Study: Gays not ‘godless Christian bashers’
This breaking news in from The Barna Group — a chronicler of religious life and habits, particularly of the Christian variety: Gay folks’ attitudes about spirituality aren’t much different from straight folks. These and other “surprising insights” were in Barna’s spiritual profile of gays released Monday. In it was a bit of a political heeding for gay-bashers:
“People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts,” wrote George Barna Monday. “A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today.”
“It is interesting to see that most homosexuals, who have some history within the Christian Church, have rejected orthodox biblical teachings and principles — but, in many cases, to nearly the same degree that the heterosexual Christian population has rejected those same teachings and principles,” Barna said. “Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume.”
Now there will be some quibbling with a couple of Barna’s assumptions. Like how Barna pegs the LGBT population at about 3 percent of the adult population. No, he doesn’t believe in the 1-in-10 stat, but then again, LGBT population scholar Gary Gates says it’s more like 5 percent, depending how you count.
That aside, the Barnanians found that “out of the 20 faith-oriented attributes examined in the Barna study, there were just a few in which there were no significant differences between the heterosexual and homosexual populations.”
Hmm. “No significant differences between the heterosexual and homosexual”(s)? Does Donald Wildmon know about this?
One big diff, according to the study: “While seven out of every ten heterosexuals (71 percent) have an orthodox, biblical perception of God, just 43 percent of homosexuals do. In fact, an equal percentage possesses a pantheistic view about deity — i.e., that ‘God’ refers to any of a variety of perspectives, such as personally achieving a state of higher consciousness or maximized personal potential, or that there are multiple gods that exist, or even that everyone is god.”
Another diff: “Heterosexuals were twice as likely as homosexuals to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”
And in the timeliness is next to godliness (OK, and cleanliness) dept: On Monday a crew of organizations supporting same sex marriage are launching their Get Engaged Tour of California — a pump-priming tour of the state in advance of an expected 2010 ballot measure campaign expected later this year. We told you about it a while back. Faith leaders will be prominently featured on this tour, as opposed to last year’s anti-Proposition 8 campaign, when they were largely invisible.
“Our faith-based values require us to love our neighbor as ourselves,” said Pastor Samuel Chu, of California Faith for Equality. “Gay and lesbian people are our neighbors and they should be able to enjoy the dignity, respect and commitment that come with marriage.”
| June 22 2009 at 12:25 PM
See Study: Gays not ‘godless Christian bashers’ 5:12 PM
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Philadelphia Cinema Alliance Announces 2009 Gay Icon Award Recipients
The Philadelphia Cinema Alliance is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s awards. They are – 2009 Gay Icon Award: Sharon Gless; the 2009 Rising Star Award: H.P. Mendoza; the 2009 Artistic Achievement Award: Chad Allen; and the 2009 Barbara Gittings Award: Dr. Dee Mosbacher. Each honoree will be present to accept his or her award at one of four special ceremonies during the 15th Anniversary of Philadelphia QFest, July 9 – 20, 2009.
Actress Sharon Gless will receive the Gay Icon Award on Sunday, July 19 at The Prince Music Theater before a screening of her new movie Hannah Free. Gless entered the national consciousness as detective Christine Cagney on the classic series “Cagney & Lacey”, a show unafraid to tackle difficult issues like AIDS, abortion and racism. In 2000, Gless created the role of the beloved PFLAG-Mom Debbie Novotny for the groundbreaking series “Queer as Folk”, remaining with the series throughout its five-season run. She recently completed an Emmy-nominated, multiple-episode arc in the hit series “Nip/Tuck”, and currently stars in “Burn Notice”. Her current project, Hannah Free, finds the actress playing a free-spirited lesbian trying to reunite with the love of her life. Off-screen, Gless is an active participant in the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights and a consistent supporter of national and international human rights.
The multi-talented H.P. Mendoza will receive the Rising Star Award on Thursday, July 16 at the Ritz East Theater, preceding the screening of his new film Fruit Fly. An innovative, musical and prodigious talent, H.P. Mendoza returns to QFest this year with his bubbly directorial debut. Born in San Francisco to Filipino immigrants, he studied film at the College of San Mateo, where he met Richard Wong. Wong went on to direct Colma: The Musical which Mendoza wrote and composed. Colma was one of the highlights of PIGLFF 2007. H.P. has also released several CDs over the past few years, including the new “Nomad”.
Hollywood mainstay Chad Allen will receive the Artistic Achievement Award Thursday, July 9 at The Prince at QFest 09 Opening Night celebration, following the screening of Hollywood je t’aime. Many know Allen for his impressive body of professional work on family dramas ranging from “St. Elsewhere” to “Our House” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women.” Equally important to Allen is his personal life, being one of the few openly gay actors working in Hollywood today, one willing to speak candidly about his sexuality. Allen has most recently gained recognition as the sexy, shrewd and resourceful gay detective Donald Strachey in the series of films Third Man Out, Shock to the System, On the Other Hand, Death (all of which screened at PIGLFF) and Ice Blues. Allen is a solid supporter of AIDS/LIFECYCLE, in which he recently rode 545 miles to help raise more than $11 million for the fight against AIDS. See Philadelphia Cinema Alliance Announces 2009 Gay Icon Award Recipients
Broadway World
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What You Can Do for Health Care Fairness
Take Lambda LEgals’c health care fairness survey today. LGBT people and those with HIV encounter prejudice and discrimination from health care providers and institutions, including being denied necessary treatments, services or insurance coverage, or being forced to receive care from health care providers who are poorly trained or even hostile. We need your help to make sure that all of our concerns are heard. As part of Lambda Legal’s health care fairness campaign, we are conducting a national survey (available in both English and Spanish) to document the unique health care experiences and needs of LGBT people and people living with HIV. Information from this survey will be used to educate elected officials and other decisionmakers about the specific problems health care reform must address. Make your voice count for health care fairness.
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Obama Admin References Incest, Child Rape in DOMA Defense
Obama defends DOMA in federal court. Says banning gay marriage is good for the federal budget. Invokes incest and marrying children.
At AMERICABlogs, John Aravosis writes:
“despicable, and gratuitously homophobic. It reads as if it were written by one of George Bush’s top political appointees. I cannot state strongly enough how damaging this brief is to us. Obama didn’t just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn’t motivated by any anti-gay animus. He argued why our Supreme Court victories in Roemer and Lawrence shouldn’t be interpreted to give us rights in any other area (which hurts us in countless other cases and battles). He argued that DOMA doesn’t discriminate against us because it also discriminates about straight unmarried couples (ignoring the fact that they can get married and we can’t).He actually argued that the courts shouldn’t consider Loving v. Virginia, the miscegenation case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to ban interracial marriages, when looking at gay civil rights cases. He told the court, in essence, that blacks deserve more civil rights than gays, that our civil rights are not on the same level.”
See Obama Admin Defends Federal Gay Marriage Ban In Court Filing
References Incest, Child Rape… DOJ Defends
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White Supremacist Opens Fire @ At Holocaust Museum In D.C.
A gunman NBC News describes as a White Supremacist exchanged fire with security guards inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday. U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser said the gunman walked into the museum with what he described as a “long gun.” The gunman and a security guard were shot. Both were taken to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately known. But of course the govenrment was wrong to warn us about right wing terrorists.
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Miss California Losing Crown After All
Carrie Prejean will lose her Miss California USA crown today because she doesn’t play well with others.
Sources connected with the pageant tell us even Donald Trump has now had it with Carrie, because she’s violating her contract by not getting clearance to do her extracurricular stuff. See Miss California Losing Crown After All
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Colbert Debates Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell In Front Of Audience Of Active Troops
Stephen Colbert took on a formidable opponent last night in the debate over allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces: Himself. After an intro from George H.W. Bush and brief plug for Amp energy drink, Colbert One told Colbert Two that his gay Arabic translator had been fired, bringing the total to 59 in the past 5 years.
Colbert Two took a pro-gay stance, whereas Colbert One defended the army’s choice to fire these men. The segment was funny and intriguing, but Colbert (as a whole) seemed unwilling to take a hard stance on the issue while performing in front of an audience of active troops.
In the past Colbert has mocked “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in his typical pompous fashion, with much harsher rhetoric. See Colbert Debates Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell In Front Of Audience Of Active Troops
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WATCH: Maddow Calls Out Obama On “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Reacting to yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court to not hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the military’s longstanding “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, Rachel Maddow featured a segment that broadly called the Obama administration’s oft-stated commitments to ending the practice into question.
Maddow points out that the case itself doesn’t hurt the cause of ending DADT. Advocates for a change in policy were of the mind that the Supreme Court challenge would not be a game-changer. Nevertheless, Maddow opined that the case was “a big deal” because for all of President Barack Obama’s past advocacy in support of ending DADT, he now has a lawyer of his very own arguing that the policy is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion.”
Which is, of course, ridiculous. All “don’t ask don’t tell” is, is a policy by which everyone pretends that the gay and lesbian soldiers that are already serving in the military aren’t really there, and that everything is okay provided that those gay and lesbian soldiers agree to participate in the Grand Shenanigan of Pollyanna Pretense. So, no, Mr, President. No, Mr. President’s lawyer. No. No. And, no. It simply cannot be said that “don’t ask don’t tell” is rationally related to a single blessed thing.
WATCH: Maddow Calls Out Obama On “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
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A Day For The Holey Spirit
SF Chron says: “You naturally have this marked on your calendar, but we’ll remind you anyway: Today is National Doughnut Day. In celebration, Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut to everybody who comes into a participating location (though there are none in the city proper). We checked in with Mission favorite Dynamo Donuts, who said they aren’t giving anything away for free, but they’ve stocked up on bacon-maple Doughnuts for the occasion. Talk about the breakfast/lunch/dinner of champions”
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AIDS/LifeCycle 8 to Raise $10+ Million to Fight AIDS 2,200 cyclists to start San Francisco-to-Los Angeles ride May 31
SAN FRANCISCO and LOS ANGELES, CA — More than 2,200 bicyclists from 41 states and 14 nations will stream out of San Francisco on May 31 en route to Los Angeles as participants in the colorful and emotional AIDS/LifeCycle, the world’s largest annual AIDS fundraiser.
The 545-mile trek is expected to raise more than $10 million to support vital HIV/AIDS-related services at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The event also raises awareness about the disease, particularly significant this year following a recent survey revealing a dramatic drop in the sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS and persistent misconceptions about HIV transmission and treatment among Americans.
Participants on the weeklong ride include cyclists and a volunteer support crew of hundreds of “roadies” who range in age from 18 to 78. Whether gay or straight, HIV-positive or HIV-negative, expert cyclists or novices, they share a commitment to reducing new infections and the suffering caused by AIDS.
“People come to AIDS/LifeCycle to fight a disease,” said Mark Cloutier, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and one of the cyclists. “But the event is also a celebration of health. Participants have the physical strength to complete a challenging course, and the emotional connectedness to help others succeed on an exhausting, yet exhilarating journey.”
Riders train for months to prepare for the rigorous ride, and raise a minimum of $3,000 each to support the work of the two sponsoring organizations. The event has raised approximately $50 million to fight AIDS since it began in 2002.
“The economic recession has deeply impacted HIV/AIDS service providers on all fronts. Charitable giving and government funding of HIV/AIDS support services are dropping while the number of people who need free or low-cost services is going up,” said Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. “Our participants and their supporters recognize the urgent need for HIV prevention. I’m proud of the AIDS/LifeCycle community, and I’m deeply grateful.”
During the seven days of AIDS/LifeCycle, an estimated 1,080 Americans will become infected with HIV. There are 1.1 million Americans living with HIV — the highest number in the history of the epidemic — 1 in 6 of whom are Californians. Gay and bisexual men bear the brunt of the disease, representing 73 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in California and 53 percent nationally. Communities of color are also disproportionately affected; although African Americans comprise 6 percent of the state’s population, they account for nearly 19 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS.See * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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