Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Gay South African Teens Die After Alleged Abuse At 'Conversion' Camp
From The Huffpost:
International lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates are decrying the death of three teenage boys who were allegedly tortured to death at a so-called "conversion camp" in South Africa.
As The Telegraph reported, Raymond Buys died two weeks after being put on life support two months into a three-month "training course" provided by Alex de Koker's Echo Wild Game Rangers camp. The 15-year-old Buys had brain damage and a broken arm and bruises at the time, and had emerged severely malnourished, dehydrated and covered in cigarette burns, according to the report.
As Gay Star News points out, Buys was actually one of three men who died after being subjected to alleged abuse during the course. Two others, 25-year-old Erich Calitz and Nicolas Van Der Walt, 19, reportedly died of severe brain injuries after enrolling at the camp, where they were promised to "be turned into men."
“Raymond was only allowed to speak to me on speakerphone,” Raymond’s mother Wilna is quoted as saying. “When I asked him why he was hurting himself, he told me ‘Mum, I’m not doing it to myself.’”
One 19-year-old source claimed that Buys was chained to his bed every night, not allowed to use the toilet and on one occasion, was forced to eat his own feces.
Both Calitz and van der Walt died in 2007, the Bangalore Mirror reported. Conflicting media reports indicate that Buys died in April 2011 or 2012.
Echo Wild Game Rangers camp employees de Koker and Michael Erasmus are now on trial for charges of murder, child abuse and neglect in connection with Buys' death. Elie's Scott De Buitléir reports that de Koker has plead not guilty to the charges.
Tim Brando Tweets: Jason Collins Is Not A Hero For Coming Out
In response to a question about the backlash that his comments generated, Brando offered an explanation as to why his perspective was not popular.
"Simple Being a Christian White male over 50 that's raised a family means nothing in today's culture. The sad truth. Period."
Although Brando does not specify what dictionary he consulted, here are four definitions for "hero" offered by Merriam-Webster, who has been "America's leading and most-trusted provider of language information" for more than 150 years.
- a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
- an illustrious warrior
- a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities
- one who shows great courage
No Tim, using your religion to oppress a minority labels you.
If you don't like it, then change your behavior.
That's the sad truth, period.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Washington Lawmaker’s Office: If Gay People Face Discrimination, They ‘Can Just Grow Their Own Food’
A staffer at state Sen. Mike Hewitt’s (R) office had a unique reply:
Well, gay people can just grow their own food.The staffer refused to identify himself, and when others called Hewitt’s office, no further comment was offered. The staffer later backpedaled a bit, claiming “patience was lost, mistakes were made, and that’s it,” but still had no comment on behalf of Hewitt.
The question is a perfectly valid one. Conservatives often argue that if a florist, photographer, baker, or other business refuses service to a same-sex couples, there are plenty of others champing at the bit to support marriage equality. In urban areas, this may generally be true — but it’s not an argument that justifies discrimination. In rural areas, it may very well not be true. What if there is no local alternative? What if the only alternative is more expensive, of a lesser quality, or further away? The proposed bill doesn’t merely exempt those who provide services that might be related to weddings; it exempts all businesses. So it’s quite possible that a rural grocery store might be Christian-owned and attempt to refuse service to a same-sex family, and were this bill to become law, that would be perfectly legal.
If a lawmaker’s staffer is willing to suggest that the alternative for same-sex families is to be self-sufficient and cut off from society, that should be a clear indication that this bill’s sole intent is animus.
Jason Collins becomes NBA’s first gay player to come out and continue playing
Collins, who has most recently played for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics, wrote: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.
“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
Collins has played for six teams over 12 seasons. He said his final motivation for coming out was being unable to participate in a gay pride parade in Boston last year.
“I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston’s 2012 Gay Pride Parade,” Collins said. ”I’m seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn’t even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator. If I’d been questioned, I would have concocted half truths. What a shame to have to lie at a celebration of pride. I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance.”
Collins, who is professionally a free agent, having played 11 seasons in the NBA with six teams, said he had tried to suppress his feelings through relationships with women.
“When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged,” he said. “I thought I had to live a certain way.
“I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.”
In February 2007, after his retirement from the NBA, John Amaechi became the first former NBA player to come out publicly after doing so in his memoir Man in the Middle.
On Monday afternoon, Amaechi tweeted: “Congratulations to Jason – society couldn’t hope for a more eloquent & positive role model.”
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Anti-Gay Pastor To Lead National Day Of Prayer
Anti-gay California Pastor Greg Laurie, who in the past, has stated that "homosexuality is not in God’s order" and a sin, will lead this year's National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC. According to the Human Rights Campaign, "Laurie will be in Washington DC next week to lead events at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill as part of the 2013 National Day of Prayer."
Laurie's church, Harvest Ministries, has published their anti-gay views on their website:
"We believe that homosexuality is a result of sin's widespread effects on the world. Homosexuality is a sin of behavior; therefore, people are not born into a homosexual or a lesbian lifestyle. We believe that the redemption for this sin, as for all sin, is only possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."The HRC claims that “Pastor Laurie’s message is out of step with what the majority of people of faith across this country believe.”
OutServe-SLDN has called for Laurie's invitation to lead the event be revoked:
"Mr. Laurie represents the worst our nation's communities of faith have to offer when it comes to fairness, justice, and equality. His hurtful, out-of-the-mainstream rhetoric stands at direct odds with the mission the Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary of Defense have laid out...we call upon the Department of Defense to rescind their invitation to Pastor Laurie and invite in his place a faith leader who can speak with integrity and respect to the needs and concerns of all of our nation’s courageous service members.”
'Tough Week' For NOM As Gay Marriage Momentum Builds
Brian Brown, president of the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), has summed up the week that was as
“tough” as gay marriage momentum builds.
Brown, who helms the nation's most
vociferous group opposed to marriage equality, said in a blog post
that NOM would “never give up” following votes in France and
Rhode Island which put each in the marriage equality column.
“The news this week is tough,”
Brown said.
“I'm not going to sugar coat it.”
Brown insisted that gay nuptials would
hurt children.
Rhode Island's children “for the
first time will be educated by this new law to believe that the
rights of adults to marry any person they love trump[s] a child's
right to a loving mom and dad.”
Brown urged supporters to look forward,
not backward, saying that passage of similar proposals in Illinois
and Minnesota was not “inevitable.”
“I promise you one thing: We here at
NOM will never stop fighting for marriage, working with good people
of all races, creeds and colors in every state of these wonderful
United States”
“In the tough times the sunshine
patriots run. But you can count on us standing up to the forces
seeking to undermine marriage everywhere across this great land!”
“If it's been a 'tough week' for
NOM,” Think
Progress' Zack Ford wrote in response, “that must mean it's
been a good week for equality.”
Friday, April 26, 2013
NOM's Sinking Ship
After marriage bills advanced in France, Rhode Island, and Delaware, Santa Fe voted to support marriage equality, and Nevada voted to repeal its ban on same-sex marriage, NOM's Brian Brown called it a "tough week" in a letter to supporters.
Brown then went on to honor a "heroic marriage champion" lawmaker in Rhode Island, Senator Harold M. Metts, D-Providence/Slater, whose speech Jeremy Hooper kindly summarized:
In his twelve minute floor speech
(/sermon), Rhode Island senator Harold Metts (D-Providence/Slater)
viciously condemned gay people as having "vile affections," called "acts
of sodomy" an "abomination to God," warned that ancient civilizations
were destroyed for going against God and intimated that our
LGBT-accepting society is going the same way, claimed "Satan and gunmen
have come in" to our schools
(with inclusive school books as his followup example), and intimated
that people can just up and change their "sexual preferences" at whim.
Brian and Maggie better find a piece of plywood to cling on to fast if these are the people they're holding up as role models.Newsweek Magazine's 'Ex-Gay' Coverman John Paulk: I'm Still Gay
John Paulk, once one of the most
visible spokespeople for the “ex-gay” movement, has said he's
still gay.
Paulk appeared on the cover of Newsweek
in 1998 under the headline Gay for Life? Going Straight: The
Uproar Over Sexual “Conversion”. In the article, he promoted
the “ex-gay” ministry he founded, Love Won Out, and claimed that
like himself and his wife Anne, people can and do alter their
sexuality.
Paulk's status in the movement
diminished greatly in 2000 when Wayne Besen publicized spotting him
at a gay bar in Washington D.C.
Last week, Paulk said he no longer
supports attempts to change a person's sexual orientation from gay to
straight.
In a letter released this week, Paulk
apologized for the harm he may have caused through the promotion of
his “ex-gay” ministry.
“So in 2003, I left the public
ministry and gave up my role as a spokesman for the 'ex-gay
movement,'” Paulk wrote. “I began a new journey. In the decade
since, my beliefs have changes. Today, I do not consider myself
'ex-gay' and I no longer support or promote the movement. Please
allow me to be clear: I do not believe that reparative therapy
changes sexual orientation; in fact, it does great harm to many
people.”
“From the bottom of my heart I wish I
could take back my words and actions that caused anger, depression,
guilt and hopelessness. In their place I want to extend love, hope,
tenderness, joy and the truth that gay people are loved by God.”
Sorry John, I ain't Jesus and not the forgiving type. No ones hands are more bloody than yours.
Dripping with the wasted tears and blood of so many who believed your lies and when they couldn't achieve what you professed they could, ended their own lives.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
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