How did I miss this? 

Published on March 9, this letter to the editor from Lionel Deimel of Mt. Lebanon rightly condemns the intolerant words and actions of Nigerian Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola.  Deimel opines:

Those applauding his principled stand in opposition to the consecration of gay bishops should recognize that Akinola's principles apparently also include intolerance, ignorance and hatred.

Archbishop Akinola's rhetoric may have more dire effects in Nigeria than mere repression, however. He recently warned rioting Muslims in Nigeria that "(our Muslim brothers) do not have the monopoly of violence in this nation" and that Christian Association of Nigeria, of which Akinola is president, "may no longer be able to contain our restive youths should this ugly trend continue."

And Ron Pedersen Jr. of North Versailles takes a similar stance, drawing on the esteemed Bishop Desmond Tutu in response to the hateful letter written by a Mr. John Patterson of Monroeville.  Pederson writes:

Patterson admires Akinola's ample supply of "spiritual testosterone" and comments that "It's a fine thing to see biblically minded African Archbishop Akinola spit upon Hollywood's code of sexual freedom, which lots of American Episcopal clergy relish with all of their lustful hearts."

In the face of such ridiculous ignorance, kudos to Mr.Deimel and Mr. Pederson for standing up to homophobic ignorant fools. 

You can count on your lesbian correspondents to let you know when mind shattering events, such as Trib readers defending homosexuals, take place in Pittsburgh.

According to an article in the Wednesday (March 15) Post-Gazette, several state legislators have decided to attempt to ban a notorius gay basher--Fred Phelps--from protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers. Putting aside for a minute the First Amendment issues this ban would involve, I find this incredibly hypocritical. As perhaps some of you may know, Fred Phelps and his merry band of bigots has been protesting at funerals for aids victims, homosexuals, and several years ago, even paid a visit to Pittsburgh to protest at the funeral of--Fred Rogers-- of all people.  And, apparently that did not offend the sensibilities of Senators John Pippy, Bob Regola and Jennifer Mann, the sponsors of this proposed legislation. I have a suggestion. Instead of banning Fred Phelps' free speech rights, however despicable his speech may be, how about if these senators do something constructive and GASP Christian. How about Senators Pippy, Regola and Mann make a statement that everyone--regardless of who they are--deserves to be remembered and mourned in a respectful and reverant manner.

The thing that really gets me is when homo-bigots are not content to just hate us for ourselves, but have to take the extra step of connecting us with something vile ... like pedophilia, bestiality or white supremacy. From the New York City St. Patric's Day Parade comes this gem.

In an interview with the Irish Times published on Friday Hibernian chair John Dunleavy said, "If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow Neo-Nazis into their parade? If African Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade?"

Dunleavy went on to tell the paper that "People have rights. If we let the ILGO in, is it the Irish Prostitute Association next?"

For the past 16 years, the NYC parade organizers have kept the queer contingent from marching as an identified group as permitted by a court ruling on religious freedom.  Apparently, they are not content to simply disallow homos but have to take it one step further. 

And guess who marches in spite of these hate laced comments?  Senator Hillary Clinton.  Are you stunned that she'd sell us out for a good PR moment? 

Here's proof that one person can make a difference.