Joseph Ward III

It has finally happened. President Obama declared his support for marriage equality. In an interview with ABC's Robin Roberts, President Obama told the country and the world that he has come to the decision that he personally supports same sex marriage. What's more, he citied his Christian faith as a...

You could hear a pin drop.

Dozens of faces gazed at Katy Adams as her eyes began to puddle, her voice shaking. Visibly reflective in thought, Katy relived the news of a phone call, five years ago, from her brother -- wanting to jump off a rooftop at Brigham...

Over the last few weeks, the Republican race for president has been watched apathetically by many Americans, but Rick Santorum continues to shake things up with unexpected wins, courting "very conservative" Republican voters as his core strategy. While his rise may provide for interesting punditry across the media and rile...

Just a few years ago, public opinion placed Christianity clearly in the "God vs. Gay" camp. Today, despite what Rick Perry would have us think, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans agree that gay and lesbian relationships should be accepted by society, including majorities of all major religious groups except...

Governor Perry,

I read your furious response to a recent White House memorandum where you called President Obama's leadership "silly" for strengthening international protections of LGBT human rights. You also made generalizations that unfairly assume all people of faith in America are homophobic.

It's unconscionable how out of...

Before the New York City riots at Stonewall Inn launched the gay civil rights movement, there was Dr. Frank Kameny. On Nov. 3, the civil rights leader, who died on National Coming Out Day, was honored by the LGBT community in Washington, D.C. As they remembered a man known as "one...

"I wish I could be happy, I try, I try, I try ... I just want to feel special to someone." --Jamie Hubley

On Oct. 14, Jamie Hubley, a gay 15-​year-​old boy, committed suicide. He struggled with depression and bullying from classmates because he was openly gay. The challenges experienced...

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. Senator compared gay sex to pedophilia and bestiality, and in retaliation, Savage, a Seattle based sex columnist and founder of the "It Gets Better" project,...

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...

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.

Like many gay Iranians, Hamid was pressured by his parents to marry a woman based...

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...

Of the 76 countries that persecute people for their sexual orientation, Iran will let an Islamic judge put them to death; Mauritania and Yemen will kill by public stoning; Saudi Arabia and parts of Nigeria and Somalia will do it based on their interpretation of Sharia law; Sudan will kill...

Since speaking with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on July 16 about the Muslim community center to be built in lower Manhattan, it has been painful to watch the national dialogue around this issue deteriorate into misinformation, hysteria and fear of Islam.

Imam Rauf has been overseas and...

Last week, I attended the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on plans to tear down a 152-year-old structure near Ground Zero to build "Cordoba House," a 13-story community center and mosque. The hearing was held to determine if landmark designation should be granted to the site, thereby expanding...