Gay Activists/Lawyers Attend Groundbreaking Meeting in Africa

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Global Rights, Interights and the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists have just concluded a groundbreaking four-day workshop on legal strategies for promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa. The meeting, the first-ever dialog between lawyers who have worked on litigation related to LGBT rights and African LGBT leaders, was held in Cape Town, South Africa and attended by 45 participants from 11 African countries— Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Participants reviewed key pieces of litigation to document lessons learned. These cases included an unsuccessful challenge to Botswana's sodomy laws in 2003 (Kanane v. Botswana), the prosecutions of 11 gay men in Cameroon in 2006, the arrests of two women in Rwanda on charges related to sexual orientation in 2008, and the ongoing trial of 18 young men in Northern Nigerian on charges of cross-dressing and homosexuality.
A high point of the meeting was the discussion of Ooyo and Mukasa v. Attorney General of Uganda, a case settled in December 2008, in which two transgender activists successfully challenged the unconstitutional invasion of their home and their mistreatment by local police and elected officials. One of the litigants, as well as the lead counsel, key donors, and local organizers from Uganda were present at the meeting.

Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC's new Executive Director was present.

Lawyers, activist leaders and donors attending the meeting acknowledged the importance of impact litigation for repealing sodomy laws and challenging other discriminatory statutes and policies. Such litigation however needs to be situated within the context of local, national and regional LGBT organizing. Participants discussed the need for security for lawyers defending LGBT clients and causes. Many of the lawyers at the meeting had faced attacks on their reputations, attempts at disbarment, and even physical violence.
Participants ended the meeting with a call to create a multi-faceted LGBT legal fund for Africa and a training and support network for African lawyers working on sexual rights cases.

Semen sample confirmed in Peter King case

Government Analyst Dr Judith Mowatt testified yesterday that semen was present around the anal region of 64-year-old ambassador Peter King's body.

The doctor said the semen was deposited recently and she saw the semen on the body when she went to the crime scene on March 20, 2006.

The Crown is alleging that King was murdered in his master bedroom at 11A Waterloo Road, St Andrew, between March 19 and 20, 2006. The body was found with multiple stab and chop wounds on the morning of March 20, 2006.

Sheldon Pusey, 26, is charged with King's murder and he has been on trial in the Home Circuit Court since January 19. Three prosecution witnesses testified that Pusey was at King's house on the afternoon of March 19, 2006.


Crime scene

Dr Mowatt said she collected samples from the crime scene. She said she saw semen on a penal swab which she took from the deceased. She said semen and spermatozoa were also found on the deceased's pubic hair and they were deposited recently. She also found semen and blood on a red bath towel which was on the bed.

Government analyst Sherron Brydson said she received samples which were allegedly collected at the murder scene. She said she conducted tests to ascertain DNA profiles from the samples which contained blood and semen. She said DNA profile could be used to exclude persons from a crime scene.

She said she conducted tests and made comparisons from the blood-stains from a towel allegedly taken from King's bedroom. She came to the conclusion that DNA profiles of the deceased King and Pusey could have been found on the towel.


A note

Yesterday, defence lawyer Berry Bryan brought to the attention of the court a note which one of the jurors in the case had slipped in his bundle during the refreshment break. "Mr Bryan, please have your robe stitched up at the sleeve. It's condition does not behove the professional standard you should exude. An observer."


Tattered robe

When court resumed, Bryan told Senior Puisne Judge Marva McIntosh about the note. He said it was obvious that the person who wrote the note was not aware that in the legal profession senior lawyers whose robes were tattered were accorded a lot of respect. He said the tattered robe was evidence of a lawyer's many years of experience and learning at the Bar.

"It is a gem in the profession when a senior lawyer is seen wearing a tattered gown," a female lawyer told THE STAR yesterday.

Tell Me Pastor "Foot in mouth again"

by Howie

Remember a couple of posts ago (scroll down after this) I hinted that I do not trust this "Tell Me Pastor" column in the Star as I thought it was a front to push and stimulate anti-homosexual views. Well take a look below a letter published today and be the judge.

some questions came to mind:
1. Is this how a pastor really ought to address a correspondence?

2. Does the letter and response look authentic

3. Why have there been so many letters in succession on gay issues and all the answers to them are a flat out rejection and resistance, no element of tolerance, as Christians ought to be?

4. Why would someone go looking for a P.O Box at an actual address? (see letter below)

Maybe you will come up with more questions as you read.

Letter reads as follows:
Dear Pastor,

I have recently visited Jamaica and I wondered if the address box you stated existed at King Street. Because all I could see around the area was buildings left in ruins and desperation. I could not believe what I saw. The murder rates are frightening and are making people scared to visit the island, even for vacation, let alone to live.

While I was in Jamaica, two women were shot in May Pen Market and a man was shot at Bushy Park in May Pen. Sir, what you should be doing is praying for our country that it might become better.

I have found that you gave some very dishonest answers in your column. God created us all, and if He wishes He could have made us all gay or all straight, so who are we to condemn a person who is gay? There are many gay people who really and truly love each other and live happily together, even better than a man and a woman. Who are we to judge others? I am gay and proud of it.

L.S., England

Response
Dear L.S.,

Why be angry with me? I have never condemned anybody, whether they are straight or gay. I quote the Scripture. I speak the truth. It is not my style to condemn anyone. If you disagree with me, that is fine with me. Why be angry?

It seems to me that you do not read very well or you do not read with understanding. You have accused me of publishing an address that doesn't exist. You must be crazy.

For many years the address of my column has been: TELL ME PASTOR, DR. AARON DUMAS, P.O. BOX 188, KINGS STREET, KINGSTON. EMAIL: pastor@Jamaicastar.com. It is to this very address you sent your letter.

If you went up and down looking for number 188 King Street, you would have done so because you are deficient in knowledge. Don't blame me for making a fool of yourself.

I cannot support your lifestyle. You are gay. That is your choice. Why attack me because I do not support your lifestyle? I will pray that God will save you and that you will serve Him will all your being.

Pastor

Song won't make child gay

Below is another response to the post below, letter to the editor (Gleaner) about Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl (and I Liked it)"

Reads as follows:
The Editor, Sir:

To the woman from Spanish Town who had a problem with ZIP-FM playing Katy Perry's song, I Kissed a Girl, have you ever heard the phrase 'live and let live'? Or the Bible quote, 'Let him without sin cast the first stone'?

I am a heterosexual woman with a daughter and I see no problem with the song, even though it has homosexual connotations. Who are you to judge what anyone wants to do in their life?

Hearing that song will certainly not make your daughter gay. It is closed-minded people like you why we as a people cannot move forward in today's society.

If you do not like the song, switch to a different radio station; Jamaica has lots of them.

I am pretty sure the good Lord does not discriminate between who prays to him - gay, straight or transgender so who are you to judge?

I am, etc.,

STACEY BROWN

cey_brown@yahoo.com

Birmingham

England

Katy Perry Song complaint from a letter to the Gleaner

the letter below appeared in the Gleaner regarding Katy Perry's i Kissed a Girl song
(um like soooo late this song has been out so long now)

reads as follows:
The Editor, Sir:

On February 4, at 6:12 a.m. I was listening to Zip 103 FM, and I heard a disturbing selection of music. The selector was playing a song sang by a woman (Katy Perry - I had to look it up) who was singing "I kissed a girl and I liked it".

What is wrong with you people? I don't want my daughter getting remotely familiar with the homosexual undertones of those words. Please keep your lewd music inside the comfort of your own homes. My children often turn to your station and it is songs like these that trigger my protective mode and shut you off (which I did on the morning of February 4).

I love my old-time Jamaican values which do not include homosexuality. Please do not use your station to push the homosexual agenda on my children. I look forward to a public apology from you.

I am, etc.,

MARLENE FOOTE

marlenefoote@yahoo.com

Spanish Town PO


here is a response to this post from a reader we decided to post it,
-from Schifrah
True! better that your daughter listen to "traditional" Jamaican lyrics that promote violence and misogyny:

example 1...Girl ah wanna push on you wit dis ting protruding, youre acting kinda shy, still i will be intruding... (Sizzla)

Example 2....Cock up yuh bumpa a likkle moreCock it up mek mi slam it like a door(Put yuh hands on di floor!!!)Yuh hear mi love it when mi talk to herSplit and spread out like manure ...(Elephant Man)

Example 3. "Oh! Rub up di fat piece a somethin on my willy Long time she tell mi seh she waan mi fi filly " (Capleton)

Um... can someone explain to me why the Kate Perry lyrics are somehow more offensive than these? Nuff said!

UK Home Office is failing HIV+ asylum seekers claims leading charity

A leading charity has said the government is not doing enough to help asylum seekers who are living with HIV or AIDS.

Crusaid revealed that 55% wait more than four years for a Home Office decision on their right to remain. During this time, many of them will lack the basic facilities to maintain their health.

The figures, contained a report sponsored by GlaxoSmithKlein’s Positive Action programme Poverty Without Borders, were released at Crusaid’s second HIV and Poverty conference earlier this week.

Speaking at the conference Neil Gerrard MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary group on Refugees, said:

"I think it is really striking - the change over the years of the number of people who are coming to the Crusaid Hardship Fund who are also in the immigration system.

"This degree of poverty is astounding. Fifty five percent is a shocking percentage and included in that would be people who even according to the regulations as tough as they are, should be getting health care."

The National Audit Office announced this week that asylum applications were taking even longer to process, despite a government pledge to cut turn-around times.

Poverty Without Borders found that the vast majority of asylum seekers living with HIV and AIDS are unaware of their status before they reach this country.

Crusaid said that living in uncertainty and with a new diagnosis, this group can face serious health deterioration whilst they are unable pay for the necessities that would keep them fit.

"I’m afraid, sadly that there is evidence that people who suffer from stigma and discrimination do experience it from healthcare professionals," said Mr Gerrard.

"We are told that this doesn’t happen, but there is evidence that it does. It’s a general problem and it’s not fair to say that it’s out there in the public and the health system is fine, I’m afraid that’s just not the case. There’s a real need for education for people working in healthcare."

The Crusaid Hardship Fund supports some of the most vulnerable people in the UK today living with HIV and AIDS, many of whom have no recourse to any public funds, or the right to work and earn a living.

Priest's killer gets slap on wrist .... 12 year sentence

25-year-old labourer Prince Vale of Tommy Hill district, Stony Hill, St Andrew, who was charged with the murder of Anglican priest Father Richard Johnson was given a slap on the wrist when he was sentenced to 12 years for the murder today. His defense was that the Priest tried to force him into having sexual intercourse.

Supreme Court judge, Norma McIntosh, in sentencing 24-year-old Prince Vale, told him that it was "greed" that landed him in his predicament. The judge said Prince was aware of the priest's sexual preference.

Previous court precedings:
Court hears accused pressured for sex

The details of the alleged intimate acts that took place between a priest and the man accused of murdering him were revealed yesterday in a document which was tendered in evidence and read to the jury.

The revelation was made during the trial of 25-year-old labourer Prince Vale of Tommy Hill district, Stony Hill, St Andrew, who is charged with the murder of Anglican priest Father Richard Johnson.

The priest was fatally stabbed on the night of November 12, 2006, at the Anglican church rectory at Stony Hill.

Deputy Superintendent Roy Boyd testified in the Home Circuit Court yesterday that on November 15, 2006, he interviewed Vale. He said attorney-at-law Arthur Kitchin represented Vale during the interview that was in the form of questions and answers.

Vale said he used to go to the priest's house and they would discuss work and Bible knowledge. He said that they would telephone each other as well.

Vale said during the interview, that on previous occasions when he went to the rectory, he and the priest watched television in the bedroom. He said they also watched 'blue movies'.

Questioned as to whether the priest had ever said anything to him about having sex, Vale said "yes". The accused man further said that the priest had asked him if mi could have sex with him, which he refused.

Vale told the police during the interview that on the night of the incident he went to the priest's house sometime after 9 p.m for a pair of pants and to discuss work.

He said that when he went to the house, the priest let him in. He said that he asked the priest for a drink and it was given to him.

After he tried on the pair of pants, it could not fit and he told the priest it would be better for him to keep it.

He said that after he took off the pants the priest tried to fondle him. Father Johnson, he said, touched his penis and chest but "I told him I was not in those things".

Vale said that the priest who was wearing a pair of shorts took it off and tried to make him touch his erect penis. Questioned further Vale said "mi put mi hand on it." Vale said that for about three to five minutes, the priest was trying to have intercourse with him but he told him to stop.

In response to the question "why did you stab Johnson?" Vale replied "mi never want him to ..... me." Vale said at the time when he stabbed the priest he had been lying on top of him.

Witness gives vivid description of suspect in Ambassador Peter King murder case

A prosecution witness who admitted that he was a homosexual gave a vivid description yesterday of the hairstyle 26-year-old Sheldon Pusey was wearing when he saw him at the home of 64-year-old Ambassador Peter King on March 19, 2007.

There was much laughter in court when the witness said the hairstyle was healthy-looking and it was one he would have wanted for himself.

King was fatally stabbed four times in the chest and chopped four times in the neck at his home at 11A Waterloo Road, St Andrew. Forensic consultant pathologist Dr Ere Seshaiah testified last week that each of the wounds could have been fatal. He said he also saw 22 other wounds on the body.

Pusey has been on trial in the Home Circuit Court since January 19 for King's murder. The Crown is alleging that the murder took place between March 19 and 20, 2006.

Yesterday the homosexual witness said he first saw Pusey at King's house in 2005. The witness who appeared to be in his late 20s, said he was a businessman and he imported household items. He said King was his friend and in 2006 he lived both at King's house and King's premises at 35A Waterloo Avenue, St Andrew.

He said on the afternoon of March 19, 2006 he went to King's house and saw a medical doctor and the doctor's friend. King was working at his computer in his office and the witness said he went into King's bedroom and began to watch television.

He said while he was watching television King came into the bedroom and told him that he wanted him to proof-read something for him. He said when he went into the office he saw Pusey sitting at one of the computers.

"He was wearing a healthy-looking rope twist ," the witness said when he described Pusey's hairstyle. "You know when you want something for yourself. The ends were bleached and bronze and it was healthy-looking."

The witness said later in the afternoon he saw King and Pusey in the kitchen downstairs. He said he could not remember if King was naked or if he had on underpants but Pusey was in underpants.

Cross-examined by defence lawyer Berry Bryan, the witness admitted he was a homosexual. He said he had never had a sexual relationship with King.

What’s the point of LGBT History Month? (UK)

February is LGBT History Month in the UK, a chance to look back on the struggles of LGBT people throughout history, from the public executions of the middle ages to the Stonewall Riots of the 1970s, writes Milly Shaw.

But is there really such a thing as LGBT history?
After all, there’s still so much discussion about what it is to be LGBT now: are gay people born or made? Are we all bisexual? Is gender identity decided in the genes? Is lesbianism a political choice?

In addition there’s the prickly issue of the very terms ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender’– labels which sit awkwardly for many people in modern society, and which fit even worse when forced retrospectively on the long-dead.

Famous gay people in history
From the ancient Greeks to Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci to Pope Julius III, Richard the Lionheart to Edward II, there’s no shortage of famous historical figures who are rumoured to have been gay.
It suits us to look back on history through rainbow-tinted lenses and pounce on every historical mention of a same-sex relationship as evidence of an uninterrupted LGBT history. The problem, however, is that homosexuality as an identity is a fairly modern invention.
Homosexual acts may have been well practiced throughout history, but the idea of developing a sexual identity from the actions would have been baffling for much of history. The ancient Greeks, for example, are famous now for their apparent calm acceptance of male gay relationships. However the truth is more complicated, with gay male relationships often being displays of power and social status rather than mere love matches.
It’s not just modern homosexual relationships which are radically different from those from history of course. Heterosexual marriage as a union of love is a thoroughly modern invention which has come a long way from its original use as a strategic business tool to link families and distribute wealth.

Documenting gay history
If we can’t be sure that anyone actually identified as gay throughout history, how can we know they were even involved in same-sex acts? Could it all just be the overactive imagination of modern LGBT campaigners desperate to see themselves reflected in history?
The answer is simple – we know that male homosexuality existed because it was illegal. England’s Buggery Act of 1533 made ‘unnatural sexual acts’ punishable by death, but as far back as the Roman empire, accusations of homosexual behaviour led to punishments, fines and blackmailing.
And where are the women in these gay histories? Where they’ve always been, of course – on the sidelines, marginalised and silenced. With little influence in public life and few rights inside or outside the home, same-sex behaviour in women was largely ignored. The little we do know has come from love letters, occasional encounters with the law or medical records.
Ignorance can sometimes be bliss – lesbianism was never made illegal, and for much of history where it was noticed, lesbianism was considered just harmless girlish behaviour that didn’t threaten the institution of heterosexual marriage.

Why we need LGBT History Month
Understanding what – if anything – it means to be part of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in modern society is no easy task. And it’s precisely because of these ongoing discussions that we need an LGBT history month.
Regardless of whether or not it is accurate to speak of ‘LGBT history’, the fact is that literally millions of people have suffered persecution, torture and death because of their sexuality throughout history. And they continue to suffer – homosexuality is currently illegal and punishable by death or life imprisonment in 16 countries.

Revealing the historical context to our understanding of non-heterosexual identities and relationships gives us strength and solidarity to continue the battle for equality.
History is written by the winners, and for most of history gay men and women have been losers. But just because some kind of LGBT history isn’t easy to find doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We owe it to the LGBT people of history to remember them and their struggles.

Upcoming Book Launch: Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles Feb 25th

Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles (2nd edition)

Edited by:
Thomas Glave

About the Editor:
Thomas Glave was born in the Bronx and grew up there and in Kingston, Jamaica. A graduate of Bowdoin College and Brown University, Glave traveled as a Fulbright Scholar to Jamaica, where he studied Jamaican historiography and Caribbean intellectual and literary traditions. While in Jamaica, Glave worked on issues of social justice, and helped found the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG, www.jflag.org). Glave is the author of the collection Whose Song? and Other Stories (City Lights), which was nominated by the American Library Association for their “Best Gay/Lesbian Book of the Year” award and by the Quality Paperback Book Club for their Violet Quill/Best New Gay/Lesbian Fiction Award. His essay collection Words To Our Now: Imagination and Dissent was published in November 2005 by the University of Minnesota Press. His edited anthology, Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles, will be published by Duke University Press in 2006. He has recently completed a second collection of fiction, and is working on a longer fictional work.

Glave has taught at the University of Virginia, Cleveland State, Brown, Indiana, and Naropa Universities, and is presently an assistant professor of English and Africana Studies at the State University of New York, Binghamton. The recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including an O. Henry Prize for fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Center in Provincetown, Glave was named a “Writer on the Verge” by The Village Voice in 2000. (December 2005)

Details:
February 25, 2009
William Doo Auditorium, New College
45 Willcocks Street, 7 p.m.

Presented By:
Caribbean Studies, Sexual Diversity Studies; Toronto Women’s Bookstore

For more information, please call 416-978-8286 and email: da.trotz@utoronto.ca

or

HERE