LGBT Rights and Politics
Gov. Schwarzenegger Shouldn't Diss Harvey Milk. Again.
Published August 20, 2009 @ 07:31AM PT
Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed an effort to create a state-sponsored "Harvey Milk Day," which would honor the late politician's legacy and advocacy for equal rights. At the time, Gov. Schwarzenegger said that Milk wasn't a well-known enough figure to merit his own state day, and that instead activists should honor him on a local level. This year, efforts are underway to create a statewide "Harvey Milk Day" again, but the Governor's reasoning that Milk isn't "well-known enough" won't fly this time around. Not in the wake of Milk receiving a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom. Not in the wake of a major Hollywood movie that won several Oscars. Not in the wake of tens of thousands of people urging the Governor to support the creation of "Harvey Milk Day."
Still, despite all of that, Gov. Schwarzenegger may just veto the effort again. And that's not only unreasonable, it's also wrong.
Equality California (EQCA) put out a petition yesterday that quoted California's Secretary of Education, who sent a letter urging the Governor to veto the bill that would create a Harvey Milk Day. The letter reads in part, "As you know, the Governor vetoed a substantially similar bill last year. The veto message stated that Harvey Milk's contributions should continue to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions. Since this bill is nearly identical, the veto message remains applicable."
But unless the Secretary of Education has been living under a rock this past year, the reasons that "Harvey Milk Day" was vetoed last year are outdated and no longer applicable. Milk's profile, and his legacy as a champion for equal rights, have perhaps never been higher. It would be wrong at best, and completely foolish at it worst, for Gov. Schwarzenegger to make the same mistake this year and veto efforts to keep Milk's legacy in the spotlight.
As Harvey Milk once said, "I fully realize that a person who stands for what I stand for, an activist, a gay activist, becomes the target or the potential target for a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or very disturbed with themselves." Here's hoping the Governor isn't afraid of standing by the side of someone who fought hard for equal rights.
The Guy Who Gave us George W. Bush Might Also Help Give us Nationwide Gay Marriage
Published August 19, 2009 @ 06:57AM PT
The federal court case challenging California's Proposition 8 gets its first day in court today, although the drama won't be between folks who support marriage equality and folks who don't. Instead, a Judge will decide whether a group of LGBT organizations and the City of San Francisco can join power lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies in their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8.
There's more on the internal dynamics of this case over at Law Dork (one of the best LGBT legal blogs around). Today's NY Times has a profile on one of the lawyers who originally brought the case - Ted Olson. Olson is an interesting character to a lot of folks. He's a renowned conservative legal practitioner, who not only has a picture of Ronald Reagan hanging proudly in his office, but was the man responsible for arguing on George W. Bush's behalf during the 2000 Bush v. Gore U.S. Supreme Court case. Seems like a funny person to be championing the fight for marriage equality, given that President GWB wanted a constitutional amendment banning it.
But as Olson tells the NYT, people need to look deeper at who he is, rather than what his career might be. “For conservatives who don’t like what I’m doing, it’s, ‘If he just had someone in his family we’d forgive him,’ ” Olson said. “For liberals it’s such a freakish thing that it’s, ‘He must have someone in his family, otherwise a conservative couldn’t possibly have these views.’ It’s frustrating that people won’t take it on face value.”
What is the face value here? Well, as Olson puts it, he has long been troubled by discrimination against LGBT people. According to the ABA Journal, "He sees his stance as consistent with his view that the government should not discriminate."
Olson's profile in the NYT is a fascinating read. Whatever stereotypes you might have of a man who led the fight against affirmative action and who counseled members of President Bush's administration in the wake of September 11, this is still a lawyer who has won 44 out of 55 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Should this case make it that far, it may become his most important case ever.
Michele Bachmann Hints at Running for President
Published August 18, 2009 @ 01:46PM PT
As if Rick Santorum floating his name out there for the Republican Presidential nomination weren't enough. Now another anti-LGBT politician is hinting that someday, she might like to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That person is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), a rather right-wing politician who said that gay marriage is the single biggest threat the United States has faced in the past thirty years.
*shudder* And many thought the last eight years were a nightmare.
Rep. Bachmann told World Net Daily (WND) that she pictures herself as the ultimate political underdog, and could see her taking her fighter status all the way to the Oval Office. That is, if the Lord Jesus Christ told her to run for President. And we're not making that up.
"If I felt that's what the Lord was calling me to do, I would do it," Bachmann told WND. "When I have sensed that the Lord is calling me to do something, I've said yes to it. But I will not seek a higher office if God is not calling me to do it. That's really my standard. If I am called to serve in that realm I would serve."
Could somebody please get on the phone with the Lord and ask him not to place any phone calls to Michele Bachmann?
Bachmann has made a name for herself in Congress by blaming Democrats for Swine Flu, for saying that Jesus (and not Nancy Pelosi) could save the planet from global warming, for boycotting the 2010 U.S. census, and for supporting a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Of course, before Bachmann plans any nationwide runs for office, she has to get through what will likely be the toughest re-election of her life in 2010.
Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq
Published August 17, 2009 @ 07:32AM PT
What's it like for LGBT people in Iraq? According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the current condition facing Iraq's LGBT population can be best summed up by the title of their new report: "They Want Us Exterminated."
The report is out today, drawing light on a story that for years has been a tragic side note to the U.S. War in Iraq. After the topple of Saddam Hussein's regime, violence toward LGBT people skyrocketed, with members of the LGBT community (or those perceived to be LGBT) being tortured, assaulted, arrested, detained, killed, and shot in the face and left to die.
The situation is so bad that U.S. Congressman Rep. Jared Polis (himself openly gay), had to a pen a letter to the Obama administration urging them to look into widespread violence committed toward Iraqi LGBT people. An underground railroad, so to speak, has formed led by the British group Iraqi LGBT, which seeks to help LGBT people in the country flee from safe house to safe house, until they land in a country less brutal toward its LGBT population.
HRW continues that bleak picture with testimony from survivors that says LGBT people are being massacred in the country. According to HRW, "While the country remains a dangerous place for many if not most of its citizens, death squads started specifically singling out men whom they considered not "manly" enough, or whom they suspected of homosexual conduct. The most trivial details of appearance-the length of a man's hair, the fit of his clothes-could determine whether he lived or died."
Disgusting. And it doesn't stop there.
"The killers invade the privacy of homes, abducting sons or brothers, leaving their mutilated bodies in the neighborhood the next day. They interrogate and brutalize men to extract names of other people suspected of homosexual conduct. They specialize in grotesque and appalling tortures: several doctors told Human Rights Watch about men executed by injecting glue up their anuses. Their bodies have appeared by the dozens in hospitals and morgues," the report says.
Even more frightening is that no one knows how many men have been killed, since most of the murders happen with impunity and a massive failure of authorities to investigate. Researchers told HRW that it's likely hundreds of men who have been killed.
Hundreds of people, slaughtered because of their sexuality. In a country that receives a whole lot of money from the United States. Feel like sounding off on that? Head on over and sign this action, urging the Obama administration and Congress to accelerate efforts to investigate this type of disturbing behavior.
You can read the full report here. And for more information on the concerted efforts of the international community to get LGBT people out of Iraq, check out Iraqi LGBT.
Practicing Pink Diplomacy
Published August 16, 2009 @ 01:03PM PT
Pink Diplomacy. Noun. The practice of using a state's international heft to fight for equal rights for LGBT people around the globe. Example: The UK's Foreign Ministry office is is championing a controversial drive to fund equal-rights activists in homophobic regimes, known as 'pink diplomacy.'
And if we do say so ourselves, it's a pretty cool new term to make its way into the geopolitical dictionary.
The London Times is reporting that UK Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant, who himself is openly gay, is pushing British consulates around the world to establish programs and/or help fund local organizations that push for equal rights in places where LGBT rights are minimized or non-existent.
Places like Jamaica, where LGBT people are regularly tortured and assaulted by people, where homophobia pervades the reggae culture, and where suspected LGBT people (especially gay men) are regularly detained or arrested for purposes of extortion or blackmail.
Or places like Lithuania, where activists have blasted efforts by the government to censor homosexuality from the media. In fact, bans on publicizing information about homosexuality were lumped in with bans on publicizing how to make a bomb, and glorifying drug use.
Or even places like Iran, where LGBT people are not only prosecuted, they're hung and killed.
Yup, it certainly does seem time for a little pink diplomacy. Foreign Minister Bryant said that any efforts by the British government to combat global homophobia would be done with the intention of tackling discrimination and to help stave off the type of brutality that many LGBT activists face in repressive countries.
"It is completely up to staff in our embassies and consulates around the world to decide the most appropriate and effective way of making our case," Bryant told the London Times. "But we do encourage this important work because British values are based on fair play and the protection of the individual’s freedom. We are not naive about this work. In some places oppressive regimes make it some of the toughest work we do."
That's a sentiment that was similarly expressed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this year, during a swing trip through Europe. While the U.S. (to the best of our knowledge) hasn't pledged any financial support to root out global homophobia, Secretary of State Clinton clearly had international LGBT rights on her radar screen when she addressed a crowd at the European Parliament in March. Clinton told the crowd, "Human rights is and always will be one of the pillars of our foreign policy. And in particular, the persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something that we take very seriously. It is terribly unfortunate that right now in unfortunately many places in the world violence against gays and lesbians, certainly discrimination and prejudice are not just occurring but condoned and protected."
That's a great comment from Clinton. But eventually, it needs to be backed up with action. Both because it's the right thing to do, and because the UK shouldn't be the only country engaging in some pink diplomacy.
Carrie Prejean Hearts Sarah Palin
Published August 16, 2009 @ 05:45AM PT
The Republican Party's new recruitment weapon, Carrie Prejean, was working the crowd at a Young Republican gathering in California this weekend. The former beauty pageant contestant, who made a name for herself by coining the term "opposite marriage" and by saying that while she doesn't hate gay people she just doesn't want to see them in loving relationships, is being tasked by the Republican Party to bring more young people into the fold.
And if Prejean's comments this past weekend are any indication, the young people she's trying to reach are from the Sarah Palin wing of the Republican Party. That wing of the Party certainly showed how influential it was in 2008, losing the Presidential election margins by the widest percentage (for a GOP candidate) since 1964.
Prejean told the Ventura County Star that she looks up to Sarah Palin, and that in turn the former Alaska Governor has been a trusted ally since Prejean became famous for trashing marriage equality. "(Palin’s) been very supportive. I really admire her and look up to her, and I know she’ll do great things," said Prejean.
But are Palin and Prejean really the two messengers that young people want to hear from? Polls show that people under 30 overwhelmingly support marriage equality. But beyond that, more than 53 percent of the country has a negative impression of Sarah Palin. She might be as popular as pie at a bake-off for social conservatives, but if 53 percent of the country thinks your message is poisonous, is it worth holding Palin up as a hero?
Carrie Prejean may have no regrets about her positions on same-sex marriage, which she reaffirmed in talking with folks from the Ventura County Star. "A blessing in disguise," she said of her chance to support marriage discrimination on national television. But placing Prejean at the center of an effort to recruit young voters, when the issue that made her famous runs contrary to the position of most young people in the country, seems a bit foolhardy.
Which could lead one to conclude yet another similarity shared between Prejean and Palin: the more national in profile they get, the less people really like them.
Let Them Serve: Working to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Published August 15, 2009 @ 07:51AM PT
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy is the first veteran from the current Iraq War to serve in Congress. He's also the lead legislator behind efforts to repeal the archaic and discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which prevents openly gay and lesbian soldiers from serving in the U.S. military. For Rep. Murphy, there is one solid, succinct message for the U.S. government: Let gays and lesbians serve.
Rep. Murphy is also the vision behind a new Web site, www.letthemserve.com, which advocates for a full repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In the words of Murphy, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell compromises our military readiness and hurts our national security." The site, while in its infancy stages, includes some powerful narratives from gay and lesbian military veterans who talk about how proud they were to serve the U.S., even though current U.S. policy would exclude them.
Stories like Navy Airman H.K.'s, who notes that it was his dream since childhood to serve the U.S. military. But after two years of service, the lies that H.K. had to tell in order to avoid being "outed" were simply too much, and he took an administrative discharge.
Or stories like Army Specialist D.C.'s, who as a straight ally, notes that all of the soldiers in his battery would have proudly fought next to gay or lesbian troops, if only the U.S. government would allow them to serve.
Straight, gay, lesbian...they all have the same message: it makes absolutely no sense for the U.S. government to continue a policy under which 13,000 qualified troops have been discharged simply on the basis of their sexual orientation. That's why Rep. Murphy created letthemserve.com, and it's why thousands of people have already signed a petition to Congress right here at change.org calling for an end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." (Have you signed yet?)
Here's Rep. Murphy below at Netroots Nation this weekend, calling again for an end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Rep. Murphy puts it all out on the table, saying that he is confident that a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bill will reach the President's desk, and the U.S. military (like more than twenty other militaries around the country, including many of our allies) will be accepting of gay and lesbian troops.
