How Kurt Coba Fought For Gay And Women's Rights

Contents:

• Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.
• KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• MIZI ONCE AGA SAYS GAY RIGHTS AI: THE SOMNIUM FIL NIRVANA INIATIVE
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR
• GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT
• LOOKG BACK AT KURT COBA’S ADVOCY FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS OF GAYS AND WOMEN

Y, KURT COBA WAS A GNGE IN. HE WAS ALSO A GAY RIGHTS HERO.

In 1992, the state of Oregon voted on an famo ballot amendment known as Measure 9, which attempted to forbid the state ernment om fundg the promotn, enuragement or facilatn of “homosexualy, pedophilia, sadism or masochism, ” addg that all levels of ernment should set a standard to teach kids that “the behavrs are abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and they are to be disuraged and avoid. 5%, but ls known is the fact that legendary gnge band Nirvana played a “No on 9” benef ncert 1992 to help feat the homophobic, kk-shamg law.

KURT COBA'S 1993 ADVOTE COVER STORY: 'I'M GAY SPIR'

As for that homophobic Oregon ballot measure, the nservative group that tried to pass , the Oregon Cizens Alliance, failed, as did s siar bills troduced later years.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

Though the anti-gay alliance was able to pass siar measur on lol ballots areas of the state that supported Measure 9, the state ernment eventually overled the measur. The activists who rose up to feat Measure 9 1992 formed a re that would eventually jumpstart the state’s LGBTQ rights movement, and this Nirvana gay rights ncert was part of that.

Coba is the Gen X in who popularized alternative mic and culture, but on the 25th anniversary of his ath this week, I cherish another aspect of his legacy much more: his nsistent and vol support of gay rights. Coba’s “oh well, whatever, never md” attu about sexual inty, exprsed lyrics and terviews, changed the urse of my Coba might not be the first name you thk of when to gay rights, his band was never shy about s polics, pecially where LGBTQ issu were ncerned. In 1992, Nirvana played a “No on #9” benef ncert and issued a public statement opposg Measure 9, a statewi anti-gay cizen ballot iative Oregon that would have required “all ernments” the state to treat homosexualy as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse.

MIZI ONCE AGA SAYS GAY RIGHTS AI: THE SOMNIUM FIL NIRVANA INIATIVE

” And the ler not of their album “Inctici, ” released that December, they warned: “If any of you any way hate homosexuals, people of different lor, or women, please do this one favor for — leave the f--- alone! ” The ler not to their next album, “In Utero, ” echoed that admonn: “If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basilly an a--hole, don’t buy this CD.

In a 1993 terview wh the Advote, which I remember readg breathlsly a Borrs bookstore wh the ver fold over so no one uld tell what I was holdg, Coba lled himself “gay spir” and revealed that as a teenager, he often qutned his sexualy and sprayed “God is gay” graffi the small town of Aberen, Wash., where he grew up. All this played out the early ’90s, when AIDS jok and the word “fag” were mon, ias about allowg gays to openly serve the ary were nsired radil, and policians were wagg culture wars over “fay valu.

The ia that you uld make mic that was aggrsive, hard and loud and be an ally to the gay muny seemed revolutnary, pecially for me, a closeted prep school graduate om Detro’s suburbs. The men were proudly sexist and homophobic (Skid Row's Sebastian Bach famoly wore a T-shirt that read, "AIDS Kills Fags Dead"), on the other hand, was sensive and effemate -- someone who regularly spoke out for mori and lled out racism, misogyny, and homophobia. While many remember Coba and his Nirvana bandmat wearg drs and kissg vios and live performanc, virtually fotten is the fact that Nirvana performed at a gay rights benef Oregon promotg Nirvana's late-1992 pilatn album Inctici -- which clud the followg statement s ler not, "If any of you any way hate homosexuals, people of different lor, or women, please do this one favor for : leave the fuck alone!

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

In the Advote article, Coba displayed fort speakg wh an LGBTQ publitn and a faiary wh gay culture, often g terms like "homophobia" and "misogyny, " appreciatg the scriptn of Love as a "fag hag, " and rellg the time he saw the Village People are some of the choict quot om the terview wh journalist Kev Advote: I read the ler not you wrote on Inctici. I n talk about those issu terviews -- I thk 's pretty obv that we're agast the homophob and the sexists and the racists, but when "Teen Spir" first me out, mastream dienc were unr the assumptn that we were jt like Guns N' were his words: "You shut your bch up, or I'm takg you down to the pavement. " [Lghs]You know, you were probably takg money om people who were votg y on 9 [an antigay ballot measure] -- but they really wanted to see Nirvana.

And I've always been a really sickly, feme person anyhow, so I thought I was gay for a while bee I didn't fd any of the girls my high school attractive at all. Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat. ”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help.

Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir suici. Many also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry. ”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn.

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS SOCIAL STUDI TEXTBOOKS THAT CLU GAY RIGHTS AFTER WARNGS OM ERNOR

Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry.

Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May.

GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law. Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy.

"The bill will propose a total ban on what the Wt lls sex-reassignment prcriptns and procr, and prohib all activi that promote homosexualy, terms of... Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says. She c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic.

LOOKG BACK AT KURT COBA’S ADVOCY FOR THE EQUAL RIGHTS OF GAYS AND WOMEN

"It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy". A Southern California school board on Friday adopted a social studi curriculum that clus gay rights that was approved by parents and teachers after ially rejectg . “Unr the headg ‘Protts, ’ one paragraph discs gay rights California and unr the headg ‘Court Cas, ’ there are two paragraphs that discs the urt s that allowed gay marriage California.

She said a supplemental rource lists Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and polician who was assassated 1978, along wh San Francis Mayor Gee Mosne.

Jt a year earlier, Nirvana performed at a gay rights benef Oregon, and the band’s 1992 pilatn album Inctici clud the followg statement s ler not: a msage supportg the LGBTQ muny as well as opposg racism, sexism and misogyny. WASHINGTON – A feral appeals urt has led that a Catholic high school Indianapolis was ee to fire a gay guidance unselor bee she performed at least some relig duti, the latt legal setback for LGBTQ+ rights when they nflict wh Fzgerald had worked for 14 years as a guidance unselor at Ronlli High School when school officials disvered she was married to another woman. "Unr the headg 'Protts,' one paragraph discs gay rights California and unr the headg 'Court Cas,' there are two paragraphs that discs the urt s that allowed gay marriage California."She said a supplemental rource lists Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist and polician who was assassated 1978, along wh San Francis Mayor Gee Mosne.