HRC Blog

On June 18, the thought provoking documentary “8: The Mormon Proposition” will be released in select theatres and available simultaneously through “Movies on Demand” in many homes. The film exposes the significant involvement of the Mormon Church in the California Proposition 8 battle. Just yesterday it was revealed that fines have been proposed against the church for campaign finance violations related to Prop 8.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, at a public event on Tuesday said that “gays and lesbians don't pay tithing, their religion is politics.” He further commented that Republicans need to organize like gay rights activists, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. HRC Religion & Faith Program Director Harry Knox released the following statement:

It's been my pleasure to have been engaged for many months now in developing a pilot group in Los Angeles, A Moral Compass to Justice. This group, led by Groves and Rev. Eric Lee of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of California, is a collaborative of justice-minded faith leaders calling for a faith based alternative to the environment of racism, homophobia, discrimination and violence particularly in respect to immigration reform, LGBT equality and economic justice.

According to the New York Times, the life of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill may have reached its end. A special committee organized by the president of Uganda has recommended that the bill be withdrawn from Parliament because “virtually all clauses in the legislation were either unconstitutional or redundant.” While the bill has not yet been formally withdrawn, we look forward to the day when it no longer looms in the Ugandan Parliament.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced today that Pastor Bradley Schmelling of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Atlanta, and his partner, Rev. Derin Easler, have been added back to the roster of the denomination’s authorized clergy. So in the words of the old Shaker hymn, things have “come round right”. Pastor Brad became the face of the movement for full inclusion of LGBT clergy in the life of the ELCA when he was removed from the roster after announcing his commitment to Derin several years ago.