EVENT REMINDER: On May 13, Speak Out Against Torture and Murder of Gay Men in Iraq

Mike Bonin, Chief of Staff for Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Co-Founder of Courage Campaign's Camp Courage, issued the following letter urging attendance to a consideration of a resolution that would put Los Angeles on record condemning the torture and murder of gay men in U.S. occupied Iraq.

Friends-

While we eagerly await a court decision on whether California will recognize our relationships, our people are being tortured and murdered in Iraq. In a story largely ignored by the media, death squads are rounding up Iraqi gay men, sealing their anuses with powerful glue, then inducing diarrhea, which leads to a painful and agonizing death.

The annihilation of our people, ordered by religious decree in a nation where our troops have sacrificed their lives to restore religious freedom, is appalling. In San Francisco, activists have protested. Here in Los Angeles, we cannot remain silent while this happens.
More...

Next Wednesday, May 13, the Los Angeles City Council will consider a resolution, sponsored by my boss, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, putting the City of Los Angeles on record condemning this atrocity. A representative of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission will be on hand to testify.

I invite and urge you to attend and to speak out. A large crowd of members of the LGBT community and human rights supporters will help us draw media attention to these crimes.

The council meeting will be held at 10 a.m., May 13, in the John Ferraro Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, 90012.(Map)

If you plan on attending, please RSVP to Anataly DeJesus in my office at anataly.dejesus@lacity.org or 213-473-7011. We will do our best to arrange parking.

Please help spread the word by forwarding this email.

For more information on what is happening in Iraq , please see the following links: Gay City News, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and another from the IGLHRC.

Councilman Rosendahl, the IGLHRC and I hope to see you next week.

THANKS

Mike Bonin

Please go and show your support for the resolution. With the U.S. occupation in Iraq, we are morally responsible for what happens within the country's borders. As part of the international LGBT population, we need to speak up for our brothers and sisters who cannot speak up for themselves.

Let the Los Angeles City Council know how important this resolution is by attending and showing our numbers in solidarity.