A new policy, entitled Québec Policy Against Homophobia, announced last month by Quebec’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Kathleen Weil requires the government of Quebec to eradicate all forms of  homophobia and heterosexism from society by normalising homosexuality in society, and acting to stop criticism against “lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgenders.”

Discussing the objectives of the policy in a written introduction, the Premier of Quebec Jean Charest states “An inclusive society such as ours must take the necessary steps to combat homophobic attitudes and behavior patterns and move towards full acceptance of sexual diversity,”  before speaking about to do this they need to set “.. out the government’s goal of removing all the obstacles to full recognition of the social equality of the sexual minorities, at all levels of society.”  Indicating a key element in achieving this is for heterosexism to be wiped out as the “affirmation of heterosexuality as a social norm or the highest form of sexual orientation”, the policy also points to the narrow views and prejudices that exist, and the need for these to be combated.

Speaking about the new policy, Weil said the new direction that they were taking acted to show “once again, that Quebec society is a leader in the field of sexual minority rights”, something which refers to Quebec being the first jurisdiction in North America in 1977 to amend its human rights and freedom charter to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Quebec have also acted to maintain this progressive tradition by amending their criminal code to not only include sexual orientation as a factor in hate crimes, but also including hate propaganda, and in 2005 legalized same sex marriage.

As would be expected with a policy as LGBT friendly as this, there has been some criticism especially from some religious groups including the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission whose leader, Gary Cass said such policies meant “Christians are singled out for prosecution, with threats, imprisonment and fines simply for refusing to stop doing what Christ commands: proclaiming the truth.”.

Weil, however, does not believe such criticisms are justified and that they only act to reinforce the need for such policies to make sure that sexual minorities are accepted as equal, something which is key to this particular document which has four key guidelines:

* Recognize the realities faced by sexual minority members
* Promote respect for the rights of sexual minority members
* Promote wellbeing for sexual minorities
* Ensure a concerted approach by government authorities and institutions

One element related to the last guideline which has caused further reaction to the policy is the role that schools should play a key role in retraining the population about sexual minorities. Speaking to LifeSiteNews,  Georges Buscemi, president of Campaign Quebec-Vie, a Quebec pro-life group spoke of his concering about how it would  impose homosexuality training on children. Adding to this he pointed to the impact it would have on religious institutions saying “I could see this being the beginning of the end of religious freedom in the sense that if a church, for example, is offering a service, for example marriage, and is not tailoring the service to the needs of a homosexual, then it could be sanctioned for not doing that.”

Via WND.

President Obama has appointed Amanda Simpson as Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department, making her one of the first transgender presidental appointees.

Talking about her appointment, Simpson, who is a member on the board of directors of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said that she hopes “…that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.”  It is believed that Simpson may well be the first transgender appointment there has been but Democrat officials say that they are unable to confirm this as fact.

Formerly a test pilot, Simpson had until recently worked as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona, and in this period completed the transition from male to female, as well as playing a leading role in convincing the military contractor that gender identity and expression should be part of its equal employment opportunity policy.

Simpson is also no newcomer to politics having previously run for the Arizona House of Representatives, and also being a delegate for Hilary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

LiveLeak has posted footage of gay men being flogged in public view on the streets of Punjabi by the Pakistani police. Demeaning to the men involved, this is however one of the lesser punishments, with acts of sodomy having the potential to be met with a possible life sentence, or worse being stoned to death.

Whilst homosexuality has always been criminalised in Pakistan, it has however become a lot harsher since 1860 when Islamic laws were introducing into the system which saw whipping and stoning introduced in addition to imprisonment. The government still also denies homosexuality exists.

Bond and Griffith universities in Australia are calling for assistance from the LGBT communities within the Queensland area to try and help them bring gay hate crimes to an end.

Dr Alan Berman, Socio-Legal Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University, one of the academics leading this project, spoke with Queensland Pride, of how the project had already achieved a good response to their ‘Stop Gay Hate Now’ survey, both on the internet and at the Brisbane Pride Fair Day in June, but how they also needed at least 200 more by the end of October if the research project was going to be able to properly gauge Queenslanders’ experience of homophobic violence, and also be seen to have enough credibility by political and legal institutions in Queensland.

When all the surveys have been completed, Berman and his fellow researchers, will then work to compile the results into a report for presentation in March 2010. Within this report, there will not only be the findings of the survey, but also recommendations for both legal and political institutions in the state to help reduce the levels of violence against the LGBT community.

The results Berman has analysed so far indicate this is an issue that is definitely in need of some attention, with a large number of LGBT people in Queensland still facing significant levels of violence and harassment, particularly in the country and regional areas. It also indicates the need for a better relationship between the police and the LGBT community with results showing three quarters of these gay hate crimes are never reported.

The findings of this report are definitely going to make interesting reading, but it’s likely that the political impact it will have won’t be quick, as sadly Queensland has long been one of the  least accepting states for  the LGBT community in Australia, having not decriminalised homosexual acts between men until 1990. Nevertheless, even  if progress is slow, the fact that this report is being produced, and will be seen not only by the state, but the world, means that there is likely to be a lot of support and pressure for the changes that need to be made, to be made.

You can learn more at Queensland Pride.

Photo by David Jackmanson.

Back in 1996  Bill Clinton, as President of the United States, passed a law called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law which effectively made same sex marriage illegal.  It has therefore come as a big, and welcome, surprise to many to hear Clinton last week announce that he has changed his personal stance on the issue.

Talking in an interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN, Clinton spoke of how he’d recently come to realise how contradicting his beliefs of supporting the rights of gay individuals and adoption, but not that of gay marriage had been. However whilst he was happy to reveal the change in opinion he had had, this hasn’t meant that Clinton believes there should be any change in national policy, instead believing the issue must be left up to the states.

The news has obviously been warmly welcomed by gay rights organisations globally, with many hoping that the respect that many countries have Clinton will mean his views will  be of influence to them. However, at the same time, there are many others who don’t feel that this is as much of an influential move as many would like to think it was, highlighting how Clinton is only revealing these views now he is out of the political arena in the US, and  that changing the views and actions of those in power, who will really make the difference, is far more difficult.

CNN Interview With Bill Clinton On Same Sex Marriage

Photo by Photo Mojo.