Via JMG: "Ex-Gay" Group PFOX: It's Fascist To Stop Us From Our Fascist Torture Of Gay Kids

Parent & Friends Of "Ex-Gays" are predictably quivering with anger over California's proposed bill to ban the torture and brainwashing of LGBT children. PFOX writes to the bill's main sponsor, CA Sen. Ted Lieu:

Sponsoring legislation endorsed by the gay lobby to ensure that children only receive gay-affirming therapy is an act of childhood endangerment and an unconstitutional attempt to deny parental rights everywhere, but especially for parents in California and those in your Torrance district. Your bill will turn California into a nanny state by usurping the civil rights of parents who support their child's right to receive therapy for unwanted same-sex attractions, especially when that child has been sexually molested. This smacks of fascism and ex-gay bashing. As parents of gays and ex-gays, we are ashamed of your willingness to take action against parents, children, and the family in order to support gay activists. It is people like you who endanger children, and not their parents, whom you wish to dictate on how they raise their own children. California is not a socialist state and our children do not belong to the government, subject to the ideology of the state over the objections of their parents.

PFOX's letter is illustrated with a CDC graph on AIDS, of course. Last week the bill passed out its Assembly committee and must be approved by the full chamber before heading back to the Senate (where it's already been approved) for concurrence. It then would head to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown, who has as yet not indicated his stance on the bill.

RELATED: Several major "ex-gay" figures have recently confessed that "reparative therapy" does not work, earning them the condemnation of their former colleagues in child abuse.

Labels: "ex-gay", brainwashing, California, LGBT youth, PFOX, Regina Griggs, religion, still totally gay, torture

Reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Is it right to out an anti-gay evangelical leader who's a closet case?

Youbetcha.I laud Azariah Southworth (for his name, first of all, and) for even worrying about the outing. It's what separates us from the bad guys, be they Republican or evangelical (or both) - we actually think and worry about our actions. He was 100% right to out this young man who is a...

 

Read the whole entry »

 

Me too... if someone wants to be in the closet and sys nothing of harm, OK... but the moment they work against GLbT rights and yet live a closeted  gay life... it is open season.

Via One Million Strong Against Mitt Romney in 2012 / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 12, 2012

What You're Made Of

So we may well ask, what exactly are we? This is a question that, in this meditation, we can consider experientially rather than through discursive thought. Rather than try to work out an answer in logical terms, we simply ask the question, and sit, and listen patiently for the heart’s intuitive response.

- Bodhipaksa, "What You're Made Of"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 14th, 2012
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Via Washington Blade: Dems approve marriage-equality inclusive platform

A committee of more than 100 Democrats unanimously approved on Saturday a version of their party’s platform that includes a plank endorsing marriage equality as well as other pro-LGBT language.

The full platform committee, which consists of around 120 Democrats, gave the OK to the manifesto following a meeting in Detroit, Mich., that was chaired by retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to reach the rank of three-star general, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. During the several hour long meeting, members offered views on principles to advocate for within the party and proposed amendments to the platform.

Language on marriage equality — which is being included in the Democratic Party platform for the first time — was accepted without amendment and without significant discussion.

Read the full article here

Thank you President Obama

JMG Quote Of The Day - Bristol Palin

"While I’m excited and thankful to be returning to Dancing With The Stars, not everyone is thrilled I’m coming back. When the new contestants participated in a panel discussion for the Television Critics Association’s summer tour, the critics’ disdain for me was obvious. While they asked many questions (or, really, just a few questions over and over), only one stands out in my mind: Would I mind dancing with a gay dance partner? [snip] In their simplistic minds, the fact that I’m a Christian, that I believe in God’s plan for marriage, means that I must hate gays and must hate to even be in their presence. Well, they were right about one thing: there was hate in that media room, but the hate was theirs, not mine." - Bristol Palin, who says she'd be happy to have a gay dance partner with no civil rights.

Labels: abstinence education, Bristol Palin, Dancing With The Stars, LGBT rights, reality shows, religion, Sarah Palin

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 11, 2012

The Undoing of Desire

Buddhism teaches us that desire, for all the agony and ecstasy, is no match for the truth.

- Joan Duncan Oliver, "Drink And A Man"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 13th, 2012
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2 fro JMG: Ryan

ACLU Denounces Paul Ryan

The morning the ACLU sent out a blistering denouncement of Rep. Paul Ryan's track record on LGBT rights and civil liberties. Via press release:

In response to Mitt Romney’s announcement of his vice presidential pick of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the American Civil Liberties Union Liberty Watch 2012 campaign this morning released a brief report that reveals an appalling civil liberties record for Ryan.

The report finds that Ryan, the congressman representing Wisconsin’s 1st District, holds almost uniformly harmful views on five key civil liberties issues including a humane immigration policy, LGBT equality, reproductive rights, torture and indefinite detention and fair voting access.

The report is based on the white paper released by ACLU Liberty Watch 2012. “Paul Ryan may end up a heartbeat away from the presidency but he’ll be light years from civil liberties,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “Paired with Romney’s already-abysmal record on civil liberties, Ryan’s positions only take this ticket further from the vision of our founding fathers.”

Read the ACLU's brief on Ryan.

Labels: ACLU, civil rights, DADT, GOP, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan

 

Tweet Of The Day - Mitt Romney

Labels: 2012 elections, GOP, Medicare, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Social Security, Veepstakes

Reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

Pope no longer opposed to condoms, kind of

Good, but at the same time, whatever. Telegraph:After decades of fierce opposition to the use of all contraception, the Pontiff has ended the Church’s absolute ban on the use of condoms.He said it was acceptable to use a prophylactic when the sole intention was to “reduce the risk of...

Read the whole entry »

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

What is Paul Ryan's position on gay rights?

Absolutely awful. He voted once for ENDA, then turned around and voted against it (likely when the religious right got a hold of him). That's it. Otherwise he's been terrible on everything.Ryan is expected to be Romney's VP choice at an announcement today in Virginia.From Paul Schindler at...

 

Read the whole entry »

Via BeliefNet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 10, 2012

In Dialogue with Our Desires

Although desires can be remarkably stubborn, they share a goal—happiness—and this can form the common ground for an effective dialogue: If a desire doesn’t really produce happiness, it contradicts its reason for being.

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Pushing the Limits"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 12th, 2012
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Via America Blog Gay:

German court gives tax benefit to gay couples

CNN:Germany's constitutional court has strengthened the rights of gay and lesbian couples, giving them a same tax benefit as heterosexual married couples.The ruling, which came Wednesday, comes as the country is mired in an escalating debate on the status of homosexual partnerships.The...

 

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Via America Blog Gay:

French Catholic church says gays are pedophiles, tries to veto marriage in France

The Catholic church. That bastion of pedophilia, and pedophile-enablers - to this day - now claims to be worried about the welfare of children. That's why the Catholic church has yet to fully fess up to its role in enabling the rape of children across the world for decades, if not millennia. ...

Read the whole entry »

 

 

My comment: "how dare they!"

Via JMG: Democrats Release Proposed Language For Convention Marriage Equality Plank

As always, Chris Geidner has the scoop:

We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.

We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Geidner notes that the group that created the above language is different from the one that will be voting on it at the convention. Should the plank pass out of the convention committee, it must then be voted upon by the delegates.

Labels: Democratic convention, Democrats, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe

Via Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	To my mind, democracy is more compassionate, more harmonious, more friendly than any other system. It respects others' rights and considers others equally as human brothers and sisters. Although you might disagree with them, you have to respect their wishes. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 9, 2012

Meditation Needs Morality

If you are not leading a morally upright life, you cannot expect to sit down on a little pillow and find yourself secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome states of mind. If there is not sufficient morality, there is too much to desire, too much hate or fear, too much to worry about.

- Leigh Brasington, "A Mind Pure, Concentrated, and Bright"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 11th, 2012
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Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Rob Halford

"Everybody in this country has the right to say what they think and feel and what best represents them. The people at Chick-fil-A have the absolute right to say and do what they want. It doesn’t matter that all of these people disagree with their opinion. The question was how would the people that agree with what that man said do to support the company and how would the ones against his anti-gay remarks protest. What you’re seeing here are the elements of the American Constitution in all of their glory. It’s a wonderful thing to see happening and talk about and the fact that everyone is discussing the gay rights issue is great. I don’t think that man thought too much about the business consequences of what he said, but I think he was standing for what he believes in. I don’t agree with him at all, but God bless the man. It’s as simple as that." - Openly gay heavy metal star Rob Halford, speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock. (Tipped by JMG reader Greg)

Labels: fast food, gay artists, HomoQuotable, pop music

Reposted from Joe

Via jMG: HGTV's House Hunters To Feature Gay Couple Forced Abroad By DOMA

On next Monday's episode of House Hunters International, HGTV's flagship series will feature a gay couple forced to leave the country due to DOMA. From the show's episode guide:

Ivan and Devin, built a life together in DC: they worked jobs they loved, shared their home with their beloved dog and exchanged wedding vows. But when Ivan's work visa expired, he had no other choice but to head back to his native Bogota, Colombia with his American husband, Devin, and their dog, Danger. Ivan's mother is delighted her son is back home and has extended her indefinite hospitality, but the couple agrees it's time to find their own digs. With few dog-friendly buildings, and an extensive wish-list, real estate agent, Sam Miller has his work cut out for him. But will he deliver the goods? Find out, when House Hunters International sets its sights on Bogota, Colombia.

The show was filmed prior to last week's announcement that Homeland Security will now deprioritize the deportations of LGBT partners.

Labels: DOMA, HGTV, House Hunters, immigration

Reposted from Joe  

Via JMG: Bryan Fischer: Christians Should Kidnap The Children Of Gay And Lesbian Parents

For years here on JMG we've been following the case of Lisa Miller, the "ex-gay" woman who kidnapped her daughter to Central America after losing several court cases that awarded custody to her former partner. The preacher accused of facilitating that crime is about to go on trial, prompting American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer to issue calls for an anti-gay "Underground Railroad" to help shield the kidnappers of the children of gay parents.

As you may recall, that "Underground Railroad" already exists in the form of the virulently anti-gay Liberty Counsel, as the kidnapped child was found living in the Nicaraguan home of the father of a Liberty Counsel employee. Over at Dead Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, students were taught that it's sometimes best to obey "God's laws" rather than "man's laws" and that "righteous kidnapping" in cases such as Lisa Miller's were justified. Those classes were taught by Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver and Lina Lindevaldsen, both of whom represented Miller in her failed custody attempts. The students were then tested on whether they'd break the law for God.

That semester’s midterm exam, obtained by Religion Dispatches, included a question based on Miller’s case asking students to describe what advice they would give her “as a friend who is a Christian lawyer.” After laying out a slanted history of the protracted legal battle, the exam asked, “Lisa needs your counsel on how to think through her legal situation and how to respond as a Christian to this difficult problem. Relying only on what we have learned thus far in class, how would you counsel Lisa?”

Students who wrote that Miller should comply with court orders received bad grades while those who wrote she should engage in civil disobedience received an A, the three students said. “People were appalled,” said one of the students, adding, “especially as lawyers-to-be, who are trained and licensed to practice the law—to disobey that law, that seemed completely counterintuitive to all of us.” Still, some knew what they needed to “regurgitate,” in order to get a good grade. “It was obvious by the substance of the class during the semester the answer that they wanted,” said one of the students. “The majority of people that I am acquainted with who did get As wrote that because it was expected of them.”

As word broke late last year that the federal government was about to find Lisa Miller, Fischer and other anti-gay sites declared that the FBI had been infiltrated by the "gaystapo."

Lisa and Isabella are not free. The FBI is after them. At any time, they may be captured. At any time, Isabella may be kidnapped by the FBI and her mother arrested. America is resurrecting Sodom with a vengeance, supported by the formidable power of the State. While Christian social services in the US are losing their traditional right to help children because they refuse state orders to adopt children to homosexual couples.

Fischer's tweets from yesterday (at the top of this post) have generated widespread condemnation, which is an everyday occurrence when he bloviates on any topic. But this time even some anti-gay and Christian sites are backing away from him, resulting in today's flurry of "clarifications."I recommend reading last week's exhaustive New York Times cover story on the kidnapping. We can only hope that after the preacher's trial will come multiple conspiracy counts for Mat Staver and his Liberty Counsel accomplices.

Labels: Bryan Fischer, gay families, gay parenting, hate groups, Janet Jenkins, kidnapping, LGBT rights, Liberty Counsel, Lisa Miller, Mat Staver, religion

Reposted from Joe

Via GayFamilyValues / FB:

Via Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	At the time for initiative he takes no initiative. Young, strong, but lethargic, the resolves of his heart exhausted, the lazy, lethargic one loses the path to discernment. - Dhammapada 280, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 8, 2012

Welcoming Everything that Arises

Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Allow yourself to experience the transient nature of thoughts and feelings, welcoming everything that arises as Just this, not me, not mine.

- Sandra Weinberg, "Eating and the Wheel of Life"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 10th, 2012
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Via The Pragmatic Progressive Page

Via JMG: Illinois Hate Group Tells Parents To Pull Kids Out Of Classes With Gay Teachers

The Illinois Family Institute, the former home of Peter LaBarbera, has issued a call for parents to pull their kids out of the classes of liberal or gay teachers.

1-Parents can go to their middle school and/or high school websites and find out which teachers sponsor gay and straight alliances and liberal political activist groups (e.g. AWARE).

2- Parents can also ask what texts will be taught or used (e.g. The Chocolate War, Fat Kid Rules the World, Angels in America, The Laramie Project, or The People’s History of the United States) by a particular teacher. Parents should ask for the reading list for the entire year. Teachers who have a reasonable degree of respect for the values and beliefs of all parents will not have highly controversial texts on either required or recommended reading lists.

3- If parents have children who have already gone through the school or have already completed a year or more, they should ask those children and/or their friends or friends’ parents which teachers are known for bringing their politics into the classroom or who displays a “Safe Space” sticker, the inverted pink triangle, the rainbow flag, or the lower case Greek letter “lambda” on their desk, classroom door, or wall. Students usually know who the liberal, activist teachers are. Liberal teachers develop reputations, often as the “cool” teachers.

Friendly Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta, who IS a teacher, has posted a great response.

They want to rail against liberal teachers — even ones like me, who keep our religious beliefs out of the classroom — but they’re silent when it comes to Christian teachers who proselytize instead of teaching. And you can bet that happens far more often. They’re hypocrites who refuse to acknowledge it and school districts know better than to take them seriously. That’s why IFI has to make up fake enemies. That’s why they go after atheist teachers and English departments and pink triangles and lambda symbols.

Because the teachers who preach atheism or Islam or Hinduism in the classroom don’t exist. Preaching instead of teaching is something certain Christians do, not the rest of us. And if you’re a Christian and you agree with me, then say something about it to them. Stop being silent. It’s not like they care what atheists have to say. On the brighter note, IFI staffers won’t be teaching in any public schools this fall. But I will be. Me and my evil, liberal, hippie, godless, proof-loving, triangle-drawing, “cool” ways.

Labels: bigotry, douchenozzles, education, evil, hate groups, horrible, Illinois Family Institute, religion

Reposted from Joe

Via Gay Politics Report:

• Will Republicans spotlight Democrats' marriage plank?
  Republicans' muted reaction to news that the Democratic party platform will likely include a marriage equality plank doesn't necessarily mean the GOP is going to ignore the issue in the coming months, according to this article. Some party activists have urged Mitt Romney to highlight the marriage debate, although so far Romney has been reluctant to discuss hot-button social issues. “It would be rather unwise politically for the GOP to ignore the Chick-fil-A vote,” said one strategist for the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (8/6)     

• Religious right plans multi-million dollar campaign: Social conservatives opposed to President Barack Obama's embrace of marriage equality are planning to spend millions to register voters in Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania and other key states, according to this article. The efforts are reportedly backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and others. One group, the Georgia-based Faith and Freedom Coalition, said it will spend $10 million to encourage socially conservative voters to go to the polls this November. The Huffington Post (8/7)     

JMG Petition Of The Day

The petition is here. Video explanation below.

Labels: "ex-gay", California, LGBT youth, religion, scams

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Four Times Married Drug Addict Rush Limbaugh Defends Sanctity Of Marriage

"Now Christianity has to be banned, and that’s where this is all headed. All this stuff at Chick-fil-A, the target is Christianity, not Chick-fil-A. The target is freedom of religion. [With] Obama and Obamacare, the target is always freedom. When we’re talking about liberals, the target is always freedom. Dan Cathy, the head honcho of Chick-fil-A, he’s not making a political statement when he talks about the values the company believes in. It gets interpreted that way because the left has politicized gay marriage." - Rush Limbaugh.

RELATED: We're still waiting for Limbaugh to fulfill his 2010 promise to move to Costa Rica should the Affordable Healthcare Act pass. Not incidentally, Costa Rica provides universal health care. While Costa is ranked 50th in per capita health care expenditures, its medical system rates higher than the United States, which spends the most per person.

Labels: asshattery, drug addicts, drugs, fast food, hypocrisy, religion, Rush Limbaugh, sanctity of marriage

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Gay And Proud In Uganda

It boggles the mind, but a small gay pride event was held in Uganda this weekend. Alexis Okeowo reports at New Yorker:

“Can you imagine that the worst place in the world to be gay is having Gay Pride?” Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera asked a crowd of cheering gay men, lesbians, transgendered men and women, and queers somewhere in between. It was Saturday afternoon, and we were on the shores of the giant, cloudy Lake Victoria in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, where L.G.B.T. activists had decided to stage the country’s first Pride Parade. Nabagesera, a lesbian activist covered, for the occasion, in glitter and neon spray paint, with homemade angel wings, was being half-sarcastic. A barrage of media coverage has painted the country as a hell for gays—a place where they are suffering and being attacked constantly—and, despite the need to combat such threats, L.G.B.T. Ugandans were tired of hearing a story that ignored their nuanced experiences of both joy and hardship.

Hit the link for a slideshow and the rest of Okeowo's fascinating article. (Tipped by JMG reader Joe)

Labels: Africa, bravery, gay Pride, LGBT culture, Uganda

Reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog Gay:

GOP silent on Dem gay marriage platform

Fascinating. NJ.com: When Democrats announced that their 2012 platform would include a historic first -- gay marriage written in as a plank -- the reaction from mainstream Republicans was near silence. There were no statements blasted out from Mitt Romney's campaign. The same was true for the Republican National Committee. Romney has yet to address the fact.Most Republican Party leaders seem...

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 7, 2012

Facing Difficulties

Do not become annoyed when faced with difficulties. To do so merely adds difficulty to difficulty and further disturbs your mind. By maintaining a mind of peace and nonopposition, difficulties will naturally fall away.

- Master Sheng-yen, "Nonopposition"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 9th, 2012
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 7, 2012

Facing Difficulties

Do not become annoyed when faced with difficulties. To do so merely adds difficulty to difficulty and further disturbs your mind. By maintaining a mind of peace and nonopposition, difficulties will naturally fall away.

- Master Sheng-yen, "Nonopposition"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 9th, 2012
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Via Feminist Apostasy / FB:

Via BeliefNet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	All the delightful things of the world--sweet sounds, lovely forms, all the pleasant tastes and touches and thoughts--these are all agreed to bring happiness if they are not grasped and possessed. But if you regard them merely as pleasures for your own use and satisfaction and do not see them as passing wonders, they will bring suffering. - Sutta Nipata More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 6, 2012

All-encompassing Mindfulness

If ‘mindfulness’ is to create genuine change in our society, it must involve being mindful of more than just our own need for comfort, good health, or serenity. It must entail being mindful of the social and economic forces that allow some to prosper while others struggle, forces that promote and perpetuate certain behaviors and thought patterns while discouraging or suppressing others.

- Richard Eskow, “Buying Wisdom"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 8th, 2012
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VIa FB:

Via FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 5, 2012

The Refuge of Silence

Silence arrests flight, so that in its refuge, the need to flee the chaos of noise diminishes. We let the world creep closer, we drop to our knees, as if to let the heart, like a small animal, get its legs on the ground.

- Barbara Hurd, "On Silence"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 7th, 2012
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Via Luminous and Healthy's FB:

Via The Pragmatic Progressive Facebook Page:

Via Anne Hathaway / FB:

Acording to the Bible / FB:

Via JMG: Clinton Praises Ugandan Activists

During her stop in Uganda yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the brave LGBT activists who risk murder and rape merely by being open about who they are.

"It is critical for all Ugandans - the government and citizens alike - to speak out against discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of anyone. That's true no matter where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love," Clinton said. Clinton said she raised the issue in talks on Friday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, whose government has been accused of allowing political and religious leaders to drum up anti-gay feeling in the deeply conservative East African nation. "You are a model for others and an inspiration for the world," Clinton said to representatives of the group, formed in 2009 to combat draft legislation which proposed the death penalty for anyone convicted of "aggravated homosexuality".

Labels: activism, Africa, Hillary Clinton, Uganda

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma August 4, 2012

Swimming in the Infinite

There is no point in being Buddhist! One does it for the sheer joy of swimming in the infinite!

- Robert Thurman, "Swimming in the Infinite"

Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through August 6th, 2012
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Via FB

Anne Rice Via FB:

Via Freedom to Marry FB

Via JMG: Homeland Security To Consider Marriage Status Before Deporting Foreign Gays

After pressure earlier this week from Rep. Nancy Pelosi and a coalition of more than 80 Democrats, Homeland Security says it will consider the partner status of gay potential deportees. Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

The department has issued a new policy governing the issuances of "Notice to Appear" documents, which is the step that starts removal proceedings, which can lead to deportation. The new policy will put the policies of U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services — which considers green card applications — in alignment with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement policies for "low priority" enforcement cases, according to the department — which means that USCIS won't likely issue the notices unless other negative factors, like a criminal record, are found. A spokesman did not respond to an immediate request for a copy of the policy.

Well-known LGBT immigration advocate Lavi Soloway is thrilled. Via press release:

After a two-year campaign urging the Obama administration to stop the deportations of spouses of gay and lesbian Americans, we welcome the announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it will formally recognize same-sex marriages as part of its year-old ‘prosecutorial discretion’ deportation policy. By articulating the first federal policy to recognize marriages of gay and lesbian couples, the administration signals to deportations officers, Immigration Judges, and Immigration & Customs Enforcement prosecutors that our marriages must be considered when determining whether a case is deemed low priority for deportation.

Until DOMA is repealed Homeland Security will continue to deny green cards to the spouses of LGBT Americans.

Labels: DOMA, Homeland Security, immigration, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe