APR-10: USA - Florida: Anti-gay effort fails. According to the People For the American Way:
An alliance of radical religious right groups calling itself "Take Back Miami-Dade" failed to gather  the needed number of signatures to place the question of repealing an amendment to Miami-Dade's Human Rights Ordinance that protects lesbians and gay men from discrimination on this fall's ballot.  The group missed its deadline for filing 32,582 signatures - 4% of the voters -- with the Miami- Dade County Commission on Friday, according to PFAW Florida Director Lisa Versaci. 

"What this shows is that there is no constituency for intolerance in Miami-Dade.  Any candidate or campaign who is organizing on an agenda of hate, bigotry or division would be wise to re-evaluate their strategy," said Versaci.  PFAW is a member of SAVE Dade, a coalition of organizations and individuals who have pledged to fight discrimination in Miami-Dade.

"The Human Rights Ordinance is there to protect everyone's basic rights to fair treatment.  By failing to join in the far right's petition drive, the voters of Miami-Dade have reaffirmed their community's rich tradition of diversity and mutual respect," said Ralph G. Neas, PFAW President.

APR-27: USA - Illinois: Changing symbol. According to ReligionToday: ₅
"Wheaton College is dropping its 'Crusaders' mascot, saying it has negative connotations. Officials at the alma mater of Billy Graham said the name is inappropriate for modern sensibilities. ...Changing the mascot is 'a matter of principle,' said Duane Litfin, president of the Chicago-area evangelical school. 'I came to realize that those [Crusades] were not very happy episodes in Christianity. They are not something we want to glorify.' ...The original crusaders were pilgrims who pushed their way through Europe and the Holy Land from the 11th through the 13th centuries, often killing Moslems and Jews in the name of Christ. ...Among the early suggestions for a new mascot is the Cherubs. Others include Eagles, Flames, Lions, Sojourners, and Whirlwind."

APR-28: Sweden: Lutherans drop anti-Semitic phrases: According to ENI: ₃
"The (Lutheran) Church of Sweden, to which most of the country's population belongs, is changing some of the words in its official prayers and omitting verses from its hymnbooks in an effort to remove all traces of anti-Semitism. The changes result from a new report on Christian-Jewish relations, published recently by a church commission which has studied the problem for five years. The report is strongly critical of anti-Jewish utterances by Martin Luther, one of the leading figures of the Reformation." 

APR-28: Kosovo: Inter-faith council: According to ENI: ₃
"Leaders of Kosovo's Muslim, Orthodox and Roman Catholic communities have set up a joint council to promote democracy and human rights, modelled on an inter-religious body in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 'With one united voice, we again strongly condemn all acts of violence and all violations of basic human rights,' three religious leaders said in a declaration from Kosovo's capital, Pristina."