[Blog/Commentary] [USA] Argentina's President Kirchner shows how it is done

[Stephanie Stevens]

Daily Kos, USA


Thu Jul 05, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT

Argentina's President Kirchner shows how it is done

by rserven <http://www.dailykos.com/user/rserven> for Milk Men And
Women <http://www.dailykos.com/blog/Milk%20Men%20And%20Women>


Christina Fernandez de Kirchner is president of Argentina. On Monday
she celebrated the new Argentinian law which set a new precedent in
equality for transgender people by personally handing out some new ID
cards <http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2012/07/in-emotional-ceremony-argentinean.html#.T_O6kaaMMkY>
to about a half dozen transpeople who were invited to join her public
acknowledgement of the new law.

What sets us apart is that we care not only about ourselves and
our immediate circle, but about others as well. Today we’re setting a
new standard for equality and legality.

Lots of children were in the room when President Kirchner spoke
because she was also signing a presidential decree eliminating the
loophole that kept same-sex parents who began raising children before
the passage of the 2010 marriage equality law from registering as
co-parents of those children. The decree will give parents not
covered by the marriage equality law a year to register as parents of
those children.

Standing before the image of Eva Peron, she teared up as she mentioned
her husband Néstor several times. Néstor, former Argentinian
president, was instrumental in securing passage of marriage equality
before he died in October, 2010.

Today is a day of tremendous reparation. Today we do not shout
for liberation but instead we shout for equality, which is just as
important as freedom.

--Christina Kirchner

[Photo <http://bit.ly/NscXed> ]

Referring to Kayim Adrian, the transman holding the flag in the above
photo, the president stated that Mr. Adrian had known he's a man since
he was 4…and that only now, at 42, he is being recognized for who he
is.

Noting that the average age at which transgender individuals die
in Argentina is 32, the president argued that part of it was due to
the stress of being repressed and ignored and being denied legal
rights. She said she hoped this law would change all that.

I do not want to use a word that bothers me greatly: Tolerance.
No. I do not believe in 'tolerance'. To tolerate is to say I'll
allow you to be because I have no other choice. I want to talk about
equality and I want to talk about all of you who will now have the
same rights I have enjoyed from the moment I was born and the rights
that so many millions of Argentinians have enjoyed from the moment
they were born. This is the society we want.

There is nothing new under the sun and let's see if we all can
agree on that. All these issues we are acknowledging today in a legal
way are nothing new. They stem from the history of humanity and it's
time for us to accept that reality is not how we'd like to be if I
think in a certain way or someone else wants it to be but that reality
is what it is.

--Christina Kirchner

The President then alluded to the days of the dictatorship when
children were taken away from families and the Mothers of the Plaza
began their silent protests to get their children back and championed
a history of peaceful protests in Argentina in demand of human rights.
She compared it to the history of non-violent demonstrations by the
Argentinian LGBT community and began thanking the LGBT activists and
organizations present in the room until Alex Freyre shouted out "And
those who are missing as well!"

Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello were the first South American
same-sex couple to marry when a court in Tierra del Fuego granted them
a license in December, 2009. They sat in the audience wearing red
sashes in memory of those lost to HIV and AIDS.

The president noted that the fight for human rights often leaves
people feeling worn down, but that the altruistic efforts by some for
the rights of others are worth it.

It's better to have lived a worn out life than to always live like
a flower or a butterfly without having achieved a thing.

--Christina Kirchner


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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/05/1106403/-Argentina-s-President-Kirchner-shows-how-it-is-done