Gay Rights // Current TV

Chris Hedges: The War on Gays

The sentencing of Dharun Ravi for the hateful abuse that may have driven his gay roommate at Rutgers, Tyler Clementi, to commit suicide, or Barack Obama’s public acceptance of gay marriage, prevents many of us from seeing that life for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people is getting worse—much worse.

No one understands this better than the gay activist and pastor Mel White. White, along with his husband and partner of 30 years, Gary Nixon, founded Soulforce, an organization committed to using nonviolent resistance to end religion-based oppression. White and hundreds of Soulforce volunteers protest outside megachurches that preach hatred and bigotry in the name of religion. White travels to communities where young gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transgender people have committed suicide. He holds memorial services for them in front of the church doors. He accuses the pastors of these churches of murder. His books “Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America” and “Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tell Us to Deny Gay Equality,” are two of the most important works that examine the innate cruelty and proto-fascism of the Christian right. White, more than perhaps any other preacher in the country, has pulled young men and women back from the brink of despair, from succumbing to the tragic fate of Tyler Clementi. And White is scared.

“What kind of environment creates a Dharun Ravi who would carry out that kind of bullying, as well as a kid like Tyler who would become a victim of that kind of bullying?” White asked when I reached him by phone at his home in Long Beach, Calif. “It is society. At its heart it is the church. The churches should be convicted, not just Ravi. He’s just an extension of the hatred that people feel about this threat, this gay threat. Pope Benedict XVI should be on trial. Richard Land from the Southern Baptists should be on trial. Religious leaders, Protestant and Catholic, should be on trial. They made this happen, but too few Americans make the connection.”

White applauds President Obama for taking a personal stand for marriage equality. But he also notes that the president’s statement was accompanied by a reiteration that states have the right to determine their own policies toward marriage.

Despite gains by gays in the wider culture, especially in the entertainment industry, and despite the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the civil rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in most states are deteriorating, White said.

Click the link to continue reading.The sentencing of Dharun Ravi for the hateful abuse that may have driven his gay... more

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Homophobia: Pathos and the Culture of Fear

“Homophobia” is an intensely dramatic short film by Austrian... more

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House Approves HR 4970, Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization - Here's How Your Pol Voted

Roll call

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Gay top Romney donor pulls support and backs Obama over same sex marriage

it might be a big tent, but there's not much inside.

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15 days ago
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Very powerful video about why gay marriage is an important issue -- "It could happen to you"

This is a very sad and powerful video called "It Could Happen to You" about... more

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Romney’s Timid Response To Obama’s Marriage Endorsement: ‘I Know Other People Have Differing Views’

I think this may part of the Obama strategy this election year. Hem Romney in.... more

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BREAKING: PRESIDENT Obama says he supports same-sex marriage

President Barack Obama, who previously said his views on the issue were... more

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149 comments

Obama Publicly Endorses Gay Marriage: Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal

On Wednesday, President Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage in a television interview and took a definitive stand on one of the most politically charged social issues of the day. Includes photographs and a video of the interview.

“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Mr. Obama said in an interview that came after the president faced mounting pressure to clarify his position.

Public support for same-sex marriage is growing at a pace that surprises even professional pollsters as older generations of voters who tend to be strongly opposed are supplanted by younger ones who are just as strongly in favor. Same-sex couples are featured in some of the most popular shows on television, without controversy.

Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, called the president’s statement “a watershed moment in American history” that would aid efforts to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York said, “No American president has ever supported a major expansion of civil rights that has not ultimately been adopted by the American people, and I have no doubt that this will be no exception.”

Chad Griffin, the incoming president of the Human Rights Campaign, said that, “President Obama’s words today will be celebrated by generations to come. For the millions of young gay and lesbian Americans across this nation, President Obama’s words provide genuine hope that they will be the first generation to grow up with the freedom to fully pursue the American dream. Marriage, the promise of love, companionship, and family, is basic to the pursuit of that dream.”

This piece includes photographs and video of the interview.

http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/obama-publicly-endorses-gay-marriage-says-same-sex-marriage-should-be-legal/On Wednesday, President Obama publicly endorsed gay marriage in a television interview... more

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NC Pastor: If your kid acts gay, smack him.

Check out the link for unbelievable hate speech and encouragement of child abuse. All... more

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Call Out Homophobia With Us!

. Call Out Homophobia with Us! An anti-gay group is flying a banner... more

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MA Tea Party Patriots: "We will not be silenced by faggots"

Protesters show at tea party event in Boston (Paul Weiskel/ Flickr )Arrests, police... more

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Hartmann confronts anti-gay leader: Do closeted gays run your movement?

By Stephen C. Webster Friday, April 13, 2012 9:02 EDT On Russia Today TV’s... more

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Michele And Marcus Bachmann's 'Ex-Gay' Clinic's Practices Described By Undercover Lesbian Filmmaker

Although Marcus Bachmann has continually denied that his Christian counseling clinic... more

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Organization Pits Latinos Against LGBT Community!

¡ALERTA! The National Organization for Marriage pits Latinos against the LGBT... more

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Should America Change The Laws of Mariage?

Same sex marriage. Do the majority of American Christians have a voice in the laws of... more

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15-Year-Old Boy In Coma After Attempting Suicide Because of Bullying After He Came Out

The Advocate... . Posted on Advocate.com March 23, 2012 02:29:46 PM ET... more

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Pastor to Georgia Politicians: Compromise Leads to Catastrophe (VIDEO)

Unbelievable! -- How can a Baptist Preacher be allowed to stand on the floor of the... more

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Dan Savage to Rick Santorum: He can pray for me. ‘I’ll Gay for Him’

Note to Frothy: If you don't want to remind people to Google your name then you... more

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Tony Blair sits quietly as Liberian president defends law criminalizing homosexuality | Scholars and Rogues

::With Sirleaf sitting to his left, Blair refused to give any advice on gay rights... more

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Two Men Removed After Kissing at Santorum Rally (VIDEO)

It’s strikes us as obscene that the crowd’s reaction to two men kissing is... more

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