PTT backs March for a Secular Europe

The gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) fully endorses the statement issued by the Peter Tatchell Foundation concerning the March for a Secular Europe, opposing special privileges for religion and people of faith, and citing the malign influence of the Vatican.

The PTT’s secretary George Broadhead commented: “Humanists and Secularists like ourselves have been campaigning for many years against these special privileges in areas such as education, chaplaincy, the media and parliament, which are totally unacceptable. And what is worse for LGBT people is religious opposition to gay equality laws and its exemption from them. As for the Vatican, it must rank as the most homophobic institution worldwide. Peter Tatchell is spot on when he describes religious organisations as ‘the enemy of democracy and human rights’.

“As a member of the Alliance for a Secular Europe and a supporter of the Secular Europe Campaign, the PTT fully supports the March for a Secular Europe in London on 20 September 2011 and urges all LGBT people to do so.”

Another celibate man in a frock talks of ‘foolish’ gay marriage

Another suitable case for treatment has been sounding off in Scotland about same-sex marriage.

It would render marriage “meaningless”, avers the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti. And those who advocate it are “foolish”.

Earlier this week it was Cardinal Keith O’Brien, leader of the Catholics in Scotland (see Gay marriage would “rewrite nature”, says celibate man wearing a frock).

As to whether marriage is meaningless, is that not a question for those who are married and not those whose vocation renders them unable to be so (unless they give up their nonsense, of course)?

And why is allowing same-sex marriage foolish? In what way? Only fools advocate same-sex marriage? Everyone who advocates same-sex marriage is a fool, an idiot, a prat?

The 2010 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey found that 61 per cent of the Scottish public support allowing gay couples to wed. Are they all foolish – 61 per cent of the entire population (some of them, no doubt, followers of the Catholic Church if not all its tenets)?

Nope. These blithering idiots of preachermen don’t think much for themselves. They don’t need to when they have a huge canon of Catholic literature to make up their minds for them.

In a letter to the Herald this week, Conti wrote:

In a proposed consultation regarding the redefinition of civil partnerships, we are talking not of human rights or of civil liberties, nor of legal or fiscal equalities, but of redefining a particular relationship to give it a meaning it doesn’t possess.

We would use a word which carries huge significance, and render it meaningless in respect of one of its essential attributes, its capacity to create a natural family – I mean of course marriage. That 60 per cent of the population, according to one poll, is of a mind to accept that change may suggest to some a liberal society, but to others a foolish one.

There you go, then. It’s a foolish society.

As for redefining a relationship to “give it a meaning it does not possess”, who gives things meaning? Meaning is an entirely human concept. Humans attach meaning to things, and meanings change according to how things are viewed.

Oh, I was forgetting. Catholics don’t do that sort of thing. Only God breathes meaning into things. Silly me!

Time to protect gay rights from religious loonies

A new campaign’s being launched that aims for a secular Europe where religion and politics would be separate.

“Gay people should join the Secular Europe Campaign’s march this month [17 September] as a means of protecting their hard won rights,” said Marco Tranchino, who is organising the campaign.

Since religion has been the bane of gay people – people who just want to act according to their nature and get on with their lives, much as the religionists want to do – it’s a good campaign to support, if you can.

Read more about it here in Gay UK News.

Gay marriage would ‘rewrite nature’, says celibate man wearing a frock

It could come only from a bloody Catholic! People who want marriage for same-sex couples want to “rewrite nature”, according to some idiot in Scotland called Cardinal Keith O’Brien.

Unsurprisingly, he says any plans for same-sex marriage will be strenuously opposed. Well, he would, wouldn’t he? He’s just doing his job. That’s what he does: fosters hatred.

He was responding to an announcement by the Scottish government of a consultation on the issue.

“The view of the church is clear,” says this nutcase: “no government can rewrite human nature; the family and marriage existed before the state and are built on the union between a man and woman.

“Any attempt to redefine marriage is a direct attack on a foundational building block of society and will be strenuously opposed.”

Well we can sit here all day and pick holes in the logic of this hogwash. For starters, it’s not within nature for a man and woman to get married at all. It’s within nature for them to shag; but, then, it’s within nature for two men or two women to put their things together, too.

And whether marriage existed before the state is irrelevant. Many things existed before the state that states have subsequently changed, and he doesn’t seem to be objecting to those, be they a ban on barbaric punishments or laws against walking around stark naked. (I’m sure you can think of more, dear reader.)

Anyway, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says the government is in favour of marriage equality while allowing religious groups the right not to hold ceremonies. What more does this buffoon want?

What a bunch of winkers!

A picture of a religious figure winking is disrespectful – so disrespectful, in fact, that it’s been banned by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Jesus – not only winking but giving a thumbs-up sign – appeared on a mobile phone ad just before Easter this year. I’ve looked in vain for a picture, but the various news sites that carry the story – well, the ones I could be bothered to look at, anyway – have avoided using the pic, including the BBC and the Independent.

The BBC says that “the Phones 4U advertisement was ‘disrespectful’ to the Christian faith and must not be used again”. The inference we must all draw is that it’s disrespectful to use a figure that’s revered by millions of people, but if it’s Jesus it’s wrong and if it’s, say, John Lennon or Lady Gaga it’s OK.

Sorry, but I don’t see the difference. Either you’re hurting people’s feelings or you’re not.

Oh, I was forgetting. It’s disrespectful only if the figure concerned is part of a myth.

Anyway, I’d have thought a Jesus winking and giving a thumbs-up would please the Deluded Herd. It seems to be saying Christianity is cool.

But, then, the ASA has been known to be a pusillanimous bunch of twats before, as we saw on this blog nearly a year ago when it cosied up to the Catholic Church and banned an ad showing two male priests about to kiss – on the strength of a handful of complaints.

Why doesn’t it concentrate on ads for stuff that’s harmful, such as most fast foods, mobile phones aimed at kids (think of the radiation) and clothes made in sweatshops – to name but a few dodgy products?
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UPDATE: Since I wrote the above my helpful commenter Logicelf (see comments) has kindly sent me a link to a picture (for which thanks) on the Sky website:

Are state schools seeing sense?

“Many state schools in England are not providing group worship, despite legislation making it a requirement, a survey suggests,” says the BBC.

Perhaps the message is getting across that religion has no place in education, except as a subject of academic study.

How much time is wasted in talking to invisible friends that could be used for academic or other school activities?

How the Catholic Church buggers up people’s lives: Part 963

A lesson in how to mess up the lives not only of those you persecute and hate but the people they care about comes in a moving story in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

Ron Bates tells us how he felt he had to get married because of the guilt forced on him by the Catholic Church.

When Mr Bates was Master Bates, he was growing up in rural Minnesota as part of a devout Catholic family.

While attending St. John’s Prep School in Collegeville [he writes], I confessed to a priest that I was attracted to another boy who slept across from me. The priest responded that if I ever acted on that, I would go to hell.

As a sincere Catholic teen, I did not act on my attraction but started a harmful journey of self-loathing and personal destruction. I didn’t know what “homosexual” or “gay” were, but I understand “queer” and thought it was evil and perverted.

And so he eventually got married, but the sexual part of the marriage was repulsive to him, “and that was communicated indirectly to my ex-wife. That is the most unfair part. She was one of the innocent victims in the masquerade of ‘I'm straight.’ ”

You can read the story here.

PTT donates £1,000 to Nigerian Humanist Movement

This blog’s parent, the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has just made a £1,000 to the Nigerian Humanist Movement (NHM), towards the cost of its convention later this month.

The PTT’s generosity came at the request of Leo Igwe, of the NHM, and the trust has
made the following statement to be read out at the convention:

The UK gay humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust applauds the efforts of the Nigerian Humanist Movement to promote the humanist outlook in Nigeria and the courageous support it has given to LGBT people in that country. It is therefore very pleased to give its moral and financial support to the NHM Convention in September 2011.

Hoping you have a very successful convention.

Well done, PTT!

It’s worth quoting the opening paragraph of the NHM’s website, for those who wish to know more:

The Nigerian Humanist Movement was founded in 1996 to promote Humanism, defend secularism and provide a sense of community to all non-religious and freethinking Nigerians – atheists, skeptics, rationalists, agnostics and freethinkers. Nigeria is a deeply religious society. And in most cases people relate, interact and marry along religious lines. Religious affiliation becomes a decisive factor when one is seeking employment, doing a business or wants to be admitted into a school or university. Those who do not profess any religion are treated as second class citizens. So in Nigeria most non-religious people are in the closet. They lack any association or community they can call their own. The rights of non-religious people are not recognized. The voice and interests are not represented at public debates and discourse. So NHM was formed to fulfill this important need – to defend the rights and interests of Humanists and the general public and to realize a Humanistic society.

Guiding lights in humanism

Not sure how long this site has been up there on the WWW, but take a look. It’s called The Really Simple Guide to . . . Humanism (not sure of the purpose of the ellipsis, but there you go; maybe it’s a kind of ta-da), and its front page tells us:

The really simple guide to . . . Humanism has been created to inform interested newcomers to Humanism. The series offers simple answers to the most frequently asked questions about Humanism and the opportunity to think about them and learn more.

There’s a short video there with the likes of A. C. Grayling and Polly Toynbee telling you why they think humanism is a good thing. But there’s plenty else on the site, so make up your own mind. And pass it on to friends who are curious about a life without a belief in sky fairies.

It’s a very attractive site, easy to use, and all the information you’ll need to see life from a humanist point of view is easy to find and eminently readable, without being patronising.

More travel firms cut links with homophobe organisations

It's good to see that quite a number of travel firms have now joined others in cutting their ties with a link referral site, run by Christians, that supports homophobic Christian groups – mainly American, of course.

Full story here.

First to suffer under Muslim rule? Muslims!

Whether it’s gays or women, the first and primary victims of the medieval “law” they call sharia are Muslims.

As this story in The Australian points out – citing the UK and Canada – sharia threatens all that Muslim women activists have fought for.

“Many aspects of these laws are unpalatable to a society that has enforced equal rights for divorce, custody, inheritance and court testimony, and criminalised polygamy and forced, under-age marriage,” says the writer, Ada Lichter.

“Moreover, the experience with sharia in Britain and Canada is cautionary. It is estimated thousands of British Muslim men have taken advantage of a loophole in the law against bigamy to avoid official registration and seal polygamous marriages in mosque ceremonies.”

She goes on to quote a British think tank: “According to a report by British think tank Civitas in 2009, some rulings of sharia courts or tribunals advised illegal actions and others were incompatible with British law. Try these: polygamous marriage (two to four wives) is considered legal; there is no requirement to register a marriage according to the law of the country; a woman cannot marry without the presence (and permission) of a male guardian; a woman may not leave her home without her husband’s consent; a woman may not retain custody of her child after seven (for a boy) or nine (for a girl); and ‘severe punishments for homosexuals’ are recommended.”

We know not all Muslims wish to impose these barbarisms, but the fact that enough do, and that many of those are vocal and become self-appointed “community leaders” and often have the ear of government and other authorities, is worrying.

Surprise, surprise! Republican hopeful joins with the Christian homophobes

As if we needed more reminding of how homophobic the American Republican right is, we see that presidential hopeful attended a church service in Iowa on Sunday in which the pastor labelled homosexuality “immoral” and “unnatural”.

Why aren’t I surprised? The story is to be found here, in the LA Times, under the headline “Michele Bachmann woos Iowa Christians, attends anti-gay service”.

Gays in Africa: situation is going ‘from bad to worse’, say humanists

Following the latest example of virulent homophobia in Ghana, the UK gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) says that the situation for LGBT people in Africa is going from bad to worse.

A government minister in Ghana has called on the country’s intelligence services to track down and arrest all gays and lesbians. The call has come from Paul Evans Aidoo, the minister for the Western Region of Ghana. Aidoo, a staunch Roman Catholic, said: “All efforts are being made to get rid of these people in society.”

He called for the Bureau of National Investigations to round up gays and called on landlords and tenants to inform on people they suspect of being homosexual. “Once they have been arrested, they will be brought before the law.”

The move by Aidoo has drawn support from other politicians, including the general secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), who declared: “Homosexuality is abhorrent. Media discourse across the world is being dictated by the vulgar opinions of homosexuals. Ghana and probably Africa cannot sustain the menace of homosexuals.”

This development follows months of campaigning by the Christian Council of Ghana, which last week called on Ghanaians not to vote for any politician who believes in the rights of homosexuals. Both Christians and Muslims in the region have been protesting since a local media report claimed there were around 8,000 gay men and lesbians in the district. It is the latest in a series of expressions of officially condoned homophobia across the continent, notably in Malawi and Uganda.

Homosexual acts are criminalised in 38 African countries. Last year, the launch of a parliamentary bill in Uganda proposing the death penalty for same-sex encounters sparked a campaign of “outing” of a dozen lesbians and gay men by a Kampala newspaper. One of those named, gay rights activist David Kato, was beaten to death with a hammer in January.

The law is still under discussion. In Malawi, two men who staged a partnership ceremony in December 2009 were jailed for 14 years. They were pardoned in April 2010 after pressure from European and American aid donors. The prime ministers of Zimbabwe and Kenya have both denounced homosexuality.

The PTT’s Secretary George Broadhead commented: “The situation for LGBT people in African states seems to be going from bad to worse and, as in the rest of the world, it is clear that much of the hostility they face stems from religious teachings. Examples are the Anglican Church of Uganda’s support for the Anti-Homosexual Bill and the Anglican Church of Nigeria’s support for a similar bill.

“By contrast, Humanists, notably Leo Igwe of the Ugandan Humanist Movement and George Thindwa of the Association for Secular Humanism in Malawi, have spoken out bravely in support of LGBT rights.

“In 2006 Leo Igwe made an impassioned appeal to members of the Nigerian National Assembly not to pass a Bill that would not only criminalise gay marriage but also impose a five-year jail sentence on anyone who has a gay relationship or anyone who aids or supports a gay marriage or relationship.

“He and his family have been harassed by the authorities ever since. Not surprisingly, the Bill had the blessing of the Nigerian Anglican Church and its leader, Archbishop Peter Akinola, as well as the then Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who declared that homosexual practice ‘is clearly unbiblical, unnatural and definitely un-African’.

“In 2010 George Thindwa and his colleagues of the Association for Secular Humanism in Malawi made a courageous public stand for LGBT identity and rights taking great risks of retaliation from homophobic politicians, religious leaders, and a hostile mass media.

“The worldwide Humanist movement, represented by the International Humanist and Ethical Union, deserves to be recognised as an unequivocal supporter of LGBT rights.”

Rabid homophobia in Ghana

Well, maybe we asked for it. Christian missionaries took Christianity to Africa, and with it homophobia – or the potential to build homophobia into its teachings, as it did here (although it's slackened off a bit in many Christian circles).

Now we get this disgusting state of affairs in Ghana, where the minister of the Western Region wants to round up all gays in some kind of witch hunt.

What a total obscenity!

Royal recognition for gay atheist code breaker

The UK gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) has warmly welcomed the recent unveiling by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh of a memorial at Bletchley Park to honour those who played a pivotal role in decryption operations during World War II, notably the celebrated gay codebreaker and founder of the modern computer Alan Turing who was referred to in the Queen’s speech.

Commenting on this event the PTT’s Secretary George Broadhead said: “It is great that these people who played such a vital part in ensuring allied victory in the last world war should be honoured in this way. For we gay Humanists, most of whom identify as atheist, it is especially welcome that the gay mathematical genius Alan Turing, who was himself a committed atheist, was given special recognition.

“Turing was treated abominably by the authorities when he was prosecuted for having a gay sexual relationship in 1952. He was obliged to undergo chemical castration and later committed suicide. He has since been rehabilitated. A statue of him was erected in Manchester, where he last lived and worked, and following a campaign led by Humanists Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry and Peter Tatchell, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official apology on behalf of the government. However, nothing can compensate for the tragic loss of such a genius.”

Mosque in homophobia row

There's a bit of a row going on in London over a mosque that's said to keep breaking its promises when it says it won't host homophobic speakers.

Gay campaigners, including Peter Tatchell, are raging about it; Andrew Gilligan in the Telegraph is raging about it, and the mosque says other groups, such as Christians, are anti-gay, too.

You can read all about it here.

Wilders acquitted

“Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders has been acquitted by a court in Amsterdam where he was on trial for inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims,” reports the Muslim TV outlet Al Jazeera.

His statements, said the judge, were “rude and condescending”, but didn’t amount to criminal activity.

Wilders was hauled before the court for “inciting hatred”. So now, perhaps, it will be possible to speak objectively about religious ideologies without attracting the touchy-feely brigade.

Gay bishops? No problem! But …

It’s the old, old story. We don’t mind – well some of us don’t mind – if you’re gay, but . . .

Yes, there’s always bullshit before the but, isn’t there?

In this case, it’s the possibility that the good ol’ Church of England may allow gay clergy to become bishops. But there’s a catch.

And the catch is . . .? You’ve guessed it.

You can’t have nookie.

Once again, men in frocks seem to think they know the mind of God – even know that there is a God – and pronounce on what other men in frocks should do with their wiggly things.

UK gay humanists welcome new UN resolution on sexual orientation

The UK gay humanist charity – and this blog’s owner – the Pink Triangle Trust has warmly welcomed the passing by the UN Human Rights Council of a resolution concerning sexual orientation.

It expressed “grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity”. It also established a formal UN process to document human-rights abuses against gays, including discriminatory laws and acts of violence. It was passed by a narrow majority of 23 to 19, with 3 abstentions.

Nigeria claimed the resolution went against the wishes of most Africans. Mauritania called the resolution “an attempt to replace the natural rights of a human being with an unnatural right”. Speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Pakistan’s envoy to the UN in Geneva said: “I am seriously concerned at the attempt to introduce to the United Nations some notions that have no legal foundation.”

Commenting on the resolution the PTT secretary and my fellow blogger George Broadhead said: “This marks a major step forward in the worldwide campaign for LGBT rights. Congratulations are due to South Africa for proposing it and the twenty-three nations who voted for it.

“It is highly significant, however, that the main opposition to the resolution came from African counties like Nigeria and Uganda, in which religious-based homophobia is rife and Muslim countries like Bangladesh, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“This is reminiscent of the staunch opposition of Muslim states to the repeated attempts made by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association to be granted NGO consultative status at the UN, and clearly demonstrates the serious obstacle that Islam puts in the way of LGBT rights.”

How to adopt a homophobe

My fellow blogger Stuart Hartill of Clinging to a Rock has passed on a nifty idea for Father’s Day, which is tomorrow. He was one of the recipients of an emailed request from John Becker of the US organisation Truth Wins Out (“Fighting anti-gay lies and the ex-gay myth”) about “adopting” a homophobic religious leader by making a donation to TWO in his (yes, it will usually be “his”) name.

“A few years ago,” writes Becker, “Father sat me down for the talk. ‘John,’ he said, ‘your voice is beautiful. Even so, it would be inappropriate to have you sing at the Cathedral anymore. I’ve been informed that you’re married to a man, and so your continued presence in this church would cause a scandal.’”

Married to a man? Utterly disgusting! Becker continues:

Not the talk I expected from Father. “Father,” of course, was how this particular anti-LGBT religious leader preferred to be addressed, and many still call him “father” today. As we approach Father’s Day, I’m thinking about this man, and about many others who promote religion-based bigotry against LGBT people while purporting to call themselves spiritual “fathers”.

For example, this week as momentum in New York surged toward the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, Archbishop Timothy Dolan compared allowing same-sex couples the freedom to marry with North Korean-style Communist dictatorship. Minneapolis-St. Paul Archbishop John Nienstedt used his bully pulpit last week to endorse a proposed anti-gay amendment that would write marriage discrimination into Minnesota’s constitution, throwing the scientifically-discredited “kids do best with a mother and a father” meme into the mix for good measure. And it’s not just Catholic “fathers” who engage in this type of spiritual violence – evangelical preacher Damon Thompson, who claims on his website that he “fathers spiritual sons and daughters”, spews disgustingly vile anti-gay hate speech, all in the name of Jesus.

I’ve got a challenge for you: this Father’s Day, “adopt” an anti-LGBT religious leader by making a tax-deductible donation of any amount, in his honor, to Truth Wins Out. After you donate, email me at john@truthwinsout.org with his name and location, and I’ll send an email to your adopted Pop to let him know about the thoughtful gift you made on his behalf to fight anti-LGBT religious extremism. (You can even make your donation anonymous!) It’s a surefire way to bring a Father’s Day smile to Pop’s face.

What a good idea! You could extend it, of course, by simply doing it yourself if you fancied donating to, say, a UK organisation. Just make the donation and write to the bigot in question and say, “You’ll be dead chuffed to know that I’ve made a donation in your name to Gays R Us” (or whatever).

Talking of Father’s Day, sorry, Dad. I sent you a card the other day and forgot to put a stamp on the envelope.

Poor Mr Armitage, somewhere in the Northwest of England, will be facing a surcharge.

Oops! I’m in for a bollocking.