Presbyterian minister Janet Edwards finds herself in the hot seat this week as a nine-person church court weighs whether Edwards violated the organization's constitution by blessing a same-sex union in 2005.

Edwards, who has always been forthright about her involvement in the lesbian nuptials, pleaded not guilty, while her lawyer blasted the panel's inquisition: "Never before have we seen such a concerted effort to prosecute a minister for a loving act, faithfully performed and permitted by the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

A former Pennsylvania state Superior Judge, Justin M. Johnson, took the stand in Edwards' defense, saying he could find no language in the religion's constitution prohibiting same-sex blessings.

The trial continues today.

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And we thought Sarah Palin was nuts?

Police are investigating whether an independent federal candidate committed a hate crime by telling high school students homosexuals should be executed.

David Popescu was invited to participate in a federal candidates' discussion at Sudbury Secondary School on Tuesday. He made the comment after a student asked his opinion of gay marriage.
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During a telephone interview later in the day, Popescu reasserted his view.

"A young man asked me what I think of homosexual marriages and I said I think homosexuals should be executed," he said. "My whole reason for running is the Bible and the Bible couldn't be more clear on that point."

Candidates and teachers looked on in silence as students called for him to be "cut off."

If Popescu had any odds of getting elected, he doesn't anymore…

Upset over the Anglican Communion's refusal to condemn the ascension of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, the Global Anglican Future Conference Movement flew to Uganda this week to consolidate their anti-gay sentiment.

Indian Bishop Vinay Samuel explains This meeting is an exercise to explain the declaration we made after [this summer's] conference in Jerusalem. We need to explain to those who disagree with us on the issue of taking the authority of the Bible as we do."

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Sarah Palin last night said that while she doesn't judge the gays, she's certain homosexuality's a choice.

That's a common right-wing argument, particularly among the pious set - people who believe religion should be central to one's identity. Those same people, we're assuming, want their religion to stand the test of time.

Unfortunately for Palin and her ilk, such hard lines often steer queers away from houses of worship.

That's certainly true in New Zealand, where LGBT folk are twice as likely to turn away from religion, according to sociologist Dr Mark Henrickson.

Commenting on the declining numbers of Christians in New Zealand, Dr Henrickson said, "Proportionately, almost 2.4 times as many lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians have left Christianity as have the general population.

"If Christian religious traditions want to keep lesbians, gays and bisexuals out of their communities, then what they are doing is working. If through negative messages they want lesbian, gays, and bisexuals to change their identities or 'lifestyles', that is not happening, because most appear more likely to abandon their religious traditions than their identities," he said.

Survival of the fittest, baby!

Bishop Jamie Soto of Sacramento pulled a bait-and-switch at the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries' conference last weekend.

The organization, which celebrates homosexuality and urges other Catholic group to do the same, had invited Soto to speak to congregants and spread the good word. Soto agreed, a move that surprised many of his faithful flock. "How could such a pious man endorse those sinful queers?" Answer: he doesn't.

Rather than praising the Association's commitment to maintaining their Catholic ways, Soto used his pulpit to admonish attendees and decried their "deviation:" "Sexual relations between people of the same sex can be alluring for homosexuals, but it deviates from the true meaning of the act and distracts them from the true nature of love to which God has called us all. For this reason, it is sinful."

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Gay activists are all worked up over in Greece.

Dozens of men and women gathered outside Parliament in Athens yesterday to protest conservative politico's push against gay marriage there. The brouhaha began last June when a lesbian couple used a legal loophole to secure their same-sex nuptials.

Right-wing leaders balked at the idea and the Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit to overturn the blessed union.

The Justice Ministry has filed a legal suit to overturn the union of one gay and one lesbian couple after they took advantage of a loophole in Greek civil law that fails to specify gender in matrimony.

"We are here because we want equality," said Christina Neofotistou, 28, a designer. "These marriages were the first step, but this government wants to cancel it: instead they should be doing something for us."

The marriages drew strong criticism from the powerful Orthodox Church, which officially represents more than 90 percent of the 11 million-strong population.

While many European countries have established legislation recognising gay marriage or same-sex partnerships, Greece's traditional society has preferred to turn a blind eye to homosexuality.

That's odd, especially considering men in ancient Greece were all about the cock. And, of course, the nation's European Union membership, which is meant to require uniform equality. Not that such things mean much…

Taking a decided stand against IRS rules prohibiting tax-exempt organizations from endorsing a political candidate, a number of preachers used yesterday's sermon to back John McCain.

As we reported last week, the fiercely anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund organized the push, called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." Apparently God's more frightening than Uncle Sam…

CNN ran a story on the matter this weekend, which we've included above.

It's a well documented fact that the Iranian government executes suspected homosexuals, yet president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to deny such atrocities.

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The division between church and state becomes more tenuous as the days go on.

Tired of being restrained by the IRS, many right-wing churches are pushing for a larger role in the nation's political landscape and have launched a drive to break out of their tax-exempt status:

Defying a federal tax law they consider unjust, 33 ministers across the country will take to their pulpits this Sunday and publicly endorse a candidate for president.

They plan to then send copies of their sermons to the Internal Revenue Service, hoping to provoke a challenge to a law that bars religious organizations and other nonprofits that accept tax-deductible contributions from involvement in partisan political campaigns.

The protest, called Pulpit Freedom Sunday, was organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a consortium of Christian lawyers that fights for conservative religious and social causes. When the fund first announced the protest this year, it said it planned to have 50 ministers taking part. As of Thursday it said it had hundreds of volunteers, but had selected only 33 who were fully aware of the risks and benefits.

As the ADF organizes its forces, activists in California are instructing Churches on how to fight for Proposition 8, a ballot measure aimed at reversing this year's gay marriage win. This isn't the first time religious organizations have played a role in politics, but the determination of these recent actions indicates a more aggressive push against our nation's constitutional foundation. And it's really, really scary.

Bosnia's zealots got their way.

After ten people were hurt last night in an attack on the nation's first gay festival, organizers have announced they're canceling the next three day of events. Organizer Svetlana Djurkovic remarked, "We cannot guarantee the safety of visitors. The festival is closing down."

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights' Srdjan Dizdarevic called the attacks uncivilized and blasted the perpetrators' fascist rhetoric. Many nationalists and Muslim leaders insist we gays go against their way of life, which obviously includes being party poopers.

Making good on their word, dozens of homophobic Bosnians attacked the nation's first gay festival in Sarajevo yesterday.

Chanting "Kill the Gays" and ""Allahu Akbar (God is Great)," the mob struck outside the city's Academy of Fine Arts, punching, kicking and generally beating the men and women who gathered for the festival's opening night.

Local journalist Pedja Kojovic recalls, "When I was getting out of the academy, I was suddenly struck in the back. Three other people then came running and beat me up." Another journalist attempted to help Kojovic, but ended up getting beat down, as well.

Police, who tried to keep control over the situation, say about 50 people showed up for the festival. Nine of them are currently being treated for injuries. A cop was also hurt in the scuffle.

Update: We've added one more injury, as the tally has gone up.

Clay Aiken's coming out really doesn't come as much of a surprise. We've all known for many years that the crooner goes for the guys. Nor is Aiken's lavender revelation the most revolutionary. Scores of celebs have come out before him - Ellen DeGeneres, George Michael, Lance Bass and Martina Navratilova, a tennis player who came out far before it was fashionable - or advisable.

None of these outings were that surprising, but they have all slowly changed gay acceptance of Hollywood and, in fact, the world. Aiken's outing differs, however, in two notable, intrinsically entwined ways. And the aftershocks could help change the State of gay play.

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