'Disgraced Financial Institutions Update'

Obama Administration Removes Anti-Gay Pastor From Inauguration

The Obama administration has decided to remove from the inauguration day proceedings an anti-gay Georgia pastor who has said gay people will go to hell. The choice of Reverend Louis Giglio to deliver the inaugural benediction created great anger within the LGBT and progressive communities, after Think Progress reported on Giglio’s 1990s anti-gay sermon.

BSA EXECUTIVES KILL APPROVAL OF GAY SCOUT'S EAGLE APPLICATION, SMEAR TEEN

Yesterday, 18 year-old Ryan Andresen and his family celebrated that he was one step closer to getting his Eagle award after an official Eagle Board of Review unanimously approved Ryan's Eagle application.

According to Eagle Scout and Scouts for Equality founder Zach Wahls, the volunteer Eagle Board of Review traditionally has authority over Eagle applications, and, if approved, a Scout leaves that meeting with an understanding that he is an Eagle Scout. In Ryan's case, the board chair took an additional step, and received verbal confirmation from Scout Executive, John Fenoglio, that he would approve Ryan's application.

But Ryan's victory was short-lived, as Fenoglio, a paid employee of the BSA, reversed course and rejected the board's unanimously approved application -- an unprecedented action. Local Scout volunteers speculate that Fenoglio's decision was heavily influenced by BSA national.

"It's an unprecedented move," says Wahls. "It's clear that Fenoglio's reversal was forced by BSA national. He's a paid employee, and unfortunately, National exerts a lot of influence over their staff. His reversal, however, is most disappointing."

"The Boy Scouts is a volunteer driven organization. What signal is the Boy Scouts of America sending to those volunteers, when they circumvent the local process and tell the official Board of Review that the volunteer board lacks authority?" questioned Ryan’s dad, Eric Andresen.

Indeed, the service of its volunteers remains the underpinning of the BSA. In 2011, the BSA reported 257,946,000 volunteer service hours, totaling $5,620,643,340 in services to support Scouting across America. How then can the BSA undermine its own volunteer leaders, the backbone of the organization?

The Andresen family is devastated, but what hurts them more is that BSA national would rather soil the official Eagle application process and pit local paid staff against volunteer leaders, than allow a gay Boy Scout to be awarded an honor he's earned.

This marks the second time Ryan has been rejected by Scouting leaders he looks up to -- just because he's gay. To make matters worse, BSA Executives – the unelected, paid brass helming an organization that touts the principles of honesty and integrity -- continue to malign Ryan in the national media. 

BSA national spokesperson, Deron Smith, falsely asserts Ryan disagrees with Scouting’s principle of ‘Duty to God,’ issuing the following statement to outlets including USA Today:

“The Eagle application was forwarded, by a volunteer, to the local council but it was not approved because this young man proactively stated that he does not agree to Scouting’s principle of ‘Duty to God’ and does not meet Scouting’s membership requirements. Therefore, he is not eligible to receive the rank of Eagle.”

Bonnie Hazarabedian, the District Advancement Chair who headed Ryan’s Eagle Board of Review, refutes that claim, however:

“Ryan did everything right in this process, with honor and honesty. He completed all of his requirements, he turned in his application along with the appropriate request for an appeal before an Eagle Board of Review, and he satisfied every member of the Board that he has earned the right to be recognized as an Eagle Scout. The Board reviewed all of Ryan’s scouting history, his advancement records, his Eagle project and his spiritual beliefs, and we are convinced that Ryan has more than demonstrated that he deserves the award.” (Emphasis added.)

“That BSA national executives would not only thwart the approval of, but also simultaneously lie about, the Eagle badge application of a committed young Scout is not only shocking, it’s shameful,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “The organization continues to use smoke and mirrors to preserve an outdated policy that is wholly discriminatory and continues to erode the integrity of the organization.”

The local Scouting community continues to stand by Ryan. Although it appears Scout Executive Fenoglio ceded to pressure from the national organization, Ryan's Scouting community – including the official Eagle Board of Review that unanimously approved Ryan's Eagle application -- does not support discrimination.

'TWO DISTURBED PEOPLE PLAYING HOUSE'

Pastor John Hagee was taking questions from viewers of his show "The Hagee Hotline" yesterday about gay marriage and being in God's favor. Hagee responded by saying anything other than a man marrying a woman is "two disturbed people playing house" Right Wing Watch reports.

Jon Stewart Calls Out Gun Control Opponents: 'It Is Absolutely The Time To Talk'

Same-Sex Couples Now Invited To Marry At Historic National Cathedral

The Washington National Cathedral, home to America’s Episcopal Church, has opened its doors to same-sex couples who wish to marry.

The Washington Post writes:

In some ways, the announcement that is expected Wednesday morning is unsurprising for a denomination and a diocese that long ago took up the cause of marriage equality. But the cathedral’s stature and the image of same-sex couples exchanging vows in the soaring Gothic structure visited by a half-million tourists each year is symbolically powerful.

New Zealand Not Offended By Ad Depicting Pope Marrying Gay Couple

New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority has dismissed complaints against an ad depicting Pope Benedict XVI blessing a male couple at the altar, deeming it unlikely to cause widespread offense.

The ad is part of a new campaign by electric company Powershop, featuring the slogan “Same Power, Different Attitude.” Four-and-a-half story billboards went up in Auckland and Wellington, leading to four complaints to the ASA that the ad mocked Catholicism.

Gay Scout, Approved For Eagle Honor Despite Group's National Ban

In what may be a precedent-setting decision, a California chapter of the Boy Scouts of America has approved a gay former member's Eagle Scout application, despite the national organization's ban on gay participants.

Ryan Andresen, 18, was a scout from the San Francisco area when he was denied his Eagle Scout award in October 2011, NBC News reports. Andresen had come out in July and had completed all the requirements for the Eagle honor, including helping spearhead the construction of a “Tolerance Wall” at a local middle school to raise awareness about bullying.

But Andresen's troop leader refused to grant him the award. Frustrated, his mother, Karen Andresen, launched a Change.org petition in support of her son.

The petition received overwhelming support from 463,151 signers. In addition, California Senator Barbara Boxer and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom sent letters to the Scouts in support of Andresen.

Then, in December, local Boy Scout leaders approved an official Eagle Board of Review. Their decision in favor of Andresen was announced January 7.

'What Would Jesus Or Any Other Human Being That Isn't An A**hole Do'

Teen Awarded NPR's Top Storytelling Performance Prize for Powerful Tale About His Two Gay Moms

NPR Snap Judgment Performance of the Year was awarded in December to 15-year-old Noah St. John for his explosively moving story about his two moms and the moment he thought he might lose the family he had always known.

 

Person of the Year: Tammy Baldwin

Tammy Baldwin had just graduated from Smith College in 1984 as a double major in math and political science. The high school valedictorian and Madison, Wis., native had not yet secured a job, but she found an inspiration in Geraldine Ferraro, who that year became the first woman ever nominated for vice president on a major party’s ticket.

Kyle XY' Actor Comes Out

matt dallas

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@themattdallas

Starting off the year with a new fiancé,@bluehamilton. A great way to kick off 2013!pic.twitter.com/FQ9y4tHe

6 Jan 13

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ABC Family actor Matt Dallas decided to make a big announcement for the New Year -- he is gay, and he is engaged!

Dallas came out as gay with a simple tweet on Sunday night. The former "Kyle XY" actor revealed he is happily engaged to his boyfriend, musician Blue Hamilton, according to Towleroad.

Church of England lifts ban on gay bishops (kinda)

The Church of England announced Friday it has lifted a ban that prohibited gay male clergy who live with their partners from becoming bishops, on the condition that they remain sexually abstinent.

The House of Bishops, one of the church’s most senior bodies, “confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate,” said Graham James, the Bishop of Norwich.

“The House believed it would be unjust to exclude from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline,” he added, in a statement on behalf of the House of Bishops.

The decision was made in late December but received little attention until the church confirmed it on Friday.

Illinois Marriage Advances: Marriage News Watch

Supreme Court Sets Dates for DOMA adn Prop. 8 Cases

We're less than three months away from the Supreme Court weighing in on the legality of marriage equality and the Defense of Marriage Act: the high court scheduled oral arguments on March 26 for the case against California's Proposition 8 and March 27 for oral arguments on the DOMA case.

The Supreme Court justices will receive written briefs from the parties in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Prop. 8 case, and United States v. Windsor, the DOMA case, prior to the oral arguments, according to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the nonprofit that brought the Perry case to federal court.

AFER's case against Prop. 8, a constitutional ban against marriage equality narrowly passed by California's voters in 2008, was successful in both a federal district court and a U.S. Court of Appeals. The Windsor case involved a lesbian widow's successful lawsuit against DOMA, which nullifies the marriages of gay and lesbian couples for all purposes of federal law.

MATT JARVIS MAKES APPEAL FOR GAY FOOTBALLER TO COME OUT

Matt Jarvis is the third straight football player (after David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg) to appear on the cover of UK's Attitude magazine, and is also the latest to appeal for a gay footballer to come out, the Guardian reports:

In an interview, the winger said it was time that a gay footballer felt comfortable enough to come out. "It's everyday life. It's not something that's going to be a shock," he said. "I'm sure there are many footballers who are gay, but when they decide to actually come out and say it, it is a different story. It's one that I'm sure they've thought about many times. But it's a hard thing for them to do." ...

Jarvis told Attitude that he thought times had changed and an openly gay footballer would receive the support he needed. "There'd be support everywhere within the football community, whether it be players, fans or within the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association]. There would definitely be groups of people who would be supportive and help them through it," he said.

Tied up at the moment

The pastor of St. Aloysius church on Springfield’s north end has been granted a leave of absence after he called 911 from the rectory and told a dispatcher that he needed help getting out of handcuffs.

“I’m going to need help getting out before this becomes a medical emergency,” Father Tom Donovan told a dispatcher who sounds a bit incredulous during the Nov. 28 call.

“You’re stuck in a pair of handcuffs?” the dispatcher asks.

“(I was) playing with them and I need help getting out,” Donovan responds.

Donovan told the dispatcher that he was alone in the rectory. It’s not clear exactly how he ended up in handcuffs or why he feared a medical emergency. His voice sounds garbled or muffled on the tape, and sources say that police discovered some sort of gag on the priest when they arrived.

The diocese has been tight-lipped about the matter, saying only that Bishop Thomas Paprocki granted Donovan’s request for a leave of absence at some point before Christmas. The diocese knows about the incident, given that Brad Huff, an attorney for the diocese, has been given a copy of the 911 tape by the Sangamon County Emergency Telephone System Department. Kathie Sass, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Springfield, said that the diocese also has a copy of a police report on the matter.

Sass would not disclose Donovan’s whereabouts or say whether he is staying at a church-affiliated location.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you where Father Donovan is,” Sass said. “There’s a matter of privacy there.”

Sass said that Donovan approached Paprocki after the incident and asked for help.

“He came to the bishop before anyone was aware of the incident,” Sass said. “He came to the bishop and asked for help and was granted leave.”

Archbishop orders London church to cease masses for LGBT Catholics

The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, who also leads the Catholic Church in England and Wales, announced this week that he has ordered the Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Central London to stop holding masses that were specifically designed for LGBT Catholics.

The so-called “Soho Masses” were set up six years ago by a group of openly gay Catholics and sympathetic priests to cater for those struggling to live within a church that takes an absolutist line against same sex relationships.

The decision is seen as a significant win for the traditionalist wing of the Catholic Church who have lobbied both the Archbishop and Rome to cancel what they saw as a deviation from official church teachings.

It also comes at a time when the Catholic Church itself is redoubling its efforts to oppose same sex marriage legislation following moves in Britain and France to allow gay men and women to marry.

As part of his Christmas Day message, the Archbishop attacked the government’s plan to introduce equal marriage in England and Wales and described it as a shambles.

Clock Runs Out on Illinois Marriage Equality Bill

Despite a recent Senate committee vote in favor of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, activists pushing for marriage equality legislation in Illinois have thrown in the towel for this legislative session. Equality Illinois issued a statement yesterday saying there is not enough time to pass the bill before the 97th General Assembly adjourns on Wednesday, but promised the fight will resume in the next session, which begins January 9.

"With just a handful of days remaining in the current lame duck session, time to move the bill through both chambers is not on our side," the LGBT advocacy organization said yesterday in a press release. "So we will act in the new General Assembly that convenes next week, on Wednesday, January 9."

But the organization leading the charge for marriage equality in Illinois said it won't relent on efforts to pass the bill in 2013.

"Our opponents should not believe that have turned the tide against the growing national and Illinois consensus favoring marriage equality," said Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov. "The clock simply ran out, and our legislative supporters ran out of time."

New Vaccine Temporarily Stops Spread Of HIV

A team of Spanish scientists claim they have developed a therapeutic vaccine that can temporarily stop the growth of the HIV virus in infected patients.

“It is the most solid demonstration in the scientific literature that a therapeutic vaccine is possible,” the team said in a statement.

According to their study, published Wednesday in Science Translation Medicine, the results of the vaccine were the best yet recorded for such a treatment.

Tested on 36 patients infected with the virus, the vaccine treats an existing disease rather than preventing it and is based on immune cells exposed to HIV that have been inactivated with heat. The study says the therapeutic vaccine was safe and led to a dramatic drop in the amount of HIV virus detected in some patients.

“What we did was give instructions to the immune system so it could learn to destroy the virus, which it does not do naturally,” said Felipe Garcia, one of the scientists in the team at Barcelona University’s Hospital Clinic.

Obama Calls GOP's Conscience Clause Unnecessary, Ill-Advised

President Obama made clear on Wednesday while signing a new Defense budget that he doesn't agree with a Republican attempt to sidestep marriage equality that is tucked inside.

"Though I continue to oppose certain sections of the Act, the need to renew critical defense authorities and funding was too great to ignore," the president said in a statement upon signing the annual Defense Authorization Act.

Outgoing Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri largely failed in his final attempt in December to ban same-sex weddings on military bases and to stop military chaplains from officiating. His language passed through the Republican-led House but not the Senate and was mostly stripped during a conference between the two.

What remains, though, is Section 533. It is a "conscience clause" aimed at military chaplains that guarantees they can't be forced to officiate a same-sex wedding. The clause was widely attacked as a waste of time by LGBT activists and by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who pointed out that existing military policy already ensured officiating any wedding is voluntary.

“It’s a fraud,” Pelosi said in May.  “Welcome to the world of manufactured crises. Here’s one.”

In the president's statement upon signing the law, he said he supports "the vast majority of the provisions contained in this Act" but "I do not agree with them all." He specifically called out Section 533 as "unnecessary and ill-advised."

Filipino Style Wedding

MARRIAGE EQUALITY BEING INTRODUCED IN RHODE ISLAND TOMORROW

First Illinois and now it looks like Rhode Island is getting ready to make some serious moves on marriage equality.
From the Providence Journal:

Legislation allowing gay couples to marry in Rhode Island will be introduced on Thursday, the bill's longtime sponsor, state Rep. Arthur Handy, said Tuesday, the opening day of the 2013 General Assembly session.

Handy, a Cranston Democrat, said the bill is already drafted, but that he needs Wednesday's second legislative day to gather signatures from co-sponsors, who will include openly gay House Speaker Gordon D. Fox, D-Providence.

A key point of debate will be how the bill addresses concerns from religious groups.

Gay Professional Bowler Kisses Husband In ESPN Broadcast

ESPN set a new precedent over the weekend by airing what may be the first professionally-shot footage of an openly gay athlete kissing his husband after a victory.

As Outsports is reporting, professional bowler Scott Norton smooched his husband Craig Woodward after winning the 2012 PBA Chameleon Championship in Las Vegas.

Though the event was held in November, ESPN did not air the footage until Dec. 30. During the telecast, ESPN’s announcers referred to Woodward as Norton’s husband or spouse, Outsports also pointed out.

Obama urges Illinois lawmakers to legalize same-sex marriage

President Barack Obama on Saturday urged the Illinois General Assembly to vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in his home state.

“While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday.

Illinois lawmakers are widely expected to consider a marriage equality bill during the lame duck session, beginning Jan. 2.“As he has said, his personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally.” Inouye said.