HUD Launches Housing Discrimination Study

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched a new website that allows U.S. citizens to comment and offer suggestions on the design of an first of its kind national study aimed at examining discrimination in housing discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity.

Earlier this year, HUD hosted town hall meetings in Chicago, New York and San Francisco in order to gain insight and feedback on how they should conduct what’s considered to be ground-breaking research. The website offers an online suggestion form which is intended to offer people across the U.S. the opportunity to comment on the study.

Dr. Raphael Bostic, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research stated:

“It is critical that as we embark on this historic discrimination study, that we hear from those who may have been denied housing based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The comments we received in our town hall meetings, and those we will gather from this new website, will help inform how we might test for housing discrimination in the sale or rental of housing based on LBGT status.”

To date there has been no documented nationwide statistics compiled on the subject of housing discrimination targeted towards the LGBT community, but several state and local studies that have consistently indicated that such discrimination is commonplace.

The new website is not a place to file complaints about housing discrimination, but if you have been a victim of such, you can file a complaint online by clicking here, or via telephone by calling HUD’s Housing Discrimination Hotline at 1-800-669-9777.

Lighting Up the Blogosphere with LGBT

From March 1-5, 16% of the week’s links in the blogosphere were about gay rights issues in the news, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. This is the second time in a month when the topic has been among the most discussed subjects. During the first week of February, gay issues including the military’s policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” were a major subject of discussion. It is also the sixth time the subject finished in the top five since PEJ began its New Media Index in January 2009.

The above paragraph is an excerpt from Journalism.org which explains a spike in post about LGBT issues across the blogosphere. What I find to be unsurprising, yet interesting, is how equality related issues have taken flight. As the post points out, again not to my surprise, the split amongst bloggers who are pro and con with equality seem to be pretty even. One may think that since the LGBT community is the minority, the number of blogs that advocate against LGBT equality would be much greater, however there doesn’t appear to be a great number more who are against LGBT rights than those who support equality. Does this mean the average straight blogger doesn’t support discrimination? I’m not certain, but I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that it looks promising that those who oppose the LGBT community themselves appear to be a minority similar in size to those of us in the LGBT community. Of course with everything else, I would think you could place issues of homosexuality on a continuum and find that 5% fall to the extreme right (being completely against the LGBT community) and 5% would fall on the extreme left (working feverishly towards gaining equality) and the remaining 90% fall somewhere in the middle, not really considering the issues as they don’t feel directly affected by them.

Either way, I think it’s a promising sign that issues of LGBT equality are ranking the highest for coverage by bloggers. I believe this lends to the notion the LGBT rights movement has become just that…a movement, and one of large scale. I firmly believe this to our advantage as getting the issues out and having them heard is half the battle.

IN THE LIFE: The Right to Live – Bullycides

“Bullying is NOT a right of passage, it’s a national health crisis.” When as many as 10,000 students miss school every month, when children are committing suicide because of constant verbal abuse, bullying is a crisis. Please watch the following video and support Inthelife.org!

Courtesy of IN THE LIFE:

This month on IN THE LIFE: Bullycides, a term recently coined to address the national health crisis of young people taking their own lives as the result of bullying. Followed by the premier of In The States, a feature focusing on the struggle for LGBT civil rights at the state level.

Bullycides
Studies show that youth who are bullied are five times more likely to be depressed and to report suicidal thoughts. LGBT children and those who are perceived to be gay, lesbian or challenge tradition gender roles are among those most likely to be targeted by bullies. In this look at the most tragic outcome for kids tormented by kids, we meet heartbroken families fighting for federal legislation to protect their children.

In The States
Our first installment of this IN THE LIFE feature takes us to Ohio, a state ranked among the worst for LGBT rights. Ohio legislators not only banned same sex marriages but barred unmarried state employees from receiving benefits for domestic partners; transgender Ohioans lack basic civil rights including the right to correct their birth certificates and LGBT people can be legally fired from their jobs because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. In this report on the gay experience in the heartland, we meet locals with deep ties to their community organizing for equal rights.

The Right To Live will begin airing March 1st and be available for free video streaming and downloadable podcasts from the IN THE LIFE website. To find out when it will air in your local area, to stream or download it, go to www.inthelifetv.org.

Lambda Pride Seeks to Serve Aging GLBT’s

While the United States as a whole is beginning to see ageism play out around the country due in part to the economic squeeze and the aging of the population in general, the gay and lesbian segment of the population is experiencing even higher trends of ageism. Gay and lesbian senior citizens are experiencing ageism at horrifying levels. This is manifesting itself in depression, isolation and anxiety according to United States Health and Human Services office. “What data we have is very poor,” says Ann Lukes with World Health Organization.

In response to this need, Lambda Pride Senior Advocacy Services is being formed by Dr. Craig Williams and Dr. Reece Manley both of Dallas, Texas. Dr. Williams is a physician in practice in the Dallas area while Dr. Manley is a professional pastoral counselor and progressive Christian writer. “We are turning to the gay and lesbian community for both seed donations and for talented people willing to volunteer their time and effort.”

LambdaPride.org has been formed and is seeking non-profit status. “We are on target to have all the filing is place by March 2010, assuming we have some help from the community at large,” says Dr. Williams. “We have obtained a website and are seeking people to sign up for the newsletter. We are also asking for assistance in as many ‘queer dollar bills’ as people care to give.”

To make a seed donation or to offer to volunteer to advocate glbt seniors through any number of efforts, the public is encouraged to visit http://www.lambdapride.org.

Contact:
Craig Williams
LambdaPride.org
Dallas,TX
1-800-ZEN-0812
support@kjprnews.com
http://www.lambdapride.org

Why Are Americans Passive?

Beginning once again in the 1970s, nearly all social connections between Americans declined. The decay in U.S. social life was an almost total phenomenon. It extended from inviting friends to dinner, to joining bridge clubs or bowling leagues, to volunteering for noncontroversial activities such as the PTA or Red Cross blood drives, to participating in more controversial activities such as working for a cause or a political candidate.

There was growth in social participation in evangelical religious groups; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) groups; internet groups; and self-help groups. However, membership in self-help groups, America’s greatest social participation growth area, was outnumbered two to one by drop-outs from bowling leagues alone, according to Robert Putnam’s 2000 book, Bowling Alone, which I have drawn on for statistics throughout this section.

Several inconclusive theories have emerged as to why Americans have dropped out of U.S. social life and civic life.

Women dropping out of social activities because of working full time outside of the home accounts for only 10 percent of the overall dropout rate.

More at: Alex Jones’ Prison Planet!

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