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NEWS & LETTERS, August-September 2004Queer Notesby Suzanne Rose Global--While gay activists in the United States are fighting for gay marriage, gay people in many countries are fighting for their lives. Recently there has been an increase of international anti-gay violence including recent incidents in Jamaica (see Queer Notes, July 2004 N&L), India and Nepal. In India, a 21-year-old transsexual was arrested and tortured by police after reporting that she had been raped by several men. In Nepal, several gay men and cross dressers reported being harassed and beaten by police officers in the street. A local gay rights organization staged a peaceful demonstration to protest the abuse and were beaten by police to disperse the crowd. More than 70 countries have laws that criminalize sex between same sex people including some who are close allies of the U.S. In several countries, homosexuality is punishable by death. * * * Seattle--Micah Painter was attacked by three men with a broken liquor bottle as he was leaving a gay bar. The men attacked after asking Micah if he was gay. Two of them are charged with a hate crime as well as first-degree assault. The incident shocked the local gay community and caused it to organize itself to help Micah, who has not been able to return to work because of his wounds. * * * Atlanta--Nodak Enterprises openly admitted to firing a veteran auto glass worker because he has HIV. During his interview with the company, the man reported his HIV status to the district manager. After being hired, he also told his direct supervisor. Three months later, after news of his HIV status made its way up to the company's leadership, he was fired. His direct supervisor said he did his job well and wanted to keep him on. In what is considered an unusual move, Nodak Enterprises gave the man a termination notice on the day of the firing, documenting the company's own illegal actions which said, "HIV status is a direct threat to the safety of others. It is in the best interest of this Company to terminate employee at this time." |
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