Misplaced Pages

#338661

62-459: The term refers to efforts to change government policies and laws on LGBT rights –related issues. Additionally, it has been used by social conservatives and others to describe alleged goals of LGBT rights activists, such as recruiting heterosexuals into what conservatives term a " homosexual lifestyle ". In the United States , the phrase "gay agenda" was popularized by a video series produced by

124-655: A freeborn male minor . Acceptable same-sex partners were males excluded from legal protections as citizens: slaves , male prostitutes , and the infames , entertainers or others who might be technically free but whose lifestyles set them outside the law. A male citizen who willingly performed oral sex or received anal sex was disparaged, but there is only limited evidence of legal penalties against these men. In courtroom and political rhetoric, charges of effeminacy and passive sexual behaviors were directed particularly at "democratic" politicians ( populares ) such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony . Roman law addressed

186-633: A "homosexual lifestyle". Columnist James Kirchick writes that the idea of a "homosexual agenda" to subvert American cultural and family institutions largely replaced earlier panic over the " Homintern ", an alleged gay conspiracy to undermine the U.S. government. The term has been used in response to efforts to include protections for LGBT people under local and state anti-discrimination laws , as well as U.S. Supreme Court cases that granted new rights to LGBT individuals, such as Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges , which respectively held that private acts of consensual sex between same-sex couples and

248-440: A "rhetorical invention of anti-gay extremists seeking to create a climate of fear by portraying the pursuit of civil rights for LGBT people as sinister". Some writers have described the term as pejorative . Commentators have remarked on a lack of realism and veracity to the idea of a gay agenda per se . Such campaigns based on a presumed "gay agenda" have been described as anti-gay propaganda by researchers and critics. At

310-624: A California evangelical religious group called Springs of Life Ministries. The first video of the series, The Gay Agenda , was released in 1992 and distributed to hundreds of Christian right organizations. Tens of thousands of copies of the video were sold, it was distributed to the United States Congress , and Commandant of the Marine Corps Carl Mundy Jr. gave it to the other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . In 1992,

372-585: A book in 2003 titled The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today , which argues that overturning anti-sodomy laws would lead to the legalization of pedophilia, incest , polygamy , and bestiality . American conservative Christian groups such as the Family Research Council (FRC) have cited fears of a "homosexual agenda" in lobbying against extending hate-crime legislation to cover acts motivated by bias against

434-408: A cult prostitute, or with someone whose gender roles were not considered solidly masculine. Such sexual relations were even seen as good fortune , with an Akkadian tablet , the Šumma ālu , reading, "If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his peers and brothers". However, homosexual relationships with fellow soldiers, slaves, royal attendants, or those where

496-459: A eunuch". This law code condemns a situation that involves homosexual rape . Any Assyrian male could visit a prostitute or lie with another male, just as long as false rumors or forced sex were not involved with another male. In ancient Rome, the bodies of citizen youths were strictly off-limits, and the Lex Scantinia imposed penalties on those who committed a sex crime ( stuprum ) against

558-459: A feature-length follow-up to the original, Stonewall: 25 Years of Deception (1994). The term "gay agenda" or "radical gay agenda" has been used by members of the Christian right to refer to efforts to change government policies and laws on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBTQ ) issues, for example, same-sex marriage and civil unions , LGBT adoption , recognizing sexual orientation as

620-421: A man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage". WCF comprises organizations in several countries, and most of its member partners are strongly active campaigners against abortion rights and same-sex marriage . WCF was formed in 1997 and is active worldwide, regularly organizing conventions. Its opposition to gay marriage and abortion has attracted criticism. In 2014, following its involvement with

682-470: A nationwide ban on pleated pants ". Some LGBT activists seek to reappropriate the term "gay agenda" for their own use. In 2008, openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson declared that "Jesus is the agenda, the homosexual agenda in the Episcopal Church" and that the "homosexual agenda [...] is Jesus". A political action committee (PAC) named Agenda PAC was inspired by the notion of the gay agenda. The PAC

SECTION 10

#1733114531339

744-403: A person's sexual orientation or gender identity , as well as public-school curricula about homosexuality introduced in an effort to reduce bullying. American conservative Christian organizations have continued public screenings of videos alleging a homosexual agenda as of 2022. American Christian right organizations that are losing acceptance among Americans have had more success promoting

806-586: A press conference on December 22, 2010, U.S. Representative Barney Frank said that the "gay agenda" is to be protected against violent crimes driven by bigotry, it's to be able to get married, it's to be able to get a job, and it's to be able to fight for our country. For those who are worried about the radical homosexual agenda, let me put them on notice. Two down, two to go. A satirical 1987 essay by Michael Swift entitled " Gay Revolutionary  [ ru ] " appeared in Gay Community News , describing

868-668: A prostitute or actor, could not as a matter of law be raped, nor could a slave, who was legally classified as property; the slave's owner, however, could prosecute the rapist for property damage. In the Roman army of the Republic, sex among fellow soldiers violated the decorum against intercourse with citizens and was subject to harsh penalties, including death, as a violation of military discipline . The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) lists deserters , thieves, perjurers , and "...on young men who have abused their persons" as subject to

930-533: A protected civil rights minority classification , LGBT military participation , inclusion of LGBT history and themes in public education , introduction of anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBT minors—as well as non-governmental campaigns and individual actions that increase visibility and cultural acceptance of LGBT people, relationships, and identities. The term has also been used by some social conservatives to describe alleged goals of LGBT rights activists, such as supposed recruitment of heterosexuals into

992-535: A scenario in which homosexual men dominate American society and suppress all things heterosexual. The opening line, which read "This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor", was omitted when the essay was reprinted in Congressional Record and cited by later religious right publications. The essay has often been cited by conservative Christian authors as proof of

1054-695: A secretive conspiracy to corrupt American youth and subvert the nuclear family , particularly the following paragraph: We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theater bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all-male clubs, in your house of Congress, wherever men are with men together. Your sons shall become our minions to do our bidding. They will be recast in our image; they will come to crave and adore us. The term

1116-655: A senior figure in the Russian Orthodox Church . In August 2014, the WCF held a regional conference in Melbourne Australia that was met with protests. The Senate of Australia passed a motion to condemn the conference after several MPs and government ministers announced their intention to speak at the conference and four successive venues refused to host the conference. Federal social services minister Kevin Andrews

1178-584: A series of talks in 2009 by American evangelical Christians in Kampala . A speaker at one such workshop said, "[Parliament] feels it is necessary to draft a new law that deals comprehensively with the issue of homosexuality and [...] takes into account the international gay agenda." The eventual result of this campaign was the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 (nicknamed the "Kill the Gays Bill"), which imposed

1240-454: A social better was submissive or penetrated , were treated as bad omens . Middle Assyrian Law Codes dating 1075 BC has a particularly harsh law for homosexuality in the military , which reads: "If a man have intercourse with his brother-in-arms, they shall turn him into a eunuch ." A similar law code reads, "If a seignior lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into

1302-790: A specific law has been passed. Civil Unions proposed. Transgender persons have a law reserving 1% of Argentina's public sector jobs. Economic incentives included in the new law aim to help trans people find work in all sectors. [REDACTED] No Homophobia/biphobia is not illegal legal gender change possible since 2002. Since 2022, legal gender change allowed with only partial sex reassignment surgery . Difficulty remains to change gender information on diplomas and degrees. [REDACTED] Yes Anti-discrimination protections for gender expression. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2020. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2017. [REDACTED] Gender change

SECTION 20

#1733114531339

1364-710: Is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country). In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, following which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes , criminalization of homosexual activity , and discrimination . Following

1426-436: Is led by LGBT politicians including Malcolm Kenyatta and Megan Hunt , and advocates for greater LGBT political representation. American rapper Lil Nas X thanked the "gay agenda" in his acceptance speech at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards . LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender and queer ( LGBTQ ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from

1488-419: Is not legal [REDACTED] No legal recognition Gender change is legally recognized since 2021 World Congress of Families The World Congress of Families ( WCF ) is a United States coalition that promotes Christian right values internationally. It opposes divorce , birth control , same-sex marriage , pornography , and abortion , while supporting a society built on "the voluntary union of

1550-652: Is sometimes used satirically as a counterfoil by people who would normally find the term offensive, such as the spoof agenda found on the Betty Bowers website, and as the name of a stand-up comedy show in Prague that is a fundraiser for AIDS relief efforts. On a 2007 episode of The Daily Show , Jon Stewart defined the gay agenda as " gay marriage , civil rights protection, Fleet Week expanded to Fleet Year, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance for when it's raining men , Kathy Griffin to host everything and

1612-449: The Amandala newspaper and by American evangelicals who accused the group of trying to bring the "gay 'agenda ' " to the country. In 2019, two prominent Roman Catholic cardinals – Raymond Leo Burke and Walter Brandmuller – wrote an open letter to Pope Francis calling for an end of "the plague of the homosexual agenda" to which they in part attributed the sexual abuse crisis engulfing

1674-445: The fustuarium , clubbing to death. Ancient sources are most concerned with the effects of sexual harassment by officers, but the young soldier who brought an accusation against his superior needed to show that he had not willingly taken the passive role or prostituted himself. Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves ; the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se. By

1736-512: The Benelux countries, Spain , Andorra , and Malta among the best for LGBT rights. The index ranks Nigeria , Yemen , Brunei , Afghanistan , Somalia , Mauritania , Palestine , and Iran among the worst. Asher & Lyric ranked Canada, Sweden , and the Netherlands as the three safest nations for LGBT people in its 2023 index. Laws that affect LGBT people include, but are not limited to,

1798-706: The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) used the video in their campaign for Oregon Ballot Measure 9 , opposing what the OCA called " special rights " for gays, lesbians , and bisexuals . The Gay Agenda was followed by three other video productions made available through Christian right organizations and containing interviews with opponents of LGBT rights , intended to expose the lesbian and gay movement's secret plans for America: The Gay Agenda in Public Education (1993), The Gay Agenda: March on Washington (1993), and

1860-576: The Russian LGBT propaganda law , and Nigeria . The WCF is controversial for its opposition to legal protections on the basis of sexual orientation , opposition to same sex marriage , and support for policies against homosexuality in Russia. It was added to the SPLC's list of active hate groups in 2014. The WCF responded to hate group designations by publishing a report addressing the 25-plus accusations made by

1922-495: The Russian LGBT propaganda law , commenting that "The Russians might be the Christian saviors of the world" The coalition stated "Russia, with its historic commitment to deep spirituality and morality, can be a hope for the natural family supporters from all over the world" Jacobs commented that "The Kremlin used to be a no-no for conservatives," but added "We're going to redeem that building." In 2016 WCF rebranded with an umbrella organization called International Organization for

Gay agenda - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-594: The death penalty for homosexual behavior; this was altered to life imprisonment after the loss of foreign aid was threatened by other countries including the U.S., and the law was later ruled invalid by the Constitutional Court of Uganda . In 2021, the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference called for LGBT rights organizations to be kicked out of their office space in Accra because of the belief that they promote

2046-493: The rape of a male citizen as early as the 2nd century BC when it was ruled that even a man who was "disreputable and questionable" had the same right as other citizens not to have his body subjected to forced sex. A law probably dating to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar defined rape as forced sex against "boy, woman, or anyone"; the rapist was subject to execution, a rare penalty in Roman law. A male classified as infamis , such as

2108-532: The 19th century when the British Empire was at its peak. As of 2018, more than half of the 71 countries that criminalised homosexuality were former British colonies or protectorates. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage . Note that for simplicity the table below does not distinguish between 'legal' and 'lawful'. An action can only be legal or illegal where

2170-727: The 2013 Russian LGBT propaganda law , the Southern Poverty Law Center added WCF to the list of organizations it considers as anti-LGBT groups. WCF has also been influential in Africa. A 2015 report by Human Rights Campaign pointed to WCF's influence on anti-LGBT laws in Nigeria and Uganda , while the director of the NGO Rightify Ghana noted in 2021 that, after the WCF conference in Ghana's capital city of Accra in late 2019, "there

2232-474: The 2013 WCF conference, Sydney politician Alex Greenwich sought to ensure that the conference complied with anti-discrimination legislation. One of the reports presented to the conference said that children raised in two-parent families do best at school. The 2014 WCF conference was scheduled to be held in September in Russia, and was promoted as "the 'Olympics' of the international Pro-Life movement supporting

2294-539: The Catholic Church. They claimed the agenda was spread by "organized networks" protected by a "conspiracy of silence". Speakers from many nations inveigh against the perceived homosexual agenda at the World Congress of Families annual summit, a focal point of the worldwide " pro-family " movement. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) describes the terms "gay agenda" and "homosexual agenda" as

2356-746: The Family. The meeting in Warsaw in May 2007 was to be addressed by Ellen Sauerbrey , at the time head of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration , which provoked a letter from 19 Members of the European Parliament demanding that she should not go. The 2009 conference in Amsterdam met with some controversy when the government minister André Rouvoet addressed

2418-500: The Lord" and the death penalty was prescribed to its inhabitants – and to Lot's wife , who was turned into a pillar of salt because she turned back to watch the cities' destruction. In Deuteronomy 22:5, cross-dressing is condemned as "abominable". In Assyrian society, sex crimes were punished identically whether they were homosexual or heterosexual. An individual faced no punishment for penetrating someone of equal social class ,

2480-516: The Natural Family". Because of the annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by Russia , planning for the conference was suspended. Writer Masha Gessen attended the 2016 conference, and reported participants embracing white replacement worries expressed in the language of human extinction , and concerns that backers of gender ideology would overthrow the government—ideas described as conspiracy theories and moral panics . The 2017 WCF conference

2542-515: The SPLC and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), including their labeling the WCF as a hate group. In response to the WCF report, Ty Cobb, director of HRC Global, did not react to the factual errors in his own report and just said "WCF's explanations do little to mask its record of anti-LGBT rhetoric or those of organizations it partners with around the world." The WCF has organized conferences since 1997. Following initial planning in 2010,

Gay agenda - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-410: The SPLC, including American Family Association , Family Research Council , Family Watch International , and Americans for Truth About Homosexuality . Larry Jacobs was invited to Russia to advise Russian Orthodox leaders in setting up Christian right coalitions that unite Protestant Evangelical and Roman Catholic groups opposing legalized abortion . Larry Jacobs has been a strong advocate of

2666-465: The WCF sponsored the July 2011 Moscow Demographic Summit , which formulated a communique calling on governments to develop "a pro-family demographic policy and to adopt a special international pro-family strategy and action plan aimed at consolidating family and marriage, protecting human life from conception to natural death, increasing birth rates, and averting the menace of depopulation." In London in 2012,

2728-706: The WCF were refused permission to hire out the facilities of the Law Society for an event entitled One man. One woman. Making the case for marriage for the good of society , and had to find an alternative venue. In 2013, Mark Kirk , the Republican Senator for Illinois revoked the WCF access to a Senate meeting room in the U.S. Capitol. In February 2014, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) included WCF in their listing of anti-gay hate groups. As of August 2014 The WCF partners listing includes several groups that are also listed as anti-gay hate groups by

2790-543: The autonomous state of Jubaland ) and the United Arab Emirates . LGBT people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya . Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on the books as a penalty for adultery , which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this

2852-452: The bride (with a freedman Pythagoras ) and once as the groom. His consort Sporus appeared in public as Nero's wife wearing the regalia that was customary for the Roman empress. Apart from measures to protect the prerogatives of citizens, the prosecution of homosexuality as a general crime began in the 3rd century of the Christian era when male prostitution was banned by Philip the Arab . By

2914-473: The congress despite requests from other Dutch Parliamentarians that he should not do so. Their local offices were defaced with paint, obscenities and anti-Christian slogans by unknown vandals, but the WCF said they would not be intimidated by radical opposition. The WCF comprises Christian, Islamic, and secular leaders, and the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands was scheduled to speak at the conference. Prior to

2976-595: The end of the 4th century, after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule , passive homosexuality was punishable by burning . "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code . Under Justinian , all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners are, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death. The United Kingdom introduced anti-homosexuality laws throughout its colonies, particularly in

3038-636: The following: Ayoni or non-vaginal sex of all types is punishable in the Arthashastra . Homosexual acts are, however, treated as a smaller offence punishable by a fine, while unlawful heterosexual sex carries much harsher punishment. The Dharmsastras , especially the later ones, prescribe against non-vaginal sex like the Vashistha Dharmasutra . The Yājñavalkya Smṛti prescribes fines for such acts including those with other men. Manusmriti prescribes light punishments for such acts. Vanita states that

3100-509: The homosexual agenda. In Hungary, László Toroczkai , former vice president of the far-right political party Jobbik , has complained of the perceived "homosexual agenda". Toroczkai introduced a law banning public displays of affection by gay people in 2017. Before decriminalization of homosexuality in Belize , the LGBT and anti-AIDS organization United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) was lambasted in

3162-539: The issuance of the report, the United Nations urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights. A 2022 study found that LGBT rights (as measured by ILGA-Europe 's Rainbow Index) were correlated with less HIV/AIDS incidence among gay and bisexual men independently of risky sexual behavior. The 2023 Equaldex Equality Index ranks the Nordic countries , Chile , Uruguay , Canada ,

SECTION 50

#1733114531339

3224-628: The late Republic and throughout the Imperial period , there is increasing evidence that men whose lifestyle marked them as "homosexual" in the modern sense served openly. Although Roman law did not recognize marriage between men, and in general Romans regarded marriage as a heterosexual union with the primary purpose of producing children, in the early Imperial period some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites . Juvenal remarks with disapproval that his friends often attended such ceremonies. The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as

3286-531: The legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality . Notably, as of May 2024 , 37 countries recognize same-sex marriage . By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose the death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan . The death penalty is officially law , but generally not practiced , in Mauritania , Saudi Arabia , Somalia (in

3348-583: The most influential groups in America promoting and coordinating the exportation of anti-LGBT bigotry, ideology, and legislation abroad" and stated that their international conferences comprise "the most fringe activists engaged in anti-LGBT extremism". According to the HRC, the WCF and its affiliates are also linked to anti-LGBT advocacy in numerous countries, including on the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act ,

3410-404: The notion of a gay agenda in Africa. Examples include Human Life International , American Center for Law & Justice and Family Watch International . Zambian scholar Kapya John Kaoma considers these organizations colonial powers, working to expand American dominance of Africa. In Africa, fear of a "Western gay agenda" is frequently used by opponents of LGBT rights. The concept was used in

3472-581: The right of same-sex couples to marry were fundamental rights guaranteed under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In his 2003 dissent in Lawrence , U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said the court had become embroiled in a culture war by seeking to protect homosexuals from discrimination, writing that the decision reflected a "law-profession culture, that has largely signed on to

3534-685: The so-called homosexual agenda". Conservative Christian groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-Fam), and the World Congress of Families (WCF) have used the term in their literature. According to its website, ADF has litigated numerous anti–gay rights cases in countries outside the US, in order to combat the "homosexual agenda" which it claims will "destroy marriage and undermine religious freedom". ADF president Alan Sears published

3596-553: The state". According to WCF, its purpose is to "stand up for the position of the traditional family, in a time of eroding family life and declining appreciation for families in general". The coalition defines "the natural family" as the "union of a man and a woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage" and works with other organizations such as the World Family Policy Center at Brigham Young University (BYU) to promote its views. The Human Rights Campaign called WCF "one of

3658-597: The verses about punishment for a sex between female and a maiden is due to its strong emphasis on a maiden's sexual purity. The ancient Law of Moses (the Torah ) forbids people from lying with people of the same sex (i.e., from having intercourse ) in Leviticus 18 and gives a story of attempted homosexual rape in Genesis 19 , in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah , after which the cities were soon destroyed with "brimstone and fire, from

3720-557: Was a rush to push legislation" against LGBT in Ghana. The organization has received funding from sanctioned Russian oligarchs . Allan C. Carlson , President of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society , initiated the congress on the basis of article 16c of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , saying: "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and

3782-745: Was held in Hungary . The right wing Prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orban spoke at the event. The 2019 WCF conference was held in March in Verona , Italy. The deputy prime minister and leader of the League Matteo Salvini spoke at the event with a speech that spanned topics from population decline to illegal immigration and a critique of feminism. Scheduled speakers included Moldova's president Igor Dodon , Hungary's Families Minister Katalin Novak , and Dmitri Smirnov,

SECTION 60

#1733114531339

3844-614: Was noted by the Senate as a recipient of the WCF's "Natural Family Man of the Year" award. Four of these ministers later pulled out of the conference because the conference was hosted by the controversial Christian group Catch the Fire . Kevin Andrews, who was the international ambassador for the 2013 conference, has been promoted as the international ambassador for the World Congress of Families. After

#338661