Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Today in WTFland: American Family Association: The First Amendment Only Applies To Christians
"The First Amendment was written neither to guarantee freedom of religion to Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus nor to prohibit their free exercise of religion. It wasn’t written about them one way or another. It was written for one specific purpose: to protect the free exercise of the Christian religion. We must be clear: the First Amendment does not prohibit the free exercise of alternative religions, but neither does it guarantee it. It simply does not address the issue at all." - American Family Association spokesman and national radio host Bryan Fischer.Labels: AFA, Bryan Fischer, Christianists, dominionists, First Amendment, hate groups, liars, theocracy
Via JMG: New York Episcopal Bishop Orders Gay Clergy To Marry Their Partners
That's a headline you probably didn't expect. Long Island Episcopal Bishop Lawrence Provenzano has put his foot down against gay clergy who residing in homosexual relationships, and has given a nine month deadline for them to either get married or stop living together, according to the News Observer. “I need to be mindful that the church has always asked people to live in committed monogamous, faithful relationships. I won’t allow heterosexual clergy to live in a rectory or church housing without the benefit of marriage. When one puts it in that context, then you see how it all begins to make sense,” said Provenzano. Reverend Christopher Hofer, pastor of the Episcopal Church of St. Jude agrees with Provenzano, “I think his statement was not only fair, but beyond generous. It gives people time, acknowledging that there’s a financial component involved and recognizing that some may not choose to live together.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Via Bilerico: Worst. Yard Sale. Ever
After posting an ad on Craigslist for a yard sale in northern Virginia, 
a woman sent an e-mail to people inquiring about some of the items for sale. Instead of answering each one separately, she put a bunch of photos on Facebook and sent a mass e-mail to respondents telling them they could see the second hand goods there.
One slight problem - no gays, Muslims or "illegal immigrants" need show up; she won't sell her stuff to you.
Make the jump here to see the woman's e-mail and her response to a pissed off potential customer
a woman sent an e-mail to people inquiring about some of the items for sale. Instead of answering each one separately, she put a bunch of photos on Facebook and sent a mass e-mail to respondents telling them they could see the second hand goods there.One slight problem - no gays, Muslims or "illegal immigrants" need show up; she won't sell her stuff to you.
Make the jump here to see the woman's e-mail and her response to a pissed off potential customer
Via Gay Politics Report:
- Fight against marriage equality propelled Bachmann's career, some say
Rep. Michele Bachmann's time in the Minnesota Senate was marked by a near-obsession over the consequences of allowing gays and lesbians to marry, her former colleagues recall. Bachmann was able to thrust herself into the political limelight by making herself the focal point of a crusade that was dubbed the "Bachmann marriage wars" by one Minnesota state senator. "That's her recipe: Find the issue, then use it politically to mobilize previously marginalized or disconnected groups," said Lawrence Jacobs, a political scientist at the University of Minnesota. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (7/16)
- LGBT groups strategize against Bachmann: LGBT organizations say they are going to counter efforts by presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to distance herself from her long record of taking divisive, anti-LGBT stances. "We're going to be looking for opportunities to get her record and her rhetoric out there," said Michael Cole-Schwartz of the Human Rights Campaign. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (7/18)
- Giuliani urges Republicans to drop anti-gay rhetoric: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani advised his fellow Republicans this week to stop talking about trying to prevent same-sex couples from legally marrying. "I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states. We'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots," Giuliani told CNN's Candy Crowley. CNN (7/17)
- U.S. troops' same-sex spouses won't get benefits
Legally married gay and lesbian service members will not be offered the same spousal benefits as heterosexual troops after the "don't ask, don't tell" policy ends, according to this article. The military must adhere to current federal law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (7/16)
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan
"For a long time, gays and lesbians braver than I was were effectively married and lived together, risking violence and opprobrium and isolation. For decades these bonds existed, and we knew of them even if we never spoke of them. I saw them up close as a young man in the darkest years of the AIDS plague. I saw spouses holding their dying husbands, cradling them at the hour of their death, inserting catheters, cleaning broken bodies, tending to terrified souls."This proved beyond any doubt for me that gay couples were as capable of as much love and tenacity and tenderness and fidelity as heterosexual couples. And when I heard their bonds denigrated or demonized, dismissed or belittled, the sadness became a kind of spur. For so long, so much pain. For so many, so much grief compounded by stigma. But we did not just survive the plague. We used it to forge a new future. And in the years of struggle, as more and more heterosexuals joined us, we all began finally to see that this was not really about being gay. It was about being human." - Andrew Sullivan, writing for Newsweek.
Via JMG: Obama Endorses DOMA Repeal Bill
As you doubtlessly know, Senate Democrats are spearheading a bill to repeal DOMA. The bill should get its first Senate hearing tomorrow. Today the president endorsed the bill, which is titled the Respect For Marriage Act. Reactions below.
Human Rights Campaign
We thank the President for his support of the Respect for Marriage Act. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to see the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act repealed and his Justice Department has taken the historic step of ending its defense of that odious law in court. By supporting this legislation, the President continues to demonstrate his commitment to ending federal discrimination against tens of thousands of lawfully married same-sex couples.Courage Campaign
We are delighted that today, on the eve of a historic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, President Obama endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act. It is rare that a White House endorses a bill that has yet to pass first in either the Senate or the House. President Obama’s decision to do so underscores the urgency with which the Defense of Marriage Act must be repealed. His support makes clear to all Americans that the Defense of Marriage Act has no place in our society.
Via AmericaBlogGay: Andrew Sullivan and Cynthia Nixon on what marriage means
At Newsweek, two relatively famous people write about marriage.
Andrew Sullivan has a column on what marriage means to him -- and to America. It's getting a lot of attention today:
Andrew Sullivan has a column on what marriage means to him -- and to America. It's getting a lot of attention today:
I still didn’t think it would ever happen to me. I thought I was too emotionally damaged, my emotions and sexuality severed by all those years of loneliness and arrested emotional development. I thought my heart had too much scar tissue, and I could live my life well enough with just friendship and occasional sexual encounters or dates. But when I first set eyes on my husband, I knew I had lucked out. Some things you simply know. And when we finally got married, a few years later, and our mothers walked us down the makeshift garden aisle, and my sister gave the reading through tears, and one of our beagles howled through the vows, and my father put his arms around me and hugged, I did not hear civilization crumble. I felt a wound being healed. It is a rare privilege to spend your adult life fighting for a right that was first dismissed as a joke, only finally to achieve it in six states and Washington, D.C. But how much rarer to actually stumble upon someone who could make it a reality. And to have it happen to me in my own lifetime! This joy is compounded, deepened, solidified by the knowledge that somewhere, someone just like I was as a kid will be able to look to the future now and not see darkness—but the possibility of love and home. That, I realized, was really what I had been fighting for for two decades: to heal the child I had once been—and the countless children in the present and future whose future deserved, needed, begged for a model of commitment and responsibility and love.Worth a read.
But, I have to say, I really enjoyed reading Cynthia Nixon's post on marriage. She was on the front lines in NY, helping Fight Back New York, then lobbying in Albany:
We need more politicians to get out there and lead as they did in New York—whether that means being a driving force like Gov. Andrew Cuomo or sticking your neck out like four GOP senators here. State Sen. James Alesi was the first to come forward publicly with a yes vote. I think it was scary to go out on a limb and break with his party, but when I talked to him in Albany last month before the vote, he was elated. He said, “Ninety-five percent of the comments on my Facebook page are positive! I’m hearing from all these people that I never heard from before, and I feel like I have thousands of new friends.”
There are always going to be people who are against same-sex marriage, and our efforts to convince them otherwise will be wasted breath. But then there are people like Senator Alesi who are on the fence, who are really tortured because they want so much to do the right thing. They want to vote with their conscience. And when they do, it’s important that we remember that these people put their political futures on the line to support us. We need to be there for them in the next election, and the one after that. And we need to be there in larger numbers than the people who may want retribution against these brave allies of ours.
The fight for gay marriage is often portrayed in political terms—Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative. But for couples like us, this is about something simpler and more personal. I want to be married to my girlfriend. And I want us to have a ceremony. I want all our friends and family to come, and I want our kids to be there. Just like that historic night last month on the subway platform, I want it to be a moment I will always remember. Till death do us part.
Via AmericaBlogGay: I can't imagine this will be permitted to stand, legally, for long.
But in the eyes of the military the marriage will not be recognized and the couple will still be denied most of the benefits the Defense Department gives to heterosexual couples to ease the costs of medical care, travel, housing and other living expenses.
The Pentagon says the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage for federal program purposes as a legal union between a man and woman — prohibits the Defense Department from extending those benefits to gay couples, even if they are married legally in certain states.
That means housing allowances and off-base living space for gay service members with partners could be decided as if they were living alone. Base transfers would not take into account their spouses. If two gay service members are married to each other they may be transferred to two different states or regions of the world. For heterosexual couples, the military tries to avoid that from happening.
The Pentagon says the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage for federal program purposes as a legal union between a man and woman — prohibits the Defense Department from extending those benefits to gay couples, even if they are married legally in certain states.
That means housing allowances and off-base living space for gay service members with partners could be decided as if they were living alone. Base transfers would not take into account their spouses. If two gay service members are married to each other they may be transferred to two different states or regions of the world. For heterosexual couples, the military tries to avoid that from happening.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Via JMG: Rainbow Falls
In order to highlight what they predict will be booming gay marriage tourism, city officials in Niagara Falls say they are working to have the falls illuminated in the colors of the rainbow on the first days of legalized same-sex unions. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said “This event, which will highlight Niagara Falls on an international level as a premier wedding and honeymoon destination, will serve as a tremendous economic shot in the arm for not only the area’s hotels and attractions, but for the florists, bakeries and restaurants throughout the city.” Dyster said. “Those who come here will see the efforts made by this administration in reinventing our downtown tourist district and be welcomed into a city that will once again reclaim its title as the honeymoon capital of the world.”
Via CNN: My Take: Bible condemns a lot, so why focus on homosexuality?
Editor's Note: Jonathan Dudley is the author of Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics.
Growing up in the evangelical community, I learned the Bible’s stance on homosexuality is clear-cut. God condemns it, I was taught, and those who disagree just haven’t read their Bibles closely enough.
Having recently graduated from Yale Divinity School, I can say that my childhood community’s approach to gay rights—though well intentioned—is riddled with self-serving double standards.
I don’t doubt that the one New Testament author who wrote on the subject of male-male intercourse thought it a sin. In Romans 1, the only passage in the Bible where a reason is explicitly given for opposing same-sex relations, the Apostle Paul calls them “unnatural.”
Problem is, Paul’s only other moral argument from nature is the following: “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?” (1 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Few Christians would answer that question with a “yes.”
In short, Paul objects to two things as unnatural: one is male-male sex and the other is long hair on men and short hair on women. The community opposed to gay marriage takes one condemnation as timeless and universal and the other as culturally relative.
I also don’t doubt that those who advocate gay marriage are advocating a revision of the Christian tradition.
But the community opposed to gay marriage has itself revised the Christian tradition in a host of ways. For the first 1500 years of Christianity, for example, marriage was deemed morally inferior to celibacy. When a theologian named Jovinian challenged that hierarchy in 390 A.D. — merely by suggesting that marriage and celibacy might be equally worthwhile endeavors — he was deemed a heretic and excommunicated from the church.
How does that sit with “family values” activism today?
Yale New Testament professor Dale B. Martin has noted that today’s "pro-family" activism, despite its pretense to be representing traditional Christian values, would have been considered “heresy” for most of the church’s history.
The community opposed to gay marriage has also departed from the Christian tradition on another issue at the heart of its social agenda: abortion.
Unbeknownst to most lay Christians, the vast majority of Christian theologians and saints throughout history have not believed life begins at conception.
Although he admitted some uncertainty on the matter, the hugely influential 4th and 5th century Christian thinker Saint Augustine wrote, “it could not be said that there was a living soul in [a] body” if it is “not yet endowed with senses.”
Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic saint and a giant of mediaeval theology, argued: “before the body has organs in any way whatever, it cannot be receptive of the soul.”
American evangelicals, meanwhile, widely opposed the idea that life begins at conception until the 1970s, with some even advocating looser abortion laws based on their reading of the Bible before then.
It won’t do to oppose gay marriage because it’s not traditional while advocating other positions that are not traditional.
And then there’s the topic of divorce. Although there is only one uncontested reference to same-sex relations in the New Testament, divorce is condemned throughout, both by Jesus and Paul. To quote Jesus from the Gospel of Mark: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.”
A possible exception is made only for unfaithfulness.
The community most opposed to gay marriage usually reads these condemnations very leniently. A 2007 issue of Christianity Today, for example, featured a story on its cover about divorce that concluded that Christians should permit divorce for “adultery,” “emotional and physical neglect” and “abandonment and abuse.”
The author emphasizes how impractical it would be to apply a strict interpretation of Jesus on this matter: “It is difficult to believe the Bible can be as impractical as this interpretation implies.”
Indeed it is.
On the other hand, it’s not at all difficult for a community of Christian leaders, who are almost exclusively white, heterosexual men, to advocate interpretations that can be very impractical for a historically oppressed minority to which they do not belong – homosexuals.
Whether the topic is hair length, celibacy, when life begins, or divorce, time and again, the leaders most opposed to gay marriage have demonstrated an incredible willingness to consider nuances and complicating considerations when their own interests are at stake.
Since graduating from seminary, I no longer identify with the evangelical community of my youth. The community gave me many fond memories and sound values but it also taught me to take the very human perspectives of its leaders and attribute them to God.
So let’s stop the charade and be honest.
Opponents of gay marriage aren’t defending the Bible’s values. They’re using the Bible to defend their own.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jonathan Dudley.
Via JMG: MD Gov Vows Marriage Support
As Maryland's activists gear up to take another run at marriage equality, Gov. Martin O'Malley has pledged his full support. "I certainly plan to be very active in support of it, and we'll have other announcements in upcoming months," O'Malley said at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City. O'Malley has long supported civil unions and has said that if lawmakers passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, he would sign it. But Friday marks the first time O'Malley has made same-sex unions a legislative priority. The Democratic governor said he would favor a measure in Maryland that mirrors the same-sex marriage law recently enacted in New York, which protects religious organizations from being required to ordain same-sex marriages.
Via JMG: "Ex-Gay" Convention Set For Minnesota
Exodus International will hold its 2012 annual "ex-gay" convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Did the Bachmanns have something to do with that? Amid news that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic performs therapy aimed at “curing” gays and lesbians of homosexuality, the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, announced it will hold its annual conference, “Exodus Freedom,” in St. Paul next year. The last time an Exodus conference came to Minnesota, Bachmann gave it a glowing endorsement. According to Exodus International, the conference will be held the last weekend of July 2012 at Northwestern College. Northwestern is a private Christian college with deep connections to Minnesota’s most conservative Christians. Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger was a member of the college’s board of trustees until 2008, and current MFC associate Megan Doyle sits on the board. Bachmann’s been a speaker at the college, and the school has placed interns with her office.When Exodus last held its convention in Minnesota, Crazy Eyes welcomed them: "I know that Love Won Out will present the truth about homosexuality and present it in a compassionate and loving manner. Those of us working to safeguard marriage from redefinition by radical judges must inform our efforts with an understanding of the deep emotional wounds that many in the homosexual community carry. I look forward to welcoming Minnesotans and residents of surrounding states to hear the message of healing that is possible."
Labels: "ex-gay", con men, Exodus International, frauds, hate groups, liars, Michele Bachmann, Minnesota, scams, still totally gay
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Rudy Giuliani
'I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states. We'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots. I think it's wrong [gay marriage], but there are other things that I think are wrong that get decided by democratic vote. I see more harm, however, by dwelling so much on this subject of gays and lesbians and whether it's right or wrong in politics." - Rudy Giuliani, speaking today to CNN.
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