Homosexuality

A senior clergyman from the Church of England who claims he was blocked from becoming a bishop because he is openly gay, is apparently preparing to take his employers to court under the country’s equality law.

The Very Rev. Dr. Jeffrey John, the current Dean of St. Albans, is understood to have hired Alison Downie, an employment and discrimination law specialist, to fight his case under the Equality Act 2010, which bans discrimination on the grounds of sexuality, The Guardian reported.

In 2003, John was forced to step down as the suffragan bishop (subordinate to a diocesan bishop) of the town of Reading after conservative evangelicals in the church raised objections. He was the first openly gay priest to be nominated as a Church of England bishop. more >>

Jamie Love, the 17-year-old called the "Govan school transgender" by reports despite his male sex, claims his U.K. school kicked him out of class for showing up dressed in girl’s clothing and accessories.

The sixth form student, who had asked his classmates to call him “Keirny,” showed up Monday to Glasgow’s Govan High with tights, shorts, makeup, and hair extensions, and was promptly told to leave.

Jaimie claims he spoke to school officials about his plans to show up with female clothing on, even stating to teachers that he felt “trapped in a boy’s body,” according to The Daily Record. more >>

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, joined leaders of some of America’s largest religious communities in signing an open letter that urges Americans to protect traditional marriage and preserve individual religious beliefs.

“We are happy to add the national voice of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod to this thoughtful and articulate case for marriage between one man and one woman,” Harrison said in a statement Friday, a day after he signed the letter titled “Marriage and Religious Freedom: Fundamental Goods That Stand or Fall Together.”

Written to all Americans, the letter was signed by 38 other religious leaders from Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, evangelical, Jewish, Lutheran, Pentecostal and even Mormon communities in the United States. more >>

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declined to specify Thursday if he would veto proposed legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in the Garden State.

Advocacy groups on both sides of the issue have hotly contested the legislation, which was announced on Monday by a coalition of state Democratic leaders.

With a Democratic majority in the Senate and Assembly, Democrats and gay rights activists are optimistic the bill will make it to Christie’s desk. What happens when it gets there, however, is the source of much consternation for the bill’s supporters, as the governor has previously expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage. more >>

Many conservative Presbyterians hold mixed feelings about a video released by eight elders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) calling for unity among Presbyterian churches.

On Wednesday, Ruling Elder Cynthia Bolbach and Teaching Elder Landon Whitsitt, the moderator and vice-moderator of PC(USA)’s 219th General Assembly, posted a 34-minute video on YouTube stating that the denomination “has not turned its back on proclaiming Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.”

The video, as well as an accompanying letter, also called for Presbyterians belonging to congregations that are set to leave the PC(USA) to reconsider their plans. more >>

Now that Rick Santorum has become one of the top-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, some media outlets have reported on a controversial 2003 interview in which some claim he equated homosexuality to bestiality. The quote, however, was taken out of context. The reporter who conducted the interview has also been criticized for lacking professionalism and objectivity in the interview.

In the April 7, 2003 interview with Associated Press reporter Lara Jakes Jordan, Santorum, who was representing Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate at the time, was defending the traditional definition of marriage.

In the part of the interview that is the source of the controversy, Santorum says, “In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing.” more >>