President Obama to Bestow Presidential Medal of Freedom on Harvey Milk

California Urges Governor to Sign Day Bill into Law

– Today announced that he will honor assassinated leader with the Presidential Medal of , the nation’s highest civilian honor recognizing significant contributions to the nation and the world. The will also honor Senator and legend , an open and longtime for the rights of the , , , and () community, with the Medal of on August 12.
understands that ’s reaches far beyond , and that his story is an to everyone who believes in and ,” said Geoff Kors, California () . “ risked everything to change the course of history and to secure many of the and protections we enjoy today. In light of receiving this incredible honor, we to sign the bill into law as a to ’s to end against the , , and community.”

Last year, sponsored the first bill in the country to officially honor , the nation’s first openly man elected to major political office, but the Governor vetoed it. Senator (D-) introduced the Day bill, sponsored by , again this year. The would require the governor to annually proclaim May 22 as Day, designating it as a “day of special significance,” to recognize ’s work to secure equal protections.

California () is the largest statewide , , , -rights in California. In the past , has strategically moved California from a state with extremely for individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. has passed over of and continues to advance through legislative , public and . www.eqca.org

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Human Rights Campaign Calls on the LGBT Community and Allies to Participate in National, Grassroots Push to Lobby Congress Face-to-Face

The Campaign, the nation’s largest , , and () , today launched a national, campaign called “No Excuses” to demand action from on key issues of . Designed to take advantage of the congressional , when are in their local offices and meeting with , “No Excuses” will mobilize ’s 750,000 and their to meet directly with and push for federal . and supporters can get involved by visiting: http://noexcuses.hrc.org.

“While we salute and acknowledge the heroic of who have worked tirelessly on our behalf, far too many have dragged their feet on basic matters of and that have lingered too long and hurt too many and their families,” said Campaign . “Yes, there are many facing this and this . But often additional hardship protecting their families, their loved ones and their , and too few in are willing to these issues of basic . Now, more than ever, of the community need to make their heard -to- and in the districts where they live.”

Using innovative , one-on-one trainings and staff and follow-through, will press to end in the military, treat all legally married equally, pass reform that recognizes and honors families, workplace for employees, and treat all ’ compensation equally.

The interactive “No Excuses” website allows supporters to download a meeting toolkit, schedule a meeting and report back on how it went. To take action, visit: http://noexcuses.hrc.org.

The in-district meetings will on the following key legislative in the 111th :

–Repeal the Defense of (), which denies legally married and more than 1,000 ;

–Prohibit workplace for the community by passing an inclusive Non- (ENDA);

–Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to ensure that service who contribute to our nation’s security are no longer summarily discharged for who they are;

–Pass reform that recognizes permanent same- and ends the painful separation of families;

–And provide benefits equally to the nearly 3 million employees, including same- .

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IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week

Order: don’t have to be released

The of who signed seeking to overturn Washington’s “everything but ” same- domestic law won’t be released publicly following a ’s .

Sponsors of 71 went to U.S. District Court in Tacoma Wednesday seeking the order. U.S. Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.

The of everyone who signed -71 are publicly available under open-government laws. A -rights group says it wants to post all the online. But the R-71 campaign says that could to .

Handy, state director, said in a statement: “ become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our has been to make these available upon . By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to in a timely way.”

of R-71 turned in about 138,000 Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter to qualify for the .

suggest submitting about 150,000 to offset any invalid . Dave , for the ’s office, said usually about 18 percent of checked turn out to be invalid.

The process of counting and verifying the could go until the last week of August.

See IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week Post Intelligencer

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Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

The Department’s , released Friday, that suggests the infection rate among men in Chicago is nearly 20% has drawn varied responses from Chicago’s and community.
.com surveyed a number of men on a busy in .
From to , the responses were varied with one common that men no longer think is a . And despite extensive on the recently release report, many were unaware of the report and its contents.
“I’m not at all surprised by these statistics.” Said thirty-something Al joined by Jared and Jamie outside of the Center on Halsted. “The fact that a of our own community are not aware of their status is probably because of their of knowing.”
“We are very closeted in the U.S. regarding educating our youth,” added Jaime.
Some do not believe the numbers and conclusions published in the report.
“You can work the numbers however you want,” said Matthew a at Buck’s. See Chicago HIV report sparks reaction

.com -

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HBO RANKS HIGHEST IN THIRD ANNUAL “GLAAD NETWORK RESPONSIBILITY INDEX”

Networks for Third Year in a Row; and Receive “Failing” Grades for Lack of of the Community

Los Angeles, CA, July 27, 2009 – The &; Alliance Against Defamation () today released its third annual Network , a report that the quantity, quality and of of , , and () on . programming on the five networks was evaluated as well as original programming on 10 of the highest-rated .

scored the highest rating of the 15 networks evaluated with characters on shows including , The No. 1 and that reflect the ethnic and racial of the community. Of ’s 14 original series, 10 included content and 42 percent of the network’s total included representation.

“This year programming was not only inclusive of , but networks like are beginning to reflect the broad within our community,” said , Senior Director of Media Programs at . “With upcoming fall programming and new there is a tremendous opportunity for networks to share the stories of all of our community including , and as well as of color, all which continue to be underrepresented across all networks.”

reviewed a total of 4,901 hours of programming for of characters or issues on the five (, , The , and ) from June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009. also examined 1,212.5 hours of original programming on 10 highly-rated . Each hour was reviewed for on-screen . Based on the quantity, overall quality and of these , a rating was assigned by ’s Media Program to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.

Additional findings from the Network :

Good

- and Showtime received grades of Good, with leading with 42 percent of featuring .

- , with shows including Brothers &; Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy and Betty, again received the highest ranking of the five networks, earning a Good grade with 24 percent of their including .

- The also received a grade of Good, with 20 percent of their including .

Adequate

- While received an Adequate, rising from last place and a Failing grade in 2008; 11 percent of its were -inclusive, yet some of those hours included problematic content.

- Among evaluated, TNT showed the largest growth, jumping from one percent of inclusive last year to 19 percent. FX posted the sharpest , dropping 32 percent over the previous season. Both were graded

Failing

- and received Failing grades, for their 8 and 5 percent, respectively, of with . moved down from third place in last year’s Network to last among the five major networks.

- A&;E, Sci Fi and TBS received grades of Failing.

shows that weave our stories into the of the series present richer, more and are the kinds of that help Americans understand and embrace their family , and in a more meaningful way,” said Robinson.

The third annual Network was delivered to programming executives at the 15 graded networks, and ’s Media Program will continue discussions with them to for in the quality, quantity and of their .

The Executive Summary of the report can be viewed online at .org. A PDF of the full report can also be downloaded at .org.

The 14th Annual Where We Are On TV report on will be issued in September 2009. This analysis will examine as well as the gender and race/ethnicity of all scripted characters scheduled to appear during the 2009-2010 season.

About

The &; Alliance Against Defamation () is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of and in the media as a means of eliminating and based on and . For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

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DeFrank Center’s boss knows a challenge when he sees one in San Jose

was about to show me the drop-in center for youth at the Center when the silent went off.

Wysocki fiddled with the box to accept his code and wound up calling the alarm company, telling them all was fine. “There’s usually a little lag time before they call the police,” he explained.

The situation bore more than a little . As interim , Wysocki is sounding the public alarm for the center, San Jose’s for the , , and community. But he has no lag time.

Last week, he dispatched an e- that bluntly said the center would have to close its by Sept. 1 unless it raises $50,000. Wysocki hopes to coax to sign up for continuing contributions that would total $20,000 a month.

“We had been talking about what we needed to do to get ’s attention,” said the red-haired 60-year-old, an exuberant and who has become an expert in turning around nonprofits. “We decided we had to hit them right between the eyes.”

See DeFrank Center’s boss knows a challenge when he sees one

San Jose News

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Backers of Gay Marriage Rethink California Push

LOS ANGELES — Discouraged by stubborn numbers and pessimistic , major financial of same-sex marriage are cautioning rights to delay a campaign to overturn California’s ban on such until at least 2012.

Earlier this year, many supporters of same- seemed eager to mount a 2010 campaign to overturn Proposition 8, which was passed by in November and defined as “between a man and a .”

But the timing of another campaign has since been questioned by several of the movement’s big , including David Bohnett, a philanthropist and who gave more than $ to the to 8.

“In with a number of my major No on 8 ,” Mr. Bohnett said in an e- message, “I find that they share my : namely, that we will step up to the plate — with resources and talent — when the time is right.”

“The only thing worse than losing in 2008,” he added, “would be to lose again in 2010.”

The issue of when to go back to the was also the central topic at a contentious “ ” held Saturday at a church in , east of Los Angeles, where about 200 rights gathered to discuss their next step. It was the second large meeting of leaders since late May when the California ruled against a to Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the .

Shortly after the court’s decision, officials at California, one of the largest rights in California, issued an online for for a possible 2010 campaign, citing a need to capitalize on over the decision and on the seeming from the recent legalization of same- in several other states.

But that thinking has apparently evolved.

Marc , director for California, said he spent June and early July asking the opinions of nearly two dozen California and and had been surprised by the almost unanimous opinion that a 2010 race was a .

“I expected having watched the and the real pain that the L.G.B.T. community had experienced that there would be some real measurable remorse in the ,” Mr. said, referring to , , and . “But if you look at the numbers since November, they really haven’t moved at all.”

A major factor in any California balloting, of course, is ; here are remarkably expensive, with a number of costly media markets. The Proposition 8 campaign, for example, cost more than $80 million, with spending some $43 million.

Sarah Callahan, ch

See Backers of Gay Marriage Rethink California Push

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Gay marriage and the date debate

Nearly after banned same- in the state, supporters are ready to ask them to overturn Proposition 8. They’re just not sure when to ask: In November 2010 or November 2012.

Choosing a date involves more than sifting through the polling, and consultants’ reports that have filled the time since last fall’s election with soul-searching and finger-pointing among supporters, culminating in a meeting of the movement’s leaders Saturday in .

Generating enthusiasm for a campaign will also be a -based decision, one that has split same- even in , where 75 percent of voters backed Prop. 8.

Bakersfield resident Jade Haley wants an in 2010. Her Alee thinks that’s too soon. ’s still refers to Haley as “she” and has no contact with them as a couple, who are raising ’s from a previous .

’ influence

On Sundays, , 34, goes to church twice. She attends a solo with her in the morning and goes to a with her in the evening. “The have thousands and thousands of ready to go against us,” said . She looked at 70 who came to a Church on Thursday to talk about the movement’s next step. “All we have is what’s in this room.”

Still, was among only a dozen at the Bakersfield meeting called by who supported waiting until 2012. The for a next year echoed one at a similar gathering in , while gatherings in liberal such as Oakland and Berkeley leaned toward 2012.

“The reaction was really mixed,” said Brown, ’s , who compiled information from the ’s “Get Engaged” tour of 40 over the past several weeks. “A of who wanted to wait until 2012 wanted to see what the plan was first before they committed.”

A nonbinding straw of leaders gathered Saturday in to plan the movement’s next step found that 93 voted to go in 2010, 49 in 2012 and 20 were undecided. expect to officially decide when to return to the ballot in a couple of weeks. If they decide on November 2010, the deadline to have submitted to the is Sept. 25.

Faults not addressed

This month, several of same- supporters said not enough has been done to the faults of last year’s campaign in time to mount a winning drive next year.

See Gay marriage and the date debate

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Gay incident reopens Salt Lake City’s Main Street plaza wounds

It’s the wound that won’t heal. The rift that won’t close. And earlier this month, two lovers’ purportedly innocuous late-night — though LDS Church officials insist it was far more amorous than that — ripped it wide open.

Utah’s simmering religious divide boiled over — once again — at the geographical and philosophical of church and state: the Main Street Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City.

“It is a that will continue to be peeled away — and may never heal,” says Dani Eyer, the former director who fought to preserve First Amendment rights on the plaza.

Matt and say they held hands, kissed and then squabbled with on the LDS Church-owned square. police issued a ticket for trespassing. In , supporters of the couple staged a “-in” outside the plaza and plan another such today.

The Church — a to which 60 percent of belong — defended its right to regulate “” on the plaza.

“What we’re seeing now is a of what should have been obvious from the very beginning,” says former Mayor Anderson. “This block of Main Street never should have been conveyed to the Church. It was a recipe for ongoing between the Church and those who are not .”

The church bought the strip of Main — from to — in 1999 after then- and the City Council, with the only two non- dissenting, signed off on the $8. deal. But the burned for five more years as were asked to settle the prickly issue of whether the church could govern on the plaza and whether the city could retain a public right of way (as outlined in the original deal).

“It was meant to be for everybody,” Eyer says. “Where come and go their go with them.”

After a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2002, activities returned to the plaza. But by anti- — including cries of “” and “harlot” hurled at newlywed — “sustained divisions” that “reached to the point of ” between and non-, Anderson says.

In the end, he agreed to trade the public easement for cash and land to build a west-side community center.

See Gay incident reopens Salt Lake City’s Main Street plaza wounds -

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In UK, New initiative launched to tackle homelessness among LGBT youth

Four leading charities have announced the of a new to reduce among young .

The , known as ‘Jigsaw’, brings together the Housing, youth and support the , the mental organisation PACE and , which supports victims of crime.

A joint statement from the said: “Despite the greater of , is far from universal.

“Even in today, many young from their own family, from their own communities, and even physical attack.

“Furthermore, most offenders of are aged between 16 and 20″.

Michael Nastari, the co-ordinator of Jigsaw, and a director of Youth Prevention Network, commented: “The effects of and on young ’s lives can be devastating. As a result, they can fail to succeed in , miss out on and training, and suffer a range of mental issues.

See New initiative launched to tackle homelessness among LGBT youth

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