No TSA Lines Here! Let’s Travel.
Recent news reports have shown long lines at numerous airports, as travelers far outnumber security personnel. Having spent my share of down time at airports, I empathize with those who missed connecting flights, or stood in the security line, moving inch by inch ever so slowly. Then there were those who sat in their window seats, looking out on the tarmac as they saw piles of checked baggage sitting untouched. It doesn’t look like this problem will be solved anytime soon. Anyone traveling over the next couple months should be prepared. But let’s take a trip together around the globe, right here in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, with no TSA lines to hinder us.
There have been some significant developments in the LGBT community in various parts of our small world. Italy has been the sole holdout in the European Union in terms of equality. On May 11, the Italian Parliament voted to approve legislation that will recognize civil unions for same sex couples. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has made this legislation a priority of his agenda, since attaining that office in February, 2014. As the youngest Prime Minister in Italy’s history, Renzi has laid the foundation for this crucial change in LGBT rights. Obviously, the greatest obstacle to this change has been the Vatican. Adamant in its position for heterosexual marriage only, the Roman Catholic Church has had to accept the reality of this advance in its own back yard.
This legislation will help meet the mandates demanded by the European Court of Human Rights, that it come into compliance with the rest of the EU in providing LGBT equality. As dramatic as the approval of same sex civil unions has been in this very conservative country, many are quick to express their great disappointment that same sex marriage itself was not the result of this legislation. Civil unions are certainly a step forward, but it falls short of full recognition of same sex marriage. In addition, another exclusion of this law reveals unfortunate limitations. The law does not allow for partners in a same sex union to adopt the other’s children. Thus, many see this law as a half-step toward equality, not a full step.
Let’s pack our suitcases and head over to the Republic of Germany. Here we find that injustices from the past are being rectified, as much as that is truly possible. There was a law in force in Germany that banned homosexuality, dating back to 1871. The Nazi regime strengthened the law in 1935 to criminalize it. According to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100,000 men were arrested and charged with homosexuality from 1933 to 1945. The penalties suffered by these men were varied, but cruel, and not something that I choose to list here. Suffice it to say, many of those men perished, or suffered in other ways.
Steps had been taken in recent decades to right these wrongs. The crux of the matter is what is referred to as Paragraph 175, which was the part of the Germanic Criminal Code that outlawed homosexuality. It was changed somewhat in West Germany in 1969, but not repealed. This did not happen until 1994. Interestingly enough, Communist East Germany decriminalized homosexuality in 1968. [Point of reference—East and West Germany united in 1990.] The good news from Germany now is that the government is taking a step forward to advance legislation to commute the convictions of anyone convicted of homosexuality, and will provide some financial compensation to them. While this is waiting for the approval of Parliament, the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany welcomed the move, and declared that the government “not only can, but must, clear the names of the men who were convicted under Paragraph 175.”
After checking out of our hotels in Germany, we land in Spain, where the reports are not as positive. While this is more of an isolated incident, it is indicative of the broader mindset still entrenched in Spain. In March, 2015, Jesus Tomillero, then 20 years old, came out as gay. What makes this newsworthy is that he had been an active soccer referee, officiating games in a regional league of the national sport attended by scores of fans. He has been the recipient of abusive slurs shouted from the stands, and has received little to no support from the Andalusian Soccer League administration. Since his coming out, the slurs have increased to the point where he has now resigned as a referee. Tomillero said that refereeing has “been his passion,” but that he can no longer bear the abuse. We hope that he will find other ways to be himself without such blatant hostility.
It is time to come home. We land in New York City, where recent editions of the New York Times inform us that President Obama has announced that the Stonewall Inn may become the first national monument honoring gay and lesbian history in the United States. Christopher Park, across the street from the Greenwich Village bar, will be the site of the memorial. Already with landmark status from New York City, this federal action will bring national recognition to the location of what many call the birthplace of the gay rights movement. Although no White House declaration has been officially made, the buzz is there that this will come about before Obama leaves office.
Thinking back to the regular police raids on this and other gay bars in the 1960s, leading up to the Stonewall revolt on June 28, 1969, we honor those who fought then, and fight today, for equality. This fight takes place every day, all around the world. It is a fight for decency, for acceptance, and for our brothers and sisters who suffer injustices in many forms. Let’s continue to carry its banner together!