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Uganda: Even Anti-Gay Churches Think Proposed Law Goes Too Far

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The country’s Anglicans yesterday added their voice against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Like the Catholics before them, the Church of Uganda officially rejected the Bill. They proposed that instead of the death penalty for gays who seduce boys – as the Bill put forward by Ndorwa West David Bahati demands – the law should be changed to ensure that vulnerable boys are properly protected.

Archbishop Luke Orombi, in his first public comments on the controversial Bill, however said they do not recognise homosexuality as “a human right”. “The Church of Uganda believes that homosexual practice is incompatible with the Scripture,” the prelate said in a statement issued yesterday, citing a resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference in Britain.

He added: “At the same time, the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning.”

Full Story from the Daily Monitor
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Posted in 8uganda, anglican church, anti gay bill, church of uganda, gay rights | No Responses »

Malawai: Man Arrested for Putting Up Gay Rights Posters

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Malawian police have arrested a man for allegedly putting up posters supporting homosexuality, which is illegal in the southern African nation. Peter Sawali was charged this week with conduct likely to cause breach of peace, said police spokesman Davie Chingwalu.

Sawali, 21, was putting up posters that read, “Gay rights are human rights,” on a busy road in the city of Blantyre, the spokesman said.The man had stacks of glossy posters with the same message in his possession, according to the spokesman. An investigation is under way to seek more suspects, because Sawali said he was not acting alone.

“Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and is punishable by prison time and hard labor,” Chingwalu said. “Basically, he was promoting a criminal act. This is what this is all about.”

Full Story from CNN
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Posted in gay rights, malawai, man arrested, posters | No Responses »

USA: 2009 Saw 50 Positive LGBT Bills Passed, and Only 4 Negative Bills

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The number of pro-LGBT bills passed at state levels in 2009 totaled more than those passed in 2007 and 2008 combined. That, according to a report from the Human Rights Campaign, marks great progress despite a year wherein community members felt stinging defeats. At the same time HRC was releasing its annual rankings of LGBT-friendly companies, the national organization also unveiled its “Equality State by State,” a report of legislative actions across the country written by HRC State Legislative Director Sara Warbelow.

Overall, the LGBT community saw success on state-level legislation. A total of 332 pro-LGBT bills were introduced and 50 were passed. Only 69 negative pieces of legislation were introduced. Of those, only four passed.

Despite a setback in Maine, when voters chose to overturn their state legislature’s decision to offer marriage to all couples, other states and jurisdictions moved forward on marriage. On April 7, 2009, Vermont passed legislation opening marriage to all couples. New Hampshire decided to join Vermont on June 3, 2009. Their law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010. And, on Dec. 18, 2009, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed legislation extending marriage rights there. In April, Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of a gay couple seeking a marriage license there.

Full Story from QNotes
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Posted in 2009, bills, Gay Marriage, gay rights, hrc, legislation, marriage equality, same sex marriage | No Responses »

UK: Update on Gay Rights Legislation

Friday, February 5th, 2010

THE LAW covering church employment will stay as it is, the Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman, said on Tuesday. She was speaking after the defeat in the Lords of an amendment to the Equality Bill (News, 29 January), which sought to clarify the exemption for religious bodies from the existing legislation, to ensure that it applied only to church ministers.

In a statement, Ms Harman said: “Employment and non-discrimination law applies to religious organisations when they employ people in non-religious jobs in the same way that it does to all other employers. We have never insisted on non-discrimination legislation applying to religious jobs such as being a vicar, a bishop, an imam, or a rabbi.”

She continued: “We thought that it would be helpful for everyone involved to clarify the law, and that is what the amendment that we brought forward aimed to do. That amend ment was rejected. So the law remains as it was.”

Full Story from the Church Times
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
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Posted in churches, civil partnerships, equality bill, gay rights, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »

Creating Change Conference Opens in Dallas This Week

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

From the possible end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that bans gays from serving openly in the armed forces to the expansion of gay marriage, there will be plenty of chatter among the 2,000 gay and lesbian activists gathering in Dallas this week. The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, kicks off today, with events planned through the weekend.

“There’s buzz about everything,” said Sue Hyde, the conference director. “People are going to be buzzing about ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ … We have some really tough issues on the agenda, and we’re making some progress on the local level and the state level and even the federal level on a whole range of issues.”

Task Force officials welcomed President Barack Obama’s remarks on overturning “don’t ask, don’t tell” last month in his State of the Union address. But they’re disappointed he didn’t offer a detailed plan, which allows for “foot-dragging,” Hyde said.

Full Story from Dallas News
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Posted in conference, creating change, dallas, defense of marriage act, don't ask don't tell, Gay Marriage, gay rights, marriage equality, same sex marriage | No Responses »

UT: Lawmakers Put Off Anti Discrimination Legislation for a Year

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Utah lawmakers will not consider a law that would ban discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the workplace and in housing, and will instead spend the next year studying the issue, key lawmakers said Friday. In exchange, opponents of gay-rights legislation will drop any effort to prevent local governments from passing their own nondiscrimination laws this legislative session.

Gay-rights advocates had hoped to build on recent momentum created by the Salt Lake City Council, which passed nondiscrimination ordinances last year. Those ordinances passed after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it would support the measures.

In Utah, few law changes occur if the church disapproves. More than 80 percent of state lawmakers are Mormon, including Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican.

Full Story from the NY Times
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Posted in anti discrimination, delay, gay rights, legislature, Mormon Church, ut, utah | No Responses »

Obama Responds to Gay Rights Question at Town Hall

Friday, January 29th, 2010

At a town hall in Tampa, Obama is asked what he’s doing to provide equality for gays and lesbians with regard to same-sex marriage and other rights. The President completely dodged any talk of marriage but talked about the bill to provide federal benefits to same-sex partners.

Here’s my transcript.

“As I said last night my belief is that a basic principle in our Constitution is that if you’re obeying the law, if you’re following the rules, that you should be treated the same regardless of who you are.

“I think that principle applies to gay and lesbian couples, so at the federal level one of the things that we’re trying to do is to make sure that partnerships are recognized for purposes of benefits, so that hospital visitation for example is something that is permitted, so that social security or pension benefits or others, that same-sex couples are recognized in all those circumstances.

Full Story from Towleroad.com
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Posted in florida, Gay Marriage, gay rights, marriage equality, president obama, same sex marriage, town hall | No Responses »

FL: County Preparing to Vote on Anti Discrimination Measure for Gays, Lesbians

Friday, January 29th, 2010

A proposal to change Leon County’s charter to add anti-discrimination protection for gays and lesbians moved forward Thursday. The county’s charter-review committee, which voted 10-3 in favor of the proposal, is expected to vote Feb. 11 on whether to move it on to public hearings and a vote by county commissioners. If approved, it would go to voters later this year.

Members of the committee debated whether the protections should take the form of a charter amendment or an ordinance. Some people in the gay community are concerned that if the measure goes to voters, it might not pass.

Ralph Mason, a member of the charter-review committee, proposed the amendment during a previous meeting. But he asked Thursday that it be taken up instead by the county’s human-relations advisory committee, which has been studying the issue.

Full Story from Tallahassee.com
Click here for gay marriage resources in Florida.
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Posted in charter, discrimination, fl, florida, gay, gay rights, lesbian, ordinance, tallahassee, vote | No Responses »

UT: New State Senator Supports Gay Rights Bills

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

New state Sen. Ben McAdams wants to let gay couples and non-traditional families have more rights. Right now, only a parent or spouse can bring a lawsuit in the case of a wrongful death. McAdams wants to let gay couples, unmarried siblings, grandparents, etc., be able to do the same.

“In the case of my wife and I, if one of us were to be killed in an accident because of the negligence of another person, the surviving spouse would be able to bring a lawsuit to recover for that negligence,” McAdams explains. “Under current state law that only applies to a spouse or parent or child who could bring that wrongful death claim.”

McAdams is continuing where his predecessor Sen. Scott McCoy left off and says he thinks this is in line with family values.

Full Story from KSL.com

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Posted in Ben McAdams, bill, gay rights, state senator, ut, utah, wrongful death | No Responses »

China: Country's On Again, Off Again Relationship With Gay Culture

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

STUTTERING improvements for gays in Chinese society have been dealt another setback after the country’s first Mr Gay China contest was shut down by the police on Friday night in Beijing, an hour before it was to begin. It’s the third time in the past six months that openly gay events have been thwarted by authorities. In June, the inaugural Gay Pride festival in Shanghai was forced off the city’s streets and on to private premises, leading to the cancellation of some events.

Last November the opening of a gay bar in the southwestern resort town of Dali was delayed after a wave of publicity across the country put focus on the small venue, making local authorities nervous.

As punters began to arrive on Friday night, and five of the original eight contestants readied themselves for a three-round event at the plush Philippe Starck-designed restaurant and bar complex LAN, police moved in to close down proceedings, saying it was a “sensitive issue” and that the promoters — local group Gayographic — did not have the right permits.

Full Story from The Australian

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To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in china, communist party, gay community, gay culture, gay rights | No Responses »

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