marriage

Lesbian and Gay Rights in the World—Geography of Bigotry and Oppression

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This amazing map, developed by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Organization, portrays, as of May 2012, the status of critical LGBT protections and persecutions world wide. We hope all people interested in international issues will examine it and understand where progress is being made and where horrible persecution and enforced neglect endure.

It is encouraging to see signs of great progress in areas of South America and most of Western Europe, where a modicum of equality is emerging, in spite of entrenched religious opposition by atheistic religionists deeply embedded in the pastoral hierarchies of these societies.

It is painful to see how pervasive persecution and ignorance continue unopposed and unabated throughout Asia, Africa, and North and Central America, omitting only Canada. This horror persists and advances in such economically advanced nations as the United States, Russia, and China.

At the same time, the atheist leadership of the false religions of fundamentalism—regardless of the mythological origins of their beliefs—have made it their worldwide business to oppose education, and anything else which would broaden people’s perspectives on the realities of living in a modernizing society.

Nowhere is this atheistic negation of the most basic tenets of the faith they claim to espouse more apparent than in the United States, where the bigoted leadership of christianist cults, who know nothing of the “Christ” they claim to extol, expend vast sums to export their hatred to the third world in hope of colonializing the minds of uninformed citizens while quietly seizing financial control of undeveloped natural resources for personal advantage.

There are seated U.S. Congressmen that hold allegiance to their egocentric interpretation of “god’s law” as supreme. They respect neither teachings of great world religions, nor the U.S. Constitution, which they once swore to uphold. Their behavior hovers on the border of treason. They encourage bizarre religious hysteria in client country populations, while personally profiting from abuse of their government position to influence U.S. Foreign Aid, taken from your tax dollars, into back-end income from third world development projects and exploitation of those countries’ rich natural resources.

Editor’s note: This is one of a series of position papers Dan Massey and I are creating and will soon index on our home page. They briefly explore the evolution of our points of view about a range of issues related to sex, gender, and racial freedom. Your feedback is always welcome.

The Sexual Freedom Project: Shockingly Old Fashioned

(También en Español)

In today’s video, we meet several young women at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC who have strong feelings about owning vibrators, judgmental people, religious institutions, and shockingly old fashioned ideas.

What’s your opinion? Can one ever really own too many vibrators? Should marriage be denied to people because of their sexual orientation? And when’s the last time you shoved someone into a room and said “hey, come on, jump in bed with us”?

Send us your video at columbia@venusplusx.org — we want to hear from you!

Video by Tiye Massey.

TRANSCRIPT

VenusPlusX: …In the state of Arkansas, one is only legally permitted to own five vibrators.
Woman 1: Really? It’s bullshit. So…
Woman 2: Yeah I think it’s bullshit too.
[cut]
Woman 3: Who the hell are you to be telling me what I should be doing with my body and my life?
[cut]
Woman 1: There are plenty of non-religious people who are also just… really judgmental.
Woman 2: It’s kind of like the marriage thing; why is it between a man and a woman? You know, it’s like a Christian institution that’s built into our society but it’s supposed to be separate. So like, laws that are supposed to “help” us or whatever, really just tell us what they don’t want us to do.
[cut]
Woman 4: I do find it really shocking that people are against abortion, for example. It feels like you go back in time… It’s just shockingly, shockingly old-fashioned and shockingly short-sighted and it seems very repressive of women to be honest. … It’s not like you’re shoving anyone into a room and going ‘Hey, come on, jump in bed with us!’ Like it’s whatever, you’re just saying what you want!”

Santorum backs nullifying existing gay marriages

(También en Español)

News of Note: Santorum backs nullifying existing gay marriages

There are 18,000 married gay and lesbian couples in California and at least 131,000 nationwide according to the 2010 census, conducted before New York state legalized same-sex marriage in July.

Rick Santorum says he’ll try to unmarry all of them if he’s elected president

He would “unmarry” all same-sex marriages? Instead of listing reasons why gay marriage is a good thing and why it should have nothing to do with politics, I’d rather emphasize how terrible Rick Santorum is. I would normally disregard his comments as impossible or beneath me, but the nagging reality that we could have him (or someone with similar views) as president scares me senseless.

Santorum represents the magnitude of ignorance and hate many Americans still must overcome.

What do you think has caused these backwards ideologies to maintain so much face in America? What do you think we should be doing about that? We look forward to hearing your opinions.

Creative Commons image by: Gage Skidmore

Lesbian Judge No Longer Marrying Straight Couples

(También en Español)

News of Note: Gay Texas judge won’t marry straight couples

Tonya Parker, an African-American lesbian judge in Texas, refuses to marry straight couples until everyone in the state has the right to marry.

Turning away would-be newlyweds is “my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state,” Parker told a meeting of the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas earlier this week.

She said it’s “oxymoronic” for her to perform a ceremony that can’t be performed for her.

Instead, she refers couples to other judges in the courthouse with an explanation along the lines of “I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people,” she told the meeting.

I’m very impressed to see a Judge using her authority to raise awareness about marriage equality. There is nothing discriminatory about what Judge Tonya Parker is doing, since she isn’t marrying anyone and she doesn’t have to. Tonya’s stance should serve as an example for us all. This type of integrity and moral leveraging is not common enough today.

New Hampshire Lawmaker Urges Married Couples To Practice Abstinence

(También en Español)

News of Note: New Hampshire Lawmaker Urges Married Couples To Practice Abstinence

A New Hampshire lawmaker with a history of surprising statements suggested on Thursday that married couples who want to use contraception should practice abstinence instead of using birth control pills

State Rep. Lynne Blankenbeker (R-Concord) made the claim — noting that abstinence is available “over the counter” along with condoms — during a legislative committee hearing on a resolution urging the Obama administration to drop the birth control requirement for religious organizations. Blankenbeker was trying to explain her position on why the administration’s requirement to provide insurance coverage for birth control should be overturned.

“People with or without insurance have two affordable choices, one being abstinence and the other being condoms, both of which you can get over the counter,” she said.

The conservative battle against human sexuality seems to be endless. Telling married couples that sexual abstinence is another form of birth control, completely disregards all appreciation couples may have for sex. The religious belief that sex should exist only for procreation is both unhealthy and offensive. These backward ideologies only worsen the depth of sexual repression that our culture already suffers from.

Ever have sex without the intent of making babies? Let us know what you think in the comments below.