What makes an individual evolve to accept something they thought they never would understand? Is it because they were proactive in seeking the truth about what they did not understand? Is it because they decided to abolish the ideas and what they have been taught to believe was the truth? People are so easily influenced by many things and what they believe to be ‘the truth’ – Religion is one of the biggest factors in justifying ignorance or an excuse for people to hide behind what they fear or don’t understand. Despite all of the progress the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered) community has achieved, there is still those who seek to ‘demonize’ sexual orientation and deem it ‘un-natural’ and an ‘abomination’ according to the Bible. I find it fascinating how different religions are adamant about separating their beliefs with other religious denominations but seem to find unity in what they hate.
The main purpose of my blog and this website – C.O.P.E. (Coalition of Positive Energy), is to offer information to readers on what is happening in the world so that we can work together in creating positive outcomes. I try to focus on writing positive stories but I also want to inform readers that in order to achieve a positive outcome – we must face the negativity. Here are some stories I want to share with you so that we never forget to fight for love, compassion and understanding.
MATTHEW SHEPARD
On Saturday December 1, 2012 – it would have been Matthew Shepard’s 36th birthday. Matthew Shepard was driven to a rural area by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were they robbed, pistol-whipped, and tortured him. Matthew was discovered 18 hours later by Aaron Kreifels still tied to a fence, alive and in a coma. Aaron Kreifels initially mistook Matthew for a scarecrow. Matthew suffered fractures to the back of his head and in front of his right ear. He experienced severe brain damage, which affected his body’s ability to regulate hear rate, body temperature, and other vital functions. There were also about a dozen small lacerations around his head, face and neck. Matthew was pronounced dead on October 12, 1998 at 12:53am in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was 21 years old.
His death was a hate-crime and spawned an activist movement that, more than a decade later, would result in passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal law against bias crimes directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people.
At 21, I decided to let my friends and family know that I was gay. I understood the public perception of homosexuals and I did experience homophobia – I was called a “faggot” and even had a beer bottle thrown at me just because of my sexual orientation. I knew what my risks were for coming out as a gay man but I never really believed that death was one of those risks – not until I learned about the crime committed against Matthew Shepard.
Matthew’s story is a reminder that we all must stand together and speak out against bullying. We need to stop people from perpetuating hate in the name of religion. Imagine being the family of Matthew Shepard and having to deal with those who have a misconception of ‘the word of God’ at your son’s funeral. Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, took his message of “God Hates Fags” to protest at Matthew Shepard’s funeral wielding signs that read “No Tears For Queers” and “Fag Matt in Hell”.
If you would like to make a donation to the Matthew Shepard foundation – please visit the official Matthew Shepard foundation site founded by Matthews mother and father, Judy and Dennis at:
UGANDA – KILL THE GAYS
Uganda has been receiving much media scrutiny and attention since 2009 ever since their parliament has tabled a bill to ban homosexuality from their country. In April 2009, the Ugandan Parliament passed a resolution allowing Member of Parliament (MP) David Bahati to submit a private member’s bill in October to strengthen laws against homosexuality. The bill was proposed by Bahati and is based on the foundation of “strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family”, that “same-sex attraction is not innate and immutable characteristic”.
The legislation strengthens the criminalization of homosexuality in Uganda by introducing the death penalty for people who are considered serial offenders, are suspected of “aggravated homosexuality” and are HIV-positive, or who engage in sexual acts with those under 18 years of age.
After facing intense international reaction and promises from Western nations to cut financial aid to Uganda, on 9 December 2009, Uganda’s Minister of Ethics and Integrity, James Nsaba Buturo said Uganda will revise the bill to drop the death penalty (substituting life imprisonment) for gay people with multiple offences.
Legislation like this perpetuates and incites violence towards gays and lesbians – the government is giving a clear message that citizens who have a sexual orientation other than heterosexual are not equal under their laws. If we do not voice our concerns – innocent people will die or be left to rot in prison because of how they were born.
Please contact your Member of Parliament and ask them to speak out against this bill. We must let the Uganda people know that their government is wrong to punish people because of how they were born. Contact your government and pressure them to cut financial aid to Uganda should this bill pass.
Get involved and sign the petition:
http://www.allout.org/en/actions/uganda-now
LIBYA
Homosexuals in Libya have reason to fear in the post-Gaddafi climate. Some people have said that it is even worse for gays and lesbians in Libya after Gaddafi. London’s The Times, ran a story in which gay Libyans told of how the capital city Tripoli’s largest militia, the Nawasi brigade, have been harassing and attacking them with impunity.
The Times is subscription-based, Pink News UK offers a summation of the situation:
The city’s largest and most powerful brigade officially work under the authority of the Ministry of Interior, and , according to witnesses, were taking people away just for being gay.
Ahmad said he was witness to recent events during which the Nawasi drove past a birthday party, saw a man dressed in a wig and dress, and beat him until he admitted he was gay, at which point he was taken away.
After the men were taken away, a picture of the detainees from the party appeared on the Nawasi brigade’s Facebook page (?????), in which they had their hands above their heads, and their heads against a wall, with their backs to the camera. Text accompanying the image read “flog them hard”, “ride them like camels” and “let’s see the bullets fly”.
The bridge admits to taking the men away, but says it did so more because of noise complaints and alcohol consumption.
“These guys are not straight, but that’s not the main reason we arrested them.” said one militia member. “The main thing was the big noise they were making to the neighbours, as well as the large amounts of alcohol and hashish we found.”
THE SALVATION ARMY – ANTI GAY?
The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians. The church claims it holds “a positive view of human sexuality,” but then clarifies that “sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage.” they teach that “Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.”
Since 1986 the Salvation Army has engaged in five major assaults on the LGBT community’s civil rights and attempted to carve out exemptions that would allow them to deny gays and lesbians needed services as well as employment.
- The Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to get legislation killed when New Zealand considered passing the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men, the measure passed over the charity’s objections.
- In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army actively pushed passage of an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment stated that local authorities “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” The law has since been repealed, but it led many schools and colleges to close LGBT student organizations out of fear they’d lose their government funding.
- In 2001, the organization tried to extract a resolution from the White House that they could ignore local non-discrimination laws that protected LGBT people. While the commitment would have applied to all employees, the group claimed that it needed the resolution so it “did not have to ordain sexually active gay ministers and did not have to provide medical benefits to the same-sex partners of employees.” After lawmakers and civil rights activists revealed the Salvation Army’s active resistance to non-discrimination laws, the White House admitted the charity was seeking exemptions.
- Also in 2001, the evangelical charity lobbied to change how the Bush administration would distribute over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws. Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, issued a statement saying the administration was denying a “regulation sought by the church to protect the right of taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate against homosexuals.”
- In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their soup kitchens in New York City to protest the city’s decision to require all vendors and charities doing business with the city to adhere to all civil laws. The organization balked at having to treat gay employees equal to straight employees.
WESTWOOD HIGH – MESA, ARIZONA
Two students were faced with the prospect of either suspension from school, or sitting in chairs in the high school’s courtyard and holding hands for 15 minutes during a lunch period. They opted for the latter.
What message does this send? The message that intolerance is not okay. Making two boys hold hands in public as a form of punishment sends the message that it is not okay to be gay and that you will be humiliated if you are. It also sends a clear message to the other students that this form of punishment and bullying is acceptable.
MICHIGAN TEACHER SUSPENDED
Susan Johnson is a performing arts teacher at South Lyon’s Centennial Middle School. She indicated that one of her students asked if he could play a song in class. The song was called “Same Love”, performed by Seattle-based hip-hop artist Macklemore and was produced in support of marriage equality. Susan asked if the song was violent and if there was any profanity and the student said no. “I really love my kids and I never want to hurt them, but I also know that there’s a lot of bullying and there’s a lot of gay bashing and racial issues going on in our country and I want the kids to feel comfortable in my class no matter who they are.” stated Susan to WJBK.
MACKLEMORE’s VIDEO:
Today, we should be encouraging and supporting our governments, religious institutions, teachers and health care professionals to promote tolerance, compassion and love for all of society. We need to stop focusing on making the differences in people a negative thing – who cares what colour we are, what language we speak, what nationality we are or what religion you belong to. What does matter is how we treat one another.
Have we not witnessed enough violence in our lifetime? Why must we continue to debate things that are not under our control. You can’t ask someone to change their skin colour – it is absurd! You can’t ask a woman to change her gender if she was born a woman and you certainly can’t ask someone who was born gay to become heterosexual otherwise, it would be just as easy for heterosexuals to choose to be gay.
Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY 