State Dept Condemns Moscow Arrests

The U.S. State Department has issued a letter condemning the arrests of gay activists in Moscow over the weekend.

STATEMENT BY MARK TONER, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON

Concern about Freedom of Assembly in Russia

We note with concern that in Moscow on Saturday, May 28, a peaceable demonstration of Russians advocating for the rights of gays and lesbians, joined by international supporters, was forcefully disrupted by counter-protesters, and that Russian security forces then detained people from both groups, including American citizens. Some protestors were seriously injured according to media reports.

Freedom of assembly is a fundamental right all members of the OSCE committed to, including in the Moscow declaration and as recently as the Astana summit. As nationwide legislative elections approach, constraints on the ability of Russian citizens peacefully to gather and express their views will be closely watched in evaluating the integrity of the electoral process. We call on Russian authorities to work with municipal officials to find better ways to safeguard these fundamental freedoms.

Hillary Clinton Issues Statement Supporting International Day Against Homophobia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a statement supporting today's International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Via press release:

In every part of the world, men and women are persecuted and attacked because of who they are or whom they love. Homophobia, transphobia and the brutal hostility associated with them are often rooted in a lack of understanding of what it actually means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). So to combat this terrible scourge and break the cycle of fear and violence, we must work together to improve education and support those who stand up against laws that criminalize love and promote hate. As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia this May 17, let us resolve to redouble our efforts.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am proud to reaffirm our support for LGBT communities at home and abroad, and to call for an end to discrimination and mistreatment of LGBT persons wherever it occurs. Whether by supporting LGBT advocates marching in Belgrade, leading the effort at the United Nations to affirm the human rights of LGBT persons, or condemning a vile law under consideration in Uganda, we are committed to our friends and allies in every region of the world who are fighting for equality and justice. These are not Western concepts; these are universal human rights.

Despite these gains and hard work, there is more to do to turn the tide of inequality and discrimination against the LGBT community. If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, know that the United States stands with you and we are unwavering in our commitment to ending this cycle of hate.

And we stand with YOU, Madame Secretary.

Hillary Clinton: War On Terror Goes On

Clinton Amends Passport Change

Last December the State Department announced that passport applications would begin using the terms "Parent 1" and "Parent 2" rather than "mother" and "father." But predictably, anti-gay and Christianist groups have been screaming their heads off and today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered an amending of the planned change.

The State Department said Saturday that Clinton had instructed the department to retain "mother" and "father" in passport applications as well as in a form known as a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad" that U.S. embassies use to document the birth of a child to expatriate Americans. It said the forms will now ask for the names of the child's "mother or parent 1" and "father or parent 2." Gay and lesbian groups had applauded the initial change, which was announced with little fanfare in late December. But conservative groups criticized it as an attack on traditional marriage and family values.

Hillary Clinton On LGBT Pride Month

Here's the full video to accompany the text excerpt from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech that I posted yesterday. It's pretty great.

Hillary's Deputy Eric Schwartz On Improving LGBT Asylum Requests

U.S. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Eric Schwartz, spoke today about the State Department's attempts to improve the handling of asylum requests by LGBT refugees. Schwartz was speaking at the State Department's LGBT Pride Month reception and this video was posted to their official YouTube channel.


RELATED: Good As You has Secretary Clinton's Pride Month message. An excerpt:

Think about what’s happening to people as we speak today. Men and women are harassed, beaten, subjected to sexual violence, even killed, because of who they are and whom they love. Some are driven from their homes or countries, and many who become refugees confront new threats in their countries of asylum. In some places, violence against the LGBT community is permitted by law and inflamed by public calls to violence; in others, it persists insidiously behind closed doors. These dangers are not “gay” issues. This is a human rights issue. (Applause.) Just as I was very proud to say the obvious more than 15 years ago in Beijing that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, well, let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all. (Applause.)

Surgery No Longer Required To Change Gender On U.S. Passports

If you'd like to change the listed gender on your passport, the U.S. State Department has dropped its requirement that you must have already had sexual reassignment surgery.

The policy, which goes into effect Thursday, allows a gender change with a certification from an attending physician. The doctor's certification must confirm only that the passport applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition. Limited-validity passports for applicants who are in the process of gender transition also will be available under the policy. Previously, individuals had to provide documentation from a surgeon that sex reassignment surgery had been performed on them, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

U.S. State Department Condemns Conviction Of Malawi Gay Couple

The U.S. State Department has denounced the Malawi government's conviction of two gay men for "unnatural acts and gross indecency."

"The United States is deeply disappointed in today’s conviction of same-sex couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza in Malawi," said assistant secretary Phillip J. Crowley at a press briefing Wednesday. "We view the criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity as a step backward in the protection of human rights in Malawi. The Government of Malawi must respect the human rights of all of its citizens. The United States views the decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity as integral to the protection of human rights in Malawi and elsewhere in the world."

Thank you, Secretary Clinton. It may not help these poor men, but it's better than silence.