Last night Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Tom Duane, NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and more showed up to the second protest in two nights, this time at Union Square.
Andy Towle of Towleroad guessed that possibly more than a thousand people showed up to voice their dissatisfaction with New York's senate voting down the marriage bill 24-38. A bill that had passed the Assembly three times. A bill on which eight democratic senators, who have their jobs because of major LGBT support, voted against.
Yeah, I'd be protesting, too.
Sen. Tom Duane rightfully gets "angry at the betrayal."
The crowd.
Joe.My.God said of the rally and the forthcoming backlash:
Throughout the crowd and from the stage, threats of retribution rained down on the "Hate 38," the Senators that voted against equality. Particular scorn was heaped upon the eight traitorous Democrats, whose faces adorn many placards and who were named and shamed from the microphone. Hearty cheers went up whenever our new heroes like Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson were mentioned. The crowd was instructed about the coming 2010 elections and the NYC seats now in everyone's crosshairs. The evening was definitely not another useless venting of rage, as these things are often characterized.
John R. Bohrer of Blue Jersey has done a great podcast on what is going down in New Jersey. Due to massive lobbying coordinated by Garden State Equality, the state Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the New Jersey marriage bill Monday. It must get through them before it goes to the full senate. If it does, the full senate will vote Thursday
Today’s vote against Marriage Equality makes me very angry. Promises made were not honored. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and all fair-minded New Yorkers have been betrayed. I am enraged, deeply disappointed and profoundly saddened by the vote today.
In 2006, when the New York State Court of Appeals shamefully ruled that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community did not have equal protection under the law in relation to Marriage Equality, I predicted that passing legislation to right this wrong in the State Senate would be a profound personal and sadly political battle.
I have been proven right.
Yet there is an irony in today’s vote. Five years ago no one would have predicted that a vote would even be possible in the Senate. Today, on the floor of the Senate, we had an open and honest debate about the indignity of denying Marriage Equality to thousands of New York’s LGBT citizens. We heard stories of family members and friends who have suffered merely because they are gay. Only one Senator, who opposed marriage, spoke on behalf of that position. Again, an honest debate of which only one side, sadly not the winning side, represented justice and equality.
Now that this discussion has started in the Senate, it cannot be stopped. We will see Marriage Equality pass in New York. Yes, not today, but in the near future -- openly and with bi-partisan support.
I want to applaud those friends and advocates in the LGBT community who insisted on a vote, regardless of the outcome. This was very brave and it was the right thing to do. I was honored to bring the bill to the floor of the Senate, for an up or down vote, with their support.
Today also brought home the fact that the State Senate must maintain a Democratic majority– and in even greater numbers. It was only under Democratic leadership that this vote was possible. We must also have a Governor willing to sign marriage equality into law.
Most importantly I am grateful to all my Democratic colleagues who spoke so eloquently in favor of marriage equality and all those who voted in the affirmative. I also believe in redemption, even for State Senators who need that chance.
I am confident that we will win the fight for marriage equality in New York State.
Within hours of yesterday's devastating vote, 200 to 300 protesters crowded into Times Square despite the cold rain to voice their disappointment with the Senate's failure to stand up for civil rights.
The Mormons no doubt are very happy that Question 1 passed, but may be not for the reasons you would think. Finally, the scorn of the LGBT population is off of them (so they believe) and on to another target: The Catholic Church.
This past week in Maine, several protests took place against the passage of Question 1, but on Sunday, a silent protest took place in front of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, organized by the Facebook group Demand Equality Now.
But what's different about these protests compared to last year's against the Church of Latter Day Saints is that Catholics are either joining in with them or voicing their support.
America Blog's Joe Sudbay states that he was baptized in this particular church and that his mother still attends there. "That's the church my parents attend, where I was baptized and confirmed and where we had the funerals for my grandparents," he said on his blog. "The Facebook crowd was organizing the protest, but when I told my 73 year old mother about it (and she's not the Facebook crowd), she said, 'Oh, I wish I knew.'"
This echoes the larger, growing divide within the Church.
. . . Malone chastised "a group of self-described Catholics who have chosen to dissent publicly from established Catholic doctrine on the nature of marriage as the union of one man and one woman."
Malone was writing about 140 people whose names appeared in a newspaper ad titled "Statement of Conscience by Maine Catholics Regarding Marriage Equality." Malone wrote, "A Catholic whose conscience has been properly formed by scripture and the teachings of the Catholic church cannot support same sex marriage."
But hundreds of Catholics disagreed with the bishop.
"It is a sad day, as the leaders of the Catholic church in Maine relish, in delight, that they have succeeded in keeping the homosexual families of Maine outside of the walls of society where they must beg to maintain their very existence, much like the lepers and blind in the Bible were kept outside the city walls in days of old," said Jack Dougherty of Eliot, Maine, a member of Catholics for Marriage Equality.
Portland attorney George Burns, who helped draft the Catholic statement on equality, said "The bishop won at a great price -- whether he cares about that price or not. He has divided his flock."
One Catholic, Pamella Starbird Beliveau of Lewiston, Maine, was removed as a lector and eucharistic minister after her pastor read an opinion piece she wrote for the local newspaper approving of same-sex marriage.
She told a rally outside the Portland cathedral Nov. 1, "I am sad but not surprised by what happened. … The Catholic church has every right to determine who can and cannot serve as ministers in the church. I respect that. We must keep our eyes focused on the issue and that is equality for our gay and lesbian citizens."
With all of its past problems, can the Catholic Church sustain its momentum against LGBT rights amongst growing criticism?
Patricia Brinkman said it best in her letter to the Portland Herald Press' editor. "Newsflash to Bishop Malone: civil rights are not 'values.' And, as the multitude of successful lawsuits against the church on behalf of exploited children will attest, you long ago surrendered your legitimacy to dictate morality regarding sex."
What do all of these have in common? A strong possibility of marriage equality being legal by the end of the year. With all of the focus on Maine, Washington state and Kalamazoo, MI and their rights-stripping referendums, we sometimes forget that more work is being done elsewhere with good possible outcomes.
However, not everyone is liking it.
New Jersey, the last state with a civil union law that has not banned or legalized marriage equality, has a pretty LGBT-friendly legislature that's considering a marriage equality bill. Its current governor, Jon Corzine, who's facing a tight reelection race, is dedicated to signing the bill if it hits his desk. Currently, the plan is to pass the bill after the elections and Corzine will sign it during what could be his lame duck session.
This possibility was protested Sunday at the state's capital in Trenton by anti-marriage equality forces who are demanding that they get to vote on the issue.
Hundreds of people — holding signs that read "Let the people decide" and "Marriage = one man and one woman" — gathered in front of the Statehouse in Trenton today to protest gay marriage. The crowd applauded as politicians and representatives from the Catholic Church, as well as other religious groups, vowed to defeat gay marriage.
"That word ‘marriage’ means an awful lot to us, and we don’t want to see it radically redefined," said Len Deo of the New Jersey Family Policy Council. "You cannot redefine what you did not create."
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But religious groups in the state are divided on the issue.
The Rev. Charlie Ortman of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Montclair last week said he and his church — along with 17 other religious groups across the state — actively support gay marriage.
"Religion has made such a mess of this matter that it’s religion that now must step into the fray so that religions can stand on the side of love rather than the side of discrimination," Ortman said.
Get involved! Help New Jersey pass marriage equality legislation. Go to Garden State Equality to find out how!
Maryland's Bishop Harry Jackson, long-time opponent to any progress in D.C., and pastor Matt Anderson made appearances.
So, I would like to ask these pastors - I took care of my flu-ridden partner this weekend, making sure he felt as comfortable as he could, doting on him while taking care of the chores.
The National Equality March coincided with National Coming Out Day, and came a day after President Obama delivered a supportive speech to the nation's largest gay and lesbian rights group.
Obama was praised for his remarks to the Human Rights Campaign, where he said he has urged congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act. But Obama has also been criticized by gay rights activists who say he has put those issues -- and the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bans homosexuals from openly serving in the military -- on the back burner.
The march on Washington that gays staged Sunday on the National Mall drew something like 200,000 people — that's a good guess based on conversations with many of the organizers and local authorities, although estimates of Mall crowds are notoriously unreliable. But one number you can take to the bank: the average age of those backstage who wore walkie-talkie headsets and staff badges, the men (and a few women) who were behind much of the organizing effort, wasn't over 30. And that, by far, was the oddest thing about the march: Why would a generation wired to their mobile phones and Facebook accounts nearly from birth want to resurrect a form of political expression as old and musty as a mass gathering?
Thousands of gay and lesbian activists marched on Washington Sunday, the first step in a national effort to grant gays and lesbians equal rights on everything from marriage to serving in the military.
Participants took to the streets, demanding that President Obama keep his campaign promises and pass federal protections for gays and lesbians.
A day after President Obama pledged to stand alongside the gay community in its fight for equal rights, march participants said they want more action and less rhetoric from the president.
Impatient and discouraged by what they see as a certain detachment by President Obama on their issues, gay rights supporters took to the streets of the capital on Sunday in the largest demonstration for gay rights here in nearly a decade.
Unlike previous marches promoting gay civil rights, the rally was primarily the undertaking of a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates who have grown disillusioned with the movement’s established leadership.
Thousands of gay and lesbian activists marched Sunday from the White House to the Capitol, demanding that President Barack Obama keep his promises to allow gays to serve openly in the military and work to end discrimination against gays.
Rainbow flags and homemade signs dotted the crowds filling Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House as people chanted "Hey, Obama, let mama marry mama," and "We're out, we're proud, we won't back down." Many children were also among the protesters. A few counter-protesters also joined the crowd, which stretched several blocks by the afternoon.
Crowding nearly every corner of the streets between Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle and the Capitol Building, some 200,000 people gathered for the National Equality March... and on the heels of mixed reviews for Barack Obama's speech at last night's HRC Dinner, gays and lesbians are our in force, chanting, cheering and demanding equal rights.
Advocate.com went backstage at the rally. From Lady Gaga to Cynthia Nixon, David Mixner to Billie Myers, check out what happened behind the scenes at the biggest show Washington's seen in years.
The amazing photographer and editor Marta Evry from blog Venice for Change has taken amazing photographs of the National Equality March taking place in Washington DC. Marta has graciously given permission for me to post the images.
The image above is of the march taking place right now. Metro Police are calculating a turn out of 150K, but better estimates will come when everyone converges on the mall.
The slide show below is from yesterday, including images of Lt. Dan Choi, Co-Director of the march Robin McGehee and the protest from outside President Obama's HRC speech.
On the Michelangelo Signorile radio show The Gist, Rep. Barney Frank discussed the National Equality March, calling it "useless."
Signorile's site reports: "I literally don't understand how this will do anything," [Frank] said. "People are kidding themselves. I don't want people patting themselves on the back for doing something that is useless." Besides, he says, "Barack Obama does not need pressure." He says we should model ourselves as lobbyists on "the National Rifle Association." He says people should not come to Washington and should stay home and lobby their members of Congress. "Nobody in Congress even knows they're there, he says, and he is not attending the March: He is going to California to raise money for himself and other Democrats.
If Frank would take a second and actually read what the march is about and what its agenda entails, he would realize that the people attending aren't just there to make a scene. They're there to be trained on how to lobby their representatives at home and to organize themselves in all 435 congressional districts. A big goal, yes, but it can be accomplished.
I have a lot of respect for Frank, but these comments just show how little time he's taken to read up on what his own community is up to. In the very least, he shouldn't discourage people to take a stand for themselves.
He's missed the mark here. Usually I don't agree with people who say Frank should shut up more often, but in this case, I would have to concur.
Key March Information
David Mixner has provided a great service by gathering key information about attending the march, saying "Quite honestly I don't have a damn idea on how many will attend but do know that it appears to be a weekend filled with substantive events for almost any person's desire. Just go to the events link and get the full picture."
Bill O'Reilly Questions Why Gays Are Protesting Gays on Eve of March
Bill O'Reilly discusses with activist writer Wayne Besen the planned picketing by LGBT groups and activists outside of Saturday's HRC dinner where President Obama will be giving a speech.
Andy Thayer, the LGBT activist who successful ran the Stop Dr. Laura campaign, is now focusing his attention on President Obama, and in particular, his appearance at the HRC dinner on the eve of the National Equality March.
A press release:
Pro-LGBT Picket of Obama This Saturday Moved from White House to HRC Gala
In reaction to the announcement yesterday that President Obama will address a black tie fundraising gala of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on Saturday, October 10th, organizers of a pro-LGBT picket originally scheduled for that night at the White House have instead moved the picket to the site of the HRC gala. The picket will begin at 6 PM in front of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, on the northeast corner of Mt Vernon Place NW and 9th Street NW, Washington, DC.
While the picket organizers will be participating in the Sunday, Oct. 11th Equality March, they charge that the march organizers have been going easy on the Obama administration and the Democratic Party in general. Barack Obama was long on pro-gay promises during the campaign, they say, yet short on delivering on them once he took power in late January.
“The time for talking is over,” said Andy Thayer of the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network (www.GayLiberation.net), one of the two organizations sponsoring the picket. “This President promised to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), he promised to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, he promised to pass the pro-LGBT Employment Non-Discrimination Act and a whole host of other things. Instead, he’s delivered on nothing while embracing anti-gay bigots Rick Warren and Donnie McClurkin. The last thing we need is more flowery rhetoric in front of rich, self-effacing gays and lesbians dressed up like penguins.”
The picket is cosponsored by the Dallas-based direct action group, Queer Liberaction (queerliberaction.moonfruit.com), a group which played a leading role in organizing an effective community response to the violent police raid on a Fort Worth bar. ”The Obama administration has likened LGBT relationships to incest and bestiality,” said Queer Liberaction co-founder Blake Wilkenson. “He cited his ‘Christian beliefs’ for the reason why he now opposes equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. He refuses issue a stop-loss order to prevent purges of lesbian and gay soldiers. If we are going to get real change out of this White House, we need to make demands of this President. As the great anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass put it, ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand.’”
For more information about the Saturday, October 10th pro-LGBT picket of President Obama, contact the Gay Liberation Network at LGBTliberation@aol.com or 773.209.1187, or Queer Liberaction at LGBTliberaction@gmail.com or 214.679.6321
More information can also be found at the Facebook event for the picket.
Others are just as equally non-plussed. GOProud, a group broken off from the Log Cabin Republicans, quickly issued this video:
However, I'm not so sure how I feel about this picket. I'm literally on the fence. On one hand, I say "Go for it!" The president needs to realize that his inaction will not be forgotten and will continually be called into account. On the other, unlike the last picket I attended when he actually decided NOT to act on LGBT rights in a very specific way, Obama hasn't done anything as specific lately. Sure, he's sitting on his hands playing politics, but that's not anything new. (Though the Stonewall Democrats thinks he's done a great job. Go figure.)
I guess I'm looking for a specific ask from this picket line to be voiced for the president to hear. At the last picket in Los Angeles, Obama made a remark in his speech at the fundraiser that he wasn't sure what promises the picket was holding him to.
I think Michael Jones said it well at Change.org. We don't need another empty speech from the president. We've head plenty, thank you very much. What we need is for him to make his speech at the dinner worth while for all. I say we ask him for a simple sentence:
"I support marriage equality in Maine."
Whether you think he will or not is besides the point. You'll never know if you don't ask. I say the picketers should be asking for this endorsement from President Obama loud and clear.
That will be a picket I can join.
Image from Los Angeles picket outside DNC fundraiser.
On Tuesday, the first day that marriage equality was legal in Vermont, extreme wingnuts from Westboro Baptist Church trudged their way up to the state to protest. Local Vermont residents questioned their philosophy.
The new independent media website called YOURNETWORK based in San Diego just finished a short 11-minute exposé on Proposition 8.
Featuring footage and hard-hitting interviews from San Diego rallies the day after the state supreme court upheld Prop 8, YOURNETWORK questions the legality of denying certain people their rights.
With Rhode Island being the last state in New England to not legalize same-sex marriage, or recognize any same-sex union for that matter, the anti-marriage equality National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has set its eyes on keeping it that way.
This past weekend, NOM held a "traditional marriage" picnic in Warwick, RI, officially titled "First Annual Celebrate Marriage and Family Day," the same event that large chain Tim Horton's backed out of sponsoring last week after it learned what NOM was all about. About 20 to 30 marriage equality protesters stood at the front gates of the Aldrich Mansion, a Catholic Diocese property, with signs that read, "Please, don't define my marriage" among others.
NOM president Maggie Gallagher appeared at the event and gave the following speech.
For the past twelve years, marriage equality bills have been introduced and killed in Rhode Island. This past June, a bid to give same-sex partners the right to make funeral arrangements for their loved ones also died.
However, in May, a Brown University poll showed 60% of Rhode Island voters support a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, with 75% supporting civil unions. Only 31% flatly stated they would oppose a marriage equality law.
Australia's Labor Party has voted to recognize same-sex unions but was unable to go the final stretch and recognize these relationships as marriages due to LGBT organizations and allies being unable to get enough signatures for a resolution that would allow it. A system will be set up to register these couples and will most likely be done through civil unions. The Australian statistic bureau announced it would count these unions as marriages in the next census.
Despite the fact that 60% of Australians approve of full marriage equality, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has supported and helped pass anti-discrimination measures, has voiced opposition to the legalization of civil LGBT marriage based on his Anglican beliefs.
Rallies took place throughout Australia as the vote was being held, with supporters pouring out in historic numbers and organizers saying the turn out was around 8,000.
Rainbow flags, wedding dresses, high heel boots and disco music were de rigueur in cities across Australia, as thousands of people rallied in support of same sex marriage.
More than 250 couples even tied the knot, albeit illegally, to mark the occasion.
More than 8,000 people took part in the national protests, organisers said.
In Melbourne there were roses, wedding veils and even a three-tiered cake. But the illegal wedding ceremony held on the steps of the city's registry office felt a little hollow for the 65 participants who bravely committed themselves to their life partners in front of thousands calling for same-sex marriage laws on Saturday.
Participant Kathy said the service was a step in the right direction but expressed frustration at the wait for legislative change.
"I guess it's a little bit sad that we still have to be here fighting for the chance to show our love for each other," she said.
"We're just people and we love each other.
"We want the same rights as anyone else."
But for Adrian and his French partner Romain, Australia's legal position on preserving nuptials for heterosexual couples has an immediate effect.
Romain's visa expires in a month but the pair cannot marry and remain in the same country in a committed relationship together under current law.
The couple will wed in France later in the year but the union will not be legally recognised when they return to Australia.
"I've had heterosexual friends in the same situation and it's been quite easy for them to resolve," Adrian said.
"It just makes you feel like you're not accepted wholly by society."
The service followed a colourful rally at Federation Square in central Melbourne, as almost 4,000 people draped in rainbow colours waved banners and balloons that read "Equal Love".
On July 9, Derek Jones and Matt Aune were detained by LDS security guards after they embraced and kissed on Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City, which for many, is believed to be public property. After refusing to budge, the cops arrived and informed the couple that it was in fact private property with full access to the public but owned by the LDS church. The couple were cited for trespassing, but not before the guards had handcuffed both men, after forcing Jones to the ground. Aune said he suffered a bruised and swollen wrist.
Rex Wockner reports, "Salt Lake City sold the plaza to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 10 years ago, in a move that still irks some Salt Lakers. The precise location of the kiss was a former public easement that the city gave to the church in a controversial land-swap deal in 2003."
Many believe the only reason why the LDS security guards approached the men on the busy thoroughfare in the first place was because they were gay and engaging in PDA. This has spurred kiss-in protests in front of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, and last night, another one took place in San Diego. About 30 LGBT and friends showed up.
Good As You reports that uber anti-gay Peter LaBarbera is calling these protests a "militant," "homo-fascist," act of defiance. I actually laughed when I read that.
Rex Wockner also has a full report including more pictures.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that took place in Greenwich Village in New York City. Though some riots had occurred before Stonewall, such as the 1967 protest at the Black Cat Tavern in Silver Lake, CA among others, Stonewall has been marked as the turning point that launched the LGBT civil rights movement.
The video from Democracy Now covers the history of Stonewall (after some news items).
Forty years later, we still have a lot of work to do. Despite the tide turning in our favor in public opinion, Washington is lagging behind, as usual, because politicians are too selfish and scared of pissing off any constituents in fear of losing their coveted seats. Even more disappointing for the LGBT population is the lack of movement from our "fierce advocate", President Obama. (Or in our case, the biggest move he's made is to have his Department of Justice issue a discriminatory brief defending one of the biggest LGBT discriminatory law, the Defense of Marriage Act.)
Today, Frank Rich of the New York Times write in his op-ed "40 Years Later, Still Second-Class Americans" writes, "It’s a press cliché that “gay supporters” are disappointed with Obama, but we should all be. Gay Americans aren’t just another political special interest group. They are Americans who are actively discriminated against by federal laws. If the president is to properly honor the memory of Stonewall, he should get up to speed on what happened there 40 years ago, when courageous kids who had nothing, not even a public acknowledgment of their existence, stood up to make history happen in the least likely of places."
President Obama keeps passing the buck to Congress, stating that he would be happy to sign any legislation giving LGBT equal rights if it reached his desk. The Administration repeatedly uses the refrain that fundamental change can only come from legislation while doing nothing to push it forward. Not the qualities of a "fierce advocate" but a passive politician not willing to take risks for what is right. (But thanks for the parties, Obama. You know us well.)
Joe Sudbay of America Blog covered the protest and issued this video:
Congress is finally beginning to listen, but again, it's taking gay and lesbian members of Congress to actually get the ball rolling. Roll Call reports:
After five months of virtual inaction on the gay rights agenda, House Democratic leaders on Wednesday met privately to chart out a strategy for advancing the constituency group’s priorities in the 111th Congress.
Headlining the meeting was Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who with her leadership team and the three openly gay Members of Congress — Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) — sought to map out a way forward on several key gay rights bills.
According to sources, the Members discussed workplace discrimination, health care benefits for same-sex partners of federal employees and a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bars gays from openly serving in the military. The lawmakers also discussed how to help the Senate pass hate crimes legislation that has already cleared the House.
Though this is encouraging, including Frank's introduction of an inclusive ENDA bill, many concerns have been raised that it's already too late for any LGBT bill, especially with time running out for the congressional session and two major bills still needing passing - health care reform and climate change legislation.
So 40 years after Stonewall, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve the equal rights that we all seek and deserve. But the tide is turning in our favor. Never before in history has public opinion of the LGBT population been so supportive. However, that doesn't mean any real change will take place until we take responsibility for our own freedom.
We have to act. We have to not only blog, Tweet, email and Facebook events, we literally have to get up off our asses and hit the pavement, old-fashion style. We have to come out of the closet (however that may look - leaving the gay ghetto, being more open at work, talking to family and more); we have to knock on doors and canvass for LGBT rights campaigns; we have to literally pick up the phone and call our state and federal congressional representatives; we have to actually show up to rallies, protests and fundraisers, and yes, meetings instead of just pride parties; we need to act.
Now is the time in history to seize the moment. Not to win crumbs, but the whole meal. EVERYTHING. Full state and federal rights. We have, despite appearances, a willing president who will sign LGBT rights legislation and a Congress that's our best bet in over a decade. We have been given an opportunity. We have been given the chance to make Stonewall worth it. Change won't happen overnight. But if it doesn't happen because we don't act, as a full LGBT population, then we only have ourselves to blame.
Blog Ryan's Take covers first-hand the protest of the DNC's fundraiser in Boston. Spurred by the DOJ's and Obama Administration's insulting brief defending DOMA, many have taken the Democrats to task for accepting our money but not keeping their campaign promises to us.
If today's event in Boston is any indication, the DNC, DSCC, DCCC and Obama campaign committee can be expecting hundreds upon hundreds of protestors across the country at their fundraisers in the days ahead. About 30-40 people came to protest President Obama's DOMA brief at today's DNC fundraiser at Fenway Park in Boston, headlined by Vice President Biden. ----- Some key moments of the protests: Lt. Governor Tim Murray and Mayor Boston both attended the event, but neither of them recognized the protestors. MassEquality's Scott Gortikov crossed the (picket) line, attending the fundraiser despite the protestors and Obama administration brief. Lastly, the police pushed protestors back beyond the original protest area, to the extent that it made it very difficult to have a fair voice in protesting.
“With President Bush, we kind of expected his anti-gay policies and agenda,” Paul Sousa, co-chairman of Join The Impact Massachusetts which helped plan the protest, told the Boston Herald. “With Obama, we thought we were getting a friend in the White House.”
Videos from Ryan's Take. Image by John Wilcox of the Boston Herald.
Many in the LGBT community are growing increasingly frustrated with Barack Obama's inaction on LGBT issues, and what is being seen as his administrations anti-gay decisions and actions.
The Gay Liberation Network will be protesting President Obama on Monday June 15th at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. Protesters are mad that Obama continues to enforce the Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy barring gays from serving openly in the military. They are also outraged that the administration defended the Defense of Marriage Act in courts using some ridiculous claims and marriage equality opposition tactics. Some are also still mad about his giving a platform to anti-gay people like Rick Warren and Donnie McClurkin.
The GLN demands that President Obama:
Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and come out for marriage equality
Repeal Don't Ask / Don't Tell
Legalize readily accessible needle exchanges to reduce HIV / AIDS transmission
End faith-based initiative funding which allows for religious groups to discriminate against LGBT people
PROTEST President Obama's visit to Chicago 10:30 AM – 12 noon Monday, June 15 Hyatt Regency Hotel 151 E. Wacker Drive (one block east of Michigan Avenue) (Map)
UPDATE: Thanks to NG Blog, I was made aware that Sen. Monserrate, who was one of the senators who caused the coup, may flip back to the original side. WABC calls this drama, the "theatre of the absurd." Couldn't have said it better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, there's so much happening in New York, I can't keep up. It's giving me carpal tunnel. Just shut up and vote already!
But I digress . . .
I'll start with some good news. From the makers of the NY1 senate poll that made us a bit depressed (it wasn't looking good for marriage equality), a new poll was released today showing that a majority of New Yorkers support marriage equality, siding with Gov. Paterson despite the fact that his approval rating keeps sliding.
Question: Which comes closest to your view: gay couples should be allowed to legally marry, or gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry, or there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship?
In other words, New Yorkers are telling their senate to just DO IT (the bill already passed the Assembly). But with the recent coup that took place, everything is in major upheaval, causing all legislation to be in question, not just the marriage equality bill.
However, reports are coming in that openly gay Sen. Duane, sponsor of the bill, may soon be siding with the new leadership.
One of the senators who is believed to be considering breaking ranks with the Senate Democratic conference, Thomas K. Duane of Manhattan, would not say where he planned to cast his political allegiance.
“I am not considering anything but trying to get passed all the legislation I’ve spent my whole life fighting for,” he said. Mr. Duane, who did not attend meetings with his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, said he had spent all day in discussions with senators from both parties. ---- The chances that the [same-sex marriage] legislation could be acted on soon appeared to grow on Tuesday after Mr. Espada, who would share power with Dean G. Skelos, a Republican from Long Island, said he would like to see the bill come to a vote.
“I am for same-sex marriage,” Mr. Espada said, adding that he had not yet discussed the matter with Mr. Skelos, who opposes allowing gay couples to marry, but has said that he would let Republican lawmakers vote as they chose. “I think there will be a vote of conscience of the senators.”
Like all other legislation currently before the Senate, the same-sex marriage bill is on hold until the leadership confusion is resolved.
Oh, don't go away, there's more.
Former GOP NY Senate Majority Leader, Joe Bruno, who once referred to homosexuality as an "abnormal lifestyle," has reconsidered his position saying, "It's time. Now. For the government to back off, let people make their own life decisions, and about how they care about and who they don't care about...."
Take a deep breath. There's more.
Yesterday, anti-equality protesters rallied at the New York capital of Albany. It's been estimated that about a 1,000 people showed up but were probably bused in by their churches. I gather it must've been tough to find people to protest marriage equality given that a majority of New Yorkers support it.
Good As You shares some pictures from the rally depicting the protesters' signs expressing religious frustration. Good As You does a good job of expressing our own frustration over these people's refusal (or ignorance) to recognize the separation of religious and civil marriage.
Having grown up in a Christian missionary household, I know how annoying a debate this can be. You simply cannot engage them since they cannot comprehend the separation of church and state.
So there you have it. That's it in a big nutshell. When will the senate decide whether or not to vote on the marriage equality bill and when? Your guess is as good as mine (and everyone else's).
As reported earlier on Unite the Fight, Obama made a remark about his campaign promises to the LGBT population at last night's fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton.
Here's a news report containing the remark from ABC 7:
I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to buy this when many rainbow flags were waving outside with chants, sending a clear message from the man asking about his promises to the LGBT population.
I was told he may have been referring to the war protesters out there as well, but the LGBT protesters outnumbered them by far.
I still have faith that he will act on those promises, and I am not delusional to think that he can fix everything immediately or that this should be his number one priority.
As I said in a comment below the original post,"I'm not asking for immediate action from Obama. I'm asking Obama, AS PRESIDENT, to state his support, the same support he stated as a NOMINEE. So far, I've heard nothing."
Thousands turned out yesterday all across California in protest against the California Supreme Court ruling to uphold Proposition 8. Police are reporting that 162 arrests were made during yesterday's protests.
Turnout numbers are mixed for statewide protesters, even here in Los Angeles where numbers range from 1,000 to 5,000. LAPD, who usually underestimates crowd numbers, initially told the organizers of the Day of Decision rally that there were 12,000 to 14,000.
In Leimert Park, nearly 1,000 clergy members and gay couples gathered at the Lucy Florence Coffee Shop in the heart of Los Angeles’ black community.
The protests spread to Westwood near Santa Monica where students blocked major intersections and refused to leave. Some were arrested.
The student protest grew to nearly 1,000 people reports say and marched up Santa Monica Blvd., past the Mormon temple and joined up with the large Los Angeles Decision Day rally just as it started in West Hollywood.
The long march, beginning in West Hollywood, passed the Matthew Shepard Memorial where pictures of hate crime victims were displayed. People laid white flowers on the ground in honor of them.
The march rallied at Hollywood and Highland, the heart of Hollywood, where thousands of people took chalk and drew their protests on the streets. The concrete was covered in graffiti depicting hurt, anger and hope for a better future. It was amazing to see - a striking visual that will stay on the streets until it washes off. (See slide show below)
Yesterday at the Los Angeles rally, we provided a live stream broadcast, but due to an overwhelming use of the application Qik throughout the state, it kept stalling. However, it was still able to record. Here are some of our videos (please forgive the sound - it was really loud, causing some of it to cut in and out, and the rally's sound system went down at times). Click on the Qik logo to see more.
Perez Hilton and former Miss California USA executive director Shanna Moakler.
Robin Tyler speaks at the rally.
Short clip of the march:
Unite the Fight slide show:
Different coverage of yesterday's statewide protests and responses to ruling. This list will keep growing.
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Last night Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Tom Duane, NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and more showed up to the second protest in two nights, this time at Union Square.
The crowd.
