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Thursday, September 6, 2018
ONWARD TOGETHER. HILLARY CLINTON.
NPR BREAKING NEWS- India's Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban On Gay Sex.
Celebrations by India's LGBTQ community stretched into the night Thursday, after the country's Supreme Court struck down a long-standing ban on gay sex in a unanimous decision that marks a watershed in the socially conservative country of 1.3 billion people.
It is a landmark ruling in a nation where attitudes about gays and lesbians are beginning to change — and the decision points to more questions of how India will extend equal protections to the LGBTQ community.
"No one can escape from their individuality," Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who is due to retire next month, said, reading from the judgment.
"We have to bid adieu to prejudices and empower all citizens," said Misra, who also spoke on behalf of four concurring judges.
The central courtroom, under the Indian Supreme Court's iconic ivory dome, was packed with dozens of plaintiffs, lawyers and activists. Members of the public squeezed past security guards.
The ban, Section 377 of the Indian penal code, outlawed any sex that goes "against the order of nature." The law dates to 1861, when the country was under British colonial rule. The law is interpreted as a ban on all anal and oral sex, though it is generally used to prosecute men for having sex with other men.
Once again, Supreme Court treads where few politicians have dared. Congratulations & a big thank you to all the activists who stood up to be counted #Section377
"It felt validating, exciting, emotional — I cried," said one of the plaintiffs, Keshav Suri, a prominent hotelier in Delhi. "And more importantly, I felt an acceptance of my existence."
Thursday's ruling reversed a 2013 decision rescinding a Delhi high court order that sought to decriminalize homosexuality.
"Consensual sex between adults in [a] private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice," the court said."Section 377 results in discrimination and is violative of constitutional principles."
Outside on the Supreme Court lawn, cheers went up through a crowd of mostly young activists, some of whom had traveled across the country to be there. They unfurled rainbow flags and took selfies.
"I'm feeling what most Indians must have felt at the time of independence," said Yashwindar Singh, who was wrapped against the sun in a multicolored scarf. He hadn't slept the night before, in anticipation.
"This is the dawn of freedom for me," he said.
One of the plaintiffs, Arif Jafar, was arrested in 2001 and charged with "promotion and abetment of crime" and criminal conspiracy under Section 377. He had been standing near a train station, handing out condoms with cartoons that demonstrated how to use them. He was beaten by police and spent 47 days in jail.
The law had also been a means to blackmail or assault gay and transgender people.
In India's largest city, Mumbai, a nonprofit group called the Humsafar Trust, which advocates for queer rights, hung a rainbow curtain across the facade of its office. Workers handed out rainbow flags and broke out into cheers.
"A golden morning has dawned! The era of 377 is gone!" they chanted in the local language, Marathi.
The hearing fell on a rare day of sunshine in both Delhi and Mumbai, near the end of a torrential monsoon season.
"I was considered as a criminal just because the person with whom I wanted to make love was of the same gender," said Ankit Bhuptani, a gay rights activist and founder of the Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association. "I am no longer a criminal now."
In recent years, pride parades have become more common in Indian cities, though they are not always understood, The Washington Post reports:
Furkan Latif Khan is an NPR producer in New Delhi; Sushmita Pathak is an NPR producer in Mumbai.
APA- Undergraduate Public Philosophy Writing Contest.
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| Dear DAVID, The Blog of the American Philosophical Association is holding a public philosophy writing contest for undergraduate philosophy students, sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Hi-Phi Nation podcast. The winner of the contest will receive a prize of $500, APA membership for one year, and publication on the APA Blog. The runner-up will receive a prize of $100 and publication on the APA Blog. Other runners-up will also be considered for publication on the APA Blog. To be eligible, you must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student and majoring or minoring in philosophy. We will only consider previously unpublished essays between 800 and 1,500 words in English, and one submission per author. The essays should be engaging, original, with significant philosophical content and/or methods, and written for a public (not academic) audience. The types of pieces we are looking for would be similar to articles published with Aeon, The Institute of Art and Ideas, New Philosopher magazine, or The Stone column in The New York Times. The winning entry will be determined by the Award Committee (see below) and the APA Blog Editorial Board. All authors will be notified of the outcome of the competition. The cash prizes are made possible thanks to John Kaag at University of Massachusetts Lowell and Barry Lam’s Hi-Phi Nation podcast. Award CommitteeThe Award Committee includes Myisha Cherry, Skye C. Cleary, Lewis Gordon, David V. Johnson, John Kaag, Barry Lam, Massimo Pigliucci, Jason Stanley, and Adriel Trott.DeadlineThe deadline to submit an essay for this award is December 20, 2018, at 5 p.m. EST.SubmissionsPlease submit the following: (1) your essay in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format; and (2) a statement from a faculty advisor verifying that you are an undergraduate philosophy major or minor. Refereeing will be anonymous; authors should omit all remarks and references within their essay (but not the faculty statement) that might disclose their identities. Attach both documents to your email, include your essay title in the subject line, and send it to blogcontest@apaonline.org.All inquiries should be sent to Asia Forcucci at blogcontest@apaonline.org. We would very much appreciate it if you could share this announcement... Very best, Skye C. Cleary Lead Editor, Blog of the APA |
Monday, September 3, 2018
NOT A VACATION. GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MOLLY KELLY.
David,
You won't believe this. At a forum focused on children and families, Governor Chris Sununu said he believes paid family and medical leave is a "vacation."
Paid family leave is being with a newborn baby, caring for an ill elderly relative or helping a loved one in an emergency. It's not a vacation.
Sununu showed he is out of touch with everyday Granite State families.
Molly knows the challenges Granite State families face because she's lived them.
As a single mom raising three young children, she worked three jobs to put herself through college and law school. If she took time off from work, there wouldn't be money to put food on the table for her family.
We need a governor who understands the needs of Granite State families. As governor, Molly will make sure Granite Staters can be with their loved ones in times of need.
Thanks,
Team Molly
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