Malawi couple keep low profile after pardon
(Blantyre, Malawi) A couple from Malawi have kept out of the public eye after being pardoned and freed from prison, in what a relative said Sunday was a deliberate decision prompted by the conservative view of homosexuality in the southern African country.
Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were released late Saturday, hours after President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned them without condition. But in giving his pardon, which he said was on “humanitarian grounds only,” Mutharika warned that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African country.
Activists said late Saturday that they were searching for a safe house for the couple, fearing they could be attacked upon release.
The couple’s lawyer, Mauya Msuku, said he had not seen either of them since their release.
Maxwell Manda also said he had not seen Chimbalanga, who identifies as female and is related to Manda, on Sunday. He told The Associated Press days earlier that Chimbalanga wanted to leave Malawi upon her release.
“We heard that they were released but we don’t know where they are,” he told The AP on Sunday. “They are neither at their home in (a Blantyre suburb) or their villages. But I know they are keeping a low profile deliberately because of the sensitivity of their case.”
The two were not at their Blantyre home when an Associated Press reporter visited Sunday morning.
Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and harsh sentence given to the couple, who were arrested in December, a day after celebrating their engagement.
Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws, and strong attitudes against homosexuality.
A judge convicted and sentenced Chimbalanga and Monjeza earlier this month on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency under colonial-era laws. Crowds of Malawians had heckled the two during court hearings, with some saying that 14 years at hard labor – the harshest possible sentence – was not long enough.
Their release was welcomed by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, international rights groups and the White House.
In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs praised the move, urging an end to “the persecution and criminalization” of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Malawi couple keep low profile after pardon
(Blantyre, Malawi) A couple from Malawi have kept out of the public eye after being pardoned and freed from prison, in what a relative said Sunday was a deliberate decision prompted by the conservative view of homosexuality in the southern African country.
Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were released late Saturday, hours after President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned them without condition. But in giving his pardon, which he said was on “humanitarian grounds only,” Mutharika warned that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African country.
Activists said late Saturday that they were searching for a safe house for the couple, fearing they could be attacked upon release.
The couple’s lawyer, Mauya Msuku, said he had not seen either of them since their release.
Maxwell Manda also said he had not seen Chimbalanga, who identifies as female and is related to Manda, on Sunday. He told The Associated Press days earlier that Chimbalanga wanted to leave Malawi upon her release.
“We heard that they were released but we don’t know where they are,” he told The AP on Sunday. “They are neither at their home in (a Blantyre suburb) or their villages. But I know they are keeping a low profile deliberately because of the sensitivity of their case.”
The two were not at their Blantyre home when an Associated Press reporter visited Sunday morning.
Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and harsh sentence given to the couple, who were arrested in December, a day after celebrating their engagement.
Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws, and strong attitudes against homosexuality.
A judge convicted and sentenced Chimbalanga and Monjeza earlier this month on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency under colonial-era laws. Crowds of Malawians had heckled the two during court hearings, with some saying that 14 years at hard labor – the harshest possible sentence – was not long enough.
Their release was welcomed by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, international rights groups and the White House.
In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs praised the move, urging an end to “the persecution and criminalization” of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Opponents of DC Gay Marriage Bill Hope Congress Intervenes
And they have allies on Capitol Hill, which has thirty days to review the matter before it becomes law. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she supports the measure and wants Congress to stay out of it. But conservatives lawmakers hope to force a vote on the bill.
“I think we should be allowed to express each of our opinions,” Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said. “I happen to represent what I think is the majority opinion, which is marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman.”
Yet for some long-time activists, who own a gay bookstore in the District, the pastors and conservatives are wrong.
“”We are, as far as we’re concerned, married 100 percent for life,” said Deacon MacCubbin, owner of Lambda Rising Bookstore. “That’s the way it is. And yet, there are people that want to stand between him and I in those personal, private matters. See Opponents of DC Gay Marriage Bill Hope Congress Intervenes
News Channel 8 – Washington,DC,USA
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/opponents-of-…
Out labor leader tapped for U.S. government post
President Barack Obama has named Mary Beth Maxwell, the out executive director of American Rights at Work, to a senior post in the U.S. Department of Labor. Maxwell, who reportedly was a finalist for labor secretary, is among more than 30 out presidential appointments. GayPolitics.com (4/27) * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/out-labor-lea…
Sensationalized Sun editorial rallies Edmonton queers
When Sun Media published the column “A twisted pro-HIV agenda” (or “A twisted homosexual world” in some online editions) in early January, it was a wake-up call for Edmonton queers to take a stand against sensationalized coverage of gay men’s health issues.
In the column, Jacobs writes about barebacking, as well as bugchasing (willingly seeking HIV infection) and giftgiving (offering HIV to someone seeking infection) — phenomena that Phillip Banks, director of the Vancouver-based Health Initiative for Men, points out are often used as a “red herring” in dialogues about gay men’s sexual health.
“If it’s true that some men are intentionally seeking to become infected with HIV,” considers Banks, “then public health and community services must be resourced adequately in order to better understand why and to be able to offer appropriate supports to prevent this where possible.”
But the way it is most often reported in the media, adds Banks, is “scandal-mongering at its worst and distracts from the real issues contributing to poor health outcomes for gay and bi men and increasing HIV diagnoses.”
John Maxwell of the AIDS Committee of Toronto agrees. “The media reports were often from mainstream media, not gay media, sensationalizing stories about unprotected sex amongst gay men,” says Maxwell of the stories that came out a few years ago when ACT was first hearing about bugchasing and giftgiving. See Sensationalized Sun editorial rallies Edmonton queers
Xtra.ca
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/sensationaliz…
Obama Passes On Gay Cabinet Member
With the appointment of California Representative Hilda Solis (Democrat) to the position of Labor Secretary, the aspirations of gay rights leaders for a cabinet-level appointment have most likely evaporated.
Openly lesbian Mary Beth Maxwell had been considered a strong contender for the position. Maxwell is the founding executive director of American Rights at Work, and had helped line up support for the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act.
It was just last week that members of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team met with dozens of gay and lesbian activists fueling speculation that a cabinet-level appointment might be in the offing.
But no openly gay, bisexual or transgender person has ever served in one of the fifteen cabinet secretary positions that report directly to the president.
In that meeting, Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, made it clear to the Obama transition team that he felt the political aspirations of the gay community had not yet been fully realized: “We have paid our political dues, but still have not benefited greatly from that.”
See Obama Passes On Gay Cabinet Member
On Top Magazine, OH
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/obama-passes-…
Obama’s Cabinet apparently won’t have LGBT representation
Out LGBT candidates have been shut out of President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet, with the final spot of labor secretary reportedly being offered to U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif. Mary Beth Maxwell, the out founding executive director for American Rights at Work, was said to be among the contenders for the labor post. “As we talk about either keeping or renewing America’s promise, which the president-elect has been talking about, apparently it does not yet extend to gay and lesbian people in the Cabinet of the president,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of The Victory Fund. Washington Blade
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/obamas-cabine…
