Just because I’m not too surprised about this doesn’t mean it’s any less upsetting to hear.

It was reported yesterday that the Bush administration is rejecting consultative status of the United Nations to two LGBT organizations. In response, 39 organizations have written a letter to Condoleeza Rice, requesting an explanation for the decision.

Last year, the International Lesbian and Gay Association and the Danish gay rights group Landsforeningen for Bøsser og Lesbiske (LBL) applied for consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. This status allows NGOs worldwide can participate in discussions among member states at the UN. There are already 3,000 groups who have this status.

While organizations applying for consultative status are normally allowed to state their cases to the NGO committee, Bush and the other opposing nations moved to dismiss the groups’ application without a hearing. Among the opposing was Cameroon, China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Senegal, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

Matt Forman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, had this to say:

"It is an absolute outrage that the United States has chosen to align itself with oppressive governments – all in an effort to smother the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world...It is deeply disturbing that the self-proclaimed ‘leader of the free world' will ally with bigots at the drop of a hat to advance the right wing's anti-gay agenda."

And he wasn’t a bigot to begin with? Sigh. The heinousness of the anti-queer agenda in this world never ceases to amaze me.