Religious Left

from HRC Ohio televangelist - and "spiritual guide" - Rod Parsley has a certain way with words when it comes to describing the "threat" of "America's tortured and angry homosexual population." RightWingWatch.com - a program by People for the American Way - has put together a video of some of Pastor Parsley's greatest rants against gay people and our quest for hate crimes protections and equal marriage rights. .

By WILL BUNCH, Philadelphia Daily News SEN. JOHN McCAIN apparently didn't think he needed to reject and denounce Texas evangelical leader Rev. John Hagee after learning his supporter had called the Catholic Church "the great whore" and suggested that New Orleans brought Katrina's destruction upon itself for backing gay rights. But when it was revealed that Hagee - who gave McCain a key endorsement on the eve of March's GOP Texas primary - had been caught on tape saying that God had sent Adolf Hitler to deliver the Jews to Israel, that was the last straw. full article

By REV. DR. CYNTHIA LOVE On Tax Day, April 15, clergy are gathering outside Atlanta's regional post office to protest the financial and legal inequities facing their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parishioners. To some it might be surprising to see faith leaders standing up for economic justice. Aren't faith leaders supposed to be concerned with our souls? Why are they coming out on tax day to talk about our pocket books? As faith leaders it's time to clarify what we mean by economic justice and why it is a fundamentally religious issue. Economic justice is not about getting a tax break to go to the Bahamas. Economic justice is about the life and death decisions that affect all of us. It's about who will take care of the kids if a partner suffers from an unforeseen illness; it's about older LGBT couples making the gut wrenching decision to go 'back in the closet' in order to get assisted living care; it's about establishing a nest egg for our par...

Weddings have been suspended at a 300-year-old church in north London in protest at "unjust" religious marriage rights of same-sex couples. Newington Green Unitarian Church will only conduct a ceremonial blessing for both heterosexual and gay couples who have legally wed in a civil ceremony. The church's minister, Andrew Pakula, said the church's committee voted unanimously in favour of the decision. The church in Islington suspended full wedding ceremonies from 30 March. It said it would continue to bar full weddings until the law was amended. Mr Pakula said: "When we realised the extent of the injustice in the existing civil partnership law which completely prohibits any connection between religion and civil partnerships, we decided it just wasn't something we could take part in. Mr Pakula added: "Historically churches have been major perpetrators of injustice for gay and lesbian people and as a church that welcomes people of all sexual orientation, a...

Signature collection is getting more difficult for right-wing extremists on both coasts. A group in California has failed to garner enough support to remove civil rights protections provided by SB 777. And now the Orlando Sentinel reports that a conservative group backing the gay-marriage ban has failed to collect the appropriate amount of signatures necessary to place a constitutional amendment - to ban gay marriage - on the 2008 ballot. Although the group announced last month it had enough signatures to put it on next fall's ballot - the effort was actually more than 20,000 signatures short of the number needed . Maybe a Bush appointed federal judge will step in (which happened in Oregon) after some out of state conservative agency gets involved.

Focus on the Family, Concerned Women of America, the Illinois Family Institute, and other groups with access to right-wing airwaves claim not to be bigoted and reactionary organizations. In particular, they claim not to disrespect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people when they denounce their "lifestyles." No, they merely want to deny these couples the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples in marriage. These rights are many and important; they encompass everything from inheritance rights and the right to be on a spouse's health insurance policy to the right to visit one's life partner in a hospital. These groups also oppose federal protection of LGBT people against discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment. They like the idea that a landlord should be legally able to refuse to rent to somebody gay or lesbian. They approve of the power an employer has to hire or fire someone based on his perceived sexual orientation. They see noth...

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary, For The Bible Tells Me So , brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. Rev. Bob Graetz, friend of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., has criss-crossed the country, preaching and teaching, including in the heartland of America, the Midwest, which is mis-touted by some as a bastion of conservatism that is purported to condemn and freeze-out anyone who doesn’t conform to a narrow principle. Rev. Graetz and his wife have served as instructors at The Soulforce Institute for Nonviolent Change, also held in the supposedly ‘closed’ Midwest. Soulforce is an interfaith movement which uses the nonviolent principles of M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. to end s...

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.

In response to such articles as: click here The "Sisters" have come out with their own press release Sadly, while the Sisters participated in the celebration, others not there to worship secretly filmed and photographed the Mass hoping to spark a controversy and cast the parishioners of Most Holy Redeemer and the Archbishop in a negative light. These professional muckrakers then gave the photos to an anti-gay Fundamentalist Catholic Website which in turn sent them to right-wing media outlets who willfully distorted the facts for political gain. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are appalled that some media outlets have unwittingly spread these distortions while others have intentionally taken advantage to fuel a mean-spirited and divisive political agenda. These forces have been critical of Most Holy Redeemer for their welcoming approach to the diverse community they serve and have frequently seen fit to attack the parishioners as part of a larger campaign against "San...

As you are probably aware, Oregon religious right groups submitted petitions in attempt to repeal two referrendums. Both of them failed to have a sufficient number of valid signatures. The new laws will go into effect in January. http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/2007/10/second_antigay_petition_fails.php

“ Third sex ”, “ Two Spirit ”, “ Third gender ”, “ Berdache ”, “ Hijra ” and many other terms are used to label GLBT people existing in many parts of the world. That is, until Christianity came along and forced its’ beliefs upon those societies. Let’s not confuse Religion and Christianity. These societies had their own Religion prior to Christianity being forced upon them. We have all seen the result of Christian Oppression. For thousands of years the Religion called Christianity has been used to oppress millions of people through out the world. We were once admired by society and proud of our abilities. With October being Gay History Month and October 11th (today) being Coming Out Day I hope GLBTQIA people will stand and be heard. SILENCE = DEATH

Today, the Secretary of State announced that at least one of the petitions did not gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The petition, which would force a referendum on legalizing domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, fell just 116 signatures short of the required 55,179. "This is a proud day for Oregon," Basic Rights Oregon executive director John Hummel said in response to the news. "In refusing to sign these petitions, Oregonians showed that they aren't interested in rolling back our anti-discrimination laws." Hummel said the failure of anti-gay groups to meet a very low signature threshold is clear evidence that the groups are out of step with Oregon values. No word yet on Referendum #304, which would put another recently passed law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation on next year's ballot.

A Canadian Episcopal church is pondering marriage equality of a different sort: not marrying anybody if the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa fails to endorse the blessing of same-sex unions at its annual synod. The Rev. Canon Garth Bulmer told the Ottawa Sun, "If we can’t marry everyone who comes to us in faithful union, we won’t marry anyone."

As we know Oregon anti-gay activist were recently on a petition drive and claimed to turn in 63,000 signatures. The Oregon Secretary of State's office says there are 60,531 valid signatures. That doesn’t mean they’ve made the ballot, though. “Now they go to the counties for statistical sampling,” explains the secretary of state’s Mary Conley. A record shattering 91.2 percent of those signatures would have to be valid in order for the issue to go to next fall’s ballot. The average validity rate is usually in the 70 percent range, so it's not looking good for those folks. They need 55,179 valid signatures.

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.

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.

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.

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

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...