Captain Happiness, a beacon of light for the Middle Eastern Gay Rights Movement and Beyond

By Jaime Sloane



Avner Even-Zohar has successfully combined two worlds that rarely mix: military work and gay rights activism. Now he shares his story with college students across the country.

Even-Zohar led a discussion titled “The Queer Liberation Movement in Israel” at UF Hillel on Thursday night. About 50 people attended the discussion, which focused on building bridges between the Jewish community and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.

The decorated Israeli Defense Force veteran wasn’t always open about his sexuality. During his six years of service, Even-Zohar concealed his sexuality out of fear of being demoted or discharged like some of his fellow officers.

Even-Zohar’s military service ended in 1993, the same year Israel declared openly gay soldiers could serve without facing discrimination.

“Tel Aviv is a beacon of light for the gay rights movement in the Middle East,” he said in regard to Israel’s second most-populous city. “The laws our parliament has passed are leading the way for other countries to follow.”

However, many Middle Eastern countries have not yet followed suit. During his presentation, Even-Zohar showed photographs of public hangings of gays in Iran and discussed the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia.

He said his stories are the reason he’s touring colleges to promote activism and encourage students to defend their convictions.

“Hillel constantly has speakers coming, but this event was different,” political science sophomore Taylor Parker, 19, said. “He broke boundaries of what we in America have accepted as the norm and made us look at gay rights in a completely different light.”

Even-Zohar told the audience that part of every success is failure.
“I like to focus on the positives, but both Israel and the U.S. have a long way to go,” he said. “However, as long as there are inspired and empowered minds in the soul of youth, there can be change.”

Avner Even-Zohar aka "Captain Happiness" is a two time author of If you want to be Happy-Be and Acer the Rat Racer

DOMA found unconstitutional agai

DOMA found unconstitutional again

The federal Defense of Marriage Act was dealt another legal blow today in a federal district court in California.  Judge Jeffrey White ruled that using DOMA to deny a federal employee the right to enroll her same-sex spouse as a dependent on her health plan violates the U.S. Constitution.

The court found that DOMA “violates her right to equal protection of the law under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution by, without substantial justification or rational basis, refusing to recognize her lawful marriage to prevent provision of health insurance coverage to her spouse.”

The ruling is a setback for Congressional lawyers who are defending DOMA now that the law is not being defended by the Justice Department or the Obama administration, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the effort a waste of money.

“In rejecting the arguments of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, the court’s ruling also reaffirmed a core belief of the majority of House Democrats: that the House is not united in this case; that the BLAG lawyers do not speak for Congress; and that BLAG’s intervention remains a waste of taxpayer resources.  The court made it clear that there is no legitimate federal interest in denying married gay and lesbian couples the legal security, rights, and responsibilities guaranteed to all married couples under state law,” Pelosi said in a statement.

The constitutionality of DOMA is under legal attack across the U.S., with cases pending in several federal district and appellate courts.  Read more about this case at Metro Weekly.

Washington state couples close to winning freedom to marry

A bipartisan vote in the Washington State House this week sent a marriage equality bill to the desk of Gov. Christine Gregoire, who is expected to sign it into law Monday. The law could become effective in June unless opponents can gather the signatures necessary to force the issue onto a statewide ballot. The final House debate featured testimony from openly gay lawmakers including Rep. Jamie Pedersen, who told his colleagues "I would like our four children to understand...that their daddy and their papa have made that lifelong commitment to each other." Reuters (2/8), SeattlePI.com/Strange Bedfellows (2/8), Reuters (2/10)

PROP 8 BUT YOU STILL CAN'T MARRY By the CNN Wire Staff

 
San Francisco (CNN) -- A federal appeals court ruled against California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, arguing the ban unconstitutionally singles out gays and lesbians for discrimination.

In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the state's Proposition 8 "works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians" by denying their right to civil marriage in violation of the 14th Amendment.

"Very soon, Proposition 8 will be gone forever," said Kristin Perry, one of two women who challenged the ban in federal courts along with a male same-sex couple. "Today marks the culmination of what has been a transformational year."

Toobin: What does ruling mean?
Supporters of Proposition 8, which passed with 52% of the vote in 2008, said they were willing to take the issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And a stay halting same-sex marriages remains in place as the appeals continue.