Activists hope gay marriage debate will stir Japan

Koyuki Higashi is slim, articulate and intelligent, things that make a would-be wife attractive to many in Japan. But Higashi knows she will probably never marry because she is a lesbian.

Participants are seen carrying a rainbow flag as they march during the Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2012, in Shibuya district, in April. Some 1,000 gays, lesbians and their supporters took part in the parade.

Despite the increasing tolerance of gay marriage in much of the developed world, especially in Europe, and a gradual acceptance of the issue in more liberal states in the US, the subject is not on the radar in Japan or in many parts of Asia.

But when Barack Obama gingerly put his head above the election year parapet, announcing he was in favour of same-sex marriage, it lit a spark of hope on the other side of the Pacific in conservative Japan.

“Seeing the US president expressing his support for same-sex couples was like being told it was ok to be who we are,” said Higashi, 27.

“Everyone now knows Obama supports same-sex marriage. The impact is so big, it’s incomparable.”

Her partner, 34-year-old Hiroko, who uses only one name, agreed.

“I was really happy to see Obama use his starpower in that way,” she said.

Obama’s pronouncement preceded a global campaign aimed at encouraging a stronger voice for gay rights.

His administration dispatched Mark Bromley, chair of advocacy group Council for Global Equality, to Japan in June — gay pride month — where he told reporters equality for same sex couples was an important tenet of human rights.

“(Hillary) Clinton was very elegant in saying that minorities can never fully protect themselves; minorities need majorities to find full protection and full acceptance,” said Bromley, who has a 2-year-old daughter with his husband.

“That requires laws and political support, and social space.”
Homosexuals in Japan welcomed the gesture, but, warned gay expat David Wagner, it was likely to disappear into the void.

“I doubt it will have much impact on other nations such as Japan where the will of the people rarely takes priority,” said Wagner, who has lived in Japan for 25 years.

“Japan is clearly more tolerant than many places,” he said, adding gays and lesbians in Japan are unlikely to encounter outright hostility, something he puts down less to acceptance than to a people who “are agnostic and tend to mix religions.”

But “tolerance has limits in Japan,” he said.

via Bangkok Post: news.

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Democrats’ preliminary platform includes support for gay marriage – Nation – The Boston Globe

Support for gay marriage is part of the Democratic Party’s preliminary platform for the fall, Representative Barney Frank’s office confirmed to the Globe on Monday.

Democrats’ preliminary platform includes support for gay marriage - Nation - The Boston Globe

Democrats’ platform drafting committee, which includes Frank, met in Minneapolis over the weekend and agreed on draft language that would put a major political party officially onboard with legal same-sex marriage for the first time in US history.

The language will be considered by the full Democratic platform committee, which meets in Detroit between Aug. 10 and 12. If approved, an endorsement of same-sex marriage will be put to a vote at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September.

Democrats’ preliminary backing of same-sex marriage was reported first by the Washington Blade, a newspaper focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Citing an unnamed Democratic source, the paper reported the tentative platform also includes a rejection of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

“I was part of a unanimous decision to include’’ same-sex marriage, Frank, who wed his longtime partner earlier this month, told the Blade.

The inclusion of a plank supporting gay marriage on the Democratic platform would follow President Obama’s announcement in May that he supports legal same-sex marriage.

“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama said in an interview at the White House with “Good Morning America” coanchor Robin Roberts.

The first endorsement by a sitting president marked a milestone on the road toward legal same-sex marriage, and the backing of the Democratic Party would mark another, according to Kara S. Suffredini, executive director of Mass Equality, an LGBT rights group. “We are thrilled that marriage equality has so far made it onto the Democratic platform,” Suffredini said. “This is the start of more equality, not more division.”

Suffredini added that she is not worried about a possible conservative backlash, saying she believes “the days of gay marriage as a divisive vote driver are over.”

– The Boston Globe.

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(New Zealand) Gay marriage vote could be close

Labour Party MP Louisa Wall is close to securing the support to legalise same-sex marriage, a Herald poll of MPs shows.

However, many MPs were refusing to commit to a decision on the marriage equality bill, and the final vote could come down to the wire.

A straw poll of all 121 MPs found that fifty-four MPs have indicated they would support it at least in its early stages, or were considering supporting it.

The bill, which was expected to come before Parliament in late August, needed 61 votes to pass.

New Zealand First this afternoon indicated that it might abstain from the vote, because it preferred to put the issue to a public referendum.

This would mean the bill would need 57 votes to pass.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said: “Serious issues like this should be decided by the public of this country and not a few temporary empowered politicians.”

But he would not give a straight answer when asked to confirm whether his party would opt out of voting.

“We are not voting for it. We believe it should be by way of a public referendum.”

All members of the Greens, the Maori Party, Mana, United Future and most of the Labour MPs have backed the bill.

If the remaining eight “undecided” Labour MPs backed their colleague’s bill, it would pass.

National remained split on whether to vote for a change to marriage legislation.

Eight National MPs including Prime Minister John Key said they were in favour of same-sex marriage, but the vast majority of the party was undecided.

Most of the undecided group said they were waiting to properly read the bill, or were consulting with their constituents before making their mind up.

 –NZ Herald News.

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Unlikely Vietnam Considers Same-Sex Marriage

Dinh Thi Hong Loan grasps her girlfriend’s hand, and the two gaze into each other’s love-struck eyes. Smiling, they talk about their upcoming wedding — how they’ll exchange rings and toast the beginning of their lives together.

 

The lesbians’ marriage ceremony in the Vietnamese capital won’t be officially recognized, but that could soon change. Vietnam’s Communist government is now considering whether to allow same-sex couples to marry or legally register and receive rights — positioning the country to be the first in Asia to do so.

“Our love for each other is real and nothing changes regardless of whether the law is passed or not,” said Loan, 31. “But when it is passed, we will definitely go get registered. I can’t wait!”

Even longtime gay-rights activists are stunned by the Justice Ministry’s proposal to include same-sex couples in its overhaul of the country’s marriage law. No one knows what form it will take or whether it will survive long enough to be debated before the National Assembly next year, but supporters say the fact that it’s even being considered is a victory in a region where simply being gay can result in jail sentences or whippings with a rattan cane.

“I think everyone is surprised,” said Vien Tanjung, an Indonesian gay-rights activist. “Even if it’s not successful it’s already making history. For me, personally, I think it’s going to go through.”

Vietnam seems an unlikely champion of gay-rights issues. It is routinely lambasted by the international community over its dismal human rights record, often locking up political dissidents who call for democracy or religious freedom. Up until just a few years ago, homosexuality was labeled as a “social evil” alongside drug addiction and prostitution.

And Vietnam’s gay community itself was once so underground that few groups or meeting places existed. It was taboo to even talk about the issue.

But over the past five years, that’s slowly started to change. Vietnam’s state-run media, unable to write about politically sensitive topics or openly criticize the one-party government, have embraced the chance to explore gay issues. They have run lengthy newspaper stories and television broadcasts, including one live special that won a top award.

– full report at NPR.

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(New Zealand): Same sex marriage has wide support

An early sounding-out of MPs suggests a bill which aims to legalise same-sex marriage will have the numbers to pass into law.

Parliament will debate the redefinition of marriage as early as next month after a bill in the name of Labour Party MP Louisa Wall was pulled from the ballot.

At present, marriage is not defined in the Marriage Act, and Ms Wall’s bill would make it clear that marriage is a union of two people, “regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity”.

The bill would be decided by a conscience vote instead of along party lines.

A Herald survey of MPs received 76 responses out of 122. Of those who responded, a clear majority of 43 supported the bill or were leaning towards backing it.

Thirty-two MPs had not decided which way they would vote.

Just one MP, New Zealand First’s Richard Prosser, said he would definitely oppose it, but a handful more indicated they were likely to oppose it on the grounds that their constituency was conservative on issues of homosexuality.

Ms Wall said she was confident of the bill’s passage into law because she had the support of Prime Minister John Key, Opposition leader David Shearer, and the majority of the public.

But she expected “an array of views” from New Zealanders if it reached the committee stage.

Mr Key has previously indicated he would support the bill at first reading.

 – full report at  NZ Herald News.

 

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First openly gay politician seeks seat in Kenya’s new senate

Homophobia is rampant in Kenya. Despite the challenging environment, an openly gay man is running for a seat in the new Senate established by the nation’s 2010 constitution. 

Politician David Kuria Mbote once took an elevator in a Nairobi building alone after a group of people he had been waiting with recognized him as a gay rights activist.

“I entered the lift without thinking then realized no one wanted to join me,” he says. “Most of the people in the group were human rights activists going to the same conference I was attending. I couldn’t help but marvel at their hypocrisy.”

The 38-year-old man says he has faced this kind of discriminaton regularly for being openly gay in the largely homophobic Kenyan society. But he has learned to brush such incidents aside. He says he doesn’t mind when men avoid talking to him in public for fear that people may think they are gay.

Save for some tiny gray patches of hair, Mbote looks much younger than his age. He could easily pass for a man in his 20s with his slight build and easygoing nature. But it is his determination that dumbfounds both his friends and foes.

He comes from Kiambu, a county bordering Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. His conservative community considers him an outcast because of his sexuality and gay rights activism, which he has done for 10 years.

But Mbote now hangs up the boots of gay rights activism to seek political office. He is running to be his county’s senator in the country’s newly established Senate. He believes he will win the seat, bigotry in his community notwithstanding.

Mbote says he aims to change the game of politics – campaigning with social media and committing himself to good governance in order to effect positive social change. If elected, he says his main priority would be creating laws to fight HIV. But he has a challenging campaign ahead, as many people here reject homosexuality on the basis of religion. Voters are giving a mixed response on whether they would vote for a gay politician.

– full report at  UPI.com.

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Slurs (Proverbs 12:18, James 3:1-12)

Sharp words cut like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 12:18, James 3:1-12

This proverb is a reversal of the old childhood mantra: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words…” Well, supposedly words will never hurt us, but they do. Not only the slurs flung our way, but the very words that jumble in us as in the word-art above. Those discerning their orientation – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning persons – are especially vulnerable to sharp words, receiving their thrust deep into the psyche.

The queer community for a number of years has been reclaiming words. In a very healthy way we have taken the swords meant to hack us and turned them into shields of honor. “Faggot,” “queer,” “gay,” “homo,” “sissy,” “butch,” “dyke” and others are now internalized as points of pride instead of points of shame.

The lesbian biblical scholar Mona West states it succinctly: “Oppressed peoples over the years have understood the power and importance of choosing their own words to name themselves rather than allowing the dominant culture to assign negative meaning to certain words that are used to demonize a group of people. Words are powerful tools used to describe experience and shape reality” (from the article Queer Spirituality).

-Read David Popham’s full reflection at “The Bible in Drag

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London: priests’ group appeals for inclusive dialogue on future of Church

More than 70 Catholic priests  and deacons gathered at a London church yesterday to pray, share concerns, and discuss the future of the Church.

Priests’ meeting at St John’s, Waterloo

The meeting at St John’s Anglican Church, Waterloo, was called following a letter in the Tablet (2 June 2012) by seven priests, speaking of the ‘universal call to holiness in Christ’ for all the baptised made by the bishops at their November 2011 conference, and their desire to promote ‘a culture of vocation’ within the corporate identity of the Catholic Church, ‘marked by a confident Catholic faith’. The authors called for a more active encouragement of lay people in the work of the Church, and expressed concern that the call for collegiality made by Vatican II has not been realised.

After an opening prayer, the assembly sang Veni Sancte Spiritus and there was a short period of silence.

Fr Joe Ryan, north London parish priest and chair of Westminster Justice and Peace said he was glad to be part of the process of “building up the body of Christ” by attending the meeting. Fr Paul Saunders from Southwark Diocese said he saw it was “part of our stewardship” to pass on and develop the teachings of Vatican II.

Fr Patrick McLaughlin who spent years in peace and reconciliation at Corrymeela in Northern Ireland quoted Antony Di Mello who spoke of the need to “combine loyalty and obedience with creativity and confrontation”. At Corrymeela, he said, they had endeavoured to work collaboratively with people from different communities – “opening up spaces where people could be listened to with respect and gentleness”. The result, he pointed out, was that Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness eventually came to work together.

In a brief presentation, theologian Mary Gray spoke of her overwhelming sense of priests with a deep love of the Church but with great concerns for the future, with an ageing priesthood, declining vocations and loss of young people. There had a been euphoria after Vatican II, she said, but this had been followed by a great sense of disappointment.

“We could not have expected the failure to implement the teachings of Vatican II and the backlash that has followed”, she said. “People are confused. They see married former Anglican priests with families being ordained but Catholic seminarians cannot marry and there is no discussion about this.”

Underlying all this, she said, was the fact that people are afraid to speak, or be seen as critical in any way, for fear of very serious censure.

She advised: “As St Ignatius said: ‘go where the energy is good’. And that is – the monasteries, convents, and organisations like CAFOD”. She also advised people to express their views. Quoting Catherine of Siena she said: ‘I see that the world is destroyed through silence.’

-more at Independent Catholic News

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Queer Love (1 John 3:16-18)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ died for us. And we, too, ought to lay down our lives for our sisters and brothers. If you have more than enough material possessions and see your neighbors in need yet close your hearts to them, how can the love of God be living in you? My children, our love must not be simply words or mere talk – it must be true love, which shows itself in action and truth.

 1 John 3:16-18

“Lila” by Philip Shadblot
@ http://www.philipshadbolt.co.uk/gallery/272108_lila.html

Love in this passage is portrayed in very down to earth terms. As Christ died for us so we ought to give our lives for others. Got more than enough to live on? Then share with those in need. Unlike those who only drone on about the virtues and beauty of loving we must love through our deeds.

While not perfect, and far from being a cohesive entity, queer love mirrors what the writer of 1 John aims at. By virtue of being outcasts our “forbidden” love is a love of deeds. Queer love stands in the face of hatred. Queer love teaches in the presence of ignorance. Queer love leads in the journey to liberation.

If there is a special “role” for the christian queer in the contemporary church, or queers of other faiths, this may be it. Who better to rekindle the flame of active love in an aging and increasingly unfeeling institution? Who better to quicken the spirit of inclusivity? Who better to buttress the ramparts to the onslaught of injustice? Who better to name the sins committed against the fringe and the weak?

-Read David Popham’s full reflection at “The Bible in Drag

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Campaign group launches action against ‘gay cures’

Campaign group AllOut is urging the public to take action against a phoney ‘gay cure’ group

A petition calling for a ban on phony ‘gay cures’ will be delivered to governments across the world, beginning in France tomorrow and then the UK. So far, over 26, 000 people have pledged their support for the Time to end ‘gay cures’ campaign. The aim is to get 50, 000 names on the online petition.

The group is hoping for enough public pressure to cause a ‘domino effect’, whereby the ten countries that the campaign is focusing on will denounce the treatments and make them illegal. There are fears that the practice leads to self-harm and may even drive some to commit suicide.

AllOut, which promotes LGBT equality internationally, are concentrating in particular on the activity of extremist Christian group Desert Stream. The organisation is conducting a world tour with their ‘healing’ programme. According to AllOut, each ‘gay cure’ session costs up to $1,200.

Desert Stream is holding Living Waters training programmes, claiming to teach people how to ‘cure’ homosexuality. The programme is currently happening in France, and will then be offered in other countries including the UK, Finland and Lithuania. The petition will be delivered to all the countries where the sessions are currently planned to take place.

-full report at Pink Paper 

(Sign the AllOut petition here)

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