Pro-gay bill advances in WV

Non-profits & religious groups exempted; would protect in areas of jobs and housing.

Pro-gay bill advances in WV

Non-profits & religious groups exempted; would protect in areas of jobs and housing.

Pro-gay bill advances in WV

Non-profits & religious groups exempted; would protect in areas of jobs and housing.

Pro-gay bill advances in WV

Non-profits & religious groups exempted; would protect in areas of jobs and housing.

Pro-gay bill advances in WV

Non-profits & religious groups exempted; would protect in areas of jobs and housing.

Equality California Expands Marriage Fight, hire leaders to strengthen work in communities of color, faith and to ensure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples

SAN FRANCISCO – Equality California is bringing two leaders on board to expand EQCA’s efforts to achieve full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Marc Solomon will lead EQCA’s efforts to restore and keep the right to marry and increase public support and acceptance of LGBT families as its marriage director. Solomon led the fight to protect marriage equality in Massachusetts as the executive director of MassEquality.
Andrea Shorter will serve as coalition coordinator to strengthen and expand statewide coalition building efforts and to help bring resources and support to LGBT organizations, especially those who concentrate on issues impacting communities of color and faith. Shorter is co-founder and director of And Marriage For All, a public-education campaign that engages communities of color in dialogue about the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
“We are thrilled to have such extraordinary, accomplished leaders join our team as we continue our efforts to achieve full equality for LGBT people and to keep doing the long-term work of changing hearts and minds,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California.

Solomon has worked full-time on efforts to protect marriage equality since February, 2004, just after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the Massachusetts Constitution guaranteed the right of same-sex couples to marry.

“Marc Solomon has been a true leader and tremendous partner in our work to protect the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. “His ability to lead a grassroots campaign for social change is second to none.”

Facing an unprecedented attack from Gov. Romney, Pres. Bush and the religious right, Solomon led the largest and most successful grassroots campaign in Massachusetts history to defeat efforts to amend the Massachusetts Constitution to take away the right to marry.

“I am thrilled to join Equality California and lead its efforts to ensure the freedom to marry,” Solomon said. “Our work in Massachusetts centered on engaging hearts and minds around the stories of same-sex couples and their families. As Californians hear more from LGBT families in their own communities, I am sure that many more will come around to support the freedom to marry.”

Shorter has a long track record of success in the fight for LGBT equality and other social justice issues. She is the co-founder and chair of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, the largest African-American LGBT political organization in the Bay Area.

“Andrea Shorter has a proven record of leadership and effectiveness,” said San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty. “She will bring a needed infusion of grassroots organizing and her commitment to working in diverse communities to our cause.”

“I am pleased to join forces with Equality California to direct and expand its coalition building efforts,” Shorter said. “Our work through And Marriage For All to engage people of color and faith in honest, plain talk about the importance of the freedom to marry will complement EQCA’s appreciation that true coalition building must extend beyond the purpose of meeting a singular goal such as marriage equality, but must work to create and support common ground, common cause across communities. I look forward to working with EQCA to grow a statewide broad-based coalition to advance long-term civil and human rights interests for all.”

Shorter has served as deputy executive director of the NAMES Project Foundation/AIDS Memorial Quilt, where she worked with founder Cleve Jones to launch several key HIV/AIDS outreach and education initiatives targeting African-American and South-African communities. Additionally, she was the first African-American elected officer of the LGBT Caucus of the California State Democratic Party. Andrea serves on the Commission on the Status of Women for the City and County of San Francisco since being first appointed by former Mayor Willie Brown, Jr. in 2001. She was recently elected by her colleagues to begin an unprecedented fourth term as President of the Commission.

EQCA is also hiring regional field organizers in locations statewide including the Central Valley, Inland Empire and Orange County to support and expand its volunteer efforts on marriage, legislation and electoral work and to partner with other organizations committed to achieving equality for LGBT people. Job descriptions for open positions at EQCA can be found at www.eqca.org/jobs.

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

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Mainline Clergy Survey shows high support for activist government, growing support for LGBT equality

Leading researchers on religion and politics today released the results of an in‐depth survey of

Mainline Protestant clergy political engagement during the 2008 election season, attitudes on social and economic issues, and the public role of the church. The Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey (CVS), conducted by Public Religion Research, is the largest survey of mainline clergy in seven years, and the broadest ever in scope. Mainline Protestants, who make up 18 percent of all Americans and nearly a quarter of all voters, have been trending Democratic in recent years, but remain fairly evenly divided in their political behavior.

“Mainline Protestants are probably the most under‐examined major religious group in the United States,” said Dr. Robert P. Jones, President of Public Religion Research. “That’s especially surprising when you consider that they occupy so much of the vital middle ground in American politics.” Jones said that Mainline Protestants, once the religious bedrock of the Republican Party, are now an important swing constituency that has been moving slowly but steadily away from the GOP since the early 1990s. He said the new survey will be invaluable in helping us understand Mainline Protestants’ role in the American religious landscape by shedding light on the attitudes and political engagement of mainline clergy.

“Mainline clergy are highly educated, political interested, and socially engaged,” said Jones. “They are strong supporters of church‐state separation, but they are also interested in being more personally involved on social and political issues.”

The CVS surveyed senior clergy from the seven largest mainline denominations: United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, American Baptist Churches USA, Presbyterian Church USA, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The survey found significant differences across the denominations on religious and political measures.

Among its findings on social and political issues:

Mainline clergy are much more likely to identify as liberal and Democratic than conservative or Republican. Almost half (48%) of all mainline clergy identify as liberal, compared to about one‐third (34%) who say they are conservative. A majority (56%) of mainline clergy identify with or lean towards the Democratic Party, compared to roughly one‐third (34%) who claim a Republican affiliation, a 22‐point gap. Clergy political leanings vary considerably by denomination. Three quarters (74%) of UCC clergy identify as liberal, compared to less than a third (32%) of ABCUSA clergy.

Mainline Protestant clergy are broadly supportive of government’s role in addressing social problems such as unemployment, poverty and poor housing. More than three‐quarters (78%) agree that the federal government should do more to solve social problems, and more than 4‐in‐10 strongly agree.

Mainline clergy are strongly supportive of government action in the areas of health care and the environment. More than two‐thirds (67%) of clergy agree that government should guarantee health insurance for all citizens, even if it means raising taxes. And nearly 7‐in‐10 (69%) clergy say that more environmental protection is needed, even if it raises prices or costs jobs.

On a broad range of issues, mainline clergy affirm equality for gay and lesbian Americans. Roughly two‐thirds of mainline clergy support some legal recognition for same‐sex couples (65%), passing hate crime laws (67%), and employment nondiscrimination protections for gay and lesbian people (66%). A majority (55%) of mainline clergy support adoption rights for gay and lesbian people.

Mainline Protestant clergy are strong advocates of church‐state separation. A majority (65%) of mainline clergy agree that the U.S. should “maintain a strict separation of church and state.” Mainline clergy are more worried about public officials who are too close to religious leaders (59%) than about public officials who do not pay enough attention to religion (41%).\

Mainline clergy are more likely to publicly address hunger and poverty and family issues than controversial social issues. More than 8‐in‐10 clergy say they publicly expressed their views about hunger and poverty often in the last year, and three‐quarters say they addressed marriage and family issues often. Only about one‐quarter (26%) say they often discussed the issues of abortion and capital punishment.

The survey also includes findings on religious measures, including clergy religious self‐identification (mainline, evangelical, born‐again), their views on the interpretation of scripture, and the relative importance of evangelism and social action.

Dr. John Green, Director of the Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron, served as advisor to the project and supervised its data collection. Green also participated in two of the earlier studies of mainline clergy in 1989 and 2001 upon which this new survey builds.

“This survey adds significantly to our knowledge and understanding of mainline clergy,” said Green. “Scholars of religion as well as journalists and interested activists will benefit from the information and insights it offers.”

The survey, which was conducted by mail, contained over 250 separate questions and generated

2,658 respondents with a response rate of 44%. The Mainline Protestant Clergy Voices Survey was funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

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Report shows Focus on Family both anti-jobs and anti-gay

The Colorado Independent, has broken a story of some interest to those following the money trail of the California anti-gay marriage amendment battle this past Nov. While many of us have focused on the impact of the Mormon Church on passage of the amendment, Ernest Luning has uncovered the impact of Focus on the Family. See Report shows Focus on Family both anti-jobs and anti-gay
Michigan Messenger, Michigan -

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/report-shows-…

Report shows Focus on Family both anti-jobs and anti-gay

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Indian gay prince seeks true love through BBC series

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of the erstwhile state of Rajpipla in Gujarat, who is known for his gay sexual preferences, is seeking a true love through his role in a BBC series.

Gohil is among three princes who have been living under assumed names with the sole objective of finding true love. Gohil took the name Mani and worked in small jobs in the seaside town of Brighton for the series.

The two other princes in the forthcoming BBC series ‘Undercover Princes’ are Prince Remigius of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and Prince Africa Zulu, a 30-year-old bachelor from Zululand in South Africa.

“I don’t think I could have found love in India because people who were attracted to me were more attracted by my princely fortune or princely status,” Gohil told BBC.

“I was undercover here, so it was easier — a litmus test – whether a person is genuinely in love with me.”

Gohil said the size of his bedroom in Brighton See Indian gay prince seeks true love through BBC series
Hindu, India