XGW Digest: July 11, 2009
-The anti-gay witch hunt in Uganda continues to expand.
-Straight film critic filmmaker Ken Russell celebrates gay cinema.
-The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide takes a look at the ex-gay survivors movement.
-Britain’s Conservative Party woos gay voters.
-Congressman (and Iraq War vet) Patrick Murphy launches a new effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
-Peterson Toscano reports on a college student forced into ex-gay therapy by his parents.
-Christian singer Derek Webb releases a song challenging the way evangelical Christians treat gays.
-Richard Rosendall criticizes the ultimatums issued by the Dallas Principles.
-El Paso police harass a group of gay men at a local restaurant.
-The state of Massachusetts files a lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act.
-Same-sex marriage legislation remains stalled in the New York State Senate.
-Massachusetts State Senator Stan Rosenberg comes out of the closet.
-The Supreme Court of India to hear a challenge filed by an astrologer to the Delhi High Court’s ruling decriminalizing gay relationships.
Thank you for posting the event that took place in El Paso. I am originally from El Paso, moved to California for 5 years, and, because of my parents’ health and the economic crisis in CA, was forced to moved back to El Paso. It’s like moving from the technological age to the stone age with regards to LGBT rights here. And now to see the police department in El Paso acting the way it is and defending bigotry, it put El Paso back to when life was just forming as amebo acids.
Ken Russell is actually a famous director, not a movie critic…
I need to check my IMDB about Ken Russell, but if I remember correctly, he directed “Xanadu” with Olivia Newton-John.
I liked his list, but my personal favorites of great gay films are:
Beautiful Thing
Maurice
Bound
Desert Hearts
and I could go on…there are so many!
Looking forward to the dance mix of Derek Webb’s What matter’s more.
Thanks for the link
Ken Russell directed quite a few movies with overtly gay overtones and characters – I think you need to look a bit more closely at his IMDB listing and at the article that was linked to above. (Especially since he talks about his *own* films being his favorites re. LGBT issues, though for his part, it’s very much gay and nothing else…)
From the linked discussion of the Dallas Principles:
Of course. This statement is perfectly accurate, and Richard J. Rosendall is wrong when he disagrees with it.
My right to swing my fist ends when it meets your nose. I can, morally, do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t hurt people. The question of whether or not I’m upsetting your imaginary friend should not figure in a discussion of civil liberties.
TRiG.
“The question of whether or not I’m upsetting your imaginary friend should not figure in a discussion of civil liberties.”
Daggers to my heart to hear you say that, but I agree with you that even if someone disagrees with homosexual relationships they have no basis for restricting civil liberties. Tony Campolo is a fine example of someone who disagrees with homosexual relationships yet nonetheless supports total equality. It is his (correct) belief that the Bible affirms total equality for all people and charges Christians to stand for the marginalized . Unusually, his wife differs with him and supports a pro-loving committed relationship interpretation of the scriptures.
Even though the Campolos disagree on a few key issues, they are able to be married and cooperate as a couple in this regard.
It IS possible to get along, without having to believe the same things.
It IS possible for gay and straight to get along, especially with regard to consistence in equal civil liberties.
So simple, yet so HARD to get people to understand.
Aaron, I think you might find Greta’s post on being an atheist in the queer community interesting (and marginally relevant).
TRiG.