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发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com December 06, 2011 07:38:56 PM ET
8 Must-Read Moments of Hillary Clinton's Speech
By Lucas Grindley and Michelle Garcia
HILLARY CLINTON 20111206 GENEVA X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
Tuesday's landmark speech from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined
the United States' stance on an "invisible minority" in many countries, as
she put it — LGBT and gender-varyiant people. The full speech is available
here, but if you're in a hurry, here are eight key points made during her
address on global gay rights to United Nations member countries.
1. On the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
It proclaims a simple, powerful idea: All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. And with the declaration, it was made clear
that rights are not conferred by government; they are the birthright of all
people. It does not matter what country we live in, who our leaders are, or
even who we are. Because we are human, we therefore have rights. And because
we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.
2. On the Status of LGBT Rights in the U.S.
I speak about this subject knowing that my own country's record on human
rights for gay people is far from perfect. Until 2003, it was still a crime
in parts of our country. Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and
harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people,
bullying and exclusion are daily experiences. So we, like all nations, have
more work to do to protect human rights at home.
(RELATED: Read our coverage of the speech here)
3. Why Do Countries Need to Distinguish Gay Rights?
Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and
distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same. Now, of course, 60 years
ago, the governments that drafted and passed the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights were not thinking about how it applied to the LGBT community.
They also weren’t thinking about how it applied to indigenous people or
children or people with disabilities or other marginalized groups. Yet in
the past 60 years, we have come to recognize that members of these groups
are entitled to the full measure of dignity and rights, because, like all
people, they share a common humanity.
This recognition did not occur all at once. It evolved over time. And as it
did, we understood that we were honoring rights that people always had,
rather than creating new or special rights for them. Like being a woman,
like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does
not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and
human rights are gay rights.
4. What Are Violations of Gay Rights?
- When a person is beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or
because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should
look or behave
- When governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay
people to go unpunished
- When lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective
rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments
- When people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or
when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to
save their lives.
- When lifesaving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or
equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public
spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay.
5. On Arcane Views on Homosexuality
Some seem to believe it is a Western phenomenon, and therefore people
outside the West have grounds to reject it. Well, in reality, gay people are
born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all
races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers,
soldiers and athletes; and whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it,
they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors. Being gay is not a
Western invention; it is a human reality.
6. On Religious Doctrine and Gay Acceptance
It bears noting that rarely are cultural and religious traditions and
teachings actually in conflict with the protection of human rights. Indeed,
our religion and our culture are sources of compassion and inspiration
toward our fellow human beings. It was not only those who’ve justified
slavery who leaned on religion, it was also those who sought to abolish it.
And let us keep in mind that our commitments to protect the freedom of
religion and to defend the dignity of LGBT people emanate from a common
source. For many of us, religious belief and practice is a vital source of
meaning and identity, and fundamental to who we are as people. And likewise,
for most of us, the bonds of love and family that we forge are also vital
sources of meaning and identity. And caring for others is an expression of
what it means to be fully human.
7. How Laws Push Progress
In many places, including my own country, legal protections have preceded,
not followed, broader recognition of rights. Laws have a teaching effect.
Laws that discriminate validate other kinds of discrimination. Laws that
require equal protections reinforce the moral imperative of equality. And
practically speaking, it is often the case that laws must change before
fears about change dissipate.
(RELATED: Read The Advocate's Cover Story Interview With Secretary Clinton
From Earlier This Year)
8. Clinton's Message to Gays Around the World
And finally, to LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: Wherever you
live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected
to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that
you are not alone. People around the globe are working hard to support you
and to bring an end to the injustices and dangers you face. That is
certainly true for my country. And you have an ally in the United States of
America and you have millions of friends among the American people. | g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 2 Posted on Advocate.com December 06, 2011 07:34:31 PM ET
Perry, Santorum Denounce Call for Global Gay Rights
By Trudy Ring
RICK PERRY SANTORUM X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
Perry, Santorum
To Republican presidential aspirant Rick Perry, using U.S. foreign aid to
prevent persecution and even execution of LGBT people amounts to “promoting
special rights for gays.” To Rick Santorum, another member of the GOP
field, it’s promoting an agenda.
Perry issued a statement on his campaign website denouncing the landmark
program unveiled by President Obama’s administration today, under which the
U.S. will not withhold aid from countries that persecute gays but will
assist LGBT rights organizations in those nations in fighting back.
(RELATED: Read our coverage of the speech here)
The announcement of the strategy was followed by a speech by Secretary of
State Hillary Rodham Clinton before a United Nations gathering in Geneva,
where she pointed out that around the world, LGBT people are “routinely
arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed.” She stressed that “gay
rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
Perry, the governor of Texas, responded by saying, “Just when you thought
Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values, AP
reports his administration wants to make foreign aid decisions based on gay
rights.” He said the Obama administration is making “war on traditional
American values” and on “people of faith” by “promoting a lifestyle”
they find “deeply objectionable.”
If he were president, Perry said, he would “consider aid requests based
solely on America’s national security interests. Promoting special rights
for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a
dime of taxpayers’ money.”
Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called Perry’s statement “
outrageous even by his own standards.” In a press release, he noted, “This
is further proof that Rick Perry doesn’t want to represent the best
interests of all Americans — he wants to advance an extremist, antigay
agenda that represents the fringe views of a very small few.”
The Log Cabin Republicans also responded, with executive director R. Clarke
Cooper saying, “Governor Perry is wrong. ... Around the globe today, gay
and lesbian people are often subject to 'corrective' rape, state-sponsored
torture, imprisonment, and execution. Combating these injustices is not
advocating for any kind of 'special rights,' and it is shameful for Governor
Perry to suggest that American people of faith do not support protecting
vulnerable populations from brutality.” Perry’s stance, he said, is also
at odds with that of former president George W. Bush, who “was strongly
committed to supporting and protecting dissident and minority voices abroad.”
CNN reports that former U.S. senator Santorum responded to the
administration’s announcement while speaking with reporters in Iowa. “I
would suggest that we give out humanitarian aid based on humanitarian need,
not based on whether people are promoting their particular agenda,”
Santorum said. “Obviously the administration is promoting their particular
agenda in this country, and now they feel it’s their obligation to promote
those values not just in the military, not just in our society, but now
around the world with taxpayer dollars.”
He added that Obama “said he’s for traditional marriage, and now he’s
promoting gay lifestyles and gay rights, and he’s fighting against
traditional marriage within the courts, and I think he needs to be honest.” | m******1
发帖数: 19713 | 3 很精彩
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【在 g********d 的大作中提到】
: Posted on Advocate.com December 06, 2011 07:34:31 PM ET
: Perry, Santorum Denounce Call for Global Gay Rights
: By Trudy Ring
: RICK PERRY SANTORUM X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
: Perry, Santorum
: To Republican presidential aspirant Rick Perry, using U.S. foreign aid to
: prevent persecution and even execution of LGBT people amounts to “promoting
: special rights for gays.” To Rick Santorum, another member of the GOP
: field, it’s promoting an agenda.
: Perry issued a statement on his campaign website denouncing the landmark
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