HIV/AIDS
Five Things Barack Obama Should Tell Pope Benedict XVI About LGBT Rights
Published July 05, 2009 @ 07:09AM PT
On July 10, President Barack Obama will have his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, during an international trip that will take Obama from the Vatican to Ghana to Russia. It's a meeting of two world powerhouses, as one of the most recognizable religious leaders gets introduced to one of the most powerful Presidents on the planet.
The Vatican is billing this meeting as "the opposite of Bush." In other words, they plan to praise Obama's approach to foreign policy, which is much more in line with Catholic Social Teaching, but kvetch about Obama's social policies when it comes to issues like reproductive health or the civil rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. But instead of letting the Vatican frame this meeting, the Obama team could themselves give Pope Benedict XVI a few lessons on progressive values in the 21st century, and why it would benefit the Church to open its arms and its minds a little bit when it comes to the subject of LGBT rights. Here are five things we'd like to see Barack Obama tell Pope Benedict during their upcoming meeting.
It's bad to oppose UN statements decriminalizing homosexuality. Earlier this year, the Obama administration made history when it alllowed the United States to sign onto a United Nations statement calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality. More than 60 countries signed onto this statement, but one region didn't sign on: The Vatican. Not only did they not sign on, they were vehemently opposed to it. That put the Vatican in line with Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and a host of other countries that throw homosexuals in prison, fine them, beat them, assault them, and in many cases, murder them. Here, Obama could give the Vatican a little lesson in morality -- it's bad to oppose UN statements that say to the world "Don't lock up and physically abuse gay people."
The Catholic Church in India is on the wrong side of history. Last week the Delhi High Court in India ruled that the country's laws penalizing homosexuality were on the wrong side of history, and reversed the criminal statute that often times was used to harass, lock-up, and abuse LGBT people in India. Instead of celebrating this decision as a victory for human rights and a key decision in the public health battle against HIV/AIDS, the Catholic Church in India went ballistic, with one Catholic leader in Kerala saying that homosexuals should be "nursed back to normalcy through proper treatment and counseling." Instead of viewing homosexuality as something that can be "treated," Obama could take the opportunity to remind the Vatican that LGBT people make up part of the diverse fabric of the global community, and their existence isn't something that is abnormal or worthy of reparative therapy.
It's OK to be a Democrat and to be Catholic. In U.S. politics, particularly in the 2004 and 2008 elections, there has been a huge effort by radical Catholic groups in the United States - led by the Cardinal Newman Society and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights - to define Catholicism as being incompatible with the Democratic Party. These efforts are largely motivated by the fact that most Democrats tend to be progressive on reproductive health and civil rights for LGBT people. But it's not incompatible to be a Democrat and to be Catholic. In fact, the Catholic Church traditionally (up until the last decade or two) has had a history of progressive politics that runs contrary to many politicians in the GOP: support for eliminating the death penalty, support for policies of peace over war, support for the human rights of immigrants, and support for government leadership in ending poverty. Obama can take this opportunity with Pope Benedict to remind the Vatican of the leadership that Democrats often take in working for the principles inherent in Catholic Social Teaching, and condemn the misleading representations of Catholicism that folks like the Cardinal Newman Society or the Catholic League continue to proffer for political expediency.
Climate change is much worse than homosexuality. During his year-end address in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI compared the threat of climate change to the evil of homosexuality. It was a ridiculous charge and one that did nothing but spread homophobia and misinformation. Obama should remind Benedict that climate change threatens the whole planet, while homosexuality threatens no one.
Let other countries decide how to handle marriage equality. The Vatican has taken a global leadership role in speaking out against same-sex marriage, attacking the government of Spain for enacting same-sex marriage, and going after politicians in Italy who are working to do the same. Obama could tell the Vatican that, regardless of whether they think same-sex marriage is moral or immoral, they should refrain from getting involved in the bedrooms of LGBT people in countries around the world. Moreover, Obama could take a moment to affirm the families of dozens of LGBT people who work for him, and personally tell Pope Benedict that LGBT families foster love, respect and responsibility just as much as straight couples.
India: "It Feels Good to Be Legitimate"
Published July 03, 2009 @ 10:04AM PT
There seems to be a wave of euphoria in India as the news of the Delhi High Court's ruling decriminalizing homosexuality continues to make headlines. As LGBT blogger Rex Wockner noted yesterday, the ruling in India means that "seventeen percent of the GLBT people on the planet were decriminalized yesterday." That's huge.
A number of folks have offered powerful quotes on what this ruling in India means. One of my favorites comes from Sunil Mehra, the former editor of India's version of Maxim magazine. He told the BBC that "it feels good to be legitimate," which is exactly what the ruling by the Delhi High Court did yesterday: it legitimated a population that for so many years was forced to live underground for fear of being arrested, fined, or abused by law enforcement officers simply because of their sexual orientation.
Below we'll include some of our favorite quotes on the decriminalization ruling in India. And we'll start with Mehra.
Sunil Mehra, former editor, India edition of Maxim Magazine: "For many of us the journey from the 377 (Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code defines homosexual acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature") world to a non 377 world is marked by innumerable, significant, intensely personal milestones that someday will constitute the history of a much-maligned minority. Through it all its been an effort to hold one's head high, walk lonely but proud and repeat ad nauseum to oneself: I'm a good man. I love my family. I take care of animals. I do not lie. I do not cheat. I believe in God. I earn my living. I pay my taxes. And it's really my business who I sleep with."
A.J. Hariharan, founder of a gay rights group in Chennai: "This is going to impact the whole country. This will change the lives of millions of gays and lesbians in India."
Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health and an attorney with the Lawyers' Collective in Mumbai: "[The ruling] positively impacts on how services like HIV services will be provided amongst the men having sex with men community. There is a very strong intervention program by the national AIDS Control Organization in India for men having sex with men. But, there are a lot of impediments by the police because of this action. And, that is one of the reasons the Delhi High Court JAS also held that it interferes with the right to health."
Bollywood Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt: "This is a defining moment in the history of free India. No state has the right to tell its citizens when or whom to love. The only 'queer' people are those who propagate hate."
Designer Suneet Verma: "This is a landmark victory. We're a secular nation, and every being should have the right to choose their religion. And also make their sexual choices. This gives us the freedom of making personal choices. I feel the government has given me my dignity and right to choose the way I wish to live. Now, I can live according to my rules. This is a big deal for future generations, they won't live in fear or self-loathing. They can walk with their head held high."
Raising LGBT Voices for Health Fairness
Published June 12, 2009 @ 02:44PM PT
Discussions over health care reform have certainly kicked up a notch over the past few weeks, as the debate over universal health care coverage benefits from the bully pulpit of the Obama administration. Lots of issues get raised when the subject of health care comes up, but all too often the voices of LGBT people are overlooked in the health care debate.
That's where Lambda Legal is stepping in. They've launched a nationwide survey to try and capture of the voices of LGBT people when it comes to the subject of health care. Together with advocates and medical professionals around the country, they are working to develop a platform for health care reform that addresses the issues of LGBT people and people living with HIV.
Click here to take their survey.
Click here to sign their petition to President Obama, calling for any health care reform in America to include full and equal access to all medically appropriate health care without discriminatory restrictions based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, HIV or family status.
The health care debate is an important one for our country to be having. LGBT voices should have a seat at that table to make sure the predicaments faced by our population are heard.
Banning Gay Marriage Increases HIV Infection
Published June 12, 2009 @ 06:48AM PT
Here's your daily dose of Freakonomics. Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta have finished a study that concludes that states that ban same-sex marriage have higher rates of HIV infection. Which means that the public health consequences of denying equal rights to LGBT people could be disastrous.
The two researchers used mathematical models to compare HIV rates to different markers of tolerance for LGBT people. Among those markers included laws and constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Per their research, as tolerance increases, HIV rates decrease.
Coincidence? I tend to think not. Rather, this seems to be another example of how fostering acceptance and equality spills over and has positive side effects for other areas of society. We've already seen how enacting marriage equality financially benefits states. Now it looks like the benefits to public health are also significant.
Here are the key findings from the Emory study:
- The increase in tolerance for LGBT people that occurred from the 1970s to the mid-1990s reduced HIV cases by about one case per 100,000 people;
- Enacting a same-sex marriage ban is associated with an increase in the estimated HIV rate of 3 to 5 cases per 100,000 people;
- For gay men especially, increases in the number of reported “cruisy areas” correspond to a decrease in tolerance and an increase in HIV, indicating social stigma may drive gay men toward riskier “underground” interactions;
- Increases in the number of formal gay establishments like bars, churches and community centers do not correspond to an increase in HIV
Wow, who says that economists have to study boring financial numbers all day? This is pretty cool stuff.
This study should be a welcome addition to the debate over marriage equality in the U.S. Additionally, the study should have implications for dealing with global homophobia. Already I can see parallels between the tenets of this Emory study, and efforts in India (and elsewhere) to decriminalize homosexuality. As activists in India have argued, criminalizing homosexuality only increases the threat of HIV and risky, underground sexual behavior. It also makes sense that banning marriage, or creating an environment where same-sex relationships are viewed with scorn and shame, also increases the risk of insecurity when it comes to public health concerns like HIV.
