President Obama to Bestow Presidential Medal of Freedom on Harvey Milk
San Francisco – Today President Obama announced that he will honor assassinated civil rights leader Harvey Milk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor recognizing significant contributions to the nation and the world. The President will also honor Senator Edward Kennedy and tennis legend Billie Jean King, an open lesbian and longtime champion for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, with the Medal of Freedom on August 12.
Last year, EQCA sponsored the first bill in the country to officially honor Milk, the nation’s first openly gay man elected to major political office, but the Governor vetoed it. Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced the Harvey Milk Day bill, sponsored by EQCA, again this year. The legislation would require the governor to annually proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, designating it as a “day of special significance,” to recognize Milk’s work to secure equal protections.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/president-oba…
Gay-lesbian course at UoP sets an example for other universities
When the University of Pune (UoP) started a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) course in 2007, it was the second university in the country, after University of Hyderabad, to do so. Then, the UoP initially even had to put a disclaimer saying that one doesn’t have to be gay to take the course.
Today even as two of its students take up LGBT topics for MPhil research, other universities are mulling over the possibility of getting the Department of English, that conducts the LGBT course, to hold a workshop on it for their teachers, reflecting a significant change in the academia’s mindset.
“The other day, two professors from outside Pune — PC Kar from the University of Baroda and CJ Jahagirdhar from Kolhapur University — visited us and were of the opinion that we should conduct workshop for college-level lecturers on the LGBT course on their campuses. It shows a welcome change in the attitude of the academic fraternity,” said Raj Rao, professor of English at the UoP, whose persistence resulted in the LGBT course seeing the light of the day.
See Gay-lesbian course at UoP sets an example for other universities Indian Express
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Labor Chief Deplores Defacing of Gay Pride Posters
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis issued a warning letter to departmental employees late last week, after posters celebrating Gay Pride Month hanging in 35 department elevators since June 22 have been either defaced or removed altogether.
In an e-mail message sent to the entire department, Ms. Solis, who helped found the House of Representative’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Caucus when she was in Congress, said she was outraged by the behavior.
See Labor Chief Deplores Defacing of Gay Pride Posters
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In Maine,Sen. Damon leads gay pride parade NECN -
Advocates of same-sex marriage marched through the streets of Portland, Maine on Saturday for the annual gay pride parade — the first since passing a gay marriage law last month.
Participants carried a 900-foot long rainbow flag that stretched for several city blocks.
The man who sponsored Maine’s gay marriage law, Senator Dennis Damon, was the master of ceremonies.
“It isn’t just the gay. Lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, it’s our community as a whole. And that’s what I hope that Maine will look onto, will grab onto and continue to move forward with,” Sen. Dennis Damon said.
Last month, Maine became the fifth state to allow gay marriage.
Since then, New Hampshire adopted its own a gay marriage law.
See Sen. Damon leads gay pride parade NECN -
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Gay city employees fight to block release of their identities
Several City of Seattle workers have sued to prevent the release of names and membership lists of a gay and lesbian employee organization.
At issue, according to a complaint filed in King County Superior Court, is a request by Seattle City Light employee affiliated with a conservative Christian organization who claims the city has opposed his efforts to launch a group for formerly homosexual workers.
The City Light employee — Philip Irvin, 58 — wants the city to release the names of organizers of city employee groups, specifically those of a Seattle Public Utilities “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Friends” group. According to court documents, Irvin has also requested the names and city departments of those who are members of the group, or who have attended the group’s meetings, as well as copies of the group’s sign-in sheets, minutes and agendas.
Speaking to seattlepi.com Thursday, Irvin said the city has previously opposed his efforts to start a group for employees who had identified as homosexuals but have since become heterosexual.
“They are the most vilified sexual minority, and I’m sorry to say that they’re not really welcomed in the religious community either,” Irvin said. “This is something where they are vilified on the right or the left.”
After receiving Irvin’s request in early May, city public-disclosure officers notified employees whose identities would be released. In response, an unspecified number of employees have sued the city asserting that state public-records law demand their identities be withheld. See Gay city employees fight to block release of their identities
Seattle Post Intelligencer
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Wisconsin Trial Court Dismisses ACLU Lawsuit Seeking Domestic Partner Benefits For Lesbian and Gay State Employees
The Court’s opinion states: “The plaintiffs have offered a strong showing that the employment benefits in issue have been provided on a discriminatory basis. The defendants’ explanations offered for the continuing discrimination against these plaintiffs are unpersuasive and inadequate.”
“Losing doesn’t get any better than this,” said Larry Dupuis, Litigation Director of the ACLU. “We knew we had an uphill battle in the trial court because of the earlier case. But the court agreed with us that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be subject to strict judicial review and that it is unconstitutional for the state to deny equal benefits.”
The Court also found that providing the benefits would not be barred by the anti-gay marriage amendment that passed in 2006. After the amendment passed, the state had argued that the amendment barred the state from providing the benefits.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit in April 2005 on behalf of six lesbian state employees and their partners. The lawsuit charges that it is a violation of the state’s equal protection guarantees to deny lesbian and gay state employees access to the same health insurance and family leave protections that it provides to straight employees who are able to cover their spouses. The lawsuit was stalled for years because a number of Wisconsin municipalities tried to inject themselves into the lawsuit. The issue ultimately went up to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled that they were not entitled to become a party to the litigation.
“While we are heartened by the court’s decision, we urge the legislature to pass the domestic partner bill so there will be no need to appeal,” added Chris Ahmuty, Executive Director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. “Our clients are forced to pay expensive prices for inferior health coverage and sometimes even to forego necessary care. They suffer every day this issue goes unresolved.”
Wisconsin Department of Corrections employee Jayne Dunnum and her partner, Robin Timm, pay nearly $450 a month for private insurance for Timm who works on the couple’s organic farm and food store in Platteville. “We don’t care if it happens through the courts or the legislature. We just really need the health insurance coverage,” said Dunnum. “It’s a matter of basic fairness. I work just as hard has my straight colleagues and shouldn’t be denied the equal employment benefits.”
The case is Dunnum v. Department of Employee Trust Funds. The couples are represented by John Knight and Rose Saxe of the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, Larry Dupuis of the ACLU of Wisconsin, and cooperating attorneys Linda Roberson and Christopher Krimmer of the Madison law firm Balisle & Roberson.
Biographical information for all of the couples, today’s decision, the complaint, and additional information are available at http://www.aclu.org/getequal/caseprofiles.htm.
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U&K Police sound alarm as anti-gay attacks rise
Senior police are “exceptionally concerned” about a recent spate of murders of gay men as figures reveal that homophobic attacks are escalating.
Campaigners say anti-gay violence has surged, and Scotland Yard statistics reveal a 9% rise in homophobic and transphobic offences to 1,372 in the year to April. Greater Manchester police recorded a 63% rise in homophobic crime. Acting Detective Superintendent Gerry Campbell, of the Metropolitan police, who headed a recent operation against hate crime that led to 292 arrests, said: “Homophobia cannot be considered a thing of the past, it’s on the increase.”
A confidential briefing note for Scotland Yard’s lesbian gay bisexual transgender advisory group, seen by the Observer, says nine “critical incidents” have been recorded in the force’s area since March 2008, compared with five incidents from 2001 to 2005. Recent cases include the murders of Daryl Phillips, 39, stabbed two weeks ago in Tottenham, north London, after arriving from Trinidad to escape homophobic bullying, and of Gerry Edwards, 59, knifed when he answered the door in Bromley, south London. His partner, Chris Bevan, 56, was also stabbed.
The new chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Peter Fahy, has expressed “alarm” about the rapid rise of such offences, from 327 to 533 in the year to April 2008. Paul Burston, author of The Gay Divorcee, said homophobic violence appears to be growing in both the number of incidents reported and in severity.
See Police alarm as anti-gay attacks rise guardian.co.uk - * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Equality California Congratulates Rabbi Denise Eger on Historic Achievement
LOS ANGELES – Longtime advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community members, Rabbi Denis Eger has been installed as the president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, becoming the first woman and lesbian to serve in that capacity. The board brings together more than 300 rabbis.
Statement from Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California:
“Rabbi Eger has been a trusted, vocal advocate for the LGBT community, and her groundbreaking work has beautifully married both her faith and her commitment to social justice. Her incredible leadership and dedication have led to real change in the lives of LGBT people as well as tremendous advances in the movement to achieve full equality for LGBT people. We wish her all the best and look forward to working with her as she takes on this new role.”
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Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/equality-cali…
McDonald’s Agrees To Training and Settlement After Staff Called Gay Customers “Faggots,” Super-Size Training For Management Offered After Kentucky Incident
LOUISVILLE, KY – Nine months after an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Louisville called a group of gay customers a series of anti-gay slurs, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today that McDonald’s has agreed to a cash settlement and diversity training for management at 30 of its Louisville-area restaurants.
Ryan Marlatt, Teddy Eggers, and three other friends had stopped for lunch at a McDonald’s restaurant on East Market Street on July 26, 2008 while visiting Louisville for the weekend. While they waited for their food to be prepared, an employee behind the counter referred to them as “faggots” to another employee. When Marlatt and Eggers objected to the slur and asked to speak with a manager, the employee who had called them “faggots” started arguing with them, repeatedly calling them “faggots” in front of other customers and calling one of them a “cocksucker” and “bitch.”
“The reason we made such a big deal out of this to begin with was because we didn’t want it happening to anyone else, so I’m very glad McDonald’s management is going to be having these trainings,” said Eggers of Indianapolis, Indiana. “We were hurt and upset, but at least we’re adults and can handle being called names. We hated thinking that this kind of harassment might also happen to someone young and vulnerable who would really take it to heart.”
The supervisor on duty refused to refund the group’s purchase, so Marlatt attempted several times in the following weeks to contact both the general manager of the McDonald’s and the corporate offices, with no results. Louisville law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, so the ACLU filed a complaint in September on behalf of Marlatt and Eggers with the Louisville Human Relations Commission. In October, representatives of a variety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups as well as other civil rights organizations protested at the downtown Louisville McDonald’s where the incident took place.
Although Marlatt and Eggers only asked for $28, McDonald’s offered them $2000 each on its own, which they accepted, Sun said. The Louisville Human Relations Commission has been thoroughly investigating Eggers and Marlatt’s complaint since it was filed last September and helped negotiate the settlement between the parties.
“We’re really grateful to the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission for its investigation, as well as to our friends at the Fairness Campaign, and commonGround at the University of Louisville, for keeping the pressure on McDonald’s to do the right thing,” said Michael Aldridge, Executive Director of the ACLU of Kentucky. “While we’re fortunate to have a law banning sexual orientation discrimination in Louisville, this goes to show that it’s still important to speak out and do something about it when your rights are violated.”
“McDonald’s could have saved itself a lot of embarrassment if they’d just done the right thing from the start and done something about this, but it’s great that so many people stood up for us and came forward to say treating people the way we were treated is wrong,” said Marlatt. “We just hope the trainings keep McDonald’s from letting this happen to any of their customers from now on.”
When their Louisville Human Relations Commission complaint was filed, Marlatt and Eggers asked for a refund of the money they spent on the McDonald’s meal, and asked that one employee – the cashier who objected to the other employee’s name-calling – be commended. “She was the only employee in the whole place who tried to help us,” said Eggers. “I hope she hears about this and knows how much we appreciated her sticking up for us.”
“While we wish Ryan, Teddy, and their friends hadn’t had to go through this whole experience to begin with, we’re glad that at least McDonald’s is taking steps to prevent anything like this from happening again in the future,” said Christine Sun, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project who is representing Marlatt and Eggers. “Businesses should treat all of their customers with respect regardless of their sexual orientation.”
A video of Marlatt and Eggers telling the story of what happened to them as well as their complaint to the Human Relations Commission can be found at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/36781res20080916.html.
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Academy Award Winning Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to Testify in Favor of Harvey Milk Day Bill
Sacramento–Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award winning screenwriter of the film Milk will testify before the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday in support of legislation establishing Harvey Milk Day in California. Senate Bill 572, sponsored by Equality California and authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D- San Francisco), creates a day of special significance on Milk’s birthday, May 22.
Harvey Milk, a former San Francisco City supervisor, was the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the United States, and only the third openly gay elected official in the nation. He and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in San Francisco on November 27, 1978. His life was the subject of last year’s critically-acclaimed film Milk, for which both Black and actor Sean Penn received the Academy Award.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/academy-award…
