The 50 Spot: Catholic University Rejects Gay Rights Group, and a Bigoted Prayer in Kansas

The 50 Spot needs to turn itself into the 51 spot today, since our first item is straight out of the District of Columbia. We're also hitting up Kansas, Florida and West Virginia in our state-by-state roundup.

Washington, D.C.: Wow, you've got to hand it to Catholic University of America (CUA). They're now requiring a litmus test for groups on campus to prove that they're conservative enough to maintain the school's "Catholic identity." Case in point, CUA has denied a gay pro-life group's request that they be allowed to co-sponsor an anti-abortion conference held at the University this past weekend. The group, Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL), were told by CUA officials that their mission statement "goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church," because while they tow the line on abortion, they advocate for acceptance of homosexuality and promote marriage equality. Is this a sign that the Catholic community is seeking to create a monolithic block of conservative thought on its campus, that doesn't respect diversity of opinion on any social issue? Sure seems like it. While we don't agree with PLAGAL on the issue of women's rights, the group should be allowed to enter into campus-wide discussions and events. Isn't the whole purpose of higher education and academia to be a marketplace of ideas? This action seems to hurt CUA's reputation as an academic institution, making it seem more like a college that only caters to those with intolerant, deeply conservative views.

Kansas: Consider this one more reason why we should do away with prayers inside political institutions. During the opening of the 2009 legislative session in Kansas, Guest Chaplain Brian Schieber gave an opening "invocation" that didn't so much give a blessing as it attacked supporters of gay rights and reproductive rights. Schieber's prayer berated legislators for not creating a culture of life, and called to mind a 1996 prayer offered by Rev. Joe Wright before the very same legislature, in which he offered this jewel of a line: "We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle."  Alright, Kansas.  Fool you once, shame on the pastor.  But fool you a second time, and well, it's time to stop mixing religion and politics.

West Virginia: Let's call this one, "Mr. Tighe Goes to Wheeling."  Larry Tighe, a Wheeling resident, is leading a push to have the Wheeling Human Rights Commission add sexual orientation among its list of protected groups under the County's discrimination policy.  "Gay people here live in fear of losing their jobs and losing their apartments," Tighe told the City's Human Rights Commission.  Currently, Wheeling's anti-discrimination policy aims to eliminate discrimination in the "sale, purchase, lease, rental or financing of real property, by virtue of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, blindness, handicap or familial status."  No sexual orientation (or gender identity!) in that policy.  Tighe is hoping his push will result in a vote by the Commission to recommend the matter over to the Wheeling City Council, which has the power to authorize an expanded anti-discrimination policy.

Florida:  This isn't a title worth bragging about.  Miami has been named as the city with the most hate crime-prone public restrooms.  Safe2pee.org (no, we're not making that up) conducted the study, and labels Miami as the worst major U.S. city when it comes to providing safe public restrooms for LGBT folk.  According to the site, "The goal of the project is to create a resource where people who do not feel comfortable with traditional public restrooms can find safe alternatives, and to support advocacy and research to further the cause of gender free, inclusive bathrooms."