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School stops child of lesbian parents enrolling

Filed Under Breaking News, Gay Boomers, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Hot topics, Religion | Leave a Comment

by Debbie Webber Mar 11th 2010

A Catholic school has decided not to allow a pre-school child to enrol next year because her parents are lesbians. Now the community has rallied to protest at the school’s decision to uphold a policy not to let children of same sex parents attend..

The child already attends the school’s preschool programme but it was recently decided not to allow her to move up to kindergarten next year.Father William Breslin talked about the decision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in Colorado in a recent sermon and also on his blog.

“If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against the will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad,” he writes. “We don’t want to put any child in that tough position.”

However, the school’s stance has provoked protests from the community. “It’s clear if they only accept students with perfect parents, they would have almost nobody,” Beth Osnes, a protest organiser said. “I know they have the right to, but why would they want to?”

Spokeswoman for the archdiocese, Jeanette DeMelo, told the Denver Post the student is in the school’s preschool program and will be allowed to finish the year.

She added it became a matter of policy after school officials, who didn’t ask questions about sexual orientation during enrolment, found out about the parents.

“We’re not trying to weed out people,” she told the Post. “But when they can’t agree with our Catholic philosophy, it really makes it difficult to be a strong part of the school community; it’s a difficult situation.”

But the issue doesn’t appear a difficult one for the protestors.

“It’s not the teachings of Jesus. We are all created equal,” Joellen Raderstorf of Boulder tells the Post.

The child and her family have obviously coped with the school’s teachings during her time as a preschooler so it seems a bit pointless and quite cruel making her leave now.

If the sexual orientation of pupils’ parents is that important perhaps the school should make it a point to ask during the enrolment process.

What do you think? Do you think the decision to attend should be up to the parents of the child or do you think the school has done the right thing?

Source (ParentDish US)

Technorati Tags: Catholic, lesbian, sexual orientation

School Board Cancels Prom Rather Than Allowing Same-Sex Couple

Filed Under Gay Rights, Hot topics, Religion | Leave a Comment

Constance Mcmillen

By Debbie Webber
School board members in Fulton, Miss. decided to cancel the senior prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School rather than let a lesbian student take her girlfriend to the dance.
Now 18-year-old Constance McMillen says she fears retaliation from her classmates.

“The message they are sending is that if they have to let gay people go to prom that they are not going to have one,” she tells the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

“A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this, so in a way it’s really retaliation,” she adds.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Mississippi has taken up McMillen’s cause.

School officials in Fulton (a town of about 4,00 people in the northeast corner of the state) circulated a memo Feb. 5 telling students that same-sex couples would not be allowed at the prom.

In an ACLU press release, McMillen reports meeting with the assistant principal and later the district superintendent. She says she was told she could not attend the prom with her girlfriend or show up wearing a tuxedo.

And no matter what they did, McMillen says in the press release, she was told they would be thrown out if their presence made any other students “uncomfortable.”

Mississippi ACLU officials gave school district officials until Wednesday to respond to their demands that McMillen and her sophomore girlfriend be allowed to attend the April 2nd prom. School board members reacted by canceling the event entirely.

The board issued a statement suggesting a private group host an independent prom. A private group would not be bound by the same anti-discrimination laws as a public school district.

Low blow, McMillen tells the Clarion Ledger.

“If they set it up privately, they probably aren’t going to allow gay people to go, and there is nothing that you can do about it,” she tells the paper. “I’m going to have to change schools or something.” Read more

Technorati Tags: constitutional right, discrimination, Gay Rights

Weddings bells ring for D.C. same-sex couples

Filed Under Breaking News, Gay History, Gay Marriage | 1 Comment

Rocky Galloway, left, and Reginald Stanley hold their twin daughters after they were married by Rev. Sylvia E. Sumter, center, on Tuesday.

AP One bride wore a knee-length lace dress and pearls. The other bride wore a yellow shirt and white suit. And when a pastor pronounced them “partners in life this day and for always” Tuesday they hugged and smiled as wedding guests and nearly a dozen TV cameras and reporters looked on.
Tuesday was the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington.
Brides Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were the first of three couples taking the plunge in morning ceremonies at the offices of the Human Rights Campaign, which does advocacy work on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. Other ceremonies were planned throughout the day.
Fifteen licenses were picked up in the first hour the marriage bureau was open and two couples quickly got married and returned to pick up their certificates, courthouse spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz said. More couples were also coming Tuesday to apply for licenses.
Young and Townsend married in a room with about 100 guests sitting on white chairs and standing next to bouquets of white snapdragons and yellow chrysanthemums, roses and carnations. A cellist played before the ceremony, and cream and gray programs announced the names of the three pairs marrying and said, “Congratulations to the couples on this historic day.”
D.C. bakery Cakelove supplied a three-tiered butter-cream frosted cake with a fresh strawberry filling for each couple.
About 150 couples were eligible to pick up marriage licenses Tuesday after applying on the first day the licenses were made available. Many of them stood in line for four or more hours last Wednesday. Townsend and Young were the first in line that day.
‘We have rights’
About 100 guests stayed for the three ceremonies. A cellist played, arrangements of yellow chrysanthemums, roses and carnations flanked the stage, and cream and gray programs announced the couples’ names along with: “Congratulations to the couples on this historic day.”
About 150 couples were eligible to pick up marriage licenses after applying last week. Many of them stood in line March 3 at the marriage bureau of the district’s Moultrie Courthouse for four or more hours. Like all couples, they had to wait three business days for their licenses to be processed.
By the time the marriage bureau closed Tuesday, 42 couples had returned to pick up their licenses. At least a dozen couples married and returned the licenses the same day. Couples do have 10 days to return their licenses after they have been married, so more couples may have actually tied the knot.
Some couples, like district residents Eva Townsend and Shana McDavis-Conway, planned to marry immediately. They planned a ceremony by their plot in a community garden, where they’ve grown carrots and potatoes. Others said they would be joined over the next several weeks and months. A large number – many of whom had held previous ceremonies – planned to marry at the city’s courthouse. Normally, the courthouse hosts four to six weddings a day, but over the next several weeks, officials are expecting 10 to 12 per day because of the demand for same-sex ceremonies.
Rebecca and Delia Taylor picked up their license Tuesday morning and a minister friend immediately married them outside the courthouse. The couple said they long ago exchanged rings and considered themselves married. Still, they were grinning after picking up their certificate inside the courthouse.
“We’ve referred to each other as wives,” Rebecca Taylor said. “It’s just a legal document, so if anything happens to one of us, we have rights.”

Technorati Tags: D.C., Washington, Weddings

Daniel Radcliffe speaks out for gay suicide prevention

Filed Under Celebrities, Gay Rights | 1 Comment

In this July 10, 2009 file photo, actor Daniel Radcliffe poses for a portrait in New York. (AP)

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA, AP Drama Writer– Fri Feb 26, 4:24 pm
Daniel Radcliffe is explaining why he has just filmed a public service announcement for The Trevor Project, the leading organization focusing on suicide prevention efforts among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth.

Because his parents were both actors, “I grew up knowing a lot of gay men and it was never something that I even thought twice about — that some men were gay and some weren’t,” the “Harry Potter” megastar said Friday. “And then I went to school and (for) the first time … I came across homophobia. … I had never encountered it before. It shocked me.

“I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals,” he added. “Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it.”

The result is a PSA that was filmed Friday at the organization’s Wall Street offices. The announcement is scheduled to air sometime this spring.

Radcliffe first became aware of The Trevor Project, founded in 1998 by three filmmakers, while he was appearing on Broadway in the 2008 revival of “Equus.” Their movie, “Trevor,” which won an Academy Award for best short film, concerned a gay teen who attempts suicide. The Trevor Project allows young people to call in for counseling or just to talk.

“I have described myself as being ‘gently eccentric’ and slightly different as a person just because I’ve had a very different set of influences growing up than anybody else in my peer group did,” the 20-year-old Radcliffe said. “I’ve always felt very lucky to have the life that I’ve had. I never had to cope with anything serious about my religion or sexual orientation or anything like that.

“I think it’s important for somebody from a big, commercial movie series like ‘Harry Potter’ and particularly because I am not gay or bisexual or transgendered. … The fact that I am straight makes not a difference, but it shows that straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well.”

Technorati Tags: daniel radcliffe, Homophobia

Dutch gays, Catholic church put aside dispute

Filed Under Gay Rights, Religion | Leave a Comment

From Associated Press
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch gay rights groups have called for an end to protests against a Catholic church southwest of Amsterdam after it said it would no longer seek to bar homosexuals from taking communion.
The Sint-Jan church in Den Bosch says it will leave it up to believers to decide whether they are ready to receive communion.
Mass at the church on Sunday was disturbed by protests. The demonstrations began last month after an openly gay man in a nearby village was chosen for a prominent role during Dutch carnival celebrations but was refused communion by his local priest — offending many in the village.
Most Dutch people support gay rights.

Technorati Tags: Catholic Church, Gay Rights

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