Clad in neon pink sequins and flowers, “Diva D” boasted before hundreds of people in downtown Guerneville Sunday that Sonoma County’s Pride Parade is more successful than it’s ever been.
“We were a smashing success last year,” said “Diva D,” as David Goyes is known in drag. And turnout at this year’s festival celebrating the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community likely beat last year’s numbers, parade organizers said.
“This is such a great time because it draws out everyone — it’s not just the gay community, it’s the whole community,” said Goyes, an organizer for the popular event. “I feel like the gay community is not often recognized in Sonoma County, so this is great.”
An estimated 1,500 people were expected to take part over the celebration’s four-day run, which kicked off Thursday with an LGBTQ film festival in Monte Rio.
Sunday’s annual parade drew hundreds of people to the streets of Guerneville. Songs by Prince blared over loud speakers, rainbow flags flew in the entrances of downtown businesses and kids frolicked in the sun-drenched streets as the parade passed the river town’s historic main street.
“This is the best pride parade around,” said Ukiah resident Tony Berno, who regularly visits Guerneville during pride week. “We love coming here. It’s perfect — swimming in the river, walking in the woods and having fun. There’s not too many towns like Guerneville.”
Sonoma County has a 30-year tradition of gay pride celebrations, and the Guerneville parade has become wildly popular among pride celebrations across the Bay Area.
“It has more of a community feel compared to San Francisco’s big pride celebration,” Goyes said. “We love San Francisco — it’s the mothership for the gay community, but this is important in Guerneville to help break down some of the stereotypes out there.”
Similar pride events held around the nation during June commemorate the Stonewall riot that erupted June 28, 1969, after a police raid on a West Village gay bar in New York City. They also provide opportunities for self-affirmation and validation of sexual and gender diversity.
San Francisco was home to another rebellion in favor of LGBTQ rights prior to Stonewall, when in 1966 a group of people rioted at Compton’s Cafeteria in the Tenderloin District. The restaurant at the time was a mingling space for transgender people.
Such monumental events have paved the way for more rights for LGBTQ people, but many still experience discrimination in schools, the workplace and in receiving services such as health care, some parade attendees said.
Jody Laine, an organizer for the Monte Rio film festival called “OUTWatch,” said seeing LGBTQ people in the larger community helps further the quest for equality.
“It’s really important to let people know we’re still here and to let newcomers know that they’re welcome. And what better a place for this? Guerneville is known as a marvelous mecca for the gay community.” Laine said. “It’s important to have a center even though we’ve been integrated in the community for a long time. It wasn’t always that way.”
Against the backdrop of a major, national audience, Equality Forum, the nation’s oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights summit, announced plans today for this year’s summit to be held July 25 through July 28 during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. Equality Forum 2016 will bring together elected officials, newsmakers and LGBT experts for groundbreaking panel discussions on the state and future of the LGBT movement, as well as two historic marker dedications and award ceremonies.
“The stakes couldn’t be higher this election season for LGBT equality and the Equality Forum gives us a front-row seat into the road ahead,” said Ed Rendell, Chair, 2016 Democratic National Convention. “For four days in Philadelphia during the Democratic National Convention, the Equality Forum’s convening of the best and brightest minds on the future of the LGBT movement is not to be missed.” Rendell is also the former governor of Pennsylvania and previous chair of the Democratic National Committee.
While marriage equality was achieved with the monumental Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges and other LGBT advancements, more challenges lay ahead for the future of the movement and the community, including enacting state and federal workplace equal protection laws, advancing transgender equality, eliminating reparative therapy, defeating so-called “religious exemption statutes”, thwarting bullying, promoting elder quality of life and providing the LGBT community’s place at the table. Equality Forum 2016 will explore these issues through the lens of the 2016 presidential election bringing together history makers, legal scholars and political leaders for thought-provoking panel conversations.
“The LGBT civil rights movement is at a pivotal moment having achieved marriage equality with the monumental Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges,” said Malcolm Lazin, Equality Forum’s Founder and Executive Director. “However, the LGBT community continues to face mounting challenges threatening to roll back advancements we’ve made in achieving equality. Equality Forum 2016 will bring together the top-minds, leading experts and newsmakers to discuss what the road ahead will look like for LGBT equality in the shadows of perhaps the most consequential presidential election in a lifetime.”
From July 25 through July 28, Equality Forum 2016 will feature four stellar panels focusing on areas significant to continued progress for the LGBT movement, including:
These panels are designed to examine the LGBT movement through the lens of the 2016 presidential election, and will bring together history makers, legal scholars and political leaders for thought-provoking conversations.
Historic Marker Dedication
Equality Forum 2016 will also include the dedication of two movement important historic markers.
The Barbara Gittings Historic Marker recognizes the mother of the LGBT civil rights movement and where she resided in the 1960s with her partner Kay Lahusen.
The Philadelphia Conference Historic Marker, located at the Friends Meetinghouse designates where 300 activists from around the country met to organize the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Awards Presentation
In addition, Equality Forum 2016 will present two prestigious awards to members and allies of the LGBT community who fought for and helped advance equality.
Jim Obergefell will present the Frank Kameny Award, named for the father of the LGBT civil rights movement. The award recipients will be two high ranking and openly gay federal government employees, representing President Obama’s record setting number of appointments of openly LGBT federal employees.
The 21st Annual International Role Model Award is the nation’s longest standing award to activists and straight allies who have advanced LGBT civil rights. Previous recipients of the award include such notables as Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, CA Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Supreme Court Plaintiff Edie Windsor, Judy Shepard, David Boies and Ted Olson, former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), and tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect Union. This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth. The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is reflected in the tireless dedication of advocates and allies who strive to forge a more inclusive society. They have spurred sweeping progress by changing hearts and minds and by demanding equal treatment — under our laws, from our courts, and in our politics. This month, we recognize all they have done to bring us to this point, and we recommit to bending the arc of our Nation toward justice.
Last year’s landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 States was a historic victory for LGBT Americans, ensuring dignity for same-sex couples and greater equality across State lines. For every partnership that was not previously recognized under the law and for every American who was denied their basic civil rights, this monumental ruling instilled newfound hope, affirming the belief that we are all more free when we are treated as equals.
LGBT individuals deserve to know their country stands beside them. That is why my Administration is striving to better understand the needs of LGBT adults and to provide affordable, welcoming, and supportive housing to aging LGBT Americans. It is also why we oppose subjecting minors to the harmful practice of conversion therapy, and why we are continuing to promote equality and foster safe and supportive learning environments for all students. We remain committed to addressing health disparities in the LGBT community — gay and bisexual men and transgender women of color are at a particularly high risk for HIV, and we have worked to strengthen our National HIV/AIDS Strategy to reduce new infections, increase access to care, and improve health outcomes for people living with HIV.
Despite the extraordinary progress of the past few years, LGBT Americans still face discrimination simply for being who they are. I signed an Executive Order in 2014 that prohibits discrimination against Federal employees and contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. I urge the Congress to enact legislation that builds upon the progress we have made, because no one should live in fear of losing their job simply because of who they are or who they love. And our commitment to combatting discrimination against the LGBT community does not stop at our borders: Advancing the fair treatment of all people has long been a cornerstone of American diplomacy, and we have made defending and promoting the human rights of LGBT individuals a priority in our engagement across the globe. In line with America’s commitment to the notion that all people should be treated fairly and with respect, champions of this cause at home and abroad are upholding the simple truth that LGBT rights are human rights.
There remains much work to do to extend the promise of our country to every American, but because of the acts of courage of the millions who came out and spoke out to demand justice and of those who quietly toiled and pushed for progress, our Nation has made great strides in recognizing what these brave individuals long knew to be true in their hearts — that love is love and that no person should be judged by anything but the content of their character. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as Americans wave their flags of pride high and march boldly forward in parades and demonstrations, let us celebrate how far we have come and reaffirm our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all Americans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2016 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
California Gov. Jerry Brown this morning issued an “open letter to Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.” He writes:
On Tuesday, June 7, I have decided to cast my vote for Hillary Clinton because I believe this is the only path forward to win the presidency and stop the dangerous candidacy of Donald Trump.
I have closely watched the primaries and am deeply impressed with how well Bernie Sanders has done. He has driven home the message that the top one percent has unfairly captured way too much of America’s wealth, leaving the majority of people far behind. In 1992, I attempted a similar campaign.
For her part, Hillary Clinton has convincingly made the case that she knows how to get things done and has the tenacity and skill to advance the Democratic agenda. Voters have responded by giving her approximately 3 million more votes – and hundreds more delegates – than Sanders. If Clinton were to win only 10 percent of the remaining delegates – wildly improbable – she would still exceed the number needed for the nomination. In other words, Clinton’s lead is insurmountable and Democrats have shown – by millions of votes – that they want her as their nominee.
But there is more at stake than mere numbers. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, has called climate change a “hoax” and said he will tear up the Paris Climate Agreement. He has promised to deport millions of immigrants and ominously suggested that other countries may need the nuclear bomb. He has also pledged to pack the Supreme Court with only those who please the extreme right.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Our country faces an existential threat from climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons. A new cold war is on the horizon. This is no time for Democrats to keep fighting each other. The general election has already begun. Hillary Clinton, with her long experience, especially as Secretary of State, has a firm grasp of the issues and will be prepared to lead our country on day one.
Next January, I want to be sure that it is Hillary Clinton who takes the oath of office, not Donald Trump.
Match, the world’s largest relationship company, today debuted LGBTQ in America, the largest nationally-representative study of American singles who identify as LGBTQ. Conducted by Research Now in association with evolutionary biologist and gender studies professor, Dr. Justin R. Garcia of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, the data reveals new social commentary into the evolving attitudes, behaviors and challenges of the LGBTQ single population.
“Today’s society is full of rich gender and sexual diversity, however relatively little is known about the dating experiences of LGBTQ people,” says Match Scientific Advisor Dr. Justin Garcia. “Nearly half of the LGBTQ population in America identifies as single, and a vast majority of these singles, some 80 percent, are seeking a committed relationship. By expanding our annual Singles in America study to include more people of diverse identities, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans, we are beginning to address these knowledge gaps to better understand singles today.”
The study surveys a representative sample of over 1,000 LGBTQ singles between the ages of 18 to 70+ across the United States, who are not currently in a committed relationship. Key takeaways include:
COMING OUT Everyone has a personal story of realizing their sexual orientation and coming to terms with who they are
Age of Self-Described Realization:
Gay Men – 25% realized they were gay when they were less than 10 years old, 50% by 13 years old, and 75% by 18 years old.
Lesbian women – 25% realized by 12 years old, 50% at 15 years old, and 75% by 20/21 years old.
Transgender men (FtM) – 50% realized their gender didn’t match their bodies before their 13th birthday and 75% by the age of 16.
Transgender women (MtF) – 50% realized they were transgender before their 13th birthday and 75% of people realized before age 20.
Time in the closet: 25% of LGBTQ singles came out the same year they say they “realized” their sexual orientation or gender identity. Of those who realized before adulthood (defined as age 18), they went an average of 7 years before telling someone they identified as LGBTQ. Additionally, of those who realized during adulthood, it took an average of 2.9 years to come out.
Who is most comfortable coming out? Those assigned male at birth waited the longest before telling someone, with an average of 1.6 years longer compared to biologically born females. Transgender women took an extra 2.1 years before telling someone than a gay or bisexual man, and transgender men waited the shortest amount of time without telling someone.
Born this way: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual singles overwhelmingly believe that sexual orientation is biologically based, with two thirds (64%) believing it is completely determined by biology and 28% believing it is a combination of biology and experience. Only 7.5% of LGB singles believe sexual orientation is determined by experience alone.
MARRIAGE & THE BABY CARRIAGE In a long-sought victory for the gay rights movement, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. How important is marriage equality to same-sex couples and does this affect their desire to expand their family?
Love & Marriage: 63% of gay and lesbian singles have always wanted to get married, while 25% say they never wanted to marry.
Supreme Court Decision Effects: 17% of LGBTQ singles may be changing their mind about marriage based on the U.S. Supreme Court decision on marriage equality, while 61% claim the decision had no effect on their attitude toward marriage.
Family Support: 74% of LGBTQ singles say their family will support their marriage (26% will not).
Building a Family: Having children is important to 48% of younger LGBTQ singles, with lesbian women being the most likely to want kids (52%), and gay men being the least likely to want kids (36%).
DATING DO’s AND DON’TS The dating habits of America’s LGBTQ communities
Dating Online: 56% of LGBTQ singles have dated someone they met online, with transgender singles dating the most online (65%). Additionally, 46% of singles met their date last year though a dating app.
Who pays? LGBTQ singles say whoever initiated the date should pay (62%) or they play it safe and always split the bill (44%).
Transgender Dating: 47% of LGBTQ singles are open to dating someone who is transgender, while 44% say they would not consider dating them.
Additionally, 61% of transgender singles tell their prospect about their trans identity before the first date, 15% do so on the first date, and 12% by the third date.
Nice to meet you: When it comes to first date physical expectations, 57% of LGBTQ singles expect a kiss, while 25% expect a full make out. Only 9% expect sexual intercourse (16% gay men and 2% of lesbian women).However, 30% expect nothing physical at all.
Sexting: 50% of LGBTQ singles have sent a sexually explicit photo of themselves, with bisexual women and gay men sending the most (64% and 56%, respectively). Lesbian women have sent the least (22%).
What’s Your Number? The typical gay man has had 30 lifetime sexual partners and lesbian women have had 12 sexual partners.
Regionally, gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Riverside have the highest average number of sexual partners, while gay men in Boston have had the least.
PrEP: 4% of gay men report using PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis), 8% are considering it, and 1% have used it in the past. Those gay men who identify as being “out” are more likely to use PrEP.
GROUPS & LABELS While some avoid labels based on factors like body type and relative masculinity and femininity, LGBTQ communities have many sub-cultures with specific identity categories and social conventions
LGBTQ Community? Of all groups surveyed, bisexual women are most likely to believe that the LGBTQ community is open and supportive (62% more likely to believe this than the rest), while bisexual men are the least likely to feel like the community is open and supportive.
Gay Men: 57% of gay men do not see themselves as belonging to a category or group, while 19% of gay men identify as Bears, 16% as Daddies, and 8% as Jocks.
Who goes on the most first dates? Jocks average: 5.13; Daddies average: 3.74; Bears average: 3.68.
Daddies are 140% less likely to want children and much more likely to date someone younger and lower income. They are also 115% more likely to expect sex on a first date.
Jocks have the most sex in a year with an average of 42 times, followed by Daddies at an average of 30 times.
Jocks are much more likely (126%) to be OK with their partners having sex with other people as long as they are told about it, and they are 263% more likely to have had an open relationship than non-jocks.
Lesbian Women: 59% of lesbian women do not see themselves as belonging to a category or group.
11% of lesbian women identify as butch and 8% as lipstick.
Lipstick lesbians are 222% more likely to have had a date in the year than non-lipstick lesbians.
For more detailed study findings on LGBTQ singles, visit www.SinglesinAmerica.com and follow the social conversation at #SinglesinAmerica.
The California legislature passed a bill that would allow organ transplants between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients. Senate Bill (SB) 1408, authored by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and co-sponsored by Equality California, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and Positive Women’s Network-USA, would bring state law in line with federal law. The bill passed both the Assembly and the Senate unanimously.
“These lifesaving surgeries have been proven safe and are now allowable under federal law,” said Sen. Allen. “There is no reason for state law to maintain an antiquated prohibition on organ donation by HIV-positive persons. By expanding the pool of organ donors, we will shorten the time for all persons on the organ donor waiting lists, and save lives in the process.”
The number of individuals in need of organ transplants far exceeds the availability of healthy organs. Yet California law criminalizes transplantation of organs and tissue from an HIV-positive donor to an HIV-positive recipient. Allowing the donation HIV-positive organs and tissue would save the lives of hundreds of HIV-positive patients each year, and shorten the waiting list for individuals awaiting transplants.
“It should not be a crime to save someone’s life, yet current law criminalizes the donation of HIV-positive organs to HIV-positive recipients,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “There are currently HIV-positive people in California waiting desperately for an organ transplant. This is the first step in what we hope will be a number of measures to modernize California’s antiquated laws that harm and stigmatize people living with HIV. We urge Governor Brown to sign SB 1408 swiftly.”
SB 1408 is a first step towards modernizing a number of California laws that stigmatize people living with HIV by treating HIV differently than other communicable diseases. Most of these statues were enacted in the late 1980s, at a time of public panic about HIV and its transmission. Societal and medical understanding of the disease has since greatly improved, and effective treatments minimize transmission and give people living with HIV a normal lifespan. However, people living with HIV still can face felony charges, even when no real risk of transmission is present.
Equality California is working with Californians for HIV Criminalization Reform (CHCR), a coalition dedicated to modernizing California’s HIV criminal laws.
SB 1408 now goes on to the governor for his signature.
With an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent for April, the lowest level in Sonoma County in nine years, desperate job recruiters are turning to extreme measures.
How extreme? A group of Calistoga employers is holding a job fair in Santa Rosa on Wednesday and offering a shuttle service to attract new hires from Sonoma County.
“We’re seeing a huge need to fill this workforce,” said Jessica Taylor, Job Link manager for the Sonoma County Human Services Department.
Joanne Sanders, founder of the recruitment firm Bolt Staffing in Sonoma, said the job market is the tightest it has been since the dotcom boom, right after the turn of the millennium.
“It’s a great job market right now,” Sanders said. “Companies have to pay more to get the talent we need.”
Service workers in the hospitality sector are in constant demand in Sonoma County, Sanders added.
Some service jobs can offer up to $14 per hour at some restaurants and hotels, given the labor demand along with the push by labor groups for a national living wage at $15 per hour.
Other in-demand areas where companies are looking for applicants include accounting, health care and education, Sanders said.
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Job growth in Sonoma County sets new record
A list of the recent positions filled by Bolt Staffing showed project manager at a fitness company in Sonoma County at $20 per hour; a staff accountant at a health care firm in Santa Rosa at $25 per hour; and a customer service representative at a medical firm in Marin County at $14 per hour.
“You are seeing this across the board,” she said.
The Calistoga event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2227 Capricorn Way, will feature 13 employers, mostly in the hospitality business. They will be offering many positions from $15 to $20 per hour, some with benefits. In the arms race to attract employees, every offering helps.
“We’re hoping to get people who are excited about this extra perk,” Taylor said of the shuttle.
The shuttle will have three stops in Santa Rosa and the rides will be subsidized by employers, said Chris Canning, executive director of the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce. More than 20 percent of Calistoga workers reside in Santa Rosa. Local governments are ramping up their hiring activity, too, Sanders said, many of which have rebounded after suffering cutbacks as a result of the recession and decreased tax revenue. For example, Bolt just recently placed an applicant in an administrative assistant position with a municipality within Sonoma County at $18 per hour.
Sanders is on the board of the Sonoma County Library Commission and noted that even the library system has been hiring lately.
Abdelbraki Mezin asked me over coffee last week if homophobia was dead in the United States.
“I mean, you’ve had marriage equality for almost a year, surely that’s enough time,” the Tunisian human rights defender said. His partner, Bouhdid Belhedi, laughed, adding, “Yes, much like winning the Nobel Peace Prize solved all of Tunisia’s human rights issues.”
Mezin and Belhedi are LGBT rights defenders in Tunisia. As members of Tunisia’s first organization working openly for LGBT rights, they have suffered attacks, death threats, and lost family relationships.
Criminalizing Sexuality
Homosexuality is illegal in Tunisia, punishable by up to three years in prison under Article 230 of the penal code. Introduced by the French during colonial rule, Article 230 criminalizes “sodomy” in the original French text, and “homosexual acts” in Arabic. It’s a wider net that applies to men and women.
In 2010, protests in Tunisia marked the start of revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa, and the country’s new democracy has been dubbed the “Arab Spring’s sole success story.” Its civil society is so revered that the country’s National Dialogue Quartet won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to building a “pluralistic” democracy post-revolution.
Tunisia also made headlines in 2015 when authorities legally registered Shams, the country’s first organization openly working for LGBT rights. Yet, despite the seemingly positive step, the government did nothing to amend the criminalization of homosexuality in the penal code. This means that human rights defenders (HRDs) promoting sexual rights and protecting LGBT survivors of attack, discrimination, and rape are working for the rights of people who — according to the law — have committed a crime.
Mariam Manai, a Tunisian LGBT rights defender, met with me during a break in the packed program of Chouftouhonna, a feminist art festival put on by Chouf Minorities in Tunis. Manai said that repealing Article 230 is “not just the most important step for protecting the community, but a critical step for HRDs.”
“If homosexuality is a crime, there’s no legal framework for the rights we defend,” she said. “If someone is attacked, we can’t report it. If someone needs medical care, they’re too scared to go to the hospital because they might be arrested. We are defending people who, according to the government, deserve no defense.”
Normalizing Attacks
HRDs in Tunisia say that Article 230 makes seeking justice for survivors of assault nearly impossible, and that police are often complicit in crimes against LGBT people. Mezin said that because homosexuality is a crime, survivors are treated as criminals and subjected to violent physical examinations to prove their “guilt.”
“The police are performing anal exams on male victims of homophobic attacks,” he said. “In front of other police officers, someone claiming to be a doctor puts on a glove and ‘proves’ the victim is guilty of sodomy. The police then ask for a confession and usually put the man in jail. Some victims have confidentially reported to us that in order to ensure he ‘failed’ the anal exam, police raped him in the van after his arrest and before the exam. This is torture, and a violation of international human rights and our own constitution. But because Article 230 exists, the police act with impunity against LGBT victims.”
HRDs are quick to point out that the penal code — and the police violence it seems to allow — is only one element of the problem. Belhedi said that local religious leaders are also contributing to a climate in which “normal Tunisians think homophobic violence is acceptable, and even deserved.”
Two weeks ago, three men attacked Belhedi on a busy street at nine in the morning.
“When the men insulted me and grabbed me, people just watched. When they started to beat me, people just watched. When the beating got brutal enough someone stepped in and the men ran away. Violence against LGBT people has been normalized, even called for, in our laws and in our mosques.”
He told ThinkProgress that in his home region of Hammamet, imams leading local prayers have called on followers to attack Tunisians “who act gay.” At least two mentioned Belhedi by name. He said that last year “Islamic extremists” came to his house and threatened his mother, telling her that her son’s LGBT advocacy was “against Islam.”
Yet, despite the strong social prejudices that put Bouhdid and other LGBT defenders at risk, he remains adamant that a legal change — repealing Article 230 — is the critical first step towards protection.
“We have proof in Tunisia that if you change a law, society changes with it — even if it contradicts Islamic tradition,” he said. “When polygamy, which is permissible in Islam, was criminalized, people said it was haram [forbidden] to contradict the Prophet. When [former President Habib] Bourguiba made adoption legal, which is haram in Islam, of course people fought it. But the law affects how people think about social issues. Today, adoption is socially acceptable, and polygamy is barely talked about.”
Woman spray paints a column during the Chouftohounna Feminist Art Festival in Tunis, 15 May 2016.
CREDIT: Erin Kilbride
Raising Tunisian Consciousness
“Individual protection — keeping our community alive — is the most effective thing we can do today,” said Manai, whose organization Without Restrictions helps survivors access legal assistance, medical care, and housing following a violent attack or family dispute. “But in the long run we need education. That’s the only way the attacks will end. We have such a problem with — a fear of — sexuality in Tunisian society. If you use words like gender, binary, or queer, people stare blankly. Even in LGBT spaces, people confuse trans, cross-dressing, and queer identities. Outside of those spaces, sexuality as a concept, as an identity, is missing from most Tunisians’ consciousness.”
Senda ben Jebara, an HRD working with the human rights group Mawjoudin (“We Exist”), believes sexual and gender education — “slowly, and using our own language” — is the only way to end homophobia. “How can we expect people to understand homosexuality if they don’t understand heterosexuality as a sexuality? If the very word terrifies them?”
Artists and HRDs at Fanni Raghman Anni (“Artist Without Choice”) are similarly working to raise consciousness. FRA is a human rights organisation born out of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that uses performance art to push discussions about individual, cultural, and sexual rights into public spaces.
Asma Kaouch and Seif Eddine Jlassi, two of the group’s leaders, told ThinkProgress that their performances are a strategy to defend human rights. They introduce gender, sexuality, and personal freedoms as concepts, without explicitly using words that will turn away some parts of Tunisian society.
“We stage events where normal people will see them — not tucked away in an elite theatre,” said Kaouch. “We want to draw people from the street and the grocery store. Our performances are about the relationship between an individual, a body, and society — concepts that most Tunisians don’t have the opportunity to think about critically. We don’t want to entertain, we want to shock.”
Fanni Rahman Anni is linking up youth in remote, conservative areas who want to perform. They have also built art centres in poor villages, said Kaouch, “where we know Islamic extremists are very active. We provide an alternative, and we introduce concepts that lay the groundwork for human rights.”
What’s Next?
Their strategies are as varied as their own identities, but Tunisian LGBT rights defenders are in near universal agreement about at least two things: that “solving” the country’s violent homophobia requires abolishing Article 230 and that providing public education in gender, sexuality, and human rights.
Many are also clear on the international community’s role in this struggle. They say Tunisia’s allies need to take a stronger line on the penal code article that criminalizes LGBT rights defenders and the communities they protect.
“Visiting diplomats and representatives need to be called on to bring up Article 230 at every opportunity. The decriminalization of homosexuality should be linked to trade and foreign investment,” said Belhedi. Others add that international employers must ensure Tunisian workers have the same rights as their international colleagues and can’t be prosecuted for their sexuality.
In the meantime, the work of deconstructing oppressive notions about gender and sexual rights — the work that will end and not just outlaw homophobic attacks – will be done by the Tunisian defenders themselves.
“Before the revolution, none of this was possible, there was no room for expression,” said Kaouch. “Now, Tunisian civil society is one of the most powerful in the world. The influence we have is real. And we have to take advantage of the space we fought to create.”
Imagine you are a young man alone in a park. Another man approaches you. He flirts with you. You flirt back, flattered that the handsome stranger likes you. He asks you to come back to his place. When you accept the invitation, he slaps handcuffs on your wrists and says you are under arrest.
Yes, it’s unlawful for police to arrest someone for being gay, but it still happens.
In its landmark ruling Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that antisodomy laws —sometimes referred to as “crimes against nature” laws — are unconstitutional. But 12 states, including Louisiana, continue to keep such laws on their books.
You may believe antisodomy laws are not harmful because they can’t be enforced. But they are an important symbol of homophobia for those who oppose LGBT rights. What’s more, the laws create ambiguity for police officers, who may not be aware they are unconstitutional.
If a policeman looks it up, he will see that sodomy is a violation of Louisiana state law, according to Marjorie Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana.
“So if you [are a police officer] and haven’t been trained to know that this is no longer enforceable, you [may] think you have basis to arrest someone,” Esman says.
One example includes a string of about a dozen undercover arrests by East Baton Rouge Prrish police targeting gay men in a park. The arrests, which stretched over a 10 year period until 2013, demonstrate how problematic state laws can be when they contradict court rulings.
“Cops would sit in public parks in unmarked cars, propositioning [men] for sex, then when the men agreed, the police would arrest them for attempted crimes against nature,” says Matt Patterson, managing director of Equality Louisiana. “People were being arrested for agreeing to have sex in private at a future time.”
Despite the arrests, the charges were dropped because they were not enforceable.
In a separate 2015 incident, two men were arrested in Baton Rouge for having sex in a car parked in a public park after hours. The officer charged them with “crimes against nature.” The charge was later dropped and the men were charged only with trespassing.
In response to the incident, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie sent a memo out informing officers they can’t make arrests under the “crimes against nature” statute.
Patterson says someone who is arrested for sodomy in Louisiana is not likely to come forward because the state, like many others, does not have civil rights protections for LGBT people. That could make them vulnerable to housing and job discrimination.
“As long as it’s still on the books, I’m worried about the next person or the one after that or the next Baton Rouge police chief,” Patterson says, “or some sheriff somewhere else in the state that thinks they can get away with it because after all, they got away with it in Baton Rogue for a decade.”
Sodomy laws in some states are linked to rape and bestiality. That can make it difficult for legislators to remove them from the books.
Attempts have been made to repeal the Louisiana antisodomy statute to no avail. In 2014, Louisiana state Rep. Patricia Smith proposed such a bill, which failed to pass.
Republican Louisiana state Sen. Dan Claitor this month proposed a series of bills that would remove outdated laws from Louisiana’s books, but none addressed the antisodomy law or a state ban on same-sex marriage, according to The Advocate, a Baton Rouge-based newspaper.
Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, told the Baton Rouge Advocate he would oppose any bills related to changing sodomy laws or same-sex marriage.
“History has proven that ‘unenforceable’ doesn’t mean ‘useless,’” Mills, speaking on Lawrence v. Texas, told the newspaper. “They’re called opinions because that’s all they really are. The Supreme Court has reversed itself on more than 250 occasions.”
Opponents of the sodomy law argue that leaving it in place because the Supreme Court may reverse the Lawrence vs. Texas decision someday is nonsensical.
“To keep laws on the books that could confuse law enforcement — and the public — as to what their rights are, simply on a principle that has lost, is counterproductive at best and harmful at worst,” says Esman. “It’s an argument that is dangerous.”
Last night’s annual ‘Out at the Park’ event turned into ‘Nightmare at Petco Park’ as the San Diego Gay Man’s Chorus took to the field to sing the National Anthem.
Instead of their voices, fans of the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers heard a recorded voice of a woman singing the anthem, and when the group stepped off the field at the end of the song it was to taunts such as, “You sing like a girl,” according to a statement on the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Facebook page.
Within hours the Padres had apologized on Twitter calling the incident a “mistake in the control room.” However, the Gay Men’s Chorus were not happy stating, “No attempt was made to stop the recording and start over. No announcement of apology was made to the singers or their friends and families in the stands. No attempt to correct the situation occurred other than to force the 100 men to stand in the spotlight of center field for the song’s duration and then be escorted off the field to the heckles of baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts.”
According to the Gay Men’s Chorus, “This incident followed several days of troubling comments and behavior within the San Diego Padres organization. “Three days before the game, San Diego Padres representatives aggressively sought to prevent singers from performing the National Anthem unless they purchased a ticket to the game — even if they did not plan to stay for the game — which was not part of any previous discussion or written or verbal agreement and would have cost the small, community-based non-profit thousands of dollars. The demand eventually was rescinded on Friday following repeated complaints made by SDGMC and San Diego Pride to San Diego Padres management.”
The Gay Men’s Chorus are demanding a full investigation and are calling on the Padres to determine if someone or some people intentionally engaged in anti-gay discrimination or a hate crime. The Chorus is also calling on the City of San Diego City Attorney’s Office and the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission to independently investigate the incident.
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus singer Dan England posted on Facebook, “I was just shocked someone didn’t stop the recording! Then there was no announcement saying sorry! We just a stood there like fools, and then we were escorted off and out of the park. Definitely embarrassing.”
“We were just excited to be at a game and let the audience see us and hear us and let us know that we’re sports fans too, and we’re normal guys,” said RC Haus, artistic director for the Chorus. “And then a woman sings over us, and it was mortifying.”
“I really want to believe that it was an error,” said Bob Lehman, executive director of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. “But the first thought was, did they do this on purpose?”
“I don’t want to live in a city where the LGBT community thinks the Padres hate them,” Lehman continued. “Even if it’s perception, it’s got to be fixed.”
The incident gained national and even international traction in media outlets ranging from the New York Daily Newsand USA Today, to the British publication The Daily Mail, reported the Union-Tribune. People on both sides of the issue weighed in on Twitter, arguing whether the incident was offensive or the reaction to it overblown. The Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus posted a musical video in support of their San Diego counterparts.
