National Equality Rally at Independence Hall March for Equality on Independence Mall Sunday, May 3, 2009
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The National Park Service (NPS) has issued a First Amendment permit for a National Equality Rally at Independence Hall on Sunday afternoon, May 3, 2009 at Independence National Historical Park.
The goals of the National Equality Rally are:
– Passage of trans-inclusive hate crimes legislation and the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)
– Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA)
– Support for GLBT health issues
– Equal benefits for same-sex families
– Same-sex marriage Equality
Regional, state and national organizations, people of color, progressive religious institutions, high school and college GSAs, and straight ally organizations will be represented as Co-Organizers. Over 100 organizations from across the nation will March for Equality on Independence Mall.
Leaders will carry their organization’s name on pole-mounted placards. Activists, participants and straight allies will be offered American and rainbow flags. After completion of the March for Equality, activists, organizations, and allies will fill in Independence Mall for a one-hour high-impact Rally.
Gay Pioneers Frank Kameny and Lilli Vincenz will lead grassroots activists, organizations, and straight allies in the March for Equality on Independence Mall from the National Constitution Center to Independence Hall.
The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware will open the Rally with a choral tribute, and 100 members of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Anna Crusis Women’s Choir and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia will sing a special rendition of “America the Beautiful” to end the Rally.
The Philadelphia Freedom Band and members of the national Lesbian and Gay Band Association will join the March for Equality on Independence Mall. The Lesbian and Gay Band Association marched in President Obama’s Inaugural Parade. There will be participants from the New York Big Apple Corps, D.C.’s Different Drummers, North Carolina Pride Band, and Flamingo Freedom Band of South Florida, among others, marching past the Liberty Bell Center and the Gay Pioneers Historic Marker to Independence Hall.
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are where the Gay Pioneers held the first organized gay and lesbian civil rights demonstrations called “Annual Reminders” each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969. The Annual Reminders laid the groundwork for the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and the first New York Pride Parade in 1970.
“Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are where the movement was launched. With a new Congress and a President who describes himself as a ‘fierce advocate’ of our civil rights, it is the right moment for us to join hands at an iconic location to demand Equality,” stated Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum.
Equality Forum is a national and international GLBT civil rights organization with an educational focus. The National Equality Rally at Independence Hall will be held on the concluding day of Equality Forum 2009 (April 27 to May 3), the largest and premiere annual national and international GLBT civil rights forum.
For more information about the National Equality Rally at Independence Hall, visit www.nationalequalityrally.org. For more information on gay-friendly Philadelphia or to book a hotel stay, visit the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s website at www.gophila.com/gay.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/national-equa…
Cop Investigated for threatening rainbow flag carriers
(Casa Grande, Arizona) A Casa Grande police officer is under investigation after allegedly threatening to arrest a group of gay demonstrators for carrying a rainbow flag within city limits.
The small group of demonstrators on Wednesday was protesting US tax law, which does not allow same-sex couples to file joint returns. …
Tours take in the sites of Harvey Milk’s life
he Oscar-nominated film Milk is igniting related tourism in San Francisco. The city played host during filming of this biopic about Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay people elected to a high public office.
Start your visit off with a trip to City Hall, where the city supervisor worked and is honored with a large rainbow flag and a series of photos. Tours are available weekdays at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. (sfgov.org/site/cityhall).
CITY GUIDE: More to see and do in San Francisco
Take the “Cruisin’ the Castro” Milk walking tour and visit everything from his former residence to the home of his ashes. Tour includes entry to the GLBT Historical Society’s Harvey Milk exhibit. Available Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., $55 (cruisinthecastro.com, 415-255-1821). For a quirkier view of the Castro District, visit some of Milk’s lesser-known stomping grounds with FOOT! comedy walking tours. Available Saturdays at 2 p.m., $32 (800-979-3370, foottours.com).
Top of your touring with a glass of “Harvey Milk Punch” from the JW Marriott Hotel’s Level III lounge (levelthreesf.com, 415-929-2087).
See Tours take in the sites of Harvey Milk’s life
USA Today -
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/tours-take-in…
Sculpture shows priests raising rainbow flag
(Brussels) Is it a joke? A very expensive hoax? A sly, shockingly satirical look at the 27 nations that make up the European Union?
Whatever one’s reaction, the new installation celebrating the Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the European Union has achieved the ultimate accomplishment of any piece of art: Create …
