Brave Denver third grader Ethan McNamee organized a rally this past weekend in support of gay marriage. Ethan decided to make the rally his class project after witnessing gay bullying on the playground and because he thought it was wrong that his lesbians neighbors were not allowed to marry.

Watch:

Even those with a different view offered praise for Ethan’s efforts. Senator Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield in the Denver Post:

“You have to admire his compassion and initiative,” Mitchell said. “I’d like to think that someday he’ll understand the issue is a little more complicated.”

No sir. It’s not complicated at all. The kid gets it. You don’t.

Lt. Dan Choi appeared on the Rachel Maddow show tonight discussing his recent ouster from the Army National Guard thanks to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). Rep. Joe Sestak was also on the program discussing the unfairness of the policy and how it might be repealed.

Lt. Choi responding to how DADT might be repealed…

Well, I’m not a politician myself, I just like so many thousands of others, gays and lesbians that are in the army, that are in the armed forces, who  raised their right hand and said “We are in a time of war right now;” it’s not about what timing is good or bad, its not about what you want to do, its about what your responsibility is. And we are saying that we are standing up to our responsibilities, and we are saying “we want to serve.”

Outside of Franklin County High School in Kentucky, students protested an email sent to their teachers instructing them not to allow homosexuals to use the restroom during class.

The email sent by Asst. Principal Karen Buzard was in response to an incident where two female students were caught kissing in the school restroom.

From Kentucky Equality Federation (KEF):

“I have been in contact with one of the parents of the children involved in the protest, and we support and encourage their constitutional right to assemble peacefully,” stated Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer. “We call on the media to investigate this issue further and shed light on the discrimination gays and lesbians face throughout the Commonwealth. Kentucky Equality Federation will also be contacting the other parents of the children involved in today’s protest.”

Laura Reed, Managing Director of KEF is concerned because they have also received complaints from other counties.

“I’d like to know what level this mentality, that gay and lesbian students should not be treated equally is coming from. An incident in one county could be called an isolated incident, but we now have similar reports in three other Kentucky Counties. I’d certainly like to know what Education Secretary Helen W. Mountjoy has to say about these incidents.”

How odd. According to the school’s website, April is the month for tolerance. Doesn’t sound like a very tolerant school if you ask me.

More at Kentucky Equality Federation.

Unhappy with the “tenor and  doctrinal content of addresses given at annual assemblies,” former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada,  now head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF),  has initiated an investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the largest women’s religious leadership organization in the country.

From the National Catholic Reporter…

The Vatican assessment has become necessary, according to Levada, because at the 2001 meeting between the women’s leadership conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which took place in Rome, the women were invited “to report on the initiatives taken or planned” to promote the reception of three areas of Vatican doctrinal concern: the 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis, the 2000 declaration Dominus Jesusfrom the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and “the problem of homosexuality.”

…

In a 1986 letter written by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, to the world’s bishops, he wrote: “Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.”

I’m glad at least that they can look at my disorder objectively.

The LCWR has long been at odds with Vatican over their more open and modern attitudes toward gays and lesbians. Back in 1999 they expressed sadness over the termination—by the CDF no less—of gay-supportive services provided by the New Ways Ministry in Maryland.

We respectfully acknowledge those congregations’ longstanding support of their members’ efforts to educate and challenge society to recognize the human rights and pastoral needs of persons who are lesbian or gay. Sister Gramick and Father Nugent, in the course of their long ministry, have consistently affirmed the essential dignity of each human being and have worked to change attitudes that, unchecked, have led to derision and physical violence against lesbian and gay people.

We regret the suffering and sense of alienation experienced now by those who have found ministry a reflection of God’s love for them in the ministry of Sister Gramick and Father Nugent.  We applaud the SSND (School Sisters of Notre Dame) decision to establish a fund that will support an individual in pastoral ministry to those who are lesbian and gay as an authentic expression of the congregation’s  charism.

The current Executive Director of LCWR Sister Jane Burke, helped establish that fund. Later in 2002 LCWR issued a letter to the New Ways Ministry …

In the spirit of lived eucharistic communion, we members of the national board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious wish to express our gratitude to you and your staff for your compassionate presence in ministry to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in the Church.  We recall the words of our bishops in their pastoral letter, “Always Our Children,” affirming that all are children of one God.

I applaud LCWR for moving their faith into the 21st century, and hope they and their ideals can survive until a more inclusive and sympathetic Pope becomes head of the Catholic Church. In response to the investigation LCWR has issued the following statement:

“At this time, LCWR knows neither the process nor timeline for completion of this assessment. As more information is made available to LCWR, the conference will take the appropriate steps to prepare for its participation in the assessment. LCWR faces this process with confidence, believing that the conference has remained faithful to its mission of service to leaders of congregations of women religious as they seek to further the mission of Christ in today’s world.”

Prefect William Levada should be wary of what closet doors he chooses to open, as he has a host of skeletions hiding in his own closet.