Equal Marriage Now

Via CommonPlaceBook.com.

US reverses position on UN support for LGBT issues, GayPolitics.com.

The United States has reversed its position on a formal stance by the United Nations to universally decriminalize homosexuality.

Last December, the UN General Assembly held a symbolic vote on a thirteen-point resolution “to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention.” At the time, Bush officials did not support the resolution, citing legal technicalities.

However, at the the “Durban Review Conference” currently underway in Geneva, the new Obama administration has come out in support of a policy against “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”

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An update on the recent condemnation by a Georgia lawmaker on “Queer Theory” classes in the Georgia State University system.

Inside ‘queer theory’, Southern Voice, Matt Schafer.

GSU professors defend sexuality research, Southern Voice, Matt Schafer.

Excerpts from the above headlines follow:

Inside ‘queer theory’
Lawmakers questioning the validity of Georgia college professors who are experts in “queer theory” are misguided in their attempts [...] Continue Reading…

Mounting HIV/AIDS rates among gay men in Asia, 365gay.com.

I posted on this topic already, referencing an article entitled “Gay men fuelling HIV/AIDS spread in Asia, says [World Health Organization].” Note the very different headlines; one is responsible and factual, the other inflammatory and presents a distorted view. This is part of the power that media has to shape conversation [...] Continue Reading…

Comments about gays cost Sen. Buttars his chairmanship, KSL.com.

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, has been removed from a Senate committee because of anti-gay comments he made that became public this week. Senate President Michael Waddoups says he decided to take the action because of public pressure, but at the same time he affirmed Buttars’ free speech rights.

Buttars [...] Continue Reading…

While there’s some debate who coined the terms originally, it’s pretty clearly Andrew Sullivan who’s brought them into the modern conversation about religion and politics.

His basic definition splits Christianity into the Christian faith as spiritual experience versus a Christian-identified political imperative:

the critical distinction between a Christianist and a mere Christian. One wants to infuse politics with religion; the other [...] Continue Reading…

The idea is that civil marriage and holy matrimony, because they’re two different things, should be parsed out separately.

Government can handle one, equally for both straight and gay couples, by providing civil marital benefits (regarding inheritance, taxes, hospital visitation & medical decision-making, etc) to anyone who wants them. Meanwhile, churches can handle the other and deny marriage to whomever [...] Continue Reading…

LGBT protections added to ND human rights law in state senate, 365gay.com.

It’s interesting to read the language the bill’s Democrat sponsor uses when referring to the bill. “This bill will not provide North Dakota citizens special rights because of their sexual orientation.” However you have to package it to sell it, I guess, but still, the language at least [...] Continue Reading…

From Variety:

When stars parade down the red carpet at Sunday’s Oscars, it’s anticipated that at least a few of them will be wearing white ribbons.

While recent displays of such a fashion accessory stir very little controversy — red ribbons to mark the AIDS crisis, pink to symbolize breat cancer research — the white ribbons [...] Continue Reading…

From Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish:

Well, it served a purpose of a sort in Utah. The Republican leadership long insisted they were not anti-gay, that they were eager to find some legal protections for gay couples unable to marry, and were solely concerned with the “redefinition” of the word “marriage”. And every single bill to add some semblance [...] Continue Reading…

Via Joe. My. God.

Indiana’s Senate Republican Caucus voted this week not to consider a resolution that would have proposed amending the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. This vote means the amendment is unlikely to advance during this legislative session. The resolution would require approval by the Senate and House in two consecutive [...] Continue Reading…

Georgia court tells gay dad he cannot “expose” kids to homosexuals, Pink News.

A gay man in the US state of Georgia is disputing a child custody agreement restriction which prohibits him from “exposing his children to his homosexual partners and friends.”

Lambda Legal, a gay rights advocacy group, yesterday filed an amicus brief in support of Eric Mongerson at the [...] Continue Reading…