In Africa, A Step Backward On Human Rights

TransGriot Note: From a March 12 op-ed in the Washington Post

by Desmond Tutu

Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity -- or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.

It is time to stand up against another wrong.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.

Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi.

These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.

Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.

And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God.

"But they are sinners," I can hear the preachers and politicians say. "They are choosing a life of sin for which they must be punished." My scientist and medical friends have shared with me a reality that so many gay people have confirmed, I now know it in my heart to be true. No one chooses to be gay. Sexual orientation, like skin color, is another feature of our diversity as a human family. Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who is excluded, from the circle of his love?

The wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice


The writer is archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.

Loudoun County VA Latest To Add GLBT Employmemt Protections

After a heated discussion full of the usual Republican lies and scare tactics, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted on January 5 in favor of adding language to the county’s equal employment opportunity policy not permitting the government to base its hiring or firing practices on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles), the maker of the motion, explaining he heard from several members of the community on the matter and thought it was time to include the language in county policy.

After learning his proposal would not be welcomed by all of his fellow board members, he added: “It’s a shame anyone would put energy into resisting this.”

Before the vote, Loudoun’s EEO policy made no mention of sexual preference, but only said the county did not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, age or disability. Also, it was learned during the meeting that the county has never received a complaint on the language not being part of the policy, and that sexual orientation was already not considered in employment matters, though it was not spelled out.



The 6-2-1 vote split along political lines, with the most outspoken conservative on the board, Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), voicing his opposition the loudest, accusing Miller of “sneaking” in the proposal without public input.

“Cross-dressing rights: that’s what we're talking about at this meeting,” Delgaudio said, his voice rising as he gestured toward Miller. “This would put men who wear dresses in county bathrooms without public notice!”

He went out to accuse Miller of having a liberal agenda, while saying that his proposal was a “kick in the teeth” to "moral people."

“This is freaky. This is bizarre. This is fruity!” he concluded.

A proposal by Delgaudio to schedule a public hearing on the matter was rejected.

Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run), who called the matter politically driven, also voted against Miller’s proposal, citing a ruling in 2007 by former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore that the Fairfax County school board needed permission from state lawmakers to enact a similar policy.

“This issue needs some additional review and exploration,” she said. “You are inviting lawsuits unless you have firm, legal footing.”

In 2006, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) made an executive order barring state agencies from discriminating against people based on sexual orientation.

Waters said she wanted the county to first consult with Virginia’s incoming conservative attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli (R) before proceeding. That request was also rejected by a majority of the board.

Chairman Scott York (I-At large) was the only board member to abstain from the vote, explaining that the matter was never an issue until Miller brought it up. “It was a waste of 20 minutes,” he said of the discussion.

As for the proposal’s backers, many said the change is evidence that Loudoun is open to everyone.

“We are sending a message today that discrimination will not be tolerated in the Loudoun County government,” said Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac).

Board Vice Chairman Susan Klimeck Buckley (D-Sugarland Run) said the change puts on paper what is already happening—that no one is being turned away for the company they keep.

“This codifies existing practice,” she said. “We already don’t discriminate. We are just putting words to it.”

And thank you Loudoun County, VA for doing so.

California LGBT Prisoner Safety Bill Passes Crucial Assembly Committee

I talked about a bill last year designed to help protect GLBT prisoners that passed in the California Assembly and the California Senate, but was vetoed by the Governator.

I was advised by Jay Davis of Equality California that the bill, AB 633 was recently reintroduced for this session and on January 12 passed by a unanimous 6-0 vote in the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety.

AB 633 is sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco). The bill is designed to prevent violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the state prison system. The bill was vetoed by the Governor last year but was recently reintroduced.

“We must put an end to the brutal assaults LGBT prisoners so often face,” EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors said. “Passing this bill would be an important step toward preventing violence against LGBT prisoners and ensuring they have access to the same safeguards under the law as other inmates. We have already started discussions with the Governor's office about why this bill is needed and why the current procedures are not working. We are hopeful he will reconsider his position and sign the bill if it passes this year.”

According to a study by UC Irvine commissioned by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 69 percent of transgender inmates report sexual victimization while incarcerated.

It's not just a California problem. Abuse of transgender prisoners happens across the country and around the world to the point where trans prisoners have to be segregated for their own protection. In Italy a transgender only prison was just opened in the town of Pozzale.

By amending the Sexual Abuse in Detention Elimination Act (SADEA) of 2005 to include self-reported safety concerns related to sexual orientation and gender identity on the list of factors for consideration when classifying and housing prisoners, the legislation promotes safety for and prevents assaults against LGBT people in the prison system. The list of factors currently includes age, type of offense and prior time served.

"All people deserve basic protections — including those serving time in our state prisons," Assemblymember Ammiano said. "No prisoner should fear for his or her life or be the target of abuse because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity."

The bill originally developed following a Senate Public Safety Committee meeting held in San Francisco in December 2008 and is chaired by Senator and former Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles). The meeting, which was sponsored by EQCA along with Just Detention International, the Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender, Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project, exposed the dire issues facing LGBT people in California prisons in order to produce concrete solutions. The LGBT Prisoner Safety Act is an important step toward ensuring the safety of this highly vulnerable population.

Let's hope the bill fares better in this California legislative session than it did last year and actually becomes law.

DC Set To Vote For Marriage Equality Bill

Despite the best efforts of Bigot Harry Jackson, Jr., the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the District of Columbia City Council is set to give the city's gay residents an early Christmas present and become the first jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line to approve marriage equality.

The bill cleared its final hurdle on November 10 when it passed out of committee on a 4-1 vote. The committee also stripped language out of the bill that would have eliminated domestic partnerships and broadened the religious exemption.

While there are few roadblocks left for opponents to prevent its passage, it's not like they haven't been busy trying. The Washington DC Ethics Board quashed two attempts by Bigot Harry Jackson's Stand4MarrageDC group to stop it citing the city's 1977 Human Rights Act and its prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The Ethics Board also cited the same sexual orientation discrimination prohibition when it denied a request by Jackson's group to place a referendum on gay marriage on the ballot.

Meanwhile, at the NOM ranch, they were trying to work the Capitol Hill angle in terms of suppressing the soon to be passed law. Congress has 60 days to review laws passed by the District Council, but even NOM Executive Director Brian Brown, commented in the Washington Post, "It's a difficult thing for Congress to actually overturn a law in the District."

And of course, in the public commentary on the bill, the haters were in full effect.



While Councilmember David Catania's bill would not require religious organizations to perform gay weddings, the Catholic Church has reacted in a thuggish manner.

The Catholic Church has threatened to shut off programs serving Washington's poor and homeless if the city does not include an exclusion that would allow individuals, including private business owners, to refuse to provide goods and services related to the nuptials of gay couples.

That threat was decried by the Democratic governors of Maryland and Virginia, who both happen to be Catholic. It also had the opposite effect of hardening the DC Council's resolve to pass the measure.

The bill is supported by ten of DC's thirteen council members, so its chances for passage look excellent barring some Twilight Zone level shenanigans. Mayor Fenty has already stated he would sign it, and the Democratically controlled Congress is not inclined to interfere with it either.

We'll see in a few hours if the District of Columbia City council says 'I do' to same gender marriage.

Bishop Yvette Flunder Speaks At 2009 Creating Change

Thanks to my good friend Louis Mitchell, I became aware of Bishop Yvette Flunder and her 'radically inclusive' City of Refuge Church in San Francisco.

Here's the video for your viewing pleasure of her speech at the 2009 Creating Change conference in Oakland.

Haters Lose In Kalamazoo! GLBT Rights Law Passes!

Haters lose Haters lose!

With all 19 precincts reporting, the Forces of Intolerance were handed another crushing defeat as they sought to use their reprehensible tactics to attempt to overturn Ordinance 1856.

Just as the voters of Gainesville, FL did earlier this year, 62 percent of Kalamazoo voters approved Ordinance 1856 by a vote of 7,671 in favor to 4,731 against. This margin is larger than the number of outstanding absentee ballots that are currently being counted.

The passage of this ordinance adds protections for gay and transgender people to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance.

In addition, the mayor and the six members of the Kalamazoo City Commission who voted to unanimously pass the law back in June were all reelected.

“Our campaign started with a very basic idea, and today voters confirmed that we are One Kalamazoo,” One Kalamazoo campaign manager Jon Hoadley said in a written statement.

But the bottom line is that the rights of minorities should NEVER have to come up for a vote in the first place. Maybe our side needs to push a constitutional amendment to ban the practice.

The fair minded voters of Kalamazoo, MI have spoken and handed the bigots another bitter defeat. The politicians who voted for it all got reelected.

Thanks, Kalamazoo.

Fairness 10th Anniversary

This weekend those of us in the Louisville GLBT community will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of the passage of our inclusive GLBT protective rights ordinance we call the Fairness Ordinance.

The Fairness Ordinance was passed by the Louisville Board of Aldermen.on October 12, 1999. It was groundbreaking at the time because it not only was the first time a GLBT rights laws passed in a Southern city, it was also inclusive as well. The sad trend at the time was to cut transpeople out of them and pass them for gay and lesbian people only.

Ten years later the sky hasn't fallen in 'Sodom on the Ohio' as our Reicher opponents call the city. Two other Kentucky cities, Lexington and Covington have their own GLBT rights laws on the books as well, and Lexington's passed on a 12-3 vote.

But not everyone in Kentucky has these protections. The task is to pass a statewide law so that all GLBT people within the state can enjoy the same rights as the people residing in Louisville, Lexington and Covington do.

White Gay Peeps, Back The Hell Up Off President Obama

One of the things I'm alarmed about is increasingly hearing from the African American acquaintances around the country I talk to, various Black GLBT people and family members who know that I interface with the GLBT community is escalating anger in the Black community over the continued attacks on President Obama.

What's feeding that anger? Hmm, where do I start?

*The Black community is still pissed over the displays of overt racist behavior and being blamed for the Prop 8 loss in California.

*We also haven't forgotten that many of the president's white gay critics were Hillary supporters.

*We remember that many white gay people unfairly attacked the President BEFORE he even entered office in January by proclaiming him as the 'worst president ever on gay rights.'

The one good thing about the Maine marriage fight is that if a loss happens there (and I pray it doesn't) you won't have Black people to blame for it since we're only 1% of the population there.

But with the President in the process of having to clean up the eight years of toxic waste from the Bush misadministration, extricate us from two wars, shut down the Dick Cheney Memorial Torture Prison in Guantanamo, Cuba, get a Supreme Court nomination through the Senate, pass health care reforms, repair and restore our battered national image around the world along with other myriad challenges he's faced since assuming office January 20, it's seen by many Blacks as selfish whining in the context of the major challenges that this country faces when you holler "Obama isn't doing anything for us', "He's all talk and no action' or 'I want (marriage equality/DOMA repeal/DADT repeal) now.'.

Hell, I and other transpeople since 1994 have wanted a trans inclusive ENDA and hate crimes passed. Thanks to you peeps who fought it like right wingers opposing your marriage rights I'm STILL waiting for that to happen.

May I also remind you that Black people have been waiting for full equality for over 200 years now.

I'm also tired of seeing the bullshit meme from white gays online that Black people hate them and don't care about GLBT rights.

No, what Black people hate is you white gays acting like spoiled brats and being called 'racist' or 'homophobic' when Black people of all stripes call your asses out on it. It's not 'racist' to state the fact that President Obama's critics in the gay community are predominately white gays. Deal with that reality.

And oh yeah, pick up a Sociology book and learn the difference between racism and prejudice. Racism=prejudice plus power.

POC's calling out whites for their behavior isn't racist. Only people who wallow in vanilla flavored privilege and conservative white males believe that.

Black GLBT people are especially sick of it. In addition to being stuck uncomfortably in the middle between the white gay community and our fellow African descended citizens when you do that, our votes, money and support of Obama helped put him in the Oval Office along with the votes of Black, Latino/a and progressives of all stripes.

It's also starting to piss off the middle class Black people whose support GLBT people cannot afford to lose. You still have much to atone for in the Prop 8 aftermath and much bridge building to do in the African-American community. Constantly attacking a still immensely popular president in our community who has only been in office ten months is seen as unfair by the Black community and it's not politically smart either.

He gets enough crap from the 'white' wing and so many death threats a day the Secret Service can barely keep up with it, and you vanilla flavored GLBT peeps are complaining he hasn't done enough for the 'gay community'?

Buy a fracking vowel and get a rainbow clue. Last time I checked, the gay community was not made up exclusively of white gay people. We're getting tired and fed up with you vanilla flavored privilege wielding GLBT peeps not only attacking our community and conveniently ignoring the fact that Black GLBT people not only exist, but we chocolate flavored GLBT peeps have a diametrically opposed view of how President Obama is doing.

The Black GLBT community is also concerned that your constant attacks are not only pissing our people off and alienating our African American cis and straight allies, you are making our job much tougher in the African American community to make the case why they should support and fight for these issues.

The reality is that Bush left the Obama Administration him a toxic mess to clean up and the man has his hands full. If the rest of us and Stevie Wonder can see that, what's wrong with y'all?

And spare me any spin lines in subsequent commentary of 'you're saying we're 'racist' for attacking President Obama or we can't criticize him.

You can criticize him all you want, but free speech cuts both ways. If you're going to loudly defend your First Amendment right to criticize the president, don't get huffy when I use my First Amendment rights to call y'all out for going overboard on your criticism of President Obama and state the obvious fact about the color of his GLBT critics. Getting mad and attacking Black and other POC critics with the 'racist' and 'homophobic' label because we did so isn't smart either.

Renee's Rule applies to this critique. If it ain't about you, don't make it about you. The people who I'm directing this critique at know who they are.

But seriously, white GLBT peeps. Don't get this twisted. I'm someone who has been in this fight with you for over a decade. I'm a marriage equality supporter and support the repeal of DOMA and DADT, but I also realize that the president can't sign bills to do precisely that unless congress PASSES the legislation. Executive orders can be overturned by the succeeding president as Bill Clinton did to Daddy Bush, Junior did unto Clinton and now Obama is now doing to George W. Bush.

I'm also a proud African descended transwoman who has her antennae up in the Black community, and the chatter I'm hearing is alarming. You can either heed the warning I'm passing along in this post and take the necessary steps to correct this perception problem or dismiss it at your political peril.

But y'all really need to back the hell up off President Obama and give him the time he needs to be the president we believe and know he can be.

Obama HRC Speech

President Obama became the second president to speak to the Washington DC HRC dinner tonight, and here's the speech.








The sniping has already started amongst white gays and lesbians.

I'll give it a day before I comment on it.

Woody's To Face Boycott

One month after Woody's owner David Scott apologized for racist and sexist remarks hurled at U of L professor Dr. Kaila Story and a group of GLBT students at his bar, he once again hurled racist statements at a different group of bar patrons.



This time, the Fairness Campaign, our local GLBT organization will be calling for a boycott at 4 PM Tuesday. It will also be discussed at the Dismantling Racism forum to be held at the Fairness Campaign office at 6 PM Wednesday.

Here's the press release from the Fairness Campaign.

***

On the night of Monday, September 21, just one month after Woody’s Tavern owner David Norton’s public apology for racist and sexist remarks made one year earlier, Mr. Norton launched another tirade of prejudice and hate against customers in his bar. According to witnesses, a bar patron lifted the corner of a pool table to dislodge balls stuck inside, which prompted a yelling spree from Mr. Norton, who ultimately chased every patron out of his establishment. As he ejected them, he yelled after patrons, calling them “trashy faggots,” and then, referring to a group of African American patrons, stated, “Look at their skin color. You know what’s on the tip of my tongue.” Following these incidents, the Fairness Campaign Coordinating Committee has approved a public boycott of Woody’s Bar and Tavern, supported by the organizations listed below.

blkout
commonGround
Fairness Campaign
Jobs With Justice
Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
University of Louisville Office of LGBT Services, Brian Buford, Director
W.E.N.C.H.
WIT (Women In Transition)

“Mr. Norton has now proven that not only was his public apology of a month ago empty, but that he refuses to change,” shared Fairness Campaign Director Chris Hartman. “We, at the Fairness Campaign, believe a stand must be made against this series of injustices, which will undoubtedly persist if Mr. Norton continues to operate his business. We demand Mr. Norton cease ownership and operation of Woody’s Tavern, or, if he will not, that its doors close.”

The Fairness Campaign and its supporters will regularly flyer potential bar patrons and the surrounding community to educate them about the boycott and encourage their participation. A public forum discussing these incidents and the public boycott is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28 at the University of Louisville. The boycott will also be discussed at the Fairness Campaign's monthly "Dismantling Racism" dialogue, Wednesday, October 7, 6PM at the Fairness office.

The Magnolia Bar and Grille, currently owned by Mr. Norton, will not be included in the boycott, as Fairness leaders have received report of its ownership changing this month. If, by the end of October, the Magnolia Bar and Grille ownership has not changed, it will be included in the boycott effort.

Not Feeling The Equality March

We are guaranteed equal protection by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. Free and equal people do not bargain for or prioritize our rights, so we are coming to DC this October 10-11 to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Now.

The march is not our final destination. It is our first step toward building a national grassroots network that will continue organizing until we have achieved full equality.

The Equality March is fast approaching. It's amazing how fast this has been put together, the number of sponsors compiled, and the long list of prominent activists, GLBT bloggers and organizations that have declared their support for the march that will take place October 11-12 in our nation's capital.

You'll notice that I'm not one of them.

I think the Equality March is a good idea. I just question its value and whether it will achieve its goal of full equality.

It also depends on what the organizers definition of 'full equality' is as well.

There's a group in Kalamazoo, MI battling the Forces of Intolerance that could use some major help, volunteers and cash in keeping their GLBT law on the books.

But what do you see when you click on the NEM website? Links to the No on 1 Maine campaign and none to One Kalamazoo.

So as I suspect, I'm anticipating and willing to put money on is that the majority of the messages we'll hear on that day will overwhelmingly pertain to and be about marriage equality.

That has led to my ambivalence about this march.

My ambivalence is fueled by several factors. It's being timed for a weekend in which Congress is on a holiday recess. Translation; there will be no congrescritters in town.

I understand the planners wanted to mark the 30th anniversary of the first national march on Washington for LGBT Rights and National Coming Out Day. But we have pending ENDA and hate crimes legislation being considered in Congress right now that could have benefited from a swarm of GLBT citizens hitting the Hill to speak to congressmembers about it

It's legislation that unlike marriage equality will benefit a wide spectrum of the GLBT community.

It is diverting scarce community financial resources in the midst of a recession.

“We will continue this fight in every state, in every county, every city and every town, but we are now determined to take this fight to the federal government, to our President Barack Obama, to the Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States.”

NEM organizer Cleve Jones, May 31, 2009, Fresno, California

Reading that quote, noting the action alert on the NEM website soliciting support of Rep. Jerrod Nadler's DOMA repeal bill and the silence on ENDA and hate crimes legislation has only crystallized that impression, not dispelled it.

“The Constitution’s promise to all citizens certainly extends to LGBT Americans-particularly the Fourteenth Amendment’s promise of equal protection of the laws.” President Barack Obama

While I agree with the concept of emphasizing the 14th Amendment to overturn anti- GLBT laws, I think the major thrust of this movement should be a cause that covers the broadest section of our coalition, securing ENDA and hate crimes legislation.

Marriage equality, while its a laudable goal, doesn't meet that test.