Posts Tagged ‘Rule of Law’
Debate Over Civil Unions Splits Catholics In Italy
Amidst a heated debate over civil unions in Italy, the country’s prime minister rebuked a Catholic cardinal for saying the Italian Senate should employ a secret ballot on the legislation. Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, who heads the Italian Episcopal Conference, had claimed a secret ballot would allow legislators a conscience vote. In response, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi criticized Cardinal…
Read More10 Reasons Christians Support Transgender Students In South Dakota
Last week, the South Dakota state legislature passed one of the worst anti-trans bills in the country—a bill that singles out trans students by forcing them to use separate restrooms and locker rooms from their friends and peers. These legislators are sending a message that it is okay to ostracize, humiliate, and bully trans students.…
Read MoreWhy These South Dakota Pastors Are Standing Up For Trans Students
Help us TELL GOVERNOR DAUGAARD: Christians Stand With Trans Students On behalf of a carload of clergy, representing four different Christian traditions, who left Sioux Falls at 3:00am to testify against H.B. 1008 last week, and on behalf of about a dozen clergy colleagues who couldn’t make the trip, I am asking Governor Daugaard to…
Read MoreWhy I Can’t Forget My Blackness
The discomfort of being THE black guy in the room is something that I have to negotiate over and over again. Often/especially in progressive and/or queer political spaces, I am one of very few people of color—it seems that there are places where the demographic “count” to cover all bases means that there’s one of…
Read MoreWelcoming The All-Gender Restroom “Revolution”
TIME Magazine recently declared that “The Gender-Neutral Bathroom Revolution is Growing.” Earlier this month, San Francisco joined cities like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, Seattle, Santa Fe, and New York City in requiring all businesses and city buildings to designate single-stall restrooms as all-gender. The new legislation introduced by San Francisco Supervisor David Campos and crafted…
Read MoreWin for LGBT Equality: Court Says No To Religious Exemption
On January 14, 2016 a New York appeals court ruled that an upstate farm that rents out its premises for weddings illegally discriminated against a same-sex couple when it refused to host their wedding ceremony. The court rejected the farm’s claim that the owners’ religious beliefs exempted them from New York’s long-standing equality law. Melisa…
Read MoreDignity Members Take Action On Employment Non-Discrimination
Employment non-discrimination protections for LGBT people are among the final obstacles to full legal equality in the United States. Such legislation is hotly disputed locally, while federal action has stalemated until at least after the 2016 elections. Below are three recent news stories about Catholic involvement in LGBT nondiscrimination issues. Two of these stories highlight…
Read MoreHow An LGBT-Affirming Church Changed This Eagle Scout’s Life
“You don’t have to say anything… just know… if you are gay the guys in the troop are still your friends and are with you.” I did not say anything. It would be six more years before I came out as a gay man. But that night at scout camp, a dark weight was lifted…
Read MoreFaith Leaders: Indiana Should Expand LGBT Rights
Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted by 141 religious leaders from Indiana. As clergy and faith leaders who serve diverse religious communities across Indiana, we are dedicated to affirming the religious freedom of every individual. We believe that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and…
Read MoreLooking Ahead: What’s Next For Our Work
In the coming year, we expect to see more than 100 anti-LGBTQ religious refusal laws proposed across the country. These laws come in many forms, but they all have the same goal—to use religion as an excuse to discriminate against and harm others. The good news is we’re a community committed to opposing such harmful…
Read More