Knights of Columb Kick Out Gay Member, Defend Agast Backlash

Contents:

• KNIGHTS OF COLUMB KICK OUT GAY MEMBER, DEFEND AGAST BACKLASH
• ARE THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMB ANTI-GAY?
• KNIGHTS OF COLUMB AND ALLI DONATE MILLNS IN FIGHT AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

KNIGHTS OF COLUMB KICK OUT GAY MEMBER, DEFEND AGAST BACKLASH

() - A New Hampshire Knights of Columb chapter is gettg slammed for upholdg Church teachg that homosexual acts n never be approved.

Key were gay and private about and kept his private life private, there would be no issue, but that's not what Mr. As Print Obama elegantly articulated his send gural addrs, "We, the People, clare today that the most evint of tths - that all of are created equal - is the star that guis still; jt as guid our forebears through Sene Falls [women's sufage], and Selma [racial equaly], and Stonewall [gay rights]. "Ined, the tths pronounced by the Declaratn of Inpennce nearly 250 years ago, and nfirmed by the Fourteenth Amendment 150 years ago, are no ls te - or important - today, whether for women, racial mori, or gays and the Knights arrived relatively early to the fight for racial equaly is mendable, but ns stark ntrast to s recent below-the-radar efforts to fight agast equaly for lns of our gay and lbian brothers and sisters who are nied certa rights - like marriage or employment protectns - that people were nied on acunt of their race s ago.

Surprisgly, the Knights has not only actively battled agast gay and lbian civil rights, but has over the past several years bee one of the natn's largt funrs of discrimatn agast gays and lbians. In fact, between 2004 and 2011, the Knights ntributed more than $14 ln to groups that oppose same-sex relatnships and other gay civil rights. Many of the anizatns have ma flammatory statements regardg same-sex relatnships, same-sex adoptn, and lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr 2008, the Knights was the sgle-largt funr of Proposn 8, which elimated regnn of same-sex marriag California and has been stck down by two feral urts as vlatg the nstutnal rights of gays and lbians.

ARE THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMB ANTI-GAY?

In 2012, the Knights and s lol uncils ntributed nearly $1 ln to unsuccsfully oppose same-sex relatnships state ballot measur Mae, Maryland, Mnota and anim towards gay and lbians exprsed by the ntributns ns unter to the more than 130 years of honorable charable work engaged by the Knights. "Unfortunately, the Knights' good work is sullied by s efforts to discrimate agast our gay and lbian iends and fay members.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMB AND ALLI DONATE MILLNS IN FIGHT AGAST GAY MARRIAGE

The Knights' signifint fundg of anti-gay activi damag s long-standg missn of passn and day, gay and lbian cizens suffer bee they do not receive the fancial and legal protectns that their heterosexual brethren enjoy. The ath of a breadwner a gay or lbian hoehold n be vastatg, no small part bee of the Knights' active efforts to prevent state regnn of gay and lbian Knights' anti-gay activi may also may well e at a st to the anizatn as mov further outsi the Catholic mastream.

A recent New York Tim/CBS News poll found that 62 percent of Catholics support marriage equaly, an even higher rate than Amerins as a whole, while a Pew report noted that only 2 percent of Catholics nsir gay issu to be the Church's biggt problem today.

Some, terviewed last fall by Mnota's Star Tribune, were "cshed to learn the group is at the foreont of the anti-gay marriage effort and that some of their ntributns might have gone to the e. " It's obvly too late for the Knights to be ahead of the gay rights curve, but there's always time for the anizatn to live up to s historic ials and start embracg civil rights for all.