Via JMG: DENMARK: Gay Marriage By June

News seems to be breaking in Denmark that the Prime Minister today promised the legalization of same-sex marriage by June. A Twitter tipster points us to this early blog report:

The Danish Government is ready with the Law Proposal, which will take effect in June 2012. It is important step for our society, which recognizes the individual's differences and the individual's equality within the society, regardless of who you are, and regardless of who do you love, says PM Thorning. She calls the Law Proposal a completely natural and the right step in the moden Denmark. It will be up to individual priest though to decide, whether they would want to bless the homosexual couples in the church, the PM informs.

More on this when the Danish press weighs in. In 1989 Denmark was the world's first nation to offer federal domestic partnership recognition.

UPDATE: Here's a more formal announcement from the Danish press.

Gay couples can look forward to a church wedding this summer. At her weekly press conference, Tuesday, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said the government is putting the finishing touches to a bill that will come into force on June 15th, allowing homosexuals and lesbians to walk down the aisle in the church of their choice – if they can find a priest who’s willing to conduct the ceremony. “It will always be up to the individual priest as to whether he or she is prepared to bless gay couples but this legislation provides homosexuals with the same rights as heterosexuals,” said the PM.

Labels: Denmark, LGBT rights, marriage equality

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Dunkerton, IA School Assembly Message (portion on homosexuality)

Via JMG: Seen In Delta's In-Flight Magazine

On my flight back from South Florida last week, I noticed the above ad in Delta's in-flight magazine. Today GLAAD issued a press release:

Millions of travelers from all across the globe will learn about the need for vital LGBT-inclusive workplace protections with the release of a new full-page ad appearing in this month’s issue of ‘Delta Sky Magazine.’ Delta Sky is the world’s most-read onboard magazine with a circulation of over 5 million and introduces readers to the people, places and subjects that define our ever-evolving world. The ad, which was created by GLAAD, also commends Delta for its ongoing commitment to equality. Delta Air Lines was designated as one of HRC’s ‘Best Places to Work’ for LGBT employees in 2011, and continues to earn near-perfect scores on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.

Labels: air travel, employment, GLAAD, LGBT rights

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Via JMG: Kentucky Rejects Anti-Bullying Bill

Republicans in the Kentucky House Education Committee today squashed an anti-bullying bill because it would help prevent gay children from killing themselves.

The vote came after parents and friends of teenagers who killed themselves to end incessant school bullying told lawmakers about the need for stronger protections for all students. Several lawmakers on the panel contended that existing anti-bullying laws are sufficient. Rep. Ben Waide, R-Madisonville, said House Bill 336 was an attempt "to achieve equality by making some people more equal than others." He said the measure was not about bullying, but "about gay rights in our schools."

Not even sobbing pleas from the parents of dead children can move these monsters.

Labels: bullying, education, GOP, Kentucky

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Via JMG: FRC: Slutty Women Caused Gay Marriage

Forty years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it should be legal for unmarried women to have access to birth control. And that, says the Family Research Council, is what started America down the slut-strewn road to gay marriage.

On March 22nd, 1972, the Supreme Court undermined the boundaries and benefits of marriage. In the decision Eisenstadt v. Baird, the Court struck down a Massachusetts law prohibiting the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried people, and implicitly sanctioned unmarried non-procreative sexual intimacy. While the decision may seem archaic and insignificant by modern sexual standards, Eisenstadt v. Baird dealt a decisive blow to the legal and cultural norm that marriage was the institution for the full expression of the sexual relationship between man and woman. The decision and its legal consequences affect us today. Forty years ago, the Court ruled that unmarried couples could not be denied their birth control. Today, the Federal government is forcing us to share the cost, for said contraception and some states are giving marital status to homosexual relationships.

(Via Right Wing Watch)

Labels: asshattery, batshittery, birth control, dominionists, fascists, hate groups, liars, theocracy, Tony Perkins

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 13, 2012

Don't Go to War

We come upon our greediness, jealousy, or impatience, and the next impulse is to go to war with it. We don’t realize that all the while we’re strengthening the thing we’re fighting against. It’s like trying to push a beach ball into the water. Holding it down requires a huge amount of energy, and inevitably it pops back up with equal force, taking an unpredictable direction. But if you give the beach ball space and let it be, it will float effortlessly along the surface.

- Aura Glaser, "Into the Demon's Mouth"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection

Via JMG: SPLC Issues Report On NARTH

The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued an in-depth examination of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which the SPLC calls "the main source for anti-gay junk science." An excerpt:

The LGBT community is overwhelmingly the group most targeted in violent hate crimes, according to an Intelligence Report analysis of 14 years of federal hate crime data. Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people are more than twice as likely to be attacked in a violent hate crime as Jews or blacks; more than four times as likely as Muslims; and 14 times as likely as Latinos. Despite this hate-inspired violence, anti-gay groups continue to employ virulent rhetoric that demonizes gay men and lesbians, some of it based on NARTH’s research.

This strategy of using science, however flawed, to fortify their religious condemnation of homosexuality was articulated five years ago by the Family Research Institute’s Paul Cameron, a psychologist whose research has been thoroughly discredited by mainstream scientists. “We can no longer rely — as almost all pro-family organizations do today — on gleaning scientific ‘bits’ from those in liberal academia. ... [W]e must subvert the academy by doing original, honest research ourselves,” Cameron wrote. Original, maybe. But honest? NARTH’s many critics argue otherwise.

Please take the time to read the full report.

RELATED: NARTH was cofounded by Charles Socarides, the father of gay activist Richard Socarides, the former White House adviser for Bill Clinton.

ALSO RELATED: You might enjoy my slideshow of our protest at the 2010 convention: Douchebags Of NARTH.

Labels: "ex-gay", bigotry, evil, hate groups, junk science, liars, NARTH, religion

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Via JMG: FLORIDA: Public School Teacher Fired Over Gay Porn Career Gets Reinstated

The state of Florida has ruled that public school teacher Shawn Loftis was wrongly fired last year after his second career as a porn actor was exposed.

Loftis — who starred in gay porn films under the name Collin O'Neil — was teaching at Nautilus Middle School when the principal learned of his past, according to WPLG 10 News. The district suspended the substitute in January 2011, then his teacher’s certification was revoked in April, despite the fact that he’d left his porn career behind. The commission said his past pursuits were not illegal and the school did not have the authority to dismiss him on that basis. Loftis also argued that he hoped to use his role as a teacher to help guide students away from making the choices he had made.

Loftis is also one of CNN's most popular citizen journalists via their iReports feature. (Tipped by JMG reader Al.)

Labels: education, Florida, gay porn

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Via JMG: MARYLAND: Catholic Priest Suspended After Refusing Communion To Lesbian

The Catholic priest who refused communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has been suspended by the his diocese. But according to a spokesperson, the suspension is not directly related to the communion controversy.

Specific details about why the Rev. Marcel Guarnizo was barred from ministry – a severe penalty – were not immediately available. The Post learned of the action from a letter dated March 9 that is written to other archdiocesan priests. The letter from Bishop Barry Knestout, a top administrator in the archdiocese, which covers Washington and the Maryland suburbs, says the punishment was for “engaging in intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others that is incompatible with proper priestly ministry.” The archdiocese on Sunday confirmed Guarnizo's removal, and noted that Knestout's letter was read at all Masses this weekend at St. John Neumann.

Barbara Johnson claims that when she approached the altar, Rev. Guarnizo covered the bread and said, "Because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin." The Archdiocese has issued Johnson an apology.

Labels: Catholic Church, Maryland, religion

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Via JMG: PA House Committee To Vote On Banning Civil Unions And Same-Sex Marriage

Equality Pennsylvania sends us this alert.

A vote on House Bill (HB) 1434 is scheduled for TUESDAY, MARCH 13 in the House State Government Committee. Now is the time to let your voice be heard. HB 1434, proposed by Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, would not only amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to define marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman, it would invalidate any other type of legal union or one substantially equivalent. That means any discussion of civil unions or domestic partnerships would forever be off the table for consideration. Passage of this legislation will also forcefully terminate benefits currently provided to thousands of employees in municipalities or state owned schools or facilities that offer domestic partnership benefits.

Pennsylvania residents: Contact your representatives. If you are free tomorrow morning:

Tuesday, March 13 9:00 am. Room G-50, Irvis Office Building (NEXT TO THE CAPITOL BUILDING) (Meet in the Capitol Rotunda at 8:30am.) Please be respectful. However, please come prepared to pack the room. Signs are welcome.

Labels: activism, GOP, LGBT rights, pennsylvania

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