By Jackie Jones
Gay and lesbian couples are now able to marry legally in the nation’s capital. A large part of making that happen came from a direct campaign to win the support of the city’s African-American residents, long believed to be opposed to such a law.

By Stacey Patton
Ugandans don’t like homosexuals.

That simple phrase is a gross understatement to the country’s 500,000 gays and lesbians living in the heavily Muslim and Christian nation of 30 million, where 95% of the population opposes legalizing homosexual acts. The Ugandan parliament is trying to further crack down on the lives of gays and lesbians as it debates a draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would require its citizens to peep behind bedroom doors and tell on people who engage in “unnatural” consensual sex.

By The Editors
The California Supreme Court’s ruling this week upholding the proposition that bans gay marriage in the state sets “a dangerous precedent” because it places “the rights of minority groups at the whim of the majority,” the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said in a statement released today.

By The Editors
The California Supreme Court began hearing arguments Thursday on the legality of Proposition 8, the controversial ballot initiative voters approved in November that outlawed same-sex marriage. Supporters of the measure, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, claim that the measure is a lawful expression of the will of the electorate. However, its opponents, which include the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, have said that it is unconstitutional.

By Stacey Patton:
“Blow on my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the pleasant fruits.” Those are lines from Song of Solomon, the most exquisitely erotic book of the Old Testament.
The Bible doesn’t shy away from topics of romance, love and sex. Indeed, the [...]

By Stacey Patton
Do most African-American ministers believe that homosexuality is a sin? Are black churches bastions of homophobia? Does the Bible condemn same-sex liaisons as unnatural and immoral? In this week’s issue of TheDefendersOnline, we asked a diverse group of black clergy from across the country to weigh in on the controversy over same-sex marriage.

By Rabbi Denise L. Eger:
I am celebrating Barack Obama’s election as president.  I also rejoice because people of every race and every ethnicity and every socio-economic class and every sexual orientation came together to make his presidency possible. But here in California the promise and vision of President–elect Obama’s campaign has been marred by the [...]

By Stacey Patton:
Two weeks later, I am still on high about the historic election of our first black president, and at the same time, perturbed by debates about whether gays and lesbians should have the legal right to marry. Right-wing politicians, religious leaders and other proponents of Proposition 8 argue that allowing same-sex marriage [...]

On November 4th, this nation witnessed a landmark election.  Perhaps, unthinkable before that amazing Tuesday, this nation – indeed, the entire world – will witness the inauguration of an African-American as President of the United States of America.  This Election Day resulted in another landmark moment as well.  For the first time, one of Ward [...]