Back in December of 2008 the first ever declaration at the United Nations called for an immediate end to imprisonment and execution for people based on sexual orientation. The resolution passed without approval by the United States.
"The Obama administration will endorse a U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that then-President George W. Bush had refused to sign, The Associated Press has learned". (MSNBC)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
U.S. to Sign U.N. Gay Rights Declaration!
Keep Your Promise, President Obama
A new petition by the Courage Campaign is calling upon Obama to allow the federal government to provide the same health benefits to same-sex spouses and partners of federal employees that other federal employee spouses receive.
Join them in urging Obama to keep his promise for LGBT equality, sign the petition.
Oklahoma Teacher Fired Over Laramie Project Film
Grandfield High School's Debra Taylor the school’s Ethics and Street Law class teacher has been fired over controversy surrounding the showing of gay-themed film The Laramie Project. The movie is about Matthew Shepard's murder and the teacher wanted to facilitate discussion and promote tolerance after initial approval by the schools principal.
After the school principal reneged on his decision and Superintendent Ed Turlington told Ms. Taylor she could no longer show the film due to its subject matter, the teacher held a mock funeral in a nearby park where students could write down their thoughts and release them into balloons to develop a sense of closure on the topic.
The district says she was suspended and then fired by the board for her actions in the park, but others believe it is due to the nature of the play.
Superintendent Ed Turlington can be contacted at:
580-479-5237
eturlington@grandfield.k12.ok.us
Union Bar Reaches Agreement with GLBT Community
Representatives from Union Bar and Lounge met with leaders from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community Monday after it was reported gays were denied entrance. They reached a resolution that actions that led to the perception of discrimination were unintended.
“Due to a miscommunication between management of Union Bar and Lounge and the door staff, we acknowledge that actions by the door staff caused an unintended perception of discriminatory actions towards the gay and lesbian community. We wholeheartedly did not want or intend for this to happen. We also acknowledge that this unintended action caused hurt and bad feeling within the gay and lesbian community towards Union Bar and it staff. We also extend this apology to all of our regular gay and lesbian customers who may have been hurt by this misunderstanding.”
“We deeply appreciate Union Bar and Lounge coming to us to clear up this incident,” said Kris Banks, president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. “We accept Union Bar’s explanation that miscommunication was at the heart of the problem. We understand that there was no discriminatory intent, but circumstances led to a strong perception that we were excluded because of our sexual orientation.’
“Our community is sensitive to discrimination, an understandable sentiment given the unfinished nature of our civil rights movement. Discrimination still exists, and should be addressed with legislation like House Bill 2215. We were happy to hear that the owners of Union Bar and Lounge are supporters of this legislation 100%."
“We are happy for resolution and call for the GLBT community to move on and continue working for equality. We urge the community to cease negative bombardment, especially highly inappropriate harassment and threats.”
The Union Bar and Lounge will continue to work with the GLBT community and intends to hold a fundraiser in the near future.
Crossposted via Planet Transgender.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Guerrilla Gay Bar Worldwide Listings
This is a listing of all the active guerrilla gay bar groups throughout the world. Guerrilla Gay Bar is when dozens of gays and lesbians on a given night converge on a bar/club that caters predominantly to straight people. This is a hugely popular form of activism and a way to blend into the general population.
Please feel free to contact for your group to be added to this comprehensive list. The list will be continually updated with new start ups and additional info.
United States
Arizona
Phoenix
California
Fresno Guerrilla Gay Bar
Los Angeles Guerrilla Gay Bar
Pasadena Guerrilla Gay Bar
Guerrilla Queer Bar San Diego
San Francisco Guerrilla Queer Bar
Silicon Valley Guerrilla Gay Bar
Colorado
Denver Guerrilla Queer Bar
Georgia
Atlanta Guerrilla Queer Bar
San Diego Guerrilla Queer Bar
Illinois
South Loop Guerrilla Gay Bar
Iowa
Iowa City Guerrilla Queer Bar
Kentucky
Lexington Guerrilla Gay Bar
Maine
Portland Guerrilla Queer Bar
Massachusetts
Boston Guerrilla Queer Bar
Michigan
Detroit Guerrilla Queer Bar
Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality
Minnesota
Minneapolis St. Paul
Missouri
Kansas City Guerrilla Gay Bar
New York
New York City GQB
Rochester Guerrilla Gay Bar
Ohio
Cincinati Guerrilla Queer Bar
Oregon
Portland Guerrilla Queer Bar
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Guerrilla Queer Bar
Rhode Island
Guerrilla Gay Bar Providence
Texas
Austin - Smoking Banana
Dallas Guerrilla Gay Bar
Guerrilla Queer Bar Houston
Invade San Antonio
Washington
Guerrilla Queer Bar Seattle
Washington D.C.
D.C. Guerrilla Queer Bar
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Guerrilla Gay Bar
Outside of the U.S.
Canada
Guerrilla Gay Bar Edmonton
Ottawa Guerrilla Gay Fare
St. John's New Foundland Guerrilla Queer Bar
England
London Guerrilla Queer Bar
Ireland
Dublin Guerrilla Gay Bar
Want to start a Guerrilla Queer Bar, check out the Special Operations Manual.
Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People
Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People is a new video produced by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Transgender Rights Project, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coaltion (MTPC), and MassEquality. It is a beautiful and touching account of several trans people sharing their experiences and eloquently shows the dire need for protections based on gender identity/expression.
Team Obama Welcomes Anti-Gay Hate Groups to White House
Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council will meet with Joshua DuBois, the man who leads the administration’s office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on Tuesday according to the Right Wing Watch. These groups are not moderate, they are right-wing anti-gay, anti-women think tanks with the sole purpose of promotion of their religious ideology. These groups rail against issues like gay marriage, adoption rights, trans and gay protections, and are against other issues like reproductive rights, and embryonic stem cell research. They also have a vigorous agenda to break down the wall between separation of church and state.
Obama wants to be inclusive of all Americans and that is a positive thing, but why waste time and money meeting with people who disagree with him on every single issue and are perpetrators of the kind of bigotry that his administration promised to tackle.
Voice your concern by contacting the White House.
Tell Congress: Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
A Message From PFLAG:
Please email your Member of Congress and urge them to support repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Lawmakers are now considering The Military Readiness Enhancement Act - a bill that would end the prohibition on service by lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans - and they need to hear from their constituents about why this issue is so important.
By the end of today, two more service members will be dismissed from our armed forces under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
That's right: Two people are fired by our federal government, every day, simply because of who they are, and who they love. Since the law's inception, more than 12,000 men and women - including doctors, linguists, helicopter pilots and others - have been dismissed from the military.
Military families deserve to be treated equally under the law. LGBT Americans deserve an opportunity to serve our country. And our country deserves a fighting force that includes the best and brightest our country has to offer, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops, too.
Join PFLAG in calling on Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The time has come to end this discriminatory law and break down the barriers that prevent our loved ones from proudly defending the country we love.
Through this PFLAG Action Alert you can put another dent into this discriminatory law.
Prom Season - What LGBTQ Youth Need to Know!
Every public school student is entitled to "free expression" rights and is allowed to bring a same-sex date to prom. Many youth face obstacles from their administration without full well knowing their own legal recourse for the discriminatory actions by their school.
Lambda Legal offers an informative document with info about your rights and courses of action you can take.
Sample letter one can use to contact school officials about their right to take the person of their choice to prom.
Finally, if the above suggestions and courses of action do not work, you can contact Lambda Legal to see about taking legal action against the school. (This may seem intimidating, but sometimes it is as simple as an attorney calling the school to clarify that they are in violation of your rights which helps clear up the whole mess).
Word of the Gay: "Flippy"
"Flippy" describes the ability to sway in interests with regards to sexual and gender preference.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Nigeria Looking to Further Criminalize Same-Sex Relationships
The Nigerian government is currently considering a bill that would further criminalize same-sex relationships that would impose a minimum 3 year prison sentence for “anyone who has ‘entered into a same gender marriage contract’” as “an affront to family values!” Sound familiar? Mayor Eze of the Nigerian National Assembly said the bill was necessary to protect family values.
Anyone who “witnesses, abet and aids the solemnization” of a same gender marriage would face five years in prison, or a fine.
The law would make it easier for the police to arrest suspects, and criminalize anyone working in a human rights organization that dealt with gay rights, they say.
This is a further affront by the Nigerian government on the human rights of their LGBT citizens and allies. Please take a moment to voice your opposition to this egregious bill.
Here is the contact information for the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:
Embassy of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria
3519 International Court, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 986-8400
Fax: (202) 362-6541
E-contact form for Nigerian Embassy within the United States.
Crossposted via Salinas Valley Equality.
Shameless Self Promotion Sunday
Please feel free to share any links to queer or queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is queer in nature.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Houston Bar Refuses To Admit Gays
The Union Bar Lounge in midtown Houston, Texas refused to serve nearly 100 gay patrons, leaving them to wait in the rain while the bar was empty and heterosexuals were being ushered inside.
Patrons started lining up at about 9:40 p.m. and were told to wait in line and not allowed inside, even as straight-appearing people were waved through. As the line grew and patrons waited in the rain, employees at the door told those who were that they were maintaining a “ratio.” Later, the bar employees simply indicated they had the right to refuse anyone.The fact that the bar was told in advance that a large gay crowd was coming was not even necessary, since when does one need to RSVP to a bar? The bar said they would be welcome, and then decided to discriminate against them.
“I was shocked to be a victim of that kind of discrimination in a city like Houston in 2009,” said Neal Falgoust, a Houston law student. “I have never experienced anything like that before in my life.”
A patron who arrived at the bar early reported that the bar was nearly empty at about 9:40 p.m., when gay people started arriving and were stopped at the door.
Gay people continued to line up to the street and around the corner as people who appeared to be straight went to the front and were ushered in. Kris Banks, who stood at the front of the line, said the bar employees were asking the women who were entering with men if the men were accompanying them. If the men were with the women, they were allowed in.
“I arrived and heard that they were not allowing gay men in, so when I got to the door with three women I asked if we would be allowed in, and the door employee said ‘I was told to keep you out,’ ” said Lindsey Dionne. “This was supposed to be a social event, but now it’s political.”
That this kind of discrimination is still legal in Houston makes it more outrageous. A coalition of GLBT rights groups, including the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats, the Harris County Impact Houston and Amicus at South Texas College of Law said Saturday that the incident is proof of the necessity of legal protections for sexual orientation and gender identity for public accommodations.
“Houston is the only major city in Texas without a law that prevents this kind of discrimination,” said Jerry Simoneaux, GLBT civil rights lawyer. “This incident is exactly the reason Houston should implement such an ordinance.”
The event was organized as Houston’s first “Guerilla Gay Bar,” a tongue-in-cheek event that has been popular in other cities in which GLBT individuals come to traditionally straight bars to interact with other communities. Though Guerilla Gay Bars are usually a surprise event in other cities, Houston organizers informed the bar owner in advance out of courtesy and were told they would be welcomed (Capitol Annex).
People are already leaving negative reviews on their yelp page.
2708 Bagby St
Houston, TX 77006
(281) 974-1916
info@unionbarhouston.com
www.unionbarhouston.com
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