Yes. You read it right. Dr. Thio Li-ann, a law professor from the National University of Singapore, who has been invited to teach a “Human Rights in Asia” course at New York University in the fall, doesn’t believe human rights extend to gays and lesbians. While serving in Parliament in 2007, Dr. Li-ann gave an empassioned speech advocating for the continued criminalization of homosexuality, which she called “a gross indecency.” She went on to say “You cannot make a human wrong a human right,” “Diversity is not a license for perversity,” and compared in intimate act between men to “shoving a straw up your nose to drink.” Watch the speech below:

Since NYU extended Dr. Li-ann the invitation, many students and faculty members have expressed outrage that she will be on campus teaching in the fall. In a comprehensive 18 point diatribe Dr. Li-ann responded to her critics, complaining of the abuse she has received since accepting the invitation. In the lengthy letter, Dr. Li-ann objects that her moral opposition to homosexuality has been characterized as “bigoted, ignorance or hatred,” and finds it “ironical” that those who claim to be oppressed are in fact the oppressors. Li-ann also said that most homosexuals in Singapore “lead quiet lives which is what most of us want.”

Let’s hope that when Dr. Li-ann arrives in New York, she gets the “proper” welcome she deserves. And no, I’m not being ironical.

Thirty-one homophobic parents are suing a school district in California for allowing lesbian pastor Arlene Nehring to speak at a local high school during their Days of Diversity week. From InsideBayArea.com:

In the anonymous e-mail that prompted the issue, the writer claimed Nehring disrupted instruction at Castro Valley High to give step-by-step instructions on how to become gay and transsexual. Nehring has denied the assertion.

Nehring was one of many guests invited to the high school’s annual Days of Diversity program, which is intended to expose students to different backgrounds, including Japanese culture, life as a cowboy and children in foster care.

Nehring who serves as pastor at Eden United Church of Christ in Hayward, is suspicious of the motives of Pacific Justice Institute, the legal firm handling the case on behalf of the parents. The Pacific Justice Institute is endorsed by media personalities Bill O’Reilly and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, and is the same organization that invoked Hitler during the Proposition 8 campaign, comparing those opposing Prop 8 to Nazis.

A court hearing has been tentatively scheduled for June 16.

Watch a video report from the local NBC affiliate:

A California elementary school sixth grader has been banned from giving a presentation on Harvey Milk in class as it violates the school’s sex education policy. Natalie Jones, a student at Mt. Woodson Elementary School in Romana, California,  based her presentation on an independent research project she wrote about the gay civil rights leader. After reviewing the incident, the ACLU determined that it is a free speech issue, particularly since the school referenced its sex education policy in its decision, and is now pursuing the case. From the ACLU press release:

“The principal and superintendent grossly misinterpreted school policy. They illegally censored student speech protected by the First Amendment and the California Education Code,” said David Blair-Loy, Legal Director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. “Writing or talking about a gay historical figure who advocated for equal rights for LGBT Californians is in no way the same thing as talking about sex, and school officials should not pretend otherwise.”

The student’s mother Bonnie Jones:

“This whole thing is unbelievable – first my daughter got called into the principal’s office as if she were in some kind of trouble, and then they treated her presentation like it was something icky. Harvey Milk was an elected official in this state and an important person in history. To say my daughter’s presentation is ‘sex education’ because Harvey Milk happened to be gay is completely wrong.”

Below is the part of the school’s sex education policy which is in question:

“(P)arents/guardians shall be notified in writing about any instruction in which human reproductive organs and their functions, processes, or sexually transmitted diseases are described, illustrated, or discussed. In addition, before any instruction on family life, human sexuality, AIDS or sexually transmitted diseases is given, the parent/guardian shall be provided with written notice explaining that the instruction will be given…”

The ACLU is seeking an apology for Natalie, an opportunity for her to give the presentation in front of her class, and a clarification of parental notification issues with regards to the sex education policy.

SaveCalifornia.com is a pro-family, anti-gay group leading an effort to derail SB 572 which would institute an official Harvey Milk Day here in California. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to serve in political office, and was later gunned down by former city council member Dan White at San Francisco City Hall in 1978.

SaveCalifornia.com is urging concerned parents to send an email to Governor Schwarzenegger which describes all the horrible things that will happen to their children if SB 572 is passed, including:

SB 572 pressures public schools — from kindergarten on up — to perform “suitable commemorative exercises” promoting what homosexual activist Harvey Milk believed in: the entire homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual agenda and anti-religious values.

If SB 572 becomes law, schoolchildren would have positively portrayed to them homosexual experimentation, homosexual “marriages,” sex-change operations, and anything else that’s “in the closet.”

All doors of sexual experimentation MUST be opened: “If a bullet should go through my head let that bullet go through every closet door.”

SaveCalifornia.com is led by anti-gay bigot Randy Thomasson. There’s plenty of dirt on him over at goodasyou.com so I won’t repeat it here.

Milk screenwriter Lance Black testified in Sacramento today supporting SB 572. To counter SaveCalifornia.com, please sign this petition at Equality California urging the governor to support Harvey Milk Day.

To get an unpleasant taste of what SaveCalifornia.com is all about, watch the video below:

[pro-player width=’480′ height=’200′ type=’FLV’ image=’http://inlookout.com/site/video/savecalifornia.jpg’]http://inlookout.com/site/video/savecalifornia.flv[/pro-player]