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NATIONAL <strong>NEWS</strong> Gay rights activits decry Obama's discrimination inaction Gay rights activists say they feel betrayed by President Obama’s decision not to sign an executive order banning workplace discrimination of gay, lesbian and transgender federal contractors. “I believe this is a political calculation,” said Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, who learned about the decision during a meeting with White House officials, including senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Wednesday. “It’s not about the substance.” White House spokesperson Jay Carney said the decision was “absolutely not” steeped in election-year politics. “We’re deeply committed to working hand-inhand with partners in the LGBT community on a number of fronts to build the case for employment non-discrimination policies,” Carney said. However, a prominent gay-rights proponent involved in pressing the White House to move forward with an Executive Order said he thinks the president is “risk adverse” as the general election nears. “I assume the contraception issue got him a little nervous in the social issues,” he told Hotsheet. The proposed Executive Order to be issued by the president would have prohibited federal contractors to discriminate against its employees based on sexual orientation. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed an Executive Order banning federal contractors from discrimination based on race, religion and gender. This would have been an expansion of Executive Order 11246. LGBT activists say ending workplace discrimination has popular support. They point to several polls, including one by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, that shows three-fourths of voters support workplace nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people. This is “the low hanging fruit,” Almeida told Hotsheet. As a candidate, Mr. Obama promised to ban employee discrimination. And in an interview with The Advocate in 2010, the president said he could circumvent Congress. “There still a lot of things we can do administratively even if we don’t pass things legislatively. So my By Leigh Ann Caldwell ability to make sure that the federal government is an employer that treats gays and lesbians fairly, that’s something I can do, and sets a model for folks across the board,” Mr. Obama said. The Executive Order represented one possible way to bypass Congress. A bill in Congress that would have had the same impact called the the Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been stalled in the Republican-led House of Representatives. During the daily press briefing, Carney told reporters that the White House will “build support for passage of this legislation, a comprehensive approach to legislate on the issue of non-discrimination.” Told of the administration’s decision on Wednesday, Joe Solmonese, president of the LGBT rights group the Human Rights Campaign, said he is “extremely disappointed.” “The unfortunate truth is that hard-working Americans can be fired simply for being gay or transgender,” Solmonese wrote. “No similar executive order has ever had this kind of extensive research or factual basis established.” Both the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice signed off on the measure, clearing the way for the White House to act. In a heated exchange with reporters Thursday, Carney pointed to LGBT achievements championed by the president, including the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as proof of the president’s “commitment” to the LGBT community. “I think the president’s record on LGBT issues speaks volumes about his commitment to securing equal rights for LGBT Americans,” Carney said. Sympathetic donors are not being asked not to contribute to the president’s reelection campaign, but instead to donate at least as much to the nondiscrimination effort. Report shows Hispanics more likely to support LGBT community WASHINGTON, D.C. - Countering popular assumptions that Hispanics are more anti-gay than other segments of society, a new report coreleased by NCLR (National Council of La Raza) and Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) finds that Latinos are, in fact, as open and tolerant, if not more tolerant, than the general population in the U.S. toward gays and lesbians. The report, LGBT Acceptance and Support: The Hispanic Perspective, offers an in-depth look at how Latinos view gays and lesbians within their own community and their level of support for LGBT issues. The report, funded by the Arcus Foundation, notes that Hispanics are actually slightly more inclined to support legal same-sex marriage and to be more accepting of gays and lesbians in society than most Americans. Also, Latinos are just as likely as any other group in the U.S. today to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. “There is a clear misperception among the general population about where Latinos stand on LGBT issues, partly because the media pushes this narrative that the culture and values of Latinos and LGBT progress are simply incompatible,” said David Dutwin, Vice President of SSRS and author of the report. “Such misperceptions manifest in story after story about a particular Hispanic group opposing a gay rights bill, even though this anti-gay sentiment is not reflective of all Latinos. In reality, as society is evolving on LGBT issues and becoming more accepting of this community, so too are Hispanics.” However, Dutwin points out that Latinos also mirror the general population in that there are groups within the Hispanic community that are more intolerant than others. The highly religious and those less familiar with American cultural values in particular tend to hold less accepting views of LGBTs. Dutwin notes that religious communities that insulate themselves are particularly rigid in their attitudes concerning gays and lesbians. “Still, across the board, we’re seeing that exposure to the LGBT community is really the key to acceptance and tolerance for Latinos,” added Dutwin. “Many Hispanics come from countries where gays and lesbians are less upfront about their sexuality, so that enables this discomfort toward LG- BTs to persist. But the longer these Hispanics live in the U.S. and the more they come into contact with gays and lesbians, the more likely they are to accept them and support pro-LGBT policies such as same-sex marriage.” 16 | Issue #93 | April 2012 | ntouchaz.com news / politics / business / opinion
NATIONAL <strong>NEWS</strong> 1000s demand cancellation of "blasphemous" play SAN FRANCISCO - A new production of Corpus Christi, Terrence McNally’s controversial play which depicts Jesus as a gay man in 1950s Texas, has drawn an angry response from some Catholics, as has a documentary following the company on tour. An online petition, based on a series of previous anti-Corpus Christi petitions by the right-wing Catholic site America Needs Fatima, has drawn over 7,000 signatures to date. The petition denounces 108 Productions’ version of the play - along with the documentary Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption - as “unspeakable blasphemy” and “prejudicial outrage.” It also calls on the Castro Theatre, where the film is set to premiere on April 29, to “immediately cancel the showing of this movie and play, and to offer a public apology to Our Lord Jesus Christ and to all God fearing Americans.” In addition, 108 Productions’ crew has received similar comments, in the form of personal emails, YouTube comments, and even harassment of director Nic Arnzen’s mother in Iowa. Accordingly, a protest outside the April 29 event is now expected, as protests have followed similar petitions for previous 108 Productions performances. Corpus Christi has a long history of controversy. When newspapers drew attention to the play’s 1998 debut at the Manhattan Theatre Club, the theater, playwright, and cast became the target of heated rhetoric, protests, and even worse. William Donohue of the Catholic League called the play “a piece of filth,” and McNally “the David Duke and the Khalil [sic] Muhammad of Broadway.” Anonymous telephone callers reportedly threatened to destroy the theater and “exterminate” McNally. Citing security risks including bomb threats, the theater claimed it had been forced to remove from its fall schedule, before reinstating the play due to pressure from much of New York’s artistic community. On news / politics / business / opinion opening night, around 2,000 protesters waved signs outside the theater. Nonetheless, 108 is standing by Corpus Christi and its message of religious tolerance, Said James Brandon, actor and co-founder of 108 Productions: “Controversy and protest has followed this play from the beginning, but it has never stopped it from being performed, reaching thousands of audiences with its beautiful and positive message of inclusive love for all people. Their words of protest have only made us more empowered to love ourselves and have actually deepened our own conviction that the LGBT community absolutely has a right to a seat at the table of their chosen faith. In fact, we welcome any protester to please see the play or film as our guest so they can experience firsthand the Love He really stood for.” Beginning in 2006, 108 Productions launched a resoundingly successful revival production, di- rected by Nic Arnzen which was lauded by critics, continued to sell out for months at Los Angeles’ Zephyr Theatre, and went on to tour across America. In Europe, the play was an Amnesty International Freedom of Expression nominee at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and was awarded the Intercultural Dialogue Award at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in 2008. After, the company celebrated the show’s 10th anniversary Off-Broadway at the Rattlestick Theatre, benefiting the Matthew Shepard Foundation and New York’s Gay Community Center. The show continued to tour through 2011 nationally and internationally, while a documentary crew followed their travels to less tolerant communities. Now, six years later, Corpus Christi: Playing With Redemption will host its first sneak preview screening, launching the I AM Love Campaign. The Religious Right meets the ‘gay Jesus play’ in this documentary film inspired by the play, which continues to face censorship, protests, bomb threats and religious condemnation. Mirroring the reflections of change in society today in regards to freedom of speech, civil rights, marriage equality and separation of church and state, this production has become a vehicle for a community struggling to find its voice. Meanwhile, the company of actors finds itself on a journey that would forever change their lives. The I AM Love Campaign’s mission is to change the story on religious bullying and homophobia, in all ages and walks of life, by first learning to love the self. Beyond screenings of Playing With Redemption, which will be combined with performances of the play in select cities, the 108 Productions company will also conduct educational and arts-based workshops alongside gay and religious leaders in conservative communities around the country. ntouchaz.com | April 2012 | Issue #93 | 17
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