safety after being "hallchecked" _ being shoved against a wall in a hallway _ by fellow soldiers who objected to his lawsuit. Bloggers have also referred to "fragging" Hall, or killing him by friendly fire. "I hope I am not the victim of a hate crime while I sleep tonight. I do not want to die for my country this way," wrote Hall, saying a noncommissioned officer was threatening to beat him. "I'm doing my best right now. But I am still afraid that I might ...

An Irving, Texas "ex-gay" counselor has been convicted of sexually assaulting a male client, ordered to register as a sex offender, and sentenced to ten years in prison. AS Queerty reported in a Sept. 6 posting, Chris Austin, a preacher with Renew Ministries, received seven years’ probation even though he was sentenced to a decade in prison. Austin was also fined $2,500. "The abuse apparently involved a bit of unwanted penetration," Queerty reported, noting that a previous claim from 2001 pitted Austin against a man named Mark Hufford, who brought a civil suit against the preacher based on similar accusations, but later dropped it. Austin was the founder of Renew Ministries, which is a counseling center operating from an Irving, Texas church. Austin was affiliated with NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and had presented a seminar at a NARTH convention in 2004 called "Understanding and Treating Compulsive Sexual Behav...

(London) An Iranian lesbian facing deportation from Britain has been freed from detention and will be allowed to remain in the UK, ending an international campaign to prevent her from being sent back to a regime that could have imposed the death penalty on her . Pegah Emambakhsh, 40, fled to Britain from Iran in 2005 after her partner was arrested and tortured. Homosexuality is considered a crime in Iran and can carry the death penalty. In 2005, the Islamic regime hanged two teenagers on charges of involvement in homosexual acts .

State Environmental Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson today withdrew a state-funded tax break for a Methodist group that refuses to allow gay couples to celebrate their civil unions at the popular beachfront pavilion in Ocean Grove. Jackson denied the Green Acres program tax exempt status the state had granted to the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association because, she said in a letter sent to the association, "...it is clear that the Pavilion is not open to all persons on an equal basis." A lesbian couple filed a state civil rights complaint against the Camp Meeting Association earlier this year after their request to hold a civil union at the pavilion was denied. The association, in turn, filed federal civil rights suit, claiming its rights as a church would be violated if it were forced to allow civil unions, which conflict with Methodist doctrine. Garden State Equality, a gay activist organization supporting the lesbian couple, today claimed the decision as a victory th...

The Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity and the juvenile court system have begun their investigation of an alleged anti-gay hate crime that occurred on campus. An undergraduate student and a recent graduate of the Divinity School, both male, alleged that their affectionate behavior drew anti-gay comments and slurs from another undergraduate and a non-student guest as they ordered food from the Carmichael Towers West Quiznos on Sept. 9 around 10:45 p.m. The suspects became argumentative and told the alumnus to “get out of (their) face,” said the report, obtained Saturday from the Metro Nashville Police Department Central Records Division. When the couple left Towers West they were accosted by the two suspects in what “appeared to be a premeditated, unprovoked attack,” said Dean of Students Mark Bandas. The police report narrative does not mention the anti-gay language used in Quiznos, but it does indicate suspicion of a hate crime. http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/47...

CAMBRIDGE — Central Kings Rural High School students David Shepherd and Travis Price bought 75 pink tank tops and other pink items for students to wear after a new student at the school was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Two students at Central Kings Rural High School fought back against bullying recently, unleashing a sea of pink after a new student was harassed and threatened when he showed up wearing a pink shirt. http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/858884.html .

U.S. Episcopal bishops, fed up with Anglican criticism of their support for gay priests, implored the Anglican spiritual leader to hear their side of the story -- in person. Starting Thursday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will be in New Orleans for that private talk, hoping he can hold together the increasingly fractured world Anglican family. Williams arrives in the U.S. facing a real danger that the global Anglican Communion could break up on his watch. http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-anglican-crisis,0,7650946.story .

Hollywood Lutheran Church in Hollywood, CA, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has called the Reverend Daniel M. Hopper to be their pastor in defiance of denominational policy. With an 82% majority, church members voted to hire Pastor Hooper at a congregational meeting on Sunday, March 21. http://www.llgm.org/media/Hollywood042804.pdf .

NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out warned news organizations today to be skeptical of a biased “ex-gay” sham study that will be released by right wing therapists in Nashville this afternoon. The “research,” which was conducted by Stanton L. Jones of Wheaton College and Mark A. Yarhouse of Pat Robertson University, reportedly will show that a significant percentage of gay people can become straight through religious-based counseling. “It appears as if this study is the equivalent of the Phillip Morris ‘research’ team interviewing members of the company’s public relations team on the safety of cigarettes,” said Besen. “This study may be a deceptive sham with the goal of making it appear as if science backs fundamentalist beliefs on homosexuality.” http://www.truthwinsout.org/ .

Many Muslims ascend on Mecca (pictured) during Ramadan. "Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Every day during this month, Muslims around the world spend the daylight hours in a complete fast. This includes a fast of smoking, drinking (yes, even water) and even sex. They evening meal begins at sunset and is an event usually shared with family (almost like Thanksgiving everyday for 30 days). As a time to purify the soul, refocus attention on God, and practice self-sacrifice, Ramadan is much more than just not eating and drinking. My Muslim ex-boyfriend once told me it's a time of absolution for the past years "regressions". During Ramadan, every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things. The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it. The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. Th...

The Anglican Bishop of Uyo, Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama, this month condemned the activities of homosexuals and lesbians, and described those engaged in them as "insane people''. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, earlier this month, Orama said: "Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those who practice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they are rebels to God's purpose for man." http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5427.html .

For any of you who are so inclined,feel free to post articles and/or opinions of your own. -tom

9/11/07 - The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) center screened the documentary Saint of 9/11 on Monday night. The film told the story of Father Mychal Judge, a gay man, Franciscan Friar and chaplain for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) who died on Sept. 11, 2001. After the screening, the audience participated in an open discussion of the film. While reactions varied in content, all were positive. http://media.www.ramcigar.com/media/storage/paper366/news/2007/09/11/News/Film-Showcases.Life.Of.Fdny.Chaplain.Lost.On.911-2960976.shtml .

Now Craig has come under fire from an entirely new quarter: the church of right-fringe anti-gay Rev. Fred Phelps. In a press release dated Aug. 28, Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka, Kansas, exhorted followers to "Thank God for revealing a bit of truth about Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho; and, by a logical extension, about the United States Congress." Said the church’s press release, "Sen. Craig used his powerful office--(on loan from God, temporarily)--to oppose [Westboro Baptist Church], to speak against WBC, and to vote against WBC’s Constitutional rights of free religious exercise and freedom of speech." http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=22898 .

Jennifer Chrisler knows the score on gay families. The mother of two runs Family Pride, an organization that provides support and secures rights for gay families. When Chrisler took her twin sons to preschool, she picked a liberal, private school in downtown Washington. The school had a reputation for being friendly to gay parents and Chrisler and her partner, Cheryl Jacques, met with and came out to the principal and their sons’ teachers before school started. “Then we got a letter, actually from their preschool teachers: Please remind your mom and dad …” Chrisler says. “I’m always amazed.” http://www.familypride.org/blog/2007/09/lgbtq-parents-schools.html .

The public place was a men's room at a Waynesville park, where police were conducting a sting operation based on complaints that homosexual men were meeting there for sex. But Penland's case differs from the two notorious previous cases this summer. In both of those cases, the alleged sex acts were slated for the public place, and in one case, in exchange for money. In contrast, the priest proposed having sex "by asking him if he (Penland) could go home with the officer," the arrest report stated. "He was in the process of following the undercover officer 'home' when he was stopped." So what happened in public? A private conversation between two men agreeing to have consensual sex in private. That's because North Carolina still has barbaric anti-sodomy laws on the books, despite a 4-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidates them. So don't confuse the priest with those other guys. Penland had the decency to seek a private spot. His ...

Sept. 6, 2007 Dear Rowan, I am delighted that you have agreed to meet with the House of Bishops of the American Episcopal Church in September, even if you appear to be unwilling to come alone. It has seemed strange that you, who have had so much to say about the American Church, have not been willing to do so before now. Your office is still honored by Episcopalians in this country, so our bishops will welcome you warmly and politely. We have some amazingly competent men and women in that body, many of whom have not yet met you. There is clearly an estrangement between that body and you in your role as the Archbishop of Canterbury. I want to share with you my understanding of the sources of that estrangement. First, I believe that most of our senior bishops, including me, were elated, at your appointment by Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Most Americans are not aware that yours is an appointed, not an elected position. Those of us who knew you were keenly aware of yo...

SACRAMENTO—The Senate is sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill allowing same-sex marriages, a measure he's expected to veto. The bill redefines marriage as a civil contract between two people, but would still let religious groups refuse to sanction the unions. Longtime gay activist and state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (KUE-el) of Santa Monica carried the measure. She says gays haven't been treated equally, even though their love is the same as others'. Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Aaron McLear, says the governor hasn't taken a specific position on this bill, but he'll follow the results of a 2000 ballot initiative, when voters supported limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar gay marriage bill in 2005. .

In a stunning display of ignorance, Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted that he had no idea what the acronym LGBT stands for. In Concord, New Hampshire, McCain was asked by a high school student what he intended to do to protect LGBT rights. McCain looked confused, and then, when it was explained to him that LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, McCain stammered, “I had not heard that phrase before”. As a United States Senator, John McCain is supposed to keep himself informed on the important political issues of the day, but it appears that McCain has neglected this duty. America cannot afford to have such an ill-informed man as President. After all, if a President does not even know what the LGBT community is, there is very little likelihood that he will act to protect the rights of people in that community.

In a statement , Basic Rights Oregon announced that a complaint has been filed with the Oregon Secretary of State's office against groups opposing two recently passed gay rights laws . The complaint specifically accuses two groups of unlawfully soliciting donations: According to the complaint, an organization called "Concerned Oregonians" and another group are misleading voters by claiming that contributions to their efforts are eligible for a "dollar-for-dollar" political tax credit of up to $100. In fact, only contributions made to legitimate ballot measure and candidate campaigns are eligible for Oregon's Political Tax Credit. According to the complaint, Concerned Oregonians, which has been soliciting support and donations from individuals and churches, is not a political action committee at all. The other group is not a campaign or ballot measure committee and donations to its efforts are not eligible for the credit. The deception doesn't end there: ...

NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an 'ex-gay' counselor in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting a client. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven years probation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. After years of reported abuse - including several alleged victims who testified at the trial - it is welcome news that Austin has finally been put out of business, says TWO. Austin spoke of the "devastating spiritual effects homosexuality has on a mans heart." However, he failed to take his own advice when he once wrote, "Before addressing the brokenness in others, we must defeat all the responses of our own flesh." "As we have seen with Christopher Austin, Mark Foley and Larry Craig, gay people who do not learn to accept themselves act out in unhealthy ways," said Besen. "I hope Austin can use this experience to come out and have hea...

MIAMI (AP) - The Rev. D. James Kennedy, a pioneering Christian broadcaster and megachurch pastor whose fiercely conservative worldview helped fuel the rise of the religious right in American politics, died Wednesday. He was 76

The openly gay Bishop V Gene Robinsonin the US has accused African critics who describe homosexuals as "worse than beasts" of using the kind of language once employed in the United States to justify slavery. Bishop Robinson's 2003 consecration in the US Episcopal Church has deeply divided the worldwide Anglican Communion on the issue of homosexuality. "Coming out of the experience of the United States where we treated people who came from Africa as less than human and used scripture to justify slavery and bondage, it is painful to me. But we did repent," Robinson said in an interview broadcast by BBC radio on 28 August. "I think some people in Africa are using the same thinking, in some sense, about gay and lesbian people." Bishop Robinson said, however, "I believe Peter Akinola believes he is following his call to God as best he can. I just wish he could believe that I am following my call as best I can." Some bishops from the Global South ...

On Aug. 23, the Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission, a regional body of the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) , reversed the Presbytery of the Redwood’s previous acquittal of any wrongdoing by the Rev. Jane Spahr in her decision to officiate at marriage ceremonies for two lesbian couples. The Synod stated, “Although the Rev. Dr. Spahr had acted with conscience and conviction, her actions were contrary to the [ Presbyterian Church ( USA ) ] Constitution as it is authoritatively interpreted.” In a 6-2 vote, the Synod directed that a finding of guilty be entered, and Spahr receive the censure of rebuke, which was the lightest punishment possible for the offense. “For me to say that one is better than the other…I don’t even think like that. It’s got to be equal. … I’m not only for equal rights, I’m for equal rites,” explained Sparh. http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=15946 .

Pastor Salvatore Roggio, of Millville, New Jersey, was compelled to hang a sign outside his church that read, "Help for the Homosexual" promoting the week's sermon delivered by "ex-gay" Greg Quinlan . "I do not believe that people are born gay," Pastor Salvatore Roggio said, speaking in front of the sign. Roggio believes homosexuality is an addiction - like alcoholism - and can be broken. Unfortunately for Rev. Roggio's daughter, she is a lesbian born into the family of a man who believes homosexuality is a choice. The 29-year-old woman came out to her parents when she was 18, after struggling for years with her sexuality and the ramifications of her father's religious beliefs. " It is with great sadness that I learned of the public statements my father has made against my community ," said Sharon Roggio. She continued, "Just as straight people never made the choice to be straight, gays and lesbians never made the choice to be ...

According to a Chinese newspaper, Shanghai’s city government is readying laws that would criminalize the renting of housing space to unmarried couples, including same-sex partners. According to reports, the city government of Shanghai intends to stop cohabitation outside of marriage. However, reports also suggested that besides this moral values reason, there may be other, more pragmatic aims at work, such as thinning out the city’s population density. http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=22731

The Naming Project Summer Camp aims to teach its young charges that their sexuality and their faith need not contradict each other -- that openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are as deserving and capable of spiritual fulfillment as anyone. Here on a wooded island in the middle of a serene northern Minnesota lake, these GLBT teenagers were attending a Bible camp that may be the only one of its kind in the world. "I wish I could have found a camp like this when I was younger," said Justin Ward, a counselor and a seminary student in New York City. "I think of all the pain it could have spared me just to know there is a place like this." "I spent so many nights lying on my bedroom floor, crying," Ward said. "I'd beg God to change me into the person I thought other people wanted me to be." http://wcco.com/local/local_story_245114040.html

While the bible passage Leviticus 20:13 advocates the killing of queers, there are other stories in the bible that feature what might be gay and lesbian love affairs. So says Reverend Heather Creighton of the Metropolitan Church in Burnley, a Melbourne chapter of an international queer-friendly church network that began in California in 1968. “To keep out of people’s bedrooms,” is the message that Heather would like to send out to the elements of the mainstream church that advocates homophobia. “There are homosexual stories in the bible, if you really want to look at them,” she suggests. “The love between Ruth and Naomi and the love between David and Jonathan. If you look a bit closer at the story of the Centurian, his servant could possibly be viewed as a homosexual too,” she says, adding “but I wouldn’t want to go there.” She is but one voice in a worldwide chorus of Christians who insist that Jesus never said anything forbidding about homosexuality; that it is the words and agendas...

Sometimes I think most of the gay-bashing, right-wing politicians in the US are self-loathing, closeted homosexuals. Craig's vilification by his fellow Republicans contrasts sharply with their treatment of his fellow Repulican Senator David Vitter of Lousiana, who admitted to paying (female) prostitutes for sex. Vitter can continue his political career after he asked for forgiveness and pledged to "give his life to Jesus." "Why do you think Americans care so much about an “issue” that ignites so little controversy in Europe? Why are we alone in the developed world in our intense distress about the fact that a minority of people are erotically attracted to members of their own their own sex rather than to the opposite sex? " "Is the power of fundamentalist religion, again unique in the developed world, the only explanation for the American fixation on gays as a threat to traditional values? Perhaps this also has something to do with traditional images of A...

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville In an enduring photograph of September 11, a team of rescue workers carry a Franciscan priest’s body from the World Trade Center. The world came to know Father Mychal Judge, a Chaplain of the Fire Department of New York City, in death as a symbol of courage and sacrifice. Father Judge was a gay man who loved his priestly work. When: September 05, 2007 - 06:30 PM - 08:30 PM Where: Hodges Library - Lindsay Young Auditorium - Knoxville, TN 37996

At the end of the day gay marriage is a debate because Americans are forever obsessed with other people’s sex lives. Each day we are flooded with news of celebrities’ sexual doings, and you can’t get from the first tee at the golf course to the fairway without hearing rumors of some sap’s infidelity or bedroom conquests. It’s as reviling as it is irrelevant, and this prurience is probably the most pathetic thing about the American state of mind. We are a sex-saturated culture. Check your “spam” e-mails tonight, and read all the unwanted messages peddling perversion. Many of the people who are outraged about homosexuals sharing closet space send their daughters to school dressed like call girls. Some churches denounce homosexuality as sinful. Meanwhile, the Episcopalian Church confirmed an openly homosexual bishop. Fortunately, you can attend either church. And since opinions about homosexuality and marriage are at their core religious beliefs or lack thereof you should be able to marry...