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Uganda parliament closes without taking up ‘Kill the Gays’ bill — Victory?
Business will resume as normal in Uganda in February, as it has at the start of every parliamentary session since the “Kill the Gays” bill was proposed in 2009, with the possibility of the bill still existing on the agenda. We have been fighting this same bill for three years now, and it continues to come back. To claim that we “killed” the bill isn’t really honest with ourselves and with others that we want to get involved in protecting LGBT Ugandan people.
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A gay dad reflects on the terrorism in Newtown, Connecticut
The fact is that 20 sets of parents got the call I most fear, and that without warning the precious looks, kisses, hugs, innocent conversations and happiness that are my heart and soul treasures can abruptly end and be removed, forever. This event was terrorism because so many of us feel the searing pain of the poor families who are facing the reality of their loss. I wish to my soul that I could spare them the pain they feel, I wish it more than any other thing this Christmas, and take little solace in the fact that I get to hug my boys and take them in my arms still.
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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia: A duplicitous, totalitarian bigot
Known for his frequent public condemnations of gay rights legislation and his defense of sodomy laws that target exclusively against gay couples, Justice Scalia isn’t exactly what you would call a tolerant, forward thinking kind of guy. He is widely known for keeping alive the tradition of disingenuously likening homosexuality to bestiality, incest, and murder, among other things…
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Inexplicable Evil
Unspeakable tragedy, horrific crime, inexplicable — all words that inadequately describe the evil that was visited on a small New England town and its most vulnerable citizens Friday, its children. … My heart breaks for those families, who at what now should be a season of joy for them, have been forever marred by the violence visited upon them.
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Joy trumps jurisprudence in gay marriage case
One of two cases that the Supreme Court has decided to hear in the coming year will challenge the Defense of Marriage Act. Although this is ostensibly a legal case, it is really about competing narratives – and there is nothing same-sex marriage opponents offer that comes close to the touching tale of Edie Windsor and her deceased wife Thea Spyer. Their struggle not only tugs at the heartstrings, it transforms the heart into a marionette, dancing merrily to sappy love songs. This case screams out for fair resolution, and the court runs the risk of delegitimizing itself as draconian and doctrinaire if it denies this couple justice.
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Why we need more LGBT racial minority role models
The world needs more LGBT racial minority role models. Every day, gay and lesbian people of color are ascending in their professional fields. We need to support their continuing efforts to break through historic ceilings. When they succeed, we need to give them greater visibility. Media outlets can help by more frequently recognizing achievements made by LGBT racial minorities…
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The Salvation Army doesn’t ring the gay bell
Try and imagine how you would feel if you needed help and were turned away from a shelter simply because of who you are and who it is you fell in love with. Charity is defined as something given to a person in need, there’s nothing in the definition about exceptions for the LGBTQ Community. These exceptions belong entirely to The Salvation Army…
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It’s World AIDS Day. Does anyone care anymore?
Today, people still die from AIDS. While drug advancements have substantially decreased that number, it has also created the false-belief that contracting the disease is essentially meaningless. To some, taking one pill a day is an easy trade-off to having to wear condoms. Most disturbing, however, is the sheer number to whom AIDS just doesn’t matter, having relegated it to a page in history…
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Storming the ‘Ex-Gay’ Shores
In 1998, 15 religious right organizations launched a huge advertising campaign to promote “pray away the gay” programs. Anti-gay activist Robert Knight called the “Truth in Love” campaign the “Normandy Landing in the larger cultural wars.” Things didn’t quite work out as Knight had hoped…
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Post-election analysis: What’s next for the LGBT community
Without a doubt, election night was a landslide victory for equality. Watching the historic results roll in on issues and candidates that matter to the progress of civil rights for LGBT people was truly a snapshot of just how much, and how quickly, this country has changed on social issues…