Marriage Equality "A Top Priority" for NJ Legislature

The leadership of both houses of New Jersey's legislature announced this afternoon in Trenton that marriage-quality bills will be introduced in both houses and considered "a top priority" for this session.  Senate President Steve Sweeney, who calls abstaining from the vote in 2010 the "biggest mistake" of his legislative career, is now championing the bill.  Episcopal Bishop of Newark, the Right Rev. Mark Beckwith, has campaigned actively in favor of marriage equality in New Jersey.  On Saturday, the OASIS is co-sponsor of an event organized by Lambda Legal called Marriage Equality: Take the Power.

More from Freedom to Marry

Driving Force at NOM Has Epiphany on Civil Marriage

Louis Marinelli, who was the driver of both the "2010 Summer of Marriage Tour" RV and the National Organization for Marriage's social networking presence has told the blog Good-As-You in an exclusive interview that he has had a major epiphany on the subject of same-sex marriage and now supports civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

In addition to driving the motorhome used for the tour, Marinelli created the Twitter feed and Facebook pages which NOM eventually adopted as its own.

While he still feels that homosexuality is "wrong" and a health hazard, Marinelli now sees religious and civil marriage as two separate things and feels same-sex couples are entitled to the rights and protections afforded by a civil marriage license. While he still considers himself part of NOM, he feels the organization should focus on religious marriage.

Marinelli's views changed, ironically enough, because of the personal encounters he had with gay and lesbian people he met during the NOM tour. He started to see them as "real people" and that "instead of trying to destroy American culture, they just wanted to take part in it." He became alarmed by the hateful rhetoric his social networking efforts had attracted and has distanced himself from some of the more vocal opponents of gay rights. He came out in favor of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal in December.

Some of his shifts are more nuanced; for instance, he still takes issue with the LGBT community "tacking onto" the black civil rights movement, saying that gay rights is not the civil rights movement, it is a civil rights movement.

Catholic Dad Weighs In on Prop 8

The former director of Catholic Charities in San Francisco and the father of a partnered gay son, Brian Cahill speaks out against the Catholic Church's continued support of Proposition 8, the bill that still prevents same-sex marriages in California despite being ruled unconstitutional in federal court.


My gay son: the face of church's lack of respect
San Francisco Chronicle

Giving to LGBT-Advocacy Organizations Drops... And They Keep Making Progress

According to the Movement Advancement Project's 2010 National LGBT Movement Report, giving to LGBT advocacy organizations dropped nearly 20% in 2010 due to a combination of the economy and an off-year at the ballot box. The full report is downloadable from within that article.

However, the majority of the major LGBT social justice groups included in the report are still quite vibrant and functional due to reduced spending, effective fund raising and sound management.

The recent major wins in the legal arena speak to their effectiveness. But -- as MAP Executive Director Ineke Mushovic pointed out in a March 2 column -- the LGBT population can and should be doing more to support these groups which are fighting many battles on our behalf, especially if we want the recent winning streak to continue.

LGBT Movement Makes Major Advances, But Are They Sustainable?
Ineke Mushovic in the Huffington Post

How Religion Can Help (and Hurt) Our Understanding of Marriage and Family

How Religion Can Help (and Hurt) Our Understanding of Marriage and Family
The Rev. Barbara Crafton in the Huffington Post

In her comments on the Obama administration's decision to cease Federal defense of DOMA in court, Barbara Crafton describes a yearning for the "traditional family" that conveniently overlooks a glaring reality: the Bible's understanding of what makes a family was no closer to the Right's Leave it to Beaver ideal than our contemporary one.

By Grace Alone

In the context of encouraging Presbyterians to vote for Amendment 10-A, which would drop restrictions on LGBT clergy, The Rev. Dr. Arlo Duba makes an excellent Biblical case for inclusion in a piece titled By Grace Alone.

The Presbyterian Church USA, under the auspices of the organization More Light Presbyterians, is one of the denominational partners of Believe Out Loud.  Rev. Duba is the Former Director of Admission & Director of Chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Former Dean at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.

USA Today Column: Anti-Gay Rhetoric Rings Hollow With Americans

A column by Tom Krattenmaker in USA Today portrays conservative Christians being backed into a corner as the American public's perspective on LGBT people is being reshaped by real-life experience.  Groups that continue to plug homosexuality as evil risk losing the loyalty of their members when this rhetoric contrasts with their experience with LGBT people in their own lives.

In addition, a series of books about scripture and sexuality are painting a very different picture than the black-and-white "reality" the Christian right has traditionally presented. 


On gay rights, keep fighting or adapt?

Remaining Awake During a Great Revolution

Did you know that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last Sunday sermon was preached from an Episcopal pulpit?  He offered these words at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter & Paul (AKA the National Cathedral) in Washington DC on March 31, 1968, four days before he was assassinated.

As the nation attempts to make sense of the Tucson shootings and the degree to which the polarization of our ideals and politics played a role, Dr. King's words remain keenly relevant, especially for those of us whose permission to be full participants in society remains a commodity controlled by others.  Thanks to Fr. Ron Pogue for the link.  Read his thoughts here.

A "Great Gay Awakening" in the Evangelical Movement

Today's Huffington Post article by Cathleen Falsani discusses the LGBT-welcoming ministry of Jay Bakker (son of Jim and Tammy Faye), and points out several others within the Evangelical movement who are having having a re-think of their understanding of the Bible's teaching (or lack thereof) of homosexuality as we understand it.

At the Believe Out Loud Power Summit in Orlando this past October, we met Justin Lee of the Gay Christian Network, an organization that empowers and supports LGBT Christians.  The group's annual conference in Denver last month drew hundreds of attendees.

Meanwhile, busily undoing our work of reconciliation in Schenectady a city councilman and a couple of preachers are raising a stink about some affirming billboards targeting gay African-Americans sponsored by local LGBT group In Our Own Voices, as reported in the Albany Times-Union.

Gay Athletes Speak Out

The other day we shared a blog called Born This Way, which is a collection of childhood photos, self-submitted, that suggests that non-normative mannerisms and interests associated with same-sex attraction are evident way before a child is thinking about such things.

Today, perhaps as a counter to that, we offer a blog (Three Kids, Three Time Zones, One Mission) written by three male varsity athletes who happen to be gay.  These young men are not ashamed of their orientation, but at the same time they seek to let the world know that not all gay folks will talk, act or have the interests we have been socialized to expect they will.  They invite other LGBT athletes, out or not, to share their stories, and some have done so. Not surprisingly, the world of competitive sports is not an easy place to be LGBT, and the scarcity of out athletes means it can be quite isolating.  Brad, Robert, and Ben seek to change all that.

They say "a mother knows"....

A new blog called "Born This Way" challenges the notion that same-sex attraction or the interests or mannerisms associated with it are either learned or magically appear at adulthood.  LGBT folks share childhood images of themselves and describe how they began to realize they were "different".

A Tale of Two Heroes

Daniel Hernandez, the gay assistant of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who helped save her life, was hailed by President Obama as a hero. 35 years ago, the gay man who saved Gerald Ford from a similar attack had a very different experience. 

 The Lead offers some commentary on a Los Angeles Times editorial comparing the two stories and their aftermath.