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Sufeitzy's avatar

I used to know Richard Rouillard, editor-in-chief of “The Advocate” in the 80’s.

https://www.nlgja.org/blog/2010/05/richard-rouilard/

He was scathingly funny and brilliant, warm and very non-PC as we said at the time. He had an amazing art collection (Richard Tipping pieces in the pool house were very funny), and played the Harp in his office at his house just off Laurel Canyon. His husband was a VP of finance at Paramount, and had the body of Schwarzenegger.

The most controversial set of articles I recall him presiding over were vacuum pumps for men’s genitals - very humorous dinner conversations to say the least. Their biggest problem in the AIDS era for The Advocate was the “pink pages”, because advertisers didn’t want their name associated with a magazine publishing personal ads for gay men to have sex.

Men had sex even in the late 80’s. I have not been able to read an issue of the magazine for around 20 years. It’s irrelevant to lesbians and gays today, and lost touch with its roots as a bar magazine and H.E.L.P. - men and women were being put in prison for meeting in bars.

It’s sad. Very sad.

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William A. Ferguson's avatar

The separation of religion and state is fundamental to maintaining a just and inclusive society that respects the diverse beliefs of all citizens. When religious doctrine becomes intertwined with governmental authority, it inevitably leads to the privileging of one faith tradition over others, creating a system where citizens who hold different beliefs—or no religious beliefs at all—become second-class members of their own society. This violation of religious freedom undermines the basic principle that government should serve all people equally, regardless of their personal spiritual convictions. History provides countless examples of theocratic systems that have persecuted minorities, stifled intellectual progress, and restricted individual liberties in the name of religious orthodoxy.

Furthermore, the governance of a modern, pluralistic society requires decisions based on reason, evidence, and secular ethical principles that can be debated and evaluated by citizens of all backgrounds. Religious doctrines, while deeply meaningful to believers, are often based on faith claims that cannot be empirically verified or universally accepted, making them inappropriate foundations for public policy that affects everyone. When religious authorities or religious law become the basis for civil governance, it corrupts both institutions—religion loses its spiritual focus and becomes a tool of political power, while government loses its legitimacy as an impartial arbiter serving the common good. A secular state protects religious freedom more effectively than a religious state ever could, allowing faith communities to flourish while ensuring that no single religious perspective dominates the public sphere.

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