Silent partner’ examines what happens when people ‘don’t tell’

Ben Cartwright has been a passionate advocate for gay rights for 12 years. He is a regular at gay pride marches, has a pod-cast and writes for a gay newspaper in San Diego.

The last thing he expected was to have to put a part of himself back into the closet. But if the military were to find out about his love for a sailor, a man with years of honorable service would face a dishonorable discharge.

One of the rarely discussed effects of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule is the burden it places on the civilian partners of gay and lesbian service members. When their loved ones go to war, they do not have access to any of the counseling, financial assistance or support networks offered to heterosexual spouses. And if their loved ones die, no one will come knocking at their doors to notify them.

On Thursday, gay veterans and their partners shared their experiences at the local premiere of “Silent Partners,” a 30-minute documentary offering a glimpse into the lives of three gay “military spouses” waiting for their partners to come home.

“This film, I believe, is telling a story we haven’t heard before,” said Lt. Daniel Choi, who introduced the film.

See Silent partner’ examines what happens when people ‘don’t tell’

Los Angeles Times

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/silent-partne…

Changes in San Diego reflected in San Diego’s Pride Parade, Festival

The hundreds of San Diegans who marched for gay rights in the mid-1970s walked through a city largely indifferent, even antagonistic, to the cause.

What strides they have made.

Today, up to 9,000 people will take part in the San Diego Pride Parade, including the mayor, police chief and seven of the eight City Council members. Organizers are expecting 175,000 spectators from across the country and as far away as Australia, Germany and Britain.

While San Diego’s parade may never be as big as those in San Francisco or Los Angeles, there are many signs of how San Diego has changed into a city in the forefront of the campaign for gay rights.

In November, in the days after California voted to ban same-sex marriage, the largest protest in the nation occurred in San Diego. More than 20,000 people marched, double any other city’s turnout.

The size of San Diego’s crowd came as a surprise to many, including Cleve Jones, the gay rights activist and lecturer who founded the AIDS Memorial Quilt and was an intern for slain San Francisco supervisor and gay icon Harvey Milk. Jones is the grand marshal of today’s parade and several others around the country.

See Changes in San Diego reflected in today’s Pride Parade, Festival

San Diego Union Tribune

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/changes-in-sa…

Google marches along with gay pride

”Google is a company that supports its LGBT employees, taking a public stand stand on issues that are important to our community. This is not the first year that Google has supported Pride, and it will certainly not be the last.”

on issues that are important to our community. This is not the first year that Google has supported Pride, and it will certainly not be the last.”

From a posting by Cynthia Yeung on the official Google Blog which features a series of photos of LGBT employees marching with Google/YouTube banners in several major US cities including San Francisco, New York and Chicago as well as some European cities. (Google Blog)

See Google marches along with gay pride

Metro Weekly

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-marche…

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