Via AmericaBlogGay: Hero of the Month: Dame Elizabeth Taylor

In 1987, a man with AIDS went for a swim in a public pool in West Virginia. Although the state health department advised that he posed no threat, the mayor of the town closed the pool and alerted the media so that “everybody in the community [would know] there was an AIDS patient in the pool.”

In 1985, Ryan White, a thirteen year old hemophiliac with AIDS was kicked out of school even though authorities had advised that he, too, posed no risk to his fellow students. When the boy was readmitted a year later, his family received death threats and people on the street would taunt him by yelling "we know you're queer."

In 1986 and again in 1988, hundreds of thousands of Californians signed petitions to place initiatives on the ballot that would have mandated the quarantine of AIDS patients.

Such was the homophobic hysteria surrounding AIDS when Elizabeth Taylor began planning her first AIDS fundraiser. Taylor remembered the reactions:

People … slammed doors in my face and hung up on me . . . [P]eople would say, 'No, I'm not getting mixed up in that!' And, 'You have to get out of this, Elizabeth. It's going to ruin your career.'

These reactions only seemed to strengthen Taylor’s resolve. Indeed, the vitriolic homophobia surrounding AIDS motivated her to become involved in the first place. She was quoted as saying

Worse than the virus there was the terrible discrimination and prejudice it left in its wake. Suddenly it made gay people stop being human beings and start becoming the enemy. I knew somebody had to do something. For God's sake, our president didn't even utter the word for years into the epidemic.

And

If it weren't for homosexuals there would be no culture. We can trace that back thousands of years. So many of the great musicians, the great painters were homosexual. Without their input it would be an entirely different, flat world. To see their heritage, what they had given the world, be desecrated with people saying, 'Oh, AIDS is probably what they deserve' or 'it's probably God's way of weeding the dreadful people out,' made me so irate.

I’ve always associated Taylor with AIDS activism. However, I did not realize the magnitude of her impact until I began to research this piece. Taylor made AIDS her life’s cause. At a time when the disease was called "the gay plague" and others were afraid to even touch people with HIV, Taylor employed her star power to help humanize those living with the disease. She made headlines throughout the world when she was photographed shaking hands with HIV/AIDS patients in a Thai hospital. She helped found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) in 1985, and later, in 1991, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF).

Taylor was a prodigious fundraiser and made large personal contributions to the cause. ETAF operated at zero overhead cost because Taylor personally underwrote the organization’s expenses for raising and administering funds. Over the course of her lifetime, she is said to have raised $270 million for HIV/AIDS. Last month, it was reported that she had donated the bulk of her estate to her AIDS charities.

An impassioned lobbyist, Taylor was not afraid of taking a swipe at leaders for their inaction. At an international AIDS conference, she criticized the first president Bush, remarking, “I don't think [he] is doing anything at all about AIDS. In fact I'm not even sure if he knows how to spell AIDS.” She testified before Congress in 1986 in support of the Ryan White Act, and then again in 1990, when it finally passed. She also spoke at the United Nations, imploring its members to join in the fight against the disease.

Taylor carried on her work despite her own declining health. Toward the end of her life she said, "There's still so much more to do. I can't sit back and be complacent, and none of us should be. I get around now in a wheelchair, but I get around."

Now that I have learned more about Taylor's contributions, my respect for her has turned into awe. Rest in peace, Dame Elizabeth.

Via JMG: Christianist Hate Group Issues Call To Pull Kids Out Of School On Day Of Silence

The Illinois Family Institute, an SPLC-certified Christian hate group, says that parents should yank their kids out of class on the Day of Silence rather than have them exposed to the message that it's wrong to beat up gay children.

GLSEN’s end game is the eradication of conservative moral beliefs and the creation of a social and political climate in which it is impossible to express them. Their cultural vehicle of choice for this radical social experiment is public education. What a strategic coup for homosexualists: use our money to capture the hearts and minds of our children. And we do virtually nothing. Our complacence makes us complicit in the damage done to our children and our culture. Moreover, we teach our children by example to be cowardly conformists. It’s time to resist, and there’s no easier way to resist than to call your children out of school on the Day of Silence. Parents and Guardians: Call your children’s middle and high schools and ask if students and/or teachers will be permitted to refuse to speak during class on Friday, April 15. If your administration allows students and/or teachers to refuse to speak during class, call your child out of school. Every student absence costs school districts money. When administrators refuse to listen to reason and when they allow the classroom to be exploited for political purposes, parents must take action. If they don’t, the politicization of the classroom and curricula will increase.

The "student walkout" has been endorsed by pretty much every hate group listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, including the American Family Association, Concernstipated Women for America, MassResistance, and pedophile-enabler Scott Lively.

Labels: bullying, Day Of Silence, GLSEN, hate groups, Illinois Family Institute, religion

reposted from Joe

Freedom to Marry's Roadmap to Victory

Values Oregon

Via JMG: Tweet Of The Day - Louis Marinelli

Labels: marriage equality, NOM, tweet of the day

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Kerry Eleveld

"President Barack Obama has just announced his 2012 bid for re-election and the inevitable push for LGBT support - donor, voter, and activist - has begun. To be sure, many LGBT Americans would much rather see Barack Obama still gracing the Oval Office come January of 2013 than a Republican. And so, many of us are faced with a familiar dilemma: should we sublimate our intrinsic desire to continue advocating for full equality to the urgency of reelecting a man who has presided over some of the greatest advances in the history of the LGBT movement? My answer: No.

"This not an either-or proposition in my opinion, nor should we feel compelled to surrender our basic humanity to the whims of the election cycle. That type of thinking is a relic of days past when politicians held firmly to the notion that addressing LGBT concerns would undoubtedly be a drag on their electability. What we have witnessed over the past couple years is just the opposite. The repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' scored huge points with President Obama's target voters -- independent, moderate, and progressive alike - and his declaration that the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional reestablished his ability to show bold leadership. Here's our new reality: The right thing to do is also the popular thing to do." - Former Advocate White House reporter Kerry Eleveld, writing for Equality Matters.

Read Eleveld's complete essay.

Labels: 2012 elections, Barack Obama, HomoQuotable, LGBT rights

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: BREAKING: Major Defection At NOM, Top Organizer Now Supports Gay Marriage

Jeremy Hooper has a big scoop over at Good As You today, where he exclusively reports that a top organizer at NOM has announced that he now supports marriage equality. Louis Marinelli, known to some of us the virulently nasty moderator of NOM's Facebook page and the organizer of last year's laughably unattended national bus tour, tells Hooper all about his dramatic change of heart. An excerpt:

As a supporter of civil marriage equality, any statements I’ve made in the past about not recognizing homosexual relationships for one reason or another, of course it goes without saying that I no longer stand by these comments and I apologize for the insensitivity. Same-sex couples, whether they are married, in civil unions or domestic partnerships, ought to be recognized for what they are. I consider myself agnostic and while homosexual acts may very well be “immoral” in the eyes of Christian morality, I can no longer stand by any comments I’ve made in the past about the immorality of homosexuality.

There are a variety of different sets and sources of morals and no one has the right to impose their set on the rest of society. Once I wrote that homosexuals are deceitful people who care only about themselves or something to that effect. Honestly, aren’t we all? It was wrong for me to exclude everyone else from that description. We all lie and when it comes down to it, we will do what is best for ourselves. So throwing in a little levity, I stand by the comment but want to apologize for limiting its scope to the gay community.

Go and read the complete interview at Good As You, where Marinelli also denounces Paul Cameron and Peter LaBarbara. And now we wait to see if Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown will have anything to say about this.......

Labels: Good As You, hate groups, Jeremy Hooper, LGBT rights, marriage equality, NOM, religion

reposted from Joe

Via AmericaBlog.gay: Five things Obama can do by executive order for the LGBT community

Yesterday, John posted Kerry Eleveld's piece, Doing the Right Thing for 2012, below. It's very good. She makes the case that we must continue the push for equality, even as Obama's reelection gets underway. And, she laid out what we should ask the President to do using his existing power. These asks are based on the initial requests made by the national LGBT organizations, notably HRC and NGLTF, to the Obama transition team. These were initially presentated by the groups at a December 2008 meeting attended by John Podesta and including now-campaign manager Jim Messina. (Funny how often Messina's name pops up when LGBT equality is involved.)

As President, Obama has the executive authority to do all of these items. He doesn't need a bill passed by Congress or a court ruling. They need to be done. From Kerry:

[W]e should concentrate our efforts on five broader initiatives that would incorporate many of the recommendations originally presented by NGLTF and HRC, but in a more comprehensive way. Of the suggestions made by NGLTF, for instance, over half of them took a piecemeal approach to providing nondiscrimination protections at the agency level as well as making those agencies more inclusive in areas such as data collection, definitions, and research.

Rather than assembling a patchwork of progress agency by agency, President Obama should issue executive orders or amend existing ones that set a government-wide precedent for equality in the following ways:

1) Directing the federal government to include LGBT Americans in all federal level data collection efforts.

2) Mandating that all federal contractors must have policies providing nondiscrimination protections for their employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

3) Prohibiting federal funds from being used to discriminate against LGBT Americans.

4) Prohibiting discrimination against military service members on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

5) Adding gender identity protections to President Clinton's executive order 13087, which protected civilian federal workers from bias based on their sexual orientation.

Reasonable enough. Now, we need the administration to do it.

Via JMG: Savage Vs. Gallagher, Round 2

"I do not intend to 'educate your college students,' Maggie. Your college students—the offspring of NOM supporters—are being 'educated' at Brigham Young, Liberty University, Bob Jones, Seattle Pacific University, and other Christianist madrassas. My college tours typically take me to secular institutions of higher learning where the kids were hooking up and having sex long before my visit to campus.

"I know what women are like. I may not know what women taste like—I've never gone down on one—but I do know what women are like. My mother was a woman, my sister is a woman, my aunts are women, my favorite bartender is a woman, lots of my friends, neighbors, and coworkers are women. And as someone who sleeps with men and is a long-term relationship with a man, I know what (straight) women have to put up with. I'm not the first gay man that women have turned to for advice about love and sex, Maggie, and I won't be the last. And aren't you a practicing Catholic? Not knowing what women are like (or taste like) has never stopped the Pope from offering his unsolicited advice to women—no birth control, no abortions, no oral, no anal, no handjobs—and it's hypocritical of you to suggest that I'm not qualified to advise women, since I won't fuck 'em, without first telling that old fag in Rome to STFU already." - Dan Savage, responding to yesterday's attack from NOM chaircow Maggie Gallagher.

Read Savage's complete essay.

Labels: Dan Savage, FTW, Maggie Gallagher, MTV, NOM, sex education

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: New Study: Nine Million LGBT Americans?

According to a study released today by the Williams Institute (PDF), there are almost nine million LGBT persons in the United States. That works out to 3.5% of the adult population. Via press release:

The Williams Institute, a leading think tank dedicated to the field of sexual orientation and gender identity-related law and public policy, released new research that estimates the size of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the United States. Drawing on information from four recent national and two state-level population-based surveys, the analyses suggest that there are more than 8 million adults in the US who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, comprising 3.5% of the adult population. There are also nearly 700,000 transgender individuals in the US. In total, the study suggests that approximately 9 million Americans - roughly the population of New Jersey - identify as LGBT.

The study notes: "Estimates of those who report any lifetime same-sex sexual behavior and any same-sex sexual attraction are substantially higher than estimates of those who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. An estimated 19 million Americans (8.2%) report that they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and nearly 25.6 million Americans (11%) acknowledge at least some same-sex sexual attraction."

Labels: LGBT rights, science, United States

reposted from Joe

SACBEE.COM BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Judge who struck down Prop. 8 confirms he's gay

The federal judge who struck down California's gay marriage ban has confirmed that he's gay.

 

please enter the above and participate... a lot of homophobic comments are being left there.

Via AmericaBlogGay: The President wants gay support. Here's what we want first.

An excellent, and lengthy, piece by Kerry Eleveld at Equality Matters. My excerpts are long, her piece is longer - so please do read it:

[N]or should we feel compelled to surrender our basic humanity to the whims of the election cycle. That type of thinking is a relic of days past when politicians held firmly to the notion that addressing LGBT concerns would undoubtedly be a drag on their electability. What we have witnessed over the past couple years is just the opposite. The repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" scored huge points with President Obama's target voters -- independent, moderate, and progressive alike - and his declaration that the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional reestablished his ability to show bold leadership.

Here's our new reality: The right thing to do is also the popular thing to do.

At the outset of the Obama administration, both the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign provided the Obama transition team with a lengthy list of recommendations -- mostly for actions by individual agency level -- that would vastly improve the lives of LGBT Americans and could be accomplished entirely at the discretion of the president via executive action.

The documents were thorough and exhaustive, with HRC's running around 25 pages and NGLTF's coming in at over 200 pages and, while some of the initiatives outlined in these policy papers have been accomplished, the vast majority of them remain either untouched or only partially addressed. In fact, after laying out approximately 80 initiatives in its New Beginnings Initiative, NGLTF lists only nine accomplishments on its success tracker page, which was set up to follow how many administrative actions have been taken by the administration.

We did not achieve "don't ask, don't tell" repeal by being satisfied with White House Easter Egg roll invitations and passing mentions in a handful of speeches. Now is the time for the president to employ his considerable executive powers to effect a government-wide culture change that will trickle down to every corner of America. Let's not squander this opportunity to squeeze as much goodness out of this administration as possible, which in turn will help President Obama secure four more years in office.

Today's NSFW post: Aides - Clever Dick

MSNBC - Married Same-Sex Couples Refusing To Lie On Tax Returns

Brazil inaugurates its National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Persons Council / Brasil tem Conselho Nacional de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais

Brazil inaugurates its National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Persons Council

(Versão em português abaixo)

The Brazilian National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Persons Council held its first ordinary meeting on March 30th and 31st in the country’s capital city Brasília. Human Rights Minister, Maria do Rosário, installed the council members.

The Council’s purposes and attributes were defined by Presidential Decree No. 7.388, dated December 9th 2010<http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2007-2010/2010/Decreto/D7388.htm>. It is a collegiate body of both a consultative a deliberative nature and forms part of the basic structure of the Human Rights Secretariat (HRS), directly linked to the Office of the President of the Republic. Its principal purpose is to formulate and propose guidelines for government actions at national level aimed at combating discrimination and promoting the defence of the rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Trans persons – LGBT. In addition, the Council will ensure dialogue between organized civil society and the Federal Government, monitoring and performing a watchdog role over public policies.

The Council is comprised of thirty members, divided equally between the Government and civil society, as listed below. The Council’s civil society members were indicated through a selection and qualification process undertaken in accordance with criteria set by Ministerial Ordinance No. 76, dated February 1st 2011.

In her speech, the Human Rights Minister further stressed what she has been stating publicly since she was appointed to the post at the end of last year, namely that fighting homophobia is a priority of both the Human Rights Secretariat and the Dilma Rousseff Government.

The Council elected Ramais de Castro Silveira as its first president. Silveira is the HRS’s  Secretary for Human Rights Defence and Promotion. Irina Bacci, representing the Brazilian Articulation of Lesbians, was elected Vice-President. Igo Martini (HRS) will be the Council’s Executive Secretary.

One of the principle points discussed during the meeting was the organization of the 2nd National LGBT Conference, expected to be held on December 15th to 18th 2011, having as its theme “For a country free from poverty and discrimination: promoting LGBT citizenship”. The 1st LGBT Conference was held in June 2008.

Another highlight of the meeting was the approval of a public statement condemning racist and homophobic remarks made this week by Federal Representative Jair Bolsonaro (PP-RJ). The Council requested that the Federal Solicitor General begin investigations into the alleged crimes of racism and slander against the LGBT population.

The Council also discussed the School Without Homophobia project, within the sphere of the Ministry of Education, and approved a motion manifesting its support for the project.

The Council approved the creation of three internal Technical Committees (TC) and a working group, as follows:

·         the Permanent TC for the Institutional Articulation, Planning, Budget and  Monitoring of the National Plan for the Promotion of LGBT Citizenship and Human Rights;

·         the Permanent TC for the Monitoring, Prevention and Combating of violence against the LGBT population;

·         the Permanent TC on Legislation and Norms; and

·         the Council’s Internal Regulations Working Group, reporting to the TC on Legislation and Norms.

According to Toni Reis, a member of the Council and president of the national civil society organization ABGLT, “this is a fundamental initiative for accompanying and monitoring the implementation of the decisions of the 1st National LGBT Conference. It also completes the ‘tripod of LGBT citizenship’, which ABGLT has pushed for nationally and is pushing for in all Brazil’s states, state capitals and large cities, namely: Plans for the Promotion of LGBT Citizenship and Human Rights, LGBT Coordinations within the governments’ structures, and LGBT Councils as a watchdog body. By instating this Council, Brazil has taken a quality step forward in the fight to reduce violence, discrimination and stigma against the LGBT community”, Reis added.

The entire meeting was broadcast live via internet (www.aids.gov.br/mediacenter) and drew a lot of attention, reaching the maximum capacity of spectators (500), which is not usually the case with the majority of other council meetings broadcast in this way. The broadcasting of the meeting was made possible by a partnership between the Human Rights Secretariat and the Ministry of Health’s Department of STD, Aids and Viral Hepatitis.

In addition to the Council members, other participants at the meeting were Federal Representative Jean Wyllys (PSOL/RJ), representing the Parliamentary Front for LGBT Citizenship, and representatives of the Federal Public Prosecution Service and the Federal Labour Inspectorate.

The Council’s next meeting will be held on May 19th and 20th. The date marks the week in which ABGLT will hold for the second consecutive year the National March Against Homophobia, as well as being the week in which May 17th will be commemorated as National Day Against Homophobia. In 2009, former president Lula decreed the official recognition of May 17th on the national calendar as the day against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.


Photo: Tamires Kopp

Further information:
Toni Reis – President ABGLT: presidencia@abglt.org.br
Irina Bacci – Brazilian Lesbian Articulation: irinabacci@gmail.com
Carlos Magno – ABGLT Communications Secretary: karlmagno@gmail.com
Igo Martini – LGBT Council Executive Secretary: igo.martini@sdh.gov.br

Composition of the National LGBT Council:

Civil Society

Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Association – ABGLT
Full Member: Keila Simpson
Full Member: Yone Lindgren
Full Member: Toni Reis
1st Substitute: Julian Vicente Rodrigues
2nd Substitute: Rafaelly Wiest
3rd Substitute: Vinicius Alves da Silva

National Articulation of Tranvestites, Transsexuals and Transgenders – ANTRA
Full Member: Jovanna Baby
Full Member: Chopelly Glaudystton Pereira dos Santos
1st  Substitute: Milena Passos
2nd Substitute: Tathiane Araújo

National Black LGBT Network - Rede Afro LGBT
Full Member: Janaína Oliveira
Substitute: Milton Santos

E-Youth Group of Gay and Lesbian Teenagers and Allies
Full Member: Lohren Beauty
Substitute: Samara Soares Carneiro

Brazilian Lesbian League – LBL
Full Member: Marinalva Santana
Substitute: Leo Ribas

Brazilian Lesbian Articulation – ABL
Full Member: Irina Bacci
Substitute: Anahi Guedes de Mello

Workers’ Central Labour Union – CUT
Full Member: Marcus de Abreu Freire
Substitute: Janete Costa Santana

Peoples’ Movements Network – CMP
Full Member: Carlos Alberto Monteiro Alves
Substitute: Givanilde de Jesus Santos

Federal Council of Psychology – CFP
Full Member: Celso Francisco Tondin
Substitute: Ana Luiza de Souza Castro

National Confederation of Education Workers – CNTE
Full Member: Zezinho Prado
Substitute: Marco Antonio Soares

Brazilian Association of Homoculture Studies – ABEH
Full Member: Leandro Colling
Substitute: Djalma Rodrigues

Association of Brazilian Federal Judges - AJUFE
Full Member: Roger Raupp Rios
Substitute: to be defined


Federal Government
Human Rights Secretariat – Office of the President of the Republic
Full Member: Ramais de Castro Silveira
Substitute: Lidiane Ferreira Gonçalves

Chief of Staff – Office of the President of the Republic
Full Member: Ivanildo Tajra Franzosi
Substitute: Carolina Nogueira Lannes

General Secretariat – Office of the President of the Republic
Full Member: Severine Macedo
Substitute: Joana Zylbersztajn

Women’s Policy Secretariat – Office of the President of the Republic
Full Member: Luciana Mendelli
Substitute: Elizabeth Saar de Freitas

Racial Equality Policy Promotion Secretariat – Office of the President of the Republic
Full Member: Cristina Fátima Guimarães
Substitute: Nilo Sérgio Nogueira

Ministry of Health
Full Member: Kátia Maria Barreto Souto
Substitute: Ana Gabriela Nascimento Sena

Ministry of Justice
Full Member: Marcelo Veiga
Substitute: Carlos Hugo Suarez Sampaio

Ministry of Education
Full Member: Misiara Cristina Oliveira
Substitute: Ricardo Allan de Carvalho Rodrigues

Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger
Full Member: Francisco Antonio de Souza Brito
Substitute: ZoraYonara Torres Costa

Ministry of Labour and Employment
Full Member: Sérgio Araújo Sepúlveda
Substitute: Ângela Cristina Casal Regasso

Ministry of Culture
Full Member: Thaís Borges da Silva Pinho Werneck
Substitute: Angélica Salazar Pessoa Mesquita

Ministry of Social Security
Full Member: Rose Mary Oliveira
Substitute: Maria Alves dos Santos

Ministry of Tourism
Full Member: Patric Lottici Krahl
Substitute: Fernanda Maciel M. A. Carneiro

Ministry of External Relations
Full Member: Carlos Eduardo da Cunha Oliveira
Substitute: Bruna Vieira de Paula

Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management
Full Member: Maria do Rosário de Holanda Cunha Cardoso
Substitute: Mara Helena Souza

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Brasil tem Conselho Nacional de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais


O Conselho Nacional de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais fez sua primeira reunião ordinária nos dias 30 e 31 de março de 2011 em Brasília. A Ministra da Secretaria de Direitos da Presidência da República, Maria do Rosário, deu posse aos/às conselheiros/as.

As finalidades e competências do Conselho foram definidas pelo Decreto Presidencial nº 7.388, de 9 de dezembro de 2010<http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2007-2010/2010/Decreto/D7388.htm>, sendo um órgão colegiado de natureza consultiva e deliberativa, integrante da estrutura básica da Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República (SDH). Sua finalidade principal é formular e propor diretrizes de ação governamental, em âmbito nacional, voltadas para o combate à discriminação e para a promoção e defesa dos direitos de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais – LGBT. Além disso, o Conselho deve fazer o diálogo entre a sociedade civil organizada e o governo federal, monitorando e realizando  o controle social das políticas públicas.

O Conselho é composto por trinta membros, sendo quinze governamentais e quinze da sociedade civil, conforme consta abaixo. Os/as conselheiros/as da sociedade civil foram indicados/as por meio de processo de inscrição e habilitação de acordo com os critérios estabelecidos pela Portaria nº 76, de 01 de fevereiro de 2011.

Em seu discurso, a Ministra da Secretaria de Direitos Humanos reforçou o que vem declarando publicamente desde que foi nomeada para o cargo no final do ano passado, que o combate à homofobia é uma das prioridades da Secretaria de Direitos Humanos e do Governo Dilma Rousseff.

O Conselho elegeu como seu primeiro presidente Ramais de Castro Silveira, Secretário de Promoção e Defesa dos Direitos Humanos da SDH,  e como  vice-presidente Irina Bacci (representante da Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas  no Conselho). Igo Martini, da SDH, será o Secretário Executivo.

Um dos principais pontos discutidos na reunião do Conselho foi a organização da II Conferência Nacional LGBT, cuja realização está prevista para 15 a 18 de dezembro de 2011, e que terá o lema “Por um país livre da pobreza e da discriminação: promovendo a cidadania LGBT”. A I Conferência LGBT foi realizada em junho de 2008.

Outra ponto de destaque foi a aprovação de uma nota pública condenando as  declarações racistas e homofóbicas do deputado Jair Bolsonaro (PP-RJ). O Conselho solicitou ao Procurador Geral da República instauração de investigação para apurar os crimes de racismo e injúria contra a população LGBT.

O Conselho também discutiu o Projeto Escola Sem Homofobia, do âmbito do Ministério da Educação, e aprovou uma moção manifestando seu apoio ao mesmo.

O Conselho decidiu pela criação de três  Câmaras Técnicas (CT) e um grupo de trabalho, sendo:

·         a CT Permanente de Articulação Institucional, Planejamento, Orçamento e  Monitoramento do Plano Nacional de Promoção da Cidadania e Direitos Humanos de LGBT;

·         a CT Permanente de Monitoramento, Prevenção e Combate da violência contra a população LGBT;

·         a CT Permanente de Legislação e Normas; e

·         o Grupo de Trabalho do Regimento Interno do Conselho, sendo este vinculado à Câmara Técnica de Legislação e Normas.

Segundo Toni Reis, integrante do Conselho e presidente da ABGLT, “essa é uma iniciativa fundamental para o acompanhamento e monitoramento do cumprimento das decisões da I Conferência Nacional LGBT. Também completa o ‘tripé da cidadania LGBT’, reivindicado pela ABGLT, para que seja implantado em todos os estados, nas capitais e nas grandes cidades: o Plano de Promoção da Cidadania e Direitos Humanos de LGBT, a Coordenação LGBT na estrutura dos governos, e o Conselho LGBT como instância de controle social. Com a posse desse conselho, o Brasil dá um salto de qualidade na luta pela diminuição da violência, da discriminação e do estigma contra a comunidade LGBT”, acrescentou.

A reunião foi transmitida na íntegra ao vivo por internet (www.aids.gov.br/mediacenter) e atraiu muita atenção, atingindo a capacidade máxima de espectadores/as (500), o que não costuma acontecer com a maioria das reuniões dos conselhos transmitidas dessa forma. A transmissão o foi possibilitada graças a parceria entre a SDH e o Departamento de DST, Aids e Hepatites Virais do Ministério da Saúde.

Além dos/das conselheiros/as, também participaram da reunião o deputado federal Jean Wyllys (PSOL/RJ), representando a Frente Parlamentar Mista pela Cidadania LGBT, e representantes do Ministério Público Federal  e do Ministério Público do Trabalho.

A próxima reunião será realizada em 19 e 20 de maio, a data marcará a semana em que a ABGLT realizará pelo segundo ano consecutivo a 2ª Marcha Nacional Contra Homofobia. Também é a semana em que se comemorará o dia de 17 de maio como o Dia Nacional de Combate a Homofobia. Em 2009, o ex-presidente Lula por meio de decreto, tornou oficial o reconhecimento da data no calendário nacional como o dia de luta contra a discriminação por orientação sexual e identidade de gênero.


Foto: Tamires Kopp

Informações adicionais:
Toni Reis – Presidente da ABGLT: presidencia@abglt.org.br
Irina Bacci – Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas: irinabacci@gmail.com
Carlos Magno – Secretário de Comunicação da ABGLT: karlmagno@gmail.com
Igo Martini – Secretário Executivo do Conselho Nacional LGBT: igo.martini@sdh.gov.br


Composição do Conselho Nacional LGBT:

Sociedade Civil

Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais – ABGLT
Titular: Keila Simpson
Titular: Yone Lindgren
Titular: Toni Reis
1º Suplente: Julian Vicente Rodrigues
2ª Suplente: Rafaelly Wiest
3º Suplente: Vinicius Alves da Silva

Articulação Nacional de Travestis, Transexuais e Transgêneros – ANTRA
Titular: Jovanna Baby
Titular: Chopelly Glaudystton Pereira dos Santos
1ª Suplente: Milena Passos
2ª Suplente: Tathiane Araújo

Rede Nacional de Negras e Negros LGBT - Rede Afro LGBT
Titular: Janaína Oliveira
Suplente: Milton Santos

Grupo E-Jovem de Adolescentes Gays, Lésbicas e Aliados
Titular: Lohren Beauty
Suplente: Samara Soares Carneiro

Liga Brasileira de Lésbicas – LBL
Titular: Marinalva Santana
Suplente: Leo Ribas

Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas – ABL
Titular: Irina Bacci
Suplente: Anahi Guedes de Mello

Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT
Titular: Marcus de Abreu Freire
Suplente: Janete Costa Santana

Central de Movimentos Populares – CMP
Titular: Carlos Alberto Monteiro Alves
Suplente: Givanilde de Jesus Santos

Conselho Federal de Psicologia – CFP
Titular: Celso Francisco Tondin
Suplente: Ana Luiza de Souza Castro

Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Educação – CNTE
Titular: Zezinho Prado
Suplente: Marco Antonio Soares

Associação Brasileira de Estudos da Homocultura – ABEH
Titular: Leandro Colling
Suplente: Djalma Rodrigues

Associação dos Juízes Federais do Brasil - AJUFE
Titular: Roger Raupp Rios
Suplente: a definir


Governo Federal
Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República
Titular: Ramais de Castro Silveira
Suplente: Lidiane Ferreira Gonçalves

Casa Civil – Presidência da República
Titular: Ivanildo Tajra Franzosi
Suplente: Carolina Nogueira Lannes

Secretaria-Geral da Presidência da República
Titular: Severine Macedo
Suplente: Joana Zylbersztajn

Secretaria de Políticas para as Mulheres da Presidência da República
Titular: Luciana Mendelli
Suplente: Elizabeth Saar de Freitas

Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial da Presidência da República
Titular: Cristina Fátima Guimarães
Suplente: Nilo Sérgio Nogueira

Ministério da Saúde
Titular: Kátia Maria Barreto Souto
Suplente: Ana Gabriela Nascimento Sena

Ministério da Justiça
Titular: Marcelo Veiga
Suplente: Carlos Hugo Suarez Sampaio

Ministério da Educação
Titular: Misiara Cristina Oliveira
Suplente: Ricardo Allan de Carvalho Rodrigues

Ministério do Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome
Titular: Francisco Antonio de Souza Brito
Suplente: ZoraYonara Torres Costa

Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego
Titular: Sérgio Araújo Sepúlveda
Suplente: Ângela Cristina Casal Regasso

Ministério da Cultura
Titular: Thaís Borges da Silva Pinho Werneck
Suplente: Angélica Salazar Pessoa Mesquita

Ministério da Previdência Social
Titular: Rose Mary Oliveira
Suplente: Maria Alves dos Santos

Ministério do Turismo
Titular: Patric Lottici Krahl
Suplente: Fernanda Maciel M. A. Carneiro

Ministério das Relações Exteriores
Titular: Carlos Eduardo da Cunha Oliveira
Suplente: Bruna Vieira de Paula

Ministério do Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão
Titular: Maria do Rosário de Holanda Cunha Cardoso
Suplente: Mara Helena Souza

Via JMG: ILLINOIS: Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Anti-Gay Walmart Employee

The Seventh Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling against an Illinois woman who sued Wal-Mart for religious discrimination. According to the woman, she has a God-given right to scream anti-gay epithets at her coworkers. Gay City News reports:

According to the unsigned ruling, Tanisha Matthews, who describes herself as an Apostolic Christian, worked as an overnight stocker at a Wal-Mart store in Joliet, Illinois. While on a break, she took part in a heated conversation with other employees about God and homosexuality. Another employee who participated reported to management that Matthews was "screaming over her" that God does not accept gays, they should not "be on earth," and they will "go to hell" because they are not "right in the head." During a company investigation of the incident, five other employees confirmed that Matthews said gays are sinners who are going to hell. Wal-Mart managers considered these remarks to be "serious harassment" in violation of the company's "Zero Tolerance" harassment policy, which bars any conduct that could be interpreted as harassment on the basis of categories that include sexual orientation. Serious harassment is considered "gross misconduct" that is grounds for dismissal.

The ruling observes: "If Matthews is arguing that Wal-Mart must permit her to admonish gays at work to accommodate her religion, the claim fails. Wal-Mart fired her because she violated company policy when she harassed a co-worker, not because of her beliefs, and employers need not relieve workers from complying with neutral workplace rules as a religious accommodation if it would create an undue hardship." The above-linked article notes that Christian legal groups have been ramping up claims of the right to proselytize in the workplace. Courts, so far, have largely disagreed.

Read the entire ruling.

Labels: asshattery, Christianists, employment, Illinois, lawsuits, religion, Wal-Mart

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NEW ZEALAND: A Man May Not Marry...

 

My pal Leif Wauters points out New Zealand's rather exhaustive and confusing list of who a man may not marry. Daughter's son's wife? Wait, what? Same-sex marriages don't appear on the banned list, possibly because New Zealand offers civil unions. Leif and his husband were forced to emigrate to New Zealand last year because of DOMA. They are watching the developments on that front very closely.

Labels: Leif Wauters, New Zealand

reposted from Joe

Via JMG: BRAZIL: The Deadliest Place In The World To Be Transgender

Reeling from the murders of numerous transgender people, Brazilian activists have launched a petition campaign to the nation's president.

President Dilma Rousseff, You have said that human rights are at the “center of your politics.” In the face of a dramatic rise in attacks and murders of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Brazilians, we need your immediate support for the passage of the Anti-Homophobia law (PLC122) that will ensure that ALL Brazilians have equal protection under the law.

Organizers of the international activist group All Out write us today to request your signatures on the petition. They hope to gather 100,000 names and generate media attention when delivering the petitions to the president.

Labels: Brazil, LGBT rights, murder, transgender issues

posted by Joe

Via JMG: RNC thinks gays shouldn't be permitted to visit their partners' death bed

Wow. And you'd have thought the Republican National Committee would have gotten over the gay-baiting, what will all the senior level gays working Republican Hill offices, the RNC, and considering that the former head of the RNC, Ken Mehlman, was himself gay. You'd think with all of that, the RNC would know better than to start gay-baiting yet again. But the Republican party just can't help itself. Hate, intolerance and bigotry is what they know best, whether it's racism against blacks and Latinos, sexism against women, or homophobia against gays. If it's not about who you're supposed to hate today, the Republican party just isn't interested in hearing about it.

Check out this site run by the RNC. Attacks regarding DOMA, DADT repeal (which Colin Powell and Dick Cheney are fine with), marriage equality (which Dick Cheney supports), civil unions (which George Bush said he was in favor of all the way back in 2004), and the RNC now appears to be endorsing California's hideous Prop 8 to boot. Oh but it gets better. The RNC is outright criticizing Obama for trying to eliminate discrimination against gays in housing, and for helping gay partners visit their dying loved ones in hospitals.

There is one glaring omission on the RNC Web site. They failed to take a position on stoning gays to death. I'm sure it's a typo that will be corrected in short order.

PS And Mr. President, note that the RNC is still accusing you of supporting gay marriage, even though you now claim you don't. You don't get credit for this stuff, they're still going to accuse you of being the next Hitler regardless of what you do. Why not just do the right thing on marriage equality, and everything else gay and otherwise.

(H/t to HRC for finding out this site existed.)