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Mexico moves toward national marriage equality; Greek govt announces civil partnership legislation; Pope warns against ‘secularism and relativism’; Global LGBT recap

By Peter Montgomery

…age of hate.” Guatemala: US Church offers sanctuary to lesbian refugee The Austin American-Statesman’s James Barragan reports that the First Unitarian Universalist church in Central Austin announced on Thursday “that the church would give sanctuary to Sulma Franco, a 31-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who fled her home country after threats on her life.” “We’re honored to step into an ancient tradition: the tradition of churches offering sanctuary t…

Creationist-Leaning Texas Sets Textbook Agenda

By Lauri Lebo

…s the country. Because of its steroid-enhanced textbook purchasing muscle, Texas remains the big dog in the Christian fundamentalist-led fight to sneak Jesus into public school education: Until recently, Texas’s influence was balanced to some degree by the more-liberal pull of California, the nation’s largest textbook market. But its economy is in such shambles that California has put off buying new books until at least 2014. This means that McLer…

Doonesbury Cartoons Cause Controversy, But for Wrong Reasons

By Sarah Posner

…nal probe to rape repeats a troublesome theme that emerged very briefly in Texas, and became the centerpiece of opposition to the Virginia bill last month. When I was reporting a story on the anti-choice movement in Texas last year, several pro-choice activists mentioned to me that the state’s ultrasound law, passed in May 2011, was state-sanctioned rape because it would necessarily require a transvaginal probe, depending on the stage of pregnancy…

Humiliating “Kim Davis Bill” To “Protect” Anti-LGBT County Clerks Passes Texas Senate

By Sunnivie Brydum

…permissible if SB 522 becomes law. The bill also highlights the fact that Texas marital code still only identifies “a man and a woman” as the two parties who may apply for a marriage license. Even for Texas Republicans, this bill is a mean-spirited (though not at all unprecedented) attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality in pursuit of accommodating a vocal minority who claim their faith trumps their neighbors’ pursui…

Pastors for Perry?

By Sarah Posner

…a report [pdf] prepared by the church-state separation advocacy group the Texas Freedom Network in 2006, Perry “clearly wants the thousands of pastors associated with the Texas Restoration Project to help him communicate with evangelical Christians and other conservatives . . . . Even his speeches at pastors’ briefings now sound much like sermons.” The report quotes Perry: “This I know,” the governor-cum-evangelist preached to approving pastors a…

Blame Series Bonus: Why We Want That Dish For Free, an Uncut Interview with Bertram Malle

By Andrew Aghapour

…me shows), even when something unintentional happens—say you know that the airline didn’t intentionally keep you from flying—the question that humans often pose is, “Was this preventable?” “Could they have done something to prevent that?” And that’s when we wonder—well, who could have done something to prevent it? The person at the counter? The pilot? The CEO? We don’t know, and so we have, in a sense, a certain disorientation and don’t know to wh…

Paranormal Vodka, Exorcists and a Demonic Doll: Welcome to Paracon, Based on the Work of the Demon-Hunters Who Inspired the ‘Conjuring’ Series

By Eric Harrelson and Joseph P. Laycock

…oommate over a period of months in 1970. Although I can’t find an official number, a casino employee tells us over 5,000 tickets have been sold; 5,000 pilgrims who’ve made the trek from around the country to pay their respects to Annabelle, and are willing to wait hours to do so. On the convention floor, an eclectic group of vendors hocks their wares, from Ouija boards and books about ghost hunting to bath bombs shaped like horror movie icons. The…

Pope Praises ‘Complementarity’ & Resists Gay Ambassador; Irish Religious Leaders Spar Over Marriage; Colombian Atty Gen Cites ‘Bogus’ Study Opposing Adoption; Global LGBT Recap

By Peter Montgomery

…tened to boycott IKEA, after it provided Family Card holders with discount tickets to his Christian magic show, ‘Vision’. In a statement, the chain said it would not be cutting ties with the pastor. IKEA said: “Dear IKEA fans, thanks for your patience while we took time to come to an informed decision on an issue that has raised sensitivities in our community. “After listening to the questions raised, we decided to do a thorough review. We spoke d…

What Netanyahu Learned from Texas

By Sarah Posner

…ot precisely modeled on the Christian nation mythologists who want to turn Texas classrooms into training grounds for “biblical law” enthusiasts. The United States has a Constitution; nothing in it declares America is a Christian nation (or, in the Texas SBOE parlance a “Judeo-Christian nation”). Barton’s claims that the Constitution in fact codifies a “Christian nation” doesn’t make it so. In contrast, though, Israel does not yet have a constitut…

Spiritual Unplugging, Or What to Do When There is Wifi at the Ashram

By Matt Hamilton

…self-interrogation boiled, my hand extended to the right. I reached for my phone, but I found nothing. At first I laughed at my instinct, my muscle memory. The phone, with its glowing screen, gave me solace and control. But I was tied to my cushion for another hour, and in this ashram for another day, so email would have to wait. I panicked. My heart raced. Would my editor be asking for me? Would a reply from that politician’s secretary sit unansw…