Malta Considering Hate Crime Law

While others are concentrating on Roland Martin, Washington State and what looks like same-sex marriage coming into being, an Atlanta hate crime and other items both newsworthy and not so, I thought I would bring to the forefront what most will probably miss and not bring to their readers.

Since the beginning of this year there have been several incidents of homophobic attacks in Malta, so many in fact that Maltese government officials are now considering adding into its current hate crime law those who attack or kill based on sexual orientation.

The website GayStarNews reported this news on Wednesday.

Malta which is a member of the EU and signed the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which does prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation currently has no laws in place to prosecute acts of violence based on homophobia.

In late January a peaceful demonstration of about 50 people was held to protest the fact there are no laws currently available for gay hate crimes. The protest was held in the town where a lesbian couple (one of the couple is shown in photo) were beaten by two male teenagers.

In an interview with The Times of Malta, Gabi Calleja who is the coordinator of the LGBT group, The Malta Gay Rights Movement, was quoted in part, "The incident is a reminder of the fact that being part of a minority continues to pose certain risks: that being gay, lesbian or part of an ethnic minority or sometimes just being a woman can put one at risk of being assaulted, violated and discriminated against."

“No one should become a target because of their identity and when this basic right is threatened then measures should be in place to ensure that justice is done.”

The video is a report on the incidents of violence and the protests which have followed and although not in English the video alone is more than enough to understand what has been happening to LGBTs in Malta where justice for LGBT hate crimes is so very long over due.

CNN Suspends Roland Martin WTF

Amazing what happens while you're out of the house for 90 minutes while at the doctor's office for a general followup visit post-heart attack.

According to Erik Wemple at The Washington Post, CNN has caved in to GLAAD's uproar over Roland Martin's Super Bowl Sunday tweets which de gay has deemed homophobic in content.

“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.” so says CNN in a statement.

Of course Wemple is happy about this as is and will be those in the blogosphere and websites of de Pink as this story makes its rounds. To wit I say .... BULLSHIT !

In regards to my doctor visit, I'll be giving opposing views to these Pink Police Bastards and the LGBT Elite Cissies for a very long time. Try as the blood clot did to kill me, I survived the Widow Maker heart attack and the Big Kahuna upstairs ain't ready to call me Home and wants me to continue to be a voice of reason for those who don't follow the Elite like so many sheep.

As a public service if you experience any of the symptoms or factors described in the video get your heart checked out. You may not be as lucky as me to survive the Widow Maker.

If you experience chest pain, don't be a hero, dial 911, get help ASAP and get to the hospital. I was told by many on August 23 of 2011 the main reason I survived was within an hour of first experiencing pain and symptoms (chest pain like someone was pushing their fist into my sternum, excessive vomiting, uncontrollable sweats and trouble catching my breath) I was being worked on with an angioplasty. Otherwise I wouldn't be here to be a thorn in the side to some.

That'd have been a shame huh ?

One final (uh huh) thought on this and not from me but a commentor at the Rueters website where the story about Roland Martin ran and it's from a ... GASP ! .. a gay man "FlamingLiberal" :

Thanks to political correctness, we have become a very delicate, sensitive, and thinner-than-paper skinned society. I didn’t think those comments were far from offensive. On the contrary, I thought they were a little humorous and would have never equated the comments with violence against the gay “community”.

Let’s get a sense of humor, some common sense, and refrain from attempting to read into things that just simply aren’t there in order to grab the limelight. These “activist” groups that cry foul at every little thing make me thankful I am an independently-thinking, rational, and grounded gay man who sees life outside of his sexuality.

Right On Brother, Right On.

Roland Martin vs The Pink Police

I'm sure many will find fault with this opine but then I don't write to please the masses, quite the contrary, I write for the like-minded out there in LGBTdom and perhaps beyond.

Prior to going to work Monday afternoon I Googled to see how many websites and blogs featured the Roland Martin debacle which occurred Sunday during the Super Bowl and none to my surprise (and even when arriving home after work) the story hit the blogosphere and websites, both LGBT and mainstream, like an avalanche cascading endlessly from the top of a mountain into the foreboding abyss of a crevice.

Which brings me to today's opine of how it is, no matter how small a thing is done or perceived, someone, somewhere will find something which has been said or written against LGBTs even in inference, innuendo or matter of joke.

I have to wonder if there are folks out there who have nothing better to do than to constantly check and monitor social websites be they Facebook or Twitter or any number of others just looking for something to be able to cast a spotlight on anti-gayness.

Are there those monitoring any number of a variety of people or groups for what they say in written form, link to or post a photo of which can be deemed homophobic even if not intended as such but in the eyes of the beholder becomes such. Today's zealots of protecting the LGBTs are worse than anyone involved in the Salem witch trials or even the McCarthy era.

Just who was it who first saw that tweet from Martin and then went running to GLAAD like a cry baby to his/her Mama, or even worse who at GLAAD is monitoring to see what is said or perceived to be against LGBTs ?

With all the things of more important relevance going on in the world, not just with LGBTs and true anti-gay brutality and political or religious agenda, but also the state of the world as far as economics, political strife, people being shot down like so many dogs while rising up against an oppressive government, on Sunday and into Monday and who knows how much longer, the sights of the Elite and others are focused on Roland Martin and his tweet, tweets if you want to add in some others which were noticed after the first "assault" against gays and the "suggestion" to do harm to said individuals.

How many others were there in Tweetdumb, regular folks who may have written something which could have been or was indeed a repulsive notation on LGBTs ?

But you see boys and girls, in the grand scheme of things regular folks don't count because they have no notoriety and don't make headlines either on LGBT blogs or websites, nor for orgs like GLAAD and have nothing to gain by brow beating a singular individual of nothingness, instead it's the big fish they troll for (that's a fishing term for you uneducated) and go after to gain their own notoriety when calling for boycotts or dismissals from careers.

Be careful friends and foe of LGBTdom, yesterday Roland Martin, tomorrow it could be you because they are watching. Its not the year 2012 but 1984 where Big Brother wears pink.

GLAAD Wants Roland Martin Out

Well it didn't take long for GLAAD to react to a perceived homophobic tweet during the Super Bowl game on Sunday by CNN's Roland Martin (you'll find a link to the tweet in Sunday's posting about the Super Bowl here ... hat tip to NGBlog for the tweet link I received via email during the game).

GayStarNews (which has replaced UK Gay News as one of my international sources for story ideas) reports that GLAAD is calling for the dismissal of Roland from CNN for the tweet.

Don't hold your breath kids as although GLAAD like an aging lion thinks when it roars the media listens they have more gum than teeth nowadays.

According to the article, Martin dismissed all the criticism, noting his words had no bigoted intent. Instead they were a slap against soccer as a sport. He added anyone who followed his Twitter account understood his disdain for Beckham's sport.

Yeah okay Roland but how about folks, like myself, who don't follow your tweets and your "history" of disliking soccer.

Should Martin be fired ?

In this writer's opinion no, others have done worse and still keep his/her jobs in the media, but this tidbit of advice to Martin, if CNN gives you 30 seconds of air-time for an apology do it and get this behind you before the Elites really blow this out of proportion, then my friend there will be no turning back and it may back CNN into a corner and then, God forbid, you'll be working for Faux News.

Update - since this posting went up at 2:30 AM this morning, Steve Rothaus at The Miami Herald has reported that Martin used his twitter again around 10:30 AM to offer apology and explanation.

Now can we move on to more important events in the US and the world ?