1208CTMock

www.ambiente.us DECEMBER | DICIEMBRE 2008

Executive order signed granting civil rights to GLBT Puerto Ricans and the
right to same sex benefits
by Carlos T Mock, MD

Retiring Popular Democratic Party (PDP) governor,
Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá, made history no November 17th
in the tiny commonwealth-island as he signed an
executive order prohibiting discrimination in the
public sector against real and perceived sexual and
gender orientation and HIV zero-status; thus increasing
the rights of all public employees and future
applicants.

The order, which took effect immediately, orders the
Human Resources Office of the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico to enforce and regulate the directive.

The governor, according to the local sources, based his decision on the 16th Section of the Second Article of
the Puerto Rican Constitution of 1952, that recognizes the: “right of every worker to freely choose his
occupation,” and the first section of the same article that: “recognizes the inherent right to dignity to each
human being and equal protection of all citizens under Commonwealth laws.”

The exiting governor also ordered the Treasury Department to offer medical benefits to non married couples,
known as common law partners, to all employees of the Executive Branch—whether they be heterosexual or
homosexual. The order was confirmed by Ada Conde, President of the local chapter of the ACLU.

Ms. Conde stated that: “three months ago, at the US Democratic Convention, Acevedo Vilá made a
compromise with the GLBT community to issue such order.”

Ms. Conde believes that Governor elect, Luis Fortuño, from the New Progressive Party (NPP) and a
Republican, will honor the order.

Activists were sorry that the executive order did not include discrimination in the social services provided by
the commonwealth, a practice that occurs, according to a Homophobia Study made by the Puerto Rico ACLU.

Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá defended his executive order against discrimination for the GLBT community and for
same sex partner benefits.

The Governor assured the country that his executive order has no “budget implications” and rejected the New
Progressive Party (NPP) Governor Elect, Luis Fortuño’s stance that he would eliminate the order because of
lack of funds.

In a press conference Acevedo-Vilá stated that: “Each public employee receives a per diem to choose a
medical plan which he calculated to be around one-hundred dollars...then the public employee goes and
buys his own insurance.”

He added that he signed the order when he found out that an University of Puerto Rico employee could not
include in his plan his live in girlfriend. The State University does allow it. “He was told that unless he
brought a marriage certificate, the University would not include his girlfriend. This makes no sense since it
will be the employee who will pay for the plan from his own income—it will not cost anything to the
government.” The retiring governor added: “Besides public policy should be about inclusion—if we leave
people uninsured where are they going to end? They will just be an added burden to the Commonwealth’s
budget.”

The Puerto Rican political climate—Acevedo-Avilá won the 2004 elections by a three thousand vote margin
over two million votes cast, even though his party lost both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
This was attributed, in part by the independent voters who did not want to have Pedro Roselló (PNP) as
governor for his anti gay stances by the NPP.

There was a homophobic incident at the San Juan mayoral contest in 2004, where the PPD candidate was
accused —without any proof—of being gay. The NPP candidate for mayor held several rallies where a “duck”
was plucked because the homosexual slang in the Spanish language is “pato” which literally translates as
duck. For that anti gay stance, many GLBT voters opted for Acevedo-Vilá over Roselló.

Critics of Governor Acevedo-Vilá said that if he wanted to give the GLBT community these rights he should
have issued the order at the beginning of his term, and not after losing the election. However, this executive
order will force the governor elect, Luis Fortuño, to take a stance on GLBT rights early in his term.

It is rumored that the governor elect, Luis Fortuño—who allied himself during his campaign with the
evangelical churches—is using the budget as an excuse to please his base and cancel the executive order.
This would send a clear message that the governor elect does not believe that GLBT Puerto Ricans are
entitled to the same benefits and protections as the rest of their countrymen.

About the Author, Speaker, Activist
Carlos T. Mock, MD
www.carlostmock.com

Carlos Mock has published three books and is the Floricanto Press editor for its GLBT series. He was
inducted in the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame in October of 2007. He grew up middle-class in the
suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Author: Borrowing Time: A Latino Sexual Odyssey - Floricanto Press 2003.
Nominated for a Stonewall Award by the American Library Association Round Table
Author: The Mosaic Virus â€“ Book release scheduled for January 16, 2007 in Chicago, IL.
Author: Papi Chulo. Nominated for a Lammie from the Lambda Literary Foundation.
Author: Cuba Libe: "Mentirita" Currently working on the history of Cuban from the Santeria's point of view.

Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source