A motion tabled by a group of MPs, requesting the Federal Government to submit a bill to provide for the possibility of same-sex “marriages”, has been rejected by 110 to 26 votes in the Austrian National Assembly.
This shows once more that “homo-marriage” is neither inevitable nor unstoppable. Remarkably, however, there was no mention of this unsuccessful initiative, or of the vote against it, in any of the major media outlets in Austria…
Source: https://agendaeurope.wordpress.com
HANOI, VIETNAM — As U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius deals with geopolitical concerns like China’s island-building efforts in the South China Sea. But the personal can also be political when Osius introduces his husband, Clayton Bond, and speaks of their adopted children.
“We are here to celebrate family. Family is acceptance. Family is love,” Osius told a cheering throng at a U.S.-sponsored festival last week to promote the cause of gay civil rights across Southeast Asia.
With the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans the last major outstanding case to be decided this term by the U.S. Supreme Court, some gay rights activists are saying that even a defeat would do little to slow the global momentum of their cause in part because of Obama administration policies — and diplomats like Osius.
As a same-sex couple with children in diapers, Osius, 54, and Bond, 38, are in the vanguard of the civil rights movement known as LGBT — shorthand for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The Obama administration has pressed the LGBT cause internationally since a 2009 speech by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she declared “gay rights are human rights.”
While an anti-gay backlash has grown in the Arab world, Russia and many other nations, the cause of gay rights has made strides globally that once seemed implausible. Voters in Ireland, a Catholic nation, recently endorsed same-sex marriage. Osius is pressing for greater LGBT acceptance in Vietnam, where the first gay pride parade took place four years ago.
Two years ago, the authoritarian government here decriminalized same-sex unions and is now considering broader LGBT issues. The nation has proven receptive to the ambassador’s unconventional family, said activist Le Quang Binh, director of the Institute of Social Studies, Economics and Environment.
“Their beautiful family strikes down many stigmas,” Binh said. “They excite many people, especially youth, to accept differences and respect other people’s choices and rights. Above all they inspire LGBT communities for fight for their rights.”
Osius, a career foreign service officer who helped open the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi in 1995 and is fluent in the language, is one of six openly gay ambassadors appointed by Obama, including one as a special envoy for human rights of LGBT persons. That’s five more gay ambassadors than the one each who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Of the current six, all but Osius were political appointees from outside the foreign service.
Osius also championed gay rights within the State Department. When he entered the foreign service in the mid-1980s, the discovery of homosexuality would result in the revocation of security clearances. Many careers had been ruined before Osius and some colleagues founded a group known as Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. In 1993, the State Department dropped discriminatory policies while, with greater attention, the Clinton administration applied the “don’t ask, don’t tell” mantra to the military.
Change came in fits and starts. When Clinton nominated Hormel Foods heir James Hormel as envoy to Luxembourg, Republican senators angrily refused to consider him, and Hormel ultimately assumed the post on a recess appointment. A few years later, when openly gay career diplomat Michael Guest was named ambassador to Romania, gays were impressed that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell introduced Guest’s partner with the respect accorded a spouse.
But when Guest retired in 2007, he pointedly criticized Powell’s successor, Condoleezza Rice, on the issue of benefits for same-sex couples. Guest said he “felt compelled to choose between obligations to my partner — who is my family– and service to my country.”
It was at a Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies gathering in 2004 that Osius first met Bond, who had come out a few years earlier at age 24. Two years later, they were married in Canada.
While Osius has a broad portfolio of concerns, Bond, who is on leave from the State Department and is working toward a law degree, has assumed the role of unofficial LGBT ambassador.
Their family reflects diversity in other ways: Osius is white, Bond is African-American and their 19-month-old son and 3-month-old daughter are Latino.
The children are biological siblings. Bond said they were adjusting to life with an infant son when they received word that the boy’s birth mother was again pregnant and wondering if they’d consider a second child.
Bond said they hope to set an example. On a recent day at the U.S. ambassador’s official residence in Hanoi, he proudly watched as workmen replaced the familiar signage on foyer restrooms from men and women to a new symbol for “gender neutral” — an image that depicts a figure divided vertically with a skirt on one side and pants on the other.
“It makes me so happy,” Bond said. “This is all about affirming people’s dignity.”
Source: www.mcclatchydc.com
JEDDAH: There would be no rights granted to gay people in the Kingdom, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
In a post on its Twitter account, the ministry stated that it supports human rights principles proposed by international bodies as long as they are in line with Islamic law. It also slammed those questioning the Kingdom’s rights record.
It said that freedom of expression does not mean demeaning the beliefs of Muslims; and condemned those who continue to ridicule the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The ministry said it rejected terrorism and urged united international action to tackle all forms of extremism because these ideas violate the teachings of the world’s religions.
There has recently been intense debate on Twitter about gay rights in Saudi Arabia. One blogger said “all religions reject this perversion which is why God created man and woman.”
On Monday in Geneva at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, Faisal bin Hasan Trad, the Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN, said Saudi Arabia would not tolerate criticism of its human rights record, and that it rejected a proposal to grant rights to gays.
Trad said the Kingdom was one of the first countries to support the UN human rights charters, in accordance with Islamic law. Trad said that even though the Kingdom had made its position clear, some were attempting to portray the country in a bad light.
He accused those behind the reports of double standard, of professing to respect the sovereignty, culture and beliefs of other people, but doing the exact opposite on public platforms.
Trad said the calls for the country to recognize gay rights, to change certain Islamic laws, and criticism of the nation’s judiciary, was “flagrant interference in its internal affairs, and absolutely unacceptable.”
Trad said the Kingdom also condemns those continually attacking Islam and the character of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, under the pretext of freedom of expression, or as a reaction to the terrorist acts of groups that claim falsely to represent Islam.
He said it was not acceptable for people to insult the beliefs of more than 1.5 billion people. Islam stood for peaceful coexistence with others, rejected chaos, and attempts to divide people, he said.
Source:www.arabnews.com
The annual Pink Dot event has put Singapore on the map for the right reasons (“LGBT rally forms sea of pink at Hong Lim Park”; June 13, online).
It has become a beacon of hope for many who feel alone and victimised because of who they are, so much so that it has been replicated in places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and the United States.
Of late, unfortunately, the lead-up to Pink Dot, an event emphasising tolerance, respect and love, has been marred by vitriol directed at the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community and their allies.
Hatemongers have created platforms on social media from which they hurl their slurs. Offline, some have used the pulpit to launch attacks against LGBT people and their supporters.
Many, including those who had been neutral in the issue, have felt compelled to speak out against this bigotry. But the silence of the authorities, who have intervened in racial, religious or gender discrimination, is puzzling.
Replacing the word “LGBT” in this hateful commentary with an ethnic group or religious affiliation would render the remarks seditious.
Replacing “gay” or “lesbian” with a reference to a gender, age group, social class or the disabled would not sit well with civic-minded Singaporeans.
The authorities and our politicians must not practise double standards, but be bold to speak up against such speech. Silence emboldens bigots and would mean complicity in the hate campaign.
This is not about supporting LGBT people but about supporting a society where everyone is treated with dignity and about creating a safe society, where discourse is civil.
Will our leaders respond to protect the secular space in Singapore and signal that such actions are unacceptable?
This article, written by Angeline Wong Hu Wei, first appeared on Voices, Today, on 22 Jun 2015
Source: www.todayonline.com
A Pink Dot flag-bearer observes the National Anthem at the annual event at Hong Lim Park on 13 June 2015 (Photo: Regina Goh)
As the dust of annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) awareness event Pink Dot settles from an estimated 28,000-strong turnout on Saturday, 13 June 2015, the LGBT community is taking concrete steps forward to engage more people from the varied facets of Singapore’s societal and political landscape.
Pink Dot appointed, this year, its first ever Malay ambassadors in its seven-year run – YouTube personalities Maimunah Bagharib and Hirzi Zulkiflie.
Pink Dot ambassador Hirzi Zulkifli in tears as he reads out his speech before the crowd at the recent Pink Dot event (Photo: Regina Goh)
In a show of emotion, Hirzi broke down into tears at multiple points in his speech before the Pink Dot crowd.
He said that the reason he and Maimunah decided to be ambassadors for the event this year was in response to his fans “showing signs of helplessness” after a recent meet-and-greet revealed their fears as LGBT youth.
“We cannot continue to pretend that LGBT individuals do not exist within our community just because we shut them out from our conversations,” said Hirzi, in response to youth telling him that they were depressed from a lack of avenues to address their concerns.
Hirzi gave the example of a young hijab-wearing girl who was worried about coming out as a lesbian – he hopes that his appointment as Pink Dot’s ambassador will set about a course of change in acceptance by the Malay/Muslim community.
“I really do hope that while we are the first brown ambassadors, that we are not the last either. We all have different ideas of what is right and what is wrong but we should all have the same senses for what is human,” said Hirzi.
Pink Dot efforts more than one-time event: organisers
Pink Dot spokesperson Paerin Choa (centre) with the event’s ambassadors for 2015 (Photo: Regina Goh)
Pink Dot spokesperson Paerin Choa noted that there had been advances in the treatment of the LGBT community, there have been several setbacks in the last year.
In a press conference, Choa said that a 35-second advertisement for this year’s Pink Dot that was planned to be run in cinemas was banned from theatres by the Media Development Authority (MDA).
The MDA had said that “it is not in the public interest to allow cinema halls to carry advertising on LGBT issues, whether they are advocating for the cause, or against the cause”, Choa shared.
However, Choa says steps are being taken to further societal inclusivity for LGBT people in Singapore. Although he declined to reveal specifics, he cited examples where certain Singapore government agencies had approached Pink Dot for opinions regarding LGBT issues.
Choa also noted the increasing corporate support surrounding the event. A record nine corporate sponsors came on board this year, including media heavyweights Twitter and Bloomberg. Local movie giant Cathay Organisation also became a sponsor.
Add the newly-created Pink Street – a selection of retail outlets along North Canal Road, which lines one side of Hong Lim Park, that support the event – to this.
Movement forward: inter-varsity support group launched
Five LGBT groups from four varsities in Singapore have come together to launch an inter-university LGBT network in Singapore (Photo: Inter-University LGBT Network, Singapore/Facebook)
Further to this, groups in the ‘Inter-University LGBT Network’ (Inter-Uni), which consists of five LGBT groups from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Yale-NUS College, plan to meet regularly and share resources.
Among the initiatives Inter-Uni has launched is an orientation week, with each university hosting its own LGBT orientation programme for students, staff and alumni. This would culminate in an inter-university mixer organised by all five LGBT groups where participants would get to know prospective and current students, staff and alumni from the other varsities.
There are plans for some groups to collaborate and offer regular workshops such as Gender & Sexuality 101 and Allyship 101, as well as a forum on creating more inclusive school communities. The forum is slated to take place in the next semester.
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com
