This post goes out to Unicornbooty.com, a gay blog which reports on current events relating to the LGBTQA rights movement.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the news they have to report is not favorable to the gay community. Or the straight community for that matter. Discrimination hurts everyone.
This past week Unicorn Booty wrote several thought-provoking blog posts and I’d like to rehash them for you here.
1. Is Sodomy Illegal In Your State?
Accompanying this post is a chart of the 14 states in the U.S. which “retain active laws banning the practice of anal sex between consenting, unrelated adults.” Although the Supreme Court struck down these laws in the case of Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, and so they are unenforceable for all intents and purposes within the respective states, the laws remain on the books, maintaining our country’s sad legacy of homophobia.
2. TN Senate Passes ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
A panel in the Tennessee Senate passed a bill on April 21st making it illegal to “discuss any sexual behavior other than heterosexuality prior to the ninth grade.” This would ban teachers, guidance counselors and all other school officials from speaking the words “gay” or “homosexual,” no matter the context. This bill has not passed in Tennessee yet, but how can we teach tolerance if we can’t even speak about it?
3. Church Billboard: Being Gay is a Gift From God
A Central United Methodist Church in Toldeo, Ohio is now running the message “Being Gay is a Gift From God” on a billboard in downtown Toledo. The Toledo Blade reports that
the Rev. Bill Barnard, Central’s part-time pastor, said the billboard message will be linked to a four-week sermon series, and the overall campaign goal is “to make a leap beyond tolerance.”
“Members of the congregation have experienced places and times where being lesbian or gay was tolerated — kind of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell, I know God forgives you,’” Barnard said. “We’re saying, ‘This is the way God created you. There’s nothing to forgive.’”
This same week the Douglass Boulevard Christian Church in Kentucky made an even bigger statement on behalf of their gay brethren, voting unanimously to stop granting marriage licenses to any couples- straight or gay- until they are available to members of all sexual orientations. “The church voted to continue performing religious marriage ceremonies to straight couples, but without the legal component that gay couples are legally prevented access to,” Unicorn Booty reported.
Now, here are two inspiring examples of churches standing up for the LGBTQA members of their communities. I felt I had to end this summary on a positive note, so think about what it means for the future if religion is able to embrace homosexuality in a way that even our government still resists doing! Can’t you imagine people uniting for the cause of inclusion rather than exclusion? I can.