Gay Priests Cause Homophobia?
Homophobia in the Catholic Church is the result of gay priests unable to open up about their sexuality, a German theologian has claimed. David Berger, an expert on Saint Thomas Aquinas told a German magazine last month that large numbers of Catholic clerics in Europe and the United States were homosexually-inclined. ‘The worst homophobia in the Catholic Church comes from homophile priests, who are desperately fighting their own sexuality,’ Berger said. The secondary school teacher has published his experiences with the church in his new book titled Der heilig Schein, or The Holy Illusion.
FBI Hate Crimes Report
Hate crimes based on sexuality declined in the United States over 2009, according to a new report published by the FBI last month. While hate crimes in general also declined, the percentage of sexuality-based hate crimes increased in proportion. The Hate Crimes Statistics 2009, released on November 22, reported 6,604 bias-related crimes down from 7,783 crimes in 2008. Some 1,436 of those were based on sexual orientation, also down from 1,617 crimes. The Southern Poverty Law Centre found that those percieved to be gay were more than twice as likely to be attacked than by other minority groups.
Restroom Confusion,
A trans* woman was arrested last month for using a female toilet in Houston, Texas. Tyjanae Moore was arrested on November 17 ‘for knowingly entering a restroom of the opposite sex’, PinkNews reported. Ms Moore pleaded guilty to using an opposite gender restroom and was given credit for the two nights spent in jail. Trans* advocates said her arrest was unlawful since the ctiy of Houston passed legislation this year allowing transitioning people to use the bathrooms of their new sex. Transgender Foundation of America executive director Cristan Williams said ‘this arrest should have never happened’.
U.N. Dissapointment
Last month, a vote in the United Nations removed protections for LGBT people globally in a move that has been labelled ‘dangerous’ by gay rights advocates. The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly removed sexual orientation from a resolution which called on states to investigate killings based on discrimatory grounds. The International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission Executive Director Cary Alan Johnson said the vote was a disturbing and dangerous development. ‘It essentially removes the important recognition of the particular vulnerability faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,’ Johnson said.
Trans* Discrimination
A new survey of more than 7,000 transgender people in the United States has revealed that 41 per cent have tried to commit suicide. It also emerged that 19 per cent had been refused medical treatment due to their trans* status while 28 per cent said they had been harassed in doctors’ surgeries and hospitals. The research, carried out by the National Centre for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, said trans* people bore ‘the brunt of social and economic marginalisation due to their gender identity’.
