The right wing nuts are up to it again. In regards to the recent death of a gay radio host from a Craiglist hook up:
“I probably will get hate mail for saying this but this type of hookup culture is common in the homosexual world. Another guy in NY who did the same thing was murdered. And yes heterosexuals do it to, but no matter what type of sexual proclivity it is, SIN leads to death. The best course of action is to get out of the deadly sin business and live for Christ.“
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Far from the post-Proposition 8 protests that ignited outside of LDS temples in November, gay-rights advocates are taking a gentler tack during next week’s LDS General Conference.
Instead of pickets and chants, members and supporters of Utah’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community plan to take up garden tools and medical-supply kits for “General Service Weekend” on April 4 and 5.
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Who isn’t beginning to feel all warm inside regarding our moderate Republican governor? It’s almost like a dream…
via Deseret News
Agreeing with freedom-of-speech proponents and video gamers, including one group formed by artists, moviemakers and writers, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. vetoed a video-game truth-in-advertising bill Wednesday.
He also vetoed a more obscure bill (HB156) that could cause sewage and water problems on poorly subdivided agricultural lands.
But the HB353 veto clearly puts Huntsman in the sights of some conservative Utah Republicans, who were already upset with him over his support of the Common Ground Initiative, several bills that were supported by gay-rights groups and quickly killed in the 2009 Legislature.
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At post-election rallies in California, protestors passed out IRS complaint forms.
The paperwork for reporting a tax violation by a nonprofit was already filled out — with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ name and address. People simply had to sign the bottom.
The Internal Revenue Service ultimately will decide whether the Mormon church crossed a line in U.S. tax law when it funneled at least $190,000 of its own resources and directed individual members to give and give often in the $83 million campaign to ban gay marriage in California.
I doubt it. South Temple and their attorneys are too careful for that.
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Salt Lake Tribune columnist Paul Rolly discusses more LDS involvement in marriage equality fights across the country, this time in Hawaii. Hawaii’s House recently passed a civil union bills that eventually died in the Senate.
Note the bolded comment regarding accessing Church membership registries for political issues…
With all the controversy surrounding the LDS Church’s involvement in the Proposition 8 election in California last fall, a more subtle dust-up was brewing at the Hawaii State Legislature last month, pretty much over the same thing.
Hawaii resident Leonor Briscoe was fired up enough over an e-mail exchange with a neighbor that she forwarded copies to her friends, including some Utah residents she believed would be interested in the issue.
The exchange began with an e-mail she got from Frank Lueder, also of Hawaii, that informed her of HB444, a bill before the Hawaii Legislature that “is attempting to once again legalize same-sex marriage but under a new term, ‘civil union.’ If you wish relay your OPPOSITION to it, you could do so by [calling or e-mailing] your representative. You could access the list of … House of Representatives from the e-mail address I just gave.”
Briscoe, who is LDS, responded: “In the hierarchical, authoritarian structure of the Mormon church, there’s no way you would be sending out e-mails about HB444 without the implied or expressed sanction of the leaders of the Mormon Church.
“You do not know me and I do not know you, so the only way you could have gotten my e-mail address is through your stake clerk’s access to church stake records, which are not supposed to be used for political or commercial purposes.”
The bill, by the way, passed the House but died in the Senate.
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via Deseret News
As she paced back and forth across the stage, the Rev. Irene Monroe preached against the schisms caused by racism, classism, heterosexism and religious fundamentalism.
“All these ‘isms’ are merely tools of oppression that will continue to keep us fractured, instead of united in the common goal … of a participatory democracy (in which) no one is left behind and every voice is lifted up,” she said.
Gathered at the University of Utah to hear the columnist and theologian speak as part of the school’s Women’s Week, the congregation offered affirmations of “amen.”
Before people can help others, they must “begin to look at themselves,” said Rev. Monroe, a doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School who writes religion columns for multiple lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publications.
She prefaced her speech by saying “political correctness truncates all possibility for learning” and asked two questions of white audience members: “How are you white? And how white are you?”
“I was born in apartheid South Africa, so I was the boss,” one woman said.
“I know I’m white because I don’t know how to answer that question,” said another
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The Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon premieres in Salt Lake City, May 1st-17th 2009 at the Rose Wagner Theatre. Tickets available by calling 1-801-355-ARTS. Hope to see you there kid!
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via Deseret News
The Sandy City Council is officially discussing whether or not to allow domestic partner benefits for city employees. Councilman Scott Cowdell and Councilwoman Linda Martinez-Saville have “asked outside consultants and city staff to study the potential costs involved.”
Prompted by Salt Lake City’s similar move, Cowdell notes his experience as an LDS Church branch president working with a senior’s home helped me realize how far people go to pay for health care.
As for the LGBT component:
Cowdell acknowledged that the policy would help gay and lesbian couples living under the same roof.
“Homosexuals and lesbians have health issues also,” he said. “I think we are our brothers’ keepers, right, and so we should be concerned about people and not their orientation. We should be concerned about their health care and their quality of life.”
Both Cowdell and Martinez-Saville said the majority of employees using the proposed insurance change aren’t gay or lesbian but mixed-generation family members.
Before you get too excited:
Sandy Councilman Bryant Anderson is interested in studying the issue but said he would want benefits only for traditional families.
A meeting will be held tonight at 7 PM at Sandy City Hall, 10000 Centennial Parkway. It will be open to the public, but residents won’t be allowed to speak.
City human relations officials will be on hand to answer questions. We’ll keep you updated.
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Public Forum Letter:
President Barack Obama should follow former President George W. Bush’s example and refuse to endorse a United Nations declaration calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality. The Western governments that have signed this declaration are decadent and represent a small majority of the world’s population.
Muslim countries, China, India and other Asian countries have not endorsed this declaration, and they make up more than 4 billion of the world’s population. It is time that Obama took a stand on certain world issues; he should not be led by the European community.
We should not sacrifice our country’s “core values” just to be liked by our Western allies…
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via Bilerico Project
I was recently pointed to the Council for Global Equality’s website, a group that “brings together international human rights activists, foreign policy experts, LGBT leaders, philanthropists and corporate officials to encourage a clearer and stronger American voice on human rights concerns impacting LGBT communities around the world.” Basically, they advocate that the US take on a stronger role in scolding other countries into respecting LGBTQ people’s basic human rights.
It’s an interesting proposition considering the fact that the US is a large violator of human rights and has repeatedly claimed that treaty obligations do not apply to it and has referred to conventions that protect the weakest as “quaint.” While, among the left, it’s fun to say “President Obama” and pretend that US foreign policy history has restarted with a blank slate, that’s far from reality.
The Council just released a paper entitled “‘Top Ten’ Opportunities for the U.S. to Respond (pdf).” It’s a list of ten of the worst human rights violators around the world when it comes to LGBTQ people’s rights and lives. I’ve already blogged about why continuing the imperialistic policy of defining for other countries what their human rights goals are, it’s important to also note the hypocrisy in the US making those calls as well.
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