Thursday, May 31, 2012
It’s suggested our gay marriage law is not a priority. Since when is equality not a priority?
In recent days, the Tory Party has managed to give the impression it does not care much for David Cameron’s promise to pass a law allowing gay marriage.
And when the Prime Minister offered his troops a free vote on the
issue recently, some took it as a sign that the Conservative leadership
was backing down.
But Nick Herbert is out to demolish that idea. The 49-year-old Police Reform Minister is one of the party’s rising stars — a hot tip for Cabinet in the summer reshuffle and a politician who is both passionate and personable. He is also gay.
In an exclusive interview, he explained why gay marriage is, and will remain, a priority for the Conservatives and why he is certain that Mr Cameron is not losing his nerve.
He strongly hit back against colleagues such as Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, who said the Government should be focused on “things that matter to people”, and Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson, who has said he will vote against the move.
Mr Herbert said: “It has been suggested that this issue is not a priority. Of course, dealing with the economy and the deficit and restoring growth is the overriding mission and priority of this government. But since when was equality not a priority?
“Ensuring that people are treated equally without fear of discrimination should always be a priority. That’s why I think this proposal matters.”
The MP for Arundel & South Downs occupies a significant page in the history of gay rights. He was the first Conservative ever to be picked as a candidate while freely telling the selection committee he was gay.
Before him, gay Tories usually dissembled at the stern question: “Is there anything else we should know?” Some even paraded fake girlfriends to boost their chances.
“I think the Conservative Party has changed dramatically over the course of the last few years,” Mr Herbert pointed out. “We now have more ‘out’ gay Members of Parliament than the rest of the parties put together.” There are in fact 12, including Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan and Conservative vice-chairman Margot James.
His passion really ignites when he talks about the civil partnership he entered into with his partner Jason Eades in 2009 after 10 years together.
“I will forever be grateful to the MPs who had the courage to introduce civil partnerships,” he said.
“But I am getting rather fed up with people metaphorically jabbing a finger into my chest and saying I should put up with a civil partnership.
“How would they like it if I jabbed a finger into their chests and said they should put up with a civil partnership instead of their marriage? In my view it’s not acceptable to say to a group in society, ‘You should put up with something that is a second order institution to something that everybody else is entitled to, because we say so’. I think this is about nothing more or less than a fundamental issue of equality.”
It sounds like he may take advantage of the new law and marry Jason? For once, Mr Herbert seemed to be stuck for words.
“Yeah, actually, funnily enough my personal calculation had not entered into this,” he said.
Was that a yes? “I’m not going to be drawn. That’s a decision for two people to make and talk about, not for me to make unilaterally in an interview.”
Finally he conceded a pretty big hint: “Let me put it this way, I wish that I had had the opportunity to enter into a marriage.”
Mr Herbert never really wanted to become famous for being a champion of gay rights.
He only came out when he was in his early thirties (“luckily I had an incredibly supportive and loving family”) and admits that he would rather be giving interviews about his packed reform agenda, which includes massively controversial changes to police pay and conditions. As a new MP in 2005, he tried to avoid being labelled.
He recalled: “The Times had a picture of 50-odd newly elected MPs and beneath mine it just said, ‘Gay Eurosceptic’. And I thought, ‘Is that it?’”
SOON, however, he realised that he had a duty to be a role model. “I began to realise that it mattered because I had young people writing to me and thanking me for being in Parliament, as though I had anything to be thanked for,” he said.
“Symbolically, it was important to them. Role models are important. That’s why it is important that we have sports men who are openly gay — and we need more. It matters that there are people in public life who can be openly gay.”
One by one, he knocked down arguments put up by the opponents of gay marriage, including that Conservative supporters just won’t wear it.
“Boris Johnson was always quite clear about his support for gay marriage — and he just stormed to victory in London,” he said. “So, QED.”
He said that far from undermining marriage, same-sex unions will “strengthen the institution of marriage.
“It’s about saying that when two people make a commitment in public, a commitment of loving and supporting each other, society should honour and strengthen and allow that commitment, not stand in its way, which we do by law at the moment.”
The idea that the Prime Minister went wobbly after the dire council election results in May stemmed from a “misunderstanding” because the plans were left out of the Queen’s Speech pending a consultation.
“The point is that the consultation is about ‘how’, not ‘whether’ to do this,” he said. “The Prime Minister’s commitment to this issue has been clear.”
MR Herbert added: “All of the polls are telling us that the majority of the public are in favour [by three to four according to a recent YouGov survey].
“I’m absolutely confident that the House of Commons will vote for this and that we will have gay marriage by the end of this Parliament.” But could Mr Cameron just be using gay marriage as a device to detoxify the Tory name?
Mr Herbert said: “I’ve heard him talk privately and publicly on this issue and I know he is a genuine supporter.”
He wants the Bill to be just the start of a campaign to eradicate homophobia.
“There’s a broader issue here,” he said. “Two thirds of young gay people have experienced some kind of homophobic bullying in schools. We have homophobic abuse shouted from football terraces and not a single Premiership player feels able to be out.
“The idea that this is an agenda which is kind of closed or finished seems to me wrong.”
I am so hawt for Nick Herbert right now...we could use more leaders like him in our community!
But Nick Herbert is out to demolish that idea. The 49-year-old Police Reform Minister is one of the party’s rising stars — a hot tip for Cabinet in the summer reshuffle and a politician who is both passionate and personable. He is also gay.
In an exclusive interview, he explained why gay marriage is, and will remain, a priority for the Conservatives and why he is certain that Mr Cameron is not losing his nerve.
He strongly hit back against colleagues such as Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, who said the Government should be focused on “things that matter to people”, and Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson, who has said he will vote against the move.
Mr Herbert said: “It has been suggested that this issue is not a priority. Of course, dealing with the economy and the deficit and restoring growth is the overriding mission and priority of this government. But since when was equality not a priority?
“Ensuring that people are treated equally without fear of discrimination should always be a priority. That’s why I think this proposal matters.”
The MP for Arundel & South Downs occupies a significant page in the history of gay rights. He was the first Conservative ever to be picked as a candidate while freely telling the selection committee he was gay.
Before him, gay Tories usually dissembled at the stern question: “Is there anything else we should know?” Some even paraded fake girlfriends to boost their chances.
“I think the Conservative Party has changed dramatically over the course of the last few years,” Mr Herbert pointed out. “We now have more ‘out’ gay Members of Parliament than the rest of the parties put together.” There are in fact 12, including Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan and Conservative vice-chairman Margot James.
His passion really ignites when he talks about the civil partnership he entered into with his partner Jason Eades in 2009 after 10 years together.
“I will forever be grateful to the MPs who had the courage to introduce civil partnerships,” he said.
“But I am getting rather fed up with people metaphorically jabbing a finger into my chest and saying I should put up with a civil partnership.
“How would they like it if I jabbed a finger into their chests and said they should put up with a civil partnership instead of their marriage? In my view it’s not acceptable to say to a group in society, ‘You should put up with something that is a second order institution to something that everybody else is entitled to, because we say so’. I think this is about nothing more or less than a fundamental issue of equality.”
It sounds like he may take advantage of the new law and marry Jason? For once, Mr Herbert seemed to be stuck for words.
“Yeah, actually, funnily enough my personal calculation had not entered into this,” he said.
Was that a yes? “I’m not going to be drawn. That’s a decision for two people to make and talk about, not for me to make unilaterally in an interview.”
Finally he conceded a pretty big hint: “Let me put it this way, I wish that I had had the opportunity to enter into a marriage.”
Mr Herbert never really wanted to become famous for being a champion of gay rights.
He only came out when he was in his early thirties (“luckily I had an incredibly supportive and loving family”) and admits that he would rather be giving interviews about his packed reform agenda, which includes massively controversial changes to police pay and conditions. As a new MP in 2005, he tried to avoid being labelled.
He recalled: “The Times had a picture of 50-odd newly elected MPs and beneath mine it just said, ‘Gay Eurosceptic’. And I thought, ‘Is that it?’”
SOON, however, he realised that he had a duty to be a role model. “I began to realise that it mattered because I had young people writing to me and thanking me for being in Parliament, as though I had anything to be thanked for,” he said.
“Symbolically, it was important to them. Role models are important. That’s why it is important that we have sports men who are openly gay — and we need more. It matters that there are people in public life who can be openly gay.”
One by one, he knocked down arguments put up by the opponents of gay marriage, including that Conservative supporters just won’t wear it.
“Boris Johnson was always quite clear about his support for gay marriage — and he just stormed to victory in London,” he said. “So, QED.”
He said that far from undermining marriage, same-sex unions will “strengthen the institution of marriage.
“It’s about saying that when two people make a commitment in public, a commitment of loving and supporting each other, society should honour and strengthen and allow that commitment, not stand in its way, which we do by law at the moment.”
The idea that the Prime Minister went wobbly after the dire council election results in May stemmed from a “misunderstanding” because the plans were left out of the Queen’s Speech pending a consultation.
“The point is that the consultation is about ‘how’, not ‘whether’ to do this,” he said. “The Prime Minister’s commitment to this issue has been clear.”
MR Herbert added: “All of the polls are telling us that the majority of the public are in favour [by three to four according to a recent YouGov survey].
“I’m absolutely confident that the House of Commons will vote for this and that we will have gay marriage by the end of this Parliament.” But could Mr Cameron just be using gay marriage as a device to detoxify the Tory name?
Mr Herbert said: “I’ve heard him talk privately and publicly on this issue and I know he is a genuine supporter.”
He wants the Bill to be just the start of a campaign to eradicate homophobia.
“There’s a broader issue here,” he said. “Two thirds of young gay people have experienced some kind of homophobic bullying in schools. We have homophobic abuse shouted from football terraces and not a single Premiership player feels able to be out.
“The idea that this is an agenda which is kind of closed or finished seems to me wrong.”
I am so hawt for Nick Herbert right now...we could use more leaders like him in our community!
DOMA ruling: US gay marriage law unconstitutional, Boston court finds
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Defense of Marriage
Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, was
unconstitutional.
The ruling — nearly certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court — was a major victory for the gay rights movement, who long have opposed the law that denies a host of federal benefits to same-sex married couples.
Advocates immediately cheered the ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
The law, known as DOMA, was passed in 1996 amid a furor over same-sex marriage. Since then, eight states — starting with Massachusetts in 2004 — have permitted gay marriage while scores of others have banned it.
The law came under a storm of criticism from the left, and President Obama announced last year that the U.S. Department of Justice would no longer defend its constitutionality.
Immediately, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) assembled a group to defend it.
The Boston court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that DOMA was flawed because it blocked the right of a state to define marriage.
That judge also decreed that it was unconstitutional to deny gay married couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, including to file joint tax returns.
Those defending the law argued that Congress has the right to define marriage and has the power to define the terms needed to hand out federal benefits.
They also contended that removing DOMA would force states that ban gay marriage to recognize the rights of gay couples married in states that do not.
The ruling — nearly certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court — was a major victory for the gay rights movement, who long have opposed the law that denies a host of federal benefits to same-sex married couples.
Advocates immediately cheered the ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.
The law, known as DOMA, was passed in 1996 amid a furor over same-sex marriage. Since then, eight states — starting with Massachusetts in 2004 — have permitted gay marriage while scores of others have banned it.
The law came under a storm of criticism from the left, and President Obama announced last year that the U.S. Department of Justice would no longer defend its constitutionality.
Immediately, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) assembled a group to defend it.
The Boston court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that DOMA was flawed because it blocked the right of a state to define marriage.
That judge also decreed that it was unconstitutional to deny gay married couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, including to file joint tax returns.
Those defending the law argued that Congress has the right to define marriage and has the power to define the terms needed to hand out federal benefits.
They also contended that removing DOMA would force states that ban gay marriage to recognize the rights of gay couples married in states that do not.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
NOM's Brian Brown Accepts Dan Savage's Dinner Debate Challenge
As reported on the Towleroad:
Last week, Dan Savage invited NOM's Brian Brown for dinner and a taped debate on marriage and the Bible at his home. Savage laid out some possible conditions, all of which Brown has accepted.
Writes Brown in a blog post:
UPDATE: Savage responds.
Last week, Dan Savage invited NOM's Brian Brown for dinner and a taped debate on marriage and the Bible at his home. Savage laid out some possible conditions, all of which Brown has accepted.
Writes Brown in a blog post:
Dan -- I accept and will look forward to
debating you at your dining room table. As I said in my challenge to
you, anytime, any place.
While I appreciate the invitation that you have extended to my wife, she will not be able to attend. She is a full-time mom with seven beautiful children and an eighth on the way.
I have no objection to Mark Oppenheimer from the New York Times covering the discussion, nor to you hiring your own video crew to film the event, provided that I am able to hire my own video crew to be sure there is no creative editing of the discussion.
Not that a New York Times reporter would slant the news, mind you!
This will be fun!
Start popping the popcorn.While I appreciate the invitation that you have extended to my wife, she will not be able to attend. She is a full-time mom with seven beautiful children and an eighth on the way.
I have no objection to Mark Oppenheimer from the New York Times covering the discussion, nor to you hiring your own video crew to film the event, provided that I am able to hire my own video crew to be sure there is no creative editing of the discussion.
Not that a New York Times reporter would slant the news, mind you!
This will be fun!
UPDATE: Savage responds.
So...
It looks like I'm gonna have to clear all the Catholic kitch out of our living room and dining room—my 5' plaster Jesus, our 3' plaster Mary, all my other plaster saints, the dozens of rosaries hanging around their plaster necks, the stack of disintegrating hymnals on the mantle, etc. Wouldn't want Brian to think there's something disrespectful about our collection. Our Catholic kitch is all family heirlooms. My late grandfather's rosaries, most of them prayed to pieces, were headed to the dump when I picked them out them out of the trash. But will knowing that my 5' plaster Jesus has been evacuated to our bedroom be more of a torment for Brian?
It looks like I'm gonna have to clear all the Catholic kitch out of our living room and dining room—my 5' plaster Jesus, our 3' plaster Mary, all my other plaster saints, the dozens of rosaries hanging around their plaster necks, the stack of disintegrating hymnals on the mantle, etc. Wouldn't want Brian to think there's something disrespectful about our collection. Our Catholic kitch is all family heirlooms. My late grandfather's rosaries, most of them prayed to pieces, were headed to the dump when I picked them out them out of the trash. But will knowing that my 5' plaster Jesus has been evacuated to our bedroom be more of a torment for Brian?
Toddler Sings Anti-Gay Song In Indiana Church, 'Ain't No Homos Gonna Make It To Heaven,' Says Child
As recent protests against anti-gay pastors in North Carolina
occur, a video has surfaced that shows an Indiana toddler singing a
hate-filled anti-gay song that includes the lyrics, "Ain't no homos
gonna make it to heaven."
According to a TMZ report,
the video was recorded at the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle in Greensburg,
Indiana, and it features a young boy on the altar singing, with the
crowd responding positively to the song's content.
While the words are difficult to make out, TMZ has listed what it believes to be the lyrics that the toddler was singing.
"The Bible's right, somebody's wrong, the Bible's right, somebody's wrong, Romans one, twenty six and twenty seven, ain't no homos gonna make it to Heaven," TMZ writes, referring to the song in the video.
As the young toddler finishes up his last words, the congregation stands and cheers in an apparent celebration.While the words are difficult to make out, TMZ has listed what it believes to be the lyrics that the toddler was singing.
"The Bible's right, somebody's wrong, the Bible's right, somebody's wrong, Romans one, twenty six and twenty seven, ain't no homos gonna make it to Heaven," TMZ writes, referring to the song in the video.
It's fairly certain, the loathsome members of this abhorrent church of hate can further revel in the knowledge that they've proven what we already know, that though being gay isn't a choice, hatred and bigotry is!
This fact is made even more repugnant when they use small children as pawns for their evil, destructive machinations.
This is one of those rare moments, when "out of the mouths of babes" is made more insidious and ugly than when a grown adult say's it.
These stupid people should all be arrested for child abuse, not given free reign to reproduce.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Charles Worley's Anti-Gay Message Protested By Thousands
Pastor Charles Worley's May 13 anti-gay
sermon was protested on Sunday by more than 2,000 people, the Hickory
Daily Record reported.
Worley, who ministers at the Providence
Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina, told congregants that
gay
men and women should be confined behind an electrified fence and
allowed to die off.
When he added, “Somebody said, 'Who
you gonna vote for?' I ain't gonna vote for a baby killer and a
homosexual lover,” some in the crowd could be heard responding with
“Amen.”
Holding signs which read “Jesus had 2
dads and he turned out just fine” and “I am a gay, moral
conservative Christian” the protesters lined Southwest Boulevard in
nearby Newton.
A small but vocal group of more than 50
counter-protesters holding signs which read “Gay pride is why Sodom
got fried” and “Sodomites are vile, unnatural and worthy of
death. Romans 1:21-32” stood in to support Worley and his church.
Laura Tipton, a member of the Catawba
Valley Citizens Against Hate, the group behind the protest, said she
hoped Worley's congregation “sees that we are gathering in love.
Their messages are wrong, and we will not accept them.”
Jeremiah Davidson of Atlanta, a Worley
supporter, said: “We're trying to stand up against censorship and
totalitarianism. I'm here for free speech and the gospel of Christ –
I'll know I've been successful because I've done the will of God.”
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Pope's butler arrested over Vatican documents leak
From CNN:
Moral of the story: The Pope and the Catholic church (as it always has) feels it has the divine right to do whatever the fuck it wants too, including holding someone against their will., this and the fact the Church continues to meddle in the political arena all over the world, should at the very least have their tax exempt status' revoked and if it were up to me, be declared a hate group and charged with crimes against humanity.
I think that's a proper response to the fag hating Nazi in a dress sitting on the Vatican throne.
Oh, and here is "Gods personal representative here on Earth" in his youth, wearing his Aryan youth Nazi uniform, doesn't he just look so gallant and inspiring?
Paolo Gabriele, 46, was arrested Wednesday for illegal possession of confidential documents, found in his apartment in Vatican territory, the Vatican said in a statement Saturday.Gabriele is being held in a special cell within the Vatican City, a walled enclave within Rome ...
Gabriele, who has worked as the papal butler since 2006, is one of only a handful of people with access to the pontiff's private desk.
His job included handing out rosaries to dignitaries and riding in the front seat of the "Popemobile," a vehicle used for public papal appearances, as seen in many photographs showing Gabriele with the pope.
Moral of the story: The Pope and the Catholic church (as it always has) feels it has the divine right to do whatever the fuck it wants too, including holding someone against their will., this and the fact the Church continues to meddle in the political arena all over the world, should at the very least have their tax exempt status' revoked and if it were up to me, be declared a hate group and charged with crimes against humanity.
I think that's a proper response to the fag hating Nazi in a dress sitting on the Vatican throne.
Oh, and here is "Gods personal representative here on Earth" in his youth, wearing his Aryan youth Nazi uniform, doesn't he just look so gallant and inspiring?
Moscow police detain 40 as gay activists demand right to hold parade, face Christian protest
MOSCOW — Gay activists tried to stage two demonstrations in Moscow on
Sunday to demand the right to hold a gay pride parade in the Russian
capital, but they were blocked first by Orthodox Christian opponents and
then by police, who detained a total of about 40 people from both
sides.
The gay activists first gathered outside the city council building, where a few scuffles occurred as their opponents tried to disrupt the demonstration, decrying homosexuality as a sin. After police broke up that protest, another group tried to stage a second protest at city hall, but once again police moved in and detained participants, including prominent gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev.
The majority of those detained were gay activists, but some of the Christian demonstrators also were pushed into police buses. Police said about 40 people were detained in all.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong.
Activists have long petitioned the Moscow government for permission to stage such a parade, but have always been denied. Former Mayor Yuri Luzhkov described gay parades as “satanic,” while current Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said he disapproves of gay gatherings because they could offend the religious beliefs of many Russians.
Gay activist Galina Kaptur criticized city authorities for treating homosexuality as a contagious disease that would be spread through society if gays were allowed to hold a parade.
“It’s as if they thought that if all left-handed people held a parade, then afterward everyone would become left-handed,” Kaptur said. “This is wrong.”
Among the opponents of gay rights was Dmitry Tsarionov, who spoke to the crowd in front of a sign that said “Moscow is not Sodom.”
“I will not allow perverts to bring the wrath of God onto our city,” he said. “I want our children to live in a country where a sin that so awfully distorts human nature is not preached in schools.”
This month, Alexeyev became the first person convicted under a new law in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, which makes it a crime to spread “gay propaganda” among minors. Alexeyev was charged after he picketed St. Petersburg’s city hall with a placard that said “homosexuality is not a perversion.” He was fined 5,000 rubles (about $170).
The Russian parliament is considering extending the measure nationwide, which gay activists say would make it even easier to ban their public demonstrations.
The gay activists first gathered outside the city council building, where a few scuffles occurred as their opponents tried to disrupt the demonstration, decrying homosexuality as a sin. After police broke up that protest, another group tried to stage a second protest at city hall, but once again police moved in and detained participants, including prominent gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev.
The majority of those detained were gay activists, but some of the Christian demonstrators also were pushed into police buses. Police said about 40 people were detained in all.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong.
Activists have long petitioned the Moscow government for permission to stage such a parade, but have always been denied. Former Mayor Yuri Luzhkov described gay parades as “satanic,” while current Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said he disapproves of gay gatherings because they could offend the religious beliefs of many Russians.
Gay activist Galina Kaptur criticized city authorities for treating homosexuality as a contagious disease that would be spread through society if gays were allowed to hold a parade.
“It’s as if they thought that if all left-handed people held a parade, then afterward everyone would become left-handed,” Kaptur said. “This is wrong.”
Among the opponents of gay rights was Dmitry Tsarionov, who spoke to the crowd in front of a sign that said “Moscow is not Sodom.”
“I will not allow perverts to bring the wrath of God onto our city,” he said. “I want our children to live in a country where a sin that so awfully distorts human nature is not preached in schools.”
This month, Alexeyev became the first person convicted under a new law in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, which makes it a crime to spread “gay propaganda” among minors. Alexeyev was charged after he picketed St. Petersburg’s city hall with a placard that said “homosexuality is not a perversion.” He was fined 5,000 rubles (about $170).
The Russian parliament is considering extending the measure nationwide, which gay activists say would make it even easier to ban their public demonstrations.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
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