Huh: Why Religious Believers Are So Desperate for the Atheist Seal of ApprovalIf you hang around the online atheist world long enough, you'll notice an interesting pattern. Many religious and spiritual believers who engage with atheists seem very intent on getting atheists' approval for their beliefs.
Actually, I see this play out in many ways with ( Read more... )

Andrew Sullivan makes an interesting point here: Hetero Civil Unions?In other words, civil unions allowed between heterosexual partners undermines "marriage" far more than same sex marriage ever could ( Read more... )

Yet another reason why legalizing same sex marriage is so important: VIDEO: Surviving partner of Missouri state trooper killed on duty challenges discriminatory benefits policy.

Mmm. This notion should give those conservative, religionista nutjobs heart palpitations. Or something: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': Closeted Gay Troops Build Secret, Worldwide Support Network(Actually despite my snark, this is an excellent read -- part of this support network is intended to step in when DADT is repealed to help in the transition ( Read more... )

In Déjà View, this resonated so strongly:I was still a fresh-faced newcomer to D.C. 21 years ago when the Robert Mapplethorpe controversy erupted in Congress and the Corcoran museum. The famed gay photographer's work [...] inspired fear and loathing among the political class and led the museum to cancel the exhibit [... resulting in a] chilling ( Read more... )

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Army Kicks Out More Gays Than Fat Soldiers

You know, priorities and perspective? If we are really worried about combat readiness and effectiveness (issues that keep swirling around the whole DADT arguments), then why this: In fiscal 2007 and 2008, the Army brass threw out 592 enlisted members for violating DADT-more soldiers than it ejected for ( Read more... )

I finally had some time to go over the Pew Research Center's survey (The Decline of Marriage And Rise of New Families) documenting views in the U.S. on family and marriage. As they say:The transformative trends of the past 50 years that have led to a sharp decline in marriage and a rise of new family forms have been shaped by attitudes and ( Read more... )

TPM gives a heads up: Family Research Council: End Of DADT Means More Gay Rape In The Military. Apparently Peter Spriggs, Senior Fellow of the aforementioned Council did a lengthy research paper and everything (helpfully duplicated at the end of this article) and came up with all kinds of conclusions.

The money quote's the very first paragraph: ( Read more... )

So the Southern Poverty Law Center recently updated their list of anti gay groups (Active Anti-Gay Groups) and issued a new report (18 Anti-Gay Groups and Their Propaganda) which exposed a number of fundamentalist Christian organizations engaging in concentrated, concerted efforts to demonize and persecute LGBT folks. They also released this ( Read more... )