IWR News
April 27, 2008
- 1) Do Not Be Silent
- 2) Gay and Lesbian Youth Want Long-Term Couple Relationships and Raising Children
- 3) [Vermont] Panel delivers gay marriage report
- 4) Giving Shelter: Portraits of Young Lives in Limbo
- 5) Task Force Action Fund vows to continue fighting mean-spirited attempts to prohibit same-sex couples from securing marriage equality in California
- 6) Schools Address Harassment through Gender Identity/Expression Policies
- 7) Tutu wins global award
- 8) Hagee Says Hurricane Katrina Struck New Orleans Because It Was 'Planning A Sinful' 'Homosexual Rally'
- 9) United Methodist Church stresses unity for General Conference in Fort Worth
- 10) Some Young Religious Voters Steering Away From Anti-Gay Measures
- 11) Links to more news from Welcoming Church Programs
1) Do Not Be Silent
PFLAG
And the most important message I can give the rest of us is this: Do not be silent. Speak up now. If you are a teacher, and your students are being tormented, it is your duty to speak up, hold harassers accountable and make your classroom safe. If you are a parent, and your child fears for their safety at school, you must speak up, too, and work with schools to make them more welcoming. And if you are a classmate, and you see your fellow students living through this, you can speak up, too. Your courage in doing so could literally save a life.
2) Gay and Lesbian Youth Want Long-Term Couple Relationships and Raising Children
Alliant International University, Newswise, April 23, 2008
In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, social scientists have found that many lesbian and gay youth have expectations of spending their adult life in a long-term relationship raising children. More than 90 percent of females and more than 80 percent of males expect to be partnered in a monogamous relationship after age 30. Two thirds of females and more than half of males expressed likelihood that they would raise children in the future.
3) [Vermont] Panel delivers gay marriage report
Montpelier, Vermont, The Argus, April 22, 2008
The Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection said Monday that lawmakers should "take seriously" the difference between civil unions and same-sex marriage - but stopped short of making a specific recommendation on the issue.
4) Giving Shelter: Portraits of Young Lives in Limbo
New York City, New York Times, April 18, 2008
A new book of documentary photographs, "Shelter," examines a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young people living, off and on, at a homeless shelter in Hell's Kitchen - [by] a 27-year-old photographer who is gay, grew up in poverty and once lived in a homeless shelter himself explains its empathetic tone and morally urgent message. The photographer, Lucky S. Michaels, shot roughly 4,000 images over three years, 2003 to 2006, while he worked as an overnight counselor at the shelter, Sylvia's Place, which is run by the Metropolitan Community Church of New York,
5) Task Force Action Fund vows to continue fighting mean-spirited attempts to prohibit same-sex couples from securing marriage equality in California
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, April 24, 2008
Right-wing groups today submitted petition signatures in an attempt to place an initiative on California's November ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. It will be several weeks before it is known whether the measure has actually qualified for the ballot. If it does, and ultimately passes, the state Constitution would be amended to ban same-sex couples from marrying in the Golden State for generations.
6) Schools Address Harassment through Gender Identity/Expression Policies
Washington, GenderPac, April 25, 2008
"Top 25" college campuses and school districts in the South and Midwest are responding to growing awareness of gender-based bullying by enacting anti-discrimination policies that specifically protect student's rights to their gender identity or expression.
7) Tutu wins global award
South Africa, Cape Times, April 9, 2008
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, a "global ally" of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, was scheduled to receive the Outspoken award in San Francisco.
8) Hagee Says Hurricane Katrina Struck New Orleans Because It Was 'Planning A Sinful' 'Homosexual Rally'
Think Progress, April 23, 2008
On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee - whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was "glad to have" - told NPR's Terry Gross that "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans." "New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God," Hagee said, because "there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came."
9) United Methodist Church stresses unity for General Conference in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas, Dallas Morning News, April 23, 2008
For more than 30 years, the United Methodist Church has been trying to show that a denomination divided against itself on homosexuality can still stand. Nearly 1,000 lay and clergy delegates - mainly from the U.S., but with a strong African contingent - will gather at the Convention Center for a General Conference, a term that covers the denomination's top legislative body and the body's quadrennial meeting.
10) Some Young Religious Voters Steering Away From Anti-Gay Measures
Chicago, Illinois, 365Gay.com, April 25, 2008
Underwood and a growing number of other young, left-leaning believers are entering the political arena as campaign aides, lobbyists, grass-root activists and engaged voters. They are trying to expand the focus of faith-based politics beyond the religious right's hot-button issues of abortion and gay marriage. And they are placing social justice issues, like poverty and war, at the intersection of their moral and political decision making.
11) Links to more news from Welcoming Church Programs
- Associational - The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists
- Consensus - Affirm United/S'affirmer Ensemble
- Crossbeams - Open and Affirming Ministries of the Gay, Lesbian & Affirming Disciples (GLAD)
- FlashNet - Reconciling Ministeries Network
- GALANews - Gay And Lesbian Association/Welcoming Community Network
- LC/NA News and Events - Lutherans Concerned/North America
- More Light News - More Light Presbyterians
- Outspoken - Brethren-Mennonite Council for LGBT Concerns
- Room for All News and Events - Room for All
- WAVES - Open and Affirming Program of the United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns (ONA)
Additional News
News Selections offers news from around the world related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, and ally efforts to make the world more accepting and welcoming to everyone of every sexual orientation and every gender identity. It is gathered by Sara Boesser, author of Silent Lives: How High a Price ~ For Personal Reflections and Group Discussions about Sexual Orientation, published by Hamilton Books, an imprint of University Press of America, Inc. Silent Lives provides a valuable resource for individuals, study groups, civic groups, congregations, spiritual groups, and other groups discussing issues of sexuality. It is helpful for personal journaling and sharing with relatives and friends, and is also very useful as a college text, therapy supplement, or a catalyst for group discussions. www.SilentLives.com
