A los que creemos que la encuesta a los militares es una injuria...

¡ Según Maquiavelo, la historia se repite y esta encuesta NO es la primera!

When the Department of Defense distributed 400,000 online surveys to enlisted troops to gauge their opinions on gays in the military, there was an uproar. Many argued that nobody would have surveyed soldiers about racially integrating the military 60 years ago.

Well, the Pentagon corrected this misconception last week when it revealed that in fact, soldiers were surveyed about integrating blacks and whites in the military.

“Prior to President Truman’s 1948 executive order integrating the armed forces,” said DOD spokesperson Cynthia Smith, “Our preliminary research shows that branches of the armed forces undertook a number of modestly sized surveys of the attitudes of enlisted and nonenlisted troops concerning racial issues, integration, and morale.”

A 1947 survey to enlisted soldiers found that “An overwhelming majority of the men feel that Negro and white soldiers should be separated both during and after training.”

The survey also asked for soldiers to agree or disagree with the statement: “There is nothing good about Jews.” Eighty-six percent of enlisted troops agreed.

The survey found that “four out of five white enlisted men are opposed to the idea of having Negro and white soldiers in the same units even if they do not eat in the same mess or sleep in the same barracks.”

Just seven percent thought the military should be integrated. The survey was collected in 1947; the next year, President Truman mandated the military to be integrated. This was twenty years before the last laws prohibiting interracial marriage were repealed.

On Thursday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow commented on the survey and its relation to the recent survey of soldiers about gays in the military.

“There are rights that are guaranteed to us all by the constitution. These rights are not up to a vote,” said Maddow. “This is America and the rights of man are inalienable no matter what skeeves you out.” “The results of that survey will be interesting, but they will also be completely irrelevant of whether or not this policy should and will be changed.”

365gay.com/July23,2010/Celeste Lavin

¿Qué piensan Las Américas Sobre el Matrimonio Gay?

Un claro resumen...

La presidenta de Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirschner firmó el miércoles la ley sobre el matrimonio del mismo sexo[1],haciendo de esta nación la primera en América Latina en legalizar el matrimonio gay y hoy se une al Canada en ser los primeros países de América en obtener igualdad en el matrimonio. Entre las jurisdicciones en las Américas que tienen el matrimonio gay se encuentran Iowa, Massachusetts y Ciudad Méjico pero esto no compara con las siete naciones Europeas y en SudÁfrica que tienen total igualdad en el matrimonio. Americas Quarterly[2], especula que el atraso en las Américas se debe a la fuerte influencia de la Iglesia Católica. En Honduras, El Salvador y la República Dominicana existe la prohibición constitucional del matrimonio gay y en Bolivia, la nueva constitución limita los matrimonios legalmente reconocidos a la unión entre un hombre y una mujer. En Costa Rica la corte suprema falló en contra del matrimonio gay. Americas Quarterly analizó data tomada de LAPOP/Proyecto de Opinión Pública Americana (American Public Opinion Project), encuesta que incluyó data de 42,238 encuestados de 25 naciones en América del Norte, Central, SudAmérica y el Caribe. La encuesta preguntó,“¿Con qué intensidad usted está de acuerdo o en desacuerdo con que las parejas del mismo sexo tengan derecho a casarse?” en una escala del 1 al 10, (donde 10 significaba “fuertemente o totalmente de acuerdo”)[3]Se observó que Canada, Argentina y Uruguay cayeron en el extremo positivo con más del 50% de apoyo, mientras que Guayana y Jamaica cayeron en el extremo negativo con menos del 10% de apoyo. Los actos sexuales entre hombres tanto en Guayana como en Jamaica están criminalizados. En Guayana, tan solo el intento de tener sexo anal es penalizado con 10 años en prisión. El estudio encontró una alta correlación entre religiosidad y una visión negativa sobre la homosexualidad. Se encontró que mientras más importante era la religión para los encuestados, mayor fue la asistencia a servicios religiosos y mayor fue la tendencia a oponerse al matrimonio del mismo sexo. Se encontró también correlación entre las variables socioeconómica y demográfica. Residentes de grandes ciudades reflejan la tendencia a apoyar el matrimonio del mismo sexo, como también los que completaron más años de educación formal. Ambos, grupos más adinerados y más jóvenes apoyaron con tasas más altas el matrimonio gay.

Eslabones a los estudios citados:

[1]http://www.365gay.com/news/argentina-legalizes-gay-marriage-in-historic-vote/

[2]http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1728

[3]http://www.365gay.com/wp-content/uploads/news-graph-americas-gay-marriage-attitudes-clear-top.jpg

365gay.com/July23,2010/Celeste Lavin

Margaret Marshall...La juez que hizo historia en Massachusetts...

...¡ Y “Sin querer queriendo” puso a Obama en Jaque !

(Boston) Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, who wrote the landmark ruling making the state the first to legalize gay marriage, said Wednesday she’s retiring to spend time with her husband, who has Parkinson’s disease.

Marshall, 66, said she would step down in October to be with her husband, former New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who retired in 2001.

Marshall was first appointed to the bench by then-Gov. William Weld in 1996, after four years as general counsel and vice president of Harvard University. She became chief justice three years later.

Perhaps her most enduring – and maligned – legacy on the court was the decision in 2003 that allowed Massachusetts to become the first state to legalize gay marriage.

In the 4-3 ruling, Marshall said the denying gays and lesbians the right to marriage “works a deep and scarring hardship on a very real segment of the community for no rational reason.”

“It cannot be rational under our laws, and indeed it is not permitted, to penalize children by depriving them of State benefits because the State disapproves of their parents’ sexual orientation.”

The ruling – and justices – were widely criticized by opponents of gay marriage as being judicial activists.

Weld said Wednesday that the criticism was unwarranted.

“I knew from early on she was committed to justice for everybody,” he said, adding that he dropped her a note a day after the gay marriage ruling to say “she had done the right thing.”

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, welcomed the news that Marshall was leaving the court, saying the state had been under “Marshall law” since the 2003 ruling.

“In our opinion, her legacy will have a far-reaching negative effect on the health of our commonwealth,” he said.

He said he hoped Massachusetts residents would eventually be allowed to vote on the definition of marriage.

Marshall said in 2005 – a year after the first gay marriages were performed – that she was concerned about political attacks on the judiciary.

“I worry when people of influence use vague, loaded terms like ‘judicial activist’ to skew public debate or to intimidate judges,” Marshall said. “I worry when judicial independence is seen as a problem to be solved and not a value to be cherished.”

Marshall, a native of South Africa, was the first immigrant and first woman to lead the state’s 320-year-old Supreme Judicial Court. She was a white student leader of the anti-apartheid movement in the 1960s.

365gay.com/The Associated Press/07.21.2010

ESTATUS DEL CASO DADT EN CALIFORNIA...

REP: LOG CABIN Vs.

Gob. FEDERAL: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

The Log Cabin Republicans will present closing arguments on Friday in a trial challenging the federal government on "don't ask, don't tell."

The final day of the two week trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California in Riverside. The group says that their suit is the first to directly challenge the law, which was enacted by Congress in 1993. They first filed the suit in 2004.

While the Department of Justice, arguing on the government's behalf has argued Congress acted rationally when devising the law banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military, the Log Cabin Republicans' attorney Dan White has argued that the law is unconstitutional, and motivated by "animus, prejudice, hostility, ignorance, [and] fear of gays and lesbians."

According to AP, the Log Cabin Republicans appealed to U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips to file an injunction declaring the law unconstitutional. She is expected present a written verdict, though it may take many weeks before she submits her decision. Experts say she may hold out until after Congress decides whether or not to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

Advocate.com/ July 22, 2010/Michelle Garcia

Al día con Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told the Blade on Thursday he’s expecting the full Senate to take up “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in September after lawmakers return from August recess.

Advocates have been anticipating a vote on the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill — the vehicle to which repeal language is attached — after the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 27 attached the provision to the bill and reported out the legislation to the floor.

Levin said the quickest possible route for passing repeal in the Senate is now reaching an agreement this month to take up the defense bill shortly after lawmakers return from August break.

“What we’re hoping to do before August is to have an agreement which will pave the way for it being brought up right after the recess,” Levin said.

Bryan Thomas, a Levin spokesperson, later clarified that Levin was referring to an agreement negotiated between majority and minority leadership.

Levin, who had earlier said he was hoping for a vote on the defense bill in July, said this agreement would eliminate the possibility of a filibuster on a motion to proceed after lawmakers return.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said his organization is also urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the defense legislation to the floor “right after the Labor Day recess.”

“Yes, it would have been better if we were on the Senate floor this month, but the calendar was just too crowded,” Sarvis said.

Sarvis said scheduling the defense bill for a vote in early September is “absolutely essential” to move forward with repeal to finish legislative action ”before Congress goes into ‘lame-duck mode.’”

“This is the bill that provides for the pay and benefits and equipment for all service members, straight and gay,” he said. “This bill and these core benefits for our [service members] should not be caught up in post election games and posturing.”

In addition to wanting to move forward with the defense legislation, proponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal have expressed concern about opponents of the language filibustering the defense legislation as a whole, or stripping out the provision with a substitute amendment or a motion to strike.

Levin said he doesn’t think either a filibuster or an amendment would succeed, but added the odds of a successful amendment passing the Senate may “depend on what the wording is.”

The senator said he hasn’t seen any draft amendments relating to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” language, but predicted one would come to the floor.

“I haven’t seen it,” Levin said. “I know there will be, but I haven’t seen it.”

Sarvis said he shares Levin’s confidence that repeal language in the defense legislation can be retained.

“The Senate votes are likely to be close, but, in the end, I think, repeal proponents will prevail,” Sarvis said.

Washingtonblade.com/July23,2010/Chris Johnson

INMENSO EL PODER ADQUISITIVO DE COMUNIDAD LGBTT

The total buying power of the adult LGBT community in the U.S. is projected to be $743 billion. This is up from the 2009 projections of $732 billion.

Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, the group who published the estimate, said that the study gives the nation a snapshot of the economic activity of the LGBT community, even in the recession.

Witeck said that this estimate should not be interpreted as any evidence that gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals are wealthier than others. He said that was “little more than a stereotype.”

He said that the stereotype comes from the lower percentage of gay households with children. Especially for gay male couples, he said, having both partners in the workplace with no children makes for a higher per capita household income.

He added, “We also are well aware that under existing laws and norms, same-sex couples are penalized throughout the economy by discriminatory tax burdens, a hodge-podge of inadequate relationship rights and obligations, complex and costly barriers to adoption and parenting, and barriers to access to public safety net programs that are routinely available to married couples and their families.”

The total buying power for all U.S. consumers is estimated at $10 trillion.

365 Gay.com/7.21.2010/Celeste Lavin, 365gay.com

A la luz de DALAI LAMA

"In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else will solve their problems. Each one of us has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged". DALAI LAMA

RESULTADOS ESTUDIOS VIH IMPACTARAN FUTURAS INVESTIGACIONES

(Atlanta) Poverty is perhaps the most important factor in whether inner-city heterosexuals are infected with the AIDS virus, according to the first government study of its kind.

The study, released Monday, suggests that HIV is epidemic in certain poverty-stricken urban neighborhoods. And, more significantly, poor heterosexuals in those neighborhoods were twice as likely to be infected as heterosexuals who lived in the same community but had more money.

Federal scientists found that race was not a factor – there were no significant differences between blacks, whites or Hispanics.

Health officials have long believed poverty drives HIV epidemics, but there have been few studies to back that up. Some research actually contradicts that belief: Studies in Tanzania, Kenya and some other African countries actually found that wealthy people were more likely to be infected than the poor.

“In the United States, we haven’t have a history of looking in depth at the association between poverty and HIV,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of HIV/AIDS Prevention for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mermin oversees the CDC team that did the new study.

More often, studies have focused on the race of HIV patients, their sexual orientation, or whether or not they use intravenous drugs.

The CDC report was released at the international AIDS conference in Vienna.

The study involved a survey in 2006 and 2007 of 9,000 heterosexual adults, ages 18 to 50. They answered questions on a computer about their income, condom use and other details and were given HIV tests.

The research was done in high-poverty neighborhoods in 23 U.S. cities. It focused on heterosexuals who don’t use intravenous drugs; that group accounts for about 28 percent of Americans living with HIV. It did not involve gay or bisexual men, who have the highest rates of HIV in the United States.

The results: HIV was detected in 2.4 percent of the people who were living below the federal poverty line, which in 2007 was an annual income of roughly $10,000 or less for an individual. The 2.4 percent translates to roughly 1 in 42 people.

In contrast, infections were found in 1.2 percent of people in the same neighborhoods who made more money than the federal poverty guideline. That’s 1 in 83 people.

Both rates were higher than the national average, which is 0.45 percent, or 1 in 222 people.

The results suggest that people in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be infected because they live among more people who are infected. Perhaps more people in such neighborhoods have used illegal drugs or had other experiences that put them at higher risk, Mermin said.

“It’s epidemiological bad luck,” he said. He described the situation: “I’m in a community where when I meet a new (sexual) partner, the chance that they would have HIV is much higher than if I were wealthy and living in another geographical area.”

Officials need to start looking at the AIDS epidemic in a different light, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, who chairs global health studies at Emory University’s school of public health.

“You talk about ‘Can we decrease the HIV burden in the United States?’ I would say, ‘What can we do to decrease poverty in the United States?’” del Rio said.

He noted there are diseases that are more prevalent in certain racial groups, for genetic reasons. Sickle cell disease, which is most prevalent in blacks, is one example.

But there’s no clear biological reason why the infection rate is eight times higher in blacks than whites, and three times higher in Hispanics than whites. But understanding that blacks are disproportionately poor probably does explain why the rates are higher, del Rio said.

He was an author of a smaller, recent study that found that 60 percent of Atlanta’s HIV cases were located in a downtown area of the city with high proportions of blacks, IV drug users and people living in poverty.

An estimated 1 in 272 Americans is infected with HIV, according to 2006 estimates. In other terms, more than 1.1 million Americans are living with the AIDS virus. The number has grown since 2006, CDC officials believe.

Officials believe the annual number of new HIV infections has been hovering around 55,000 a year since the late 1990s.

365 Gay.com-The Associated Press/7.19.2010

LUCHA DE MIGRANTES HOMOSEXUALES

Keep Queer Families Together

According to the 2000 census, nearly 36,000 same-sex couples are bi-national, their median age is 38 and almost 50% of them are raising children. Current U.S. immigration policies mean they live in fear of one partner being deported, the couple being fined or having to choose to live separately. The Uniting American Families Act would apply the same standards to same-sex couples that opposite-sex couples already enjoy when one partner wants to bring a foreign partner into the country. HRC has joined a coalition of 30+ organizations calling on Congress to include the provisions of UAFA in any immigration reform legislation.

Add your voice in support of equal treatment for bi-national same-sex couples »

HRC/July21,2010

RESUMEN DE ÚLTIMAS NOTICIAS

Marriage Equality Victories

Last week, Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages nation-wide. Lawmakers in the mostly Catholic country spent nearly 16 hours debating the issue, before deciding to grant all of the protections, rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples.

Back in the United States, the DC Court of Appeals ruled against foes of DC marriage equality who had wanted to put an initiative on the ballot to invalidate same-sex marriages entered into in the District. The Court ruled unanimously that the proposed initiative would in fact impermissibly permit discrimination against gays and lesbians in the District.

On the national front, a judge of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts declared unconstitutional the denial of federal rights and benefits to lawfully married Massachusetts couples under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Judge Joseph Tauro said in his ruling on one of the cases that Congress undertook the classification of marriage solely as the union of a man and a woman "for the one purpose that lies entirely outside of legislative bounds, to disadvantage a group of which it disapproves. And such a classification, the Constitution clearly will not permit." Tauro's rulings are likely to be appealed by the Department of Justice to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Supreme Court Upholds University's Non-discrimination Policy

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Christian law student group that sought official recognition by a public university, but refused to abide by the school's non-discrimination policy. The case, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, was brought against the University of California, Hastings College of Law, which has a longstanding non-discrimination policy that must be adopted by all student groups in order to receive school recognition, which includes access to school funds.

HRC/JULY21,2010

VOZ GAY EN LAS NACIONES UNIDAS

International Gay Rights Group, Opposed By GOPers, Wins UN Status

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission today won accreditation from the United Nations despite Republican efforts to defeat the group's application.

Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Trent Franks (R-AZ) wrote a letter to the other countries who sit on the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council -- countries including anti-gay strongholds like Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- urging them to vote against the New York-based group's application.

Their effort failed, and the resolution passed 23 to 13, with 13 abstaining.

"Today's decision, we think, is an affirmation that the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have a voice in the UN," said Sara Perle, a spokeswoman for IGLHRC. "It's a clear message from [the council] that diverse voices cannot be silenced."

IGLHRC, which advocates against anti-gay laws and state-sanctioned violence, applied for "consultative status" in 2007, hoping to get access to the U.N. and a more formal voice in the body's debates. The group's application languished in the Non-Governmental Organization Committee, which has been notoriously hostile to gay rights groups, for three years.

The NGO Committee finally voted on the application this year, voting to take "no action." The U.S. balked. U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice offered a resolution to have the council vote on IGLHRC's application directly, skipping the NGO Committee.

Smith, the Republican congressional representative to the U.N., then wrote a letter with Franks asking the other members of the council to vote against IGLHRC. The two argued that IGLHRC's mission was a danger to the freedoms of religion and expression.

Neither Smith nor Franks have returned multiple calls for comment.

TPMMuckraker/July19,2010/ Rachel Slajda

CONFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL SIDA: BILL CLINTON Y BILL GATES

(Vienna) Two heavy hitters on the world health stage – Bill Clinton and Bill Gates – called Monday for a more efficient fight worldwide against the AIDS virus.

In separate speeches at an international AIDS conference in the Austrian capital, the former American president railed against spending too much money on reports that just sit on shelves and urged that funds directly target AIDS sufferers. Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corp., said health groups must adopt better business practices that deliver more bang for the buck.

Clinton said many countries are misspending foreign aid. He said funding should go directly to local organizations, because developing countries can deliver health services at a lower cost and less overhead than established organizations.

“In too many countries too much money goes to pay for too many people to go to too many meetings, get on too many airplanes,” Clinton said. “Keep in mind that every dollar we waste today puts a life at risk.”

The number of people taking crucial AIDS drugs climbed by a record 1.2 million last year to 5.2 million overall, the World Health Organization said Monday. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of patients receiving lifesaving antiretroviral treatment increased twelve-fold, according to the Geneva-based body.

“We are very encouraged by this increase. It is indeed the biggest increase that we have seen in any single year,” said Gottfried Hirnschall, director of the WHO’s HIV/AIDS department.

Clinton also called on aid groups to remember that the world was “awash in trouble” due to the impact of the financial crisis.

“It is easy to rail at a government and say why doesn’t the government give us more money if they’re giving somebody else money,” he said. “But the government gets its money … from taxpayers who have lower incomes today than they did two years ago.”

Gates said although finding new funding was critical, more could be done with the resources that were already available.

The Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria, one of the biggest funders of AIDS programs, has in the past found evidence of fraud in countries’ health programs – like Uganda and Zambia – and suspended their programs or tried to get the money back.

“Even if we advocate for more funding, we can do more to get the most benefit from each dollar,” Gates told delegates. “If we push for a new focus on efficiency in both treatment and prevention and we continue … to create new tools, we can drive down the number of infections dramatically and start writing the story of the end of AIDS.”

Some countries – such as Russia – are not using data to make funding decisions that target the right populations because those groups make politicians uncomfortable, Gates added.

“If you’re afraid to match your prevention efforts to the right populations, then you’re wasting money and that costs lives,” he said.

Clinton said in order to have the “moral standing” to ask for more funding, organizations should prove to governments that “we’re doing our job faster, better and cheaper.” He also defended President Barack Obama’s efforts on AIDS.

“You can demonstrate and call the president names or we can go get some more votes in Congress to get some more money,” Clinton said. “My experience is that the second choice is the better one.”

On Sunday, the head of the conference said world leaders lack the political will to ensure that everyone infected with HIV and AIDS gets treatment.

Julio Montaner – the president of the International AIDS Society and chairman of the AIDS 2010 conference – said the G-8 group of rich nations has failed to deliver on a commitment to guarantee universal access to AIDS drugs and warned this could have dire consequences.

Montaner’s comments foreshadowed one of the key topics for the weeklong gathering, which organizers say has drawn 20,000 policymakers, experts and advocates.

In 2005, G-8 leaders committed to an Africa-focused package for HIV prevention and treatment that gets “as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010.” They reaffirmed that commitment again in 2006.

But a G-8 report from last month’s summit of world leaders in Canada acknowledged that the AIDS treatment targets will not be met by 2010.

According to the World Health Organization, 33.4 million people were living with HIV in 2008. While the number of deaths declined to 2 million in 2008 from 2.2 million in 2004, about 2.7 million new infections still occur each year.

365gay.com/July20,2010/The Associated Press

INVESTIGACIÓN MÉDICA DEL SIDA PUBLICA HALLAZGOS

Una reciente publicación en la revista médica Británica The Lancet demuestra que el tratamiento a personas con VIH podría reducir del todo la transmisión del virus.

En un estudio en British Columbia, Canada, investigadores encontraron que por cada 100 personas recibiendo tratamiento para VIH, se observó una reducción de 3%.

Líderes en el campo de investigación del SIDA aclamaron el estudio como evidencia que los gobiernos tendrán para proveer tratamiento del SIDA gratis a sus ciudadanos, tal como lo hace Canada. Sin embargo, en los Estados Unidos el acceso a al tratamiento del SIDA el último año ha sido gravemente afectado debido a los grandes recortes a nivel nacional a los programas de medicamentos de VIH, tales como el ADAP-Aids Drug Assistance Program; programa de asistencia en drogras del SIDA.

“Mientras más personas pongas en terapia de medicamentos, menor es la transmisión”, Dijo a Prensa Asociada el Dr. Anthony Faucci , del Insituto de Nacional de Alergias y Enfermedades Infecciosas . U.S National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases.

Faucci dijo que las nuevas tasas de reducción de la infección en Canada “es muy probable que no se pueda explicar con otra cosa”.

Los hallazgos serán presentados esta semana en la Conferencia Internacional del SIDA en Viena, la cual en parte se enfocará en el compromiso que hicieran los países G8 a mantener el Fondo Global (Global Fund)para combatir el SIDA, la tuberculosis y la malaria.

Advocate.com Editors/July19,2010

AUSTRIA: Conferencia Internacional del SIDA

Conferencia Bienal

Cerca de 25 mil personas podrían concentrarse en la Conferencia Bienal del SIDA en Viena, agrupando investigadores, expertos en política pública y activistas en ese campo, comenzando desde ayer Domingo.

La conferencia, bajo el lema “Derechos Aquí, Ahora”, en parte se enfocará en el compromiso de los países G8 en sustentar el Fondo Global para combatir el SIDA(Global Fund), la tuberculosis y la malaria. Se espera que la conferencia atraiga atención a los abusos contra los derechos humanos en paises con leyes que se enfocan en personas que viven con VIH y el estigmatizarlas.

En el 2008 los paises G8 hicieron el compromiso de un acceso universal enfocado en la prevención, tratamiento y asistencia; promesa que no se cumplió. Según la Sociedad Internacional del SIDA, el potencial a un acceso universal se ve amenazado debido a los fondos y apoyo político inadecuados.

Advocate.com Editors/July17,2010

GRUPOS GAY EN ESTADOS UNIDOS SOLIDARIOS CON PUERTO RICO

SOLIDARIOS CON LAS VÍCTIMAS EN PUERTO RICO...

Today is the “New York City Day Against Homophobia,” according to a declaration by the New York City Council, reported by GLAAD.

The announcement comes in response to the repeated attacks on members of the LGBT community in Puerto Rico. Seven LGBT people have been murdered in Puerto Rico over the past eight months.

A network of non-profits and elected officials in New York published a report called “New York City Stands in Solidarity with the Puerto Rican Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community,” that outlines the network’s efforts to address the violence affecting Puerto Rico’s LGBT communities.

“New York has always shared a special bond with Puerto Rico, and so, too, have our LGBT communities. When we said we would do everything within our power to raise awareness of and put an end to anti-LGBT hate and violence in Puerto Rico, we meant it,” said New York City Council Speaker, and out-lesbian Christine Quinn. “As this senseless and tragic violence continues, we must double up on our commitment and efforts.”

Puerto Rico has a population of nearly 4 million, and since 2002, the U.S. territory has seen the murders of 26 members of the LGBT community, the most recent last Wednesday.

365gay.com/ July13,2010/Celeste Lavin