The author of “God and the Gay Christian” shares his 10 reasons why God loves Gay Christians:

1. The term “homosexual” didn’t exist until 1892.
2. Sexual orientation is a new concept—one that the Christian tradition hasn’t addressed.
3. Celibacy is a gift, not a mandate.
4. Condemning same-sex relationships is harmful to the LGBT community.
5. Sodom and Gomorrah involved an attempted gang rape, not a loving relationship.
6. The prohibitions in Leviticus don’t apply to Christians.
7. Paul condemns same-sex lust, not love.
8. Marriage is about commitment.
9. Human beings are relational.
10. Faithful Christians are already embracing LGBT brothers and sisters.

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The post 10 Reasons God Loves Gay Christians first appeared on COIL Foundation.

The question has been asked “Why Tyler?”

There are so many answers to this question. Tyler represented a true turning point in the progression of what we know of as bullying. His case brought to light what can happen in this age of technology and social media. We often hear about “at risk youth” and sometimes forget that there are countless youth who would never fall into a category such as that who are in an equally fragile place.

Why sing about this?

Because we live in a world that is not close to safe for LGBTQ young people. We are responsible for bringing this into the light and accountable if we do nothing to make it better.

That is why we are singing this music – to bring awareness – and, hopefully – create something safe and lasting.

To the world, Tyler had it all. He had just begun college at a great school – Rutgers. He had a wonderful, salt of the earth, family. Two brothers, mom and dad. He had music at the core of his being – a music major. He had just come out and was not thrown out or disowned. And yet, as he began to experience life as a young gay man, something terrible happened. His roommate secretly filmed him and posted it on social media.

Tyler felt he had nowhere to turn, no recourse. He was caught in the depths of despair and for him the only way out was to jump from the George Washington bridge and end his life.

What if?

What if Tyler had heard a gay men’s chorus sing songs of affirmation – or the stories of others who have found themselves in the depths of despair. He may not have felt so alone and without options.

This is only part of why we are proudly singing this music.

Details of the project

The post Why Tyler? first appeared on COIL Foundation.

In the Amicus briefs, James Guay, Ryan Kendall, Peter Drake, Emily Kane, John Metzidis, and Maris Ehlers recount their powerful stories of the damage and pain that they and their families suffered because they were exposed to these discredited and dangerous therapies designed to alter fundamental parts of their identities that cannot and should not be changed. Their stories also reveal the stigmatizing effect of the discrimination and prejudice that has been and continues to be directed at gay men and lesbians.

“Our clients, who were subjected to horrific discrimination and abuse simply because they or their family members were gay, are speaking out strongly in these briefs in support of equal rights for all citizens,” said Sanford Jay Rosen, founding partner of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld. “In this watershed moment in the history of the gay rights movement in the United States, SOCE survivors are determined to make their voices heard.”

On February 28, 2013 the SOCE survivors filed an Amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to California’s Proposition 8, which denies gay men and lesbian women the right to marry the person whom they love solely on the basis of their sexual orientation. On March 1, the survivors filed an Amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, the challenge to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The survivors urge the Supreme Court to strike down both laws. Oral argument will be heard by the Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v. Perry on March 26, and inUnited States v. Windsor on March 27.

In each case, the SOCE survivors urged the Supreme Court to review the discriminatory laws under a heightened level of scrutiny because they single out a class of Americans based on an immutable trait central to their identity, in violation of the basic principles of who we are as a nation, and to affirm the landmark decisions of the Ninth Circuit and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals finding Proposition 8 and DOMA unconstitutional.

The Ninth Circuit briefs, which were filed in early February, urge the Court of Appeals to uphold California’s Senate Bill 1172. This new law protects lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from the serious psychological harms caused by state-licensed therapists who use junk science in the guise of SOCE “therapy” to try to change their patients’ sexual orientation. Two separate lawsuits challenge the California law’s constitutionality. In Pickup v. Brown, the judge denied a motion to delay enforcement of SB 1172 until the case is resolved, whereas in Welch v. Brown, the judge granted a motion to prevent enforcement of the law against the three plaintiffs in that case. Oral argument in both cases will be heard before the one panel of judges in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on April 17, 2013.

Source: http://rbgg.com/rbgg-files-amicus-briefs-in-the-u-s-supreme-court-and-ninth-circuit-on-behalf-of-survivors-of-anti-gay-therapies/

The post RBGG Files Amicus Briefs on Behalf of Anti-Gay Therapy Survivors first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Research finds that same-sex unions are happier than heterosexual marriages. What can gay and lesbian couples teach straight ones about living in harmony?

This article in The Atlantic looks at the traditional arguments against same-sex marriage, and then explores the many ways in which same-sex marriage might actually save the institution of marriage.

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The post The Gay Guide to Wedded Bliss first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Watch the videos:
Episode: Gay-Straight Therapy, Part 1
Episode: Gay-Straight Therapy, Part 2
Episode: Gay-Straight Therapy, Part 3
Episode: Gay-Straight Therapy, Part 4
Episode: Gay-Straight Therapy, Part 5

The post Peter Drake on the Dr. Oz Show first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Sacramento —

California has become the first state in the country to ban controversial therapy practices that attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to outlaw them Saturday.

The bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars mental health practitioners from performing so-called reparative therapy, which professional psychological organizations have said may cause harm. Gay rights groups have labeled them dangerous and abusive.

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The post State bans gay-repair therapy for minors first appeared on COIL Foundation.

A survivor of so-called “reparative therapy” tells us why it’s imperative California pass the first law banning the often-harmful practice.

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The post One Man’s Long Road to Self-Acceptance first appeared on COIL Foundation.

Marianne O’Donnell, NBC News, Jun 27, 2012

The family of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student who killed himself after discovering his roommate, Dharun Ravi, had spied on him is speaking out for the first time since Ravi’s conviction of hate crimes earlier this year. Ravi was convicted of 15 counts of hate crimes, but served only 20 days in jail.

Read the full article

The post The Courage of Tyler Clementi’s parents to face the truth first appeared on COIL Foundation.

COIL Founder Peter Drake tells his own story of abuse at the hands of a “conversion therapy” specialist in support of a California bill that would prohibit subjecting minors to these practices.

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The post Why I Have to Speak Out first appeared on COIL Foundation.

The post The launch of FIA’s Youth Site: leaders tell the truth first appeared on COIL Foundation.