Sponsored links

Culture shift re: homosexuality, bisexuality, etc.

Events during 2009-JUL illustrating
cultural shifts about sexual minorities

Sponsored link.

Events:

	2009-JUL-02: India: Adult same-sex behavior decriminalized in New Delhi: The New Delhi High Court issued a 105 page judgment, ruling that the 148-year-old law created during colonial times to prohibit same-sex sexual acts was: discriminatory, a "violation of fundamental rights," and thus unconstitutional. More info.
	2009-JUL-03: Europe: Atlantis advertises on our website: Atlantis Events has begun advertising on this website. It is unusual for gay-positive groups to place banner ads on religious websites. 1
	2009-JUL-06: Chairmen of Joint Chiefs of Staff favors DADT change: Admiral Mike Mullen, the top military office in the U.S., has advised President Obama to move "in a measured way" to change the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. More info.
	2009-JUL-07: SSM in DC: Out-of state same-sex marriages are now recognized in the District of Columbia. More info.
	MID-2009-JUL: USA: Changes in policies towards GLBTs by Episcopal Church: The Episcopal Church, USA is expected to  "... endorse liturgies for single sex marriage and allow more homosexuals to be made bishops." 2
	2009-JUL-16: USA: Senate passes hate-crime bill: The federal Senate passed bill S-909, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (MSHCPA) by a vote of 63 to 28 (69% in favor). All of the NO votes were by Republicans. All of the Democrats, two Independents, and five Republicans voted in favor. That is about as bipartisan as the Senate is able to achieve under the present circumstances on any bill. A version of the bill had been passed by the House earlier in the year. More details.
	2009-JUL-16: USA: Sigourney Weaver nominated for Emmy: Actress Sigourney Weaver was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal of a mother in the movie "Prayers for Bobby" broadcast on Lifetime Networks. It is based on a book by the same name by Leroy Aaron which described a true story from the 1970s. The movie shows the mother transitioning from a deeply religious woman who refused to accept her son's homosexual orientation, to a woman questioning her faith, to an strong advocate for acceptance and equal rights for sexual minorities. See a movie trailer.
	2009-JUL-22: NY: Professor's contract withdrawn: The New York University School of Law had invited Dr. Thio Li-Ann, an academic and politician from Singapore, to teach human rights as a Global Visiting Professor. However, she had allegedly publicly villified homosexuality and had actively advocated for its continued criminalization in Singapore. She subsequently withdrew her acceptance of the offer to teach, citing pressure from the university community. A petition had been circulated and letters sent that condemned Thio's hiring. Anurag Gupta, a member of the board of NYU School of Law's Coalition of Legal Recruitment (COLR) said: "It's like having a pro-apartheid professor teach human rights. Thio is a leading figure in Singapore who prevented LGBT people from gaining equality. She can say whatever she wants to say but she should not be teaching human rights law at NYU. How can she advocate for human rights when she takes a fundamental anti-human rights position? Her views encourage discrimination and scare people, compelling them to stay silent in Singapore and in her classroom. It leaves LGBT people vulnerable." 4,5
	2009-JUL-27: North America: GLAAD releases TV reviews: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) released its third annual Network Responsibility Index. It rates the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender content on the five major broadcast networks and the ten main cable networks for quantity, quality, and diversity of portrayals of GLBT characters and issues. Their ratings are based on monitoring 6,116 hours of programming. Rashad Robinson, Senior Director of Media Programs at GLAAD said: "This year programming was not only inclusive of LGBT people, but networks like HBO are beginning to reflect the broad diversity within our community. With upcoming fall programming and new storylines there is a tremendous opportunity for networks to share the stories of all members of our community including lesbian, bisexual and transgender people as well as LGBT people of color, all groups which continue to be underrepresented across all networks." They rated: HBO, Showtime, ABC and CW as good. Fox as adequate. NBC, CBS, A&E, Sci Fi and TBS as failed. 6
	2009-JUL-28: UN: ECOSOC recognizes GLBT group: For the third consecutive year, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has overruled a decision by a panel of its member states to bar recognition of a Brazilian GLBT group called  the Brazilian Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals (ABGLT). Most of the opposition in the panel came from predominately Muslim countries. The Brazilian group was founded in 1995 and is an umbrella group for 141 GLBT-positive groups and 62 supporting organizations. 7
	2009-JUL-29: Albania: The government website announced that the governing party -- the Democrats -- will introduce a law creating a system of civil weddings for loving, committed same-sex couples. The statement mentioned that it "...may spark debate." However, the party believes that it is necessary in order to stop discrimination against same-sex couples. The Democrats have 74 of Parliament's 140 seats, so the bill is expected to pass. This is an amazing development, because Albania is predominately Muslim and has large Orthodox and Roman Catholic minorities. This would be the first mainly Muslim country to officially recognize same-sex marriages. In about six predominately Muslim countries, sexually active gays and lesbians are executed. 8

Site navigation:

Home > Homosexuality > Status > Acceptance > here

Home > "Hot" topics > Homosexuality > Status > Acceptance > here

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today. 

1. "Atlantis All Gay Cruises and Resorts," at: http://www.atlantisevents.com/
2. Jonathan Wynne-Jones, "Change and repent, Bishop tells gays," Sunday Telegraph (UK), 2009-JUL-05, at: http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/
3. "Prayers for Bobby & Sigourney Weaver Nominated for Emmy Awards," Trevor Blog at: http://thetrevorproject.wordpress.com/
4. "USA: Homophobic Human Rights Professor Withdraws Due to Student Pressure," International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission mailing, 2009-JUL-23.
5. "Thio LiAnn's parliamentary speech on 377A." Singapore Parliamentary Reports, at: http://www.iglhrc.org/ This is a PDF file.
6. Richard Ferrari, "HBO ranks highest in third annual 'GLAAD Network Responsibility Index'," Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 2009-JUL-27, at: http://www.glaad.org/
7. Hilary White, "UN Approves Brazilian Homosexualist Group, Drops Christian Charity," LifeSiteNews, 2009-JUL-28, at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/
8. "Albanian government presents draft law to legalize same-sex civil weddings," Associated Press, 2009-JUL-30, at:  http://www.startribune.com/

Copyright © 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Initial posting: 2009-JUL-03
Latest update: 2000-AUG-01
Author: B.A. Robinson

Sponsored link

Web ReligiousTolerance.org

Page Translator: This page translator works on Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari browsers only After translating, click on the "show original" button at the top of this page to restore page to English.

Sponsored link: