Human Rights Campaign Applauds Obama Administration for Supporting UN Declaration Affirming Human Rights of LGBT People

Some amazing news is coming off of the HRC wire. This is the change we can believe in:

Human Rights Campaign Applauds Obama Administration for Supporting UN Declaration Affirming Human Rights of LGBT People

Bush administration had previously refused to sign



WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, issued a statement today on the Obama administration’s announcement that it formally endorsed a United Nations declaration calling for an end to discrimination and other human rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The move is a reversal of the Bush administration’s refusal to sign the statement, which made the United States the only western nation not to support the measure when presented by the U.N. General Assembly in December.



“This is a welcome step forward as it signals to the world that, after years of a hostile administration, the United States recognizes the humanity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at home and abroad,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We applaud the Obama administration for joining the other 66 member nations that have officially recognized that basic human rights include the equality of LGBT people.”



“The United States supports the U.N.'s statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity and is pleased to join the other 66 U.N. member states who have declared their support of the statement,” the State Department said in a statement released today. “The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world. As such, we join with other supporters of this statement, and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora.”



In December, HRC was a vocal critic of the Bush administration’s refusal to sign the declaration. Nearly 2,500 HRC members called the State Department urging it support the declaration. HRC also released a joint statement denouncing the Vatican’s opposition to the declaration. The statement, which was signed by faith program directors from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and National Black Justice Coalition, can be found read online by visiting, http://www.hrc.org/news/11728.htm.

NAACP National Chairman Julian Bond Gives Amazing Speech at HRC LA Dinner

National NAACP Chairman Julian Bond gave an amazing speech in support of LGBT rights at HRC’s Los Angeles Gala Dinner on Saturday, March 14. Check the video out below!!!

HRC Launches Endthelies.org

The Human Rights Campaign launched a new website this past week. When the right-wing attacks the LGBT community, their messages usually consist of one main ingredient - lies. HRC's EndtheLies.org will help you counter to those lies with the truth. EndtheLies.org has videos, audio, pictures and quotations calling out those who knowingly use lies and misinformation to disrupt the LGBT community's path to equality. Users can add comments on multimedia discussion boards, learn how to fight the far-right's misdeeds and nominate their own candidates for inclusion on the interactive wall of shame.

Click here to find more!

Homophobia: The issue of the era

The aftermath of the Prop 8 failures is still driving the discussion about equal rights in the country. The Coloradoan posits that homophobia could be the issue of our era:

Fifty years ago the Civil Rights movement was the issue of the era. Martin Luther King and several others fought to make blacks an equal part of this country, and his life was sacrificed for this cause. Now, we as a country can proudly say that we are past that sort of thing. I mean we have a black president now for Pete's sake. Two women were prominent figures in the presidential race. Discrimination against race and sex is a thing of the past, right? That's certainly cause for celebration, but there is still another hurdle or two for us to leap over before we can safely say that America is the land of equality.

Today there's a new battle being fought in the war against discrimination, and it is that of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) rights. Bigotry in this country has, for the most part, left behind the racist and sexist themes but that of homophobia is still around and as strong as ever. There are many definitions and ideas of the word homophobia, but what does it really mean? Merriam-Webster defines it in the following manner:
Homophobia (n.) [hoh-muh-foh-bee-uh] - The irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals; From the Greek words homs (one and the same) and phbos (fear, phobia).

To me, homophobia is that and a little more. Every true homophobe I've ever encountered has been repulsed by the very mention of homosexuality. Every one of these same people has probably never known a homosexual person, much less befriended them, much less tried to open their mind and understand the nature of homosexuality. It is, in many minds, a black-and-white matter. You choose to be gay or you choose not to be; if you so happen to choose to be gay, then you are so choosing a life of discrimination and intolerance. That is just how it is. Ok so perhaps that is a bit of an extreme outlook on the matter, but it's actually how a lot of people think, which is a scary concept. This is America, the land of the free; where people are welcome to be what they are and believe what they want, right? Wait, I said welcome. I should have said free, because while I have the legal right to be gay, I am not necessarily welcome to be gay wherever I want to be. If you looked at a fancy statistics map that gave different colors for different areas of the country where gays were accepted and tolerated, sure you'd see splotches here and there around the country where it's acceptable, but there's still a lot of work to be done.

You can read more after the jump...

Faith Leaders from LGBT Groups Issue Joint Statement Denouncing Vatican, Supporting UN Resolution

The Vatican has taken a position against decriminalizing homosexuality as the UN moves to encourage such a measure in countries around the world that hold on to such draconian laws. HRC has just released a statement about the Vatican's decision:

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, along with faith program directors from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and National Black Justice Coalition today issued a joint protest over the Vatican's recent decision to oppose an initiative to decriminalize homosexuality. Advocates are pushing the U.S. State Department to support the initiative and urging media to cover this life and death concern.

The following joint statement was issued on United Nations Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“For far too long people around the world have been ostracized, imprisoned, tortured and denied basic rights to housing, health care and employment simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). In more than 70 countries people can be imprisoned for homosexuality and in several countries same gender love is a crime punishable by death.

“This is why the French government, backed by 27 European Union nations, put forward a proposal, on Human Rights Day to recognize that LGBT rights are human rights and to decriminalize homosexuality. Such a statement simply affirms the most basic of rights for LGBT people: that they be allowed to live in dignity and safety. As faith leaders who work every day with LGBT people who feel the stigma of discrimination, this UN initiative speaks to our core belief that we show our love for God when we care for our neighbors, particularly those who are shunned and marginalized.

“As faith leaders we were shocked by Vatican opposition to this proposed initiative. By refusing to sign a basic statement opposing inhumane treatment of LGBT people, the Vatican is sending a message that violence and human rights abuses against LGBT people are acceptable. Most Catholics, and indeed most Catholic teachings, tell us that all people are entitled to live with basic human dignity without the threat of violence. The Catholics we know believe that Scripture asks us to be our brother and our sister's keeper. Many are speaking out against this immoral stance in the name of religion.

“Compounding the Vatican's opposition is the inaction to date of the government of the United States. As faith leaders and citizens of the United States, we call on the U.S. government to join the 50 countries throughout the world that have officially supported this U.N. proposal. We urge U.S. leaders to stand against discrimination. It is time to let the teachings of the world's great religions guide us toward justice rather that encouraging prejudice, fear and violence. It is time for the U.S. to stand as a moral leader for LGBT people and to help create a more just world for all of us.”


Harry Knox, Director
Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, Director
Institute for Welcoming Resources and Faith Work
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force



Dr. Sylvia Rhue, Director
Religious Affairs
National Black Justice Coalition

Ann Craig, Director
Religion, Faith & Values Program
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

Is gay the new black?

The New York Blade is taking its cue from the Advocate and ponder whether gay is the new black. I find a few things problematic with this article, for example, "Racism was defanged by Obama's triumph, leaving gays as perhaps the last group of Americans claiming that their basic rights are being systematically denied." Racism still has it bite though, trying being me and catching a cab...

Gay is the new black, say the protest signs and magazine covers, casting the gay marriage battle as the last frontier of equal rights for all.

Gay marriage is not a civil right, opponents counter, insisting that minority status comes from who you are rather than what you do.

The gay rights movement entered a new era when Barack Obama was elected the first black president the same day that voters in California and Florida passed referendums to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying, while Arizonans turned down civil unions and Arkansans said no to adoptions by same-sex couples.

Racism was defanged by Obama's triumph, leaving gays as perhaps the last group of Americans claiming that their basic rights are being systematically denied.

"Black people are equal now, and gay people aren't," said Emil Wilbekin, a black gay man and the editor of Giant magazine. "I always have this discussion with my friends: What's worse, being a black man or a black gay man?"

"Civil rights have come much further than gay rights," he said. "A lot of people in the gay community have been condemned for their lifestyle and promiscuity and drugs and sex, so it's odd that when they want to conform and model themselves after straight people and have the same rights for marriage and domestic partnership and adoption, they're being blocked."

You can read more after the jump...

Gay is the New Black

Check out this interesting article in the Advocate! Provocative title but great writing:

By Michael Joseph Gross
Excerpted from The Advocate November 12, 2008

The night before Election Day, a black woman walked into the San Francisco headquarters of the No on Proposition 8 campaign. Someone had ripped down the No on 8 sign she’d posted in her yard and she wanted a replacement. She was old, limping, and carrying a cane. Walking up and down the stairs to this office was hard for her.

I asked why coming to get the sign was worth the trouble, and she answered, “All of us are equal, and all of us have to fight to make sure the law says that.” She said that she was straight, and she told me about one of the first times she ever hung out with gay people, in New Orleans in the 1970s. “I thought I was so cool for being there, and I said, ‘You faggots are a lot of fun!’ Well, that day I learned my lesson. A gay man turned on me and said, ‘A faggot is not a person. A faggot is a bunch of sticks you use to light a fire.’ ”

The combination of Obama’s win and gay people’s losses inflicted mass whiplash. We were elated, then furious. I’d spent the week in the No on Prop. 8 office in the Castro, a neighborhood where our defeat was existential. For the next few days, wherever I went -- barbershop, grocery store, gym, bars -- I heard people talk of almost nothing else.

The next day, Barack Obama was elected president, and gay marriage rights in California were taken away. At the same time, Arizona voters amended their state constitution to preemptively outlaw gay marriage. Florida went further, outlawing any legal union that’s treated as marriage, such as domestic partnerships or civil unions. Arkansas passed a vicious law denying us adoption rights.

You can find the rest after the jump...

What can we expect from an Obama administration?

Now that Obama has won the election, one question remains: What now? Ethan Jacobs of the Boston Edge examines what we can expect from an Obama administration:

With the election of Barack Obama and the expanded Democratic majority in Congress LGBT advocates are hopeful that they will be able to move forward with a federal agenda that had largely stalled under the Bush administration. Yet despite the change in leadership in the White House, advocates say it is unclear when the new president and Congress would begin taking action on some of the big-ticket items on the LGBT political agenda - passage of an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), expansion of hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and passage of the Uniting American Families Act, to name a few measures Obama said he supports during the campaign.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said HRC and other advocates would be assessing the make-up of the new Congress and the priorities of the new Obama administration to determine when different agenda items would be most viable.

"As a community and as a movement ... before we go back to talking about how [different agenda items] might play out, I think the first thing for us to do is evaluate what the face of the new Congress looks like. ... But I think you then have to move with an evaluative look at a whole range of LGBT issues, and I think you can see that different issues are at different places along the spectrum," said Solmonese.

He said hate crimes legislation, which passed in the House and Senate last year but was dropped from a defense authorization bill before final passage, would potentially be an easier victory in the short term, since lawmakers in both chambers have passed it and Obama has announced his support for the measure. ENDA would require more work, Solmonese said; last year the House passed a non-transgender-inclusive version of the bill, and the Senate has not yet voted on it, so there would be more work needed to build support for it in both chambers. Repealing "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" will require significantly more work, Solmonese said, since Congress has not voted on any repeal legislation and the new administration would have to win the support of the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Allison Herwitt, HRC’s legislative director, said as of the morning of Nov. 5 it was too soon to tell how supportive the new Congress would be.

Find more after the jump...

Bittersweet Day for LGBT Americans

Nov. 5th marks a bittersweet day for LGBT Americans. There is great celebration within our community surrounding the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. His efforts of inclusion were exemplified again in his victory speech, where he made mention of gay Americans. This is a remarkable achievement of progressive advocates everywhere, that work so hard to see Obama elected.

Unfortunately, discriminatory measures were passed in states across the US:

WASHINGTON—Voters in Arizona and Florida passed amendments to their states’ constitutions enshrining discrimination against LGBT people and denying marriage, and in some cases civil unions or domestic partnerships as well, to same-sex couples. Proposition 8 in California still remains too close to call.

“We all know that our marriages did not begin with a court decision and they will not end with a vote on a discriminatory amendment,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

“In California, we firmly believe that all votes should be counted before calling the race. Several million votes in CA have yet to be counted. We are waiting to see the final results from those ballots and we should not be speculating about something as important as people’s fundamental rights,” continued Solmonese.

“Although we lost our battles in Arizona and Florida, we will not allow the lies and hate—the foundation on which our opponents built their campaign—to break our spirits. We are on the right side of history—and we will continue this journey.

“The continuing movement in public opinion underscores that it is only a matter of time before we undo this loss and add more states to the march for marriage equality,” Solmonese continued.

HRC played a key role in the efforts to defeat Proposition 8 and other the other ballot measures in Arizona and Florida. (HRC Press Release)

We must continue the fight to bring fair-minded Americans together in support of equality, as well as support a president that values who we are as a community.

State lawmakers move to dismiss lawsuit by transgender employee

By MATT SCHAFER, Southern Voice | Oct 17, 6:11 PM

Three state lawmakers have asked a federal judge to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed against them by a former employee who alleges she was fired after announcing her gender transition.

Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn claims she was fired from her job as a legislative editor last year because of her transition from male to female. A lawsuit filed this summer named Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), Senate President Pro-Tempore Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, lawyer Sewell Brumby and Robyn Underwood, the state’s legislative financial officer.

Cole Thaler serves as transgender rights attorney for Lambda Legal, which is representing Glenn. Thaler said he was aware of the motion to dismiss but had not reviewed the motion with enough detail to comment.

The motion, filed by the lawmakers' attorney on Oct. 16, contested Glenn’s ability to sue and said she did not state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

“Asking this Court to determine if (Glenn) is similarly situated to other employees requires the Court to second guess the subjective, individualized assessments that are a part of any employment decision. It would make every decision by a government employer a constitutional matter,” the lawmakers' attorney argued in the motion.

Find more after the jump...

Separate is not Equal

This New York Times editorial draws on one of the tenants of the 1950's and 60's civil rights movment:

With a 4-to-3 ruling on Friday that granted gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, the Connecticut Supreme Court ended a serious injustice within its own borders, and the national debate over the issue was catapulted forward. The ruling made Connecticut the third state to legalize same-sex marriage, following Massachusetts in 2004 and California in May.

Connecticut’s Supreme Court was considering a ruling by a lower court that found that there was no denial of equal protection in excluding gay people from the institution of marriage. The lower court cited supposedly comparable protections and benefits afforded by the state’s civil-unions law. The Supreme Court’s decision correctly rejects that standard, which is the same as the excuse of separate but equal once used to rationalize racial segregation.

Justice Richard Palmer wrote in the majority opinion that segregating heterosexual and homosexual couples into different institutions constitutes a “cognizable harm” in light of “the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians, and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody.”

Because of that history of discrimination, the decision properly treats sexual orientation as a “suspect classification” entitled to the sort of heightened legal scrutiny applied to distinctions based on race or sex.

The new ruling is especially timely. Californians are about to vote on a ballot initiative that in effect overturns the May ruling that gave gay people the right to marry. Its message about the unfairness of treating the relationships of same-sex couples as somehow inferior needs to be taken to heart.

Find the original article after the jump...

Google opposes ban on gay marriage

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • September 29, 2008


Internet company Google will publicly oppose an attempt to ban same-sex marriage in California.

Co-founder Sergey Brin said in a blog posting that the company, which is headquartered in the state and employs nearly 20,000 people, sees the issue as one of equality.

It is unclear if Google will contribute to the campaign opposing Proposition 8.

In the past weeks Hollywood celebritities Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg have donated to the campaign.

Proposition 8 is an initiative measure on the 2008 California General Election ballot in November.

It would amend the state Constitution to "eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry."

In May the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages in the state.

The Court voted 4 to 3 to strike down the ban.

Opponents of gay marriage raised over more than a million signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot.

"While there are many objections to this proposition - further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text - it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8," wrote Mr Brin.

Find more after the jump...

HIV-Positive Man Sues McDonald's for Wrongful Termination

A man is suing a McDonald's restaurant in Dyersville, Iowa, allegedly it fired him because he is a gay man with HIV. Daniel Carver claims he was promised a promotion and a full-time schedule, which he did not receive, according to the Dubuque Telegraph Herald newspaper. A manager punched him in the stomach, and another employee called him a "faggot rat" and slapped him with a slice of cheese, Carver alleges. Additionally, he claims he received death threats from other employees. Though he reported the problems to a manager, the incidents continued. He was fired in February 2008, after almost four months of employment.

He has filed his claim with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The commission has sent Carver, 46, a right-to-sue letter, prompting him to file suit in the Dubuque County district court.

Iowa law prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Since the law was enacted in 2007, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has received six complaints for gender identity discrimination and eight for sexual orientation discrimination, according to the Telegraph Herald. State law also bans discrimination against an employee who is HIV-positive. The state's department of health reports that nearly 2,000 Iowans have HIV. (The Advocate)

Find the article here.

GOP Paltform Resoundingly Anti-GLBT

Rod 2.0, gay political and social commentator, is balking on his blog at the Log Cabin Republican's assessment of their party's platform. This years GOP platform is once again resoundingly anti-GLBT calling for the works, constitutional bans and all! But, the Log Cabin Republicans are saying that the platform is "symbolic". Here's part of what Rod 2.0 had to say:

Here is some straight talk for Scott Tucker, the Log Cabin Republicans and other gay McCain groupies: The Reopublican presidential nominee is just not that into you. What "battles" will you fight? McCain supports the marriage bans in California and Arizona and opposes pro-gay legislation such as ENDA or expanding hate crime definitions. The Log Cabinettes are quick to remind us that McCain opposes a federal amendment but he sure did campaign for the Arizona marriage amendment that ultimately failed. These are not “symbolic” gestures, these are positions and legislation that affects millions of gay men, lesbians and transgenders.

Find more of Rod 2.0's commentary on this issue after the jump...

Find the AP article on the GOP Platform here...

GOP hopes that Biden will be a liability in the South

Earl Ofari Hutchinson | Posted August 25, 2008 3:52 PM for Thedailyvoice.com


The Georgia GOP committee wasted no time when it got word that Obama picked Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. It bluntly said that by picking him Obama had effectively killed any chances that he had to win the South. The issue for the committee is Biden's liberal record. He was ranked as the third most liberal Senator in 2007 by the National Journal. The most liberal Senators were Obama and Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehorse. The single biggest thing that earned Biden his high liberal rating is his civil rights record.

On the issues of busing, affirmative action, expanded hate crimes legislation, government set asides for minority business, a Rosa Parks commemorative stamp, and fair housing legislation, Biden has been a dream for civil rights leaders. The NAACP gave him a perfect 100 rating in his stance backing affirmative action.

On his Senate campaign website last year, Biden boldly touted what he called "The Biden Plan": Ending 21st Century Discrimination." This is a sweeping plan to end discrimination in education, the workplace, and the criminal justice system. Biden's civil rights record is so solid that even his unthinking loose lipped crack earlier this year that Obama was "clean" didn't hurt his civil rights standing. Jesse Jackson quickly stepped in and praised Biden as a strong supporter of civil rights.

If elected, Biden and Obama would be the best presidential tandem on civil rights since Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey in 1964. That's a scary possibility for Southern conservatives. So scary that it made the Georgia GOP declare that their civil rights passion virtually amounts to a political kiss of death for them in the South.
This is not inflated political hyperbole. For the past four decades, liberalism and civil rights have been tightly interlocked in the South. This election is no different. Obama and Biden know the mortal political danger that a too strong emphasis on civil rights and race pose to their White House chances. Their ginger step around the issue though won't make the issue disappear.

Find more after the jump...