Our Families Count Encourages LGBT People and Allies to Participate in the Census
March 18, 2010 by Anna Wipfler, GLAAD's Transgender Advocacy Fellow
“The Census counts, and so do I” is the primary message of the new video “We All Count!” produced by Our Families Count, a public education campaign to increase the visibility of LGBT people on the 2010 U.S. Census.
As Census forms are delivered to households across the country during the month of March, Our Families Count is working hard to ensure that LGBT Americans understand the importance of filling them out, as statistics gathered from each Census guides vital government decisions, from redistricting to funding allocations for social services.
While this year’s Census records only five identity areas (age, sex, race/ethnicity, relationship, tenure of stay in your home), under Relationship same-sex couples have the opportunity to be counted as either “unmarried partners” or as husband/wife.”
In an interview with GayPolitics.com, Our Families Count coordinator Che Ruddell-Tabisola explained, “What is different for the LGBT community…is that the Census will count same-sex couples as we define ourselves – whether as unmarried, same-sex adult partners (as in 2000), or as married same-sex husbands or wives.”
On their website, Our Families Count details:
“In order to be counted as a same-sex couple, one of the partners must be listed as ‘Person 1’ (since the Census asks each household member to list how he/she is related to Person 1). Same-sex couples who have been legally married or consider themselves to be spouses should identify the other person as a ‘husband or wife’.” Our Families Count does acknowledge that “those terms fit some – but certainly not all – LGBT households.”
While this Census will not record information about an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, Our Families Count encourages those “who are living with a spouse or partner [to] indicate that relationship by checking either the ‘husband/wife’ or ‘unmarried partner’ box” while advocates continue to push for congressional legislation to expand the identity categories recorded by the Census.
Although this means that transgender people cannot officially identify as such, Our Families Count notes that “the census asks each of us to tell the truth as we understand it. Check the box on the census form that most closely reflects your current gender identity.”
For further resources regarding the U.S. Census, check out the U.S. Census Bureau Toolkit for LGBT Communities.
GLAAD is a proud partner of Our Families Count and encourages all LGBT people and allies to fill out your Census and send it back to ensure our community’s full visibility.
Related Posts:Rachel Maddow Debunks Former Congressman’s Claim against Marriage Equality
March 16, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow cut into former Congressman JD Hayworth on Monday for his outrageous assertion that marriage equality in Massachusetts would allow a person to marry a horse.
While speaking to a Florida radio program on Sunday, Hayworth said “You see, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, when it started this move toward same-sex marriage, actually defined marriage — now get this — it defined marriage as simply, ‘the establishment of intimacy’. Now how dangerous is that? I mean, I don’t mean to be absurd about it, but I guess I can make the point of absurdity with an absurd point — I guess that would mean if you really had affection for your horse, I guess you could marry your horse.”
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But as Maddow points out, the language Hayworth cited in that interview does not actually exist.
“So here’s my question about that,” Maddow challenged Hayworth. “Where does the ‘establishment of intimacy’ thing come from? Where in Massachusetts law or in the Supreme Court ruling does it say ‘the establishment of intimacy’? I spent the whole afternoon sort of looking for that and couldn’t find it anywhere.”
Hayworth suggested that Maddow simply had a “disagreement” with him.
“Well it either is true or it isn’t. It’s empirical,” Maddow finally said.
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews also criticized Hayworth’s comments.
“Bringing up the connection between horse and rider in this debate really doesn’t show a lot of common sense or human understanding,” said Matthews.
Meanwhile, Hayworth issued a statement on Monday saying that he stands by his claim, but once again did not clarify where he found the language he cited.
GLAAD applauds Rachel Maddow for taking former Congressman JD Hayworth to task and ensuring that politicians be held accountable for their claims.
Related Posts:Video of Will Phillips’ Acceptance Speech at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards – New York
March 15, 2010 by Elliot Imse, Web Producer
Eleven-year-old Will Phillips accepts the award for Outstanding TV Journalism Segment at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 13, 2010. Phillips appeared in the award winning CNN American Morning news segment “Why Will Won’t Pledge Allegiance.”
You can also watch the video on YouTube.
View a complete list of award recipients and photos from the event.
Honorees, award recipients and event photos can also be seen on an earlier post: Cynthia Nixon and Joy Behar Honored at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York
To learn more about the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards.
Related Posts:CNN Special Chronicles the Transition of Susan Stanton
March 15, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
In “Her Name was Steven,” Susan Stanton speaks about the challenges facing the transgender community and about her own journey from Steven to Susan.
In 2007, Largo, Florida, City Manager Steven Stanton came out as transgender. Steven was quickly terminated from Largo’s City Manager position, but courageously continued the transition process.
Now, Susan Stanton has resumed her role in Floridian politics and works as City Manager in Lake Worth, FL. Stanton says that although her title is the same, she is treated differently as a woman:
“You don’t realize how difficult it is to lead people as a woman because you don’t get the deference as a woman.
“As a guy, when I’m talking, people would stop. But now, sometimes I find myself saying, ‘Excuse me, stop interrupting me.’”
The CNN profile also revealed the isolation that Stanton faced simply by being who she was. Like many transgender people, Stanton says she contemplated suicide and battled depression.
According to the network, “CNN followed Stanton’s life for more than two years [and] the resulting portrait is sensitively told in Stanton’s own voice, with arresting candidness and honesty.”
GLAAD is encouraged to see CNN devote a significant amount of coverage to transgender people. Transgender people are our neighbors, coworkers, and friends. They contribute greatly to the rich tapestry of the world and they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Programs like CNN’s “Her Name was Steven” are the right step in moving the conversation forward about transgender people.
For more information on “Her Name was Steven,” visit CNN Presents’ website here.
Related Posts:NBC Today Show’s Meredith Vieira Apologizes for Post Oscar Comments
March 10, 2010 by Cindi Creager, GLAAD's Director of National News
NBC “Today Show” co-host, Meredith Vieira made comments during Monday’s post Academy Awards coverage that generated a substantial number of complaints. During a celebratory interview with the cast of the multi-award winning movie, The Hurt Locker, Vieira jokingly made reference to a past hug between actors Anthony Mackie and Jeremy Renner at the time the film was nominated.
VIEIRA: “You hugged him pretty tight, I must say, in the moment. There was a lot of man lovin’ goin’ on last night. Do I have reason to be worried?”
Anthony Mackie then offered a heartfelt response, completely disarming the idea that there may be a problem with two men embracing.
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Vieira has a long track record of supporting our community so the remarks did come as a surprise. GLAAD also heard from multiple constituents who were offended by what she said. That’s when we got on the phone with Vieira to voice concerns and ask her to address the issue. We had a very productive conversation and in the end we walked away knowing her heart is in the right place and she had no intention of causing harm for LGBT people.
She even sent along a statement of explanation and an apology which she asked GLAAD to distribute:
“During an interview with the cast of the hurt locker on Monday, I turned to actor Anthony Mackie and made a joke about “man hugging” in reference to a hug he and fellow actor Jeremy Renner had shared a few weeks earlier on our air. It was meant to be lighthearted, but some were offended by what they believed to be a homophobic comment. That was never my intent, but that doesn’t matter. Words are extremely powerful and should never be chosen lightly, even in a lighthearted moment. I apologize to any and all that I offended. My support of the gay and lesbian community is longstanding and well documented. It has not and will never waver.”
GLAAD thanks Meredith Vieira for listening to concerns, addressing this issue sincerely and for using this moment to educate the public on how words can hurt. We continue to value her as an ally and a friend.
Related Posts:ABCNews.com Perpetuates Claims of Problematic ‘Expert’
March 9, 2010 by Anna Wipfler, GLAAD's Transgender Advocacy Fellow
This morning ABCNews.com published an article based on the outcry against Life & Style magazine for targeting the gender expression and identity of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s child, Shiloh. (Please see this recent update blog as well.) To its credit ABC quoted fair-minded childhood psychologists and representatives of GLAAD. But unfortunately the the piece also amplified several dangerous messages from a so-called ‘expert’ from the anti-LGBT organization, Focus on the Family.
ABC’s original article also carried a headline that nearly mirrored the defamatory one appearing on the cover of Life & Style’s March 1st edition: “Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Turning Shiloh into a Boy?” After discussion with GLAAD’s Director of National News, ABC agreed to change the headline to the current “Mag: Brangelina Dressing Shiloh Boyish.”
But the story still devotes a vast amount of space to the views of Glenn Stanton, who represents the virulently anti-LGBT organization, Focus on the Family. Stanton does not have the expertise or qualifications to speak credibly about raising children and it was irresponsible of ABCNews.com to perpetuate his unsubstantiated views. As GLAAD’s Senior Director of Programs Rashad Robinson recently noted in his critique of Life & Style “We believe media has a responsibility to differentiate between credible authorities and politically motivated (and usually self-proclaimed) experts like Focus on the Family’s Glenn Stanton.”
Please join in our Call to Action against Life & Style for their original publication, and call on ABCNews.com to correct its missteps as well.
Click here to contact ABC News
Related Posts:National Media Continues to Follow Proposed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal
March 4, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would repeal the ban on openly gay men and lesbians in the United States armed forces, The New York Times reports.
“If Americans want to serve, they ought to have the right to be considered for that service regardless of characteristics such as race, religion, gender or sexual orientation,” said Lieberman.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman with Maj. Mike Almy who was discharged in 2006 (New York Times)
It is unclear whether Lieberman’s bill, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, will garner the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate.
“I think a guess right now — and this is really a guess — if this bill came to a vote tomorrow, we’d have over 50 votes and that’s saying a lot,” Lieberman told the Advocate “Do we have 60? Not clear yet, but possible.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) told The Washington Post on Thursday that a vote on Lieberman’s bill will most likely come in May as part of the annual defense authorization bill.
The repeal is still facing some staunch opposition from Republican lawmakers, however.
Rachel Maddow sternly criticized one such opponent last night on her MSNBC program, The Rachel Maddow Show.
Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the amount of service members lost to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is “not significant.”
Maddow answered Rep. Wilson’s outrageous assertion with the story of Air Force Major Michael Almy, who was discharged after 13 years of service because of his sexual orientation.
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GLAAD commends Rachel Maddow and other mainstream journalists who continue to shine a spotlight on the concrete harms of barring qualified gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces. We will continue to follow the media’s coverage of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. For more information on the myths and facts surrounding the impact of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell click here to read about our collaboration with Media Matters for America.
Related Posts:Sports Illustrated Profiles Hockey Legend Brian Burke after the Tragic Loss of His Son, Brendan
February 26, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
Sports Illustrated features a heart wrenching profile of hockey legend, Brian Burke, in its March 2010 issue.
Burke, the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the United States Olympic hockey team, suffered the tragic loss of his son, Brendan, earlier this month.
Brendan and a freind, Mark Reedy, were killed in a weather-related car accident in Indiana on February 5.
Brendan had come out to his father two years ago, but only recently stepped onto the national landscape as a stellar LGBT advocate who worked to eradicate homophobia in sports.
ESPN profiled Brendan and Brian late last year in an incredibly moving piece about coming out in a sports-centric family. Brian Burke is quoted as telling Brendan, “Of course we still love you. This doesn’t change a thing,” after Brendan told his father and stepmom that he was gay.
Now, Brian Burke has vowed to take on LGBT advocacy work of his own after the loss of his son, according to Sports Illustrated. “Brendan’s causes are Brian’s now,” writes SI reporter Michael Farber.
Burke says he will march in Toronto’s Gay Pride parade in June. “I’d promised him I would march with him,” says Burke. “He won’t be there, but I will.”
Brian Burke and his family will join GLAAD at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on March 13 to celebrate the nomination of ESPN’s article, “We Love You. This Won’t Change a Thing,” which spotlights Brendan’s heartfelt coming out story.
For more information, click here.
Related Posts:Media Takes Notice as Top Military Brass Speak Out on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
February 25, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
Gen. James Conway
Marine General James Conway, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that he supports the Pentagon’s study on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). Gen. Conway was clear, however, that repealing DADT must take a back seat to the military’s ability to protect the country, according to The Associated Press.
Conway’s testimony comes on the heels of similar testimony by Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that both Generals “expressed reservations about moving too swiftly to change the policy, and both endorsed the decision by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to deliberately review the issue before acting.”
Earlier this month, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael G. Mullen told Congress that he personally supported lifting the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the United States armed forces:
“No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”
(To read GLAAD’s original blog post about Adm. Mullen’s testimony, click here)
International leaders are also weighing in on the repeal. According to PinkPaper.com, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sang the praises of his military’s gay and lesbian service members and suggested Americans could reap the same rewards if the ban is overturned:
“You are the pride of our country and we thank you very much,” Brown told an audience of LGBT people and supporters. “We know this debate continues in America today. I would say to people who still favor ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, look at our experience in Britain.”
Yesterday, GLAAD joined Media Matters for America in calling on the mainstream media to cover Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell fairly and accurately. For more information about GLAAD and Media Matters’ open letter to the media, click here.
GLAAD will continue to follow the media’s coverage of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. For updates, check out GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Details Magazine Stumbles in Addressing Parental Homophobia
February 24, 2010 by Anna Wipfler, GLAAD's Transgender Advocacy Fellow
The recent Details magazine article by David Hochman “Would You Really Be Okay with a Gay Kid?” attempts to convey the insecurities straight fathers today feel about having gay sons. Unfortunately, in doing so Hochman presents a one-sided portrait of gay identity and self-expression that conflates sexual orientation with gender expression and appears to uphold rigid standards of masculinity and heterosexuality even as it seeks to broaden readers’ minds.
While Hochman also includes fair-minded opinions from developmental psychology experts, the article seems to legitimize the discomfort, even homophobia, a handful of anonymous fathers voiced in discussing their feelings about their own sons being gay.
He writes, “You may chuckle when little Leo dons butterfly wings and plays tea party for the third day in a row (hey, it’s just a little gender blurring), but you’re really thinking, No, God, no.” By quoting a series of otherwise-liberal dads, who have no problem interacting with gay people outside of their family but cringe at the possibility of having a gay son, Hochman implies that no parent could ever be pleased to have a gay child.
What seems to be most at issue for these fathers, however, has very little to do with their sons’ actual sexuality and everything to do with their gender expression – a distinction Hochman never directly makes, thereby leaving in tact the stereotype that all gay men are effeminate and all effeminate men are gay. Whereas the article purports to question parental homophobia, it turns out to focus solely on male fears about signs of their sons’ deviation from traditional masculine standards. There is also a notable lack of discussion about their gay daughters.
The original online article also included an inappropriately sexual, and crudely cropped, photograph of a rainbow popsicle entering a child’s mouth on the second page. Details removed the picture after GLAAD called with concerns. Editor-in-chief, Dan Peres acknowledged after further reflection that the image was highly inappropriate and told us it was removed from the online version and won’t make it into print. GLAAD pointed out to Details that the image served only to sensationalize the topic and divert attention from the fathers’ misplaced fears to the children’s sexuality.
In looking at the article as a whole, Details missed an opportunity to discuss the very real problem of parental insecurities around both their children’s sexuality and gender expression. This is the second time in as many months that Details has published a problematic article related to LGBT-identity, following a defamatory piece referring to bisexual women as “hasbians” in January. While the effort to discuss parental distress with gender nonconformity is laudable, the casual tone of the writing and treatment of the subject overshadow the original intention. If the sentiment of the article’s closing line, calling for unconditional parental support, could have resonated throughout, the reporting would have been greatly improved.
We encourage you to contact Details to express your concern about the magazine’s problematic coverage of men’s discomfort regarding the idea of having gay sons.
Related Posts:Talks Continue on Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
February 22, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
Top military officials will appear before Congress this week to testify about the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, The Associated Press reported today.
New York Daily News also reports that Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) will announce next week that he is “taking the lead on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the 1993 law that prohibits gay people from serving openly in the armed forces.”
In an exclusive interview with the Daily News, Lieberman told [reporter James Kirchick] that his commitment to repealing DADT is twofold. First, allowing gays to serve openly fulfills the bedrock American promise of providing citizens with “an equal opportunity to do whatever job their talents and sense of purpose and motivations lead them to want to do – including military service.” Second, and no less important for a lawmaker whose commitment to national security the Pentagon can’t doubt, is that “When you artificially limit the pool of people who can enlist then you are diminishing military effectiveness.”
Sen. Lieberman went on to speak of his experience on the Armed Services Committee:
“My own experience as a member of the Armed Services Committee, visiting our troops on bases here in this country and abroad, particularly in war zones, the most remarkable quality you’ll find is unit cohesion. What matters is not the gender of the other person in your unit or the color or the religion or in this case the sexual orientation. It’s whether that person is a good soldier you can depend on. And that’s why I think it’s going to work.”
Similarly, The New York Times published an article today about a new Palm Center study which indicates that a speedy repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would not endanger or disrupt American troops.
That study, “Gays in Foreign Militaries 2010: A Global Primer,” is set to be released Tuesday.
The Santa Barbara-based research center surveyed existing policies that allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and other countries.
“On implementation, the study said that most countries made the change swiftly, within a matter of months and with what it termed little disruption to the armed services,” The New York Times reported.
The New York Times article also noted that General David H. Patraeus spoke on the subject of repeal on NBC’s Meet the Press program on Sunday.
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In that interview, Gen. Patraeus said that a review of the policy barring gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces is “warranted.” Although Gen. Patraeus declined to give his own opinion on the policy, he said that he would do so if prompted by lawmakers.
When asked by host David Gregory if men and women “serving on the ground and in the field care one way or the other if their comrade in arms are gay or lesbian,” Gen. Patraeus replied, “I’m not sure that they do.”
GLAAD will continue to follow the media’s coverage of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Some Media Miss the Mark in Covering Olympic Men’s Figure Skating
February 18, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
In recent days, GLAAD has received several reports indicating that some national media outlets are missing the mark with their coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
OutSports.com reported today that an afternoon radio host on 105.3 KRLD-Dallas made defamatory comments about American Olympic figure skater, Johnny Weir.
“Yeah we know you’re gay, queen,” radio host Gregg Henson reportedly quipped. “It’s your choice to live that ‘lifestyle’.”
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough also made unfair inferences about the Men’s Figure Skating event on Thursday morning’s program.
WILLIE GEIST: Joe, I know you’re very, very excited about the uh Men’s Figure Skating tonight. It should be a real battle.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, it’s always, every four years I look forward to it. It’s a great chance for me to do a couple things at once. It’s usually where I get my nails buffed and polished while sitting there watching Men’s Figure Skating.
GUEST COMMENTATOR: One thing it does do though, it gives you a preview of what Willie will be wearing when he comes back here to New York.
GLAAD will be contacting both KRLD-Dallas and MSNBC’s Morning Joe to voice concern about their faulty coverage.
The Olympic Games draw the world’s fiercest athletes together in a global celebration of sport and athleticism. It is unacceptable that these Olympians are subject to undue mockery about their perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
If you see or hear unfair Olympic coverage that degrades athletes on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, contact GLAAD’s National News team at: nationalnews@glaad.org. Be sure to include the outlet’s name, the date of the problematic coverage and a brief synopsis of the offense.
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Protests Reignite Media Storm Surrounding Anti-Gay Bill in Uganda
February 18, 2010 by Ann @ GLAAD
Passions over Uganda’s anti-gay law continue to roil. Reuters reported that a major anti-gay protest in Jinja, Uganda, had to be quelled by police. At the same time, a largely unpublicized pro-gay Unitarian-Universalist event allowed local Ugandan LGBT people to strategize together under the banner, “Standing on the Side of Love.”
An article in The Huffington Post details the “monstrous implications” of the Ugandan anti-gay bill:
The more controversial provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would sentence HIV-positive homosexuals to death for their sexual acts, make it illegal to publicly defend LGBT rights, or provide social and medical services to LGBT individuals, and turn Ugandan citizens into anti-homosexual informers…
…LGBT Ugandans endure verbal insults, physical and sexual harassment, arbitrary arrests and torture, and humiliating publicity. They are victims of correctional rape and other sexual abuse, blackmail, and arbitrary detention, and are denied health care, housing, education and other social services on account of their sexual orientation. Since the introduction of this bill in October, 2009, there have been reports of death threats against LGBT individuals and police have raided the offices of some human rights activists.
In a time of constant calamity and crisis fatigue, proposed legislation in Uganda to execute gays passes through the American consciousness with the impact of a weather report. Corrupt politicians count on the brevity of the American attention span, but certain items demand a tap of the pause button…
… A country where gays are routinely harassed, rounded up and incarcerated doesn’t need stoking by American fundamentalists on a mission from God.
With the horrific realities of this proposed law, it is was deeply shocking when Christianity Today reported that Ugandan Anglican bishops support everything but the death penalty or throwing priests and counselors in prison for not turning in gay people. Family members of gay people would still be required to turn in family members.
Around 35% of Ugandans are Anglican. 42% are Catholic. Bold individuals like Canon Gideon Byamugisha, a prominent member of Uganda’s Anglican Church, have called the bill “state-legislated genocide.” The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the global Anglican Church, opposed the legislation saying, “Overall, the proposed legislation is of shocking severity and I cannot see how it could be supported by any Anglican….” More recently, he called the bill “infamous” and “repugnant” but has been very slow to speak. The Vatican has been mostly silent except for a little publicized statement in December at a United Nations panel—despite the fact that roughly 45% of Ugandan’s are Catholic.
The World Council of Churches published an open letter to President Museveni saying they are “saddened and distressed” by the proposed law. American World Jewish Service leaders organized an open letter to members of Congress and are emphasizing that people from within Uganda are speaking out and working against this legislation at great risk to themselves.
GLAAD continues to urge mainstream media to shine a light on Uganda’s virulently anti-gay measure and expose the potentially lethal injustices that gay and lesbian Ugandans could face simply by being who they are.
Updates can be found on GLAADblog.org
Related Posts:Advocates and Allies Across the Nation Celebrate ‘Freedom to Marry Day’
February 12, 2010 by Seth Adam, GLAAD's National News Fellow
Today, advocates and allies across the country will celebrate loving and committed same-sex couples on National Freedom to Marry Day.
According to Marriage Equality USA, “at local marriage counters in cities all over the country, same-sex couples will request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk’s Offices and engage in other public education outreach to raise awareness of the harms and impact the inability to marry causes on their families.”
DallasVoice.com shared the story of one such couple, Kay Mathews and Wendy Churitch, who renewed their vows in Dallas today at noon to mark the holiday. Churitch and Mathews were legally married in Iowa last August.
And San Jose Mercury News reported that same-sex couples and supporters will gather on San Francisco’s City Hall today to request marriage licenses from the county clerk.
National organizations are also promoting marriage equality today. Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network has organized an informational picket on Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral in order “to highlight the role the Church’s leadership has played in promoting inequality,” according to an article that appeared on ChicagoPride.com today.
For more information about ‘Freedom to Marry Day’, visit www.marriageequality.org
Related Posts:LGBT Organizations Urge Advocates and Allies to Remember Slain Teen Lawrence King
February 9, 2010 by Kellee Terrell, COAD Media Strategist @ GLAAD
February 12th, 2010 marks the second anniversary of the Lawrence King murder. King, an eighth-grader from Ventura, CA, was shot in the head and killed by a classmate in 2008 because of his perceived sexual orientation and gender expression.
GLAAD, GSA Network, GLSEN, Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality California are urging LGBT advocates and allies to honor King’s memory and call for an end to violence and harassment in the classroom directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Here is an update on what some organizations are doing:
GSA is hosting a vigil at Los Angeles City Hall at 7 o’clock P.M. Their site provides individuals with an action guide offering tips on how you can honor King’s life and how to mobilize and inform those in your community. Here is an excerpt:
Inform:
- Ask your administration to let your Gay-Straight Alliance club make an announcement on the PA system asking for a 30 second vow of silence to remember Lawrence King. Include who he was and why remembering him is important for you and your school.
- Make an altar for Lawrence King to visually represent the violence LGBTQ students face. Ask to display it at school. Include the time and place where your GSA meets so students can get more involved with your club.
- Write a letter to your campus newspaper demanding that violence against LGBTQ people stop. Write about Lawrence King and why it’s important for your school to stand up to hate. Give the time and place where your GSA meets.
- Organize an anti-violence assembly at your school. Invite speakers who can either talk about Lawrence King’s live and death or about the violence in schools against LGBTQ youth.
- Work with other students or groups on campus to organize a “No Violence Week.” Have discussions, show movies, or make posters about the violence and bullying in our schools.
Read the complete guide here.
On GLSEN’s “Remembering Lawrence” web page, they asking those to register events and join Facebook and MySpace groups to show their support. Here is a list of registered events so far
California
Spectrum Lawrence King Vigil
Camarillo, California
Friday, February 12, 2010
6:00 PM
Location: California State University Chanel Islands
Co-Sponsored By: Spectrum Center for Multicultural Engagement Center for Civic Engagement Housing and Education
Questions: http://vcra.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=4520621&highlight=vigil kari.moss@csuci.edu
Remembering Larry
Culver City, California
Friday, February 12, 2010
All Day
Location: 4401 Elenda St
Co-Sponsored By: Culver City High School Gay Straight Alliance
Remembering Lawrence King
Los Angeles, California
Friday, February 12, 2010
7:00pm
Location: Los Angeles City Hall – South Steps
On First St. between Main and Spring
Co-Sponsored By: GSA Network
Questions: www.gsanetwork.org/lawrenceking daniel@gsanetwork.org 213.482.4021
Remember Lawrence King
Los Banos, California
Friday, February 12, 2010
3:30
Location: Los Banos High School
Co-Sponsored By: Gay/Straight Alliance
Questions: nnelson@losbanosusd.k12.ca.us
Illinois
Remember Lawrence
Mattoon, Illinois
Friday, February 12, 2010
All Day
Location: Lake Land College
Co-Sponsored By: BGLADD (Bisexuals, Gays, Lesbians, and Allies to Develop Diversity) of Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL.
Questions: http://www.myspace.com/b_gladd
Minnesota
End the Violence
Blaine, Minnesota
Friday, February 12, 2010
11:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m
Location: Blaine High School
Co-Sponsored By: Blaine High School Gay Straight Alliance
Texas
Time for A Change presents: remembering Larry
Southlake, Texas
Friday, February 12, 2010
6:00 pm
Location: Bicentennial park
Co-Sponsored By: Time for A Change
Questions: T4c.me Info.timeforachange@gmail.coM 214.578.0119
Virginia
“I Love Larry”
Arlington, Virginia
Friday, February 12, 2010
All Day
Location: Wakefield High School
Co-Sponsored By: The Wakefield High School Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Questions: jclisham@arlington.k12.va.us 703-228-6711
Candle Light Vigil
Univ Richmond, Virginia
Friday, February 12, 2010
6:30pm
Location: Forum on Campus
Co-Sponsored By: Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity
Questions: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=292384489684&ref=mf sasdur@gmail.com
Register your event online here.
The Ventura County Rainbow Alliance is hosting an event at California State University Channel Islands campus sponsored by Spectrum (the gay/straight student alliance), the Center for Multicultural Engagement, the Multicultural and Women’s & Gender Student Center, School of Education, Student Housing and the Center for Community Engagement.
Learn more about their event here.
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