Obama Administration and Gay Rights
This is Why We Need an Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Published August 20, 2009 @ 12:06PM PT
Candice Metzler's story sums up just why we need an Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.
Who is Candice Metzler? She's profiled in a Salt Lake City Tribune article today, as is her story which involves being "let go" from a job in the home inspection business after coming out as transgender. And she's just the latest person in Utah - nay, around the country - to lose their job simply because of gender identity or sexual orientation.
According to the Trib, Metzler wanted to let her colleagues know that she was beginning the transition from male to female, and showed up at a company picnic wearing mascara, eyeliner and white-tipped acrylic nails. Three months later, the Trib reports, she was homeless and jobless after the company eliminated her position. The employer said her transgender status was driving customers away.
Currently, there are 38 states that allow transgender people to be fired from their jobs simply on the basis of gender identity. In 29 states, someone can lose their job because of their sexual orientation.
Both of those statistics are unjust, and a sign of backwards progression in the struggle for equal rights. Metzler's story is just the tip of the iceberg. A trans woman in Philadelphia was fired from a company because she refused to provide her employer with a picture of her genitals. In January, a court ruled that a transgender employee in Indiana could legally be fired from a retail store because of gender identity. The list goes on and on.
ENDA would stop workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. There's a version of ENDA in both houses of Congress, and President Obama has vowed to sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk. If you haven't signed the petition on change.org encouraging your legislators to support ENDA, please consider doing so today. Given the fact that people can be fired for who they are in more than half of this country, the time to act is now.
As for Metzler? Tonight she's hosting a forum on transgender issues in Salt Lake City, and she's also studying psychology at the University of Utah. She told the Salt Lake City Tribune that she hopes someday to work with LGBT homeless youth.
Talk about inspiring.
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.
The Ad Campaign that Says AIDS is Washington, D.C.'s "Katrina"
Published August 04, 2009 @ 12:31PM PT
The D.C.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation is taking the staggering statistics about Washington, D.C.'s HIV/AIDS rate, and turning them into an ad campaign that shows how devastating the disease is inside the Beltway. The ad campaign, "AIDS is D.C.'s Katrina," is up and running on dozens of bus shelters throughout the D.C. area, and depicts an image of former President George W. Bush surveying the damage from Hurricane Katrina from the windows of Air Force One. In the foreground, however, a cardboard sign vividly says, "AIDS is D.C.'s Katrina."
Powerful stuff. Especially given the statistics that lie behind the ad. The HIV/AIDS rate in Washington, D.C. is higher than several African countries, at nearly 3% of the total population, and clinics in D.C. have seen a 232% increase in the number of cases they're diagnosing. Those types of statistics certainly deserve and merit a vivid public advertising campaign.
Here's what Michael Weinstein, the head of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, had to say about the campaign:
Katrina quickly came to symbolize the Bush administration's neglect and indifference of some of America's most vulnerable citizens. Today, 56,000 new HIV infections each year in the United States, a 40% increase from last year, symbolizing neglect and indifference -- and the failure of our U.S. HIV prevention efforts.
The fact that Washington, D.C.'s HIV prevalence rate is now higher than some hard-hit African countries is an indictment of how the CDC has failed to lead in HIV prevention efforts. When this news about Washington's HIV rate first broke in March, President Obama remained silent. Despite his silence on AIDS to date, we hope this ad will prod President Obama to act forcefully on AIDS, and we remain hopeful he will be the change that we can believe in -- and urgently need -- on AIDS.
Prodding Obama to change domestic policies related to HIV/AIDS care is also the vision behind a related Web site, changeaidsobama.org, which seeks to use the images in the advertising campaign to pressure the Obama administration into adopting serious policy reforms to address high rates of HIV/AIDS, including overturning a ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs (a pledge Obama made during his Presidential campaign, but one that he's backed off of since taking office).
Click here to view an ad for changeaidsobama.org. Check out their message, and if you agree, check out their action section and send a letter to President Obama asking him to be the "change we can believe in" on HIV/AIDS.
The decimation and destruction of Hurricane Katrina is still being felt four years later. For those suffering from HIV/AIDS, it's been 28 years. In both instances, government response was slow, inadequate, and disastrous.
Obama's "Faith Wrestling" When it Comes to LGBT Rights
Published July 07, 2009 @ 12:25PM PT
Well, count me puzzled here. President Barack Obama, traveling through Russia, Europe and Africa this week, gave a briefing to members of Catholic media in advance of his upcoming meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. In many ways, Catholic media tends to be a heck of a lot closer to the National Review than to The Nation, so it was fairly bold for Obama (seen by many Catholic leaders as someone who contradicts conservative Catholic teachings) to meet with this pool of reporters.
But....
Well, there's always a but when it comes to Obama and LGBT rights, isn't there.
Among the subjects touched on during the rendezvous with the Catholic reporters was the subject of LGBT rights. Here's Obama's comment:
For the gay and lesbian community in this country, I think it's clear that they feel victimized in fairly powerful ways and they're often hurt by not just certain teachings of the Catholic Church, but the Christian faith generally. And as a Christian, I'm constantly wrestling with my faith and my solicitude and regard and concern for gays and lesbians.
Now, there's some juiciness in that statement that is certainly worth celebrating. The fact that Obama said that certain teachings of the Catholic Church hurt LGBT people is remarkable...and something you would never have expected from the myriad of Presidents before him.
But then the triangulation occurs, with Obama throwing conservative religious folks a bone with the line, "As a Christian, I'm constantly wrestling with my faith and my solicitude and regard and concern for gays and lesbians." What type of wrestling are we talking about here, Mr. President?
Because, as far as your religion goes, there shouldn't be that much wrestling. You're a member of the United Church of Christ, a denomination that supports the full inclusion of LGBT people in both the church and society. According to the United Church of Christ's Web site:
For more than 30 years the national setting of the UCC has been on a clear course of welcome and inclusion, calling for serious study of human sexuality, [and] supporting the civil rights of LGBT persons...
Is there something wrong with saying those very lines to members of the Catholic press?
It's a great thing that Obama spoke about LGBT rights from a framework that puts the Church directly at the center of hurtful language and rhetoric targeted toward queer communities. I just wish that instead of saying that his faith is calling him to "wrestle" with how to deal with LGBT people, Obama would have owned that as far as his faith goes, there's no debate needed when it comes to fully supporting the civil rights of LGBT people.
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.
The Anti-LGBT Moments of the Sarah Palin Tornado
Published July 04, 2009 @ 06:53AM PT
Sarah Palin's announcement yesterday that "I'm a celebrity, get me off this oil field," have sent a handful of shockwaves through the political chattering class. Was it a good move? Was it a bad move? Did she mean to say "I'm taking a vacation," but accidentally said "resigning," and now it's too late? Has she decided to run for the Evangelical Christian GOP nomination for President in 2012? Or is she just really looking for a change of scenery (one can only look at Russia from your house for so long...).
Well, whatever the case, it's clear that all of the papers that Sarah Palin reads will certainly be covering her abrupt resignation, and what it means for the future of a politician who thinks that the commitment between and a man and a woman is sacred above anything, but the commitment between a governor and a state's population is disposable.
Whether this turns out to be a political funeral or the beginnings of a political surge, we've got some of the more infamous moments of the tornado that is Sarah Palin's political career, when it comes to LGBT rights. For what it's worth, Alaska is not only losing their governor, but they're also losing one of the more anti-LGBT leaders in the country.
National Coming Out Day Stay in the Closet Day: Despite being urged by civil rights groups like Alaskans Together to officially recognize National Coming Out Day, Governor Sarah Palin refused to acknowledge a day that fosters acceptance of LGBT people. Sure, during her time as Governor she made official proclamations to recognize "Alaska Taiwan Friendship Week," "Christian Heritage Week," and "Biomedical Technician Week," but giving the gays one day where tolerance and understanding are the norm was a bit too much for the Alaska Governor.
Support of Ex-Gay Ministries?: Sarah Palin's hometown church in Wasilla actively promoted the ex-gay ministry "Love Won Out" by posting their ads in weekly church bulletins. These ex-gay therapy groups have been roundly criticized by science, religious leaders and politicians of all stripes, but nonetheless, Palin's own church seemed to preach that homosexuality could be overcome.
Alaska and Traditional Marriage: Though she was just a few years removed from the Bachelor's Degree that took her seven years and four colleges to get, Sarah Palin was a strong proponent of Alaska's 1998 statewide constitutional amendment which banned same-sex marriage. Additionally, Palin told the Anchorage News in 2005 that she supported repealing many domestic partner benefits given to same-sex couples in Alaska, because DP benefits were anti-family.
The Three Amigos - Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and Phyllis Schlafly: They're three of the most anti-LGBT people in the country, and the connection? Michelle Bachmann (who has called global warming a "hoax" and "voodoo," and said that God is blessing the Iraq War) stepped in for Sarah Palin during a anti-choice award ceremony at the Republican National Convention this year. Phyllis Schlafly, the denmother of radical conservatives 'round the country, said that McCain's selection of Palin as a running mate was "terribly smart," at the time. Hmm...wonder what she was saying on November 5, 2008?
Let's Define Marriage Federally: In a break with her running mate John McCain, Palin told the Christian Broadcasting Network in October 2008 that she wished the federal government would follow the lead of states like Alaska and work to ban same-sex marriage. Because fighting two wars and solving an economic crisis deserves to be side-stepped by knocking down marriage equality.....
A "Perversion and Degenerates" Ally: In March of this year, Sarah Palin had the task of choosing an Attorney General for Alaska. Her preferred candidate? Wayne Anthony Ross, a radical right-wing lawyer who has referred to LGBT people as "perverts," "degenerates," and "immoral." Ross also had a resume filled with other star attributes, like defending a KKK art project, and representing nutjobs that harass anti-war protestors.
Sheesh! We could go on and on here about the Governor. But for now her time in the political spotlight is up. Now the question becomes whether this rash decision to leave office bolsters her credentials among the radical right in this country, or shows to even the most diehard conservatives that this is not a stable politician. And the jury is still out on that one.
