According to Irish Central, the openly gay Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, will address the issue of same-sex marriage when he meets with the Pope on August 25th in Ireland.
Questioned on what he would say to the Pope about the ignoring of gay families by the World Meeting of Families, Varadkar said he would express “our view as a society and as a government that families come in all sorts of different forms and that includes families led by same-sex parents.”
Pope Francis is visiting Ireland to celebrate World Family Day, but LGBT groups have stated that same sex marriages are being deliberately ignored and treated like they are not families.
• I’m going to try this next time Michael is wrong and starts a disagreement – InstaHunks Rick and the Griffopotamus shared this pic today with the caption, “It was one of those Monday’s where every little annoyance felt like it would blow up into an argument. We decided to just keep our mouths busy doing other things… problem solved! #relationshipHack #husbands #lovewins #kiss #mondaymotivation”
• A gay couple in Ireland was attacked and brutally beaten by a gang of four young men. One of the victims suffered broken jaw bones, lost four front teeth and has nerve damage.
• Bette Midler, of all people, was accused of homophobia when she joked on Twitter about Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin: “Trump and Putin are meeting in Finland next month. That’s a long way to travel for a blowjob, but hey — Putin’s got the money.”
• Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former attorney and “fixer,” told ABC News that his loyalties lie with his family and country, not his former client.
• Congressional Democrats are asking the Pentagon why there was no official memo recognizing June as Pride Month nor was there any senior leadership at the annual Pride event. The concern is the lack of recognition marks a decline in LGBTQ support.
• Speaking at a rally for immigration reform this weekend, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) slapped back at Trump supporters calling for death threats against her:
“All I have to say is this: If you shoot me, you better shoot straight. There’s nothin’ like a wounded animal. I am not about to let this country go by the way of Donald Trump. How dare you? How dare you?”
On the 25th anniversary of decriminalizing homosexuality in Ireland, the country’s first openly gay prime minister publicly apologized for the chilling effects of the discarded law.
The Taoiseach has paid tribute in the Dáil to those who were criminalised for homosexual activity prior to the repeal of the laws in 1993.
“Today the people I want to pay a special tribute to are the unknown heroes, the thousands of people whose names we do not know, who were criminalised by our forbears,” Leo Varadakar told the Dáil during a debate on a Labour party motion marking the 25th anniversary of the repeal of the laws.
The Taoiseach also said that it was no secret that a number of patriots who were involved in the founding of the State – men and women – were homosexual.
“While the state’s laws affected gay men in a legal sense, they had a chilling effect on lesbians as well,” he said.
Mr Varadkar said that we cannot erase the wrong that was done to them: “What we can say is that we have learned as a society from their suffering. Their stories have helped change us for the better; they have made us more tolerant, more understanding and more human.”
Leo Varadkar tells the Dáil ‘we remember those who paved the way for this change’. pic.twitter.com/R7R8y1gkHA
Additionally, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan served similar duty in the Seanad, apologizing to members of the LGBT community who suffered as a result of the criminalisation of homosexuality.
“I extend a sincere apology to all of those people, to their family, and to their friends. “To any person who felt the hurt and isolation created by those laws, and particularly to those who were criminally convicted by the existence of such laws,” said Mr. Flanagan.
Ireland voted decisively to repeal one of the world’s more restrictive abortion bans, the prime minister said Saturday, sweeping aside generations of conservative patriarchy and dealing the latest in a series of stinging rebukes to the Roman Catholic Church.
The surprising landslide cemented the nation’s liberal shift at a time when right-wing populism is on the rise in Europe and the Trump administration is imposing curbs on abortion rights in the United States. In the past three years alone, Ireland has installed a gay man as prime minister and has voted in another referendum to allow same-sex marriage.
But this was a particularly wrenching issue for Irish voters, even for supporters of the measure. And it was not clear until the end that the momentum toward socially liberal policies would be powerful enough to sweep away the deeply ingrained opposition to abortion.
Yes voters in Ireland sing a version of “Don’t Stop Believing” with the lyrics changed to celebrate the country’s expected decision to lift its ban on abortion:
• Oklahoma and Kansas state legislatures pass anti-LGBTQ adoption laws
• A new survey of over 40,000 Americans shows acceptance for same-sex marriage has hit 61%
• Ireland moves to ban so-called “conversion therapy”
• The ‘boys of summer’ are back and most Major League Baseball teams have scheduled special LGBT Pride Nights (head over to Outsports.com for a complete list of MLB Pride Nights)
• Drag queen Ada Vox exits American Idol with her head held high
• Tony Kushner’s Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes became the most Tony-nominated play in history as the 2018 Tony Award nominations were announced
• Adam Rippon came to slay on the premiere of the all-athletes season of Dancing with the Stars
All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report
Legislation that would ban so-called “ex-gay” conversion therapy continues to advance in Ireland’s parliament.
The bill, titled the Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018, has now passed the second stage in the Seanad.
The legislation would ban the archaic and harmful practice of attempting to “cure” homosexuality in Ireland. Should the bill pass, individuals found guilty of performing conversion therapy on another person could face steep fines and possible prison sentences.
Medical experts around the world say the practice is extremely harmful and can lead to lowered self-esteem, depression and suicide.
In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote.
At this writing, 13 states in the U.S. currently ban the use of “conversion therapy” on minors, along with nearly three dozen cities and local municipalities.
Currently only Brazil, Ecuador and Malta have nationwide bans.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar with Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence
After Ireland’s first openly gay leader said he would bring up LGBTQ rights with Vice President Mike Pence at a breakfast meeting, Pence barred media from attending the meeting.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the press before the meeting that he would be bringing up the issue of LGBTQ rights to the veep during the annual St Patrick’s Day meeting at the U.S. Naval Observatory where Pence and his wife Karen reside.
Ahead of the event, Pence stipulated that the media were only allowed to capture the arrival of the pair outside Pence’s residence.
Pence’s anti-LGBTQ policies and positions are well known from opposing open service in the military and same-sex marriage to supporting so-called “ex-gay” therapy.
Mr Varadkar expressed disappointment at the media ban but added, “It allows us maybe to have a frank conversation that’s easier to have without the media present.”
Karen & I were honored to welcome Taoiseach Varadkar to our home at the Naval Observatory for an Irish breakfast. #StPatricksDay is the perfect time to celebrate our friendship & to marvel at Ireland’s lasting mark on America and the American people. pic.twitter.com/S9yroBwnf7
Ahead of his meeting with anti-#LGBTQ Mike Pence, Ireland’s openly gay Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he wanted to bring up LGBTQ rights at the meeting.
Today, @mike_pence banned the media from covering the event.
In 2015, Pence signed a law in Indiana that could’ve allowed businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people, including Irish PM Leo Varadkar. Pence has opposed marriage equality, hate crimes protections & more. Hope media will press him despite being shut out. https://t.co/IaszqybZTj
