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ISSUE
RELATED ORGANIZATIONS
About.com
Gay and Lesbian Issues Guide:
Site covers a wide range of
gay and lesbian issues, including rights issues. Updated
weekly.
Amnesty
International Members for Lesbian and Gay Concerns:
Links to international news on gay rights.
Comingoutstories.com
Site for personal stories and links to other gay and lesbian
rights sources.
Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation:
A national organization that promotes fair, accurate,
and inclusive representation of gays and lesbians in the
media.
Human
Rights Campaign:
Working for lesbian and gay equal rights in America
with information about to how you can take action and
information on legislation.
International
Lesbian and Gay Association:
An umbrella group of gay and lesbian rights groups.
National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
Supports grassroots lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
organizations that are facing a variety of battles at
the state and local level in the USA.
PFLAG:
Parents and families of lesbians and gays.
Stonewall:
A UK-based rights group. Includes a news page that
covers gay rights news in Britain.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
AND PUBLICATION LINKS:
Kus, Robert J. Addiction and Recovery of Gay and Lesbian
Persons. Haworth, 1995. Overview of articles regarding
mental and physical ailments and addictions written by
pre-eminent people in each field.
Shilts, Randy. And the Band Played On: Politics, People,
and the AIDS Epidemic. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
1987. A look at the discovery of AIDS and HIV and the
subsequent events.
Grahn, Judy. Another Mother Tongue: Gay Words, Gay Worlds.
Boston: Beacon Press, 1984. Gay words and traditions establishing
gay persons’ place in global history.
Eskridge, Jr. ; William N. The Case for Same-Sex Marriage:
From Sexual Liberty to Civilized Commitment. New York:
Free Press, 1996. As pointed out by the author, the question
of gay marriage cuts two ways--at the heart of gay assimilation,
and at the core definition of marriage and the family.
Toder, Nancy. Choices: a Classic Lesbian Love Story. Boston,
Alyson Publications, 1984. Novel about "roommates
in college" scenario.
Vicinus, Martha and George Chauncey and Martin Bauml Duberman.
Hidden from History : Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past.
New York: NAL Books, 1989. Gathering together the works
of many, this book reveals the history of gays and lesbians
in different cultures and eras. Photos included.
Jay, Karla. Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation.
Anthology of coming out stories.
Gallagher, John and Chris Bull. Perfect Enemies: The Religious
Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s.
New York: Douglas Book Corp., 1972. Award-winning journalists
Chris Bull and John Gallagher chronicle how the vehement
battle between conservative Christians and gay activists
has thrust gay rights into the election spotlight.
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Throughout the world, people are today beaten, imprisoned, and killed
by their own governments for engaging in homosexual acts. Others suspected
of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are routinely victims
of harassment, discrimination, and violence. Many of those who speak in
defense of lesbian and gay rights, regardless of their sexual identity,
are themselves persecuted with impunity.
The case of Mathew Shepard, the young gay man brutally beaten to death
in Wyoming last year, received national media attention with public officials
throughout the country speaking out against hate-motivated crimes. Unfortunately,
Mathew Shepard's case is not an isolated incident. It represents, just
one of many examples of contemporary violence against LGBT people in the
United States. Most incidents of violence against lesbians and gays are
never even reported, either to the police or in the news media and the
problem of bias crime against lesbians and gay men is getting worse. According
to FBI statistics, the number of hate crimes committed against lesbians
and gay men increased eight percent in 1997, despite an overall decrease
in violent crime. It is also likely that these statistics represent a
serious undercounting of actual criminal acts, as victims are often reluctant
to report these incidents. Astonishingly to this date reports and complaints
in this area are often still not taken seriously by the police and other
government officials.
Source: Amnesty International
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