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Compiled By Jack Nichols Is Ralph Nader a Prude?
On gay issues, Nader is all but silent. For years, he decried gay rights as "gonadal politics," eager as he was to avoid offending middle America. Even now, after high profile gay-bash murders and "family saving" legislation like California's Proposition 22, he refuses to say little more than gays should have "equal rights and equal responsibilities."
Nick Mamatas—“The Force of July: Should We Disrupt the Republican National Convention?”—Greenwich Village Gazette, July 14 www.nycny.com Against Natural Laws? The pope put it more scientifically than that, saying homosexuality is "objectively disordered." The Church has rethought its positions on Galileo and even Darwin, but it's odd to me that the pope is defending its position on homosexuality with scientific sounding phrases. As a lapsed Episcopalian, I don't know much about Catholic doctrine. But I have one simple question: If homosexuality is against natural laws, then what is celibacy? Rob Morse—“Forgive Those Whose Parade Rains on Yours”—The San Francisco Examiner, July 11 Long Hot Summer of Christian Civil Disobedience
Judith Cebula—“Summer of Struggle”—Indianapolis Star, July 15 Another United Methodist Ecclesiastical Trial? A lawyer and conservative lay member of the United Methodist Church has filed ecclesiastical charges against Chicago Bishop C. Joseph Sprague. One charge made by John Juergensmeyer accuses Sprague of promoting writings about Christ that allegedly violate church doctrine. Sprague is also accused of a role in pro-gay protest that disrupted the church's national conference in May, using church funds to promote homosexuality and neglecting administration. Tribune Wire Services—“ Cahrges are Filed Against Area Bishop”--Chicago Tribune, July 14 If He Didn't Exist We'd Have to Invent Him
The Rev. Fred Phelps, disbarred lawyer and practicing
homophobe, was outside the Marion County Courthouse this week, spreading the
word about whom God hates…Members of his Westboro Baptist Church -- that is to
say, such family as are still speaking to him -- surrounded the tall, gaunt man, who looks for
all the world like a week-old corpse dressed for a night out.
Dennis Roddy—“Minister from Hell”-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 15 Straight Male Homophobia = AIDS Ignorance = Infections Straight men don't support the fight against AIDS enough. They don't donate money, they don't help in education and awareness, and they don't get tested…Many straight men have avoided or ignored the HIV/AIDS debate because of the fact that it is often thought of as a gay men's disease…Many avoid homosexuals at any cost. But the cost of AIDS is far too high to ignore Warren Bolton—“Lack of Discussion about Homosexuality Hinders HIV/AIDS Fight”— The State, Columbia, South Carolina, July 13 Durban's HIV Denial Dispute
So much unnecessary attention around this conference had been directed
toward a dispute that is unintentionally distracting from the real life and death
issues we are confronted with as a country, a region, a continent and a world.
Nelson Mandela—“Focus on AIDS Epidemic, Mandela Says”— New York Times, July 15 Gay Male Texans: Hearing Ultra-Butch Sounds? Heterosexual men and women process sound in demonstrably different ways, (UT researchers) McFadden and Champlin say, both in the timing and strength of brainwaves spurred by sound. Lesbians and bisexual women, they found in research on 209 men and women of various stated sexual orientations, handle sound in a "masculinized" way. The response of gay and bisexual men to the sounds, meanwhile, rather than falling in between the results for straight men and women, are "hypermasculinized," the paper says. Ben Wear—“UT research backs the nature theory of homosexuality”—Austin American Statesman, July 14 After Over 20 Years of Mainstream TV Fame, Jerry Falwell Feels Marginalized by Networks
It is evident that the networks are offering the homosexual community great latitude in gaining a dominant and controlling position in "debates" on issues directly relating to them.
Rev. Jerry Falwell—Falwell Confidential—July 6 issue Did They Fly United Too? Three hours after landing at Logan International Airport yesterday morning, John Ferrari and Henry Lloyd of Atlanta clasped hands on a stranger's back lawn in this bucolic town, looked each other in the eye, and pledged to remain united for life. Then, after a few pleasantries with a justice of the peace they had met five minutes earlier, the two men, wearing tennis shirts and jeans, got into their rented SUV and whooshed back to the airport. Raphael Lewis—“ Honeymoon in Vermont”—Boston Globe, July 14 |
This may be remembered as the summer of Christian civil disobedience in
America…Gay men and lesbians, their friends, parents and pastors have marched,
chanted and broken the law across the country seeking full inclusion in the
church…Not just one church, but entire denominations: United Methodist,
Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, Episcopal -- nearly every major denomination
struggling to make peace with homosexuality.
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