Posted on 05/20/2003 8:14:33 AM PDT by theoverseer
"The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation"
"The Human Rights Campaign is lobbying Congress to pass the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, (the revised Hate Crimes Prevention Act), which would give local law enforcement officials the resources they need to combat hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or disability."
"However, GLBT families are not treated like all other families under law, according to the HRC Foundation report, "The State of the Family: Laws and Legislation Affecting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans." Among the inequities that GLBT families face: Same-sex couples are denied more than 1,000 federal benefits and protections of marriage and, in all states but Vermont, they are denied most of the state rights and responsibilities that come with marriage."
"WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign joined today with other national and Pennsylvania gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organizations expressing outrage at deeply discriminatory and insensitive remarks made by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. In an interview with The Associated Press, Santorum compared homosexuality with bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery. He also said that homosexuality, feminism and liberalism undermine the family. "Senator Santorum's remarks are deeply hurtful and play on deep-seated fears that fly in the face of scientific evidence, common sense, and basic decency. Clearly, there is no compassion in his conservatism," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "Discriminatory remarks like this fuel prejudice that can lead to violence and other harm to the gay community. HRC is calling on Republican leaders to take quick and decisive action to repudiate Senator Santorum's remarks."
WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign will co-sponsor a discussion on homophobia and the black church at Morehouse College on Wednesday night. The college is hosting the forum in an ongoing effort to build tolerance and understanding on campus after an anti-gay hate crime in November 2002. "This incident shocked the entire Morehouse and greater Atlanta community," said Donna Payne, HRC’s constituency organizer. "This forum is an opportunity for people to have open and honest discussions about race, religion and sexual orientation and to heal some of the wounds caused by this terrifying incident."
"HRC OPPOSES ANTI-GAY JUDICIAL NOMINEES"
"Americans Want Judges Who Are Free of Prejudice, Says HRC"
"WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign announced its opposition today to a slate of anti-gay judges, nominated by the Bush administration, whose confirmations could place courts outside the mainstream and make it increasingly difficult for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans to achieve basic justice and equality though the federal courts.
"We reject the notion that either party has been given a mandate with regard to the federal courts and believe that Americans want judges who are free of prejudice," said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "We are alarmed that the administration has put forth a slew of unacceptable nominees whose extreme anti-gay views threaten to make the federal courts hostile to basic equality for GLBT Americans. We urge the Senate to oppose these nominees and to use its role of advice and consent to ensure that only fair-minded nominees are confirmed."
HRC opposes the nomination of Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. There could be a committee vote on his nomination before the end of February.
In a 1997 law review article, Bybee, then a professor, offered an extremely troubling view of the landmark equal protection case, Romer v. Evans. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that Amendment 2 in Colorado was unconstitutional and said that the amendment was not rationally related to a legitimate purpose. Amendment 2 sought to ban any municipality in Colorado from enacting laws that would protect gay people from discrimination.
In the article criticizing the Amendment 2 decision, Bybee questioned the "continuing validity" of Romer and characterized sexual orientation-inclusive civil rights laws as nothing more than government-sponsored "preferences" for "homosexuals."
"Bybee's characterization of civil rights laws as 'preferences' indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of the law and an antipathy toward laws that protect the GLBT community from discrimination," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.
HRC also opposes the nomination of Jeffrey Sutton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. A hearing for Sutton was held in late January, and the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on his nomination Thursday.
Sutton has been a leader in the effort to limit congressional authority to enact laws protecting civil and disability rights. As the gay community is impacted by HIV/AIDS, HRC is particularly concerned about his activism in this area, which has dealt a critical blow to legal protections for people with disabilities.
"Sutton's work has helped close the door on people with disabilities seeking redress for discrimination by states or state institutions," said Stachelberg. "As a community affected by hate violence, HRC is also very concerned about Sutton's views of Congress' authority to enact legislation aimed at curbing criminal violence, such as hate crimes legislation."
Sutton has argued that the federal judiciary should have almost unfettered discretion to override Congress' empirical findings in support of its legislation, which would limit congressional authority to protect individuals from violations of their rights - such as hate crimes.
Additionally, HRC opposes the nomination of Timothy Tymkovich for Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. As solicitor general, Tymkovich defended Colorado's Amendment 2 and wrote a law review article that he co-authored that appears to reflect anti-gay bias and opposition to laws designed to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
"The article shows that Tymkovich buys into some of the worst anti-gay rhetoric and ideology concerning our community," said Stachelberg. "He describes anti-discrimination laws as 'special legal protections for homosexuals' and 'special rights,' common rhetoric for those opposed to equal protection for gays and lesbians."
In the article, Tymkovich lumped homosexuality with a litany of "immoral" and dangerous behaviors, including sadomasochism, cockfighting, bestiality, suicide, drug use and prostitution: "Our society prohibits, and all human societies have prohibited, certain activities not because they harm others but because they are considered, in the traditional phrase, 'contra bonos mores,' i.e., immoral. In American society, such prohibitions have included, for example, sadomasochism, cockfighting, bestiality, suicide, drug use, prostitution, and sodomy. While there may be great diversity of view on whether various of these prohibitions should exist (though I have found few ready to abandon, in principle, all of them), there is no doubt that, absent specific constitutional protection for the conduct involved, the Constitution does not prohibit them simply because they regulate 'morality.'" (emphasis added). "Amendment 2, while not primarily about moral judgment, reflects a social statement about state and local laws benefiting homosexual conduct."
"Tymkovich's statements are insulting to GLBT citizens whose lives are affected by discrimination and violence, and for whom the even-handed enforcement of civil rights laws is of the utmost importance," added Stachelberg. "Furthermore, his assertion that GLBT anti-discrimination laws protect a type of conduct rather than a group of people is inconsistent with medical and psychological research and with public opinion."
HRC has also opposed the nomination of Mississippi Judge Charles Pickering to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals because his career has been punctuated by racial divisiveness and anti-gay sentiments. Last year, HRC opposed the nomination of Michael McConnell to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. McConnell, who was confirmed by the Senate in November 2002, contributed to the anti-gay brief for the Boy Scouts in the Boy Scouts of America v. Dale.
"HRC HOPES WITHDRAWAL OF CONTROVERSIAL APPOINTEE SIGNALS BUSH ADMINISTRATION SHIFT TOWARD SCIENTIFIC-BASED HIV/AIDS POLICIES" "Jerry Thacker [a self-described "committed Christian"]Steps Aside After Anti-Gay Comments Cause Political Firestorm" "WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign called on the Bush administration to recommit itself to a science-based plan to combat HIV/AIDS after a controversial appointee to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) withdrew his name today. Anti-gay activist Jerry Thacker stepped aside after a political firestorm ensued from comments found on his website (www.scepter.org) that call homosexuality a "deathstyle."
"Thacker was right to step aside and we hope that future administration appointments will reflect a commitment to epidemiology, not fringe ideology," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "It is important that the administration bolster PACHA's credibility by avoiding divisive figures, such as Thacker, who distract the panel from doing the important work of fighting against HIV and AIDS. We look forward to working with the administration and PACHA on scientifically sound policies that disseminate accurate information and save lives."
The offensive remarks were made on Thacker's website for the Scepter Institute, an online AIDS ministry he operates. In an apparent effort to stop the controversy, Thacker, a former Bob Jones University faculty member, deleted the "deathstyle" reference from the website.
Thacker was one of seven new PACHA appointees to the 35-member panel, including four who are openly gay -- David Greer, Brent Minor, David Reznik, Don Sneed. These new leaders offer an opportunity for the panel to change direction and move forward with helpful new policies, says HRC.
GOV : Federalism And Religious Liberty: Were Church And State Meant To Be Separate?
You are the one showing your ignorance of the goings-on in the majority of protestant x-ian churches. Most the them, such as baptists, methodists, etc. only read the personal stories of the Torah (such as David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion's den, etc.) They don't teach much from Moses' writings, they don't teach that the 10 commandments are still relevant for our lives (except in those instances where J-sus restates them). They keep all the 10 commandments to some degree except the 4th. They don't keep the 7th day Sabbath in their churches. This is what I am talking about when I talk about the x-ian ignorance of Torah.
It is precisely because of their respect for the Torah that they have refused to replace it with the ritual system of the liturgical churches, and in some instances have even incorporated Jewish rituals into their own services (often misunderstood as a mere tactic to trick Jews into converting).
Most of the "messianic" groups I have seen or heard of are more liturgical that one might think. Most of them have variations on the Siddur for their worship services.
Are you a "real" Nochide or a "messianic jew" because most are of the opinion that Nochides do not believe in J-sus or Y'shua.
You claim the Notzerim are inconsistent to oppose homosexuality because they reject the Torah. This is true to an extent (and I wish more chr*stians whould think about it), but they are less inconsistent than you are..... Yet you reject authority of the Torah you claim to defend from the Notzerim. Who is inconsistent here? You are. If the chr*stians believe the Torah was abrogated, you apparently believe it never had any authority to begin with.
X-ians who reject Torah are not Notzerim.
Please note that I utterly reject the false piety you display in using the term "X-tian." If you reject Torah's authority on human sexuality you obviously do not avoid the names of false "gxds" on its authority.
Shows you know NOTHING about me. It's the fact that I actually do believe in Torah and it's application in our lives that makes me upset when I see pork-eating, sabbath-breaking X-ians quote the Torah prohibitions on homosexuality (which are correct and valid)as binding and miss out on the rest of the jewels that Torah has for us.
Again, shame on you. The damage you are doing may never be undone. But I suppose that makes you happy.
As you know, slander and misrepresentation are among the most grevious sins in jewish eyes and it seems to me that you have slandered me most egregiously. I believe in Torah, I just don't believe that x-ians can have their cake and eat it to when it comes to interpreting Torah in their daily lives.
Fine, but we do not base LAWS on a strict interpretation of the Bible in America, and there is no such thing as a Judeo-Christian version of "sharia". Sodomy statutes are clearly "sharia"-style laws that have no place in a modern, secular society, and they should be repealed - we become hypocrites when we condemn Muslim countries for "sharia" while continuing to support such abominations here.
Again, no. Like adultery and sodomy, fornication is also illegal in many states, although these laws are rarely prosecuted. And once again, even were fornication legal, it could hardly be considered a "civil right."
do you think you have a civil right to have sexual relations with the woman to whom you are married?
Marriage establishes both a spiritual relationship and a legal relationship. Both civil law and canon law have always recognized that the marriage contract allows unlimited access to one another's bodies for sexual relations. Thus for centuries the common law as well as the written law have supported the basic understanding of the meaning of marriage. This marriage contract is fundamental to the good of society, and any society whose laws contradict the natural law will soon discover that even natural law exacts penalties on those who violate it.
Fine, but we do not base LAWS on a strict interpretation of the Bible in America, and there is no such thing as a Judeo-Christian version of "sharia".
It was Horowitz and some other pro-gay posters who brought in the selective Bible quotes to make the (false) point that Jesus never condemned homosexuality. For you to turn that around and try to make ordinary God-fearing Christians into putative members of the Taliban is dishonest. This poster was merely pointing out that Horowitz et. al. are wrong to pretend that the Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality in the strongest possible terms.
Thirdly, is rigid homogeneity desirable? I tend to think people are different for a reason. Everyone contributes something to society. Would you really want to go see a Broadway musical produced and directed by Hank the construction foreman?
Horowitz has become victimized by the propaganda he so often rails against.
See Acts 10:10-16.
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