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Stockholm To Host
Literary Human Rights Congress 4-2-2008
In June 2008, the Swedish
Writers' Union will launch WALTIC - the Value of Words, a world
congress for writers, translators, scholars and
activists to gather in one common manifestation of the value of
words and in support of human rights.
From 29 June to 2 July
in Stockholm, Sweden, WALTIC will focus on three global issues:
literacy, intercultural dialogue and digitalisation. The programme
offers a number of seminars, lectures and best practices around
freedom of expression, including censorship and freedom of speech
on the Internet, how to use words to mobilise the marginalised
and fight
oppression, and the right to freely express yourself in your mother
tongue, whomever or wherever you are.
Contemporary Egyptian
novelist, sociologist and medical doctor Nawal E Saadawi and one
of Africa's most prominent writers, Mia Couto are the keynote
speakers. For info, contact:
info(@)waltic(.)com or see: http://www.waltic.com
Baltimore
City, College Park, Kensington and Takoma Park cities Support
Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act 3-18-2008
Baltimore
“ With less than a month before the General Assembly adjourns,
the Baltimore City Council became the fourth Maryland jurisdiction
to pass a resolution supporting The Religious Freedom and Civil
Marriage Protection Act. Baltimore joins College Park, Kensington
and Takoma Park in formally supporting the expansion of civil
marriage to include same-sex couples. The Council passed the resolution
by a 9-3-3 vote at its Monday meeting.
Recently elected
Council Member Bill Henry introduced and shepherded this resolution
through the Council. After the vote he observed, "Expanding
civil marriage to include same-sex couples is the fair thing to
do. I am proud of my colleagues who stood up for all of our families
in Baltimore. I hope this resolution will nudge those state legislators
from Baltimore who are not yet enthusiastically supporting this
historic legislation to rethink their position."
One of the
other 8 Council members supporting this resolution was Council
President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. The Council President is a
strong ally for the freedom of same-sex couples to marry and recently
submitted testimony in support of House Bill 351. In it she urged
the House Judiciary Committee to pass this legislation. She said,
"Marriage is a unique institution on many levels: religious,
spiritual, and social. Marriage is also a civil institution that
affords many economic and contractual benefits that are not afforded
to people as individuals. I do not believe that people should
be denied any of these rights just because they do not fall under
the legal definition of marriage."
Voting for the resolution were Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
and Council Members Mary Pat Clarke, William Cole, IV, Belinda
Conaway, Robert Curran, Nicolas D'Adamo, Jr., Bill Henry, Sharon
Green Middleton and Ed Reisinger.
Voting against
the resolution were Warren Branch, Rikki Spector and Bernard "Jack"
Young.
Not voting for the resolution were Helen Holton (absent), Jim
Kraft (absent) and Agnes Welch (abstained).
"As a Baltimorean it makes me very proud to have my City
Council recognize the dignity of LGBT families. The arc continues
in its bend toward fairness as elected officials across the state
continue to find the personal and political courage to stand up
for what they believe is right," commented Equality Maryland's
Policy Director Carrie Evans.
Last week the resolution passed the City Council's Judiciary and
Legislative Investigations Committee by a 3-0 vote. Chairman Jim
Kraft made an impassioned speech before casting his decisive vote
stating that sometimes a local body must act before the state
on vital issues.
Of the 24
state legislators from Baltimore City, at least 11 have committed
to voting for The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection
Act. They include Senators Lisa Gladden, Catherine Pugh and Nathaniel
McFadden and Delegates Curt Anderson, Jill Carter, Hattie Harrison,
Keith Haynes, Ruth Kirk, Maggie McIntosh, Sandy Rosenberg and
Melvin Stukes.
Life is Precious,
Yours, Mine and our Polar Bears 2-15-2008
America’s polar
bears will likely be extinct in fewer than 50 years, according
to U.S. Geological Survey scientists. Yet federal officials have
once again delayed action to protect these struggling animals
as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, officials auctioned
off millions of acres of vital habitat in Alaska’s Chukchi
Sea to Shell and other Big Oil companies earlier this month --
and yet again, President Bush has included dangerous drilling
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in his budget.
America’s polar
bears will likely be extinct in fewer than 50 years, according
to U.S. Geological Survey scientists. Yet federal officials have
once again delayed action to protect these struggling animals
as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, officials auctioned off millions of acres of vital habitat
in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea to Shell and other Big Oil companies
earlier this month -- and yet again, President Bush has included
dangerous drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in his
budge
Increased drilling in these critical habitats could devastate
America’s polar bears. But ExxonMobil, Shell and other Big
Oil companies continue to use their billions in profits to press
for harmful drilling in the places polar bears need to survive
-- and continue our dependence on the fuels that spur rising temperatures
that are causing the bears’ demise.
Defenders of Wildlife
Action Fund is doing all we can to protect our polar bears --
right now, we're...
• ...working to prevent Arctic Refuge drilling language
from entering the federal budget.
• ...working to pass the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness
Act, a bill to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge and continuing to battle efforts to open this special place
to Big Oil’s dirty rigs.
• ...working to pass the Global Warming Wildlife Survival
Act -- already passed by the House of Representatives, this legislation
is a vital first step to ensure that polar bears and other wildlife
can cope with a changing climate.
• ...working to pass the Polar Bear Protection Act, legislation
to stop wealthy U.S. trophy hunters from killing polar bears in
Canada and returning with their quarry.
• ...working with Congressional staff to find sensible energy
solutions to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, help combat
global warming and protect our wildlife.
• ...holding our elected officials accountable for their
actions on global warming and other wildlife-related issues.
Even in their final months in office, officials in the Bush/Cheney
Administration have made their intentions crystal clear: they’ll
fight for Big Oil’s profit -- and leave our polar bears out
in the cold.
A Call To Action
Metropolitan Community Churches
Public Statement by The Rev. Nancy Wilson
Office of the Moderator
An earlier version of
MCC's "Call to Action" on behalf of LGBT Jamaicans contained
an e-mail address that no longer reaches the Deputy
Prime Minister of Jamaica. Below is an updated version of this
announcement containing the current working e-mail address
(which is hmfaftja@cwjamaica.com). For the sake of our brothers
and sisters in Jamaica, we ask that you take three steps:
First, if you have an earlier version dated February 5, 2008,
delete it to avoid further confusion. All versions dated
February 6 are correct. Second, if you have already written to
the Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica, please re-send your message
to the new e-mail address -- hmfaftja@cwjamaica.com. This extra
step will help bring an end to the long wave of violence
and murder against LGBT Jamaicans. Finally, if you have not
yet written to the Deputy Prime Minister, please read on to learn
the vital importance of this action...
MCC Moderator Calls
for Immediate Actions In Response to Jamaican Anti-Gay Mob Violence
MCC's "CALL FOR LOVE CAMPAIGN" To Mark Valentine's Day
With International Embassy Actions; E-Mail Appeals, Prayer Vigils
Dear MCC Supporters:
I feel an unusual sense of urgency about the message of this e-mail.
Even though the time frame is short, I am writing to encourage
you and your congregation to join me in celebrating love in a
powerful and meaningful way on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2008,
by helping end the unremitting hatred and violence directed against
our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters
in Jamaica.
For many years, LGBT
people in Jamaica have faced a horrific campaign of harassment,
intimidation, violence, ostracism, hate crimes and even death.
Time Magazine described Jamaica as "the most homophobic country
in the Western Hemisphere.:
Now the situation has
taken yet another deadly turn -- and we must band together and
bring international pressure to stop the violence.
On Tuesday night, January 29, 2008, an anti-gay mob invaded a
private home in Greenvale, Manchester (Jamaica). The mob attacked
three gay men inside, beating them and hacking them with machetes. Two
of the men have been hospitalized with serious injuries; one had
his ear cut off. One man remains unaccounted for and is feared
dead.
This is only the latest
in a long series of hate-filled crimes against LGBT Jamaicans:
-- During Easter of 2007, another mob surrounded a church in Mandeville
during the funeral of a gay man. They trapped the mourners inside,
chanting, "We want no battyman {sic} funeral here. Leave
or else we are going to kill you."
-- Before that incident, three gay men at Montego Bay's Carnivale
were viciously attacked with knives and beaten with a manhole
cover.
-- On Valentine's Day of 2007, a mob trapped four gay men
inside a pharmacy. They narrowly escaped with their lives, but
not before being pelted by the crowd. Even the local police
hurled insults at the very men they were charged with protecting.
I am inviting you
to use this Valentine's Day, February 14, a day devoted to love,
to help end the hatred against LGBT people in Jamaica.
THE VIOLENCE MUST END AND IT MUST END NOW!
I am calling on political and religious leaders, as well as people
of goodwill around the globe, to unite to end the violence
against LGBT people in Jamaica. Now is the time for clergy to
rise up in their pulpits and put an end to the condemnation
of gay people that so often gives rise to and "justifies"
these violent and unprovoked outbursts. We are often polite
and diplomatic in our calls for study groups to search the Scriptures
and explore our traditions. The time for polite exploration is
over. LGBT people in Jamaica are in fear for their lives
because people of faith are using the Bible to justify violence.
ANTI-GAY BASHING IN THE NAME OF
RELIGION MUST STOP AND IT MUST STOP NOW!
If you are a political leader or member of the police force, I
am uniting my voice with the voices of the membership of J-FLAG
(Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays) in demanding
that you take seriously your constitutionally-mandated and sworn
duty to protect all Jamaican citizens equally. Gender identity
and sexual orientation are not reasons to suffer the perpetuation
of unprovoked violence and vigilante-like raids.
THE SILENCE OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL LEADERSHIP MUST END!
WE MUST ALL SPEAK UP NOW FOR THE UNIVERSAL RIGHT THAT
GUARANTEES THE SAFETY OF ALL CITIZENS IN EVERY LAND!
Love, mercy, compassion, mutual respect, generosity and kindness
must become for all of us more than the subjects of Sunday sermons
or Bible Study classes -- they must become the mandates of our
daily lives; the principles by which we live together.
"One Love, One Heart
Let's get together and feel all right..."
Jamaican songster Bob Marley wrote those lyrics because he wanted
the violence and hatred between peoples to end.
I want that, too, with all my heart. And I believe the
day can come when we can live together as one human family. It
is because I believe that so strongly and because of the urgency
of this moment in history, that I am asking MCC leaders and churches
to join hands with people of goodwill globally and take three
steps to end anti-gay violence in Jamaica:
ACTION STEP ONE:
+ Mark the upcoming 40 days of Lent as a time of focused and intentional
prayer for the LGBT community in Jamaica. Pray for an end
to violence and hatred, and that those in political and religious
leadership will have the courage needed to speak and act
for equality and justice and peace among the people of Jamaica.
Commit to daily prayers in your personal life and to public prayers
during worship services throughout Lent.
ACTION STEP TWO:
+ Send an e-mail to The Honorable Dr. Kenneth O. Baugh, Deputy
Prime Minister of Jamaica, at mfatjam@cwjamaica.com. Tell
him that you, like he is, are a person of faith. Call him
to accountability for the well-being of all Jamaican citizens,
both as an elected leader and a person of faith. Let
him know the eyes of the world are watching what is happening.
Demand an investigation at the highest levels of the
Jamaican government into this latest round of violence against
gay people, including the delay in police arrival and the failure
to yet again hold anyone in the mob accountable.
ACTION STEP THREE:
* Join MCC's international "Call For Love Campaign"
on Valentines Day, February 14. For many years, MCCers have observed
Valentine's Day with protests, demonstrations and press conferences
calling attention to the inequality of marriage laws for LGBT
people in countries around the globe.
This year we are dedicating Valentine's Day, February 14 -- a
day devoted to love -- to taking a stand against hatred. On Valentine's
Day, people of goodwill will demonstrate, protest and hold press
conferences at local Jamaican embassies, consulates and high commissions.
Events are already scheduled for Toronto, New York City, and Miami
-- with still more cities to be announced momentarily.
On February 14, we'll call for love to prevail and an end to the
violence and hatred against our bothers and sisters in Jamaica,
especially.
Here's how you can participate:
1. If you are close to one of the Jamaican embassies, high
commissions, or consulates listed below, organize a CALL FOR LOVE
rally at one of the sites. Make signs. Call on the government
of Jamaica to investigate the hate crimes and to protect the rights
of LGBT Jamaicans. Offer prayers. Hold a moment of silence to
remember LGBT people killed and harmed by hatred. If you are not
in range of an embassy, use a central location that will enable
many from your area to participate. Write to GlobalJustice@MCCchurch.net
and we'll send you "10 Action Steps For Organizing A CALL
TO LOVE Public Event."
2. Invite other
churches, synagogues, mosques and temples to join in this CALL
FOR LOVE, along with community organizations, LGBT rights groups,
and human rights groups.
3. Invite the
media and press to your public action. Give voice and visibility
to the plight of LGBT Jamaicans.
"As it was in the beginning (One Love)
So shall it be in the end (One Heart)"
-- Bob Marley
May our actions and our prayers on February 14th make it so.
+Nancy
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
P.S. If you schedule a CALL FOR LOVE Valentine's Day event for
your area, or if you have further questions, please write to GlobalJustice@MCCchurch.net.
Be sure to let us know when you schedule your event -- we'll promptly
send you a sample press release that you can use to promote your
event to the media in your area.
_________________________
J
A M A I C A
_________________________ EMBASSIES AND HIGH COMMISSIONS
NOTE: "High Commission" indicates the embassy of a British
Commonwealth nation that is located within another British Commonwealth
nation.
AUSTRALIA
High Commission of Jamaica
8 Leonora St, Earlwood
Sydney, New South Wales 2206
CANADA
High Commission of Jamaica
Standard Life Building
275 Slater Street
Suite 800, Ottawa, Ontario
KIP 5H9
Consulate of Jamaica
303 Eglinton Avenue East
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1L3
DENMARK
Consulate of Jamaica
Tagesmindevej 8
Gentofte, Denmark 2820
ENGLAND
High Commission of Jamaica
1-2 Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BZ
GERMANY
Embassy of Jamaica
Schmargendorfer Strabe 32
Berlin, Germany 12159
Consulate of Jamaica
Ballindamm 1
Hamburg, Germany 2000
PHILIPPINES
Embassy of Jamaica
Tesoro Building, 5th Floor
1325 A. Mabini Street, Ermita
Manila, Philippines 1000
SOUTH AFRICA
High Commission of Jamaica
Pretoria, South Africa
Telephone: 27 12 362 6667 or 27 12 366 8500
(Call for street address.)UNITED STATES
Embassy of Jamaica
1520 New Hampshire Avenue N W
Washington DC 20036
Consulates
ATLANTA (area)
Consulate of Jamaica
1823 Chedworth Lane
Stone Mountain, Georgia
BOSTON
Consulate of Jamaica
351 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
CHICAGO
Consulate of Jamaica
4655 South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Suite 201
Chicago, Illinois 60653
DALLAS
Consulate of Jamaica
3068 Forrest Lane
Dallas, Texas 75234
HOUSTON
Consulate of Jamaica
7737 Southwest Freeway, Suite 580
Houston, Texas 77074
LOS ANGELES
Consulate of Jamaica
8703 Venice Boulevard, Vienna Medical Clinic
Los Angeles, California 90034
MIAMI
Consulate of Jamaica
842 Ingraham Building
25 South East Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131
NEW YORK CITY
Consulate of Jamaica
767 Third Avenue, 2nd & 3rd Floors
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: 212-935-9000
PHILADELPHIA
Consulate of Jamaica
PO Box 24174
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19139
Phone: 215-313-9508
(Call to locate physical address,)
RICHMOND
Consulate of Jamaica
PO Box 15101
Richmond, Virginia USA
Phone: 804-2624453
(Call to locate physical address)
SAN FRANCISCO
Consulate of Jamaica
San Francisco General Hospital
Dept. of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
1001 Potrero Avenue, 1N1
San Francisco, California 94110
This statement prepared in conjunction with the Global Justice
Team of Metropolitan Community Churches, Rev. Pat Bumgardner,
Chair.
NIDA Survey Shows
a Decline in Smoking and Illicit Drug Use Among Eighth Graders
Prescription Drug Abuse
Still High For 12th Graders
The nation’s eighth graders took center stage in this year’s
Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, showing a significant decline
in both smoking and illicit drug use in the past year, part of
a downward trend for all measured age groups in the last decade.
In addition, eighth graders showed a substantial long-term decline
in past-year alcohol use, down to 31.8 percent from its recent
peak of 46.8 percent in 1994. The Monitoring the Future project
— now in its 33rd year — is a series of independent
surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders conducted by researchers
at the University of Michigan under a grant from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes
of Health (NIH). Results from the 2007 survey were announced today
at a news conference at the White House.
The 2007 results appear
to reflect an ongoing cultural shift among teens and their attitudes
about smoking and substance abuse. Lifetime, past-month, and daily
smoking among eighth graders has dropped considerably in the past
year, and daily cigarette smoking among eighth graders dropped
from 4 percent to 3 percent; down from its 10.4 percent peak in
1996. Similarly, annual prevalence of marijuana use by eighth
graders fell from 11.7 percent in 2006 to 10.3 percent in 2007,
and is down from its 1996 peak of 18.3 percent.
"Over the last
decade, there has been a large science-based effort throughout
the public health community to drive down the rates of smoking,
illicit drug, and alcohol use among teens," said NIH Director
Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. "These results show us we are definitely
seeing a decline in substance abuse among our youngest and most
vulnerable teens, and we are committed to continuing our efforts."
"We are especially
heartened to see the decrease in smoking among eighth graders,
and will be watching the next two years closely to see if this
decline will stick as these kids get older," said NIDA director
Nora D. Volkow. "If this change in attitude is carried with
them throughout the rest of their teen years, we could see a dramatic
drop in smoking-related deaths in their generation."
The survey also showed
that while past-year use of marijuana declined among 8th graders
in 2007, it remained steady among 10th and 12th graders. However,
in the past decade, there has been a slow downward trend in overall
illicit drug use driven by gradual declines in marijuana smoking.
Past-year marijuana use among 10th graders sits at 24.6 percent
after it peaked in 1997 at 34.8 percent. Similarly, past-year
marijuana use among 12th graders registers at 31.7 percent after
a 1997 peak of 38.5 percent.
The survey results are
not without concerns, however. Prescription drug abuse remains
high with virtually no significant drop in nonmedical use of most
individual prescription drugs. Vicodin remains one of the most
commonly abused drugs among 12th graders: 1 in 10 reported nonmedical
use in the past year. The Monitoring the Future Survey traditionally
measures misuse of a variety of different prescription drugs including
opiates like Vicodin and OxyContin, amphetamines (including Ritalin),
sedatives/barbiturates, and tranquilizers, as well as over-the-counter
drugs, such as cough syrup. However, for the first time this year,
researchers pulled together data for all prescription drugs as
a measurable group, and 15.4 percent of high school seniors reported
nonmedical use of at least one of these prescription medications
within the past year. Recent data for consuming 5+ drinks in a
row in the last two weeks — an especially dangerous pattern
of consumption — have remained steady at worrisome levels
for all three grades. In addition, recent data for drinking have
remained steady at high levels, particularly for 10th and 12th
graders.
Another concern in the
survey is the softening of attitudes towards MDMA (ecstasy) and
LSD in the younger grades. For the third year in a row, there
was a decrease in perceived harmfulness of MDMA among eighth graders.
Among 10th graders, there was a decrease in perceived harmfulness
of LSD and MDMA and a decrease in disapproval of LSD. Concurrently,
there has been an increase in past-year MDMA use in 10th and 12th
graders over the past two years.
Gender Equality
Will Have a "Gaping Void" if Threat of Vioence Agianst
Women is Not Ended 12-5-2007
In his message on the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,
the Secretary-General noted that violence against women continues
to persist as one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent
human rights abuses in the world. Our efforts towards promoting
human rights, development and gender equality will have a gaping
void if we are not able to urgently and effectively end this threat
to all women.
There are reasons for
hope. In many countries, considerable progress has been
achieved in changing laws, policies, practices and attitudes which
in the past helped create a patchwork of impunity for this despicable
offence. Such progress has taken place in the Latin American
and the Caribbean region, as well.
Yet, there is so much left to do to tear down the veil of silence
which frequently shrouds this flagrant violation of human rights.
A lot depends on how all these laws and policies are actually
implemented and enforced, so that there is indeed a real “zero
tolerance” of violence against women worldwide.
I am pleased to say
that the United Nations family is stepping up its activities at
all levels -- from actions by the Regional Commissions to better
coordination and programming at the country level.
Efforts are under way to raise public awareness, build political
will and provide effective responses. The report we are launching
today is also a testimony to the greater coordination among UN
organizations to address important issues such as this.
To bring all these efforts
together, the Secretary-General has decided to spearhead a system-wide
campaign through 2015 for the elimination of violence against
women. The campaign will focus on three key areas:
-- global advocacy;
-- United Nations leadership by example, including strengthening
gender architecture; and
-- strengthened partnerships at the national and regional levels
to support the work of Governments, civil society, the private
sector and others.
The Secretary-General has also proposed that the General Assembly
devote an agenda item every year to considering the question of
violence against women. He has also called on the Security
Council to establish a mechanism dedicated to monitoring violence
against women and girls, within the framework of [Security] Council
resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
This publication will
serve to remind us that the task of ending violence against women
remains an unfinished business. It will call us to stronger
and more resolute actions not only in this region but also in
all other parts of the globe. We in the United Nations family
pledge our determined and ceaseless efforts in ending this scourge.
House Approves
Employment Non-Discrimination Act
On November 7, 2007
the House approved legislation [H.R. 3685] to extend the basic
protections of the Civil Rights Act by prohibiting employment
discrimination based on sexual orientation. The bill was adopted
on a vote of 235 to 184. The White House is threatening a veto
of this legislation.
Speaking in favor of H.R. 3685, Rep. Levin said, ".... This
day is long overdue. Freedom from discrimination in the workplace.
A simple concept really. [People] should be judged by the quality
of their work, not by the color of their skin, not by their age,
not by their disability, and of course, not by their sexual orientation."
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Georgia,Russia: PRESS SILENCED IN STATE
OF EMERGENCY 11-15-2007
Regional and international
press freedom groups are demanding that the Georgian government immediately
restore all news broadcasts and lift a state of emergency imposed after
police violently broke up anti-government protests in the capital last
week.
According to the Center for
Journalism in Extreme Situations (CJES), ARTICLE 19, the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch, the International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières,
RSF), riot police in the capital Tbilisi used batons, rubber bullets,
tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators who had gathered
on 7 November for a sixth day to call for President Mikheil Saakashvili's
resignation amid accusations of
authoritarianism and corruption.
The government also forced
two private news stations off the air before declaring a state of emergency,
claiming there had been a coup attempt masterminded by Russia. "Even
in a time of crisis, Georgians have a right to protest peacefully without
being beaten by the police," says Human Rights Watch. "The
government does not have a carte blanche to restrict fundamental freedoms
just because it is in crisis." In a surprise announcement the day
after the clashes, President Saakashvili said he would move the next
presidential election up to 5 January 2008, nearly a year earlier than
scheduled. His announcement, which followed strong Western criticism
of his use of force against demonstrators and his declaration of emergency
powers, appeared to diffuse the week-old crisis, says Human Rights Watch.
The president also said the state of emergency would be lifted "within
days."
Police appeared to have targeted
journalists and independent observers in the crackdown and clashes,
Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 say. More than 500 people sought medical
treatment, including Georgia's human rights ombudsman Sozar Subari,
who believes he was attacked because he regularly criticised the government
for its human rights abuses. Two cameramen from Imedi TV who were beaten
by police had to be hospitalised, one with
severe injuries.
According to the press freedom
groups, journalists were physically barred from filming the protests.
Police also confiscated and destroyed several television cameras. The
two opposition television stations, Imedi TV and Kavkasia were forcibly
taken off the air for broadcasting extensive coverage of the demonstrations
and the police response. Imedi reported that riot police had raided
the station, even holding guns to staff members' heads. According to
CPJ, Imedi TV is owned by Badri Patarkatsishvili, a wealthy financier
who is believed to have provoked the government's closure of the station
when he publicly said he would finance an overthrow of the "illegal
state of Georgia."
Patarkatsishvili has now declared
that he may run for president in the January election. In the aftermath
of the violence, public assembly as well as television and radio station
broadcasts were banned by Saakashvili's 15-day emergency order, with
the exception of the state-run Georgia Public Broadcaster. BBC,
CNN and other international
news broadcasts were also suspended. Although the restrictions on media
do not apply to newspapers or the Internet, Human Rights Watch says
most newspapers have a small circulation, and only 7 percent of the
country has access to the Internet.
IRAQ: JOURNALIST FOUND DEAD IN BAGHDAD
11-1-2007
A young journalist was found
dead in Baghdad, the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières,
RSF) report.
Shehab Mohammad al-Hiti, an
editor for the new weekly "Baghdad al-Youm" and
writer for English newspaper "Baghdad News", was last seen
on his way to work on 28 October. Iraqi security forces found his body
later that afternoon in Baghdad's Ur neighbourhood.
"Journalists continue
to be killed in Iraq at an alarming rate, underscoring the risks of
practicing what has become one of the
deadliest professions in the country," says CPJ.
Al-Hiti had worked for "Baghdad
News" since 2003, and worked for several dailies, including "al-Zaman"
and "Babel" under the previous regime. "Baghdad al-Youm"
has been publishing for only three weeks, reports
CPJ.
Meanwhile, a Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty (RFE/RL) correspondent is still missing after eight days, reports
RSF. Her driver's body was found after she disappeared on 22 October
in Baghdad.
According to CPJ, at least
122 journalists and 41 media support staffers have been killed in Iraq
since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, making it the deadliest conflict
for the press. RSF puts the number at 206. About 85 percent of media
deaths have been Iraqis.
UNITED STATES: NEW LEGISLATION
WOULD PROTECT SOURCES AND INTERNET
FREEDOM 10-25-2007
Two new pieces of legislation
in the United States would help protect reporters' sources and promote
Internet freedom. The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation
on 16 October that would bolster reporters' ability to keep their sources
confidential in federal court cases. PEN American Center said it was
elated by the
overwhelming (398 to 21) House vote, calling the Free Flow of Information
Act of 2007 (FFIA) "an essential clarification" of journalists'
right to protect sources. A week later, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters
sans frontières, RSF) hailed the House Foreign Affairs Committee's
approval of the Global Online
Freedom Act, which would prevent U.S. Internet companies from collaborating
with repressive governments.
"With more and more reporters facing prosecution for protecting
the identities of confidential sources, the United States has been teetering
on the brink of joining PEN's list of countries that routinely jail
journalists," PEN said. The bill would extend shield protections
already in effect in 33 of the 50 states to the federal level. Under
the law, reporters could be forced to testify in criminal cases or disclose
source information in court only in cases of specific national security
threats or when the information is necessary to a case and cannot be
obtained otherwise. The American Civil Liberties Union said FFIA would
lessen the chances
of reporters being arrested or intimidated for their reporting, particularly
when using government sources. However, it warned that the House bill
added unnecessary national security exceptions and gives the government
discretion as to who qualifies for protection. President George W. Bush
has stated he would veto FFIA, but the voting margin among Representatives
was enough to override a veto. PEN American Center said it hopes an
expanded version of the Senate bill will come to a final vote this year.
The other bill, the Global Online Freedom Act, would ban U.S. companies
from locating servers containing personal data in territories controlled
by
repressive governments. The bill, which would also protect users' anonymity
from unauthorised disclosure, will now go to the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce. U.S. companies Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft have
been criticised for agreeing to censor themselves in China, while Cisco
Systems is accused of
providing China with online censorship technology. At least four cyber-dissidents,
including Wang Xianing and Shi Tao, have been convicted and jailed because
of information supplied by Yahoo!, said RSF.
10 City National Tour to Promote Energy
Efficiency Launched by EPA Chief
(Anaheim, Calif. - Oct. 3,
2007) A bright idea hits the road on a national tour to promote energy
efficient lighting as an easy, effective and money-saving way for American
households to help fight climate change. EPA Administrator Stephen L.
Johnson kicked off the 10-city, 20-day Energy Star Change-a-Light Bus
Tour today at Disneyland.
"Protecting the environment,
while saving money, is as easy as changing a light. And through the
Change a Light bus tour, we're taking that message on the road,"
said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By encouraging people
to make smart energy decisions, President Bush and EPA are brightening
America's future, one light at a time."
If every U.S. household changed
just one light bulb or fixture to an Energy Star bulb, each year our
country would save $600 million in energy costs, enough energy to light
3 million homes, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions
from more than 800,000 cars. Lighting accounts for about 20 percent
of a home's electricity use. Energy Star qualified light bulbs and fixtures
use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent lighting,
with bulbs that last six to ten times longer. One Energy Star qualified
bulb can save about $30 or more in energy costs over its lifetime.
EPA and the Department of
Energy are sponsoring the tour to raise awareness of the benefits of
energy efficient lighting choices. The Energy Star Change a Light Bus
Tour will cross the country following this itinerary:
Oct. 18 Maplewood, N.J.
Oct. 19-20 Boston, Mass.
Oct. 23 New York City, N.Y.
At each tour stop, an outdoor
interactive education center will be set up with interactive displays
to convey the importance of our lighting choices, how to use and dispose
of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) responsibly, and the connection
between our personal energy use and our climate. The education center
is cosponsored by JCPenney.
The Change-a-Light campaign
promotes lighting that has earned the government's Energy Star label
for efficiency as a first step toward saving energy. The campaign encourages
individuals to take the online Energy Star Change a Light pledge. The
pledge is a public commitment to change out at least one inefficient
light at home with an energy-efficient one. To date, nearly 900,000
Americans in every state and U.S. territory have pledged to change more
than 2 million lights.
The bus is being provided
by Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a large North American manufacturer
of inter-city motor coaches. MCI's bus is a state-of-the-art J4500 LX
motor coach, powered by a 2007 EPA-model clean diesel engine fitted
with a particulate scrubber, and fueled by ultra low sulfur diesel.
One bus can displace the need for more than 50 passenger cars on our
nation's highways.
Burma - Restrictions,
But, Biggest Protests in Twenty Years Roll Across Country
9-27-207 The Burmese junta
has stepped up censorship and violence against journalists who are trying
to cover the rare mass protests gaining
momentum across the country, while deepening their own propaganda in
state media,
report Mizzima News, the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), ARTICLE
19, other NGOs and Burmese exile-run news sources.
Protests that started on 19
August against soaring fuel prices have sparked the detention of at
least 100 activists and a crackdown on the media and lines of communication.
The authorities have repeatedly warned journalists as well as the thousands
of Buddhist monks and nuns who have recently joined and led the protests
- including the largest demonstrations in nearly two decades - that
they would "take action" against them. In its latest effort
to quell the growing demonstrations, Burma's military government imposed
on 25 September a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Rangoon and
Mandalay, according to local news reports.
Despite fears of a repeat
of the state violence that happened during the people dead, demonstrators
have largely ignored the threats. On 22 September, in an extraordinary
move, hundreds of monks marched to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel
Peace Laureate and leader of the opposition party National League for
Democracy (NLD). Suu Kyi greeted them from her gate, which was heavily
guarded by police officers bearing shields, in her first public appearance
in more than four years. She has been held under house arrest for 11
of the past 17 years. Today (25
September), Reuters reports that Suu Kyi has been moved to the notorious
Insein prison.
Last week, some journalists
were prevented from documenting the daily marches of the monks, which
began on 18 September after the junta failed to apologise for injuring
several monks at a protest in Pakokku. Three Burmese journalists covering
a demonstration by monks in Rangoon on 18 September were arrested and
questioned, and their cameras and/or memory cards were
confiscated by plainclothes police, report Mizzima News and SEAPA.
Reporters Without Borders
(Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Burma Media Association
(BMA), an international organisation of exiled journalists, noted at
least 24 serious violations of the freedom to report news and information
since the day protests started. The junta has also used a range of measures
to terminate the flow of information, including blocking websites and
blogs and disconnecting telephone lines belonging to politicians and
activists. YouTube, the
popular video-sharing site, has been blocked since 3 September, while
news sites such as CNN and Mizzima remain among the hundreds of sites
banned. According to BMA, a number of reporters have experienced either
permanent or recurring cuts of their cell phone services by government
authorities since 11 September. Around the same time, the telephones
of 50 government
opponents were disconnected to prevent them from talking to Burmese
and foreign journalists about the latest threats against the demonstrators.
The junta has also been tapping
land lines of journalists and democracy activists since 8 August, say
Mizzima News, SEAPA and BMA. Meanwhile, the military government has
stepped up its propaganda in state media and has ordered private media
to only publish articles favourable to
the government. Initially the authorities ordered a 10-day blackout
on the protests in local news, but now news reports are allowed if they
portray the demonstrations as a threat to national security, according
to an informal Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) survey of Burma's
local press.
Despite the numerous tactics, a new group calling itself the Association
of Journalists and Artists has been set up to give support to journalists
and artists sympathetic to the protests. According to BMA, the Information
Ministry hastily reacted to the new group, demanding that all journals
and
periodicals announce they are not part of the association and are not
interested in taking part in the protests.
Although world leaders, including
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and British Prime Mnister Gordon Brown,
have warned the regime would be held accountable for any violent crackdown
on protesters, Dr. Agnès Callamard,
ARTICLE 19's executive director,
says the international community has failed to bring an end to the dictatorship
and restore human rights in Burma. "It is this failure, the product
of a deadly combination of indifference, complicity, tactics, perhaps
even loss of confidence that has allowed the regime to continue its
oppression of the people of Burma and the unrelenting detention of Aung
San Suu Kyi," she says.
"A Sad Day for Marylanders"
Reverend David R. Smith Metropolitan Community Church of Baltimore,
Maryland
Today’s decision in the
Conaway v. Deane & Polyak marriage equality lawsuit prolongs discrimination
against same-sex couples in Maryland by continuing to bar them from
legally marrying. Equality Maryland will move full steam ahead by taking
our case to the General Assembly and asking our elected officials to
extend marriage to same-sex couples.
"There is no denying
the disappointment we are all feeling, but this lawsuit was certainly
not in vain,” said Executive Director Dan Furmansky. “We have
educated our neighbors and our lawmakers about our families, the indignities
we face, and the necessity for equal treatment under the law. That which
our judiciary could not remedy is now the responsibility of lawmakers,
and Equality Maryland intends to hold lawmakers accountable for improving
the lives of all residents of this state, regardless of sexual orientation
and gender identity.”
"Looking beyond the fact
that any inquiry into the ability or willingness of a couple actually
to bear a child during marriage would violate the fundamental right
to marital privacy recognized in Griswold, 381 U.S. at 484-86, 493,
85 S. Ct. at 1681, 14 L. Ed. 2d 510, the fundamental right to marriage
and its ensuing benefits are conferred on opposite-sex couples not because
of a distinction between whether various opposite-sex couples actually
procreate, but rather because of the possibility of procreation."
-Judge Glenn Harrell, Jr.
Today the state’s highest court ruled that it is constitutional
to deny the rights and protections of marriage to committed same-sex
couples in Maryland. Equality Maryland knows that this discrimination
is wrong, and we won’t be deterred. The lesbian and gay Marylanders
who brought this case along with the ACLU and Equality Maryland have
important reasons for seeking the protections of marriage. They have
been shut out of hospital rooms during the illness of a partner, lost
a home after the death of a partner, denied the ability to live in the
same country as a partner, and have been forced to go without health
insurance because they cannot get coverage through a partner. Some are
raising children and want their children to have the additional security
that comes only through marriage. Others are retired, or near retirement,
and worry about their future well-being without the protections of marriage.
African-American Cross-Denominational
Group and
World's Largest Predominantly Gay Christian Denomination
Announce Joint Efforts to Promote "Radical Inclusivity"
The Fellowship, Metropolitan
Community Churches Unveil Goals;
Plan Calls for 10 Major U.S. City Gatherings in 2008
On September 11, 2007, with
the backdrop of 9-11 as catalyst, the leadership of The Fellowship Churches
(www.RadicallyInclusive.com), a national U.S. trans-denominational fellowship
of primarily African-American Christian leaders working for radical
inclusivity, and Metropolitan Community Churches (www.MCCchurch.org
), the world's largest and oldest Christian denomination with a primary,
affirming ministry to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals,
gathered at DaySpring Conference Center in Florida to declare solidarity
and commit to work in unity on three objectives.
FIRST JOINT OBJECTIVE:
-- Resistance to and healing of religious and spiritual violence perpetrated
against people who have traditionally lived at the margins of society,
including people suffering from substance abuse; people living with
HIV/AIDS and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and inter-sex
people;
SECOND JOINT OBJECTIVE:
-- Radical and full inclusion of all people living at the margins of
communities of faith and spiritual practice;
THIRD JOINT OBJECTIVE:
-- Commitment to the deep and challenging work toward reconciling the
historical divisions in faith and religious communities created by racism,
sexism, classism, serophobia and homophobia.
Presiding Bishop Yvette A. Flunder of The Fellowship and Moderator Rev.
Elder Nancy Wilson of Metropolitan Community Churches facilitated discussion
among their respective organizational leaders, resulting in the following
public declaration:
JOINT DECLARATION BY
Bishop Yvette Flunder, Presiding Bishop,The Fellowship and Rev. Elder
Nancy Wilson, Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches
The Fellowship and Metropolitan
Community Churches (MCC) lift up to the world our commitment and
intention to challenge major fundamental, deep-seated religious beliefs,
doctrines and theologies of the oppressive dominant culture.
This culture treats people
on society's margins as enemies of God and routinely mistreats,
oppresses and excludes people from the community of faith and its institutions. We
further confirm that these acts defeat the Christian commonwealth and
we claim a season of refreshment, repentance and reconciliation.
Our organizations recognize
the powerful opportunity to leverage our mutual ministries and movements
toward full inclusion of all people and to provide networking and deepening
of our common commitments.
Both organizations have agreed
to facilitate 10 major city gatherings of open and affirming congregations
in 2008 to listen and learn, share approaches and challenges in overcoming
spiritual violence, discrimination, and racism and to unite people in
prayer for true peace in the community and in the world.
As leaders, we have agreed
to model solidarity among churches and people who live in the context
of, and respond to, particularly painful experiences of violence.
As leaders, we have agreed to share insights and effective approaches
for overcoming violence.
As leaders, we have agreed to deepen ecumenical contacts among the churches,
national councils of churches, and related organizations and networks.
As leaders, we have agreed to work with intention to connect congregations,
student and youth groups, theological and other church-related institutions
in the search for a global declaration of the radically inclusive love
of God for all people.
As leaders, we have agreed to promote interdependence while maintaining
independence. Neither organization seeks to be an instrument of ecclesiastical
restraint in the sense of diminishing the member church or ministry’s
individual calling.
As leaders, we have agreed to establish and maintain strong relationships
vital to our ministries and movement. As we make every effort
to strengthen one another we recognize the importance of knowing one
another, respecting one another and esteeming each member highly. As
people of God working to uphold and advance the radically inclusive
love of Jesus Christ, we will face the onslaught of opposition and we
will do so together. We will encourage and strengthen our respective
member churches and ministries through the sharing of our experiences.
Our aim is to give insight as well as inspiration.
We believe associating and
assembling together are vital in building relationship. The Bible
tells us that the assembling of the saints should not be forsaken. Therefore,
we make every effort to come together as we have the opportunity for
healing, corporate prayer, worship, fellowship and edifying one another
in the Lord.
THE FELLOWSHIP:
The Fellowship is a cross-denominational fellowship of primarily African-American
Christian leaders representing churches and faith-based organizations
from diverse geographic and theological backgrounds. The overriding
purpose of The Fellowship is to support religious leaders, both
clergy and laity, in moving towards a theology of radical inclusivity
which, by its very nature, requires an equally radical social ministry
reaching to the furthest margins of society to serve all in need without
prejudice or discrimination. The Fellowship works to create, sustain
and celebrate community on the margins. http://www.RadicallyInclusive.com
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCHES
(MCC)
Founded in 1968, Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) is the worlds
largest and oldest Christian denomination with a primary, affirming
ministry to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals.
Known as the "Human Rights Church" for its commitment to social
justice, local MCC congregations can be found in 28 countries around
the world.
Employment Discrimination
in the U.S. 9-15-2007
According to the ACLU
Congress doesn’t slow down very often. But when Brooke Waits of
Dallas, Texas, testified before the House Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education & Labor Committee to
urge passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), it felt
like Capitol Hill stood still.
Brooke was working as an inventory
manager for a cell phone company. She had retooled the company’s
inventory system and won praise for her work from her supervisors. Work
was a passion for Brooke, and she did her job well. Her only offense?
Being a lesbian.
On the job, Brooke kept her personal life to herself. She never told
her co-workers who often made homophobic jokes about her girlfriend.
But a few months into her job, Brooke walked away from her desk and
her boss peeked at Brooke’s cell phone screensaver, where she saw
a picture of Brooke kissing her girlfriend on New Year’s Eve.
Brooke was fired the next
day. Her manager said they needed someone more “dependable.”
When Brooke pointed out she frequently came to work early to make headway
on her projects, her boss insisted it didn’t matter: She had to
go.
Brooke kept her personal life
private, but when her boss invaded her privacy, she lost her job.
Believe it or not, what Brooke’s boss did was not illegal. ENDA
the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal to fire
someone based on their sexual orientation.
Without laws like ENDA, prejudice
can dress itself up in labels like “undependable work ethic”
or “unprofessional attitude” and cost hardworking lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender Americans their jobs without giving them
any way to fight it. See
additional info
Country of Singapore
Bans
Speech By Gay Activist Rev. Dr. Troy Perry,
Founder of Metropolitan Community Churches
"There's a saying that
when a door closes, God opens a window. That's also true of LGBT activists,"
says Perry, who found creative ways to share the message of LGBT rights
in Singapore.
Los Angeles -- During 40 years of
LGBT activism, Rev. Dr. Troy D. Perry, founder of the predominantly
gay Metropolitan Community Churches, has been picketed, taunted by Right
Wing extremists, and arrested for civil disobedience. Perry knows what
it is to be the target of hate mail campaigns and the recipient of death
threats. Occasionally, a church or organization has canceled a speaking
engagement by the outspoken gay rights leader.
But recent actions by Singapore
marked the first time an entire country had banned Perry from public
speaking engagements.
Rev. Perry was part of a recent
six-member delegation to Southeast Asia from Metropolitan Community
Churches. The delegation, led by Rev. Pat Bumgardner, chair of the Moderator's
Global Justice Team of MCC, was scheduled to conduct speaking engagements,
workshops, and worship services in Malaysia and Singapore, and to meet
with LGBT rights groups.
"I've had enough experiences
for three lifetimes," said Perry, "but this was the first
time an entire country banned me from public speaking. I was allowed
to enter the country and told that I could speak one-on-one with individuals,
but I was banned from delivering my public speech." Perry was scheduled
to deliver a speech, "Metropolitan Community Churches and the Gay
Christian Witness" before a coalition of LGBT rights and LGBT pride
groups.
Gay male homosexual sex is
illegal in Singapore, though lesbian sex in private is not criminalized.
Penalties for male homosexual acts, while seldom enforced, are severe.
"All over the world I've observed it time and time again: the LGBT
community always finds creative ways to make our voices heard in spite
of oppression and intimidation. We always find ways to get out the message
that all people deserve equality under the law, and that all of God's
children, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons,
are worthy of dignity and God's love."
Despite the intimidation, the public event took place as scheduled in
Singapore City on August 8 -- with Rev. Perry and Rev. Bumgardner in
attendance. Organizers identified three plainclothes police officers
in the audience.
"The Singapore government
may have banned me from delivering my speech, but the event's organizers
saw to it that my voice was heard," said Rev. Perry.
LGBT activists had prepared
a PowerPoint presentation of Rev. Perry's life with photos from the
pictorial book, "Troy Perry: Pastor and Prophet," including
pictures of Perry with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, U.S. President Bill
Clinton, U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, and other religious, political,
and social leaders.
Then they read aloud passages from four books authored by Rev. Perry.
"They used the words from my writings to give me voice and to share
my beliefs about human rights for LGBT people," said Perry.
"But what happened next was simply a stroke of genius," he
enthused.
"The organizers announced
that, while I couldn't deliver my public speech, I had been told I could
answer one-on-one questions from individuals. So for the next three
hours, from 9 PM to midnight, I answered one individual question after
another. Of course, I was answering them out loud in front of the audience,
so I was actually able to share far more information than if I had only
delivered my speech," said Perry.
"There's a saying that when a door closes, God opens a window.
That's also true of LGBT activists," said Perry. "When Singapore
officials closed a door, Singapore's LGBT activists opened a window."
"I am so proud of LGBT activists across Singapore and Malaysia.
They are working to secure the human rights of LGBT people in their
countries and are doing so in the face of great cultural and political
opposition," added Perry. "And let me also say how thankful
I am for spiritual activists such as Rev. Pat Bumgardner, senior pastor
of Metropolitan Community Church of New York, and Rev. Boon Lin Ngeo,
the first openly gay clergyperson in Malaysia, who were part of the
recent MCC team. They are working hand-in-hand with national and regional
activists to further social and spiritual justice across Southeast Asia."
Rev. Dr. Troy D. Perry founded
Metropolitan Community Churches in 1968, one year prior to the Stonewall
Riots. Today Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) is the world's largest
and oldest Christian denomination with a primary, affirming ministry
to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons. Known as "The
Human Rights Church" for its commitment to social justice, MCC
has almost 300 local congregations in 28 countries. Additional information
on MCC can be found on-line at www.MCCchurch.org or by writing to info@MCCchurch.net.
Letter to the Editor
Windsor Star/ Mr. John Colman
• Importance of Gay Pride
• Outside of Toronto, Windsor has one the the best Gay Pride Festivals
in Ontario. This is a week of celebration for human rights achieved
through public acceptance, legislation and constitutional amendments.
The Gay protest is now Gay Pride. We have achieved an end to discrimination
on such issues as housing, workplace, military, and marriage.
As Canadians we have achieved equal human rights to exist. Many
people still would love to quash the rights of the Gay community, and
continue to spout with ignorance their insults. It is important
to continue to have a festival to stand proud for being Gay.
• Windsor Gay Pride this week is an event with
many different events geared to many aspects of our culture and community.
The week has started Monday with the raising of our rainbow flag at
city hall by Mayor Eddie Francis and many members of city council.
Events this week include a Vigil for A.I.D.S. victims, an art show,
family bowling, dancing, a family church service, the parade and a cultural
festival on the waterfront along the Detroit river downtown.
• For all who have stood through the years to
fight for the cause of Gay rights, we have overcome prejudice and discrimination.
It is with great pride we are proud to be Gay!
• Thomas Frank Smith
Windsor OntarioIn the News Today
6-15-2007
Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy
released the following statement in response to the vote today by the
Massachusetts legislature on same sex marriage.
"The nation’s eyes were on Massachusetts today, and they saw
a triumph for civil rights and fundamental fairness. Today's historic
vote will have a national impact on civil rights for years to come.
Massachusetts has led the nation in education, in health care and in
biotechnology, and today Massachusetts renewed its commitment as a proud
leader in civil rights.”
~~~ Sean William Kennedy ~~~
Remarks:
On a typical May evening a few weeks ago, Sean Kennedy was a healthy,
happy 20-year-old gay man living in Greenville, South Carolina. While
enjoying the company of his friends at a bar named Brew's on May 16,
2007, he became one of a growing number of victims who every year lose
their lives to hatred and senseless violence.
His attacker, Stephen Andrew
Moller, just 18 years old himself, though not counted in those statistics,
will nonetheless also lose his life or some portion of it because somewhere,
at his still young age, he learned it was acceptable to randomly select,
bash, batter and even kill gay people.
It's time for this violence to stop... and for religious groups to stop
fanning the flames of anti-gay prejudice. The sad reality we live with
every day is this: Far too much of the violence directed against God's
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children is rooted in religion-based
fear and misunderstanding.
-- Ending hate crimes and protecting all Americans equally does
not "persecute" those who hold differing views on race, gender
identity, ability or sexual orientation, as claimed by Carrie Gordon
Earl of Focus on the Family.
-- Enacting legislation at the local and federal level to
end hate crimes protects all of us, regardless of our differing
beliefs and convictions.
It's time for this violence to stop... and for parents, guardians, teachers,
pastors and community leaders everywhere to teach our children, in the
words of Sean's mother, Elke Kennedy, that "people should not be
judged or attacked or killed because others don't like who they are."
We are joined in spirit tonight as people of faith and people of goodwill,
from many creeds and customs, many races and personal identities, to
say:
Save our children... from ignorance and hate, that rob them
of their innocence.
Save our young people... from the tragedy of anti-gay violence,
that robs them of life's hope and joy. Save our society...
from all prejudice and judgment, that rob us of our common humanity
and fail to reflect the acceptance of the God who is Unconditional Love.
In the Scriptures -- which we, as spiritual leaders in Metropolitan
Community Churches, hold most dear -- Jesus counsels prayer, not
persecution, and certainly not violence, in response to disagreement,
even when it rises to the level of considering ourselves enemies.
"Treat others as you would like them to treat you,"
he says."Love your enemies and do good."
--
Luke, Chapter 6
Sean Kennedy treated everyone well, according to family and acquaintances
alike. He was a generous and kind soul. Even in death, he acted
to save, not take, life by donating his vital organs. Because of his
choice, the lives of four people he never knew have been saved.
Whether we who are gathered here tonight knew Sean or not, we can make
a choice to follow his good example and act now to save the lives of
the one in six of the twenty-five daily victims of hate crimes who will
be attacked, and in some cases killed, for no other reason than their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
-- We urge all South Carolinians tonight
to contact Senator Robert Ford and let him know he is not
alone in his effort to introduce
new hate crimes legislation in the State Senate.
-- Contact Representative Seth Whipper in the
South Carolina House of Representatives and let
him know that you support
his efforts to introduce similar legislation in his chamber.
-- Contact South Carolina's U.S. Senators
Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint. Tell them of Sean's
unnecessary death --
and tell them you expect them to pass the Matthew Shepherd Act now!
And pray with us, not only for Elke and the family and friends of Sean
Kennedy, but also for Stephen Andrew Moller and his family, and for
all the people who, like Stephen, think it is acceptable to harm those
who are different from us.
No one is safe from hatred's
reach until everyone is equally valued as a human being and
equally protected under the law. No one wants to save and
protect all of our lives more than the God in whose name we speak tonight.
+Nancy
+Arlene
Rev. Elder Nancy L. Wilson
Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman
Moderator
Member, Board of Elder
PUBLIC STATEMENT 5-29,2007
by Rev. Elder Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches
On the Exclusion of Bishop Gene Robinson from
Participation in the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican Communion
May 2007
As the Archbishop of Canterbury
sent out over 800 invitations to the upcoming Lambeth Conference --
the global, once-a-decade gathering of Anglican Bishops -- four
names were omitted from the invitation list, two glaringly so: Bishop
V. Gene Robinson and Bishop Martyn Minns.
Bishop Robinson was excluded because he is openly gay. Though
"duly elected and consecrated according to the proper procedures
of the Episcopal Church," according to Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary
General of the Anglican Communion, Robinson's presence is seen as "divisive"
and "scandalous."
Minns, on the other hand, unduly consecrated and now heading a body
of churches in the United States not recognized by the global Anglican
community, was apparently excluded for his participation in the formulation
of a renegade diocese.
Though dismayed that the Church of Jesus Christ would exclude any
of its shepherds from the table, I also find myself wondering why Bishop
Peter Akinola of Nigeria, who consecrated and installed Minns illicitly,
has the door held wide open to him?
Archbishop Rowan Williams says he has the right to withhold invitations
to bishops whose appointment, actions, or manner of life have caused
division. Have not his own actions, in excluding two of his colleagues of
diverse theological perspective and opinion, "caused division"?
Have not the actions of Bishop Akinola, including his rejection of the
collegial authority of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, because she
is a woman, "caused division"? Jesus' counsel to
those of us who place ourselves on the throne of judgment instead of
before it is simple and direct, "First, take the log out of your
own eye." (Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7)
Bishop Robinson is to be commended for his courage in practicing the
truthfulness and fidelity he has long preached. As an obviously
gifted and qualified church leader, he should be held in high esteem
for responding unhesitatingly to God's call to serve the Church. In
a church culture of whispers, secrets, silence and avoidance, Bishop
Robinson's stand of truthfulness distinguishes him.
In light of Archbishop Rowan's decision, I commend to you the words
of Rev. Elder Glenna Shepherd, who guides MCC's work in the United Kingdom:
"How tragic that thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
Anglicans have been shunned by the Archbishop’s decision. Even
more tragic is that many of these will understand this as God's rejection. Perhaps
most tragic of all is that at a time when a united Church could call
the world to peace, work for justice, feed the hungry and heal the suffering,
it instead divides itself according to internal political agendas."
Likewise, I echo the words
of Rev. Elder Diane Fisher, who oversees MCC's ministry and commitment
to human rights across Eastern Europe, "To deny Bishop Robinson
full participation in the Lambeth Conference seems to be a response
to the political agenda of some conservative members of the Anglican
Communion. Bishop Robinson’s only "problem"
appears to be that he loves another man. Jesus always stood with
the marginalized and oppressed. Would Jesus have discriminated against
Bishop Robinson? Would he have turned his back and stood with the angry
mob? It is my sincere prayer that Archbishop Williams will reconsider
his decision to exclude Bishop Robinson from participation as a full
member of the Anglican Communion, including his presence at the Lambeth
Conference. There should be no second class Bishops."
I urge all people of faith to join me in praying for the Episcopal
Church as it continues to wrestle with the question of inclusion. Pray
with me for all our brothers and sisters across faith lines, to have
the courage to honestly examine the issues of sexuality, including the
racialization of sexuality, the history of colonial churches and sexual
ethics.
The Church Universal must do this work together, in open and honest
conversation, for God's sake, and for the sake of all people around
God's earth who hunger for faith and spirituality. The exclusion of
more and more leaders and members is a terrible and sad price to pay
in exchange for avoidance of conflict.
(And in your prayers, please
pray for Metropolitan Community Churches, that we might never lose our
God-given calling to lead by example, to stand with those who are marginalized
and rejected, and to share the hope-filled message of God's unconditional
love for all people through Jesus Christ.)
The decision of Archbishop Williams is one that deserves the close scrutiny
by all people of faith, for its heart, it serves to further alienate
and divide the whole Body of Christ. I urge us all to pray, as
Jesus prayed: "May they all be one." (Gospel of John, Chapter
17)
+ Nancy
MCC Modertor Nancy Wilason
on the death of Yolanda King 5-16-2007
Rev. Elder Darlene Garner of
MCC Region 6 and Convener of MCC's People of African Descent Conference
offered these words of tribute:
"I am deeply saddened
to learn of the death of Yolanda King. Born the daughter of Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King only two weeks
before Rosa Parks took her seat at the front of the bus in Montgomery,
Alabama, Yolanda King grew up on the very public stage of the U.S. Civil
Rights Movement. Heavily influenced throughout her life by the abiding
love of her family, support of her community, and dependence upon her
faith in God, she lived into being a "King" in her own right.
She spoke against injustice and intolerance. She confronted racism
and homophobia. She challenged both the intolerant and the complacent
to care about all those that had been cast out, including the poor,
the undocumented, and LGBT people. Yolanda King lived and died as a
Torchbearer for Justice."
Yolanda King, like her mother Coretta Scott King, supported gay rights,
including marriage equality. In 2005, she presented Equality California's
Gavin Newsom Visionary Award to the NAACP for its support of the Religious
Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act.
At the 2006 Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Chicago, Yolanda King
said: "In the 1950s and 60s, African-American men and women made
some choices -- often dangerous ones -- and they were joined by men
and women of goodwill, gay and straight, from all races and backgrounds,
and together, tremendous progress was made toward the betterment of
our nation. The civil rights movement served as the inspiration and
paved the way for all the movements for human rights which followed
it -- the women's movement, the peace movement, and, of course, the
rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans."
Yolanda added:
"We have come a long way. And while the scars and stains of racism
remain, the fact is, racial discrimination is no longer legal. However,
discrimination under the rule of law still exists. If you are gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgender, you do not have the same rights as other Americans.
For a nation that prides itself on liberty, justice and equality for
all, this it totally unacceptable."
As we in the Metropolitan Community Churches reflect on the life of Yolanda
King and the legacy of the King family, I invite us to recommit ourselves
to the work of justice for all people. Let us continue to lift our
voices against homophobia, AIDS-phobia, racism, sexism and all injustices
that oppress people anywhere in our world. The work of justice leaves
no one out; it is the divine calling that reminds us that "injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
My prayer today is that Yolanda King's legacy will inspire each of us
to work for justice.
May our light so shine that all of us might live to see "justice
roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream!"
+ Nancy
Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches
www.MCCchurch.org
Alternative Fuel Legislation
Makes History in Michigan by Congressman Mike Rogers
I write to update you
on recent legislative activities in the United States Congress. I appreciate
the opportunity to contact you.
Promoting Alternative Fuel Legislation
Recently I introduced legislation that will advance production of alternative
fuel vehicles to help get America off its dependence on foreign oil.
My bill would provide loan guarantees of up to $20 billion to accelerate
development and production of American-made alternative fuel vehicles.
Michigan has more automotive
research than the other 49 states combined. This legislation is
an important opportunity for our automotive scientists, engineers, designers
and workers to change the way we power our cars and trucks. These
loans would allow Michigan companies, at little or no cost to taxpayers,
to borrow private funds for research, development, and production of
alternative fuel vehicles.
I drive a flex-fuel car that
uses E85 ethanol, and every time I step on the gas, I celebrate the
opportunity to drive an American-made car operating on a renewable fuel
made by Michigan farmers and refinery workers, delivered by Michigan
truck drivers, and sold at Michigan gas stations. Imagine the powerful
impact on the future of our country and our hard working families when
we make the transition off foreign oil and into vehicles running on
ethanol or other alternatives like hybrid electric or clean diesel power.
For more information on this issue, click
here to view his proposal.
Big 3 Testify on Capitol Hill
Last week, the Energy and
Commerce Committee on which I serve heard testimony from CEOs of the
Big Three automakers. The subcommittee asked automakers and union
officials to testify on climate change and energy security.
I firmly believe that if America is to get off its dependence on foreign
oil, Congress and U.S. automakers must make major commitments to the
research and development of alternative fuels and vehicles that operate
on renewable, American-made energy sources.
We must find a balance that protects the environment and American jobs.
I also understand that American auto manufacturers rarely receive credit
for the financial commitment and the progress they've already made on
moving toward advanced technology in alternative fuel vehicles.
These automakers have already made great strides by developing and working
with lithium batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen fuel, and ethanol. The
challenge for our next generation will be the transition to alternative
energy to power our cars, heat and cool our homes, and light our daily
lives. I hope Congress can be a partner in that process and rather than
the source of more bureaucratic hurdles.
Alternatives for Iraq
Last month I introduced my
own resolution on Iraq - one offering alternatives to make progress
in Iraq .
I appreciate your continued interest in the legislative activities of
the U.S. Congress. As always, if you should have questions or
concerns, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
Mike Rogers
Member of Congress
Rainbow Scholarship an
Investment in Community
The Windsor Pride Committee
announced Thursday that its fundraising efforts exceeded the original
target, and the Salvagio Vonatti Rainbow Award—an annual scholarship
for outstanding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students at
the University of Windsor—has attracted a total of $17,000 for
its endowment.~
The award was established
five years ago by former computer science student Salvagio Vonatti,
and operated on the basis of individual annual donations. After Vonatti
was shot January 10 outside a club in Detroit in what police called
a hate crime motivated by homophobia, the Windsor Pride Committee set
out to endow the scholarship to ensure its permanence.
“It’s important
for us to invest in the future of our community. There is no better
way then to help a gay student get a great education right here in Windsor,”
then-chair Dani Bobb said this summer.Sal Vonatti is in hospital, continuing
his recovery from the shooting.
Letter to the Editor
12-7-2006
Thank you for your past email
in support of same-sex marriage.I am proud to say that the federal NDP
Caucus stands united in support of equal marriage for gay and lesbian
couples. That is why on Thursday December 7th, we voted unanimously
against the Harper government's motion "to introduce legislation
to restore the traditional definition of marriage".
The NDP was the - only - party where the entire Caucus voted in defence
of equal rights protection for same-sex couples.
We believe that the Conservative
government's attempt to exclude same-sex relationships from the institution
of marriage conveys the wrong message in our society - that these relationships
are less worth
