Tag Archives: LGBT rights

Three Kalamazoo churches will stop providing meals to the homeless because of the city’s recent approval of a law protecting gays from discrimination. Martha’s Table, through which eight churches have provided Sunday afternoon worship and meals for the needy at First Congregational Church, is losing three of the churches because of the issue of homosexuality, even though the ecumenical ministry …

“Many reading this may not understand where I came up with this concept of calling Christians ‘the new Negro.’ The reason is because there are undeniable similarities. Jim Crow laws were passed to keep me from having my constitutional rights and my rights under the Declaration of Independence of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Even though the Constitution …

Newsweek takes a grim outlook on what the president may do for us in 2010: Patience became the 2009 mantra of the gay rights movement, which generally supports Democrats. Many activists believe that in his heart Obama supports their flagship issues: the ability to serve openly in the armed forces, to be protected from employment in the workplace, and the …

In 2008 a wedding photographer in New Mexico was fined under the state’s sexual orientation discrimination laws for refusing to accept a same-sex couple as clients. The case has been used by the Christianists in virtually every battle for LGBT rights as a glaring example of “homofascists” using newly-won rights to throttle people of faith. Today the anti-gay Alliance Defense …

“I’m so thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country; the freedom of speech, the freedom to vote and the freedom to love who we want. And I want to say that what’s happening in Uganda makes me incredibly sad. There’s an “Anti-Gay Bill” that’s proposing to jail homosexuals. They are trying to give life sentences to same-sex …

Speaking at Georgetown University, on Tuesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded to an audience member’s question about the safety of gays in other nations. Clinton said she is “deeply disturbed” about the situation for gays in Iran and the “violation of human rights in Uganda.” She added, “It’s important for the United States to stand against that and enlist …

This is unfuckingbelievable. In reference to the Uganda “kill gays” bill, the BBC asked their readers if they agreed that gays should be put to death. From the Guardian: The talkboard post asked users to send in their views to the programme, which goes out on the World Service and is also available online. “Has Uganda gone too far? Should …

This morning NY Gov. David Paterson appeared at the NYC LGBT Community Center to sign an executive order banning discrimination against transgender citizens in all state agencies. This order affects public employees only as New York is not one of the 12 states with full transgender protections. The NGLTF thanks our always supportive governor: “New York and the rest of …

Perhaps inspired by Uganda, Rwanda is now moving to criminalize homosexuality. Rwanda’s lower house will reportedly vote today on a revision to the penal code which would criminalise homosexuality. According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the proposed Article 217 of the draft Penal Code Act will criminalise “[a]ny person who practices, encourages or sensitises people of …

Matt Foreman, director of Gay and Immigrant Rights at the Evelyn & Walter Haas Fund, points us to a just-released report (PDF) called A Decade of Progress on LGBT Rights. The report is a joint project of Foreman’s group and the LGBT Movement Advancement Project (MAP). The extensive report lists the advancements and challenges in LGBT rights over the last …

Salt Lake City’s new anti-LGBT discrimination law exempts churches and religious groups. The Sutherland Institute wants that exemption extended to anybody who believes in God, which would effectively gut the law from having any use at all. The ordinances protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing and employment. Sutherland Institute president Paul Mero says churches and some organizations have …

Law professors Darren Rosenblum (Pace University) and Sonia Katyal (Fordham) have published an article in the National Law Journal about the recent failure of marriage equality in the New York Senate. An excerpt: It is an insult to our dignity and that of our families. The Senate shamed our state by failing to establish the right of New Yorkers to …

Doug Ireland reports that Honduran LGBT activist Walter Trochez was assassinated in his home country over the weekend. Walter Trochez 25 years old, a well-known LGBT activist in an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d’etat there, was assassinated on the evening of December 13, shot dead by drive-by killers. Trochez, who had already been arrested …

Twelve gay men are awaiting execution in Iran for the “crime” of homosexuality. Gay City News’ Doug Ireland reports: Ten young Iranian men, including eight teenagers, are currently awaiting execution for sodomy, and two more are being re-tried on the same capital charge. And, in an exclusive interview with Gay City News, an Iranian student gay rights activist confirmed for …

American evangelical Scott Lively, widely considered to be the chief U.S. architect of Uganda’s “kill gays” bill, today issued a press release saying that while he bears no responsibility for the legislation, which he calls a “serious overcorrection,” he also “commends the courage of the Ugandan people.” By official count 22 young men were executed under Uganda’s law on homosexuality. …

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the sponsor of a House bill to overturn DOMA, says that there will be no attempt to pass the bill in 2010 and that serious work on the repeal probably won’t begin until 2013. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in an interview with DC Agenda that lawmakers will work on passing other pro-LGBT bills next year, …

The Austrian parliament approved a civil unions bill today, bringing the number of EU member nations with such a law to ten. The bill, slated to become law Jan. 1., will give same-sex couples a series of rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts, including access to a pension if one partner dies and alimony in the event of a split. …

After weeks of international condemnation including threats to end foreign aid, Uganda will be dropping the sections of its anti-gay bill that call for the death penalty or life imprisonment. The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the two punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo …

Tomorrow’s scheduled NJ Senate vote on marriage equality has been postponed until the bill can be heard by the state Assembly Judiciary Committee. The lower body has not yet made a vote on the issue. Sens. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) said the bill — which was up for passage on Thursday — instead will likely be introduced …

“I have long advocated using the term ‘bigot’ sparingly when referring to gay-rights opponents. It’s not that I don’t think bigotry is a serious problem. On the contrary, it’s vital to identify bigotry for what it is and to expose its tragic effects. It’s also important to learn the lessons of history, including the ways in which bigotry can hide …