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In Costa Rica: Court to determine constitutionality of marriage for same-sex couples (April 26, 2006), I said that the Costa Rica's Constitutional Court would be holding an open hearing on May 4th to determine if attorney Yashin Castrillo had the right to challenge the constitutionality of language banning recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples in the country's family code (which says "It is legally impossible matrimony:... 6) Between persons of the same gender").On May 5th, Diario Extra reported that the seven members of the court sat in absolute silence for two hours while arguments were aired - pro and con - and left without asking a single question.The paper says that both sides claimed victory after the hearing.On the side of those arguing that the ban was unconstitutional, Castrillo argued that Costa Rica had to observe international human rights treaties and remove legislation that established limits on equality, liberty expression and emotions: "Today," he told the judges, "it is your turn to judicially recognize that every human being deserves dignity and respect."Also according to the paper, fellow attorneys Marco Castillo and Rose Mary Madden Arias challenged religious arguments that fomenting procreation was the sole purpose for civil marriage as an institution.On the side of those arguing that the discriminatory language should remain in the family code, Costa Rica's General Attorney Fernando Castillo argued that the Constitutional Court did not have the standing to determine the constitutionality of banning marriage for same-sex couples and that the language could only be removed by adopting a new constitution. "You cannot claim a right if it has never been given," Castillo argued, "and the Court is blocked from imposing it."Jorge Fisher, an Evangelical preacher who also testified during the hearing, said "we cannot an institution that was born in God's heart and change it."Reporter Oscar Rodriguez sates that it's not likely that the Court will simply reject Yashin Castrillo's arguments by throwing his "action of unconstitutionality" out of court but that it might agree with the General Attorney's office that the Court is not able to rule on the issue; or find that while the family code might violate the rights of a minority, the Legislative Assembly is in its rights to establish such violation; or, finally, rule that the Court can rule in the case and does establish that the rights of a certain minority have been violated. "From that moment on," Rodriguez writes, "the State would be obligated of accepting these type of unions."Diaro Extra had previously reported that the Court would have a month to announce their ruling, although the paper also said that in some circumstances, the court could ask for additional time.A detail that surprisingly gets left out of most articles I have read on this issue: In an interview shown on a Costa Rica television news station (which was available on the day of the hearing but no longer online), Mr. Castrillo spoke openly about being gay and the fact that he filed his challenge to court after he was denied a license to marry his partner.
UPDATE: Costa Rican court ratifies same-sex marriage ban (May 24, 2006)
In A political experience (March 25, 2006), I shared thoughts about a meeting I attended the day before at Gracie Mansion on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples. The meeting, which was called by Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, drew some criticism when it turned out that the Director of the state's most-powerful LGBT advocacy organization, Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda, was asked not to attend.This morning at a meeting called by Speaker Quinn and held in the Red Room at City Hall two things were different: The Empire State Pride Agenda was present and Mayor Bloomberg was not.Officially, this was not a follow-up to the Bloomberg meeting but rather to a March 16th Washington, DC meeting that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton convened, which included the Democratic Senate Steering and Outreach Committee, which Alan also attended.Compared to the Bloomberg meeting, there were also a greater number of people in the room (about fifty people) which included staff members from Senators Clinton and Schumer's office (if not Clinton and Schumer themselves) - and a staffer from Congressman Jerry Nadler's office - along with Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymembers Danny O'Donnell and Deborah Glick, Congressman Anthony Weiner, political consultants Emily Giske and Ethan Geto, representatives from some of the city's political clubs (Gary Parker, Dirk McCall, Brad Hoylman) and LGBT organizations (Richard Burns and Myriam Young from The Center, the great Matt Foreman of NGLTF, Adam Francoeur from Immigration Equality, Joe Tarver and Desma Holcom from the Empire State Pride Agenda, Phyllis Steinberg of PFLAG NYC, Ron Zacchi and Cathy Marino-Thomas of Marriage Equality New York, and Daryl Cochrane from HRC). There were also representatives from the Log Cabin republicans and the organizers of the Staten Island pride parade.Though not necessarily extensive, there seemed to be obvious efforts to reach to some people of color organizations and leaders including George Gates from People of Color in Crisis, Joey Pressley from the New York AIDS Coalition, Tokes Osubu from Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition, Charles Rice-Gonzalez from BAAD! as well as I.
Discussion mostly centered on proposed federal legislation to amend the United States Constitution to ban marriage rights for same-sex couples which Senate Majority Leader Bill "M.D." Frist is planning to bring up for yet another vote, since everything else seems to be failing to energize the Republican vote in the upcoming elections.
On the table was also the upcoming May 31st New York State Court of Appeals hearing on whether refusing to let same-sex couples obtain marriage licenses violates state constitution for which several briefs have been filed arguing for the right to marry (over at the Gotham Gazette, reporter Andy Humm has a great breakdown of what is at stake in "Same-sex Marriage Show Down").
I'm proud to say - in a historic first - some of the New York City Latino LGBT grassroots organizations recently joined one of the friend-of-the court briefs filed for the hearing which was submitted by the Empire State Pride Agenda. These include Las Buenas Amigas, the Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association (COLEGA), the Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization (GALDE), Latino Gay men of New York, Mano a Mano and Primer Movimiento Peruano.
Funny, the court hearing is two weeks away and yet - unless you have followed the issue - not that many people out in the street probably know about it. Let's hope that the court, which could rule as early as this summer, will come down on the right side of history.
UPDATE: "Quinn convenes amendment confab" (Gay City News, May 18, 2006)
One of the most beautiful songs ever: Sananda Maitreya (formerly Terence Trent Darby)'s "If You Go Before Me" (Click on hyperlink). The original is from D'Arby's 1995 excellent CD TTD's Vibrator (what the heck, while at You Tube you might as well check out "Undeniably (Live)," the original being also from the same album).
Today, the New York Daily News (here) and El Diario La Prensa (here) have moving obituaries in honor of Juan Mendez.
Yesterday I also spent some time referring people who were close to Juan to Gay City News which also runs an article on his death in today's edition (you can read in its entirety here).
I was particularly struck by this paragraph:
Father Luis Barrios, pastor of La Iglesia San Romero de Las Americas, a non-denominational church in Washington Heights, remembered that Mendez drew him, a straight Episcopal priest, into LGBT advocacy in 1990 when a transsexual youth named Jesus was murdered on Fordham Road in the Bronx, near the parish, St. Anne’s, where he was then ministering. Barrios celebrated a mass for Jesus at the church and also joined Mendez in pressing the police to classify the murder as a hate crime. Mendez later helped Barrios get a religious column—“from the left perspective”—at El Diario, which he continues to write.
Juan Mendez passed away on May 9 in the early morning hours from heart failure in his Chelsea apartment at the age of 41. He was living with AIDS at the time of his death. Juan was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mr. Mendez was an award-winning journalist and activist in the LGBT communities of New York and Puerto Rico. He graduated from the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Communications, and in 1988 decided to pursue a graduate program in Media Studies at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan.
After working as Assistant to the Vice President of Orion Pictures and in response to the mounting AIDS epidemic, he decided to leave this job to work in his community as an AIDS Outreach Worker and Educator for the Lower East Side family Union. He was also a founding member of the Latino Caucus of ACT-UP New York, and among many actions, he was involved in a collaborative effort that resulted in the founding of ACT-UP Puerto Rico and the first ever AIDS protest against the Puerto Rican government and the Puerto Rican Catholic Church. He then worked as Assistant Director of the Homeless Youth Program at the Hetrick Martin Institute and later as Director of the Domestic Violence Program at the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project. He then joined the newly founded Latino Commission on AIDS as Deputy Director for Policy.
After many years of working in the AIDS/LGBT communities, Mr. Mendez decided to pursue his original calling of working in the media and joined the newly formed staff of the now-defunct El Daily News, the bilingual version of the NY Daily News. Upon the closing of the paper, Mr. Mendez was approached by the Empire State Pride Agenda and became the organization's Communication Director.
He later was hired by EI Diario-La Prensa, where he wrote the paper's bilingual editorials, edited the opinion page and later became the paper's entertainment editor. After several years at EI Diario, Mr. Mendez joined the team of Latina Magazine, as entertainment editor. He did many of the magazines celebrity cover interviews, including the first major interview with pop sensation Christina Aguilera. After two years at the magazine, Juan was approached by the Univision Company and relocated to Miami to work as editor of the film section of Univision.com.
He returned to New York in 2002 where he worked as Communications and Press for the Latino Commission on AIDS, focusing on the Commission's annual fundraiser Cielo Latino and was instrumental in the Commission's crystal meth prevention program targeting Latino gay and bisexual men. He served on the Board of Directors of GALDE (the Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization) and PRIDE (Puerto Rican Initiative to Develop Empowerment). Dennis deLeon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS said, "Juan was one of the most imaginative and committed activists against homophobia and HIV/AIDS in all communities we have ever known. He was one of the best media gurus our community had." Mr. Mendez is survived by his mother, two sisters, a brother and long time friend Kent Johnson.VIEWING & MEMORIALS
There will be a viewing tomorrow Thursday, May 11th from 4pm to 9pm. For details please call the La Paz Funerary at 718 585-0699. Two memorial services are being held: The first is also taking place tomorrow night from 7-9pm at the Bronx Lesbian & Gay Health Resource Consortium (BLGHRC). A second memorial service - which is being organized by family and friends to honor his wishes to celebrate his life joyfully - will be held at a future date.
Someone I know died this morning. At times he was a co-worker and a fellow Latino LGBT and HIV/AIDS awareness activist. For a while, he was also gone, finding work in the communication field which drew him away from the non-profit sector and New York City. And then, he returned, and - though we were never close - at least it gave us a chance to reconnect.
Today, as I sought to inform people in the community about his passing, I was trying to find ways to convey just how important Juan Mendez had been to the community and, doing some online research, I found the following link which begins to tell the story. By no means a comprehensive look at history, but an indication of why Juan should be mourned by the LGBT community as a whole in the United States:
ACT UP Oral History
Read the interview with Moises Agosto for actions involving Juan Mendez in the early 1990's when both were part of the Latino Caucus of ACT UP. Read the interview with Robert Vazquez Pacheco for further commentary on the involvement of LGBT Latinos in ACT UP.
In Latino boxers and gay paranoia (March 1, 2006), I noted the escalating war of words between adversaries in two upcoming boxing matches and how two Nicaraguan boxers, Rosendo Alvarez and Ricardo Mayorga (both managed by US-based boxing figure Don King) were both using press events to question their adversaries' sexuality, using the Spanish word for "faggot" and generally questioning their rivals' sexual proess and masculinity. Obviously, this is boxing, so it must be said that most of these confrontations during press conferences seem to be staged for maximum scandal (and to draw interest to the fights) but, according to reports, the blatant homophobia was starting to truly annoy Oscar De La Hoya, who faced Ricardo Mayorga last night.
The pictures above tell the story, De La Hoya knocked-out Mayorga in the 6th round, after which he accepted Mayorga's appology for what had been said leading up to the fight.
As for Rosendo Alvarez? He forfeited a chance at the title in the April 8th match after weighing-in at three more pounds than the flyweight limit, but still was knocked-out by Mexican fighter Jorge Arce in a 'special attraction' match that was just for show (before the 6th round KO, Alvarez continued to question Arce's masculinity to the the end, even in-between rounds).
The De La Hoya fight did lead to a bizarre television interview on Tuesday when Jay Leno had Dr. Phil and the boxer as guests. If memory serves me right, De La Hoya walked into it by asking Dr. Phil what he could do to deal with having to be celibate for an extended period of time before a match and not being able to have sex with his wife. Dr. Phil said something to the effect that he personally wasn't gay or needed to observe celibacy so he didn't know what to say. De La Hoya tried to laugh it off and even threw a kiss to Dr. Phil as he got a bit closer to him. Considering the questions that have followed De La Hoya all through his boxing career and how ugly the comments got in this particular match, it was a weird way to deflect some of the commentary.
---
Some Ricardo Mayorga quotes from one of the press conferences before the match:
"...tu vas a ser el maricon en mi cama cuando yo quiera" ["...you are going to be the fag in my bed anytime I want you to be"]
"Yo te voy a partir la cara de maricon que tienes, yo ODIO los maricones como tu" ["I'm going to break that faggot face of yours, I HATE fags like you"]
You can also check-out some of Don King's comments goading his fighter on at the above link.
CORRECTION to "El Salvador bans recognition of marriages for same-sex couples" (Blabbeando, May 4, 2006)
Juxtaposing a comment posted on April 29, 2006 in Tim's El Salvador Blog which said: The same-sex marriage amendment is one of a number of constitutional amendments proposed in the waning hours of the current session of the Salvadorian National Assembly which ends at midnight on April 30. Many of the current deputies will no longer have jobs after that point as deputies elected on the March 12 elections take their seats on May 1. To become effective, a constitutional amendment must be passed in two successive sessions of the National Assembly. Jjmar at Hunnapuh points out that a constitutional amendment could be passed by a vote taken on April 30th and then another on May 1 with the new legislature.
...with an April 22, 2006 Spanish language article that ran in La Prensa Grafica which said that the old assembly was ready for a vote against the right for gay couples to marry or adopt and, additionally, a May 2, 2006 Spanish language EFE article on the new assembly session which also made reference to passage of the amendment, I wrongly concluded that said amendment had quickly passed in two successive National Assembly sessions and had become law.
Now it is clear that, while the constitutional measure was passed by the previous National Assembly session that ended on April 30th, the new session that begun on May 1st has yet to debate or vote on the measure .
The fact that the first vote was taken at 4 in the morning of April 30th, on the last day that the old legislature was in session, also meant that reporters covering the opening of the new session on May 1st made passing reference to votes taken a day earlier, which aded to the confusion.
In any case, we apologize to readers.
Below is a translated excerpt from a May 1st article in El Faro describing what took place on the early morning of April 30th, 2006:
Matrimony between homosexuals is banned This [constitutional] reform was brought to the floor by Deputy Rodolfo Parker of the Democratic Christian Party [pictured above]. At 4 in the morning, after three hours and 57 minutes of negotiations in the Policy Commission, Parker thanked the ARENA and PCN parties for endorsing the measure which "soes not seek to discriminate against anyone, but marriages are between a man and a woman."
Then, the Deputy told a story about a "small town" in which its occupants, being extremely religious, went to their priest to ask what they could eat, since it was Holy Friday and they could not eat pork in observance of the religious holiday. "And they only had pigs," said the Deputy.
According to [Parker], the priest answered that on that day he would "declare the pig seafood." Parker immediately raised his voice and said "But, gentlemen! A pig is not seafood and seafood is not a pig! Let's not deceive ourselves!"
This constitutional reform, which - following these arguments - passed with 51 votes (from the ARENA, PCN, PDC and PPSC parties), raises marriage between persons of "different genders" and adoption of minors as only allowed to couples constituted by persons of different gender to a constitutional level.
Hector Silva of the CD party, after explaining that the party had left the vote to the discretion of the moral and religious beliefs of each deputy [in their ranks], indicated that this reform discriminated against a good percentage of the Salvadorian population that have other sexual options, "that it is not an illness," and that it helped to "close our eyes to something that, in my judgment, is a very important reality." Several ARENA deputies laughed as Silva presented his arguments.
Walter Duran, of the FMLN, indicated that in his party, for the next legislative session, will leave it up to personal discretion whether to ratify the reform or not. "Miracles can happen," he said, to which Parker responded: "Let's hope that those miracles do occur."
Obviously Duran and Parker are talking about totally different miracles. In any case, unless something happens, the discriminatory constitutional reform seems to be heading towards easy ratification in the legislative session that just begun.
Hm, am i the only one to think that this is sorta, kinda out of left field considering this - as well as this ultimatum? And that she sorta came close to this (except for the gay stuff)? Well, if they are genuine sentiments, welcome back Jasmyne! Maybe you should sign this statement as well? (Then again, she sorta, kinda repeats some of the same offensive stuff from her original posts so maybe it's not that much of a change of heart).
From the Breakbeat Science Forum:Benny & Cabiria Present
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718 Sessions Info Line: 212-978-8869
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[CORRECTION: In El Salvador's gay marriage ban still needs 2nd vote for passage, posted on May 5th, 2006, I correct this earlier post and explain that a 2nd National Assembly vote has, to date, NOT been taken - despite my comments below - which means that the constitutional amendment still has not been ratified - Apologies for any confusion caused]
If you focus on events happening in different Latin American countries, it's often tough to keep abreast of local politics, legislative bodies, voting processes and constitutional law.
This is why in "El Salvador: Legislation to ban marriage & adoption for gays closer to approval" (April 22, 2006) I was a bit tentative in spelling out if and when a final legislative vote on an amendment to the constitution would pass.
Guess what, folks! It's done and over with:
As of May 1st, 2006, El Salvador has adopted a constitutional amendment defining marriage as that between members that were born with the opposite sex and also limits adoptions to couples whose marriages are legally recognized by law (in effect banning adoptions for gays as well).
Over at Tim's Blog, he spells out how a constitutional amendment has to pass two successive sessions of the National Assembly in order to be adopted, as we noted previously. What we failed to grasp was that the Assembly finalized a session on April 30th and began a new one on May 1st. Well, on May 2nd, EFE reported that, as soon as the new Assembly took session, they got to work on immediately ratifying the proposed amendment language that had passed a first vote just a week earlier. A second Assembly vote was taken and the motion became law on May 1st, 2006.
The article does say that, despite comments by their spokesperson that seemed to back the amendment, none of the 32 legislators associated with the left-wing FMLN voted in favor of the amendment. Unfortunately, the opposition was able to amass the 43 'yes' votes needed from other political parties including 34 votes from the right-wing ARENA party to gain a simple majority and adopt the amendment.
To my knowledge, this makes El Salvador the only Latin American country to adopt a constitutional amendment banning the right to marry to gay couples
[CORRECTION: According to Rex Wockner's International News column of April 4, 2005, Honduras amended its constitution to ban gay marriage on March 29, 2005 and, as we have been reporting, Costa Rica is facing a challenge to its gay marriage ban as well]
On April 15, 2005, the Boston chapter of Amnesty International organized a demonstration outside the Jamaican embassy in New York City demanding answers in the brutal murder of gay activist Brian Williamson (more photos here). Today, the Jamaica Gleaner reports that a man has pleaded guilty to his murder.
Last night the bf and I went to check-out Thomas Dolby at Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre (he's got two more shows lined up for tonight so it's not too late to check him out if you live in New York City).
I had never been to Joe's Pub but did not like the venue the moment I walked in. It was crowded, there were tables set up for people who had made dinner reservations, and a really small standing room space for those people who chose not to dine during the concert. At the very least, it was a small venue so that you could actually see most of the performance from pretty much everywhere you stood. The crowd was a mix of people in the mid to upper 30's, a bunch'o'gay guys and, in one annoying case, the younger girlfriend of a guy about my age who kept asking why people seemed to be so much into music she'd never heard. Then again, there were the couple of guys who seemed to think they were in a VH1 "Whatever Happened to..." concert and kept shouting stuff at Dolby.
The show ran into some technical difficulties as Thomas Dolby would introduce a song, for example, and the computers would play another; at a couple of spots, the sound dropped out altogether. All in all though, it was a truly enjoyable night with some highlights including great renditions of "I Live in a Suitcase" and "Hyperactive" among other songs. Surprisingly, most of the repertoire came from the earlier albums rather than "The Flat Earth" or "Astronauts and Heretics."
For a couple of the songs he simply broke down the layered sounds of the songs and allowed the audience to see how he constructed their melodies. You can check what I mean by taking a look at "The Flat Earth" on his website (although last night he simply allowed the tracks to speak for themselves instead of giving a spoken tour - allow time for the full clip to download).
For the most part, the song structures followed those of the original versions with some thrilling exceptions, including the cacophonously funky new intro for "Airhead" (which he did as an encore). In "Wind Power" and a couple of other songs, a hypnotic looped-in beat made me wonder what bands like Gus Gus could do with these tracks.
With additional concerts added to his New York stop, I'm not sure what the man thought about last night's audience. His blog allows you to have a different perspective on what it means to put a tour like this together.
Mostly, it felt bizarre that after all these years, I was able to see Thomas Dolby live. He's certainly been the soundtrack to some of my memories.
In any case, the music Gods are smiling down on me. Next up, if I can make it, Roisin Murphy at Danny Krivit's "718 Sessions" at Club Deep this coming Sunday. On Saturday she's also appearing at Cielo.
In the work I have done advocating for the right of same-sex couples to marry, often I feel pitted between younger Latino LGBT community members for whom marriage remains an abstract idea that is not relevant to their daily lives; and LGBT activists, most of whom do work in communities of color, who feel that the push to embrace marriage comes at the cost of eclipsing other more "pressing needs" (then again, some would actually rather see marriage, which they see as an oppressive institution, fully disappear).
When I am asked why the issue of marriage for same-sex couples should be a priority for the Latino LGBT community, the question often comes from someone who is opposed to the issue and is trying to make a rhetorical point. And yet, the insistence on asking the "priority" question often puzzles me as I'm not sure that some of us who do advocate for the right to marry think that it's the "only" work that we do or our number one goal (I often respond that we are all able to advocate for a myriad of issues, not just the right to marry, and that I find it funny that I am not asked the "priority" question when it comes to my work on other areas which I do prioritize, such as immigration).
More difficult is to respond to criticism that marriage would benefit mostly well-to-do white gay couples and do little to benefit less well-off gay couples of color, mostly because - until recently - we have had to go by gut instinct rather than facts (as research has been sporadic and limited).
This is why an article such as "From Pain to Family: Seeking stability amid the chaos, more poor women of color are turning to each other" (Hartford Courant, April 30, 2006) is such a breath of fresh-air.
Over a period of a year, reporters Tina A. Brown and Elizabeth Hamilton followed the lives of seven poor African-American and Hispanic female couples in the Hartford, Connecticut area, and they describe the harsh life these women lead as they try to sustain their relationships and their ties to other family members including children.
Though committed relationships can fail whether they are between heterosexual or homosexual couples, it is clear to me that these women are being hurt by the fact that they are not allowed to marry. They are being denied the right to cement the family bonds they are struggling to sustain; they are being denied the right to strengthen the legal and economic protections they would enjoy as married couples and parents; and, most importantly, they are being denied the right to celebrate their love for each other in such a meaningful way.
It is an amazing article and I hope you take a couple of minutes to read it. Afterwards, feel free to write a "Letter to the Editors" of the Hartford Courant congratulating them on the piece by sending it to: letters@ courant.com
As for recent research on minority same-sex couples in the United States and the true impact of denying them the right to marry, you can go to:For other resources check:
Appropriate that New York City is celebrating today the 75th birthday of perhaps its best-known skyscraper, the Empire State Building, just as ten blocks south of the building people gather to demand immigration rights. The iconic structure, of course, was built mostly on the backs of immigrants. A fact that should not be forgotten.
Ok, never mind that I'm actually starting to look a little bit like Matt Johnson now that I have started to clip my hair short, or that this video actually looks like some of my short black and white films I did in college, but the You Tube find of the day is the video for The The's "Gravitate to Me."
The song, a hypnotic slow-burner from 1989's "Mind Bomb" album, is vintage The The, with its preocupation with flesh, bodily fluids, seedy hotel rooms, dominant female ghots, the Lynchian "Blue Velvet" tropes, birth, death and a saving light. It's a Charles Bukowski epic in 8 minutes and a half. Sorta erotic in some bizarre way (plus it has Johnny Marr on guitars, fresh off the disbanding of The Smiths).What else can I say? Just sit back and enjoy!
Without much fanfare, the US arm of British record house ECHO, has released a US-version of the best record of 2005, Rosin Murphy's Ruby Blue. The track-listing is no different but it means you can now get it for a non-import price. You can listen to some tracks at the above links. Initially, it will sound a bit experimental and off-track but it will definitely seep into your consciousness with repeated listens.
UPDATE: Yesterday, Thomas Dolby, Sunday, Roisin Murphy (May 4, 2006)
It's been a while since Blabbeando checked-up on Emanuel Xavier. Of notice, then, is an brand-new interview posted on line that you might be interested in checking out.
In an exclusive for Authorsden.com's Conversations Magazine, Emanuel talks about the writing process, self-promotion, the ups and downs of the publishing world, and the repercussions of the beating he suffered last year. He also talks a bit about the recent nomination for the Lambda Literary Awards and a few events that are lined up for this year.
You can always check Emanuel's own website for updates as well.
Xenophobic hate in all its glory:Ugh.
OK, you must be bored to death over these updates on the Diazes but today's post is short and sweet.
Senate Minority Leader David Patterson, whose office has been hesitant to say anything negative about the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr., finally went on the record today (if speaking to a political blogger can be called going on the record).
Here's Minority Leader Patterson speaking to Only in New York (O.i.N.k.)'s Michael Carrese:
"People think I'm taking a principled stand, but really this is all about discovering what Ruben Diaz is up to before the newspapers do."
Last week, La Prensa Grafica reported on little-opposed legislative efforts to amend El Salvador's Constitution to ban marriage rights for same-sex couples as well as adoption rights for gays.
Today comes word that another Central American country, Costa Rica, is looking at marriage rights for same sex couples from another angle:
Diario Extra reports that the 7-member Constitutional Court [Costa Rica's Supreme Court] will be having a public hearing on Thursday, May 4th, to determine whether a petition to "eliminate state prohibition of recognition of marriage between gays, as it stands in the family code" can move forward or is unconstitutional.
The hearing comes almost three years after attorney Yashin Castrillo (pictured above) filed an "action of unconstitutionality" on July 30th of 2003 challenging the ban against marriage rights for same-sex couples. Mr. Castrillo is expected to argue in favor of removing the ban along with representatives of organizations supporting the constitutional challenge. He tells Diario Extra that the ban signifies a loss of liberty and a violation of equality which "...contradicts a democratic regime."
"To impose a sense of 'normalcy' on a society with the obligation of a matrimonial union [which is] exclusively between persons of different gender," he ads, "gravely injures the dignity of the person [by] failing to recognize his/her self-determination and his/her liberty to make a decision."
Costa Rica's General Attorney's office will be arguing against Mr. Castrillo's motion and have already stated that the family code, as it stands, does not discriminate against anyone or create inrqualities. According to Diario Extra, in a report filed September 6, 2003, they argue that "matrimony comes from Christian principles adopted by the gospel and apostolic doctrine, establishing monogamous matrimony between a woman and a man."
They have also indicated that they will question whether the constitutional court has the right to conduct a hearing on the issue and argue that "...a Constituent National Assembly is the only one with the means to challenge these limitations."
A 2003 Miami Herald article on the recognition of the rights of same-sex couples throughout Latin America, says that the ban on marriages for same-sex couples in Costa Rica actually has a sentence of up to three years in prison for anyone who violates it.
In a 2003 Teletica debate on the issue Mr. Castrillo said that no human being should be denied the right to partner with a loved one, much less under penalty of law, and that he is not advocating for religious matrimony but, simply, for the right of same-sex couples to enjoy the same rights afforded to couples of different gender, call it marriage, civil union or something else.
UPDATES:
The conservative-leaning (rather than independent) gay pundit website Independent Gay Forum has been re-launched with a more streamlined look and a more 'bloggy' feel to it. Sometimes good for a laugh or down-right infuriating, from time to time you also get toughtful analysis of LGBT culture at this juncture from people who might not share your point of view but might have an interesting take on marriage rights for gays or polygamy, for starters. Interested? Just click on the hyperlinked text above.
The online version of The Advocate has a couple of interesting pieces on the immigration issue as it relates to the non-Latino LGBT community. I thought I'd point them out for you to browse:
There are also some responses to the recent immigration debates in The Advocate's "Letters" page, including "Asking for what we won't give - Immigration and LGBTQ" by Randi. M. Romo of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Recently, I was also approached by a reporter for The Advocate to comment on the issue so it appears that the magazine will run a piece in an upcoming issue. I was heartened that the reporter focused on the issue of immigration itself and did not mention the personal disagreements that have characterized some of the debate.
[NOTE: Blogger Kim Pearson has written a quick look at the debate that has erupted on immigration and the LGBT community over the last few weeks for Blogher. Better known as Professor Kim, she has graciously noted our past comments in her essay. Thanks]
25-year old Steven Pomie was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in prison for June 8th, 2005 beating of Dwan Prince (pictured right in a Channel 7 News screen capture). The reason for the attack? Pomie, according to the New York Times and other previous reports on the assault, told police that Prince had made a pass at him as he walked down the street.
In announcing the sentence, Justice Deborah A. Dowling of the State Supreme Court of Brooklyn said "Words alone should never be enough to provoke such a rage. That's never an excuse for anything."
Mr. Prince, who was left with serious and permanent neurological and cognitive damage as a result of the beating and has a tough time formulating sentences, tried and failed to read a statement during sentencing. His mother, Valerie Prinez, spoke for him: "I've changed so much I can't even cry."
To the end, Mr. Pomie denied being the lead assailant during the beating though he appologized yesterday to Mr. Prince and his family. His attorneys might appeal the court's verdict.
In the meantime, Brooklyn had more reasons to cry yesterday as yet another man was found dead in Prospect Park in an area known to be a gay cruising site. Though it is not known if the victim, 61-year old William Oliver was gay, as Rod2.0 points out, it's not the first time that an attack has happened in the area.
The Albany Times-Union continues its in-depth look at the possible misuse of public state funds by homophobic New York Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and his son, New York State Assemblymember Ruben Diaz, Jr. In "Lawmakers demand look at Diazes' fund use" by capitol bureau reporter James M. Odato, we find out that while most of the Democratic leadership are still taking a wait-and-see approach, Assemblymember Robert Reilly (D-Colonie, pictured right) is calling for a full investigation while others, including State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) are demanding increased transparency in the allocation of so-called discretionary member-items (which, in the Diazes' case, are alleged to have been used to pay for salaries for Diaz family members named to non-existent positions within community and religious institutions which they either worked for at one time or founded).
In the meantime, over the weekend, Democractic Long Island gubernatorial candidate Thomas Suozzi appeared at a breakfast organized by the New York Hispanic Minister's Clergy Association (which the Reverend Diaz, Sr. founded and leads) and reiterated his opposition to marriage for same-sex couples as well as wishes to restrict abortion rights in New York State. In Newsday's "Suozzi's swing through Bronx" from April 23rd, the appearance at the event was described "campaigning for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination among Latinos in the city." Note to Suozzi: The Association is a fringe homophobic minority within the larger Latino community in New York City which is now tainted by the Diazes corruption scandal. If corrupt and homophobic community leaders are your target Latino community voters, by all means pander to them.
As for leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer who was rumored to also have been scheduled to appear at the event, apparently there were scheduling conflicts and he was not able to make it. Still, there might be a chance to ask him directly if and why he planned to attend: The Out People of Color Political Action Club (OutPOCPAC) has announced that Spitzer, who is the current state attorney general, is scheduled to address the club at tomorrow's OutPOCPAC gubernatorial endorsement meeting in Brooklyn (for information on the whereabouts of the meeting and the time you can contact Club Co-Chairs Gerard Cabrera at gerardcabrera@hotmail.com or Doug Robinson at doug@dougrobinson.info).
La Prensa Grafica reports today that El Salvador's legislative assembly is "two steps away" from modifying the Republic's Constitution to ban marriages between people of the same sex and prohibiting adoptions by gay couples as well. A legislative bill, introduced by the centrist Christian Democratic Party (PDC), would ad language to the Constitution's "family code" defining marriage as that between members that were born with the opposite sex.
The amendment to Article 34 of the Constitution also states that "Persons united in a marriage that is legally recognized in El Salvador will be able to adopt. Adoption by couples of the same sex is prohibited."
The right-wing political party ARENA is already on board saying that they are "completely in agreement" with the amendment (the article does not mention who gave them this statement).
As for the left-wing FMLN which fought ARENA as a guerrilla movement in a bloody civil war before hanging their arms and becoming a political party? Walter Duran, their spokesperson, said: "This guarantees the stability of the family and cements moral principles that are prevalent in our society, such as not allowing homosexual unions or any other type of norms that guarantee the stability of heterosexual marriage as the basis of the family. Values such as these must be guaranteed by the constitution."
The PDC is confident that the backing from ARENA and the FMLN means that the amendmentg is on its way to be adopted by a wide majority. It would have to be ratified by a second legislative vote in order to pass.
UPDATES:
Over on the New York Sun's Fifty First State blog, Azi Paybarah reports that later this morning New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will be attending the annual Hispanic Ministers Banquet Award Celebration. Funny thing: The whole shin dig is led by non other than the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. on whom we've had much to write about recently (including the fact that Spitzer seems to have let the Reverend off rather easily for questions that have drawn some recent attention from the Albany Times-Union [To be fair (?) Azi also reports that Spitzer's challenger for the Democratic spot in the next gubernatorial election, Tom Suozzi, will also be there].
UPDATE: On April 23rd, 2006, Newsday reported that Eliot Spitzer "had not planned to attend Saturday's event" and did not. But they do report on some juicy bits about Tom Suozzi and what he said at the event. Azi says that Spitzer did not attend the event due to "a scheduling conflict."
In "'Sexual liberty' language eliminated from Dominican Republic civil code reform draft" (March 28, 2006), I noted that several newspapers were reporting that the words "sexual liberty" would be removed from a draft amendment to the Caribbean island's civil code after conservative leaders and legislators warned that it would lead to the legalization of marriage rights for same-sex partners (those who authored the draft tried to argue that the language would not lead to any such thing but quickly decided to back off and said they would remove the offending language in order to "avoid confusion and misunderstanding").
The papers also said that, while the conservative response was swift and came from several quarters, there had been no visible support from anyone for keeping the "sexual liberty" language in the draft.
Well, word has come that this coming Tuesday a group of activists will be holding a march to demand an inclusive civil code that extends civil rights protections to, among others, women's rights, youth and children's rights, penalties against any type of discrimination and the right to sexual liberty (see image above).
I will post an update if I hear back from the marchers on Tuesday.
Following yesterday's story on records that show that Assemblymember Ruben Diaz, Jr. steered discretionary legislative grants towards a Bronx-based community agency that employed his father, the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. (currently a state senator), as well as the elder Diaz's ex-wife and wife, the Albany Times-Union continues to look at the money trail in an article published today.In "Funds followed senator's kin," James M. Odato takes a look at how the Soundview Community in Action center lost most of its state funding once it stopped employing members of the Diaz family in 2003 and shows how the money followed instead to institutions such as the Christian Community in Action and the Christian Community Neigborhood Church which had one thing in common: They were founded and/or employed members of the Diaz family.Interestingly, when Odato tries to get comments from state officials, they either speak off the record, say that they are looking at the allegations and can't comment or vaguely talk about following guidelines. A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat as is Diaz, Sr., does go on record in a veiled defense of the state senator by implying that the funds were used to "meet specific needs of the community."
The Times-Union should be commended for not following the Democratic leadership's temerity. Today, the paper also runs an editorial titled "Pork: A family affair"
The New York Daily News' political commentator Ben Smith has an interesting podcast interview with Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr., seen by many as a leading contender in the next New York City mayoral race. In the interview, Carrion delves into "his journey from the Assemblies of God to Presbyterianism and the role Hispanic Evangelicals will play in New York City politics."
Although he doesn't address LGBT issues directly, it's as candid an interview as I have heard/read regarding the Borough President's religious beliefs. He certainly has never answered a reporter's question as to how the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. (see below) and CONLAMIC were able to use public property for their 2004 rally against the right to marry for same-sex couples and in support of President George W. Bush.
On April 9th, I pointed out that the homophobic New York State Senator (and Reverend) Ruben Diaz, Sr. had just gotten away with redirecting public government funds towards personal expenses and paying the salaries of some of his family members ("Does Elliot Spitzer need a homophobe's support for NYS governor?").
Now comes word that Ruben Diaz, Jr., the Reverend's son - who also happens to be an Assemblymember - steered $1.2 million dollars in legislative grants under at his discretion to pay for his dad's salary back when Sr. was leading the Soundview Community in Action Center. In addition, today's Albany Times Union says that the money was also used to pay for the salaries of Jr's mom (and Sr's ex-wife) as well as Sr's current wife, despite the women being missing in action for months at a time, according to current Soundview staff members.
Reverend Diaz, the dad, has joined the right-wing Liberty Counsel in their suits challenging public funding for the Harvey Milk School, which mostly caters to LGBT youth of color, and New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan's 2005 ruling in favor of marriage rights for New York State same-sex couples. In a March 21st speech saluting the Liberty Counsel for their work, he riled against "the barbaric use of public funds to create a special school for gays and lesbians while thousands of children in my district and in other areas of New York City suffer and continue to be denied access to a safe environment and the quality of education they deserve"
No word yet on what the Revered thinks about the barbaric use of public funds for nepotism and patronage or on how he is able to reconcile his misdeeds as a politician with his life as a man of the cloth (and, just to be clear, it must be said that Jr has never shown his dad's homophobic streak to my knowledge and has, at times, intervened on the community's behalf when his father has gotten carried away with homophobic fervor).
On such a glorious spring day as today was in New York City, a few of us heard the call to participate in a noon-time vigil march and rally in memory of Rashawn Brazell, who would have been celebrating his 21st birthday today. His mother, Desire Brazell (above), a few family members and friends led participants from the Nostrand Avenue subway station (at Fulton Street) to the door of the 79th NYPD Police Precinct station. Rashawn's dismembered body was found in plastic bags at two separate sites in Brooklyn back in February of 2005 (one of the bags was found underground a inside the subway tunnel a few feet from the Nordstrand Ave. subway platform).
As with other unresolved crimes, the death of Rashawn, as gruesome a slaying as there has been in this city, has not nearly received the same amount of attention or investigative resources as other recent murder cases. At the 79th Precinct Ms. Brazell demanded equal resources be spent to find her son's murderer or murderers as in other higher-profile cases.
Some community leaders, including City Councilmember Leticia James, GHMC Interim Executive Director Marjorie Harris, the Reverend Ralph "Chaz" Crowder, Eric Adams of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and Larry Lyons and Mervyn Marcano (who launched the Rashawn Brazell Memorial Fund in the wake of the murder) were present, as well as members of the Audre Lorde Project and the New York City Anti-Violence Project. I also spotted bloggers Donald Agarrat and Bernard Tarver, among others.
Some media was there, including a photographer from one of the local gay news-weeklies and a FOX-5 cameraman but I didn't see any actual reporters interviewing marchers. I also had my camera with me and took a good amount of photographs some of which you can see here (just as I documented a candle-light vigil that took place in March of 2005).
And yet, as I walked along the crowd, my thoughts kept me bringing to blogger J. Bernard Jone's comments from May of 2005. I felt a bit removed and sad about having to be present at a spectacle (a march) that should not have reason for being (nobody had the right to take Rashawn's life in such a brutal fashion at such a young age). I only greeted those people I knew beforehand, trying to be respectful. And yet, by taking these pictures I also found myself feeling a bit awkward in capturing the raw emotions of the people that truly knew him. No disrespect to the organizations that were represented today, but some of their speeches rang somewhat hollow to me in comparisson to the true pain expressed by people who did know Rashawn. Particularly touching was Councilmember Leticia James leading us all to sing Stevie Wonder's version of "Happy Birthday" which truly captured the moment and heartfelt comments from one of Rashawn's cousins and one of his friends.
And yet, despite my own personal mixed emotions, it still needed to happen. Despite the relative low turn-out it is the only way that Rashawn's murder will be in the community's general consciousness as well as the NYPD's.
The one thing that I do appreciate tremendously is the role of Ms. Brazell in keeping her son's memory alive. It truly takes bravery and strength to be as visible and vocal about a crime such as this, particularly if the victim is your son. I was glad that Ms. Hill brought attention to Ms. Brazell's tiredless and dignified search for justice. For a moment, we all applauded and truly embraced Ms. Brazell with all our love.
And then there's the images of those people on the porches and sidewalks, who wanted to know just what was going on. Some people passed literature to them and most would read it and nod. I was particularly struck by a black priest standing outside his church. I truly hope that those people on the sidewalks carried something home from having witnessed the march and tell others about Rashawn so that his name will go on.
Nothing much happens in this video 'cept Mark Hollis singing but at least you will grab a taste of the brilliance that was Talk Talk. "I Believe in You" comes from the 6-track 1988 masterpiece "Spirit of Eden" album, which was followed by the equally stunning 1991 release "Laughing Stock" (their last album). Young ones will probably know them better as the band that originally sang "It's My Life" which was more recently covered by Gwen Stefani as lead singer of No Doubt. So, without further ado, once again ladies and gentlemen, CLCK HERE TO WATCH TALK TALK'S "I BELIEVE IN YOU"
Gay City News is out and it has a cover page article on the immigration rights rally titled "El Pueblo Unido: LGBT New Yorkers Join Tens of Thousands of Immigration Reform Advocates." You can see more photos of the rally here.
Over the weekend I was interviewed for an independent documentary on hate crimes in LGBT communities of color. As is the norm with interviews, sometimes you worry that something you said will be edited in a way that misrepresents your arguments or that you actually did not necessarily make the best arguments, even if you trust the filmmaker as I did in this case.
In any case, I touched on some of the issues I have written about from time to time in Blabbeando and I thought I would post some updates:
On homophobic violence in the Caribbean: LGBT blogs, national gay advocacy organizations, and national media are all following developments in the brutal beating of two CBS news producers from New York who were among a group of six gay men vacationing in the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Both Dick Jefferson, 51, and Ryan Smith, 25, were taken to a Miami hospital after being attacked with tire-irons by a group of men shouting anti-gay epitepths. Mr. Jefferson spoke to media after undergoing surgery which left him with a metal plate in his head and stitches. According to St. Marteen's The Daily Herald, in a telephone interview Mr. Jefferson said that Mr. Ryan was out of the intensive care unit but is still under medical care "suffering from severe neurological trauma." Mr. Jefferson initially criticized the local government for not taking any immediate action to interview witnesses of the attack but on yesterday, under increasing international pressure, the top tourism official in St. Maarten called the crime "barbaric and inhumane." Queerty, which has just discovered the issue, says that Mr. Jefferson will be going back to the island to push for justice. But, just as with the Human Rights Campaign, isn't it a bit annoying that it takes an attack on US tourists to focus attention on homophobia in the Caribbean? Queerty also quips that Mr. Jefferson should "buy a gun and get all vigilante on some folks." Ugh! (Gawker, of course, has another take on the matter of blonde haired women and New York gay victims).National gay advocacy organizations and national media are not following similar instances of recent homophobic violence in the Caribbean, such as a near riot that erupted in a West Indies university when a male student accused another of making a pass at hime as reported in the Jamaica Gleaner a week ago Wednesday (as well as the Jamaica Observer, which used the unfortunate header "Cops rescue alleged homo from UWI students"). Worse was a report in the Jamaica Gleaner on Saturday which said that "a 22-year old prisoner was torched by a constable in his jail cell, after he labeled the cop a homosexual" in an incident that is apparently still under investigation.
In the meantime yesterday, Radio Jamaica reported that - after just two hours of deliberation - a jury found Donald "Zeeks" Phipps "guilty on all counts" including the burning and shooting of two men. During the trial he prosecutors had alleged during that Mr. Phipps had forced the men "to commit homosexual acts" before murdering them. Mr. Phipps still maintains he is innocent.
Closer to home: Though not a hate crime, today's Bay Area Reporter follows up on the murder of Chad Ferreira (B.A.R. should be commended for keeping an eye on this crime) and reports that an April 8 fundraiser at San Francisco's Club Papi brought in $3,737 to cover funeral expenses. The article mentions that club owner Jamie Awad joined others in criticising the San Francisco District Attorney's office for charging Ferreira's attacker Kyle Adams with manslaughter instead of murder but it also says that the DA's office, while saying that they could not discuss the evidence, told B.A.R. that the case was "problematic."
In the meantime, on Sunday's edition of Inside Bay Area, it was reported that on April 2nd Lifetime and Sony Pictures Television began production on "The Gwen Araujo Story" which is expected to air in June. Producers tell the newspaper that the film will not dwell on Gwen's murder or the trials but rather on Gwen's life and the difficulty of life as a transgender teen. J.D. Pardo will play Gwen and Mercedes Ruehl will play her mother, Sylvia Guerrero. When contacted, Ms. Guerrero (pictured above) told IBA "I'm proud to be Gwen's mom and I'm proud that her story has touched so many lives and hearts, not just in the community - but all over the world."
Finally, but no less important, this Saturday, April 15 marks what would be Rashawn Brazell's 21st birthday. Mr. Brazell's dismembered body was found in trash bags at two different Brooklyn sites in February of 2005 and there have been questions about the resources devoted by the police department to solve the horrific crime in light of massive mobilizations around more recent murders in the city.
On Saturday Mr. Brazell's mother Desire, family, friends and community advocates will gather for a Memorial March between noon and 1pm at Brooklyn's Nostrand Avenue subway station and proceed to the 79th Precinct Station house where we will demand that the police devote the maximum amount of resources available to the year-old investigation. If you can, please join us!
So Modern Fabulosity has launched a You Tube find of the week feature by highlighting the Thompson Twins classic video for "Hold Me Now." We thought it was a great idea so, even if it will probably not be a daily feature, how about copying ModFab and sharing some You Tube finds of my own?
So, to get it started, let's zoom down to Argentina for the appropriately titled "Zoom" by the great (if unfortunately already disbanded) Soda Stereo. Shiny happy people! Lesbians! Cow hydes! Orbiting silver balls! Sex in the bushes! An UFO! It's got it ALL (and Cerati's great vocals as well) - CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT
Back in November, in "Time for some good ol' butt" I introduced you to my friend Steven from Kentucky. Now, Steven has a Live Journal that he updates periodically (and through which he gets hit on by a plethora of guys all the time, the poor guy). Well, once in a while Steven blurts out something so unpoliticaly correct and funny about stuff that I have to quote him. Take Saturday's post: - Steven on Louisville's Flight 3 leather event: "I know I sound very bitchy here, but I just have never enjoyed anything leather aside from wallets, luggage, car seats, saddles, belts, and boots."
- Steven on hanky codes (don't ask): "I'm sure all of you have giggled about seeing a really cute guy with a yellow hanky in his back pocket or totally been perplexed by someone with an rainbow assortment lighting up their 501's... There was a guy walking around with three hankies in his back right pocket--pink, baby blue, and brown, so Eric asks me, What the fuck does that mean? I thought I'd be creative and say You know in the game of Life when you acquire children and they are pink or baby blue? Well that means he has a daughter and a son. And the brown... 'Oh honey, I know what the brown means,' he said, 'but what does it mean all together, you can shit on my kids?????' OMG, I thought I was going to throw up I was laughing so hard! haha..."
- Steven on recently watching Brokeback Mountain, for the first time, sitting next to his mom: "The initial sex scene made me blush some because I think it's the very first gay sex or gay intimacy that I had ever witnessed with my mom present. I really wasn't sure how she was going to react to it, so I was slightly embarrassed. Of course she totally thought it was hot...ugh, Mom! haha."
In any case, the good news this week is that Steven got test results from some medical scans that he needed to get and the results were great. Well, yay! Or, should I say, Rad!
Previously:
Glenn Magpantay (above in yellow at a demo against Details magazine back in April of 2004) has an OpEd in yesterday's issue of the New York Blade: "Gays should back immigrants' rights: LGBT communities share SAME battles"
In Costa Rica: Court to determine constitutionality of marriage for same-sex couples (April 26, 2006), I said that the Costa Rica's Constitutional Court would be holding an open hearing on May 4th to determine if attorney Yashin Castrillo had the right to challenge the constitutionality of language banning recognition of civil marriage for same-sex couples in the country's family code (which says "It is legally impossible matrimony:... 6) Between persons of the same gender").
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