In The Closet In The White House: The Tortured History Of The Gay Man Who Touched Off The Purge Of Gays In Government

In the annals of presidential directives, few were more chilling than a document signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in April 1953. Crafted during the height of the Cold War, Executive Order 10450 declared that alongside Communism, “sexual perversion” by government officials was a threat to national security. The order became the trigger for a massive purge of the federal workforce. In the years that followed, thousands of government employees were investigated and fired for the “crime” of being gay.

‘They Starve You. They Shock You’: Inside the Anti-Gay Pogrom in Chechnya

GROZNY, Russia — It was supposed to be a night out. But for the young man who calls himself Maksim, as for scores of other gay men arrested in a pogrom this month in Russia’s Chechnya region, it pivoted into nearly two weeks of beatings and torture.

Maksim said it had started with a chat room conversation with “a very good old friend who is also gay,” and who suggested that they meet at an apartment. When Maksim arrived, however, he was greeted not by his friend but by agents who beat him. Later, they strapped him to a chair, attached electrical wires to his hands with alligator clips and began an interrogation.

Ted Cruz Assures Voters He Will Address ‘Crisis’ Of Gay Marriage

KEOSAUQUA, IOWA — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz ended a seven-stop tour of Iowa on Tuesday with extended comments against marriage equality and transgender-inclusive policies, which he said represented a “time of crisis” in America.

His remarks came in response to a question from Keosauqua resident Randy DeLong, who expressed concern with the “moral decay in this country.”

A California Lawyer Wants to Put Gays to Death. Why Isn't the Attorney General Ignoring Him?

It’s been exactly one month since the office of Kamala Harris, the California attorney general, received the $200 filing fee and proposed text for a citizen initiative—the so-called Sodomite Suppression Act—that says "any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head." The measure probably would have died a natural—and quieter—death had Harris, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2016, not inserted herself in the controversy.

Congressman Denies Making Controversial Comments About Gays, Forgets The Entire Thing Is On Tape

Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) is now claiming that he did not make comments supporting anti-LGBT employment discrimination, as reported by ThinkProgress earlier this month.

At a town hall event in Ballantyne, North Carolina, ThinkProgress asked Pittenger: “Do you think businesses should be able to fire someone because they are gay or lesbian?” He replied that businesses should have the “autonomy” to fire workers for being LGBT, and asked rhetorically: “Why should government be there to impose on the freedoms we enjoy?”

Mayor Who Fired Lesbian Police Chief Caught On Tape In Homophobic Tirade

WASHINGTON -- The mayor of a tiny South Carolina town has triggered protests, prayer vigils and even a city council vote to weaken his powers after firing longtime police chief Crystal Moore, who is a lesbian and who some believe is a target of the mayor's homophobia.

The controversy over Moore's firing comes at a time when many in Congress are pushing for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would make it illegal to fire or harass someone at work for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Republicans Say No to Workers, Women, Gays and Mine Safety All in One Day

Claiming to stand for “working families,” Republicans in Congress voted down measures that would increase the minimum wage, protect gays and lesbians from workplace discrimination, broaden equal pay guarantees for women, and finally do something about mine safety four years after the Upper Big Branch disaster.

How was your Wednesday?

One committee alone, the Education and Workforce Committee in the House, shot down three of the big ideas, which were proposed as amendments to a GOP effort to kneecap unions. The chairman of that committee, Republican John Kline of Minnesota, dismissed his colleagues’ parliamentary maneuvering: “Today’s antics are further proof that Democrats have different priorities than working families.”

Mississippi Legislature Passes ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill That Legalizes Discrimination Against Gay People

The Mississippi legislature has passed legislation that would allow people to use their religion to justify discrimination. It seemed last month that the “religious liberty” bill had sufficiently stalled after the House voted to send it a study committee instead of passing it, with many members noting how it could be used to promote discrimination. However, both the House and Senate have approved a conference report on the bill, advancing it to Gov. Phil Bryant (R) with problematic language.

This Law Allows Genetic Counselors to Turn Away Gays and Unwed Parents

In February, when Arizona state lawmakers passed a bill allowing business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers on religious grounds, a ferocious national backlash forced Republican Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the legislation. But while Arizona legislators were catching heat, controversial "conscience clause" legislation quietly glided to passage in Virginia and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Now, certain health care providers in Virginia have the right to turn away gays or lesbians or to withhold test results that could cause a patient to consider terminating her pregnancy.

Meet the American Pastor Behind Uganda's Anti-Gay Crackdown

In late February, when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the nation's harsh new anti-gay bill into law, he claimed the measure had been "provoked by arrogant and careless western groups that are fond of coming into our schools and recruiting young children into homosexuality." What he failed to mention is that the legislation—which makes homosexuality a crime punishable by life in prison in some cases—was itself largely due to Western interlopers, chief among them a radical American pastor named Scott Lively.

Baird’s silence on Indian anti-gay law puzzles human rights experts

OTTAWA – He has hammered Russia, blasted Uganda and even gone after the state of Arizona.

All of which makes Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s silence on a tough anti-gay law in India puzzling to outsiders who have come to expect a strong Canadian statement when it comes to gay rights abroad.

Baird’s office says the federal government has raised the issue in private discussions with Indian officials, and that there is no “one-size-fits-all approach” when it comes to the issue of gay rights abroad.

Gay asylum seekers face 'humiliation'

Home Office officials are under fire for using "shockingly degrading" lines of questioning when interviewing gay and lesbian asylum seekers, despite clear guidance that such an approach is unacceptable.

A confidential Home Office document leaked to the Observer reveals how one bisexual asylum seeker was asked a series of lurid questions by a Home Office official, including: "Did you put your penis into x's backside?" and "When x was penetrating you, did you have an erection? Did x ejaculate inside you. Why did you use a condom?"

Republican Official Says Gays Should Be Purged From GOP, Blames Homosexuality On Satan

A new candidate for a Michigan seat on the Republican National Committee wants gays "purged" from the GOP and claims homosexuality is a "perversion" created by Satan himself.

Mary Helen Sears of Houghton County in the state's Upper Peninsula, elected vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party's 1st District last year, posted a rant in April on the Schoolcraft County GOP website -- preceded by a warning asking readers to "please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog."

Russia's Gay Laws, Putin's LGBT Stance Discussed By Activists At Davos Panel

Russia's controversial "gay propaganda" laws were discussed at length as part of an LGBT rights panel sponsored by The Huffington Post and Microsoft on the second day of the 2014 Davos Annual Meeting.

The panel included Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen, who described being forced to leave Russia because she's openly gay.

"I had been living in Russia as an openly lesbian person for the last 20 years, and I just had to leave basically to save my family," she said. "I feel like I've gotten whiplash from the sense of time shifting into reverse just in the last couple of years as the Kremlin has unleashed an unprecedented campaign of hatred."

Also speaking during the panel were J-FLAG Executive Director Dane Lewis, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, Elliott Management Corporation founder Paul Singer, Third Point founder Dan Loeb and Alice Nkom, a lawyer and LGBT activist from Cameroon.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: --

Putin: Gays Must 'Leave Children In Peace'

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin sought Friday to reassure gay visitors to the Sochi Games that they are welcome in Russia despite a law banning gay "propaganda" to minors.

Responding to a question from an Olympics volunteer during a visit in the Black Sea resort city, Putin vowed that gays face no discrimination in Russia and could feel "at ease." But he emphasized that because of the new law, they can't express their views on gay rights issues to anyone under age.

Putin appeared to lump homosexuality and pedophilia together.

How US Evangelicals Fueled the Rise of Russia’s ‘Pro-Family’ Right

This past June, the Russian Parliament passed an anti-gay law that came as a surprise to much of the rest of the world. The statute, an amendment to the country’s Code of Administrative Offenses, bans “propaganda” regarding “nontraditional sexual relations among minors.” (In earlier versions of the bill, it was simply referred to as “homosexual propaganda.”) The bill’s language is so vague that it could include just about any kind of gay rights advocacy, from newspaper editorials and advertisements to public information campaigns and demonstrations. Among the penalties: fines of up to 5,000 rubles for an individual and 1 million rubles for a media organization or other legal entity. (A few days later, a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples in countries that recognize gay marriage was also passed.) In November, the editor of a newspaper in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk was charged under the new law after quoting an LGBT activist saying, “My entire existence is credible proof of the normality of homosexuality.”

Pope Francis 'Shocked' By Gay Adoption Bill: Report

Pope Francis reportedly was "shocked" by a bill that would allow gay couples to adopt children in Malta.

Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna told the Times Of Malta that he spoke with Pope Francis about the bill and the pope encouraged him to speak out against it.

The Holy See's reaction may come as a surprise to those who have viewed him as progressive on gay rights. LGBT magazine "The Advocate" even named him their person of the year, citing his comments about homosexuals. "Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" he told reporters in Italian in July.

Despite his July comments, the pope has a long history of being against gay rights. He has come out strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and called it "a destructive attack" on God's plan.

Lawmakers in Malta introduced a bill this fall to allow civil unions and same-sex adoptions. The legislature is expected to continue debating the proposed law in the new year.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: Alana Horowitz

Duck Dynasty and the Fake Outrage Machine

Call me a slackjaw, but I was just shocked to discover that Phil Robertson—the 67-year-old, shotgun-toting, Bible-quoting, self-described redneck star of A&E’s reality-TV show Duck Dynasty—does not particularly like us gay people. “It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus,” he told GQ magazine, while also evoking the slippery slope of adultery, prostitution and bestiality. Well, chew on that. Until now, I thought Robertson was kinda like a Santa Daddy, and that when he wasn’t busy shooting birds out of the sky, adorable gender-neutral chipmunks nestled in his nicotine-stained beard, enjoying a lifelong contact high.

Maria Maksakova, Russian MP And Opera Star, Speaks Out Against Country's 'Gay Propaganda' Law

A member of Russia's parliament is speaking out against the nation's controversial "gay propaganda" legislation.

As both the Wall Street Journal and Buzzfeed are reporting, Maria Maksakova is also a prominent opera star, and pointed specifically to the law's impact on Russian performers and artists who are hoping to take their work abroad.

"We are seeing extremely negative consequences as a result of this law, with the growth of hate crimes,” Maksakova said during a recent meeting of the liberal wing of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, which was captured in a video posted by a Moscow newspaper. “Now we have a horrible problem, including with our investment climate, because for our artists it has become more and more difficult to work abroad.”

Utah County Adopts Jim Crow Tactic, Preventing Same-Sex Couples From Marrying

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s school desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia Sen. Harry F. Byrd called for a campaign of “massive resistance” to Brown in an effort to thwart public school integration. One Virginia county even shut down its public school system entirely from 1959 until 1964 in order to prevent black children from attending school alongside white ones. Fifty years after Prince Edward County, Virginia reopened its schools, however, a Utah county clerk has apparently decided to follow its lead.