Fifth Transgender Woman Of Color Is Killed In Less Than A Month

Penny Proud was fatally shot Tuesday in New Orleans. Penny is the fifth transgender woman of color in the United States to be killed within the past month, according to anti-violence and LGBT organizations mourning her death.Media then misgendered her and dwelled on prostitution activity near the crime scene, despite being unable to provide evidence linking it to the homicide. Read More

Pope Endorses Referendum Denying Marriage And Adoption Rights To Same-Sex Couples

Pope Francis gave his blessing on Wednesday to a referendum that would ban marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples in Slovakia, which will be voted on this Saturday.

Slovakia is the latest battleground over LGBT family rights in Europe, which is increasingly divided between east and west. Slovakia’s parliament actually added language denying marriage recognition to same-sex couples to the country’s constitution in June, making it one of four countries in Eastern Europe to do so since 2012. The first of three questions before voters on Saturday’s ballot, which asks if marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, won’t change the legal status quo in Slovakia. But the second question would also ban adoption for same-sex couples, and the third allows parents to withdraw their children from sexual education classes.

It is not unusual for popes to comment on domestic political debates around the world, and these remarks are consistent with the church’s long-standing opposition to family rights for same-sex couples, which has not changed under his papacy even though he has generally sought a less confrontational tone to engaging with LGBT people. But his remarks come as the Slovakian church has been under criticism from the country’s LGBT rights supporters, who say the church is to blame for the recent push against LGBT rights in the country. Read more

The British Muslim Who Founded a Controversial Gay-Friendly Mosque

Dr. Taj Hargey is a radical, but also a fundamentalist. He points out, Islam is about the Qur'an, and it is from the Qur'an that he will preach, ignoring all the other footnotes beloved of modern clerics. All of that stuff, he says, has no pertinence to the Qur'an: It's a book that rejects violence, doesn't mention the burqa, embraces a role for women, and doesn't explicitly ban images of Muhammad or encourage Muslims to murder satirical cartoonists.

Hargey took part of his salary as an Oxford don and started his own mosque in South Africa late last year. The place of worship, he says—unlike most around the world—is both gay-friendly and woman-friendly. Which is exactly why he's not getting on so well within the local community of sects, imams, and governing councils. His "Open Mosque" in Cape Town has been firebombed three times since it commenced operations in September. "They also tried to drive a 4x4 through the doors... but for me, right now, the project is about holding on," he tells me. Read More

Pope Francis Reported To Have Met With Transgender Man At The Vatican

Pope Francis reportedly held a private audience with a transgender man, in what would be a first for his papal record. Diego Neria Lejárraga, who underwent sex-reassignment surgery and was rejected by his religious community, claims he reached out to the Pope in December and received a call from the pontiff on Christmas Eve. Lejárraga and his fiancee say they met with Pope Francis in his Vatican residence.

The Press Office of the Holy See says there is no information about the alleged meeting. Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of New Ways Ministry which advocates for LGBT Catholics, said he wondered at the Vatican's silence on the reported meeting. 

"The Vatican's reluctance to verify the meeting is another indication of why I don't think their attitude can yet be called 'acceptance,'" said DeBernardo. Read More