Act Queer! Teleconference: A Year in Queer Politics
From the passage of Prop 8 in California to the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, the national LGBT political agenda has gained significant momentum. Will the explosion in LGBT policy on the national radar represent a movement towards queer liberation? What’s are there more progressive policy wins possible on the horizon for progressive queers?
Our December 17, 2009 teleconference served as a 2009 queer policy wrap-up.
To hear each presenter, press play on the audio player. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Andrea Ritchie, Attorney, (New York) discusses hate crimes and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project Statement on Matthew Shepherd/James Byrd, Jr. Act.
Nicky Grist, Alternatives to Marriage Project, (Brooklyn, NY) discusses relationship recognition policies.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Alternatives to Marriage Project – Blog (Same-Sex Marriage Section)
- Fact Sheet – New York Hospital Rights for Partners
Karina Claudio, Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered, (Brooklyn, NY) discusses trans unemployment and the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Robert Espinoza, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, (New York) discusses racial equality in LGBT philanthropy.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
The first presentation was especially important, because so many well-meaning queer folks who are enraged about anti-LGBT violence (as we all are and should be) don’t consider that 1) hate crimes legislation does absolutely zero to prevent anti-LGBT hate crimes, and 2) these statutes are used in the service of the prison-industrial complex to funnel more and more poor folks and people of color into the prison system.
There are also very significant civil liberties issues, but for me the most powerful argument against the mainstream hate crimes legislative approach is that according to the available research (and common sense if you think about places like New York that have had hate crimes legislation for years now), this punitive approach does not actually deter anti-LGBT violence. At all. Obama signs the Matthew Shepard Act and we feel like, Misson Accomplished, but all that that ten-year, well-meaning campaign did was reroute our scarce resources to something that doesn’t actually prevent the violence and harassment we continue to face every single day.
We need to shift the discourse around hate crimes towards prevention, victim support, and police training (since they are often the ones committing violence against us). Kudos to QEJ (and the ALP and to a certain extent the AVP) for having the courage to bring attention to this counter-intuitive, controversial critique.