EVENT: Get Tickets to Hear Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand Speak on Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights

Openly gay Steve Hildebrand, who helped kick off and guide Obama's successful presidential campaign, will be in San Francisco this Monday, September 28 to speak about his experience with the president's administration and its approach to LGBT rights and the marriage equality movement in California.

Hildebrand, who supports returning to the ballot to repeal Prop 8 in 2010, is currently advising the Courage Campaign, steering the research they're conducting that will inform them on how to craft the best ballot language to restore marriage equality in California. Though Love Honor Cherish filed language today, if Courage Campaign comes up with language that tests better, they'll put their efforts behind it.

In an email sent out today through the Courage Campaign, Hildrebrand said:

When people talk about the reasons why Barack Obama won both the Democratic presidential nomination and the White House, the extensive, robust research conducted by our campaign is rarely mentioned. And yet, as I know from first-hand experience, it was the most well-researched campaign in the history of modern politics.

Research is boring. It's not as sexy as big speeches or TV ads. But research is what informs the language used in those speeches and commercials. And that is what we need to change hearts and minds.

Hear more by attending the forum. You can find tickets here.

Location: SF Club Office
Date: Monday, September 28
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: MEMBERS FREE, $15 non-members

Sandip Roy, host for New America Now on KALW 91.7 FM and NPR commentator, on NPR's will facilitate.

Sign up now!

BREAKING NEWS: Federal Prop 8 Case Goes to Public Trial January 11, 2010; City of San Francisco Joins Plaintiffs

Judge Vaughn Walker, presiding over the federal lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, has sided with the Plaintiffs' request and has ruled that the first public trial on a same-sex marriage case will proceed on January 11, 2010.

Mercury News reports, "Walker ordered the parties to start taking depositions and sharing information in the discovery process immediately, with expert witnesses to be designated by Oct. 2 and discovery to conclude Nov. 30. A pretrial conference will be held Dec. 16, rebuttal expert witnesses must be designated by Dec. 31 and trial is set for Jan. 11; meanwhile, he'll hold an Oct. 14 hearing on Proposition 8 proponents' motion to dispose of certain issues by summary judgment before the rest of the case is tried."

For federal timelines, this is breakneck speed, giving very little time for both parties to prepare for a full blown trial, including witnesses and expert accounts. However, a trial will a establish a solid record for appeals courts, where everyone expects this case to be headed.

Unlike for the LGBT legal organizations, Judge Walker ruled that the City of San Francisco can join the case as City Intervenor Plaintiffs, but only to assess Proposition 8's impact on local government.

Law Dork reports that according to Lambda Legal’s Jason Howe, the judge “said they showed a government interest that wasn’t represented by any of the current parties.” However, no lead counsel was established.

Ted Olson and David Boies will be joined by San Francisco City Attorney David Herrera in this high-stakes case which will indubitably affect not only California, but all other states that currently have same-sex marriage bans.

San Francisco Voices Support for Federal Case Against Prop 8

The city of San Francisco has joined the chorus of voices supporting the overturn of Proposition 8 in the courts by backing the federal case against the initiative being argued by Ted Olson and David Boies. Attorney General Jerry Brown and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has already stated support for the case.

Thursday night, City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in U.S. District Court arguing that Proposition 8 was motivated by hatred of gays and lesbians and violates their constitutional right to be free of discrimination.

Despite the fact that the Yes on 8 campaign claimed Prop 8 was to protect traditional marriage and children, the city attorney said, "excluding same-sex couples from marriage does nothing to advance those goals . . . (it's) real aim (was) harming gays and lesbians and expressing moral disapproval of them."

“San Francisco is presently compelled by Proposition 8 to violate the federal constitutional rights of gay and lesbian citizens,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Chief Deputy Therese Stewart state in their 49-page amicus brief. “[Proposition 8] offends the federal Equal Protection Clause even applying the most deferential test.”

Herrera and Stewart spearheaded the successful litigation that led to the California Supreme Court recognizing marriage as a fundamental right guaranteed to all Californians under the state constitution. Those rights were later stripped by Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution.

“City Attorney Herrera and Chief Deputy Stewart have not only been inspiring leaders of this fight, they are also two of the foremost legal authorities in this arena,” American Foundation for Equal Rights Board President Chad Griffin said, the organization responsible for the federal case against Prop 8. “Their support bolsters our work to overturn Proposition 8 and guarantee that every American is treated equally under the law.”

The city supported its argument by citing the Supreme Court's 1996 ruling that struck down Colorado's ban on state and local gay-rights measures and said a law motivated by hostility toward gays and lesbians is unconstitutional.

Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told the San Francisco gate that his organization may be making an official statement of support soon, too.

The federal suit is "going forward, and we certainly want it to succeed," Minter said.

San Francisco Leaders Want End to Torture and Murder of GLBT Iraqis

The Los Angeles City Council recently passed a resolution condemning the torture and murder of gay men in Iraq, and now San Francisco is chiming in.

A broad, united coalition of human rights advocates and politicians held a spirited rally Sunday, May 17, in solidarity with the LGBT citizens of Iraq.



We need to keep speaking up about these atrocities. If we're loud enough, maybe the administration will finally do something.

If Prop 8 Decision Comes Tomorrow, It Will Fall on 30th Anniversary of White Night Riots

If in fact the CA Supreme Court does rule on Prop 8 this Thursday, it will fall on the 30th Anniversary of the White Night Riots, which was sparked by a court decision giving San Francisco assemblyman Dan White the most lenient sentence of voluntary manslaughter for killing Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

The riots in San Francisco happened on the May 21, 1979, and continued onto May 22nd, Milk's birthday.



Dozens of arrests were made.

EVENT: San Francisco Supreme Court March!

Thousands of people are expected to come from all across the state to the California Supreme Court Building in San Francisco on March 5th in the hopes of attending the oral argument to repeal Proposition 8 and confirm that fundamental freedoms cannot be stripped from minorities by a popular vote. Buses of students are being arranged from Southern California so that young people can witness this civil rights moment of their generation.

Confirmed to appear is activist Cleve Jones.

For information on how to get a ride, find a place to stay or if you can house people, go to www.100000march.org.

Also, there's a call for everyone to wear white on March 5th to symbolize marriage and our belief that our rights will win out over the whim of mob rule.

If you can't make it to San Francisco, the City of LA is hosting a live viewing of the hearing that you can attend.

Don't forget events are taking place all over the state the night before, called Eve of Justice. Check it out!

Yesterday's Marriage Equality Action in San Francisco

Light Up the Night Coverage

As I keep finding more coverage for Light Up the Night, I'll update this post. If you have videos or local news coverage, please feel free to send it to me and I'll post it.

UPDATE: Be sure to click on "SEE more" at the bottom of the post to see more coverage!

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