Everyday life best argument for gay marriage

A really interesting analysis on the SF Gate by C W Nevius, on how homosexual marriage will become accepted as normal. Here's the full text, which I mostly agree with.

When defenders of the "sacred union of marriage" held a news conference last Tuesday after oral arguments on same-sex marriage at the state Supreme Court, they weren't facing a friendly crowd.

A small group of activists tried to drown out the comments with songs, chants and heckling. I'm sure they thought they were carrying the banner of freedom, standing up for principle and advancing the cause.

They're wrong.

At the end of the day, when the change comes to allow same-sex marriage - and it's coming, don't kid yourself - it won't be because of protests. It will be because people in this state, and across the country, are talking to gay and lesbian co-workers and neighbors, meeting same-sex couples and their kids at Little League games, and working at companies with domestic-partner health plans.

"It is the normal interaction in everyday life," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who is leading San Francisco's legal effort along with attorneys for 23 same-sex couples. "It is the guy at the water cooler at work, seeing them with their kids - that's what drives it home for people."

It is that familiarity driving the change in perception. Polls tell us that those born before 1940 are probably a lost cause. But those in their 40s, for example, have seen a dramatic uptick in support for same-sex marriage. And the real sea change is among the teens and twentysomethings who seem to wonder what the fuss is all about.

When our son told us he was gay, he was in high school (he's a junior in college now). I remember hugging him and saying, "Don't worry. It will be fine." What he didn't hear was my inner voice adding, "I hope."

I worried about him having a miserable time at school, harassed by narrow-minded kids and forced to withdraw into a shell. It wasn't without rough moments, of course, but overall, his problems seemed minor.

He played high school sports, was active in school events and ran for student body president. During the election, a Neanderthal jock anonymously posted an incredibly offensive and obscene comment on an Internet site. My wife and daughter saw it and so did much of the student body. Here we go, I thought.

But his friends rallied around him. They took on the jock, identified him and told him to offer an apology. When he did, my son's group quickly accepted it and moved on. He won that election.

Frankly, with a few blips, that's how it has gone. Having a gay son has been a lot less of a big deal than I ever dreamed. And among his fellow students and contemporaries, it seems to be a big shrug.

As Herrera says, the youth mind-set represents an undercurrent of change that is sometimes overlooked.

"If you look at the poll numbers in 2000 for Proposition 22 (reaffirming a 1974 law that said marriage was between a man and a woman) the support was 61 percent," he said. "But those numbers have changed dramatically. And when you look at the younger demographic, it is totally different."

A California Field Poll conducted in March found that those born in the 1970s and '80s support same-sex marriage by 51 and 58 percent, respectively.

The change in values seems to leave the same-sex opponents struggling to find a rational objection to the question posed by one of the justices: "What are the adverse consequences that could occur?"

Randy Thompson, president of the California Coalition for Children and Families, could only offer that banning same-sex marriage would "be a role model for the next generation. What dream do you want children to have, to grow up and marry a nice girl?"

Yep, that's the dream. I suppose many never guessed it would be a girl's dream, too.

The news conferences went on too long for both groups. At the end, a gentleman who represented the group Stand With Children stood at the podium, talking away as TV crews packed up their cameras and microphones.

No one was listening. He was talking to himself - with one exception.

One of the gay and lesbian activists stayed and heckled him. As the crowd dispersed, the two bickered back and forth. It's funny, because while they are arguing, real change is taking place all around them.

Spain pre-election promises, promises, promises...

With most eyes focused on the American campaign, I've just following, like most Spaniards, the moves of our pre-elections season. Eventually, the Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy disclosed some amount of the changes to bring about on society: contract agreements for immigrants to "behave like Spaniards" and "fulfill the existing laws" (I had never guessed that any person coming to Spain, tourist or permanent settler, had not the obligation to respect and fulfill our laws, and that Spanish behavior might mean they will have to shout and scream in bars for most of the Saturday evening, drive fast and half drunk, and learn how to throw papers and all sorts of other rubbish out of the wastecans when walking the streets); of course, on homosexuality the Party is starting to appear more the wolf they are than the sheep: the first (notice: the first) proposal is to ban homosexual marriages from adoption. It's just a first step, I'm afraid, later on it'll come the banning of homosexual marriage too. But the implications are broader: if homosexual couples can't adopt, it must be because they are not able to raise children correctly, and hence... what will we do when a lesbian couple give birth to a baby? Of course, call the social services and find a suitable home. Preferably traditional, catholic, and conservative.

On other parts of the world, Romania's Senate is trying to amend the Romanian Civil Code on marriage to explicitly forbid same-sex marriages, though that's a move which could bring about some sort of admonition from the European Union. When joining the EU in 2007, Romania had to "recognise same-sex couples registered in other member states". A couple of cases brought before the European High Court could oblige lawmakers to rewrite their homophobic moves.

And just two interesting links to finish: Patrick Chapman makes a brief but interesting critic to the NARTH Journey into Straight, showing that studies of ex-gay organizations are not always trustable, while Ziggy on High posts The Gay Agenda according to the US ultraconservatives.

Manifesto pro Family Diversity

Following the recent events in Spain, with the Catholic hierarchy mourning their times of power under the Franco dictatorship, a number of people launched a web/blog under the name Internautas por la Diversidad Familiar, whose manifesto aims, in brief, at promoting equality among all the different family models that coexist in our 21st century societies: monoparental, homoparental and heteroparental, not excluding or promoting any of those over the other, however rejecting the discriminating and excluding attitudes coming from the Catholic hierarchy (and we understand here, that, on extension, from any other excluding attitudes).

It's with joy that Party for the Rights joined the campaign and manifesto, and we will encourage from these pages to all Spain and Spanish speaking readers to go check the site, spread the word, and become more active against any bigotry.

Technorati tags: Family diversity, Blogs, Equality

Latest in 2007: Cuba and Nepal.

On a move that will surely add more fuel to the bonfires the worldwide Christian ultraconservative right lighted against same sex marriages, two nations of the so called Third World ended 2007 with awesome achievements in such a field. In Nepal, the High Court ruled that the government must create new laws to protect gay rights and change current ones that might be tantamount to discrimination. Until some days ago, Nepal was an almost feudal kingdom, but recently the nation has announced plans to transform itself into a republic in 2008 after the Constituent Assembly election, abolishing monarchy.

On the other side of the world, in that tiny green lizard island named Cuba,  Monica and Elizabeth (featured on the picture in the right) dressed in white and staged a marriage, though still with no legal validity. IPS News brings an extensive report of the ceremony, which was supported by government bodies and associations, since the country's preparing to take to parliament a legal reform advocated by CENESEX and the Cuban Women’s Federation calling for the recognition of de facto unions between same-sex couples and equal rights for heterosexual and homosexual couples, as well as eligibility to adopt children and, for women, access to assisted fertilization services.

The legal machinery is already rolling and the initiative may reach parliament in 2008, but no one can predict how long it will take to come to a vote. Meanwhile, CENESEX was advised by the ruling Communist Party to make efforts to prepare the public through a media campaign, says IPS News, but both women's ceremony wasn't intended as part of the media machinery.

Technorati tags: Cuba, Nepal, Same sex marriage, Homosexual rights

City of Rome puppet of Vatican

"The city council in Rome has blocked plans for a domestic partners register for same-sex and heterosexual couples.
The Vatican, which is an independent state within Italy as well as the seat of the Roman Catholic church, had vehemently opposed the measure." From Pink News.

Now it'll be certainly curious to see how Rome, and Italy at large, complies with the newly issued European Union Chart of Rights, given that Italy doesn't have any sort of excluding signature in the same sense that Poland got it, so that rights wouldn't be applied to homosexual citizens. And given that UK civil partnerships are recognized in Spain as marriages, and that seems to be a common trend all over the countries comprising the European Union, one wonders for how long would a British civil partnership stay unrecognized in Italy or Poland. After all, it might be a matter of courts, but in the end we're going to have homosexual marriage in the European Union. Or is this just my wishful thinking?

Technorati tags: Italy, Vatican, Gay marriage, Civil partnerships

Hungary moving away from fascism

While the Budapest's prosecutor "has accused a far-right group recently established in the country of racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism and asked a court to disband it", "Hungary's parliament yesterday approved the Registered Partnership Act. From January 1st 2009 lesbian and gay couples will have almost identical rights as married heterosexual couples in common law", in accordance with the newly signed Chart of Rights for the European Union, which sadly won't be applied in Poland in full, because of Polish authorities' fear that such Chart of Rights could pave the way for homosexuals to become citizens in full.

Technorati tags: Hungary, Poland, European Chart of Rights

Six men sentenced in Morocco over gay marriage

Justice in Morocco, publishes El Pais, is sometimes quicker than expected. The article refers to a quickly made trial against some of the Moroccan persons who staged and played on a simulation of gay marriage, some of them cross dressed, in Ksar el Kebir. El Pais informs that there were no lawyers to defend those guys, and three attorneys had to be appointed from Rabat. The article describes in brief a hostile environment allegedly boosted by islamic integrism in Ksar el Kebir, with some touches of Tabligh even (which seems to be involved in anti-homosexual actions in Uganda hand by hand with Christian fundies; who said Islam and Christianity can't live together?). The only information I could find about this, apart of the El Pais article, is an editorial on TelQuel, where the staff makes reference to a media war lauched against them by Rachid Nini, who, according to El Pais, played an important role in the media instrumentalization of an anti-gay feeling before the trial. Six of the guys involved in the staged marriage have been sentenced to fines not exceeding $140, and 4 to 10 months in prison.

Technorati tags: Morocco, Gay marriage

I don't heart Huckabee

I'm not sure that Mike Huckabee deserve the time and effort needed to publish an entry here at Party for the Rights, but I got trapped in some sensationalist headline at Gay News Watch, saying that Huckabee Warns Gay Marriage Threatens Civilization. Immediately I thought about Mike depicting hordes of Gay Terrorists crashing red roadsters onto all major Evangelical Churches in America and Europe, in a weird alliance of homosexuality and Islamic integrism; or maybe it was just a matter that now that 16 US Intelligence Bodies have disclosed that Iran stopped any nuclear weapon program back in 2003 George W. Bush "Arbusto" and his gang wanted us to present with, next World War would have to be on homosexuality because conservatives and ultrarreligious fellows always need a foe to fight, be it sin, the devil or the gay family next door. Well, I followed the given link to the GQ interview and I can't find any mention of Western Civilization Downfalling, at least in the Internet version. However, it's certainly curious that former Arkansas Governor (whom I can't really recall whether he was supporting creationism when Republican presidential runners were asked) gave this answer to the question of teaching Evolution at school: "I think people should be exposed to evolution. They should be taught that, yes, this is the prevailing scientific view, but that there are others who happen to view things differently." That's great, and proves my point that Huckabee and similar people will always try to appear the weak side, so that people should be taught that while there is one prevailing view, there are people who have other viewpoints too — except of course when Fundamentalist Christian is the prevailing view, in which case it becomes The One And Only Absolute Truth To Be Followed By Everybody Worldwide, as it's the case with homosexual marriage, just to mention the most obvious.

Or maybe now that Ahmadinejad isn't an atomic foe, they can dine together after executing some more homosexuals.

Technorati tags: Mike Huckabee, homosexual marriage, Christian double rule

LGBT rights in USA - moving to the closet

Peter LaBarbera, Fred Phelps, Ted Haggard... names that we've blogged about formerly. The Evangelical Christianity in the USA keeps struggling to kill any effort started by LGBT organizations towards a broader support for sexual and gender rights for Americans (and non-Americans as well). The type of clown which Phelps or LaBarbera are, able to condemn a whole nation and step into private funerals (allegedly on their own right for freedom of speech), or travel nationwide to pay for a ticket to a BDSM fair in an intent to depict homosexuality as an intrinsecally perverted, vicious, dirty and abominable condition of sinners; those are just anecdotic steps in the Born Again Christian crusade to wipe sins off earth. In regards to more important matters such as ENDA, which as you all know has been stripped off its transexual protections in order to secure its passing on the US Senate, still not secured, Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr. said that "I find it is an insult for myself as an African American that you are granting through this law special protection for sexual orientation that might only be imagined.", Pink News informs. Of course, this and many other bishops, allegedly religious people as well, don't care what we find to be an insult and a spit in our faces. They would not care because that's their view of the world: they are simply and absolutely right, possessing The Truth, as well depicted by Lex in her blog. Guess who attended last weekend's Washington Briefing 2007? Yes, them all: McCain, Giuliani, Thompson and Romney. So it's bad news for American homosexuals and transexuals, but bisexuals can still hide themselves for a while.

Alarm and catastrophism here? Maybe, but there was not so many people sure that Bush would get a second mandate, and there he is, speaking with Jesus the Lord every morning, and sending boys to wars that the Lord tells him to start. And by the way, democrats are moving towards repelling the US Armed Forces "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. Personally I guess that such will be a much more popular measure than reinstating the draft, however if homosexuals alone are not enough to feed the Armed Forces, expect a draft in a near future. Someone's got to fight USA's wars, and it seems it's not going to be Europe.

Finally, there's a very interesting analysis on the fight for gay marriage at Pink News.

Technorati tags: Christian conservatives, Christianity and Homosexuality, USA LGBT rights, Born Again Christians, Don't Ask Don't Tell, LGBT Marriage

Portrait of a marriage, 1901

Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sanchez first met when studying at Teacher's College in La Coruña. Years later, they met again when teaching in a unmentioned village. By 1901, Elisa became a cross dresser and invented a life story for herself and took on a new identity as Mario. Both Marcela and Mario got married at the parochial church of St. George in La Coruña, blessed by father Cortiella, who had to baptize "Mario" unknowingly in the Catholic faith.

Their trick was eventually discovered, thus they were prosecuted by judicial system. This along with social homophobia, mockery and the inability for Elisa to find a job as her male identity Mario, led them to migrate to Argentina.

The portrait above is theirs, took by José Sellier Loup.

 

UPDATE: As it should have been, the LGBT Association of A Coruña, Milhomes, has provided several deeper details upon the story. A local newspaper, La Voz de Galicia, published in June 1988 a verisimilarly accurate account of both women's love affair (not available online on the paper's site, though transcribed by Milhomes in their Flickr account), marriage and eventual fleeing to Buenos Aires, after their trick was published on newspapers all over Spain and even Europe.

Collective Milhomes, the LGBT Association of A Coruña, launched a campaign in order to have a street in that town named after both women, providing with full details, and established an award: the "Homoxexual Award Parish of St. George". Apparently, upon changes in the management staff of Milhomes, such actions towards keeping both women's memory alive have been discontinued, as well as the award.

 

Technorati tags: Spain, Jose Sellier Loup, Lesbian marriage 1901

Religion and Homosexuality (III) - Islam

Islamic scholars and council of Ulama consider homosexuality as a sin. I have doubts they even use the word "homosexuality" but instead most of those boards will speak about "sodomy". The religious base to maintain this view is fundamented in both Koran and Tradition. Since this post is intended to be brief, I'll just point you to where details on these positions are further explained and developed. Thus, for an official view of Islam on homosexuality this link can be useful. Homosexuality is a sin which will be punished by Allah and by the Islamic law. Period.

Dissident Voices.

On April 30th 2007, The Muslim Council of Britain issued a brief statement in regards to their position on the Sexual Orientation Regulations: "We affirm our belief that the practice and promotion of homosexuality is forbidden according to the teachings of Islam. However the Sexual Orientation Regulations are not about religious belief but about prohibiting discrimination in the provision of goods and services on grounds of sexual orientation. The MCB stands opposed to discrimination in all its forms." it was a non-compromising statement towards SOR, also known as the 2007 Equality Act. Maybe this is the start of a change in Islamic positions? Not at all. But there are dissident voices among muslims, the most known example of which is Sheik Muhsin Kendricks in South Africa, whose position you can read in this article on Behind the Mask. An even more permissive position is that of Abdennur Prado, whom is being discussed in this entry from Islam Online (the article containst several pieces of misinformation though).

Muslim LGBT groups.

Perhaps the most renowned of all Muslim LGBT groups is Al Fatiha, "a US-based organization dedicated to Muslims who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, questioning (LGBTIQ) & their allies", but also Queer Jihad, and the Gay and Lesbian Arabic Society. For a more extensive view and links to LGBT resources, please check Al-Bab page on Gay and Lesbian Arabs.

It remains curious, in my humble opinion, that an Internet domain such as gaymuslims.org points to Eye on Gay Muslims, a blog which appears to be an offspring of the StraightWay Foundation, an organization which apparently tries to introduce the Evangelical concept of ex-gay into the muslim community.

In any case, LGBT people in the muslim and arab world is gaining visibility and starting to claim for rights, and not only in Turkey or Lebanon, but also in Kuwait, for instance.

Technorati tags: Islam and Homosexuality, LGBT Muslims, Gay rights, Religion and Homosexuality

Australian PM: Gay couples not entitled to full rights.

The Prime Minister of Australia has told his Liberal party MPs that he does not believe that gay and lesbian couples should be given the same rights as heterosexuals.

Good to know, Mr. Howard. But if they can't have the same rights, why do they have the same duties?

Technorati tags: Australia, Gay rights, Discrimination

USA gay "debate" (again)

Today would have been probably a great day, were it not for this. But you know, I'm done with all those self-called Christians bashing everything and everyone not conformant to their really high standards (which, by the way, themselves are not even able to meet). In their own terminology, they're just pharisees, whitened tombs. Period.

For a detailed discussion and comparison on that thing, go to Towleroad if you're interested. I'll only say that the guy has a narrow vision of the world. Very narrow. "Despite all of their efforts to convert us", he writes. Convert y'all to what, to homosexuality? D'ya think homosexuality is a religion, with own Sacred Books and rituals? No babe, it's y'all who are trying to "convert us": convert us to Evangelical narrow pharisaic views, convert us into being ex-gay heterosexuals, uncomfortable with sexuality "oppossed to life"***, into soldiers of a vengative and hateful Jesus, and into cannon fodders in your world wars and crusades. I'm done with you, and won't ever take a look at your worthless hateful speech. Unlike you, I don't hate you, don't try to change you, and don't pay much attention to you, from now on.

[***] - Maybe they would have to try in vitro fecundation and fetal growth, to make sure not any spermatozoid and ovulus be spared in the process of "life".

Technorati tags: Homophobia, USA, Religion and Homosexuality

Marriage Defined

Via Dos Manzanas, good linguistic news for us. Maria Moliner's Dictionary of Spanish Usage, in its last edition, defines marriage this way:

Marriage: Union of a human couple, legalized with civil OR religious ceremonies and formalities established to constitute a family.

[Emphasis in the "or" is mine]

Technorati tags: Gay marriage, Spanish language

Wipe Religion Off Marriage

On CNN Political Ticker's posting in regards to the Evangelics view on Fred Thompson, some people left interesting comments which I'm going to paste down here, as an example of how intolerant and self-righteous Christian bigots take Freedom of Religion in the USA as their chance to baptize the whole world. And yes, Dubya said that the war on Iraq was a "Crusade", so go figure.

Let's start with a William Pruett, who says:

I do not understand what issue they have with Fred's stance on gay marriage. Since Fred is a professed Federalist, meaning that the issue should be left up to the individual states to decide, based upon popular public opinion, and the fact that he has already stated that the constitution should protect everyones rights, what are you not clear on. He believes in the sanctaty of marriage as between one man and one woman, and has already indicated that Judges that inturprit the constatution based upon the intent of the founding fathers, instead of ther own political views, should be nominated, and if he was president, he would do so. The problem with the gay rights movement, as I see it, is that the homosexual community is no longer satisfied with the don't ask, don't tell staus quo, and they now wish to educate our children on there alternative life style, that God's word says is an abomination. As a christian, I am not willing to have my children taught about a life style
that God teaches is not right. What these people do , in the sanctaty of there own homes, is there own business,
and they will have to stand in judgment
before God on it. Of all the other candadates that I have listened to and
studied, Fred's position makes the most since. It leaves the ultamate decision up to each and everyone of us
who is willing to cast our vote and be heard. Since many states have already
had a vote on this position and have passed state amendmates by 60-85% of the popular vote, it is clear to me, that under such a scenario, the bilical view on this issue would win out.

Answers to this comment include those of Steven in SC:

To William Pruett:

So if I understand your position clearly, it's not enough that you can teach your children whatever you believe to be true, but you also want the government to prevent them from being exposed to any contrary position (i.e. that being gay is ok)?

What if I didn't want MY children exposed to Asians, realtors, or ignorant, bigoted christians? Should we make those people adhere to "don't ask, don't tell" and hide in the closet as well?

We are ALL entitled to the protections afforded by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and that includes the right to live honesty and openly — it's called "Liberty". If you don't like a particular behavior, then you certainly shouldn't participate in it, and you have every right to teach your children that you believe it is wrong. You do NOT, however, have the right to require everyone else to live according to your personal moral code.

And David R in San Francisco:

William Pruett needs to get his story straight. As a gay man, I'm not interested in turning his kids gay. Some of them may already be, without our help. With 10% of the population being gay, there's a 1 in 10 chance that there is at least one in his family. The more kids you have, the better the odds (keep that in mind as you rail against condom use, abortion, and family planning). I'm also not interested in being accepted by anyone. Gay marriage for me is about equality in taxation (I'm actually saving money by not being "married" to my partner), hospital visitation rights, inheritance, immigration, and the over 1,000 other federal rights allowed married persons. All I want is to make sure all my family members are protected under the law…equally. Otherwise, you can keep your misguided interpretation of the Bible to yourselves, and be happy living as a Jew for Jesus (Old Testament over New, with little regard for Jesus' actual message of tolerance). Any presidential candidate that doesn't get that won't get elected. Especially in this modern day as the younger generation gets it, and the older generation is dying.

Followed by a last comment by one Ayveel in Dallas:

To David R. and Steven:

Stop trying to equate being gay with everything else. You talk about homosexuality as if you enjoy living in sin. Okay, I'll give you that one.

Liberty, the ability to live freely. That is what you want. You want liberty. So if I wanted to marry my brother, should I? Liberty right. If I wanted to marry my sister or mother, should I? Liberty right. If a 12 year old girl says it is okay if I a 25 year old man have sex with her, should I? Liberty right.

Okay. Should I be able to marry 3 women and afforded the rights of a man and woman? Liberty right. What about just walking around with everything exposed? Liberty right. Why not? To hell with all the laws and rules. That is what a true democracy is anyways.

So you will get the Jesus message right. In the Bible there is this story about this man who had been crippled or paralzyed that Jesus saw. The man laid there for decades. Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be healed?" The man came up with a lot of reasons why he had not dipped in the pool of healing. Jesus asked him again forcing him to stop his complaining about why his condition had not changed. "Do you want to be healed?"

Jesus i not about tolerances as you submitted. Jesus is about changing what we called a life or way of life. He didn't die for the sins of the world so that you would make a "committment" to sinning. (Committment, such as like marriage) But that was a bonus for reading.

Don't mistake Jesus for God in flesh who looks at every situation and says, "I understand." That ain't Jesus. That is the enemy who does what he does to make sure you are not connected with God.

I fully support your right to fight for whatever rights you want. I fight for some things that others don't believe in to. But I don't get angry and say, "Well all of them are going to hell." Everybody has a position. You have a position and I have a position. We are both fighting for our position.

But as a Christian, I can't see there and just allow something like this to happen. If it happens where man and man can get married or woman and woman get married, then it happens. What matters is that I was on the Biblical side of the equation instead of the Satan (hell here I come) side.

Personally I think that whether faith we might choose to follow, if we choose any, that should belong to the realms of private life. Christian right is managing to take the debate to grounds they can control: the Bible and its teachings, with all the exegesis made throughout the centuries. However the debate on gay marriage should not be based on biblical terms, but in the civil, non-religious marriage. As if muslims, buddhists, shintoists, taoists, jews and all other faith-followers couldn't get married because marriage is a biblical definition, sure.

So we have to clearly reject a debate biased from the beginning, and take it to where it really belongs: out of religions.

Technorati tags: Fred Thompson, Gay marriage, Christian conservatives, USA, CNN Political Ticker

Newsweek on Gays

Via Blabbeando, el Blabbeador introduced us to the last international issue of Newsweek with a lot of interesting content, especially on Jamaica: Land of Reggae and Homophobia offers a view on the many dangers homosexuals face in the island, while Growing Up Gay in Jamaica is an interview with Devon, a Jamaican would-be refugee living in NYC. Other articles in the issue portrait an interesting trip around the world with special emphasis on Latin America, in Legal in Unlikely Places, and an interview with Sir Ian McKellen, gay rights advocate. And a photo show too.

And while you browse Newsweek, don't forget to drop by El Blabbeador's blog, one of the most interesting you can find in English about homosexual culture and events in Latin America and Latino culture.

Technorati tags: Jamaica, Homophobia, Gay rights, Latino Gay events, Latin America, Sir Ian McKellen

On Freedom of Marriage

[DISCLAIMER: This post reflects only the views of the writer, not those of the Blog]

I consider myself a person who has some respect for other people, especially those who don't think the same way I do. Anyway, one tends to have a superb view of self, so I may be much worse than I think. And, in any case, I do really think that Christians should be allowed to marry. They should even be allowed to adopt children, like any other kind of people.

I'm right now figuring out the many voices claiming against this point of view, but before start all your rants, you should bear in mind this: Christians are persons too, just the same kind of persons we are. It only happens that they chose to believe, unlike we, who never chose to be attracted to same-sex people. But we can't blame them for their choosings; after all, they do that in the hope to be better human beings.

So, how can we be against their wish to sanctify their civil bond, commitment to be two of them together forever (till death do them part)? No, isn't that wish the same one we have, at some given point in our life? If they prefer to believe that there's a god sanctifying their bond, we have the justice of the peace, and they have to legalize their marriage in the same place we do ours, no?

Some of you may be thinking that marriage is not the worst thing we could allow Christians to do, but it'd be allowing them to adopt children. Wouldn't those children be in a greater risk to become Christians if raised within a Christian household? Well, I can't deny that possibility, but I honestly believe that, since religious views are a matter people choose, such children would be able to adopt some critical view on a later stage, then become Buddhist, Atheist, Muslim, or Hinduist.

Thus, from this humble tribune which this blog is, I dare to say "Christians, I have no problem with you marrying each other". And by extension, I have no problem that people of other beliefs marry themselves too.

Technorati tags: Respect, Marriage, Gay marriage, Christian marriage, Religion

American gay men don't want to marry?

Via Pink News, an analysis on a study which reports that "the proportion of American gay men calling for the right to marry their partners in a church is as low as 36 per cent".

Well, does it mean that gay Americans don't want to marry? I'd put an emphasis in the "marry their partners in a church" part of the headlines. With no further knowledge of what the average gay American male thinks and lives, it seems to me quite probable that they get so disappointed with the many and various Christian churches in their country supporting the sanctity of marriage as a Church institution, that they are giving up any hope of stepping into any kind of Temple to get married. It's not clear from the analysis made at the Pink News site whether they equate church marriage with civil marriage or the latter would be called "same-sex unions".

In 2005 Spain, the government introduced an Act allowing same-sex marriage, civil, different to that spiritual bond sacralized by religious entities, yet legally providing same rights to any kind of couple. We knew that the majoritary Catholic Church wouldn't recognize such civil marriages, but they in fact don't recognize civil marriage as religiously bonding, and nonetheless the whole Catholic Hierarchy from the Vatican to the last bishop in Spain campaigned against such a law, with demonstrations and all (some people accurately pointed out that those same bishops never happen to walk within any demonstration against Iraq war, in spite of the Pope speaking against it).

So what's the problem with churches and religious organizations and civil marriage? I beieve that, being civil marriage a thing of the justice of the peace, priests, pastors, imams and the like can't take control of it. Can we happily give religion the right to dictate our laws? We might want, but if we carefully think about it, we can end up within systems so restrictive of rights as northern Nigeria's shari'a. Some might argue that Christian churches don't ask for lapidation of homosexuals; but it might be just a matter of time.

Technorati tags: USA gay men, gay marriage, Nigeria, Christian churches, Islam, Spain, Catholic

USA Refugees flee to Canada

Never let any news spoil a good headline, eh? Ok, I'm acting sensationalist this morning, blame it in not having my second coffee yet, and the border with Canada is not really flooded with millions of Americans. However, Erica Alini writes in FP Passport that the number of Americans "emigrating to Canada has almost doubled since 2000" according to a report [PDF format] issued by the Association for Canadian Studies. Says Erica:

"Although the Canadian study does not provide statistics about the emigrants' motivations, anecdotal evidence suggests that post-9/11 U.S. policies are a major drive for the move. Other reasons may include Canada's generous healthcare system and Canada's tolerance for gay marriage, as American emigrate Tom Kertes tells ABCNews."

Healthcare system apart, policy motivations and tolerance for gay marriage could be considered major cause of asylum, maybe we could be talking for the first time about USA refugees? Wow! And if ever the more leftist liberals (hey, that's just wishful thinking, ladies and gentlemen) could enact laws and acts with complete freedom, where the ultra religious right would seek asylum, the Vatican?

Technorati tags: USA, Canada, Healthcare system, Gay marriage, Refugees, LGBT

Mixed bag - Around the world newslinks.

Today's review of what's been happening in the world of GLBT issues must start with a favorite of mine: Michael Moore, who, in an interview with The Advocate, dropped the idea of his next documentary could deal with the issue of homophobia and the anti-gay movement. The way Moore puts things on the screen, I'm already drooling on the possbie results. And you don't miss his Sicko movie, it's demolishing - of course if you're not George W. Bush. In the meantime, some leaders of anti-gay programs (I'll be writing on such things next week for those of you who are not familiar with that thing) apologized to GLBT people by late June, while asking other leaders to do the same. Still in the US of A, homosexuals in the military will receive Ron Paul's statement of rejecting the Don't Ask Don't Tell rule if elected president. It's a long way for Paul to arrive to the White House, but recent studies say that the argument for Unit cohesion is futile, as servicepeople from Ft. Bragg, NC speak in a The Fayetteville Observer article.

Leaving the USA we find that Swedes may soon welcome the whole ecclesial apparatus of marriage with organ, religious chants and whatever it takes, while the Vatican and the Orthodox church strenghten their position (sadly, not unique) on anti-gay grounds. Catholic Ireland will guarantee full equality for same sex couples (though not marriage), while a lesbian couple is taking court action against Gibraltar government, and in Zagreb, Croatia, one man has been charged with a hate crime after the attacks on a Pride march.

In Africa, Nigerian archbishop Akinola's anti-gay rhetoric is analysed in an article on The Advocate, and the rest of the world witness how Singapore forum on decriminalization of homosexual acts is attended by hundreds, while Hong Kong rejects a gay sodomy ban, Australian government is considering the increase in rights for homosexuals, Lebanese homosexual youth is flourishing again in Beirut, and in Jamaica three dancehall musicians made public their signature of some sort of deal called Reggae Compassionate Act by which they compromise to not include gay bashing, homophobic and hate-crime sparkling lyrics in their songs. Sam could write a full essay on the issue, let's hope he'll have time to do so. The worst part of news is that Iran may keep executing more gay people, and in Nepal, four transgendered young people have been beaten by police officers in Katmandu, allegedly for carrying condoms for their own use.