Uganda activists petition against anti-gay bill

(Kampala, ) Critics of a proposed Ugandan law that would impose the for some say they’ve gathered 500,000 calling for the bill’s .

A including priest Byamugisha delivered the to ’s on Monday. Byamugisha says the bill teaches intolerance and

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A statement from the mother of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado

Mercado gave this statement to the team the weekend’s :

“When my son told me he was , I told him, ‘Now, I you more.’ I want to tell the world that is not born with , it is a seed that is planted by

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Gay incident reopens Salt Lake City’s Main Street plaza wounds

It’s the wound that won’t heal. The rift that won’t close. And earlier this month, two lovers’ purportedly innocuous late-night — though LDS Church officials insist it was far more amorous than that — ripped it wide open.

Utah’s simmering religious divide boiled over — once again — at the geographical and philosophical of church and state: the Main Street Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City.

“It is a that will continue to be peeled away — and may never heal,” says Dani Eyer, the former director who fought to preserve First Amendment rights on the plaza.

Matt and say they held hands, kissed and then squabbled with on the LDS Church-owned square. police issued a ticket for trespassing. In , supporters of the couple staged a “-in” outside the plaza and plan another such today.

The Church — a to which 60 percent of belong — defended its right to regulate “” on the plaza.

“What we’re seeing now is a of what should have been obvious from the very beginning,” says former Mayor Anderson. “This block of Main Street never should have been conveyed to the Church. It was a recipe for ongoing between the Church and those who are not .”

The church bought the strip of Main — from to — in 1999 after then- and the City Council, with the only two non- dissenting, signed off on the $8. deal. But the burned for five more years as were asked to settle the prickly issue of whether the church could govern on the plaza and whether the city could retain a public right of way (as outlined in the original deal).

“It was meant to be for everybody,” Eyer says. “Where come and go their go with them.”

After a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2002, activities returned to the plaza. But by anti- — including cries of “” and “harlot” hurled at newlywed — “sustained divisions” that “reached to the point of ” between and non-, Anderson says.

In the end, he agreed to trade the public easement for cash and land to build a west-side community center.

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Old Game, New Buzz, Gay Community Outraged

Pink News reports on becoming re-outraged over a which requires players to shoot men. The is called “Watch Out Behind You, Hunter”, and was originally launched in 2002 by frenchie Stéphane Aguie. The is banned in , but that ’t stopped it from making the rounds and finding a new host.

The group Armenia said it was “completely disgusted” by the , adding that it was created by “those religious-minded in Tbilisi, Georgia… who constantly cite to ‘justify’ their and . A post on the group’s added: “Is this their ‘orthodox’ way of by creating an image of an enemy and teaching them how to deal with it?”

The website’s owner, , has rebuked claims of , saying that he “really didn’t understand why the association was attacking us” . He told news site France24.com: “The guy who came up with the , Stéphane Aguie, wanted to mock hunters and rednecks, not men”.

He continued: “Our are not politically correct. They’re aimed at and it’s true that they’re of a juvenile humour”. Mr said that while the was removed from after legal action from rights , it is “impossible to wipe it from all foreign sites too”.

He added: “Incidentally, not everyone in the community was supportive of banning the . “I realise now that this one in particular could be found shocking, but I believe that you should be able to make this kind of in the name of of speech.” The site has faced for its before. In 2001 it was by American for a entitled ‘’ where the object was to protect the from plane attacks.

Mr also commented that the site was attacked over its of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the French National Front. He took the to court after the involved users throwing at his . He was not the only depicted in the , but for him, the were changed to swastikas. He added: “In the end, its all a bit of .”

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Pastor who opposes homosexuality may get Chicago City Council seat

he amens in , the choir in full throated glory, Rev. Wilfredo De takes the at New Life Church to his congregation to dream big.

“Because we can change a life, we can change a community,” he preaches. “Because we can change a community, we can change a city.”

The sounds like a , fitting because De , one of Chicago’s most influential Latino , is making a controversial into as the choice of outgoing . Billy Ocasio (26th) to be his replacement on the City Council.

But, in a complicated blending of and , the pastor’s possible has drawn from who object to other used in De ’ church that they say is not as uplifting — messages equating with and other .
The call De .” They worry that his would give him the ability to funds for agencies that serve clients and a platform to shape broader such as same- .

De says that he has never preached of and that his church’s to is rooted in a literal interpretation of the .
See Pastor who opposes homosexuality may get Chicago City Council seat

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Condemnation for bishop who called for gay people to ‘repent’ Independent

The Bishop of Rochester has been accused of pandering to hate and after calling on to repent. Michael - provoked among when he urged to stick to instead of being swayed by “culture and trends”.

While calling for the “traditional teaching” of the to be upheld, the Bishop said of : “We want them to repent and be changed.”

His were published just hours after more than , including the ’s wife, Sarah, took part in the parade in .

, of the and Christian Movement, condemned Dr - for making comments that she said would encourage .

“It feeds to the more fundamental individuals who are looking to have their opinions ratified and speak hatefully and behave hatefully,” she said.

“His comments are likely to cause more of a within the Church of England. He’s saying their [ and ] is a . It’s not. It’s a gift from . made us all.”

She added: “He is telling ‘You have to repent’ for something they have no over. It’s like asking someone to repent because they have blue eyes.”

, the rights , said he was “shocked” at the level of anti- voiced by the bishop. “ is a social and , just like . , even in the guise of , has no place in a compassionate, ,” he said. “I call on the bishop to repent his . His goes against Christ’s gospel of and compassion.”

accused the Bishop of Rochester of being “selective” about which parts of the he upheld. “When he calls for the of all the banks, and credit card companies because of what it says in the about usury, then I’ll take him seriously,” he said. “Until then, unless he can say anything good, he should shut up.”

In his comments, made to a Sunday newspaper, the bishop said should be welcomed into the Church but that a person’s sexual could only be correctly expressed in a union within . His remarks reopened the row over that has for years threatened to tear the Church apart.

He made them on the of today’s official of the Fellowship of Confessing at Westminster Central Hall in where he is expected to speak in support of the organisation. The UK branch of the Fellowship is regarded by many within the movement as an to create a church within a church with the of heading off moves to ease rules on . Dr - is to step down in the autumn and he is expected to play an important part in the Fellowship’s activities.

The Very Rev Colin Slee, the of Southwark and a prominent liberal, was so alarmed by the the impending departure of Dr - from the See of Rochester that he described it as “clearly a move towards a sectarian alternative church intentionally designed to create turbulence in the Communion”.

Chris Sugden, of the Fellowship, said a message from the will be read out during the ceremony but a Buckingham Palace called it nothing more than a “standard response” to the many requests made to the monarch each year. “It isn’t endorsing anyone’s point of view,” she said.

Zeal of the convert: The Bishop of Rochester

*Michael - has been one of the most vocal and controversial of of the past and has rarely been afraid to speak out.

He was a leading to become when George Carey stood down but has found himself at with , the .

The issue of has been one of the biggest causes of friction between Dr -, the Bishop of Rochester, and the of the Church.

In 2008 the rift was so marked that he boycotted the , a meeting of held once a , because of the row over . He is part of an evangelical wing urging the Church to stick to a traditional interpretation of the scriptures regarded by , especially on the issues of and women , as backward.

This year he announced he would step down as Bishop of Rochester in September to allow him time to concentrate on representing the Church in parts of the world where are a minority or oppressed.

Born in Pakistan to Catholic , he converted at the age of 20 and holds dual British and Pakistani nationality. Appointed the 106th Bishop of Rochester in 1994, he was the first non-white in the Church of England. Since then he has been a frequent critic of the rise of in Britain.

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An Exorcism of Hate

A recently posted video shows church in southern performing an on a 16-year-old boy in order to remove the “ ” from his body. The video is horrifying to watch — the church at the supposed evil as the boy convulses on the ground.

The logic and set behind this are so far beyond my that it defies comment. What I do find compelling, however, is the church’s response to the that the video created. “We have nothing against ,” protested the Patricia McKinney. “I just don’t agree with their .” I frequently hear comments such as this from those who oppose for . These say they — they even have and family! — but it’s unfortunately “against their beliefs” to treat equally. This video, however, is a perfect example of how this explanation is a blatant lie.

The “I just don’t agree with,” connotes a mild dislike. I don’t agree with , but I can still enjoy my dinner to the fullest when it’s present at the table. What such as McKinney feel toward is nothing short of loathing. It is impossible for her to argue she respects when she believes that demonic live inside their bodies. She could preach to her parish every Sunday, but her actions unambiguously declare that being is a sinful, state that must be cured. McKinney clearly has something very big against , and it’s insulting for her to suggest otherwise.

are guilty of similar , but they tend to be more subtle. A senator who opposes shouldn’t be able to say that he’s protecting “.” He should say that he believes that are incapable of raising the kinds of families that our society accepts. A who disqualifies a couple from should proclaim that will irreparably damage a child should their request succeed. It’s the typical political non-speak, but it’s even more damaging when those who say it can claim that they aren’t prejudiced.

Outright has become socially unacceptable in most circumstances. This is momentous progress from a that had until now been painfully public. But, ironically, this is now hurting the rights movement.

, such as McKinney, should have to state their beliefs openly, without duplicitous that they “have nothing against .” What they should really be saying is that is disgusting and perverted — that any person practicing it is a who needs to be saved now before suffering an in . Judging from their comments and actions, that’s what they believe, and they should own up to those principles.

have shown that young as a whole have a more liberal view regarding than their . It stands to reason that, as a society, we’re marching on a towards and for . But I hope this liberalization permeates far deeper than the blatant of such as McKinney and her congregation. Those of us who actually have nothing against — who feel no need to cast the ‘ ’ from their body— should reject such flagrant duplicity.

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The Human Toll Of Anti-Gay Hate

How does a family react to a son’s life taken because he is ? The toll taken on those is explored in Beyond premiering tonight.

On the night of , 2002, in Leo Park in Rheims, , Francois Chenu was brutally murdered by three neo-Nazi . When the trio came upon Francois they asked him if he was and he answered yes.

The twenty-nine-year-old fought back as the men beat him, then, when it was over, he called them , prompting the men to kill their victim.

Acclaimed Director Olivier Meyrou dispenses with the . In fact, the film mostly ignores Francois’ death by drowning, opting instead to concentrate on the lives of the family . It’s powerful , to say the least.

Meyrou catches up with Francois’ and three two years after his death, as the ’ trial is about to open.

The focuses on the of the Chenu family, allowing us to sense the strength necessary to continue after such a .

See The Human Toll Of Anti-Gay Hate On Top Magazine

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S.F. asks federal judge to toss Prop. 8

has asked a to overturn California’s ban on same- , allying the city with a lawsuit that could reach the U.S. .

In papers filed in U.S. District Court in , City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office argued that Proposition 8 was motivated by of and and violates their to be free of .

Although sponsors of the November said they were trying to promote traditional and protect children, “excluding same- from does nothing to advance those ,” Chief said in the 49-page brief.

Prop. 8’s “real (was) harming and and expressing moral of them,” Stewart said.

In arguing to throw out Prop. 8, Stewart cited the ’s 1996 ruling that struck down Colorado’s ban on state and local -rights and said a law motivated by toward and is unconstitutional.

See S.F. asks federal judge to toss Prop. 8

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Documentary on murder of a homosexual

will be airing another hard-hitting P.O.V. series , which on June 30 (10 p.m.). “Beyond ” is the story of a family trying to recover after the 2002 murder of a man. Here’s a summary from :
“In September 2002, three were roaming a park in Rheims, , looking to “do an ,” when they settled for a man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité film Beyond is the story of the crime’s ; above all, of the Chenu family’s brave and heartrending to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless and unbearable loss. With remarkable , they fight to transcend and the inevitable desire for revenge.
Shot in direct-, with and long, evocative takes, Beyond forgoes third-party to let those who must deal with the crime’s tell the story — the and as they seek justice through the courts, those who knew the victim and his , and even the father of one of the . Most of all we hear from the Chenus: François’ father, Jean-Paul, and mother, Marie-Cécile, and his and , as they try to reconstruct what happened and the horror of François’ .
You can watch the trailer here. This goes to show that are still alive and well worldwide. I hope you’ll tune in. See Documentary on murder of a homosexual
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