Mizajou, Septanm 2014: Atravè diskisyon proaktif ak deliberasyon atantif ant reprezantan legal nou yo, nou rive jwenn yon akò ansanm, ki gen kondisyon konfidansyèl, ki bay benefis sivivan konjwen an. Nou kontan Jerry pral resevwa benefis sa yo, epi nou kontan tou ak fason Bayer te adrese epi rezoud pwoblèm legal sa a.
(Boston, MA) John Abdallah Wambere, yon aktivis omoseksyèl Ougandè enpòtan ki te parèt nan dokimantè "Call Me Kuchu" ak "Missionaries of Hate," te depoze azil jodi a Ozetazini.
Wambere se yon aktivis depi katòz ane, kòm ko-fondatè Spectrum Uganda Initiatives, kote li te travay pou asire sekirite kominote LGBTI a, diminye estigma, ede Ougandais LGBTI ki anba arestasyon, epi edike sou VIH. Kominote LGBTI Ouganda a te sibi atak piblik, politik ak fizik ki te ogmante nan dènye ane yo, ki te abouti nan adopsyon Lwa Kont Omoseksyalite a ak siyati li an 24 fevriye 2014 pa Prezidan Yoweri Museveni.
“Sa a te yon desizyon ki te vrèman difisil pou mwen,” Wambere te di. “Mwen te konsakre lavi m pou m travay pou moun LGBTI nan Uganda, e sa ban m anpil doulè pou m pa avèk kominote m nan, alye m yo, ak zanmi m yo pandan y ap sibi atak k ap ogmante. Men, nan kè m, mwen konnen se sèl opsyon mwen, e ke mwen pa t ap itil kominote m nan prizon.”
Lwa Kont Omoseksyalite a enpoze pinisyon ki pi sevè pou relasyon moun menm sèks, tankou prizon a vi. Li enpoze tou nouvo pinisyon pou nenpòt aktivite yo konsidere kòm "èd ak konkou omoseksyalite" ak "pwomosyon omoseksyalite". Lwa a gen yon gwo dimansyon epi li kriminalize menm aktivis ak travay edikasyon sou sante piblik ki gen rapò ak moun LGBTI, tankou moun k ap viv ak VIH.
“Li pa an sekirite pou John retounen Ouganda,” dapre Janson Wu, Avoka Prensipal pou Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), ki reprezante Wambere. “Menm anvan yo te siyen lwa a, jounal te denonse John kòm omoseksyèl, etranje te anmède l, yo te resevwa menas lanmò nan apèl anonim, yo te mete l deyò lakay li, epi yo te bat li. Kounye a, li riske prizon a vi si l retounen.”
Apre yo te fin siyen lwa a, 30,000 Ougandè te rasanble nan yon estad pou yon manifestasyon pou remèsye prezidan an dèske li te siyen lwa a. Yo te koute oratè yo ki te rele moun LGBTI yo "kriminèl," "bèt" ak "dyab." Depi yo te siyen lwa a, yo te arete moun LGBTI nan Ouganda, gen kèk ki te antre nan klandesten, e gen lòt ki te kouri kite peyi a. Lapolis te enfiltre yon òganizasyon VIH epi li te fèmen l.
Evanjelik ameriken tankou Scott Lively te ankouraje santiman anti-omoseksyèl nan Uganda. Li te vwayaje nan peyi a pou preche epi ankouraje sa yo te rele nan epòk la pwojè lwa "Touye Omoseksyèl yo" paske li te gen ladan l pèn lanmò, ki te retire.
“Etazini ka fè de bagay ki vrèman enpòtan,” se sa Allison Wright, Avoka GLAD, te di. “Nou ka bay yon pò ki pi an sekirite kote moun LGBT Ougandais ki brav yo ka kontinye pale epi travay pou chanjman; epi nou ka travay pou sispann ekspòtasyon prejije, denonse efò Ameriken yo ap fè pou gaye omofobi nan lòt peyi.”
Kondanse ak redakte pa John Abdallah Wambere afidavit Ou ka li dokiman pou azil la sou sitwèb GLAD la nan www.gladlaw.org/wambere.
Anplis GLAD, John Wambere reprezante pa Hema Sarang-Sieminski nan Biwo Lwa Hema Sarang-Sieminksi.
Update November 26, 2014: John “Longjones” Abdallah Wambere received a letter from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services informing him that his application for asylum has been fully approved.
September 11, 2014: John “Longjones” Abdallah Wambere has been recommended for asylum in the United States. In a letter dated September 11, 2014, the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services informed Wambere that his application was recommended for approval, pending a routine security check. Li plis.
John Wambere had an interview August 25, 2014 with an asylum officer at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services about his application for asylum. In conjunction with the interview and in support of John’s application, we submitted the Uganda Country Conditions Report, which can be read here.
GLAD has filed an application for asylum on behalf of John Abdallah Wambere, a prominent Ugandan gay activist who was featured in the documentaries Call Me Kuchu epi Missionaries of Hate. We are working in collaboration with Boston immigration attorney Hema Sarang-Sieminski of the Law Office of Hema Sarang-Sieminski.
John was in Massachusetts raising visibility for his work with the LGBTI community in Uganda when on February 24 President Museveni signed into law the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act. This law provides harsh penalties – including life imprisonment – for same-sex relationships, as well as for any activities deemed to “promote homosexuality.”
It is not safe for John to return to Uganda. Even before the bill was signed, John was outed as gay by newspapers, harassed by strangers, evicted from his home, beaten up, and received death threats from anonymous phone calls. Now he also faces life imprisonment should he return.
Wambere has been an activist for fourteen years, as a co-founder of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives, through which he has worked to ensure the safety of the LGBTI community, reduce stigma, assist LGBTI Ugandans under arrest, and educate about HIV. Uganda’s LGBTI community has been under escalating public, political, and physical attack in recent years, culminating in the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“This has been a very, very difficult decision for me,” said Wambere in a statement to the media. “I have devoted my life to working for LGBTI people in Uganda, and it gives me great pain not to be with my community, allies, and friends while they are under increasing attack. But in my heart, I know it is my only option, and that I would be of no use to my community in jail.”
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding In re WambereRead more of John’s story
Ugandan Paper Discloses Names and Photos of LGBTI Community Members
Timeline of Anti-Gay Activity in Uganda
La Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Rights, a coalition of Ugandan organizations dedicated to fighting this act, recently published guidelines for international partners on how best to support the work in Uganda. We encourage you to support the work of the Coalition, as well as other Uganda human rights coalitions and organizations, such as Spectrum Uganda Initiatives epi Sexual Minorities Uganda
A broad swath of marriage equality supporters weighed in with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit yesterday, filing amicus briefs in Kwizin kont Herbert epi Bishop v. Smith, the Utah and Oklahoma marriages cases respectively.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders’ Civil Rights Project Director Mary L. Bonauto coordinated the amicus effort, involving attorneys and interested organizations representing religious leaders, child welfare organizations, business leaders, health care professionals, experts in family law, constitutional law and relationship recognition, and military leaders and service members. The amici urge the Court of Appeals to uphold the Utah and Oklahoma District Court rulings finding that the bans on marriage for same-sex couples violate the United States Constitution
“I am honored to assist my legal colleagues so that same-sex couples have the freedom to marry the person they love no matter where they live,” said Bonauto, who litigated the groundbreaking Goodridge marriage equality case in Massachusetts (2003), and who filed the first multi-plaintiff challenges against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2009 and 2010. “These briefs came together in a short period of time with a lot of help from many people, and provide overwhelming evidence that the government gains nothing legitimate, and only does harm, in depriving loving, committed couples the ability to secure a government marriage license.”
Mizajou 6 oktòb 2014: Lakou Siprèm Etazini an te refize revize desizyon Lakou Apèl Dizyèm Awondisman an ki te anile entèdiksyon maryaj pou koup menm sèks nan Utah, kidonk li te pèmèt desizyon sa a rete kanpe, ansanm ak yon desizyon menm jan an nan Oklahoma. Lakou a te refize tou revizyon desizyon Lakou Apèl Katriyèm ak Setyèm Awondisman yo, ki te anile entèdiksyon maryaj nan Vijini, Indiana ak Wisconsin.
Lè yo refize revizyon an Kwizin kont Herbert Nan ka sa a, Tribinal la te anile desizyon Tribinal Apèl Etazini pou Dizyèm Awondisman an nan mwa jen 2014 la ki te jwenn entèdiksyon Utah sou maryaj koup menm sèks yo kont Konstitisyon an. Desizyon an vle di ke koup menm sèks nan Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas ak Wyoming—tout nan Dizyèm Awondisman an—gen yon dwa pwoteje pa konstitisyon an pou yo marye epi pou maryaj yo trete egalman. Li deklarasyon konplè NCLR ak GLAD la.
Mizajou 4 septanm 2014: Twa vwa divès – sa yo ki soti nan biznis, leta, ak gwoup fanmi ak egalite – te depoze dosye a. zanmi kourye brèf nan la Kwizin kont Herbert ka. Dokiman yo diskite ke tribinal siprèm lan ta dwe pran yon ka oswa plizyè ka pou rezoud domaj ak diskriminasyon ki enpoze pa entèdiksyon maryaj yo. Ou ka li dokiman yo nan lis ki adwat la.
Mizajou 28 Out 2014: —Jodi a, twa koup ki konteste entèdiksyon Eta Utah la sou maryaj pou koup menm sèks yo te mande Lakou Siprèm Etazini pou aksepte demann ofisyèl eta Utah yo pou revize ka a. Nan brèf jodi a, demandè yo diskite ke revizyon Lakou Siprèm lan nesesè paske koup menm sèks nan Utah ak atravè peyi a bezwen ijan sekirite maryaj kèlkeswa kote yo travay oswa vwayaje pou pwoteje tèt yo ak fanmi yo nèt. Dokiman an diskite ke se sèlman yon desizyon Lakou Siprèm ki afime dwa yo pou marye epi pou maryaj yo respekte nan tout peyi a ki ka rezoud inegalite fondamantal sa a. Li plis.
KONTAN te mete tèt ansanm ak kòlèg li yo nan Sant Nasyonal pou Dwa LGBTQ (NCLR) ak avoka Utah Peggy Tomsic kòm avoka nan ka federal istorik sa a ki reprezante koup menm sèks k ap chèche libète pou marye nan Utah. Tribinal Apèl Dizyèm Awondisman an te deside nan dat 25 jen 2014 ke entèdiksyon Utah sou libète pou marye pou koup menm sèks yo vyole garanti Konstitisyon Etazini an sou pwoteksyon egal ak pwosesis legal.
Yo mande Lakou Siprèm Etazini an pou revize ka a.
GLAD te soumèt yon brèf nan zanmi kourye pou sipòte demandè-apele yo nan apèl la devan Tribinal Apèl Etazini pou Dizyèm Awondisman an. Avoka ki soti nan kabinè WilmerHale te depoze dokiman an sou non GLAD.
Devlopman Ka yo Ekstrè nan NCLR:
Nan dat 25 jen 2014, Dizyèm Awondisman an te deside ke entèdiksyon Utah la sou libète pou marye pou koup menm sèks yo vyole garanti Konstitisyon Etazini an sou pwoteksyon egal ak pwosesis legal. Desizyon sa a se premye desizyon yon tribinal apèl federal nan yon ka libète pou marye depi Lakou Siprèm Etazini te deside an jen 2013 ke gouvènman federal la dwe rekonèt maryaj koup menm sèks yo.
Nan dat 5 Out 2014, Eta Utah la te mande Lakou Siprèm Etazini pou revize desizyon Dizyèm Awondisman an. Desizyon Dizyèm Awondisman an deklare ke koup Utah yo p ap kapab marye jiskaske Lakou Siprèm nan deside si l ap revize ka a. Si Lakou Siprèm nan deside revize ka a, koup yo p ap kapab marye jiskaske Lakou Siprèm nan fin bay desizyon li.
Pou plis enfòmasyon, vizite www.nclrights.org
Anplis NCLR, GLAD ak avoka Peggy Tomsic nan Magleby & Greenwood, PC (Salt Lake City), demandè yo reprezante tou pa fim Hogan Lovells nan DC a.
An 2014, GLAD te reprezante Kerry Considine nan yon pwosè diskriminasyon kont patwon li, Brookdale Senior Living, apre Brookdale te refize ba li dwa pou mete madanm li, Renee, sou plan sante patwon li te bay la. Kerry te deklare ke Brookdale te diskrimine kont li sou baz sèks li, sa ki te vyole Tit VII nan Lwa federal sou Dwa Sivil 1964 la, Lwa sou Egalite Salè a ak Lwa sou Pratik Jis nan Anplwa Connecticut la.
Kerry te depoze reklamasyon li bay Komisyon federal pou Egalite Opòtinite nan Travay (EEOC) epi yon ti tan apre, Brookdale te chanje règleman li epi li te deside pwolonje benefis asirans sante pou tou de konjwen menm sèks ak diferan sèks. Apre sa, EEOC a te pran yon premye detèminasyon ke te gen "rezon rezonab pou kwè ke Defandè a [Brookdale] te fè diskriminasyon kont Pati ki te akize a [Kerry] akoz sèks li." Apre sa, Kerry te resevwa yon lèt dwa pou l rele nan tribinal nan men EEOC a.
Apre nou te fin depoze plent nou an nan tribinal distri federal la nan Connecticut, nou te vin konnen Kerry te siyen yon akò abitraj obligatwa, kòm yon kondisyon pou l te ka travay. Brookdale te fè yon demach pou fòse ka nou an ale nan abitraj, epi jij Tribinal Distri Etazini an te dakò, li te deside ke yon abit te dwe detèmine si reklamasyon Kerry yo te ka sijè a abitraj.
Nan abitraj la, Kerry te diskite ke reklamasyon li yo pou soulajman deklaratwa ak enjonksyon pa ta dwe nan abitraj epi yo ta dwe retounen nan tribinal federal ki baze sou yon esklizyon eksprime nan akò abitraj la. Brookdale te deklare ke, nan pi bon ka a, akò a te anbigi e, kidonk, yo dwe entèprete li pou favorize abitraj la. Sou merit la, Brookdale te diskite tou ke Kerry pa te gen okenn reklamasyon aktyèl paske li te kounye a ap resevwa benefis yo te refize anvan. Abi a kounye a deside ke reklamasyon Kerry a sijè a abitraj, epi ke reklamasyon Kerry a sou merit la ta dwe ranvwaye nan abitraj paske li pa t pare (sa vle di esansyèlman ke li pa gen okenn kontwovèsi aktyèl ak Brookdale paske l ap resevwa benefis yo).
Nou pa kwè desizyon abit la kòrèk sou okenn pwen, men desizyon abit la se final e pa gen okenn apèl.
Sekirite Sosyal te anonse pi bonè nan mwa sa a ke li kounye a ap trete kèk reklamasyon pou vèv ak vèv, tankou reklamasyon Medicare, pou moun ki marye ak yon konjwen menm sèks. Nouvo gidans lan aplike pou konjwen sivivan yo si travayè a te domisilye nan yon eta ki rekonèt egalite maryaj epi maryaj la te fèt Ozetazini. Menm jan an tou, Sekirite Sosyal kounye a ap trete reklamasyon pou benefis lanmò yon sèl kou si travayè ki mouri a te domisilye nan yon eta ki rekonèt egalite maryaj.
Si yon maryaj te fèt nan yon peyi etranje, Sekirite Sosyal ka trete demann lan, men sèlman apre yo fin jwenn yon opinyon legal sou validite maryaj la.
Sekirite Sosyal la kontinye kenbe plizyè reklamasyon, tankou aplikasyon kote:
• Travayè ki mouri a te domisilye nan yon eta ki pa rekonèt maryaj; oubyen
• Maryaj la pa satisfè egzijans dire a epi moun ki fè reklamasyon an deklare ke li te gen yon relasyon legal ant moun menm sèks ki pa te marye anvan, tankou yon inyon sivil.
Nenpòt moun ki te marye oswa ki marye ak yon konjwen menm sèks epi ki panse yo ka kalifye pou Sekirite Sosyal, ta dwe aplike imedyatman pou prezève dwa yo pou benefis yo.
Kominike pou laprès Administrasyon Sekirite Sosyal la disponib isit la:
• Maryaj Moun Menm Sèks – Benefis pou Konjwen Sivivan yo
• Maryaj Moun Menm Sèks – Peman Forfetè pou Lanmò (LSDP)
Sekirite Sosyal la kenbe tou yon Kesyon yo poze souvan seksyon sou sit entènèt li a.
Pou plis enfòmasyon sou lòt benefis federal pou koup menm sèks marye yo, vizite www.gladlaw.org/doma
Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi shares an update on some of the critical work GLAD is doing in the area of transgender legal rights:
GLAD continues to play a national role in ensuring transgender people receive justice in the family law context. The centerpiece of that work is our groundbreaking book, Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy, published last year. Attorneys around the country are using the book to better advocate for their clients, and transgender people are using it to better advocate for themselves.
Education in the Courts
Our next step in leveling the playing field for transgender people in family court is getting the book into the hands of more attorneys and judges and educating them about the unique needs and vulnerabilities of transgender people in this context. In September, Polly Crozier, a contributor to Transgender Family Lawand a partner at Kauffman Crozier LLP, organized and moderated a panel focused on transgender family law issues attended by family court judges who hear cases throughout Massachusetts.
All attendees received a copy of the book and heard from legal and medical experts: Elizabeth Monnin-Browder, my Transgender Family Law co-editor and an attorney Ropes & Gray; Connecticut Superior Court Judge Maureen M. Murphy, the presiding judge in Waterbury Family Court; and Dr. Norman Spack, a renowned expert in treating transgender children.
Name-changes for Transgender Children
We’re also continuing critical legal work to change the experience of transgender people in probate courts, specifically around name-changes for transgender children, an issue on which we’ve fielded a number of concerning calls from parents in the past year.
We’ve fielded a number of concerning calls in the past year from parents of transgender youth facing obstacles when trying to change their child’s name. These parents are understandably looking for an immediate solution and we intervene as we can to help them. But GLAD is also on the lookout for cases that can have a precedential impact – that is, cases that create changes in the law from which everyone can benefit.
If you think you or a family member is being discriminated against in the probate system, please contact Repons GLAD.
The Transgender Rights Project is doing critical work as part of a national movement to remove barriers to transition-related health care for all transgender people. This includes our administrative challenge to Medicare’s ban on transition-related care.
Challenging Medicare’s Ban on Transition-Related Care
GLAD has joined with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the ACLU, and civil rights attorney Mary Lou Boelcke to represent Denee Mallon, a Medicare recipient whose doctors have recommended surgery to treat her severe gender dysphoria. Medicare, the federal program that provides healthcare to Americans 65 or older and younger people with disabilities, prohibits all forms of gender reassignment surgery regardless of an individual patient’s diagnosis or serious medical need. The ban was instituted 30 years ago, when there was little research about the efficacy of gender reassignment surgery. Now that we know these procedures are safe and effective, we have a strong case to make for doing away with this outdated policy.
Advocating for Health Care for Transgender Prisoners
GLAD is also taking on a more active role in the Massachusetts case Kosilek v. Spencer, advocating for transgender inmates to receive medically necessary care. We are currently awaiting a decision in the case from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.
Advocating for incarcerated transgender people to receive medically necessary transition-related care is an important piece of this work both because of the horrific treatment transgender people face in prisons and also because of the broader impact such rulings have on the entire community. Right now, GLAD is awaiting a decision in Kosilek v. Spencer from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The case involves Michelle Kosilek, a transgender woman who successfully sued the Mass. Department of Corrections for medical treatment of her gender dysphoria in federal district court, a ruling the state has appealed. Michelle’s longtime attorney, Frances S. Cohen, who expertly litigated this case for more than 10 years, recently departed her firm Bingham McCutcheon for a new job, so GLAD is taking a more active role in this case.
Eliminating Barriers in Insurance Coverage
We are making remarkable progress toward eliminating barriers to transition-related healthcare. In April, Vermont’s Division of Insurance issued a bulletin making clear that under state law health insurance companies operating in Vermont must cover treatment related to a person’s gender transition, including coverage for gender reassignment surgery.
This bulletin is a critical victory for the transgender community in Vermont and GLAD was proud to partner with local LGBT and health care advocates to educate insurance commissioners and encourage the Division of Insurance to issue the bulletin. For more information about the bulletin check out this FAQ from our partner RU12 Community Center.
We are now partnering with advocates in Maine and Massachusetts to explore options in those states to ensure fair insurance coverage. Stay tuned for updates in those states.
GLAD today unveiled “GLAD Answers”, an updated version of our venerable Legal InfoLine. GLAD Answers is an information and referral service that GLAD has run since our inception, in recent years receiving more than 2,000 inquiries annually from LGBT people and people living with HIV.
The new features of GLAD Answers are:
• A dedicated URL, www.GLADAnswers.org
• An enhanced live chat function
• A new, direct email address: GLADAnswers@glad.org
• Use of an interpretation service for non-English speakers
• And a snappy new name and logo:
GLAD Answers retains its regular phone hours of 1:30-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, and its phone number of 1-800-455-GLAD. The service is staffed by highly trained volunteers who provide callers with legal information and referrals that can help resolve issues ranging from school bullying to employment discrimination.
In addition to empowering those who make use of the service, GLAD Answers enables GLAD to identify new legal issues, patterns of discrimination, and cases to litigate.
“Often, empowered with legal information, people can resolve their situations themselves,” said Bruce Bell, Public Engagement and Information Manager. “For example, we recently heard from a mom in Maine whose son was getting resistance from his school when he tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance. We gave her the information and tools she needed to talk with administrators and within two weeks the school approved the GSA.”
“GLAD Answers is my go-to resource whenever I have questions pertaining to the rights of LGBT youth and young adults. I call them directly for help and I also strongly encourage our youth to contact them if they have a question about their rights,” said Jayeson Watts, MSW, Direct Services Coordinator of Youth Pride, Inc., in Rhode Island. “The staff and volunteers are easy to talk to, knowledgeable and committed to helping LGBT people get the fair treatment they deserve. GLAD Answers is an invaluable resource.”
Although GLAD Answers specializes in LGBT/HIV legal information for the six New England states, the service provides help to anyone who contacts it.
The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS announced today that all legally married same-sex couples will be able to file their federal taxes as married. This will apply even if a couple resides in a state that does not recognize their marriage, so long as they were married in a state that does.
“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide. It provides access to benefits, responsibilities and protections under federal tax law that all Americans deserve,” said Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
You can read the full announcement isit la. The IRS has also posted an FAQ for married same-sex couples, available isit la.
Kreyòl Ayisyen 
Español de México 
Português 
简体中文 
香港中文 
Français 
Tiếng Việt 
العربية 
Polski 
Русский 
Deutsch