News: DADT, Far-Right Christians Not Interested in Poverty

· Ten of the nation's leading constitutional law experts have called to overturn the ban on gays in the military, filing a brief in the recent lawsuit brought by 12 veterans that challenges "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The academics argue the law denies “the freedom of mind that protects the individual from being compelled to affirm an identity, idea or belief that is not his own" and "there is no greater threat to First Amendment values than a law that skews political debate in this manner.”

· From "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to... "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." CBS4 in Denver finds recruiters are ignoring the policy on gays to meet recruitment goals.

· The United Church of Christ has formally accepted a predominantly gay Dallas mega-church into its fold—the 4,300-member Cathedral of Hope, now the fourth largest congregation in the denomination. The church decided to affiliate with the UCC after the denomination endorsed gay marriage last year.

· A change of heart from Sen. Sam Brownback? The notoriously anti-gay Kansas Republican senator says he may stop blocking a judicial nominee over concerns that her appearance at a lesbian commitment ceremony betrayed her legal views on same-sex marriage.

· The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America has stepped down before his term began. The New York Times reports Rev. Joel Hunter says the group resisted his efforts to broaden its agenda beyond gays and abortion "to include reducing poverty and fighting global warming. When we really got down to it, they said: ‘This just isn’t for us. It won’t speak to our base, so we just can’t go there.’”

Comments

[jared]

brownback is a odd duck. totally anti-gay, but in many ways pro-africa, which is quite unusual for anyone republican. and since the far right wing of that party is a two trick pony, abortion and anti-gay rights, no surprise that they have no concern with poverty, that would mean they would have to show concern for people of color who suffer most.

[ATL Kid]

I love the irony ... so-called Christains are not concerned with the environment or poverty. WWJ? he wouldn't persecute gays all his life.