U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced the formation of a new commission that will take a “fresh look” at human rights through the lens of “natural law,” and civil and human rights advocates are outraged. In preliminary filings the State Dept. noted the Commission will explore “our nation’s founding principles of natural law and natural rights.”
“Natural law,” is religious right wing extremist code for anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights, especially marriage for same-sex couples.
Secretary Pompeo, a known right wing Christian extremist in his own right, has named Mary Ann Glendon, a professor who is also his former mentor, to lead the “Commission on Unalienable Rights.”
“I hope that the commission will revisit the most basic of questions: What does it mean to claim something is, in fact, a human right?” Pompeo told reporters Monday, adding, as Yahoo News notes, that “words like rights can be used for good or evil.”
Glendon should understand Pompeo’s remarks. She penned a 2004 op-ed supporting a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. In a unique twist of language she claimed the amendment “should be welcomed by all Americans who are concerned about equality and preserving democratic decision-making.”
And in a shocking move Glendon chastised the awarding of a Pulitzer Prize to the Boston Globe for its work exposing pedophile priests. She reportedly said; “If fairness & accuracy have anything to do with it, awarding the Pulitzer to the Boston Globe would be like giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Osama bin Laden.”
Anti-gay hate group leader Tony Perkins was briefed on the Commission before it was officially announced, CBS News reports.
A State Dept. official says the Commission is a “personal project” of Secretary Pompeo’s, and Politico reports the Commission “was conceived with almost no input from the State Department’s human rights bureau, people familiar with the matter say, effectively sidelining career government experts who have focused on human rights policy and history across numerous administrations.”
“This administration has actively worked to deny and take away long-standing human rights protections since Trump’s inauguration. If this administration truly wanted to support people’s rights, it would use the global framework that’s already in place. Instead, it wants to undermine rights for individuals, as well as the responsibilities of governments.”
“This approach only encourages other countries to adopt a disregard for basic human rights standards and risks weakening international, as well as regional frameworks, placing the rights of millions of people around the world in jeopardy.”
“International agreements, like the Universal Declaration for Human Rights, have been upheld by prior administrations over the last 71 years, regardless of their party. This politicization of human rights in order to, what appears to be an attempt to further hateful policies aimed at women and LGBTQ people, is shameful.”
Positive Images 200 Montgomery Dr Suite C Santa Rosa
“This training provides an opportunity for LGBTQ community members to learn to identify what makes a relationship healthy. By understanding what makes a relationship healthy, participants can better identify risk of violence or coercive behavior.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/636767583401696/
Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Communities
Wednesday July 10th from 1-5pm
La Plaza at Lincoln Elementary 850 West 9th St, Santa Rosa
“This training provides an opportunity for service providers to learn about the dynamics of intimate partner violence that are specific to LGBTQ communities and the need for specialized services for LGBTQ survivors of intimate partner violence. Participants will learn to understand intimate partner violence in LGBTQ communities in terms of the workings of heterosexism and cissexism, as well as how to better identify and support LGBTQ survivors in interactive activities. This training will also provide a brief introduction into the importance of screening and assessment, as well as tools and resources for providing culturally accessible and affirming services and support for LGBTQ survivors.”
https://www.facebook.com/events/2259419960986981/
Please join us for both of these wonderful trainings! Follow the links to learn more information. We’ve attached fliers for next week’s trainings and invite you to share it with anyone you think would be interested!
If you haven’t joined our Facebook group yet, please do so! We are hoping this will be an easy way to share information and announcements in the coming months. You can join the group here:
Human Rights Watch has updated our marriage equality map, which provides an overview of countries with marriage equality, civil unions or registered partnership; links to the relevant legislation; and, where possible, a brief explanation of the path – legislative, judicial, or other – that these countries took to achieve marriage equality or to provide for same-sex civil unions or registered partnership.
As legal situations change in countries, this map will be further updated.
In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to open civil marriage to same-sex couples. Other countries followed. Today there are 28 countries with marriage equality—most recently, Austria, Ecuador and Taiwan– with Costa Rica expected to join the list soon.
An additional fourteen countries have made civil unions or registered partnerships available for same-sex couples. In some cases, civil unions or registered partnership provide all the same rights and responsibilities of civil marriage and differ in name only; countries with such laws include Croatia, Greece, Slovenia and Switzerland. In other cases, civil unions provide some, but not all, of these rights.
In 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an advisory opinion on the interpretation of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights in respect of marriage equality. The Court encouraged member states to take actions towards eliminating discrimination and achieving marriage equality.
There are causes to celebrate during Pride Month, as laws and policies continue to improve LGBT rights around the world.
We hope this map will assist those who are looking for this type of information. We decided to only mark independent countries on our map and not overseas territories, regions, departments or possessions. That’s why we did not include Bermuda, Greenland or Aruba for instance. If you have additional information, you can contact Human Rights Watch via lgbt@hrw.org
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Click on each country for a snapshot of current legislation. For more information and Human Rights Watch reporting on LGBT rights, click on the country name in the black pop-up box.
Established in Istanbul in 1890, Bomonti is Turkey’s oldest modern brewery and produces one of the country’s most popular lagers. The rainbow-coloured bottle was unveiled in an Instagram post by the head of Bomonti’s branding agency, alongside the caption: “We did it!”
It’s a bold move in a country which has been named the second-most restrictive on gay rights in Europe. Amnesty International previously told PinkNews in 2018 that Turkish LGBT+ people are “living in more fear than ever.”
Although courts ruled in April that the two-year ban on Pride parades could technically be lifted, Amnesty reported in May that “appalling” violence had been used against students holding a Pride march in the capital city of Ankara. Authorities also stripped the scholarships of students detained in the march.
And on Sunday (June 30) another Pride rally in Istanbul ended with tear gas and rubber bullets.
This current political climate makes Bomonti’s decision to embrace LGBT+ rights particularly significant — and while the commercialisation of Pride may be common in other countries, the Turkish LGBT+ community couldn’t be happier to see the beer brand following suit.
@zekibaskaya said, “I’m shocked! but really excellent idea,” @logolepsi said, “You’ve made us even more happy with rainbow marketing,” and @benimadimsencer said: “We’re so happy, so excited. For the first time in Turkey, a brand is investing in Pride and standing behind us like a door.”
Saturday July 13 @ 7 pm. Zipline Improv at Occidental Center for the Arts. Skilled Bay Area actors led by local actress and founder Laura Wachtel present an evening of delightful improvised scenes and stories with your suggestions to inspire them. Their focus is on narrative improv both short scenes and full length. What will it be this time? Join us to see! $15 Adv/$20 at door. Fine Refreshments. Accessible to persons with disabilities. 707-874-9392. 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental, CA. 95465 www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Though old enough to have had firsthand knowledge of Stonewall (I was 22 when the riots occurred) my understanding of Stonewall came from hearing about it from friends and reading about it many years later. Though I grew up in upper Manhattan, anything having to do with gay life was something out of my experience.
When the Stonewall Riots began on June 28, 1969, I had just graduated from college and was on my way across the country. I was living a deeply closeted life. Even after going to work for gay rights advocate Bella S. Abzug (D-N.Y.) in 1972 it would be nearly 12 more years until I came out. So it was much later that I learned how much I owed those who took part in the riots and how the repercussions were to impact my life.
When I did come out in the early 1980s, I met and got to know Frank Kameny learning he demonstrated for gay rights before Stonewall. A little research confirmed that with a few others Kameny led a picket line protesting government treatment of gays and lesbians in front of the White House on April 17, 1965 — four years before Stonewall.
After coming out, I joined the fight for equality for the LGBTQ+ movement meeting many who were there before me to whom I owed much. Our community must recognize the very fast pace of change that has occurred for us compared to other minority groups and women. Until the Trump administration things were going at lightning speed for our equality movement compared to the hundreds of years it took for African Americans and knowing women still can’t get the Equal Rights Amendment passed by states that was first introduced in Congress in 1923. So while some think things have moved slowly, I hope when Democrats once again take the Senate and the presidency we will be able to pass the Equality Act first introduced in Congress by Bella in 1974.
We have gained recognition by society in some ways just as important if not more so than legislation. We have gained the right to marry even though in 37 states we can marry on Sunday and be fired from our jobs or thrown out of our homes on Monday.
I think the debate in our community as represented by the two competing parades being held in New York to celebrate 50 years since Stonewall are in some ways emblematic of our success. This year there is a counter march to the New York Pride parade called the “Reclaim Pride” march honoring Stonewall. It is a back-to-basics march without any outside participation from the corporate or government communities. While I can respect the views of the leaders of this march and wish them success, I think our success has been that government and the corporate communities want to march with us.
To me a celebration of those who took part in Stonewall and others like Kameny would include corporate floats, the police and military in uniform. We fought for broad-based acceptance and recognition for members of our community. Why is it a bad thing if a corporation is proud to have its gay employees march openly under their banner in a pride parade? Why should we not celebrate police departments proud to have their LGBTQ members and other officers who support them march openly? Then there is the military who some object to having participate. We fought long and hard to have members of the LGBTQ community be able to serve openly in the military. Why would we now not want them to march proudly in the uniforms they worked so long and hard to wear?
I am not blind to how far we have to go. There is discrimination in our society, even in our own community, especially toward people of color and women. We must demand our police be appropriately trained and diversify. We must rid police departments of those who allow their racial biases to influence their actions.
We honor those who were at Stonewall when we let corporations celebrate with us after 50 years of our activists fighting for this to happen.
When we needed help fighting anti-gay laws in North Carolina and Indiana among other places the business community stood with us. Those of us who are out need to live our pride every day of the year. We need to urge more and more people to come out and it’s so much easier if they know their neighbors and their employers say “you are welcome here and we support you.” We honor Stonewall when we are inclusive.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
According to The Guardian, the group are the first of 15 LGBT+ refugees finally coming to London after they were accepted onto a resettlement scheme, which is supposed to be faster than the lengthy asylum process, more than two years ago.
During that time, they have been waiting in Turkey where, although being gay is legal, homophobic and transphobic abuse are common and the government ruled that the group were in danger in the country.
Members of the group received death threats and were having to hide in safe houses to avoid violence, the newspaper reported.
The four refugees are in a “state of joy,” and the 11 others are expected to follow soon.
They will be able to openly express being LGBT+ for the first time. (Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Media via Getty)
The refugees “will proudly march with Pride for the first time in their lives”
Toufique Hossain and Sheroy Zaq, solicitors who launched the legal action, told The Guardian: “These men have been forced to conceal an enormous part of their identity, not just in their country of origin but also in Turkey.
“The detriment they suffered as a result of their sexuality in Turkey simply could not go on any longer; we had to ensure that their resettlement was expedited through legal channels.
“We are elated that they will at last be able to be open about their sexuality in all walks of life, just in time for Pride.”
The refugees were offered housing by the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and the leader of the council also told the publication: “No one anywhere should ever face death threats because of their sexuality.
“I’m so happy that we have been able to provide safe refuge for these young people and that tomorrow they will proudly march with Pride for the first time in their lives.”
On the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot, Los Angeles received its first rainbow crosswalk.
The City of LA and Venice Pride organization a commemoration ceremony today, outside of Roosterfish in Venice, where the crosswalk is located. Roosterfish is a gay bar that was successfully reopened last year with the help of Venice Pride.
The permanent crossing is modeled after the iconic rainbow crosswalks in the Castro District of San Francisco. There is a rainbow crosswalk already in the City of West Hollywood, at Robertson Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard and in the City of Long Beach, along the strip of gay bars on Broadway Avenue.
“While there were many notable historic events on the road to equality before this event, notably some significant ones in Los Angeles including the Black Cat and Doughnut Riots, Stonewall is widely hailed as the beginning of the modern LGBT civil rights movement and culminated in the first Pride March (later adapted into parade format),” Venice Pride stated in a press release. “Stonewall is a historical gay bar located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.”
Venice Pride thanked Mike Bonin, Sheila Kuehl, Ben Allen and Autumn Burke for their commitment to LGBTQ+ equality.
“A rainbow crosswalk on @abbotkinneyblvd at the doorstep of storied gay bar – what a colorful way to end Pride Month in L.A! We look forward to dedicating the crosswalk with the City of L.A. in recognition of #Stonewall50 and celebrating all we have achieved since ‘69. You fill us with pride and joy,” the Facebook post continued.Photo: Morgan Genser.
The unveiling of the new rainbow crosswalk took place at Roosterfish, located at 1302 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Speakers in attendance were: Taylor Bazley, Office of L.A. City Councilmember Mike Bonin; Lisa Lubchansky, Board Member, Venice Pride; Grant Turck, Board President, Venice Pride; Michael Weinstein, President, Aids Healthcare Foundation; Will Gaines, Office of State Senator Ben Allen; David Dancer, Chief Marketing Officer, MedMen; Stephanie Cohen, Office of Supervisor Sheila Kuhel ; Kim Sharp, Abbot Kinney Festival Association; Erinn Berkson, Abbot Kinney Merchant’s Association; Mario Vollera, Partner, Roosterfish; Ari Ruiz, Office of Assemblywoman Autumn Burke
The Gay Liberation Front, the U.K.’s long running activist collective, has released new demands for their continued fight.
The collective was founded in London nearly 50 years ago, following the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, and staged the first Pride in London. Now, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the iconic throwing of the first brick by Marsha P. Johnson, the collective wants to reignite the spirit of rebellion in Pride.
On June 17, a cross-generational group made up of original members of the Gay Liberation Front and younger activists took to Trafalgar Square to recreate the first Pride in London and “to remember and reinvigorate the fires that fought back against centuries of oppression and seemingly overwhelming odds” as Ted Brown (original and presently active Gay Libertion Front member) stated. Brandishing banners replicating those from the 1970 protest and chanting the collective launched is aptly titled: “A NEW AGREEMENT ABOUT PRIDE EVENTS FOR A NEW WORLD AGE” – a 7-point intervention aimed at making Pride safe, accessible and inclusive.
The intervention demands are based in a historical valuing of the movement as well as an understanding of the intersection of numerous struggles which come to the attention of LGBTQ+ activists in modern day U.K. and the world.
1. Pride is FREE: Pride organizers who want ticketed events must arrange free Pride marches as well. No one should be denied entry to Pride because they don’t have enough money.
2. Pride is always a protest as well as a celebration. We’ve a whole world yet to change and we’ve hardly begun.
3. LGBT+ community groups actively engaged in grassroots LGBTQIA+ empowerment programs, or key allies such as the miners in the 1980s, always to head Pride marches.
4. Arms dealers and other corporations who trade with nations in violation of the U.N. International Charter on Human Rights are never again to be allowed to sponsor or have floats at Pride marches. Individual LGBT employees of such corporations are welcome as always, but not marching in groups sporting corporate logos.
5. The target is to be vehicle-free: No diesel-powered vehicles unless for mobility or safety reasons.
6. Full accessibility and reminders to LGBT-friendly venues near the March that full accessibility is the target.
7. Gay Liberation Front to lead Pride in London in 2020.
The U.K., even with the Equality Act of 2010 which protects all people against discrimination, has seen a rise in hate crimes over the past five years. On June 7, a lesbian couple was beaten on a bus by a group of young men for refusing to kiss in front of them. Stuart Feather, author of “Blowing the Lid: Gay Liberation, Sexual Revolution and Radical Queens” and original Gay Liberation Front activist, and firebrand of the struggle stated, “Gay Liberation will always be a socialist movement by virtue of its demand for social change.”
Noting the value in cross-generational collaboration in activism and paying it forward, Nettie Pollard said, “We did what we did to rescue ourselves, but we always thought of you as well — you who would come out after us, and will come out until the world ends.”
The initiative was supported by Queer Tours of London, a collective of LGBTQ+ activists based in London and around the world whose work merges research, education, entertainment and radical activism in order to advocate for social justice and preservation of queer histories as inscribed in the streets of London. With the fight for global decriminalization of queer livelihoods in Commonwealth states progressing — Botswana being the most recent state to abolish colonial laws — the 2022 celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Pride in London are set to be another monumental landmark in the expansive history of the Gay Liberation Front. On the build up calendar is a series of tours curated and guided in collaboration with the Gay Liberation Front featuring original members who show that they’re still packing in some fighting spirit.
“We believe that communities are empowered when they are represented,” said the contest’s organisers, Stardom Space and Project PoSSUM (Polar Suboribital Science in the Upper Mesosphere).SPONSORED CONTENTM
“Our goal is to train and fly a member of the LGBT+ community as a scientist-astronaut.”
The chosen astronaut would serve as “an ambassador” to the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries, according to the contest website.
It states that currently, more than 40 percent of LGBT+ people in STEM are not out, with queer students less likely to follow academic careers than their straight peers.
“Astronauts inspire our youth, represent limitless possibilities, and serve as ambassadors to STEM,” Out Astronaut said.
“Astronauts inspire our youth and represent limitless possibilities.”
—Out Astronaut
The contest is in its first phase, with applications open to scientists or students aged 18- to 39-years-old who are residents of the US, Canada, Mexco, the Caribbean or Central America.
After applications close on July 15, 12 finalists will be chosen and put forward for a social media vote.
The final winner will be chosen by Out Astronaut and announced on September 8. They will receive a full scholarship to attend the Advanced PoSSUM Academy, with lodging and a round-flight trip included.
Out Astronaut is currently seeking funding for the second page of the project–which would see the top four contestants attend a year-long applied astronautics programme, and a third and final phase which would send one LGBT+ scientist into space.
Who was the first gay astronaut?
While there have been no openly LGBT+ astronauts up until now, one notable space explorer was revealed to have been queer following her death.
Sally Ride became the United States’ first woman in space on June 18, 1983, but kept her sexuality private until her death in 2012.
