Hey Folks,
I recently heard about this a candlelight vigil to stop hate crimes happening Friday, October 30th, 9pm. More details at the end of the post. This is in response to not just one homophobic attack, but to all attacks in the recent and distant past. In addition to the killing of Ian Baynham in London, a gay police officer in Liverpool was beaten by as many as 20 people after leaving a club with his partner. These are just a sample of the violent crimes directed towards homosexuals, and do not include all the hate filled slurs that many of us encounter every single day. We don't all have to be activists, but we can all take 2 minutes and have a moment of silence this Friday.
Chris
A Silent Candle-lit Vigil is planned to start at 9:00 pm on Oct 30, 2009 in Trafalgar Square in London, England and travel around the world. This is in response to a recent "vicious" homophobic attack perpetrated on Ian Baynham in London which led to his death last week. This is a familiar story unfortunately here, there and everywhere.
The organizers, a group called 17-24-30, are asking those unable to attend the vigil to light candles of hope, and observe the two minutes silence Friday 30th around the world. People are invited to post a photo on Facebook with their candle in front of a monument from your city. 17-24-30 wants to make this a worldwide day of remembrance, hope and action.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Proudly opening its arms to bigotry since 30A.D.
In this weeks edition: Pope Benedict XVI welcomes Anglicans uneasy with female and gay clergy into the Catholic church. The Lutheran Church of Sweden now bestows same-sex marriages. On November 3rd, vote 'Yes' for Referendum 71 and vote 'No' for Question1. The Matthew Shepherd and James Bryd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act finally passes.
Fortunately, all is not lost. In a recent decision, the Lutheran Church of Sweden (the biggest church in Sweden) has made bold steps forward and is one of the first global churches to bestow same-sex marriages. With this move, it is joining the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Canada, South America and a few others in this endeavor. With victories like this, gay rights activists can only cheer, however, this only causes anti-gay protesters to dig deeper and form a harder stance against equality.
For example, in the United States of America two major referendums are coming up on November 3rd. Referendum 71 (Washington) seeks to "expand the rights of same-sex couples to that of married couples except that domestic partnerships are not marriages". A 'yes' vote will indicate support for gay rights, while a 'no' takes away these rights. An interesting controversy has arisen where the identity of anti-gay petition signers will be disclosed after the vote. Anti-gay petitioners fear retribution similar to the blacklist produced after Prop 8 in California took away the rights many same-sex couples. This disclosure seems entirely acceptable to me. I wouldn't want anyone, including anti-gay protesters, to be physically or verbally harassed. However, I personally would not want to obliquely support a business or person who has voted against my rights. It does raise questions about free speech and privacy laws in the country, though. Would this be persecution based on personal beliefs?
Meanwhile in Maine, Question 1 is up for vote, asking Mainer's if they would like to repeal a recent law allowing same-sex couples to marry. In this case, a 'yes' vote opposes same-sex marriages, while a 'no' vote supports same sex marriages. Unsurprisingly, the anti-gay petitioners have released false television advertisements that link a 'no' vote to allowing same-sex marriage to be taught in schools. In the ensuing events, they have been told to remove the adds, but have thus far refused.
Finally, some more positive news. The Matthew Shepard and James Bryd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed on Oct 23rd and has been signed by President Obama. Thus far, the federal hate crimes definition covers race, colour, religion and national origin, but will be extended to include sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. In a move that pissed off many republicans, this act also makes it a federal crime to attack US military personnel due to their service. Simply put, they couldn't vote against the queers without voting against the gun toting army. Note, that this act makes violent attacks illegal, but does not include hate speech.
In the future, lots to talk about. Why do we want same-sex marriage? Anti-gay books, what are the limits to free speech? and the politics of Uganda. Hope to hear your comments.
*Interestingly, the addition of Roman numerals after a name does not actually add legitimacy to a person, place, thing or religion. Otherwise, the popular game, Final Fantasy, would be well on it's way to becoming the world's most popular religion.
Proudly opening its arms to bigotry since 30A.D.
In a move to increase membership and close the schism between Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI* has opened his arms to Anglicans who feel uncomfortable with the liberal attitude the Anglican church has taken in regards to its position on woman and homosexuals. Bluntly stated, Anglicans who don't believe in equity (woman's and homosexual people's right to be ordained as clergy, and homosexual people's right to marriage/union) are now welcome to rejoin the Roman Catholic faith. What does this mean for the queer community? It may serve to separate socially conservative people away from the calming effect of their more liberal brethren, and it consolidates and increases the size of the very conservative Roman Catholic religion. It seems unthinkable to me that anyone, much less a huge international organization can be so opening sexist, bigoted, etc. and not be made accountable and frowned upon by the rest of the world. Personally, I find this special deference we allow religion frightening. If a company such as Wal-mart attempted to attract Safeway employees who didn't like the rise of female Safeway managers, I would have a problem with it. I would feel similarly if Italy started calling out for Canadians to emigrate away from Canada's abhorrent, same-sex marrying ways. In rational society, we should candidly and thoughtfully discuss ideas rather than raising them on pedestals, never to be touched.Fortunately, all is not lost. In a recent decision, the Lutheran Church of Sweden (the biggest church in Sweden) has made bold steps forward and is one of the first global churches to bestow same-sex marriages. With this move, it is joining the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Canada, South America and a few others in this endeavor. With victories like this, gay rights activists can only cheer, however, this only causes anti-gay protesters to dig deeper and form a harder stance against equality.
For example, in the United States of America two major referendums are coming up on November 3rd. Referendum 71 (Washington) seeks to "expand the rights of same-sex couples to that of married couples except that domestic partnerships are not marriages". A 'yes' vote will indicate support for gay rights, while a 'no' takes away these rights. An interesting controversy has arisen where the identity of anti-gay petition signers will be disclosed after the vote. Anti-gay petitioners fear retribution similar to the blacklist produced after Prop 8 in California took away the rights many same-sex couples. This disclosure seems entirely acceptable to me. I wouldn't want anyone, including anti-gay protesters, to be physically or verbally harassed. However, I personally would not want to obliquely support a business or person who has voted against my rights. It does raise questions about free speech and privacy laws in the country, though. Would this be persecution based on personal beliefs?
Meanwhile in Maine, Question 1 is up for vote, asking Mainer's if they would like to repeal a recent law allowing same-sex couples to marry. In this case, a 'yes' vote opposes same-sex marriages, while a 'no' vote supports same sex marriages. Unsurprisingly, the anti-gay petitioners have released false television advertisements that link a 'no' vote to allowing same-sex marriage to be taught in schools. In the ensuing events, they have been told to remove the adds, but have thus far refused.
Finally, some more positive news. The Matthew Shepard and James Bryd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed on Oct 23rd and has been signed by President Obama. Thus far, the federal hate crimes definition covers race, colour, religion and national origin, but will be extended to include sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. In a move that pissed off many republicans, this act also makes it a federal crime to attack US military personnel due to their service. Simply put, they couldn't vote against the queers without voting against the gun toting army. Note, that this act makes violent attacks illegal, but does not include hate speech.
In the future, lots to talk about. Why do we want same-sex marriage? Anti-gay books, what are the limits to free speech? and the politics of Uganda. Hope to hear your comments.
*Interestingly, the addition of Roman numerals after a name does not actually add legitimacy to a person, place, thing or religion. Otherwise, the popular game, Final Fantasy, would be well on it's way to becoming the world's most popular religion.
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