NEW YORK CITY: Gay Politicians Demand Obama Act On Russia's Anti-Gay Abuses

A coalition of gay New York state legislators and gay NYC politicians have issued a joint letter to President Obama which demands that he respond to Russia's crackdown on LGBT people by canceling a coming meeting with Vladimir Putin. Via press release, here's the letter in full:

Dear President Obama:

We write as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) elected officials from New York City in anticipation of your deciding whether to continue or cancel plans for an upcoming diplomatic trip to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. While you are considering whether to cancel that trip in light of Russia's decision to give asylum to Edward Snowden, we also urge you to consider the country's horrendous treatment of members of the LGBT community and its clear human rights abuses aimed at our community. Russia has become a country that persecutes anyone who might be LGBT or supports gay rights.

As then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on behalf of your administration, “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. It should never be a crime to be gay.” Given that President Putin and Russia have enacted laws to criminalize gay people and supporters and deny human rights to their LGBT citizens, they should not be the beneficiary of any trip by your office until they fully restore all civil rights to LGBT people in their country. Recent actions taken by the Russian government have led LGBT citizens to face not only a society that is intolerant of their basic civil rights, but also a country that would imprison them for declaring support for their own fundamental rights as humans. This has promoted an atmosphere of hate where gay people fear for their own lives and safety. Police are allowed to arrest foreigners who are considered gay or pro-gay and detain them for up to 14 days. Under their new law, as a pro-gay supporter even you could be subject to arrest and imprisonment while in Russia.

Mr. President, you will remember that in December 2011 the White House released a presidential memorandum directing executive officers and agencies that deal in foreign affairs to address human rights abuses against LGBT people abroad and to pressure foreign governments to decriminalize homosexuality. Now it is time for you and your administration to directly act on this memorandum. The LGBT community and its allies in Russia are under attack and the victims of clear human rights abuses. We urge you to stand in solidarity with us. Refuse any diplomatic mission to Russia until President Putin stops these abuses now and agrees to make Russia a country that proudly supports its LGBT community and its allies worldwide. We expect nothing less.

The letter was signed by NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, state Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick, Assemblyman Matthew Titone, Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, Assemblyman Micah Kellner, and NYC Council members Jimmy Van Bramer, Rosie Mendez, and Daniel Dromm.

Say His Name: MARK CARSON

Hundreds of LGBT New Yorkers turned out tonight for a candlelight vigil held at the West Village corner where Mark Carson, 32, was murdered early yesterday morning. The event was organized by Adam Feldman and speakers included activists Eugene Lovendusky, Robert Pinter, and Brendan Fay. Among the local politicos in attendance were state Sen. Brad Hoylman, state Assemblyman Micah Kellner, and City Council candidate Corey Johnson.  Speaker after speaker exhorted the crowd: "Say his name!"  Everybody: "Mark Carson, Mark Carson, MARK CARSON!" 

NOTE: On Monday there will be a rally at the LGBT Community Center at 5:30PM, followed by a march to the scene of the murder.

PERSONAL:  Specials thanks go out to the many JMG readers who attended tonight. I just wish I'd gotten to meet you under better circumstances.

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Signs Landmark Bill Aiding LGBT Seniors

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill creating state services for LGBT senior citizens. The bill was sponsored by openly gay state Sen. Thomas Duane and openly bisexual state Assemblyman Micah Keller. The bill authorizes the replication of various state programs currently offered to traditionally underserved populations.

Via press release from Duane's office:

“Governor Cuomo has once again shown his commitment to ensuring that all New Yorkers have equal rights and protections under the law,” said Senator Duane. “This legislation is groundbreaking. For the first time, New York will recognize the unique needs of the ever growing segment of aging LGBT New Yorkers – and the services they may require in the years to come. Over the past decade, this State has gone from all but ignoring the LGBT community to enacting comprehensive LGBT hate crimes protections, providing a Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, protecting our students with strong anti-gay bullying protections in the Dignity For All Students Act, insuring our right to marry the ones we love with a Marriage Equality law, and now today taking major steps to assist elderly LGBT New Yorkers. I am proud at how far we have come in such a short amount of time.”

I believe this new bill is unique to New York state. Can anybody verify that?

NEW YORK CITY: Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Tax Plastic Bags At 25 Cents

New York state Assemblyman Micah Kellner has introduced a bill that would impose a 25 cent tax on every plastic bag issued by New York City retailers. Every year the city sends 5.2 billion plastic bags to the landfill.

"I want to make it a faux pas to be seen on the street with a plastic bag," said Kellner, a Manhattan Democrat. "While we may use plastic bags for a couple of minutes to bring home our groceries, they stay in the environment for thousands of years." Kellner is sponsoring a bill, introduced late last month, that would impose a 25-cent tax on every plastic bag used to carry groceries or other store merchandise in New York City. The same bill would incentivize the use of reusable shopping bags -- made of canvas or thicker, sometimes recycled plastic -- by allowing grocers to give them to consumers if they leave a quarter as a deposit. After a year, the unclaimed quarters would be swept to City Hall's coffers. A tax break would be offered to cover "a majority" of the cost of reusable bags, which cost over $1 on the low end, more if you want hemp or recycled cotton.

Unsurprisingly, plastic bag manufacturers are opposed to Kellner's bill, with one industry spokesman saying, "By that math, he's taxing a family $3.75 every time they go to the grocery store -- money they could use to buy milk for their children." Kellner, the state's only openly bisexual legislator, can often be found outside of Upper East Side stores where he hands out reusable bags with his name on them. "I'm the Justin Bieber of tote bags," he says.

My Ballot

Unlike those of you burdened with page after page of confusing referenda, New York only has one item about disabled veterans seeking civil service jobs. My Congressperson, Carolyn Mahoney, should coast to an easy win, as should my state Senator Liz Krueger and state Assemblyman Micah Kellner. I'd say it's a straight Dem ticket for me this time, except that Kellner is bisexual. Yuk, yuk.

New York Primary Deadline Is Friday, Register To Vote Online Via LGBT Center

This Friday, August 15th, is the deadline to register for New York's September 9th primary. The NYC Gay & Lesbian Community Center has a goal of registering 2000 new LGBT voters by then. You can register to vote online via their site.

All of New York's 29 seats in the House of Representatives are in contention, as are all 436 seats nationwide. Of New York's 29 Congressional districts, 25 incumbents are running to keep their seats, including my own Congressperson, the fabulous Carolyn Maloney.

BUT, three out of the four retiring New York Reps are Republican, including Staten Island's vile, anti-gay Vito "Family Values (With A Mistress And A Love Child)" Fossella, the only Republican representing NYC in Congress. THAT is why the NYS primary is important, my tender kittens. Staten Island homos, represent.

And lets not forget the 150 seats in the state Assembly or the 62 seats in the state Senate, all of which are up for grabs. Openly LGBT Assembly members Daniel O'Donnell, Deborah Glick, Matthew Titone, and (my own Assemblyman) Micah Kellner need your support.

As does Thomas Duane, the only openly gay (and openly HIV positive) member of the state Senate. Duane's district stretches down the west side of Manhattan from 85th Street to Canal Street and encompasses major gayborhoods Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, and the East and West Village.

If you are not registered to vote in New York, please help the LGBT Center reach their goal.

Bisexual Wins Seat In NY State Assembly

On Tuesday, openly bisexual Micah Kellner won his special election to the New York State Assembly, defeating Republican, yet gay-friendly and progressive, Gregory Camp. Kellner is the first openly bisexual person ever elected to the state Assembly and joins as the fifth openly LGBT person presently serving in the state legislature.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund released a statement: "Micah will be a strong voice and a committed lawmaker for the people of New York in the State Assembly. His victory means that five openly gay, lesbian or bisexual lawmakers will now serve in the Assembly and the Senate, and that is excellent news for everyone who works toward full equality for all New Yorkers. We are proud to have endorsed and supported Micah's campaign."

As you may recall from an earlier post, Micah Kellner is now my state Assemblyman. While I had expressed some doubt about his inexperience versus his highly praised (albeit Republican) opponent, I did vote for Kellner in the end. Turnout, as you might imagine for a single-district special election, was abysmal, with only about 6200 votes cast in a district that surely contains ten times that many voters. I think I woke up about a dozen poll workers when I spoke out loud to request directions to the correct table. Kellner won with 64% of the vote, saying, "We ran a great campaign on the issues and I'm really proud of the campaign we ran. And I'm just really looking forward to going to Albany and representing the voters of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island."

While Kellner still has to prove himself in real-world Albany, I feel obliged to mention that for the first time in memory, I am rather satisfied with all of my major representation at the local, state, and national level: Kellner, Krueger, Bloomberg, Spitzer, Maloney, Schumer, and even Hillary Clinton (most of the time). There's just that one schmuck working for me that fucks up the list.