Supporters mark global day against homophobia, transphobia
Posted: May 17, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Angélica Lozano, Arcus Foundation, Asia, Belize, Bogotá, Brazil, British Council, Brunei, C-SPAN, Carlos Vela, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, cuba, Dane Lewis, Day Against Homophobia, Denmark, DOMA, England, Enrique Peña Nieto, Europe, Fiji, Finland, France, Gay da Bahia, Geena Rocero, Gender Proud, Germany, Global Equality Fund, Goodluck Jonathan, Helsinki, Henness Wong, homophobia, Hong Kong, HRC, Iceland, idahot, IGLHRC, India Supreme Court, Iquitos, Jamaica, Japan, Jasmine Kaur, John Evans, John Kerry, Kate Montecarlo, Khabarovks, Kremlin, Latin America, Lebanon, lgbt, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Manila, María Eugenia González, Martin O'Malley, Maryland, México, Michael Lavers, Middle East, Mindanao, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oceania Pride, Pakistan, Perú, Philippines, Rainbow Pride Foundation, Russia, Russian LGBT Network, Sochi, Sri Lanka, St Petersburg, Suva, Svetlana Zakharova, Sweden, transgender, Ty Cobb, U.S. State Department, U.S. Supreme Court, Uganda, United Kingdom, uruguay, Wales, washington blade, Winter Olympics, World Health Organization, Xavier Bettel, Yoweri Museveni Leave a comment*Michael Lavers originally published this piece on The Washington Blade on May 16, 2014.
LGBT rights advocates in more than 120 countries will commemorate this year’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) with a series of vigils, conferences and other events.
Geena Rocero, a transgender Filipino fashion model who founded Gender Proud, a trans advocacy group, is among those who are scheduled to take part in an IDAHOT event outside of Manila, the country’s capital, that the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines has organized. Rocero on Thursday also participated in a candlelight vigil in Hong Kong that local LGBT rights advocates organized.
The Rainbow Pride Foundation, a Fijian LGBT advocacy group, on May 10 held its own candlelight vigil at a church in Suva, the Pacific island nation’s capital. Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education on the same day held a “conga against homophobia” in the Cuban capital as part of a series of events throughout the country that will commemorate IDAHOT.
The Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays on Friday will hold a symposium at a hotel in the Jamaican capital that will examine challenges that LGBT people in the Caribbean country continue to face. María Eugenia González, co-founder of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, is scheduled to attend an anti-bullying conference in the Peruvian city of Iquitos on May 21.
So-called rainbow flash mobs are scheduled to take place in at least 11 Russian cities on May 17. An estimated 100 people are expected to gather in Khabarovsk to release rainbow colored balloons in an IDAHOT demonstration that city officials have allowed to take place.
Svetlana Zakharova of the Russian LGBT Network told the Washington Blade earlier this week that her colleagues are “willing to defend their rights” in spite of the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on LGBT rights. These include a 2013 law that bans the promotion of so-called gay propaganda to minors.
“Whatever the difficulties, many LGBT (people) and their supporters in Russia are looking forward to participating in the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia,” said Zakharova.
Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays Executive Director Dane Lewis had a similar view, noting anti-LGBT violence and discrimination remain pervasive in the country.
“We need to begin to have discussions about the layers of stigma and discrimination experienced by LGBT Jamaicans and the challenges faced by those who identify as Christians,” he said.
Kate Montecarlo Cordova, chair of the Association of Transgender People in the Philippines, noted to the Blade that LGBT Filipinos lack legal protections and access to health care. She said hate crimes and speech, anti-trans harassment and bullying in the predominantly Muslim portion of the country that includes the island of Mindanao often go unreported.
“We, from the transgender community, feel that the IDAHOT celebration is important in our advocacy and in our lives,” said Cordova.
The Mexican government this year is officially organizing IDAHOT for the first time.
Enrique Torre Molina, an LGBT rights advocate and blogger in Mexico City, told the Blade earlier this week that he is hopeful that President Enrique Peña Nieto will speak at an IDAHOT event.
The British Council Mexico on Friday hosted an event that government officials, local LGBT activists and journalists attended.
“The conversation will go beyond the government’s official position and public policy on the subject of homophobia,” said Molina. “Fighting homophobia and promoting respect is, at the end, a task that concerns us all.”
The Finnish government on Thursday announced it will increase its contribution to the Global Equality Fund, a public-private partnership founded by C-SPAN co-founder John Evans that seeks to promote LGBT rights, by one million Euros. A State Department press release noted that Helsinki will continue to work with the governments of Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, the Arcus Foundation and other groups to “build on our shared commitment and partnership to advance freedom, equality and dignity for all.”
“Today of all days, we are reminded that the cause of justice can and must triumph over hatred and prejudice,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. “This is a day of action for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities and their allies all over the world. It is time to reaffirm our commitment to the equality and dignity of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Gays, trans people gain rights in 2013
IDAHOT first took place on May 17, 2005, to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
This year’s commemoration takes place against the backdrop of significant progress in the LGBT rights movement in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and other regions of the world.
Ten U.S. states, Brazil, Uruguay, France, England, Wales and New Zealand have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples over the last year. The U.S. Supreme Court last June struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The Dutch Senate last December approved a bill that would allow trans people to legally change the gender on their birth certificates and other official documents without undergoing sterilization and sex reassignment surgery. A similar measure advanced in the Chilean Senate earlier this year.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday signed a bill that bans anti-discrimination in his state. A similar measure took effect in neighboring Delaware last year.
The Indian Supreme Court last month issued a landmark ruling that recognizes trans people as a “third gender.”
Jamaican and Belizean judges last year heard lawsuits challenging their country’s laws that criminalize homosexuality. A Lebanese judge in March struck down the Middle Eastern nation’s anti-sodomy statute in the case of a trans woman who faced charges for allegedly having a relationship with a man.
Gay Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was sworn into office last December. Angélica Lozano, a former Council woman in the Colombian capital, in March became the first openly LGBT person elected to the South American country’s Congress.
LGBT rights crackdowns continue in Africa, Russia
In spite of this progress, anti-LGBT violence and discrimination remain pervasive in many parts of the world.
The U.S. and several European countries cut aid to Uganda after the country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, in February signed into a law a bill that imposes a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in January signed a draconian anti-gay bill that, among other things, bans membership in an LGBT advocacy group and punishes those who enter into a same-sex marriage with up to 14 years in prison.
The 2014 Winter Olympics took place in Sochi, Russia, in February against the backdrop of criticism over the Kremlin’s LGBT rights record.
Police arrested 10 activists who held rainbow and Russian flags as they sung the country’s national anthem near Moscow’s Red Square just before the games’ opening ceremony began. Authorities earlier in the day arrested four Russian LGBT rights advocates in St. Petersburg as they marched with a banner in support of adding sexual orientation to the Olympic charter’s anti-discrimination clause.
The Indian Supreme Court late last year recriminalized homosexuality — it announced in April it will consider a motion to reconsider the controversial decision. A new Brunei legal code that punishes those convicted of homosexuality by stoning them to death has sparked global outrage that includes calls to boycott hotels the Bruneian government owns.
A report the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission released earlier this week found discrimination and violence against lesbians, bisexual women and trans people in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan remains pervasive. Grupo Gay da Bahia, a Brazilian LGBT advocacy group, noted more than a quarter of the 338 reported LGBT homicide victims in Brazil in 2012 were trans.
Carlos Vela of the Homosexual Community of Hope in the Loreto Region (of Perú) told the Blade that one LGBT person a week is murdered in the South American country. This violence continues to take place, even as Peruvian lawmakers debate a bill that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.
“It is the most extreme expression of systematic violence,” said Vela, referring to the murders of LGBT Peruvians.
Jasmine Kaur of Oceania Pride, which took part in the May 10 candlelight vigil in the Fijian capital, noted homophobia, anti-LGBT hate crimes and violence is “quite strong for the LGBTIQ community” in the South Pacific country. She said the Fijian constitution includes a non-discrimination clause, but it is “flawed.”
“The bill of rights has many limitations,” said Kaur. “It is not one that can guarantee its citizens protections.”
The Human Rights Campaign on Thursday released a report that documents advances and setbacks in the global LGBT rights movement over the last year.
“Despite entrenched homophobia and transphobia in many nations around the world, the global fight for LGBT equality made historic gains in 2013,” said HRC Director of Global Engagement Ty Cobb. “At the same time, last year included horrific new anti-LGBT laws as well as alarming trends in anti-LGBT harassment and violence. These serve as important reminders of the many challenges ahead and the tremendous amount of work left to be done.”
Henness Wong, a Hong Kong activist who helped plan IDAHOT events in the former British colony, said the climate for the city’s LGBT residents is slowly beginning to improve in spite of lingering institutional and cultural homophobia and transphobia.
“Hong Kong is definitely safer than Brunei who will stone gays,” said Wong.
DF queer
Posted: July 2, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alejandro rocha, Argentina, Ángel de la Independencia, Bélgica, Belice, Brasil, Buenos Aires, California, Canadá, Caribe, Centroamérica, ciudad de méxico, dc, df, Dinamarca, DOMA, Ecuador, entrevista, España, Estados Unidos de América, francia, gatopardo, Guyana, Holanda, Human Rights Campaign, Iowa, islandia, Jamaica, Latinoamérica, lgbt, marcela vargas, marcha, matrimonio, matrimonio igualitario, México, New Hampshire, Noruega, nueva york, Nueva Zelanda, orgullo, Panamá, Paseo de la Reforma, Portugal, pride, Proposition 8, queer, Red Nacional de Jóvenes Activistas LGBT, Regina Sienra, Stonewall Inn, Sudáfrica, Suecia, Suprema Corte de Estados Unidos, Tour de France, uruguay, venezuela, Zócalo Leave a comment*Alejandro Rocha, Regina Sienra y Marcela Vargas publicaron este texto en Gatopardo el 29 de junio de 2013.
Cada junio, la comunidad LGBTTTI alrededor del mundo celebra el mes del orgullo gay. El 28 de junio de 1969 se registró una redada violenta en el Stonewall Inn, un bar gay en Nueva York, la chispa que desató una serie de altercados hostiles entre los comensales y la policía. Esta fecha es recordada como un momento pivotal en la lucha de esta comunidad por sus derechos y, por ello, a partir de 1970 el 28 de junio es conocido como Día del Orgullo Gay.
En México, al igual que en otros países, se realizan marchas conmemorativas durante junio. El Distrito Federal ha celebrado este evento desde 1979, aunque la manifestación ha sido criticada por parecer más carnaval que una búsqueda por la justicia e igualdad para la comunidad LGBTTTI. En 2012, por ejemplo, la marcha se dividió en dos columnas en la Ciudad de México: una la de los activistas sociales y otra la de los carros alegóricos, la música y la fiesta.
Para la edición 2013 de la Marcha del Orgullo Gay se anunciaron algunos cambios. Los grupos activistas descartan expresiones festivas pues desean enfocar la marcha de este año a una verdadera lucha social. Mientras que los dueños y encargados de los antros y bares gay –negocios responsables de los carros alegóricos que le daban su toque carnavalesco al recorrido– no participarán en este evento, pues no se les otorgó el permiso para distribuir alcohol en la vía pública durante la marcha.
Para la comunidad homosexual en México ha sido difícil poder expresarse. De acuerdo con Enrique Torre Molina, miembro de la Red Nacional de Jóvenes Activistas LGBTIQ, el factor que distingue a México de otros países en cuanto a este tema es la religión.
Mucha gente, incluso la de mi generación –tengo 26 años– creció con ese conflicto de ‘por un lado tengo esta religión y fe, pero también esta orientación’. Incluso sin esa creencia, nos encontramos en un contexto que les creaba este tipo de tensión,
dice Enrique.
De acuerdo con el activista, este conflicto es más común fuera de la capital, ya que muchos de la comunidad gay se ven obligados a “censurarse”.
“A la hora de llevar al novio a un evento familiar el trato es diferente; se trata como invitado, amigo o el roommie, pero no como el novio”, comenta Enrique. “Definitivamente hay una brecha enorme entre el D.F. y el resto de los estados… en términos legales, culturales, sociales y activismo”.
De acuerdo con Torre Molina, la ciudad de México está a la par de otras ciudades que se han mostrado flexibles y abiertas a las propuestas del movimiento LGBT, como Buenos Aires y Nueva York.
“Mis primeros encuentros y marchas fueron allá en Nueva York”, dice Enrique, “y la verdad es que sí, el D.F. sí se puede comparar con este tipo de ciudades, aunque el problema es la brecha que hay entre la capital y los estados”.
Human Rights Campaign (HRC), la organización que lucha por los derechos y la igualdad de la comunidad LGBTTTI en Estados Unidos, ha cambiado el panorama para este grupo desde 1981, combatiendo legislaturas contra el matrimonio para todos en estados como New Hampshire y Iowa, además del Distrito de Columbia.
Hace cuatro meses, cuando la suprema corte empezó a discutir sobre el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo, HRC compartió una nueva versión de su logo –en rojo y rosa, en lugar del clásico azul y amarillo– que rápidamente se convirtió en el estandarte de la nueva lucha –y la imagen de perfil de muchos–, que desembocaría en la victoria de esta semana para los derechos de los homosexuales en California: la parte de la Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) que señala que un matrimonio sólo puede ser la unión de un hombre y una mujer fue declarada inconstitucional por la Suprema Corte, mientras que la Propuesta 8, que le quitaba el derecho al matrimonio a las parejas del mismo sexo, fue invalidada.
En una situación un tanto opuesta, continúan las protestas contra la legalización del matrimonio entre parejas del mismo sexo en Francia. Los manifestantes se han enfocado en ganar espacio mediático, presentándose en el abierto de Francia –con marchas de hasta 300 mil personas– y amenazando con hacer lo mismo en el Tour de France.
Para Enrique, los acontecimientos recientes a nivel internacional ayudan a mostrar que incluso a pesar de ciertos aspectos, México ha avanzado.
“Aquí en México, si me caso en la capital, todo el país debe reconocerlo, no así como en Estados Unidos”, comenta Enrique, “creo que eso es de las cosas más presumibles que tiene México en cuanto al movimiento LGBT”.
Respecto a la división en el movimiento LGBT para la organización de la marcha, Enrique cree que es de muy poca importancia, pues una persona común no le importa quién organiza, sino el objetivo con el que va.
Esta marcha es muy grande, pero a la vez es muy personal. Uno puede ir para ligar, para marchar, para ponerse una borrachera; no sólo es para conmemorar, sino para festejar los avances. No puedes esperar que la marcha siga los mismos lineamientos que hace 30 años porque hay avances,
dice Enrique.
Al preguntarle sobre cómo ve el movimiento a corto y largo plazo, el activista concluye con un poco sobre su historia personal.
Hay una tía que es lesbiana, y todos en la familia lo sabían menos la mamá. La mamá, hasta el día de su muerte, nunca se enteró. Para mi generación, cuando llevo a mi pareja a una comida o a una Navidad o lo que sea, lo reconocen como mi pareja. Ahora, tengo a un primo de 15 años y me comenta que una de sus amigas ya tiene novia. Y eso es padrísimo, porque cada vez se acepta más.
Enrique también enfatiza la importancia de que el movimiento se llame “Red Nacional de Jóvenes Activistas”. Gracias al hecho de que sean jóvenes, los integrantes ven al mundo mucho más prometedor y con menos tragos amargos que la sociedad le ha dado a generaciones pasadas.
Actualmente, 14 países han legalizado el matrimonio homosexual en todo su territorio: Argentina, Bélgica, Canadá, Dinamarca, España, Francia, Islandia, Holanda –el primero, en 2001–, Nueva Zelanda, Noruega, Portugal, Sudáfrica, Suecia y Uruguay. En Brasil, Estados Unidos y México, el matrimonio se puede llevar a cabo solamente en algunas regiones, pero su validez en todo el territorio varía según cada país.
América Latina es un mosaico de posturas sobre el tema: Mientras Uruguay y Argentina lo han legalizado por completo, Venezuela y Ecuador sólo tienen leyes que protegen contra la discriminación, pero nada más. Centroamérica y el Caribe son zonas muy cerradas: Por ejemplo, Honduras es uno de los lugares donde más ataques reciben las organizaciones pro-derechos humanos; en Panamá, ser homosexual dejó de ser considerado enfermedad en 2008 y en Belice, Guyana, Jamaica y otros países caribeños, toda actividad homosexual es ilegal y puede ser castigada con sanciones que van de multas a cadena perpetua.
El recorrido de la Marcha por el Orgullo Gay 2013 iniciará en el Ángel de la Independencia al mediodía y la columna se trasladará hacia el Zócalo capitalino.
Mexican Supreme Court finds gay marriage ban unconstitutional
Posted: February 20, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alex alí méndez, Brazil, California, Chile, Coahuila, Colombia, Constitución de Estados Unidos, df, DOMA, Estados Unidos de América, gay, Interamerican Court of Human Rights, Karen Atala, marriage, marriage equality, México, Mexican Supreme Court, mexico city, Michael Lavers, oaxaca, Proposition 8, Quintana Roo, same-sex marriage, Sao Paulo, scjn, Sebastián Piñera, U.S. Constitution, U.S. Supreme Court, united states of america, uruguay, washington blade, Yucatán Leave a comment*This piece was originally published by Michael Lavers on Washington Blade on February 19, 2013.
The Mexican Supreme Court on Monday formally released its ruling that found a Oaxacan law that bans same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
The 56-page decision cites two U.S. Supreme Court cases that specifically addressed race-based discrimination and segregation: Loving v. Virginia that found state bans on interracial marriages unconstitutional and Brown v. Board of Education that struck down laws that allowed separate public schools for black and white students.
“The historic disadvantages that homosexuals have suffered have been amply recognized and documented: public scorn, verbal abuse, discrimination in their places of employment and in the access of certain services, including their exclusion from certain aspects of public life,” the judges wrote. “In comparative law it has been argued that discrimination that homosexual couples have suffered when they are denied access to marriage is analogous with the discrimination suffered by interracial couples at another time.”
They further point out the U.S. Supreme Court said in Loving v. Virginia that restricting marriage on the basis of race is “incompatible” with the Equal Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
“In connection with this analogy, it can be said that the normative power of marriage is of little use if it does not give the possibility to marry the person that one chooses,” the judges wrote.
The court released its decision more than two months after the judges unanimously struck down the Oaxaca law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Three couples tried to apply for marriage licenses in the state, but local authorities denied their applications. Lawyer Alex Alí Méndez Díaz filed lawsuits on behalf of two of the couples in Aug. 2011 and a third in Jan. 2012 who sought legal recourse — an “amparo” in the Mexican judicial system — to ensure local authorities would protect their constitutional rights.
The ruling also comes roughly six weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in cases challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.
“They do it when in our country there is no previous rulings on the subject,” Méndez told the Washington Blade from Mexico City when asked whether it is common for Mexican Supreme Court judges to cite cases from other countries in their decisions. “These rulings are the first at the national level that support the topics in the way in which we had planned.”
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in the Mexican capital since 2010, and the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled other states must recognize gay marriages legally performed in Mexico City. Gays and lesbians have also married in Quintana Roo on the Yucatán Peninsula, while the state of Coahuila offers property and inheritance rights and other limited legal protections to same-sex couples.
The Uruguay House of Representatives in December overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot. Same-sex marriage advocates expect the measure will easily pass in the country’s Senate in April — President José Mujica has said he will sign it into law.
A Colombian Senate committee in December also approved a same-sex marriage bill. A court in the Brazilian state of São Paolo later that month ordered registries to begin offering marriage licenses to same-sex couples without a judge’s approval.
Argentina has allowed same-sex couples to marry since 2010, while Chilean President Sebastián Piñera in 2011 said he would introduce a bill that would allow gay men and lesbians to enter into civil unions. Same-sex couples would be allowed to tie the knot and adopt children in French Guiana under a proposal the French Senate is scheduled to begin debating on April 2.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Feb. 2012 ruled in favor of lesbian Chilean Judge Karen Atala who lost custody of her three daughters to her ex-husband in 2005 because of her sexual orientation. Three gay couples from Chile who had been denied marriage licenses filed a lawsuit with the tribunal last September after the South American country’s Supreme Court ruled against them.
The Mexican Supreme Court cited the Atala case its decision that only applies to the three same-sex couples who had sought marriage licenses in Oaxaca.
“It just confirms that fighting for marriage equality on a federal level makes more sense and is becoming an increasingly global trend,” Enrique Torre Molina, an LGBT activist and blogger in Mexico City, told the Blade.
The Mexican Supreme Court on Wednesday is expected to formally announce its decision on whether the Oaxacan law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman is discriminatory. The judges will have to rule on an additional “amparo” from Oaxaca before gays and lesbians can legally tie the knot in the state.
“For there to be same-sex marriage throughout the country, if there is not a reform of the civil laws of each state, we will need five rulings in each one of the states that comprise the federation [of Mexico,]” Méndez noted.
Mexican Supreme Court rules against same-sex marriage ban
Posted: December 7, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: After Marriage, alex alí méndez, Argentina, Cancún, Chile, CNN, CNN en Español, Coahuila, Estados Unidos de América, Gabriela Castellanos Mota, gay, Geraldina González de la Vega, Guillermo Emmanuel Martínez, Interamerican Court of Human Rights, j. lester feder, Jesús Reyes Álvarez, José Ramón Cossío, Karen Atala, Karina Mendieta Pérez, lgbt, Lizeth Citlalli Martínez, María Monserrat Ordóñez, marriage, marriage equality, Mexican Supreme Court, Michael Lavers, oaxaca, Politico, Quintana Roo, same-sex marriage, scjn, united states of america, uruguay, washington blade, Yucatán Leave a comment*This piece was originally published by Michael Lavers on Washington Blade on December 6, 2012.
The Mexican Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously struck down a law in the southern state of Oaxaca that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Three couples — Lizeth Citlalli Martínez Hernandez and María Monserrat Ordóñez Narváez, Jesús Reyes Álvarez and Guillermo Emmanuel Martínez Pimental and Karina Mendieta Pérez and Gabriela Castellanos Mota — tried to apply for marriage licenses in Oaxaca, but local authorities denied their applications.
Lawyer Alex Alí Méndez Díaz filed lawsuits on behalf of two of the couples in Aug. 2011 and a third in January who sought legal recourse, known as an “amparo” in the Mexican judicial system, that would ensure local authorities would protect their constitutional rights. Geraldina González de la Vega, a lawyer who advised Méndez, noted to the Washington Blade this “remedy can be used against laws or acts of authority” in Mexico.
A Oaxacan court in April ruled in favor of Martínez and Ordóñez, but against Reyes and Martínez and Mendieta and Castellanos. An appellate judge in August cited the Mexican constitution that bans anti-gay discrimination in his ruling that ordered Oaxacan authorities to allow same-sex marriages.
The state’s governor and Congress petitioned the Mexican Supreme Court to review the case — Méndez also asked the tribunal to determine the criteria under which the Oaxacan marriage law should be understood.
“The court did not declare the unconstitutionality of the law, but the effect of its application is that the justices said that one would have to understand marriage is a contract celebrated between two people without any reference to the sex of those who enter into it,” Méndez told the Washington Blade during an interview from Mexico City hours after the justices issued their decision.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in the Mexican capital since 2010, and the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled other states must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in Mexico City. Same-sex couples have also married in Quintana Roo, which includes the resort city of Cancún on the Yucután Peninsula.
The state of Coahuila offers property and inheritance rights and other limited legal protections to same-sex couples.
The latest Mexican Supreme Court decision only applies to Oaxaca, but advocates maintain these cases will open the doors to same-sex marriages across the country.
González noted the court needs to issue five rulings before the “amparo” will “have general effects” throughout the country.
“We already have three,” she said.
“These cases set a precedent that can be invoked in any other state in Mexico,” Méndez added. “While it is not obligatory for those who must resolve these new cases, there is a high possibility that the result will be the same as what we have obtained in Oaxaca.”
Enrique Torre Molina, an LGBT activist and blogger in Mexico City, agreed.
“It’s not going to be long before same-sex marriage is a reality in the whole country,” he told the Blade on Wednesday. “It’s a matter of same-sex couples who have been thinking about getting married and haven’t done it either because they’re not in Mexico City and traveling is not an option or because they were going to get no for an answer. It’s just a matter of time of trying it out as these couples in Oaxaca [did] and sort of contribute to this history.”
The Mexican Supreme Court issued its ruling hours after a Colombian Senate committee approved a measure that would legalize same-sex marriage. Senators in the South American country are expected to debate the bill on Tuesday.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Argentina since 2010. Neighboring Uruguay allow civil unions for gays and lesbians, but the country’s lawmakers are expected to debate a same-sex marriage measure on Tuesday.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights in February ruled in favor of lesbian Chilean Judge Karen Atala who lost custody of her three daughters to her ex-husband in 2005 because of her sexual orientation. Three gay Chilean couples who had been denied marriage licenses filed a lawsuit with the tribunal in September after the country’s Supreme Court ruled against them.
The Mexican Supreme Court cited the Atala case in its decision.
“Our country has already been sanctioned on many occasions by the IACHR,” Méndez said. “Our country, being part of this Inter-American system, will have to follow this trend in regard to protecting the human rights of the LGBT community.”
J. Lester Feder, a former Politico reporter who has covered the same-sex marriage throughout Latin America for four months for his blog AfterMarriage.org, noted to the Blade from Oaxaca that courts throughout the region often look to those in other countries in reaching their own decisions. He said the Atala case is one of the legal precedents the Oaxacan couples used in their successful lawsuits.
Justice José Ramón Cossío told CNN en Español he expects the same-sex marriage could become a reality throughout the country within a few months.
“The three cases are effective with respect to the state of Oaxaca,” he said. “By the position that we have on the Supreme Court as the country’s highest tribunal, it is foreseeable that if other people from other federal entities challenged a code that had a similar condition, the court would reiterate its criteria and within the next few months will guarantee the juris prudence that will become mandatory.”
Feder agreed.
“It means that it’s very likely universal marriage rights are going to be available in Mexico well before the United States,” he said. “International human rights law in the Americas is [increasingly interpreting] marriage rights as human rights, but the United States legal system doesn’t internalize international norms. We’re not participating in that trend.”
Llega el Festival Internacional de Cine de la UNAM
Posted: February 20, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Alemania, Argentina, artavazd peleshyan, autocinema, bolivia, Brasil, ccu, chilec, cine, ciudad de méxico, claudia curiel, Conaculta, corea del sur, cuba, df, España, Estados Unidos de América, eva sangiorgi, f.j. ossang, ficunam, filipinas, francia, grecia, hipertextual, imcine, ingmar bergman, jean eustache, kelly reichardt, Latinoamérica, México, montenegro, muac, Museo del Chopo, olombia, Países Bajos, roger alan koza, rumania, serbia, tlatelolco, UNAM, uruguay, venezuela, Vivir México Leave a comment*Publicado en Vivir México el 20 de febrero de 2011.
Dice Roger Alan Koza que
el cine constituye una matriz perceptiva: las noticias devienen en cortos cinematográficos, los actos escolares se musicalizan como escenas de películas, todos filman, todos narran, todos comentan películas.
Koza es el programador invitado de la primera edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (FICUNAM), que tendrá lugar del 24 de febrero al 3 de marzo.
Con la dirección de Eva Sangiorgi y la coordinación general de Claudia Curiel de Icaza, y el apoyo de Conaculta, el Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, medios de comunicación y festivales aliados, la máxima casa de estudios del país ha preparado proyecciones en autocinema y cine al aire libre, y muchas actividades más.
El programa incluye:
· Aciertos – Encuentro Internacional de Escuelas de Cine, con la participación de Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, España, México, Uruguay y Venezuela.
· Coloquio de Cine Contemporáneo, con mesas redondas sobre las construcciones de la fantasía y del discurso político en el cine; palabra, imagen e identidad humana.
· Competencia Internacional de Largometraje, con cintas de Alemania, Argentina, Corea del Sur, España, Estados Unidos, Filipinas, Francia, Grecia, México, Países Bajos, Rumania, Serbia y Montenegro, Uruguay, entre otros.
· La segunda Cátedra Extraordinaria Ingmar Bergman en Cine y Teatro, con un taller de Kelly Reichardt.
· Retrospectiva de la obra de Artavazd Peleshyan, F.J. Ossang y Jean Eustache.
· Otras secciones como Ahora México, Territorios: Apichatpong Weerasethakul y Trazos.
Las sedes son el Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco, la Facultad de Estudios Superiores (FES) Acatlán y Aragón, la Filmoteca UNAM, el Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) y el Museo Universitario del Chopo.
Los boletos para cualquier película del festival cuestan $30, con 50% de descuento para alumnos, profesores y comunidad universitaria – excepto el autocinema, que cuesta $80 por coche.
Imagen: FICUNAM.
