Camille is a twentysomething working in the LGBT nonprofit industry. She runs an LGBT news blog at gaywrites.org.
In Galway, Ireland, a vaguely Christian volunteer group called the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Society has given a grant to a local LGBT group. It’s meant to help them create an LGBT community resource center, a much-needed space in a traditionally Catholic area. Local Catholic bishop Martin Drennan (below), however, has jumped in at the last minute to protest because he says building the center will hurt the poor and “send the wrong message” about Christian charities. Read more
Since 2011, Vanderbilt University has upheld an “all comers” policy when it comes to regulating leadership in student groups on campus. The policy says that no student can be barred from a leadership role on the basis of ideological grounds — namely, you don’t have to be a Christian to run for office in a Christian group. When the policy kicked in years ago, 14 religious groups lost their organizational status rather than adapting to the new policy. One of them was Vanderbilt’s Graduate Christian Fellowship. And this week, one of their former leaders, Tish Harrison Warren, wrote for Christianity Today that her group was “kicked off campus for being the wrong kind of Christians”: Read more
For every heartwarming coming-out story, there’s one that will make you sick. Daniel Ashley Pierce, a 20-year-old from Georgia, has one of those stories. He came out several months ago to an “unresponsive” family, but this week, he managed to film an abusive altercation between them about his sexual orientation. His friend posted the video on YouTube under the title “How Not To React When Your Child Tells You He’s Gay.” (Warning: This video is disturbing and contains graphic language, and it may be triggering to some.) Read more
A GOP candidate for state office in Colorado way, way, way crossed the line this week when he likened a gay politician to the terrorist group ISIS. Gordon Klingenschmitt (below), a minister and nominee for a seat in the Colorado state House, who has already said some awful things during his campaign, sent an email to his subscribers accusing openly gay Democrat Jared Polis of wanting to execute Christians. Read more
Today on The 700 Club, Pat Robertson gave unhelpful and unnecessary advice to a woman concerned about her teen stepson’s budding attraction to other guys. Right Wing Watch tracked down the video of Robertson asserting that being gay is the result of nurture instead of nature and that it’s apparently caused by the absence of male role models in a boy’s life. Here’s the clip: Read more
