Joseph Ward III's blog

Before the 1969 New York City riots at Stonewall Inn launched the gay civil rights movement, there was Dr. Frank Kameny. Last Thursday, the civil rights leader who died on National Coming Out Day was honored by the LGBT community in Washington D.C.

I've always appreciated Dan Savage's brutal honesty, and to-the-point bluntness. Just look at Rick Santorum. Back in 2003, the former U.S.

As the Advocate reported on September 5, three men were convicted and hung in Iran this month for the “crime” of sodomy. According to Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, sexual relationships between members of the same sex are illegal and punishable by draconian practices such as this. While looking through reader comments on the Advocate's posting of the story, two jumped out at me for their related, but notably distinct, perception of Islam’s role in this atrocity. One commentator blamed  Islam, as a religious institution; the other blamed those who use Islam to marginalize the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community deserves to live in a just world. But to get there, much work needs to be done. Like other communities in the general population, LGBT persons can face huge barriers and inequality in a variety of settings, even social justice settings where the normative value of equality, while aspired to, often fails to materialize.

Two of the identities I hold dear to my heart are my faith and my orientation. As a child, I wondered if I could lead a "normal" life as a gay Christian. My family and I attended a Baptist church in eastern New Mexico, and I had numerous experiences within the church that shaped my core values: love for family and neighbors, a yearning for strong community, and a calling to pursue justice and equity. These values have helped me troubleshoot the most difficult times in my life and have helped foster my sense of purpose. They are the same values that give me strength to understand I will never need to choose between my faith and orientation, even though there are some who think I should.

He woke up naked on his bathroom floor. Hamid could hear police officials sifting through his ex-wife's jewelry boxes, emptying the drawers of his child's dresser and conducting an arbitrary search of his possessions.

On Mother's Day, Intersections International worked with a dynamic coalition of the nations leading secular and non-secular LGBT organizations to produce a short video that emphasizes inclusivity. We want churches to accept people, no matter their race, gender or orientation -- everyone should be welcomed. Our video depicts a young boy walking down the aisle of church with his two mothers, embraced only by unwelcomed stares. To emphasize the point that it takes both congregants and clergy to change existing norms within the church, the family is encouraged to join worship when someone -- the pastor in this instance -- breaks the silence, and invites them in.

Do you know what's happening to LGBT persons in Uganda? Today, many across the world are mourning the loss of David Kato, an outspoken gay rights advocate in Uganda who was brutally beaten with a hammer and murdered in his home on Wednesday (Jan. 26). As the New York Times reported, local police are not calling this a hate crime, but anyone familiar with the disgusting anti-gay culture in Uganda would rightfully question that claim.

There are three keys that unlock a forbidden vault at the Umm al-Ma'arik mosque in Baghdad. Inside, stacked behind a baroque display of glass panels lay the gruesome pages of a Quran etched in the blood of Saddam Hussein. The former dictator spent two years withdrawing the more than seven gallons of his own blood needed by calligrapher Abbas Shakir Joody to transcribe the text. It was completed in 2000 and secured in the vault. But that changed in 2003.

On Friday, December 3 Intersections hosted the Veteran-Civilian Dialogues. These intentional conversations take place between equal numbers of veterans and civilians and revolve around the shared impact of war upon both groups. Below are photos from the recent conversation here at Intersections.