COMPASS Coalition

Stunning turnaround on LGBT rights in Malawi?

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
May 18th, 2012

LILONGWE, Malawi -- The new president of Malawi says she wants to overturn her nation's homophobic laws that make it a crime to be LGBT.

Joyce Banda, who took over the presidency last month after the death of the homophobic leader Bingu wa Mutharika, presides over one of the world's poorest -- and most beautiful -- countries. In her first weeks in office, Banda has reversed some of Mutharika's policies in an attempt to get international aid restored. Many western countries withdrew aid from Malawi over the past few years over concerns about human rights and corruption.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Robert George's appointment raises concerns about religious freedom

The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle - SDGLN Contributor
March 28th, 2012

The COMPASS Coalition (Coalition on Minority Protection Against Sexual Stigma) congratulates professor Robert George's appointment to the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom. He brings a distinguished academic voice to the national and international table on the complex issues around religious freedom. We are encouraged by professor George’s own comments on his appointment:

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NEWS ANALYSIS: Think big, think globally, prominent LGBT activists urge

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
November 11th, 2011

Is the LGBT community too splintered? Is it too complacent? Does it accept small victories, like the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” instead of demanding the whole enchilada?

Leading voices in the LGBT wilderness are crying loudly for a whole new approach toward achieving full equality on a global scale.

Forget about celebrating the pockets of the United States where marriage equality is possible, providing an inequality of rights across 50 states, they say.

VIDEOS: State Department's Daniel Baer speaks out on global LGBT rights

Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
November 1st, 2011

NEW YORK -- Daniel Baer, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, spoke Oct. 12, 2011, at a session of the Compass to Compassion consultation in New York.

Baer’s talk titled “Taking Leadership to Address LGBT Human Rights Around the World” outlined how the Obama administration is the first-ever American presidency to use foreign policy as a tool to nudge regressive nations toward human rights, including LGBT equality.

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NEWS ANALYSIS: A straight ally puts a human face on LGBT causes, inspires COMPASS Coalition

The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle - SDGLN Contributor
October 28th, 2011

(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in a two-part series about the three-month goodwill tour of retired Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda. The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle of San Diego was the bishop’s guide while he was in the United States. These are his recollections and observations about the Compass to Compassion tour. Read the first part HERE.)

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NEWS ANALYSIS: Bishop Christopher’s tour opens new dialogue on global LGBT rights

The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle - SDGLN Contributor
October 27th, 2011

(Editor’s note: This is the first installment in a two-part series about the three-month goodwill tour of retired Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda. The Rev. Canon Albert Ogle of San Diego was the bishop’s guide while he was in the United States. These are his recollections and observations about the Compass to Compassion tour.)

SAN DIEGO -- The Compass to Compassion tour with Bishop Christopher and Mary Senyonjo, which concluded this week when the couple returned to their home in Kampala, Uganda, proves that the bishop’s message is relevant and contemporary.