A number of gatherings took place across California during before and after the Supreme Court hearings on Prop. 8 and DOMA. Here are some of our favorite shots from these events:
A number of LGBT and allied groups, grassroots leaders and families are organizing events all over the country including right outside the Supreme Court. Together we will remember how far we have come, and look forward to that moment when every American can marry the person that they love.
Los Angeles: Sunday, March 24th 6:30pm
Los Angeles City Hall (200 N Spring St, Los Angeles)
Inland Empire: Monday, March 25th 7:00pm
George E. Brown Federal Building and US Courthouse (3470 12th St, Riverside, CA)
Sacramento: Monday, March 25th 4pm
Sacramento Federal Courthouse (501 I St, Sacramento, CA)
San Diego: Monday, March 25th 6:30pm
San Diego Federal Court House (880 Front St, San Diego, CA)
San Francisco: Monday, March 25th 6:30pm
Harvey Milk Plaza (Corner of Castro and Market, San Francisco)
San Jose: Monday, March 25th 5:30pm
Billy DeFrank Center (938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA)
Fresno: Tuesday, March 26th 4pm
Fresno Federal Courthouse (2500 Tulare St, Fresno, CA)
Orange County: Tuesday, March 26th 6:30pm
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse (411 W 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA)
Palm Springs: Tuesday, March 26th 6pm
Riverside County Building (Tahquitz and El Cielo, CA)
Santa Barbara: Tuesday, March 27th 5:30pm
Santa Barbara County Courthouse (1100 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA)
Santa Cruz: Wednesday, March 27th 5:30pm
Santa Cruz County Courthouse Steps (701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA)
San Francisco: Thursday, March 28th 5:30pm
San Francisco LGBT Community Center Rainbow Room (1800 Market Street at Octavia, San Francisco, CA)
And be sure to visit www.lighttojustice.org for a complete listing of all events across the nation.
When we asked you to contact President Obama and encourage him to file a friend-of-the-court brief in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Proposition 8 case, we knew that the strength of our movement has always been in the simple, honest yearning for equal respect and dignity. We knew that by asking you to contact the President, and giving a way for you to share your stories, that the President would listen.
And he did. The Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging the Supreme Court to strike down the unfair and unjust Proposition 8, which denies the freedom to marry to millions of Californians.
So today we thank President Obama for following his words with actions and giving our love his support from the highest office in the land. And we thank you. Your letters and stories made this possible, and when we look back at this historic moment, you can feel a justified pride in being a part of it.
Last night, San Jose’s City Council took an important step towards invalidating California’s Proposition 8, when they voted 9-1-1 in favor of officially joining San Francisco in an amicus brief to challenge the Prop 8 in the United States Supreme Court. The Council’s support to ban Prop 8 is a move forward in achieving the freedom to marry in California, and in support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The decision was made possible thanks to the hard work, mobilization and community organizing done by the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, Pride at Work and the LGBT movement in San Jose, and the leadership from Councilmember Ash Kalra, as well as Xavier Campos, Kansen Chu, and Don Rocha to get the issue on the table.
“This is San Jose’s chance to affirmatively stand on the side of equality for all and on the right side of history,” said Councilmember Kalra in a press release.
— Shane Bannon and Linnea Högberg
We were behind making Harvey Milk Day official, and his nephew Stuart Milk is on our board, so it’s not a huge surprise that we’re all ’bout it ’bout it with the proposal for SFO airport to become Harvey Milk Airport. The objections are all a bit silly — it’s not THAT much money to change forms and et cetera, the idea that people will be confused and not know where they’re going is goofy (where else is going to have a Harvey Milk Airport?) and it would be a huge beacon for all the LGBT folk around the world to see that we can honor a proudly out man.
We’re also out in San Bedoo today (our favorite city nickname in the state), presenting our Reducing Disparities report on LGBT people and mental health care. It’s the first of a series of town halls that will take place throughout the state, reporting back on what we found and what we can do about it. Everyone is welcome; snacks will be served.
Prop. 8′s architect, Frank Schubert, has a proudly LGBT little sister, and she’s running for Sacramento County district attorney. We’ve got no position on her candidacy, but we’re always amazed at people who can advocate against the equality of their family members. Wonder if she ever asks him about his ongoing fight against the freedom to marry?
ABC News is asking Obama why he hasn’t filed an amicus in the Prop. 8 case yet. You know, we asked him the same thing, and you can help by contacting him through our online petition.
In national news: The Army says that even though they can’t discriminate against LGBT soldiers, they can still discriminate against their spouses. This is apparently because the Marines did something right, and the Army wants to make it clear that they’re not the Marines.
In local, but not here, news: Cranks in Utah got an LGBT family book removed from school libraries; ACLU got it back.
Rhode Island is getting closer to voting for the freedom to marry.
Is It 2013 Already?
What with a new Executive Director, HanuKwanzMas and New Years, we’ve been a little bleary around the edges, but there’s already news worth recapping in 2013:
Our new ED John O’Connor is hard at work.
AFER sent us a save-the-date invite to oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry (Prop. 8) for March 26. Clear your calendars and save us room on your dance card.
In sad California news, Huell Howser, the good-golly host of California Gold, has died at 67. Howser was not publicly out, but was well known to be gay, and unfortunately his passing ends speculation of an imminent declaration from him.
The Advocate is coming back to print. For the journos and oldos amongst us, the idea of a seminal mag returning to print after a couple year sojourn brings a tear to the eye. Read the rest of this entry »
As the late Jim Anchower said, it’s been a while since we rapped atcha. We’ve been busy! We were at Oakland Pride, FYF Fest in LA, the governor’s office and across the state having Breakthrough Conversations.
Oh, and we were watching Assembly Speaker John A. Perez at the DNC (video). Money quote: “Opportunity is why we fight. Across the country there are parents who want nothing more than the opportunity to have a job and the ability to put food on the family table. We fight for them. In too many states, even folks who have jobs wake up every morning worrying that they may lose their job simply because they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. We fight for them.”
We’re also bracing for September 24, when the U.S. Supreme Court could certify Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Prop. 8 case. If they decline to grant certification, then the freedom to marry is restored in California. For Californians, it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment: If the Supremes don’t grant cert, we’ve won and all the volunteer ministers down at the EQCA offices can start just officiating willy-nilly. But that means that Hollingsworth v. Perry won’t be a binding precedent for the rest of the country — some other brave couple will have to win marriage for everyone. Not to get too much into sports metaphors, but it’s the old dilemma of taking the (sure) extra point kick or going for the two-point conversion.
Maybe we’ve just got football on the brain: Brandon Ayanbedejo of the Baltimore Ravens came out in favor of the freedom to marry, since Maryland’s going to vote on it come November. Which led to Maryland Delagate Emmett C. Burns Jr. to write a very silly letter denouncing Ayanbedejo. To which Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe responded with a very silly, swearing letter back, calling Burns out. For those of you who would prefer a non-swearing, but still very silly letter, Kluwe wrote this version that you can share with gramma. Ayanbadejo “thanks” Burns for bringing the whole thing more attention.
In other traditionally macho pursuits: One year study on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal finds absolutely no negative impact. You can read the full study here (PDF).
Finally, while we’ve been keeping up the pressure on Governor Jerry Brown, we’d like your help too: Do you tweet? Join us — and fabulous leaders like actress Jane Lynch – as we ask California Governor Jerry Brown to protect LGBT youth from dangerous psychological abuse by signing Senate Bill 1172 into law. Tag @JerryBrownGov in your tweet, and don’t forget to use the #SB1172 hash tag.
If you don’t tweet, please go to www.eqca.org/sb-1172 and send a letter in. We can make this happen with your help!
It’s awards season — San Diego’s Equality Awards are coming August 25. We’ll be honoring Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, an Episcopal priest who created the first comprehensive AIDS plan for California, and Superintendent Bill Kowba and the San Diego Unified Public School District for their work implementing the anti-bullying Seth’s Law.
Who else are we honoring? That’s up to YOU! Our Good Neighbor Award’s nominations are still open until August 1, and if your nominee is chosen, you get free tickets to the event.
You can contrast the excellent work Rev. Ogle has done — from supporting the freedom to marry, to his excellent work combining lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality with development aid in emerging nations — to the work of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, recently of the San Francisco Archdiocese. He’s often credited as the “father of Prop. 8,” an ugly baby to be sure, and is the one who approached the so-called National Organization for Marriage about taking away the freedom to marry here in California. He’s further to the right than most Catholics — the laity support the freedom to marry by over 50 percent — and has characterized the love and commitment of LGBT Californians as a “plot by ‘the evil one’ to destroy morality in the modern world.” Eeesh.
Speaking of eesh, that whole Chik-Fil-A thing? Teens in Laguna are voicing their discontent, and Chik-Fil-A is even catching flak behind the Orange Curtain. Diane Brady for Bloomberg points out that Marriott hotels could teach Chik-Fil-A plenty about being social conservatives without being exclusionary. Read the rest of this entry »
Pride Pride Pride! We were at SF (scroll down), George Takei was in NY as were couples celebrating their paper anniversary with placards. In Chicago, it was about diversity, Minnesota’s same-sex marriage struggle made theirs about politics (and we’re looking OK so far), and OccuPride crashed SF’s march. Google even hid a Pride easter egg
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the first same-sex civil union was held on a military base, and it looked a lot like a wedding, with an Evangelical Lutheran Chaplain officiating, a couple in formal dress and mothers crying.
Even as anti-equality marriage foes qualify in Maryland, one of the main proponents of our Prop 8 has changed his views. It’s an important piece to read, and one of the things to keep in mind is that we win by increment, not by shock and awe. That David Blankenhorn clings to unwarranted assumptions about the differences between same sex and mixed sex unions shouldn’t overwhelm lines like, “I do believe, with growing numbers of Americans, that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over,” or his references to the “equal dignity of homosexual love,” or “Whatever one’s definition of marriage, legally recognizing gay and lesbian couples and their children is a victory for basic fairness.” It is frustrating that it took Blankenhorn so long to acknowledge something so basic to so many of our lives, but recognize his support of comity and fairness will be more convincing to those still stuck on the other side of the fence than all of the obvious (to us) civil rights arguments we can muster. He also helps us reinforce the message that much of the resistance to equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people does stem from homophobic animus. That he recognizes this may make it easier for those lagging in the moveable middle to accept that as well. As per always, we recommend the excellent Movement Advancement Project series on Talking About LGBT Issues. Read the rest of this entry »
The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) announced yesterday it would hold an investigation into GOP Presidential candidate Fred Karger’s accusation that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) did not report more than $340,000 in donations for their Yes on 8 campaign in 2008. NOM is one of the nation’s largest anti-LGBT groups, with ties to various anti-marriage initiatives across the country.
California is joining the state of Maine in its investigation of the allegation that NOM did not disclose various donations from various organizations. These donations include $10,000 from Mitt Romney’s Alabama PAC, $150,000 from Michael Casey of Jamestown, RI, $100,000 from Sean Fiedler of New York, NY and $25,000 dollars from Craig Cardon of Mesa, Arizona, a General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not the first time Karger has called out inconsistent financial data with groups involved in the Yes on 8 campaign. Two years ago, Karger was involved in the prosecution of the Mormon church on 13 counts of election fraud that led to a $5,500 fine.
While the FPPC has not announced any official statement beyond the opening of the investigation, it’s long past time for an investigation to shed light on this issues and get to the truth about these contributions during the 2008 election. While its possible that there was no misconduct, the timing of the contributions beg the question: if the contributions weren’t connected to Prop 8, why were they made and why then? It’s enough to raise significant suspicion and we’re hopeful that this investigation will provide visibility into NOM’s activities and hold NOM accountable if the work connected to certain contributions has been hidden from view.
Equality California Institute
& Equality California PAC
