Beyond Prop 8: International Queer Rights

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Monday December 15, 2008 · 5:29 PM PST

2008/12/15 · 17:29

"As faith leaders who work every day with LGBT people who feel the stigma of discrimination, this U.N. initiative speaks to our core belief that we show our love for God when we care for our neighbors, particularly those who are shunned and marginalized."

As American queer and allied activists have been in a flurry over the past few weeks with prop 8 related organizing, another equally important development for queer people has emerged.

This month, perhaps this week, France will introduce to the United Nations General Assembly a statement about human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including torture, arbitrary arrest, killings, political, social and economic discrimination and the criminalization of same-sex love.

Let's be clear about this development. The "statement" is not a UN Declaration nor a Resolution, meaning that it will not be binding as international law. Nevertheless, such a move is unprecedented and a sign of how far we've come since the days of Harvey Milk. This pro-LGBT statement comes without the support of the U.S. government, nor has it garnered much interest with LGBT national organizations. Or has it?

theantidesi101

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Friday December 12, 2008 · 3:23 PM PST

2008/12/12 · 15:23

I've been struggling with my thoughts on the recent "Day Without a Gay" protest, which sought to rally LGB (T?, the event didn't seem too trans-inclusive) individuals to step out of their daily activities and commit to a day of volunteering for the queer movement.

Gay rights activist and (hot) professor John Corvino penned a very unique article this week, focusing on his complicated friendship with an employee of Focus on the Family:

Glenn Stanton is a friend of mine. He’s also badly wrong about same-sex marriage, and I tell him so—frequently, publicly, and sharply.

Glenn works at Focus on the Family, a premier organization of the religious right. He and I regularly debate same-sex marriage at campuses around the country... he describes us as "highly unlikely but dear friends." It’s a good description.

John's piece made me think of my own complicated relationships with individuals whom I wouldn't always place as pro-equality.

theantidesi101

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Tuesday December 09, 2008 · 6:43 AM PST

2008/12/09 · 06:43

Lambda Legal has dropped a very juicy quote about the upcoming equal marriage case in the Iowa Supreme Court Case:

Last year County Judge Robert Hanson ruled that [Iowa's ban on same-sex marriage] violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection....

Lambda Legal, which represents the six couples said it is cautiously optimistic the Supreme Court will uphold Hanson’s ruling. Lambda attorney Camilla Taylor noted that the Iowa court traditionally has led the nation on civil rights issues, pointing out that the Iowa justices struck down a ban on interracial marriage more than a century before the U.S. Supreme Court declared such laws unconstitutional.

"This is not even a close constitutional call," Taylor told The Des Moines Register. "If you examine the law in other states, the case law in Iowa is at least as strong, if not stronger. The Iowa Supreme Court has made it clear from its inception that the law includes broader guarantees of equality than federal law.

theantidesi101

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Saturday December 06, 2008 · 12:00 PM PST

2008/12/06 · 12:00

Why this post? The LGBT community has had a rough election year, what with our rights being blocked a la constitutions now in Florida, Arizona and California (as well as our adoption rights taken away in Arkansas). A little laughter is more than called for:

residents of the states where an antigay campaign had just been waged reported higher levels of stress, more negative emotions, and more symptoms of depression... levels of psychological distress had increased significantly among residents of states with a marriage amendment on the ballot...

So here's to those LGBT people in bigoted states!

Enough said, I believe His High Holiness would like to inaugurate the festivities:

theantidesi101

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Saturday November 29, 2008 · 7:58 PM PST

2008/11/29 · 19:58

I'm still adjusting to life outside of a "sexy" state. I grew up in the electoral wet dream of Florida. That state is such a tease for progressives. It's always just around the corner for change, with an influx of new yorkers, new generation of cubans and booming urban bastions.

I was also raised in the Empire State, a land often assumed to be more progressive than it actually is, but nevertheless a blue wonderland in comparison to others. It's electoral votes, though diminishing, is still nothing to sneeze at. We're the land of New York Friggin City for cryin' out loud. The birthplace of the NAACP and Stonewall. We're the state that has the U.S.'s first blind governor, not to mention 1 of only 3 black governors in U.S. history.

Now, in my finals years of college, I find myself dating the constantly used and abused "non sexy" land of Washington D.C. My district is very close to marriage equality, with a vote expected to come up in our D.C. council in as little as 2 months. There are other places, states not named California or New Jersey, where the progress on marriage equality is not yet near critical mass like in D.C., but rather there is a slow, uphill, yet steady climb to equality.

theantidesi101

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Friday November 28, 2008 · 4:29 PM PST

2008/11/28 · 16:29

I don't know why this story caught my eye. Maybe it's that bigots don't pay attention to warning signs that they're behavior is just not going to be tolerated anymore.

A British police officer who sent emails to other officers condemning homosexuality and calling for gays to seek the help of a controversial American Christian group that claims to "cure" gays has been fired for misconduct.

Constable Graham Cogman, 49, accused the Norfolk police of promoting gay rights over religious beliefs. The emails contained biblical quotes and in one mailing said "love the sinner hate the deed" after calling homosexuality "sinful."

I mean honestly, can you imagine having to work with this guy? He's in your office so you feel obligated to open his e-mails lest, if hell froze over, his e-mail actually FOR ONCE was business related.

I think we all have friends who feel the need to forward every youtube link, wingnut rant or conspiracy theory they happen to come across to their entire contact list. This man ranks up there with that elusive "Prince from Nigeria", Viagra ads and webcam hookup requests.

Grab some popcorn, the details will amuse you.

theantidesi101

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Thursday November 27, 2008 · 5:27 PM PST

2008/11/27 · 17:27

This man was the queer movement's Barack Obama.

His watchword was "Come out, come out, wherever you are," and he used tactics those who recently watched Barack Obama’s campaign would easily recognize: register voters, get out the vote, organize relentlessly, empower your volunteers and supporters, and spread a message of hope.

Update This quote is from a beautiful article by Christie Keith over on 365gay.com. I don't just recommend it, I consider it essential reading for any progressive. Please, head over and think Christie for her wonderful literary gift to all of us in memory of Milk.

On Thanksgiving Day, 30 years ago, Harvey Milk was shot dead, assassinated.

theantidesi101

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Wednesday November 26, 2008 · 5:50 PM PST

2008/11/26 · 17:50

Thanks to Affirmation for posting these personal stories

I’m very grateful to have heard from many of the readers about my previous post about the Mormon Church and our movement’s relationship with it. I received many passionate, heartfelt responses, many of which were strongly opposed to my stance, but which I was still grateful to hear from.

As a person of color, I often fight the false choice the LGBT community sometimes forces on me about whether or not my identity as South Asian and my identity as a queer man can co-exist. I feel a special bond with LGBT Mormons because I feel that they also are told by both the Mormon Church and the LGBT community that they’re an oxymoron.

theantidesi101

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Monday November 24, 2008 · 6:12 PM PST

2008/11/24 · 18:12

Of all the tragedies in our nation due to the passage of proposition 8 this year, the most significant loss must indeed be the hardening of attitudes on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate.

While equal marriage activists have largely recognized the groups of Mormons who actively opposed their own churches stance on Prop 8, at a more grassroots level the anti-Mormon vitriol his reached ever higher levels. Many pro-queer individuals see the civil rights of LGBT people sacrificed at the alter of The Mormon Church's political agenda. They feel angry at the Church and its members for causing so much hurt.

Meanwhile, Mormon supporters of Prop 8 and the Church see themselves as under attack and are behaving in a manner in which they seek to be seen as the victims. In their mind, they were simply practicing their democratic rights at the ballot box and as a result are now being intimidated with "scare tactics" by LGBT and allied organizers.

These separate mindsets become narratives in the brains of both pro and anti marriage equality people, respectively. They become such an integral part of ones thought process that it often becomes blasphemy to even recognize the differing opinions of others.

theantidesi101

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Wednesday November 19, 2008 · 11:24 AM PST

2008/11/19 · 11:24

Reflections on the recent protests against Prop 8, the ballot initiative which took away equal marriage rights in California

"It was just a bunch of us, mostly young, spontaneously coming together. Some of the older crowd warned us to go back but we kept on going and dispersing in different directions,"

It was seeing my college office filled to capacity on a Friday evening that made me a believer. See, for anyone who knows anything about college, work and college student are words you do not associate together on a Friday evening. As I entered American University's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & Ally Resource Center that Friday night however, I got a good whiff of marker smell and adrenaline. Before my very eyes were at least 12 or 15 very queer or very allied students making signs for what many of them would be their first protest.

"S8 Against H8"

"So When Do I Get To Vote On Your Marriage?"

I should start with why I was there on a Friday evening in the first place. I'll admit, I had my book club meeting the following week, and I really just wanted a quiet place to cuddle up and embrace my dorky side.

theantidesi101

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Tuesday November 18, 2008 · 12:21 PM PST

2008/11/18 · 12:21

Veterans of WWII were part of what is now known as The Greatest Generation. By veterans, I don't just mean the soldiers, but also the women in the factories, union members and racial minorities that stood up to produce for their country and were rewarded with higher wages and (limited) new opportunities. In a nation's time of moral crisis, ages old glass ceilings were battered, even if they weren't shattered. One's gender or race become lesser questions, as everyone asked how you can provide for your country.

On the battlefield, non-white soldiers stood up in face of one of WWII's most decisive battles:

theantidesi101

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Monday November 17, 2008 · 11:14 AM PST

2008/11/17 · 11:14

Half of life is just showing up. To the thousands who came out to the mall on Saturday to protest prop 8, thank you. I loved seeing all of you and I hope that this is just the beginning for all the real work that needs to be done. We have to remember today, because this needs to happen again, only next we'll be protesting before, not after, the votes are in. We have to recommit to canvassing and phonebanking when it's not sexy to do so.

As my friends recover from this long national election, I'm packing my bags to go to Georgia, where there's still an undecided Senate race. When I get back, the work is not over, Virginia state congressional races are in 2009 and we have to start now. Everything is linked. My work for progressive candidates helps the movement for marriage equality.

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Beyond Prop 8: International Queer Rights

Why I Didn't "Call in Gay"

Equal Marriage in Iowa, Queer Orgs "Cautiously Optimistic"

Week in LGBT Comedy: "My Two Lesbian Moms Can Beat Up Your Six Wives"

Marriage: It's Not Just For The "Sexy" States Anymore

One Small Step For The Queers? Office Etiquette Victory ;)

What I'm Thankful For: Harvey Milk

Hi Reader, Meet The No More Mr Nice Mormons.

My Path To Equality Is Incomplete Without My Mormon Kin

Virgin Encounters With Activism

$4.3 Trillion, Bailout Costs Exceed WWII, Welcome to the "Debtest Generation"

Reflections on D.C.'s Latest Rally for Equality