This blog is written by Jennie Beeson and Ruby Dunning
On Monday, we had the opportunity to go to the White House for the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall Reception with NYAC and our Executive Director, Greg Varnum. To be able to stand in a room with so many important leaders and activists of the LGBTQ community to honor the Stonewall riots felt wonderful and exhilarating. The President of the United States was extending out his hospitality to our community to tell us that he supports us and applauds our progress in this movement. When Obama said, "Welcome to your White House," it felt exciting, a little unreal, and, maybe, a bit for show.
It was a truly amazing experience to be surrounded by so many incredible, influential people from the LGBTQ movement. Especially meeting Frank Kameny – a leader and inspiration from the beginnings of the “Homophile Movement” and the Mattachine Society. The founders of this gay rights group were so terrified at their first meeting of the Mattachine Society that they locked and bolted the door, put a pillow over the telephone in case of wire taps and, even left in shifts so as not to raise suspicion. On that winter night in the early 1950s, it was illegal to be a “homosexual” and this past Monday the White House held a reception for LGBT citizens and activists. It is a startling thing what change can come with half a century of hard work, but it’s still not enough.
 When we look back to those humble beginnings of the Homophile movement and then to those summer nights of riots at the Stonewall Inn, it is hard to believe how hard it must have been. When a group of fed-up citizens became unlikely heroes to be shaken and bruised by the AIDS epidemic while an American president would not acknowledge the terrible crisis – we know that we have come a long way. With all there has been to overcome, we are not out of the water yet, not by a long ways.
While a reception at the White House is fabulous, and definitely not an event the queer community would have been invited to over the past 50 years, or, even, 8 years, the struggle unfolds out for years ahead of us. As youth who were born amidst the fight for equal LGBTQ rights, at least we can point to the different battles that have been won for the queer community.
And still, this young queer generation is also able to point to extreme instances of hate and discrimination in our own lifetimes. Unfortunately, the day before this White House Reception to honor the Stonewall raids, a gay bar in Ft. Worth, Texas was raided by the police, people were arrested, and folks were injured. It is great to get recognition from Obama's Administration, but it would be even better if this White House reception was the catalyst for some real change. Of course, this road is not something that Obama can give us in signing a law or an executive order, equity and safety are concepts that we will have to wage for ourselves step by step.
Obama did not make any grand announcements but he did call to us to hold him accountable and to continue to demand the rights we deserve. He told us not to judge him by his words but by his accomplishments as a president, and we shall do just that. In the meantime, we will continue to look back in time and find inspiration in the heroes of the fights of yester-years.
So, now that we have some one in the White House telling us that he wants to support us, let's get our job done and not wait on some one else to do it for us.
For the second time in two weeks, my old home town is making the news. And both times, I learned about it on Facebook. Fort Worth is a nice town and I have lots of fond memories and good friends from my years there; but for the second time in two weeks I am full of emotions - anger, sadness, disappointment, outrage - about how gays and lesbians are being treated. Part 1 - An Expression of Faith The church my partner and I attend was ousted from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), "simply because denominational officials perceive that the congregation is in violation of a policy prohibiting affiliation with pro-gay churches." In my days after graduating from seminary and being an outcast within my denomination, Broadway Baptist Church (BBC) was a safe and healing place. BBC has always had gay and lesbian members and does so with respect and integrity but tried to reconcile itself with its strong Baptist roots. It has become the latest victim of the neo-conservative movement within the SBC who focus their time and talents on seeking out congregations who are loving and inclusive of their LGBT congregates. I can easily say that BBC is better off without the hypocrisy of the SBC, even though their choice had been to remain within their heritage and be a beacon of love to others. Oddly, the message of the SBC at the convention this year was love. I am proud of Broadway Baptist Church for choosing to remain a welcoming and loving congregation to the LGBT community despite what the SBC has to say about it. Part 2 - Rainbow Lounge Raid On June 27th, Fort Worth Police raided the newly opened Rainbow Lounge. A Facebook group created to give people a forum to discuss the raid reports, "Last night around 1 a.m., on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the Fort Worth Police Department raided the Rainbow Lounge and began randomly handcuffing and arresting patrons and shoving anyone who dared to ask why. It was a sobering reminder that on this pinnacle date in the history of gay rights, we still have a very long way to go." A 26 year-old patron was hospitalized in critical condition with a head injury. Recently, his condition as been downgraded to fair. The incident has sparked outrage among the LGBT community who is demanding investigations into the police brutality. The community quickly mobilized and held a protest at the Fort Worth City Courthouse and began contacting their elected official demanding action. Blogs, online press and mainstream media have picked up the story. For more information and continuing coverage visit, SLOG and the Washington Post.The irony of this incidence occurring on the 40th anniversary of the police raid on the Stonewall Inn has not gone unnoticed by people in the LGBTQ community. It is clear that no one at the Fort Worth police department was aware of the significance of 40th anniversary and that the raid wasn't timed to tarnish the celebration of the day. The fact remains that this raid has classic homophobic overtones like it was written in a police handbook of how to harass the LGBT community. I am proud of all my gay, lesbian and transgender friends and our allies in Fort Worth for being true to themselves and standing tall for justice and equality from the pews to the bar stools!
The Colin Higgins Foundation has presented these three youth with the Youth Courage Awards, for demonstrating bravery in the face of discrimination, intolerance, and bigotry based on gender and/or sexual orientation. All three winners also receive $10,000 to further their leadership and activism in the LGBTQ movement. It is also really exciting to note that NYAC has had the pleasure of working with Lance, on NYAC's National Transgender Review Board and Youth Accountability Council, and Terra, who is NYAC's current Tobacco Free Youth Coordinator. Congratulations!  Courage in the Face of Discrimination FRANCISCO "FRANK" ARMENTA, Jr, 21. Battling homophobia on a daily basis in East Los Angeles, Frank was routinely harassed and called a "faggot" throughout high school. After being kicked out of class by a teacher for "gay" artwork on his binder, Frank called a parent-teacher meeting, only to learn that his Mexican-Catholic family would not stand up for him due to their embarrassment that he was gay. This experience fueled him to become an activist, spanning from collaborating with the GSA to design a new web-based "Be An Ally" campaign to support LGBT youth at his predominantly Latino high school, to becoming the youngest certified HIV Counselor and Tester in LA county. Through his activism to increase youth HIV testing, Frank has been able to provide invaluable recommendations to key policy makers on best practices for treating queer youth of color during the testing process. Currently, Frank works at REACH LA as a Social Enterprise Assistant and Peer Health Counselor, and continues to fuse his passion for art and graphic design with his activism by creating all the electronic and print media for the Ovahness program serving queer young men of color. He also volunteers his graphic design skills to many other community groups serving LGBT youth.
 >Courage in the Face of Discrimination
LANCE HICKS, 19. Born female in the Metro Detroit area to a white mother from the suburbs and a Black father from the city, Lance moved back and forth between communities divided along race and class lines, struggling intensely to come to grips with being biracial and questioning his gender identity. At age 15, Lance came out as transgender and began transitioning at his high school in a predominantly white suburban town where he was still trying to find his place. Lance organized his high school's first Transgender Day of Remembrance, which opened him up to bullying and harassment by other students. In search of a community, he began attending the youth group at Affirmations, the LGBT center serving southeast Michigan. Lance founded the center's first Trans Youth Group, and organized with staff to make the center's space and services more inclusive of trans and gender non-conforming people. Currently, Lance is one of the organizers of the Midwest Trans Youth Conference, and is working to get GenderSpark, a collectively organized, youth-run nonprofit organization, up and running. GenderSpark, the only organization dedicated to serving trans youth in southeast Michigan, provides resources and education around the acceptance, safety, and rights of transgender and gender-variant people.
Courage in the Face of Discrimination TERRA TEMPEST MOORE, 22. Terra grew up in a large multiracial family in Maryland and DC, the middle son of five children. Labeled gay at 14 - an identity forced upon her - Terra began to feel disconnected from her family, and faced abuse from her older brother. Feeling suicidal, Terra pretended to be someone she was not in order to survive. Her life changed when a friend led her to the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), the only organization solely dedicated to supporting LGBTQ youth in the Metro DC area. With a safe space to explore who she was, Terra stopped hiding and bravely stepped into the world as a transwoman in 2005. Coming out as transgender was difficult for Terra's family to accept - they view her transition as the loss of a family member. These experiences moved Terra to become an activist with numerous social justice organizations including SMYAL, Different Avenues, DC Trans Coalition, and Advocates for Youth, to name a few. An all-around leader amongst LGBTQ youth in DC, Terra currently serves as a Peer Educator and Co-Chair of STIGMA (Spreading Truth Is Gaining Mass Appeal), a program housed at Metro Teen AIDS established to reduce HIV/AIDS amongst LGBTQ youth of color.
 Same-sex people dancing together was illegal. By law, all people had to wear at least three garments that were "gender-appropriate." And sex between consenting same-sex couples was so far out of the question that it was forbidden entirely -- punishable by imprisonment. It was amid this backdrop that the civil rights movement for LGBT people began on June 28, 1969. The Stonewall Inn was a dump -- an old, rundown hotel operated by the Mafia. Its bar was nothing special either, with lousy decor and watered-down drinks. But what this Greenwich Village establishment lacked in appearances, it made up for in atmosphere. The clientele that frequented the Stonewall Inn was a true melting pot: businessmen, married men, butch lesbians, transsexuals, cross dressers, trans people, drag queens, black men, white men, gay women, effeminate men. The people who went to the Stonewall Inn did so because it was one of the few places where they could safely congregate and socialize with similar folk. Though still against the law, two men could dance together at the Stonewall Inn and not worry about being hit in the head or carried off to jail. On June 28, 1969, the people gathered at the Stonewall Inn were doing the usual -- drinking and having a good time. The police were doing their usual too -- harassing gay people. The raid of the Stonewall that began shortly after 1 a.m. on June 28 was not unusual. The New York Police routinely raided "gay" bars; and the Stonewall had been raided earlier in the week. Once the raids were underway, anyone could be jailed based on a long list of petty offenses. For some people at the Stonewall Inn, public acknowledgment of their presence there was worse than jail. It could mean the loss of a wife, a job or even personal safety. What happened next is a mix of mystery, outrage and embellishment. There were hundreds of people involved in the riots that erupted after the police raided Stonewall. And depending on who you ask, you could get any number of stories. For reasons that will never be known for sure, someone threw a brick and sparked a riot in the streets surrounding the Stonewall Inn. Police quickly lost control of the situation and even barricaded themselves in the bar! But why such the response now amid what had become a routine occurrence? Why did our community decide the fight back at Stonewall? Again, the answer to that question isn't at all clear. Some have speculated that the patrons at Stonewall were already dejected following the death of gay icon Judy Garland six days prior, and decided to take it out on the police. Others speculate that the police simply fell victim to the proverbial "last straw."  I suspect the answer is altogether more simple. When Rosa Parks was questioned as to why she famously refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, she said it was because she was simply tired. She had worked all day; she paid her fare; and she was not going to move for someone else. (Parks was actually seated in the first row designated for blacks.) Rosa's story is not a glamorous one by any means. She never sought fame or recognition, but her simple act sparked a movement. My guess is that the people at Stonewall in June 1969 were not at all concerned about their place in LGBT history. I imagine that they too were tired...from a long day's work and a lifetime of injustice. Their actions on the streets of New York City would give birth to a new movement and a generation of queer leaders. The Stonewall riots lasted for a few days. But the end of the riots was just the beginning. Within weeks, the first gay organizations began to pop up in New York and later, in California. In June 1970, queer people organized a march in New York City to commemorate the Stonewall riots. Within just a few years, there were marches in many major cities every June. And now gay pride is celebrated around the world every June -- a commemoration and celebration of the events that took place at the Stonewall Inn. "Stonewall" has become synonymous with the LGBT community, from the Stonewall Democrats to the Stonewall Veterans' Association. Many people, especially those who lived through the 60s and 70s, felt a connection to what happened. They felt compelled to remember how ordinary people took extraordinary steps to secure liberation. Remembrance is the key. Whether or not transgender people are a part of our community was answered at Stonewall, when trans people fought back against unjustified physical searches. Whether or not drag queens are a part of our community was answered at Stonewall, when drag queens took off their pumps and hurled them at police officers. Whether or not our community is truly diverse was answered at Stonewall, when black men, white men and butch lesbians stood side-by-side to fight armed police with their bare hands. Long before some us would make a career out of activism, average people who simply wanted to go about their way, became pioneers for everything that followed. Long before we had too many queer organizations to count or multiple all-gay cruises to choose from for vacation, our people literally fought in the streets to be free. Remarkable. Forty years later, Stonewall is still standing where it always has, in the heart of the Village on Christopher Street. Stonewall is now a gay bar owned by gay people. The drinks aren't so watered-down any more, though the decor is still simple. Nowadays, New York City offers bigger, flashier queer bars, but they all owe their very existence to Stonewall and the people who fought back there. The days and times I've written about here may seem foreign and incomprehensible to those of us born long after the Stonewall riots. Such is life. It's beyond comprehension to me that people once drank from fountains marked "colored" and "white." But surely a generation yet to be born will look back on these times with bewilderment as they try to figure out why society fought so hard over something so petty as "marriage." You don't have to be a seasoned activist to appreciate Stonewall. You don't have to be an older, white gay man to celebrate the sacrifices of those days. If you consider yourself a member or an ally of the LGBT community, you owe it to yourself to know about Stonewall and its place in our history. One of the best resources about Stonewall is David Carter's book, "Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution," published by St. Martin's Press in 2004. Read the book, then share it with someone else.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WASHINGTON – The National Youth Advocacy Coalition today expressed outrage and disgust over a YouTube video in which a teenage boy was put through “an exorcism” to remove a “homosexual demon” from his stomach. The agency called for a criminal inquiry into the teen’s parents and Manifested Glory Ministries, located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to explore whether any laws were broken.
Gregory Varnum, executive director for NYAC, issued the following statement:
“I am outraged at the religious violence brought upon this 16 year-old boy by Christian extremists. Their attempts to say this wasn't criminal simply because years of emotional child abuse prompted this child to consent to this traumatizing ordeal only adds insult to injury. I join our colleagues at True Colors in calling upon the Connecticut Department of Children and Families to investigate Manifested Glory Ministries and the parents of the child over this instance of abuse.
“The individuals responsible for this act need to be held accountable for the violence they've committed on this young person's emotional and spiritual well-being. It's time for government to send a message that enough is enough and this type on ongoing abuse of youth under the guise of "conversion therapy" is not a form of religious expression or an effective "treatment" for anything, but rather a criminal violation of the trust young people put in their parents and religious leaders.”
Manifested Glory Ministries posted the original YouTube video, which runs more than nine minutes. It shows a boy lying on the floor as several people sing and chant around him, even covering him with a white sheet at one point as he is convulsing. A minister could be heard in the background, asking the “homosexual demon” to vacate the boy’s belly “in the name of Jesus.”
NYAC is a social justice organization that advocates for and with young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning in an effort to end discrimination against these youth and to ensure their physical and emotional well being. The National Youth Advocacy Coalition’s home on the Internet is www.nyacyouth.org.
 There is only week left to participate in the Campus Pride's National LGBT Climate Survey. Fill out the survey before June 30th to qualify to win $500 CASH and a FREE RSVP Vacations Cruise! Do you consider your campus to be gay-friendly? Does your campus have work to be done on transgender issues? What does it mean to be a lesbian, gay, bisexual or a transgender (LGBT) student, staff, or faculty member on your campus? No matter your experience Campus Pride wants to hear from LGBT students, faculty, staff and administrators. Participation is confidential and data specific to higher education institutions will not be identified in the final analysis. Once completed, any participant will have the opportunity, if chosen, to register for $500 cash and a free cruise aboard RSVP Vacations.
The National LGBT College Climate Survey is a comprehensive assessment to document the experiences of students, faculty, staff and administrators who identify as LGBT at America's colleges and universities. The survey is conducted through the Q Research Institute for Higher Education owned and operated by Campus Pride. The only national assessment of its kind, the research examines emerging issues, trends and changing demographics of LGBT people in higher education. The Research Director is Dr. Susan R. Rankin of The Pennsylvania State University and Associate Research Director is Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld of The Iowa State University. This project is approved by the Office of Research Protections at The Pennsylvania State University.
More info or questions, email info@campuspride.org Campus Pride is the leading national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for student leaders and campus organizations working to create a safer LGBT learning environment at colleges and universities. It exists to develop, support and give "voice and action" in building future LGBT and ally leaders.
$10,000 to Lesbian Writers! Deadline: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 (for receipt in Astraea’s office) The Lesbian Writers Fund of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Attention emerging lesbian poets and fiction writers within the U.S.! First place awardees and two runners-up in the poetry and fiction categories will receive cash awards ($10,000 for awardee, $1,500 for runners-up). For more information, or a copy of guidelines and application for the above grants, please contact Astraea at: 212-529-8021, ext. 44 or via email at: grants@astraeafoundation.org. Guidelines and application forms are also available online. Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works for social, racial and economic justice in the U.S. and internationally. Their grantmaking and philanthropic advocacy programs help lesbians and allied communities challenge oppression and claim their human rights.
 Apparently, the District of Columbia's Public Schools might be erasing all LGBT books from the summer reading list! Here's what the School Library Journal had to say Officials are taking a second look at the list after a post appeared on the American Library Association’s GLBT listserve that said, “The DC (District of Columbia) Public Schools decided to scrub their summer reading list of all GLTB related books. This seems outrageous. We're thinking that if a parent writes a strong letter, it'll be the most effective. I'm thinking it should go to the mainstream press, and perhaps someone in the school system too.”
San Francisco Pride, is by far, the most well-known pride event in the country ( I grew up in the area, so maybe I am biased ) but for folks who don't live in the area - it's hard to get there. For those whose cities do not have pride events or you are just itching to get in on the big day in San Francisco, SF Pride will be broadcast on Comcast, live and uncensored! Find out more here . This is one way that makes pride more accessible to youth without transportation or that live in rural areas. As a youth who has seen plenty of Pride celebrations in my time, I would say that truly interesting, engaging, and FUN events for youth are a little harder to find than one might think.  AQU25A [Asian & Pacific Islander, queer & questioning, 25 & under, all together] is hosting SF Youth Pride Week between June 22-25 that is open to all youth under 25 of all genders and identities! Complete with a Spoken Word Workshop, Queer Youth Short Videos Screening, a workshop on hooking up and healthy relationships, and a crafting bonanza! For more information and to RSVP, click here. Happy Pride!
 For any of you living near, around, or in San Francisco: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival is coming your way and is full of great films to check out! The organizers are making the festival more youth friendly and accessible with special discount tickets for students and presenting a whole slew of films that are either about or geared towards LGBT youth! Follow this link to see what films are specifically for LGBT youth --> http://www.frameline.org/festival/film/results.aspx?GID=63&FID=45Here are some short previews on just a few of what is on the list for this year's festival. . .  Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied UpFriday, June 26, 6:00 PM Roxie Theater It’s tough growing up in this culture, figuring out who you are and where (or whether) you fit in. In the typical American high school, where calling a person “gay” is the ultimate insult, it’s even more difficult for teenagers who don’t conform to the gender roles touted in mainstream movies, magazines and TV. It’s about time somebody started talking to young people about sexual diversity, tolerance and self-confidence, and the gutsy teens — queer, transgender and straight — speaking directly to the camera in this vibrant documentary do a splendid job of getting the ball rolling.  Pop Star On IceSaturday, June 27, 11:00 AM Castro Theatre Olympic figure skater, diva, fashionista, super-star: That’s athlete Johnny Weir, whose lithe grace and provocative personality both dazzle and scandalize the image-obsessed figure skating world in this intimate documentary.  FagbugSaturday, June 20, 11:30 AM Victoria Theatre When a young lesbian’s VW bug is vandalized, she transforms the ugly incident into an opportunity to educate, and embarks on a 58-day cross-country trip. In the touching music video Created Equal (which plays before Fagbug), MC Flow raps about Proposition 8 and the importance of equality.  Generations: Youth and Elders Making MoviesSunday, June 21, 4:45 PM Roxie Theater Inspired by Frameline’s Generations Filmmaking Workshops that aim to bring youth and elders together to make films, these shorts show the power and the passion that can occur when we cross intergenerational lines to create art.
Two economists from Emory University recently concluded a study whereby they found that constitutional bans on same-sex marriage correlated with an increase in HIV infection rates. Andrew Francis and Hugo Mialon applied economic theories to learn how "social attitudes and policies affect HIV transmission".The same economists recently received an award for one of their previous papers relating to the infection of HIV. The article states that "a rise in tolerance from the 1970s to the 1990s reduced HIV cases by one per 100,000 people, and that laws against same-sex marriage boosted cases by 4 per 100,000", basically stating that intolerance towards the LGBTQ community parallels increasing HIV infection rates. Sociologically, this isn't too surprising - that two issues pertaining mutually exclusive communities would be able to effect each other. From the historical viewpoint of this author, this study carries strong parallels to the findings of the infamous civil rights case, Brown v Board of Education, only here the characteristics are not so visible, not so obviously innate. I wonder if this might help enable a modern day Kenneth and Mamie Clark to help America learn to better care for all of her children. To access the article, click on the title of this post, which acts as a link.
 For the second time in as many weeks, The New York Times has published an editorial criticizing the Obama administration for its treatment of gay Americans. The paper of record has taken President Obama to task today for his Justice Department's recent defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). After a campaign filled with promises to the queer community, substantive change has been slow coming. As the Times pointed out: "In times like these, issues like repealing the marriage act can seem like a distraction — or a political liability. But busy calendars and political expediency are no excuse for making one group of Americans wait any longer for equal rights." I couldn't agree more.
A posting I wrote about the financial crisis many of our LGBTQ youth-serving, HIV/AIDS and other LGBTQ service organizations are in was put up on The Bilerico Project.
Here's an excerpt: "Our community needs to wake-up and realize the financial turmoil many of our organizations are in. If these organizations are worth protecting and saving, and I assure you they are, then it's our responsibility to decide for ourselves what we can do to help. For some that might mean opening their checkbooks and for others it might mean making sure that their organization's local fundraising efforts help support, benefit or bring attention to local organizations providing important services."
Research shows that smoking rates in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) young adult community are dramatically higher than in the general population. NYAC has conducted several small surveys of LGBTQI young people and the results mirror what larger research has found. Our surveys revealed a high percentage of current smokers (30%), daily smokers (45%), long-term smokers (51%) and a high percentage of non-smokers who self reported smoking at least once (42%). Reasons for higher smoking rates in the LGBTQI community include higher levels of stress, social stigma, socializing in clubs and bars, alcohol and other drug use, harassment, isolation, peer pressure, and image consciousness. The tobacco industry capitalizes on these risk factors by directly targeting LGBTQI youth for tobacco use. Industry documents reveal that tobacco companies deliberately market cigarettes to youth as a tool for coping with harsh realities of life. In an important move today, President Obama has indicated he will sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco. This is an important step in prohibiting the tobacco industry from marketing their products to LGBTQ youth. NYAC is engaged in several tobacco prevention efforts and most recently successfully lobbied for a tobacco-free Youth Pride in DC this year. Together with tobacco peer educators, NYAC is active is helping youth in DC put out their butts and be tobacco-free. For more information about NYAC's tobacco projects, you can contact Kristen Degan at kristen@nyacyouth.org.
There was a rally at the California state capital today to protest the $80.1 million budget cut to HIV services proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. This includes a $12.3 million cut in the state's contribution to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and eliminates $67.8 million from programs that serve individuals with HIV and those at risk for infection. According to the CBS news affiliate in Fresno, "Under the governor’s current proposal HIV/AIDS programs such as the Aids Drug Assistance Program, the Early Intervention Program, and HIV counseling and testing are set for reductions or elimination." In addition, according Project Inform, this places California in jeapordy of "losing a portion, if not all, of its federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and CDC grants." And it not just people living with HIV that face drastic and frightening lose of programs. To decrease an estimated $24 billion budget deficient almost all state programs face significant cuts and/or elimination. These services are vital to the health and well-being of all Californians including LGBTQ youth. Coupled with the closing of LGBTQ youth programs, and other budget cuts proposed for social services, the plight of LGBTQ youth in California is indeed dire. We need to join with Californians in disgust and outrage over these proposed cuts. It is time for solutions that don't place the state's burden on its most vulnerable citizens.
 It was released today that Chastity Bono who now goes by Chaz has begun his transition from female to male. While this is a very private decision and long process, Chaz has decided to let people know that he has begun his transition. As reported on TMZ, "Yes, it's true -- Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity," confirmed Bono's publicist, Howard Bragman. This is significant because of the role Chastity has played in the lives of millions of Americans of my generation who grew up watching the Sonny and Cher Show and have followed Chaz's journey. We applauded Chastity when she came out as lesbian and now we should all applaud Chaz's decision to transition and wish him all the best on his journey. http://www.ktla.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3858578
First, let me say that the whole Miss California and Proposition 8 fiasco is the last thing that I want to talk about, but let me sound off here for a moment. This morning I saw a news story on CNN, that showed a clip of Tami Farrell (the Miss California runner-up and now, Miss California) on the Larry King Live show. Predictably enough, Larry asked Tami how she would vote on the gay marriage issue in California, to which Tami replied by saying something to the effect of - why do people continue to care/ask beauty queens their opinions?  Obviously, she is avoiding the question and probably hiding her anti-same-same marriage views, but in any case, she is also hiding behind the misogyny of beauty pageants and the idea that pretty girls can't think/make decisions/have opinions. The idea that beauty queens should be seen and not heard is a larger echo that beautiful women (and I say beautiful in terms of beauty within white, heteronormative standards) may not raise their voices above a whisper and should definitely not be talking about the political issues. To which, I am disgusted - how could this woman sit on national television and demean her value due to her physical appearance? After showing the clip, the CNN anchors then laughed at Farrell's comment and mentioned how she was a cute, young girl! And, there you have it - apparently, we can't have a real debate about gay marriage in California because cute, young girls either say silly things or do not have opinions at all (and, if you've ever been to California, you might find a large population of "cute,young girls" that represent a sizeable voting base). Not that gay marriage is the only issue concerning LGBTQ rights in this country, but until we can start having real dialogue with conservative (and moderate and leftist) folk in a productive way, this whole gay marriage thing is not going to work. So, please, all you cute, young girls and beauty queens, will someone please speak out and have an opinion - because surely, some of them are for gay marriage, and I'm sure some of them are pretty queer too!
"I'm From Driftwood" is a website where LGBTQ people can share and read true stories. Whether they are stories of love, hardship, triumph, or everyday life (and the occasional witty anecdote) these are compelling, true stories from LGBTQ individuals. The website was created by Nathan Manske after being inspired by a photo of Supervisor Harvey Milk "riding on the hood of a car in a San Francisco Gay Pride march". He recalls that Milk was "holding a sign that reads, “I’m From Woodmere, N.Y.” The sign was intended to show how far people came to attend the San Francisco rally, but it meant something more to me. It meant that there are gay people in every small town and every big city across America and the world. I was thinking about that photo in between assaults on the snooze button and I responded to Harvey’s sign. I’m from Driftwood." Beginning with Manske's own story, posted on March 2 of 2009, the site is relatively new but already has a crowd of regular users. It took just 22 days for word to spread and 9 more stories to make their way onto the website. Every story is submitted by its writer and then edited by Manske before posting. On June 2, I'm From Driftwood celebrated having posted 100 "true stories from gay people all over" and all over is right - each post is labeled with the place the writer grew up and those locations run the spectrum between 34 states, 9 countries and 6 continents (Author's Note: Antarctica, although the seventh continent, tends towards being explored rather than inhabited by human beings, leading to the doubt that there have been 10 people "from" Antarctica whereby lessening the chances that a gay Antarctican could exist in order to have a story to tell. Antarctica does, however, support penguin life and for more information on gay penguins, you can click here) If there is anything our society could use, it is more positive imagery available to assist LGBTQ youth (and anyone struggling with their sexuality or gender identity) to let them know that they are not alone, that there is hope, and that they can find love in whatever manifestations it may take. So far this website has 21 members, a majority of which are male-identified although there is a handful of female-identified people. However this website will progress (and I hope that is continues to do so) it is definitely worth a visit from anyone looking for LGBTQ stories, inspiration or a place to express their own voice. To access the website from this blog, you can click on the title of this post (which acts as a link) or visit http://www.imfromdriftwood.com
 June is National HIV Testing Month" You Know Different" live on the Internet.  and June 27th is National HIV Testing Day. Many LGBTQ organizations and HIV testing centers are scheduled to host events to increase testing in their areas. With hopes to increase outreach and publicity for these important events - NYAC has created a new way for organizations to reach out to youth about getting tested for HIV by putting the campaign "You Know Different" on Facebook and Myspace with the same message, same imagery, but new technology! There are plenty of exciting ways to get involved - including a contest rewarding one youth (13-24) with an Ipod touch and one organization with $250 for their excellent social networking use of yKNOWd! - Check out the newest features of the You Know Different website, with our new social networking strategy named "yKNOWd" - http://youknowdifferent.org/yKNOWd/
- Use the Photo Changer to encourage youth to get tested for HIV, advertise for youknowdifferent.org, and show others that HIV testing is important to them
- Put the yKNOWd photo buttons and banners on your website, Facebook and MySpace profiles to link youth to the You Know Different site to find out where to get tested for HIV and facts about HIV.
- Use our pre-made Twitter messages to increase visibility for your HIV testing events through all the new places that yKNOWd lives on the internet
- Get involved with yKNOWd and increase your outreach to youth about HIV testing!
- Make a Facebook and/or MySpace profile and get linked up with yKNOWd!
- If you are an HIV testing location, share your contact information and websites with NYAC to have it posted on our website to share with youth all over the nation!
- Post your National HIV testing day events on yKNOWd's Facebook Cause and MySpace Profile!
 And, last, but definitely, not least, get in the running for the yKNOWd Recruitment Contest.
- One youth (13-24) will win an Ipod touch for recruiting the most people to the Facebook Cause
- One organization will win $250 for exemplifying the best and most creative use of the yKNOWd campaign on their own website and Facebook and MySpace pages.
So, instead of waiting, get started now! Get excited about making your organizations' HIV testing month events more successful than ever and getting youth more involved by grabbing them on the social networking sites they are already spending so much time and effort on.
by Lara Jakes, The Associated Press  The Supreme Court has refused to hear a legal challenge to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a decision that allows the Obama administration to continue its slow, back-burner approach to letting gays serve openly in the military.
During last year's campaign, President Barack Obama indicated he supported eventually repealing the law, but has made no specific move to do so since taking office in January. Meanwhile, the White House has said it won't stop the military from dismissing gays and lesbians.
Echoing the administration's careful handling of the politically sensitive issue, Democrats who control Congress reacted tepidly to activists' calls to overturn the 1993 law that allows the Pentagon to discharge gay and lesbian troops who admit their sexuality, pleas that were renewed after the court's decision.
A Democratic aide to the Senate Armed Services Committee called a review of the law "not a high priority" and said the panel will look at the issue sometime before the end of Obama's term — but would not specify when. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about the committee's plans.
The Supreme Court's decision comes in the first few months of a year that gay rights advocates initially believed would bring the repeal of the law they view as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
But little evidence of action from the Obama administration and Congress has frustrated advocates who accused their usually allied Democratic leaders of selling out.
"Every moment that the administration and Congress delay repealing 'don't ask, don't tell,' our nation is robbed of brave men and women who would risk their lives to keep our country safe," Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, said after the court's denial.
"The time to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' is now," Solmonese said.
Without comment, the nation's highest court denied a review of an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was in the Vermont National Guard when he was discharged in 2004.
"I think this decision is an absolute travesty of justice and I think every judge on this court should be ashamed of themselves," said Pietrangelo, who served six years in the Army, seven years in the Vermont National Guard and fought in Iraq in 1991. "It's nothing short of rubber stamping legalized discrimination."
"The Supreme Court is not infallible, they get things wrong, and they got it wrong this time," added Pietrangelo, who now lives in Ohio.
In court papers, the government said a Boston-based appeals court ruled correctly when it threw out Pietrangelo's case because the policy is "rationally related to the government's legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion."
At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman said the military was merely following the law, which he said requires the Pentagon to "separate from the armed services members who engage in or attempt to engage in homosexual acts, state they are homosexual or bisexual, or marry or attempt to marry a person of the same biological sex."
The Supreme Court has never heard a case challenging the constitutionality of the 1993 law that was pushed by then-President Bill Clinton and adopted by Congress.
Senior Pentagon officials largely have shied away from discussing changes to the law, calling it a volatile topic for troops already stretched thin by ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A coalition of more than 1,000 retired military officers, including 47 four-star generals and admirals, recently warned Obama that overturning "don't ask, don't tell" could cause problems with recruiting and retaining troops.
Administration officials also point, privately, to lukewarm efforts on Capitol Hill to repeal the policy as a signal of the scant political will behind it.
House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., supports the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy, but is open to reviewing the law to see if it is "still appropriate for today's military," said spokeswoman Loren Dealy.
In an indication of the political tensions at stake, a Washington-based conservative Christian group that opposes same-sex marriage also weighed in Monday to praise the court decision.
"Military service is a privilege, not a right, and anything that detracts from the ability of our service personnel to fulfill their mission should be prohibited," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a Marine veteran.
A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late April indicates a majority of American voters believe the law should be overturned. The poll found that 56 percent of 2,041 registered voters who were surveyed nationwide said that "don't ask, don't tell" should no longer be Pentagon policy.
Among voters who have relatives in the military, the number dipped slightly: Half believed the law should be overturned, while 43 percent said it should remain in place. The remaining 7 percent were undecided or did not answer, according to the Quinnipiac poll, which had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Kudos to the folks from Outright Vermont for this successful program!
VT program helps students explore gender
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- Like plenty of other high school students, a group of about a dozen Vermont teenagers trundled into a youth center one day every week this spring to participate in an after-school program.
But their program was different; it focused on gender. The nine-week program, partially funded by the Burlington School District, was held at Vermont's Queer Youth Center and called "Gendertopia."
Gay, lesbian and straight students discussed a wide range of topics, from the characters in the book and movie "Twilight," to taking photos around the city that show the different ways gender is portrayed in popular culture.
"Most people come into it thinking, 'Oh, there's two genders and two sexualities' ... ," said David Kingsbury, a 16-year-old junior at Burlington High School who signed up for the program. "People assume it's boy and girl, but it's so much more than that. There's a whole world out there full of different genders." The program is among the first of its kind to be funded, in part, with tax dollars, said Christopher Neff, the executive director of Outright Vermont, the social service organization running Gendertopia.
Neither the program nor the school district's participation triggered any objection. The tempered reaction locally to the program shows how far Outright Vermont and the issues it raises has moved into the main stream of youth social service organizations.
"It's got queer in its name. It scares the heck out of people. It's so important that people be able to see beyond any concerns or misconceptions that they have," said Eliza Byard, the executive director of the New York-based Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, which has 35 chapters across the country. "Outright Vermont is fulfilling its mission in the most wonderful way."
The program was designed to help young people identify the subtle signals used to express gender and how not being aware of those signals can lower self esteem and possibly lead to an increase in at-risk activities like substance abuse or dropping out of school, Neff said.
"We often see a lot of homophobia or transphobia that happens on the basis of how someone looks," Neff said. "If you are making fun of me because I am wearing a pink shirt and that's sort of expressing my femininity, my feminine side, that translates into homophobia, but it has nothing to do with whether I'm straight or whether I'm dating boys or whether I'm dating girls. It has to do with the fact that I'm wearing a pink shirt."
Neff said the significance of the program is more than the money and the relatively small number of young people who participate.
"It's incredibly symbolic and very powerful," he said. "I was incredibly proud to be associated with them and I thought this partnership, this very unique partnership, between a queer youth center and a school district to run a gender identity based program was a new national model."
Burlington School Superintendent Jeanne Collins said no one has objected to the program.
"The district has been in the forefront on this topic for at least a decade, if not longer," Collins said. "We are very sensitive to celebrating the differences in people and accepting people for who they are and what they bring to the table."
She said a factor that helped keep the program non controversial was that it was voluntary.
"We have very robust after school program," Collins said. "This is one of the options for the students who are interested. They get a lot out of it that will help them be much more inclusive and accepting of differences in their own future, which can only help them be successful."
Steve Cable, of Rutland the founder of Vermont Renewal, an organization that promotes what he calls traditional family values, said he wasn't familiar with "Gendertopia," but he knew Outright Vermont. He said he was supportive of the group's anti-bullying efforts, but not what he said was its focus on adolescent sexuality.
"It just makes me really nervous that sexuality and these very complicated social behaviors are being normalized and talked about with kids who haven't figured out even their life yet," Cable said. "I know that Outright Vermont promotes all gender identities and expression of gender identities, no matter how weird that might be."
In 2000, Vermont was the first state that passed civil unions for same-sex couples and earlier this year was the first to pass gay marriage without being required to do so by the courts. It's also in the forefront with laws to protect gender identity and sexual orientation.
Outright Vermont describes itself as "one of the longest standing queer organizations in Vermont" and the only one focused on young people. Neff said that for years his organization has done anti-bullying presentations related to sexual orientation and gender identity in schools across the state. He said the presentations have been universally well received.
Byard said a number of national organizations have programs for girls that help them deal with the pressures that can lead to eating disorders or pressures that girls feel to be thin or beautiful.
"Now it's only relatively recently that there has been real focus on the damaging effect of these same expectations on young men," Byard said.
About 40 students signed up for the program, Neff said, and about 12 attended the weekly program. Sometimes the group watched a movie or had food. Much of the discussion was led by the students themselves, and it wasn't just for gay and lesbian students.
"I'm straight, but I don't like using that word because then it feels like if you're gay then you're crooked, you're not meant to grow up in a certain way," Sophia Manzi, 15, a Burlington high school freshman, said during this year's final "Gendertopia" meeting. "I come because it's a really good program. The people, it doesn't matter what sexual orientation you are, they totally come in with open arms."
Neff said "Gendertopia" wasn't about sexuality or who people are attracted to.
"We're really clear that gender and gender identify is separate from sexual orientation," Neff said. "Hugh Grant and Russell Crowe have the same sex, they're both male and they're both heterosexual. But they have very different gender presentations. One is sort of seen as much more masculine than the other."
Burlington High School After school Coordinator Amy Mills said no decision had been made yet on whether to run Gendertopia again in the fall, but she'd like to.
"I think it worked well," Mills said. "They seem to have a lot of fun.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-capital-pride,1,181006.story DC honors gay rights pioneer who helped remove homosexuality from list of mental illnesses GILLIAN GAYNAIR
Associated Press Writer
2:47 AM PDT, June 8, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fresh off his doctorate from Harvard, Franklin Kameny had been a government astronomer for just five months when he was asked to meet with federal investigators. They said they had information that he was a homosexual. He was promptly fired.
In that moment in 1957, more than a decade before the Stonewall riots in New York City sparked the modern gay rights movement, one of the cause's earliest and most effective activists was born.
Now 84, Kameny is being honored at events this month during Washington's annual Capital Pride celebration, and artifacts from his half-century of activism are going on display at a D.C. gallery.
Supporters call it a fitting tribute for the man who staged the first gay rights protest in front of the White House and successfully argued that homosexuality shouldn't be defined as a mental disorder, as it was in those days.
"He's indomitable. There's no one else like him in the movement," said Dudley Clendinen, co-author of a book about the gay rights effort in America. "He doesn't relent. He doesn't really negotiate ... The culture gradually came around to recognize what he early on insisted was fair and true."
Kameny's recognition comes as more states vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Last month, the nation's capital — the epicenter of Kameny's battles — decided to recognize gay unions performed elsewhere, and now plans to introduce legislation legalizing such marriages in the District itself.
And Kameny is still in the thick of it: He's advising D.C. Council member David Catania on the gay marriage issue and continues to lobby Congress to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a fight he began in the 1960s. A World War II veteran, Kameny said he has always resented lying to his government to serve in a war effort that he supported.
To Kameny, a New York native, the gay rights movement has progressed at a speed that was unthinkable 50 years ago.
"It would have been the kind of thing you might dream about back then, but hardly did you really think would actually come to pass," he said on a recent afternoon at his modest, northwest Washington home, which in February was designated a D.C. historic landmark. "It's been more satisfyingly successful than we would ever have imagined."
Kameny contested his firing by the U.S. Civil Service Commission by writing letters to the agency, both houses of Congress and eventually the White House.
He sued and lost in lower courts, but pressed on with a lengthy brief in 1961 that is now regarded as the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation to be brought to the Supreme Court.
The court denied Kameny's petition, prompting him later that year to co-found the Mattachine Society of Washington, which advocated for equal rights for gays and lesbians.
"We very quickly realized that if we were seeking equality and rights," Kameny said, "that the society, the culture, were not going to grant equality and rights to a bunch of loonies, which is what the psychological evaluation of the day made of us."
In 1963, Kameny and the society took on the American Psychiatric Association, which at the time defined homosexuality as a mental illness. Ten years later, the association removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
Kameny would for decades advise people who were denied security clearances, discharged from the military or fired from the civil service because they were gay. He and other activists also fought to nullify anti-sodomy laws.
In October 1965, he and about 10 other men and women picketed in the first gay rights protest in front of the White House. Other demonstrations followed at the Pentagon, the Civil Service Commission and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with some protesters holding signs that read: "Homosexuals Ask For The Right To The Pursuit Of Happiness" and "First Class Citizenship for Homosexuals."
Many of Kameny's placards as well as buttons from that time are now housed in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The Library of Congress also has catalogued more than 50,000 documents donated by the Kameny Papers Project, a volunteer group formed to preserve Kameny's archive of the early gay rights movement — most of which was stashed away in his attic.
And on Thursday, the Velvet Foundation, which aims to erect a museum in D.C. dedicated to gay history and culture, opens a brief exhibition of Kameny's artifacts.
Kameny said his contributions to the gay rights struggle have only recently begun to sink in. He said he wants to be remembered most for coming up with the slogan "Gay is Good" in 1968 to counter an onslaught of negativism aimed at gays and lesbians.
"To the government and lawyers we were criminals. To the religious people we were sinners. To the psychiatrists we were sick," he said. "There was nothing affirmative to offset that in any way whatsoever."
The phrase, he said, "encapsulates the whole underlying driving force and rationale for everything that I've been involved in."
In April, Kameny attended the swearing-in of John Berry, the openly gay director of the Office of Personnel Management — the successor to the Civil Service Commission that fired Kameny.
"It was very much like a storybook ending," he said, his green eyes lighting up — "complete, satisfying closure after 52 years. It was really something that I came away feeling vindicated as I rarely have in life."
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On the Net:
Capital Pride DC: http://www.capitalpride.org
Kameny Papers: http://www.kamenypapers.org
Velvet Foundation: http://www.velvetfoundation.org
 Over the weekend, I read Tillmon County Fire, a book written for high school age youth by Pamela Ehrenberg. This beautifully woven story tells the tale of a rural community and a mystery arson that takes place through the narrative of the many different characters that live in the town. The book cover reads In tiny Tillmon County, where it seems like nothing ever happens and the most serious crimes are vandalism and bar brawls, a mysterious fire rocks the lives of the teenagers who live there. Who set the fire that night, and more importantly, who owns the reasons behind it?
As the story unfolds, the lines between truth and fiction, motive and happenstance, guilt and innocence blur. This novel-in-stories is told in the voices of its disparate cast of characters: a frustrated adoptee, a gay teenager, a pregnant store clerk, and a boy with autism, who is more at the center of events than he imagines.
Pamela Ehrenberg's gift for compelling storytelling makes this a memorable and moving work of fiction for teenage readers. The thing I found most compelling about the book was the honest and open narrative presented by each character. With an openly gay character, Rob, and his questioning boyfriend, readers are allowed a glimpse into the experiences of a young gay couple in a rural community that is not exactly accepting of the two. I also found this book to be one that could be entirely beneficial to engage teens about harassment in schools that is based in homophobia, but also discrimination based on race or mental ability. By leveling all these forms of harassment, Ehrenberg is able to tell readers that each form is equally negative and must be addressed. Books like these are great ways to teach teens acceptance and encourage conversation around the injustices that many youth face in schools today. Wouldn't it be nice if we could push for curricula and education to encourage teens to be more accepting and loving of eachother instead of having to make laws to punish perpetrators of violence against others? I was lucky enough to be able to interview Pamela Ehrenberg about the book and learn more about her purpose for the book and how it applies to youth today. Here is what she had to say (My questions are under "JB" and Ehrenberg's answers are under "PE"). . . JB: What, would you say, is this book about, at the heart of it? Why did you feel the need to write it? PE: At its heart, the book is about living in a community--the ways in which stories that belong to each of us really belong to all of us. I wrote it because a community similar to this one has been living inside me for the past 12 years, since I completed my AmeriCorps service.JB: What is the message that you want youth to take out of this story and the character's messages? PE: Gosh, you know, people talked about "messages" with my first book too (Ethan, Suspended (Eerdmans, 2007), so you'd think I'd have been a little more prepared this time around. But the truth is still that I was just telling a story, not consciously trying to get a particular message across, either in the book as a whole or in any of the characters' individual stories. Jeremy, one of the boys who may or may not have started the fire, talks at one point about whether it's really possible for anyone to act alone, and concludes that most of us don't want to act alone anyway, we want to be "part of the band." So maybe the message has something to do with community, about finding ways to live and work together with people very different from ourselves (and maybe finding that some of them aren't so different after all).JB: Can you talk about how and why you used race, sexuality, ability, abuse, and other identity issues within the story? PE: Wow, did I use all those? : ) I was just telling the characters' stories as best as I could, and while I didn't shy away from addressing the issues they were struggling with, I didn't try to insert issues for their own sake. Kids do struggle with all of these things, sometimes more than one at a time--one of the surprises for me of living in a community like this one was the extent of what some kids had to overcome--things that I had thought were unique to urban youth turned out to be much more common than I expected in some rural communities too.JB: Why did you use stereotypes the way you did? - in some ways you employ stereotypes about certain charcters (like Rob, the young gay character feminine and fashionable) and in other ways you confront and challenge stereotypes with the resistant Amelia. PE: With both of those characters, I was trying to be true to who those individuals are. There are aspects of Rob's character that can be seen as stereotypical, but I think Rob embraces those aspects of himself--he cares deeply about clothing, he wants to be an actor--and to try to silence those parts of him because of thinking they might conform to a stereotype, that wouldn't have been true to (or fair to) his character. I think it helped for me to remember that this book also has Ben: a young gay character who wears plaid flannel shirts and knows far more about birds than about shoes. So when I allowed Rob to be himself in this book, I trusted that readers would see this was just Rob being Rob, not the author saying this is how young gay men should be.Whereas Amelia--she hates thinking that the people around her have some idea in their head about what an Asian-American girl ought to be like, and she goes out of her way to avoid being that person. So she (not me) did the work of conforonting and challenging those stereotypes. Is it a cop-out to say it was up to the characters, not up to me, when to embrace and when to rebel against certain stereotypical images? I guess maybe I could have written things differently--but then it wouldn't have been Rob and Amelia anymore, I would have been writing about someone else.JB: What do you hope this book will be able to achieve? PE: I'd like for kids in places like Tillmon County to read the book and feel like their experience is validated somehow, that someone out there recognizes that their life, and their struggles, and who they are, that all of that matters. And for kids gay and straight, religious and non-religious, middle-class and otherwise--and the grownups who care about them--to recognize, as the character Cait says, that "we're in this together, however we might feel about each other at any particular moment."
Find out more about Tillmon Country Fire here and stay tuned to the website to find a discussion guide for teachers and classrooms.
 New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch has signed a same-sex marriage bill into law, creating the sixth state in our country to establish marriage equality! Marriages can begin in New Hampshire on Jan. 1, 2010. The New Hampshire House approved the bill earlier this afternoon, 198-176. The state Senate had already approved the bill, 14-10. New Hampshire now joins Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut and Maine as the states that have given full marriage rights to queer people. This is a great day for the people of New Hampshire and a wonderful gift to all of us during Pride Month! Wow!
Wow. If this does not leave you speechless, nothing will. Former Vice President Dick Cheney supports full marriage equality. This puts him to the left of even President Obama on this issue. (Obama supports civil unions, but not marriage.) If all politicians had a lesbian daughter, this fight for marriage would be so much easier!
The White House has released this statement recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month. True, it's just paper and actions speak louder than words. Although, I don't know about you, but I appreciate hearing this President's words. I look forward to seeing how he uses the next 1,329 days to accomplish the measures he advocates for in this proclamation. I'm also curious how many of them will be lingering on the to-do list come next year's LGBT Pride Month proclamation. THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 1, 2009
LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.
LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.
Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.
The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.
My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.
These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
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When we look back to those humble beginnings of the Homophile movement and then to those summer nights of riots at the Stonewall Inn, it is hard to believe how hard it must have been. When a group of fed-up citizens became unlikely heroes to be shaken and bruised by the AIDS epidemic while an American president would not acknowledge the terrible crisis – we know that we have come a long way. With all there has been to overcome, we are not out of the water yet, not by a long ways.
