No, We Cannot Weep Together
Sympathy without affirmation rings hollow; it is unworthy of our gratitude.
The post No, We Cannot Weep Together appeared first on ThinkProgress.
thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/14/3788174/we-cannot-weep-together/
Daily Archives: June 14, 2016
PHOTOS: People Around the World Mourn Orlando Victims
PHOTOS: People Around the World Mourn Orlando Victims
LGBTI Envoy Randy Berry in Israel
LGBTI Envoy Randy Berry in Israel
U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv posted a photo:
November 12 – LGBTI Envoy Randy Berry visited Ironi Aleph High School of Arts in Tel Aviv, where he met students and leading educators, academics and lawyers and discussed LGBTI student’s rights. “LGBTI discrimination is just like ethnic, gender, and any other discrimination” Envoy Berry said, and added “people do not know what LGBTI is, and we need to educate them, it is a process and it is a long process”. This program, a joint venture of the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Office and Israeli Ministry of Education’s Department for Students Rights, highlighted the importance of education towards accepting one’s identity and providing equality and freedom of expression to all students.
Pray for Orlando
#HelloPride
Queer Muslim Pleas To LGBTQ Community For Compassion Fall On Deaf Ears
Queer Muslim Pleas To LGBTQ Community For Compassion Fall On Deaf Ears
Here we go again. As usual, Islamophobes across the nation are blaming all of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims for the massacre in Orlando.
Related: Conservative Wingnuts Waste No Time Using Orlando Tragedy To Further Political Agendas
To combat this, many queer Muslim members have taken to social media to remind others in the LGBTQ community that, despite what folks like Donald Trump are saying, the entire Islamic religion cannot be blamed for last weekend’s tragedy.
Related: The Internet Responds To The Orlando Tragedy
But are people listening?
Scroll down to see what some Muslim members of the LGBTQ community are saying, and how others are responding to them…
I’m gay and Muslim. I want to tell the LGBT community that the Orlando shooter doesn’t reflect my faith as a Muslim.
— Shawn Ahmed (@uncultured) June 12, 2016
#GaysForTrump because he will implement the immigration ban that will keep our moms and sisters safe from the cancer that is #Islam ??
— R. D. Hutchinson (@LawlessPirate) June 13, 2016
The shooting that #ISIS committed during #Ramadan (The holiest month of Islam) further proves our point that these guys are not Muslim
— Karim Metwaly (@KarimyScreamy) June 12, 2016
@sallykohn People are tired of the obfuscation from people like you. Muslims are not victims, they are the AGGRESSORS. #GaysAgainstIslam
— Murtadd57 (@Javer35) June 13, 2016
Too many suffer from intolerance. #LoveIsLove #RainbowIslam #Orlando #ISIS #LGBT #RainbowRamadan #Florida #Islam pic.twitter.com/Sdi962SpW8
— Muhammad Al’ Minah (@lgbtqislam) June 12, 2016
If ur a #GayMuslim ur the worlds dumbest ignorant baboon known to mankind. Why believe in a religion or fake god that doesn’t believe in u?
— Media Is Life (@DruDistrict) June 13, 2016
As a #gaymuslim the shooting in #Orlando is not Islamic in anyway shape or form. The man who did it is no Muslim. #Orlando #orlandoshooting
— keighleylad (@Mammdothehump) June 12, 2016
#LGBT are executed in 11 Islamic countries. Guns aren’t the issue here. So don’t piss on my leg, & tell me it’s raining… #GaysAgainstIslam
— Alex Cowan (@Desareon) June 13, 2016
LGBTQ Muslims have and always will exist—we aren’t haram and we aren’t alone #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/Vd5aLyraep
— nat | 5 (@swansmayor) June 12, 2016
This Muslim maniac intentionally targeted a gay club. Islam hates #LGBT. Muslims hate gays. If you are gay, Islam wants you dead. #Orlando
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) June 12, 2016
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of last night’s terrible events in #Orlando t.co/tDXCSdRt5r
— OUTMuslim (@OutMuslim) June 12, 2016
#GaysForTrump it’s either that or have liberals sacrifice our lives to Allah to prove they’re not racist?
— Yohanan Nussant (@Yohanzor) June 13, 2016
In which direction are we gay Muslims to cry?#PulseNightClub#LGBTMuslims
— Freedom2B (@Freedom22BB) June 12, 2016
In defending Islam after every horrific terrorist attack the left has moved beyond idiotic to now being suicidal. #Orlando #stopislam
— Cdub (@cdubontw) June 13, 2016
Orlando 12/6/2016 They Are Us! #PrayForLGBT #NoH8 #AllahLovesEquality #LGBTmuslims #catholic #jewish #muslims #druze pic.twitter.com/sbrqiiqo8f
— Wisam Abou Harb (@WisamAbouHarb) June 13, 2016
We are living in an age of terror & who do we want to lead us? I want a strong leader who will call out Radical Islamic Terror #GaysForTrump
— Stephen Zieman (@StephenZieman) June 13, 2016
Orlando Couple Who Hoped To Get Married Will Get A Joint Funeral Instead
Orlando Couple Who Hoped To Get Married Will Get A Joint Funeral Instead
A couple who friends and family say were deeply in love both lost their lives over the weekend at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, and now they will be remembered together with a joint funeral.
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, and his 32-year-old boyfriend, Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, were two of the 49 who were gunned down late in the night by a lone attacker, and while services have not been finalized, Guerrero’s father, who has the same name as his son, confirmed the two will be paid tribute to side-by-side in death, as they were in life.
“I think my son wanted to do that. That’s why,” the elder Juan Ramon Guerrero, 61, told TIME in tears. “I don’t care what the people think. I don’t care.”
The couple had been dating for two years and lived together. They were just in the early stages of building a life together when their future was taken from them without warning.
“They were honestly so in love. They were soul mates. You can tell by how they looked at each other,” Aryam Guerrero, the victim’s 24-year-old sister, said. “It’s a little comforting that they died together.”
“If it’s not a funeral, they were going to have a wedding together,” she added.
Christmas was perfect ????????
A photo posted by Juan Guerrero (@juang0628) on
Guerrero was one year into his studies at the University of Central Florida after completing two years of community college. He worked as a customer service representative for a credit union and aspired to become a financial advisor.
“He was so much love and light,” Aryam Guerrero said.
While Guerrero’s name appeared on an early list of victims following the devastating attack, no one knew what had happened to Leinonen until later. It wasn’t until Monday that his family received confirmation that they had lost their son.
“The moment I heard my mom yell out, we all knew,” Aryam Guerrero remembered of being at the hospital with her family. “I just kept saying, ‘This isn’t real.’ I just didn’t want it to be real.”
A photo posted by Juan Guerrero (@juang0628) on
Ramon Guerrero would have turned 23 in just a few days. “My wife will cook all the food he likes,” the older Guerrero said. “He was a beautiful kid, a hard worker, friendly, sweet person.”
“I lost part of my life,” he added.
It breaks our hearts to learn about Guerrero and Leinonen, whose hopes and ambitions were just like ours, and just like countless other young people.
We will continue to tell the stories of these victims and remember who they were, and what they lost.
Democrats Revive Calls For End To Gay Blood Ban Following Orlando Massacre: VIDEO
Democrats Revive Calls For End To Gay Blood Ban Following Orlando Massacre: VIDEO
A line stretching around blocks to donate blood following the Orlando massacre.
In the wake of the Orlando massacre on a gay nightclub last weekend in which 49 people died, Democrats in Congress are reviving a push to reverse the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decades-old rule banning men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood.
Today, June 14 is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Blood Donor Day.
The massacre early last Sunday morning drove up local demand for blood donations.
According to The Hill, after the Red Cross put out a call for blood donations, a rumor spread that one local blood bank was temporarily easing the FDA rules to allow MSM to donate. The organization OneBlood refuted the rumors, intensifying outrage in the LGBT community.
RELATED: FDA To Consider Removing Blood Donation Ban On Gay Men: VIDEO
Condemned by the American Medical Association, the FDA policy has sparked outrage that advocates now hope to convert into long-awaited action.
Your one drop of blood can extend the life of someone for next 50 years. world blood donation day #blooddonationday pic.twitter.com/zrELHgEv5G
— SpryBit (@SpryBit) June 14, 2016
Last December, the FDA announced it would partially roll back the lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men if they have refrained from having sex with another man for at least 12 months. The 12-month waiting period also applies to women who have had sex with men who have sex with other men.
Jared Polis (D-Colorado) of the LGBT Equality Caucus is now calling for a repeal of the ban which he described as morally bankrupt and “contrary to the goal of public health.”
The push for change has wide support among Democrats including Bernie Sanders, Charles Schumer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Elizabeth Warren who is considered a vice presidential contender for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
For a healthy person, blood donation is absolutely no loss but for a sickly and feeble, it’s a hope of life. t.co/eT9ETtrPfy
— Lokman Singh Karki (@LokmanKarki) June 14, 2016
Watch a WHO World Blood Donor Day campaign video below.
The post Democrats Revive Calls For End To Gay Blood Ban Following Orlando Massacre: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
House Democrats Erupt at Hypocritical GOP Inaction After Moment of Silence for Orlando: WATCH
House Democrats Erupt at Hypocritical GOP Inaction After Moment of Silence for Orlando: WATCH
House Speaker Paul Ryan led a moment of silence on Monday night for victims of the Orlando massacre and then swiftly moved on to other business, causing Democrats to erupt in anger over Republican inaction on guns after the latest mass shooting, the worst in American history, which took the lives of 49 people.
Watch:
Day after shooting, House Democrats erupt in protest; some walk out during moment of silence t.co/l5g73n1fS6t.co/PrsT9B8V9y
— ABC News (@ABC) June 14, 2016
Some lawmakers walked out of the House chamber before the moment of silence began in protest, including Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). Earlier in the day, Himes declared he would not participate in any more moments of silence as a form of protest of the lack of legislative responses to mass shootings.
“The fact is that a moment of silence is an act of respect, and we supported that. But it is a not a license to do nothing,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters off the House floor afterward.
“Members have just had enough of having one minute, a moment of silence on the floor, and then take no action,” she said.
After the moment of silence ended, Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) tried to seek recognition, a request Ryan denied.
Clyburn told reporters that he wanted to speak about the upcoming anniversary — this Friday — of the shooting at a historically black church in his district a year ago in Charleston, S.C.
“I think that we have some appalling silence taking place in this body when we ought to be responding,” Clyburn said.
Ryan denied Clyburn recognition.
Democratic leaders said they want votes on three specific bills: legislation to close the so-called “Charleston loophole,” which allowed the shooter in that case to buy a gun after three days even though a background check wasn’t completed; prevent people who are on the FBI’s no-fly list from buying guns; and prohibit anyone convicted of a hate crime from purchasing firearms.
The post House Democrats Erupt at Hypocritical GOP Inaction After Moment of Silence for Orlando: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
‘For a lot of our families, having a son or a daughter who is gay maybe was a secret until this weekend’
‘For a lot of our families, having a son or a daughter who is gay maybe was a secret until this weekend’
Many of the victims of the Sunday shooting in Orlando were in their 20s and Latino. It’s a young age, and a really important time for people who are “coming out” to their families.
“Imagine those folks who were not out to their families, or who were barely starting to come out to their families,” says Jorge Gutierrez, national coordinator for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. “We know how important family is to us as Latinos. Now they don’t have that opportunity to be authentic, in their homes with their own families.”
For Marytza Sanz, this is one part of Sunday’s shooting at Pulse nightclub that is particularly devastating. She’s the president of Latino Leadership, a nonprofit organization in the city that helps families connect with and navigate services and resources.
“For a lot of our families, having a son or a daughter who is gay maybe was a secret until this weekend. Culturally, our families, they’re not too open,” says Sanz. “Suddenly, these kids’ names are coming in the media.”
Serving the Latino population in a crisis is already a challenge. And the cultural taboos around homosexuality make this type of violence even more difficult.
Jeff Prystajko is the director of communications for another local nonprofit, Come Out With Pride, Orlando. Even in a city as welcoming as Orlando, he says, he’s seen how difficult the process of “coming out” can be for young people.
“Every person who has come out, has a story. For young people now, it’s common,” says Prystajko. “Many parents are more accepting, but that’s not everywhere. Many people have deeply held beliefs or [are in] religious communities that say homosexuality is intrinsically bad.”
Prystajko did not know any of the victims personally, but he says because of their ages, it’s likely many of them had not yet “come out.”
“So many of us who have had problems coming out with our families have built those relationships back. We can only hope that some of these communities that have rejected LGBT people can change,” Prystajko says.
The shooting happened early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub, which patrons say has been a safe space for many people, a place to get away from hostility and be themselves.
Daniel Leon-Davis wrote in Fusion about his first time at Pulse.
While a lot of people turn to churches, LGBT communities are often forced to use nightclubs as our safe haven, and Pulse was mine. Although I had built armor to defend myself from the hatred that was spewed to me when I came out (including some from my own mother), the reality was that I still hated myself because of my identity as a gay man. It didn’t help that I had grown up in a church that had conditioned me to hate myself for loving other men.
Sanz says that before the shooting, watching angry and hateful rhetoric on the news has been disheartening, but she always hoped it would not end in something this terrible.
“Not only has the church contributed,” says Sanz, “but these politicians that have been bringing up the constant bashing of Muslims, homosexuality, women — I think this has been growing and growing until this time bomb exploded.”
“This [shooting] is about violence that has been happening for many, many years,” says Gutierrez, citing the high rates of hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the US. “We want to blame everything on one person, but this is not an isolated case.”
“A couple of years ago, I was at that club. For us, the scary part is that that could have been anywhere,” he says. “They look like us. That could have been any of us.”
According to a 2012 study by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies on religious beliefs in Orlando, the city’s population is largely Roman Catholic, with almost 300,000 members. Evangelical and Southern Baptist worshippers make up about 230,000 of over 2 million people in the metro area. Data from theOrlando Economic Development Commission shows that about half a million in the city are Hispanic. A large share of that population traces its origins to Puerto Rico, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study.
The shooter killed 49 people on Sunday, all between the ages of 19 and 41. Many of the victims have Spanish names and most were men. Another 53 more people were injured and, though we don’t know their names or identities, they likely share similar demographics.
Sanz worries that Spanish-speaking families aren’t connecting with local organizations that are providing resources to victims and their families. A crowdfunding campaign by several Central Florida organizations raised some $200,000 in 24 hours and has increased its goal to $500,000. The funds will go to counseling, an emergency hotline and to support victims’ families. But many people who come to Sanz’s offices don’t know how to access that support, or that it even exists.
For now, she anticipates many people will have questions about what to do next. For example: Who will provide for burials, the families of the victims or their partners, who may have never known the family?
“Nobody at age 19 or 20 was planning about their funerals,” she says.
For Sanz, the hope is that all of these conversations and this tragedy can at least help heal divisions. The violence, she asks, will it bring us together, or are we going to go back to how things were?
“It’s hard [for families], and more hard when they have been going to a church that has been penalizing homosexuality,” she says. “You have been maybe going to a church for many years. Now you’re seeing your pastor on TV saying, let’s pray for these families.”
“For our families, they are lost now. They are running without direction.”
What should come from this devastation, she says, is acceptance. “Let’s sit and let’s talk. You’re my son, you’re my daughter. We are all together and we love you no matter what.”
This article was first published on PRI’s The World.
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