The Human Rights Campaign has an initiative called Clergy Call, which is designed to mobilize members of the clergy to become advocates for LGBT rights and protections. Focus on the Family, on the other hand, seems to have a mission to keep clergy from rationally reexamining their accepted Biblical condemnations or challenging the biases that have plagued society for far too long. So how does the latter organization respond to the former's call for faith-based acceptance? Well, check out this blurb from FOF's CitizenLink site: Dr. Michael Brown, director of the Coalition of Conscience, said messing with ...

Jim Neal’s Senatorial dreams were dashed last week when he lost to fellow Democrat Kay Hagan. The road to Washington wasn’t the most level, especially considering Neal’s relative obscurity and the fact that Hagan won the support of party leaders, who apparently worried Neal couldn’t take on Republican Elizabeth Dole. While some would be sore about their loss, Neal’s taking it all in stride. He hasn’t yet decided what the future holds, but this homo-politicos sure of one thing: he made - and will continue to make - an impact. Neal and our editor chatted yesterday about the candidate’s ...

The Atlanta Pride Committee decided last week to decline a sponsorship from the Human Rights Campaign over the national gay political group’s support for a version of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act that did not include “gender identity” as a protected category. (See related story, below) Atlanta Pride Executive Director Donna Narducci said the Pride Committee felt they had to turn down the $5,000 sponsorship in order to make Georgia’s transgender community feel welcome at the Pride festival, slated for the Atlanta Civic Center over the July 4 weekend. HRC will still be allowed to participate in the festival’s ...

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese met with a handful of transgender activists in Atlanta last week and apologized for “misspeaking” at last year’s Southern Comfort conference, where he promised HRC would only support an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that included gender identity, according to people attending the meeting. See  HRC president apologizes for ‘misspeaking’ at trans confab ...

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) civil rights organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, the nation's largest association of GLBT healthcare professionals, today announced the release of an industry-changing nationwide report—the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI)—which for the first time rates the nation’s hospitals on a set of baseline standards of patient care for GLBT Americans.  The HEI is the first step toward establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care. The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and inconsistent ...

NEW YORK -- Just over half of 88 hospitals got top marks under a new rating system created by two national gay-rights organizations which hope the standards will result in more compassionate treatment of gay and lesbian patients. Policies addressed in the ratings include patient nondiscrimination, visitation and decision-making rights for partners, diversity training for staff, and nondiscriminatory employment practices. The hospitals participated voluntarily, and the groups behind the report said there will be no effort to rate hospitals which don't want to respond. Instead, they hope many hospitals will strive for high ratings as the survey recurs annually. ...

Source: HRC press release , Associated Press Washington, DC -- Calling it "first step toward establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care," two LGBT advocacy groups yesterday released a report that rates hospitals on a set of standards of patient care for lesbian, gay, bi, or transgender Americans. The report was compiled by Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the nation’s LGBT civil rights organization, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association , the nation's largest association of GLBT healthcare professionals...(read more) ...

Just over half of 88 hospitals got top marks under a new rating system created by two national gay-rights organizations which hope the standards will result in more compassionate treatment of gay and lesbian patients. Policies addressed in the ratings include patient nondiscrimination, visitation and decision-making rights for partners, diversity training for staff, and nondiscriminatory employment practices. The hospitals participated voluntarily, and the groups behind the report said there will be no effort to rate hospitals which don't want to respond. Instead, they hope many hospitals will strive for high ratings as the survey recurs annually. Called the Healthcare ...

We all know anti-gay bullying laws are a lightning rod for conservative fire, but Star Tribune’s Katherine Kersten takes the cake: “…What if that curriculum is really a disguise for a very different agenda brought to Minneapolis by the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay and transgender advocacy group?… In other words, what if anti-bullying advocates themselves turn out to be the bullies?” And that’s not the half of this woman’s spiteful garbage, which spurred an AfterEllen reader to launch a campaign against Kersten. That’ll learn her! [Star Tribune and AfterEllen] ...

The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association have teamed up to offer a rating system for hospitals similar to HRC's Corporate Equality Index, which grades corporations based on their gay and lesbian policies. According to the AP, "Policies addressed in the ratings include patient nondiscrimination, visitation and decision-making rights for partners, staff diversity training and nondiscriminatory employment practices." They report: "Some responses to the new survey came from hospital networks. Kaiser Permanente, answering on behalf of 31 hospitals in California and Hawaii, said all met the survey's 10 criteria. They were among 45 hospitals in all ...

Dealing with hospitals as a homo can be quite the pain. For example, one may not be able to advise on medical treatment for a “partner” to whom they’re not officially married. In an effort to make things easier for the queers, Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association teamed up for the Healthcare Equality Index, a handy guide to gay friendly hospitals across the country: Just over half of 88 hospitals got top marks under a new rating system created by two national gay-rights organizations which hope the standards will result in more compassionate treatment of ...

Is there such a thing as violin pop? Well, now there is. Check out Lili Haydn's frivolous and fun video for her new single "Strawberry Street" that is taken from her third album "Place Between Places." Haydn is  an alternative singer-songwriter-violinist who is one of the most requested sessions violinists in Los Angeles who has recorded with people like Josh Groban, No Doubt,  Hootie & The Blowfish and even the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Lili joined forces with Roko Belic, the Academy Award-nominated director for the film Genghis Blues to record the video for "Strawberry Street."  It was ...

Father Jake points us to the news that the Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints Pasadena has been recognized by the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center with a LACE award, which honors "local lesbians and bisexual women who have distinguished themselves by making particularly significant contributions to the local LGBT community." Russell received the award in a ceremony last weekend along with three other women, each with contributions in a specific arena; hers was the spirituality award: A parish priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena and an outspoken critic of the religious right, Susan Russell travels ...

he Human Rights Campaign gay rights group plans to hold a "Camp Equality" boot camp today and Sunday. The idea, the organization said, is to train people to work on political campaigns and defeat ballot measures such as the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. South Florida: Gay rights group to train activists in Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.com, FL ...

Those so-called “professional journalists” at Focus On the Family’s CitizenLink are repeating that tired old theme again — that the “homosexual lobby” is so incredibly well-funded that its a miracle that anti-gay activists can get a word in edgewise. This time, they’re upset over the Human Rights Campaign’s “Year to Win” initiative, specifically HRC’s plan to train 1,500 advocates in thirteen cities to participate in the upcoming elections. Wow. Thirteen cities. Imagine that. CitizenLink then enlisted Matt Barber to complain: “Their main purpose for existence is to influence public policy and politics, and to get people elected to office ...

“Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese met with a handful of transgender activists in Atlanta last week and apologized for “misspeaking” at last year’s Southern Comfort conference, where he promised HRC would only support an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that included gender identity, according to people attending the meeting… HRC supports including gender identity in ENDA, but urged Congress members to vote in favor of [Barney] Frank’s sexual orientation-only bill as an incremental strategy.” [SoVo] ...

Oh why can't our opposition ever stop and say to themselves, "Wait a minute -- aren't we doing the very thing that we're accusing the gays of doing?" We ask this after seeing the following blurb over on Focus on the Family's CitizenLink: The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay-activist group, is ramping up its efforts ahead of the election. As part of the "Year to Win" initiative, HRC plans to train thousands of people in 13 cities. "Their main purpose for existence is to influence public policy and politics, and to get people elected to office who are going to ...

Human Rights Campaign just announced Clergy Call 2009, an interfaith effort to raise queer awareness among the pious folk. Here’s what president Joe Solmonese had to say about the event, “America’s clergy are transforming our nation one congregation at a time and making it easier for Members of Congress to stand for equality. These trainings will encourage participants to take their conversations to the next level and work for change in the public sphere.” Those of you interested in salvation should sign up and feel the spirit [HRC] ...

It’s a big day for homo-politico Jim Neal, who’s running for the Democratic senatorial seat in North Carolina. Longtime state leader Kay Hagan’s also running, allegedly after the Democrats opposed Neal’s candidacy, for they feel a gay man can’t win against Republican Elizabeth Dole. Neal obviously disagrees, as you can tell from his closing arguments during a recent debate. The former business man’s candidacy also caused a stir last week when gay non-profit Human Rights Campaign refused to endorse him, leading many to call for the group’s collective head. Voters, of course, will have the final word today, when ...

I'm behind the curve commenting on the recent decision by our blinded-by-the-Beltway friends at the Human Rights Campaign not to endorse any candidate in the North Carolina Democratic Senate primary. Controversial endorsement calls have actually been one of the few... ...