Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

DNC: Latinos, faith and marriage
News Update Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008
by Tania Unzueta Carrasco
2008-08-27

This article shared 5462 times since Wed Aug 27, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


Before the Democratic National Convention began on Monday, the political, non-official demonstrations took place outside the streets of Denver, Colorado. These protests, ranging from hundreds of demonstrators, to two people standing on a corner, represented a multiplicity of opinions about the war in Iraq, abortion, access to health care, education, organ donation, and LGBTQ politics, particularly same-sex marriage.

In an effort to have some insight into the conservative, religious rhetoric aimed at the Latino community around election time, I had the opportunity to attend an event organized by the National Coalition of Catholic and Evangelical leaders. The event Viva la Familia, which took place in Spanish, occurred in order to promote the idea that immigration is not the only important matter on the table for Latinos, and that these voters should pay more attention to 'family values' and the 'defense of marriage' -- meaning marriage between a man and a woman.

Many of the arguments I am sure we have heard before: Marriage should be determined by God, not 'activist judges;' and that children grow healthier in families with a mother and a father, amongst others.

I don't want to spend too much time explaining why these arguments are falce, but I will say that my understanding is that when LGBTQ people talk about marriage, much of the struggle is around the rights that come with marriage, not what God desires ( the discussion about God and queers may have to be left for another time ) ; and that of course children who have families where both parents ( be they a man and a woman, two women, or two men ) may be less likely to be subject to poverty and neglect, and thus grow up to be healthier human beings.

But aside from these hackneyed issues, it scares me that what these well-funded organizations are doing is effectively separating issues pertaining to LGBTQ people and those relevant to the immigrant community in the eyes of the public. One man who I interviewed, Reverend Samuel Rodriguez Jr, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council, put it this way: 'At the end of the day I think that when Latinos go vote, they will have to chose what is most important to them, immigration reform or marriage.'

And you have to understand, that just like the larger religious Christian right, the Latino Christian right uses values that to the Latinos are very important, and on top of that re-enforces many stereotypes about LGBTQ people in order to further their agenda.

Example: The name of the event was 'Viva la familia' -- long live the family, and what the reverend said during his speech was that 'when we [ Latinos ] have nothing else left, when immigration is taking our families apart, what we have is our family. And we have to protect our family.' And if you think about the way that immigrant activists have also emphasized the family, it should not be hard to figure out that this is an important value for Latinos. A value that becomes even more relevant when many immigrant workers leave their family, or have only a very close knit family, when they travel to the United States to work.

The reverend continues in his speech: 'As Latinos we are not homophobic. We are not against any particular group. We believe in civil rights for everyone. What we want is to defend marriage between a man and a woman. If they want to form something else, then they should do whatever they want. But marriage is between a man and a woman.'

He is right about one thing: Latinos are not homophobic. Most of us want to work, live our lives happily, and fight for a better future for our communities. To some of us, our family includes people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allies. Some of us even realize that immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, and all human rights are connected.

I believe that as a community, Latino, LGBTQ, the combination of both, and as a society as a whole, we must emphasize that the government ( and the next president ) has to recognize the full human rights that all people have – the right to work without discrimination ( as an immigrant, queer or trans person ) , the right to self-determination ( gender, or political orientation ) , the right to live a full and happy life ( as a married same-sex couple, or as an immigrand, documented or not ) , and the right to fight for our communities, multiple as they are, since in the end, we are all family.

Tania Unzueta Carrasco is currently doing national Spanish-language coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions with Radio Bilingue and Radio Arte. More information at www.wrte.org .


This article shared 5462 times since Wed Aug 27, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

NATIONAL Political candidates, flag controversy, HRC gala, New York Times, Disney 2024-03-29
- In California, of the historic 30 LGBTQ+ legislative candidates who ran in the March 5 primary, more than half are moving on to the fall ballot, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Based on the still unofficial ...


Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill 2024-03-27
- On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event 2024-03-25
- Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors 2024-03-24
- On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Chicago alder proposes renaming street after Obama 2024-03-22
- Openly gay Black Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson has proposed renaming Columbus Drive after former U.S. President and city resident Barack Obama, media outlets noted. The street stretches through the Loop from East Grand Avenue to DuSable ...


Gay News

Congressional Equality Caucus on FY24 bills passing the house 2024-03-22
--From a press release - WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), released the following statement after the House successfully passed the final funding bills for Fiscal Year ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist 2024-03-21
- Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ candidates Marcelino Garcia, Precious Brady Davis win primary elections to keep MWRD seats 2024-03-21
- Marcelino Garcia and Precious Brady-Davis, the two openly LGBTQ+ incumbents in the race to keep their seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), won their primary elections and will move on to the general this ...


Gay News

Small LGBTQ+ candidate pool nevertheless scores some important victories March 19 2024-03-20
- Relatively few openly LGBTQ+ candidates were running in the March 19 Illinois Primary Election. But there were some significant contests in play at the local, state and federal levels. Openly gay Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) ...


Gay News

Gay Irish prime minister to step down 2024-03-20
- In a surprise move, openly gay Irish Prime Minister (or Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar has announced his resignation, citing "personal and political, but mainly political reasons," according to CNN. Varadkar said he felt he was no longer ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course 2024-03-18
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.