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Archive for the ‘Activism’ Category

Some dedicated activists in St. Louis have been holding weekend protests against the Catholic Church since Maine's marriage equality law was voted down in November. This past Sunday was the group's third protest. KMOX reports:

"About 65 members of a groups Show Me No Hate and the Catholic Action Network lined the sidewalk in front of the Cathedral Sunday afternoon. It's the latest in a series of Sunday demonstrations following news that Archbishop Robert Carlson donated $10,000 to help veto a gay marriage law in the state of Maine.

On Sunday four protestors attempted to stand alongside their cars parked at a 45 degree angle in front of the church holding signs that read, 'Honk for Equality' or 'Separation of Church and Hate.'

That's when they claim police muffled their protest by ordering them back on the sidewalk.

There were no arrests and no allegations of police getting physical. But organizer Ed Reggi captured a tense exchange with an officer on video tape (videos AFTER THE JUMP), in which he was warned to 'prepare for arrest,' when he refused at first to step back on the sidewalk.

The officer on the video tells Reggi that he is not allowed on the street and that his holding of signs there was disturbing traffic and had prompted several 911 calls."

The Archdiocese released a statement that it had nothing to do with the fact that the police were there.

The police also released a statement: "Several of the protestors told police that they
wanted to get arrested for the media attention. They have been doing
these protests every week for several weeks now with no arrests, so
this is their way of getting media attention. If someone is alleging
officer misconduct, we encourage them to contact the Internal Affairs
Division."

Protestors have planned another demonstration for this coming Sunday and have called on their members to "Show up in full force."

Watch videos, AFTER THE JUMP…

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Doug Ireland reports on a horrible loss in Honduras:

"Walter Trochez 25 years old, a well-known LGBT activist in Honduras who was
an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d'etat there, was assassinated on the evening of December 13, shot dead by drive-by killers. Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting and publicizing homophobic killings and crimes committed by the forces behind the coup, which is believed to have been the motive for his murder. He had been trailed for weeks before his murder by thugs believed to be members of the state security forces.

In an open letter documenting this wave of political assassinations of Honduran queers he'd written last month entitled 'Increase in hate crimes and homophobia towards LGTB as a result of the civic-religious-military coup in Honduras,' Trochez had written that 'Once again we say it is NOT ACCEPTABLE that in these past 4 months, during such a short period, 9 transexual and gay friends were violently killed, 6 in San Pedro Sula and 3 in Tegucigalpa.' At the end of this open letter, Trochez declared that 'As a revolutionary, I will always defend my people, even if it takes my life'. Sadly, that's what happened."

Ireland points to a letter translated by American University Assistant Professor of Anthropology Adrienne Pine about the Trochez murder from the Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CIPRODEH — the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights in Honduras), which you can find here.

The letter reads, in part: 

"On December 4th the human rights advocate Walter Tróchez, member of the LGBT community and active member of the Resistance Front was kidnapped and savagely beaten outside the 'El Obelisco' Park in Comayaguela, by four hooded men who drove a gray pickup, without plates, presumably of the DNIC [national criminal investigation directorate] (a vehicle of similar description, as he denounced publicly several months ago, had been staking out his house, obligating him to move).

On that day the kidnappers told him they knew him well and they were going to kill him. They hooded him, insulted him, and began to interrogate him about the resistance, asking for information about its leaders and its movements. At that time he managed to escape alive, and the next day he filed a complaint with national and international authorities.

Today we have been informed that he has been assassinated by two gunshots just outside of Larach & Co. in the center of Tegucigalpa."

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Here's some brief, shaky video of the demonstration held yesterday at New York state senator Carl Kruger's home in Queens in response to his "no" vote on marriage equality.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

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Several dozen Parisian activists held a kiss-in against homophobia for five minutes on rue Caumartin near the Printemps shopping center during the busy holiday shopping rush on Saturday afternoon.

A similar demonstration was held in the city in September.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

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The activist group Outrage! held a protest outside the Ugandan Embassy in London yesterday.

Peter Tatchell of Outrage! reports: "The keynote speakers were gay Ugandan John Bosco and straight Ugandan human rights activist, Michael Senyonjo.

John Bosco was recently jailed in Uganda, after he was illegally and forcibly returned to Uganda by the British Home office while seeking asylum in the UK.

He condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as 'an attack on the civil liberties of all Ugandans,' denouncing it as 'dividing Ugandans against each other and requiring people to report on their own family members who are gay.'

Michael Senyonjo told the crowd:' In the last five years we have seen Idi Amin return to Uganda and his name is (President) Yoweri Museveni. We cannot allow fascism to return to Uganda. He should leave power and go because he is not taking the country anywhere but to disaster,' he said."

Added Tatchell:

"President Museveni is fast becoming the Robert Mugabe of Uganda and that's a threat to the civil rights of every Ugandan person – gay or straight….There's a huge ground swell of public opinion that this bill goes way too far. Even people who say they're against homosexuality say this bill is excessive and a threat to the human rights of all Ugandans.

The Ugandan government should drop this law and abide by international human rights legislation. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill violates the equality and non-discrimination clauses of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are merely asking Uganda to uphold international human rights law. This homophobic legislation undermines the right to privacy and individual liberty and thereby sets a dangerous legal precedent which threatens the human rights of all Ugandans. It is part of a wider drift towards an authoritarian state."

CNN reported on the protest as well.

Photos by Brett Lock of Outrage!

A few of the speakers at the protest, AFTER THE JUMP…

More videos here.

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Love this photo – by Daniel Carvalho at the Yale Daily News.

Apparently, 25-year-old evangelical preacher Jesse Morrell has been attracting a crowd on campus:

"While Morrell failed to attract much attention from passersby during his first two days on campus, on Thursday afternoon, about 100 Yalies gathered to watch him rail against moral corruption at Yale. Several of those gathered wondered aloud if Morrell actually believed the things he said, and others heckled during his sermon, while others still took photos and videos on their cell phones. 'It seems like he’s really enjoying this, frankly,' Jeremy Poindexter ’11."

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Chris Pesto, a junior drama major at Syracuse University, felt uncomfortable when he saw Open-Air Campaigner evangelist Michelle Deferio standing on campus with her anti-gay sign, so he decided to create a bit of his own drama:

Writes Pesto: "This woman was wearing a ankle-length corduroy skirt, which, as we all know, is a fashion nono. So, in order to make her feel uncomfortable, I stood next to her and held a sign that said Corduroy skirts are a sin! I don’t think I have ever drawn so much attention in my life. SO many people asked to take a picture with me, I got laughs, high fives and there were the few that even cursed off the woman standing behind me.

As I drew interest to what was going on with myself and the woman with the hateful sign, I started to draw a crowd that stood with me in support. Before I knew it I had 100+ people holding signs for gay rights asking people to honk their horns to support. I was interviewed by a news station, and more than 5 student organization papers, and the post standard of syracuse."

(via slog)

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Thousands attended a vigil last night at Pier 46 on the edge of New York's West Village. Similar vigils took place in cities around the country in response to the murder of Puerto Rican gay teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. Last weekend the
decapitated, dismembered, and partially charred body of gay teen Jorge
Steven Lopez
Mercado was found by the side of a road in Puerto Rico. The police
investigator suggested that he deserved what he got because of the
"type of lifestyle" he was leading. Juan Martinez Matos has been charged with first-degree murder for Mercado's death.

In NYC, Christine Quinn, Council member-elect Danny Dromm, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios, and fashion designer Malan Breton spoke to the crowd.

Watch a news report and video from New York City, and a wrap-up of San Francisco's event, from Sean Chapin, AFTER THE JUMP…

Christine Quinn, Council member-elect Danny Dromm, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios, fashion designer Malan Breton:

The San Francisco vigil, video by Sean Chapin:

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Thousands attended a vigil last night at Pier 46 on the edge of New York's West Village. Similar vigils took place in cities around the country in response to the murder of Puerto Rican gay teen Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. Last weekend the
decapitated, dismembered, and partially charred body of gay teen Jorge
Steven Lopez
Mercado was found by the side of a road in Puerto Rico. The police
investigator suggested that he deserved what he got because of the
"type of lifestyle" he was leading. Juan Martinez Matos has been charged with first-degree murder for Mercado's death.

In NYC, Christine Quinn, Council member-elect Danny Dromm, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios, and fashion designer Malan Breton spoke to the crowd.

Watch a news report and video from New York City, and a wrap-up of San Francisco's event, from Sean Chapin, AFTER THE JUMP…

Previously…
Nationwide Vigils Planned as Officials Mull Application of Federal Hate Crimes Law [tr]
Puerto Rican Teen's Killer Says Murder was 'Gay Panic', Self Defense [tr]
Suspect Arrested in Horrific Murder of Puerto Rican Gay Teen [tr]
Gay Puerto Rican Teen Decapitated, Dismembered, and Burned [tr]

Christine Quinn, Council member-elect Danny Dromm, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios, fashion designer Malan Breton:

The San Francisco vigil, video by Sean Chapin:

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Anti-abortion activist and National Equality March protester Randall Terry is parading around Capitol Hill with a bloodied Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in chains, Think Progress reports:

"Today, he and his followers are on Capitol Hill 'with signs and costumes, talking to House Staffers as they enter work,' and they plan to visit Pelosi 'and discuss with her child-killing in healthcare and ‘the wrath to come.’'"

EArlier this week, Terry launched a contest to see who could produce the best "Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid BURN IN HELL video". He also produced a video on the topic.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

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