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Distress and Despair in the Streets of Iran today:
Open letter By the Network of Homosexual University Students of Iran

To The International Community

The painful incidents of the past few days reached their peak today. On Saturday June 20, the Islamic regime carried its violations of human rights of the past 30 years, further. The People’s desire to choose their government peacefully in a fair election was frustrated by the Regime and the Supreme Leader with deception and imposition of force. This led to a silent protest after the election results shocked the whole country. In the streets of Tehran, miles and miles of tolerant, calm, and resolved masses, about 3 million strong, confronted the rigged election. This peaceful yet determined protest was met with brutal force by the regime’s strongmen, shooting from rooftops and windows.

What the People of Iran want is democracy and free elections even if these are secured within the framework of an Islamic Republic. But apparently, an Islamic Republic is unlikely to give way to democracy. Reports of the dead and wounded in last week’s attacks on civilians vary, but facts are available through eyewitness accounts, images captured on cell phones and cameras, and messages typed online. Most significant is not our numbers, but the fact that we are being shot down in the streets in front of everyone, or being cut open in the detention centers where the protesters are being taken. Video clips and photos displaying killing and wounding, slitting of throats or tearing of bodies require no captions.

Strongmen and military forces are attacking civilians, using all sorts of weapons from boiling water to bullets. The basij, plain-cloths cultural police recruited to enforce religious morality, are now attacking people in their homes at night.

The People are still calm and determined; they have vowed to take back their stolen votes and to stop the government’s fraud with their bodies. Since the Supreme Leader announced the election results a definitive victory this Friday and ordered the People off the streets, the demonstrations have been perceived as open war on the legitimacy of the Regime itself. Tehran was a bloodbath today. Other large cities report assaults and military attacks on civilians; there are many fatalities.

In the hands of the Government today, the citizenry’s lives are as subjected to horrible violence, as is their hope for democracy and a just society. Following the Islamic Regime’s crackdown on university dormitories on the first three nights, five student activists, Mobian Ehterami, Kasra Sharafi, Kambiz Sho’a'ee, Fatemeh Baratee, and Mohsen Eemani were killed. The rest of the students murdered and wounded have not yet been named. By now, all outside Iran have had a chance to see images of the People’s silent screams and the torn and bleeding bodies of the same protestors. Those who were arrested or kidnapped and released wrote accounts of the horrors they experienced. Still we fear the grave reality is not yet understood by outsiders.

We know that our realities can sound like passages from an Eastern tale. For this reason, queer students in Iran feel compelled to tell of these tragic measures to the world and to stand witness. As we mourn the loss of innocent protesters and worry about the fate and whereabouts of those who have been arrested and not yet released, we are proud of the patient, determined long lines of people displaying the most amazing face of a society which remains refined in the presence of utterly brutal circumstances. We are united in this and we are one voice demanding democracy. Those of us who are alive today live by chance. This calm and refined crowed is devastated and distressed today. We live in fear and we anticipate the worst.

If Ahmadinejad backed by the Supreme Leader managed a coup against the elected president of Iran Mir Hosein Musavi, and seeks to divert the course of democracy, our hope and our goal is to not allow this to happen. Now that the Assembly of Guardians has turned down the People’s demand for new elections, the fear is that if the protests are crushed, the regime will oppress individual freedoms and civil rights much more harshly than before. The Islamic Regime of Iran, with its history of human rights violations, suppression of minorities and targeting of homosexuality by threat of execution, has chosen to repress democratic aspirations and demolish civil institutions in order to further its control of People’s lives in a widespread, veiled brutality. This will culminate in the wounding of Iranian society as whole and from there it will compromise human rights symbols around the world.

The Homosexual community of Iran has been living under harsh conditions of harassment and fear. We identify with the pain the People endured this last week; those who fought back tears and kept calm under attacks and assaults in which silence was the most effective or only shield. These days, the Government is dismissing demands for justice, opening fire on people, and calling them ‘less then dust,’ ‘dirt,’ ‘dirty’ and ‘fags,’ eliciting years of dual oppression in the mind of homosexual community. Iranian queers have been struggling with the merciless oppressive Regime for years; we know very well what it means to endure cruelty. In recent days, the Islamic Regime has been treating people in the same way it has treated the queer community over the past three decades. It is with this understanding in mind and with a hope for a fair and free future based on equality that we fight side by side, hand in hand against the dictator. We urge the international LGBT community to hear our voice and hear the People of Iran in their demand for new elections. We ask the international LGBT community to assist us in alerting the world of the cruelties and the killings taking place in Iran during these days. We fear that in the days to come, if the dictator wins, a generation — our generation — will simply be eliminated.

These days, the queer movement of Iran is alongside the people’s movement. We are certain that the death of democracy in Iran will sooner or later mean the death of all humanity. We are certain that in the denial of civil and individual rights - as Ahamdinejad did in his first speech after his second round of his appointment to power, calling all protesters ‘thieves,’ ‘ruffians’, and ‘fags’ - all hopes for a civil society will be wiped out. Yet we live with the hope of rescuing Iran from the spread of fascism. On the fourth day of the Silent Resistance, one protester held a placard pronouncing: I’m not afraid of death, my fear is of life … three days has passed already. Equality, social justice, respect for different ethnicities, religions, languages, and sexual minorities are indeed possible, if people are not denied their rights within the framework of democracy.

We ask the international community, the international LGBT community, and human rights organizations or the world to be watchful of the atrocities in the streets of Iran today, to respect the Iranian people’s vote and their wish to live in a democratic society, and to refuse to recognise Ahmadinejad as Iran’s elected president until a new election is held in the presence of UN monitors. We ask the international community to support people of Iran through diplomatic pressure and UN intervention.

We ask the international community to stand by us and to urge governments to respect the Iranian People and their vote, to refuse to recognise Ahmadinejad as Iran’s president until we have the opportunity to elect our president with our own votes. What we want is a new election. The People are resolved to take back their vote. For the people of Iran, particularly for the queer community and all other minorities, this is the only possible way forward.

Today the Iranian People are relying on their own capacity to resist and assert their quest for justice. This will not happen without the support of the international community.

Praised be the day when Iran is responsive and responsible for all its children and citizens.

In the name of freedom and social justice,
Homosexual Students of Universities in Iran
June 20, 2009

marriage equality

Here’s an alternative invocation recorded by CBST Senior Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum.  CBST (Congregation Beth Simchat Torah) is the LGBTQI synagogue in New York City and the largest in the world. 

Obama, Inauguration, Rick Warren, CBST, Gay, Lesbian, Prayer

Visit http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

Protests are happening around the country tomorrow.  This is important.  Be a part of it.  Use the above link to get more info for your area.

Together we can secure our rights and gain equality!

Visit http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

This is really wonderful.  Kudos to Keith and MSNBC.  Let them know how you feel about Keith’s comment by emailing them here.

This isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics, and this isn’t really just about Prop-8.  And I don’t have a personal investment in this: I’m not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives.

And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand.

Click below to watch the video and see the full transcript… (more…)

Stand Up.  Fight for your Rights.  The measure may have passed, but it’s the wrong change in state law.  Good must prevail and the promise of equality restored.

Here’s a list of protest happening this weekend in California care of Towleroad.com

CALIFORNIA VOTERS VOTE FOR DISCRIMINATION AND BIGOTRY

We had hoped never to have to write this email.

Sadly, fueled by misinformation, distortions and lies, millions of voters went to the polls yesterday and said YES to bigotry, YES to discrimination, YES to second-class status for same-sex couples.

And while the election was close, and millions of votes still remain uncounted, it has become apparent that we lost.

There is no question this defeat is hard.

Thousands of people have poured their talents, their time, their resources and their hearts into this struggle for freedom and this fight to have their relationships treated equally. Much has been sacrificed in this struggle.

While we knew the odds for success were not with us, we believed Californians could be the first in the nation to defeat the injustice of discriminatory measures like Proposition 8.

And while victory is not ours this day, we know that because of the work done here, freedom, fairness and equality will be ours someday. Just look at how far we have come in a few decades.

Up until 1974 same-sex intimacy was a crime in California. There wasn’t a single law recognizing the relationships of same-sex couples until 1984 — passed by the Berkeley School District. San Francisco did not pass domestic-partner protections until 1990; the state of California followed in 2005. And in 2000, Proposition 22 passed with a 23% majority.

Today, we fought to retain our right to marry and millions of Californians stood with us. Over the course of this campaign everyday Californians and their friends, neighbors and families built a civil rights campaign unequalled in California history.

You raised more money than anyone believed possible for an LGBT civil rights campaign.

You reached out to family and friends in record numbers — helping hundreds of thousands of Californians understand what the LGBT civil rights struggle is really about.

You built the largest grassroots and volunteer network that has ever been built — a coalition that will continue to fight until all people are equal.

And you made the case to the people of California and to the rest of the world that discrimination — in any form — is unfair and wrong.

We are humbled by the courage, dignity and commitment displayed by all who fought this historic battle.

Victory was not ours today. But the struggle for equality is not over.

Because of the struggle fought here in California — fought so incredibly well by the people in this state who love freedom and justice — our fight for full civil rights will continue.

Activist and writer Anne Lamott writes, “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”

We stand together, knowing… our dawn will come.

Dr. Delores A. Jacobs
CEO
Center Advocacy Project

Lorri L. Jean
CEO
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

Kate Kendell
Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

While it is somewhat inconceivable to me that this piece of shit proposition may have passed even though there was so much opposition from newspapers, the community, and even politicians, and so many lies exposed coming from the Prop 8 backers, it was not unpredictable.  But the outcome isn’t necessarily final.  There are more ballots to count.

From the No-o-8 Campaign:

While we know the climb to still defeat Prop 8 is very steep, the magnitude of the issues at stake for every same-sex couple and LGBT person in the state of California requires that we have an accurate picture of the final outcome before calling the ultimate outcome.

With at least 3 million ballots still to be counted, from counties we have not yet seen identified, the race could, at a minimum narrow, with the margin becoming much closer.

The No on Prop 8 campaign has determined that, given the incredible gravity of the situation, we will not issue the ultimate call on this election until we have more information (24-48 hours).

Never before in California’s history has a group, who currently enjoys a basic right, been singled out and then had those rights ripped from them by a vote of their fellow citizens. This decision is so radical and so egregious that every voice must first be heard, no matter how unlikely a changed outcome might be.

In this fight for fairness and justice, tens of thousands of Californians built a campaign that far surpassed any previous civil rights effort on any ballot measure — not only in California, but anywhere in our entire country.

You poured your talents, time, resources and hearts into this struggle for freedom and this fight to have their relationships treated equally. Thank you for each and every sacrifice.

And yesterday, at least 5 million Californians voted with us to reject discrimination and we thank them for their support for equality. In 2000 2.9 million voted against discrimination in our loss over Proposition 22 — we lost that fight by a 22% margin.

Together, we put together the largest volunteer and grassroots network of any campaign other than a presidential campaign. Together, we spoke to our families, our friends, our neighbors and co-workers. Together, we reached outside our community to build coalitions that will strengthen us all. Together, we raised more money for this fight, in a shorter time, than anyone believed possible.

And the struggle for equality is not over.

Because of the struggle fought here in California and fought so incredibly well by the people in this state that loves freedom and justice — our fight for full civil rights will continue.

In solidarity,

Kate Kendell
Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights   

Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California

My sister called me up this morning from her ultra-left enclave called Seattle.  She wanted to respond to colleagues that were supporting McCain because of their religious views on Abortion and Marriage.  Here is my response.  It got a good response, so I figured I’d post it here as well.  Perhaps in these last hours before the election this may help some people with their voting decision.

To live a religious life in this country requires that we vote along with our beliefs.  But our elections aren’t that clean.  Our politicians don’t represent a single moral standard through all of the relevant issues.  What they represent is a model of thinking that we choose to vote for, an approach to creating and managing public policy.  The question before us is whether a single answer on a single issue represents hope for our country forming morally acceptable policies.  Does John McCain represent the kind of thinking that will encourage peace among our citizenship, renewed respect for faith in our country, and a moral fortitude that leaves room for all people to practice their beliefs, respect each other’s decisions, and debate these difficult issues?

(more…)