Showing posts with label being gay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label being gay. Show all posts
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, has said that children attending faith schools should be taught that homosexuality is "normal and harmless".
In a pitch for the “pink vote,” he called on all the parties to prove that they supported full equality for homosexuals, and accused David Cameron, the Conservative leader, of being untrustworthy on the issue.
The Liberal Democrats support measures forcing teachers, including those working in faith schools, to implement policies to combat homophobic bullying, with lessons teaching that same-sex relationships are “normal”.
Mr Clegg said: “Crucially faith schools should have a requirement to have an anti-homophobic bullying policy at their school.”
In an interview with Attitude magazine, the Liberal Democrat leader also called for lesbians and homosexual men who have undergone a civil partnership ceremony to be given the formal and symbolic status of a “married” couple. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
TIME: When Iceland installed Johanna Sigurdardottir as Prime Minister last February, newspapers around the globe printed variations of the same headline: ICELAND APPOINTS WORLD'S FIRST GAY LEADER. Everywhere, that is, except Iceland. The Icelandic media didn't mention Sigurdardottir's sexuality for days, and only then to point out that the foreign press had taken an interest in their new head of state — a 67-year-old former flight attendant turned politician whom voters had consistently rated Iceland's most trustworthy politician. Sure, she was gay and had entered a civil partnership with another woman in 2002. But Icelanders hardly seemed to notice. "The media silence echoed the sentiment of the public. Nobody cared about her sexual orientation," says Margret Bjornsdottir, the director of the Institute for Public Administration and Politics at the University of Iceland. "Being gay is a nonissue here. It's considered unremarkable."
Buoyed by liberal attitudes such as those, politicians across Western Europe are stepping out of the closet and into their country's highest political offices. Eleven openly gay men and women now serve in the British Parliament, including two in the Cabinet. Last June, Nicolas Sarkozy appointed Frédéric Mitterrand, a gay television presenter, to the post of Minister of Culture. Paris' Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, tipped by some to contest the 2012 presidential race, is gay. And Guido Westerwelle, chairman of Germany's Free Democratic Party, has just become his country's Foreign Minister, joining a gay élite that includes the mayors of Berlin and Hamburg, Germany's two largest cities. Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's mayor, says coming out ahead of the 2001 mayoral race while under pressure from tabloids strengthened his campaign. "My confession might have contributed to my popularity," he says. "Many people appreciate honesty."
That's a far cry from the climate in most of the U.S., where — despite the recent election of Annise Parker, a gay woman, as mayor of Houston, America's fourth largest city — honesty can still end a gay politician's career. Openly gay politicians such as San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk began winning seats in U.S. cities with large gay populations in the 1970s. Progress has since slowed, says David Rayside, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto. He believes that the relative strength of incumbency in the U.S. creates a barrier to the corridors of power, as does "the strength of religious conservatives." Of the 511,000 elected offices in the U.S. — from local school boards way up to President — openly gay men and women occupy just 450 of them, according to the U.S.-based Victory Fund, an organization that offers financial support to gay political candidates. No openly gay person has ever sat in the Senate, and only three hold seats in the House of Representatives.
The gap between the U.S. and Europe doesn't just exist at the top: 49% of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center in 2007 believed that society should "accept" homosexuality. Contrast that with attitudes in Europe where more than 80% of French, Germans and Spaniards had such a view. Only Catholic and conservative Poles felt as uncomfortable with the idea as Americans. Denis Dison, a spokesman for the Victory Fund, says those attitudes can make it difficult for gay people to campaign — let alone obtain office. "In places where the climate isn't friendly, it's hard for them to even go into a town hall meeting or public forum because they get such nasty questions." The European Difference >>> William Lee Adams | Monday, January 18, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Two men arrested after symbolic ceremony last month could face up to 14 years in jail
A court in Malawi today denied bail to two men arrested after becoming the first gay couple to marry in the conservative African country.
Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa told a packed court that he could not grant the couple bail, saying the ruling was for their own protection. "The public out there is angry with them," Usiwausiwa said.
Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza committed to marriage in a symbolic ceremony in southern Malawi last month, attracting hundreds of onlookers. They were arrested at the home they share and charged with unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency.
Government prosecutors had asked the court to detain the couple for a longer period to allow for more investigations.
Police said the two men had been taken for medical tests to prove whether they had sexual intercourse. The men's lawyer has pledged to resist any such tests. "Unless they give their consent to the medical examination, we will protest," Noel Supedi said.
The case has generated huge interest in Malawi. Suzanne Worrica, a British spectator in court, said: "The crowd atmosphere was again hostile, taunting Tiwonge and Steven, although some gay rights campaigners were present, who gave them money." >>> (with video) David Smith, Africa correspondent | Monday, January 04, 2010
Monday, January 04, 2010
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: From small-town roots, Stan Penfold now pledges to be a progressive force.
All he really wanted to do was garden. Now, Stan Penfold is poised to sow the seeds of progressive policy in Salt Lake City.
It is quite a baptism for the city's newest councilman, a self-described unlikely politician, elected to lead the liberal Avenues and Capitol Hill areas.
But so too was growing up Mormon in Humboldt County, Calif., "the pot capital of the planet," Penfold smiles.
"I remember having to navigate that," he says, eating a fish platter at downtown's Oyster Bar. "I was this strait-laced kid around everybody that drank and smoked pot. The experience taught me it's sort of OK to be who you are."
That mantra has paid dividends throughout his life. It helped him comprehend the strange land of Utah when he moved here to practice landscape horticulture nearly 30 years ago.
And, as an openly gay man (thought to be the capital council's first), it helped him grow comfortable despite being immersed in the state's conservative culture.
"I discovered I kind of liked it here," says Penfold, the decade-long executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation who travels the world and always expected one day to return to California. "Nobody was more surprised than I was."
Now, after three decades of building a life, career and penchant for a growing community, the erstwhile gardener is ready to dig in to city politics. He replaces Eric Jergensen, a moderate who stepped down after eight years. Rather than being a lightning rod for gay rights -- "the city has done a remarkable job on the social-issue stuff," he says -- Penfold will focus on the grass-roots stuff -- improving quality of life where residents live.
"I want Salt Lake City government to see a city of neighborhoods," he says. "People function well when they are recognized." >>> Derek P. Jensen | Saturday, January 02, 2010
ADVOCATE.COM: Gay Man Joins Salt Lake City Council >>> Advocate.com Editors | Sunday, January 03, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Since they became the first openly gay couple in Malawi to be engaged, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza have been arrested, put in prison and charged with offences that could lead to a 14-year jail sentence.
Between true love and gay martyrdom, however, is the brutal reality of life in a Malawi prison. Yesterday, in their first interview since being jailed, the pair claimed that they had been beaten in prison, and demanded to go to court to prove their innocence.
While Mr Chimbalanga, 20, who dresses as a woman, spoke defiantly of his love for the man he plans to marry, Mr Monjeza, 22, said that he was “drunk” when they met and was considering ending their engagement. The couple, who denied three charges of unnatural practices between males and gross indecency, performed a public engagement ceremony in front of 500 onlookers last weekend. They were arrested two days later.
With gay rights campaigners warning that the case marks a new wave of homophobia in Africa, the pair have been held since then at Chichiri prison in Blantyre, where the warders appear bemused by the level of hysteria surrounding their charges.
In an interview with The Times at the weekend, Mr Chimbalanga — visibly more at ease than Mr Monjeza, who appeared confused and disorientated — said: “I love my husband and laws should not prohibit love.” >>> Raphael Tenthani in Malawi and Valentine Low | Monday, January 04, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
THE OBSERVER: Speculation is growing that other gay sports stars may follow suit
The shock decision by rugby union player Gareth Thomas to announce that he is gay has triggered speculation that other sports stars might come out. Thomas is Wales's most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain. The fact that he has confirmed his sexuality while still playing the game has been praised by gay rights campaigners.
The shock decision by rugby union player Gareth Thomas to announce that he is gay has triggered speculation that other sports stars might come out. Thomas is Wales's most-capped player and a former British and Irish Lions captain. The fact that he has confirmed his sexuality while still playing the game has been praised by gay rights campaigners.
Yesterday the 6ft 3in, 16-stone rugby star said he hoped he could make a difference to others struggling with their sexuality. "I just want to thank everyone for the amazing response I have received, on behalf of me, my family and friends," Thomas said. "I hope that by saying this I can make a big difference to others in my situation."
But he said he did not want to be known as a "gay rugby player" and hoped people would treat his sexuality as "irrelevant" to his career. "What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby," he said. "I'd love for it, in 10 years' time, not to even be an issue in sport, and for people to say: 'So what?'"
Thomas, who came on as a substitute for his team Cardiff Blues as they lost 23-7 to Toulouse in the Heineken Cup quarter-final yesterday, said the secret of his sexuality was like a "ticking bomb" which he had tried to suppress. "I just couldn't ignore it any more," he told the Daily Mail.
"It is very positive Gareth has come out while he is still an active player," said gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "Many of the sports people who have declared their homosexuality have tended to do so after their careers are over.
"Rugby is a very macho sport and has traditionally had a very robust he-man, heterosexual image so it is really great that he has had the guts to be honest with himself and his fans. Hopefully this will ease the way for other gay and bisexual players to also come out." >>> Jamie Doward | Saturday, December 19, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
This is a clear example of the BBC taking leave of its senses! Shame on the BBC for asking such a ridiculous, cruel question! This subject is not worthy of debate. Period! – © Mark
THE GUARDIAN: Talkboard post seeks readers' views ahead of interactive World Service programme Africa Have Your Say
The BBC today asked users of its news website "Should homosexuals face execution?" on a talkboard discussion for a World Service programme for African listeners.
Posted on a BBC News premoderated talkboard, the thread was designed to provoke discussion ahead of the latest edition of interactive World Service programme Africa Have Your Say.
"Yes, we accept it is a stark and disturbing question, but this is the reality behind an anti-homosexuality bill being debated on Friday by the Ugandan parliament which would see some homosexual offences punishable by death," the post said.
The talkboard post asked users to send in their views to the programme, which goes out on the World Service and is also available online.
"Has Uganda gone too far? Should there be any level of legislation against homosexuality? Should homosexuals be protected by legislation as they are in South Africa? What would be the consequences of this bill to you? How will homosexual 'offences' be monitored?," the post added.
Premoderated posts included one from Chris, Guildford, posted at 8.59am, which attracted 51 recommendations of support. He wrote: "Totally agree. Ought to be imposed in the UK too, asap. Bring back some respectable family values. Why do we have to suffer 'gay pride' festivals? Would I be allowed to organise a 'straight pride' festival? No, thought as much!! If homosexuality is natural, as we are forced to believe, how can they sustain the species? I suggest all gays are put on a remote island somewhere and left for a generation - after which, theoretically there should be none left!"
Another, from Aaron in Freetown, said: "Bravo to the Ugandans for this wise decision, a bright step in eliminating this menace from your society. We hope other African nations will also follow your bold step." >>> Stephen Brook | Wednesday, December 16, 2009
PINK NEWS: BBC editors have defended allowing online readers to debate whether gays in Uganda should be executed, saying they accepted it was a "challenging question".
The discussion, on the broadcaster's Have Your Say feature, asked: "Should homosexuals face execution?"
The debate centres on Uganda, where an anti-gay bill is passing through parliament. It would impose execution or life imprisonment on gays, its sponsor David Bahati MP says.
Some commentators on the site, from both the UK and Africa, had agreed with the country's proposed law.
It was closed at around 4pm this afternoon after provoking a storm of anger on Twitter.
A number of readers emailed PinkNews.co.uk to complain that the question was offensive, arguing that readers would not be asked to debate the extermination of Jews in World War II. >>> Staff Writer, Pink News | Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ADVOCATE.COM: COMMENTARY: Kim Stolz wonders why certain U.S. senators refuse to comment on Uganda's "kill the gays" bill — a bill the White House, international human rights organizations, and even some typically conservative Christian groups have condemned.
In his State of the Union Address in January 2003, President George W. Bush gave one of his more eloquent and moving speeches about his upcoming HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention program, and included specific praise for the African country of Uganda in paving the way to lower AIDS population rates on the continent. This fall, the international community, feeling helpless and stunned, watched as severe antigay legislation was introduced in Uganda on Oct. 14, which called for a life imprisonment sentence for homosexual acts and the death sentence for those engaging in homosexual activity repeatedly and for any HIV-positive person doing so.
The current law in Uganda states that anyone who identifies as a homosexual, bisexual, or transgender should be sentenced to a minimum of 14 years imprisonment. While 14 years is the stated term, being convicted as an LGBT person commonly results in a life sentence. While it has never been safe to identifying as a gay person in Uganda, the bill introduced October 14, if passed, would make a nonstraight lifestyle impossible in the African country. The new legislation calls for a life sentence as a minimum punishment for any LGBT person and further states that anyone who fails to report a homosexual to the government within 24 hours will be sentenced to three years in prison. The final part of the bill is perhaps the most shocking, given Uganda’s history of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. It states that death by hanging is the punishment for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as any of the following: a repeat offender of the homosexuality law, having homosexual sex when any intoxicating substance is involved (for instance, if two men meet at a bar, buy each other a drink and then have sex, both of these men would be sentenced to death,) if one engages in homosexual activity as an authority figure, and finally, having sex if you’re HIV-positive.
After hearing about the new “kill the gays” legislation in Uganda, President Obama, international human rights groups (specifically Human Rights Watch), and various public figures around the world made statements against the proposed law. In fact, Christian groups, which have remained divided on issues like civil unions and gay marriage, came together to oppose the flagrant human rights violation. Still, though, among the authority figures who strictly opposed the potential law, there were a few famous and prominent faces in the crowd — familiar faces to the Ugandan government — who connect through a wide “family” network and are now hiding from the accusations that they may actually be connected to this disgusting and murderous legislation. >>> Kim Stolz | Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
PINK NEWS: The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has made his first public statement on the proposed anti-gay bill passing through Uganda's parliament.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, presumably taken before reports that Uganda would remove the most drastic elements of the bill, Williams said he did not see how any Anglican could support it.
He said: "Overall, the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I can’t see how it could be supported by any Anglican who is committed to what the Communion has said in recent decades.
“Apart from invoking the death penalty, it makes pastoral care impossible – it seeks to turn pastors into informers.”
He added that the Anglican Church in Uganda opposes the death penalty but added that its archbishop, Henry Orombi, who boycotted the Lambeth Conference last year, “has not taken a position on this bill”.
The private members' bill originally sought to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on those who have gay sex. After it was condemned by countries such as the UK, US and France, along with human rights groups, the country's minister for ethics and integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, reportedly said a more "refined" set of punishments would be favoured instead of execution. >>> Staff Writer, Pink News | Monday, December 14, 2009
ADVOCATE.COM: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid out the Administration's vision for human rights in a wide-ranging speech Monday at Georgetown University and specifically referenced the antigay Uganda bill that would carry a death sentence for committing certain acts of homosexuality.
"We cannot separate our democracy, human rights, and development agendas," Clinton said, "they are mutually reinforcing and united in service of a common purpose - to create a world where all people have the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential."
In reference to Uganda, Clinton said, "Governments should be expected to resist the temptation to restrict freedom of expression when criticism arises, and be vigilant in preventing law from becoming an instrument of oppression, as bills like the one under consideration in Uganda to criminalize homosexuality would do. " >>> Advocate.com Editors | Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: A soldier leaves Afghanistan today after a life-changing six-month tour, having fought the Taleban and told his comrades that he is gay.
Trooper Ben Rakestrow, 21, is one of an unknown number of openly homosexual soldiers in the Armed Forces. He told his unit about his sexuality after a trip to a nightclub during pre-deployment training on Salisbury Plain. “The next morning I arrived for the exercise late because we’d had a bit to drink. The lads all asked if we’d had any luck, then at least our late arrival would have been worth it. I just said, ‘His name was Ryan’. Some of their faces dropped and they asked if I was serious. They couldn’t believe it.”
Trooper Rakestrow, of the Royal Tank Regiment, said that initial uncertainty had given way to acceptance and support from his unit. “I get banter from them all the time, but it’s good banter. They all want to know about my life. I don’t find it hard to talk about it.”
Despite the traditional view of the Army as a homophobic institution, Trooper Rakestrow described the decision as the best one of his life. He advised other gay soldiers considering coming out to talk to close colleagues first. “I would tell guys to find a few close friends and confide in them. Talk about it with them and then, if you’re confident, tell your mates. But the important thing is to tell them when it feels right.” >>> Tom Coghlan | Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
ADVOCATE.COM: A bill calling for death sentences in multiple scenarios for gays and lesbians in Uganda will create a chilling effect for on-the-ground charities and aid groups seeking to effectively curb HIV infection.
“Just by recognizing gay rights, our organization could be accused of promoting homosexuality, and our staff could risk being imprisoned for three years.”
This I was recently told by a contact whose charity works in Uganda. Desperately worried about whether the group will be able to continue with its important work, the source asked me not to identify the charity, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on sexual and reproductive rights that operates a program in this landlocked, East African country. Yet the group’s work is both more important and in greater danger than ever.
Under the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill rearing its twisted head in Uganda—one that calls for the death penalty for acts of “aggravated homosexuality—any corporate body, business, association, or non-governmental organization risks being stripped of its license to practice in the country. Directors risk seven-year prison sentences if they are involved in the so-called “promotion” or funding that “in any way abets homosexuality and related practices.” In a country with nearly one million people living with HIV, Uganda’s parliament is about to criminalize the very organizations that are there to help. And it may further criminalize a group of people who are already criminals in the eyes of the law.
But the NGOs would be affected by more than just the “promotion” clause. Under the proposed bill, anyone not reporting a known breach of the law within 24 hours faces a three-year sentence. Anyone with HIV engaging in gay sex, or having sex with someone under 18, or who is a serial offender (surely most gay people would, by their nature, be serial offenders) could be executed. >>> | Thursday, December 03, 2009
DIE PRESSE: Empörung über Gesetzentwurf im ostafrikanischen Staat Uganda. Der Entwurf beinhaltet die Todesstrafe für HIV-infizierte aktive Homosexuelle und auf homosexuelle Handlungen stünde lebenslange Haft.
Manchem Schwulen in Uganda könnte die Todesstrafe drohen. Angehörige und Freunde müssten mit sieben Jahren Gefängnis rechnen, wenn sie sie nicht verpetzen. Vermieter hätten Haftstrafen zu befürchten, wenn sie Homosexuellen Wohnraum vermieten. Das sieht ein Gesetzentwurf vor, der derzeit in Uganda erörtert wird und international zunehmend Empörung auslöst.
Bürgerrechtler sehen darin eine Anstachelung zum Schwulenhass und eine Gefahr für die Bemühungen zur Aids-Bekämpfung. Für sie steht der Entwurf im Rahmen einer heftigen Gegenreaktion in ganz Afrika darauf, dass sich Homosexuelle nicht mehr verstecken wollen. "Das ist eine Frage des Sichtbarwerdens", glaubt David Cato, der zum Aktivisten wurde, nachdem man ihn vier Mal zusammengeschlagen und zwei Mal festgenommen, als Lehrer hinausgeworfen und in der Presse geoutet hatte. "Wenn wir offen auftreten und unsere Rechte einfordern, machen sie Gesetze gegen uns." >>> Ag./AP/Katharine Houreld und Godfrey Olukya | Donnerstag, 10. Dezember 2009
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
ADVOCATE.COM: Maddow Takes on Ex-Gay Movement: In her continuing series “Uganda Be Kidding Me,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night interviewed Richard Cohen of the ex-gay group the International Healing Center. >>> Advocate.com Editors | Tuesday, December 08, 2009
WIKIPEDIA: Rachel Maddow >>>
Saturday, December 05, 2009
THE INDEPENDENT: At 10.20pm on Saturday 1 August 2009, a man walked along Nachmani Street, a residential road in central Tel Aviv. He went into the apartment block at number 28 and down a flight of steps to the basement flat, where a song by Blur was playing on the stereo amid the sound of laughter and conversation. There, the man shot 13 people, killing 26-year-old Nir Katz and 16-year-old Liz Trobishi, before returning up the steps and disappearing into the promenading crowds. His identity remains unknown.
Understanding what happened that night is not easy. It might be tempting to assume that such an attack – unprovoked, apparently indiscriminate – was political, somehow connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But it was not, for the basement flat at 28 Nachmani Street is the headquarters of the Aguda (Hebrew for "association"), otherwise known as Israel's National Association of LGBT, representing the country's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.
As such, this appears to have been a hate crime directed against one of the city's minority groups – but if so, Tel Aviv offers plenty of simpler pickings. Two blocks away on Yavne Street, for instance, is Evita, the city's most prominent gay bar, very loud, very proud, with arty pornography playing on screens visible from the street and an open pavement terrace. By contrast, the Aguda is virtually anonymous. No signs are posted, no rainbow flags fly. A couple of small stickers, on the communal post-box and on the door of the flat itself, say "The Aguda" in Hebrew, with a rainbow flash.
To find it, you'd have to know it was there.
"One morning I stood in front of the mirror shaving, looked myself in the eyes, and told myself: 'Face it: you're gay.'" Mike Hamel, chair of the Aguda, half-smiles at the memory. We're sitting in the basement flat at 28 Nachmani Street. The place is done up like a student dive, with tinsel, dog-eared posters and a shop mannequin. Hamel, his plaid shirt open one button more than might be usual in Britain, talks slowly and carefully as he describes growing up in Tel Aviv in the 1960s. "When it came to building a family, automatically that happened with a woman. The possibility of a deep emotional relationship with a man never crossed my mind.” >>> Matthew Teller | Saturday, December 05, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
PINK NEWS: What causes homosexuality? Can sexual orientation be changed? And are the brains of gay people different from those of straight people? Adrian Tippetts meets Dr Qazi Rahman, an assistant professor in Cognitive Biology from Queen Mary University London, to find out more.
While almost all scientists accept homosexuality has purely natural causes, the debate has been mired in confusion. There have been conflicting reports about the existence of ‘gay’ genes and their significance. Religious propagandists have tried to promote the myths that sexuality is changeable. And the mainstream media, more interested in causing controversy than holding rational debate, has done little to raise public understanding about the issue. For Dr Rahman, who heads QMUL’s Biological and Experimental Psychology Group, it is quite clear: you’re born gay, and that’s that.
I begin by asking him what aspects of biology are responsible for sexual orientation.
"The whole nature-nurture debate is entirely pointless,” he says. “Sexual orientation is not a choice because humans come in two types: one with a vagina, the other with a penis, so sexual orientation is entirely biological.
"We all end up at the same point: heterosexuality or homosexuality. There is little variation in between but this is not to exclude bisexual behaviour. People do not end up sexually attracted to bananas or animals for example. This is not a flippant comment. What I am saying is that we see the same characteristic traits and behaviours, resulting from a relatively small number of factors. >>> Adrian Tippetts | Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Gay by Nature: Part Two >>> Adrian Tippetts | Wednesday, December 02, 2009
WASHINGTON TIMES: New York Chooses Benightedness Over Enlightenment >>>
THE NEW YORK TIMES – Editorial: The New York State Senate held an emotional debate on Wednesday in which there was talk of belief and conscience and eloquent reminders of earlier civil rights struggles. It then took a stand against equality and fairness.
By a 38-to-24 vote, lawmakers chose to continue the state’s discrimination against couples who want to get married and simply happen to be the same sex.
Like Gov. David Paterson and advocates who pressed for the vote, we had hoped a sufficient number of senators would do the right thing when required to take a stand. In the end, though, not a single Republican possessed the courage or sense of justice to depart from an obsolete and narrow-minded party line, even the handful who had indicated that they might.
Also succumbing to what Senator Thomas Duane, a Democrat of Manhattan, called “contagious lack of backbone” were eight Democrats: Joseph Addabbo Jr., Darrel Aubertine, Rubén Díaz Sr., Shirley Huntley, Carl Kruger, Hiram Monserrate, George Onorato and William Stachowski.
Mr. Paterson was right to insist on the vote during the current special session, but he was too weak to get the job done. The Democratic Senate leaders — John Sampson of Brooklyn, Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx, and Malcolm Smith of Queens — also failed to deliver. >>> NYT | Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Björn Borg: Love for All >>>
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