Gay life on exhibit by Rob Bondgren
Examiner.com * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/gay-life-on-e…
Stand in and march by candlelight to overturn Proposition 8
To find an event near you, visit www.eveofjustice.com or www.marriageequality.org.
Many of these events feature faith leaders and are organized by people of faith. Join CA Faith for Equality, Marriage Equality USA, Equality California and other statewide and local cosponsors to share your voice and shine your light.
Statewide, March 4th, Candlelight Events and Marches. For information about locations and times in your area, visit www.eveofjustice.com or www.marriageequality.org.
Statewide, March 5th, 9am-12:30pm, CA Supreme Court hears oral arguments about overturning Proposition 8. Many supporters are traveling to San Francisco, others are gathering for viewing parties. If you are traveling to San Francisco, visit the CA Supreme Court website to know your viewing options. The California Channel will provide a live TV broadcast and online webcast.
Fresno, March 7-8th, Camp Courage. Brought to you by the Courage Campaign, this training offers us the opportunity to learn and sharpen our organizing tools and methods. For more information, please contact Lilia at lilia@couragecampaign.org.
Orange County, March 5th, 4-6pm Marriage Equality Rally hosted by Church of the Foothills. Join the Church of the Foothills to rally for marriage equality in pro-Prop 8 Orange County. 19211 Dodge Ave., (at Newport Blvd.), Santa Ana, 92705. For more information, contact Kergan at proud2bdad@yahoo.com
Pasadena, March 7th and 14th, 10am-2:30pm, Vote for Equality Canvasses. Talk to our neighbors about marriage equality. Training provided. Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., 91103. To RSVP or for more information, contact Laura Gardiner at 323-770-3188 or lgardiner@lagaycenter.org.
Los Angeles, March 11th, Jordan/Rustin Coalition Faith Committee Meeting. 7-8:30pm. Dinner from 6:30-7pm. At the first inaugural meeting of the faith committee, a joint project of the Jordan/Rustin Coalition and CA Faith for Equality, we will discuss and plan relationship building with African-American faith communities in the Los Angeles area. Contact Anne-Marie for more information: williams@jordanrustin.org.
Call for events!! If there are events in your area appropriate for folks interested in LGBT faith-rooted organizing, please email Kerry with details at kerry@cafaithforequality.org two weeks prior to the event. We will do our best to publicize them in our e-blasts.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/stand-in-and-…
TV station nixes anti-gay infomercial after outrage
(Grand Rapids, Michigan) A Grand Rapids television station that found itself in the middle of the battle between gays and the conservative American Family Association has dropped plans to air a one-hour paid commercial on the “radical homosexual agenda.”
The AFA, which regularly fights LGBT civil rights legislation, originally bought time …
On Valentine’s Day, Binational Gay and Lesbian Couples Struggle to Stay Together
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Immigration Equality, the national group aimed at ending anti-LGBT discrimination in immigration law, and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, lauded today’s introduction of the Uniting American Families Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), will provide lesbian and gay Americans the same opportunity as different-sex couples to sponsor their partner for immigration purposes. During a media conference call, Rep. Nadler joined Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven, HRC President Joe Solmonese, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund Legislative Staff Attorney John Amaya to discuss the importance of this legislation, along with two binational couples who face the prospect of being forcibly separated under existing immigration laws.
“It should be an outrage to all Americans that our government continues to deny one set of citizens the fundamental rights enjoyed by the rest of its citizens,” said Rep. Nadler. “It is time that we as a society finally acknowledge that a committed, loving family is a committed, loving family, no matter whether a couple is gay or straight. It makes no difference. We should be encouraging and rewarding stable families rather than sweeping them into the margins. We must now pass UAFA, the Uniting American Families Act, and grant gay and lesbian binational families the same legal protections—and the same human dignity—as other Americans.”
“Like many people across the country, there are Vermonters whose partners are foreign nationals and who feel abandoned by our laws in this area. The promotion of family unity has long been part of federal immigration policy, and we should honor that principle by providing all Americans the opportunity to be with their loved ones. I hope all Senators will join me in supporting equality for all Americans and their loved ones,” said Sen. Leahy.
Under U.S. immigration law, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents may sponsor their spouses for immigration purposes. But gay and lesbian Americans are not afforded this basic right. Consequently, many binational gay and lesbian couples are kept or torn apart. The Uniting American Families Act would allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for family-based immigration by meeting the same standard as different-sex couples. The bill would impose harsh penalties for fraud, including up to five years in prison and as much as $250,000 in fines.
“This Valentine’s Day, thousands of gay and lesbian Americans who have fallen in love across borders must grapple with an impossible choice between being with the person they love and staying in their country,” said Immigration Equality Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven. “These couples simply want the same opportunity to prove that their families deserve to stay together.”
“For far too long, our elected officials have ignored the devastating real-life consequences that current immigration policies have had on thousands of gay and lesbian couples in loving, committed relationships,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We thank Representative Nadler and Senator Leahy for their leadership to ensure that these couples are treated equally under the law. We commend Immigration Equality for their continued leadership in fighting this unjust policy.”
This inequality affects more than 36,000 gay and lesbian Americans, according to the 2000 Census and research commissioned by Immigration Equality and conducted by Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Audio of the call held today can be accessed at http://www.immigrationequality.org/blog/ and http://www.hrcbackstory.org.
Immigration Equality is the only national organization devoted to fighting for equal treatment under U.S. immigration law for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive immigrants and their families and to winning asylum for LGBT and HIV-positive people fleeing persecution.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-valentines…
Canadian gay couple shares adoption success story
BurlingtonPost.com says Yo Mustafa and Paul Groulx “went from zero to three children in a matter of six months”. The couple, which has been together since 1989, now cares for three boys including a 13-year old and 11-year-old twins.
Mustafa and Grouix started their adoption journey in July 2003 by attending an Adoption Council of Ontario information evening.
The sons were neglected by their biological parents and eventually placed into the care of Children’s Aid. At the time, the older boy was six years old and the twins 3-1/2. They were in foster care two years.
See Canadian gay couple shares adoption success story
Proud Parenting
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/canadian-gay-…
Anti-gay group calls for Pepsi boycott
(New York City) The conservative social action group American Family Association has made Pepsi Cola the latest target in its ongoing boycotts of what it calls “pro-homosexual” companies.
The AFA, in an Action Alert to its more than two-million members, urges supporters to sign an online pledge to boycott Pepsi products …
