Elton John: Shout the Bigots Down

Sir Elton John is celebrating his 60th birthday this weekend in by getting involved in the fight against bigotry. He has joined Amnesty International to bring attention to homophobic violence all over the world.

John wrote an editorial that was published in The Guardian(UK) today denouncing bigotry against gays. He highlighted the case of William Hernandez, a man from El Salvador who, according to John,

"had a gun pressed against his neck, as he stood in the street outside the El Salvador offices of his gay rights organisation, Entre Amigos. William and his colleagues speak out for gay rights in El Salvador and had been protesting against political moves to amend the constitution to formally prevent gay marriage."

John also noted that he was fearful of homophobic retaliation on a special day of his own.

On December 21 2005 I was legally bound to the man I love - as is my legal right and my human right. I wanted to shout about it, but I still felt nervous of the public's reaction. I was, therefore, delighted and relieved on leaving the register office in Windsor to find the crowd outside cheering and supporting our union. I had feared that abusive, banner-waving bigots would try to spoil the occasion.

Just last week, I wrote about religious groups in Trinidad/Tobago who are trying to ban an Elton John performance at an April Jazz Festival. I understand Elton's statement denouncing homophobia globally, but I don't understand why he's been dead silent about this issue -- which is directly targeting him. Will Sir Elton take his own advice and shout the bigots down?