Nigeria Senate approves anti-gay marriage bill

in: http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-senate-approves-anti-gay-marriage-bill-112709602.html

Nigeria's Senate voted Tuesday to criminalize gay marriage, gay advocacy groups and same-sex public displays of affection, the latest legislation targeting a minority already facing discrimination in Africa's most populous nation.

The bill, now much more wide-ranging than its initial draft, must be passed by Nigeria's House of Representatives and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan before becoming law. However, public opinion and lawmakers' calls Tuesday for even harsher penalties show the widespread support for the measure in the deeply religious nation.

"Such elements in society should be killed," said Sen. Baba-Ahmed Yusuf Datti of the opposition party Congress for Progressive Change, drawing some murmurs of support from the gallery.

Gay sex has been banned in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people, since colonial rule by the British. Gays and lesbians face open discrimination and abuse in a country divided by Christians and Muslims who almost uniformly oppose homosexuality. In the areas in Nigeria's north where Islamic Shariah law has been enforced for about a decade, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.

Under the proposed law, couples who marry could face up to 14 years each in prison. Witnesses or anyone who helps couples marry could be sentenced to 10 years behind bars. That's an increase over the bill's initial penalties, which lawmakers proposed during a debate Tuesday televised live from the National Assembly in Nigeria's capital Abuja.

Other additions to the bill include making it illegal to register gay clubs or organizations, as well as criminalizing the "public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly." Those who violate those laws would face 10-year imprisonment as well.

The increased penalties immediately drew criticism from human rights observers.

"The bill will expand Nigeria's already draconian punishments for consensual same-sex conduct and set a precedent that would threaten all Nigerians' rights to privacy, equality, free expression, association and to be free from discrimination," said Erwin van der Borght, the director of Amnesty International's Africa program.

Yet across the African continent, many countries already have made homosexuality punishable by jail sentences. Ugandan legislators introduced a bill that would impose the death penalty for some gays and lesbians, though it has not been passed into law two years later. Even in South Africa, the one country where gays can marry, lesbians have been brutally attacked and murdered.

Nigeria's proposed law has drawn the interest of European Union countries, some of which already offer Nigeria's sexual minorities asylum based on gender identity. The British government recently threatened to cut aid to African countries that violate the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. However, British aid remains quite small in oil-rich Nigeria, one of the top crude suppliers to the U.S.

A spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria declined to comment Tuesday, saying officials wanted to study the new version of the bill first.

The bill also could target human rights and HIV-prevention programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Nigeria, which has the world's third-largest population of people living with HIV and AIDS. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman declined to comment.

International opinion didn't seem to trouble lawmakers, who at times laughed at each other during the debate. One senator worried the bill would hinder the tradition of Nigeria's Igbo ethnic group in the southeast to have infertile wives "marry" other women to carry their husbands' children. Another said gays suffer from a "mental illness."

Senate President David Mark at one point started laughing when a senator proposed 40-year prison sentences for gay couples who marry.

"Forty years, that is just too much," he said. "He won't come out alive now."

Before the vote, Mark did acknowledge the nation likely would face criticism. However, the lawmaker said Nigeria would not bow to international pressure on any legislation.

"Anybody can write to us, but our values are our values," Mark said. "If there is any country that does not want to give us aid or assistance, just because we hold on very firmly to our values, that country can (keep) their assistance. No country has a right to interfere in the way we make our own laws."

http://news.yahoo.com/nigeria-senate-approves-anti-gay-marriage-bill-112709602.html

Vancouver man, 79, was stabbed 130 times for killer’s “fear of homosexuals”

in: http://www.queermagazineonline.com/news/lgbt-news/39645-vancouver-man-79-was-stabbed-130-times-for-killers-fear-of-homosexuals

A man has told a Canadian court his “fear of homosexuals” led him to murder an elderly man who he claims propositioned him, the Vancouver Sun reports.

Last week, George Phillip Holt was convicted of stabbing a 79 year old Reginald Haynes 130 times.

Holt said: “I killed the guy by accident.”

The murder occurred in August 2004, when Holt claims Haynes asked him to engage in a sex act for $50.

Holt and Haynes had been living at the Columbia Hotel in Vancouver, but the crime went unsolved for some years.

The defendant testified that he was high on cocaine at the time Haynes asked him to perform oral sex.

He said: “I started to lose it because I have a fear of homosexuals.”

A jury found him guilty of unpremeditated second-degree murder, which carries a life sentence.

Lady Gaga Sends Anti-Gay Bullying Video To Toronto Student (VIDEO)

in: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/lady-gaga-bullying-video-toronto-_n_1113444.html

Lady Gaga gave one Canadian teen an extra special, pre-Christmas surprise by taping a video in support of his anti-bullying campaign.

The pop diva and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocate e-mailed the video message to 17-year-old Jacques St. Pierre, who has organized school assemblies and gathered no-bullying pledges from students at the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto.

"I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you for being such a strong advocate of the LGBT community in your school," Lady Gaga, who has repeatedly vowed to make bullying illegal, says in the clip. "There should be more little monsters like you. My father always saves all the fan letters that I receive and I read yours and wanted to send this video to you. It is important that we push the boundaries of love and acceptance."

St. Pierre confessed to being dumbfounded after receiving the e-mail. "I watched it, and I started crying," he said. "It's kind of embarrassing because I love her so much. I couldn't believe it."

Watch the clip below:

Jonny Saelua, Transgender Player, Helps American Samoa to First International Soccer Win (New York Times)

in: http://www.nytimes.com/

James Montague for The New York Times

Jonny Saelua, right, who is transgender, helped American Samoa's men's team earn its first international win on Tuesday.

Jonny Saelua did not always envision herself as an international soccer player. What she really wanted to do was join a dance company and “travel the world just performing.”

“Anything modern, jazz, maybe a little bit of ballet,” said Saelua, a center back for American Samoa’s men’s team and a performing arts major at the University of Hawaii. But for now, Saelua is doing her dancing in cleats. On Tuesday, the 23-year-old Saelua played a key role in American Samoa’s 2-1 victory against Tonga in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

It was American Samoa’s first victory in international soccer, ending a 30-game losing streak in which it had been outscored by 229-12. And Saelua apparently became the first transgender player to compete on a World Cup stage.

Saelua is part of the fa’afafine, biological males who identify themselves as a third sex in Polynesian culture. Fa’afafine means “to be a woman” in Samoan. According to 30-year-old Alex Su’a, who heads the Samoa Fa’afafine Society, there are 1,500 fa’afafine in Samoa and American Samoa.

“To be fa’afafine you have to be Samoan, born a man, feel you are a woman, be sexually attracted to males and, importantly, proud to be called and labeled fa’afafine,” Su’a said.

“The fa’afafine are culturally accepted,” he said. “They have a role in Samoan society. They are the caretakers of the elders because their brothers and sisters get married, but the fa’afafine traditionally don’t.”

Saelua agreed: “In Samoa the fa’afafine are very reliable. We can do what the boys do and what the girls do.”

In an immensely popular sport that is still encountering episodes of racism in any number of spots on the globe, it is noteworthy that Saelua has been easily accepted by her teammates.

She began playing soccer at age 11, in private school. By age 14, she had risen to be an international player for American Samoa.

“I read somewhere that it was a record when I was drafted into the national team,” Saelua said. “I was reserve the whole tournament and I had to leave because I was still in high school.”

She added that the coach “ put me in for 10 minutes.”

But she is now older, and integral to the team. “I just go out and play soccer as a soccer player,” Saelua said. “Not as transgender, not as a boy and not as a girl. Just as a soccer player.”

When the American Samoa coach Thomas Rongen — who took the United States under-20 team to three World Cup finals and won the Major League Soccer title with D.C. United in 1999 — was hired three weeks ago, he promoted Saelua to the starting lineup for the first time. His faith was repaid.

In the match against Tonga, Saelua provided an assist on one goal and made a 90th-minute goal-line clearance with American Samoa’s goalkeeper Nicky Salapu already beaten on the play.

“He’s like a brother to us and he’s like a sister to us,” Salapu said of Saelua.

“In the Samoan way, lots of people are making jokes about them,” he added in reference to the fa’afafine. “It’s difficult for their situation. I let people do whatever they want. It’s their life. He’s part of our family right now.”

Saelua, in effect returning the compliment, said she owed her confidence to the fact that teammates “make me feel like a part of them.”

“They don’t make me feel different because I am the way I am,” she said. “It is what anybody needs to feel wanted within a team. That is why I always do my best. I can’t let them down.”

American Samoa followed up its victory by tying Cook Islands, 1-1, on Thursday. On Saturday, it plays Samoa in a game that will decide who will advance to the next round of World Cup qualification, and move at least one small step closer to Brazil 2014.

For American Samoa, actually qualifying for the World Cup finals remains an almost unobtainable dream, but Saelua has hope that it could happen someday. For now though, she is concentrating on winning American Samoa’s second international game and in the process providing hope to those who do not necessarily feel they fit into a traditional male sports culture.

“I hope I can inspire people,” Saelua said. “Not only transgender but anybody who feels different in their society or community. If there’s something you love to do, go out and don’t let anybody stop you from chasing after your dreams.”

Australiana impedida de casar em Lisboa com namorada portuguesa

http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Sociedade/Interior.aspx?content_id=2147135

O ex-governador da Tasmânia - uma ilha e um estado australiano -, David Bartlett, solicitou ao Partido Trabalhista Australiano, do qual é membro, que modifique a legislação sobre casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo de forma a que a sua irmã possa casar com a namorada com quem vive em Portugal.

Angela Borella, de 40 anos, meia-irmã do ex-governador da Tasmânia, não vai poder casar com a sua namorada, Filipa Santos, em Lisboa, no próximo ano. E isto porque o Governo australiano recusa-se a passar um documento atestando a inexistência de qualquer impedimento ao casamento, já que naquele país a união de pessoas do mesmo sexo é proibida por lei.

O pedido do ex-governador acontece nas vésperas de um congresso do Partido Trabalhista, durante o qual a actual primeira-ministra, Julia Gillard, irá solicitar o voto favorável para uma mudança na legislação sobre casamentos.

"A minha irmã encontrou o verdadeiro amor. E é assustador que ela não possa expressar esse verdadeiro amor num outro país que permite o casamento entre pessoas do mesmo sexo pelo facto da Austrália não reconhecer essa união", afirmou David Bartlett, citado pelo jornal "The Age".

Por seu turno, Angela Borella afirmou ser "ridículo" que a sua "parceira possa legalmente casar com outra mulher aqui em Portugal, onde ambas vivemos, mas o Governo australiano consiga impedir que ela se case comigo".

De acordo com o "The Age", países como a Holanda e os EUA deixaram de exigir o referido documento a cidadãos australianos, como forma de evitar o condicionamento que a Austrália impõe aos seus cidadãos que pretendem casar com pessoas do mesmo sexo em países onde tal é possível.

in: http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Sociedade/Interior.aspx?content_id=2147135

Oxford University Raises the Rainbow Flag For The First Time In 900 Years

in: http://www.queermagazineonline.com/

While Oxford University is lauded for its heavy-handed traditions and Hogwarts-style buildings, the 38 colleges that make up the prestigious academy all have their own reputations. Wadham College, a 17th-century castle at the center of the university, is often considered the progressive college. This week it proved worthy of that reputation by flying a rainbow flag over its spires to mark the annual weeklong celebration Queerfest. While the gay community is supported at Oxford, the flying of the flag is thought to be the first official symbol of LGBT support displayed in the university’s 900-year history.

Michael Brooks, a 19-year-old undergraduate and organizer (or organiser, if you will) of Queerfest told Pink News that the idea to raise the flag was welcomed

“Putting up the flag was such a simple thing to do, but it had a huge effect on Oxford. I heard many people from different colleges talking about it. I saw tourists stopping outside Wadham to take photos of it… It challenges the stereotypes people have of Oxford and I hope that it will make those within Oxford who do hold very conservative views concerning LGBTQ rights to think differently.”

We hope that flying the rainbow flag becomes a tradition for the next 900 years.

http://www.queermagazineonline.com/

ILGA diz que Bloco se esqueceu de casais de lésbicas

in: http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Sociedade/Saude/Interior.aspx?content_id=2144807

A lLGA Portugal considera discriminatória a omissão de casais de lésbicas, casadas ou em uniões de facto, no projecto de lei do Bloco de Esquerda, que pretende alargar a procriação medicamente assistida a mulheres solteiras e às que não sejam inférteis, além de legalizar as barrigas de aluguer.

Neste momento, a legislação em vigor apenas permite o recurso à procriação medicamente assistida (PMA) a mulheres casadas, inférteis, com autorização do marido.

Reconhecendo a necessidade de alterar a lei e apoiando "os princípios subjacentes ao projecto" dos bloquistas, o presidente daquela associação, Paulo Corte-Real, critica a "situação de exclusão e de insegurança que o projecto (do Bloco) continua a impor a algumas crianças filhas de casais do mesmo sexo".

"Precisamos por isso de uma lei que garanta o acesso à PMA para todas as mulheres e que estenda também a presunção de maternidade à segunda mãe, caso se trate de um casal de mulheres, garantindo finalmente uma protecção igual para todas as crianças", alega Corte-Real, que frisa o facto de em Espanha, desde 1988, estas técnicas estarem "disponíveis para qualquer mulher maior, em bom estado de saúde psico-física, que, uma vez tendo sido prévia e devidamente informada, aceite recorrer à PMA de forma livre e consciente".

Sem sucesso, a ILGA apelou, em 2006, ao presidente da República, Cavaco Silva, para remeter para o Tribunal Constitucional a legislação aprovada meses antes pela Assembleia da República.

Devido à lei que possui, desde 2006 que Espanha recebe lésbicas de vários países europeus, entre eles Portugal, que recorrem às técnicas da PMA.

Transgender Day of Remembrance - Sunday, November 20

in: http://www.shewired.com/


Sunday, November 20th marks the 13th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

On November 28, 1998, Boston police entered the apartment of Rita Hester, a 34-year-old woman active in the city’s transgender community. We know little about the lives of those officers, but surely, they never forgot what they saw that evening: Rita brutally stabbed 20 times in the chest.

One week later, activist and writer Gwendolyn Ann Smith decided to organize a candlelight vigil in Rita’s honor. About 250 people with red, wet eyes gathered: There, facing another cold New England winter and the dull brown of Boston, Smith launched the first Transgender Day of Remembrance.

This Sunday, November 20, the annual vigil turns thirteen. And for many, it’s still difficult to think of Rita as dead. It’s just as difficult not to get lost in silence when we can’t bear to think about it; about all of those people—327 in the United States alone—whose lives have been lost to anti-transgender violence. It leaves many of us, undoubtedly, scratching our heads.

But while Vigils certainly help raise awareness, anti-LGBT violence certainly is on the rise. In a 2010 Hate Violence Report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects, violence against the LGBT community increased by 13% from 2009 to 2010. During that same time period, murder rates increased by 23% (70% were people of color and 44% were transgender women), according to GLAAD.

With numbers like these, all of us have an obligation to do something, anything, however big or small. Change is anything but impossible, for there is still value and love all over the world. We owe those two things to the dead, but not forgotten.

To find a TDOR EVENT in your city, visit www.transgenderor.org.

From Los Angeles, California to New York City, caring LGBT individuals and allies will be gathering around the country to remember those we've lost and how far we have to go to raise awareness and end LGBT-violence.

Blog estreia webnovela LGBT

in: http://www.athosgls.com.br/

O blog TV e Diversão (www.tvediversao.com) estreou na última segunda-feira uma webnovela retratando o universo LGBT.

Escrita pelo roteirista Marcos Silvério, de Goiânia, que também é militante, “GLS Teen” conta a história de Gilberto, Betina, Joana e Bebel (um gay, uma transexual, uma lésbica e uma travesti). Eles têm 18 anos de idade e estão descobrindo as dores e as delícias da sexualidade. O objetivo é mostrar os diversos ângulos da vida desses jovens e de suas famílias na descoberta de sua orientação sexual e identidade de gênero. Gilberto é expulso de casa pelo pai ao ser surpreendido transando com outro homem.

Ele segue para uma cidade grande onde descobrirá e viverá plenamente a sua homossexualidade. Betina, a transexual, tem mais sorte: vive numa família estruturada, onde contará com o apoio irrestrito dos pais para enfrentar todos os desafios. Joana se envolverá com bebidas e drogas e, posteriormente, com uma mulher casada. Seu relacionamento com o pai e a mãe não é dos melhores.

Bebel é uma paraense que sonha com a vida de travesti na cidade grande, porém em sua caminhada será muito hostilizada e se tornará uma pessoa agressiva e violenta, pois é a única forma que encontrará para se defender. Além de contar o drama dos personagens, o texto tenta retratar o universo LGBT com todo o seu colorido, as pintas, as gírias, etc. Cumprindo uma função social, de combater o preconceito e a homofobia, cada capítulo traz ao seu final dicas aos leitores sobre o significado das palavras, das siglas e relata histórias das conquistas do movimento LGBT no Brasil.

Os capítulos são publicados diariamente no endereço: http://glsteen-webnovela.blogspot.com Sobre webnovelas A webnovela é um gênero de narrativa que está se tornando muito comum na internet. Na prática é uma mistura do romance tradicional com o roteiro de TV.

Concentra-se nos diálogos, parte forte do roteiro e também nas rubricas que são pequenas orientações escritas entre parênteses para designar os sentimentos dos personagens e também a marcação de cena. Porém, como não se dispõe de elementos visuais como a TV e o cinema, faz-se o uso da narrativa, como nos bons e velhos livros impressos, para interligar o conjunto e dar a real dimensão da história contada.

Normalmente os capítulos são publicados diariamente, em horário fixo, como nas novelas tradicionais da TV. A diferença é que estes são curtos, com cerca de 50 linhas (1 página do Word) e podem ser lidos na ordem e no horário que for mais conveniente para o leitor.

Map of the status of marriage equality across the US

in: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/11/13/opinion/13editorial-gph.html

Iowa Baker Refuses to Create Wedding Cake for Lesbian Couple, Cites Her Christian Beliefs

in: http://www.towleroad.com/

Lesbian couple Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers went to Victoria Childress for their wedding cake. At a taste-testing appointment they were told that she wouldn't do it for them because it conflicts with ther Christian beliefs.

Said Childress: "I didn't do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle. It is my right as a business owner. It is my right, and it's not to discriminate against them. It's not so much to do with them, it's to do with me and my walk with God and what I will answer (to) him for."

The couple says it was degrading: "It was like she chastised us for wanting to do business with her. I know Jesus loves me. I didn't need her to tell me that. I didn't go there for that. I just wanted to go there for a cake."

Video interview with Childress HERE.

Local bakers are weighing in on the issue, some noting that Childress is just a dumb businesswoman, others noting that she just isn't a real Christian:

Dana Schaub and Cythia Hendrickson are co-owners of The Devilsih Pig Bakery. Together, they say, what happened was not right.

"To have someone say, 'Well I'm sorry because your lifestyle is different from mine, I'm not going to take care of you and help you. And I don't want your business,' It's wrong on so many levels," said Schaub. Hendrickson said proclaimed Christians shouldn't judge. "As Christians, we are supposed to be unselfish, and do things for the greatest good of mankind, and not pass judgment," said Hendrickson.

Rio vai ganhar mais 13 Centros de Promoção da Cidadania LGBT até 2013

in: http://www.sidneyrezende.com

O Estado do Rio vai ganhar mais dez Centros de Referência e Promoção da Cidadania LGBT até 2013. O objetivo da Secretaria de Assistência Social e Direitos Humanos é ampliar a rede de proteção às vítimas de preconceito, além do auxílio jurídico, social e psicológico.

Até o fim deste ano as cidades de Nova Iguaçu e Niterói receberão os postos. No primeiro semestre de 2012, será a vez de Cabo Frio e Macaé, e no segundo, de São Gonçalo e Resende. As unidades de Natividade e Angra dos Reis estão previstas para os seis primeiros meses de 2013. As duas últimas cidades ainda não foram confirmadas, mas é provável que as contempladas sejam Campos dos Goytacazes e Belford Roxo.

Segundo o superintendente de Direitos Individuais e Difusos, Cláudio Nascimento, os municípios foram escolhidos por seu engajamento pela causa.

"Trabalhamos com o conceito de cidades-pólo para montar a rede de centros, ou seja, pensamos em municípios que já são ativistas e capitaneiam a atenção de outros no entorno", justifica Cláudio, lembrando que em 2012, a capital ganhará ainda núcleos de atendimento descentralizado em Madureira, Campo Grande e na zona sul.

Em salas privativas, que garantem a segurança e o anonimato do atendimento, são oferecidos serviços de apoio jurídico, social e psicológico para LGBTs vítimas de violência, seus familiares e amigos.

Além do acolhimento, os atendentes esclarecem dúvidas e encaminham, quando necessário, os solicitantes a outros órgãos da chamada rede de proteção, como delegacias, batalhões de polícia, postos de saúde e Centros de Referência da Assistência Social (CRAs).

O atendimento é marcado com total sigilo através do Disque Cidadania LGBT (0800 023 4567).

Os casos mais difíceis de acompanhar, para Cláudio, são os que envolvem denúncias contra quadrilhas de exploração sexual e perseguição da milícia, principalmente na zona oeste, onde gays são assassinados por grupos que pregam o conceito de limpeza social. A falta de provas material e testemunhal também complica a investigação e atuação da justiça porque prejudica o processo de chegada aos agressores.

Os avanços são notórios, mas ainda há muito a fazer, na visão do superintendente. Apesar de estar à frente de outros estados e ser considerado o melhor destino gay para turismo, o Rio ainda concentra uma minoria fundamentalista que não aceita a diversidade.

Punições contra homossexuais podem aumentar na Malásia

via: http://paroutudo.com/2011/11/14/punicoes-contra-homossexuais-podem-aumentar-na-malasia/

Penalidades podem incluir até quem "incentiva" ou "apóia" a homossexualidade

Não são apenas os edifícios mastodônticos que não param de subir na Malásia. O preconceito e a homofobia, também.

Autoridades religiosas dos Estados de Pahang e Malacca querem punições aos homossexuais, além das que estes já sofrem pela lei do civil do país.

Na Malásia, a homossexualidade pode ser punida com chibatadas e até 20 anos de cadeia. E a pena pode, em breve, ganhar um ‘adicional’, se o acusado seguir o islamismo – maior religião local.

O tribunal religioso tem poder para julgar os muçulmanos e as penas poderão ser somadas. E mais: as novas punições poderão ser aplicadas não só aos gays, mas quem estiver “encorajando” a homossexualidade no país. E vocês achavam que eles eram avançados, não é?

Ugandan lesbian rugby player granted asylum in Germany

Ikulmet was granted asylum after her treatment in Uganda

The former head of Uganda’s female rugby team has been granted asylum in Germany after facing harassment, the country’s DW News reports.

Lilian Ikulmet, who was in charge of the She Cranes, said she had been raped, beaten and discriminated against by men for her sexuality.

Ikulmet, a professional journalist also worked as a writer at the Daily Monitor newspaper in her native Uganda.

She said she now wants to leave the gay hostel where she is hiding at the end of the year and move into an apartment of her own.

Ikulmet also expressed a desire to apply for a visa for her girlfriend, whom she hopes to marry.

Earlier this year, Robert Segwanyi was granted leave to apply to remain in the UK as a result of his treatment in Uganda, following protracted questions over whether he was really gay.

Segwanyi said he was harassed and burnt with molten plastic while in Uganda, and feared he would be killed or jailed on his return to the African state.

The UK Border Authority agreed to reconsider his case at the last minute before his deportation.

United States denies asylum to gay Saudi diplomat

in: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=245358

Man could face execution under Islamic rule; Saudi Arabia canceled the diplomat's passport after his sexual orientation was revealed.

The United States government denied political asylum to Ali Ahmad Asseri, the former first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, last week to avoid disrupting US-Saudi relations, according to a Saudi-American blogger and journalist based in Brazil.

Asseri argued that if he returned to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia he would face execution because the country’s radically fundamental form of Islam mandates the death penalty for same-sex relations.

The Saudi-American journalist and blogger, Rasheed Abou-Alsamh, appears to have been the first writer to report on the asylum rejection. The possible deportation of Asseri to Saudi Arabia has electrified blog observers of the case over the last few days.

The Jerusalem Post’s e-mail and telephone attempts to secure on Saturday a confirmation and comment from the US State Department’s Middle East press section were not immediately returned.

In an e-mail response to the Post on Saturday, Abou-Alsamh, the Saudi-American blogger whose personal website "Rasheed's World" first broke the story about the denial of the asylum application, wrote, "As far as I know the US government has not yet officially commented on Asseri's denial of asylum, but from comments that I have read after I wrote my post, it seems that political asylum cases are often denied in first instance and then approved later when the applicant appeals."

He added: "I do think the US government is afraid of unnecessarily annoying the Saudis, especially now with all of the turmoil that the Arab world is going through because of the Arab Spring revolts."

Abou-Alsamh, who has written for The Washington Times and other US-based publications, reported on his website that Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi dissident in Washington, said in a phone interview that “This was a political decision by the Obama administration, who are afraid of upsetting the Saudis.”

“His initial interview with Homeland Security was very positive, but then they came back and grilled him for two days after they found out that he had worked in the public prosecutor’s office in Saudi Arabia,” Alsamh continued.

“He had been an inspector to make sure that judicial punishments, such as lashings, were carried out within the law – not more, not less. They then accused him of participating in a form of torture,” Ahmed said on Abou- Alamh’s website.

Ahmed said that Asseri intends to appeal the denial of his application and the process could meander its way through the judicial process over the next few years.

Last year, the US news organization MSNBC first reported on Asseri’s decision to remain in the United States. According to an article from the MSNBC national investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff: “Ali Ahmad Asseri, the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, has informed US Department of Homeland Security officials that Saudi officials have refused to renew his diplomatic passport and effectively terminated his job after discovering he was gay and was close friends with a Jewish woman.”

In addition to his sexual orientation, Asseri’s friendship with a female Jewish Israeli appears to be a factor for concern if he returns to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh does not recognize Israel’s existence and there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Saudi Kingdom’s media and educational books are steeped in hatred of Israel.

Stuart Appelbaum, a prominent gay rights activist in New York and head of the international trade union Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, wrote the Post by e-mail on Friday. “If the United States government refuses to grant asylum to a gay diplomat because it is afraid of the Saudi reaction, then the US will become complicit in his fate. It is exactly because of how Ahmad might be treated on his return to his homophobic and brutal land that the United States should grant him refuge.”

Appelbaum played a key role in the New York State legislative decision to pass a marriage law for same-sex couples this year.

Dr. Phyllis Chesler, a New York-based expert on gender relations, wrote the Post on Friday, “This is further proof that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is one of self-destructive appeasement and that despite its presumed commitment to civil rights and human rights, that commitment does not extend to Muslim women, Muslim dissidents, or Muslim gays – nor does it extend to the right-of-survival of religious minorities (Christian, Jewish, Bahai, Zoroastrian) or to apostates.

“This decision refuses to countenance the reality of Islamic gender and religious apartheid and has chosen a ‘hands off’ policy vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia’s persecution of ‘out’ gay men,” Chesler wrote.

Saudi Arabia’s government policy of lethal homophobia has sparked outrage over the years from some human rights activists.

The subject of state-sponsored murder of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities across the Muslim world has been a long neglected human-rights issue, according to NGO Monitor, the Jerusalem-based watchdog organization, which monitors the role of NGOs in the region, including Israel.

Nova livraria online publica literatura gay em português

http://diariodigital.sapo.pt/news.asp?section_id=4&id_news=541027

A editora Bubok lançou recentemente o seu novo projecto, uma livraria online especializada em literatura lésbica, gay, bisexual e transgénero.

A livraria chama-se Arco-íris e está online em http://livrariaarcoiris.bubok.pt/.

A editora onde todos podem publicar gratuitamente já tem mais de 4500 livros publicados em dois anos, mais de seis a cada novo dia. Entre todos estes livros há espaço para as mais diversas temáticas e autores, incluindo a literatura LGBT.

Desde há alguns dias ao publicar um livro na Bubok o autor pode classificá-lo como literatura gay e lésbica e pedir a sua inclusão na Livraria Arco-íris.

Esta livraria é um espaço exclusivo para os que querem ler e publicar histórias com esta temática e esperamos que em breve possa ter um catálogo de referência no género e com um forte compromisso cultural.

Esta livraria tem já dois títulos inéditos em Portugal, incluindo um em parceria com uma editora brasileira, a Livronovo. Como parte deste lançamento, a editora esteve na sede da ILGA para um workshop de auto-publicação e está a desenvolver parcerias com as principais associações nacionais que representam esta minoria de autores e leitores arco-íris.

Ugandan jailed for 30 years for murder of gay activist

in: http://af.reuters.com/

A man who confessed to murdering a Ugandan gay activist by beating him with a hammer has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the crime, a local newspaper reported on Friday.

Enock Nsubuga was sentenced by a high court in Mukono, about 20 km (13 miles) east of the capital Kampala, for the murder of David Kato, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported.

"The 30 year sentence was passed by Justice Joseph Mulangira after Nsubuga admitted to have murdered David Kato, 46, on 26th January 2011," the paper reported.

Kato, one of the country's most prominent gay campaigners, was beaten to death with a hammer at his home and died on the way to hospital.

The case provoked worldwide condemnation and drew attention to gay rights issues in Uganda. But police said Nsubuga was a "thief" known to Kato and the murder was not related to the victim's gay rights campaign.

Homosexuality is taboo in many African nations. It is illegal in 37 countries on the continent, including Uganda, and activists say few Africans are openly gay, fearing imprisonment, violence and loss of jobs.

Before he was murdered in January, Kato had been featured in an anti-gay newspaper that "outed" people it said were gay and called on the government to kill them. Kato's photograph was published on the cover under the headline: "Hang Them."

Uganda drew international censure when an anti-gay bill proposing the death penalty for homosexuals who are "repeat offenders" was presented to parliament in October 2009.

Pressure from gay rights activists and Western governments later forced parliament to shelve the bill.

Why are 200 lesbian torture clinics still operating in Ecuador?

in: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

In the country of Ecuador, nestled among tropical rainforests, sandy beaches, and cosmopolitan cities, there are more than 200 clinics where LGBT men and women are sent to be "cured" of their homosexuality. The clinics claim this "cure" is accomplished through "intense rehabilitation." But Ecuadorians are telling a different story -- that widespread physical torture and psychological abuse are part of the treatment.

Ecuadorian activists are using online advocacy platform Change.org to speak out against the 200 remaining torture clinics that exist throughout Ecuador. Activists launched a campaign on Change.org earlier this month and have already garnered support from over 80,000 people in 124 countries.

While these clinics operate under the guise of drug rehabilitation centers, the public is generally aware of their existence, and it is unfortunately not uncommon for conservative families to send their children to the clinics in an effort to reverse their homosexuality. What is not publicly known, however, is that these clinics practice torture and sexual abuse in order to cure homsexuality.

The silence is being broken as victims are beginning to speak out. In the past six months, numerous patients have escaped clinics and are coming forward to press charges and speak publicly about their experience. One such prominent voice is that of 24-year-old Paola Ziritti. Paola's parents knew they were sending her to a forced-confinement clinic, but they had no idea how awful it would be. Once Paola's mother realized what she'd done, she tried to get her daughter back, but the clinic said no. The process to free Paola took a year. "I spent two years in one such facility and for three months was shackled in handcuffs while guards threw water and urine on me," said Paola, who describes numerous accounts of physical and sexual abuse during her "rehabilitation." "Why is the clinic where I suffered still open?"

Ziritti was the first to speak out and also to file a formal complaint against the treatment centers. Since she went public with her story, it has encouraged others to do the same, and in September two other victims came forward. Fundación Causana hopes that these women's stories will encourage others to speak out.

But it is not just former victims who are speaking out. A coalition of leading Ecuadorian women's rights organizations, such as Fundación Causana, Taller de Comunicación Mujer, and Artikulación Esporádika, are standing up against these clinics. They launched a campaign on Change.org, demanding that the Ecuadorian government investigate reports of abuse. They say that the time has come to stop the torture of LGBT people under the guise of treatment, and for Ecuador to start respecting the basic human rights of all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Since the campaign was launched a little over a week ago, it has gained international attention and widespread support. Over 80,000 supporters from 124 countries have signed their name to the Change.org petition, calling Ecuadorian Minister of Health Dr. David Chirboga Allnut to investigate and close the clinics.

Fundación Causana's leading advocate, Karen Barba, is speaking up about the clinics. "The Ecuadoran government must stop turning a blind eye and wake up to the horrific reality of these torture clinics," says Barba. "There are estimates of 200 clinics or more still in business. That means that there are likely hundreds of thousands of women and men being tortured and sexually abused on a daily basis. The perpetrators of these clinics are not only getting away with obscene human rights abuses; they are actually profiting off them. We are inspired to see over 80,000 people support the campaign on Change.org, and we will not stop until each and every clinics has been closed."

Fundación Causana believes that we are making progress. What used to be a dark secret has now become a rallying cry for an international call to action. Ecuador has demonstrated its sensitivity to international pressure and has already closed 30 torture clinics. With the backing of 80,000 people on Change.org, Fundación Causana has international support in calling for the closure of all remaining clinics. The international LGBT community is waiting for Ecuador to protect LGBT rights at home and, in doing so, take a positive step forward for LGBT rights worldwide.

Support Fundación Causana, Taller de Comunicación Mujer, and Artikulación Esporádika and add you voice to the growing number of people worldwide calling on Ecuador to investigate and close all remaining torture clinics.

Gay penguins Buddy and Pedro to be separated by Toronto Zo

http://www.nma.tv/gay-penguins-buddy-pedro-separated-toronto-zoo/
These gay penguins won't have happy feet.

Gay behavior is not uncommon in penguins, so it's not big news that Buddy and Pedro, two African jackass penguins at the Toronto Zoo, are a couple.

But Buddy and Pedro possess exceptional genes, and since African jackass penguins are endangered, zookeepers plan to break them up so they will mate with female penguins for the good of their species.

Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, started dating before they moved from the Toledo Zoo to Toronto earlier this year.

In 2004, male penguins Roy and Silo became famous for their same-sex relationship and raised a chick together at New York's Central Park Zoo. Silo later ran off with a female. Z and Vielpunkt, two male Humboldt penguins at a German zoo, also became famous for their same-sex relationship. They adopted a chick in 2009.

Switzerland Tourism to offer LGBT training to hotels

in: http://www.travelweekly.com/

Individual cities in Europe, such as Berlin, Stockholm, Nice, Helsinki and Manchester, are proactively gay-friendly, but now Switzerland Tourism says it is the first national tourism organization to offer specialized training on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender market for interested hotels countrywide.

The tourist office joined the GayComfort training and certification program and is making membership in the program available to hotels across Switzerland. All GayComfort certified properties will be listed on www.MySwitzerland.com/gaylesbian, and staff will receive online training in four languages on key travel issues expressed by LGBT travelers in consumer research studies, such as recognizing the diversity within the LGBT market.


“Here in Switzerland we are a very progressive and tolerant country, which is genuinely gay- and lesbian-welcoming, and we take that very seriously,” said Urs Eberhard, executive vice president of markets and meetings for Switzerland Tourism. “We want to make sure that the welcome our LGBT visitors receive is of the highest possible standard and is in line with our international reputation for industry-leading levels of customer service.

"Our decision to make GayComfort training and certification available to all interested properties across our country is entirely in keeping with this approach,” he said.


But advertising a destination as welcoming is only half the battle, said Ian Johnson, CEO of Out Now, a global LGBT marketing agency.


“LGBT travelers have become increasingly wary after several recent cases of discrimination by frontline hotel staff towards LGBT customers,” Johnson said. “It is no longer enough to claim to be 'gay-friendly' without delivering on the promises made. Hotels, tourist attractions and destinations that demonstrate that they genuinely want to deliver great customer service to this market are the ones that will succeed.”


Johnson added that bad experiences for LGBT customers can “go viral on social media very quickly and create negative publicity, undoing any gains made by expensive gay advertising campaigns.”


Lesbian Couple Sues Over Child's Birth Certificate

via:http://www.kcrg.com/news/Lesbian-Couple-Sues-Over-Childs-Birth-Certificate--133375888.html

A Polk County judge will rule later on a lesbian couple's lawsuit to have both their names on their daughter's birth certificate.

Heather Gartner and Melissa Gartner, of Des Moines, are suing the state health department, claiming that listing only one parent deprives the girl the benefit of two parents being present from birth. A judge heard arguments on Monday and will issue a writing ruling later.

The couple's attorney cites the Iowa Supreme Court case that struck down a same-sex marriage ban in 2009. The ruling cited constitutional rights to basic fairness and equal protection.

The state says Iowa law regarding parentage is gender-specific, and if a woman is married, the husband is the father, absent a court order that says otherwise.

Marcha do Orgulho LGBT chega à 20ª edição na Argentina

http://mundo.gay1.com.br/2011/11/marcha-do-orgulho-lgbt-chega-20-edicao.html

Participantes festejam lei do matrimônio entre pessoas do mesmo sexo.
Evento também protesta contra poucos avanços em igualdade de direitos.

Em sua 20ª edição, a Marcha do Orgulho LGBT, realizada neste sábado (5) em Buenos Aires, na Argentina, festejou a lei do matrimônio entre pessoas do mesmo sexo, mas também criticou os lentos avanços no reconhecimento de igualdade de direitos LGBTs. “Reivindicamos que seja aprovado o pedido das pessoas de serem reconhecidas pelo gênero com a qual se identificam”, disse Esteban Paulón, presidente da Federação Argentina de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais.

Parada do Orgulho LGBT chega à 20ª edição na Argentina (Foto: Reuters)

Paulón se refere ao slogan “Lei de identidade de gênero já!”, que é o mote da marcha neste ano e pede que aqueles que assim desejam tenham nos documentos de identidade qual o gênero que se encaixam. Cerca de 150 mil pessoas comparecem ao evento e marcharam rumo à Câmara do Deputados, onde são avaliados atualmente tais projetos de lei. A marcha também exigia mais atos de prevenção ante violências cometidas contra LGBTs.

Participantes festejam lei do matrimônio entre pessoas do mesmo sexo (Foto: Reuters)

A Parada do Orgulho LGBT acontece desde 1992, sempre no primeiro sábado de novembro. No Brasil, a Parada do Orgulho LGBT mais antiga, está em sua 15ª edição.

Homossexuais britânicos já podem dar sangue

via: http://www.jn.pt/


A proibição de dar sangue imposta pelo Reino Unido aos homossexuais para prevenir o risco de contaminação do VIH é levantada esta segunda-feira, informou o Ministério da Saúde.

A restrição tinha sido estabelecida na década de 1980 como medida de prevenção, todavia os últimos estudos médicos apresentados ao Governo britânico atestam que este tipo de proibição não se justificava.

O Ministério da Saúde tomou a decisão após as recomendações do Comité de Segurança do Sangue, que avaliou os riscos de contágio com base nos estudos de especialistas e chegou à conclusão de que os homossexuais que não tenham tido relações íntimas com outra pessoa durante um ano podem dar sangue.

Esta proibição tinha sido já questionada por especialistas clínicos.

LGBT Quote of the day

"That word 'lesbian' sounds like a disease. And straight men know because they're sure that they're the cure."



~Denise McCanles

Lesbian politician Ruth Davidson elected leader of the Scottish Conservative Party

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/

Ruth Davidson MSP has been elected as leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. Her election makes her the first openly lesbian or gay leader of a major British political party.

Ms Davidson was only elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament earlier this year and succeeds Annabel Goldie as the leader of the third largest party in the parliament.

In her victory speech, Ms Davidson said that the Tories in Scotland were still alive and kicking”.

She added: “Annabel [Goldie] has been a fantastic leader of the MSP group and we all owe her a great debt for her service and for her hard work over a number of years.

“But this is the first time that our members have been asked to elect a leader for the whole party in Scotland and I’ve met our members from Selkirk to Shetland and all points in between.

“They’ve been engaged, they’ve been enthusiastic, they’ve been welcoming and they’re excited about our bright future too.

“A political party is not a leader, a political party is its membership and I want to bring our members at all levels much closer together in our party going forward and to take our party forward in unity.”

Following the result, British prime minister David Cameron said: “I am delighted to congratulate Ruth on winning this leadership election and look forward to working with her to strengthen the Union and build a better future for Scotland.”

Ms Davidson presented herself as the only one of the Conservative candidates who could appeal to Scottish voters, a demographic deeply mistrustful of the party since Margaret Thatcher’s days in power.