NEWS & LETTERS, August - September 2009
Queer Notes
by Elise
Israeli Gays and their supporters rallied in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 2 against the worst homophobic attack ever in that country. The day before, a masked gunman murdered two and wounded ten people at a GLBT youth center. The gunman remains at large.
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A colorful and festive Pride Parade in New Delhi, India, in late June was attended by more than 1,500 Gays, Lesbians and their supporters. They were anticipating the July 2 ruling by the Delhi High Court decriminalizing gay sex, which applies only in New Delhi, but could impact all India. This ruling overturns the law banning homosexual sex established 150 years ago during Great Britain's oppressive colonial rule.
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Transgender people should have equal benefits from the government, Pakistan's Supreme Court recently ruled. Income support programs and social welfare departments for those in need and protection by police from violence were among the kinds of benefits specifically mentioned in the Supreme Court's opinion.
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In the U.S., hate crimes legislation inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity and disability looks like it will be signed into law. The legislation was attached as an amendment to a Senate Department of Defense bill, but President Obama threatened to veto it if funding for F-22 fighter jets wasn't deleted. The Senate deleted the funding.
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An Equality March on Washington, D.C., demanding full equality will take place on Oct. 11 to coincide with National Coming Out Day. The March was announced by Cleve Jones, a protégé of Harvey Milk and founder of the NAMES Project/AIDS memorial quilt, and is being organized by Equality Across America.
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In Eastern Europe, a region notorious for homophobia, newly elected President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania condemned the Law on Protection of Minors, which bans materials about homosexuality. Former President Valdas Adamkus vetoed the bill, calling it "a clear breach of the EU's (European Union's) fundamental rights and principles." But Lithuania's legislature overrode Adamkus's veto.
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