By Prudence L. Gourguechon on 10/28/2009 10:05 PM
President Obama signed a crucial and long awaited piece of civil rights legislation today, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The measure is named after a gay man and black man, both killed in hate crimes in 1998. This bill extends the coverage of current federal hate crimes legislation to include violence based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
The American Psychoanalytic Association submitted a letter of support for the bill to legislators last month.
Thanks to more than a decade of work by our Committee on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Issues and social advocacy by our Board of Directors, our Association has a sophisticated set of position statements on gay rights issues. Our position statements in this advocacy area can be viewed at www.apsa.org/Position_Statements.aspx.
A reporter I spoke to last summer about our Soldiers and Veterans Initiative was particularly impressed by our Position statement on gays and lesbians in the military, where we call for the repeal of the destructive "don't ask don't tell" regulation. The journalist said, essentially, "why did you issue such a statement—none of the other mental health organizations have (to her knowledge anyway". I was startled by her question, impressed by her surprise, and all I could think of was "why wouldn't we".
It's great news that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes bill passed to day, though the satisfaction is dimmed a little by the fact that supporters had to tack the bill on to a defense spending bill to overcome conservative opposition.
Now it's time to get rid of the "don't ask don't tell" policy in the military, which is based on faulty assumptions, weakens bonds of support needed by gay soldiers, and sanctions a climate of secrecy and dishonesty that is never good for human organizations. |