From JMG: UC Davis LGBT Center Vandalized

The LGBT center at the University of California campus in Davis was struck by graffiti vandals over the weekend. For now, the damage will remain as a symbol of anti-gay sentiment. From a UC Davis bulletin:

On the night of February 26th the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center experienced acts of vandalism. The entrance to the LGBTRC was defaced with derogatory and hateful words that target the Queer community. This vicious hate crime demonstrates the need for community centers like ours to exist in order to offer a safe space on campus and combat the homophobia, discrimination, and hate that is still prevalent within our society. As a center we wanted not to immediately remove the vandalism in order to ensure that this hate crime does not go unnoticed by the campus community. Facilities and administration offered to clean it up immediately but we wanted to take this opportunity to educate the campus about struggles that our community continues to face. We feel it is easier to erase physical representations of violence than to heal from the ongoing impacts of this hatred. Erasing it makes it possible to avoid believing these things happen on our campus. We want to work towards a healing resolution.

There has been a rash of such incidents in recent months, with vandalism of LGBT centers seen in Orlando, Long Island, and elsewhere.

Reposted from JMG

Another Gem from JMG: Michele Bachmann, The Comic Book

Comic book fans may be interested in False Witness! The Michele Bachmann Story, by Kevin Avidor. She's certainly the most cartoonish member of Congress in quite a while. And that's saying something. Ordering details at the above link.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Tony Perkins Dissed By Air Force

Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins was disinvited from a planned speaking engagement at Andrews Air Force Base that was to have taken place last weekend after criticizing the president's position on DADT.

Two days after President Obama's State of the Union speech, in which he announced plans to repeal "Don't ask, Don't tell," Perkin's received a letter from the chaplain's office at Andrews rescinding the invitation. The letter cited Family Research Council statements calling them "incompatible in our role as military members who serve our elected officials and our commander in chief." "I never thought, you know, when I put on the uniform as a United States marine, serve six years in serving this country, [I] never gave thought to the fact that. one day I would be denied to speak because I, number one. held a view that was consistent with existing law, but number two, just happened to be in contradiction to the president of the United States on homosexuality," Perkins said in response to the letter. He added that the loss of free speech should concern all Americans. He fears a change in the law allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military will have a devastating effect on religious speech. "Chaplains will be muzzled in their ability to preach the whole council of God," Perkins said. "In fact, I believe you will see a mass exodus of chaplains from the military if, in fact, the military is forced to throw open its arms to embrace homosexuality."

Bryan Fischer, the notorious America Family Association radio host who has called for forcible reparative therapy for gays, is outraged.

The homosexual agenda represents a clear and present danger to virtually every fundamental right given to us by our Creator and enshrined for us in our Constitution. Start with freedom of religion and freedom of speech, the first two of our inalienable rights secured for us in the Bill of Rights. As a culture, we must choose between the homosexual agenda or the Constitution because we can't have both. Further proof comes from the abjectly pathetic decision of the chaplains' office at Andrews Air Force Base to rescind a long-standing invitation to Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council. Perkins had been invited to give a non-political talk at a prayer luncheon on the base yesterday, but was abruptly dis-invited for one simple reason: he supports the current law which makes homosexuals ineligible for service in the United States military.

Don't miss the significance here. Perkins is defending current law, and is advocating for the time-honored principle that homosexual conduct is incompatible with military service. George Washington famously and literally drummed two soldiers out of the Continental Army in the days of our contest with Great Britain after they were discovered in the act of attempted sodomy. And yet it now appears that a virtual zero-tolerance policy, rooted in Christophobia, has resulted in the blacklisting of anyone who supports what the military has always believed and practiced.

Why would somebody who calls the Commander In Chief a socialist/marxist/illegal alien be surprised if they aren't allowed to speak to his troops? Oh, wait. We know why.

reposted from JMG

Christopher Dallman - GHOSTS - Official Music Video

Reposted from Pam's House Blend

NOM's Maggie Gallagher Supports & Admires Killing Gays by: waymonhudson Fri Feb 26, 2010 at 12:47:03 PM EST

(You said it; now OWN your hate, Maggie- and with it, National Organization for Marriage and ALL of their allies... - promoted by Louise) We all know Maggie Gallagher makes her living off of peddling anti-LGBT hate with the National Organization for Marriage. She claims she's just "saving marriage from the evil gays" and that she doesn't hate us. Sure she claims that we out to recruit kids, indoctrinate them in schools, and destroy them by being parents, but that's just a little political difference, right? She's Miss "warm and fuzzy" homophobia, especially if you see the media coverage of her. Well, Maggie G let that mask slip a bit and we got to see what we all know is lurking underneath. Gallagher has come to the defense of (shocker!) Miss Faux Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley, who not only said gays shouldn't marry, but trotted out the old Leviticus Bible verse saying gays are an abomination and should be killed. Maggie Gallagher has endorsed and supported Lauren Ashley: I'm not surprised that Miss Beverly Hills, Lauren Ashley, opposes gay marriage -- after all 45 percent of young Californians voted for Prop 8, as did 7 million Californians generally. But I have to say, I am impressed with her courage in coming forward and for speaking up for Carrie. The elected officials of city of Beverly Hills are not demonstrating tolerance or kindness by continuing the avalanche of hatred against supporters of Prop 8.

There's More... :: (11 Comments, 380 words in story) A repost from PHB

infoMania / Johnny Weir: That's Gay

From JMG: John McCain: There Is Strong Opposition To DADT Among Military Leaders

On Meet The Press today, Sen. John McCain was called out for his recent backtracking on DADT, which he once said should be repealed if military leaders agreed, as we saw Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Mike Mullen do recently. McCain: "Oh, but Mullen was speaking personally."

posted from Joe

'Harry Potter' Star Supports'Trevor Project'

From JMG: LGBT Activists Convene In NYC For Immigration Equality Forum

A large group of noted LGBT activists are in NYC this weekend to attend an immigration equality forum at the Desmond Tutu Center in Manhattan. The event is sponsored by the Four Freedoms Fund of the Public Interest Projects and will feature speakers from the LGBT-focused Immigration Equality group as well as experts from the comprehensive immigration reform movement. Last night attendees gathered at the historic Stonewall Inn for a cocktail reception (slideshow below), although attendance was hampered by the air travel mayhem caused by Snowmaggedon III. I should have a full report from the conference posted here by late Sunday. I'm posting photos and updates on Facebook as we go.

yet another repost JMG

From JMG: Friendly Voices - Daniel Radcliffe

"I grew up knowing a lot of gay men and it was never something that I even thought twice about -- that some men were gay and some weren't. And then I went to school and (for) the first time ... I came across homophobia. I had never encountered it before. It shocked me. I have always hated anybody who is not tolerant of gay men or lesbians or bisexuals. Now I am in the very fortunate position where I can actually help or do something about it.

"I have described myself as being 'gently eccentric' and slightly different as a person just because I've had a very different set of influences growing up than anybody else in my peer group did. I think it's important for somebody from a big, commercial movie series like Harry Potter and particularly because I am not gay or bisexual or transgendered. The fact that I am straight makes not a difference, but it shows that straight people are incredibly interested and care a lot about this as well." - Daniel Radcliffe, speaking from the NYC headquarters of the LGBT teen suicide prevention hotline The Trevor Project, for whom he has just made a promotional film.Re-owled from JMG

Frum Buzzflash: Michael Winship: Two Legal Foes Unite to Fight -- for Same Sex Marriage

MICHAEL WINSHIP FOR BUZZFLASH

Watching this week's "health summit" in Washington, with both sides barely repressing the urge to turn the Blair House event into the Potomac version of mixed martial arts cage fighting, was discouraging. To get a little peace and quiet I was tempted to switch to ESPN and search for an hour of the world's greatest soccer riots. At least they make better theater. And there are better-defined goals.

make the jump to read the article

Bill Moyers: Theodore Olson and David Boies

February 26, 2010

The quest for marriage equality has created some unlikely allies in attorneys Theodore Olson, a conservative, and David Boies, a liberal. Long well-known within the field of law, the two became nationally famous as the opposing counsels in Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court case that halted the Florida recount, and resolved the 2000 Presidential election in favor of George W. Bush.

Now the two lawyers, both veterans of multiple Supreme Court cases, have mounted a well-financed legal challenge to Proposition 8, California's 2008 ballot initiative that put an end to same-sex marriage in that state. The case could make it as far as the Supreme Court and define the debate on same-sex marriage for years to come.

On this week's JOURNAL, Olson and Boies join Bill Moyers to discuss why the issue of same-sex marriage is so important, why they chose to pursue the matter in the courts, even against the wishes of some in the LGBT community, and why conservatives and liberals must come together to solve the big issues facing the country.

jump here to watch / read the full presentation

From Last Year's Parade in OP

Presidente Lula

O RAIO CAIU DUAS VEZES...

Quem nunca ouviu alguém dizer que ...o raio caiu duas vezes sobre a mesma cabeça..., quando acontecem calamidades ou catástrofes de forma repetida? Por outro lado não é usual inverter o sentido da mesma frase para definir fatos positivos; entretanto é exatamente isso que será feito aqui para noticiar duas decisões, extremamente modernas e lúcidas, que presentearam a sociedade brasileira nos últimos dias.

Com certeza, tais decisões caíram como um raio, duas vezes, em menos de 30 dias, sobre as cabeças ruins e mentalidades preconceituosas daqueles que ainda insistem em permanecer na ignorância, fonte inesgotável do preconceito. Nada me pareceu mais apropriado para massacrar a homofobia do que comparar a intensidade da luz e a força poderosa do raio, às duas recentes decisões judiciais proferidas pelos Tribunais de Minas Gerais.

1º Caso - Após árdua caminhada por mais de 5 anos, vislumbrar o Direito prevalecer sobre a discriminação às uniões entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, é algo tão gratificante , assim como o olhar da mãe para o filho que acaba de nascer. Todo o sofrimento é imediatamente esquecido para dar lugar a uma alegria infinita!

No Direito Homoafetivo é comum que os processos judiciais caminhem por trilhas jamais conhecidas, enfrentando todo tipo de obstáculo, inclusive as crenças pessoais e religiosas dos seus julgadores, como foi o caso em tela. Para conseguir os Direitos Previdenciários para um cidadão, após o falecimento do seu companheiro, foram necessárias mais de mil páginas para levar o convencimento aos Juízes Julgadores.

Depois de duas derrotas no Juizo de 1ª Instância, veio a vitória no Tribunal de Justiça de Minas Gerias, perante três desembargadores, que reconheceram seu Direito à Pensão da Previdência Privada, Pecúlio e Plano de Saúde. Houve o consenso, de forma pioneira, pela divisão em 50% dos benefícios para o companheiro e 50% para a mãe do falecido.

O voto proferido pelo Relator, seguido pelos outros julgadores, pode ser considerado uma jóia de valor incrível, principalmente quando diz:
... Quando a Constituição Federal assinalou a igualdade sem distinção de sexo, proibindo qualquer forma de discriminação (inciso IV, art.3º ) aí compreendeu a questão dos homossexuais...

2º caso - O segundo raio, isto é, a segunda causa, também foi referente aos Direitos Previdenciários, reivindicados à UFMG por um funcionário aposentado e por sua vez, negados!
Oportunidade que provocou a propositura de ação judicial perante a Justiça Federal de Minas Gerais, para fazer prevalecer o direito de indicar o companheiro para ser seu beneficiário.

Por incrível que possa parecer, de pronto, o pedido foi aceito e julgado procedente pelo Juiz Federal da 20ª Vara, concedendo ao funcionário aposentado da UFMG, o direito de fazer a pretendida indicação do seu companheiro para os benefícios previdenciários.
Não se conformando com esse resultado, a UFMG recorreu para a 2ª instância, em Brasília, cujo julgamento ocorreu no dia 9 passado. Por unanimidade os julgadores federais deram voto favorável e mantiveram a decisão mineira.

Os exemplos citados acima são provas incontestáveis da abertura do judiciário mineiro em receber as reivindicações baseadas no Direito Homoafetivo. As esperadas leis específicas ainda não existem, mas a jurisprudência está se firmando no sentido de considerar como União Estável ou Sociedade de Fato, a parceria entre pessoas do mesmo sexo e suas conseqüências.

Não só a lei é fonte do direito; a jurisprudência , que é o conjunto de julgados num mesmo sentido, serve como base para os pedidos, principalmente na ausência de leis.

A sutil diferença entre as duas formas de convivência, citadas acima, está na maneira de dividir os bens adquiridos juntos na constância da união, em caso de separação ou herança. Na Sociedade de Fato, termo empregado para questões patrimoniais, há necessidade de cada um comprovar sua colaboração na aquisição dos bens durante o período da parceria e consequentemente cada um terá direito aos bens que conquistou ( da mesma maneira que os casais heteros).

Razão pela qual, não se deve nunca descuidar das provas através dos documentos angariados no dia a dia. Sempre é bom ficar atento quando houver necessidade de ações judiciais, além do mais, não podemos falhar no pedido, exatamente quando o judiciário se mostra disposto a fazer justiça aos homossexuais, em todos as áreas do Direito.
A esperança na lucidez dos julgadores brasileiros, como aqui demonstrado, nos leva ao otimismo de afirmar que, o preconceito e a discriminação na justiça brasileira estão com os dias contados!

Maria Emília Mitre Haddad
emiliamitre@hotmail.com

First hearing by the European Court of Human Rights on same-sex marriage

26/02/2010

Yesterday, on 25 February 2010, the European Court of Human Rights, has its first hearing on a case regarding same-sex marriage. The Court’s hearing was on the admissibility and merits in the case of Schalk and Kopf v. Austria(application no. 30141/04).

Professor Robert Wintemute was granted a permission by the Court to make oral submission on behalf of the four third-party interveners: the FIDH (the Fédération Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme, Paris), the ICJ (the International Commission of Jurists, Geneva), the AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe, London), and ILGA-Europe (the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Brussels).

A decision on admissibility, followed if appropriate by a judgment, will be delivered at a later date.

You can view webcast of the hearing here

Details of the case
The applicants, Horst Michael Schalk and Johann Franz Kopf, are Austrian nationals who were born in 1962 and 1960 respectively and live in Vienna. They are a same-sex couple and live together.

In September 2002 the applicants asked the competent authorities to allow them to contract marriage.
Their request was refused by the Vienna Municipal Office on the grounds that marriage could only be contracted between two persons of opposite sex. The applicants appealed before the Vienna Regional Governor and the Constitutional Court arguing that the notion of marriage had evolved over time thus having to be understood nowadays as a permanent union encompassing all aspects of life, and that the procreation and education of children were no longer a determinative factor in it. Their appeals were not successful. Both the Governor and the Constitutional Court, referring to Article 12 (right to marry) of the European Convention on Human Rights and also to Articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination), held that to limit the notion of marriage to the traditional concept of marriage reserved to persons of a different sex was objectively justified.

Relying on Article 12, they complain of the authorities’ refusal to allow them to contract marriage.
Relying further on Article 14 in conjunction with Article 8 they complain that they were discriminated against on account of their sexual orientation since they were denied the right to marry and have no other possibility to have their relationship recognised by law. Finally, under Article 1 of Protocol 1 (protection of property), they allege that they suffer financial disadvantages compared to married couples.

The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 5 August 2004.

Read more about how the Council of Europe have addressed the rights of LGBT people and in particular how the European Convention of Human Rights was used to advance the rights of LGBT people in Europe here.

From JMG: Prop 8 Trial Closing Arguments May Be Televised After All

The closing arguments in Perry vs. Schwarzenegger might just be televised after all.

Despite a rebuff from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Bay Area's federal judges are again proposing to allow cameras in their courtrooms, a plan that could lead to telecasting of closing arguments in a suit challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage. The U.S. District Court in San Francisco has posted a rule change on its Web site that would allow its judges to take part in a pilot program of airing selected nonjury civil trials. The public comment period began Feb. 4 and ends Thursday.
The proposal is the same one Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker adopted in January after a week of overwhelmingly favorable public comment. But the Supreme Court intervened when Walker approved camera coverage of the trial over Proposition 8, the November 2008 initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage.

Protect Marriage says they won't speculate on opposing the broadcast until they know if it is really going to happen.

reposted from JMG

From JMG: Washington DC Plans Largest Group Gay Wedding In History

You know how the Moonies like to do those mass weddings of thousands of couples? A group in Washington DC is going to attempt the same thing with gay couples as they shoot for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The largest gay wedding in history is scheduled for Saturday, March 20th in Washington, DC. Up to 400 couples will exchange vows breaking the current Guinness World Record. The celebration is part of an all-day series of events called Our Time Has Come, a title chosen to signify the long road that many couples have traveled to marriage. Events slated for March 20 include a large group ceremony, individual private ceremonies and a gala-style reception. All portions are scheduled at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, an ornately gilded historic venue on Constitution Avenue, the event is being hosted by GLBT Wedding Services.

Mike Wilkinson, Director of Wedding Services for Event Emissary, is one of the planners producing the mega-event. "The GLBT community has always found strength in numbers when it comes to advocating for equality," Wilkinson said. "Now we can finally stand together to affirm our love and have it recognized legally by the District of Columbia." Even though the event is big, the concept is being carefully designed so that the experience is special for every couple involved. The reception is open to friends and family to celebrate alongside the newlyweds. "Every aspect is being planned with sensitivity to the GLBT audience that will be attending," Wilkinson said. Drew Parker and his partner Dalin Holyoak are one of the many couples getting married at the event. "Our relationship and our lives could not wait for our marriage to be 'legal' in DC, but we are both excited and relieved that our marriage will finally be recognized in the city we call home. We signed up to be part of the mass ceremony as soon as we could."

reposted from JMG

Thank you APA!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2010

(202)336-5700

APA Council Votes to Move Its August Meeting Out of the Manchester Hyatt Hotel

(Washington, DC) — The Council of Representatives, the major legislative body of the American Psychological Association, will not meet at the Manchester Hyatt Hotel during the Association’s August 2010 Convention. In response to a donation to the Proposition 8 campaign by the owner of the Manchester Hyatt, Doug Manchester, a number of APA Divisions and members voiced concerns about APA’s use of the hotel during its annual meeting.

“Today’s decision allows Council to make an important statement that it stands in solidarity with the LGBT community and its allies in protest of Mr. Manchester’s political views. Members of our Council will now not be faced with having to choose between their responsibilities as members of Council and their wish to express their opposition to Mr. Manchester’s action by not entering his hotel,” said APA President Dr. Carol Goodheart.

APA is not calling for a general boycott of the Hyatt hotel but will make every effort to provide choices to members or groups who do not want to use the Hyatt hotel. Other lodging and meeting space will be available.

“It is important that we be respectful of the decisions of individuals; those who choose to stay at the Hyatt and those who do not,” said Goodheart.

In addition, APA plans to use the meeting to highlight the Association’s policy statement in support of same-sex marriage and the science that supports that position.