Freedom Dems - News

House Passes Expanded Hate Crimes Bill - White House Threatens Veto

2007-05-03T13:04:00.000-05:00

By JIM ABRAMS
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Just hours after the White House issued a veto threat Thursday, the House voted to add gender and sexual orientation to the categories covered by federal hate crimes law.

The House legislation, passed 237-180, also makes it easier for federal law enforcement to take part in or assist local prosecutions involving bias-motivated attacks. Similar legislation is also moving through the Senate, setting the stage for another veto showdown with President Bush.

"This is an important vote of conscience, of a statement of what America is, a society that understands that we accept differences," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the only openly gay man in the House, presided over the chamber as the final vote was taken.

The vote came after fierce lobbying from civil rights groups, who have been pushing for years for added protections against hate crimes, and social conservatives, who say the bill threatens the right to express moral opposition to homosexuality and singles out groups of citizens for special protection.

The White House, in a statement warning of a veto, said state and local criminal laws already cover the new crimes defined under the bill, and there was "no persuasive demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of violent crime enforcement."

It also noted that the bill leaves other classes, such as the elderly, the military and police officers, without similar special status.

"Our criminal justice system has been built on the ideal of equal justice for all," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. "Under this bill justice will no longer be equal, but depend on the race, sex, sexual orientation, disability or status of the victim."

Republicans, in a parliamentary move that would have effectively killed the bill, tried to add seniors and the military to those qualifying for hate crimes protection. It was defeated on a mainly party-line vote.

Hate crimes under current federal law apply to acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, color, or national original. Federal prosecutors have jurisdiction only if the victim is engaged in a specific federally protected activity such as voting.

The House bill would extend the hate crimes category to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability and give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate crimes investigations. It approves $10 million over the next two years to help local law enforcement officials cover the cost of hate crimes prosecutions.

Federal investigators could step in if local authorities are unwilling or unable to act. The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights group, said this federal intervention could have made a difference in the case of Brandon Teena, the young Nebraska transsexual depicted in the movie "Boys Don't Cry" who was raped after two friends discovered that he was biologically female and then murdered when local police did not arrest those responsible.

For all information related to this story please see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050300775.html

Oregon's Gay Couples Win Marriage-Style Benefits

2007-05-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

Domestic-Partners Bill Clears Senate, Goes to Governor

Statesman Journal

Oregon will become the seventh state to grant same-sex couples full marriage-style benefits allowed by state law, after the Oregon Senate approved a landmark "domestic partnerships" bill Wednesday.

Senators voted 21-9 to approve House Bill 2007-A, with two Republicans joining all of the chamber's Democrats and one independent in support. Gov. Ted Kulongoski vows to sign the bill into law.

Passage of HB 2007-A, coupled with earlier approval of a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, marks a dramatic turnaround for gay rights in Oregon. It comes 2 1/2 years after Oregonians banned gay marriage at the ballot box when they passed Measure 36.

"It means that I'm no longer a second-class citizen in my own state," said Melanie Altaras, a senior at West Salem High School. "I have the opportunity to be recognized under the law with someone at some point in the future."

Gay-rights supporters still expect that conservative Christians will try to place one or both measures as a referendum on the November 2008 ballot. Opponents have three months after the 2007 legislative session closes to gather 55,179 signatures.

However, the Oregon Family Council, an evangelical Christian group that spearheaded the Measure 36 campaign, announced that it won't put either measure on the ballot.

"Right now, we're not planning on running a referendum," said Nick Graham, a spokesman for the Oregon Family Council.

Legislative leaders obliged the group by granting an exemption for religious organizations, so faith-based groups won't be forced to hire or serve gays and lesbians. The group also was pleased that the Legislature didn't tamper with marriage laws and instead added new legal language creating domestic partnerships, Graham said.

During the Ballot Measure 36 fight, Graham recalled, Oregon Family Council leaders said they would rather see the issue debated before the Legislature. That's what occurred this year, Graham said, although he said the group doesn't like the resulting bills.

After the 2004 upheaval in Oregon, when Multnomah and Benton counties briefly legalized gay marriage and voters banned the practice with the passage of Measure 36, Wednesday's debate seemed anticlimactic.

It was over in little more than a half-hour, and only one lawmaker spoke against the bill. Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla, complained that the bill failed to list all the statutes that will be amended to give same-sex couples new benefits.

Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, who is married but describes herself as bisexual, called the bill's passage a "giant step forward for gay and lesbian citizens in Oregon."
Sen. Frank Morse, R-Corvallis, who supported the bill, said Oregon must find a way to treat all citizens with dignity and respect, regardless of sexual orientation.

"Our task today is to find how big is Oregon's heart," Morse said.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, same-sex couples will be able to go to their county courthouse and enter into a legally binding contract that grants them rights and responsibilities. The benefits include nearly all those accorded to married couples under state law, covering the rights to jointly file state taxes, child custody, hospital visitation and inheritance rights, among others.

Oregon and other states with comparable statutes cannot offer marriage benefits to same-sex couples that derive from federal law, such as jointly filing federal taxes, Social Security and other benefits.

Some gay-rights advocates have complained about use of the term "domestic partnerships" rather than "civil unions." However, the bill grants same-sex couples a similar panoply of rights offered by other states, whether the term is gay marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships.

At a celebration after Wednesday's vote, Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland, the lone openly homosexual member of the Oregon Legislature, welcomed the news that Oregon Family Council won't seek a referendum. "Now we can just get on with our lives," she said.

For all information related to this article please see:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/LEGISLATURE/705030318/1042/STATE

and/or call slaw@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6615

Ft. Lauderdale -- Coral Ridge "Anti-GLBT" Ministries Disbands Political Unit

2007-05-01T10:41:00.000-05:00

As reported in the Miami Herald

BY ALEXANDRA ALTER AND BETH REINHARD

Bringing an end to ambitious goals that included raising $2 million to launch a Capitol Hill lobbying arm, opening a dozen regional offices and recruiting activists in all 435 congressional districts, the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America has shut its doors.

The conservative organization, part of the Rev. James D. Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, let its eight employees go last week. Coral Ridge also closed its Capitol Hill-based Center for Christian Statesmanship, founded in 1995 to convert lawmakers to evangelical Christianity.

Brian Fisher, executive vice president at Coral Ridge Ministries, said the closings are part of a larger effort to redefine the ministry's mission.

''We believe that by streamlining the operations we will be able to return to our core focus,'' he said.

Fisher said Coral Ridge officials plan to focus on television, radio and Internet, with plans to reach an audience of 30 million by 2012, up from 3 million today.

The closings mark a major shift for Coral Ridge Ministries, which runs the 10,000-member Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church at 5555 N. Federal Hwy. in Fort Lauderdale, television and radio ministries, a seminary and an evangelism training program and has an annual budget of $37 million.

Kennedy, 76, who suffered a heart attack in December, is recovering in a hospital in Michigan.

The change also comes at a pivotal moment for the religious right, which is casting about for a presidential candidate during the most wide-open campaign in more than half a century. The 2006 election delivered a major blow to Republican conservatives in Washington and in Florida, where their favored candidate for governor, Tom Gallagher, was soundly defeated. Earlier that year, a petition drive to put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the ballot fell short, despite the center's efforts.

BACKING WANES

Kennedy, an internationally renowned evangelist, founded the center more than a decade ago to advance conservative Christian values in state and national politics. But in recent years, the center has struggled to gain broad backing for its efforts to outlaw abortion, ban gay marriage and promote prayer and creationism in schools.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle, who for years has welcomed activists from around the world to the center's annual conference, said politicians seeking to appeal to the center were no longer actively courting Christian conservatives.

''After an election like that, candidates are packaging themselves in the middle, rather than to the right,'' he said. About 1,100 evangelicals -- 300 more than last year -- participated in the center's conference in March.

Naugle said he ''can't help'' but think that the center's closing has something to do with Kennedy's health. ''Certainly he was a driving force and a national recognized leader and, hopefully, his health will allow him to come back strong,'' he said.

Corwin Smidt, executive director of the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., said evangelical groups that are built around a single charismatic leader often struggle in the leader's absence.

NO REPLACEMENT

''For Kennedy, there's just no figure [to replace him] after he's gone,'' he said. ``These televangelists are able to generate a fair amount of money, but in terms of their institutional longevity, it's really at risk.''

He also sees the closings as part of a broader shift away from politics among Christian conservatives.

''There is a kind of retrenching, a regrouping, a rethinking among conservative Christians,'' Smidt said. ``Some people are saying for Christians to be involved in politics, we have to be much more aware of a variety of issues.''

Jennifer Hancock, associate director of the Humanists of Florida Association, said the closings offered evidence that Christian conservatives are losing some of their political clout.

''It's good news for us, and I think its good news for people who care about democracy,'' she said. ``These people were promoting theocracy in America.''

But Gary Cass, who had been the center's executive director for three years, said he plans to stay at the forefront of Christian activism.

''The fight continues because our cause has not changed and the stakes are so high,'' he said.

Gay Lawmakers Have Impact on Gaining Rights

2007-05-01T09:36:00.000-05:00

When Connecticut state Rep. Beth Bye's turn came to speak about the need for her legislature to approve gay marriage, she tearfully recalled her devout Catholic father's loving participation in her civil union ceremony, then described the pain of being excluded from actual marriage.

The freshman lawmaker recounted filling out a health care form: Her choices were "married," "divorced," "widowed," "single" or "other."

"Forgive me if I'm not patient," Bye told Connecticut's joint House-Senate Judiciary Committee. "I don't want to be 'other' anymore. I want to be married."

Bye's touching plea helped create a lopsided victory -- the 27-15 committee vote that endorsed opening marriage to gay couples. Gay marriage now goes to the full state House and Senate. (To watch Bye's moving testimonial, go to lmfct.org .)

Connecticut's breakthrough is one in a series of astonishing gay advances in the past three weeks. The headline-grabbing victories shared one thing in common: A gay lawmaker played a key role.

"We have seen in the last month at almost every major win, almost always there is an openly gay legislator behind that story," says Denis Dison of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which helps elect openly gay or transgender officials, who now number 370.

Here's a quick tick tock:

· April 12: Connecticut's Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approves same-sex marriage.

· April 19: Oregon Senate votes, 19-7, to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, public accommodations and public education. The House did as well, 35-25. Oregon's House also passed a domestic partner bill, 34-26, on April 17, which would grant gay couples the state-level rights of marriage. The Senate is expected to follow suit. Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, promises to sign both bills.

· April 21: Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, signs a domestic partnership bill, giving gay couples important marriage-like rights.

· April 24: Out gay U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., help reintroduce legislation to ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation and for the first time include gender identity. The bill's prospects are encouraging.

· April 25: Iowa's House votes 59-37 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity at work and many other places. Hours later, the Senate agrees, 34-16. Democratic Gov. Chet Culver says he'll sign the protections into law. (Iowa and Oregon will bring to 19 the states prohibiting anti-gay job discrimination and to 10 those banning anti-transgender discrimination.)

· April 26: New Hampshire's Senate follows its House by embracing civil unions, 14-10. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, says he'll sign it. So New Hampshire, which hosts the first 2008 presidential primary, will be the fourth civil union state. It is the first state to act without being prodded by a lawsuit.

· April 27: Five years after a gay state senator pushed for marriage equality, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, becomes the first governor to introduce gay marriage legislation.
If you ever wonder whether it's important for gay people to risk being out at work, just review this wonderful list. Gay lawmakers are rocketing our country forward.

Reach Deb Price at dprice@detnews.com or (202) 662-8736.

For all information related to this story please see:
http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/OPINION03/704300310

DNC Chairman Dean Proud of New Hampshire Civil Union Bill

2007-05-01T08:22:00.000-05:00

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch says he will sign a bill making civil unions legal in the Granite State.

Vermont was the first state to do so under then Governor Howard Dean. Last week Dean said he's proud of New Hampshire for following suit and says it's a debate that should happen at the state level. "You know I don't think marriage or civil unions are national issue. I think the defense of marriage act is unconstitutional. Clearly the states have the right to make these kinds of decisions about benefits and legal relationships and that's always been the way it is. I think there should be less federal regulation not more," Dean said.

Besides Vermont, two other states, New Jersey and Connecticut, offer civil unions. New Hampshire's law would take effect in January.

Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage.

For all information related to this story please see:

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=6443886&nav=4QcS

Conservative Black Pastors Fight To Defeat Bill on Hate Crimes = Anti GLBT!

2007-04-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

At Issue Are Sermons Against Homosexuality
By Hamil R. Harris

Washington Post Staff WriterSaturday, April 28, 2007; Page B09

A coalition of conservative African American pastors is lobbying Congress to vote against a bill that would extend federal hate-crimes laws to cover gays, saying they fear it would prevent them from preaching against homosexuality.

Several pastors last week urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), a sponsor of the bill, and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus to vote against the proposed Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

They say it would pin the hate crime label on their sermons against homosexuality, which they consider a sin.

"This bill will offer a status for gays, lesbians and transgender people under the equal protection status that can muzzle the black church," said Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr., pastor of Hope Christian Church in Lanham and founder of the High Impact Leader Coalition.

"This law can be applied in the way that can keep the church from preaching the Gospel."
Gay activists compare the bill to civil rights legislation of the 1960s.

"This legislation is needed because gay, lesbian, bisexual individuals are not protected under the law," said Bishop Kwabena "Rainey" Cheeks, pastor of Inner Light Ministries in the District and a member of the Human Rights Coalition. "Right now, people are being fired, being attacked on the streets, and we want the same civil rights protections as others have in this country.

The Rev. Marvin Winans, a Detroit pastor and member of the Grammy Award-winning Winans family, met with Conyers on Tuesday to lobby against the bill. "This is a specific bill, no matter how well intended, that will hurt America," he said.

Among the groups opposing the bill are the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the Family Research Council and Exodus International, a coalition of formerly gay Christians. The Unitarian Universalist Association, Integrity USA and the NAACP support the bill.

Despite the controversy, some of the most prominent pastors in the African American church are silent on the issue.

"In the church where I grew up, there wasn't a don't-ask-don't-tell policy," Winans said.
Phil Pannell, a longtime gay activist in the District, said he believes African Americans should be more understanding about discrimination toward gays.

"African Americans, more than most people, should know what it means to be a target," he said.

For information related to this article please see:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042701899.html

Transitioning to New Gender a Big Win for LA Times Sportswriter

2007-04-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

Old Mike, New Christine

During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. NFL columnist. Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.

Today I leave for a few weeks' vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.

As Christine.

I am a transsexual sportswriter.

It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.

That's OK. I understand that I am not the only one in transition as I move from Mike to Christine. Everyone who knows me and my work will be transitioning as well. That will take time. And that's all right. To borrow a piece of well-worn sports parlance, we will take it one day at a time.

Transsexualism is a complicated and widely misunderstood medical condition. It is a natural occurrence — unusual, no question, but natural.Recent studies have shown that such physiological factors as genetics and hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy can significantly affect how our brains are "wired" at birth.

As extensive therapy and testing have confirmed, my brain was wired female.A transgender friend provided the best and simplest explanation I have heard: We are born with this, we fight it as long as we can, and in the end it wins.

I gave it as good a fight as I possibly could. I went more than 40 hard rounds with it. Eventually, though, you realize you are only fighting yourself and your happiness and your mental health — a no-win situation any way you look at it.

When you reach the point when one gender causes heartache and unbearable discomfort, and the other brings more joy and fulfillment than you ever imagined possible, it shouldn't take two tons of bricks to fall in order to know what to do.

It didn't with me.With me, all it took was 1.99 tons.For more years than I care to count, I was scared to death over the prospect of writing a story such as this one. It was the most frightening of all the towering mountains of fear I somehow had to confront and struggle to scale.How do you go about sharing your most important truth, one you spent a lifetime trying to keep deeply buried, to a world that has grown familiar and comfortable with your façade?

To a world whose knowledge of transsexuals usually begins and ends with Jerry Springer's exploitation circus?Painfully and reluctantly, I began the coming-out process a few months ago. To my everlasting amazement, friends and colleagues almost universally have been supportive and encouraging, often breaking the tension with good-natured doses of humor.

When I told my boss Randy Harvey, he leaned back in his chair, looked through his office window to scan the newsroom and mused, "Well, no one can ever say we don't have diversity on this staff."

When I told Robert, the soccer-loving lad from Wales who cuts my hair, why I wanted to start growing my hair out, he had to take a seat, blink hard a few times and ask, "Does this mean you don't like football anymore, Mike?"No, I had to assure him, I still love soccer. I will continue to watch it. I hope to continue to coach it.

<<>>

For all information related to this story please see:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-oldmike26apr26,0,2709943.story?coll=la-home-headlines

West Palm Beach To Protect Transgender Residents

2007-04-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

The West Palm Beach City Commission has voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on gender identity and expression.

The ordinance requires one more Commission vote before being finalized.

The firing last month in Largo, Florida of City Manager Steve Stanton after Stanton began sex reassignment played a factor in the decision said a West Palm LGBT rights organization.
Stanton's firing prompted the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council to contact West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel.

"This type of blatant discrimination could happen to any of the transgender people living and working in West Palm Beach," warned civil rights attorney Rand Hoch, President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

"West Palm Beach provides protection from discrimination based on such diverse categories as race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and age. People who do not fit society's stereotypes of masculinity and femininity deserve the same protection," said Hoch.

Following his letter to Frankel, Hoch consulted with Heather Wright, facilitator of the gender support group that meets at COMPASS, Palm Beach County's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community center.

"Transgendered persons should be able to show they can still perform their job duties at expected performance levels during and after their transitions," said Wright. "If employers are required by law to provide equal opportunity, in most cases they will retain their valued employees."

"Gender identity reflects a person's own sense of identity as a man, a woman, something in between, or neither," explained Wright, who has been employed for almost a decade at a Fortune 500 company. Wright transitioned from male to female seven years ago.

"Gender expression is the external presentation or appearance of a person's internal gender image," said Wright. "We use the word 'transgender' to describe people whose gender identity does not fit traditional gender roles or whose gender identity or expression is not adequately described by the sex assigned to them at birth."

"It is not uncommon for transgendered persons to have felt since early childhood that something was wrong genderwise," said Wright.

At this evening's meeting, City Commission President Bill Moss reminded his colleagues about the City's long history of leadership on issues of fairness in employment matters.

Assistant City Attorney Joshua Koehler told the City Commission that to protect minorities from discrimination it was necessary to identify them specifically.

Although unable to attend the City Commission meeting, Frankel was reached in Tallahassee following this evening's vote.

"West Palm Beach is pleased to be a leader when it comes to human rights," said Frankel.

"Tonight West Palm Beach has sent a very clear message to employers, landlords, and business owners that people who do not fit traditional gender stereotypes deserve the same protections as other minorities who have been victims of discrimination," said Hoch.

"While, I work for a company truly that values diversity, many other transgendered people are not given the same opportunity to prove themselves on the job," said Wright. "It is unfortunate that having this opportunity is the exception – rather than the rule – in the business world. That is why this ordinance is so important."

The City Commission will vote again on May 7 before the law takes effect.

In 1991 West Palm Beach became the first Florida city to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in public employment. The following year, the city established another Florida landmark by becoming the first to extend domestic partnership benefits to municipal employees.

Only Gulfport, Key West, Miami Beach and Monroe County prohibit both public and private employers from discriminating based on gender expression and identity.

For all information related to this story please see:

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/04/042507palm.htm

Iowa Legislators Support Bill Protecting Gay Rights

2007-04-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

Measure Bars Bias Based on Sexual Orientation

By JASON CLAYWORTH

Legislation to add sexual orientation to Iowa's civil-rights laws passed the House and the Senate on a bipartisan vote Wednesday, breaking a long-running stalemate over the issue.

The proposal now goes to the governor, who is expected to sign the bill."It is a historic vote," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Des Moines Democrat. "I also think it was a mainstream vote. This was not some sort of liberal social agenda. This is just saying that under housing and employment, people should not be discriminated based upon their real or perceived sexual orientation."

Senate File 427 would make it illegal to discriminate in employment, public accommodation, credit, housing and education based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.The House passed the measure in a 59-37 vote. Nine Republicans voted in favor of the plan, while three Democrats voted against it.

The Senate, late Wednesday night, voted to approve the changes made by the House on a 34-16 vote. Five senators voted for the bill, while one Democrat voted against.Critics have said the proposal is unnecessary and would spawn lawsuits against businesses. They also say they fear it could be followed by efforts to repeal the state law banning gay marriage.

Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, called the proposal "legislative malpractice." Under the proposal, an elementary teacher, "Mr. Jones," could dress like "Mrs. Jones" and "shock the conscious of students" without repercussions, he said.

"We don't think sexually immoral behavior should be made into a protected class," Hurley said. "That's not the purpose of the civil rights code."

But people such as Carolyn Cutrona say the plan simply makes sense. Cutrona isn't gay, but she has a daughter who is a lesbian. The Ames mother said she has faced the heartbreak of seeing a child be vulnerable to discrimination that is currently legal under Iowa law.

Gina Russell, 25, was in eighth grade when she told her mother she was gay.Cutrona immediately accepted her daughter's sexuality but worried about the discrimination her daughter faced.

"I was always afraid for her safety, but I knew she had to be herself and all I could do is try to make Iowa a safer place for her," said Cutrona, who has championed equal rights for gays and lesbians for about 10 years. Iowa Senate approved the proposal last month, but the issue stalled in the House as Democrats found they did not have enough votes to pass it.

A compromise plan strikes "appearance, expression, or behavior" from protection related to gender identity. House Democratic leaders accepted the compromise and made the decision to bring up the bill Wednesday not knowing whether it would pass.

For all information related to this story please see:

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/NEWS10/704260402/-1/SPORTS01&template=printart

GBLT Community Making headlines and History in Puerto Rico

2007-04-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

April 18 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reports that Communications Coordinator Pedro Julio Serrano made headlines following his testimony before a commission overseeing the revision of the civil code in Puerto Rico.

In a moving speech, Serrano implored the commission to support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry, and he called for transgender rights. At the April 11 hearing, Serrano (pictured, right) kissed his partner, Steven Toledo, prompting gasps by some and extensive media attention in Puerto Rico and beyond.

For all information related to this story please see:
http://www.thetaskforce.org/

CALL TO ACTION: From Lambda Legal…Sign Up to "Clock In" for Equality

2007-04-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

CALL TO ACTION

Lambda Legal Call to Action: Click Here Now For All Information

From the offices of Lambda Legal:

On Tuesday, May 15, thousands of people across the country will join Lambda Legal for Clock In for Equality, the first-ever national day of action for workplace fairness. Working together, we will bring attention to the discrimination and harassment LGBT people and people with HIV face every day, and the need for improved legal protections and workplace policies.

We need your help.

Sign and display an ally pledge. Contact an elected official. Wear a button or sticker to work. Your simple action on May 15 will help us send the strongest message possible. And because efforts are under way to pass the federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act this year, there has never been a better time for all of us to fight for workplace rights.

Sign up now. Clock In for Equality is just four weeks away! And if you sign up today, you can still order free Clock In for Equality buttons and stickers. The last day to place your order is Monday, April 23.

More than 130 organizations have already signed on. Your participation will make a difference.

Clock In. Speak Out. Sign Up Today.

Lambda Legal Call to Action: Click Here Now For All Information

What's At Stake:

LGBT people and people with HIV continue to face discrimination in the workplace.

In Lambda Legal’s 2005 Workplace Fairness Survey:

39% of respondents reported experiencing some form of discrimination or harassment in the workplace during the past five years because of their sexual orientation.

Workplace fairness is the number one issue for callers to Lambda Legal’s Help Desk.

But there is still no federal law that expressly forbids workplace discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Only 18 states ban workplace discrimination in the private sector based on sexual orientation, and only eight currently ban discrimination based on gender identity.

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act and similar state laws do protect people with HIV from discrimination, but they are often misunderstood or ignored by employers.

Campaign Expiration Date: May 15, 2007

Lambda Legal Call to Action: Click Here Now For All Information

UPDATE: Oregon House OKs Domestic Partnerships

2007-04-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

Christopher Rizo - All Headline News Staff Writer

Salem, OR (AHN) - The Oregon House of Representatives voted 34-26 today to give same-sex couples many of the rights now afforded only to those who are legally married.

If approved by the state Senate and signed by the governor, House Bill 2007 would put same-sex couples on the same legal footing as married couples when it comes to estate planning and medical decision-making, but stops short of civil union laws on the books in Vermont and Connecticut.

After spirited debate, three House Republicans joined all 31 Democrats in supporting the bill; 26 Republicans voted against it.

While Democrats have argued that extending protections to Oregon's gay and lesbian couples is a matter of fairness, Republicans contend that legally recognizing same-sex couples is not the civil rights issue some proponents of the bill have framed it to be.

"I have met former homosexuals; I have not met former Blacks or Hispanics," said Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford. "I don't believe what you chose to do makes you a minority."
Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill into law.

Many House Republicans say they would have been more inclined to support the bill if the law had extended so-called "reciprocal benefits" to couples who cannot legally marry, regardless of their sexual orientation, such as unmarried sisters. Under such a system, as is in Hawaii, registered pairs have limited protections under the law, including hospital visitation rights and the ability to make medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated partner.

"I don't care what they call it, as long as it's identical to marriage because anything less than identical would be second-class," said Leslie A. Stone, chair of the Abdill-Ellis Lambda Community Center, which serves the gay and lesbian community in Ashland.

Among other things, the legislation would require registered same-sex couples be Oregon residents. Couples would simply enter into a contract recorded with the state to be recognized.
A similar bill passed the state Senate in 2005, but former House Speaker Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, after a protracted debate in the Senate, refused to allow a House vote on the measure, believing that it would thwart the will of Oregon voters, who have voted to ban same-sex marriage.

This year, observers on both sides of the issue agree that with the political dynamic as it is in the state, with Democrats in control of the Legislature, Oregon could very well become the fourth state in the nation to approve domestic partner legislation for same-sex couples, joining California, Washington and Maine.

Only one state, Massachusetts, allows gays to marry; Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont have civil unions. Hawaii uniquely has a reciprocal benefits law.
Opposed to the bill is the Oregon Family Council, the muscle behind Measure 36, which voters in 2004 overwhelmingly approved to limit marriage constitutionally to a union only between one man and one woman.

Spokesman Nick Graham said the Oregon Family Council opposes legislation to amend Oregon's marriage laws to give "special protections" to gays and lesbians.

"We do not believe that sexual orientation should qualify as a minority class under Oregon law," he said.

For all information related to this story please see either:

www.TowleRoad.com or

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007072837

CALL TO ACTION: Tell Legislators to Pass New Federal Hate Crimes Legislation, aka The Matthew Shepard Bill....It takes 2 minutes!

2007-04-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

CALL TO ACTION: Tell Your Legislators to Pass New Hate Crimes Legislation, aka The Matthew Shepard Bill....

It takes 2 minutes!

Freedom Democrats ask that you please take 2 minutes to tell elected officials to pass a Federally Mandated Hates Crimes Bill that includes sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability.

In the wake of the recent brutal killings in Detroit and our own home state of Florida, please scroll down to see story on the brutal, hate crime murder of Polk Country resident Ryan Keith Skipper, we must act. ALL OF US!

Human Rights Campaign Fund (“HRC”) has made it very easy to send 1 or more letters to your legislators in Washington, DC.

I sent 3 letters in less time than it takes to read this blog entry.

Please click here now:
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/fighthate_house

OUR lives and the lives of those yet unborn depend our action.

Freedom Democrats

CALL TO ACTION: Paper Trail For ALL Florida Elections

2007-04-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

Freedom Democrats have not, as an organization, taken a postion on the following Call To Action, but encourage all Florida residents to understand the importace of the issue and act accordingly.

The Florida's Voter Coalition has made it very easy to petition your government official on election reform. Please see entire entry below.

CALL TO ACTION

The following is presented and written by:

Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay
Pamela Haengel, President
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
www.VIATampaBay.org
Office (727) 821-1116
Cell (727) 244-9064
Fax (727) 896-4132

The Florida Voters Coalition, Florida’s largest non-partisan coalition seeking sound election reform, announces the launch of its Go All The Way Florida Campaign to press the State of Florida to make essential improvements to Governor Crist’s announced “paper trail” plan and the current bill language that will implement it. While the Governor’s plan certainly moves in the right direction it falls short in several essential areas presented clearly and briefly in our Position Paper (appended at the bottom of this email).

FVC will hold a press conference in Tallahassee on Monday to formally announce the campaign, between a battery of appointments with legislators and state officials.

We need your help to let Tallahassee hear from voters!

We’ll have to be very loud to be heard over all that money changing hands. So here’s what we need you, your friends, and your organizations to do to really pull the trigger on this campaign over Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and later if you’re not able to do it sooner. Also, it will help to keep the pressure up right through ‘till the end of session on 4 May so keep looking for ways to shout it from the rooftops – you are watching and you want them to Go All The Way!

Sample letters to cut and paste can be found below. Scroll down to the one you want. Don’t be afraid to do a couple now and come back and do a couple more later. Thanks!

* Contact the Governor (mail, fax or phone here: <http://www.flgov.com/contact_form> (don’t use the form) – or email here: <mailto:Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com> )
* Contact the Secretary of State ( <http://oss.dos.state.fl.us/contact-sos.cfm> fax or phone here – or email here: <mailto:secretaryofstate@dos.state.fl.us> )
* Contact your State Senator ( <http://flsenate.gov/Legislators/index.cfm?Mode=Find%20Your%20Legislators&Submenu=3&Tab=legislators&CFID=32266127&CFTOKEN=72709096> here’s how (use the USPS zip+4 lookup service))
* Contact your State Representative (here’s how (use the USPS zip+4 lookup service))

Tell all of them that you want Florida officials to Go All The Way. (use Go All The Way in your Re: or Subject lines) Sample letters are included below. Tell them you support the FVC 2007 Position Paper on Voting Systems. Letters and faxes are best. Phone calls are next best. E-mails never hurt but are more easily ignored. It’s always OK to attach the Position Paper.

Our www.GoAllTheWayFlorida.com: <http://www.goallthewayflorida.com/> website should be up by Monday and a good source for news and links. If you have questions about the campaign, please call our Legislative Liaison, Rebecca Sager, at 850-391-0784.

Thank you from all of us at FVC and all voters in Florida and beyond!

Endorsements – As of 6 April 2007

National Organizations - Alphabetical by Organization

* Ralph Miller, Executive Director, <http://www.latinosforamerica.com/> Latinos for America
* Megan Matson, Director, <http://www.themmob.org/> Mainstreet Moms
* Becky Bond, Co-Director, <http://www.pollworkersfordemocracy.com/> Pollworkers for Democracy
* Pamela Smith, President, <http://www.verifiedvoting.org/> VerifiedVoting.org
* Dan McCrea, Florida State Director, <http://www.verifiedvoting.org/> Voter Action
* John Gideon, Executive Director, <http://www.votersunite.org/> VotersUnite.org
* Joan Krawitz, Executive Director, <http://www.votetrustusa.org/> VoteTrustUSA

State of Florida Organizations - Alphabetical by Organization

* Howard Simon, Executive Director, ACLU of
Florida: <http://www.aclufl.org/>
* Jeannette D. Wynn, President, Florida Council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: <http://www.afscmefl.org/> (AFSCME)
* Cynthia Hall, President, Florida AFL-CIO: <http://www.flaflcio.org/>
* Ellen Brodsky, Executive Director, Broward Election Reform Coalition: <http://www.browardelectionreform.org/> (BERC)
* Ben Wilcox, Executive Director, <http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1699525> Common Cause Florida
* Susan Pynchon, Executive Director, <http://www.floridafairelections.org/> Florida Fair Elections Coalition (FFEC)
* Ion Sancho, Supervisor of Elections, Leon County Department of Elections: <http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/elect/Index.asp?page=links.asp>
* Trevor Harvey, President, <http://www.naacp.org/community/> Sarasota County Branch, NAACP
* Susan Van Houten, Co-Founder, Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform
* Brad Ashwell, <http://www.floridapirg.org/> Florida Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)
* Kindra Muntz, President, Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections: <http://www.safevote.org/> (SAFE)
* Sevell C. Brown III, Florida State President, <http://sclcnational.org/net/content/default.aspx?s=0.0.12.2607> Southern Christian Leadership Conference
* Jim Pillow, Political Coordinator, Teamsters Local 385 Orlando: <http://www.local385.org/>
* Fred Seidl, Coordinator, Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry, Florida: <http://www.floridadistrict.org/>
* Gene Jones, Florida Veterans for Common Sense: <http://www.floridaveteransforcommonsense.org/>
* Pamela Haengel, President, <http://www.viatampabay.org/> Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay (VIA Tampa Bay)

********************************************************************************************
Sample letter to the GOVERNOR below – Just cut and paste and off you go
****************************************************************************************
Date:

Re: SUPPORT for the Florida Voters Coalition Go All The Way Campaign

Dear Governor Crist,

I’m writing to express my strong support for the Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) Go All The Way Campaign. I applaud your initiative to restore voter confidence in Florida’s beleaguered elections. At the same time, I can’t see why you would leave the disabled behind or leave a meaningful audit requirement under-specified or allow audit reporting after certification of the election it’s meant to check, and a recount law gutted in 2005. Why not Go All The Way?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?

All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all election? And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

All elections deserve recounts that work. Florida’s recount law needs to be amended to restore its purpose of more closely checking a tight election. It was gutted in 2005, largely to accommodate the impossibilities placed on it by digital ballots. All the 2005 gutting accomplished was to produce the inadequate recount we observed in Sarasota. Why not Go All The Way to restoring voter confidence in Florida elections which would be assisted greatly by restoring a valid recount law?

Voters in future elections deserve a proactive government that works for them. So much has changed since the rude awakening of the 2000 election. Technology and the laws that govern its use, as well as administrations that conduct our elections, have all changed significantly. During that time, it doesn’t appear that voters have been the first concern of Florida’s efforts to solicit, test, and certify new and innovative voting systems. Disabled and language minority voters, the elderly, and ethnic minority voters have routinely suffered the greatest disenfranchisement during this upheaval of change. All Florida’s future voters deserve better. Florida officials at both state and county levels need to Go All The Way in both word and deed to assure future Florida voters that voters will come first – all voters equally – all voters together.

I look forward to seeing my reply from you in the legislation passed and changes implemented. I shall be watching how my state and local officials vote on this matter. I shall vote for them depending on how they vote for me.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters. Please read the FVC Position Paper and don’t stop short of implementing the secure and equitable elections it prescribes. Florida mustn’t stop short. Now is the time to Go All The Way Florida!

Very truly yours,

********************************************************************************************
Sample letter to the SECRETARY OF STATE below – Just cut and paste and off you go
********************************************************************************************
Date:

Re: SUPPORT for the Florida Voters Coalition Go All The Way Campaign

Dear Secretary Browning,

I’m writing to express my strong support for the Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) Go All The Way Campaign. I applaud the Governor’s initiative to restore voter confidence in Florida’s beleaguered elections. At the same time, I can’t see why you would leave the disabled behind or leave a meaningful audit requirement under-specified or allow audit reporting after certification of the election it’s meant to check, and a recount law gutted in 2005. Why not Go All The Way?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?

All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all elections.. And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

All elections deserve recounts that work. Florida’s recount law needs to be amended to restore its purpose of more closely checking a tight election. It was gutted in 2005, largely to accommodate the impossibilities placed on it by digital ballots. All the 2005 gutting accomplished was to produce the inadequate recount we observed in Sarasota. Why not Go All The Way to restoring voter confidence in Florida elections which would be assisted greatly by restoring a valid recount law?

Voters in future elections deserve a proactive government that works for them. So much has changed since the rude awakening of the 2000 election. Technology and the laws that govern its use, as well as administrations that conduct our elections, have all changed significantly. During that time, it doesn’t appear that voters have been the first concern of Florida’s efforts to solicit, test, and certify new and innovative voting systems. Disabled and language minority voters, the elderly, and ethnic minority voters have routinely suffered the greatest disenfranchisement during this upheaval of change. All Florida’s future voters deserve better. Florida officials at both state and county levels need to Go All The Way in both word and deed to assure future Florida voters that voters will come first – all voters equally – all voters together.

I look forward to seeing my reply from you in the legislation passed and changes implemented. I shall be watching how my state and local officials vote on this matter. I shall vote for them depending on how they vote for me.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters. Please read the FVC Position Paper and don’t stop short of implementing the secure and equitable elections it prescribes. Florida mustn’t stop short. Now is the time to Go All The Way Florida!

Very truly yours,

********************************************************************************************
Sample letter to your STATE SENATOR below – Just cut and paste and off you go
********************************************************************************************
Date:

Re: SUPPORT for the Florida Voters Coalition Go All The Way Campaign

Dear Senator _____________,

I’m writing to express my strong support for the Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) Go All The Way Campaign. I applaud Governor Crist’s initiative to restore voter confidence in Florida’s beleaguered elections. At the same time, I can’t see why our state would leave the disabled behind or leave a meaningful audit requirement under-specified or allow audit reporting after certification of the election it’s meant to check, and a recount law gutted in 2005. Why not Go All The Way?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?
All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all elections. And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

All elections deserve recounts that work. Florida’s recount law needs to be amended to restore its purpose of more closely checking a tight election. It was gutted in 2005, largely to accommodate the impossibilities placed on it by digital ballots. All the 2005 gutting accomplished was to produce the inadequate recount we observed in Sarasota. Why not Go All The Way to restoring voter confidence in Florida elections which would be assisted greatly by restoring a valid recount law?

Voters in future elections deserve a proactive government that works for them. So much has changed since the rude awakening of the 2000 election. Technology and the laws that govern its use, as well as administrations that conduct our elections, have all changed significantly. During that time, it doesn’t appear that voters have been the first concern of Florida’s efforts to solicit, test, and certify new and innovative voting systems. Disabled and language minority voters, the elderly, and ethnic minority voters have routinely suffered the greatest disenfranchisement during this upheaval of change. All Florida’s future voters deserve better. Florida officials at both state and county levels need to Go All The Way in both word and deed to assure future Florida voters that voters will come first – all voters equally – all voters together.

I look forward to seeing my reply from you in the legislation passed and changes implemented. I shall be watching how my state and local officials vote on this matter. I shall vote for them depending on how they vote for me.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters. Please read the FVC Position Paper and don’t stop short of implementing the secure and equitable elections it prescribes. Florida mustn’t stop short. Now is the time to Go All The Way Florida!

Very truly yours,

*******************************************************************************************
Sample letter to your STATE REPRESENTATIVE below – Just cut and paste and off you go
********************************************************************************************

Date:

Re: SUPPORT for the Florida Voters Coalition Go All The Way Campaign

Dear Representative ______________,

I’m writing to express my strong support for the Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) Go All The Way Campaign. I applaud Governor’s Crist’s initiative to restore voter confidence in Florida’s beleaguered elections. At the same time, I can’t see why our state would leave the disabled behind or leave a meaningful audit requirement under-specified or allow audit reporting after certification of the election it’s meant to check, and a recount law gutted in 2005. Why not Go All The Way?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?

All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all elections. And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?

All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all elections. And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

All elections deserve recounts that work. Florida’s recount law needs to be amended to restore its purpose of more closely checking a tight election. It was gutted in 2005, largely to accommodate the impossibilities placed on it by digital ballots. All the 2005 gutting accomplished was to produce the inadequate recount we observed in Sarasota. Why not Go All The Way to restoring voter confidence in Florida elections which would be assisted greatly by restoring a valid recount law?

Voters in future elections deserve a proactive government that works for them. So much has changed since the rude awakening of the 2000 election. Technology and the laws that govern its use, as well as administrations that conduct our elections, have all changed significantly. During that time, it doesn’t appear that voters have been the first concern of Florida’s efforts to solicit, test, and certify new and innovative voting systems. Disabled and language minority voters, the elderly, and ethnic minority voters have routinely suffered the greatest disenfranchisement during this upheaval of change. All Florida’s future voters deserve better. Florida officials at both state and county levels need to Go All The Way in both word and deed to assure future Florida voters that voters will come first – all voters equally – all voters together.

I look forward to seeing my reply in the legislation passed and changes implemented.. I shall be watching how my state and local officials vote on this matter. I shall vote for them depending on how they vote for me.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters. Please read the FVC Position Paper and stand with Florida's voters in demanding that our elected officials implement the secure and equitable elections it prescribes. Florida mustn’t stop short. Now is the time to Go All The Way Florida!

Very truly yours,

********************************************************************************************
Sample letter to your COUNTY OFFICIALS below – Just cut and paste and off you go
********************************************************************************************

Date:

Re: SUPPORT for the Florida Voters Coalition Go All The Way Campaign

Dear ________________________,

I’m writing to express my strong support for the Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) Go All The Way Campaign. I applaud Governor Crist’s initiative to restore voter confidence in Florida’s beleaguered elections. At the same time, I can’t see why our state would leave the disabled behind or leave a meaningful audit requirement under-specified or allow audit reporting after certification of the election it’s meant to check, and a recount law gutted in 2005. Why not Go All The Way?

All voters deserve a paper ballot. Why leave disabled voters voting as second class citizens? Why throw good money after bad trying to rig touchscreen DREs with printers, or buying whole new DREs when digital ballots are fit for no one? Why waste those HAVA dollars? Why leave our election laws shot full of the holes made by stretching them trying to accommodate digital ballots? Why burden counties with the cost and headaches of running dual systems? Why leave Florida elections loaded with glitches poised to be the embarrassments of tomorrow? Why not Go All They Way when the plan goes so far in the right direction?

All elections deserve meaningful audits. Why provide for audits, which I applaud, but stop short of requiring that they are statistically significant audits – yielding a confidence level – instead of fixed percentage audits when any statistician can explain why one size cannot fit all elections. And why would we report audit findings after certification? Would you like a letter from your bank telling you that their audit revealed last month’s mistakes but this is just an FYI because it’s too late to correct the mistakes? Why not Go All The Way to provide statistically significant audits and ensure they find and correct problems in the election on which they are performed?

Vigils in Memory of Slain GLBT Youth Garner Florida Statewide Attention

2007-04-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Miami, Florida (April 15, 2007) – Freedom Democrats report that over 50 Miami Dade residents attended a special vigil on Saturday April 14. The vigil was in memory of Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25-year-old Polk County man murdered and his body left on the side of a road in what the Sheriff's office is classifying as an anti-gay hate crime. The vigil was sponsored by Equality Florida and Pridelines Youth Services, a Miami Dade organization supporting GLBT youth.

Ryan’s father, mother, brother and friends gathered at the main vigil in Winterhaven Florida where Ryan lived and the murder occurred - over 200 people attended. Over 1,000 people attended 14 vigils across Florida and in Washington DC (Winter Haven – 200, Fort Lauderdale –100, Tampa 75, Palm Beach 75, Miami 50, Tallahassee 50, Jacksonville 50).

Ryan Keith Skipper 1981-2007
The Vigil started at 1:00 pm and was held at Pridelines Youth Services. David Cornell, Director of Development at Dade Community Foundation opened the vigil with comments on hate crimes in Miami Dade. Stratton Pollitzer, Deputy Director of Equality Florida, continued with statements regarding hate crimes across Florida and continued inaction from legislators in Tallahassee to address a comprehensive hate crimes bill for Florida. At 1:20 pm the group held a minute of silence. Similar vigils were held simultaneously across Florida in 14 other cities and Washington, DC. 1:20 pm was the time picked because Ryan Keith Skipper’s body was found at 1:20 am in Polk County, Florida exactly 30 days previously.

Harry Congdon, Chairman of Pridelines Youth Services, then addressed the gathering with four Miami Dade students who read comments from friends honoring Ryan Keith Skipper. Other attendees included Miami Dade activist and Save Dade member, Joan Schaeffer, North Miami Beach City Councilman, Scott Galvin, President of Freedom Democrats, Chip Arndt, and Head of the South Florida Chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, Robert Loupo.

Ryan was brutally stabbed at least 20 times and his car and a laptop computer were stolen. According to witnesses, two suspects drove Ryan's bloody car around and bragged to their friends about savagely killing him. To read an in-depth article about the attack and what the loss of Ryan has meant to those who were closest to him, click here: Equality Florida full story.

left to right: Harry Congdon, Robert Loupo, Stratton Pollitzer,
Chip Arndt, Scott Gavin, and David Cornell

Chip Arndt, President of the Freedom Democrats, states: “It is 2007 and we are still arguing whether we should protect GLBT US citizens in Florida and across this country. This vigil honored a loving human being and was very sad. Shame on our government officials and shame on all of us for not standing up for each and every person to be who they are; sticking our heads in the sand is immoral and leads to a generation of youth who think it acceptable to discriminate against others unlike them. I am outraged and it is time to hold every public official accountable for their silence on rights and protections of GLBT peoples.”

The Florida and Washington, DC vigils and Ryan Keith Skipper’s death come almost three weeks after new hate crimes legislation was reintroduced to the US Congress under the name of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in a similar fashion to Ryan Keith Skipper over 10 years ago in Wyoming.

The new legislation is titled the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (LLEHCPA) and is a measured response to the unrelenting and under-addressed problem of violent hate crimes committed against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability.

According to the Attorney General’s Hate Crimes Report, physical assaults against LGBT people in Florida have increased in 6 out of the last 7 reported years. In 2003, then Attorney General Crist described anti-gay hate crimes as increasing “relentlessly over the past 5 years.” The following year, we saw an additional 21% increase in the number of physical attacks against LGBT people. During 2005, the most recently reported year, 62% of hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people were in the most violent categories. No other group came close.

Freedom Democrats join Equality Florida, and many other organizations across the nation, to once again call on local, state and federal leadership to do more in the face of the rising tide of anti-Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender violence in Florida and the United States.
Letters of support and donations to the family of Ryan Keith Skipper can be sent to:

The Ryan Keith Skipper Foundation
c/o Jesse Bennett Jr. P.A.
146 Avenue B North West
Winter Haven, FL 33880

Freedom Democrats

Freedom Democrats, http://www.freedomdems.org/, is a registered Florida Democratic Caucus under the Florida State Democratic Party. We focus on representing the rights and concerns of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (“GLBT”) community in Miami Dade and electing Democrats to office. All citizens and Democrats, regardless of age, sex, color, religion or sexual orientation are encouraged to join and participate in our conversations. We are an open and nurturing organization. Please contact us at: info@freedomdems.org or 305.895.9466 x113 and ask for Chip Arndt.

*****************************************************************
Chip Arndt
President, Freedom Democrats
Info@FreedomDems.org
305.895.9466 x113

Clinton, Edwards, Obama Dodge GI Sodomy…Other Presential Dems. Chime In… Positively

2007-04-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

Freedom Democrats Comments: Remember Supreme Court 2003 Lawrence v Texas sodomy ruling?

By: PAUL SCHINDLER

In a crowd of eight Democratic presidential contenders who have all voiced opposition to the Pentagon's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy barring open service by gay and lesbian soldiers, only four show a willingness to speak out as well against the sodomy ban that is part of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.Gay City News this week queried all eight Democratic campaigns, as well as those of the nine Republicans who have thrown their hats in the ring.

Of the 17 candidates, only Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel indicated that they believe the privacy protections articulated in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas ruling - which overturned that state's anti-gay sodomy law - should be extended to those serving in the military.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson's campaign sent this newspaper an e-mail pointing to his opposition to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and emphasizing his success in his state in enacting a hate crimes law and nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The e-mail did not address the issue of the military sodomy ban.

Significantly, the campaigns of the three Democrats viewed at this early stage in the race as the frontrunners - New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, and former North Carolina Senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards - did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.

Gay City News first posed the military sodomy question to the Clinton campaign in mid-March in the wake of what was widely viewed as her misstep in responding slowly and cautiously to the remarks by General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying gay people are "immoral."It should be noted that none of the nine GOP presidential hopefuls support overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

In 2000, at the time he was still contemplating a run against Clinton for the open New York Senate seat, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated his opposition to the ban on open gay service. However, since announcing his presidential bid earlier this year, Giuliani has flip-flopped on the issue. At Manhattan's St. Patrick's Day Parade, he told Gay City News' Andy Humm, "The policy should stay the same while we're at war... We're in a particularly intense phase."

Advocates for ending the ban, including Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Martin Meehan, the sponsor of legislation to overturn Don't Ask, have argued that the force depletion created by the military's obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan compound the irrationality of the policy.

Despite some highly publicized manpower snafus resulting from Don't Ask, Don't Tell - most prominently the dismissal of dozens of gay and lesbian Middle Eastern linguistic experts - the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) notes that discharges are down significantly in the past several years. In practice, the group suggests, the military has quietly moved away from the policy in the face of challenges on the ground.

Of the nine Republicans in the race, only the campaigns of Arizona Senator John McCain and Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo responded, both indicating their continued support for Don't Ask Don't Tell. Alan Moore, a Tancredo spokesman, wrote via e-mail, "The Congressman supports the 'don't ask, don't tell policy' therefore he also supports the military ban on sodomy."

In fact although SLDN does not have firm numbers, it indicated that the bulk of the sodomy prosecutions in the military, which target both anal and oral sex, are pursued against heterosexual soldiers. Gay soldiers accused of sodomy are instead typically discharged under the Don't Ask policy.

The campaigns of Giuliani, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, California Congressman Duncan Hunter, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson did not respond as of press time.Kucinich told Gay City News, in a phone call, "People who serve in the military fight for everyone else's rights and they shouldn't have to fight for their own. During my presidency, government will stay out of people's bedrooms and also stay out of their e-mails, their bank records, their library records, and their medical records."

Gravel, who served two terms in the Senate ending in 1981, this week submitted an op-ed to Gay City News calling for an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. His communications director, Elliott Jacobson, told the newspaper, "The senator is committed to conforming military policy to the Lawrence decision. In other words, people should be allowed to do whatever the heck they want."Biden's campaign sent an e-mail that referred to "the Supreme Court's clear and unmistakable view in Lawrence that the sex lives of consenting adults are a private matter... [and that should] apply to every American, both civilian and military."

The Dodd campaign wrote that the senator believes "every American has the right to privacy and that should be extended to members of the military."

When General Pace last month asserted that gay people are "immoral," both Clinton and Obama faced harsh criticism for their initial responses that emphasized their opposition to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but sidestepped the issue of morality. After several evolving clarifications, Clinton, the following day, said, "I should have echoed my colleague Senator John Warner's statement forcefully stating that homosexuality is not immoral because that is what I believe."

Then in a separate comment, she added, "Then let the Uniform Code of Military Justice determine if conduct is inappropriate or unbecoming."

In the wake of that statement, Gay City News asked her Senate office whether the reference to the UCMJ meant that the senator supports open service by gay soldiers only if they do not run afoul of the sodomy ban. The e-mailed response was that Clinton was "referring to inappropriate relationships - such as between officer and enlisted, or between commander and subordinate - irrespective of orientation." Since that time, however, neither Clinton's Senate office nor her campaign has responded to requests to clarify whether she is in fact opposed to the UCMJ's bar on sodomy.

The candidates' reticence on the sodomy issue may in part be due to the lack of discussion about it among LGBT advocates generally.

Steve Ralls, an SLDN spokesman, told Gay City News regarding his group's discussions with presidential candidates, "It is not an issue we are pressing with them. It is not something that candidates like to talk about. We are trying to get them to talk about Don't Ask, Don't Tell and help them understand the connection to Don't Ask, Don't Tell of [the sodomy ban], because it is one of the foundation issues."

For all information related to this story please see:
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18202573&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6

Iraq: New Murders of Gays

2007-04-12T23:55:00.000-05:00

By: DOUG IRELAND

Iraqi LGBT - the London-based group with a network of members and supporters inside Iraq that documents anti-gay violence - last week released details on the latest series of murders of Iraqi gays by fanatical Islamist death squads.

At the same time, the group said lack of money will force it to close two of the six safe houses it maintains in Iraq for gay Iraqis who have been threatened with death and forced to flee their homes. And the group's coordinator has himself been targeted for death by an anti-gay fatwa.

"I received a death fatwa targeting me and sent to my personal e-mail address last month," Ali Hili, the 33-year-old gay Iraqi exile who is the full-time volunteer coordinator of Iraqi LGBT, told Gay City News by telephone from London. "It came from the official headquarters of Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Qum, Iran, and was stamped with his signature.

"The 78-year-old Sistani, the Iranian-born and educated cleric who is the spiritual leader of all Iraqi Shia Muslims, issued an infamous fatwa calling for death for all gays and all lesbians in "the most severe way possible" in October 2005. That fatwa, or religiously-inspired legal pronouncement, led to the deployment of anti-gay death squads by the Badr Corps, the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the most powerful political Shia group in that nation and the cornerstone of the current Iraqi government. The Badr Corps was integrated into the Iraqi Interior Ministry last fall, and its members now wear police uniforms and are able to operate with full police powers.

Gay City News first broke the story about the systematic murder of Iraqi gays in March 2006 (see this reporter's article, "Shia Death Squads Target Iraqi Gays-U.S. Indifferent," March 23-29, 2006).

Hili, who was the subject of a lengthy profile by David France in the February issue of GQ Magazine, said the fatwa targeting him, which demanded that he "repent" his homosexuality or face killing, was dated February 5 and received by Hili shortly after his brother, who was not gay but had been helping Iraqi LGBT and received death threats for his activism, was murdered in Baghdad.

"I reported this death threat against me to the Metropolitan London Police, and am now under their protection," said Hili, who is also the Middle East spokesman for the militant British gay rights group OutRage.

"Our ability to report on the assassinations of gays in Iraq by the death squads has increased in the last few months as word of our Iraqi LGBT group has spread among Iraqi gays, both by Internet and by word of mouth," Hili explained. "That means we now have contacts, supporters, and members in a number of cities, for example in the south of Iraq, which we didn't have a year ago."

Iraqi LGBT reported it had documented the following new murders, which Hili told Gay City News are "only the tip of the iceberg:"

*Anwar, a 34-year-old taxi driver, was a member of Iraqi LGBT and had helped run one of the group's safe houses in Najaf. After he was stopped at a police checkpoint and arrested in January this year, he disappeared. His body was found in March, and he had been subjected to an execution-style killing;

*Nouri, a 29-year-old tailor in Karbala, had received many death threats by letter and phone accusing him of leading a gay life. He was kidnapped in February, and found dead a few days later, his body mutilated and his head severed;

*Hazim, a 21-year-old Baghdadi who was well-known to be gay, received death threats because of his homosexuality, and was seized in his home in February by police on an arrest warrant accusing him of leading "a scandalous life" because of his homosexuality. Hazim's body was subsequently found with several gunshots to the head, and his family was forced to leave their home in fear;

*Khalid, a 19-year-old student who lived in the al-Kadomya district of Baghdad, was kidnapped in December 2006. Last month, his family received a phone call from police telling them to reclaim Khalid's body from the Baghdad morgue - where they found the body had been tortured and burned;

*Sayf, a gay 25-year-old, worked as a translator for the Iraqi police. He was kidnapped in February in Baghdad's Al-Adhamya suburb by men in Ministry of Interior uniforms who were driving a vehicle bearing police markings, but wearing black head masks. Several days later, Sayf's body was discovered, with his head cut off;

*Hasan Sabeh, a 34-year-old transvestite who was also known as Tamara, worked in the fashion industry designing women's clothes. Hasan, who lived in the al-Mansor district of Baghdad, was seized in the street by an Islamist death squad and hanged in public on January 11, a Shia holy day, and his body was then mutilated and cut to pieces. When Hasan's brother-in-law tried to defend him, he was murdered too;

*Rami, a 29-year old Basra shopkeeper, was the subject of rumors widely circulated in his neighborhood saying he was gay. He was kidnapped, and his dead body was found in January;

*Khaldoon, a 45-year-old gay man who worked as a chef, lived in the majority Shia Baghdad district of al-Hurriya. He was kidnapped in November 2006 by the Mahdi Army - the armed militia of extremist Shia cleric Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr (who is now in hiding and, according to the Times of London, believed to be in Iran), whose death squads have also been executing gays. In February this year, Khaldon's decaying corpse was found.

Occasionally, some victims of the Islamist extremists have been able to buy their survival. Hamid, a 44-year-old bisexual man from Baghdad's al-Talibya district, was kidnapped twice by the Sadrist militia. The first time, in April 2006, he, his nephew, and his brother were all nabbed and tortured. They were members of a very large extended Sunni family, which paid a huge ransom to same their lives. Hamid was kidnapped a second time in November 2006 after an informant reported to police and the Sadrist militia that he was suspected of being gay and drinking alcohol. He was held in a large office building in Sadr City - a poor Baghdad suburb and Sadrist stronghold named after Moqtada al-Sadr's father, a prominent Grand Ayatollah - along with other detainees, mostly Sunnis and Christians. Hamid was again ransomed, and is now in hiding, a rare survivor of the Sadrist militia's interrogation centers.

Heterosexual friends of gays are also executed. This happened to Majid Sahi, a 28-year-old civil engineer who was not gay but had been helping Iraqi LGBT members in Baghdad. Majid was abducted from his home by Badr Corps members, and his family was told he was kidnapped because of his "immoral behavior" in helping Iraqi gays. His body was found with bullet wounds to the back of his head on February 23, 2007.

"These killings and kidnappings are hit-and run, and most of the information we have been able to confirm says they are carried out by people wearing police uniforms and riding in police cars," Hili told Gay City News. "It's become a pattern."

Hili said he and a handful of volunteers - all gay Iraqis in exile - telephone Iraq at least three times a week to collect and confirm information about the murders of gays.

"The phone is safer for our communications with Iraq than the Internet, which can be easily monitored, and also it's hard to have Internet access for most Iraqis - it's expensive, and phone connections to the Internet are often very poor," Hili recounted.

A January Human Rights Report of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) confirmed the organized "assassinations of homosexuals" in Iraq (see this reporter's article, "U.N. Confirms Iraqi Gay Killings," January 25).

The report said UNAMI had been "alerted to the existence of religious courts, supervised by clerics, where alleged homosexuals would be 'tried,' 'sentenced' to death, and then executed."

The UNAMI report added, "The trials, presided over by young, inexperienced clerics, are held... in ordinary halls. Gays and rapists face anything from 40 lashes to the death penalty... One of the self-appointed judges in Sadr City believes that homosexuality is on the wane in Iraq. 'Most [gays] have been killed and others have fled,' he said. Indeed, the number who have sought asylum in the U.K. has risen noticeably over the last few months... [This judge] insists the religious courts have 'a lot to be proud of. We now represent a society that asked us to protect it not only from thieves and terrorists but also from these [bad] deeds."

Hili told Gay City News, "There are lots of these courts run by self-appointed clerics, both Sadrist and from SCIRI, operating in neighborhoods in Baghdad like Sadr City and al-Shola and even more in the south, in Najaf, Kerbala, and Basra. And one of the few points on which Sunnis and Shias are united is hatred of homosexuals. We've even tried to contact Christian churches in Iraq, but they, too, are so homophobic it's unbelievable. I thought maybe they'd have a little charity, but they hate us too. I have Christian gay friends who have tried to seek help from their churches in Iraq and have been refused."

Hili described the difficult decision Iraqi LGBT faces in closing two of its six safe houses, for lack of funds.

"They are told to repent and change their ways or else be killed," he said of the men who have fled their homes to seek refuge at the locations provided by Iraqi LGBT. "We currently have two safe houses in Baghdad, one in Diwaniya - a large city an hour and a half south of Baghdad - and also one each further south in Nasiriiya, Basra, and Najaf. We've reluctantly decided we have to close two of the safe houses in the south by the end of this month, because we can't pay the rent for May and June. And we have to pay for food, healthcare, and medications for the guys, gas, electricity, telephones, and so on. We're just of money."

Hili sadly added, "We are considering trying to move the guys in those southern safe houses to the place we use for our office in Baghdad, which means they'll be far from their families."Iraqi LGBT does not yet have a bank account, Hili noted.

"Operating an LGBT account in Baghdad would be suicide - and all our group's members in London are Iraqi refugees seeking asylum status, so their lack of proper legal status makes it difficult for them to open a bank account," he explained.

That is why, if you want to help Iraqi gays, you are asked that your checks be made payable to OutRage, with a cover note marked "For Iraqi LGBT," and sent to OutRage, P.O. Box 17816, London SW14 8WT, England. OutRage then forwards the contributions to Hili and Iraqi LGBT for wire transfer to Baghdad. Hili said the Iraqi LGBT Web site at http://iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com/ will shortly have a PayPal link for direct contributions to the organization by credit card.

Doug Ireland can be reached through his blog, DIRELAND, at http://direland.typepad.com/direland/ .

For all information related to this story please see:
http://gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18202189&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6

CT. Marriage Equality Bill Passes in Judiciary Committee: Bill Now Moves to the House

2007-04-12T23:07:00.000-05:00

Hartford--Today, in a historic vote in support of fairness and justice for same-sex couples and their families, the legislature's Judiciary Committee voted to support HB 7395: An Act Concerning Marriage Equality by a vote of 27 to 15.

Elated supporters across Connecticut celebrated the vote at the Legislative Office Building. Many had advocated for years to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. Connecticut becomes only the second state to vote a marriage equality bill out of committee. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Andrew McDonald and State Rep. Michael Lawlor, will now move to the full House for debate.

Anne Stanback, Executive Director of Love Makes a Family, stated:

“Justice and fairness won today, thanks to legislators who listened carefully to their constituents’ stories and concerns and voted to treat all Connecticut families with dignity and respect. This is only the first step in the process and whatever happens next, we can’t help but feel heartened by the extraordinary progress we have made. The tide is turning, and it won’t be much longer before Connecticut is a place of inclusion and equality for all families. Today we thank the legislators who voted for justice and fairness for same-sex couples and their families. They are the first legislators in state history to have voted on a marriage equality bill and we will always remember them for their courageous support.”

For information related to this story please see:
http://www.lmfct.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6201

CALL TO ACTION: Hate Crimes Vigils Held ALL OVER Florida on Saturday April 14th in Memory of Ryan Keith Skipper, Dead at 25 of GLBT Hate Crime

2007-04-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

URGENT!!! CALL TO ACTION --

Please join us Saturday April 14th for a Statewide Hate Crimes Vigil to draw attention to the epidemic of anti-gay hate crimes in Florida.

The vigil is in response to the death of Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25-year-old Polk County man stabbed to death March 15.

His body was dumped alongside a road. According to witnesses, the killers drove around in Ryan’s blood-soaked car, bragging to friends about the murder.

William Brown Jr., 20, and Joseph Bearden, 21, have been charged with first-degree murder and are being held in the Polk County Jail. Authorities have labeled Ryan's murder a hate crime.

[The photograph is of Ryan Keith Skipper from his myspace profile]

A dozen local communities from Miami to Pensacola will be participating in the event and times and locations are listed below. If you would like to organize one in your community or if you are willing to volunteer at one of the vigils, its not too late.

Please contact Russell Patterson: Russell@eqfl.org or vial phone at 813-849-3919.

The vigils also come at a time that Congress is considering passage of a Federal Hate Crimes Bill.

The bill was introduced in the Senate on April 12th.

The Vigils will be held Saturday April 14 at the following locations throughout Florida and Washington, DC:

Winter Haven
1:00 PM
Central Park Central Ave at 4th and 5th Streets, Winter Haven
Russell Patterson, 813-849-3919, russ@eqfl.org

Daytona Beach (CHANGED LOCATION)
7:00 PM
Home Metropolitan Church, Back Parking Lot 500
South Ridgewood Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32118
David Perreault, 386-453-3089, david.perreault@earthlink.net

Tampa
7:00 PM
USF Dream Pool
MLK Jr. Memorial Fountain by the Student Union
Tamara Wasserman 941-626-2164, wasserman2001@yahoo.com

Jacksonville
1:00 PM
UU Church of Jacksonville
7405 Arlington Expressway, Jacksonville, FL
32211uujax@bellsouth.net, churchoffice@uujax.org (904) 725-8133

Clearwater
7:00 PM
On the shores of Peace Pond
Unity Church of Clearwater 2465 Nursery Road (on the south side of Nursery, between Belcher and US 19) Leddy Hammock, Minister, Unity Church of Clearwater
(727) 531-0992 leddy@unityofclearwater.org

Pensacola
1:00 PM
Holy Cross Metropolitan Community Church
3130 W Fairfield Dr, Pensacola, 32505
Rev Sandy O’Steen, revsandy@holycrossmcc.com (850) 469-9090
www.holycrossmcc.com

West Palm Beach Area & Downtown Lake Worth
6:30 PM
Gather at Town Hall Dixie and Lake Ave
Three block vigil walk to park in center of Down Town
Allan Hendricks, 561.541.3700, eqflpbc@yahoo.com

Fort Lauderdale
1:00 PM
Gay and Lesbian Community Center
1717 N. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
Rev. Frank Faine, frank@sunshinecathedral.org

New Port Richey
10:00 AM
Orange ParkAcross from 6533 Circle Blvd.
Bob Brewer, boxerbob@webtv.net, 727-849-9351

Tallahassee
10:00 AM
Front steps of the old State Capitol Building
Jim Van Riper and Alain Raymond, alain@eqfl.org , 904-807-5928

Ocala
8:00 PM
Downtown Square, Ocala
Robert W. Poth III, homes@robpoth.com, 352-697-2522

Key West
7:00 PM
Steps of the Old Custom House
Base of White Head Street, Key West
Sponsored by GLCC of Key West and NOW
John Andola, jandola@hotmail.com, 305-849-0379

Miami
1:00 PM
Pridelines Youth Services, 180 NE 19th St, Miami
At the corner of NE 19th St and 2nd Ave Tobias Packer, tobias@eqfl.org, 305-924-6237

Washington, DC
6:30 PM Dupont Circle Park Lara Martin, mailto:lsm4u1982@hotmail.com

For more and all information related to these events, please see: http://www.eqfl.org/

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Strong Feelings on Civil Unions That Passed The House...Now to The Senate and Governor

2007-04-12T12:35:00.000-05:00

By TOM FAHEY

State House Bureau Chief Union Leader

http://tinyurl.com/2pnv7s

April 11, 2007

Concord - The civil unions bill that passed the New Hampshire House last week sparked more than four hours of public testimony yesterday in the Senate.

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from church leaders, legislators, parents and individuals on both sides of the issue. The hearing at the State House attracted more than 200 people.

Some who criticized the bill said it is a gay marriage bill in disguise, because it would recognize as a civil union a marriage legally performed in any other state. They urged the state to return to its conservative roots and reject the bill, HB 437.

Rep. James Splaine, D-Portsmouth, prime sponsor of the bill, defended the bill, saying, "I think it's good for society. It's good for people." Reading from the bill's text, he said it is meant to "delineate the rights, obligation and responsibilities of parties entering a civil union ..."

Diane Murphy Quinlan, chancellor for the Diocese of Manchester, urged rejection of the bill."

Two persons of the same gender, no matter how loving and nurturing their relationship may be, cannot fulfill the responsibilities or the obligations of a husband and wife," she said.

Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson supported the bill.

"It's a matter of being simply and equally fair to all of our citizens," said Robinson, who is gay. He said the bill will not require clergy in any church to perform or recognize a civil union ceremony."

It has nothing to do with religious bodies and their affirmation or rejection of such unions in the civil realm," he said.

New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont have passed civil unions laws and California has a similar law. Massachusetts has recognized same-sex marriage since 2004.

Rep. Eileen Ehlers, D-Hooksett, a family psychotherapist, said civil unions have not disrupted the social fabric in other states.

"For all the fear-mongering, panic and outrage, life goes on," she said.The House vote of 243-129 sent HB 437 to the Senate, where it stands a strong chance of passing. Sen. Joseph Foster, D-Nashua, said he expects the committee to vote on the bill tomorrow. If it passes, it could come before the entire Senate next Wednesday.

Gov. John Lynch opposes gay marriage, but has not said how he views the civil unions bill, only that he is concerned that it work well with other areas of state law.

The list of those who signed up to speak on the bill ran roughly 2-to-1 against it, 211 to 94.

Senators said they have been sent hundreds of e-mails that are about evenly divided. The committee adjourned after 4.5 hours without hearing everyone.

Bill supporters yesterday pointed to a February survey that showed 74 percent who responded to a University of New Hampshire poll said they would not be bothered by civil marriages, with 61 percent supporting the idea.

"Had the survey focused on civil unions, the politically safer ground in HB 437, the results would undoubtedly have indicated even higher levels of support," said Dawn Touzin, chair of the state Freedom to Marry Coalition.

Former state senator Gary Francoeur of Hudson was one of many witnesses who cited their religious beliefs as a basis for opposing the bill. He became emotional as he described the pain he feels because one of his four children is gay, a lifestyle he said she has chosen.

"This issue has been settled by God thousands of times," as shown in the Bible, he said. "If this lifestyle was a sin then, then it is a sin today."

Rob Eifler of Chichester opposed the bill, saying: "This is not the type of family structure to teach or promote to our children and future generations," he said.

But the Rev. Leanne Tigert of Concord said the bill, "is not just about civil rights, but about social legitimacy for our children." Gay couples have to get legal documents to visit partners in the hospital, or to claim their bodies when they die, she said.

"Not many people know about all the significant details that profoundly affect our lives," she said.Rep. Alfred Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, argued that, "The bottom line is it's marriage and it's being pushed down people's throats."

Karen Testerman, executive director for conservative Cornerstone Policy Research, criticized the Senate for speeding ahead with the bill.

"To 'fast track' legislation on an issue as contentious as civil unions, is a sneaky and irresponsible attempt on the part of the Democratically controlled legislature to bypass the will of the people," she said.

For all information related to this story please see:
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5847

Task Force Increases Reward to $25,000 In Detroit Anti-Gay Homicide Case

2007-04-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

From the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

MEDIA CONTACT:Roberta Sklar, Director of Communicationsmedia@theTaskForce.org646.358.1465

WASHINGTON, April 10 — The Task Force has further increased its reward to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the death of Andrew Anthos.

Detroit police closed their investigation into the Feb. 23 death of Anthos, 72, after the Wayne County medical examiner’s office ruled Anthos’ death was caused by respiratory failure brought on by advanced degenerative arthritis of the spine. The medical examiner did not rule on what caused Anthos’ neck to twist so severely to trigger the chain of events that led to his death. The Task Force has been working closely with its state partner, Triangle Foundation, to draw attention to this case.

Anthos was on a city bus on Feb. 13 when a man reportedly approached him and asked him whether he was gay. The man continued to harass Anthos and followed him off the bus at the stop in front of his building. A witness then saw a man standing over Anthos, who was face down on the ground.

Based on the witness’ account, the police department distributed a sketch of the suspect, and Anthos gave a corroborating statement before slipping into a coma. The medical examiner’s report, meanwhile, fails to explain a 2-inch bruise on the back of Anthos’ head.

Beginning today, Triangle Foundation staff and volunteers will conduct a canvass of Anthos’ former neighbors and of the bus stop near his home, seeking witnesses. Learn more.

Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

“Given Mr. Anthos’ deathbed statement and that of an eyewitness, the man who caused Mr. Anthos’ death is still at large. Since neither Mayor Kilpatrick nor Police Chief Bully-Cummings appears to care and have summarily dropped the investigation, we are increasing our reward to $25,000 to encourage other witnesses to come forward and bring the perpetrator to justice.

The Detroit Police Department’s mishandling of this case is an insult to the memory of Mr. Anthos, to his family and to our national community. This is a glaring example of why we need a federal law that authorizes the federal government to step in when local law enforcement agencies refuse to address hate-motivated violence, including crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”

Dance For The Democrats -- This Friday April 13 -- Miami Dade Exclusive!

2007-04-09T11:42:00.000-05:00

Dear Active Democrat,

Please come to our amazing “Dance for the Democrats” event Friday April 13. This wonderful event is produced by world famous producer Gerry Kelly at “The Fifth Night Club” on Miami Beach.

Tickets and Flyers are available by calling the Office at 305-477-4994.

You can also purchase tickets online at: http://www.miamidadedemocrats.com/contribution_form.asp

Thanks so much, I look forward to seeing you then!

Sincerely,
-Joe
Joe Garcia, Chairman of the Miami Dade Democrats

Official Invite:

Chairman Joe Garcia & Gerry Kelly Coordially Invite You To...

"DANCE FOR THE DEMOCRATS"
@ The FIFTH Night Club (1045 Fifth St, Miami Bch)

Friday April 13th- 8PM till ???

Special recognition will be given to Ms. Eufaula Frazier for her lifetime devotion to Civil & Democratic Causes!
Speeches, Raffles, & Democratic Good Time!

Tickets only $20.00

Buy Presale Tickets online at www.MiamiDadeDemocrats.com

For more info, Call 305-477-4994

Democrats Say Gay Civil Rights Bill Doesn't Have Votes to Pass in Iowa

2007-04-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

IOWA PARTISAN ANALYSIS
HOUSE: 54 D 45 R
SENATE: 30 D 20 R
GOV: DEMOCRAT

Radio Iowa News

By O.Kay Henderson

A bill that would extend civil rights protections to gays and lesbians is stalled in the Iowa House of Representatives.

Fifty-one "yes" votes are needed in the House for a bill to pass, but House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines says he doesn't have 51 Democrats willing to vote for the legislation, and Republicans who support it aren't willing to vote for it unless Democrats put up those 51 "yes" votes first.

"So it's the same kind of partisanship that we've seen on a whole host of bills," McCarthy says.

The bill passed the Iowa Senate in March, but House Speaker Pat Murphy, a Democrat from Dubuque, says there's no point in even bringing the bill up for debate in the House.

"There's no question that we would like to debate it, but we don't have 51 votes at this point," Murphy says.

Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, backs the gay rights legislation and he met privately with House Democrats Thursday afternoon to try to convince more of them to back it, too. "Nothing's easy around this place. It takes a lot of hard work and heavy lifting to get important public policy measures all the way through the process and this is one I fully support and I expect we will have some success with but it sounds like it will take a little more work," Culver says.

The governor says it's time to "open doors" by taking this "symbolic step" and barring discrimination against homosexuals in the workplace.

"I felt the same way in terms of zero tolerance when it comes to discrimination in our schools and that's why I signed the 'Safe Schools' initiatives and I think the next step is to protect the workplace," Culver says.

Earlier this year, Culver signed a bill into law which requires all Iowa schools to have anti-bullying policies which forbid harassment of gay and lesbian students.

The Gay Mogul Changing U.S. Politics

2007-04-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

By Rita Healy/Denver

In a new list of the most powerful gay men and women in the country, Out magazine has lots of household names at the top: David Geffen, Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Barney Frank and a couple of allegedly closeted stars.

But high among the rich and famous is Tim Gill. Huh? Who is he, and why is he ranked as the fourth most powerful gay person in the country?

Gill is a 53-year old snowboarder, retired computer programmer and multimillionaire. He made his fortune (estimated at $425 million by Forbes magazine) by founding Quark, the pioneering desktop publishing software company.

After selling the firm, he started the Gill Foundation, which has invested $110 million nationwide in gay causes over the past decade.

The Gill Action Fund threw $15 million into a dozen states during the 2006 midterm elections, targeting 70 politicians regarded as unhelpful to gay causes: 50 went down. And the fund is helping transform the political face of Colorado.

In 2004, Gill's money helped send Democrat Ken Salazar to the U.S. Senate. His dollars have also helped put Democrats in control of the Colorado legislature for the first time in four decades.

That could have an impact on the fate of the Two Parent Adoption Bill, currently being considered by Colorado legislators, which would allow gay couples to adopt, The proposal was rejected twice before. But that was before the statehouse switched from red to blue.

Now Colorado Democrats have passed the bill in the House and expect it to pass the Senate.
Impatient with the lack of gay rights progress this past decade, Gill is pushing hard to end injustice and inequality by the end of the next decade. And recognizing that most anti-gay initiatives are born at the state level, Gill has developed a national political strategy based on successes in Colorado.

"They've taken an in-state model and applied it to the entire country," says Denver political analyst Floyd Ciruli.

"Gill [and his people are] incredibly strategic. They simply don't waste money. They put their funding where they can take control of legislatures." Ciruli adds, "People were unaware of what was going on for quite awhile, but now I think everybody knows that they have really changed the direction of the state.

I'm not sure that everyone really understands how potent [Gill] is, but he now has to be the number one gay rights advocate in the country in terms of funding and strategy. They're taking significant contributions and putting them brilliantly in legislative environments where a few seats changing will change the entire control of a state."

The money is not always filtered through political parties, although much goes to Democrats. Almost all goes to tax-exempt 527 political organizations. Says Dr. John Straayer, a Colorado State University political scientist, "You see checks written, big checks, sometimes six-figure checks with Gill's name.

They're pretty strategic in terms of targeting legislative races and then unleashing torrents of mail into those districts." But no announcements of impending political targets are made; the word "stealth" occurs frequently in discussions of Gill and his associates.

While Gill has recently opened a Washington office, his representatives, in keeping with past strategy, insist that no individual political targets have yet been chosen for 2008. "We're in the process of looking at the new political landscape and deciding where the most strategic opportunities are," says Gill Action Fund director Patrick Guerriero."There will be shifts in where the money is spent. We're watching legislative activity, we're watching where there's heated cultural debate."

Another formidable element of Gill's power is his network of deep- pocketed allies in the mountain states. An hour south of Laramie, in Ft. Collins, lives medical equipment heiress Pat Stryker, who is, along with Gill, known in local political circles as one of "The Four Millionaires." (Actually Stryker is a billionaire; her brother Jon is gay and both give generously to gay causes.)

The two other members of the quartet are Bluemountain.com entrepreneur Jared Pollis, who lives in Boulder, and Denver's Rutt Bridges, who made his fortune in petroleum exploration and runs the Bighorn Center for Public Policy.

"What you have are extremely wealthy individuals who aren't personally interested in running for anything but have this tremendous passion."says Ciruli. "Like George Soros, Tim Gill is actually changing the political landscape."

Early ’08 Presidential Fund-Raising Has Clear Blue Tint

2007-04-05T09:30:00.000-05:00

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
The New York Times

DES MOINES — For anyone looking for a sign of the health of the Democratic Party going into the 2008 presidential campaign, it came Wednesday with the last of the fund-raising figures reported by the major presidential candidates.

With the $25 million reported by Senator Barack Obama’s campaign, closing in on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s $26 million, the Democratic presidential candidates collectively outperformed the Republicans, and by a substantial amount: Democrats raised a total of about $78 million, compared with just over $51 million by their rivals, according to preliminary first-quarter figures provided by the campaigns.

That is remarkable because Republicans have historically proved better at collecting contributions. In every presidential primary season since 1976, the top fund-raiser was a Republican.

The new numbers offered what even Republicans described as measurable evidence that Democrats today are more confident about their prospects of winning back the White House, and — not typically for their party — satisfied with their candidates. That enthusiasm gap is emerging as one of the early dynamics of the 2008 campaign.

“The Democrats seem to have a lot more hunger for the White House right now than we do,” said Scott Reed, who managed the presidential campaign of Bob Dole, a Kansas Republican, in 1996. “Part of it on the Republican side may be Bush fatigue. But clearly, the Republicans are going to need to get it together on finances if we are going to compete with the likes of Obama or Hillary Clinton. It’s a concern.”

Officials of both parties as well as independent analysts said the figures quantified a trend apparent here and in New Hampshire, where Democratic presidential candidates consistently draw crowds at rallies and house parties.

“This reflects on the part of Democrats not only their view of the prospects of victory in 2008, but also how they are coming off this rush of the 2006 elections,” said Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Fordham University. “In terms of Republican candidates, voters are feeling like they have to choose from a list of who represents the least of all evils.”

The initial Democratic fund-raising advantage seems to be the next step in a shift that began in 2004, when Democratic presidential candidates, starting with Howard Dean, tapped into the Internet to collect money from first-time contributors. It continued in the 2006 midterm elections when Democratic Congressional campaign committees matched or beat their Republican counterparts, helping Democrats to take control of Congress.

“This is the continuation of a trend of an energized and engaged Democratic base that I think both Obama and Clinton are tapping into and that other Democrats, at the Congressional and local levels, are going to be able to tap into,” said David B. Magleby, a political science professor at Brigham Young University.

If there is a bright side here for Republicans, it is that Democrats, particularly Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, have enough money to inflict a considerable amount of damage on their fellow Democrats in the nine months before they settle in here for the Iowa caucuses that lead off the primary voting.

And it is still many financial quarters before the general election. Even Democrats who described themselves as delighted by the results said they had no doubt that the Republican nominee will have more than enough money to compete in the general election.

“I don’t think the Republicans are going to lose the presidential election next year because of a lack of money,” said David Plouffe, the manager of Mr. Obama’s campaign. “But the Republican might have to, oddly enough, work harder for it.”

Still, that may prove to be small comfort. The Republican who had been viewed as his party’s leading candidate, Senator John McCain of Arizona, raised about half what Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama reported raising, and trailed even the $14 million raised by John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat making his second bid for president.

Steve Grossman, who was chairman of Mr. Dean’s campaign and is supporting Mrs. Clinton, said Wednesday that he was struck by the size of the change, recalling that Mr. Dean had raised $50 million for his entire campaign. “You had two Democrats who raised $50 million between them for the first quarter of ’07,” Mr. Grossman said.

Beyond that, the Republican’s top fund-raiser, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, has trailed in national polls partly because he is not widely known, but also because he has been repeatedly attacked in his own party as changing positions on central issues, like abortion and gay rights.

In this unsettled environment it is no surprise that this year, the Republicans, not the Democrats, seem hungry to find someone else to get into the race, as reflected by the interest drawn by the potential candidacies of the unrelated Thompsons: Fred of Tennessee and Tommy of Wisconsin.

And the release of these figures has offered a statistical basis to support anecdotal evidence that Democrats are more optimistic about winning the White House.

Democrats as a rule have been drawing much bigger crowds than Republicans. By contrast, Republicans show few signs of pulling out of the doldrums that followed their defeat in the November election. Mr. Reed, the former Dole adviser, suggested that that, combined with opposition to the war and Mr. Bush’s low popularity ratings, was sapping the energy of voters in his party.

The Democrats’ figures left no question that Mrs. Clinton faces a fund-raising equal in Mr. Obama. Any confidence that she or her supporters had expressed about an easy march to the nomination was erased when Mr. Obama posted his numbers on The Chicago Tribune Web site. At the same time, Mr. Edwards trailed significantly behind Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, evidence of just how important it will be for him to score an early win here before the race moves to the broad and expensive national field of the Feb. 5 primaries.

The news might be worse in the so-called second Democratic tier. Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut both struggled to raise money, despite their credentials and networks, which might prove troublesome for them as they seek continued support.

As no less an expert than Mr. Dean learned, this kind of fund-raising success, even when it draws new people into the process, does not automatically turn into voter support.

Mr. Magleby, of Brigham Young, said he suspected Republicans were suffering from donor fatigue. In the quarters to come, the prospect of another President Clinton could certainly get Republicans to take out their checkbooks.

Yet as the numbers were tallied and Republicans found themselves staring at a $27 million gap, it was clear that the disparity between the two parties this spring was about more than money.

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