Those who have commented for a while at Ex-Gay Watch will know the name of Ephilei, a long-time reader who frequently commented and in 2009 wrote an article here as our guest.
XGW is sad to report that Ephilei, whose real name was Johannah, has died in a car crash at the age of 26.
On Facebook, XGW contributor Yuki Choe wrote, “We have lost an incredible ally, friend, sister. Thank you for all the joy, love, and compassion. We will miss you terribly.”
Johanna ran the website Transchristians.org, a resource for transgender Christians and anyone looking for answers on gender and transgender issues.
-Neo-Nazis disrupt Slovakia’s first gay pride event.
-Two gay rights activists are arrested in Zimbabwe.
-Musician Jason Mraz shares how he became an advocate for LGBT rights.
-The Obama administration lends its support to a new effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
-A federal magistrate rules that the National Organization for Marriage should disclose the donors that funded its anti-marriage equality campaign in Maine.
-FedEx to begin offering health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners.
-Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association steps up his anti-gay rhetoric.
-A Christian punk rocker in Minnesota lauds the righteousness of Muslims who execute gays.
-The Baptist General Convention of Texas expels a member church for ordaining a gay deacon.
-The House of Representatives passes an amendment to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
-The Zimbabwean activists are released on bail.
-Jeremy Hooper rounds up all of the Family Research Council’s anti-gay rhetoric related to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
-President Obama issues a proclamation for LGBT Pride Month.
Scott Lively, the anti-gay activist whose conference appearance precipitated Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, is fighting back against the media’s “character assassination” of him.
In an email sent to supporters this week, Lively wrote:
Friends,
I’m looking for a good Christian media source to interview me on film on the Uganda issue for posting online. I intend to get off defense and counter-attack the false witnesses with hard facts about Uganda and the dishonest way the media has addressed the story. Please forward this to any pro-family journalists you know and ask them to contact me at sdllaw@gmail.com.
In the mean time, I have created a new category of news stories at DefendtheFamily.com under the title “Uganda.” There are about 20 stories there now, going back to about 2003 which show the growing problem of pro-homosexual activism in that country, long before my 2009 seminar which is now being blamed for creating a climate of “homophobia” in Uganda. There are also numerous examples of liberal media propaganda about the anti-homosexuality bill.
If you happen to hear someone criticize me based on the intense, global anti-Scott Lively character assassination by these media, please refer them to our website, both to read the material there, but also to download Redeeming the Rainbow: A Christian Response to the “Gay” Agenda which was the source of all of my comments and teaching in Uganda.
Thanks for standing with me through the firestorm,
Dr. Scott Lively
The media hardly needs to assassinate his character. His own testimony is sufficient: he is in favor of the criminalization of homosexuality, and opposes the death penalty only on pragmatic grounds, not on principle, as Dr Warren Throckmorton points out. Lively’s preferred solution is “rehabilitation” – in other words, forced reparative therapy for homosexuals.
Scott Lively’s ugly words speak for themselves – and for his character.
The documentary “Missionaries of Hate” traces the influence of American evangelical leaders on a proposed law that could make being gay punishable by death in Uganda. It will air on Current TV Wednesday at 10/9c. This is must see TV for anyone interested in the tragic events surrounding the “kill the gays” bill in Uganda.
It appears you can view this now on Hulu (probably restricted to the US).
It could be this documentary, or the excellent Times article of two days ago that has caused one of the key players in the original anti-homosexuality conference, Scott Lively, to go on the offensive.
We recommend both the article and the documentary.
-Belarussian police break up a gay pride march in Minsk.
-On the same day, Mariela Castro leads a gay pride march in Cuba.
-Portugal officially becomes the latest nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
-Another anti-gay politician is brought down by a scandal.
-A Malawi court passes sentence on gay couple Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga.
-The National Association of Realtors amends its code of ethics to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
-A conservative Republican transgender woman runs for Congress in Florida.
-Colorado gets another openly gay legislator.
-Senator Al Franken introduces a student non-discrimination bill.
-An Australian “family values” politician is caught leaving a gay bathhouse.
-The Brookings Institute discovers that other countries have experienced no negative effects from allowing gays to serve openly in the military.
Edit (12:50 pm EDT) – While the Towleroad article on MP David Campbell labels him as a “family values” politician, we don’t have enough information to be able to know this at this time.
Exodus International President Alan Chambers jubilantly noted on Facebook this morning that a lesbian couple of 22 years had finally broken up in response to prayers:
Heard from a couple this morning who have been praying for their daughter and her partner to come to Christ for 22 years. Both accepted Jesus, broke off their relationship and are pursuing a life in Christ. God is faithful and answers prayers. Be encouraged no matter your circumstances!
This rejoicing should tell you all you need to know about Exodus’s family values, and those of the Christian Right. They proclaim the importance of monogamy, faithfulness, commitment and love, but those values end when families fail to fit their narrow mold.
Alan’s fans are equally happy with the news, describing it as “amazing,” “awesome,” and testimony to Exodus’s ex-gay mantra that “change is possible.”
-Lithuania’s first pride festival takes place, but not without opposition.
-A group of UK Christians create a British version of the Manhattan declaration.
-Debate rages over whether Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan should have to publicly declare her sexual orientation.
-A New Jersey school board votes to ban a gay-themed book.
-Police investigate whether an Indiana gay man’s murder was a hate crime.
-Former First Lady Laura Bush speaks out for marriage equality on Larry King Live.
-The Leon County, FL Commission passes an anti-discrimination ordinance.
-A Kentucky middle school student is belittled by a school employee for having lesbian parents.
-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty promises to veto the domestic partnership bill passed by the state legislature.
-A Catholic school in Massachusetts denies admission to a boy with lesbian parents; the Boston Archdiocese quickly disowns the school’s action.
-Disputed Mutability drives home the reality of anti-gay bullying.
-The Malawi government faces growing pressure to release a gay couple imprisoned since December.
Dr George Rekers has resigned from the board of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), following allegations that he received nude, erotic massages from a male prostitute.
Rekers, who has been an anti-gay activist for decades, took a 10-day European vacation with Jo-Vanni Roman (at first identified only as “Lucien”), a gay escort who says they met through the explicit website Rentboy.com. Rekers faced humiliation in the media after denying the accusations, claiming he he hired Roman to help carry his luggage while he recovered from surgery. He said he only found out Roman was an escort partway through the trip, and responded by evangelizing him and warning him against homosexuality.
Stepping down from NARTH, Rekers wrote:
I am immediately resigning my membership in NARTH to allow myself the time necessary to fight the false media reports that have been made against me. With the assistance of a defamation attorney, I will fight these false reports because I have not engaged in any homosexual behavior whatsoever. I am not gay and never have been.
NARTH responded:
NARTH has accepted Dr. Rekers’ resignation and would hope that the legal process will sufficiently clarify the questions that have arisen in this unfortunate situation. We express our sincere sympathy to all individuals, regardless of their perspective, who have been injured by these events. We also wish to reiterate our traditional position that these personal controversies do not change the scientific data, nor do they detract from the important work of NARTH. NARTH continues to support scientific research, and to value client autonomy, client self-determination and client diversity.
Earlier this week, there were premature reports of some websites and organizations (Focus on the Family’s Family Research Council, for example, which Rekers co-founded) deleting mentions of Rekers from their history. Today, Dr Warren Throckmorton reports that the purge has begun.
-The religious right’s “May Day 2010” event draws fewer than 300 people.
-Country singer Chely Wright comes out of the closet.
-The Obama Administration delays efforts to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
-A pair of Republican congressional candidates in Tennessee give implicit endorsement to violence against gay servicemembers.
-Three Republicans running for governor in Iowa sidestep a question about gay marriage.
-Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson offers some advice to Pope Benedict.
-The New York Court of Appeals upholds the rights of gay parents.
-Austria issues a gay pride postage stamp.
-Argentina’s House of Deputies votes in favor of a same-sex marriage bill.
-Candidate Nickie Antonio is poised to become Ohio’s first openly GLBT legislator.
-Another Olympic competitor comes out of the closet.
-The Family Research Council distances itself from disgraced co-founder George Rekers.
-An ROTC student is ordered to repay $80,000 in scholarships after coming out of the closet.
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