NYC: Cops Make Two Arrests After Midtown Gay Bashing

South Africa: Gay Teens Starved, Tortured, Killed At Camp

Gay Star News reports:

Three ‘gay and effeminate’ teens have died after being starved, tortured and killed at a camp that promised to turn them into ‘men’.
A picture of Raymond Buys, 15, taken in April 2011 showed a skeletal, emaciated figure fighting for his life.
Just 10 weeks before, the teen’s parents signed him up to the Echo Wild Game Rangers training course in South Africa in perfect health.
In hospital, Buys was severely malnourished, dehydrated, his arm was broken in two places and there were burns and wounds all over his body. He lay in intensive care for four weeks until he died.
And now, the course ‘general’ Alex De Koker, 49, and employee Michael Erasmus, 20, are on trial for charges of murder, child abuse and neglect, along with two cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in relation to Buys’ death.
The teen’s death is alleged to have been the third among the Afrikaans children who attended the R22,000 ($2,400, €1,900) courses, which have been advertized since 2006.
‘I sent my son on this course to make him a better man, to give him a better future,’ Buys’ mother told The Daily Telegraph. ‘I trusted Alex De Koker with his life.’
Last week, the Vereeniging District Court heard the testimony of a boy who had shared a tent with Buys, the Daily Maverick reports.
Gerhard Oostuizen, 19, claims Buys was chained to his bed every night, was refused permission to visit the toilet and on one occasion was forced to eat his own faeces.
He also said he would be beaten with planks, hosepipes and sticks when he failed to carry out manual labor tasks.
Oostuizen alleged further he saw De Koker tied Buys to a chair naked with his head covered in a pillowcase, and would electrocute him with a stun gun.
Gender activist Melanie Nathan has said the three young men were all perceived as ‘gay and clearly effeminate’.
In reference to ‘gay conversion camps’, Nathan writes: ‘With a little bit of digging [into the story], the gay reparative undertones start to emerge.’
Eric Calitz, 18, and Nicolaas Van Der Walt, 19, had both died after being enrolled at the Echo Wild Game Rangers camp four years earlier.
When Calitz requested to leave, De Koker reportedly told him he ‘wasn’t a moffie [gay] and he would make a man out of him’.
Calitz’s family was informed of his death via text message, saying he had died of a heart attack.
Afterwards, doctors said the cause of death was from a seizure, dehydration and found bleeding from the brain.
Van Der Walt was also claimed to have died from a heart attack, but doctors said he had appeared to have been choked with a seatbelt.  
Both De Koker and Erasmus have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case continues.

NOM’s Hate Rally Recap

NY Sen. Ruben Diaz is the guy who declared that “gays are worthy of death” at NOM’s 2011 hate rally in the Bronx.

Rachel Maddow On Pope Francis Previous Stand On Civil Unions In Argentina

SOMALIA: Gay Teen Stoned To Death In Somalia In Front Of “Horrified” Village

Joe.My.God. reports:

Identity Kenya reports: 

A gay man was allegedly stoned to death as punishment for homosexuality, a gay Muslim group has said Saturday.  According to Somali Gay Community, the young man, Mohamed Ali Baashi ,18, was buried in a hole up to his chest and then pelted with rocks by members of the Al Qaeda link group Al Shabaab on Friday, March 15, in Barawe, about 50 miles from the capital, Mogadishu. The group, through its Facebook page, Somali Gay Community, posted three photos of alleging they were from the stoning. However, Identity Kenya could not independently verify this claims or the alleged stoning and efforts to reach the group have not been successful.

Gruesome photos of the alleged execution are here, if you dare.

RELATED: In recent years US aid to Somalia has been primarily focused on international humanitarian reliefs campaigns involving food and medicine. However two months ago the United States officially recognized the government of Somalia for the first time in 22 years after the election of a moderate president who has denounced the Al Qaeda-backed group that once controlled much of the nation. 

“There is still a long way to go and many challenges to confront, but we have seen a new foundation for that better future being laid,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in a joint news conference with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who stood beaming at her side.Even as they were fighting extremists, the country’s leaders were working to create a democratic government, and have done so — with a new president, a new parliament, a new prime minister and a new constitution, she said. Mohamud was elected president in September. Clinton noted that the United States supported the changes, providing more than $650 million in aid to the African Union mission in Somalia, more than $130 million to the country’s security forces, nearly $360 million in emergency humanitarian aid over the past two years and more than $45 million in development-related assistance to help rebuild the economy. In addition, U.S. largesse has provided more than $200 million in aid for Somali refugees throughout the Horn of Africa, she said.

49ers’ Players Say They Never Participated In “It Gets Better” Video (Even Though They’re In It)

The Huffington Post reports:

A series of anti-gay remarks made by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver cast the Super Bowl-bound team in a negative light just days ahead of the NFL championship game.
Though Culliver has since apologized for the controversial statements, the backlash seems unlikely to dissipate now that a new wrinkle has emerged. The 49ers’ linebacker Ahmad Brooks and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga, both of whom participated in the team’s widely-praised “It Gets Better” video last summer, have denied ever producing the clip.
The players told USA Today Sports that they didn’t realize the video’s aim was to specifically combat bullying experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens.
“This is America and if someone wants to be gay, they can be gay,” Brooks told the publication. “But I didn’t make any video.” Later, after he was reportedly shown the video on an iPhone, the player clarified, “Oh, that. It was an anti-bullying video, not a gay [rights] video.”
Even more curiously, Sopoaga also denied taking part in the clip, even as a teammate reportedly tried to jog his memory. “I never went,” he declared. “And now someone is using my name.”
LGBT rights activists have yet to respond to Brooks and Sopoaga’s claims. But the firestorm over Culliver’s statements (he told Artie Lange that he “don’t do the gay guys, man” and that an openly gay player would not be welcome on the 49ers) continues to rage, even though team officials have released a statement saying they “proudly support the LGBT community.”
Interestingly, Culliver’s comments initially came on the heels of news that former 49ers offensive tackle Kwame Harris was in court on assault charges from a former boyfriend. Though Harris last played for the 49ers in 2007, many former teammates quickly came to his defense in the media.
A petition has since been launched on change.org asking the NFL to send Culliver to spend a day with the New York Gay Football League.
“This will give him an opportunity to see that openly gay players perform just as well as heterosexual players,” the petition’s organizer, Christian Fuscarino, writes. “It will also allow him to ask questions and speak with members of the team.”

49ers Star Chris Culliver Not Down With Gays

Joe.My.God. reports:

“I don’t do the gay guys man. I don’t do that. No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can’t be…in the locker room man. Nah.” - San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver, who adds that players should only come out ten years after they leave the sport.  Culliver followed up yesterday’s Super Bowl Media Day interview with a charming tweet about menstruating women.

UPDATE: 49ers management has issued an apology. “The San Francisco 49ers reject the comments that were made yesterday, and have addressed the matter with Chris. There is no place for discrimination within our organization at any level. We have and always will proudly support the LGBT community.” 

UPDATE II: Culliver has apologized too. “The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel. It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. Those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart. Further, I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended, and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience.”

UPDATE III: Hudson Taylor’s Athlete Ally has issued a statement. 

“Chris Culliver’s comments are disrespectful, discriminatory and dangerous, particularly for the young people who look up to him. His words underscore the importance of the Athlete Ally movement and the key role that professional athletes play in shaping an athletic climate that affirms and includes gay and lesbian players. Culliver’s views are as marginal as they are misguided. We’re seeing more and more NFL players take a stand against homophobia in sports through our organization and we know that support at this level is only going to grow. Athlete Ally’s NFL Ambassadors Brendon Ayanbadejo of the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens, Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings and Scott Fujita of the Cleveland Browns connect our organization and the NFL, help promote the mission to end homophobia in sports by speaking out to their teams, leagues and fan bases, and encourage their colleagues to join in the effort. It’s clear by their involvement and the incredible support they are receiving from NFL fans across the country that discrimination is on the fringe and has absolutely no place in sports.”

United Kingdom: Gay Iranians Seeking Asylum

We all knew they believe this. But now is official.

Uganda: Gay Youth Worker Joseph Kaweesi Arrested For “Recruiting” Teens Into Homosexuality

Gay Star News reports:

On New Year’s Eve, Joseph Kaweesi, LGBT youth worker and advocate, was arrested by Ugadan police and charged with crimes relating to homosexuality.
According to reports from Uganda, Kaweesi, one of the founder of the LGBT group Youth on Rock Foundation, is being held at Kawempe police station, in Kampala, capital of Uganda.
Frank Mugishu, of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) charity, confirmed that Kaweesi was arrested yesterday (31 December 2012) by police officers.
According to Mugishu he was charged with ‘carnal knowledge (homosexuality)’ and ‘recruiting youth into homosexuality’.
LGBT rights advocate Melanie Nathan told Gay Star News that she received information that attorneys have spoken with Kaweesi and that plans are being made to try and bail him.
Speaking with GSN Nathan, who is from South Africa but based in the USA, said: ‘it would seem to me that the police are preempting the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (also known as The Kill the Gays Bill) which has been introduced into this parliament and has yet to pass.
‘The arrest may be political as anti-gay catalysts for the Bill try and drum up more support for its passage.
‘Although there is an existing law which people can be charged under for “carnal knowledge or defilement,” there is currently no law that speaks to the so called “recruitment” of homosexuals.
‘While we all know such is impossible to do, the Ugandan AHB seeks to make the misnomer a crime.
‘If Kaweesi’s charges are pursued the facts may be difficult to prove and certainly the aspect of “recruitment” could be thrown out by a competent court of law’.
Earlier this week, the office of SMUG was broken into and vandalized, with much its equipment having being stolen.
Activists stated that the information stored on some of the computers, containing addresses and telephone numbers of LGBT Ugandans may now put them at risk.
Both male and female homosexual activity is illegal in Uganda - under its penal code ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
According to a 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 96 percent of Ugandan residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, making Uganda the fifth most homophobic state out of 45 countries surveyed.
In November 2012, the speaker of the parliament of Uganda promised to enact a revised anti-homosexuality bill, providing for harsher penalties against suspected LGBT people and anyone who fails to report them to authorities, including long-term imprisonment and the death penalty for what the law terms ‘repeat offenders’.
The bill is due to be put to the vote early this year when parliament reconvenes.

United Kingdom: Catholic Bishop Mark Davies Compares Gay Marriage To Nazism

Joe.My.God. reports:

“Past generations have gathered in this cathedral on Christmas night amid many shadows which seemed to obscure the future for them. We think of the ideologies of the past century, Communism and Nazism, which in living memory threatened to shape and distort the whole future of humanity. These inhuman ideologies would each challenge in the name of progress the received Christian understanding of the sanctity of human life and the family. Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, a man without clear, religious belief, saw in this deadly struggle nothing less than the defence of Christian civilisation.

“Few of our political leaders today appear to glimpse the deeper issues when the sanctity of human life and the very identity of marriage, the foundation of the family, are threatened. his Christmas we are also conscious of new shadows cast by a Government that was pledged at its election to support the institution of marriage. The Prime Minister has decided without mandate, without any serious consideration, to redefine the identity of marriage itself, the foundation of the family for all generations to come. This is again done in the name of progress. The British people have reason to ask on this night where is such progress leading?” - Bishop of Shrewsbury Mark Davies, from remarks released in advance of tonight’s midnight mass in Britain.

Countries Where Atheism Is Punishable By Death

Let’s be grateful that we live in the west, and speak out on behalf of those who are silenced.

Christmas to me is like Thanksgiving. A chance to gather together with family and friends, enjoy their company and love, and usually full of drama. I totally draw the line with their pagan traditions. 

World AIDS Day’s Bigotry Brought To You By Porno Pete, Bill Donohue & Matt Barber

NEVADA: Court Upholds Marriage Equality Ban

BuzzFeed reports:

A federal trial court ruled that Nevada can limit marriage to opposite-sex couples in a ruling made public hours before the Supreme Court is due to consider whether it will hear any of several cases addressing same-sex couples’ marriage rights.
Judge Robert C. Jones, a George W. Bush appointee, found that the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws does not “[prohibit] the People of the State of Nevada from maintaining statutes that reserve the institution of civil marriage to one-man–one-woman relationships.”
Jones ruled that a prior Supreme Court precedent — a 1972 case, Baker v. Nelson, that denied a same-sex couple’s marriage claim as lacking any “substantial federal question” — controlled his decision. Even if not, he ruled that the “exclusion of same-sex couples from the institution of civil marriage” was constitutional “[b]ecause the maintenance of the traditional institution of civil marriage as between one man and one woman is a legitimate state interest.”
In reaching his decision, Jones found that a classification like Nevada’s marriage law, which distinguishes between heterosexual and homosexual people (his analysis did not address bisexuality), should not be viewed with additional scrutiny, as are laws that distinguish based on sex or race. The analysis, made as part of challenges claiming a violation of the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees, asks whether the group claiming discrimination under the law has experienced a history of discrimination and continues to face levels of political powerlessness.
In these areas, Jones found — contrary to a recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals — that gay and lesbian people did not exhibit the characteristics necessary for additional protection.
“Homosexuals have not historically been denied the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, or the right to own property,” he wrote, in dismissing claims of a history of discrimination. Noting recent ballot successes on marriage issues, Jones wrote, “It simply cannot be seriously maintained, in light of these and other recent democratic victories, that homosexuals do not have the ability to protect themselves from discrimination through democratic processes such that extraordinary protection from majoritarian processes is appropriate.”
Once Jones decided that “rational basis,” the lowest type of scrutiny, would be applied to Nevada’s prohibition on allowing same-sex couples to marry, he quickly found several reasons for upholding the differential treatment.
“The protection of the traditional institution of marriage, which is a conceivable basis for the distinction drawn in this case, is a legitimate state interest,” he began, adding that if the state recognized same-sex couples’ marriages, “it is conceivable that a meaningful percentage of heterosexual persons would cease to value the civil institution as highly as they previously had and hence enter into it less frequently … because they no longer wish to be associated with the civil institution as redefined.”
Notably, Jones began his opinion by looking at the nature of the distinction drawn by Nevada itself.
“Homosexual persons may marry in Nevada, but like heterosexual persons, they may not marry members of the same sex. That is, a homosexual man may marry anyone a heterosexual man may marry, and a homosexual woman may marry anyone a heterosexual woman may marry,” he wrote. “Although the State appears to have drawn no distinction at all at first glance, and although the distinction drawn by the State could be characterized as gender-based … the Court finds that for the purposes of an equal protection challenge, the distinction is definitely sexual-orientation based.”
The case was brought by Lambda Legal, whose lead attorney on the case, Tara Borelli, said in a statement, “We will appeal and continue to fight for these loving couples, who are harmed by Nevada’s law barring marriage for same-sex couples. By forbidding same-sex couples’ access to marriage, the State brands them and their children as second-class citizens.”
Their appeal will be to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sevcik