Gambia's president Yahya Jammeh attended a United Nations General Assembly on Friday, speaking of the threat homosexuals possess against human existence. He cited their greed and power-hungry fight for power. His vitriol wasn't taken lightly, as gay rights activists and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke against him, calling him "paranoid and disturbing."
The meeting on Thursday had many countries, including the US, France, Japan, and Brazil, to repeal laws criminalizing homosexual activity and those of non-traditional gender roles on a global scale.
According to a 2011 UN study, 76 countries criminalize same-sex relations, with more countries (such as Russia) discriminating against media and knowledge involving non-straight, non-cisgendered people. Violence targeting these people continues to plague many parts of the world, near and far.
We see a lot of this, now. After watching the Missionaries of Hate video in our class, it doesn't come as a surprise that more African countries besides Uganda feel this same necessary hate and intolerance - except this time, it is of a Muslim perspective rather than an evangelical Christian one. Jammeh, in 2007, proclaimed that he had found a cure for AIDS by boiling medicinal herbs. Is this his hopeful ignorance, as numerous people in Africa face HIV/AIDS on a daily basis, or is it a way to not provide real healthcare for many gay and lesbian people who suffer just as their straight counterparts?
It's important that many countries wish to see a stop to this frightening abuse, from their government and even to their religious leaders (the new Pope, for example, sees no reason to persecute homosexuals). The UN taking a step forward to rid the world of these human rights issues is a step in the right direction, but with people like Jammeh still in positions of power, these sanctions can only go so far. It's very difficult to argue against someone with such strong, impenetrable beliefs - no matter how ethically and morally wrong they may be. The only way to fix this is through educational efforts and a few lessons in basic human compassion.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/27/us-un-assembly-gays-idUSBRE98Q19K20130927
Kaitlyn Roesel
Oct. 1st, 2013
Soc-202-03
1:52 AM
Showing posts with label Kaitlyn Roesel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaitlyn Roesel. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Blog 1 - Lithuania and Its Anti-Gay Laws
Lithuania and Its Anti-Gay Laws
Following in Russia's recent footsteps,
Lithuania's parliament has passed a bill with the intent to censor
homosexuals from children, along with many other, “detrimental,”
expressions. The Lithuanian government ties material that talks of
“homosexual, bisexual, and polygamous relations” with “how to
make explosives.” As a whole, this bill is meant to promote
Catholic family values but many critics believe that the bill
violates human rights and the freedom of speech as it is meant to
cover television programs, video games, and advertising – any media
that can be accessed by children.
The former Soviet country has always
maintained an intolerance towards sexual minorities, as many Eastern
European countries have, and like Russia, Lithuania wishes to create
a total ban of homosexuality. This movement is led by Petras
Grazulis of the right-wing populist Order and Justice Party.
Lithuania has been in the limelight
recently for violating human rights, but many other Baltic countries
have adopted anti-gay laws – or at least created ways to prevent
events such as pride parades. This spreading violation has been
condemned by the European Parliament, but Russia, Moldova, Latvia,
Lithuania and the Ukraine have not listened.
And what do I think about this
situation? I'm not surprised that more former communist countries
are following Russia's lead when it comes to anti-gay legislature.
The fact that the previous president of Lithuania attempted to veto
the bill gave me some hope that not -all- government officials
believe that homosexuality is a 'danger' towards 'normal' family
values, but that hope dwindles day by day as more information rises
to the surface suggesting that homophobia is becoming more
widespread.
In this age where many countries are moving forward,
legalizing gay marriage, providing government benefits to homosexual
partners, it is a terrible thing that some countries are not
progressing in the ways of human rights – or worse, moving
backwards, as Lithuania is.
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Kaitlyn Roesel
Saturday, September 14th, 2013
1:22 AM
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