Pope Francis to Meet With Married Gay Activist

Simón Cazal (left), executive director of SOMOSGAY, kisses his husband, Sergio López, during their 2012 wedding in Argentina. facebook.com

Whether this will be nothing more than yet another PR stunt to soften the appearance of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy's anti-gay animus or something really positive remains to be seen, but Pope Francis on his own initiative is seeking to meet with a married gay activist during a visit to Paraguay in July when he visits that nation.  Paraguay currently has few protections for its LGBT citizens although homosexuality has not been illegal for many years (same sex relations have been legal since 18880).  With the recognition of same sex marriage sweeping South America, one of the Church's former bastions, one has to wonder if Francis realizes that the Church's continued hostility towards gays is only accelerating the Church's decline in the region as in North America and Europe.  BuzzFeed looks at the surprising development.  Here are highlights:

Pope Francis is slated to hold his first public meeting with a married gay activist during a visit to Paraguay in July.

The activist is Simón Cazal, executive director of the Paraguayan LGBT rights group SOMOSGAY, who married another SOMOSGAY activist, Sergio López, in neighboring Argentina in 2012. Though the pope has reportedly held pastoral meetings with some LGBT people, this meeting marks the first time he will publicly meet with an LGBT political activist.

Cazal received an invitation on June 4 from the committee of the Paraguayan bishops’ conference to participate in a roundtable with the pope and civil society leaders. The invitation — provided to BuzzFeed News by SOMOSGAY — said it was extended in recognition of the “high impact of your organization on Paraguayan society.” The meeting will be held on July 11 in the capital, Asunción.

López told BuzzFeed News that the invitation came as a total surprise — the group had not requested to be included in the meeting. Paraguay also is one of the few South American countries where no protections exist for LGBT people or same-sex couples; their marriage in Argentina has no legal force in their country.

The invitation comes shortly after SOMOSGAY launched a campaign calling on the Catholic Church to “abandon the positions of intolerance and insults dehumanizing LGBT people.” 

SOMOSGAY made international news last June when riot police violently removed LGBT protestors supporting a resolution supportive of LGBT rights when they clashed with religious conservative protestors before the beginning of a meeting of the Organization of American States in Asunción last year.

Putin Imposes Secret Sanctions on Pro-Gay Obama Campaign Donors

I try to not bash Vladimir Putin too frequently, but sometimes, it is hard to do.  Today is one of those days.  Yesterday I noted that Putin is playing the Russian people much as Hitler played the 1930's Germans.  Now, in retaliation for Obama's criticism of Putin's anti-gay policies and sanctions America and some EU countries have imposed on Russia in the wake of the undeclared invasion of the non-Crimea portions of Ukraine, in a school yard bully like move, Putin has imposed secret sanctions on Obama's gay campaign contribution bundlers and other pro-gay donors.  The Daily Beast looks at Putin's childish hissy fit.  Here are excerpts:

The Kremlin has expanded its secret “black list” of Americans banned from Russia to include Obama campaign fundraisers tied to the LGBT community and senior Congressmen, diplomatic sources tell The Daily Beast. Moscow’s list, these sources say, was expanded in retaliation to the Obama administration’s attack on the assets of key business associates of Vladimir Putin in March.

[U]nlike the United States, which made all three rounds of sanctions public, the Russian government only publicly revealed one list of sanctioned Americans, which included top Senators and White House officials. The contents of the subsequent additions to the Russian list, however, remain officially undisclosed.

[T]he second American list was more personal, going after big businessmen in Russia who were very close to Putin—his moneymen and his cronies. Putin said in late April that he was baffled that the Americans were targeting the Russian oligarchs.

So when the Kremlin responded, the Russians had to get a little creative. Many top American businessmen are not necessarily close to President Obama personally, so Moscow chose to sanction top Obama campaign bundlers as the closest means of direct retaliation.

Diplomatic sources confirmed to The Daily Beast that the expanded and still-secret Russian sanctions list includes five top Obama campaign bundlers as well as about a dozen top Senators and Congressmen who were not included in the first list. The names of the specific bundlers remains a secret, but a focus was put on those with ties to the gay and lesbian community; it’s a reflection of the ongoing fight between the Kremlin and the White House over Russia’s laws punishing the promotion of LGBT “propaganda.”

Out in the Park - Virginia Beach Launch Party on 4/18/12

Last year Hampton Roads Pride held a very successful preliminary launch event in Norfolk (the boyfriend and are Gold Sponsors for this year's event). Now, with the date of the 2012 Out in the Park date set for August 18, 2012, a full blown launch event will take place tomorrow, April 18, 2012. Here are details:

WHEN: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 from 6-8:00 PM

WHERE: Susan and Paul Hirschbeil home 1800 Eden Way, Virginia Beach, Virginia

FOOD SPONSOR: Dancing Tomato

POTENTIAL SPONSORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND

RSVP: here or call (757)718-7373 because space is limited.

More information on the 2012 Out in the Park celebration can be found here on the Hampton Roads Pride web page.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Profiles LGBT activist Guy Kinman

Richmond, Virginia is not the most progressive of cities when it comes to LGBT rights and equality (although it now has a LGBT tourism page on its convention and visitors center web page unlike even more backwards Hampton Roads). Nor is the Richmond Times-Dispatch what one would exactly describe as a liberal news outlet. Actually, it often borders on the near reactionary. Hence my surprise to find a lengthy and positive piece in today's publication on Guy Kinman, now 93, a long time activist in the Richmond LGBT community. Like me, Kinman came out later in life - actually a decade later than I did - and had been married. As he describes it, he tried to live up to other people's expectations. Something that I suspect so many of us in the LGBT community have done for varying periods of time until we finally face the fact that it's not working and that we are lying to ourselves and those we love. Here are some profile highlights:
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More than a quarter-century later, Guy M. Kinman Jr. looks back on what he calls "the greatest moment in my life" and remains amazed that he was a part of it.
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It was December 1985, and Kinman, the new president of the Richmond-Virginia Gay Alliance, led a campaign in which billboards were placed across Richmond with gently provocative messages such as: Someone You Know Is Gay … Maybe Someone You Love. For Richmond at the time, it bordered on extraordinary.
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The billboards marked a remarkable personal awakening for Kinman after a lifetime of gradual self-discovery, largely spent trying to fulfill other people's expectations. The former Presbyterian minster and Air Force chaplain, who had been married for 10 years before divorcing, didn't come to terms with the fact he was gay until his 50s.
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In his 60s, he stepped forward in a very public way to spearhead the billboard campaign, bringing an innate confidence and hard-earned fearlessness, along with a can't-we-all-just-get-along nature to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement.
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"Guy is the institutional memory for the Richmond LGBT community," said Jay Squires, president of the Gay Community Center of Richmond. "I don't have any hesitation at all to call Guy one of the most committed activists that I know. He's really a deep thinker about our issues."
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An introspective sort, Kinman has thought a lot about the billboard project and his life in recent months, since the Virginia Historical Society and the Gay Community Center of Richmond created the Guy Kinman Research Award to promote historical scholarship on LGBT issues.
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[D]uring the Korean War he was accepted into the Air Force as a chaplain. He enjoyed the work better than preaching and earned commendations, but he still didn't feel at home with his job or himself. Near the end of his six years as a chaplain, he realized he was "not the authentic person that God had intended me to be."

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He left the ministry, took a sales job and moved to Richmond. He fell in love and in 1962 married a Richmond woman and became a stepfather to her three children. He remained married for a decade, but like the ministry, it was never a comfortable fit. The word "gay" never came up during the marriage, Kinman said, but he said it was clear he didn't belong in that sort of relationship.
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"It was best for both of us," he said. "I walked out with a great sense of freedom. Not freedom that she had been a burden, because she was a wonderful woman, but having to be a heterosexual man had been impossible."
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He was in a unique position compared with younger members of the LGBT community. He had no parents to disown him, and because he was retired, he didn't have to worry about an employer finding out. He didn't care if people knew he was gay. In fact, he was glad to tell them. He didn't mind going on television or presenting himself at newspaper editors' offices. He was happy to have his name associated with the project, even fielding the calls that came in on the phone number printed on the billboards.
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Something he's thought a lot about is the advancement of the LGBT movement in the past 25 years — the greater standing of gays and lesbians legally and in society in general, chief among them. He's thrilled and gratified at the recent repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving. He's also glad to be around to witness it.
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It's sad that so many - especially Christianists - are so afraid of living an authentic life as the person God made them to be. Instead, they hide behind religion as an excuse for self-hatred and the hatred on others. Kudos to Kinman for having the guts to be who he is. From my own experience, it is such a liberating feeling and hopefully sets an example for others.

Fighting For Gay Rights in Nepal - Sunil Pant

As the USA continues to lag behind other parts of the world in its treatment of LGBT citizens, one of the interesting stories of gay rights around the world is that of what is happening in Nepal - the tiny nation nestled in the Himalayas. Leading the charge for change is Sunil Pant (pictured at right), Nepal’s first openly gay parliamentarian and the man leading the gay rights revolution in Nepal and setting an example in Asia. Much to my amazement some months back Pant asked to be MY Facebook friend. Once again demonstrating how blogging can bring about some unique contacts. Sunil is a testimony to the fact that one person can make a difference. As I have written before, Nepal wants to become a gay honeymoon destination. Here are some highlights from CNN:
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The United States made headlines this June when it announced that the passports of transgender individuals will reflect their changed genders. But those in and around Nepal will remember that the Nepali authorities issued similar "third gender" identification cards back in 2007. And leading this charge for gay rights in Asia is Nepal's first openly gay Parliamentarian, Sunil Pant.
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In the center of Kathmandu is the popular Ratna Park and in the evenings in the late 1990s, that was where the city's LGBT community would quietly meet. Within one month, Pant met thousands of Nepal’s sexual minorities. Pant shared what he learned about the Stonewall Movement, about South Africa's legalization of gay marriage, and the open environment in which gays live in other parts of the world. At the same time, people shared with Pant the fear, intimidation, abuse, and violence they experienced at home in Nepal.
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Pant and his friends began to organize. They held the first training of its kind in Nepal addressing condom usage for gay men, sexual health, and human rights. When one transgender member of the training committed suicide after being beaten and discovered by her brother, Pant became determined to document and campaign on behalf of such individuals. In 2001, Pant started the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a thriving resource, advocacy, and community center for Nepal's LGBT community.
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2006 saw the rise of populist movements in Nepal and it was then that Pant presented the government with an agenda to protect the rights of LGBT individuals. In 2007 he took the government to court demanding equal rights; they ruled in favor of Pant, agreed to issue third gender identification cards, and sanctioned the formation of a committee to research the societal effects of same-sex marriage. As Pant puts it, the committee wanted to ensure that "the sky would not fall" if Nepal were to legalize gay marriage.
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Pant says his policies are moving fast, the media is supportive, and gay individuals are more open about their sexuality now. "Government policies don't change, but individual ministers do," and that is where Pant sees possibilities for progress. "We have the same politicians and people expect miracles to happen," says Pant, who is now leading a broad-based youth activist movement in Nepal.
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And like Nepal, Pant believes the United States should move toward same-sex marriage laws on a federal level and not let individual states decide on matters of marriage.

Andrew Sullivan: Pep Talk to LGBT Virginians at Equality Virginia Event

Last night's Commonwealth Dinner was a wonderful affair and the venue at the Marriott was far superior to that of the Richmond Convention Center where it has been for the past several years. The key note speaker, Andrew Sullivan, provided both a pep talk to Virginia LGBT citizens and reminded us that civil rights movements do experience many set backs - something far too familiar herein reactionary Virginia - before they ultimately prevail. One activist friend from Hampton Roads confided to me afterwards that Andrew's thoughtful and sensitive remarks brought her to tears at some points. He particularly reminded the audience that we ARE fully human and that we can never allow our enemies to take that realization from us. Surprisingly, the Richmond Times Dispatch has a story on Andrew's key note speech. Here are some highlights:
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"My emphasis is on encouraging gay people to believe in themselves and to gain the self-confidence and self-belief that these political victories and defeats are not as important as creating a generation of people who believe in their own dignity," said Sullivan, the keynote speaker at last night's annual Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner. Equality Virginia is a statewide, nonpartisan advocacy organization seeking equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Virginians.
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"The civil-rights movements are built upon failures more than successes," he said. "It's the way you respond to failure, the dignity with which you react to losing that I think impresses the people whose minds are not made up."
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He was dismayed by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli telling state universities they had no legal authority to prohibit discrimination against gay students and employees. Gov. Bob McDonnell responded by declaring that he will not tolerate bias on the basis of sexual orientation, though he stopped short of adding sexual-orientation protection to Virginia's anti-discrimination law.
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"I think it's a terrible shame," Sullivan said, "that Virginia is associated in many people's minds with the most draconian hostility toward gay people in the country."
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Sullivan said he would like to "get past" the era of the gay-rights movement, but change and acceptance is a process that must be played out. He said "just a few things need to be done" to reach the point at which gays are allowed to live their lives like everyone else. Those things include a more widespread legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Sullivan said he is in the third year of his civil marriage to another man.
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"I wrote the first piece on gay marriage in 1989 for the cover of The New Republic," he said. "We put a wedding cake on the cover with two guys on top of it. It was almost at that point a sort of thought experiment. "The idea that 20 years later I would be married and have my mother-in-law bugging me to go to Christmas, you know you've arrived," he said with a laugh.
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Another determined and dignified individual that the boyfriend and I enjoyed talking with is Robyn Deane, a new voice for transgender activism who in her former life was the brother-in-law of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. Robyn is a joy and we feel privileged that we had an opportunity to get to know her. I suspect we will have future endeavors together as we work to drag Virginia fully into the 21st century.
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One of the ironies in Virginia is that each time the enemies of LGBT equality score what they see as a victory, it in reality galvanizes Virginia's LGBT community to a new of militancy and an increased refusal to live their lives so as to please the sensibilities of those who despise us. More and more of our circle of friends are living their lives openly with a mind set of "if you don't like/accept me, the loss is yours, not mine." That mind set and the increased acceptance one finds among the younger generation spell long term defeat of the Christianists and the powers of reaction not only in Virginia but in other currently non-progressive areas of the USA.

Change Need at HRC

Like many, I am disappointed at the way HRC - and for that matter, the NGLTF as well - were caught completely flat footed on Proposition 8. So too, in the aftermath of the election defeat on Proposition 8, HRC seems to be chasing after the initiative of grass roots individuals who on their own began the protest actions through Join the Impact, etc. Sadly, all too often HRC seems more worried about not offending the sensibilities of elected political officials rather than forcefully representing the interests of LGBT citizens. It's pathetic now that I am receiving e-mails from HRC talking about the protest efforts as if somehow HRC had anything to do with their taking place or success.

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As I have briefly commented before, my own experience with HRC is not good. For example, in a pending matter for one of my clients involving the enforcement of Executive Order 1 (2006) signed by Governor Timothy Kaine granting employment non-discrimination protections to state employees who are LGBT, HRC's biggest concern was not upsetting Governor Kaine with whom they said they had good relations. Their attitude was in effect, to Hell with the wrongfully discharged employee while we play "nicey nicey" with the Governor. This mindset must change. Here are some highlights from Chris Crain's blog:

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A number of influential voices are echoing the view raised here (and here) about the need for fundamental change of mindset and personnel at the leadership of the gay rights movement. . . . . [I]t turns out that James Dobson's Focus on the Family is facing layoffs of more than 200 staffers because it pumped $539,000 into the Proposition 8 battle in California. Can anyone imagine HRC giving till it hurts like that?

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It's particularly disappointing to see how behind the curve HRC is on the use of technology to push grassroots advocacy, given the dozens and dozens of young, tech-savvy staffers who work at the agency. It just goes to show you how the top-down approach to politics pushed by Smith, Joe Solmonese and other HRC leaders results in in-house management that further cripples the group's effectiveness.

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Change may well be coming to HRC, for no other reason but that many of its leaders are no doubt jockeying for jobs in the incoming Obama administration. (Query whether they will be embraced by the White House, given how obviously they sided with Hillary Clinton during the primaries. It's noteworthy that none of the seven out gay politicos with roles in the Obama transition team hail from HRC.)

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Either way, the gay rights movement is moving on with a retooled HRC or without it. The question is whether the D.C.-based gay groups want to remain relevant to the constituents and the movement they claim to lead.

Join the Impact - Nationwide Protests Today

The "Join the Impact" movement has taken off like a California wild fire and today hundreds of protests are taking place all across the USA. Hopefully, many usually complacent members of the LGBT community will come out and stand with others who want to show that we gays are everywhere and that we do not all look like outlandish images in gay pride parades that our enemies love to disseminate. Information on the effort and an event in your area can be found at the Join the Impact website here. In the Norfolk area, the protest will be at 1:30 PM at Norfolk City Hall, 810 Union Street, Norfolk, Virgina. Events are taking place at six (6) other cities, including Richmond, Charlottesville and Williamsburg. If your schedule permits and an event is nearby, PLEASE consider attending. If we do not fight for our rights, do not expect others to do the right thing and just hand them to us.

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And believe me, the media is picking up on the movement. Here are highlights from the New York Times:

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The Internet played an unprecedented role in rallying voters during this year’s election. In the aftermath of the election, Web 2.0 tools are continuing to play a role in other causes, astonishing long-time activists with the power and speed with which it gets their message out.

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The latest example is a series of international protests scheduled for Saturday in opposition to California’s Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban that passed on Nov. 4. Join the Impact, a Web site built the morning of Friday, Nov. 7, has rallied hundreds of thousands of people who are gathering this weekend in eight countries, 50 states and 300 cities.

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This is the pinnacle of giving people a voice online. And people are taking that voice and making it meaningful with a megaphone.” Amy Balliett, one of the two original organizers of the movement, has organized local demonstrations and fundraisers in the past the old-fashioned way, with fliers around town and word of mouth. She said she is astonished at the momentum and speed that Join the Impact has picked up from the Web.

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Join the Impact is also on Twitter and Facebook, which are also helping to “drive the masses,” Ms. Balliett said. After the Saturday protests, the week-old organization will keep harnessing the power of the Web to fight for equality, she said. Next up: they are planning a “day without gays,” when they will encourage gay people to stay home and not contribute to the economy.