Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Around The Nation
California Trans equality law repeal referendum petitions undergo scrutiny
On Friday, that percentage was reported at 76.7%, which according to a spokesperson for Equality California, means that the referendum initiative would fail.
California law provides that in the authentication process, if the statewide random sample total projects more than 110% of the required amount of signatures, then the referendum would qualify for the ballot.
But, if the statewide total is less than 95% of the required amount of signatures, the referendum would fail to qualify for the ballot.
The opponents led by the Privacy for All Students Coalition, submitted 613,120 signatures from a majority of state counties in favor of overturning the law last Thursday, a number that exceeded the minimum number of 504,760 required by state law.
The process now ongoing said the Secretary of State's chief spokesperson, Nichole Winger, is that the Secretary of State has directed the local elections boards to begin a random sample verification of signatures. Each of them then have 30 working days to complete a random sample of 3% or 500 signatures, whichever is greater, and report their results to the Secretary of State.
The random samples are compared and authenticated against the rolls of registered voters in each jurisdiction. The deadline for the Secretary of State to complete the random sample validation process is January 8.
Once on the ballot, the law is repealed if voters cast more no votes than yes votes on the referendum in question.
Historically in the past 100 years since the inception of the ballot referendum process, only 49 measures/petitions have passed the standards required.
Between 1912 and November 2013 a total of 79 referenda were titled and summarized for circulation.
Of the 48 which qualified and have been voted on, 20 referenda (41.67%) were approved by the voters. A total of 28 referenda (58.33%) were rejected by the voters.
Winger told LGBTQ Nation that the Secretary of State's office updates the data on its website as the each county reports its results.
New Jersey
Waitress who claimed she was gypped out of a tip is allegedly a liar according to friends & coworkers
BRIDGEWATER -- The waitress now accused of making up a story about being denied a tip at the New Jersey restaurant she works at, due to her sexual orientation, has a reputation for lying, former colleagues and friends said.
Dayna Morales, 22, of Bedminster, N.J., told WNBC in New York last week that a family at the Gallop Asian Bistro in Bridgewater, N.J., where she is employed had stiffed her out of a tip on a nearly $100 bill because she was lesbian.
Morales, said that on Nov. 13, she received an offensive note scrawled on the customer’s check in lieu of a tip. The message said: “I’m sorry but I cannot tip because I don’t agree with your lifestyle and how you live your life.”
On Monday, a New Jersey couple came forward to dispute her story, telling WNBC that Morales’ story is a scam.
The couple, who asked to remain anonymous, contacted the WNBC after the story went viral and produced their receipt that was printed at the same time, on the same date, for the same amount, except with an $18 tip. They also produced a copy of a credit card bill supporting their claim they were charged for the meal plus the tip, a total of $111.55. The couple said they believe their receipt was used for a hoax.
“The restaurant profits from this, obviously Dayna’s profiting from this,” said the husband. “It’s fraud. It’s a scam.”
When confronted by WNBC about the receipt, Morales reportedly said, “It’s not my handwriting. I don’t know.”
The story became more convoluted Wednesday when friends and coworkers of Morales spoke with the local Journal News, telling the paper that the 22-year-old is something of a pathological liar whose most recent alleged fabrication is just the latest in a long list of serious lies.
The Journal reported that Morales has been caught in multiple deceptive tales, telling co-workers she shaved her head because she had brain cancer and later telling them it was her friend who had brain cancer, her colleagues and friends said.
They said she also told co-workers at a day care center where she once worked that Superstorm Sandy severely damaged her home in Stony Point, and sent a boat into her living room. Concerned co-workers dropped by her home and found only minor damage to the carpet by her front door and no sign of a boat, they said.
The most egregious fabrication according to the paper was the story that she was a former Marine who was sent to Afghanistan and that everyone in her platoon died in an explosion except her. Apparently this was untrue.
She also claimed this as a reason for time off from her employer, claiming that the explosion left her with back injuries that required surgery and a couple of months to recover. According to friends, during her time off, Morales had posted photos of herself on Facebook enjoying a trip to Florida with a girlfriend.
A spokesman for the Marines, Major Shawn Haney, said in an email that Morales had served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from July 13, 2009, to May 21, 2013 at the rank of Lance Corporal, E-3, as an administrative specialist. She was assigned to the Marine Air Group 49, 4th Marine Air Wing out of Newburgh, New York, located north of New York City, and deployed from April to June 2012 to Romania as part of the Black Sea Rotational Force 11.
“There is no indication of combat service in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said adding, “While (Morales) did not fulfill her reserve obligation, per the Privacy Act, administrative actions are not releasable. The same applies to character of service and type of discharge.”
The Gallop Asian Bistro's general manager told New York City area media outlets Tuesday that the restaurant would not comment until they finish their internal investigation. Manager Byron Lapola added that Morales was “currently not on the schedule” to work.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Politics
Virginia
State Senator introduces bill to repeal same-sex marriage ban
RICHMOND -- A Virginia lawmaker introduced a measure last week to start the process to repeal the state's 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Alexandria Democratic Senator Adam Ebbin's bill was joined by companion legislation introduced in the House of Delegates by Richmond Democrat Joseph Morrissey.
According to political analysts in Richmond, the effort to repeal the 2006 constitutional amendment, which was approved in 2006 by a 57-percent-to-43-percent majority of voters statewide, is a long-shot at best to even gain passage out of committee and then to a full vote by both houses.
Public support over the intervening seven years since 2006 has increased in Virginia for same-sex marriage with a July Quinnipiac University poll showing that fifty percent of registered Virginia voters support same-sex marriage compared to 43 percent who don’t.
Politicos also note that GOP legislative opposition is somewhat mitigated by the election of an incoming Democratic Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General, who as the state's top three elected executives have publicly supported same-sex marriage.
To repeal the 2006 amendment, legislation would have to pass the General Assembly two times with an intervening election, then would go on the ballot in the next succeeding general election. If it won first passage in the 2014 session, the measure would have to again pass the legislature in the 2016 session after the next state election, meaning the earliest the measure could go before voters would be November 2016.
A measure introduced in the 2013 session failed to make it out of a House sub-committee and had no Senate sponsorship.
The constitutional amendment that banned marriage equality approved by the General Assembly passed on votes of 73-22 in the House of Delegates and 29-11 in the state Senate, and had bipartisan support. It later passed the statewide vote with 57.1 percent of the vote.
Around The Nation
School board member says Transgender kids must be castrated before using opposite gender bathrooms
DELTA -- A school board member told an audience and her colleagues at an October board meeting that boys and girls in Delta County, Colorado schools should use the bathrooms associated with their birth genders.
Board member Katherine Svensons' comments sparked controversy after stating that any transgender students would need to be castrated before using bathrooms meant for the opposite sex.
“Massachusetts and California have passed laws relating to calling a student, irrespective of his biological gender, letting him perform as the gender he thinks he is, or she is, and I want to emphasize, and they’re actually talking about joining girls sports teams going in the girls locker rooms and bathrooms, and I just want to emphasize not in this district,” she said.
“Not until the plumbing’s changed. There would have to be castration in order to pass something like that around here,” she added.
Svenson was referencing the recent law in California which allows students in kindergarten through 12th grade to use whichever bathrooms and to play on whichever sports teams align with their gender identities.
A local television station, KREX-TV interviewed Svenson about her comments and rather than backing down, she defended her comments saying that she was alerting her fellow board members that these issues could soon be heading to this rural community in the mountains southeast of Grand Junction, Colorado.
“I don’t have a problem if some boys think they are girls. I’m just saying as long as they can impregnate a woman, they’re not going to go in girls locker room,” she said.
Svenson did however acknowledge that she is aware that her comments have angered some in the community.
But, Assistant Superintendent of Delta County Schools, Kurt Clay, told KREX the district is intent on meeting individual kids’ needs.
“We truly believe in Delta County School District, that every student has different needs, and that we are here to address those individual needs,” Clay said.
Svenson did not respond to requests for comment from LGBTQ Nation.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Politics & Policy
University Student wants Minnesota lawmakers to ban "ex-gay" therapy
 |
| Alec Fischer * Photo via City of Edina |
By Brody Levesque | EDINA -- An openly gay 20 year old University of Minnesota political science major is spearheading a Change.org petition effort to get Minnesota's Governor Mark Dayton, and state lawmakers to ban "ex-gay" conversion therapy in the upcoming 2014 legislative session. Thus far over 35,000 people have signed.
Alec Fischer experienced being bullied from the time he was in sixth grade until almost halfway through high school and is an activist for awareness for LGBTQ issues and people including those who may be exposed to reparative or "ex-gay" therapy which is currently legal in Minnesota.
According to Fischer and his colleague on the effort to ban conversion therapy, fellow University of Minnesota student and close friend Gabe Aderhold, Minnesota's lawmakers are already looking into addressing the problem of allowing conversion therapy as a "treatment option" for minors. Fischer told LGBTQ Nation Monday that a rough draft of the legistion is being prepared for introduction when the new legisaltive session starts next February.
"In order to successfully introduce legislation banning conversion therapy for minors in MN, public support and outreach towards MN Senators and Representatives is essential.
We can show our lawmakers with this petition that we don't want to allow psychiatrists within our state to fix something that isn't broken," Fischer said.
Fischer added that he and Aderhold are also approaching national LGBTQ groups such as HRC, GLAAD, and PFLAG to help lobby lawmakers. He told LGBTQ Nation that they have asked local LGBTQ groups like Justin's Gift and OutFront Minnesota to help out efforts to pass a bill.
Minnesota received national attention on the issue after LGBTQ activists exposed that Dr. Marcus Bachmann's, (Husband of outgoing Minnesota GOP Congresswoman Michele Bachmann) Bachmann & Associates Lake Elmo, MN counseling clinic was offering the discredited "ex-gay" conversion therapy practice which the nation's leading medical and mental health authorities, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association, have uniformly deemed ineffective and harmful.
Fischer, a 2012 graduate of Edina High School in suburban Minneapolis, is an aspiring filmmaker as well as an activist who produced the anti-bullying documentary “Minnesota Nice?” for his senior year end-term project.
“Minnesota Nice?,” is a 45-minute film in which Minnesotan teens from multiple schools share their hopes, experiences and observations about bullying, and has been featured at education conferences across the country and shown in schools.
Fischer recalled,
"Growing up as a gay male in Minnesota I have experienced many forms of discrimination due to my sexual orientation. I was bullied horrifically in middle school for being perceived as gay, and like many people who experience bullying, the problem got so bad that I attempted suicide."
"Thankfully, when I got to high school, I was fortunate enough to come out to peers and family members who loved and accepted me for who I was. But we know this is not the case for many other youth who identify as LGBT in our state and across the country. That's why I want my state to take a stand for LGBT youth, and ban "ex-gay" conversion therapy."
Edina High School Principal Bruce Locklear- speaking about Fischer's film project- said “He really took the bullying issue – researched it, understood it, experienced it – and so he was able to speak with a degree of authority around the topic."
In addition to being a university sophomore Fischer currently works as a video production assistant for LGBTQ equality rights group, Outfront Minnesota and the MN Safe Schools Coalition creating videos for Outfront MN, and creating content for the Safe Schools Coalition's website.
This past year, both California and New Jersey passed laws that banned "ex-gay" conversion therapy of which both laws withstood separate federal court challenges and were upheld as constitutional.
A political observer in St. Paul told LGBTQ Nation Monday that a possible Minnesota law would likely be patterned after those two successful laws.
Read about the petition here.
World News
Russia
Russian LGBTQ night club targeted again
According to the club's general manager, Andrew Leszczynski, his staff immediately turned on a smoke removal machine which eliminated the gas from the premises in a couple of minutes. Several people sought medical attention from first responders to the scene but refused to go to hospital.
“Today is another provocation against our club arranged by unknown persons. We believe that they are connected with the building owner," said Leschinsky.
“They are spaying the gas inside the club premises, thereby trying to express their extremist views against LGBT community, which likes to visit our club."
The club, located in Moscow's Basmanny District in center city not far from the Kremlin, had recently been the scene of another attack November 16, when two gunman opened fire outside of the club's main entrance after its security personnel denied them entry. No one was injured in that attack which left the club's door damaged by rounds from the gunmen's handguns. The pair fled the shooting scene but the attack was caught on the club's video surveillance footage.
A member of the club's staff- who asked to not be identified- told LGBTQ Nation Monday that the club which opened in 2003, has been under "seemingly increasing siege" since the passage of the anti-gay propaganda law this past June.
According to Leszczynski the building, which was owned by state-run monopoly, Russia Railways, headed by Vladimir Ivanovich Yakunin- a close political ally and an appointee of Russian president Vladimir Putin- transferred ownership last December. The building is held by an investment holding company Verdivino Investments Ltd., incorporated in Nicosia, the Republic of Cyprus. He added that in October, the investment company had posted two oversize signs with arrows pointing to the main doorway of the club that read "gay club entrance."
Leszczynski says that the club, which is owned and affiliated with a St. Petersburg venue, has asked Moscow Milita officials for stepped up assistance and protection.
Attacks against LGBTQ Russians in the capital and across the nation are on the rise with Russian Queer activists placing the blame on the newly enacted law. A Militia official agreed and acknowledged to LGBTQ Nation Monday that police are still pursuing suspects in another attack last month against another centre city LGBT venue, 7freedays club, where 20 masked attackers had entered brandished handguns and beat club goers with beer and wine bottles.
"An inquiry has been launched into the nightclub attack, CCTV footage from the venue has been seized and that from nearby streets is being examined," police said.
Andrei Obolensky, an promoter told Russian Media Outlet RIA Novosti that approximately 50 people were inside celebrating “coming out day.”
“They pulled a gun on the bouncers as they entered the club. Then they shouted ‘You wanted a show?’” Obolensky told RIA Novosti. “People were bleeding; they had been hit in the head with bottles.”
RIA Novosti reported that three people were hospitalised for the injuries they sustained in that attack and two were later released. However, a female victim who had suffered a serious eye injury, was still being treated at the time of reporting the incident.
Cameroon
Man sentenced to 9 years for consensual gay sexual relations
LIMBE -- A 35-year-old Cameroonian was sentenced to nine years in prison for breaking that nation's laws against homosexuality last Wednesday. Cornelius Fonya had been accused of the sexual molestation of a 14 year old boy after the youth's family accused him of rape last year.
During the course of the trial proceedings, it was determined that the youth was actually 19 years old and legally an adult at the time and that the same-sex relations were consensual.
Fonya had been incarcerated since Oct. 29, 2012, after a mob seized him and hauled him to the police station, had posted bail but a judge denied the motion after the mother of the alleged victim claimed that her son had become mentally ill because of sexual encounter with Fonya.
LGBT activists from CAMEF, the Cameroon Empowerment Association for Outreach Programs, decried the fact that Fonya’s conviction was not supported by witnesses’ testimony in court. The alleged victim and his family never appeared in court and never testified against Fonya. Instead, the judge reportedly relied on the youth’s statement to police.
A spokesperson for CAMEF said after the conviction,
“The legal system in Cameroon has proven once more the homophobic context in which we are currently living in, where it is enough for one to get imprisoned for his or her perceived or actual sexual preferences."
“We need to do something so as to put an end to this continuous human rights violation suffered by members of the LGBT community here in Cameroon.”
“CAMEF has been working hand in hand with barrister Walter Atoh, who is actually on this case so together we can put an end to this present situation. We hope together with your support, we can do something for Cornelius.”
The country’s penal code stipulates a maximum sentence of five years for those found guilty of same-sex sexual acts between adults but, legal observers are noting that the sentence imposed instead reflects the maximum penalty for a conviction of same-sex relations with a minor.
Activists from CAMEF noted that the LGBTQ community of their coastal region in southwest Cameroon faces extreme homophobia with many often beaten in the streets.
This last July prominent Cameroonian gay rights and HIV campaigner Eric Ohena Lembembe was brutally murdered in his home, just days after speaking out against increasing violence against the country’s LGBT community.
A LGBTQ activist from CAMEF told British freelance journalist Colin Stewart;
"CAMEF has been advocating for the interest of the LGBT community in this part of the country and we have been attacked by the homophobic inhabitants in this part, accusing us of encouraging homosexuality because homosexuals are ‘animals that deserve a death sentence and not worthy of living!"
[...]
"Members of the LGBT community are often beaten in the streets, others stoned to death in the past and others arbitrarily detained on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual orientation then sent to prison after being sentenced by a judge with no evidence of same-sex practices."
Politics
Gay Air Academy Cadets tell reporters no issues with anti-gay activist
By Brody Levesque | COLORADO SPRINGS -- A group of openly gay USAF Academy cadets participated in a conference call with reporters Friday, telling journalists that they and many of their peers in the Cadet Wing had not experienced any problems with anti-gay activist and reparative therapy proponent Dr. Mike Rosebush.
The three are members of the USAFA's Spectrum, the Academy's equivalent to a 'Rainbow' support group for LGBT cadets, and at the request of the Academy were only identified by their first names.
The controversy had erupted earlier in this past week when a gay activist-blogger had written an article charging that Rosebush was potentially proselytizing to the cadets utilizing his position as a "Chief" for the Academy’s Center of Character and Leadership Development counseling teams.
When contacted by LGBTQ Nation, Academy spokesperson David Cannon said that the issues raised including Rosebush's actual job description were "substantially and factually inaccurate."
LGBTQ Nation verified that Rosebush, who works as a research analyst for the academy’s Center of Character and Leadership Development, was hired by the academy in 2009, and then moved into his current position in 2011.
His job is to execute administrative plans to assist the counselors and staff in helping the cadets with the programs offered by the center and as such does not have direct daily contact with cadets in a capacity as a counselor.
Rosebush is a former vice-president of Focus on the Family, one of the foremost anti-LGBT organizations in the country, has been a clinical member of NARTH (The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality), and claims that he himself has been “cured” of homosexuality.
During the press call, cadets were asked if they had any direct experience with Rosebrush and one cadet offered that not only had he not heard of him before the activist community raised the issue, he said that a majority of his peers had no idea who he (Rosebrush) was. When asked if Rosebrush's presence at the Academy troubled them, all agreed that while his background was "troubling" for them and their LGB peers, they didn't have a problem with him per se as they just viewed him as another member of the staff.
“It disappoints me that someone like that is on our faculty,” one of the cadets said, “but he is allowed to think what he wants. As long as he doesn't’t pressure others, that’s fine.”
Awareness of Rosebrush's position at the Academy had also been questioned by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an organization that advocates for the separation of church and state in the U.S. Armed Forces, which sent a letter this week to Acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning demanding that the Air Force terminate Rosebrush's employment at the Academy.
MRFF's letter was echoed Friday by Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association, an LGBTQ equality rights advocacy group focused on servicemembers and their families, who called for an independent investigation of Rosebush’s hiring and the culture at the academy.
“We have grave concerns about how these gay and lesbian cadets are being treated, whether the Academy leadership is truly committed to creating a non-discriminatory culture, and whether an effective reporting and investigative system exists to give these future military leaders a proper avenue of redress,” Peters said in a prepared statement.
The Air Force secretary's office responded to the ongoing controversy and released a statement Friday stating;
"The Air Force is comprised of a rich workforce whose backgrounds reflect various races, origins, orientations, ethnicities, languages, cultures and life experiences. We promote an atmosphere of inclusion throughout our ranks and strive to ensure every Airman is treated with dignity and respect. If we fail to do that, at any level on the team, we break faith with our core values that hold us together.
The Air Force Academy and its leadership are looking into the personnel matter and are keeping us updated. We have the utmost confidence in Lt Gen Johnson's ability to lead her organization."
Regarding the allegations saying the Air Force's Academy not being a welcoming place for LGBQ cadets, the cadets pointed out that the Academy's Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson had met with LGB cadets Thursday to discuss the Rosebrush issue. All of the cadets participating in the press call felt that the Superintendent was acting in their best interests and those of their LGBT peers including cadets who are still closeted.
The cadets acknowledged that they all had faced homophobic and discriminatory individuals within the Cadet Wing, but characterized those interactions as isolated events that have little to do with Academy life and their daily interactions with each other. They denied suggestions that the academy has fostered an anti-gay culture.
USAF Captain Michelle L. Reinstatler, the Officer in Charge of Spectrum, (AF equivalent to faculty adviser) who also participated in the press call noted:
"Several cadets have told me they are frustrated with the articles disparaging USAFA; these articles do not take into account the extensive support our LGBQ cadets have received from Academy leadership or the reality of the Academy's inclusive environment."
Academy's Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson a prepared statement said;
(...) "The Air Force's Academy respects the rights of all people and we endeavor to reinforce and foster a culture of dignity, respect and inclusion for all. The Academy prides itself on its inclusive environment and is absolutely a safe and validating place for all active duty Airmen, civilian Airmen and cadets - whether they are LGBQ or not.
Johnson also stated that the Academy would be reviewing the hiring process regarding Dr. Rosebush's employment at the Academy, acknowledging;
"We realize the hiring of Dr. Mike Rosebush is a raw and emotional issue to many people on both sides of the issue surrounding reports in the media about his background and alleged beliefs."
The Blue Alliance, an Academy LGBT alumni association, said that they were supportive of the Academy's efforts to maintain "full transparency" over the issue of Dr. Rosebush, and that Air Force Academy officials had positively addressed their concerns.
But, Military Religious Freedom Foundation president Mikey Weinstein told LGBTQ Nation Friday, that his organisation is not satisfied with the Academy's reaction to the Rosebrush controversy, saying that MRFF's clients, many of them whom are LGBT at the Academy, are still fearful of a negative impact on their careers, and that the Academy is being disingenuous as to the "real world" impact having any anti-gay activist on staff and dealing with programs that affect the cadets.
Friday, November 22, 2013
World News
Australia
Australian Governor-General Bryce backs same-sex marriage
 |
| Quentin Bryce * Public Domain Photo |
By Desmond Rutherford | SYDNEY, New South Wales -- The Governor-General of Australia publicly endorsed publicly same-sex marriage in a landmark speech in Sydney Friday. Quentin Bryce said she hoped Australia might become a nation where "people are free to love and marry whom they choose".
"(...) ... And where perhaps, my friends, one day, one young girl or boy may even grow up to be our nation's first head of state," Bryce said.
Bryce was appointed as Australia's first female governor-general in 2008 by then prime minister Kevin Rudd. The Governor-General is the representative in the Australia for Queen Elizabeth II according to the country's Constitution. The governor-general is President of the Federal Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Forces.
A governor-general's duties include appointing ambassadors, ministers, and judges, giving Royal Assent to legislation, and although the constitution grants the governor-general a wide range of powers, in practice, the Governor-General generally acts only upon the advice of the Prime Minister of other ministers or, in certain cases, Parliament.
While there is no set length for the appointment, most last around five years.
“The Governor-General’s dignified support for marriage equality will be welcomed by the many millions of Australians who support the reform,” Australian Marriage Equality national director, Rodney Croome, said in a statement. “In particular, it will send a message to older Australians that this is a reform they can embrace because it strengthens relationships, families and marriage.”
“It is the role of the Governor-General to reflect community values, and by supporting marriage equality Quentin Bryce is reflecting the fact that a majority of Australians want same-sex couples to be able to marry,” Croome said adding; “The Governor-General has effectively declared marriage equality to be a litmus test for a fair and inclusive Australia and I think many Australians would agree with her.”
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Politics
Minnesota Congressman introduces House version of a bill to protect LGBT veterans & families
.png) |
| U. S. Representative Tim Walz, (D-MN) Photo Credit: Alex Kolyer, Minnesota Public Radio |
WASHINGTON -- Minnesota Democrat Representative Tim Walz on Wednesday introduced the House version of the bipartisan, "Protecting the Freedoms and Benefits for All Veterans Act."
The legislation would ensure that LGBT veterans and their families receive equal treatment for equal service. Currently LGBT veterans, spouses, and their families, depending on where they reside, can be denied survivor benefits-including but not limited to- death pensions, life insurance, educational assistance, and bereavement counseling), spousal benefits, and flag burial honors.
The bill, is a companion measure to legislation introduced earlier this year by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Kirsten Gillibrand. (D-N.Y.) who introduced the Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013, named for New Hampshire National Guard Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan who passed away earlier this year after a battle with breast cancer. That bill calls for additional benefits to be made available to all military spouses and families, regardless of sexual orientation. (The House version is the Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013 (MSET), re-introduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.).)
Under the proposed bills, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs would be required to honor any marriage that has been recognized by a state and provide a number of key benefits to the spouses of all service members.
“When someone puts their life on the line to protect our freedom at home, they deserve to enjoy the same freedom and earned benefits as anyone else who has done so, no matter who they love or where they reside,” Representative Walz said referring to his bill.
“This common sense legislation will work to ensure that LGBT veterans and their families are treated equally under the law, no matter what state they live in.”
The Supreme Court’s June decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) overturned Title 7, Section 3, of United States Code (U.S.C.), which stated that the federal government interpreted the terms “marriage” and “spouse” to only apply to heterosexual couples. However, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn DOMA does not apply to Title 38, Section 101 (3) and (31) of the U.S.C. This Section includes a definition of spouse as a person of the opposite sex for the purpose of benefits given.
LGBT veterans face two hurdles which prevent them from receiving the same benefits as their fellow veterans.
First, LGBT couples do not meet the definition of “spouse” and “surviving spouse” and do not receive benefits. Spouse is currently defined in U.S.C. Title 38 as a marriage between one man and one woman.
The second issue relates to the state in which an LGBT couple is married versus the state in which they live. For example, if an LGBT couple is married in Minnesota (where gay marriage is recognized) but resides in Wisconsin (where gay marriage is not recognized), under current law, they are not necessarily afforded the same VA benefits as same-sex couples in Minnesota. Additionally, if an LGBT couple resided in Minnesota, married legally in Minnesota, but then moved to a state where same-sex marriage is not recognized, they may not receive the same benefits as other veterans.
Representative Walz noted that his legislation fixes these problems.
World
Russian President says xenophobic attitude towards Russian LGBTQ people is wrong
 |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin * File Photo |
By Brody Levesque | MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of political leaders Wednesday that the nation and its people and government shouldn't adopt a xenophobic attitude towards people with different sexual orientations. His statement came after a question was posed to the Russian leader as lawmakers expressed concerned about the rising levels of violent attacks against LGBTQ Russians and other minorities in the Russian Federation.
"Not on the same principle, we should not create a society such xenophobia against anyone else, including in respect of people with different sexual orientation," Putin said at a meeting with leaders of non-parliamentary parties.
"You know, as I listened to a lot of criticism- but all that we have done at the government, at the legislative level - it was all due to a limitation of propaganda among minors," he added.
Putin signed a law banning "the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships" this past June, which sparked international outrage and criticism from activists and western political leaders. The measure was part of a series of legislative measures advanced by the Russian Parliament including the ban of adoption of Russian children by foreign LGBTQ individuals or same-sex couples or couples from nations which have legalized same-sex marriages.
Russian LGBT equality rights activist Viacheslav Revin took exception to Putin's remarks telling LGBTQ Nation Thursday;
"You can explain it (Putin's statement) in three words. It's a lie. In Russia there is a system - "say" and "do" . It is a strategy- a card trick, he is spouting distracting conversation so that you do not watch his hands.
If he wants to really talk about changing policy on LGBT people then that can be when the police will arrest all the occupy paedophilia participants in all regions of Russia. In dozens of cities there are dozens of victims of extrajudicial reprisal and homophobic bullying."
Since ban on "gay propaganda" took effect, the Russian LGBT community has been harassed, kidnapped, beaten, raped, and arrested for gathering in public, protesting the law, waving rainbow flags, or speaking out against homophobia.
Putin's remarks came less than 48 hours before the LGBT film festival 'Side by Side's' opening in St. Petersburg Thursday was delayed after being disrupted by a bomb threat. The festival was later allowed to open after the police cleared the threat.
There have also been at least two murders of gay men in the past six months and countless incidents of violent attacks by organised groups against LGBT persons using the Russian social media giant website VK.com.
There have also been at least two murders of gay men in the past six months and countless incidents of violent attacks by organised groups against LGBT persons using the Russian social media giant website VK.com.
Earlier this month using baseball bats and air-pellet guns, a group of masked thugs forced their way into a community meeting of LGBT equality rights activists at a community meeting at an HIV and STD information clinic in St. Petersburg, injuring two attendees with a baseball bat and pneumatic gun. According to a St. Petersburg police official who confirmed the incident, one of the LGBT activists attending was shot in the eye by one of the assailants and sent to hospital where according to Doctors, he has lost use of that eye.
Russian authorities recently initiated criminal proceedings against a Russian ultra-nationalist principally responsible for several homophobic assaults on LGBT persons as leader of one of the groups, Occupy Paedophilia, which, also included attacks on citizens from Ukraine, Iraq, and South Africa.
But, Human Rights activist Larry Poltavtsev thinks that Putin has lost control over the extremist groups responsible for a good deal of the violence as a result of the law's passage.
"The genie is out of the bottle," Poltavtsev said. "He can't control them, they (the ultra-nationalist-Neo-Nazis groups) are in control. The problem is that the anti-gay propaganda law and its genesis is now also passed from the gays to the other minorities- this will threaten the Sochi Olympic games.
This, this is damage control. He wants to disassociate himself from these Neo-Nazis groups and the other extrajudicial activists."
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
World News
British Health Minister calls gay-to-straight “reparative therapy" abhorrent- but rules out ban
 |
| Norman Lamb * File Photo* |
By Brody Levesque | LONDON -- Britain's Minister of State for Care and Support, (Health) Norman Lamb, told an audience during a special debate in Westminster Hall Wednesday that practitioners trying to convert gay patients to heterosexuality is "wholly abhorrent."
The debate was attended by Members of Parliament considering imposing regulations on the nation's psychotherapy sector regarding gay-to-straight conversion or “reparative therapy."
Lamb however, was not willing to call for a ban to be imposed by the UK government.
The debate was called at the request of Labour MP Sandra Osborne, who opposes the therapeutic practice, saying that she considers it "extremely harmful" to patients and little more than "voodoo."
During her speech, Osborne said:
"Virtually every major national and international professional organisation has condemned this practice as ineffective and potentially extremely harmful to patients. This is more than just a problem amongst religious fundamentalists, it’s an issue for the NHS and professional sector." She added;
"We also need to ensure that psychotherapists who aren’t members of professional bodies which explicitly have positions against conversion therapy, are not commissioned by the NHS." (National Health Service)
Lamb, who spoke after Osbourne noted,
"I find this practice wholly abhorrent and it has no place in a modern society. It is completely inappropriate for any GP [General Practitioner/M.D.]to be referring a patient for this sort of therapy." He added, "The Government are not aware the NHS commissions this type of therapy."
But he indicated that he was not convinced that regulation of the practice by Parliament was worthwhile telling the MP's,
"The Government believe state regulation will not be appropriate, as the cost of registration for therapists and for the taxpayer could not be justified."
Currently in the UK there is no minimum level of qualification that needs to be reached in order to practice as a psychotherapist, meaning anyone can set themselves up as a counselor reported Britain's Daily express newspaper.
There is a Private Members Bill set to be debated in the Parliament this coming January which would lead to regulation of the counselling sector. Osborne argued that introducing regulation into the profession which make it easier to stop conversion therapy being carried out.
A spokesperson for British LGBTQ Equality Rights group Stonewall UK reacted to the debate;
"We’re deeply concerned about voodoo ‘gay-cure’ therapies and their promotion and welcome any efforts from the Government and the UK Council for Psychotherapy to stamp out this damaging practice." Stonewall's senior health officer James Taylor said in a statement.
"In 21st century Britain, lesbian, gay and bisexual people should be able to access therapy and counselling services without fear of discrimination or judgement."
Supporters of the practice include the Christian Religious group, Core Issues, which claimed that there is no evidence that the practice of conversion or “reparative therapy" is harmful and any ban would show "an intolerance of those who wish to turn from homosexuality."
"The UK Parliament is in danger of promoting an injustice against a minority group who wish, quietly, to turn from homosexuality for personal and/or religious reasons without offence to any other group." the groups's president and chief spokesperson Dr. Mike Davidson said.
"We call on the government to ratify evidence-based scientific data, rather than to promote political ideology which exploits and uses people who understand themselves to be homosexual, for its own ends. We deplore such intolerance."
Scotland's Same-Sex marriage bill advances
By Mark Singer | EDINBURGH -- The Scottish Parliament voted 98-15 Wednesday evening to advance legislation that would bring marriage equality to Scotland with possible royal assent by Queen Elizabeth as early as March 2014. Scotish lawmakers passed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill on its first reading sending it to Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee for consideration and debate along with any amendments offered by MP's.
The bill will the have a second reading where, if passed, would advance to a third and final reading before a final vote by the full Parliament, which political observers in the capital told LGBTQ Nation could occur as early as next spring. Once passed the bill then heads to the Queen for her assent which means that same-sex couples could begin marrying immediately afterwards.
Tom French, the policy coordinator for the Equality Network, said after the vote;
"Tonight the Scottish Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to back same-sex marriage and uphold the principle that we should all be equal under the law. This vote is a huge step forward which will send out a strong message that LGBT people are equal and valued members of our society.
While there is still more work to do to improve the bill and ensure it becomes law, LGBT people across the country will be celebrating this significant milestone in the journey towards full equality."
Civil partnerships for same-sex couples have been legal in Scotland since 2005 in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, and recent polling in the country has shown than a majority of Scots support the move to full marriage equality, which British lawmakers had made legal earlier this year for Britain and Wales. Same-sex couples there will be allowed to get married also in 2014.
The strongest opposition to same-sex couples receiving the benefits of full marriage equality has been from both the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland although a religious exemption in the measure allows religious organizations and members of the clergy to refuse to marry gay and lesbian couples. The exemption would allow that an "opt in" by the churches to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Lawmakers who spoke against the measure argued that the bill's religious exemptions weren't strong enough and that the law's premise would bring about the decline of modern moral society.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Newsmakers
LGBTQ Youth Advocate indicted for sex crimes against a minor
 |
| President Barack Obama and Caleb Laieski Official White House Photo |
By Brody Levesque | PHOENIX -- A prominent LGBT equality rights and anti-bullying activist faces more than a dozen charges of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Caleb Laieski, 18, was indicted by a grand jury in Phoenix, Arizona, on the sex-crime charges as part of a case against former Phoenix Police Detective Chris Wilson.
Wilson was arrested last December in the alleged sexual assaults of a 14-year-old boy, and 17-year-old boy. According to the Phoenix media outlet, Phoenix New Times, Laieski is that 17-year-old.
Laieski's indictment doesn't provide details about the alleged crimes but accuses him of engaging in various sex acts with the 14-year-old.
Wilson, who resigned from the Phoenix police department because of his arrest, had met Laieski and the 14 year old victim while he served in the department's Community Response Squad as a liaison officer to the LGBTQ community.
The 14-year-old victim had told his parents about his alleged relationships with Laieski and Wilson, and his parents went to the police and lodged a complaint.
Laieski has said that he was "16 years old, or at most, 17 years old" when the alleged sexual encounters occurred, according to court documents.
Laieski had started his anti-bullying activism when he was forced to drop out of high school at the age of 16, rose to national prominence after he traveled to Washington to lobby Congress to make schools a safer environment for LGBT youth. Laieski met with both President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden to lobby both men about LGBT youth issues.
Laieski was also a youth and diversity advocate for Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton's office and was featured in an anti-bullying documentary 'Bullied to Silence' released in 2012.
Earlier this year, Laieski worked on the congressional committee staff for House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) and is currently employed by the Arlington County, Virginia Police Department as a 911 dispatcher.
Laieski was released from custody on a personal recognizance bond with an arraignment scheduled for next week.
The judge allowed a defense motion to allow Laieski to return and reside in Virginia pending trial.
The judge allowed a defense motion to allow Laieski to return and reside in Virginia pending trial.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Politics
NOM fails to produce required Federal tax forms
WASHINGTON -- Representatives from two LGBTQ equality rights groups were told Friday, and again Monday, by the staff of the National Organisation for Marriage's Washington D. C. office, that its required federal tax returns for this past tax year of 2012 were not available.
Officials of the Human Rights Campaign and the Rights Equal Rights organization visited NOM’s office to review the federal tax returns that were due on Friday, Nov. 15. Federal tax law requires organizations to publicly release their 990s the same day an in-person request is made.
Fred Karger, the head of the Rights Equal Rights organization noted;
"We sent a representative to the Washington, DC office of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) first thing Friday morning to pick up both copies of NOM's federal tax returns for 2012. NOM's tax returns were originally due on May 15, 2013, but they took TWO extensions so their final deadline was Friday.
Guess what? NO tax returns were available for public inspection at their main office on Friday. We have an audio clip of a NOM representative saying to 'come back Monday or Tuesday.' NOM President Brian $ Brown claims they are 'law abiding, file all their tax returns on time and obey all state and federal election laws.' They do not."
Karger has been filing formal complaints against NOM since 2009 with the IRS and has repeatedly called for a Congressional Investigation of the National Organization for Marriage due to its late and non-reporting of its federal 990 income tax returns.
Monday, representatives from the HRC returned to NOM's D. C. offices only to be told that the forms were still unavailable.
“NOM’s inability to meet one of the most basic accounting standards for any organization makes you wonder what exactly is going on – are they simply demonstrating the same flagrant disregard they have for numerous state campaign finance laws, or is there something in these documents that reflects even more poorly on the organization and their failed work?” A spokesperson for HRC said in an e-mail to LGBTQ Nation.
“Brian Brown apparently had enough time on Friday to pull together a fundraising email feigning outrage at the marriage equality victory in Hawaii, but didn’t have time to ensure his organization was running in accordance with the law. NOM should do the right thing and immediately release these financial documents that the public has a right to see.”
World News
Prominent Ugandan LGBT equality rights activist charged with sodomy- held without bail
 |
| Samuel Ganafa |
By Mark Singer & Brody Levesque | KAMPALA -- Samuel Ganafa, the executive director of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives and board chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he had sodomized another man and infected him with HIV. During an initial arraignment Friday morning in Kampala, the judge denied a defense motion for bail for the fifty-one-year-old activist and ordered another hearing set for this coming Monday.
According to police reports and court documents, the victim, Disan Twesiga, alleged that Ganafa had sodomized him over the course of several months and also claimed that he was infected with HIV as a result of those sexual liaisons.
On Thursday, Twesiga held a press conference at the Kampala District Police station to reiterate his allegations.
Speaking to reporters Friday, SMUG's programs director, Julian Pepe Onziema, said that Ganafa was arrested Tuesday, after Kampala District Police Commander Chemonges Seiko, summoned him to a police station on the outskirts of the Uguanda capital city. Upon arrival Onziema said, he was immediately arrested.
"Without showing a warrant of arrest he was forced onto a police truck and taken twice to his residence, which was searched. The search was conducted without a search warrant.
During the unwarranted search, three houseguests, Joseph Kayizi, Kasali Brian, and Michael Katongole were also arrested and taken to the police for questioning as well," Onziema said adding, "His nephew Brian Kasirye, who had rushed to the police station to check on him was also detained."
Onziema also alleged that Ganafa was then forced to take an HIV test, without a court order.
The four other men arrested remain in police custody and have not been formally charged.
Onziema and other activists pointed out that Ganafa and the others have been held in police custody for more than 72 hours in violation of the country's constitution, which stipulates that an accused cannot be held for more than 48 hours before being taken to court.
"This is despite the fact that he has not been found guilty by a court and is thus presumed innocent under the law. The five suspects remain in custody without being officially charged and without being brought before the courts despite the expiry of the constitutionally warranted 48 hours," Onziema said.
She added that her organisation along with the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law are closely following the case, and have instructed lawyers to represent all of the accused.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda with the country's Parliament considering proposed new legislation that prescribes harsher penalties against those accused of being LGBT including possible capital punishment for those being convicted of "repeated offenses of homosexuality."
A longtime respected member of the Ugandan LGBT community, Ganafa serves as the executive director of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives and is board chair for the Sexual Minorities Uganda coalition (SMUG). Ganafa works for the country's leading telecommunications firm, Uganda Telecom, where he was demoted, suffered a pay deduction, and was forced to return his company car in 2005 after being outing by a local tabloid, The Mirror, who printed his name and place of employment.
In an interview with Canadian freelance journalist Kaj Hasselriis in February 2010, Ganafa urged LGBTQ Ugandans not to reveal their sexuality in order to protect themselves.
“I know I’m suffocating them, but there’s no better option than that,” said Ganafa. “I know what I’ve been through, and I don’t want others to go through it too. Life became very difficult Outing is primitive. It sows the seeds of hatred and homophobia. Nothing good comes to the people who are [forcefully] outed.”
Luxembourg's top two incoming government officials are gay
Grand Duke Henri, the country’s head of state, has officially appointed Xavier Bettel, the former mayor of Luxembourg City, as the prime minister designate.
Bettel, 40, announced last week that he will form a coalition government with the Greens and Socialists and once the government is formed, he's planning to take office as prime minister within the next few weeks.
During a phone interview Monday, Bettel said that he has selected Etienne Schneider, the leader of Luxembourg's Socialist Workers Party, to be his deputy prime minister. Schneider is also an openly gay politician and currently the Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade.
Bettel said that his first priority as prime minister would be to push for legalizing same-sex marriage in the world's only remaining grand duchy. He indicated that he didn't want a time lapse of more than a year or two to make marriage equality law in the nation.
With his selection as Prime Minster, Bettel will be the European Union’s second openly gay PM after Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo, and will take up living in the prime minister's official residence with his partner Destenay Gauthier.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
World News
Russian newspaper accused of violating anti-gay propaganda law
 |
| Alexander Yermoshkin * Photo via VK.com |
By Brody Levesque and Mark Singer | MOSCOW -- An interview with a middle school grade 8 geography teacher has led to a Russian regional newspaper to be warned about violating the new federal anti-homosexual propaganda law.
Journalist Irina Severtseva, writing for the Khabarovsk region's Molodoi Dalnevostochnik newspaper, had done a profile piece on Alexander Yermoshkin, who had been fired from his job after a group of 678 residents of Khabarovsk, calling itself the Movement Against Sexual Perversions, formally complained to School Number 32 where he had been employed asking for his termination.
The group asked for Yermoshkin to be fired because he could exert a negative influence on the children and make them think that "nontraditional relations are as normal as traditional ones."
Yermoshkin, an 18 year veteran of the teaching profession was also known locally for his gay rights and environmental activism in the city, holding "rainbow flash mobs" on Khabarovsk's central Lenin Square since 2008.
According to Yermoshkin, the authorities never bothered him until last spring, when during a May "rainbow flash mobs," at which he and approximately 100 other LGBTQ activists would gathered on Khabarovsk's main square to released rainbow-colored balloons in a show of LGBTQ pride, was interrupted by a local Russian Neo-Nazi group.
The Stoltz Khabarovsk group showed up, threatening and insulting the participants, which prompted local law enforcement to step in and the resulting publicity created the push to fire him, which was strengthened by passage of the national law in June which banned LGBTQ events such as the rainbow flash mobs.
Yermoshkin spoke with the paper about his dismissal after he was notified that he was terminated from his teaching job in early September. The paper then ran the profile story on an inside page not long afterwards.
In the article, the paper noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had given public assurances that the anti-gay law would not affect LGBT people's job prospects, claiming "the rights of people with nontraditional orientation are infringed upon neither in terms of profession nor salary level."
But, the paper then wrote,"Putin's statement does not appear to be accurate. In a recent poll conducted by the Russian group LGBT Network, 38 percent of respondents said they had experienced difficulties at work due to their sexual orientation."
The far eastern branch office for the Russian Federal media watchdog agency, the Federal Mass Media Inspection Service, received several complaints about the article and profile piece which had been entitled;"History of Gay-ography." But, the paper had in fact printed the obligatory notice of caution about the article on its front page that the content (the article/profile) was for readers who were ages 16+.
Investigators took exception to the factual aside on questing the Russian president's statement coupled with a statement that Yermoshkin himself had made in the interview. Severtseva had reported his quote, "My very existence is effective proof that homosexuality is normal."
Galina Yegoshina, a specialist from the watchdog's agency's regional branch claimed,
"This statement goes against logic. By offering it to underage readers, the author is misleading them about the normality of homosexuality. According to the author's logic, it would be possible to call normal and even effective the existence of rapists and serial killers."
Molodoi Dalnevostochnik's editor-in-chief responded to the agency's investigation, noting the article shows the negative sides of being a homosexual and cited constitutional provisions outlawing discrimination. The paper also offered Yermoshkin an opportunity to write an ecology-related column for the paper.
Should the agency's report result in a charges for the paper, it faces a potential fine of up to a maximum penalty of 1 million rubles and shutting down its presses for 90 days.
Yermoshkin is now suing the school officials claiming discriminatory treatment against him which resulted in improper termination of his employment. He told the paper he never received any official reprimands as a teacher, and his former students, who apparently were not aware of his sexual orientation before his firing, have expressed support for him. The city's young people also support his efforts by gathering about 11,000 signatures for a petition sent to Khabarovsk's education department asking for his reinstatement.
"There is already a saying in Khabarovsk: What is scarier than being a gay teacher in Russia? Being a gay teacher who also works on environmental issues," Yermoshkin joked. "Now they think that I will cease my activities, but in fact the opposite is true: now I will have more time to act," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
