No discrimination bill for LGBT's being pushed at Quezon City
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders (LGBT) are the common victims of hate crimes. Quezon City has an ordinance which protects the human rights of these people belonging to the LGBT…
Daily Archives: October 18, 2014
Amid Marriage Victories, Antigay Lawyer Grows Increasingly Desparate
Amid Marriage Victories, Antigay Lawyer Grows Increasingly Desparate
A history of questionable attitudes toward gay and lesbian couples has culminated in a desperate last-ditch attempt by attorney Monte Stewart to keep marriage from starting in Idaho.
Matt Baume
Hillsong Church Founder Brian Houston Defends Handling Of Father's Sex Abuse Case
Hillsong Church Founder Brian Houston Defends Handling Of Father's Sex Abuse Case
NEW YORK (RNS) The founder of Hillsong, one of the most influential religious brands across the globe, on Thursday (Oct. 16) denied allegations that he had tried to cover up his father’s sexual abuse, saying the victim asked him not to go to the police.
Fifteen years ago, Brian Houston found out that his father, who was a minister in New Zealand, admitted he sexually abused a boy in Sydney.
“It was the darkest day of my life because he was my hero, and suddenly he was a pedophile,” Houston said at a news conference.
Houston, who was president of the Assemblies of God in Australia in 1999, fired his father, took control of the church and merged it with Hillsong, now a sprawling megachurch on the outskirts of Sydney.
His father, Frank Houston, was never prosecuted, received a retirement package (which Houston said was more for his mother who also worked for the church) before he died in 2004.
Houston said that the victim who came forward to him asked him not to tell the police. He said he has since learned that Australian law requires someone to report a crime that could be punishable by five years in jail. “I would’ve gone to the police,” he said, if he had known about the reporting requirements.
The victim, who was 7 years old at the time of the abuse, has claimed that the younger Houston accused him of “tempting” his father.
Houston flatly denied the charge.
“To me it’s the most insidious thing in the world that a 7-year-old would be blamed for tempting a pedophile,” Houston said. “That was what was put out there and was very explosive, and to be frank, it has no foundation or truth. The conversation we had was a civil conversation, a good conversation and it was nothing like that.”
Hillsong is part of a larger Australian government investigation, called a royal commission, that is probing how institutions handle abuse claims. The high-level probe is expected to last another four years.
Houston said the commission has raised questions about a possible conflict of interest for him to handle the response to his father.
“I never even thought about it like it was a conflict of interest,” Houston said. “I thought I was the one to brave up and do something about it.”
Houston’s wife and co-pastor, Bobbie Houston, said: “We welcome the commission. Hopefully it’ll be a great benchmark for going into the future.”
Houston is in New York for the church’s second annual conference, which kicked off Thursday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and is expected to draw some 5,000 people.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, Houston largely sidestepped a question on Hillsong’s position on same-sex marriage, instead saying that it was “an ongoing conversation” among church leaders and they were “on the journey with it.”
“The real issues in people’s lives are too important for us to just reduce it down to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer in a media outlet,” he said.
“There’s the world we live in, there’s the weight we live with, and there’s the word we live by,” he added.
On Friday, a spokesman clarified that Houston holds a specific personal position.
“Brian was specifically referring to the church’s public position that doesn’t alienate people who are struggling with issues, and that ensures everyone is included in the message of God’s love,” said Lyall Mercer, media coordinator for Hillsong Church.
“His personal position on the issue of homosexuality is: ‘I think the writings of Paul are clear on this subject and my personal views would line up with most traditionally held Christian views.’”
Are Hookup Apps Destroying Gay Culture? This Guy Thinks They Perpetuate Stereotypes
Are Hookup Apps Destroying Gay Culture? This Guy Thinks They Perpetuate Stereotypes
At least one man is not happy about the number of gay guys using hookup apps.
“[I]nstead of advancing the gay agenda of inclusion, I found the apps to perpetuate what people scorn about LGBT: promiscuity, impersonal behavior, and sexually motivated conversations,” Cody Freeman writes in a new essay published by Time. “These depersonalized conversations are what lead to depersonalized relationships.”
On the contrary, one might argue that getting totally naked and rolling around in bed with another person creates a very personal relationship — at least for an hour or so.
Freeman claims hookup apps like OkCupid, Tinder and Grindr are destroying gay culture by perpetuating the stereotype that gay men are all a bunch of whores. He also believes the apps encourage “shame-based” relationships. (Of course, it’s only “shame-based” if one thinks being gay is shameful, which Freeman seems to believe, or at least he insinuates it subconsciously.)
“Gay men want those perfect relationships that we see in romantic-comedies, instead of the ultimate fear of our generation: being alone,” Freeman generalizes. “But there is nowhere that is not sex-based to connect.”
Hmmm. We’ve met plenty of other gay guys in non-sexual settings. At school, at work, at parties, you name it. Apps are just one of many methods gay men use to connect. And, contrary to what Freeman implies, not all of us do. There are plenty of gay guys out there who don’t have Grindr accounts.
Freeman acknowledges that the apps aren’t all bad.
“Compared to traditional dating methods, these apps provide many advantages,” he writes, “[Y]ou save time on bad blind dates and boring conversations, you can connect to someone anytime you feel lonely, and if you are rejected you simply move on to the next person.”
But, he continues, that convenience comes with a price.
“[B]ecause there are thousands of people at your fingertips,” Freeman writes, “it also creates a society of oversharing, superficiality, and instant gratification. You are on the grid 24/7 and you must advertise yourself.”
This creates what he calls a “paradox of choice.”
“Be careful who you choose,” he says, “because there might be someone better out there—always.”
Sounds like someone’s been burned more than a few times.
“I assume that I am like most people on these apps,” Freeman writes, “ultimately seeking a lasting relationship.”
Maybe that’s his first mistake.
What do you think? Are apps killing gay culture? Sound off in the comments section below.
Related stories:
If You’re Over 40 You Should Stay Out Of Gay Bars, Says Ageist Blogger
Is Hornet The Hookup App With A Conscience?
Don’t Be That Gay: The 10 Most Obnoxious Types Of Homosexual Men
Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him onFacebook and Twitter.
Graham Gremore
LGBT Acceptance
LGBT Acceptance
A quick video to show the similarities between then, and now. All people deserve to live their own life.
More descriptive :LGBT views
More descriptive :LGBT views
Rate comment and subscribe and follow me on instogram :megantaylor_14.
#queens #winter pride #ediewindsor #lgbt #pride #lgbtpride #queensborough #nyc #newyorkcity
North Carolina magistrate resigns over same-sex marriages, cites religious beliefs
North Carolina magistrate resigns over same-sex marriages, cites religious beliefs
‘This is not an issue of people’s rights to have religious beliefs… This is their job, and it’s a job requirement,’ says executive director of the LGBT non-profit Equality NC
sylviat
Abreu llama plaga a la comunidad LGBT y a las leyes sobre igualdad de género
Abreu llama plaga a la comunidad LGBT y a las leyes sobre igualdad de género
El pastor Emilio Abreu juzga y condena de forma virulenta a las personas LGBT y hace un llamamiento a una guerra "espiritual" que lastimosamente significa más discriminación y sufrimiento…
Gay rights activist fundraising to help anti-gay bakery owners pay their US$150,000 fine
Gay rights activist fundraising to help anti-gay bakery owners pay their US$150,000 fine
Matt Stolhandske, a member of a pro-marriage equality Christian group, is appealing to the LGBTI community to help pay the fine two Portland-based Christian bakery owners received for refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple
sylviat