THE SHORT LIST

RELIGION: WeHo Church Breaks Ties, Anti-Gay-Church Staffer Into Kiddie Porn, Gays Destroy Bill Of Rights, And More!

The 99-year-old West Hollywood Presbyterian Church’s efforts for the LGBT community date back to 1965, four years before the Stonewall Riots. Now the first Presbyterian congregation to hire an openly gay minister has left the denomination over what it calls “core-level homophobia” in the Church. Even though Presbyterian leaders lifted the ban on LGBT clergy last year, “the denomination is still pretty hostile to gay and lesbian folks,” says Yale Divinity School’s Rev. Maria La Sala. “On the one hand, my heart is broken. On the other, I understand” [L.A. Times]

Incensed that Trinitas Hospital, a Catholic institution, allegedly denied Joao Simoes vital AIDS medication because of his sexual orientation, Kathleen Jercich of The Petition Site launched an online campaign to help  Simoes and others like him. “As an LGBT-identified person myself, this really pissed me off, so I’m trying to get as much promotion for this petition as possible,” Jerich told Queerty.  [The Petition Site]

Joel Hochmuth, an official of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, was sentenced to a year in jail and ten years probation for possessing child pornography. The Synod calls homosexuality an “unholy lifestyle.” and one of “Satan’s cunning, deceitful lies,” and condemns anyone who tries to “condone their homosexuality and to deny that anything is wrong with it.” Michelle and Marcus Bachmann were prominent members of the denomination up until a week before Bachmann announced her presidential bid. The 52-year-old Hochmuth, a former communications director for WELS, downloaded hundreds of pictures of boys having sex with other children and men.  [Truth Wins Out]

Dutch Health Minister Edith Schippers cut coverage of reparative therapy from the national healthcare, saying people conflicted over their orientation should be offered pastoral guidance not so-called medical treatment. “The origins of the suffering in these cases are not psychiatric in nature but lie in their religion. There’s therefore no question of a psychiatric diagnosis, no questions of treatment and, therefore, there is no question of insured care.” [Pink News]Bryan Fischer, mouthpiece for the nutty American Family Association, claimed in a radio segment this week that gay rights and the First Amendment cannot coexist. “Every advance, of the homosexual agenda, comes at the expense of religious liberty. We cannot have religious liberty—in fact I would go so far as to say, we cannot have gay marriage and the First Amendment. We can’t have homosexuality and the First Amendment. If homosexuality is embraced and normalized, that’s the end of the First Amendment. It’s gone, it’s out here, shredded beyond recognition, a worthless piece of paper”[The New Civil Rights Movement]

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated