Dominican Republic: Cardinal speaks, police cracks-down on "indecent and immoral behavior"

As usual, as with most LGBT-related news from the Dominican Republic, I first heard about this on Monaga.

Anthony, who covers gay life in the island on the blog, warns of a potentially homophobic crackdown by police officers following local media reports of "indecent and immoral behaviors" at Duarte Park in the downtown colonial zone of Santo Domingo - a common gathering space for the city's LGBT community.

Anthony admits that the park has seen better days and "could use a little cleaning up" but warns that whole exercise might be "solely about removing gay people from Parque Duarte" and advices those planning to visit the Park or any of the gay bars in the colonial zones to carry ID with them and dress nicely as to not get picked up by police.

I have written about Parque Duarte before and it's historical role in raising the visibility of the LGBT community in the Dominican Republic.

• In 2006, I wrote about what I believe was the first outdoor gay pride gathering in the Dominican Republic which took place at - you guessed it - Parque Duarte (the post doesn't say it but I was later told that an estimated 250 people came out to protest the shutting down of gay bars in the colonial zone at the time).
• In 2007, I reported on the follow-up gay pride gathering at Parque Duarte which received some limited media attention.
• In 2008, I reported on a gay pride rally and 3rd annual gay pride gathering at Parque Duarte. This time, emboldened, participants openly flew rainbow flags wherever they went.
• Last year, 2009, I reported on police attempts to break down the gay pride gathering (Monaga responded and said that police were unable to completely shut-down the gathering and suggested that authorities might have been riled up by observing a number of symbolic same-sex marriages that were staged for the celebration).

Now, my initial thought was that this latest crusade by Santo Domingo's police authorities stemmed from complaints received by local community members.  Turns out the crackdown stems directly from comments made by the island's ultra-homophobic and powerful Catholic Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguéz (the good cardinal, if you must know, is not beneath using the Spanish word for 'faggot' to refer to gays).

I haven't found a direct link to the Cardinal's original comments but the first article I have seen directly related to the current police crackdown is an editorial that ran on Monday, April 5th, on Listin Diario, one of the leading Dominican newspapers ("Duarte Park, center of scandals").  The paper, which has been having a field day with the story this week, says in the editorial that the park has been overrun by "drunk, loud people, addicts to drugs and orgies."

"Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodriguéz has denounced - responsively - the aberrations committed there", the editors say, "and so have resident neighbors who have not found answers from the authorities to put an end to this unsustainable situation."

The editorial calls for the local authorities to step in as a means to bring back "good customs," asks them to stop any "shameful acts of immorality" and to put an end acts of "sexual perversity" in which park patrons engage (hm, I'd be willing to bet that the paper lifted the entire Sunday church homily given by the good Cardinal the day before).

Monday, on the same day the paper ran the editorial, Listin Diario also published a separate article with a similar title ("Duarte Park is a center of promiscuity") in which they directly quote the Cardinal as saying that the park is "a space where all kinds of insolent and vulgar behaviors rule".

Additionally, they also quote an anonymous local resident. "Those who attract attention in the Duarte Park." she says, "are the lesbians and the gays who sit down on the benches with their partners to drink alcoholic beverages, caress each other and share with others of their sexual preference, without caring about any of the spectators."

The Cardinal was thrilled! The next day, on Tuesday, April 6th, Listin Diario published a follow-up article titled "Cardinal says vulgarity has reached extremes" stoking the fire they had set the day before.

"Listin Diario's article about Duarte Park is very eloquent and enlightening, but it's not the only place," the Cardinal says, "I have also received complaints from neighbors of the ruins in San Francisco because, according to them, they cannot sleep."

He also blames immoral acts and thanks the increased presence of the authorities implying that it was Listin Diario's reporting that brought interest on the area.

The Cardinal also warns of impending violence if things don't change without a hint of condemnation of any violent acts that might erupt. "The later [the authorities] take action, the worse the solution will be," he says, "because the time will arrive in which the people will see themselves compelled to react in a manner that nobody wants."

Yikes, final solutions anyone?

But, readers want to know, what exactly does "immorality" mean to the editors and journalists of Listin Diario?

On Wednesday, April 7th, the paper published two photographs in which two women sat on a park bench and kissed.  The caption for the photo on the right reads "In public: The homosexual couple caresses each other on a Parque Duarte bench"; the caption for the 2nd picture, in which they are seen talking to each other, says "Immorality: Homosexuals sitting on a Juan Pabo Duarte Park bench in the colonial zone".

OMG!!! Two people!!!! Kissing!!!! What an orgy!!! The article, titled "National Police identifies gang at Duarte Park" names anonymous "police sources" as linking drug sales to gays.

"In said park," the source says, "homosexuals show up to have a good time with their partners as well as individuals who are devoted to selling narcotics, an activity they engage in by using as an intermediary or feigning selling mints, which they keep inside a backpack, next to the drugs."

Said unnamed authority also says that the number of homosexual partners - gulp! - grows exponentially once Thursday night rolls along and doesn't let up until Sunday night.

Where is this all of this heading? You might as well have guessed it. Being criticized by the Cardinal and the media all week long for not taking action, the local police authorities, led by Santo Domingo District Attorney Alejandro Moscoso, organized a press conference for Thursday, April 8th. ("Attorney's Office will punish those who cause a scandal") in which he met with local residents.

Yes. A week after the Cardinal suggested it was a citizen-led morality drive, the paper said that the Attorney held a community town-hall yesterday on the issue and promised folks that the police would shut down any sites that attempted against "morals and good behaviors". The article in which Listin Diario reported on the town-hall meeting, which was published yesterday, Friday, April 9th, was also the first time that the paper deemed it necessary to quote anyone from the Dominican LGBT community.

Both self-described gay right activists stated that they were in agreement with authorities keeping the order at gatherings happening at the park, but Tania Guzmán, who told the paper that she was an ordained minister, expressed fear of the community turning violent against the LGBT community.


Francis Taylor, who is also quoted, asked for the LGBT community to be included in any deliberations related to public order at the park.

Neither said they had been invited to participate in the town-hall meetings.

Previously on Blabbeando:

• Dominican Republic: Rita Indiana comes out (March 23., 2010)
• Dominican Republic: Ashley Schneider takes the crown (January 10, 2010)
• Dominican Republic: Gay beauty pageant to go on despite earlier threats from governor (November 23, 2009)
• Dominican Republic: Prosecutor links earrings to homosexuality (October 12, 2008)

Peru: Gays can serve in armed forces, says Constitutional Court

In a case that has been making it's way through the Peruvian courts since 2003, Perú's Constitutional Court has had final say on whether gays can serve in the country's police academy - as well as other armed forces institutions.

In a 3-2 ruling, the court declared that a "sexual option cannot be a prerequisite or precondition to determine capacity or professional ability" and ordered the institution to reintegrate a police cadet who had been kicked out on rumors he was gay.

The student, only identified by his initials, had always denied allegations that he is gay, but had argued that he should not have been kicked out based on mere rumors. The court ruled in his favor and went a step further saying that gays should not be denied service in the police or the military.

"To sustain [something like] this is not only anachronistic, but attempts against the principle of human dignity".

I had previously posted this annotated YouTube video in which the student was interviewed as well as one of the justices from the Constitutional Court who voted in the affirmative (Carlos Fernando Mesías Rámirez).



Source:

• La Republica: "Homosexuality is not a barrier to go after a police or military career" (Dec. 10, 2009)

Previously on Blabbeando:

• IGLHRC launches Peruvian police gay ban protest, calls for e-mail writing campaign (May 27, 2009)
• A call for an "immediate repeal" of homophobic police regulation (May 21, 2009)
• Interior Minister bans gays from police service possibly setting up a constitutional clash (May 14, 2009)
• Police cadet fights dismissal based on gay rumors (May 7, 2009)

Colombia: Shooting a gun in the air will get you a lesser fine than urinating in the street

Fines imposed on people committing a number of minor infractions have just increased exponentially in Bogotá, Colombia.

Clara López, secretary of the Bogotá Government's Office, said that these fines, as determined by the National Police Code, had not been updated or changed for more than 39 years, and were often seen as a joke even by the police officers who were trained to enforce them.

López told El Tiempo that the fees for these fines had been updated to reflect the increase in cost of life since 1970 so that throwing litter on the streets, which would have brought a penalty of 3 to 5 US cents just last month, will now cost you 16 to 32 US dollars (using today's conversion rate for the Colombian peso).

The changes come in light of a series of increasingly violent fan-driven public fights inside and outside soccer stadiums. "People who disturb the normal development of social activities, including in stadiums", the paper says, will now pay a fine of 1,315 dollars.

The 1,315 dollar rate is the highest fine mentioned but it also applies to having "sexual relations in a public place" and "urinating in public".

Interestingly, burning one's house down intentionally - which will now cost you a still paltry 162 to 324 dollars - or shooting a gun in an open space - which now elicits a fine of 324 to 648 dollars - will bring a much lesser charge than being caught having sex or urinating in public. My concern is that both those charges might be used to harass LGBT folk out in the street late at night, just as similar laws have been used elsewhere in Latin America to entrap gays and lesbians.

Another fine that caught my eye: The lowest fine of 16 to 32 US dollars applies if you are caught not raising the Colombian flag outside your home on national holidays.

IGLHRC launches Peruvian police gay ban protest, calls for e-mail writing campaign

From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC):

The Issue: On May 12, 2009, the Peruvian Parliament adopted Law 29356, establishing a new disciplinary code for the Peruvian police. Article 34 of that code classifies offenses as minor, serious and very serious and assigns penalties accordingly. "Having sex with people of the same gender that cause scandal or undermine corporate image" is classified as a very serious offense with a penalty of discharge.

Take Action: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) joins Movimiento Homosexual de Lima (MHOL) and requests that you send emails to the Ombudsman and Public Defender of Peru noting that Article 34 of Law 29356 infringes fundamental human rights, and asking her to file an Action of Unconstitutionality with the Constitutional Court to challenge the so-called “offense” of same-sex relations and its associated penalty.

To join in the protest, please follow this link to read the text of a sample letter and to get the contact information where you should send the letter.

Previously on Blabbeando:

• A call for an "immediate reppeal" of homophobic police regulation (May 21, 2009)
  
• Interior Minister bans gays from police service possibly setting up constitutional clash (May 14, 2009)
• Police cadets fight dismissal due to gay rumors (May 7, 2009)

Colombia: Policeman's partner receives health benefits

Speaking about police institutions in Latin America and gay officers: On Thursday, May 14th, Colombia's El Tiempo reported that the country's National Police Board of Health had granted health benefits coverage to a same-sex partner of one of its officers (as it does to married partners of heterosexual couples).

Colombia Reports filed a story. Here is an excerpt:

Fabián Mauricio Chibcha Romero became the first homosexual partner of a policeman to receive benefits from the police service since Colombia's Constitutional Court granted equal civil, political, social and economic rights to gay couples in January.

Chibcha Romero's partner, a 28 year old policeman who prefers not to be named, has served in the police force for 8 years. The couple first applied for health benefits, for which the partners of heterosexual policemen are eligible, on January 11. Their application was denied. They applied again in February, following the Constitutional Court's ruling and were accepted.

Chibcha tells El Tiempo that the decision also means that he will enjoy access to private clubs set up for the recreation of police officers and their families during their vacations and to housing subsidies provided by the police department.

On Monday, the couple received additional media attention when they announced that they had cemented their 4-year relationship through a religious ceremony at a church in Bogotá.

The AFP reports that the ceremony was conducted by members of the Missionary Community of San Pablo, which they describe as an organization formed by Catholic priests which is now considered to be a dissident organization from the teachings of the Vatican.

Chibcha called it "a dream come true" and stated "We had the opportunity to become partners before the law, and now we did it before God."

Long time (and exiled) Colombian LGBT rights advocate Manuel Velandia, writing from Spain in AG Magazine, says that this is the first time that a police department in Latin America recognizes the rights of the same-sex partner of one of its officers.

Velandia, who names the officer as Javier O., says that the couple decided to speak publicly to let other officers know that they could enjoy the same benefits as married heterosexual partners.

The Catholic church in Colombia reacted in dismay that a Colombian religious institution would not only allow but also take an active role in performing wedding rights for a same-sex couple. Legally, the Colombian government still does not recognize same-sex marriages. The Constitutional Court ruling in January granting equal rights to same-sex couples also stopped short of specifically saying that gays should be allowed to marry.

The issue of Latin American military and police forces struggling to address the rights of their gay officers seems to be a trending topic these days with the issue being currently debated in Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay and Chile just this month alone. The pace of progress on LGBT rights in Latin America sometimes even catches me off guard.

Peru: A call for an "immediate repeal" of homophobic police regulation

A week after introducing a number of regulations supposedly meant to improve the image of the Peruvian police, Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas has been forced to respond to critics who say that the measures are homophobic and unconstitutional, and has stated that the regulations do not specifically call for a ban on gays in the police forces.

As the Associated Press originally reported on May 14th:

Peruvian police officers who "damage the image" of law enforcement by engaging in homosexual behavior can lose their jobs under a new law designed to overhaul an unpopular national police force.

The new law that went into effect [May 12th] also says officers will be fired for taking bribes and abusing detainees.

In sexual matters, however, distinctions are made between heterosexual and homosexual police officers. Those who commit adultery only face suspension, but expulsion is required for those who engage in "sexual relations with people of the same sex that cause a scandal or damage the image of the institution."

Peru's Supreme Court in 2004 overturned a ban on homosexuality in the police and military. But like the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" — which bans homosexuals from disclosing their sexual orientation — the new law tries to sidestep the issue without banning homosexuality outright.

Criticism of the new regulation was swift. On the 14th, Peru.com reported that Susana Villarán - a former police department ombudsman who ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2006 - joined a number of human rights and LGBT rights advocates in denouncing the norms.

"It's like going back a century," she said, "Peru does not criminalize sexual preferences, except in the police. Peru repealed a law against homosexuality in 1921."

In response, Cabanillas released a statement earlier this week and reiterated that the regulations were meant to stem inappropriate public behaviors that might be scandalous to society and reflect badly on the police department and not a ban on gays serving in the police department.

As Prensa Latina reported on Tuesday:

Faced by such anger, minister Cabanillas said that no police officer will be punished solely based on maintaining a homosexual relationship, because the idea is not to "get in anyone's bed", something that is impossible.

The sanctions, she indicated, will only be applied to scandalous, unseemly or embarrassing public occurrences or attitudes, stemming from these relationships, which have an effect on the image of the police.

In the same manner that heterosexual scandalous behaviors will be punished, which will maintain the principle that equal treatment will be given to police men, women and homosexuals, she said.

Cabanillas said that the regulation is not intended to invade the privacy of the police, because no law or rule may do so.

Villarán, responded on Tuesday according to the AFP, and continued to call it a homophobic and unnecessary regulation noting that the Peruvian armed forces did not have similar norms and that gays and lesbians were allowed to serve in the police without any discriminatory norms until only a few weeks ago.

On Thursday, a number of Peruvian LGBT rights organizations including the Homosexual Movement of Lima (MOhL) released a joint statement calling it a "hate law" and demanding an "immediate repeal" of the norm.

Previously:

• Interior Minister bans gays from police service possibly setting up constitutional clash (May 14, 2009)
• Police cadets fight dismissal due to gay rumors (May 7, 2009)

Chile: Dismissed for being gay, former police officer seeks justice in court

A former Chilean police detective who says he was dismissed from his post for being gay after fifteen years of service, has gone to Santiago's Court of Appeals to challenge the ruling. From the Santiago Times:

On Thursday May 7 ex-Investigations Officer César Ricardo Contreras Segura presented a demand letter to the Santiago Court of Appeals requesting reinstatement in the police, reimbursement of his wages lost since his 2006 expulsion, and damages [...] on claims that he was fired because the police department is homophobic.

Contreras was dismissed from the police in January of 2006, according to El Mercurio, and says that he decided to go to the Court of Appeals only after several attempts at seeking resolution through the Comptroller General office were ignored.

“From 2006 to date, I have lived in family, emotional and economic hell because of my unjust and inhumane expulsion from the Civil Police, where I served for 15 years on a faultless path that police civil servants wanted to sully only because of my homosexuality" says Contreras.

Rolando Jimenez, president of the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation (MOVILH), also appeared at the May 7th press conference and said that Contreras had the organization's full support. Jimenez called the dismissal one of the most brutal instanced of homophobia known to the organization and said that it was immoral for the police department to investigate the detective's private life prior to dismissal based on suspicions that he was gay.

Chilean gay news portal OpusGay quotes Contreras as saying that, days before dismissal, he was confronted by superiors and shown pornographic movie files captured from his computer's temporary memory folders without his knowledge, and made to listen to surreptitiously taped telephone conversations in which he seeks sexual encounters with other adult men.

In dismissing him, the police alleged that some of the pornographic images showed underage individuals and that Contreras was part of a pedophile ring. Those charges were later cleared by a cyber-crimes court in 2007 and, later, by the Human Rights Commission of the Legislative Chamber of Deputies.

I've edited part of a sentence from the Santiago Times article above which gave an erroneous figure in the amount of monetary damages that Contreras is requesting. According to El Mercurio and 123, Contreras is asking for $50 million Chilean pesos in lost wages (not $5 million as the Times says) which is approximately $65K US dollars.

Buffalo plane crash victim remembered for HIV prevention work, not for gay men's health advocacy work

Bronx-native Ronald Gonzalez, who dedicated his life to improving the life of disenfranchised youth and was a long time HIV prevention and gay men's health advocate, was among those who died when a plane crashed a week ago just outside Buffalo.

From the Feb. 13 The Star Ledger:

Ronald Gonzalez, the director of the New Brunswick School-based Youth Services Program, was among the passengers who were on Continental flight 3407 when it crashed outside Buffalo Thursday night, killing 50 people.

Gonzalez, 44, was on his way to visit family in Buffalo, said Jeffrey Vega, president of New Brunswick Tomorrow.

The youth services program, which provides services to city schools, such as mental health counseling for students and their families, case management, youth employment, tutoring, and New Brunswick High School's Parent Infant Care Center, is part of New Brunswick Tomorrow, a private, non-profit organization.

"He wasn't somebody who had an ego. It wasn't about him, It was all about the children," said Vega. "He was dedicated to helping kids and families that were disadvantaged."

Vega said Gonzalez worked long hours, and moved three blocks from New Brunswick High School, where his office was, just to be closer.

"He worked round the clock, very hard, to make the program a success," said Vega

Gonzalez came to New Brunswick from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, where he was a National Urban Fellow. Previously, he was executive director of Alianza Latina, a nonprofit organization addressing HIV/AIDS in Buffalo, N.Y.; and also education services director and community educator of AIDS Community Services in New York.

Gonzalez also volunteered at a fitness center in East Harlem, N.Y., where he led free exercise classes for the poor.

Yes. He certainly seems to have been an amazing guy and, considering he worked in similar fields, I am a bit surprised we never met.

Amazingly, the Ledger's account of his accomplishments is only partial and so is that of New York City's WCBS, Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle and even that of he Associated Press, among other mainstream media. You wouldn't know, by these reports, that Gonzalez was an openly gay man or that he also was known for his work in promoting better health practices by gay men.

Leave it to gay community newspapers and blogs to tell that story.

From Outcome, Buffalo's LGBT news publication:

Gonzalez, an openly gay man, worked to educate gay youth and young adults about health and safe-sex both through his work at Aids Community services and in collaborative programs at Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York.

And from Trevor's Blog:

My friend and 'Bottom Monologues' co-coordinator Erik Libey informed me today that his friend and colleague, Ron Gonzalez, was aboard Continental Flight 3407 when it crashed last week, killing all 50 passengers and crew members. Ron has a long history of fabulous work within the Gay Men's Health movement, and will be missed.

Trevor's post elicited a response by Erik which reads, in part, as follows:

In the days since the accident, much press has been written about Ron---and all of that press has highlighted the amazing man that he was...but much of it has also "de-queered" him by failing to reference him as a gay man. For me, however, Ron was above all else an articulate, intelligent and EMPOWERED queer man. He was unashamed of himself or his community and he worked tirelessly, both professionally and personally, to make the lives of queer people better. It is profoundly heartening to see his life celebrated in queer spaces by queer people.

A hunch tells me that the omission in details of Gonzalez' past work with LGBT communities probably stems from any official statements released by his family highlighting his life's work rather than from media oversight.

Still, back in 2007, the Star Ledger had featured a profile of openly gay Ausbury Park police detective Dave D'Amico and included a photo of him sitting down at home with Gonzalez.

At the time D'Amico said they were in a "serious dating relationship."

I don't know if the relationship survived over the years but the Star Ledger certainly knew that there were other aspects of Gonzalez' life which were kept off the profile they printed after his death.

Related:

• Latino AIDS activist dies in plane crash (Oriol's POZ Blog)

Panama: Gays blamed for collapse of emergency phone line

According to a brief note that appears today in the Panamanian newspaper Critica, an anonymous "police source" has said that vacationing high school students and the gays are to blame for the collapse of Linea 104 - Panama's emergency phone system ("Minors and gays shut down Police calls"). From the article:

According to a police source, now that the school year has ended many youths make pranks on the dispatchers, during most of the day, while at night, alleged homosexuals call to harass police units, without thinking that this call might save the life of a person when it is really needed.

I tried to look for corroborating information elsewhere but could only find a Sept. 10, 2006 article in La Prensa that might provide another explanation as to why Linea 104 is experiencing problems: At that time there were only ten officers devoted to answering emergency lines and an estimated 400,000 calls per month coming in ("10 policemen respond to 400 thousand calls a month").

By the way, the Panamanian Police Department that seems to be blaming the gays for shutting down the phone lines is the same Department that was calling for gays to be allowed to serve as police officers back in April (see "National police chief says gays can serve as law enforcement officers" and "Negative to lukewarm reactions to letting gays serve as police officers"). What gives?

Well, back then the Director of the Police Department was Rolando Mirones, a civilian selected to lead the Department under a policy that sought to combat past corruption by making it possible for non-police officers to run the Department. At the time, rising crime numbers and controversial stands such as backing those gay police officers who were already in service added to pressure by military leaders and some within the police department for him to step down.

Indeed, Mirones submitted a letter of resignation on May 13, 2008, a month after pushing for the Police Department to accept the enrollment of gay officers. With his departure, the government also reinstated rules that require that those who lead the Police Department must be police or military officers - and does not allow for civilians to take the top post ("Arcia justifies militarization").

The current Director, Francisco Troya, has been a career police officer.

Dominican Republic: Prosecutor links earrings to homosexuality, strips them from young men in the Hato Rey province

A public prosecutor from the eastern province of Hato Rey in the Dominican Republic, has begun a public campaign to have young people remove all rings and pendants from their ears, belly buttons and noses and all bracelets from their wrists.

“Young persons who use earrings and rings in their ears, navels, noses and other parts of the body, don't know that it links them to vices such as drugs, tobacco-use and the practice of homosexuality," explained Manuel Emilio Santana Montero (right) to El Nuevo Diario in an article published yesterday.

The prosecutor says that his office has already collected more than 2,000 rings, pendants and bracelets from young people who have submitted them "voluntarily" during his visits to educational centers and schools. He claims that the practice of wearing them among the younger population is due to influence from North American culture where "young people are always associated with the use and sale of drugs."

Local Evangelical pastors are said to have welcomed the campaign enthusiastically.

“I want this initiative to be practiced by other prosecutors in other provinces and towns of the country, since it is contributing to the elimination of prototypes imposed by other foreign cultures, specially the United States" said pastor Anselmo Silvestre.

The paper says that Santana Montero is often seen putting the 'operation' into action and says that he has instructed his employees to do the same during interventions involving the National Police.

"This Tuesday," the reporter writes, "this writer observed how the prosecutor, Manuel Emilio Santana Montero, asked a young person to hand over a pair of earrings in the middle of the police precinct, acceding after listening to a mini-lecture from the judicial officer."

The initiative is said to be welcome by the community which is also said to be worried by the decline in moral values among young people.

The prosecutor's office also has a second campaign to also take away fire arms from those carring them without a liscence.

A little research brought up another article from La Republica dated May 9, 2007 ("Students protest prohibition of make-up, miniskirts, earrings") in which - what do you know! - Mr. Santana Montero, with the collaboration of the directors of the César Nicolás Penson Politechnic all-girls school, sought to enforce a ban on make-up, mini-skirts and earrings by turning away any student seen arriving in school wearing them.

The policy, Santana Montero said then, “seeks to make education more decent and to put youth on the path to righteousness, the rescue of moral and spiritual values."

Sounds eerily like his current efforts.

On that occasion, though, it seems that the prosecutor and his police officers were actually run off the school grounds by a number of angry students who shouted "These are modern times! We don't want dictators! It's time for the miniskirt and if we are blocked from entering, we will throw stones at you!"

For two hours during the morning, students burned tires, erected barriers, threw stones and mangoes at the authorities until some of the girls that had been blocked from entering the school were allowed back in and the police officers agreed to leave. The school principal suspended twelve of the protesters in the aftermath.

As with the current anti-earring operation, the 2005 anti-miniskirt efforts were said to be backed by the church, neighborhood associations, parents associations, political parties and community groups worried about the loss of moral values in the province.

Must be the same despots who have kept Santana Montero in charge as a prosecutor two years after he was run off a girls high-school with his tails between his legs.

Mexico: Putocop nabs thief who preyed on gay men online

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

In Dallas, a lesbian sheriff under siege

[NOTE: To help Sheriff Valdez stem back these attacks, please donate to her campaign here]

Lupe Valdez (right) was sworn as Dallas County Sheriff on January 1st, 2005. Valdez, a Democrat, was long seen as an underdog in the race not only because it had been held by Republicans for decades but also because she became the first Latino person to hold the job as well as the first openly gay person as well (and the only female sheriff in the state).

Today, as she runs for re-election, some say that an increasing Democratic base in Dallas and the fact that the vote takes place on November 4th - the same date that voters elect the next president of the United States with Barack Obama on the ballot - will make it difficult for Republicans to regain the Dallas sheriff's office.

But, despite a 100% rating from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, her performance has not drawn widespread support from certain circles in Dallas.

The Dallas Morning News reported in late August that as many as fourteen police associations - including one representing her own deputies and another representing local Latino policemen - had endorsed her opponent. None had endorsed Valdez.

Most of the opposition stems from allegations that Valdez has been unusually reluctant to meet up with police unions and address some issues (the Valdez camp says that it has been aggressive in fighting the corruption and cronyism that overran past sheriff administrations and that they are not surprised by the fact that the good ol' boy's network has been siding with her opponent).

It also stems from her offices failure, during her first term, to significantly improve living situations at the Dallas County Jail which had failed state and federal inspections before and after her election (the Valdez office claims that they inherited the problem and have made strides even if there are still failing grades).

As of late, though, attacks on Valdez have turned nasty and, yes, homophobic and sexist. An anonymous blog (ah! Is there any other hatchet job kind of blog than an anonymous one?) called Off with Her Badge has a cute 'Stoopid Loopy' icon on their homepage and, under a link titled 'Lupe's House of Horrors' which criticizes her record on jails, there is also an image that recalls the horrors of Abu Ghraib (these seem to be criticisms from the left but I bet ya they're just masking a right-wing anonymous attack on Valdez).

Most recently a 'controversy' has erupted over a questionnaire on gay issues that was distributed to department officers.

When I first heard about the questionnaire from the The Dallas Morning News (and when I took a look at it) it seemed pretty clear to me that these were standard questions on forms given out during tolerance trainings on LGBT issues requested not only by police departments around the United States but also other institutions.

Online critics called it a litmus test for employment but a WFAA report and video clearly indicates that it's part of a diversity training at the police department and that officers are not required to participate in the training or to sign their names if they do respond to the questionaire.

In a written statement released to press, Sheriff Valdez said: "It is a shame that a diversity program that is geared toward ensuring equality for all employees in an agency as large as the Sheriff's Department is being used to stir up controversy; Our goal is to make sure that employees of every race, color, and sex are treated fairly and have the same rights as others."

As for what some call a 'left-leaning' Latino Peace Officers Association (who failed to endorse Valdez when she first ran for the sheriff's office in 2004 and are doing so again), the 'controversy' certainly seems to have exposed the true reason they haven't backed Valdez: Homophobia.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Deputy Mike Ramirez, the Association's vice president, never took the test but 'took offense after reading it' and claimed that - even if it wasn't mandatory - some officers had complained that they felt pressure to attend the training and complete the questionnaire.

"They felt the department was trying to promote the gay lifestyle," he said.

Ah, yes, the good ol' lifestyle.

I haven't followed Valdez' performance as sheriff so I can't voucher for her performance during her first term but this all certainly smells of crapola. Elect a sheriff on his or her merits, not on your bias and outright discrimination.

UPDATE: As I thought, the questionnaire is not a litmus test given to officers in the sheriff's department but rather from a standard questionnaire distributed to officers who participate at diversity trainings. Here is an explanation posted at a Dallas Voice blog:

"The questionnaire is the same one that Resource Center of Dallas has used for its public safety training classes, including the Dallas Police Department, since the 1990s. It was administered anonymously and participants were explicitly told they were not to write their names on it. Furthermore, the questions were mixed up so that respondents could not be tied to specific questionnaires. Similar questionnaires have also been used in our monthly diversity training classes here at the Resource Center of Dallas and in educational, public safety and corporate settings. The questionnaire is used by Resource Center of Dallas to determine attitudes toward the GLBTA community and generate discussion in the classes. The completed questionnaires are not shared with anybody outside RCD and are destroyed after each class. The questionnaires are the sole property of Resource Center Of Dallas and were not developed by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. We are disappointed that our efforts at diversity and inclusiveness are being used in a political manner in advance of the Dallas Pride weekend, when the North Texas GLBTA community comes together to celebrate and share. It shows that our work is needed" - Cece Cox, associate executive director of Resource Center of Dallas

- Previously:Latina lesbian sheriff criticized (September 15, 2006)

Panama: Negative to lukewarm reactions to letting gays serve as police officers

Well, that didn't take long.

News that Rolando Mirones, the National Police Chief of Panama, would not have an issue with allowing gays ans lesbians as police officers, has elicited mostly negative reactions from public officials, while a gay-rights advocacy group says that his words are meaningless without changes in the law.

Government and military officers, former Chief of Police react negatively: Retired military general Rubén Darío Paredes tells Critica that comments by Mirones are unusual and probably a slip of the tongue.

"I first thought that [Mirones] was joking with the reporters, then I believed that it had been a confrontational or rude response against media. Either way, today - under a more serene and meaningful reflection -, I am certain that [Mirones] has perhaps realized that he made an unfortunate slip."

He also tells the paper that it might be time to bring allow military leaders to direct the nation's police force (in his comments he mentions that the police department has only been allowed to have civilian directors for the past 17 years but that this model, while effective at first, might be "tired" and in need of change).

Over at Panamá America, Daniel Delgado Diamante (above), the nation's current Justice Minister, has harsher words: "I cannot imagine a homosexual policeman, and this is a situation that I completely reject from a purely personal point of view."

He cautions Mirones that the current police regulations call for removal of anyone who participates in a homosexual act within the institution and establishes it as a "grave" act. He added "As long as I am a Minister, I will make sure that the regulations are obeyed."

Delgado also told PA that he was aware that "cases of homosexuality" had been reported in the National Police and that it was up to the police to control the situation (the paper also mentions a case four years ago in which a police lieutenant was booted from the police force after a man sent naked pictures of both himself and the officer to media and the police department).

Ebrahim Asvat, a former director of the National Police of Panama, concurs. Allowing gays, tattooed individuals and people with earrings (as was also suggested by Mirones) are "liberties" that will weaken the discipline required of the institution. "This opens itself to allow the institution to be infiltrated by many delinquents."

The church says there should be no discrimination: Surprisingly, the church is the institution that seems to be asking for a more measured response. Monsignior José Domingo Ulloa told PA that "a person cannot be discriminated" although he also said that it was up to the Police Department to determine who it allows in or keeps out. "What the church asks," he said, "is that the workk gets done in the most serious and responsible manner, because what is most important is to safeguard the security of all Panamenians."

LGBT rights advocate doubts gays will be allowed to serve as police officers, asks Mirones to work with his organization to change written law: In the meantime, back at the Critica article, Ricardo Beteta, President of the Panamanian LGBT-rights organization New Men and Women of Panama (HMNP) says that he doesn't see gays and lesbians serving in the police force anytime soon.

"If the Director says it, it's a very important step;" he says, "What worries me is that the Police Law says: 'If the institution discovers that a unit has a life as a homosexual or lesbian, it is cause for destitution' - and so he should change the regulation that currently is a Law of the Republic so that his words truly have value."

"If this change is not done, when he is no longer Chief of Police, those people who declared their sexual preference will be without protection," he added, "then it will be a announcement made half way. What he should do is to work with us so that the Law is changed."

Critica also asks Beteta if it's not a bit out of place for someone who is a police officer to be gay and to comment on how a gay police officer should behave.

Beteta tells Critica that he knows that there are many gays and lesbians in the police force already and that they do their job like any other officer and that, in as homophobic a culture as in Panama, people are letting their stereotypes define the debate.

Panama: National Police Chief says gays can serve as law enforcement officers

[NOTE: This post has been updated here]

Although we have no access to the original radio interview that was broadcast yesterday at Panama's La Exitosa radio station, Critica says that Rolando Mirones (right), the chief of the National Police, told listeners that gays could join the police department as long as they followed the Constitution, the law and the regulations as part of their service.

He also told radio host Renato Pereira that "it would be bad to ask a person if they are gay or not, because that has nothing to do with his or her [work] performance."

"I believe," he added, "that if the person has the moral, ethical, psychological and physical capacity to be a police officer it does not matter what their preference is and what it is that they do at home and during their free time."

In totally unrelated comments, Mirones (left, just in case you didn't get the full Mirones vibe above) also said that the police department will accept tattooed recruits as long as their tattoos are "artistic" and not on parts of the body that are visible during work. HOT!

It's that last decision that has riled up some opposition from legislators, according to La Estrella. The president of the local city council, Omar Montenegro, exclaimed "It's not possible to now allow new police officers to have tattoos and, in addition, to have perforations on their ears!"

Critics said that it was a desperate move by the department to increase the number of new recruits and that tattoos are usually associated with people involved in "illicit activities."

Then again, maybe they'd only learned about the part about tattoos and had yet to catch wind of Mirone's comments on allowing gays in the police force? After all, when La Estrella reported on changes to police recruitment rules on Wednesday, the department had only revealed that they were going to be less strict about tattoos and earrings worn by police officers.

In the meantime, check the National Police of Panama's official mascot over at their website (lower right column here). Pretty gay, no?

I'm not sure about the department's track record in dealing with LGBT folk in Panama and, particularly, the transgender community, but Blabbeando certainly supports efforts by Mirones to broaden the diversity of the police force.