Gay Muslim man loses bid for refugee status in Canada: court
A 24-year-old Albanian Muslim who claims he was beaten and persecuted for being gay has lost his bid for refugee status in Canada. The Federal Court on Tuesday dismissed Erald Islam’s request for judicial review of the Immigration and Refugee Board’s …
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Daily Archives: December 9, 2015
HRC Celebrates International Human Rights Day at Newseum
HRC Celebrates International Human Rights Day at Newseum
In honor of International Human Rights Day on December 10, the Human Rights Campaign partnered with Human Rights First for a special event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The event, titled “Advocates & Allies in the Global Equality Movement – A Celebration of Human Rights Day” recognized the courage, hard work and support of allies and advocates for the human rights of LGBT people around the world. The honorees included Alagie Jammeh from The Gambia, Nicole Santamaria from El Salvador, Michael Uulu from Kyrgyzstan and Maurice Tomlinson from Jamaica.
Some 150 guests, including members of Congress, the Administration, HRC members and supporters, as well as representatives of HRC partnership organizations, filled the room. HRC President Chad Griffin and HRF President Elisa Massimino opened the proceedings. Griffin looked back at the advances for LGBT rights in 2015 – from marriage equality in Ireland and the U.S. to the appointment of the U.S.’s first special envoy for LGBTI rights.
“But despite some incredible progress, millions of people in this country and around the world still face dire challenges in virtually every aspect of their lives simply because of who they are,” he said.
He noted the gruesome reports coming out of territories controlled by the so-called Islamist State (ISIL), and called on the Obama Administration to ensure that LGBT refugees can be processed through the screening process as quickly as possible.
“It is in the DNA of this nation to welcome those escaping war-torn lands and persecution, and we can never allow fear or political pandering to change the defining values of this nation,” he said.
Griffin also introduced Jammeh, whose uncle, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, infamously threatened last spring to personally “slit the throats” of gay men in his country. The younger Jammeh spoke about his innocent-seeming Facebook post that has changed his life forever; He wrote that “no one should be denied their fundamental basic human rights because of their sexuality.”
As a result of his post, Jammeh’s scholarship to study in California was revoked and he was told to return home to “apologize” to his family. He refused to do so and has applied for asylum here in the U.S. due to the threats he has received from Gambian officials.
Despite all that, Jammeh said he has no regrets.
“It has made me realize the importance of gathering together and committing as a community to the preservation of human rights for all,” he said. “Human rights are not granted, they are not earned. They belong to us by nature of being born. We have a right to demand them from our leaders, and to speak out when we see others being denied these rights.”
U.S. Representatives Richard Hanna (R-NY) and David Cicilline (D-RI) also addressed the guests. Rep. Hanna called intolerance is a disease, which the advocates in the room have helped to cure. Rep. Cicilline’s remarks focused on the recent rise in Islamophobic rhetoric in the U.S., and called on Americans to condemn the attacks on Muslims.
Santamaria, Uulu and Tomlinson each made remarks about combating hatred in their regions. Santamaria called on people to work “as a community of human beings” to combat homophobia and transphobia in Latin America and in the U.S. where murders of trans women have continued at an appalling rate. Uulu, a leading Kyrgyz activist at just 20 years old, asked for the world’s help in stopping Russian-style anti-propaganda legislation aimed at LGBT people in Kyrgyzstan, a country he said had once been a leader for openness and tolerance in Central Asia.
Closing the evening, Tomlinson called on the U.S. to combat the export of hatred to countries like his, where he said homophobia – not homosexuality – is an import.
Live chat replay: Cheese experts answer all your holiday questions
Live chat replay: Cheese experts answer all your holiday questions
Tap the “Comment” button below to join the discussion with cheese experts Ken Monteleone, owner of Fromagination cheese shop on Capitol Square, and Jeanne Carpenter, specialty cheese manager for Metcalfe’s Markets. It wouldn’t be the holidays in …
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How RBS is ‘wrangling' big data’ to improve customer service
How RBS is ‘wrangling' big data’ to improve customer service
“We get a lot of information from our customers. We have web chat teams and a lot of conversations that go on in them produce a lot of metadata in our traditional structured environment, our ability to work with that data was close to zero,” Nelissen explains.
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Hillsboro school to host forum on social media use for youth
Hillsboro school to host forum on social media use for youth
They will discuss trends in technology and social media, including Snapchat and chat rooms. “What we want to stress is to have a plan to protect themselves from these kinds of things,” Vettel said. They also will discuss how parents can engage their …
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LGBTQ Task Force Issues Statement Condemning Trumps Remarks on Muslims
LGBTQ Task Force Issues Statement Condemning Trumps Remarks on Muslims
Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) advocates are condemning Trump’s remarks. “We wholeheartedly condemn and reject Donald Trump’s call to stop …
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Raymond Taavel's family gets formal apology from Nova Scotia government
Raymond Taavel's family gets formal apology from Nova Scotia government
Taavel was beaten to death outside Menz Bar, a popular gay club on Gottingen Street in Halifax in April of 2012. The 49-year-old died after a fight with Andre Noel Denny, a man has several mental illnesses. Denny had gone AWOL from the East Coast Forensic …
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Former Australian Prime Minister, Forgetting That He’s Catholic, Says Islam Needs a Reformation
Former Australian Prime Minister, Forgetting That He’s Catholic, Says Islam Needs a Reformation
In an interview on Sky News last night, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott explained that Islam was in dire need of a reformation: “All cultures are not equal, and frankly, culture that believes in decency and tolerance is much to be preferred …
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Best of 2015: Transgender Visibility Continues to Break Down Barriers
Best of 2015: Transgender Visibility Continues to Break Down Barriers
This year we have seen a record increase in transgender visibility. Transgender celebrities like Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, Geena Rocero, and Caitlyn Jenner are standing up and speaking out about the realities of living openly as transgender.
TV shows like Transparent and Sense8 and reality shows like I am Jazz, Becoming Us and I Am Cait have brought transgender people into living rooms across America, showing the power of living authentically and openly.
The courage of transgender youth was highlighted on NBC Nightly News and even in a commercial with HRC Youth Ambassador Jazz Jennings.
Caitlyn Jenner coming out made headlines and exposed several generations, both old and young, to what gender identity and expression really means.
According to a groundbreaking HRC survey released this year, increased visibility goes hand-in-hand with acceptance and progress. The survey revealed a significant uptick in the number of Americans who say they personally know or work with someone who is transgender, and a corresponding increase in favorable feelings toward transgender people.
The data showed that 22 percent of likely voters surveyed reported that they personally know or work with a transgender person, up from 17 percent who said they did in a similar poll last year. And knowing a transgender person translates powerfully into positive impressions: 66 percent of those who said they know a transgender person expressed favorable feelings toward them, compared with 13 percent who did not — a net favorability of 53 percentage points.
While visibility and progress continue, so too does staggering inequality. The transgender community continues to face disproportionate levels of poverty, homelessness, employment discrimination, violence and HIV. And 2015 saw the highest number of homicides ever recorded, with at least 21 transgender people killed in the United States this year — a majority of who were transgender women of color.
“As we celebrate the growing visibility and acceptance of transgender friends, family members and colleagues, we must acknowledge the real risks for transgender people in living authentically,” HRC President Chad Griffin said. “It’s imperative that we continue to call for policies that protect people based on their gender identity, and continue our work to ensure that everyone gets a fair shot in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities.”
For more information about HRC’s efforts toward transgender equality, visit www.hrc.org/transgender and check out HRC’s Transgender Visibility Guide here.
Counting down to 2016, HRC is celebrating our greatest milestones and victories in 2015. It has been another incredible year for LGBT equality and we could not have done it without you — our members, readers and supporters–and we look forward to continuing our work in 2016. Stay tuned for more highlights from 2015.
Live Chat: UFC 194, UFC Fight Night 80 preview and more
Live Chat: UFC 194, UFC Fight Night 80 preview and more
This is the Promotional Malpractice Live Chat. This is the big one, folks and it doesn’t require a ton of explanation. Starting tomorrow (Thursday), the UFC is going to begin staging the first of three back-to-back-to-back events on consecutive days.
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