Category: GLBT

Medical schools in the US and Canada are giving short shrift to the medical needs of LGBT patients, according to a study by the Stanford University School of Medicine which is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  One needs to be a JAMA subscriber to actually read the report.

The web-based survey was submitted to 176 medical school deans in the US and Canada, with an 85% response rate.

The average amount of time spent teaching the potential doctors about health issues facing LGBT patients is about 5 hours over the entire curriculum.

Although many medical schools do address some LGBT-related health issues in their curricula, the conversation needs to go deeper, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Juno Obedin-Maliver, of the University of California, San Francisco.

Sam P. Yalley, a so-called public interest lawyer and a former deputy minister in the administration of former military dictator Jerry John Rawlings.  He is proposing that persona arrested for acts of homosexuality be charged with genocide.  His reasoning is that homosexuality exterminates the concept of procreation.

He made his comments in response to the Attorney General, Martin Amidu, who said that homosexual acts between two consenting adults were not illegal with regard to Ghana’s laws if they were confined to the privacy of the partner’s bedroom.

For me there is another session of the criminal code which people are not taking a look at, it is about genocide.

Genocide results in the extermination of the human race and if you expand the meaning of homosexuality to mean that a man cannot have a child with another man then it means that that practice would lead to the extermination of mankind and therefore for me if i am to charge anybody apart from having unnatural carnal knowledge, i would also charge him with genocide and see how he can get out of that situation.

If you are a man and you are having canal knowledge with a man how are you going to have a child?

I agree totally with the clergy in condemning it.

—Sam P. Yalley

The True Colors Residence is a project of Cyndi Lauper, her manager Lisa Barbaris and the West End Intergenerational Residence, a non-profit that provides housing and support for homeless families and seniors.

The True Colors Residence will be the first permanent housing facility in the state of New York for homeless LGBT youth.  Up to 40% of homeless youth in New York identify as LGBT.

In New York City, a very disproportionate number (up to 40%), of homeless youth identify as LGBT. Even more disturbing are reports that these young people often face discrimination and at times physical assault in some of the very places they have to for help. This is shocking and inexcusable!

That’s why my manager, Lisa Barbaris and I are collaborating with Colleen Jackson and West End Intergenerational Residence to create the True Colors Residence, (TCR), a permanent supportive housing program for homeless LGBT youth 18-24 years old.

We’ll be building from the ground up so our residents will have a brand new, modern building with studio apartments for each resident and both indoor and outdoor community space to socialize or attend education and recreation programs.  Each resident will be responsible for paying affordable rent based on their income and will receive ongoing assistance in obtaining employment best suited to their individual interests and skills.  Although TCR will not require participation in it’s programs, a variety of social and educational support services will be available to all who request them.  Our primary goal is to provide a physically and emotionally safe and supportive environment that will empower our young residents to be the self-loving, happy, and successful individuals they were meant to be.

–Cyndi Lauper

The facility on W 154th Street near Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem will have 30 studio apartments and will open September 1.

Donations are encouraged.

I have to admit I have somewhat been avoiding this story, which has become a very big story in some transgender circles.  

Last Saturday, on Fidel Castro’s 85th birthday, post-op transsexual woman Wendy Iriepa, 37, whose surgery at the National Sex Education Centre (CENESEX) was paid for by the Cuban government four years ago, married the love of her life, gay-activist and dissident Ignacio Estrada, 31.  

Their engagement had caused so much turmoil within CENESEX (causing a rift between her and CENESEX director Mariela Castro (daughter of Raul and niece of Fidel)  that Wendy resigned her position (or was fired) at CENESEX, where she had been in charge of the care of transsexual persons.

Whatever the case may be, the 37-year-old transsexual underwent a radical change: from holding an active and distinguished post in the institution, to joining demonstrations by the dissident Women in White, a group of relatives of political prisoners.

She also invited internationally renowned dissident blogger Yoani Sánchez and her husband, journalist Reynaldo Escobar, to stand up in her wedding.

GLAAD has released this year’s National Responsibility Index ratings of the television broadcast networks and major cable networks.  

The GLAAD National Responsibility Index examines the quantity and quality of images (called impressions) of LGBT people on television.  It is intended to help media representations be fair, accurate and inclusive.

In a country which does not recognize the equality of its GLBT citizens, it is important that their are media portrayals of us to assist in correcting the problem.

As diverse LGBT images in the media become more prevalent, the general public becomes exposed to the truth of the LGBT community: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans are parents and teachers, law enforcement officers and soldiers, high school students and loving elderly couples. It is as important for LGBT Americans to see our lives reflected on screen as it is for others to be exposed to the rich tapestry of the LGBT community.

Cross-posted to CandyBullets.

– In any manga, anime, or pictures (most likely including games).

– That feature sexual acts or sexual like acts that would be illegal in real life OR any sexual acts or sexual like acts or implication of a sexual relationship between close relatives OR those who can not marry if they were real AND

– Where the depiction / representation of the relationship is presented in an unjustifiably glorified or overly emphasized manner.

=> Is considered harmful to a minor’s mental health regarding sexuality, and therefore the Tokyo Metropolitan Government shall have the power to unilaterally restrict the material. where the sexual or sexual like act is considered to be excessively disrupting of social order.

That is the criteria for censorship for the scary new Tokyo Youth Healthy Development Ordinance. This is a list of what marriages are currently illegal in Japan today;

1) Marrying to one’s self or anyone of the same sex.

2) Marrying an immediate blood relative. (Children and parent, grandchild and grandmother, etc.)

3) Marriage between a relative by affinity within the third degree. (Siblings, uncle and nephew, etc.)

4) Marriage between two relatives formed by marriage in a parental relationship. (A husband and his wife’s mother or his mother-in-law.) This holds true even after divorce or if the spouse has died.

5) Marriage between an adopted child or adopted child’s spouse with his or her adopting parents, their immediate siblings, their blood relatives, etc. (An adopted son’s divorced wife and the father of one of the adopting parents, etc.) This holds true even after divorce or if the adoption is nullified.

As you can see problems begin to arise quickly. To start with the most glaring problem, the bill gives power to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to censor material that “glorifies” same-sex relationships, this should be an immediate warning bell. The bills stated purpose (“… promoting the healthy development of people under the age of 18 by restricting their access to material that is carefully considered harmful by the Government.) was a warning bell (i.e. terrifying) from the start. The bill slipped in under the radar however do in large part to its author and champion, the Tokyo Metropolitan Governor, an ex-tv personality famous for his snake oil charm, Shintaro Ishihara assured worries with claims he intended to merely go after so-called rorikon (lolicon) and shotacon titles, given that the bill didn’t even aim to censor them entirely per se but merely keep them from minors the bill appeared benign. It wasn’t. The first problems that began to appear were with the claims of “Restriction of Access”, this was a convenient story cooked up by Ishihara’s teem that did a lot to stave off criticism, the idea was that titles “censored” by the government would reappear under an “Adults Only” label, but this was immediately proven to be a sort of impossible catch-22; in the very first batch of manga the government announced it was censoring, Masahiro Itosugi, the mangaka of Aki-Sora (one of the titles being censored), announced the manga was going out of print because it didn’t qualify for the adult label… and it wasn’t allowed to be published without the adult label. Check mate. Furthermore, in Japan, if a manga series is relegated to the adult section, it will destroy the sales. This means publishers will no longer try to confront controversial or hot button issues, because even if they are one of the lucky ones and they aren’t removed from the market entirely they’ll end up deep in the red by being regulated to to the adult section under the absurdly vague parameters of this law.

Let’s go back to February 12, 2008.  Brandon McInerney (14) decided to take his father’s .22 to E. O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard that day.  In his first period class in the computer lab, he sat behind Larry King.  He pulled the trigger and shot Larry King in the back of the head.

This got the attention of the entire class and the teacher.  With everyone watching, he shot Larry King in the head again.

McInerney has been described as being “popular and athletic”.  King was small, shy, half-black and effeminate.

King (15) wore high heeled boots and make-up to school, was completely open about his homosexuality and believed that the way to deal with his tormentors was to flirt with them.

One student testified that McInerney had told a group of students, “Say goodbye to your friend Larry because you won’t see him after tomorrow.”

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Words only hurt when you let them. It’s who you are that is important, not what others say about you.

From It Gets Better Project

h/t Think Progress via Twitter

As people are fond of noting…sometimes as if I didn’t know this…the best way to get people to believe in our need for equal rights is to share our stories.  I’ve tried to do that in my time here, which began in 2005.

Today I have a few more people I’d like you to meet.

And there’s a boycott that needs to be countered.

Congressman Jay Inslee (WA-01) announced his candidacy for Governor of the State of Washington in Seattle Monday, and Your Erstwhile Reporter was present.

The candidacy was announced with a speech that focused on “process improvements” and the invocation of new technology jobs as an economic engine for job growth (and in fact the event took place at the headquarters of a company that has developed seed-derived biofuels that have been used to power military and commercial aircraft).

But that’s not the part that’s going to be the most interesting for the civil-rights supportive reader.

The most interesting part is that Inslee was quick to offer his support for full marriage equality in the State of Washington, should he find himself elected.

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Yes, the New York State legislature passed a really important bill yesterday fixing a long neglected problem of importance for the all New Yorkers. No, it was not the Marriage Equality Bill that would allow same sex marriage in New York. It was naming Sweet Corn as the official state vegetable. Just what we need in NY, more starch in our diets. Meanwhile, we are still waiting for equality for our GLBT brothers and sisters. Typical of the the New York State legislature, the bill was passed late Friday night and immediately signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 11:55 PM. Gays will be able to marry in NY on July 24. Fantastic!

Up Dated: We’re getting there. I’ll keep you posted.

NY pols begin to clear way for gay marriage vote

The New York State Senate has passed the Marriage Equality bill with 33 votes in favor and 29 nays. The bill includes protections for religious organizations to be exempt from performing ceremonies, if they choose. There is no residency requirement in NY for a marriage license. Well done, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Gay Marriage Bill Passes In New York: Senate Passes Bill Allowing Same Sex Marriage

Gay couples and proponents of gay rights have a reason to celebrate tonight, as the New York State Senate has passed a bill that allows same sex marriage.

New York will be the sixth, and largest, state in the union to adopt gay marriage. The bill will take effect 30 days after governor Andrew Cuomo signs it into law.

The decision, which passed 33-29, was the culmination of weeks of contentious debate and negotiations between Governor Cuomo and the GOP-controlled Senate. After the bill passed in the Assembly, it was unclear if the bill had secured enough votes to pass in the Senate. When a few notable undecideds joined the cause –including Republican Roy McDonald who famously defended his decision, saying “fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing” — the scale in favor of gay marriage seemed to tip.