Ray Of Hope Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc.
The LGBTQISA2ss+ Pride Activities, and Social Events Center of Elmira, NY.
The only Church in Central New York founded and fostered by the GLBTQSIA2ss+ community for 39 years. October 31, 2022 - 39th Anniversary now in our 40th year in Ministry.
LGBTQISA2ss+
GAY PRIDE PAGES
June is Pride Month. In June, 2019 we marked the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall event sparked our world-wide movement to tell the truth that God has created and sustained all of us with the full spectrum of sexual orientations and gender expressions. Ray Of Hope Church stands dedicated to this truth. Would you join us in this proclamation? This year, 2019, in honor of Stonewall 50 and 50 years of celebrating God's Rainbow Pride Parade is the perfect time to become active in Ray Of Hope Church.
Read two Ray Of Hope Church sermons that were written about the Rainbow Flag here: The Rainbow Is God's Gift To Our Community CLICK HERE. Also here in a sermon for March 12, 2000 CLICK HERE. ** More information on Gilbert Baker's new book is found on both of these sermon pages.
We also recommend two documentary videos that tell much of the story of the Stonewall Riots. Click on the pictures below and you will be taken to external links for the videos.
Gilbert Baker Designer of the Rainbow Flag in a display in 2003. "I was twenty-seven. I loved to sew and imagined myself an artist. The idea for the Rainbow Flag had come to me in a dance to a tribal beat, on the wings of angels. Infused with the colors of God's covenant with humanity, the Rainbow Flag was more than mere cloth; it was a visual metaphor and an active proclamation of power, created and dedicated to gay and lesbian liberation. It declared that sexuality is a beautiful expression of nature, a human right." (page 1 from the new book: Rainbow Warrior My Life In Color by Gilbert Baker www.gilbertbaker.com)
There were hundreds of moments imprinted in me that will stay with me from Stonewall 50. Perhaps the one that took my breath away was when an honor guard turned the corner in perfect formation, stopped. Stood and presented arms before moving forward. Then I realized it was the New York City Police Department Marching Band with ranks and ranks and ranks of marching officers of every rank and even cadets. They carried the Pride Flag in the Honor Guard, and even the Transgender Flag. The emotions I experienced were very strong. Here was the police department that formed the phalanx formation completely across the same street with riot shields and batons banging on the shields as they marched into crowds before the Stonewall Inn 50 years ago marching in perfect formation down the same street again, this time in honor and respect. This time they marched down the same street carrying the Rainbow Flag and playing "When The Saints Go Marching In." I am so grateful that I lived to see this. As long as I am able to remember, I hope I remember this, and I give God thanks and praise that the light went out from Christ Bearer the carrier of Christ (this is what Christopher means) Street, from the Stonewall Inn - for Christ is the stone rejected by the builders and has become the chief cornerstone upon which the whole building is built (Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1Peter 2:7) None of this was an accident of time and place. The Rock of our Salvation (1 Corinthians 10:4). And if you want to see that the Rainbow is God's own insignia given to the LGBTQIAS+++ Community read on here: ( http://www.rayofhopechurch.com/rainflag.htm ). Attending the Pride March at Stonewall 50 and specifically seeing the NYC Police Department carrying the Pride and Transgender flags in the Honor Guard was one of the highlight experiences of my entire life. I am so grateful I was able to be there. (Br. Benedict) The pictures above are from this YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhq5Z4DL5gc at 0:28/30:31 posted by Kin Tsui.
New York State Passed Historic Transgender Anti-Discrimination Law S1047 the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) on January 10, 2019, which adds gender identity as a protected class in housing, employment, and public accommodations. To Read the Law CLICK HERE. Read an article about the GENDA Law CLICK HERE.
Quote: "Most states don't explicitly ban anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Under federal and most states' laws, LGBTQ people aren't explicitly protected from discrimination in the workplace, housing, or public accommodations (like restaurants, hotels, and other places that serve the public).
So someone can be fired from a job, evicted from a home, or kicked out of a business just because an employer, landlord, or business owner doesn't approve of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity."
"The Equality Act would extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ people."
The House just passed a sweeping LGBTQ rights bill
The Equality Act would extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ people.
By German Lopez@germanrlopezgerman.lopez@vox.com May 17, 2019, 12:14pm EDT
Read the full article CLICK HERE: VOX.COM
Articles that Religious Leaders are using to stand opposed to the Equality Act. RAY OF HOPE CHURCH DISAGREES WITH ALL OF THESE SO-CALLED RELIGIOUS AND CHRISTIAN POSITIONS AGAINST The Equality Act.
21 Christian leaders: Equality Act would gut religious freedom protections. Click Here. Read the Letter Click Here. Ray Of Hope Disagrees
The Equality Act Will Harm Religious Freedom Click Here. Ray Of Hope Disagrees
U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CHAIRMEN RESPOND TO U.S. HOUSE VOTE ON EQUALITY ACT. Click Here. Ray Of Hope Church Disagrees.
The Church Of Latter-day Saints opposes the Equality Act. Click Here. Ray Of Hope Church Disagrees.
Southern Baptist Convention The Equality Act Will Harm Religious Freedom..."placing sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in this kind of legislation would have harmful consequences," Click Here. Ray Of Hope Disagrees
Interfaith Groups Rally In Support Of Equality Act For LGBTQ Rights. Read the article Click Here. Ray Of Hope Church Agrees with this group of religious leaders.
Do you remember when in June, 2015 then President Obama signed a Proclamation LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2015? The words he expressed in that document are timeless. Be inspired and read them again: CLICK HERE.
Welcome to the Ray Of Hope Church Pride Pages Portal.
Ray Of Hope
Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc.
is the original Church in Central New York for
ALL People, including but not limited to
persons who are or might be:
Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender,
Questioning,
Intersex, Queer,
Asexual, Pansexual, Heteroflexible.
Anyone who is human!
Married, divorced, remarried, single,
and persons of all gender expressions.
Persons of any faith / religion or
no faith, no religion, or have no idea where to start with religion.
A spiritual home for those who are "spiritual but not religious."
WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO TELL Y OU IS WE ARE
the Church by us, for us, 4 U!
The Church made by you because
we ARE you!
Ray Of Hope Church was founded in 1983
and is serving Syracuse, Ithaca and Elmira New York.
We are in fact serving the world with live interactive worship services,
Bible enrichment sessions, and meetings
through SKYPE on the Internet.
WE ARE YOU!
We never held a vote to decide if we would be an INCLUSIVE church for you.
WE ARE YOU!
We are not an OPEN AND AFFIRMING church for you.
WE ARE YOU!
We are not a RECONCILING CHURCH or
RECONCILING CONGREGATION for you.
WE ARE YOU!
We are not an OPEN MINDED or ACCEPTING or WELCOMING
church where you can attend as long as you blend in quietly and discretely.
WE ARE YOU!
THIS is the church where YOU belong.
Ray Of Hope Church is the church
by us, for us, and made by You.
On June 25, 2016 President Obama Designated the Stonewall National Monument. To hear President Obama make this designation CLICK HERE.
To see this short video produced by New York State Parks CLICK HERE.
* Scroll Window →
Mission Statement
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Religious Archives Network (LGBTQ-RAN) coordinates and supports the identification, collection and preservation of personal papers and organizational records from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender religious movements. To encourage scholarly research and historical study of these important movements for social change, LGBTQ-RAN disseminates information about these records and provides and facilitates access to them, using digital technology when possible. For more information Click Here.
About LGBTQ-RAN
The LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBT-RAN) is an innovative venture in preserving history and encouraging scholarly study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) religious movements around the world. LGBTQ-RAN has a two-fold basic purpose.
First it assists LGBT religious leaders and groups in determining how best to preserve their records and papers in appropriate repositories.
Secondly, LGBTQ-RAN provides an electronic information clearinghouse for these archival collections and other historical data about LGBT religious history for the use of historians, researchers and other interested persons.
LGBTQ-RAN can best be understood as a "virtual" archive. It is not a physical repository that collects and preserves papers and records. Instead, LGBTQ-RAN is a resource center that enables the preservation of history and makes historical information easily accessible through this web site. Initiated in 2001 as a project of the Chicago Theological Seminary, LGBTQ-RA
N has been a program of the Center for LGBTQ & Gender Studies in Religion in Berkeley, California, since 2008
For more information on the LGBTQ-RAN Click Here.
For more information on the Center for LGBTQ & Gender Studies in Religion in Berkeley, California Click Here.
On June 25, 2016 President Obama Designated the Stonewall National Monument. To read an newspaper article on this Click Here.
The GLSEN Day of Silence is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQ students and allies all around the country - and the world - take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools.
Started in the mid 90's by two college students, the Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with Breaking the Silence rallies and events to share their experiences during the protest and bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive.
This year we are honoring the 25th anniversary of Day of Silence on Friday, April 24, 2020 - and this year we are going virtual! Read more information CLICK HERE.
Pride month, 2020 was certainly celebrated like no other. During this COVID-19 crisis all of our pride parade events here in New York State were cancelled. This year, 2020 actually marked the 50th anniversary of the first pride parade held in New York City. Today, June 2, 2020 as I write this, most of our major cities are being stressed by protests against police brutality and demands for review of policing practices across our country. Remember, the Stonewall riots were a protest against unjust laws and police brutality. The work towards "liberty and justice for all" continues. (Br. Benedict)
We lost a giant in our community this year. On May 27, 2020 Author, Playwright, Founder of New York Gay Men's Health Crisis Center, and Founder of ACTUP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), Larry Kramer died of pneumonia at the age of 84. PBS News Hours posted this video in his honor. It is just over two minutes long. Click Here. CBS Sunday Morning also honored Larry Kramer. Click Here. Read more about Larry Kramer on Wikipedia. Click Here.
"We celebrate Pride because of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, a six-night series of demonstrative, violent protests that occurred between the LGBTQ community and the police, led by black and brown trans folks," says Michael Venturiello, an LGBTQIA+ historian and founder of Christopher Street Tours. "While June typically commemorates this important event in a celebratory manner, I encourage you all to reflect on the original meaning of 'Pride' - a radical, political stance on liberation for all people." (source: Click Here.)
America will be a beacon of hope for LGBTQ rights again
EXCLUSIVE: Former Vice President Joe Biden writes that "we belong at the forefront of this struggle" because "anything less would be un-American."
Commentary by Joe Biden Sunday, May 17, 2020
Today, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I stand with LGBTQ+ people and their allies around the world to celebrate and champion the inherent dignity and worth of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Around the globe, including here at home, brave LGBTQ+ activists are fighting for equal protection under the law, freedom from violence, and recognition of their fundamental human rights. The United States should have their backs.
We belong at the forefront of this struggle - speaking out, standing strong for our most dearly held values. We should be sending a clear message that bigotry is bigotry, prejudice is prejudice, and hate is hate, no matter where we find it. American leadership must mean moral leadership in the fight for equality for all.
The Obama-Biden Administration took unprecedented steps to ensure that our government delivered real progress on the promise of equality, both at home and abroad. From signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," to supporting marriage equality, we fought to advance the civil liberties of LGBTQ+ people in the United States and, for the first time ever, established the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality as a foreign policy goal.
TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE AT THE ORIGINAL LOCATION CLICK HERE.
Undressing Israel: Gay Men In The Promised Land. This is a great YouTube video showing how open Israel is and accepted and affirmed gay people are there. Click Here.
An English mathematician and cryptanalyst, ALAN TURING (June 23, 1912 - June 7, 1954) is widely considered to be the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence.
During the Second World War, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. Turing played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic, and in so doing helped win the war. It has been estimated that this work shortened the war in Europe by more than two years and saved over 14 million lives.
Turing was prosecuted in 1952 for homosexual acts, which was then a crime in the UK. He accepted chemical castration treatment as an alternative to prison. Turing died in 1954, 16 days before his 42nd birthday, from cyanide poisoning. An inquest determined his death as a suicide, but it has been noted that the known evidence is also consistent with accidental poisoning.
In 2009, following an Internet campaign, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for "the appalling way he was treated". Queen Elizabeth II granted Turing a posthumous pardon in 2013. The Alan Turing law is now an informal term for a 2017 law in the United Kingdom that retroactively pardoned men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.
Text condensed from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
To continue reading click on the article to the left or Click Here.
LGBTQ Heritage/Memorial Project
This cover photo for this Facebook page is of Edward Carpenter and his partner George Merrill. They lived openly as a couple for 30 years until George's death in 1928 and are buried together in The Mount Cemetery in Guildford, Surrey. Amongst the many people influenced by their life together was E.M. Forster who names George Merrill as the inspiration for his novel Maurice. The photo probably dates from the 1890s. Click on the photo to see the web page.
About Q Spirit
Q Spirit promotes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer spirituality with LGBTQ saints, history, art and books. It is the new home of the Jesus in Love blog.
The website fosters religious and artistic freedom by teaching love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
"My goal is to open minds and hearts to the possibility that God's love is greater than we can imagine. . . and to help LGBTQ people discover and believe that God loves them, even though over the centuries churches have often excluded us and told us that we are damned to hell because of who we love. I aim to follow Christ's example - by welcoming the outcasts and teaching love for all," says founder Kittredge Cherry.
Q Spirit means queer spirituality. It also stands for questioning spiritual assumptions. The Q shows commitment to quality - in writing, imagery and interaction with readers.
Q Spirit expands the meaning of holiness by presenting diverse saints, history and books of spiritual and religious significance to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) people of faith and allies.
The Q Spirit project comes from lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry. CONTNUE READING Q SPIRIT WEBSITE CLICK HERE.
* * * * * * Stonewall - Remember, Renew, Recharge * * * * * *
Source: Black Cuse Pride. Click Here.
Continue reading the article on this Supreme Court ruling Click Here.
This link is here to remind us that not many years ago (very recently in fact) if a male professional actor was thought to be homosexual his career in the entertainment business would surely be over. In fact in the 1960's every State with the exception of Illinois had laws on the books that homosexual acts between men were illegal. With the Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County, June 15, 2020, it is now illegal to remove someone from employment because of their sexual orientation of gender expression. This link may see a little risque compared to our usual content but it surely celebrates a major victory for "libery and justice for all." (Br. Benedict)
Polyamorous relationships granted legal rights in Massachusetts
An estimated 3 percent of the U.S. population is in some sort of non-monogamous arrangement. Could this be the future of marriage in the United States?
By Daniel Villarreal Sunday, July 5, 2020 -
polyamory, polyamorous, Pride, Somerville, Massachusetts READ THE ARTICLE CLICK HERE.
A Massachusetts City Decides to Recognize Polyamorous Relationships
The city of Somerville has broadened the definition of domestic partnership to include relationships between three or more adults, expanding access to health care. To read the full article CLICK HERE.
James Baldwin
(1924-1987) American writer and activist.
James Baldwin was born the in Harlem, New York and was the eldest of nine children. As a youth Baldwin was verbally abused by his stepfather who often referred to him as the "ugliest child he had ever seen." Baldwin attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where he felt what he described as the "stigma of being Negro". After graduating high school he worked a series of low paying jobs to support his siblings. As a youth Baldwin began to feel stifled by being both an African American in a racist society, and a gay man in the homophobic African American community. In 1948 at the age of 24 Baldwin decided to move to France to escape his unfortunate predicaments. While in France Baldwin became an avid writer and poet. With the encouragement and constant support of his best friend and lover Lucien Happersberger, he was able to publish a number of poems and novels. In 1956, Baldwin's novel Giovanni's Room, which told the story of a white man torn between his love for a man and a woman, brought him critical acclaim as a powerful American writer. Baldwin's greatest influence on the life of his times stemmed from his numerous essay collections: Notes of a Native Son (1955), Nobody Knows My Name (1960), and The Fire Next Time (1963). Aside from literature, Baldwin was against the Vietnam War and an outspoken advocate of Gay and Lesbian Rights. He also made valuable contributions to the African American Civil Rights Movement. Source: Gender And Sexuality Sudent Services of the University Of Illinois Springfield. Visit their web site Click Here.
This archived encyclopedia contains more than 2.2 million words -
including overviews and surveys - covering almost 2,000 entires
categorized in three departments: Arts, Literature,
Published by Andrew "Wik" Wikholm.
Log Cabin Republicans have a proud history of fighting to build a stronger, more inclusive Republican Party. LGBT Republicans and straight allies have chosen to transform the GOP from the inside, working to overcome the forces of exclusion and intolerance. TO CONTINUE TO THE WEB SITE Right Click Here.
The following is a copy and paste from the 2020 Democratic Party Platform, pages 42 and 43:
Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights
Democrats applaud this year's U.S. Supreme Court decision that made clear that employment
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity violates the law, but we know we
still have work to do to ensure LGBTQ+ people are treated equally under the law and in our
society. We will fight to enact the Equality Act and at last outlaw discrimination against
LGBTQ+ people in housing, public accommodations, access to credit, education, jury service,
and federal programs. We will work to ensure LGBTQ+ people are not discriminated against
when seeking to adopt or foster children, protect LGBTQ+ children from bullying and assault,
and guarantee transgender students' access to facilities based on their gender identity. Democrats
will ensure federally funded programs for older adults are inclusive for LGBTQ+ seniors.
Recognizing that LGBTQ+ youth and adults suffer from significant health disparities, including
mental health and substance use disorders, Democrats will expand mental health and suicide
prevention services, and ban harmful "conversion therapy" practices. We will ensure that all
transgender and non-binary people can procure official government identification documents that
accurately reflect their gender identity. We will stop employment discrimination in the federal
government, and will restore full implementation of President Obama's executive order
42
prohibiting discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation and gender
identity.
Democrats are committed to ending the homelessness crisis, including among LGBTQ+ youth.
We will fight to end violence against transgender Americans and particularly against Black
transgender women, who are disproportionately victims of assault and homicide, and will
prioritize the investigation of hate crimes against transgender and non-binary people.
TO READ THE ENTIRE 2020 Democratic Party Platform Right Click Here.
See Ray Of Hope Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc in the Gay Yellow Pages. Right Click on the page below to see the entire Gay Yellow Pages in a PDF format. To visit the Gay Yellow Pages web site Right Click Here.
Sylvester James Jr. (September 6, 1947 - December 16, 1988), known mononymously as SYLVESTER, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Born in Watts, Los Angeles, to a middle-class African-American family, Sylvester developed a love of singing through the gospel choir of his Pentecostal church. Leaving the church after the congregation expressed disapproval of his homosexuality, he found friendship among a group of black cross-dressers and transgender women who called themselves The Disquotays. Moving to San Francisco in 1970 at the age of 22, Sylvester embraced the counterculture and joined the avant-garde drag troupe The Cockettes, producing solo segments of their shows which were heavily influenced by female blues and jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. During the Cockettes' critically panned tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding.
Focusing on a solo career, Sylvester signed a recording contract with Harvey Fuqua of Fantasy Records and obtained three new backing singers in the form of Martha Wash, Izora Rhodes - the "Two Tons O' Fun" - and Jeanie Tracy. His first solo album, "Sylvester" (1977), was a moderate success. This was followed with the acclaimed disco album "Step II" (1978), which spawned the singles "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Dance (Disco Heat)", both of which were hits in the U.S. and Europe. Distancing himself from the disco genre, he recorded four more albums - including a live album - with Fantasy Records. After leaving this label, he signed to Megatone Records, the dance-oriented company founded by friend and collaborator Patrick Cowley, where he recorded four more albums, including the Cowley penned hit Hi-NRG track "Do Ya Wanna Funk." An activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS, Sylvester died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.
During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker of the "Queen of Disco" and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.
Text condensed from:
Qstory is a place to celebrate all of the many historical heroes from the full and colorful LGBTQ+ spectrum, some well-known and others obscure.
Read the article. Right Click Here.
The Real-Life Implications of Biden's Bostock Executive Order
by Lucas Acosta January 21, 2021
Read the full Article. Right Click Here.
BRIEFING ROOM
Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
JANUARY 20, 2021 PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: RIGHT CLICK HERE TO READ FULL TEXT.
Page updated
7/22/22
7:15 p.m.
NEW BOOK and NEW PBS SERIES: The Black Church by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. brings the Black Church out of the closet finally for gay men and women. Read about it on our Black History pages. Right Click Here.
Quotation from Henry Louis Gates' book: SEXISM AND SEXUALITY: THE CHURCH'S DOUBLE BIND The Reverend Peter Gomes, a dear friend of mine, once remarked that the whole foundation of the Black Church was propped up by women and gay men, though the leadership of the church, he admitted, subjugated the former and was in denial about the latter. TO READ MORE ON OUR BLACK HISTORY PAGE RIGHT CLICK HERE.
Read the full article: CBS NEWS House Passes Sweeping LGBTQ Rights Bill by Grace Segers. RIGHT CLICK HERE.
On the National Stage: H. R. 5 An Act To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes.
Short Title: This Act may be cited as the "Equality Act." This Bill was introduced in the House 2-18-2021. It passed in the House on 2-25-21 224 Yeas and 206 Nays
Giving praise where praise is due, The Honorable Tom Reed, Republican 23rd, NY voted in favor. The Honorable John Katko 24th, NY includes all of Central NY above our district. Hometown: Syracuse voted in favor. Georgia has six Democrat Representatives and all voted in favor.
Read the roll call: Right Click Here.
Red the full text: Right Click Here.
From he House of Representatives website: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5
Equality Act
This bill prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. Specifically, the bill defines and includes sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation.
The bill expands the definition of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide (1) exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; (2) goods, services, or programs; and (3) transportation services.
The bill allows the Department of Justice to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual's gender identity.
UPDATE: IT IS MAY 1, 2021 and the Equality Act has not been made Law yet. Here is an excellent article on the Equality Act: https://www.them.us/story/house-passes-equality-act-lgbtq-civil-rights-bill-headed-senate
"Nonbinary wiki was created on the 1st of February 2017, after the original Nonbinary.org Wiki went down. Luckily, the Wayback Machine had a copy of it. Our goal is to build a new wiki with the best of the old as well as new and improved content." To visit the page Right Click Here.
"Gender wiki is a wiki about gender. We are not about transgenderism per say but we do host articles on transgender topics because they are related to gender. We host many gender identities but can't say we are in any way complete." To visit this page Right Click Here.
Flowers in our Monastery garden.
Ray Of Hope Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. teaches the same Christian faith of ancient ecumenical consensus. St. Vincent of Lerins, a fifth-century monk and theologian, described it as "what has been believed always, everywhere, and by all."
See this special presentation
"Time For Equality" in support
of the Equality Act that
aired on April 22, 2021.
Featuring an all-star list of
appearances from politicians
to performers. Also, the series
"POSE" is honored during the
program.
Update 7-2-21 The Senate still has not passed the Equality Act. Please consider calling your Senator.
Click on the poster to be
directed to the program.
"In unity and in community
we are a mighty force."
Alphonso David, President, HRC
