Via Gay Politics Report:

How religion helped win marriage equality

Marriage equality advocates engaged people of faith and religious leaders in successful campaigns to win ballot initiatives this year, a turnaround from four years ago when social conservatives dominated religious discussions over California's Proposition 8. A Washington state coalition distributed thousands of buttons bearing the message, "Another Person of Faith Approves R. 74," sparking conversations in which proponents were trained to speak about the issue in terms of love and commitment rather than "gay rights." Ross Murray, director of religion, faith and values at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, helped train thousands of "conversationalists" to speak about the issue and their own faith, and to listen intently to those who described their difficulties supporting marriage equality. “All of us like to be listened to," Murray said. CNN/Belief blog

JMG Editorial Of The Day:

From Tom Goldstein at SCOTUSblog:

At their Conference today, the Justices will consider petitions raising federal constitutional issues related to same-sex marriage. These are the most significant cases these nine Justices have ever considered, and probably that they will ever decide.
I have never before seen cases that I believed would be discussed two hundred years from now. Bush v. Gore and Obamacare were relative pipsqueaks. The government’s assertion of the power to prohibit a loving couple to marry, or to refuse to recognize such a marriage, is profound. So is the opposite claim that five Justices can read the federal Constitution to strip the people of the power to enact the laws governing such a foundational social institution.
The cases present a profound test of the Justices’ judgment. The plaintiffs’ claims are rooted in the fact that these laws rest on an irrational and invidious hatred, enshrined in law. On the other hand, that describes some moral judgments. The Constitution does not forbid every inequality, and the people must correct some injustices (even some grave ones) themselves, legislatively.
The striking feature of these cases – not present in any others I have ever seen – is that that they would have been decided by the Justices’ predecessors one way and would be decided by the Justices’ successors another way.

Read the full essay.

Labels: LGBT History, LGBT rights, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The one who wanders independent in the world, free from opinions and viewpoints, does not grasp them and enter into disputations and arguments. As the lotus rises on its stalk unsoiled by the mud and the water, so the wise one speaks of peace and is unstained by the opinions of the world. - Sutta Nipata More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 30, 2012

Great Compassion

The virtues of great compassion are infinite; they could be expounded upon forever without exhausting them, but it boils down to this: Whoever has great compassion can extinguish all obstructions caused by past actions and can fulfill all virtues; no principle cannot be understood, no path cannot be practiced, no knowledge not attained, no virtue not developed.

- Zen Master Torei, "Great Compassion"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through December 2nd, 2012
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Via The Pagan Circle' / FB:

 

This January, why not start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then, on New Years Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year. Good way to keep things in perspective! ~Krystal~

Via Upworthy:

http://www.upworthy.com/if-you-dont-believe-in-gay-marriage-see-this-chart-if-you-do-believe-in-gay-marr?c=upw3

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	It's easy to see The errors of others, But hard to see Your own. You winnow like chaff The errors of others, But conceal your own-- Like a cheat, an unlucky throw. If you focus on the errors of others, Constantly finding fault, Your effluents flourish. You're far from their ending. - Dhammapada 18, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 29, 2012

Freedom of Heart

Sometimes suffering comes through clinging to certain emotional pain or certain stories; sometimes through not recognizing emptiness, the evanescence of life, that nothing can be claimed as I or mine. The point of dharma practice is to pay attention to where there is suffering, see the clinging and identification, and release it to find a freedom of heart.

- Jack Kornfield, "The Sure Heart’s Release"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through December 1st, 2012
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Think not of the faults of others, of what they have done or not done. Think rather of your own sins, of the things you have done or not done. - Buddha More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 28, 2012

A Radical Challenge

The Buddha presented a radical challenge to the way we see the world, both the world that was seen two millennia ago and the world that is seen today. What he taught is not different, it is not an alternative, it is the opposite. That the path that we think will lead us to happiness leads instead to sorrow. That what we believe is true is instead false. That what we imagine to be real is unreal. A certain value lies in remembering that challenge from time to time.

- Donald S. Lopez, "The Scientific Buddha"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through November 30th, 2012
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 27, 2012

An Honest, Enlightened Society

Enlightened society is not an idealized environment. It's an environment that actually accepts the imperfections of humanity and encourages you to open your heart and mind and work with other people and situations as they are. Enlightened society is one in which, as you make friends with yourself, your communication with other people gets clearer, more direct, more honest.

- Pema Chödrön, "No Place to Hide"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through November 29th, 2012
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Whose minds are well-developed in the factors of self-awakening, who delight in non-clinging, relinquishing grasping-- resplendent, their effluents ended: they, in the world, are Unbound. - Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 26, 2012

The Necessity of Love

There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become. Thus we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion.

- H.H. the Dalai Lama, "Consider Yourself a Tourist"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through November 28th, 2012
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 25, 2012

Shedding Self-Protective Clinging

Too often Buddhist 'nonattachment' is misconstrued as 'non-loving.' The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to 'renounce' our families or community, but to shed habits of self-protective clinging that prevent us from loving them more unconditionally, powerfully, enjoyably.

- Lama John Makransky, "Family Practice"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through November 27th, 2012
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Via Happiness' / FB:

When the light is dim, it isn’t
easy to see the old spider webs in
the corners of the room. But
when the light is bright, you can
see them clearly and then be able

to take them down. When your
mind is bright, you’ll be able to
see your defilements clearly, too,
and clean them away.

- Ajahn Chah

Via JMG: Uganda May Vote On Anti-Gay Bill Today

Earlier this month we learned that Uganda's infamous "Kill The Gays" bill was being pushed to a vote as a "Christmas gift to Christians."  Alerts went out yesterday that the bill may be voted upon as soon as today.  This morning the BBC reported a claim the the death penalty has been been dropped from the legislation.

A committee of Ugandan MPs has endorsed the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill but dropped the death penalty provision, an MP has told the BBC. MP Medard Segona said "substantial amendments" had been made to the bill but said he was not allowed to reveal further details. Speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga recently said the bill would be passed as a "Christmas gift" to its advocates. Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda - this bill increases the penalties.
Foreign donors have threatened to cut aid if gay rights are not respected. The bill, tabled by MP David Bahati, proposes longer jail terms for homosexual acts, including a life sentence in certain circumstances. In its original form, those convicted of "aggravated homosexuality" - defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender" - faced the death penalty. Such offences would now be punished with life imprisonment, it is understood.
The original bill also prohibited the "promotion" of gay rights and called for the punishment of anyone who "funds or sponsors homosexuality" or "abets homosexuality". Mr Bahati has previously said that the death penalty provision would be dropped but this has not been confirmed until now. Mr Segona, who is on the Legal and Parliamentary committee of Uganda's parliament, told the BBC: "I can confirm it has been dropped."

Box Turtle Bulletin blogger Jim Burroway is suspicious of these claims because Ugandan legislators have lied about that in the past.

WBS Television in Uganda late yesterday posted another report on YouTube featuring statements by members of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, which is charged with marking up the Anti-Homosexuality Bill with recommended changes. There are a few troubling aspects to the report. First, the reporter claims that the death penalty has been removed for “homosexuality acts with minors,” which sounds very suspiciously like several other previous reports, later proven to be false, that the death penalty had been removed. The last time we heard that line, we would quickly learn that the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, in fact, had not removed the death penalty from the bill, but instead had simply obfuscated the death penalty’s presence in the bill. A complete explanation can be found here.

All Out's petition campaign against the bill has over 160,000 signatures already.  Add your name.

Labels: Africa, gay death penalty, LGBT rights, Uganda

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NBC Nixed Marriage Ad By Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton recorded a spot in support of Washington state's Referendum 74 but NBC News prevented its airing because she works for them as a journalist. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

Clinton, a vocal proponent of marriage equality, cut the video for a group supporting the Washington state measure, as well as a second video for another group. But NBC, for which Clinton works as a "special correspondent" since last November, "scuttled" the campaign, sources familiar with the ads said.  In the weeks before the November elections — where voters in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington voted on measures relating to same-sex couples’ marriage rights — such prominent support would have been heavily sought. Clinton had supported efforts toward the legislative passage of marriage equality in New York, going so far as to attend and participate in a phone-banking effort in Manhattan before the legislature approved the bill in June 2011.

Labels: Chelsea Clinton, journalism, NBC, Washington state

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: UN Condemns Gay Death Penalty

Yesterday the United Nations approved a resolution that condemns the killing of LGBT persons either by governments or via "extrajudicial" means such as hate crimes. Via press release from the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission:

An international coalition of organizations dedicated to human rights celebrated yesterday’s historic vote in the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to pass resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The vote reversed the events of 2010 when the same body voted to strip the resolution of reference to "sexual orientation." The UNGA also expanded upon its commitment to the universality of human rights by including "gender identity" for the first time in the resolution’s history. The resolution, which is introduced biennially in the Third Committee, urges States to protect the right to life of all people, including by calling upon States to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds. It was introduced by the Government of Sweden and co-sponsored by 34 states from around the world.

IGLHRC notes that the United Arab Emirates attempted to strip "sexual orientation" from the resolution on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, just as they did two years ago. (See the photo above for the vote tally on that amendment.) They add: "Another failed effort, led by the Holy See, would have stripped all specific references to groups at high risk for execution; however it was never formally introduced."

The governments of the United States, Brazil, and many others spoke in favor of the resolution. IGLHRC reports that Egypt "spoke frequently" in opposition. Japan broke its long silence on the issue with this declaration: "We cannot tolerate any killings of persons because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Our delegation voted against the proposed amendment to this paragraph because we think it is meaningful to mention such killings from the perspective of protecting the rights of LGBT people."

Read the full resolution here.

Labels: Brazil, death penalty, Egypt, gay death penalty, hate crimes, IGLHRC, Islam, Japan, religion, United Nations

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 23, 2012

Spiritual Consumerism

Spiritual experience and goods can certainly reinforce a consuming mind, too, and it is no surprise to see this happening in a consumer culture. Marketers are successfully targeting spiritual consumers as a market niche and figuring out exactly what fulfills their self-centered yearnings. How many of these products are necessary for spiritual enlightenment? Probably not one.

- Stephanie Kaza, "Ego in the Shopping Cart"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through November 25th, 2012
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