conscience

The Michigan house of representatives passed a bill last week that could prevent colleges from disciplining counseling, social work, or psychology students based on their religious beliefs. The Julea Ward Freedom Of Conscience Act, was inspired by former Eastern Michigan University counseling student Julea Ward, who refused to affirm the relationship of a gay client as part of her master's practicum. She was removed from the program for her actions.

Saying that the recent resignation of a town clerk is “just the beginning,” a New York group has announced a fund to assist more clerks and other “people of conscience” who suffer consequences on the job for invoking their religious beliefs against the new marriage equality law. “Laura Fotusky is just the beginning,” said the announcement of the Courage Fund from New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a group of evangelical Protestants who protested the bill signed into law last month by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Michigan have filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in federal appeals court in support Eastern Michigan University in its dispute with a former student.  Julea Ward sued the university after it removed her from the graduate counseling program over her refusal to affirm the relationship of a gay client during a practicum. Ward was training to become a school counselor. She believes homosexuality is immoral and a choice and that she could not counsel the client in good conscience, and maintains being removed from the university program is a breach of her religious freedom.

Some military chaplains fear that once the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is lifted, service members who express their opposition to homosexuality will be subject to punishment,

The Maryland Senate passed the marriage equality bill in a bipartisan 25-22 vote Thursday afternoon, moving one step closer to becoming the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Gov. Martin O’Malley plans to sign the bill into law next week, according to a spokesperson.

A so-called 'license to discriminate' bill has died in Arkansas, but similar ones remain pending in numerous other states.

Anne Rice is no longer a Christian. The best-selling author of "Interview With a Vampire" and mother to novelist Christopher Rice posted on her Facebook page that she’s left the religion because she refuses to be “antigay,” “antifeminist,” and “anti-Democrat.”

Buffalo-area state senator Mark Grisanti is at the top of the National Organization for Marriage’s hit list for his vote in favor of marriage equality last week. Grisanti, who is in his first term in the Senate, was one of four Republicans who joined 29 Democrats last Friday in passing the legislation establishing equal marriage rights for gay couples in New York State.

Australian expat Portia de Rossi is disappointed that Prime Minister Julia Gillard is blocking the push toward marriage equality in her native country. The wife of Ellen DeGeneres, who legally took her wife's last name in September but still goes by de Rossi professionally, said she was “disappointed” in Gillard.

Comic-actress Sarah Silverman says gay marriage should be legalized "with a big fucking apology for the past few years," during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. While discussing her latest film Take This Waltz at New York's Tribeca Film Festival, Silverman, a longtime LGBT equality advocate, took a moment to address same-sex marriage.

New York state senate majority leader Dean Skelos announced Friday that the marriage equality bill would go the floor for a vote, which is expected later tonight. The announcement came after an hours-long conference among senate Republicans. Skelos, who personally opposes the bill, did not address reporters in Albany afterward but he issued a statement that said, “After many hours of deliberation and discussion over the past several weeks among the members, it has been decided that same-sex marriage legislation will be brought to the full Senate for an up or down vote.”

Tom Hanks has issued an apology after calling Mormons who voted for Prop. 8 "un-American" at a Big Love premiere party last week.

Out actresses Jane Lynch and Sarah Paulson lend their voices to the campaign A is For in support of taking back the meaning of The Scarlet Letter and empowering women to stand up for their right to choose what’s best for their bodies,

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard dined with two lesbian couples and a pair of gay men on Tuesday. She told them marriage equality would assuredly happen in the country, but she remains opposed to changing the law.

The wildly irreverent and damned funny Sarah Silverman returns to television with The Sarah Silverman Program, which Logo helped to save from extinction when it opted into a financial partnership with Comedy Central. Now Advocate.com has an exclusive interview with Silverman in which she chats up gay marriage, queer content on her show, her status as a "cunt tease" (according to some lesbians), Lady Gaga and more.