I’m on my way into London for Gay Pride. As I walk down Oxford Street and Regent Street towards Trafalgar Square, part of my thoughts will be elsewhere, with the US Presbyterians, who have already announced that they are ready…
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Progress to Marriage Equality (1): Ireland.
In Ireland, the Dáil (the parliamentary lower house) has passed the long-expected Civil Partnership Bill, without requiring a vote, and to applause from the public gallery. It is expected that it will pass in the Seanad within a fortnight or so,…
Progress to Marriage Equality (2): Costa Rica
In the US, he path to marriage has been bedevilled by tussles between courts, legislatures and citizens’ ballot initiatives. The key question: is it fair or constituionally acceptable to allow a majority to vote away the rights of a minority?…
The Decline of Religion Based Homophobia.
I have frequently written about (and celebrated) assorted pointers on the road to lesbitransgay inclusion in Church. There is an obvious corollary to that though, that I have not spelt out before: the steady decline of religion -based homophobia. Perhaps…
Out in the Forces: UK Version
Over the last year or so there have been many notable anniversaries of landmarks on the way to LGBT equality: 40 since since Stonewall (June last year), 40 years since the first gay liberation march (June this year); 20 years…
“In the Beginning”: The Myth of the Nuclear Family
“Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality“ is a new book I am putting directly onto my reading list, based on this fascinating review by Eeric Michael Johnson, a scholar who writes on issues of science, politics, and history…
Exclusive Heterosexuality Unnatural?
“I don’t know of any species that is exclusively heterosexual” - Zurich Zoo tour guide, Myriam Schärz. The argument that same -sex relationships are supposedly “unnatural” is so fundamental to the homophobes’ case, that it needs to be countered at…
The “Abominations” of the King James Bible.
Scripture has been so commonly quoted in support of arguments against same sex relationships, that we too easily overlook the simple facts that the texts being quoted were written in a foreign language, in a remote cultural setting, in contexts…
