Rainbow Flag Flies Over Costa Rica's Presidential Residence

Costa Rica's new president has barely been in office for a week, but he's already setting a wonderfully progressive tone on LGBT issues. The Tico Times reports:

Just over a week since taking office, President Luis Guillermo Solís made history Friday morning when he became the first Costa Rican leader to raise the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement on even mast with the Costa Rican red-white-and-blue tricolor on the lawn of the Casa Presidencial. Vice President Ana Helena Chacón hoisted the flag in honor of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, May 17.

"This is the house of all Costa Ricans. When we say all Costa Ricans we mean all, without exclusion, without violence, without harassment in absolute respect for the rights of each one," Solís told a crowd of LGBT leaders and advocates during his brief comments on the lawn.

"We're fighting against discrimination in defense of the human rights of all Costa Ricans," the president said, adding that discrimination based on sexual orientation was against the letter and spirit of the Costa Rican Constitution and human rights declarations the government has signed.

What a boldly inclusive gesture. Way to go, President Solís! Let's hope your new administration follows up with concrete actions to improve life for LGBT Costa Ricans.

STEPHEN COLBERT APPLAUDS BILL O'REILLY'S AIRTIGHT DEFENSE OF INEQUALITY

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Bill O'Reilly laid out an "airtight" defense of inequality this week, and Stephen Colbert explained last night why he's right on ever count.

One Congressman Hits The Gay Marriage Debate On The Head With A Powerful Statement

John Lewis is not just any U.S. politician. He's the only living member of the "Big Six" leaders of the American civil rights movement. And he's got a few important points to make about LGBTQQ rights as well.

We the people...that means all of us.

Puerto Rico Governor Signs Major LGBT Rights Bills into Law

LGBT rights in Puerto Rico took two big steps forward today thanks to the island territory's governor, the Washington Blade reports:

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla on Wednesday signed two bills into law that ban anti-LGBT discrimination on the island and add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the U.S. commonwealth’s domestic violence laws.
“The dignity of being a human being is inviolable because we are all the same and we must be equal under the law,” the governor said in a tweet before he signed the measures at his official residence in San Juan. “Today is a great day for Puerto Rico. I feel that I have fulfilled my duty as a Christian to sign these laws.”

This Monday, the Puerto Rico Senate voted to approve a modified version of the non-discrimination bill that passed the Puerto Rico House last Friday.  The domestic violence law change was also approved on Monday.
According to the AP, the original version of the measure, which was advanced by the Senate earlier this month, went further than the newly minted law:

The original measure would have also banned discrimination in commercial transactions, property rentals, public transportation and other circumstances. Those clauses were removed after heavy opposition by religious groups.

ExxonMobil Shareholders Reject LGBT Nondiscrimination Measure

 

This should come as a shock to absolutely nobody: oil giant ExxonMobil's shareholders have once again voted down a proposal that would have provided employment discrimination protections to the company's LGBT employees.

The Dallas Voice reports on the outcome of ExxonMobil's yearly shareholders meeting in downtown Dallas:

Shareholders voted to reject a resolution, 81 percent to 19 percent, from the New York state comptroller calling for the company’s Board of Directors to add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the oil giant’s EEO policy. The 19 percent support for the resolution reportedly was the lowest ever.
George Wong addressed the shareholders on behalf of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. He presented the business argument that the company should recruit from and retain the widest possible talent pool. Failure to do that leads to less efficient business operations. Most Fortune 500 companies do have inclusive nondiscrimination policies including most other major oil companies, he said.
During general comments, no one else supported the nondiscrimination proposal.

ExxonMobil has the lowest score ever received by a company in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, meriting a -25 rating for rescinding LGBT discrimination protections and cancelling domestic partner health benefits when Exxon acquired Mobil in 1999.  Other oil companies, such as Chevron, BP, Shell and Spectra, have received scores of 85 or higher.

Last week, Freedom to Work, an LGBT rights organization that focuses on employment issues, filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights alleging that the company engages in discriminatory hiring practices.

UPDATE: Let Damian Walk

Damian Garcia, a senior at St. Pius High School, requested to walk in a boy's black cap and gown for graduation. However, the schools' administration refused to recognize Damian's gender identity, because although he identifies as a male and has legally changed his name, he still has female marked on his birth certificate. 

More than 28,000 people signed the MoveOn petition started by Toorey Moorman and her two sons in support of Damian. 

While Damian's school ultimately chose not honor his request for a male robe, his bravery in standing up and the support from this campaign have changed the school's graduation robe policy for years to come. 

Here's a full update from the petition creators:  

Thank you to everyone who has signed "Let Damian Walk," whether you are a recent signer and this is your first "thank you" or you were one of the original 38 from Thursday morning. Sunday was windy, extremely windy. We are hoping they were the winds of change and that Damian's archdiocese will make a loving decision to allow Damian walk in black robes.

Already, the school has decided all future classes will graduate wearing the same color gowns. This means that no matter what, Damian has been effective in affecting positive change, change that was brought about by the 26,000+ petition signers like yourself.

We have delivered the signatures to the archbishop who made the decision to force Damian to walk in white cap and gown.

This is not just about Damian; this is to support everyone within the Catholic Church, and the hundreds of signers who felt their only option was to leave the Catholic Church and who do not fall into narrowly constructed sexual identities. "A person's a person, no matter how small, no matter their gender, skin color, disability, or sexual orientation. Every person deserves to be loved, because every one of us were created to love and be loved...unconditionally." (Quote by Dr.. Seuss, Horton Hears A Who).

Thank you!

Torrey, William, Cat, Phynn, and the entire Garcia family

Let Damian walk for graduation in male cap and gown.

St. Pius High School administration is refusing to recognize Damian's gender identity, even though all his classmates, teachers, and family know Damian as a male. Administration says because he has "female" marked on his birth certificate, despite the fact that he is now legally Damian and not Brianna he still must walk in a girl's cap and gown for graduation.

That's why I signed a petition to Barbara Rothweiler, Ph.D.  Principal, Principal, https://www.saintpiusx.com/, which says:

"Let Damian walk in boy's black cap and gown for St. Pius graduation, Wednesday 22 May, 2013."

Will you sign this petition? Click here to sign!

Prom Photo of the Year!

 

via Imgur, captioned: "We just got back from the prom." "Did you have dates?" "Um, yeah."

ABC-WaPo Poll Finds Strong Support for Gay Rights Issues

 

A new ABC/Washington Post poll (read it here - PDF) finds a strong majority of Americans (68 percent) support Jason Collins' decision to come out and also want the Boy Scouts to allow gay scouts (63 percent) and oppose banning gay scout leaders.

ABC News reports:

Backing is widest and deepest for Collins, with 68 percent of Americans saying they support the NBA center’s decision to announce his sexual orientation. Those who “strongly” support his step outnumber his strong critics by a 3-1 margin.

A substantial 63 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, also support the Boy Scouts’ plan to begin admitting gay scouts younger than 18, while 56 percent oppose its intention to continue to ban gay adults. Again strength of sentiment favors gay rights, by 16- and 12-point margins, respectively.

Both policies go to a vote of the group’s governing council, meeting the week of May 20 in Grapevine, Texas.
 

Some of these views even overcome political sentiment to some degree. Majorities of Republicans and conservatives, 52 and 54 percent, respectively, support Collins’ step, and 53 percent of Republicans support admitting gay scouts. These groups are much less apt to support admitting gay scout leaders or legalizing gay marriage.

A question asking if people support or oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry found that 55% support and 40% oppose. 5% had no opinion.

Read the full results here.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz2SoCZEDwY

Just saying....

NFL Player Brendan Ayanbadejo on Homosexuality: Equality Trumps Religion

"People have to realize, even though it's your right to have religion ... you can't use that right of religion to take other people's rights away. Equality trumps all of them," Ayanbadejo said.

Equality is more important than religion, Brendan Ayanbadejo, an NFL linebacker and outspoken advocate of gay rights, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich argued that the push for so-called equality has infringed upon religious freedom.

Ayanbadejo played for the Baltimore Ravens last season and is currently a free agent.

Ayanbadejo added that "we protect and we believe in religion," and implied that religious people just need to be educated in order for them to agree with his view of homosexuality.

"So, we just need to open up people's eyes and educate people a little more," he said.

Ayanbadejo also appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday as both shows were discussing the recent announcement by NBA basketball player Jason Collins that he is gay. Collins is the first active professional basketball player and only the second active player of any of the four major U.S. sports – basketball, football, baseball and hockey – to admit he is gay.

More 

Washington Post Editorial Board Slams the Boy Scouts

The Boy Scouts’ proposal on gay participation goes the wrong way

By Editorial Board, Published: April 27

WHEN THEY take the Scout Oath, boys pledge to be “morally straight.” But as they figure out how finally to remove their ban on openly gay Scouts, the Boy Scouts of America’s national leaders have become morally incoherent.

Last week the organization’s executive committee proposed changing the membership rules to allow openly gay youth — but not openly gay adults who would be Scout leaders — to participate. The committee is in a tough spot, attempting to find a compromise policy on a polarizing issue without rending a community that does a great deal of good. Some Scouting sponsors still maintain a deep religious conviction that homosexuality is immoral; many others, who accept that gay boys don’t choose to be gay, are eager to end the discrimination.

But this is a bad way to deal with that challenging reality.

The executive committee earlier considered leaving the question up to individual troop sponsors. There was at least an argument for that as a pragmatic intermediate step. Openly gay boys and adults could participate in enlightened troops; those who object would still have troops that continued to discriminate available to them. The proposal was silent on the evils of discrimination.
The latest plan is worse than silent. Excluding openly gay adults suggests that they are dangerous, potential child abusers or brainwashers of such threat that they should be denied any place in the Boy Scouts of America.

 Read More

Imagine a world where "gay" was "straight" and "straight" was "gay"

Ain't It the Truth!

Rhode Island Senate approves Marriage Equality!

 

The vote was 26-12. The House previously voted for the bill but needs to vote again on minor changes in the Senate version before the bill will be signed by the governor.  

The Rhode Island Senate approved a marriage equality bill 26-12 on Wednesday afternoon, after a spirited if lopsided debate.

A marriage equality bill was approved by the House in January, but slight differences in the Senate bill will need to be approved by the House before being sent to Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who supports the measure. Once law, Rhode Island will become the 10th state with marriage equality.

Democratic Sen. Donna Nesselbush, the chamber's sole out member, introduced the debate on the bill, saying it would impact her more personally than any other bill and adding, with a laugh, "I even wore a dress."

All five Republicans in the chamber voted for the bill, which supporters said was the first time an entire party delegation in a chamber has voted for a marriage equality bill.
Several lawmakers gave a nod and thanks to former Sen. Rhoda Perry, a Democrat who had introduced the bill in several previous sessions Sen. Gayle Goldin, who now represents the district Perry had represented, said she was honored to have Perry in the chamber Wednesday.

Sen. Elizabeth Crowley, one of several undecided senators who decided to vote yes, said, "I did not decide until today how I was going to vote," concluding, "This won't change my life one bit, but it will change the lives of so many people."

One of the few lawmakers to speak against the bill, Sen. Harold Metts, quoted from the Bible and dismissed comparisons between the civil rights movement of the 1960s and today, saying, "I can change my sexual preference tonight if I want, but I can't change my color." Later, he added, "You can laugh or ignore me if you want, but let me assure you, I did not write the Bible."

The final speech before the vote, however, came from Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, who said the she struggled with the issue, noting, "I've been unable to sleep." After detailing her pride in her Roman Catholic faith, Goodwin pointed to elsewhere in the Bible for her guidance, concluding, "I will be casting my vote today on the side of love, Madame President."

More including video of the vote and celebration at Buzzfeed.

Thoughts on this?

I personally don't think they went far enough. But at least it is a step in the right direction. I just hope that gay scouts without supportive leaders will be subject to bullying.

Boy Scouts from Troop 1367 participate in a flag retirement ceremony in Woodbridge, Va., June 14, 2011. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer

NEW YORK April 19, 2013 (AP)

Searching for compromise on a divisive issue, the Boy Scouts of America is proposing to partially lift its long-standing exclusion of gays — allowing them as youth members but continuing to bar them as adult leaders.

The proposal, unveiled Friday after weeks of private leadership deliberations, will be submitted to the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council during the week of May 20 at a meeting in Texas.

The key part of the resolution says no youth may be denied membership in the Scouts "on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone." A ban would continue on leadership roles for adults who are openly gay or lesbian.

Gay-rights groups, which had demanded a complete lifting of the ban, criticized the proposal as inadequate.

"Until every parent and young person have the same opportunity to serve, the Boy Scouts will continue to see a decline in both membership and donations," said Rich Ferraro, a spokesman for the gay-rights watchdog group GLAAD.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the BSA was too timid.

"What message does this resolution send to the gay Eagle Scout who, as an adult, wants to continue a lifetime of Scouting by becoming a troop leader?" he asked. More

The Sounds of Equality!

Hundreds of spectators in the gallery of New Zealand's parliament broke into a rendition of the love song “Pokarekare Ana” in the indigenous Maori language after the marriage equality bill was passed today.Louisa Wall, the bill's lesbian sponsor, is below on the left.


This is what equality sounds like.