Fredrick Nzwili
Nairobi (ENI). The Anglican Church of Uganda says it wants to see changes to a proposed law which would jail homosexuals and even execute them in some cases, which many international church and secular leaders have condemned.
Still, the church has said there is still a need for a law that would clearly address gay issues in the east African country, and that Ugandan Anglicans remain strongly opposed to the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality.
"The Church of Uganda associates itself with the concerns expressed in the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009," Archbishop Henry Orombi said in a 9 February statement.
"However, instead of a completely new bill, the church recommends a bill that amends the Penal Code Act addressing loopholes, in particular: protecting the vulnerabilities of the boy child; proportionality in sentencing; and, ensuring that sexual orientation is excluded as a protected human right," said the archbishop.
Orombi added, "The ideal situation would be one where necessary amendment is made on existing legislation to also enumerate other sexual offences."
In his first official public comment on the subject since the tabling of the bill in October, Orombi said he agrees with the bill's concerns because of what he sees as loopholes in the existing legislation. He explained that his church prefers a revision of existing laws rather than a new one.
"The church appreciates the bill's objective of protecting the family in the light of a growing propaganda to influence younger people to accept homosexuality � to provide for marriage as contracted only between man and woman," said the archbishop.
The Anglican Church of Uganda wants the country's parliament to streamline existing legislation to protect the confidentiality of medical, pastoral and counselling relationships, including those that disclose homosexual practices.
Other proposals by the church include the prohibition of lesbianism and bestiality, together with "other sexual perversion," and a ban on the procurement of homosexual material and the promotion of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle.
"Homosexual practice has no place in God's design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation, or his plan for redemption. Even natural law reveals that the very act of sexual intercourse is an experience of embracing the sexual other," said Orombi.
At the same time, the church offered to counsel, heal and pray for people with, "sexual disorientation" in schools and other institutions of learning.
"The church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing," said Orombi.
A blog on the Web site of the USATODAY newspaper on 9 February quoted Warren Throckmorton, an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, as saying the, "changes" proposed by the Anglican Church of Uganda only serve to show that the church wants to, "make it more clear that homosexuality is against the law".
Friday, February 12, 2010
Trinidad Leaving a mark: CAISO’s new brand for 2010. We vote, we volunteer, we visible.
The logo was designed by Liam Rezende, who came to CAISO, volunteered to help them develop a brand, and donated his creative services. CAISO 2010go ahead CAISO
CAISO: The Trinidad & Tobago Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation
their Facebook Page
Peace
Promote tolerance toward homosexuals (Observer Letter)
For starters, let us agree that President of the Islamic Council of Jamaica Mustafa Muhammed's pronouncement of death to homosexuals is not representative of the Jamaican society. I further posit that on the average, Jamaicans are no more homophobic than other nationalities. Anyone with supporting evidence to the contrary should share same. We should not be in the business of accepting anecdotal accounts of anti-homosexual behaviour as evidence to be used to draw sweeping and generalised conclusions.
Maurice Tomlinson, in his recent letter to the editor, believes that many Jamaicans merely spout emotional religious rhetoric in defending their objection to homosexuality. For Mr Tomlinson and the likes of Ian Boyne to suggest that religious-based objection to the homosexual lifestyle is unintelligent and mere emotional rhetoric is in itself discriminatory.
Homosexuality is and will remain a vexing issue throughout the world. So let's cease and desist from making this a Jamaican thing. We need to be about the business of promoting tolerance (not acceptance) toward our homosexual brothers and sisters. We need to repudiate those among us who would seek to bring injury and even death to our fellowmen. There should be a law to address my Muslim brother who openly advocates death, because this type of venom and hate is unacceptable in civil society. I must continue to embrace the dogma that dictates that I am my brother's keeper, but I must also retain the right to object to a lifestyle that runs counter to my own.
Our leaders must lead by example and not espouse hate and intolerance. It is instructive to note Prime Minister Bruce Golding's abhorrence at the thought of working with a homosexual in his Cabinet - a statement he made over a year ago.
Dr Richard Kitson-Walters
Maryland, USA
k-w@comcast.net
Mother to sue hospital for HIV mistake
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
A St Ann mother is planning to sue the St Ann's Bay Hospital, alleging that the facility erred when it issued her an HIV-positive result for her son, who was 10 years old at the time.
Sandra Howell, of Shaw Park Heights in Ocho Rios, St Ann, told The Gleaner that she has already contacted lawyers as she intends to seek redress through the courts.
Suzette Morris, regional director for the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA), which has responsibility for the hospital, responding to queries, said she was aware of the complaints by Howell.
However, she declined to comment further, saying the matter was now a legal issue.
Howell's action stems from a series of incidents that started back in February 2008 when her son broke one of his legs and was admitted to the hospital, where he remained until he was discharged in April of that year.
"While he was there, they called me one day and told me my son is HIV-positive. I said, 'No, how could that be?'" Howell told The Gleaner.
Negative result
She said she was devastated but, spurred by the belief that the results could never be accurate, she went and did an HIV test on herself in Ocho Rios in April 2008. Her result was negative.
This made her even more convinced that there was some mistake with her son's result, so she took it further.
Howell said she took her son from the St Ann's Bay Hospital, without him being discharged, in order to get a second HIV test done.
This time the result was negative.
Somewhat relieved, she returned to the St Ann's Bay Hospital and spoke with doctors there, after which another test was done in May 2008.
"And they say it's not positive," Howell said. "One of the doctors said to me that the first result was a mistake."
Although relieved that her son is not HIV-positive, Howell is still upset with the way the situation was handled and says she plans to seek redress.
"I plan to take the matter to court. I already spoke to a lawyer," she said.
She said the lawyer has already instructed her on how to proceed.
A St Ann mother is planning to sue the St Ann's Bay Hospital, alleging that the facility erred when it issued her an HIV-positive result for her son, who was 10 years old at the time.
Sandra Howell, of Shaw Park Heights in Ocho Rios, St Ann, told The Gleaner that she has already contacted lawyers as she intends to seek redress through the courts.
Suzette Morris, regional director for the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA), which has responsibility for the hospital, responding to queries, said she was aware of the complaints by Howell.
However, she declined to comment further, saying the matter was now a legal issue.
Howell's action stems from a series of incidents that started back in February 2008 when her son broke one of his legs and was admitted to the hospital, where he remained until he was discharged in April of that year.
"While he was there, they called me one day and told me my son is HIV-positive. I said, 'No, how could that be?'" Howell told The Gleaner.
Negative result
She said she was devastated but, spurred by the belief that the results could never be accurate, she went and did an HIV test on herself in Ocho Rios in April 2008. Her result was negative.
This made her even more convinced that there was some mistake with her son's result, so she took it further.
Howell said she took her son from the St Ann's Bay Hospital, without him being discharged, in order to get a second HIV test done.
This time the result was negative.
Somewhat relieved, she returned to the St Ann's Bay Hospital and spoke with doctors there, after which another test was done in May 2008.
"And they say it's not positive," Howell said. "One of the doctors said to me that the first result was a mistake."
Although relieved that her son is not HIV-positive, Howell is still upset with the way the situation was handled and says she plans to seek redress.
"I plan to take the matter to court. I already spoke to a lawyer," she said.
She said the lawyer has already instructed her on how to proceed.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Discussion on HOT 102 FM on homosexuality 11.02.2010
Thanks to my readers who alerted me to this discussion, I managed to catch it in time to record it as best as possible. Please accept my apologies for the poor audio quality (to come)as it was done via cell phone and not sound card streaming.
Host Beverly Anderson Manley on her host station on a program named “Today” talks with several psychologists from Jamaica and in the USA, here is a synopsis of the exchange.
Dr. Aggrey Irons commented
1) We have a difficulty with homosexuality for two reasons because of deep moral revulsion to the act of homosexuality as it affects procreation and the biblical basis of Sodom and Gomorrah.
2) Many homosexuals are rich and powerful people who seek to influence society and they wish to be heard.
3) There are some homosexual paedophiles but not every paedophile is homosexual
4) We are getting to a state of discussing contending views, we need to look at them
5) Hinted at other phobias such as rastaphobia, ganja-phobia once phobia is directed at lifestyles it takes on more complex meanings than when the phobia is directed at places and things
6) Has a difficulty of the labels to Jamaica as homophobic,
Dr. Anderson commented
1) She didn’t see gay and lesbian people as promoting their sexuality on the rest of society
2) Asked if discrimination illegal or morally acceptable because of who people choose to love
3) Anti gay prejudice isn’t always about a pathological or psychological fear but is about bigotry, laws that promote bigotry are inappropriate
4) Gay people want to live their lives they want rights like everyone else
5) We must disentangle paedophilia (adult persons attracted to children) from homosexuality (adult same sex relations)
6) Most paedophiles are heterosexual in adult relationships with women but have sexual contact and abuse children.
7) Gay persons are mostly interested in other adult gay persons
8) Most paedophile victims are female; paedophilia is a heterosexual disorder more than a homosexual disorder
9) Men molest boys because they have access to boys such as coaches or teachers they may not be necessarily gay
Dr. Leachim Semaj (previously named Michael James now a Muslim turned his name backwards)
1) Concerned that paedophilia is being primed as a lifestyle to be encouraged and maybe removed from the DSM
2) Persons cannot question the construct of gay lifestyles persons who question that are considered sick and are ostracized
3) Concerned about the process that deals with murders in the gay community when most deaths are gay related
4) Has a problem with the labeling of Jamaica as homophobic
5) Opposed to the notion that one cannot object to the some of the tenets of homosexuality
6) Spoke to his experience at a conference about same sex marriage from a psychological standpoint
7) Young men in Jamaica are deafly afraid of being stigmatized of being gay
Dr. Peter Weller commented
1) Agreed that society needs to discuss the issues as it is the lack of discussion has led to the problems we face now
2) Fear of homosexuals is inhibiting other developments involving men in general, activities that have men on a large scale are met with deep mistrust such as boys homes and scouts
3) Men don’t want to volunteer for programs where they may be labeled as predators
4)Pros and cons on homosexuality needs to be discussed openly
5) Veil of secrecy needs to be moved to engage issues directly
Peace and tolerance
H
Host Beverly Anderson Manley on her host station on a program named “Today” talks with several psychologists from Jamaica and in the USA, here is a synopsis of the exchange.
Dr. Aggrey Irons commented
1) We have a difficulty with homosexuality for two reasons because of deep moral revulsion to the act of homosexuality as it affects procreation and the biblical basis of Sodom and Gomorrah.
2) Many homosexuals are rich and powerful people who seek to influence society and they wish to be heard.
3) There are some homosexual paedophiles but not every paedophile is homosexual
4) We are getting to a state of discussing contending views, we need to look at them
5) Hinted at other phobias such as rastaphobia, ganja-phobia once phobia is directed at lifestyles it takes on more complex meanings than when the phobia is directed at places and things
6) Has a difficulty of the labels to Jamaica as homophobic,
Dr. Anderson commented
1) She didn’t see gay and lesbian people as promoting their sexuality on the rest of society
2) Asked if discrimination illegal or morally acceptable because of who people choose to love
3) Anti gay prejudice isn’t always about a pathological or psychological fear but is about bigotry, laws that promote bigotry are inappropriate
4) Gay people want to live their lives they want rights like everyone else
5) We must disentangle paedophilia (adult persons attracted to children) from homosexuality (adult same sex relations)
6) Most paedophiles are heterosexual in adult relationships with women but have sexual contact and abuse children.
7) Gay persons are mostly interested in other adult gay persons
8) Most paedophile victims are female; paedophilia is a heterosexual disorder more than a homosexual disorder
9) Men molest boys because they have access to boys such as coaches or teachers they may not be necessarily gay
Dr. Leachim Semaj (previously named Michael James now a Muslim turned his name backwards)
1) Concerned that paedophilia is being primed as a lifestyle to be encouraged and maybe removed from the DSM
2) Persons cannot question the construct of gay lifestyles persons who question that are considered sick and are ostracized
3) Concerned about the process that deals with murders in the gay community when most deaths are gay related
4) Has a problem with the labeling of Jamaica as homophobic
5) Opposed to the notion that one cannot object to the some of the tenets of homosexuality
6) Spoke to his experience at a conference about same sex marriage from a psychological standpoint
7) Young men in Jamaica are deafly afraid of being stigmatized of being gay
Dr. Peter Weller commented
1) Agreed that society needs to discuss the issues as it is the lack of discussion has led to the problems we face now
2) Fear of homosexuals is inhibiting other developments involving men in general, activities that have men on a large scale are met with deep mistrust such as boys homes and scouts
3) Men don’t want to volunteer for programs where they may be labeled as predators
4)Pros and cons on homosexuality needs to be discussed openly
5) Veil of secrecy needs to be moved to engage issues directly
Peace and tolerance
H
Reflections on Rex Nettleford (Gleaner)
Devon Dick writes
The day Professor Ralston 'Rex' Nettleford, OM, died was the same day I received an advance copy of my book, The Cross and the Machete: Native Baptists of Jamaica-Identity, Ministry and Legacy, in which Rex Nettleford, vice-chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), wrote the foreword. He never lived to see the finished product produced by Ian Randle Publishers, which included perhaps his last published thoughts.
When Rex Nettleford wrote the foreword he was recovering from an eye surgery but that did not diminish his insight. So profound were the observations of the foreword and the implications of the book for today that I told him that I wished I had his skill because some of the things he said I should have said it in my conclusion. In his wide vision, he placed the book as an important contribution to the Americas. No wonder the present vice-chancellor, Professor Nigel Harris, himself no slouch, said Nettleford was the finest mind to emanate from UWI in an interview on TVJ.
And under the difficult circumstances of eye impairment, his foreword demonstrated that he read the 300-page manuscript and understood what I was trying to say and in two pages he grasped in summary form what I was trying to achieve through the book. I also mentioned to him that people would read his foreword and not bother to read the book. He gave his typical laugh. He was a man of generous spirit.
In fact, one of the reasons I asked him to write the foreword was because he offered to read my PhD thesis that I was doing for Warwick University, England, titled 'The Origin and Development of the Native Baptists of Jamaica and the influence of their Biblical Hermeneutic on the 1865 Native Baptist War'. He read it and gave it the thumbs up. I felt good. I knew I was on the right track once this cultural historian gave the approval.
Religion and religious heritage
Professor Rex Nettleford was also understanding of religion and religious heritage. One of the last conversations I had with him was after his mother's death and before her burial. I telephoned him to express condolences, not realising that he was overseas, but he engaged in a long telephone conversation as if he was in Jamaica. He reminded me about his mother's Baptist heritage and was proud of that influence on his life. It is well known that he was brought up as an Anglican and that he had an appreciation for folk religion but there was no question that he cherished the Baptist connection.
'Prof' was also a hospitable man, whether you visited him at his home or office. I recall once he opened his home to host a one-day retreat of the Institute of Jamaica, of which he was a fellow. He was a gracious host. And even if you dropped by his office unannounced he was willing to see you, although he had a million and one things doing and to do.
Prof was a reservoir of knowledge. He knew the history of Jamaica very well and the major players in Independent Jamaica, of which he was one.
Unfortunately for me, Rex Nettleford will not be at the launch of the book slated for next month. However, his ideas live on, his memories will be cherished and we, the heirs and successors, must continue the struggle to appreciate our Jamaican identity.
Walk good, Prof.
Devon Dick is a pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of 'Rebellion to Riot: the Church in Nation Building'. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com
Labour Minister threatens those knowingly spreading HIV
Labour Minister Pearnel Charles has served a stern warning to sexual predators that he could push for legislation to impose criminal sanctions on persons who knowingly spread HIV/AIDS.
"There are some serious people who don't care how they destroy others," declared Charles, as he made his contribution to a debate on the report of the parliamentary committee which examined the proposed National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS.
Charles, however, told the House of Representatives that the Government would initially be pursuing the educational route to prevent the spread of the disease, as well as reduce stigmatisation of infected persons.
"But if it becomes necessary, then this minister will make recommendations for serious sanctions," Charles warned.
He said the parliamentary committee wrestled with whether sanctions should be imposed on employers who victimise persons infected with the disease.
The minister said the policy was intended to set guidelines in relation to the best policies in the workplace.
Charles stressed that the policy does not support random screening of persons for employment purposes.
He lamented that too many Jamaicans have failed to grasp the severity of the fallout from the HIV/AIDS.
The minister said even unsubstantiated rumours have succeeded in creating severe psychological distress to many Jamaicans.
However, as parliamentarians stepped up their agitation for greater attention to be accorded to infected persons, Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr Fenton Ferguson, has raised concern about the high percentage of homosexual men with the virus.
He made the point at yesterday's House sitting.
At the same time, parliamentarians were at one in their support of the recommendations from the Parliamentary Committee examining the National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS.
Ferguson noted that 69 per cent of AIDS cases continue to be in the age group 20-49.
He said mother-to-child trans-mission dropped from 29 per cent in 2002 to less than 10 per cent in 2009, due, in part, to the efforts of the Jamaica Government over the years.
Ferguson said 31.8 per cent, or one in three homosexual men, have contracted HIV/AIDS.
He said this compares with three per cent of persons with STIs who were found to be infected with HIV/AIDS.
Ferguson added that a similar percentage of the prison population was found to be infected with the disease.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
"There are some serious people who don't care how they destroy others," declared Charles, as he made his contribution to a debate on the report of the parliamentary committee which examined the proposed National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS.
Charles, however, told the House of Representatives that the Government would initially be pursuing the educational route to prevent the spread of the disease, as well as reduce stigmatisation of infected persons.
"But if it becomes necessary, then this minister will make recommendations for serious sanctions," Charles warned.
He said the parliamentary committee wrestled with whether sanctions should be imposed on employers who victimise persons infected with the disease.
The minister said the policy was intended to set guidelines in relation to the best policies in the workplace.
Charles stressed that the policy does not support random screening of persons for employment purposes.
He lamented that too many Jamaicans have failed to grasp the severity of the fallout from the HIV/AIDS.
The minister said even unsubstantiated rumours have succeeded in creating severe psychological distress to many Jamaicans.
However, as parliamentarians stepped up their agitation for greater attention to be accorded to infected persons, Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr Fenton Ferguson, has raised concern about the high percentage of homosexual men with the virus.
He made the point at yesterday's House sitting.
At the same time, parliamentarians were at one in their support of the recommendations from the Parliamentary Committee examining the National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS.
Ferguson noted that 69 per cent of AIDS cases continue to be in the age group 20-49.
He said mother-to-child trans-mission dropped from 29 per cent in 2002 to less than 10 per cent in 2009, due, in part, to the efforts of the Jamaica Government over the years.
Ferguson said 31.8 per cent, or one in three homosexual men, have contracted HIV/AIDS.
He said this compares with three per cent of persons with STIs who were found to be infected with HIV/AIDS.
Ferguson added that a similar percentage of the prison population was found to be infected with the disease.
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Is mere tolerance enough?
So in our deeply homophobic society there are many like me who are calling for tolerance but it dawned on me what happens if and when such tolerance ever comes, the tolerance I speak of is of course not limited to just mere ignoring gay or other lifestyle practices and choices but freedoms as well. I have often hinted in previous posts here and on Gay Jamaica Watch (see the tolerance tab for related posts) in questioning aren’t we already a tolerant nation but just don’t realize how much we are?
Stereotypical gay characters dot our pantomime and arts sections of our society and the public sometimes pay top dollars to see these plays and skits knowing fully well what they are getting as entertainment. To stretch it a little further we accept gay icons in entertainment from other cultures like an Elton John or George Michael even Rupaul whose songs are played on radio daily and we slowly digest soap operas that have gay characters in them as well so what is holding us back from the realities on the ground that gay people exist here?
Persons maybe aware of gays living near or beside them but will be tolerant as long as they don’t show it or display the stereotypical expectations that of effeminate behavior or regular and rapid same sex visitors. So what drives this underlying need to beat or hate LGBT people especially men when they are fingered or allegedly caught in the act is still unclear?
We have a myriad of religions and faiths such as Rastafarianism, Jewish faiths, Muslim (save and except for a few crackpots),Seven Day Adventists, Church of God, Pentecostal etc. while they may all disagree on certain principles and ways of worship we have never in our history had holy wars or any semblance of that between the groups.
So maybe the level of tolerance has to be deeper and not just passing permissions because someone is asking for or demanding it or its done just to keep the faggots quiet so they wont complain too much, it has to be real then, but how de we measure real?
Tolerance or acquiescence?
The Prime Minister during the Sexual Offences Bill debate did exactly that, a kind of patronizing to gays where he hinted that while gays are free to live without being harmed the police must protect all citizens the buggery law will not be repealed or gay marriage will not be allowed, bearing in mind no one asked for gay marriage here in Jamaica. In other words gays and gay groups should shut up because we are lucky to be alive so just deal with it. If we are a nation with a motto that says “Out of many, One People” then why aren’t we really living it to the full extent of the words? There are so many other kinds of intolerant behavior, political, gender, class, religious (towards gays) and even within the LGBT community.
Acceptance of differences maybe a key lesson that has to be introduced to the young and re-taught or reintroduced to the adult population but when this presented as a solution the critics of gay rights and tolerance say gays are trying to force the gay agenda to the population and particularly the young. The notion that homosexuality can be caught or is contagious is a reality for some they are terrified of anything that remotely gives or hints to the gay lifestyle thus again lets go back to the Sexual Offences Bill and the Charter of Rights Debate as well where several clauses that hinted to gender discrimination or equality were forcibly removed by seemingly paranoid religious groups who were bent on making sure that LGBT people saw no chance of ever gaining any hold to rights or freedoms. Religion is often used as divisive and a way to justify imposing sanctions of lifestyles and behaviors that others find offensive, the church which is supposed to be the body incorporating love and acceptance is guilty of this use of divisive rhetoric to keep control of moral authority.
The famous six references that hint to homosexuality in the bible are often used with the greatest of ease to push gay lifestyles into a corner or to cover the closet queens hiding among their midst while heterosexual sins such as premarital pregnancy or fornication are viewed as mistakes and easily forgiven and life goes on. But yet the message of love is contextualized to push religious individuality and nothing else, where is the message of tolerance church? What about the line that God is love or is he considered love only after you have accepted him as Lord and Saviour and throw tides then he loves you?
Mere tolerance therefore may not be enough based on the above reasoning but you may have a different take on it, maybe a deeper appreciation for human beings on a whole and a certain selflessness that makes one open to all, to grow into that being in our context may not be so easy.
Public comments please.
Peace and tolerance none the less
H
Persons maybe aware of gays living near or beside them but will be tolerant as long as they don’t show it or display the stereotypical expectations that of effeminate behavior or regular and rapid same sex visitors. So what drives this underlying need to beat or hate LGBT people especially men when they are fingered or allegedly caught in the act is still unclear?
We have a myriad of religions and faiths such as Rastafarianism, Jewish faiths, Muslim (save and except for a few crackpots),Seven Day Adventists, Church of God, Pentecostal etc. while they may all disagree on certain principles and ways of worship we have never in our history had holy wars or any semblance of that between the groups.
So maybe the level of tolerance has to be deeper and not just passing permissions because someone is asking for or demanding it or its done just to keep the faggots quiet so they wont complain too much, it has to be real then, but how de we measure real?
Tolerance or acquiescence?
The Prime Minister during the Sexual Offences Bill debate did exactly that, a kind of patronizing to gays where he hinted that while gays are free to live without being harmed the police must protect all citizens the buggery law will not be repealed or gay marriage will not be allowed, bearing in mind no one asked for gay marriage here in Jamaica. In other words gays and gay groups should shut up because we are lucky to be alive so just deal with it. If we are a nation with a motto that says “Out of many, One People” then why aren’t we really living it to the full extent of the words? There are so many other kinds of intolerant behavior, political, gender, class, religious (towards gays) and even within the LGBT community.
Acceptance of differences maybe a key lesson that has to be introduced to the young and re-taught or reintroduced to the adult population but when this presented as a solution the critics of gay rights and tolerance say gays are trying to force the gay agenda to the population and particularly the young. The notion that homosexuality can be caught or is contagious is a reality for some they are terrified of anything that remotely gives or hints to the gay lifestyle thus again lets go back to the Sexual Offences Bill and the Charter of Rights Debate as well where several clauses that hinted to gender discrimination or equality were forcibly removed by seemingly paranoid religious groups who were bent on making sure that LGBT people saw no chance of ever gaining any hold to rights or freedoms. Religion is often used as divisive and a way to justify imposing sanctions of lifestyles and behaviors that others find offensive, the church which is supposed to be the body incorporating love and acceptance is guilty of this use of divisive rhetoric to keep control of moral authority.
The famous six references that hint to homosexuality in the bible are often used with the greatest of ease to push gay lifestyles into a corner or to cover the closet queens hiding among their midst while heterosexual sins such as premarital pregnancy or fornication are viewed as mistakes and easily forgiven and life goes on. But yet the message of love is contextualized to push religious individuality and nothing else, where is the message of tolerance church? What about the line that God is love or is he considered love only after you have accepted him as Lord and Saviour and throw tides then he loves you?
Mere tolerance therefore may not be enough based on the above reasoning but you may have a different take on it, maybe a deeper appreciation for human beings on a whole and a certain selflessness that makes one open to all, to grow into that being in our context may not be so easy.
Public comments please.
Peace and tolerance none the less
H
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Because 2010 Bisexual Conference Information
Bisexual Empowerment Conference:
A Uniting, Supportive Experience
Mark your calendar for April 16-18, 2010
at Hamline University in St. Paul
from the planners:
Spring 2009 marked the 15th BECAUSE Conference. We had a FANTASTIC turnout and look forward to seeing everyone again this year!
The BECAUSE Conference is the premier weekend event in the Midwest for bisexuals, queers, non-mono-sexual, bi-curious, questioning, and all others, regardless of sexual or gender identity. This conference is open to everyone!
This year conference attendees will find an exciting and packed weekend of social and educational programming, including keynote speaker Amy André. Amy is a writer, activist and current Executive Director of San Francisco Pride who will be speaking about health in the bisexual community. In addition to workshops on Saturday, there will be a conference wide panel titled It’s Time: Perspectives on Bisexuality Past, Present and Future. The panel will be comprised of current and past bisexual activists and allies from across the Nation discussing bisexuality, the bisexual identity and the bisexual movement. Also, on Saturday evening we will have our annual Drag Show/Cabaret event.
Keep checking this site for updates on the conference schedule, workshops and other exciting information about BECAUSE 2010.
Planning for BECAUSE 2010 is underway -- this is the time to get involved! Email BECAUSEconference@gmail.com for details.
They thank everyone who attended the conferences in the past and everyone who has worked so hard to make each event such a success. 2009 was the largest BECAUSE Conference in history--they hope to continue growth and service to the bi community. Help them to serve you!
This is an autonomous grass roots conference, so send them a message if your group would like to host it in 2011. This year's planning committee can assist with the transition and get you started on planning!
Monday, February 8, 2010
What vaginas Want slide information on Lesbian interventions
as presented at the LGBTQI Health Summit in 2009
To struggle for gay rights is to struggle for all rights
By Scott Long — Special to GlobalPostBasic rights and freedoms are for all people
The struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's human rights is not just a campaign for a minority or a battle for gradual law reform. It is about what kind of societies we want to live in - and what kinds of people we want to be.
Scott Long, director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program, Human Rights Watch
NEW YORK - The email came to Human Rights Watch anonymously, late one night.
"I am a gay, working in Saudi Arabia ... last night me and my friends were in the shopping mall and suddenly the Saudi police attack us and arrested my friend Mu'ayyad and I managed to run away ... He is in jail and they are treating him like an animal, they abuse him and hit him every minute, please we don't have any hope ..."
From our office in New York, we spent days trying to find a Saudi lawyer for this man. When he was eventually freed, we worked with refugee organizations to help him escape the country. A few months later, I visited him in Jordan, where he'd found temporary shelter. He spoke haltingly of his ordeal: picked up by the Saudi religious police because they thought his T-shirt suspiciously tight, his walk too "feminine." They tortured him and tried to rape him in his prison cell.
Mu'ayyad was an Iraqi, not a Saudi citizen. He'd been forced to flee Baghdad for the relative safety of Riyadh a year earlier. When his relatives in Iraq had learned he was gay, his entire extended family vowed to kill him.
As a refugee, Mu'ayyad was finally able to resettle in the United States. We only learned his story by accident: because his lonely, terrified friend sent out an email in the dark.
Many such stories happen. Most remain in darkness. Around the world, few places are safe for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Some 80 countries criminalize consensual homosexual sex. Over half of them, from Malaysia to Jamaica, are clinging to repressive laws on "sodomy" that were left behind by British colonialism. The United States itself only scrapped its own such laws seven years ago.
New legal repression threatens. Uganda, not content with the law the British left, is debating a draconian "anti-homosexuality bill" that would inflict the death penalty on repeat offenders. "Promoting homosexuality" - any positive mention of it, any advocacy for gay people's rights - would incur a five-year sentence. And anyone who failed to report a homosexual to police within 24 hours would face three years in prison. The bill would build a nation of informers, turning citizen against citizen, sibling against sibling.
Mu'ayyad's story points to deeper dangers, though. For most LGBT people, the law is less threatening than prejudice and panic, hate and fear: an environment where families can be moved to kill their children in the name of "morality" or "honor." The Uganda bill, too, draws strength from how politicians and religious leaders seeking popularity and power have demonized LGBT people for years. One homophobic minister in Kampala this year promised to lead a "million man march" to support the death penalty for gays.
Around the world, sexuality has become a battleground.
"Fundamentalism" is a word both over-used and ill-defined. If it means anything, though, it describes movements that try to capture the state, to enforce social norms that society, community and family used to impose. Fundamentalisms feed on fear, on the sense of social breakdown, on the intuition that old values need new policing to prop them up.
Governments thus use their nightsticks and their surveillance systems to control people's bodies, to intrude in areas of private life that in many cases used to be irrelevant to them or off-limits. Ambitious politicians exploit fears of women's and men's sexual freedom for their own ends. Preachers and reporters alike stoke the atmosphere of prejudice, invoking desperate measures needed to combat what they call decadence.
One example: in Iraq in 2009, media and mosques spread fears that Iraqi manhood was somehow threatened with being "feminized" after years of occupation. Headlines and sermons warned that Western habits and an insidious "softness" were eating away at masculinity. Militias seized the chance to pose as protectors of morality, and started hunting victims - not just gay men, but any men who seemed "unmanly." Tight jeans or gelled hair could spell death.
Hundreds may have been murdered, kidnapped from homes or killed on the streets. In some cases the killers shot glue up their victims' anuses: a brutal reminder that their bodies were the abject property of others' beliefs, a reminder of what happens if you break unwritten laws of gender.
As human rights activists, we try to change practices, not sentiments. Yet LGBT rights defenders always know that the real terrain of our struggles lies in hearts and minds, in consciences scarred by hatred or open to acceptance.
There have been signs of hope this year. In June 2009, an Indian court overturned that country's 149-year-old sodomy law - the first such law that Britain ever imposed on its colonial possessions. It freed countless citizens of the world's largest democracy from the threat of blackmail or police harassment.
Yet the court saw its decision as extending beyond a single bad law. It affirmed this was not just about privacy or the citizen's right to safety behind closed doors, but about Indian democracy itself. It explicitly rejected a vision of the state as protective parent or as divisive judge. It cited Nehru, the nation's founder, declaring that "Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding," everyone can lead a life of dignity.
That is the real truth which voices too long shrouded in silence have been saying to us all. The struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's human rights is not just a campaign for a minority or a battle for gradual law reform. It is about what kind of societies we want to live in - and what kinds of people we want to be. It is about rejecting hatred and irrational fear; it is about the freedom to live an autonomous life. Ultimately, the struggle is about all of us, for all of us.
Few Caplteon's show cancelled in the US
With the assistance of vigilant GLTB persons in San Francisco Fire Bun artist Capleton's upcoming shows have been cancelled, according to Humboldt Against Hate and Michael Petrelis' blog one of the promoters wrote to underscore the reasons why the cancellation was done.
According to Joe Mazzotti, the performance has been canceled.
Queer Humboldt and other area organizations have planned an informational meeting for venue owners and promoters, in hopes that people can learn of potential difficulties before renting out their spaces to the very few performers that are being boycotted due to murder music. If you are a promoter or venue owner and would like to participate, please contact Queer Humboldt
If you are looking for more information about "murder music," the following is an excellent starting point:
http://www.soulrebels.org/dancehall.htm
It is a wonderful feeling to know that our community will stand up and speak out when necessary.
Thanks again,
Mitch Trachtenberg
Actual Message from Joe Mazzotti:
Thank you for your inquiry in regards to Capleton!
We were unaware that He had been So aggressive in his actions, It was my understanding that Numerous well known artists had been listed and that he was one of them but had signed an RCA Agreement and so we were assured by the promoters who rents the room that he was all good now!
That is now known to be Very Untrue! for this reason the show has been Canceled!Mazzotti's has and always will support any persons right(s) to live happily, healthy and free of the kind of Violent acts this Hater espouses!
We hope that this "DOES NOT" Cause you to reconsider any future involvement with Mazzotti's on the Plaza!
Sincerely!
Joe M.
He as added more dates however in California, Nevada and Florida as follows:
San Diego, CA, on Monday, February 15, at the San Diego Sports Arena.
San Luis Osbispo, CA, on Wednesday, February 17, at the Downtown Brewing Company.
Crystal Bay, Nevada, on Thursday, February 18, at the Tahoe Biltmore.
Oakland, CA, on Saturday, February 20, at the Fox Theatre.
Long Beach, CA, on Sunday, February 21, at the Long Beach Arena.
Miami, FL, on Saturday, February 27, at Bayfront Park.
More updates to come where applicable
Peace and tolerance
H
According to Joe Mazzotti, the performance has been canceled.
Queer Humboldt and other area organizations have planned an informational meeting for venue owners and promoters, in hopes that people can learn of potential difficulties before renting out their spaces to the very few performers that are being boycotted due to murder music. If you are a promoter or venue owner and would like to participate, please contact Queer Humboldt
If you are looking for more information about "murder music," the following is an excellent starting point:
http://www.soulrebels.org/dancehall.htm
It is a wonderful feeling to know that our community will stand up and speak out when necessary.
Thanks again,
Mitch Trachtenberg
Actual Message from Joe Mazzotti:
Thank you for your inquiry in regards to Capleton!
We were unaware that He had been So aggressive in his actions, It was my understanding that Numerous well known artists had been listed and that he was one of them but had signed an RCA Agreement and so we were assured by the promoters who rents the room that he was all good now!
That is now known to be Very Untrue! for this reason the show has been Canceled!Mazzotti's has and always will support any persons right(s) to live happily, healthy and free of the kind of Violent acts this Hater espouses!
We hope that this "DOES NOT" Cause you to reconsider any future involvement with Mazzotti's on the Plaza!
Sincerely!
Joe M.
He as added more dates however in California, Nevada and Florida as follows:
San Diego, CA, on Monday, February 15, at the San Diego Sports Arena.
San Luis Osbispo, CA, on Wednesday, February 17, at the Downtown Brewing Company.
Crystal Bay, Nevada, on Thursday, February 18, at the Tahoe Biltmore.
Oakland, CA, on Saturday, February 20, at the Fox Theatre.
Long Beach, CA, on Sunday, February 21, at the Long Beach Arena.
Miami, FL, on Saturday, February 27, at Bayfront Park.
More updates to come where applicable
Peace and tolerance
H