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Community Updates: April 20, 2009


New edits are in "daPride Member's News", scroll down to see.

Hey all, it's =Avalik here and it has been a long time, hasn't it? We finally got a new subscription so we can post some fancy journals again. Yay!

Let's get to the news, shall we? First, an international event is coming up if you did not know: International Day Against Homophobia and this time we give you more notice than a couple of hours, (heh). It starts on May 17, and you're invited to even start your own campaign or event for that day and I encourage you to. Or if you can't, maybe you can attend an event. The theme for this year is 'Homosexuality Knows No Borders' and 2009's campaign is aimed more specifically at the ethno-cultural communities and try to have them more aware of LGBT issues.

"Homosexuality is a universal fact and borders cannot be forced on it"

If you're interested in attending an event, here is a list of several in Canada, and a few in Australia, Belgium and France, as well as one in Phoenix, USA. If you know of any other events that aren't posted there, let us know and we will advertise it here. Just be sure to include all relevant information!

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So, that is what is to come ahead, now a bit about what is currently in the works, eh? Well, on the 4th of April, just days after marriage equality in Iowa, Vermont made history by becoming the first state in America to enact marriage equality through a legislative process; they voted to support marriage equality with TWO-THIRDS the majority!

One week later right-wing leaders were pressuring Iowa for a ban; twice in one week they tried to bring up a constitutional marriage ban, but to no avail. They are saying it might be the "Next Prop 8."! If you haven't already, send the lawmakers of Iowa a note of support to let them know they made a great step for humanity and equality.

Last in the USA they are working on the "Matthew Shepard Act" named after a gay man who was tied to a fence, tortured and beaten, and left for dead in freezing temperatures. The Matthew Shepard Act aims to bring hate crime laws into the US, where so many states lack the necessary laws to keep LGBT people safe. If you'd like to send your rep a letter and let them know why this law is needed, you can do so by clicking that link.

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That was US news. There are other countries that have LGBT people though, of course, so let's talk aboutthe biggest news that has gone on with other countries in the past few months.

Lebanon: LGBT people and their Allies protested violence against homosexuals on Feb 23. They had their first public sit-in of its kind. About 200 people gathered for the event, where several people in Sodeco Square, Beirut, stood raised with banners advertising anti-homophobia and pro-diversity. See full article...

China: Valentines Day saw a fun display of mock marriages and photo session between same-sex couples in Beijing, hoping to attract support and awareness in the society. The display took place near Tiananmen Square. Overall, the event went over quite well with no interference by police or otherwise. See full article...

Africa: Pope Benedict XVI said last month that condoms weren’t the answer to Africa’s AIDS epidemic and could make the problem worse. The story immediantly hit the news and groups across the world heavily criticized the Pope as being irresponsible and even dangerous. Last Friday the Pope has denounced the criticisms, saying they marked an attempt to intimidate him into silence. See full article...
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And one interesting article concerning the Internet...

Amazon.com: Amazon recently has decided that gay-themed books are "adult (aka porn)" books, and thus has labelled them so. At the same time, any adult-labelled book has been taken off their sales ranks. Romance fiction and all-time favourites like Giovanni’s Room, Brokeback Mountain, A Boy’s Own Story and The Well of Loneliness has been labelled adult, and yes, including the most banned book in American history, Heather Has Two Mommies, as well as biographies such as Ellen DeGeneres: A Biography or Diary Of A Drag Queen and even study or university books like The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, Gay Life And Culture: A World History, Out In Theory: The Emergence Of Gay And Lesbian Anthropology and Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Identities Over The Lifespan: Psychological Perspectives have been included in this label. See full article...
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daPride News
Like mentioned, it has been awhile. If you remember our Emotion Contest, that is currently in the works of being judged I hear, and I also hear rumours of our own site being done soon (which means we'll be able to add members to our list soon!).

For anyone new joining, I'd just like to give a quick note that once your note has been sent you are officially a member, it just may take awhile to get on the list. Concerning that, if you're interested in becoming a staff member keep your eyes open on the daPride Team + Vacancies journal for updates or take a look now and see what is already available.

daPride Member's News
A few members have sent us some interesting news and/or seeking support for LGBT-related things. Some of the things are too old to report now, however please continue to send things in; we'll try our best to squeeze it in. As of now, we only have two things to mention:

1. A petition for Ireland's right to same-sex marriage, where YOU can sign and hopefully make a difference in a matter of seconds. - thankyou to ~scrattletrap and ~Ciardubh for this bit.

2. An LGBT-youth group in Vancouver, Canada is starting up and is very new. Meets every Monday, run by PLEA. If you live in the area maybe take a look, you can even meet me there! - thankyou to myself

So send us anything you want us to post! Not all of it will be posted, but we'll try, especially for groups that need help starting up, or hotlines, and so and so you just need to provide us with information.
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Last but certainly not least, we did not forget about the Day of Silence! It happened just 3 days ago, April 17th. I hope you knew about it and were able to participate. Please, tell us on the journal how that day went. Was it hard to keep quiet? Was it fun? Go to any events?