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Another country abandons all fear of God and puts children at risk. Then holds itself up as an example for other Asian countries to emulate.
Taiwan grants full adoption rights to same-sex couples
Issued on: 17/05/2023 - 13:45
Text by: NEWS WIRES, 2 min
Taiwanese gay couple Chen Jun-ru (R), holding his daughter, and Wang Chen-wei (L) arrive
at the Xinyi District Office in Taipei on January 13, 2022. © Sam Yeh, AFP
Taiwan's parliament passed an amendment on Tuesday allowing gay couples to jointly adopt children, a move hailed by activists as "another big step forward" for marriage equality.
And, another big step further from God and common sense.
Taiwan is at the vanguard of Asia's burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement, becoming the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality in 2019.
But same-sex couples still faced restrictions, such as being unable to jointly adopt children. While individuals in Taiwan were allowed to adopt regardless of sexual orientation, those in same-sex marriages could not both be legal parents unless the child was one partner's biological offspring.
On Tuesday -- the eve of the fourth anniversary of Taiwan's marriage equality law -- parliament passed the amendment removing those restrictions, with lawmaker Fan Yun hailing the cross-party support for the bill.
The amendment "not only ensures the protection of children's rights but also meets their best interest", said Fan, who was draped in a rainbow flag.
"In the future, spouses and parents, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, can have full legal protection."
The amendment comes after a family court in southern Kaohsiung City last year ruled in favour of a married gay man seeking to share parenthood of his husband's adoptive child -- the first verdict of its kind.
"After four years of hard work, today the parliament finally passed the (bill for) adoption without blood relationship by same-sex couples," the advocacy group Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights said in a statement.
The group also hailed Taiwan's recent recognition of transnational same-sex marriage -- a move made in January by then-premier Su Tseng-chang to lift restrictions for international couples.
Previously foreigners were not allowed to wed their Taiwanese partners if they came from territories banning same-sex marriage -- which is much of Asia.
But one of Su's last acts in office was to recognise such unions -- including for couples from Hong Kong and Macau, though not mainland China, which is governed under a different set of regulations in Taiwan.
"Following the full recognition of transnational same-sex marriage in January, Taiwan has taken another big step towards marriage equality," the alliance said of the adoption amendment.
Taiwan is home to a thriving LGBTQ community -- a record 200,000 people attended a pride march in Taipei in 2019 to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
That law came about after Taiwan's top court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Over the next two years, at least 7,000 same-sex couples tied the knot according to 2021 data from the Interior Ministry.
The alliance said Tuesday it would continue to push for more rights for same-sex couples, including recognition of Taiwanese-Chinese marriages.
(AFP)
Of course, there is no mention of God, by anyone involved here, especially the reporters. But any fear of God has to be abandoned before any such moves can be made. Now, so few people actually believe in God anymore, so it's easy to ignore Him. This will change sometime in this decade when He has decided that the world's sins have filled to the brim. We are approaching Sodom, God sees it clearly, but we are blind - we choose to be!
Non-binary ex-Biden nuclear official Sam Brinton arrested
for being ‘fugitive from justice’
By Olivia Land, NYPost
May 18, 2023 1:08pm Updated
The former Biden administration nuclear official who was axed late last year after they were caught red-handed in a string of luggage thefts was arrested at home this week, police confirmed.
Samuel Brinton, 35, was taken into custody at their home in Rockville, Maryland, at 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Montgomery Country Police Department told The Post Thursday.
Brinton is currently in custody pending charges of Grand Larceny stemming from allegations of stolen property at Ronald Reagan National Airport that the department learned of in Feb. 2023, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police said.
Arrest records show that Brinton — who is non-binary and uses they pronouns — was arrested on the 700 block of College Parkway as a fugitive from justice.
“They are being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit on a no-bond status as they await an extradition hearing,” an MCPD spokesperson explained.
The investigation is being spearheaded by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.
Someone claiming to be a neighbor of Brinton and Reike told the Daily Wire on Thursday that “four unmarked police showed up” at their residence last night and escorted Brinton away in handcuffs an hour later.
News of Brinton’s alleged arrest comes one month after they pleaded no contest to charges stemming from the theft of a woman’s luggage at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport in July 2022.
Sam Brinton was arrested at their Maryland home earlier this week.
Getty Images for The Trevor Project
Brinton was caught on camera stealing luggage at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas last year.
8NewsNow.com
In exchange for the plea deal, Brinton was ordered to pay the woman back and given a 180-day suspended jail sentence.
Days later, Brinton agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation as part of an adult diversion program at a hearing stemming from similar charges related to a theft at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in September 2022.
Although the MWAA declined to elaborate on the case, the latest pending charges against Brinton may be tied to Asya Khamsin, a Tanzanian fashion designer who shared images of the MIT grad wearing her stolen custom clothing.
“I saw the images. Those were my custom designs, which were lost in that bag in 2018,” Khamsin told The Post, shortly after she tweeted images of Brinton in the brightly-colored frock.
Khamsin said she was not trying to accuse the disgraced Dept. of Energy bigwig of theft, but was “confused” about how the clothing came into their possession.
Khamsin’s attorney, Peter Hansen, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment.
Is this a case of a man who just refuses to follow any rules from anyone? He refuses to listen to God, he refuses to listen to the laws of the country, he refuses to listen to anyone, apparently. This is where it gets him.
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London Public Library refuses to rent space to event
featuring author of 'How Woke Won'
The Society for Academic Freedom will host Joanna Williams
at hotel and university instead
Rebecca Zandbergen · CBC News ·
Posted: May 18, 2023 1:00 AM PDT | Last Updated: May 18
The London Public Library has called down a free speaking event by British author, Joanna Williams and hosted by the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship.
The London Public Library in southwestern Ontario has denied a request for one of its branches to be the site of a speaking event featuring controversial British author Joanna Williams, hosted by the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC News)
The London Public Library in southwestern Ontario is standing by its decision to block The Society for Academic Freedom from holding an event featuring controversial British author and commentator Joanna Williams.
Williams's books include Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity and How Woke Won. Her views on being woke — which has come to refer to being aware of prejudice, discrimination and social inequalities — are divisive. She questions, for instance, the impact of inclusivity and diversity on politics, academia, the media and big business, and the role they play in cancel culture.
We can add 'being against anything Godly' to that definition of 'woke'.
The Society for Academic Freedom (SAFS) — which says on its website that it is opposed to "speech codes ... and so-called anti-hate legislation" — had hoped to host Williams at the library's annual general meeting this week, but its request to rent space was denied in April.
The event is now set for Friday at a London hotel and Saturday at Western University.
"There were multiple policy concerns, all of which were considered together by our senior leadership team and board in making this decision," said Michael Ciccone, the library's chief executive officer.
The library is committed to supporting Londoners and the community of London, and we are guided by the values in our strategic plan, which include exceptional service and anti-racism and anti-oppression.
- Michael Ciccone, CEO, London Public Library
However, it seems the strategic plan does not include protecting free speech or encouraging dialogue. Isn't that what libraries are about, or are they just places for hyper-sensitive people to hide in a corner and pretend the rest of the world is nice?
Ciccone wouldn't list the specific policies the team considered. He also acknowledged not everyone would agree with the library's decision.
Williams is the author of several books, including How Woke Won. (Submitted by Joanna Williams)
"We exist in the public space and our decisions are sometimes subject to a wide range of public opinion which we welcome and we value," he said.
Ah, what? Isn't that the exact opposite of what you just did?
All rental applications are evaluated and can be denied according to library policy, although very few are, he said.
"I think it's a decision that we never come to lightly," said Ciccone. "But in this particular case, the library is committed to supporting Londoners and the community of London, and we are guided by the values in our strategic plan, which include exceptional service and anti-racism and anti-oppression."
Not to mention - anti-Christian.
A progress Pride flag with the words Library Space Is Community Place greets patrons at
the London Public Library. (Rebecca Zandbergen/CBC News)
'They won't wish my ideas away'
"I think these debates should be heard in the public square," said Williams, who regularly touts the importance of single-sex spaces and the "biological reality" of the female sex.
Libraries are about advancing knowledge and they should be the ideal place
for airing contentious views.
- Joanna Williams, British author
"Libraries should be the site of public debate," she told CBC London. "Libraries are about advancing knowledge and they should be the ideal place for airing contentious views.
"Unfortunately for the people who disagree with me, they won't wish my ideas away," said Williams.
"I actually think for people who disagree with me, it's even more important that the debate be had out in public because then they can challenge me, they can ask me questions."
"I find it disturbing and frightening that the public library would refuse to rent us space," said SAFS president Mark Mercer. "It's frightening, because the library is saying to all individuals and groups that they must satisfy the tastes and aspirations of the library's managers before they can rent space.
This means that all individuals and groups are vulnerable," said Mercer..
Organizations such as SAFS often use the free speech mantra to push harmful and violent language against diverse communities, said Ware.
In the fall of 2019, hundreds of people protested outside a Toronto library over an appearance by a controversial speaker whose remarks about transgender women have sparked anger in the LGBTQ community.
"I never thought I'd see a moment where we would be protesting libraries, but this was essential to keep them safe for trans and non-binary communities," said Ware.
And, after all, isn't that what libraries are for?
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