How To Handle Bigots Without Saying A Word

Sometimes, the best way to handle bigots is to do it without saying a single word.

Dean Paton joined a group protesting at a gay pride parade in Chester, England, on Saturday with a sign of his own. But instead of threatening fire and brimstone, his sign pointed out that homophobes are statistically more likely to be gay themselves.

And while the bigots’ signs referenced Bible passages, Paton’s including a scientific citation, referring to a 1996 study that found homophobes are more likely to be aroused by gay porn.  

Check it out in the clip above. 

When he’s not shutting down bigots, Paton serves as the founder of Big Heritage, where he works to help make “archaeology accessible to people from deprived socio-economic areas.”

(h/t Towleroad)

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Florida Republican pushing bill to stop churches being made to marry gay couples nobody needs

A Republican state lawmaker in Florida is pushing a bill to protect churches from having to marry gay couples – something he freely admits they are already protected from having to do.

But Representative Scott Plakon says nobody can predict the future so is pressing ahead with the bill anyway, saying it will act as another layer of protection for churches – kind of like putting on a second condom.

‘This extra layer of protection can do no harm, and it might do some good,’ Plakon told the Orlando Sentinel.

However LGBTI rights group Equality Florida say the bill is pointless and unneeded and has offered to pay the legal bills of any church sued for not performing gay marriages.

‘We know that’s not going to happen,’ Equality Florida’s Carlos Guillermo-Smith said.

‘This is an imagined problem.’

Florida’s state House Civil Justice Committee approved the bill on Wednesday in a vote of 9-4, split along party lines, meaning the bill will actually come up for a full vote in the house.

A group of pastors attended the committee meeting, some to support it and some to speak against it, though most appeared to know they were already protected from having to marry gay couples against their will by the US Constitution.

The post Florida Republican pushing bill to stop churches being made to marry gay couples nobody needs appeared first on Gay Star News.

Andrew Potts

www.gaystarnews.com/article/florida-republican-pushing-bill-to-stop-churches-being-made-to-marry-gay-couples-nobody-needs/

Florida Advances Unnecessary Pastor Protection Act

The U.S. Constitution assures that clergy members won’t be forced to perform any marriage they don’t endorse, but that’s not good enough for some Florida lawmakers, who today advanced a piece of state legislation that does the same thing.

The Pastor Protection Act, approved by the Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee, would provide an “extra layer of protection” for clergy who oppose same-sex marriage, said its sponsor, Republican Rep. Scott Plakon, according to The Palm Beach Post.

The subcommittee approved the measure by a vote of 9-4, Republicans in favor, Democrats against. It now goes to the Judiciary Committee, which will consider whether to move it on to the full House. The Senate has yet to take it up.

The vote came after the subcommittee heard impassioned testimony both for and against the bill. Plakon acknowledged that the Constitution’s First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of religion, already assures that clergy members have discretion over who they’ll marry. But because of “numerous changes in the law and culture,” the state law needs to make clear that they’re free to decline to perform ceremonies that conflict with their beliefs, he said.

Some who testified for the bill pointed out cases of bakers and other providers of wedding-related services who’ve been sued and fined for discrimination for turning away same-sex couples, the Post reports.

“Why could [lawsuits] not come to us?” Rev. Greg Squires of the Freedom Life Church in Kissimmee told the subcommittee. “Even though we say it’s in our Constitution, that just depends upon the person who is ruling at the moment and how they see it. And you know how that goes, you’re in politics.”

Carlos Guillermo Smith of the LGBT group Equality Florida said his organization would defend any clergy member or house of worship that was sued. “But we know that is not going to be necessary,” he said, according to the Post. “We know that the existing and clearly defined constitutional protections mean such an imaginary lawsuit would not have any legal basis.”

It also might be hard to sue even a for-profit business in Florida for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity — there is no statewide law against such discrimination, although some municipalities have inclusive antidiscrimination ordinances, the Post notes.

Some clergy members, from LGBT-friendly denominations such as the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ, said the bill is rooted in homophobia. “It’s that somehow an LGBT person who is looking to get married is a threat to other people of faith,” said Rev. Brant Copeland of the First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee. “I urge you not to adopt this unnecessary and, I think, basically homophobic bill.”

Texas and Oklahoma have passed similar laws this year, and the idea has been floated in some other states, including Georgia and Tennessee.

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/religion/2015/10/07/florida-advances-unnecessary-pastor-protection-act

A family celebration in Bali

It’s over ten years since I was last in Bali.

I flew Qatar Airways from London Heathrow to Denpasar – changing in Doha. A journey that took me just under 24 hours door-to-door.

I felt a bit guilty flying with Qatar Airways – the emirate of Qatar isn’t a great place to be gay – but they were offering the best deal so I compromised my principles a little quicker than I’m proud of.

It was a long but straightforward flight. I happily caught up on movies that I wouldn’t pay to see. Who knew that Kylie Minogue had a cameo in San Andreas?

The last time I was in Bali was for the wedding of my friends Sam and Jen. It was a beautiful wedding at a plush resort in Jimbaran Bay. As I touched down at Denpasar’s impressive airport for this visit, it was a salient reminder that I’ve completely lost touch with Sam and Jen in the intervening years.

My visit to Bali this time was also for a major occasion. My father’s 80th birthday.

I live in London, my parents live in Echuca in Australia, my brother Tim and his family live in Melbourne, my sister Lisa and her family live in Perth, so we decided to all get together in Bali to celebrate the milestone. Even John and Beryl – my Aunt and Uncle who live in Cardiff – flew in for the party. We were a family party of 12.

We were staying in Peppers resort in the Seminyak district. This was ideal for us – Peppers is a resort consisting of private villas. We had a private compound of individual bungalow bedrooms and a large open kitchen and living space, all surrounding a central pool. Not over-the-top luxurious, but very comfortable and liveable, making it easy for us all to enjoy the warm, tropical, humid heat of early October.

The Seminyak district has a lot of restaurants, cafes, and shopping. Everything was pretty much within walking distance of our resort, but we also opted for taxis quite frequently as the weather was hot and taxis inexpensive.

We ate out most evenings and all the restaurants that we tried were impressive. Favorites were Bambu and Mama San.

Our days were fairly relaxed. A long, late breakfast, a swim in the pool, possibly a walk into Seminyak village for a coffee, some shopping, or a massage, and then snoozing and swimming until it was time for dinner.

We did manage to venture out for a day-trip to the Ubud region. We booked a driver for the day (through our resort) – it was about 90 minutes each way. Ubud is up in the highlands of the island – this is where they grow rice and there are also a number of temples that can be visited. Our first stop was to see the production of Luwak or Civet coffee. Luwak’s are a small furry animal that live in the jungle – their natural diet includes coffee berries. Bali’s coffee producers gather the luwak dung and then extract the partly digested coffee beans. This process produces surprisingly good coffee. We also explored the rice fields and the elephant temple. An interesting day.

We had one other day away from the villa, and this was to Potato Head Beach Bar. This is about as high-end as beach bars get. Day-beds surrounding a central pool, overlooking the beach, a perfect view of the spectacular sunset, cocktails and great food. Definitely something worth experiencing while you are in Bali.

It’s been a real treat to be able to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday, it’s been a real treat to be able to enjoy a family vacation, it’s been a real treat to return to the island of Bali.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more travel stories

The post A family celebration in Bali appeared first on Gay Star News.

Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/a-family-celebration-in-bali/