Iranian Refused Asylum
Dear Iranian Queer Alliances,
We are writing to draw your attention to the case of a gay Iranian man, who
is refused his asylum, and about to be expelled from Cyprus and deported
back to Iran. As is well known and documented, gay people in Iran are
subjected to persecution and severe punishment, including execution. If the
person returns to Iran, Cyprus will be committing a serious miscarriage of
justice and a gross violation of human rights.
We have asked you to sending support letter to Cyprus MEPs and Panayiotis
Demetriou responded:
“Following your letter, I have communicated with the Minister of Interior in
Cyprus. Despite the fact that you did not disclose the name of the Iranian
asylum seeker the Minister told me the following: (a) The deportation is
duly reasoned. (b) The finding of the Immigration Office based on European
Court of Human Rights is that homosexuality is not a reason by itself for
execution in Iran. (c) Despite the above the extradition order for this
person will be suspended.”
We are calling you for urgent action and we urge you to send the following
form-letter (which you can find in our website) to the Minister of Interior
and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus expressing your solidarity
and requesting his immediate release. You can read more about him in our
website.
————————– IRanian Queer Railroad - IRQR
PH4-150 Graydon Hall Drive
Toronto, Ontario
M3A 3B3 Canada
tel: 001-416-548-4171
Popularity: 2% [?]
I Feel Your Pain, Rosie, Ellen & Melissa
By Marsha West | NewsWithViews.com
On November 4th California upheld traditional marriage by passing Proposition 8 by a half million votes, thus amending the state’s constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to a union between a man and a woman. The homosexual community is not taking this lying down. Before the week was out bitter gay-rights activists challenged the will of the people with litigation.
OneNewsNow reports that:
“The homosexual movement for special rights has become louder, and in some cases violent, in the aftermath of losses at the ballot box in Florida, Arizona, and California. Florida Family Association notes the increased intensity in rhetoric from the self-proclaimed ‘champions of tolerance’ and diversity.”[1]
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican (Rino), has called upon his state’s Supreme Court to block the amendment’s enforcement. As the state’s highest official, this sort of behavior is rather stunning. Is this the same person who, when running for office, told the public that he opposed same-sex marriage? When the California State Assembly approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it!
Popularity: 3% [?]
Obama’s Attorney General
by: Michael Isikoff, Newsweek | Truthout
Eric Holder is poised to become the first African-American attorney general. (Photo: Reuters)
President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.
Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, still has to undergo a formal “vetting” review by the Obama transition team before the selection is final and is publicly announced, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified talking about the transition process. But in the discussions over the past few days, Obama offered Holder the job and he accepted, the source said. The announcement is not likely until after Obama announces his choices to lead the Treasury and State departments.
Holder, 57, has been on Obama’s “short list” for attorney general from the outset. A partner at the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, Holder served as co-chief (along with Caroline Kennedy) of Obama’s vice-presidential selection process. He also actively campaigned for Obama throughout the year and grew personally close to the president-elect. Holder has not returned a call seeking comment; a spokeswoman for the Obama transition team told Newsweek in an e-mail early Tuesday afternoon that no decision has been made.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Begich Topples Stevens in Alaska Senate Race
by: Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News | Truthout
Ted Stevens has lost in his bid to be re-elected to the United States Senate. (Photo: Getty Images)
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens lost his job to Mark Begich on Tuesday, putting an end to the era of “Uncle Ted” as the dominant force in Alaska politics.
Begich, the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, widened his lead to 3,724 votes in Tuesday’s count of absentee and questioned ballots. The lead is insurmountable, as the only votes left to count are approximately 2,500 ballots from overseas.
Begich claimed victory, saying, “I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the U.S. Senate.”
The loss came on Stevens’ 85th birthday. The 40-year incumbent is the longest serving Republican in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Stevens could ask for a recount but his campaign would have to pay for it. The state pays if the margin is within .5 percent of the total votes cast. But Begich leads by just over 1 percent with more than 315,000 votes cast in the race.
Popularity: 3% [?]
A Modest Marriage Proposal
By Chris Crain | Citizen Crain
With the click of a mouse and boots on the street, hundreds of thousands of newly minted activists across the country last weekend declared independence from the top-down, black-tie, this-cutesy-logo-brought-to-you-by movement for gay civil rights.
It took the political perfect storm: the “Yes We Can” spirit behind Barack Obama’s election, running smack up against the “Oh No You Don’t” passage of Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in California.
The result was Stonewall 2.0. No corporate sponsors, no tony Washington, D.C., offices, and not a single poll or focus group. Just tech-savvy young activists pulling off day after day of street protests in California, followed by a massive mobilization on Nov. 15, a National Day of Protest in big cities and small towns across these United States.
In handmade signs signed off on by no one, gay and straight alike made their case for equality, and rejected en-masse the inane “strategery” of avoiding words like “marriage,” “discrimination” and “gay” because they didn’t poll well.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Obama-Biden Plan = Fed Civil Unions
By Chris Crain | Citizen Crain
The Obama-Biden transition team has released its civil rights agenda on Change.gov, the official transition website, and the section on LGBT rights is expansive and includes federal civil unions — the topic of my post earlier today:
Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
Other LGBT highlights of the Obama plan:
- Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: passing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity
- Fight Workplace Discrimination: passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which includes sexual orientation and gender identity protections
- Repeal Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell
- Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
- Expand Adoption Rights
- Promote AIDS Prevention: Obama promised in his first year in office a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies, expanding beyond abstinence-only sex ed and ending the federal ban on needle exchange
It’s a powerful, far-reaching plan and is night and day with anything LGBT Americans have ever been promised by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. (It’s worth noting that two of the seven bullet points involve repealing anti-gay laws signed by the last “pro-gay” president.)
Popularity: 4% [?]
GM Plant’s Closing Like Death Knell in Dayton
Jamestown Moraine warehouses prepare and deliver parts to the General Motors Moraine Assembly truck plant. When the GM plant closes for good on December 23, so will Jamestown Moraine. Sixty-four people will lose their jobs at the supplier, the last of a workforce that once numbered 200.
GM Moraine Assembly once employed about 5,000 people, churning out Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and even Saab SUVs. About 1,000 will clock out for the last time next month.
Thousands more worked for small suppliers in the Dayton area for whom GM was the only customer.
“I’ve got the house I’ve got to pay for. I’ve got the car payment, I’ve got clothes and I’ve got to give the dog a little food — and you throw in kids? It’s bad for everybody,” said Tony Murphy, a foreman who operates a forklift at Jamestown Moraine.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Garden State Equality Creates a Facebook
If you’re a member of Facebook, Garden State Equality just created a new Facebook group which we’d love you to join.
It costs nothing but a click on your computer. What a great way for you to make a statement that you support marriage equality.
To access Garden State Equality’s Facebook group, visit www.Facebook.com and enter Garden State Equality in the search box.
Once you join Garden State Equality’s Facebook group, please invite all your other Facebook friends to join the group as well. Let’s build the biggest group on all of Facebook in support of marriage equality!
(PS While you’re on our Facebook page, watch the short film posted there about Garden State Equality and our campaign to achieve marriage equality in New Jersey.)
(PPS To buy tickets to the 2009 Legends Dinner, visit www.GardenStateEquality.org. It’s the fastest-selling gala in GSE’s history, even faster than last year, when tickets sold out six weeks in advance and we could not accommodate last-minute buyers.)
Thanks so much,
Steven Goldstein
Chair, Garden State Equality
Popularity: 3% [?]
Texas Jury Indicts Cheney, Gonzales in Prison Abuse Case
by: Reuters | Truthout
A Texas grand jury has issued indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over abuse at privately run prisons. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images North America)
Editor’s Note: Major news networks such as CNN and BBC have reported that Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been issued indictments. It remains to be seen if this will gain traction, but the indictment highlights a detention center in Texas, which has been criticized for inhumane practices. Truthout will keep you updated as the story develops. sg/TO
Houston - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for “organized criminal activity” related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.
The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.
The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is “profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty,” according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Letter: Let’s Dialogue on Racism and Homophobia
As pastors serving within the GLBT and allied communities, we are concerned that the emerging discourse in the wake of the Obama presidential victory and the passage of Proposition 8 has exacerbated tensions between and among members of the communities we serve and the African American community in particular. The targeting of a segment of African American voters who voted for Obama and also in favor of Proposition 8 is leading to scapegoating and is doing nothing to create meaningful conversations about racism and homophobia. We urge all those we serve, and especially those of us in the GLBT community who are white, to consider these points:
1. It was church-going voters of every race who aided the passage of Proposition 8, and this is a painful acknowledgment on our part. As clergy we believe it is imperative that we find ways to engage Roman Catholics, Mormons and Evangelical Christians in face to face dialogue.
2. The GLBT community has not always distinguished itself in regard to issues of importance to communities of color. People do not necessarily think of the GLBT liberation movement as a movement that stands in solidarity with supporters of affirmative action, social justice for immigrants, or economic equality for all. Rarely have we mobilized in large numbers against racism in the Castro and in LGBT neighborhoods across the country, nor have we spoken out adequately against the gentrification of African American neighborhoods in which the LGBT community plays a part. For these reasons, the LGBT community is not perceived as allies with communities we hope to engage in our efforts to secure equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, and could lose support from LGBT people of color for whom marriage equality is only one issue among many others (and not necessarily the most important one). For the sake of healing within the GLBT community among people of all colors, and for the sake of healing in our country, we must address this failure within our movement.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Pope’s New Edict on the Priesthood
The Roman Catholic Church requires its priests to refrain from any sexual relationship, whether heterosexual or homosexual. So one might think that the sexual orientation of an aspirant for the priesthood would be a nonissue — especially in light of the distinction the church has drawn between homosexual conduct, which is considered sinful, and homosexual orientation, which is not.
One would be wrong.
The Vatican recently issued a statement re-emphasizing that even chaste gay men are to be barred from the priesthood. Never mind that large numbers of gay priests — estimates range from 25% to 50% — already serve the faithful, with most adhering to their vow of celibacy.
“Guidelines for the Use of Psychology in the Admission and Formation of Candidates for the Priesthood,” released Oct. 30 by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, not only reiterates the teaching that men with “deep-seated” homosexual tendencies are unworthy of ordination, it also urges seminaries to enlist the aid of psychologists in screening candidates for homosexuality and other “psychic disturbances.”
Popularity: 3% [?]
MA: 5 Years Later, Views Shift Subtly on Gay Marriage
When the Supreme Judicial Court handed down its landmark decision five years ago tomorrow allowing same-sex couples to wed in Massachusetts, opponents warned that traditional marriage would be endangered, while supporters envisioned an equality movement that would spread across the nation.
Over 11,000 same-sex marriages later, neither has happened.
Massachusetts has yet to become, as former governor Mitt Romney predicted, the “Las Vegas of same-sex marriage.” Gay marriage rates leveled off at about 1,500 a year - about 4 percent of all state marriages - in 2006 and 2007. The divorce rate in Massachusetts has remained the same - and the lowest in the country.
And only one other state now allows same-sex marriage; 30 states have a ban against it.
What’s really changed is more subtle than cosmic, more about the everyday lives of gay couples in Massachusetts than about a national transformation. Gay and lesbian couples here said they are attracting fewer startled looks when they rent cars, less consternation when they hold hands, fewer awkward questions when they visit spouses in hospital rooms.
“When we’re out together as a couple, it really doesn’t come up; we’re never challenged anymore,” said David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs in the 2003 SJC case and the current chairman of MassEquality, a gay-rights advocacy group. “It’s now considered normal.”
Popularity: 3% [?]
IL: Gay Friendly Schools
If there’s a high school student in your home, then you know that something as small (”You call that SMALL???”) as a newly sprouted zit is reason enough to stay home sick, or try to. Teenagers have an astonishing capacity to wound, and to be wounded, and high school is a target-rich environment. Kids can be ostracized for showing up with nerdy glasses, for raising their hands too often in class, for revealing the wrong style of briefs in the locker room.
When it comes to sexual identity, kids who are perceived as different are particularly vulnerable. A 2007 study by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that 86 percent of gay, transgender or “questioning” students reported being harassed by classmates because of their sexual orientation, and 44 percent said they had been physically harassed. More than half said they didn’t feel safe in school; nearly a third had missed a day of class in the last month because of that fear. Their grade-point average was almost half a point below the norm. Other studies have found that up to 28 percent of gay students drop out of high school. Several years ago, a Chicago Public Schools survey found that gay and lesbian students were three times as likely as their straight peers to skip school because they felt unsafe.
Those numbers are behind CPS chief Arne Duncan’s plan to open a gay-friendly high school in 2010.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Marriage Bans Harm Mental Health
(New York City) Amendments that restrict civil marriage rights of same-sex couples – such as Proposition 8 that recently passed in California – have led to higher levels of stress and anxiety among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, as well as among their families of origin, according to several new studies the American Psychological Association said Wednesday.
One quantitative and two qualitative studies on the impact of anti-LGBT legislation appear in a special issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, published by APA. That issue of the journal, to be published in January, will be titled: “Advances in Research with Sexual Minority People.”
The quantitative study was based on an online survey of 1,552 lesbian, gay and bisexual adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia examining “minority stress,” or the chronic social stress that minorities experience as a result of social stigmatization.
Participants were grouped into those living in the seven states with an amendment on the ballot in November 2006 that did pass; those living in the 18 states with an amendment that passed before 2006; and those in the 23 states, plus D.C., with no amendment. Those living in Alabama, where an amendment passed in June 2006, were excluded because of the timing, as were those living in Arizona, where an amendment was defeated that year.
Popularity: 3% [?]
IL: Proposed School Catering to Gays Expands Mission
Popularity: 3% [?]
Sweden Says Tranvestism is Not a Disease
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Swedish health officials say they will remove transvestism, fetishism and sadomasochism from the country’s official list of diseases and mental disorders.
The National Board of Welfare says labeling those aspects of sexual behavior and gender identity as disorders can add to prejudices in society. Gay and transgender rights activists welcomed this week’s decision.
The board’s director Lars-Erik Holm says he will raise the issue internationally when the World Health Organization starts the process of renewing its classifications.
Popularity: 3% [?]
California Supreme Court to Take Up Gay Marriage Ban
All three cases claim the measure abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.
As is its custom when it takes up cases, the court did not elaborate on its decision.
Along with the gay rights groups and local governments petitioning to overturn the ban, the measure’s sponsors and Attorney General Jerry Brown had urged the Supreme Court to consider whether Proposition 8 passes legal muster.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Admirals, Generals: Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
“As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality,” the officers wrote.
While Obama has expressed support for repeal, he said during the presidential campaign that he would not do so on his own - an indication that he would tread carefully to prevent the issue from becoming a drag on his agenda. Obama said he would instead work with military leaders to build consensus on removing the ban on openly gay service members.
“Although I have consistently said I would repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be,” Obama said in a September interview with the Philadelphia Gay News.
Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama’s transition team, declined comment.
Popularity: 3% [?]
The Day the Music Died for the Gay Leadership
Saturday’s 25,000-strong anti-Prop 8 grassroots protest in San Diego. Click inside the picture to see it really big.Was it really just six days ago that I wrote here: “I sense the power could be shifting, from the suit-and-tie professional activists with their offices, their access, their press releases and their catered receptions, to the grassroots.”?
Was it really just six days ago that I was apparently the first person to utter the phrase “Stonewall 2.0″?
It was. But I am not alone now. Let’s have a look at what influential people are saying six days later.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Online Dating Service eHarmony Agrees to Match Same-Sex Couples
Staff | AP News | PageOneQ
Online dating service eHarmony is adding another personality trait to its 29 dimensions of computability.
The California-based company will begin providing same-sex matches under as part of a settlement with New Jersey’s Civil Rights Division.
Garden State resident Eric McKinley filed a complaint against the online matchmaker in 2005.
Under terms of the settlement, the company can create a new or differently named Web site for same-sex singles. The company can also post a disclaimer saying its compatibility-based matching system was developed from research of married heterosexual couples.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Layoffs at Focus on the Family
Jim Burroway | Box Turtle Bulletin
Focus On the Family today announced the elimination of 202 jobsat its Colorado Springs headquarters — 149 through layoffs and another 53 through attrition. This is in addition to another 46 job cuts announced last month to take place in the start of 2009. Altogether, this represents a 20% reduction Focus On the Family’s workforce, bringing the total number of employees down to 950. At its peak, Focus had more than 1,500 employees.
This action comes after Focus On the Family spent nearly $600,000 in cash and non-monetary support to pass Prop 8. Focus was also a major contributor to Arizona’s Prop 102 and Florida’s Amendment 2. Focus board member Elsa Prince contributed an additional $450,000 to prop 8.
Well gee, I guess same-sex marriage really is a threat to some families.
Popularity: 4% [?]
How to Close Guantanamo in Six Steps
By Joanne Mariner | Findlaw
President-elect Barack Obama recently reiterated his campaign promise to close the military detention center at Guantánamo Bay. In an interview with “60 Minutes” broadcast on Sunday night-his first extended interview since the election-Obama declared: “I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that.”
Obama’s comments are a welcome affirmation of his commitment to turn the page on Bush Administration abuses. But shutting down Guantánamo will not be easy. Ending Guantánamo in any meaningful way means more than just moving the Guantánamo approach somewhere else. It means, instead, remedying the abuses that Guantánamo represents, finding a fair solution for the detainees who are currently held at Guantánamo, and introducing new, reformed approaches to fighting terrorism.
Some commentators have recommended what seems to be an easier fix: bringing the Guantánamo system of indefinite detention without charge to the United States. But such a “solution” would not solve the underlying problems at Guantanamo: it would simply move them here.
Guantánamo, the place, is shorthand for Guantánamo, the approach. It is an approach that consists of indefinite detention without charge, of unfair procedures, and allegations based on secret evidence. Bringing that approach to U.S. mainland would not remotely begin to remedy the mess that the Bush Administration is leaving behind.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Retired Leaders Hit ‘Don’t Ask’ Policy
Associated Press | Military.com
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays, and to permit gays to serve openly, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
The move by the military veterans confronts the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama with a thorny political and cultural issue that dogged former President Bill Clinton early in his administration.
“As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality,” the officers wrote.
While Obama has expressed support for repeal, he said during the presidential campaign that he would not do so on his own - an indication that he would tread carefully to prevent the issue from becoming a drag on his agenda. Obama said he would instead work with military leaders to build consensus on removing the ban on openly gay service members.
Popularity: 4% [?]
News from the Garden State
News from Garden State Equality
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Contact: Steven Goldstein, chair, cell (917) 449-8918
Today, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights reached a settlement with the dating website eHarmony, which until now had not allowed matches between potential same-sex couples - only between men and women - in violation of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. Under today’s settlement, eHarmony will now have to match couples of the same sex and of the opposite sex.
Statement of Steven Goldstein, chair of Garden State Equality:
Until this settlement, eHarmony was more like eNeanderthal for its refusal to include the LGBT community. eHarmony was eDisharmony for being such a divisive force in shutting out so many Americans. Welcome, eHarmony, to the 21st century.
That said, if any couple, same-sex or opposite-sex, wants to save money in this economy by not using eHarmony, we at Garden State Equality volunteer to match up potential couples ourselves.
We have qualified matchmakers waiting. Among our members are same-sex couples who’ve been together for decades, and opposite sex-couples who’ve been together for decades. All of them know a thing or two about love, relationships, and the burning desire to be married.
Garden State Equality members:
If you’re single, a great opportunity to meet your potential love is at the 2009 Legends Dinner, tickets for which are on sale now at www.GardenStateEquality.org. If you’re partnered or married, the Legends Dinner is a great opportunity to meet new friends and reconnect with old ones.
Did you know that several couples, both same-sex and opposite-sex, have met at Garden State Equality events over the years?
Popularity: 4% [?]
Event: Nebraska Summit for LGBTQ Advocacy
Gain confidence in talking about the LGBTQ community.
Meet others who are passionate about equality.
Be informed on the state of equality.
Sponsored by Citizens For Equal Protection
When: Saturday, January 17, 2009, 8:30-5:00
Where: First Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 “D” Street, Lincoln, NE
Light breakfast and lunch provided.
Registration fee $20 (Students/Low Income $5)
Sessions Include:
Talking about LGBTQ Community to friends, family and the media.
Understanding and addressing racism.
Knowing your rights to protest and as a protester.
Steps to ensure transgender people are included in our work.
Working and communicating across organizations.
Presenters:
Sarah Kennedy, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Ryan Sallans, Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs
Larry Williams, City of Lincoln Commission on Human Rights
Amy Miller, ACLU-Nebraska
Meredith Bacon, National Center for Transgender Equality
Georgia Feiste, Collaborative Transitions Coaching
To Register, volunteer, or for more information:
Tyler Richard, CFEP Lincoln Committee Chair
402-202-6211
Popularity: 4% [?]
The Long-Term Strategy
First published at 365gay.com on November 14, 2008
Proposition 8 passed, revoking marriage rights for gays and lesbians in California and setting back the gay-rights movement throughout the country.
So did similar bans in Florida and Arizona, not to mention an Arkansas ban on adoption or foster parenting by unmarried couples. Supporters of the latter ban—written expressly to thwart “the gay agenda”—apparently believe that it is better for children to languish in state care than to have loving gay parents.
With the pressure of the election behind us, we can step back and talk about long-term strategy. What must we do to convince majorities that our love is just as worthy as theirs?
Popularity: 7% [?]
New Study: Rate of Anti-Gay Employment Discrimination Similar to Race and Gender Rates
Cathy Renna, Managing Partner
Renna Communications*
www.rennacommunications.com
Washington, DC | New York, NY
917.757.6123 cell
Subject: NEW STUDY: RATE OF ANTI-GAY EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION SIMILAR TO
RACE AND GENDER RATES
UCLA¹s WILLIAMS INSTITUTE RELEASES NEW STUDY FINDING RATES OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION SIMILAR TO RACE AND GENDER
DISCRIMINATION
For Immediate Release
November 18, 2008
Media Contacts:
M.V. Lee Badgett 310-904-9761 badgett@law.ucla.edu
Brad Sears 310-794-5279 sears@law.ucla.edu
Christopher Ramos 310-206-0883 ramos@law.ucla.edu
LOS ANGELES Today the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law
reported that laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the
workplace are used as frequently by LGBT workers as laws prohibiting sex and
race discrimination are used by women and people of color. Currently,
twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; thirteen of those states
also prohibit gender identity discrimination.
Analyzing employment discrimination complaints filed with state agencies in
states prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination, the study finds 5 out
of 10,000 LGBT people in the workforce file sexual orientation employment
discrimination complaints each year, compared to sex discrimination
complaints filed by 5 out of 10,000 women in the workforce and race
discrimination complaints filed by 7 out of 10,000 people of color in the
workforce.
³Our analysis directly questions the popular argument that sexual
orientation anti-discrimination laws are unnecessary² noted study co-author
M.V. Lee Badgett, research director at the Williams Institute, ³they are
needed and utilized by the LGBT workforce.²
The report also addresses any worry that expanding employment discrimination
to LGBT people would overwhelm state and federal agencies. Given the size of
the LGB population and the filing rates of LGB people, any increase in
complaint intake would be negligible.
Christopher Ramos, a researcher who also worked on the study, pointed out
that in eight states sexual orientation claims surpass sex claims; the same
is true for three states when compared to race claims. ³Clearly, LGBT
employees are not only facing a certain level of discrimination, but also,
taking advantage of protective state policies.²
In 2007, a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act made a historic
passage through the U.S. House of Representatives, which would have
established sexual orientation as a federally protected class.
Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Institute, noted that over
3.1 million LGBT adults live in states that do not provide this protection
from discrimination in the workplace. ³As the debate surrounding the
necessity of LGBT workplace protections begins again in Congress we must
keep in mind the fragile economic position of these LGBT employees and their
families.²
The full report is available at
http://www.law.ucla.edu/WilliamsInstitute/home.html
<https://mail.law.ucla.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.law.ucla.edu
/WilliamsInstitute/home.html> .
Popularity: 7% [?]
Trans Indians Under Assualt
By: DOUG IRELAND | Gay City News
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Trans actress Karpaga is set to star in D. Sivakumar’s “Paal.” | |
As India’s gays, lesbians, and gender nonconformists struggle for legal recognition of their civil rights and the end to their criminalization, an ugly two-day incident of police violence against hijras - as the transgenders are known - and LGBT activists in the south-eastern city of Bangalore, the nation’s third largest, illustrates their continued tenuous position in the world’s second most populous country.
According to reporting from the Times of India, the country’s newspaper of record, and other local media as well as an October 24 press release from Bangalore’s Campaign for Sexual Minorities Rights (CSMR), the incident began on the morning of October 20, when five hijras were arrested and charged - “falsely,” says the CSMR - with “wrongful restraint” and “extortion” for begging. Although arrests of hijras for public begging are commonplace, and usually lead to them being sent to a “beggars colony,” the use of the extortion charge allowed police to hold them, without bail, at a local police station.
While they were in custody, said CSMR, “In the station Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) H.T. Ramesh beat one of them with a lathi [a long, thick police baton], breaking her bangles and other jewelry and making her bleed. Another hijra was forced to clean the floor of the police station.”
Popularity: 7% [?]
Bishops want Special Homo-Liturgy
From the New Year, the new gender-neutral marriage law will come into force, but the church has not decided upon a special liturgy for homosexuals who enter into marriage.
“Adopting a new liturgy is now urgent. This is something that applies to many in the church, and for some of us it is starting to be a matter of conscience,” says the bishop to NRK.
At the annual Church Meeting this year, time has not been allotted to discussing how priests should relate to the gender-neutral law. As of today, it is up to each priest whether or not to perform consecration prayers.
Jørgensen says that it is important for homosexuals to feel that they are met in the same way as heterosexuals in the church, and that they therefore should have their own liturgy.
“In this way, homosexual matrimony is recognized, and homosexuals are received in a way that is honourable and shows equality,” he says. The bishop hopes that the church council will now deal with the liturgy issue, so that work can be started on forming the liturgy at next year’s Church Meeting.
Popularity: 7% [?]
WI: Gay Arts Group Sues Milwaukee for Discrimination
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A gay arts group has sued the city of Milwaukee in federal court for violating its free speech rights three years ago when officials shut down a musical revue featuring nudity.
The city temporarily shut down performances of “Naked Boys Singing!” in August 2005 while it considered the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center’s application for a theater permit. The group later received a permit and reopened the show.
Larry Dupuis, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, which is handling the case, said the city’s enforcement seemed unusually zealous, even given the musical’s content.
“I think the title made it kind of controversial,” Dupuis said. “But of course, `The Full Monty’ has nudity in it, and that doesn’t get it threats to shut it down.”
The lawsuit, filed Monday, says the city ordinance is unconstitutional because it gives officials “unbridled discretion” over when permits must be obtained and how applications will be handled. It also says the law could be used to restrict certain viewpoints.
Popularity: 6% [?]
