Kentucky Equality Federation Official Blog

Rand Paul Humiliates Kentucky Again

noreply@blogger.com (Joshua Koch) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:56:15 PDT

By: Joshua Koch, Temporary President & sitting Vice President of Policy & Public Relations

Senator Rand Paul has an unenviable penchant for embarrassing Kentucky on a semi-regular basis. Having changed his tune on a number of issues since he became affiliated with the Republican Party of Kentucky as a candidate in 2009, his latest foray into the issue of marriage equality is a source of shame for the Commonwealth.

According to various news sources, Rand Paul recently visited the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition last Friday. There, among his social conservative friends, he decided to chime in on President Obama's recent shift on Marriage Equality.

“The president recently weighed in on marriage and you know he said his views were evolving on marriage,” Paul said. “Call me cynical, but I wasn’t sure his views on marriage could get any gayer.”

Paul has now been criticized by equality opponents and LGBTI groups, alike. It speaks volumes that even the Republican National Committee and the Family Research Council, historic opponents of equality, cannot support his remarks publicly. This is a public relations disaster for them because it reveals the sort of bumper-sticker sloganeering they employ to attack equality and enforce unthinking conformity among their faithful followers.

Senator Paul's remarks are juvenile and beneath the dignity of his office, but they reveal a sinister undertone among the anti-equality forces marshaling their forces around the country to ban marriage equality and so-called "gay adoption" in states around the United States, most recently in North Carolina. This "quip" is just the tip of the iceberg, when considering the culture of hate and inequality as a whole.

Having grown up in an anti-gay fundamentalist family myself, I heard this sort of line all the time. The sad part is that this insulting language is part of a non-rational culture which believes that any tactic is justified in defense of the ideals of the social conservative ideal. It has a devastating impact on children raised in the movement, on the targets of the speech, and on the ability of the social conservative movement to process any issue rationally. I know this because it did the same thing to me as a teen and young adult, until I was confronted on it by LGBTI friends, who forced me to examine my own anti-equality sentiments.

Senator Paul is an embarrassment to Kentucky and his allies, but he has exposed a major problem with the social conservative extremists: This is the way they think and communicate on equality issues that we hold dear. This is the way they speak when they think no one else is listening. This is the sort of thing they say in churches and organizations to convince their followers to bully opponents. While it is easy to lose focus on this comment, it is a symptom of a "conservative" subculture which fosters and indoctrinates the next generation in xenophobia and homophobia behind the closed walls of its own cloistered gatherings.

In Kentucky, we need to learn from this, rather than just be ashamed of it. When people we know use this sort of slogan-spewing against equality around us, we need to confront it for the unthinking nonsense that it is. This sort of thing seems silly and banal, until one realizes that this is the sort of thing that replaces rational thought for a great many adherents to the social conservative "traditional" dogma because this is all they are exposed to from a young age. This is a form of intellectual abuse, now spouted blithely by a sitting US Senator.

When such empty jokes replace critical thought for such a large portion of our population, is it any wonder that they refuse to see the wisdom of equality and justice?

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Kentucky House Bill 336 and the Family Foundation of Kentucky

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:38:12 PDT

By: Will Taylor, Southeastern Kentucky Regional Director

This post from the Family Foundation of Kentucky is hardly worth our attention, but apparently the Family Foundation of Kentucky is taking Kentucky Equality Federation talking points since our press release was first.

To be clear, Kentucky Equality Federation supports Sr. Representative Ruth Ann Palumbo and any Represenative who tries to protect Kentucky children. We agree with Representative Palumbo's statement.

However, as we reported, after receiving multiple school bullying reports across the commonwealth and contacting the schools, they knew nothing about EXISTING Kentucky School Bullying laws. So Kentucky Equality Federation's Discrimination, Hate Crimes, and School Bullying Committee decided to act with the full support of our legal representation, President Palmer, and Vice President Koch.

School bullying laws need to be stronger, we have lost too many children to suicide and anyone who would dispute that is an idiot. However, the Kentucky Education Cabinet needs to educate principals and school officials on the current law which was the point of our warning to several schools.

Kentucky Equality Federation will ensure Kentucky School Bullying laws are enforced or we will sue to schools in question. So far, cooperation from the schools has been wonderful. In addition, I guess the Family Foundation of Kentucky missed the article today about people being arrested by the FBI for hate crimes. We have a new U.S. Attorney who will not tolerate hate crimes.

My region of Kentucky Equality Federation does not take marching from the Louisville Fairness Campaign as suggested; we will assist them, we support them, but the marching orders for my region come from legal representation, Policy (Vice President Joshua Koch), the President (Jordan Palmer), the Board of Directors, or as I deem appropriate.

As the Regional Director for Southeastern Kentucky, I have broad discretionary authority to act without seeking permission from anyone.

How desperate and sad the Family Foundation of Kentucky must be to try to play Kentucky Equality Federation against Louisville Fairness.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Kentucky Equality Federation responds to Prop. 8 being overturned in California (for now).

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:22:00 PST

Agreeing with the California Supreme Court, a federal appeals court strikes down Prop 8 in California, paving the way for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. The Court concludes that the law violates the 14th Amendment rights of gay couples to equal protection under the law. Gay marriage will still not be allowed in the State of California, leaving time for Prop 8 defenders to challenge the decision. The Court was very careful in its ruling, stating that the ruling only applies to the State of California and no other.

"I worked in California to defeat Prop 8 and this is a step in the right direction for the citizens of California," stated Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer. "Marriage is a civil right, entitled to all people. Though the Family Foundation of Kentucky will likely disagree, denial of civil rights to specific people is immoral regardless of how people try to justify it and I think our allies at Marriage Equality Kentucky would agree."

BREAKING NEWS: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/court-overturns-prop-8-california-says-state-t-181451250.html

-> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Human Rights - Call to Action

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:56:08 PST

"If you turn a blind eye and allow any government founded on our authority to trodden on fundamental civil liberties entitled to all citizens, you open a Pandora's Box to allow Governments to suppress additional civil liberties. Denial of civil rights to specific people is immoral regardless of how people try to justify it. If history has taught us anything, it is that denial of human rights to one group of people leads to the denial of human rights to another." - Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer.

Please sign the Action Alerts below and send YOUR message to the Kentucky House and Senate. Please also copy this message and SHARE it with your friends.

Petition # 1: https://www.change.org/petitions/amend-the-kentucky-civil-rights-act-to-include-sexual-orientation-gender-identity

Petition # 2: http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-kentucky-legislature-transgender-equality-matters-commonwealth-of-kentucky-transgender-rights

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

United Nations Secretary-General steps-up to the plate again for LGBTI rights and violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights!

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:04:17 PST

The United Nations has stepped-up again for LGBTI rights, worldwide. The head of the United Nations and leader of the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon again chastised States on Sunday.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made clear from the beginning the protecting gay and lesbian people is a priority for his administration.

In September 2010, the Secretary General stated:

The responsibilities of the United Nations and the obligations of States are clear. No-one, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. No-one should be prosecuted for their ideas or beliefs. No-one should be punished for exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that laws against homosexuality violate the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Let me mention one form of discrimination that has been ignored or even sanctioned by many States for far too long, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This has prompted some governments to treat people as second-class citizens, or even criminals," he said. "Confronting this discrimination is a challenge. But we must live up to the ideals of the Universal Declaration."

United Nations member States must abide by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights or face prosecution from the United Nations International Court of Justice, or the International Court of Justice.

In a speech to African leaders today, who accuse the United Nations International Criminal Court (ICC) is being biased against Africans, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon fired back however pointing out that the new Chief Prosecutor of the ICC is an African woman, Fatou Bensouda of Republic of The Gambia.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

New Jersey Governor promises to veto same-sex marriage; Governor compares same-sex marriage to slavery.

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:39:07 PST

In a comment related to his call for a voter referendum on the proposal to legalize gay marriage in the State of New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie said Wednesday, “People would have been happy to have referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South.”

The Governor, who on Tuesday called for a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot that would ask voters to decide if the State should legalize same-sex marriage, also said he will veto the Democratic legislation to allow it when the proposal reaches his desk.

The comment that the civil rights movement of the 1960s could have been settled through a national or southern States voter referendum stunned New Jersey Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex), who became the first Black woman to head the lower house in 2010.

“Governor Christie better sit down with some of New Jersey’s great teachers for a history lesson, because his puzzling comment shows a complete misunderstanding about the civil rights movement,” Assembly Speaker Oliver said. “It’s impossible to ever conceive that a referendum on civil rights in the South would have been successful and brought justice to minorities. It’s unfathomable to even suggest a referendum would have been the better course.

“Governor – people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South for a reason,” the Assemblywoman said. “They were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method. It look legislative action to bring justice to all Americans, just as legislative action is the right way to bring marriage equality to all New Jerseyans.

“The governor’s comment is an insult to those who had no choice but to fight and die in the streets for equal rights,” Assembly Speaker Oliver said. “The Governor needs to show the same courage. We do not shrug off civil rights. We do not pass on tough decisions.”

Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) also offered criticism of the governor’s comment.

“It’s difficult to understand what the governor was thinking,” Watson Coleman said. “His words defy history and were extremely insensitive to the struggle for equality of African-Americans and other minorities in this country. Fighting and dying in the streets of the South was not a choice, governor, it was the only way.

“Anyone who lived through that time or took a history class in school understands it was an incredibly dangerous and hostile period for African-Americans and other minorities in the South,” the Assemblywoman said. “Basic human rights should never be decided by a referendum. But can you imagine the outcome if civil rights in this country, during this very racially charged time in our history, had been left up to a vote?

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the state Democratic chairman, said, "Rosa Parks didn't get to the front of the bus through a ballot question and Jim Crow laws weren't repealed by public referendum. These civil rights were won because throughout our history, great leaders -- both Democrats and Republicans, from Thomas Jefferson to Abraham LIncoln to Lyndon Baines Johnson -- have stood up and lead the forward march of progress. To call for a public referendum on any civil right is the refuge of someone who refuses to lead.

"Governor Christie has an opportunity to leave a mark in history as a someone who, when the beacon of civil rights called his name, stood up to be counted among the leaders," Wisniewski said. "My hope is that he finds the courage to take up the challenge and joins in the great American tradition of fighting to expand our civil rights and for justice."

The Governor's Office had no immediate comment on the criticism offered by Oliver, Watson Coleman, or Wisniewski.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature has made the legalization of same-sex marriage a priority for the new legislative session.

On Tuesday, Christie said, “This issue that our state is exploring – whether or not to redefine hundreds of years of societal and religious traditions – should not be decided by 121 people in the Statehouse in Trenton. The fact is we’re discussing huge change, and I believe we need to approach this not only in a thoughtful way, not in a rushed way, but also in a way where we’re able to get the most input that we can from the public.”

Should the “New Jersey Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act" be approved in the State, New Jersey would become the seventh state to allow same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York have legalized it as have 10 countries, including South Africa, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Lexington deprived of a progressive Senator - Senator Kathy W. Stein

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:35:28 PST

How truly said for the Commonwealth, lead by Senate President David Williams, that Senator Kathy W. Stein, one of the only progressives in the Kentucky Senate will be out of a job when her current term expires.

In politics nothing is without calculated moves, it's like a game of Chess, move and counter move until you are in Checkmate. Senate President Williams saw an opportunity to get a progressive voice out of the Senate and jumped at the chance.

Senate President David Williams doesn't care what is best for the Commonwealth nor its citizens, only how he can remain in power in the Senate (much the same way former Governor Fletcher did during his last days in office).

President Williams values consist of a crude calculation of how he can remain in office. His flip-flops on important issues are by now, legendary across the Commonwealth. Let us not forget that he once asked Senator Stein to apologize for a statement she made at a rally in the Kentucky Capitol. President Williams doesn't like outspoken Women such as Senator Kathy W. Stein, much less one who will not "rollover" to his leadership and demands.

Kathy W. Stein has been a tremendous asset to the Commonwealth.

Though some say this maybe unconstitutional, it has been made law. Only the Kentucky Supreme Court can rule on this case, because it deals exclusively with Kentucky law, the U.S. Supreme Court cannot hear the argument just as they could not hear the arguments about smoking bans in the Commonwealth.

Hillbilly Report has her on video during a protest in Lexington, who has just lost a Senator.

Let no mistake be made, Senator Stein was removed from the Senate because she fights for equality, civil rights, and actually communicates with her constituents.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

GLAAD lays off nearly 25% of its workforce; gay and lesbian non-profits continue to fail nationwide.

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:21:39 PST

Just as Equality California has made major cuts and speculation continues that they will close (just as Equality Mississippi did), national organizations are also in danger:

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) laid off nearly a quarter of its workforce today as it tries to regroup for the year ahead.

The cuts come against the backdrop of an economy that still has not fully recovered, and nonprofits everywhere continue to face fund-raising challenges. But employees said they didn't see the changes coming.

GLAAD cut 11 people from its staff of 45, and a statement from the group assured that "core programs" remain intact, including National and Local News; Religion, Faith & Values; Entertainment Media; and Spanish-Language Media.

Interim president Mike Thompson attributed the cuts in part to the problems GLAAD faced last year, when former president Jarret Barrios resigned amid controversy about whether GLAAD improperly backed a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.

"It's no secret that GLAAD experienced some real challenges in 2011," Thompson said in a statement to The Advocate. "While the changes that took place subsequent to last summer's tumult were in many ways healthy for the organization, the reality is that the experience had financial impacts for the organization. Our restructuring is reflective of that."

When Thompson took over, he changed the group's position on the merger to neutral, and then backed Net neutrality efforts that AT&T had opposed. And Thompson told The Advocate that the group needed to ensure those watching that it had refocused efforts on what it's known for.

"We look forward to a stronger GLAAD, one that is focused on our mission and commitment to LGBT equality," he said today. "We believe the current structure will help us achieve those goals."

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Another Culture War at the United Nations; Iran calls Homosexuality a Western Disease to German Official

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:40:14 PST

By: Richard T. Jones, Chairman of the Board

The Secretary-General of the Iranian High Council for Human Rights has described homosexuality as a western “disease,” and said that same-sex marriage was “immoral.”

General Mohammad Javad Larijani allegedly made these remarks in Tehran during a visit by a lawmaker from the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Tom Koenigs, who chairs the human rights committee in Germany’s parliament, according to a report by Radio Free Europe.

The Islamic Republic of Iran considers "Homosexuality a Western Disease."

In Iran and under strict Islamic law, homosexuality is punishable by death.

“The West says that the marriage of homosexuals should be allowed under the human rights charter, however, we think it is sexual immorality and a disease,” he was quoted as stating to his German counterpart, in Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency.

This statement is consistent with the harsh sentences and treatment of LGBT people in Iran that enforces and enacts the death penalty for same-sex acts.

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad drew international criticism in 2007 when he said during a visit to Columbia University in the United States that there were no homosexuals in his country.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon chastised States in September 2010 by stating:

"The responsibilities of the United Nations and the obligations of States are clear. No-one, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. No-one should be prosecuted for their ideas or beliefs. No-one should be punished for exercising their right to freedom of expression."

Here at Kentucky Equality Federation, President Jordan Palmer issued a brief statement condemning the statement of General Mohammad Javad Larijani and urged ILGA to bring the issue before the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. Kentucky Equality Federation is an official, voting, dues paying member of the world organization, ILGA, which has consultative status at the United Nations.

Palmer's statement also stated: "General Mohammad Javad Larijani is in self denial if he believes homosexuality is a disease. LGBTGI people are in every State of the United Nations, in every city. If the execution of homosexuals does not stop, additional sanctions should be placed on Iran in-line with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's statement. This could quickly create another culture war at the United Nations."

UPDATE: Our friends at Hillbilly Report has researched this issue in great detail. Excellent work!

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

‘Is My Son Gay’ App Has Gay Community Outraged

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:49:31 PDT

Kentucky Equality Federation today expressed outrage with the new "Is My Son Gay?" a new application offered in the Android Market which claims that it can determine whether or not your son is gay in an updated version of the classic game of "20 questions."

The application sells for $2.68 on Google's Android Market.

Among the questions asked include:

Does he read the sports page in the newspaper?"

"Does he like musical comedies?"

"Was he shy as a child?"

"Is he a fan of divas (Tina Turner, Cher, Bette Midler, Madonna, etc.)?"

The really frustrating thing is that some other applications and studies have indicated that your son or daughter will grow-up to be gay if he or she grows up listening to Tina Turner, Cher, Bette Midler, Madonna, or Britney Spears.

"Socially responsible companies should have standards that prevent such offensive and derogatory content," Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), told IBTimes. "The 'Is My Son Gay?' app promotes inaccurate stereotypes about gay people and should be removed immediately," he added.

"People cannot be generalized by the type of music they listen to and a person’s sexual orientation cannot be determined by 20 questions," stated Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer. This is a dangerous application when you have people shooting four (4) year old children because they "may be gay."

Online magazine Jezebel remarked that the app's laughable results are based on "horrible, stereotypical questions," while Instinct magazine accused it of being based on "the science of tired and offensive stereotypes."

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Signs Legislation Addressing The Needs of LGBT Seniors

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:15:06 PDT

Andrew Cuomo (D) Governor of the state of New York who assumed office on January 01, 2011 and previously the Attorney General of the state of New York signed into law critical legislation for the aging LGBTI community.

Recognizing the importance of understanding and assisting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) aging population, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law legislation sponsored by Senator Thomas K. Duane (D - Manhattan) and Assemblymember Micah Kellner (D - Manhattan) (S1303/A880) which will require the New York State Office of the Aging (NYSOFA) to assess the needs of traditionally underservered elderly populations – including those in LGBT communities. The new law will also provide technical assistance and grants-in-aid to organizations that provide services to LGBT seniors.

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) has made a career out of equal treatment across party lines:

As Attorney General, Cuomo was instrumental in the resignation of former Governor Eliot Spitzer (D) for misconduct. Then Attorney General Cuomo admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the New York State Police to keep special records of then New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's (R) whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City. At the direction of top officials of the Spitzer administration, the New York State Police created documents meant to cause political damage to then New York Senate Majority Leader Bruno (R). Governor Eliot Spitzer's (D) Chief of State has stated that they were responding to a Freedom of Information request from the Albany Times-Union in late June.

As Attorney General, Cuomo released a report to the New York Senate that cleared Bruno of any misuse of the state's air fleet, which had been alleged. The report criticized Spitzer's office for using State Police resources to gather information about Bruno's travel and releasing the information to the media.

In the wake of the revelations, Spitzer announced on March 12, 2008 that he would resign his post as Governor effective at noon of March 17, 2008, amid threats of his impeachment by the New York Senate.

"Governor Cuomo has once again shown his commitment to ensuring that all New Yorkers have equal rights and protections under the law," said Senator Duane. "This legislation is groundbreaking. For the first time, New York will recognize the unique needs of the ever growing segment of aging LGBT New Yorkers – and the services they may require in the years to come. Over the past decade, this State has gone from all but ignoring the LGBT community to enacting comprehensive lgbt hate crimes protections, providing a Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, protecting our students with strong anti-gay bullying protections in the Dignity For All Students Act, insuring our right to marry the ones we love with a Marriage Equality law, and now today taking major steps to assist elderly LGBT New Yorkers. I am proud at how far we have come in such a short amount of time."

"Despite being a rapidly growing segment of New York’s population, lgbt seniors do not receive the services they need," said Assembly Member Micah Kellner. "This community often lacks the support networks that are more commonly available to non-LGBT seniors and will sometimes be reluctant to access needed health and social services because of fear of discrimination. This bill will correct these inadequacies and ensure that current and future generations of LGBT seniors receive the care and respect that they deserve. By signing this bill, Governor Cuomo has once again illustrated his commitment to give all New Yorkers a level playing field."

Specifically, the new law requires the New York State Office for the Aging, in its annual report to the Governor and the Legislature, to include recommendations for expanding or replicating service programs already in place and applying them to traditionally underserved populations which include but are not limited to those defined by actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, marital status, disability, familial status and language. The report must also articulate the specific, targeted needs of these traditionally underserved populations -- focusing on successful programs as well as addressing particular problems that need correction.

Further, the bill authorizes the Director of New York State Office for the Aging to make grants-in-aid for the purpose of providing training, outreach and education to entities providing services to LGBT senior populations.

Senator Duane added: "Like the Dignity for All Students Act, this law enumerates gender identity or expression in the list of protected categories enshrined into law. Such language is essential in granting equal rights and protections for the transgender community. But our work will not be done until we pass into the law the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). We must fight to insure its passage in 2012."

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Erasing Bisexual Invisibility (Bisexuality Pride Day)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:36:00 PDT

By: Annie U.

Yesterday was bisexuality pride day.

September 23rd Celebrated Bisexuality Day or Bi Visibility Day. The event, which was started in 1999, is an opportunity to combat myths about bisexuality and help people find the bisexual community.

While bisexuality is included as the B within the LGBT acronym, people in the bisexual community often feel that their sexual orientation is misunderstood. A lot of people believe that sexuality is binary and that people are either attracted to people of the same gender or people of the opposite gender. However, bisexual people are attracted to people of the same gender and of the opposite gender.

Bisexual invisibility is a result of many of the misconceptions about bisexuality, including:

Doubt about the existence of bisexuality
Bisexuality being seen as confusion or just a phase by people who haven’t yet figured out their true sexual orientation
Famous bisexual people in history being assumed to be lesbian or gay, rather than recognizing their bisexuality

Even within LGBT communities, some organizations do not truly support the bisexual community and their materials, events and support are all geared towards people in or seeking same-sex relationships.

People in the bisexual community often face discrimination from the straight and gay/lesbian communities. According to an essay on Biphobia by Robyn Ochs:

Bisexuals are frequently viewed by gay and lesbian-identified individuals as possessing a degree of privilege not available to gay men and lesbians, and are viewed by many heterosexuals as amoral, hedonistic spreaders of disease and disrupters of families.This “double discrimination” by heterosexuals and the gay and lesbian communities is seldom recognized or acknowledged as a force of external oppression, yet this oppression is real and has many damaging effects on bisexuals.

Bi Pride is evident in the events that are planned each year for September 23rd, as well as the participation of the bisexual community in broader LGBT pride events. The Bi Social Network’s YouTube channel also includes numerous ‘I am Visible’ videos by bisexual individuals who are speaking out about their sexual orientation.

It is important to teach our children and other members of society that they can love anyone they want. Last year, on Bi Visibility Day, I wrote about what we teach our children about love:

When I talk to my kids about love, as in romantic love, we talk about sweethearts. Not boyfriends or girlfriends. Not husbands or wives. I don’t want to teach them that heterosexuality is the default. I don’t want to teach them that marriage is the default either. When I talk about their future, I talk about the possibility of them having a sweetheart, who could be a man or a woman. I want them to know that they can love women or men or women and men. I want to teach them that before society teaches them something else. I want to teach them that long before they are at the stage of feeling romantic love and perhaps feeling that their love is wrong or misplaced if they love people of the same gender or if they love people of both genders.

Ensuring that our children understand the options that are available to them and the options that are available to others is critical to building a society that accepts and values diversity.

A new study from researchers at Northwestern University has shown that men identifying as bisexual do in fact respond sexually to both men and women. This will be unsurprising to bisexual men and indeed the wider population, but it is significant because a previous and much cited 2005 Northwestern study concluded that evidence for male bisexuality was lacking and that bisexual-identifying men may in fact just be closeted homosexuals.

From the New York Times:

In the new study, published online in the journal Biological Psychology, the researchers relied on more stringent criteria for selecting participants. To improve their chances of finding men aroused by women as well as men, the researchers recruited subjects from online venues specifically catering to bisexuals.

They also required participants to have had sexual experiences with at least two people of each sex and a romantic relationship of at least three months with at least one person of each sex.

[...]

In both [the 2005 study and the latest investigation], men watched videos of male and female same-sex intimacy while genital sensors monitored their erectile responses. While the first study reported that the bisexuals generally resembled homosexuals in their responses, the new one finds that bisexual men responded to both the male and female videos, while gay and straight men in the study did not.

Both studies also found that bisexuals reported subjective arousal to both sexes, notwithstanding their genital responses. “Someone who is bisexual might say, ‘Well, duh!’” said Allen Rosenthal, the lead author of the new Northwestern study and a doctoral student in psychology at the university. “But this will be validating to a lot of bisexual men who had heard about the earlier work and felt that scientists weren’t getting them.”

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/erasing-bisexual-invisibility.html#ixzz1YrtbpYeN

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Magazine Article: In Praise of Gay Republicans (and organized Religion)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 04:20:20 PDT

An interesting article appears in RD Magazine written by Candace Chellew-Hodge:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterians, the United Church of Christ, and to some extent the American Baptists, accept LGBT people in leadership and lay roles. There are even rumblings in the United Methodist Church of pending change in their policies that declare homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” while, according to Joanna Brooks: “an openly gay Mormon man named Mitch Mayne ha[s] been asked (or “called,” in Mormon parlance) to serve as a leader in an LDS congregation in San Francisco.”

All of these changes have been made because LGBT people were faithful to an institution that has historically despised and rejected them. Progress comes from making changes within, not protesting outside the doors.

completely understand the mindset of those who would question my membership in a club where many of its members wish to eliminate me altogether. I feel exactly the same way about gay Republicans. I can’t fathom why a gay or lesbian person—even if they were conservative in their economic views—would lay claim to the Republican Party. The GOP has historically rejected the full inclusion of LGBT people and within the last few decades has become vehemently anti-gay, fielding a group of presidential hopefuls that have clear anti-gay views.

While I don’t quite get gay Republicans, I understand why they remain loyal to the GOP. They understand, as I do, that you cannot change a homophobic institution without working from the inside. Gay Republicans have already helped our community make great strides. It was the Log Cabin Republicans who filed a lawsuit against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell back in 2004, challenging its constitutionality which led to last year’s federal judge ruling that DADT “violates the rights of gay military members to free speech, due process and open association.”

Just this past week, DADT was finally repealed, allowing gay and lesbian servicemembers to serve openly. The entire LGBT community worked for this repeal, but it was our brothers and sisters in the Log Cabin Republicans who got the legal ball rolling.

..........

Despite that clear rejection by the Tea Party, a gander at GOProud’s website reveals many far right talking points including touting Social Security as “a Ponzi scheme” and rejecting “Obamacare.”

Both fundamentalist LGBT Christians and GOProuders seem to be a bit on the self-loathing side, not so much interested in working for change from within, but instead submitting themselves to the rules and traditions already in place that ultimately go against their best interest.

..........

Click here to continue reading.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Fate of Prop 8 back in the hands of the California Supreme Court

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:36:41 PDT

The battle for marriage equality in California (Prop 8) is back in the hands of the California Supreme Court. Do the sponsors of Proposition 8 have a legal right, or standing, to defend the state law and appeal a federal judge's ruling striking it down when California's Governor and Attorney General refuse to do so?

The stakes are high.

The federal judges, in their request to the California Supreme Court (because the California Supreme Court is the sole interpreter of California law), highlighted a key concern in the case -- that a Governor and an Attorney General could "effectively veto the initiative" by refusing to defend it in court.

If the California Supreme Court sides with Proposition 8 sponsors, it would propel the legal battle forward, with the case then going to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A group of local governments, led by Santa Clara County, have urged the California Supreme Court to rule against the right of ballot measure sponsors to defend a state law, saying it would "create legal uncertainty for cities and counties" to turn that power over to private citizens.

We are thankful that Kentucky Constitutional Amendments must first pass the Kentucky House and Senate before going to the people for a vote. In Kentucky, propositions do not exist and "the people" cannot veto legislation passed by the House, Senate, and signed by the Governor effectively making them obsolete.

The Kentucky Constitution protects us from such propositions (someone with a pen who can get enough signatures to place something for a vote directly to the people and make it a Constitutional Amendment); this is a dangerous practice, several states who allow these propositions (also called the People's Veto) have overrode the state Legislative and Governor and made marriage equality illegal again in their State.

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, before a Constitutional Amendment can be proposed to "the people," it must first pass the Kentucky House and Senate.

Silicon Valley Mercury News
California Supreme Court tackles gay marriage case again
By Howard Mintz hmintz@mercurynews.com
Posted: 09/05/2011 04:21:57 PM PDT

By Howard Mintz

The fate of the legal battle over California's ban on gay marriage no longer turns on the constitutional rights of same-sex couples to wed -- at least for now.

Instead, the latest chapter in the ongoing drama over gay nuptials rests on an arcane but critical legal procedure that dazzles legal scholars, torments first-year law students and forms the DNA of most every lawsuit that unfolds in the nation's courts.

On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments over how that procedure, known as legal "standing," applies in the ongoing tussle over Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved law that restored the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Specifically, the justices will consider whether sponsors of Proposition 8 have a legal right, or standing, to defend the state law and appeal a federal judge's ruling striking it down when California's governor and attorney general refuse to do so.

The stakes are high. If the Supreme Court concludes that Proposition 8 backers do not have the right to appeal the ruling, it could slam the door on their efforts to keep the law in place and pave the way for same-sex weddings to resume in California. And if the Supreme Court sides with Proposition 8 sponsors, it would propel the legal battle forward, with the case widely expected to ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Experts say it is anybody's guess what the state Supreme Court will do.

The Proposition 8 case has taken a tortured path back to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the law after it was approved by a 52 to 48 percent vote. Last summer, after conducting an unprecedented trial in federal court, former San Francisco Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the law, finding it violated the federal equal protection rights of same-sex couples.

But Proposition 8 sponsors appealed Walker's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on their own because state officials, including Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris, agreed with Walker's conclusion. The attorney general ordinarily defends challenges to state laws, but in this rare case opted to drop any appeals.

The 9th Circuit then asked the state Supreme Court to address whether California law permits backers of ballot initiatives to defend them in such situations. Under ordinary circumstances, courts require a direct stake in the outcome of a legal controversy to qualify for legal standing, a standard muddied in the Proposition 8 case by the usual role of state officials to handle the defense of state laws.

The federal judges, in their request, highlighted a key concern in the case -- that a Governor and an Attorney General could "effectively veto the initiative" by refusing to defend it in court.

A group of local governments, led by Santa Clara County, have urged the Supreme Court to rule against the right of ballot measure sponsors to defend a state law, saying it would "create legal uncertainty for cities and counties" to turn that power over to private citizens.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Kentucky association ousts church for opening doors to pro-gay group

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:40:59 PDT

OWENSBORO, Ky. (ABP) – A Baptist association in Kentucky voted 242-24 on Aug. 5 in favor of a recommendation from its credentials committee to remove a church that allows a gay-rights group to meet in its building.

"Kentucky Equality Federation thanks Pastor Robert Coons and everyone at The Journey Fellowship as a Baptist Church (now former) for standing for equality and the equal treatment of all of God's children. We stand united with Owensboro PFLAG and will assist them anyway possible." - Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer

The Daviess-McLean Baptist Association met in special session to vote on the recommendation to expel the Owensboro congregation, formerly known as Seven Hills Baptist Church, for permitting a chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to meet on the premises once a month.

.....

Leaders in the association said the church’s refusal to ask PFLAG to meet elsewhere implied acceptance of homosexuality, which the majority of the association views as sinful. Coon said he believes it is up to a local church to decide how to use its own buildings, and he hopes the vote doesn’t create precedent for other churches to come under scrutiny for groups that use their space.

......

The Journey Fellowship had already distanced itself from the Southern Baptist and Kentucky Baptist conventions and is aligned with the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Kentucky Baptist Fellowship.

Read the entire story: http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6656/53/

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Meth / HIV Public Health Crisis (new study)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 17:01:15 PDT

According to a new study conducted by Peter Freeman, MPH; Bendu C. Walker, MPH; D. Robert Harris, PhD; Robert Garofalo, MD; Nancy Willard, MS; Jonathan M. Ellen, MD; for the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions 016b Team with the Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, young gay and bisexual men who use methamphetamine are more likely to take sexual risks that boost their chances of contracting HIV.

Kentucky Equality Federation's Board of Directors passed a resolution on March 18, 2010 which stated:

Kentucky Equality Federation is committed to securing peace, liberty, and equality for all Kentuckians, which by de facto must include their health and well-being.

Kentucky Equality Federation also and declared a community health crisis and urged people to get tested for HIV immediately. (view in .pdf) or (view in .xps)

Kentucky Equality Federation held several meeting with Representatives in the Health and Welfare Committee of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Researchers say the findings underscore the fact that meth, and its associated HIV risk, is not just a problem of middle-aged white men.

Methamphetamine triggers a massive release of the feel-good chemical dopamine in the brain, making users feel disinhibited, energized -- and prone to sexual risk-taking.

Studies of gay and bisexual men have found that roughly 43 percent have ever used meth, and that the habit is strongly linked to their risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

But much less has been known about meth use and HIV risk among teenagers and young men.

So for the new study, researchers surveyed 595 12- to 24-year-old gay and bisexual males from eight U.S. cities. They found that 31 percent had ever used hard drugs -- one-third of whom had used methamphetamine.

And young men who'd used meth were more likely to report a range of risk factors for HIV.

Nearly 86 percent said they'd had sex with at least two different partners in the past 90 days (versus 63 percent of non-drug users). Almost 52 percent had ever had sex with an injection-drug user (versus 11 percent), and one-third had had sex with someone who was HIV-positive (against 11 percent).

Despite all of that, meth users were less consistent with condoms: one-third said they used them every time they had sex, compared with 54 percent of young men who'd never used hard drugs.

"In many ways, these findings mirror what's been seen in older MSM (men who have sex with men)," said Dr. Robert Garofalo of Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

That's concerning, he told Reuters Health in an interview, and it also points to a large public health need.

"There are not a lot of proven HIV prevention programs for this age group," Garofalo said. More programs, including ones that target meth abuse, need to be piloted, according to Garofalo and his colleagues.

"We shouldn't wait," he said. "This is a real public health crisis."

The findings, which appear in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, are not representative of all young gay and bisexual men in the U.S. The researchers recruited their participants from clubs, bars, parks and other urban venues where they might find higher-risk young men.

But the researchers also consider that a strong point of the study.

"It tells us something about where to find these young men, and where we might be able to run some type of intervention," said lead researcher Peter Freeman, who is also with Children's Memorial.

For parents and teenagers, he said, the findings highlight the importance of having open conversations about both drug use and risky sexual behavior.

Garofalo said there still may be many parents who do not know that methamphetamine is something they need to worry about. So the current findings may be something of an eye-opener for some, he added.

Finding effective ways to curb HIV risk among young gay and bisexual men will only become increasingly important, according to Garofalo and Freeman.

In 2004, Americans between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for 13 percent of new HIV diagnoses.

And gay and bisexual males, especially minorities, have been particularly vulnerable. A study of seven cities by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 14 percent of African-American gay and bisexual males ages 15 to 22 had HIV. The same was true of 7 percent of Hispanics.

SOURCE: bit.ly/qV4WTy Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, August 2011.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Religious Leader Shoots 4 Year Old Boy To Death Because He Might Be Gay

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:08:28 PDT

Addition information has developed after a religious leader in the state of North Carolina shot to death his four-year old step son because he thought the boy, Jadon Higganbothan, might be gay. The man, Peter Lucas Moses, 27, who also shot to death a 28-year old woman, may face the death penalty.

Prosecutors laid out the case Friday against the Durham man who forced his children and followers to call him "Lord" and feared him. Peter Lucas Moses faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Jadon Higganbothan, 4, and Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28.

Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against him. Defense attorneys didn't speak in his behalf at a court hearing Friday. Prosecutors said Moses killed Jadon because he thought the child was gay and McKoy after he learned she couldn't have children and wanted to leave the group.

Jadon's death

Jadon's interaction with one of those children, prosecutors contended in court Friday, led to his death.

Sometime in October 2010, prosecutors told the judge, one of the women told the defendant that Jadon had hit another child's bottom, and Moses retaliated because he thought the boy might be homosexual - partially because the child's father had left his mother.

Homosexuality, Cline contended, is frowned upon by the Black Hebrews, so the defendant asked the boy's mother to get rid of him.

Moses then ordered two of the other women to set up computers and speakers in the garage, prosecutors contend, then the defendant took the boy into the garage, where music and the Lord's Prayer in Hebrew blared, and a gunshot sounded. One of the women told investigators the boy was shot in the head.

Some of the women cleaned up his bloodied body, prosecutors said, then put it in a suitcase in the master bedroom until Moses complained about the smell.

McKoy's death

Though prosecutors are not sure of the date when the violence occurred, they argue that McKoy, a woman who knew Moses in high school, was killed weeks, maybe even months after the boy.

McKoy, who kept a diary, found out she could not have children and wrote in several entries that she worried that "Lord" might kill her, according to prosecutors.

McKoy tried to escape the house right before her death, according to a neighbor whom investigators interviewed.

On one day in late December, she ran to the neighbor's house and asked to use a cell phone to call her mother in Washington.

The neighbor thought the woman was mentally troubled and had run away from a group home, and did not call police.

The other women came out of the house where McKoy had been living and wrestled her to the ground, then dragged her back inside, the neighbor told investigators.

The defendant then beat McKoy repeatedly that day and tried to strangle her with an extension cord. McKoy, according to the informant, begged for her life.

The defendant then got the gun that had been used to kill Jadon, the informant told investigators, took it to the bathroom, and then one of the women shot her while playing the same music that had blared from the garage when the boy was shot.

McKoy's body was kept in a large trash bin inside the house, according to prosecutors, before it was buried in a shallow grave alongside the boy's, at an Ashe Street house where Moses' parents lived for a time.

Investigators discovered the remains in June, months after their investigation began as a missing person case.

Read more: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9836148/

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

LGBT Hate Crimes Increase Another 13% with 44% of Transgender Women Killed

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:47:43 PDT

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs report says violent crimes against people in the LGBT community rose 13% in 2010, and that minorities and transgender women were more likely to be targeted. (Kentucky Equality Federation Outreach Directors)

In March 2011 in Northern Kentucky:

Hate crimes are nothing new to Northern Kentucky; indeed, Kentucky Equality Federation has intervened and acted as public advocate in 6 such cases. In Covington, the Commonwealth's 3rd largest city, at the request of the Commonwealth's Attorney, a Kentucky Circuit Judge ruled that a white supremacist had committed a hate crime when he attacked four people last year outside a bar frequented by gay people. Under Kentucky law, sexual orientation and gender identity can be classified as hate crimes by the Commonwealth's Attorney with the final decision residing with the presiding Judge.

Devlin Burke, whose body is covered in tattoos of swastikas and other white supremacist symbols, shouted out "sieg heil" as a judge sentenced him Tuesday, the Kentucky Enquirer reported. (Northern Kentucky Hate Crime Story)

Brandon McInerney, left, was 14 when he shot gay classmate Larry King. Now 17, he's standing trial on first-degree murder and hate-crime charges.

An 18-year-old gay man from Texas allegedly slain by a classmate who feared a sexual advance. A 31-year-old transgender woman from Pennsylvania found dead with a pillowcase around her head. A 24-year-old lesbian from Florida purportedly killed by her girlfriend's father, who disapproved of the relationship.

The homicides are a sampling of 2010 crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people compiled by a national coalition of anti-hate organizations.

The report, released Tuesday, showed a 13% increase over 2009 in violent crimes committed against people because of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or status as HIV positive, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Last year's homicide count reached 27, up from 22 in 2009, and was the second-highest total since the coalition began tracking such crimes in 1996. Of those killed, 70% were minorities and 44% were transgender women.

The data are compiled by the coalition's 43 participating organizations and are not comprehensive. They include crimes reported to the groups by victims who did not seek help from law enforcement. In fact, 50% of the 2010 assault survivors did not make police reports, with minorities and transgender people the least likely to come forward, the report said.

Among the cases was an April 2010 attack on Cal State Long Beach transgender student Colle Carpenter, who was cornered in a campus restroom by an assailant who carved "It" on his chest. Jake Finney, project manager with the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, said campus police initially "were not clear that the word 'It' was a slur and indicated anti-transgender bias." The center contacted the FBI, which assisted in the investigation, and the crime was ultimately classified as hate-motivated, Finney said.

The 2010 murder count is second to the 29 logged in 1999 and 2008. Among the 2008 fatalities was gay Oxnard junior high school student Larry King. The classmate charged in that killing, Brandon McInerney, is on trial.

Coalition members said hate crimes tended to increase after other high-profile attacks and when civil rights advances for the LGBT community were publicly debated.

"As we move forward toward full equality, we also have to be responsive and concerned with violence that may run alongside of it," spokeswoman Roberta Sklar said. "We don't want to go back into the closet to avoid it."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lgbt-hate-crimes-20110713,0,3199857.story

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Marriage Equality - The Coming Clash of Civil and Religious Liberties (Louisville, KY Church Speaks)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:58:09 PDT

This article was published in Time Magazine:

What does the historic vote on same-sex marriage in New York mean for the rest of the country? Will it play a role if and when the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the California case? Will it propel or impede efforts in other states to legalize gay marriage?

Vows will be said in New York long before those questions find answers, but what can be said for sure is that the New York legislation will nationalize the gay marriage debate in a way that no other step in the long campaign has.

No matter that New York is the largest state in the U.S. to hold that the union of a man and a man or a woman and a woman is equal to that of a man and a woman. California, the largest state in the U.S., held that distinction for a few months, until electoral and judicial jiujitsu tied same-sex marriage up in knots there. (story)

"The New York vote marks a particular and important shift in the political landscape around same-sex marriage," adds Professor Marc Spindelman of the Ohio State University law school, who has followed gay marriage's serpentine legal path for years.

And Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., told TIME that New York's impact on the rest of the country can't be overstated. "The New York vote is massively important — perhaps even pivotal," he said. "This is due, not only to the size of the state's population, but to the political process by which the Governor and leading Republicans pushed this through the New York Senate. We should expect these same tactics to appear elsewhere."

In one sense, the most immediate impact of the New York legislation, beyond the obvious fact that more gays will now marry, is the way the 10 days of political wrangling in Albany came to a head over nearly intractable issues of religious liberty. While Chemerinsky told TIME that the furor was in some ways overblown — "No religion has to marry anyone it does not want to marry. I think that this was a misleading argument," he says — other scholars who have followed the debate for years say there's no denying that expanding gay rights so quickly has created real tensions between laws protecting the freedom of conscience and the newer protections for gays and lesbians.

Gay marriage isn't the first issue to do so, but it's likely to be the most fought over. No one is arguing that the Catholic Church, or any church, must marry a gay couple — and the protections written into law in New York saying so were probably redundant. But the New York law went further than merely restating the constitutionally obvious. It also wrote into law the right for all religious institutions — hospitals, adoption services — and so-called benevolent organizations to refuse to not just marry gay couples but the right to refuse accommodating their weddings, too. For gay couples in New York, good luck finding a Knight of Columbus hall to rent, for instance.

Some saw the religious-based objections to gay marriage as mere pretext for deeper, and harder to express public antipathy towards homosexuality. And others, like Mohler, see the provisions as mere fig leaves for defecting conservatives who wanted cover for their votes n favor of marriage. But whatever their political uses, the religious protections point to one aspect of the New York vote that will resonate throughout the country as the issue advances elsewhere.

"There is certainly a religious liberty issue," Andrew Koppelman, the John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University, told TIME after the New York vote. And it's not just a question for the prelates of the world who might bristle at the idea of the state ordering up gay marriage, a prospect that sent Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York City into rhetorical overdrive in the days leading up to the vote. Individuals who deeply oppose gay marriage could find themselves pushed to participate in ways big and small — and for that reason the protections in the New York law could become important.

"The 'guy who runs the tuxedo shop' is trying to live his life in accordance with his most deeply held ideals, which is just what gay couples are trying to do," Koppleman says. "The fairly mild religious accommodations in New York law will somewhat ease conflicts of that sort, in a way that is unlikely to significantly injure any gay people."

Mohler worries that the New York law's religious liberty protections will almost certainly be challenged by gay couples who see a tuxedo shop's owners refusal to do business with them as deeply insulting. "These issues are inevitable, given the complicated and inevitable interface of religious conviction and the institution of marriage. It is hard to see how the accommodation put together in the New York legislation can stand, given the direction of the courts."

New York Law School professor Arthur Leonard, who has edited the widely cited "Lesbian/Gay Law Notes" for 31 years, is more hopeful than Mohler. But he, too, agrees that the provisions in the New York law run the risk of setting up a collision course in the courts. "You need to understand the history on this. There have been disputes, mainly about Catholic adoption agencies refusing to provide adoption services for same-sex couples, and a few other disputes around the country, that provide the fuel for these demands for religious protections," he told TIME.

"The language is ambiguous enough to mean that it may take a court to determine when the religious liberty interests prevail against the right of gay couples to arrange their weddings," says Leonard. But he said the bill contains a "poison pill provision" that means if the religious liberties clauses are struck, the bill itself is invalidated. "So the bill potentially gives a wide range of religiously-affiliated entities license to discriminate against married same-sex couples. I am hopeful that administrators at Catholic hospitals, for example, will be wise enough and compassionate enough avoid the temptation to discriminate against same-sex spouses of patients, which would preclude the need to litigate the matter."

.....

Kommers says he still favors finding a way out of the inevitable clashes of conscience that he says legalizing gay marriage will bring about. He would reserve marriage for opposite-sex couples but would create civil partnerships to allow all sorts of couples, including gay couples but also unmarried siblings or aging friends, to arrange their lives as they see fit and for those unions to be given the same legal benefits as married couples.

But for now, momentum is in the other direction. "The New York vote reframes legislative debates on lesbian and gay rights across the country, including in states that have yet to provide even the most minimal sort of anti-discrimination protections for lesbians and gay men and their families," Spindelman told TIME. "Legislative reluctance to enact basic civil rights protections that others can take for granted — or do not need — looks increasingly ideological and out of date, a throwback to another era. The New York vote is a bright arrow pointed toward the future — a future that many welcome, but that others, of course, continue to perceive with something more akin to dread."

Count Mohler in the latter group. For him, the country has been down this divisive path before — and it's nothing to look forward to. "It now appears that the nation is moving in the direction of a divided map on the issue of marriage," he told TIME. "I predict that this map might look much like the map of the U.S. on legalized abortion prior to Roe v. Wade." If he is right, then we may be fighting over gay marriage 40 years from now, no matter how the Supreme Court rules should it ever hear the California case.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2080804,00.html#ixzz1RFKPk1oz

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Judge Rules Attacks Outside a Gay-Friendly Bar in Kentucky as Hate Crimes

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:49:48 PDT

Hate crimes are nothing new to Northern Kentucky; indeed, Kentucky Equality Federation has intervened and acted as public advocate in 6 such cases. Today in Covington, the Commonwealth's 3rd largest city, a judge ruled that a white supremacist had committed a hate crime when he attacked four people last year outside a bar frequented by gay people.

Devlin Burke, whose body is covered in tattoos of swastikas and other white supremacist symbols, shouted out "sieg heil" as a judge sentenced him Tuesday, the Kentucky Enquirer reported.

The newspaper also reported that a woman replied to the Nazi salute by shouting, "Mommy loves you."

Judge Patricia Summe sentenced Burke to 17 years in prison on three counts of felony assault and another 60 days on a conviction for misdemeanor assault.
Burke will be eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of his sentence, but Summe's determination that the attacks were hate crimes could delay parole or prevent it entirely.

Under Kentucky law, crimes motivated by bias against race, gender or sexual orientation do not carry additional penalty, but they are taken into consideration at parole hearings.

Prosecutors said Burke and another man attacked two women in August during a dispute outside Yadda Club in Covington. When two onlookers intervened, prosecutors said, Burke slashed one man on the arm and the other in the abdomen.

Witnesses said Burke shouted homosexual slurs throughout the attack.

Burke was previously convicted of beating his neighbor in a racially motivated attack and also served prison time for killing his mother's boyfriend in a fight.

Read more: http://www.wlwt.com/news/27927404/detail.html#ixzz1Mf0ejqRa

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

U.S. House to spend $500,000 to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (Commonwealth v. United States)

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:25:47 PDT

The U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated yet another example of "Big Brother" overreach by the federal government by obligating itself to pay more than $500,000 for outside attorneys to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal courts.

The Defense of Marriage Act was struck down in 2010 when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sued the United States Government. Since then, Vermont, Connecticut, and several other states have sided with Massachusetts in the lawsuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Tauro, nominated to the bench by President Richard Nixon, ruled that DOMA violates the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Court Judge Tauro stated the denial of federal rights and benefits to lawfully married Massachusetts couples "offends" the notion of states' rights as enshrined in the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution by:

"Intruding on areas of exclusive state authority, as well as the Spending Clause, by forcing the Commonwealth to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs.

Congress and the President exceeded its authority in legislating the issue and that the measure infringed states' rights to regulate marriage and other domestic policies within their sovereign borders. Tauro said he agreed with Massachusetts that the law forced the Commonwealth "to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds."

The U.S. House of Representatives is wasting over $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to fight the ruling. Over the past 20 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has restricted the authority of Congress and the U.S. President to interfere in the jurisdiction of the States (that is the reason they are sovereign, and can nullify and/or condemn federal laws and refuse to enforce them).

This is an affront to the sovereignty of the States and yet another example of federal overreach and wasteful spending.

Instead of "God Save the Queen," as the rallying statement in Canada, the United Kingdom and her other countries, let it now be said in the United States: "God Save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," for having the courage (and money) to stand-up to the United States Government in protest of the Defense of Marriage Act.

U.S. President Obama is showing the American people how anti-equality the new Tea Party and Republicans in the new U.S. House of Representatives are. U.S. President Obama ordered the U.S. Department of Justice not to fight U.S. District Court Judge Tauro's decision not only because of the cost involved, but because this is politics in its ugliest form; the decision of U.S. President Obama was also to appease the heat and countless rallies against him for failing to provide campaign promises to the LGBTI community.

NOTE: Hats off to Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear for keeping a campaign promise to the LGBTI community when he assumed office by signing an executive order protecting them in Kentucky's Government.

We are victims of ugly politics here [in the District of Columbia], very carefully thought out, just like "The Family," organization in Washington, D.C. who encouraged Uganda to execute people for sexual orientation and gender identity (a U.S. Representative quickly distanced himself from The Family to Kentucky Equality Federation's Chairman of the Board as reported by The Guardian).

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

Come Together Kentucky 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:40:07 PDT

By: Jordan Palmer

Come Together Kentucky 2011 was hosted by Morehead State University's ALLYance.

ALLYance members are dedicated, supportive, open, and loving.

Never did I pass an ALLYance member who didn't say hello and/or extend their hand to me. Their attitudes speak both to the wonderful college students and individuals they are in addition to the entire University and the people who nurture them.

The dedication, work, and time ALLYance put into organizing Come Together Kentucky 2011 was amazing. From Toni Hobbs, Sheena Thompson, Kristy Hayes, to the President, Treasurer, Vice President, etc. of ALLYance, they are all truly unique and loving people.

Kentucky Equality Federation attended Come Together Kentucky 2011, gave money to Morehead State University ALLYance, and helped ensured next years Come Together Kentucky will be held at the University of Louisville at the request of Brian Buford (after Mr. Burford, Toni Hobbs and I discussed it briefly).

Mr. Buford asked me how a University gets to host Come Together Kentucky, I brought him and Ms. Hobbs together, gave my opinion, and she happily passed the torch.

It brought joy to me to see the look in Brian Buford's eyes that Come Together Kentucky 2012 will be held at the University of Louisville. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Buford began writing down ideas (for an event a year away) and it brought genuine happiness to me that I was able to play a small role in helping him get something for the University of Louisville he wanted with all his heart.

When you see enthusiasm in someones eyes, you realize why you are fighting for equality, and there was a lot of enthusiasm at Come Together Kentucky 2011 thanks to ALLYance.

Brian Buford is the director of the University of Louisville's Office LGBT Services. Toni Hobbs is a co-founder and current adviser to Morehead State University's ALLYance. Special thanks to Ms. Hobbs for passing the torch to the University of Louisville next year; I cannot wait to see what they put together.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

47% of transgender are fired, denied a job or promotion

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:39:22 PDT

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund released this startling statistic today:

47%. That's the unbearable percentage of transgender people who report being fired, or denied a job or promotion, just because of who they are. Today, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) was reintroduced in the United States House of Representatives. The bill would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees from workplace discrimination, and the protections it would offer are urgently needed.

In an already difficult economy, transgender workers face the added threat of being fired or passed over for a job just because of who they are. We need ENDA's protections in these difficult economic times to make sure that qualified, hardworking transgender people can get jobs to support themselves and their families.

ENDA would make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or refuse to promote an employee based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. Despite the tremendous discrimination that transgender workers face, only 12 states and Washington, DC currently protect transgender people from employment discrimination.

Transgender people deserve the same employment opportunities as everyone else. What matters is not who you are, but how well you do your job.

We thank Congressman Barney Frank for his work in introducing this bill. We will continue to keep you informed of developments relating to ENDA and our work to ensure equal employment opportunity.

At Kentucky Equality Federation, we agree that this number is outrageous and support the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.

-> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

University of Kentucky Sign: How Do You Spell N*****? OBAMA"

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:45:15 PDT

By: Jordan Palmer

Regardless of what you think about the U.S. President, Governor, or ANYONE, this is childish; are we not better than this? This is the second time this has happened at the University of Kentucky. The sign said: "How Do You Spell N*****? OBAMA."

In 2008, two college-age men were arrested after hanging an effigy of Obama from a tree on the UK campus with a noose around its neck. All charges against the people behind the 2008 stunt was dismissed as being protected by the Kentucky Constitution's Freedom of Expression, and they graduated from the University of Kentucky.

Yes, your right to post such things are protected by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States of America.

However, this pure racism, and we must oppose racism and the lack of equality for all communities; we should not tolerate it, and stand proud with the Black community. How would we feel if someone posted "How Do You Spell F****? (Fagot) Mayor Gray?"

The letters appear to be cut from a menu, glued to a piece of paper and photocopied.

We find this distasteful, and racist!

College police launched an investigation after one of the posters was found hanging on the door of the College of Law - and a second was found by a student on a nearby bus shelter.

Quote from Josh Koch, Kentucky Equality Federation's Public Relations and Media Director: "Many people and groups are victims discrimination. Some are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, sexual identity, race, gender, veteran status, or political identification (or lack thereof). Discrimination takes many forms, and it is necessary that the victims of such treatment strive for a better world where all groups, orientations, identities, creeds, and political groups can achieve equality."

We need your help to change this; take the first step and join our mailing list!

Peace, Liberty, Equality for All.

Obama has also been compared to Hitler (massive Billboards in the Arizona and other States), etc. due to the passage of his Healthcare Act which the U.S. House of Representative have vowed to repeal. In addition, some States have condemned and nullified the federal legislation.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.

The changing face of the Roman Catholic Church? Kentucky and U.S. Catholics support gay rights?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:58:36 PDT

VATICAN CITY — A Vatican official has told a United Nations body that people who openly object to homosexual behavior are at risk of losing their human rights when they are prosecuted or stigmatized for their beliefs.

"People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behavior between people of the same sex," said Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Vatican's representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The latest research that finds many U.S. Catholics out of sync with their church's teachings on personal morality is out. This time it's a look at Catholics' support for gay rights, in particular marriage and civil unions.

The Public Religion Research Institute report, based on surveys of 3,000 people, finds:

43% of Catholic favor allowing gay and lesbian people to marry
31% would allow them to form civil unions
22% say there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship.

The Catholic church teaches that all persons deserve dignity but that homosexual behavior is "disordered." But the laity isn't buying that. According to the report:

A majority of Catholics (56%) believe that sexual relations between two adults of the same gender is not a sin. Among the general population, less than half (46%) believe it is not a sin. 60% of Catholics favored adoption rights for same-sex couples, 49% percent think gays should be allowed to be ordained as clergy, and 73% percent believe they should have legal protections in the workplace – all higher percentages than found in the general population, the Public Religion Research Institute said.

"When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature, which may also be expressions of religious convictions, or state opinions about scientific claims, they are stigmatized, and worse — they are vilified, and prosecuted," Tomasi said on Tuesday.

TM & (C) Kentucky Equality Federation

"The truth is, these attacks are violations of fundamental human rights, and cannot be justified under any circumstances."

In his statement, Tomasi said the Vatican "condemn(ed) all violence that is targeted against people because of their sexual feelings and thoughts, or sexual behaviors." The Vatican also rejects all legal discrimination "based just on the person's feelings and thoughts, including sexual thoughts and feelings."

But the Vatican envoy said that there is an international "consensus between societies that certain kinds of sexual behaviors must be forbidden by law," citing pedophilia and incest as examples.

The conclusions fit with a strong pattern of liberalism among Catholics that stands in opposition to the church hierarchy, said Michele Dillon, a sociologist at the University of New Hampshire asked by researchers to comment. There has been a gulf on social issues between church teachings and the American laity since the mid-1970s on subjects such as abortion, divorce without an annulment, premarital sex and artificial contraception.

“Catholics make up their own minds about these moral issues irrespective – or almost in spite of – what the bishops and official church teachings say,” Dillon said.

Catholics tend not to like or even may resent having politics in church, Dillon said. The survey found about one-quarter of church-going Catholics reported hearing about homosexuality in church – a much lower proportion than in Protestant churches. Two-thirds of the messages about homosexuality in church were negative.

--> Posted by a volunteer Community Blogger of Kentucky Equality Federation. This is the official blog of Kentucky Equality Federation. Posts contained in this blog may not be the official position of Kentucky Equality Federation, its volunteer officers, directors, management, supported organizations, allies or coalitions, but rather the personal opinions or views of the volunteer Community Bloggers. The opinions or views expressed in the blog are protected by Section 1 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as non-slanderous free speech; blogs are personal views or opinions and not journalistic news sites.