Free And Equal In Dignity And Rights - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Thanks to my friend Greg Palmer for sharing this speech with me today. Remarks given on December 6, 2011 at Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.



Personal highlight:

And finally, to LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: Wherever you live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone. People around the globe are working hard to support you and to bring an end to the injustices and dangers you face. That is certainly true for my country. And you have an ally in the United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people.

The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy. In our embassies, our diplomats are raising concerns about specific cases and laws, and working with a range of partners to strengthen human rights protections for all. In Washington, we have created a task force at the State Department to support and coordinate this work. And in the coming months, we will provide every embassy with a toolkit to help improve their efforts. And we have created a program that offers emergency support to defenders of human rights for LGBT people.

This morning, back in Washington, President Obama put into place the first U.S. Government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against LGBT persons abroad. Building on efforts already underway at the State Department and across the government, the President has directed all U.S. Government agencies engaged overseas to combat the criminalization of LGBT status and conduct, to enhance efforts to protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, to ensure that our foreign assistance promotes the protection of LGBT rights, to enlist international organizations in the fight against discrimination, and to respond swiftly to abuses against LGBT persons.

I am also pleased to announce that we are launching a new Global Equality Fund that will support the work of civil society organizations working on these issues around the world. This fund will help them record facts so they can target their advocacy, learn how to use the law as a tool, manage their budgets, train their staffs, and forge partnerships with women’s organizations and other human rights groups. We have committed more than $3 million to start this fund, and we have hope that others will join us in supporting it.

More here.

Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards : Nominations due Feb 28

Found out about this today:

The Colin Higgins Foundation is requesting nominations for its annual Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards honoring LGBTQ activists who demonstrate courage in the face of adversity and discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity with individual grants of $10,000.

Many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit, Queer and Questioning youth struggle to live and survive in environments where their safety and well-being is constantly threatened - from enduring physical and emotional abuse from family members at home, to being kicked out of their homes once they come out, to confronting bullying, harassment, and physical violence at school. Isolated from family and community, they often find themselves in psychological or physical danger, needing support yet lacking access to positive resources to guide them through this critical time in their lives.

Unlike scholarship opportunities available to youth based on grade point averages or written essays, Colin Higgins Foundation looks to communities across the country to nominate and lift up the LGBTQ youth activists who inspire them and play critical roles in their schools, organizations, and community spaces. We are currently seeking nominations of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two-Spirit, Queer and Questioning youth activists (through age 21) who have transformed their experiences with bigotry and discrimination into opportunities to inspire others by taking action, rallying support, building community, and working to change the systems and institutions that impact their lives.

Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award winners receive: an individual grant of $10,000; a trip to New York to be honored at The Trevor Project’s gala in June; and an expense-paid trip to attend the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change presented by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce in 2012.

Online nominations can be made here by 5pm PST
on Mon Feb 28. All questions regarding the awards should be directed to info[@]colinhiggins.org.

Previous Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award recipients' profiles are here.

Ana Lopez is one of the 2006 honorees:

Ana endured a lonely and isolated childhood in East Los Angeles when she was outed at 14. Rejected by her family and friends because of their strong Catholic beliefs and disregarded by her teachers, Ana remembers, “I had no one.” Kicked out of the house at 17 by a father convinced her “bad” example was turning her younger sister gay, Ana coped by “cutting” or self-mutilating herself to “feel pain to numb the other pain I felt.” She attempted suicide at 14 and 16.

She turned her life around through filmmaking and self-expression, following a classroom presentation by Reach LA, a youth media organization. She wrote an article on being queer and attempting suicide that was featured on NPR and has made five documentaries on life in East LA, which have been screened nationally and internationally. Her film interviewing 12 queer students is now being used to train teachers throughout the LA Unified School District.

She founded three programs at Reach LA including: “Queer Youth Nation,” a nationwide survey of LGBT youth which has been screened at LA’s Outfest for the past three years; the “Be an Ally” program, which works in schools to educate teachers and students about queer issues through film “Reel Ghetto Queer,” a workshop to mentor queer youth in filmmaking.

Ana is committed to using her creative skills to build bridges with the straight and queer Latino community and immigrant and non-immigrant communities. Helping to financially support her family, for whom she feels a great deal of responsibility, Ana works full-time doing graphic design for a community health center. Her 21st birthday present to herself was a pillow, a luxury her family could never afford. Her dream is to go to college and to pursue a career in filmmaking and communications.

Whatcha doing this weekend, New Yorkers?

Thanks to the Rockland County Young Democrats for letting me know that my hometown newspaper, the Rockland Journal News reported on this today:

Members of the Kansas-based controversial Westboro Baptist Church, founded by America's most notorious anti-gay activist Reverend Fred Phelps, will protest outside of Nyack High School on Saturday from 7:15 - 8pm, directly preceding a student performance of the off-Broadway play "The Laramie Project." The play is about Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was assaulted and murdered in Laramie, Wyoming simply because he was gay.

The Journal news article said: it was unclear why Westboro singled out the Nyack production. Rye High School staged the play last month and several other Westchester County high schools, including Pelham, Harrison, Rye Country Day, Croton-Harmon, and The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, have performed it in recent years.

Please support the students and the community by going to see their performance of the play this weekend. Event details here.

When I saw this, it immediately reminded me of a similar activity that took place at Lowell High School here in San Francisco earlier this year. Turns out Westboro Baptist Church was at the center of that one, too. Apparently the Westboro Baptist Church members are also anti-Semitic.



I would not even favor them with a blog post, except that I really like Lowell's response; plus, I wanted to put in a good word for the Nyack performance this weekend:) If you see it, then let me know how it is!

best short video that I have ever seen.

... and if you've ever glanced through my blog before, then you know that I've seen a lot of short videos:)

In New York, the choice for Governor could not be clearer

Carl Paladino:



For more ridiculousness ... Anderson Cooper interviews Paladino.

Andrew Cuomo:



The 2nd news clip above features Paladino walking in the Columbus Day Parade wearing a red tie and carrying an Italian flag.

Err ... Paladino, put down the Italian flag.

The city's St. Patrick's Day parade has long banned gay and lesbian groups from marching under their own banners, but the Columbus Day Parade's chairman said that wasn't the case with his event. "We don't have an issue with gays," Lawrence Auriana said, adding that he didn't know of any gay Italian-American groups affiliated with his parade. "They've been with us since Roman times."

Unfortunately not every New Yorker feels the same way. Check out this open letter to Paladino, and then the response by members of his own party.

I serve as the Co-Chairman of the New York College Republican State Committee and "Im mad as hell." I have been a vocal supporter of Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, until this past weekend. Mr. Paladino told me this weekend that my lifestyle is not equally valid or successful. Yes, I am an openly gay male. The comments made by Mr. Paladino this weekend have deeply offended me, my community and everything I stand for. So I have a message for you, Mr. Paladino:

You have sent the message that my lifestyle and the lifestyles of millions of New Yorkers are immoral, invalid, unsuccessful and something that we should be ashamed of. Let me tell you what I am ASHAMED of. I am ashamed to have a candidate at the top of my partys ticket that would espouse views of hatred and bigotry toward the LGBTQ community or any other community. I am ashamed to have somebody who wants to serve in New Yorks highest office who believes that children should not be exposed to alternative lifestyles, as if being homosexual is a disease they could catch. I am ashamed to hear someone who desires to lead make divisive and offensive comments toward a community that has suffered unimaginable tragedies in the past weeks. And I am ashamed to hear a candidate truly believe that by making these comments he is not furthering bigotry, hate and violence toward the LGBTQ community.

Now let me tell you what I am PROUD of. I am a proud Openly Gay Male and a proud Republican. I am a proud organizer of the annual NYC Gay Pride March, a celebration of the gay culture and the many other cultures that we represent as a community. I am proud to be fighting for the lives of LGBTQteenagers, of whom we have lost nearly 10 to suicide in the past several weeks. I am proud to fight for the rights of my community and to stand up to hatred and violence, even amidst the utterly terrifying hate crimes that have occurred in my own city.

You, Mr. Paladino, have nothing to be proud of. It is truly sad that you believe your comments are not felt by the entire LGBTQ community; by those of us who have been shaken to the core by the recent violence against our community. You are unfit for the Governors Mansion, the government of this state, or a society based on principles of freedom and equality. You owe the LGBTQ citizens of this state and country an apology. YOU should be ASHAMED.

Kyle T. Collins
Co-Chairman, New York College Republican State Committee
Volunteer Coordinator, NYC Gay Pride March, Heritage of Pride, inc

Response:

In Response to the letter written to gubernatorial candidate, Carl Paladino, by the NYCRSC Co-Chairman, Kyle Collins: Mr.Collins is a respected and valued member of our organization.

... That being said, the view reflected in his letter are his own and in no way reflective of the College Republicans as a whole. Mr.Collins is entitled to his own viewpoints, and that is the beauty of the Republican Party. The 'big tent' which encompasses all of us does not reject people for individual aspects of their ideologies. The New York College Republicans presently have a strong relationship with the Paladino Campaign and will continue to maintain such a relationship.

Sandra Amidon
Chairwoman of the New York College Republican State Committee, Inc.

You are Not Alone.