'Kill The Gays' Pastor Steven Anderson Banned From Entering Ireland

Pastor Steven Anderson (via YouTube video screen capture)

Infamous ‘Kill the Gays’ pastor Steven Anderson has become the first person to be banned from the country of Ireland.

Anderson, who heads up the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona, is prohibited from entering the country thanks to an exclusion order signed by Charlie Flanagan, the Minister for Justice and Equality.

The order is the first issued under Section 4 of the 1999 Immigration Act.

Anderson was scheduled to preach in Dublin on May 26.

Flanagan signed the order after more than 14,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Anderson to be banned for his litany of hateful statements over the years. Another petition, organized by AllOut and LGBT Ireland garnered over 25,000 signatures.

(screen capture via YouTube)

Anderson’s list of hateful statements includes:

• Celebrating the dozens of deaths resulting from the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016. The anti-LGBTQ pastor posted a video telling his congregants that the 49 people killed in the attack “deserved to die.”

• In December of 2014, he proposed exterminating LGBTQ peopleas a method to “cure AIDS.”

• Anderson shared with his congregation in 2009 that he prayed nightly for the death of then-president Barack Obama.

Several LGBTQ advocacy groups tweeted their thanks to the Irish government for banning Anderson:

Minister Flanagan stated, “I have signed the exclusion order under my executive powers in the interests of public policy.” https://t.co/QXyLhcGdQc

— Gay Community News (@GCNmag) May 13, 2019

VICTORY!! The Irish government did the right thing and decided to block anti-gay U.S. pastor Steven Anderson from entering #Ireland where he was planning to spread hate against LGBT+ people later this month. Thanks for going All Out, everyone! https://t.co/pQBG6C5TK0

— All Out (@AllOut) May 12, 2019

@CharlieFlanagan we are very thankful for your decision today to ban Steven Anderson from Ireland. And thanks too to @AllOut & @GCNmag for working with us to call for his ban https://t.co/L0NYGUNs4b

— LGBT Ireland (@LGBT_ie) May 12, 2019

Ireland isn’t the first country to bar the anti-LGBTQ preacher from crossing its borders. Anderson has also been banned from the UK, Jamaica, South Africa and Canada.

In a video posted before the news of his ban, Anderson told viewers he wasn’t going to Ireland to be “talking about homos.”

“I’m not there to talk about all the other sick, perverted, filth that you have going on there in Ireland,” he added.

Irish Prime Minister To Address Same-Sex Marriage During Visit By Pope

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar

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.

(photo credit: Arno Mikkor (EU2017EE) - CC license)

News Round-Up: July 2, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• 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?"

'If you shoot me, you better shoot straight. There's nothing like a wounded animal.' — Rep. Maxine Waters had a powerful message for those threatening her #FamiliesBelongTogetherMarch pic.twitter.com/yvLQqbVLKr

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 1, 2018

Irish Government Apologizes For Persecuting LGBTs

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadakar

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.

Via RTE:

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

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 19, 2018

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 Repeals Restrictive Abortion Law In Landslide Vote

In a landslide victory for women's rights, Ireland has voted to repeal its restrictive abortion laws despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

The official tally was 1,429,981 "Yes" votes to 723,632 "No" votes resulting in a two-thirds majority: 66.4% yes to 33.6% no.

From The New York Times:

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.

Ireland just voted to repeal its abortion ban

"The country has listened. Women have spoken."https://t.co/VXbNInGd2w pic.twitter.com/fDAl0P3eMP

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 26, 2018

Ireland just voted to repeal its abortion ban

"The country has listened. Women have spoken."https://t.co/VXbNInGd2w pic.twitter.com/fDAl0P3eMP

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 26, 2018

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:

“Don’t stop, repealing...this country needs some healing” pic.twitter.com/juwXmWzZLa

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) May 26, 2018

Podcast: Anti-LGBTQ Adoption Discrimination In Kansas & Oklahoma; Adam Rippon Slays On DWTS; 2018 Tony Award Nominations; Pride Nights At Major League Baseball

In this week's LGBTQ headlines:

• 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

Ireland Moves To Ban Anti-Gay "Conversion Therapy"

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.

(source)

Mike Pence Bans Media From Breakfast Meeting With Openly Gay Irish Prime Minister

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

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) March 16, 2018

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.

Coincidence? 🤔

We don't think so. https://t.co/ouJirE7dSL

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) March 15, 2018

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

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) March 15, 2018

Podcast: Ireland's 1st Openly Gay Prime Minister, Pride Month 2017 Begins, 7th Circuit Court Rules In Favor Of Trans Student

In this week's podcast:

• Ireland elected it’s first openly gay prime minister

• Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron stands up for gay men in Chechnya

• The 7th court of appeals rules in FAVOR of a transgender student in Wisconsin

• Illinois is about to ban use of the “gay panic” defense in courtrooms

• The Navy and the Pentagon honor Pride Month

• LGBT ally Olivia Newton-John lives by example being positive in the face of personal challenges, and her fans return the favor

• New queer film, "Handsome Devil," delivers a charming and charismatic coming-of-age story that's reminiscent of Dead Poets Society

All that and more in this “good news” episode of The Randy Report

Listen below, and a favor - please Subscribe to my podcast on iTunes here.

Ireland Elects First Gay Prime Minister

(Image via Twitter)

Two years after becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote, Ireland just elected it's first openly gay Prime Minister.

In addition, the 38 year-old becomes Ireland's youngest leader ever as well as the first from an ethnic minority background.

From The Independent:

Leo Varadkar is the new leader of Fine Gael and on course to become Ireland’s first gay Taoiseach.

The Social Protection Minister got the support of 51 TDs, senators and MEP to get over the line despite losing the popular vote.

Massive cheers greeted Mr Varadkar as he arrived at the count centre in the Mansion House.

In his speech he declared Ireland a Republic that holds no prejudice.

He became emotional as he described how he was proud to live in a country where the son of an immigrant can become leader.

“Prejudice has no hold in this Republic,” he said, acknowledge that he is a gay man and the son of an Indian immigrant.

Ireland is on course to have its first openly gay Prime Minister - Leo Varadkar pic.twitter.com/Xy706J4zLo

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 2, 2017

Same-Sex Marriages Begin In Ireland

The first same-sex marriages have taken place in Ireland yesterday after the Marriage Law 2015 came into law.

Dublin-based couple Richard Dowling and Cormac Gollogly became the first same-sex couple to tie the knot.

The couple who have been together for 12 years got married in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Senior Registrar for south Tipperary Mary Claire Heffernan confirmed they were the first same-sex couple to be civilly married in Ireland.

Congratulations Ireland!

(from RTE)

News Round-Up: November 16, 2015

Uzo Aduba as "Glinda The Good Witch" in The Wiz Live! (Photo: Scott Gilmore)

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Get your first look at the stars of The Wiz Live!

• Hacker group Anonymous declares war on ISIS following the terrorist attacks on Paris.

• 1,500 Mormons officially leave LDS Church after announcement of new policy that children of same-sex couples cannot be members of the faith until they reach the age of 18, leave their parents home and disavow the practice of same-sex relationships,

• Ireland's marriage equality law takes effect today. Marriages begin tomorrow after the normal mandatory 24 hour waiting period.

• Pastor Steven Anderson spent Sunday sermonizing that when you go to a rock concert in Paris - "somebody might get killed," because you're "worshipping death."

• 19 states say they will not accept Syrian refugees following Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

Irish President Signs Marriage Equality Constitutional Amendment

Irish President Michael Higgins on Saturday officially signed an amendment to his country’s constitution that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples in his country.

Higgins amended the Irish Constitution roughly three months after Ireland became the first country in the world in which same-sex couples received marriage rights through a popular vote. The Irish Times reported Prime Minister Edna Kenny’s government next month will introduce a bill that would allow the amendment to officially take effect.

“We are all delighted,” Tiernan Brady of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, an Irish advocacy group, told the Washington Blade on Saturday in a statement. “This is a historic moment for LGBT people and everyone in Ireland. After the joyful scenes that followed the resounding yes vote last May it is wonderful that President Higgins has signed the act and made the result official.”

Irish lawmakers in July approved a bill that will allow transgender people to legally change their gender without medical intervention.

Same-sex couples are able to legally marry in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Iceland, Scotland, England, Wales, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico City and several Mexican states, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

(from the Washington Blade)

Ireland Lawmakers Approve Gender Identity Law

Following a historic vote legalizing same-sex marriage in May, Ireland now becomes the fourth country in the world to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without surgery or other medical intervention.

“This is a historic moment for the trans community in Ireland,” said Sara R. Phillips, chair of the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, in a statement after lawmakers approved the Gender Recognition Bill. “Today is the first day we will be seen as who we truly are.”

Wednesday’s vote caps off more than two decades of efforts around the issue that began in 1993 when Dr. Lydia Foy tried to change the gender on her birth certificate.

Irish President Michael Higgins is expected to sign the Gender Recognition Bill into law in the coming weeks.

“This is a great moment for trans people living in Ireland,” said ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradis in a statement.

Activists note, however, that the new law will not apply to transgender people under the age of 18.

Ireland will become the fourth country to allow trans people to legally change their gender without surgery and other medical interventions, joining Malta, Argentina and Denmark.

Tonight Show: Colin Farrell Celebrates The Passage Of Marriage Equality In Ireland

Colin Farrell shares with Jimmy Fallon the spirit of the day when same-sex marriage was recently passed via public referendum by over 60% in Ireland ("It was just rainbows everywhere!").

(h/t JMG)

Colin Farrell: "All You Could See Was Literally Rainbows Everywhere"

"It was really funny because one of the arguments when the vote went through was that the church came out and said, 'You know, this was a dark day for Ireland,' and all you could see was literally rainbows everywhere, posters of rainbows, T-shirts of rainbows, men and women hugging, men and men hugging, women and women hugging, and yet cut to, 'This is a dark day in the history of [Ireland].'"

"A dark day in the history of a country is internal civil conflict and war and bloodshed...It was a great day." - Colin Farrell talking to E! about the recent passage of same-sex marriage in Ireland

Marriage News Watch - May 26, 2015

Matt Baume for the American Foundation for Equal Rights:

• Alabama has sent a minister to jail for 30 days for defying a local judge and marrying a lesbian couple.

• Irish voters support marriage equality in a landslide, but marriage could still start in America before they start in Ireland.

• And one more study shows support for equality on the rise.

Ireland: Panti Bliss Is Drunk On Yes

Irish drag celeb and LGBT activist "Panti Bliss" (aka Rory O'Neill) writes for the Independent:

"Yes. It's such a little word but today it feels so big. YES. Has one simple syllable ever meant so much before? Not to me anyway. I've never asked anyone to marry me, but today it feels like I asked a whole country to marry me and they said Yes. And I'm delighted. Ecstatic.

"I'm over the gay moon and drunk on Yes, and like any happy groom on his wedding morning, I'm truly, deeply, madly in love. I am in love with the whole country.

"On Friday, Ireland agreed with that simple proposition. Forty years after those first brave men and women stood up and said, "no more", the people of Ireland said Yes, and what must have seemed impossible all those years ago has been achieved: Ireland's LGBTI citizens are full and equal citizens under the law."

(h/t JMG)

BBC Reports On The Big Celebrations In Ireland Over Marriage Equality

Watch all the shiny, happy people celebrate in Ireland - from the BBC:

The Republic of Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to legalise same-sex marriage in a historic referendum. More than 62% voted in favour of amending the country's constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

It is the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage through a popular vote.

Official Results Of Ireland's Marriage Equality Referendum

With 60.5% of voters making their way to the polls (higher than any other Irish referendums), the official numbers for Ireland's nationwide vote on same-sex marriage were 62.1% voting Yes and only 37.9% No.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: 'This vote will give hope to millions of same-sex couples around the world who want to marry the person they love.'

Polls showed strong support for the Yes to Equality vote, with the last survey revealing 74% of Irish people were in favor.

(source)