Posts Tagged ‘Anti-LGBT Legislation’
I’m Planning a Wedding in a State with a License To Discriminate
As a girl, I never dreamt of marrying in the church, yet I will be doing just that in May. Growing up Southern Baptist in my hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, I received the message early on that gay people were not Christians, and did not love God or family. When my attraction to women became…
Read MoreChristian Underhistory: Facing The Horrors of Christianity Past
Let me tell you about my new podcast Christian Underhistory. It’s a Christian True Crime podcast. Each week I have a different guest, usually a preacher or a theologian or a seminarian, and I tell them a true horror story from Christian history. We usually engage in gallows humor, joke so we can get through it,…
Read MoreThe Role of Churches in Ending Anti-Sodomy Laws
We once again celebrated Pride month and many LGBTQI people and their allies in the global north revelled in the hard-won advances for the recognition of human rights for our communities. But 73 countries across the world still criminalize private same-gender intimacy between consenting adults, with 11 imposing the death penalty. These so-called anti-sodomy laws…
Read MoreBanning Transgender People From Military Service Is Morally Wrong
I’m an Iraq War veteran who is a trans woman, and let me tell you: banning transgender people from military service is morally wrong. In 2003, I enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard at the age of eighteen. I knew I needed to pay for college, and I needed some money to live on.…
Read MoreMeet The Mississippi Baker Who Refuses To Discriminate
As a baker and small business owner, I meet all kinds of people. I am truly blessed to have a job where I get to wake up each day and make people happy. People come into my bakery looking for sweets to celebrate life’s most special moments. Since 1962, we have been baking up delicious…
Read MoreRaising A Banner For Title IX: Our Message to the NCAA
Though I had my mom with me on our crew of activists, Soulforce’s action at the women’s Final Four basketball game this weekend was one of the more daunting in my dozen years of direct action organizing. From the moment we entered the arena, police crowded us, grilled us with questions, monitored us from above,…
Read MoreLet The Questions Lead You To Justice
In the wee hours of November 9th, Donald J. Trump became the presumed winner of the Presidential Election. This is an effort that many worked hard to prevent. Many volunteered, canvassed, and even prayed to stop him from making it to the Oval Office. These people understood that the world would be a far more…
Read MoreWhy Coming Out Isn’t For Everyone
Coming out is a powerful experience. It is a story that many people in the LGBTQ community have in common. Whether subtle or dramatic, disclosing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is often met with celebration and praise. With the advent of inclusive religious institutions, scholars, and others who make a strong case of God’s…
Read MoreSr. Jeannine Gramick Decries Catholic Silence After Orlando Massacre
49 people were murdered one month ago at Pulse, a LGBT nightclub in Orlando, and 53 more were wounded. These victims, constituting the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, have stirred conversations about anti-LGBT prejudice and violence and prompted many Catholics to memorialize the victims. Sr. Jeannine Gramick, Co-Founder of New Ways Ministry, says…
Read MoreQuestions Remain After Bishops Address United Methodist Church’s Anti-LGBTQI Policies
As spirit-filled protests and demonstrations of support for LGBTQI people fill the halls of the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in Portland, the Council of Bishops that serves the denomination has put forward a historic proposal that will be considered by the gathered delegates before the Conference ends on May 20. The United Methodist Church’s…
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