Thousands in London, England attended Protest the Pope, reports the Guardian, an event encompassing a broad coalition of those opposed to Pope Benedict’s policies, including his stance on birth control, gays, the ordination of women, and the Catholic Church’s response (or lack thereof) to clerical sex abuse. The rally was held ahead of evening prayer vigil to be led by the Pope in Hyde Park.
The Los Angeles Times reports that sponsors of Proposition 8 – ProtectMarriage.com – filed written arguments Friday urging the United States 9th Circuit of Appeals to overturn a ruling made August 4th by United States District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker that struck down the state’s voter amendment banning gay marriage. Failing that, ProtectMarriage.com argued that should Walker’s ruling stand; same sex marriage should be available only to the two gay couples who challenged the constitutional validity of Proposition 8. “At the bare minimum, the district court exceeded its jurisdiction to the extent its judgement extends beyond the four plaintiffs who were before the court,” attorneys for ProtectMarriage.com wrote. Imperial County, California, also filed arguments Friday, meeting a midnight deadline, asking the court for standing to appeal, arguing that the case should be determined based on the United States constitution, not on the technical question of standing, also arguing that the country was entitled to appeal Walker’s order because the counties issue marriage licenses. Chad Griffin, the Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group that initiated the case, released a statement that read in part “The fact remains that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, as was proven conclusively and unequivocally through a full federal trial.”
The Salt Lake Tribune on Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bishop Keith B. McMullin, speaking Saturday at the 20th Annual conference of Evergreen International, a non-profit support group for Mormons that operates outside the parameters of the church, who want to” overcome homosexual behaviour,” McMullin, the second counsellor in the Presiding Bishopric of the LDS telling the attendees that those with same sex attraction should not refer to themselves as gay or as lesbian, saying “If someone seeking your help says to you, ‘I am homosexual,’ or ‘I am lesbian’ or, ‘I am gay’ correct this miscasting. Heavenly Father does not speak of his children this way and neither should we. It is simply not true. To speak this way seeds a doubt and deceit about who we really are.” He added that every individual is a “son or daughter” of God. Jesus Christ, he said, has the power to lift the “burden” of every man and woman, boy and girl,” that burden being a same sex attraction but a desire to live in accordance with LDS law, that requires chastity outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
Kelli McGillis, the actress (Top Gun, Witness) who came out last year, and Melanie Leis, a sales executive were joined in a civil union Wednesday, the New York Times reports. The ceremony took place in Collingswood, New Jersey, and a formal vow announcement will appear in the paper September 26th.
More photographs of the fabulous Felipe Martins from Made in Brazil.
From Model.com, a package of the perfect boys of the AMCK spring/summer 2011 London show.
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