Albert Gauci Cunningham, Buġibba
Working for gays and Labour
Not much time had passed since the first public announcement of a new LGBT Network within the PL than it got the first load of flak from different quarters, some rather predictable, others less so.
This network is not trying to ram anything down anyone's throat, whether within the Labour Party or outside.
The adverts on certain bus stops around the island, contrary to the impression which someone tried to give, were not put up by the network and though in themselves they are a good initiative in trying to create awareness, what they portray does not necessarily reflect Labour's policies in this area.
Joseph Muscat has already made it clear both to the network and to the MGRM members during a meeting held at the Labour headquarters that the party does not favour the policy of child adoption for gay couples.
True, some gay people might not take this well but the Labour leader is being quite frank from the start regarding what the party could and couldn't deliver if it is returned to power.
The LGBT Network is not a threat to any family or to the family establishment; most of the members hold their families very close to their hearts and believe it is very important that while they push gay issues to the forefront, major parties should strive to strengthen families as these are the most basic and important unit that builds a stronger society.
It is not gay people, gay activists or LGBT Networks that break families but financial constraints, dishonesty, anti-social taxes and the present lack of willingness towards commitment and sacrifice.
I hope that this puts Josie Muscat's mind at rest because if he and his party want to witness the real threats to any society they need look no further than our own shores, where homophobia and xenophobia are alive and kicking. Fear of the unknown leads to hatred which then might lead to violence. These are what destroy the social equilibrium, and not gay people!
On the face of it, the setting up of an LGBT Network might seem to serve the opposite purpose, that of excluding and segregating rather than including. Bzzzzz, you're wrong! You are definitely the weakest link! Goodbye!
This network will not be organising "coffee mornings for gay people", neither will it lock gay people up in a pink dungeon full of feathers and sex toys with a dominating photo of Joseph Muscat and a banner under it with the words "gays for Joseph".
It will be made up of a core group of people working together to promote gay issues within the PL, talking to different people to see what their expectations are in this area and encouraging more gay people not only to vote Labour but also to work within it, not just in the network but throughout its structures. It will make sure that the Labour Party doesn't renege on its promise to put people with a different sexual orientation on a more equal footing (and please note the word "equal"; the LGBT Network does not want gay people to be privileged but equal).
The network also has the task of seeing that the Labour grassroots themselves continue to understand why it is important that a Labour government, as it had done in the 1970s, stands up for those people who don't have much of a voice both socially and politically.
The network's aim is to see that this country moves to a place where no one feels marginalised or less of a citizen. We definitely don't aim for jihads against any institution in this country, whether it be the Catholic Church, the Nationalist Party or anyone who feels strongly against gay civil rights. Our aim is to strive for a more inclusive society and to see that it will be a future Labour government under the leadership of Dr Muscat that works tirelessly towards this aim.
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Dr Patrick Attard
Nov 19th 2009, 03:20
Dear Mr Gauci Cunningham,
I think you should tell people what the MLP will do and not what it won't do for gays.
J Martinelli
Nov 18th 2009, 19:15
@ Frans Sammut
Have you read AGC's comments?
@ AGC
I don't need any spoon feeding from you! Why have you found it necessary to describe a scene you yourself associated with "gays for Joseph"? Read your own comments before you go ape! Don't go hide behind the premise that your comments were made 'tongue-in-cheek'.
By writing: "neither will it lock gay people up in a pink dungeon full of feathers and sex toys" you have automatically associated gays with pink dungeons full of feathers, etc.
Go get an opinion from a gay person and ask him/her how they feel about your tongue-in-cheek comment, or better still have them express their opinion in this paper!
@ Franco Farrugia
I can assure you that you have stopped surprising me a long time ago.
Gays want what they deserve - to be part of the mainstream and not identified as a different breed asking for any favours or special recognition. They want to live their life without any party or organization reminding them of the different lifestyle they lead.
Franco Farrugia
Nov 18th 2009, 15:21
@ Frans Sammut: Martinelli and his ilk should have stopped surprising you a long, long time ago!
@ John Spiteri: I don't think that gays are asking for extra favours: only what they deserve, only what other people ask. The very fact that you try, in this fashion, to LIE about what gays are requesting, shows where you stand.
Joseph Vella
Nov 18th 2009, 15:00
@ All anti-labour conservatives
Please bear in mind that in NO WAY PL is marginalising gays. LGBT Labour is only there to promote equality.
And Mr Cauchi...Labour is exactly doing what you argued in your comment...Labour doesn't care what one does in his/her bedroom, but opportunities should be there for all (as long as the person is eligible), therefore no bank should ask a person whether or not he is gay, a person's sexuality should not be an issue when one applies for a job, and all types of couples whether straight or gay should have the right to form a civil union, given the right to be with their loved ones near the death bed and yes many still have to face the fact that some people are gay (get over it!)....are we there yet? NO!...so yes we need LGBT labour
I'd like to ask you all one question (and then I can decide whether you are woth arguing with):
Do you believe that people are born Gay or do they choose to be Gay?
Frans Sammut
Nov 18th 2009, 14:53
Mr Martinelli never ceases to surprise me. The imagery he conjures with respect (disrespect, rather!) to any issue or subject that is raised in this commentary board is always unexpected. What have sex toys and other revolting objects to do with Mr Gauci Cunningham's missive? If I were one of this group I would have a tete-a-tete with Mr Martinelli and see whose tete is hardest. His wild assumptions make me sick! He's almost as bad as Mr Vella Gera, only less articulate (sic).
A.Gauci Cunningham
Nov 18th 2009, 14:35
@Martinelli---I am not stereotyping gay people in my letter, on the contrary it is a tongue in cheek criticism of the way some people tried to picture this LGBT Network (some people really need to be spoon fed it seems!!!)....maybe they didnt use pink dungeons and sex toys but they were rather close in trying to make fools out of the network!!
@Joseph Cauchi----Maybe its passe maybe not....only gay people themselves can answer that question. If they tell us that its passe (which is not what we're getting from them) than I'll be the first to retract my presence from this network. And yes its true nobody cares what one does in his/her bedroom and I wish most were like you. Unfortunately that is not the situation at present with so many busybodies running around making doubly sure that the status quo stays with us for the years to come precisely because of what a few people do in their bedroom!!
J Martinelli
Nov 18th 2009, 13:17
"This network will not be organising "coffee mornings for gay people", neither will it lock gay people up in a pink dungeon full of feathers and sex toys with a dominating photo of Joseph Muscat and a banner under it with the words "gays for Joseph".
Bravo, Albert Gauci Cunningham! Stereotyping gays? Shame.
I don't know which comments from 'predictable and not so predictable sources' you are referring to, but most I have read are indeed in favour of gays and lesbians being part of the mainstream and not treated or identified as a separate group.
Not a single one expected them to be treated (within the LP or elsewhere) as a group occupying a 'pink dungeon full of feathers and sex toys' etc.
The LP must be desperate and is trying to exploit an issue for pure political gain (hopefully) while a lifestyle preference should be left to the individual as a part of society and not to a political party long languishing in the hinterland.
Joseph Cauchi
Nov 18th 2009, 12:14
@ A. Gauci C,
Don’t you think that all this business of LGBT is outmoded and passé today?
Why do you continue to insist o n being MARGINALISED further?
This is baffling, that instead of being inclusive, this new section – (M)LP/LGBT is thriving to be the opposite.
Why do some people in the above category do their utmost to show-off and pride themselves in demonstrating their diversity, rather than act as normal people and join the mainstream?
Actually, who cares what one does in one’s privacy of the bedroom and why should this be an issue?
This is nothing more than just a question of being in the LIMELIGHT!
JC.
John Spiteri - General Secretary AN
Nov 18th 2009, 11:08
Gay people should have the same individual rights as everyone else and rightly so. What Azzjoni Nazzjonali is against is the activism for the granting of extra rights upon individuals by virtue of simply claiming to belong a special 'victim' group. this does not apply only to homosexuals but to every individual. Why should women, gays, individuals of ethnic minorities, religious minorities etc etc be treated differently and enjoy extra privilege such as quotas, positive discrimination etc simply because they belong to a group? does this not make a mockery of justice built on the notion that individual rights should not be subject to the status of race,sex, colour or creed? The Leftist agenda of granting rights to groups will not result in more cohesion or inclusiveness - it will divide and fragment society into a number of groups each clamouring for their perceived rights and vested interests at the cost of others. women against men, hetero against gays, black against white, workers against employers etc. it breeds resentment. The beneficiary will not be the individual but a more powerful,arbitrary and coercive state that would be needed to enforce what in effect would be social apartheid..