gay rights

For the ultimate in Christian love and compassion we hie ourselves down to the great state of Texas.  Arlington, specifically.  The local megachurch, High Point Church, run by the Reverend Gary Simons.  When Cecil Sinclair, a Gulf War veteran and the brother of High Point congregation member died last Monday, the church volunteered to host a memorial service, complete with refreshments for 100 people and a multimedia presentation showing the deceased's life.

Everything sounds good so far.  Except for that multimedia presentation.  Turns out that Cecil was a big ol' homo, and the photos the family picked for the multimedia presentation showed that.  In glossy, high-def color.  Or in the words of the Rev. Simons: "Some of those photos had very strong homosexual images of kissing and hugging.... My ministry associates were taken aback."

And once they saw those images, the church told the bereaved parents to go take a flying fuck at the moon.  Or, to put it more diplomatically and charitably, that the family would have to have the service somewhere else.

The Rev. Simons explains his decision thus:

I originally posted about this as a Sex Act(ivism) item, and I'm posting again to update based on an email from the Human Rights Campaign folks:

From Human Rights Campaign :

Breaking news: the Senate will likely vote on the Matthew Shepard Act as early as this week. And right now, your Senators' phone lines are filling up with messages like this one: "[The Matthew Shepard Act] will be used to fund anti-Christian, pro-homosexual/drag queen materials for children – and divert scarce federal resources away from fighting Islamic terrorism."

Anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition – who invented that ridiculous lie – have mobilized a dangerously misinformed grassroots army. If we don't call right now, critical votes COULD BE LOST to these scare tactics.

Enter your zip code in the Contact Contress button on the left side bar and tell your senator that you support strong hate crimes legislation.

Original Sex Act(ivism) posting:

Two fourteen year old girls were kicked off a public bus in Portland, Oregon because they were kissing, and some nut-job complained. Just to add insult to injury, the driver called them "sickos".

Via Portland TV station KATU:

UPDATE: CONGRESS MAY ACT ON THIS AS EARLY AS THIS WEEK -- Call your senators now!

From Human Rights Campaign:

Anti-gay groups like the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition – who invented that ridiculous lie – have mobilized a dangerously misinformed grassroots army. If we don't call right now, critical votes COULD BE LOST to these scare tactics.

Enter your zip code in the Contact Contress button on the left side bar and tell your senator that you support strong hate crimes legislation.

Original posting: