Colombia: Should gay couples be exempt from mandatory military service?

Considering that in Colombia 1.) Military service is mandatory, 2.) Gays are allowed to serve in the military and 3.) Married heterosexual couples are exempt from mandatory military service, common sense would say that same-sex couples would also be exempt from mandatory service - if only they were recognized as a family unit.

Well, according to an article from today's El Espectador, the nation's Procurator General's Office (or, translated differently, Inspector General's Office) sent a "concept paper" to Colombia's Constitutional Court arguing just as much and calling it discriminatory to deny the privilege to same-sex couples who can demonstrate that they are in a conjugal partnership.

"If social security benefits are already granted to homosexual couples, the same criteria should be extended to the Obligatory Military Service," is the way that El Espectador paraphrases the statement.

The Constitutional Court can accept or reject the recommendation but it's yet another small example on how things are changing in Latin America when it comes to recognition of LGBT rights in the continent.

Colombia: One Bogota notary office, a hundred same-sex partnership registrations

Norberto Salamanca might not be a gay but he's certainly seen his share of same-sex couples come through his office doors to request his services.

Norberto is a notary public in a country that relies on notary offices for a wide assortment of legal agreements and Notary Office 76 - which he oversees - happens to be in the heart of the Chapinero neighborhood which is gay central in Bogota.

It's been a year since Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled "that gay couples in long-term relationships should have the same rights to shared assets as heterosexual couples" (AP, Feb. 8, 2007).

The Court indicated that same-sex couples who wanted full control of their joint patrimony (or shared assets) only had to swear under oath and before a notary public to the fact that they had been together for longer than two years.

On Monday, El Tiempo reported that more than 100 same-sex couples had already registered their partnerships at Notary Office 76 during the past year and that it was not the only notary that had registered same-sex couples (Bogota's Notary 40 had 22 on file and Atlantico's Notary Office 1 had seen a dozen couples from cities in the Caribbean coast register their partnerships).

Interestingly, while the Court took pains last year to explain that their ruling should not be interpreted as giving the green light for same-sex civil unions or marriages, some of the couples that have registered their partnerships at Notary Office 76 have made a ceremony out of it.

Mr. Salamanca tells El Tiempo that he's seen couples and guests carrying wedding invites in their hand, reading statements, taking pictures of the event and exchanging rings. Some couples kiss each other to seal the ceremony.

It's not all groovy. Joao Herrera, notary public at Office 1, says that some couples have expressed fears of being seen at the notary and being outed. Mr. Salamanca says that he has received letters in which he has been taken to task for "attempting against morality."

Some notaries, say a few advocates, also have refused to register same-sex couples. But openly gay lawyer German Humberto Rincon Perfetti (above) says that he's been successful in challenging some of the notaries in court when they have refused to do so.

In the meantime, Colombian same-sex partners living outside the country have also taken note of the law. Couples living in Spain, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico have traveled to their home country to register their partnerships as well.

Colombia: Constitutional Court grants social security benefits to same-sex couples

Last night Colombia's Constitutional Court, in a 7-2 vote, said that a person with social security benefits could provide access to those benefits - including health insurance benefits - to their same-sex partner. All that is required is to register the partnership as a union in a notary and then apply for the benefits, according to El Tiempo (Semana magazine also has an extensive online article here).

Renown Colombian gay rights advocate Manuel Velandia Mora, writes in AG Magazine that couples can start registering their partners as soon as today and that no health service provider can turn down a valid petition for coverage. Leading gay rights organization Colombia Diversa has more information, in Spanish, here.

El Tiempo says that the court said that to deny access to social security benefits to same-sex partners would violate their right to dignified life and promoted an "absolute lack of protection for couples of the same sex."

In February, the court had already ruled in favor of granting "patrimony" rights to same-sex couples in Colombia.

Slowly but surely, the courts in Colombia are bestowing equal rights to same-sex partners even as the legislature has sought to block the recognition of same-sex partnership rights (you might remember that a small conservative legislative block used a last minute manoeuvre to sink a landmark same-sex partnership bill in June that seemed destined to become law).

Coincidentally, on Tuesday El Tiempo also reported that a new effort to secure passage of a similar bill in the current legislative session also overcame its first test when it passed a first vote in a congressional committee unanimously. It now awaits three more debates before it can be signed into law, if approved by the different legislative bodies.

UPDATE: Reuters has the story in English and interviews my friend Virgilio Barco.

On political asylum, a warning

Just before I left for Colombia I sat down with Diego Senior, the NYC correspondent for Colombia's Caracol radio, to discuss political asylum due to fear of persecution based on sexual orientation. In the interview I spoke of several cases in which I have been involved (in assessing a case, working with legal service providers and lawyers to provide information on specific countries or in translating materials or at the asylum hearing).

A few things made it into the interview including a warning to those who might think that it is easy to be granted political asylum in this country particularly if the person has little if any documentation of persecution or if they lie about past experiences (the interview has since been picked by the Spanish-language news agency EFE which led to a reporter tracking me down in Bogota for an article that appears in this week's Cambio).

This comes to mind after reading a post today on Arthur Leonard's blog on a gay man from Peru who lived in Bolivia as an adult and then moved to the United States where he finally requested political asylum claiming he feared to be sent back.

The case reads like a primer on what not to do when applying for asylum:

1. There is a one-year window from his/her arrival in which a person can solicit political asylum in the United States (unless the person can prove special circumstances that might have kept him from applying during that first year). The man entered the United States in 2001 but waited until 2003 to submit the asylum application.

2. The man did not provide evidence for any of the alleged discrimination either while living in Peru or Bolivia and provided conflicting testimony about one of the incidents. Sometimes cases are won without specific evidence but any evidence that is submitted obviously strengthens a case and if the case is weak from the beginning any contradictions in the testimony can be damaging.

3. Even if true, the courts noted, the claims of discrimination presented did not rise to a level where they proved that the man would be tortured or persecuted if sent back home.

No surprise, then, that an Immigration Judge first threw out the asylum claim based on the man's failure to apply within a year of entering the country and that, on appeal and seeking "withholding of removal," the Board of Immigration Appeals and 11th Circuit Court of Appeals both rejected his appeal and, thus, his right to stay in the United States.

I just wish more people who think that applying for political asylum is easy would read the outcome of cases like these.

To read more details about this specific case:

• Gay South American denied US Refuge (Leonard Link)

Thanks Mad Professah! You are right - I should have listed some resources:

• Immigration Equality can be found here
• The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission can be found here

Colombia Dispatch: Last one for now

Today´s Miami Herald has an article on recent gay rights advances in Colombia ("Colombia is moving forward on gay rights"). It talks about the recent efforts to grant rights to same-sex couples in the nation, about the first LGBT Center in Colombia (in the Chapinero neighborhood of Bogota - I might visit before this trip is done) and about the LGBT rights advocacy organization Colombia Diversa for which I have acted as an informal advisor from time to time. Thought you might want to read.

Anyway, this is probably the last of my hiatus break postings until I get back to the States in mid-August so I thought I´d share a photo of yours truly relaxin´(and channelin´"Ray of Light") as well as some stunning (if I may say so) shots of the Medellin skyline. Yes, even makes the smog look beautiful, doesn´t it?

Colombia Dispatch: The Botero Square

In 2000, well-known artist and sculpturist Fernando Botero, a Medellin native, donated 114 of his paintings and 23 of his sculptures to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellin. Some of the sculptures now adorn what is called The Botero Square which is heavily trafficked and just outside the museum.

Most recently, Botero made a splash with a series of paintings inspired by the revuslion he felt at the abuses by the US military in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (some can be seen here and here). Personally, at least artistically, the series seemed to me mediocre at best and almost exploitative. But, hey! That´s just me.

Then again, if you´ve seen one Botero and you´ve pretty much seen all Boteros. To be fair, earlier works do jump at you with their playfulness and colorful depiction of Colombian life. For what is worth, I do like the hand and horse statues below.

PS - Below you can also see a crowd watching the antics of a hefty man who asked four spectators to volunteer and stand on his stomach as he laid down on broken glass; he later pulled out nails out of his nose. Yay!.

Colombia Dispatch: Park of Light

Continuing with our blog hiatus break, this time I am bringing you images from my birth city of Medellin (medallo or "medal" to the locals, metrallo to those who want to make fun of the city´s no-longer-deserved ultra-violent reputation - metralleta is the Spanish word for "machine gun" - or medhaleen to English-speaking tourists who haven´t taken any Spanish classes).

In any case, I´m not sure that these were in place the last time I visited Medallo but I couldn´t help but feel awe as I walked off a downtown side-street earlier today and smack into the Parque de la Luz (the Park of Light) near City Hall and right next to the old main train station.

On their own, each cement stick looked pretty damn ugly and the lack of real foliage would make it seem a monument to anti-environmental causes, but standing together and with the high-noon sun shining down on the "trees" it was pretty darn impressive. So if Bogota was about horseys, Medallo, at least for today, was about cement sticks, sunlight and shadows.

Colombia Dispatch: Bogota

Bogota is all about....
Sudden downpours in the middle of a sunny day...
Kids in the playground celebrating the Independence Day - July 20th - by channeling their favorite historical figure (so cute)...
Anime grafitti artists who one day might make it to New York City and be utterly disappointed by the blah grafitti work on the walls of the Big Apple (they might do much better if they visit Spain). BTW: What is it with all the young men in Bogota sporting a Speed Racer spiky hairdo?
The hubby walking through a quaint but colorful neighborhood with his mom...
Pesky if somewhat domesticated waterbugs (remember the sudden tropical downpours?)...
The hubby and I posing in front of butterflies that light up with the colors of the Colombian flag...

Colombia Dispatch: Horsing around

Original it is not. I still remember the 2000 ¨CowParade¨ charity event which brought a herd of fiberglass cows - each painted by a different artist - to the streets of New York.

Calling themselves "the world´s largest public art event," the organizers have since set up similar outdoor exhibits throughout the world, auctioning different cows at the end of each exhibit as a fundraiser for different local charities in the host cities.

Enter Equus Arte in Bogota. Walking around the 93rd Street Park in Bogota over the weekend, the hubby and I ran upon several fiberglass horses that had been set up onthe periphery, each with a different design and look, some of them sorta `blah´but some actually quite stunning (the exhibit actually runs through September at various public sites throughout the city and features 74 different horses).

The event, set up by Fundacion Corazon Verde (Green Heart Foundation), seeks to raise money "to improve the quality of life of the widows and orphans of Colombian policemen."

On Thursday, El Tiempo profiled some of the artists, including Maria de la Paz Jaramillo who did "Azul," the blue horse below (next to the hubby). Sorry to say I didn´t take note of the other artists´ names.

Still, in the photo above you can also see how one of the artists took the opportunity to pose the question "Do kidnapped gays have the right to liberty?"

This is an allusion to the outpouring of emotion that erupted earlier this month through the streets of Bogota in reaction to the death of 11 politicians that were being held by the left-wing FARC guerrillas, who had kidnapped them a few months ago.

Tragically, the guerrilla still hold dozens of kidnapped individuals, some whom have been held for a decade or longer, some whom have a lower public profile than the various political leaders that still remain in their hands (including cause celebre Ingrid Betacourt) and some whom were kidnapped when they were very young. Among them a number of small town policemen who, in this country, usually come from the poorest regions and neighborhoods in the country.

The organizers have said that some of the funds raised throug Equus Arte will also go towards helping the families of those kidnapped policemen.

Gay Pride in Latin America: Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, El Salvador, Chile & Colombia

July 1, 2007: In Bogota, Colombia, the gay community mourned the death of 11 deputies that had been held in captivity by the FARC guerrilla for more than five years. The black banners and shirts also were meant to show the community's anger at the Senators that used a legislative procedure to derail a same-sex partnership bill at the last possible minute back in June (image from El Tiempo)

You might have seen coverage of pride marches in Spain and Brazil elsewhere so we'll skip those (just Google both and see what comes up or, better yet, browse GayNewsWatch.com for related stories).

We have already written about last week's rally in the Dominican Republic. Here is a look at other pride marches and events in Latin America that took place over the weekend that might have received less attention in these latitudes.

Cochabamba, Bolivia: Santa Cruz and the capital city of La Paz might have observed gay pride events in previous years but this year it was the Andean city of Cochabamba to launch their first pride event ever (abuove-right press conference image taken from Los Tiempos).

On Sunday, Los Tiempos reported that the previous day's gathering at the city's main plaza was attended by thousands of individuals who "danced with transsexuals, gays and lesbians."

"I didn't know Miss Cochabamba was so tall!" said an older woman as she posed for a photo with the Queen of the Gays, stated the reporter.

The paper took note of the visible trans presence and the lack of confrontations or disruptions that have marred pride events in other Bolivian cities.

Guayaquil, Ecuador. El Comercio reports that 300 people showed up for an afternoon of artistic shows at an outdoor plaza on Thursday, June 28th. The event, which began last year, was organized by the Friends for Life Foundation under the theme of "The problem is not homosexuality... The problem is homophobia." The Foundation has posted images of the event over on their blog here and here.

Panama City, Panama. The Association of New Men and Women of Panama (AHMN), observed pride by releasing their first ever "Top Ten Most Homophobic Panamanians" list which included television personalities, religious leaders and politicians.

At least one of the nominees expressed surprise at being nominated: Critica Libre columnist Julio Cesar Caicedo told the AFP "I am not a homophobe."

San Salvador, El Salvador. EFE reports that hundreds of people, including representatives from half a dozen HIV prevention and gay rights organizations participated in a gay pride march through the streets of San Salvador. Under the theme of "Diversity in Action" well-known gay-right activist William Hernandez stated that there was a lack of funding and institutionalized support for anti-homophobia trainings or campaigns or for HIV prevention campaigns specifically targeting the gay community.

Santiago de Chile, Chile. Last week the Chilean arm of Amnesty International said that two leading gay rights organizations, MUMS and MOVILH, had received anonymous threatening messages through the internet in advance of Sunday's pride fair. In June MOVILH's website had also been hacked twice also by unknown put self-proclaimed skinheads who posted offensive messages and images instead of the usual content.

Fortunately MOVILH's portal is back in MOVILH's hands and they report no incidents of violence at Sunday's cultural fair which celebrated both LGBT pride as well as the organization's 16th anniversary. They also have a photo gallery of the day's proceedings here (if people seem a bit bundled, keep in mind that it's currently winter down in Chile).

La Nacion had perviously reported that, parallel to the day's events there would also be a second annual "kiss-a-thon" organized by MUMS in a show of support for anti-discrimination legislation.

Bogota, Colombia. Organizers of Bogota's pride march also denounced internet-based threats from anonymous self-described "skinheads" on the eve of Sunday's event. Fortunately, the march drew an estimated 10,000 participants despite cold rainy weather and there were no reports of any disruptions or clashes although a group of pro-gay skinheads did participate.

Organizers of the event, led by the Colombian LGBT rights advocacy organization Colombia Diversa, had planned to wear black shirts in protest of last month's 12th hour defeat of a landmark bill that would have given same-sex couples in Colombia some partnership rights. But on Sunday the black banners and shirts also served as a powerful symbol that the LGBT community in Colombia stood together with the rest of the country in mourning the death of 11 councilmembers who had been held in captivity for five years by the FARC guerilla organization (the FARC say that the kidnapped men died in a confrontation with armed forces while the Colombian government has categorically denied any rescue mission or military activity against the FARC in the area).

In addition to those visible expressions of sadness, Fabian David, a young man who marched along with his boyfriend, noticed another key difference from marches in years past: "The majority of are not wearing masks," he told El Tiempo, "This is because there is a sense of increased comfortability with the issue."

El Tiempo has a gallery of images here.

Colombia: Colombia's Right Derails Gay Rights Bill

Photos: Up to 100 gays and lesbians took to the streets of Bogota, Colombia today to protest the unprecedented sinking of a bill that had been approved by both the Colombian senate and congress on a last minute legislative move from conservative senator.

The Associated Press can tell it much better than I probably can so here's a link to a detailed article published today in The Washington Post and other newspapers.

HeartBreaking News: Colombian same-sex partnership rights bill is DEAD

COLOMBIAN BILL GRANTING CERTAIN RIGHTS TO SAME-SEX PARTNERS IS SUNK IN LAST MINUTE LEGISLATIVE MOVE
Conservative allies of President Alvaro Uribe renege on their promise to support it and sink bill

As I am watching the New York State Assembly debate a same-sex marriage bill, heartbreaking news has just reached me regarding a last minute move by conservative legislators in Colombia who have, in effect, sunk a bill granting certain rights to same-sex couples in the South American nation (see a previous article on the bill from the Washington Post printed before today's news).

Today, legislators were supposed to meet to hammer out a draft that would reconcile the versions approved earlier this year by the Senate and last week by Congress. It was then supposed to be sent President Alvaro Uribe to be signed into law within days.

Instead, allies of President Uribe from the consevative "La Ú" party, who had recently expressed support for the bill, today turned their back on Uribe and the bill and voted against reconciling both versions which means that the bill is now dead.

From El Tiempo this afternoon:

June 19 of 2007

Law that grants patrimonial rights to homosexual couples is sunk-down in Congress

In a vote for a conciliation report, several Uribe-allies from the "La Ú" party did not endorse the initiative and, by doing so, threw away the four historical votes that had been won.

The decision drew an irate reaction from senator Armando Benedetti, the main sponsor of the bill, who requested the expulsion of those who voted against the project from "La Ú."

The conciliation report received a vote in the Senate plenary with a tally of 26 in favor and 34 against it.

Among those that voted against it are Senators Jose David Name, Luis Élmer Arenas, Adriana Gutiérrez and Jorge Visbal Martelo.

"La Ú" had decided to vote in favor of the project, but apparently these legislators distanced themselves from that decision.

The project sought to recognize patrimonial rights and access to social security benefits to same-sex couples.

"Supporters say that they will reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session" says the Los Angeles Times.

Colombia: United Nations backs pension rights for same-sex couples

Pictured right, attorney and gay rights advocate
German Humberto Rincon Perfetti

Yesterday's surprise end-of-session congressional vote and passage of a bill that gives "established gay couples full rights to health insurance, inheritance and social security" was not the only major gay rights victory in the South American country this week.

In a little reported May 14th finding that was apparently only announced this week, the United Nations Commission for Human Rights ruled that Colombia had violated a person's equal right protections by denying him access to the pension benefits of his deceased same-sex partner (I could only find a Spanish language version of the the announcement in the United Nations' website).

The ruling is the second time that the Commission has spoken on issues related to same-sex partners. In Young v. Australia (2003) the Committee held that "Australia, in denying pension rights to the surviving same-sex partner of a war veteran, violated discrimination protections in article 26 of the ICCPR" (Human Rights Watch).

In the new ruling, the Commission stated that the Colombian government "has the obligation of adopting measures to block similar violations in the future" and asks Colombia for "information on adopted measures to comply with the current ruling" within 90 days.

It's unclear when and how the Colombian government plans to respond.

The claim on behalf of the unnamed surviving partner was brought before the Commission by my friend and Colombian gay rights advocate (and attorney) German Humberto Rincon Perfetti (yes, he is a man of many untold names and abilities). He can be reached at rinconperfettigerman@hotmail.com.

These developments follow a Colombian Supreme Court ruling back in February (as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle) that seems to be paving the way for a succession of gay rights victories.

Perfetti, for one, is exploring whether Colombian notaries can legally deny civil union rights to same-sex partners in the wake of that Supreme Court ruling.

Colombia: Congress passes gay rights bill

Cool, the AP has the story so I don't have to do much translating this morning:

Colombia to become first in Latin America to recognize rights of gay couples

The Associated Press

Friday, June 15, 2007

BOGOTA, Colombia: Colombia is set to become the first Latin American country to give established gay couples full rights to health insurance, inheritance and social security under a bill passed by its Congress.

The measure approved Thursday is expected to take effect soon. It is backed by the country's conservative President Alvaro Uribe.

The measure would allow gay couples in long-term relationships to have the same health insurance and social security benefits as heterosexual couples. It also guarantees that assets accumulated during the relationship will be divided between the two, and in the case of death, inherited by the survivor.

Previously, possessions were passed on to blood relations.

Some states and cities in Latin America have passed similar laws, but no other country in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic region has done so at a national level, said Marcela Sanchez, director of the gay rights group Colombia Diversa. She said as many as 300,000 gay couples in Colombia stand to benefit.

"I'm elated," said Catalina Gomez, an English teacher, who said she plans to use the new legal status to take out health insurance for her partner Monica, a self-employed designer and disc jockey. "It validates our union before the law so we no longer have to going around lying about our relationship."

Congress' lower house passed the bill 62-43 following a heated debate in which Alfredo Cuello Baute, the president of the chamber, accused gay lawmakers of a conflict of interest.

"I hope photos don't turn up showing some of our colleagues dressed as drag queens on Caracas Avenue," said Baute, referring to a nighttime cruising spot for transvestites and male prostitutes in Bogota.

Colombia's Senate passed a similar version in April. The two chambers must now agree on a unified text before sending it for Uribe's signature as early as next week.

"This is a victory that only a few months ago seemed unthinkable in this country," said pro-government Sen. Armando Benedetti, one of the bill's sponsors. "To my surprise, the Congress has shown itself to be a modern, responsible and liberal institution."

Colombia's Constitutional Court recognized similar rights to shared property and inheritance in a February ruling, but that decision did not deal with health insurance or social security.

While homosexuality is still taboo in much of Latin America, there has been increasing acceptance in many areas. Mexico City and the Mexican state of Coahuila recently joined the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul in legalizing same-sex civil unions.

Opponents of the measure and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church said they feared the Colombian law may open the way to gay marriage and gay adoption. But activists say their campaign is focused for now on obtaining practical benefits.

"Now people will have no choice but to accept we exist and have the same rights as straight couples," said Jose Luis Bautista, 36, who has been living with his partner Jaime for 15 years.

A more comprehensive report, in Spanish, over at El Tiempo which says that the version passed by Congress still needs to be reconciled with the version that the Colombian senate approved last year.

The vote came on the last days of the current congressional session and was in danger of being swept under the rug.

UPDATE:

• June 19, 2007: Heartbreaking news: Colombian same-sex partnership rights bill is DEAD!!

Previously, on Blabbeando...

Colombia: Medellin to celebrate 10th annual gay pride parade

As prided out as I've felt this pride season, this never ceases to amaze me (see above) - specially because when I came to the United States it was, in part, because I did not think I would be able to live an openly gay life in my home country.

Several cities in Colombia already celebrate gay pride with different events including Cali and Bogota but on July 1st my home city of Medellin will be observing the 10th gay pride march for which organizers hope to attract more than 20,000 people.

I would have never thought as I was growing up that such an event could take place in Medellin, much less observe a 10th anniversary. Yet another sign of how things have changed not only in Medellin but throughout Colombia and Latin America on issues related to gay rights.

It is organized, in part, by the gay rights organization Corporacion El Otro (The Other Corporation). Their website needs to be updated but they will probably have more details as the date nears.

I will be in Medellin this summer. Unfortunately not on the day of the parade. Still, if you are there, let me know how it turns out!

Blog roll addition: HotShitRecords

Yes, indeed, it's HotShitRecords and you can find it under my Music Blogs column on the right.
...and, yes, if you note any similarities it's because that's non-other than my brother Juan, editor of HotShitRecords, as he prepares his latest post.

Come July, I'll be visiting him in my home country as I make one of my periodic pilgrimages back to my roots. Looking forward to it big time.

Updates: Chad Ferreira, circumcision, Alvaro Orozco, Colombian 'asylum tragedy'

Chad Ferreira: The Bay Area Reporter continues it's coverage of the altercation in San Francisco's Castro district that led to the death of Chad Ferreira (pictured) in January of 2006.

Last week reporter Ed Walsh described opening statements made at a trial that will determine whether 26 year old Kyle Adams committed manslaughter by beating Ferreira so hard that he caused Ferreira to fall and fracture his skull when his head hit a sidewalk curb or if he is, as he claims, innocent and just acting in self defense.

Today, the Reporter describes Adams turn on the stand and his side of the story, some of which differs with witness statements and includes details were not originally provided to the police department when he was first charged.

The paper says that closing arguments after the print edition of the Reporter went to press and that the case went to the jury at 3:10pm yesterday.

Circumcision as HIV prevention: The New York City department of Health and Mental Hygiene held it's community forum on the issue of male circumcision as a possible HIV prevention tool. I was not able to attend but both Gay City News and the New York Blade covered the arguments and the reaction.

Alvaro Orozco: In February we told you about a decision by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board not to grant asylum to a young Nicaraguan gay man, Alvaro Orozco, partly because they argued that if Orozco wasn't sexually active when he left Nicaragua at the age of thirteen, he could not assert that he knew he was gay then. The Orozco case and his ongoing efforts to appeal that decision receives a coverline in the current issue of The Advocate. For more on the case and on how you can help, please visit his website.

In United States political asylum news, Arthur Leonard calls an April 25th ruling that turned down an asylum application by a Miami-based Colombian gay man "Another asylum tragedy." Leonard says that the court not only denied asylum but also outed him in the process and now is sending the man back to Colombia despite having arguably shown credible evidence of fear of persecution if sent back.

Colombia: Gay rights grow (and a note on Latin American LGBT rights coverage)

A decade ago there was hardly any consistent coverage in the United States of gay rights advances in Latin America, aside, perhaps from Rex Wockner's International News syndicated column (that's the blabbeador and el Rex a couple of years back).

Not that there weren't any good news coming from the region, just that most of what got reported were human rights abuses against the LGBT community as related by organizations such as Amnesty International.

Still, local activists were hard at work laying the ground for some of the stunning gay rights advances that have turned some heads as of late.

Just this week alone there have been interesting developments in Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Chile that pertain to same-sex partnership rights that I wish I could have a bit more time to discuss here (that may come later this weekend).

Increasingly, though, I don't even have to do the work as more stories come out in English-language press.

Case in point, this morning's San Francisco Chronicle story on what's been going on in my home country of Colombia (as we have tried to keep abreast in the past):

• Gay Rights Grow in Colombia: Legislation Pending to Extend Benefits to Same-Sex Couples

Some Colombian LGBT rights advocates see this as a bitter-sweet but historic moment. Passage of the bill discussed in the article would not grant civil union protections to same-sex couples in the country, just "patrimony rights" - but there are upcoming battles ahead that might gain some traction and require the government to expand on those rights.

Others bemoan that it gives an opportunity to conservative president Alvaro Uribe to gloat that his administration has been great on LGBT rights when, in the past he has indicated he would block more comprehensive legislation. This, even as some leading left-wing LGBT rights advocates have been driven out of Colombia due to death threats and attempts on their lives as has been the case with Manuel Antonio Velandia who blogs for the national weekly Semana and was the first person to appear on the cover of another newsweekly, Cambio, as an openly gay person.

As a matter of fact, Alvaro Araujo, the conservative Senator that introduced the "patrimony" bill that was successfully adopted last year by the Colombian senate is among several senators being investigated for alleged ties to right-wing paramilitary forces. A scandal that has sometimes threatened to derail President Uribe's immense popularity as it gets closer to his office.

So a bittersweet moment it will be but a historic moment nevertheless.

Colombia: University professor murdered in Cartagena

On Sunday, El Universal newspaper reported that the body of 43 year old Rolando Pérez (left) was found in his apartment with a pillow over his head and traumatic injuries to his head and body that were the probable cause of his death.

Pérez, who was born in Cuba, had lived in the Colombian colonial city for ten years and was a communications professor at the Cartagena campus of the prestigious Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. He also launched a children's foundation to help homeless children in the city.

Recently he had also produced a series of public service announcements for several educational institutions to be broadcast through radio, television and print media.

The paper reports that Pérez was last seen on February 22nd when he bought bottled juice and a cup of yogurt at a nearby deli in the afternoon and only found last Saturday, two days later, when friends and co-workers reported that he had missed a class appointment and some scheduled work-related meetings.

Police told the paper that there were no indications of a forced entry, that the apartment door was locked in from the inside, and that they did not suspect robbery as a motive. They said they were trying to contact family members in Cuba and that Pérez was a father to children that still lived in Cuba.

Sunday's El Tiempo also picked up on the story. They say that those who knew Pérez described him as a straight-arrow guy who was always diligent in meeting his professional commitments, a great friend and co-worker, if extremely discrete about his private life.

What was problematic were comments made by Bolivar Chief of Police Carlos Mena Bravo made to El Tiempo:

All evidence that has been collected, and the information that we have verified through the Police Department, everything indicates that the motive was absolutely passionate [in nature], as the citizen led a life of disorder, was promiscuous and, in his condition as a homosexual, had many people as his partners

Confirming that there was no forced entry into the locked apartment, the Chief also said that they were evaluating interviews with "precisely, his companions, homosexuals" to determine who might have killed him.

According to an e-mail that reached my mail box yesterday, Marcela Sanchez, Executive Director of Colombia Diversa, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of gays and lesbians, has already asked Colombia's Attorney General, the National Public Defender and the General Prosecutor to investigate the crime and raised concerns about Officer Bravo's comments to El Tiempo, which they called "prejudicial" and might call into question the police departments objectivity in properly investigating the crime.

Update: Coverage of Colombian gay rights victory

Intrepid International News Reporter Rex Wockner, who sometimes cringes at my run-on sentences, rushed translating jobs and barely emerging journalistic skills is concerned that I might have given the wrong impression or given a bit of misleading information in yesterday's blog post regarding a ruling in Colombia granting "patrimony" rights to same-sex couples.

So, as he pointed out to me earlier today: The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled only on the issue of patrimony (or property rights) and not on civil unions or marriage, activists asked the court for a "clarification" of the law (and did not sue the court) and the court did indeed clarify the issue in favor of Colombia Diversa's arguments and same-sex couples.

Personally, I thought that I had gotten most of the info right except for the "clarification" issue. I translated "demanda" as demand or law-suit when, in fact, there was no demand, just a petition to clarify the law.

Comments about the impact on civil union legislation did not mean to imply that the ruling meant that gay couples could enter into a civil union as a result of the court decision.

Anyhoo, the best English language article on the ruling so far is from the Associated Press which reports on the semi-positive (!) reaction from the church ("Colombian court gay couples' right to shared assets"). The worst? Not surprisingly from supposedly irreverent and gossipy NYC gay blog Queerty which I really truly wanna like but... ("Colombian Faggots Can Totally Share That Bag of Coke").

Pictured above? The team that challenged the Constitutional Court. If you think they are worth supporting, please contact Colombia Diversa and make a donation.

Previously:

• If at first you don't succeed... (Jan. 27, 2007)
• Lack of quorum sinks same-sex partnership bill (Dec. 21, 2006)
• Same-sex partnership rights? Not so fast! (Dec. 15, 2006)
• "El Tiempo" forecasts passage of "Gay Law" (Dec. 4, 2006)
• Colombian Senate votes to grant same-sex partners some grants (Oct. 12, 2006)
• TV PSA on behalf of Colombian couples (Sept. 15, 2006)
• Staunch opponent to Colombian President Uribe offers tentative support on gay rights... and a warning (April 4, 2006)
• Colombia poised to become 1st Latin American country to offer benefits to same-sex couples (March 29, 2006)
• Colombian presidential candidate Antanas Mockus backs marriage for gays (March 28, 2006)
• LGBT rights front and center in Colombia's presidential race (March 27, 2006)
• An ex-president's son talks about coming out and Colombia Diversa (Dec. 11, 2005)