The Lesbian News Stack 2010 - December 22

maxime68's picture

By maxime68 on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - 23:17

Need a break from all that sweet stuff involved with preparations for Christmas? Then get ready for another fresh pile of political news with a focus on European LGBT content.

 

Around the Corner

Two decisions from the past 24 hours might let more LGBT people look back on the year 2010 with positive thoughts. We won’t deny and forget that many things went wrong this year, though the news that President Obama signed the 'DADT' Repeal Act of 2010, today December 22nd, and that the UN restored 'sexual orientation' to the resolution against executions [via Pam’s House Blend] last night, are two actions we never would have thought possible a couple of weeks ago.

 

Germany

Gay Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle, will spend his Christmas vacation in Egypt, accompanied by his partner. The same politician who won’t take his life partner on official visits to countries that condemn homosexuality, decides to spend his private time in an openly homophobic country, a country where homosexuality is penalized with up to three years of prison. What do you think? Are German gays criticizing him too much, as some comments on Queer.de insist? Seriously, I would have expected a more delicate choice; this kind of decision is exactly the reason why Westerwelle was booed at during his speech at the Gay Games Cologne.

Another German politician who is getting much press (too much press, if you ask me) is Volker Kauder, member of CDU (Christian Democrats, party of Chancellor Angela Merkel) and chair of the party’s parliamentary group. As we all know by now, CDU is not exactly pro-gay rights, they actually even try to stall any improvement of LGBT rights, totally aware and yet indifferent that they ignore demands imposed by Supreme Court rulings or resolutions by the European Union. Volker Kauder, who is actually only a member of the Parliament, said in an interview that “children don’t want to grow up with parents of the same sex”. As despicable as this opinion is, it’s nothing new, it is an opinion that has been repeated over and over by CDU and CSU (Christian Democrats in Bavaria, even more conservative than CDU) politicians. I honestly wonder why Kauder gets so much press when hardly anybody reacted when Minister of Family Affairs Kristina Schröder said something similar, except that she said it between the lines [eurOut reported].

 

(2 votes)