Gay Pride – Uganda!

Across much of Africa, the priority for LGBT activists is far from pushing for equal marriage, but just resisting physical violence criminal sanctions. But even in Uganda, where there is a real thread of legislation that will provide for the death penalty for those convicted, there is progress. For the second consecutive year, there has been a gay pride parade, in Entebbe. Numbers were low – but unlike last year, the police made no attempt to intervene. As one participant noted, these are only baby steps – but babies tend to grow up.

Uganda holds 2nd annual LGBT pride march without arrests

Ugandan LGBTs have marched openly for a second time in Entebbe but police did not intervene despite being given advanced notice about the egnt

05 AUGUST 2013 | BY ANDREW POTTS

LGBTs in Uganda have again marched openly in what is the country’s second only pride event.

On Saturday over a hundred people marched along a beach and through a botanical garden in the city of Entebbe but police stayed away despite organizers giving them advanced notice about the event.

Things did not go so smoothly last year when a pride event was broken up by police, with several activists being detained before being released without charge.

Activist Kelly Mukwano told the Voice of America that the Ugandan LGBT community had been given a new sense of confidence with the success of the event.

‘That success gave us confidence that we can do it,’ Mukwano said, ‘We are getting more confident as time goes by.’

Some marchers thought it would not be long before they could march openly in the nation’s capital.

‘It’s baby steps,’ one marcher said, ‘Today, we are here, miles away from Kampala … Soon we shall be on Kampala Road.’

Uganda’s state owned New Vision news agency is yet to react to the pride event in Entebbe.

Ugandan MPs have been seeking to pass legislation that would see the death penalty for gay sex for repeat offenders and people with HIV but have called for a secret ballot to prevent them from being subjected to overseas travel bans.

via Gay Star News.

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On being Proud.

Yesterday morning, an envelope slipped through the letter box. It felt like an invitation to something and on the back were the intriguing words “10 Downing Street”.

It turned out to be an invitation from the Prime Minister to a reception to celebrate the LGBT community in the United Kingdom.

Will I be going? You bet I will.

Receiving that invitation made me realise in some small part why I’ll be marching in today’s Glasgow Pride march.

Now, Pride is an emotion that Christians tend to be a little wary of. After all, didn’t our Lady have something to say about scattering the proud in the imagination of their hearts? Surely she wouldn’t be found dead on a gay pride march?

Well, think again. Our Lady will be marching today in the form of a group of folk from St Mary’s, Cathedral. (Notre Dame de Glasgow indeed).

The word “pride” covers a number of things in English these days – some negative and some positive. The proud hearts that Mary was wanting to send on their way were surely those of the haughty and the disdainful. Rather a different crew to those marching from Kelvingrove into town today.

The pride that is celebrated today is a sense of delight in the well-being of one’s self and others. Entirely a different thing, I think.

I’ll go to the Prime Minister’s reception full of pride in many people.

-full post at  What’s in Kelvin’s Head?

(weblog of Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow)

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Liverpool FC kicks hate out of soccer with gay pride march

Liverpool FC has announced they are to march in the city’s gay pride festival, making them first premier league club to show open support for LGBT pride.

 

The team is captained by England FC’s Steven Gerrard and players will march with the Liverpool Ladies side under a banner displaying the club’s crest. The team will also be selling club merchandise to raise money for pride.

Liverpool FC recently worked with Liverpool Pride on the Football v Homophobia tournament, hosted at the club’s academy earlier this year. The aim of the tournament was to end any association between football and homophobia.

Club supporters, LGBT or not, are all welcome to join the parade behind the marching banner to show their support for the cause. The march will begin at William Brown street, gathering at 11am and marching at midday on 4 August.

 Gay Star News.

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Catholic and other religious groups were well-represented at the World Pride March 2012 which wound through the streets of London on July 7th.  The Soho Masses community of London wore T-shirts that said “All Are Welcome at Soho Masses” on the front, while the reverse said “Nobody Knows I’m Catholic.”    Members of Quest, a Catholic LGBT group in the United Kingdom marched with their banner. And New Ways Ministry was present, proudly marching with our banner amid the thousands upon thousands of marchers and spectators.

Here are some photos which I hope will give you a sense of the strong faith presence in the march, as well as the diversity of attendees:

– more pictures at  Bondings 2.0.

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Paris Gay Pride buoyed by promise of gay marriage law

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe (C) marches in the Gay Pride in Paris

Always colourful and raucous, the annual Gay Pride parade in Paris on Saturday was further buoyed by the promise of France’s new Socialist government to legalise gay marriage and adoption rights.

“This is a special parade because it is the first time we have a government, a president, a parliament who are in favour of progress,” said Nicolas Gougain, spokesman for the the gay rights group Inter-LGBT.

Organisers were expecting record levels of attendance from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual) community at the parade heading from Montparnasse to the iconic Place de la Bastille.

Symbolically, French Minister for Families Dominique Bertinotti turned out to see the floats set off.

“I go everywhere where the future of the family is at stake,” she said, adding that “every bit of social progress benefits society as a whole”.

Bertinotti said she was “confident” the law “would be passed in 2013”.

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said ahead of the march on Friday that “the right to marriage and adoption for all would be put in place” during President Francois Hollande’s five-year mandate, but did not specify the date.

-full report at AFP

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Gay Pride Weekend Draws Mormon Allies and Equality Supporters

This weekend, organized contingents of Mormons marched in LGBT pride parades in 8 cities, from New York to Santiago de Chile, marking the high point in an historic season in LDS LGBT history that began with the Mormons Building Bridges Parade in Salt Lake City on June 3.

In Seattle, the Mormons for Marriage Equality contingent counted 55 marchers at the beginning of the Pride parade. As the group made its way down the parade path, an additional 20 Mormons left the sidelines to join, repeating scenes witnessed in Washington, DC, when the parade route became a site for reunions between active Mormons and gay Mormons long estranged from the faith community.

In New York City, 50 gay Mormons and allies marched behind the banner of Affirmation, the nation’s oldest Mormon LGBT group. Some held signs quoting a verse from the Book of Mormon: “All are alike unto God.” Nineteen LDS marchers held the Affirmation banner in Houston, as did an estimated 100 LDS LGBT and allied marchers in Santiago de Chile.

The largest contingent of the weekend gathered in San Francisco, where more than 100 LDS people gathered to march behind the Mormons for Marriage Equality banner, winning the parade’s award for “Absolutely Outrageous” contingent. Mitch Mayne, who is openly gay and holds a leadership position in his San Francisco LDS congregation, offered an opening prayer for the group. “I felt prompted to ask our Father to bless us with the capacity to be ambassadors of His unconditional love,” said Mayne.

-full report by Joanna Brooks at Religion Dispatches

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Catholics, Mormons, many religious will march in Seattle’s Pride Parade

A new wellspring of support will be on display when the annual Pride Parade gets underway Sunday in downtown Seattle.  People of faith are coming out for same-sex marriage, speaking with voices and feet, even if their bishops continue to stand against marriage equality.

The Mormon contingent in Seattle’s Pride Parade on Sunday will dress in classic missionary attire of shirts and ties, over which marchers will be wearing  “Approve Referendum 74” t-shirts.

“We stand for marriage equality:  We don’t stand AGAINST anything, and we are not interested in attacking anyone,” said Scott Holley of Mormons for Marriage Equality.  Holley’s church stood against same-sex marriage four years ago and was instrumental in passage of California’s Prop. 8.

The newly formed Catholics for Marriage Equality will be marching nearby in the parade under a big, newly made banner.  Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain has fought against marriage equality, but CME leader Barbara Guzzo is standing her ground and walking her talk.

– seattlepi.com

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Over 300 Mormon allies march at Utah Gay Pride

Mormons Building Bridges came out in their Sunday best and celebrated the LGBT community

Over 300 Mormon allies dropped their bibles and marched in Utah’s Gay Pride parade on Sunday (3 June).

The group Mormons Building Bridges said they wanted to send a message of love to the LGBT community, saying it was compatible with their faith.

-full report: Gay Star News

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