Exodus: Live Out Loud

Africans: Pro-Gay U.S. Church Follows New Religion

Africans: Pro-Gay U.S. Church Follows New Religion

By Dino Mahtani
LAGOS (Reuters) - African bishops representing a majority of the world's Anglicans said on Friday North American sections that embrace homosexuality should be seen as following a different religion.

The statement by top Anglican clerics at a landmark conference in Nigeria to determine their future marked a growing separation between conservatives and liberals in the 70-million strong church.

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John Kerry's 'born-gay' science

John Kerry's 'born-gay' science

Cincy Voters To Decide Ban on Gay Rights

http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=2470728&nav=LQlCSKI1

Voters in November will decide for the first time whether to keep the city's 11 year old ban on gay rights laws, the only one in the nation.

Supporters of repeal say it's time, that tolerance for diversity has increased. They also argue that the ban on enacting or enforcing laws based on sexual orientation keeps out convention business and new companies.

"The world has changed a great deal in the last 11 years with more gay people willing to be open about their sexual orientation, more of the public willing to embrace diversity and more businesses recognizing that discrimination is wrong," said Gary Wright, chairman of Citizens to Restore Fairness.

Opponents say there is no evidence either of harm to the economy or of changing attitudes since 62 percent of voters approved the ban in 1993.

"Nothing has changed, except that the business community has decided that the amendment needs to be repealed," said Phil Burress, president of Equal Rights, No Special Rights and president of the conservative Citizens for Community Values. "The board of the Chamber (of Commerce) may support repeal, but that doesn't mean all the Chamber members agree."

Same-sex marriage and our public schools

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_reinhard/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1098532979109380.xml

Sunday, October 24, 2004
DAVID REINHARD
W hat happens if Measure 36 fails and Oregon judges do what legal authorities such as Attorney General Hardy Myers predict they will do -- overturn Oregon's traditional marriage laws? What happens if Oregon voters do not amend the state constitution to preserve traditional marriage and judges, motivated by a handful of county officials and their pals in the gay lobby, go ahead and amend the constitution to require same-sex marriage?

Much debate has revolved around what this would mean for individual marriages or the institution of marriage, and children -- of heterosexuals and homosexuals -- in the context of the family. But what would happen in public schools if same-sex marriage comes to Oregon by judicial decree?

Measure 36 foes think it's "outrageous" even to suggest legalized gay marriage would have any impact on public schools. They're irked by a pro-Measure 36 ad featuring a worried Clark Brody, Oregon's former deputy superintendent of public instruction.

'Straight talk' takes on snide, new meaning

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/10001124.htm

Posted on Sun, Oct. 24, 2004

By Lee Mueller

PIKEVILLE - Four years ago, two Pikeville lawyers staged the most expensive state legislative race in Kentucky history, spending a total of $918,000 for an open Eastern Kentucky Senate seat.

Democrat Ray S. Jones II defeated Republican Chris Ratliff then by a four-point margin. Now, Ratliff is challenging Jones again in a redrawn 31st Senate District that contains two new Republican counties.

Spending is way down this time. But the politics are far more personal.

Ratliff is accused of circulating what Senate Democratic Leader Ed Worley calls "the most foul and disrespectful political material in the history of the state."

And strenuous protests from Jones, Worley and others have done little to raise the level of debate, which has turned largely on the state's proposed same-sex marriage amendment and has reflected a vein of anti-gay sentiment.

Exasperated, a top GOP lawmaker chastised all parties involved for playing what he calls "the homosexual card."

Socialists push liberal domestic initiatives

http://washingtontimes.com/world/20041023-112818-6356r.htm

By Elizabeth Bryant
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

MADRID — Since taking power six months ago, the leftist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has floated a constellation of domestic initiatives aimed at transforming Spain from one of Europe's most conservative countries to one of its most liberal.
Many of the proposals, ranging from plans to legalize abortion and some forms of embryo research to easing divorce restrictions, have barely inched past talking points. But this month, Mr. Zapatero's Cabinet approved legislation to legalize same-sex "weddings." The Socialist-dominated parliament is expected to pass the bill early next year, which would make Spain only the third country, after the Netherlands and Belgium, to do so.

Pro-Gay Group Cries Foul

http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0034234.cfm

October 22, 2004

by Steve Jordahl, correspondent

Legal association upset that the Bush administration is taking steps to protect the rights of the Boy Scouts.

A pro-gay legal group is upset with the U.S. Department of Education for establishing rules to protect the Boy Scouts from being denied access to public schools for their meetings.

What Lambda Legal wants is special protection for homosexual student clubs, as well.

But Ken Marcus, a spokesman for the Education Department, said there's good reason to protect the Scouts—especially with the nation at war.

Amendment Votes Indicative of Nationwide Surge to Protect Marriage?

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/222004c.asp

Pro-Family Advocates Think So
By Bill Fancher and Jody Brown
October 22, 2004

(AgapePress) - Many of the nation's religious leaders believe the fight to protect traditional marriage has awakened the Evangelical church. One pro-family group takes it even further, applauding Americans as a whole for "boldly resisting attacks on the sanctity of marriage" over the last year.

For the second week in a row, thousands of Christians crowded onto the National Mall in the nation's capital to demonstrate their support for marriage and their concerns for the direction in which the nation is headed. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins sees the rallies as an indication that the Christian community is waking up to its duty.

"A year ago, it looked like there was no counter effort being made to those that were trying to redefine the institution of marriage," Perkins says, referring to events last November in Massachusetts. "But in the last six months we've seen a massive effort driven by just the average American who cares deeply about this country and about the future of family, which hinges upon the future of marriage."

McKissic: Homosexual rights not the same as civil rights

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=19391

Oct 22, 2004
By Marc Rogers

Drawing the distinction
In chapel at Southwestern Seminary, pastor Dwight McKissic decries comparisons between the civil rights movement and gay rights. Photo by Margie Dolch/SWBTS

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--The suffering of the homosexual does not compare with the suffering of the black man in America, Dwight McKissic told a chapel audience at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

McKissic is senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, and founder of the “Not on My Watch” coalition.

“When homosexuals have spent over 200 years in slavery, when homosexuals have been legally defined as three-fifths human, when homosexuals have been denied the right to vote and own property because they are homosexuals, then we can begin a discussion of parallels [between the civil rights and gay rights movements],” McKissic said Oct. 13 at the Fort Worth, Texas, campus.

Referring to the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black killed for whistling at a white woman in 1955 and the tragic history of the lynching of blacks in America, McKissic said, “No white lesbian has ever been murdered for whistling at another white girl. But black men have been murdered for even a perceived interest in white women.”

Parents want gay literature removed

http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041023/NEWS01/410230322/1079

Saturday, October 23, 2004
Solon school to review curriculum

By Deidre Bello
Iowa City Press-Citizen


SOLON -- Middle school teacher Sue Protheroe has come under fire by a group of parents demanding she cease using stories in her classroom that feature gay, lesbian or transgender characters.

As part of her fairy tale curriculum, students in Protheroe's eighth-grade language arts class read "Am I Blue?" a short, fictional story by Bruce Coville that explores a boy's confusion with his sexual identity and the gay fairy godfather who helps him overcome homophobia at school.

Another short story, "In the time I Get," by Chris Crutcher, is about a man who befriends a young man dying of AIDS. Both books are intended to promote tolerance, Protheroe said.

Seven people with children in the district have filed complaints; one of whom has a child in Protheroe's class. Criticisms for "Am I Blue" are that it has no instructional value for her class, it is about controversial areas that should be discussed within families, and it is not appropriate for middle school-aged students. In addition, parents argue the story promotes intolerance through use of slanderous and racist terms, perpetuates gay stereotypes and promotes homosexuality.