In the News:

NRLR responds to Evangelical Lutheran Church
      in America decision on LGBT pastors
Great, now say it on the stump
Task Force, Inc., responds to White House threat
      of veto of hate crimes legislation
Ascension is this weekend!

National Religious Leadership Roundtable responds to Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decision on LGBT pastors

Delegates to the Tenth Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted Saturday to urge bishops to refrain from disciplining LGBT pastors in committed relationships. The vote was a victory for advocates of equality in this important Protestant denomination with 4.8 million members, but it falls short of changing the church’s policy of discriminating against LGBT pastors who have families.

“At such a time as this, when the winds of justice and gospel truth are blowing all around us, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has responded with timidity.”
— Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, Program Director, Institute for Welcoming Resources

[ Read responses from NRLR members ]

Great, now say it on the stump

The 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, except for Sens. Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, addressed LGBT issues at an Aug. 9 forum organized by the Human Rights Campaign and aired on the Logo cable channel. The week prior to the forum, the Task Force, Inc., used the media to press the candidates to talk about our community on the stump. During the forum, two candidates — Sens. Barack Obama and John Edwards — pledged they would.

“All good and some great, but now we need all the candidates — particularly the frontrunners — to take a stand for us on the stump, in front of all audiences. The Republican side hasn’t given up using gay people for political gain and most of the Republican candidates bash us everywhere they go. But so far, the Democratic frontrunners rarely talk about us except at our events or when asked a specific question, and even then, they tend to freeze up.”
— Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc.

[ Read the full statement ]
[ Read related media coverage: Newsweek, Newsday and Los Angeles Times ]

Task Force, Inc., responds to White House threat of veto of hate crimes legislation

White House spokesman Tony Fratto last week said that President Bush plans to veto any bill to which the Matthew Shepard Act is attached. “The qualifications [in the bill] are so broad that virtually any crime involving a homosexual individual has potential to have hate crimes elements. The proposals they’re talking about are not sufficiently narrow,” Fratto said.

“The provisions of this legislation are extremely narrow, however not as narrow as the minds of the current administration.”
— Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc.

[ Read the response from the Task Force, Inc. ]
[ Read related media coverage in the Gay City News and Gay News Bits ]

Ascension is this weekend!

Ascension, an incredible dance party — and Task Force benefit — on the beautiful beach in the Fire Island Pines, is this weekend! Don’t miss this fabulous series of events on Saturday Aug. 18 & Sunday, Aug. 19. For full details, contact Janice Thom, director of special events, at 646.358.1467 or visit www.AscensionParty.com. Hope to see you there!

Contact Us       Donate

www.theTaskForce.org