Religious Left

According to Amnesty International IRAN Makwan Moloudzadeh (m), aged 21, child offender Child offender Makwan Moloudzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, is believed to be at risk of imminent execution. He has reportedly been convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy. Makwan Moloudzadeh was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offence. His death sentence has been passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences and he is due to be executed in public, near his home. He was reportedly arrested on 1 October 2006 in Paveh, in the western province of Kermanshah. He was detained in Paveh Prison and later transferred to Kermanshah Central Prison. Following interrogations in Paveh during which he was reportedly ill-treated, he was tried by Branch 1 of the Kermanshah Criminal Court and on 7 June 2007 he was sentenced to death. The witnesses and the two people who had pressed charges against him withdrew their claims after the trial. Under Iranian law, children (boy...

Did you know that Bayard Rustin , one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s colleagues and the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington , was gay ? Openly-gay Bayard Rustin was born in 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Educated at Wilberforce University, Cheyney State College and City College of New York (never received B.A.), Rustin began his impressive political career at an early age. Not only was he an integral part of the African-American civil rights movement, but became one of the leading advocates and examples for gay equality. Bayard Rustin's celebrated career captured the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who recruited Mr. Rustin as an assistant and colleague in 1956. See what affiliations and causes led up to his lead role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Protestors out numbered particpants at the Watchmen on the Walls conference in Lynnwood . "I think it is a little bit strange that people from Russia, the Ukraine and the Balkan countries who may have come here from their countries because their religion wasn't respected enough come to this country and expect to put their views on us." Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Redmond-based Antioch Bible Church and longtime foe of LGBT equal rights, also addressed the conference participants. "I believe in the word of God 100 percent," he said. The Watchmen on the Walls had planned for as many as 700 attendees but fell well short of their goal. About 125 people attended the opening event on Friday and just 40 people showed up for Saturday morning's event.

(Baltimore, Maryland) In what is believed to be the first civil lawsuit against the Rev. Fred Phelps' church over an anti-gay protest at the funeral of someone from the military killed in Iraq, the father of the dead Marine said the demonstration made him sick to his stomach and gave him nightmares. Albert Snyder is suing Phelps and his Topeka, Kan.-based church after church members demonstrated at the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder last year in Maryland, and then posted pictures of the protest on their Web site. Cpl. Snyder was killed in March, 2006. "They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family," Albert Snyder testified. "They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

Fort Worth City Councilman Chuck Silcox urged a group of Republicans on Wednesday to vote for Chris Turner in the nonpartisan District 9 council race because Turner is Republican and straight . "We have two people of opposite partisan politics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexual orientations. I didn't tell you which one was homosexual," Silcox said as the crowd laughed. Pointing to Turner, Silcox continued: "He's married to a female, and the other's married to a male. You make your own mind up."

Pastor claims God set California on fire as a warning ! In a move worthy of Jerry Falwell who blamed 9/11 on "the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians", crazed anti-abortion pastor Matt Trewhella of Missionaries to the Preborn sent the following E-Mail out today to his flock: The headline for MsNBC web site now read s 'WE CAN'T STOP IT.' Firefighters concede defeat as 1 Million flee Calif. blazes. Evacuees jam streets. The story then goes on to talk about 600 square miles up in flames and over 1300 buildings burnt to the ground. President Bush has declared a national emergency. Do you think they will see it as a warning from the Lord for their calling evil good? Do you think they will be able to connect the dots? I won't be holding my breath. Pastor Matt Trewhella Matt Trewhella is known by law enforcement, and was investigated by the FBI in the mid 90's during the murders of abortion doctors and clinic workers.

Being in a committed romantic relationship and working together is tough. Being a gay couple and a Christian pop duo is nearly unheard of. But that's the life of Jason Warner, left, and deMarco DeCiccio, known professionally as Jason & deMarco. Their story is the basis of "We're All Angels," a documentary that's making the rounds of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) film festivals across the country. "We've been doing this now, touring, for about five years," says deMarco. "After we made the cover of the Advocate, the GLBT international newsmagazine, in 2004, it introduced us to a lot of new people that hadn't heard about us before. "We just had ... a gut instinct that he would be the one that we would trust to tell our story," says deMarco. "After he finished this -- after a year and a half of filming and then another half a year editing -- I think we both can honestly say that this is how we would want t...