It's May - Whip Around the States

Students for a Fair Wisconsin reached out to faith leaders.

Small towns are leading the education effort for marriage equality, writes Basic Rights Oregon.

Indiana Equality has many good events coming up.

Equality California notes that the closing arguments for the Prop. 8 trial are set for June 16, 2010.

TransOhio's May newsletter is available online.

A candidate for Tennessee's 8th congressional district who wants to keep "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and laughed about "taking care of" homosexuals in the military, complains that he's being attacked by liberals.

Equality North Carolina reminds you that we need to push and lobby for ENDA. read on

Mid-Week Roundup

"You can't support equality and gay bait." Equality Texas calls out homophobic behavior by Democratic incumbent in primary race.

Equality Maryland introduces a new field director.

The Tennessee Equality Project looks at gubernatorial hopefuls positions on adoption.

There's more to celebrate in Florida than close (35 votes!) win in Gainesville mayoral election. Equality Florida tells us that an equality champion has won a seat in Congress in yesterday's runoff election.

Fair Wisconsin announces four-day intensive training by ally Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute coming to Minneapolis in June.

Empire State Pride Agenda follows up on teenager's suit against school district for bullying in their weekly sweep.

And there's more,

LGBT community marches in the San Jose Tet parade, reports Equality California.

Indiana Equality let us know that Judy Shepard will be giving a free and public talk in Indianapolis.

The Philippine Supreme Court has ruled to accredit a gay political party challenging a national election (from Equality South Dakota).

Basic Rights Oregon co-hosts an Elton John tribute night. It's a benefit, so break out your rhinestone glasses for equality.

Equality North Carolina congratulates Iowa on its first year of marriage equality.
read on

State Roundup

TransOhio posts a call for works on transmasculine sexuality.

Indiana Equality posts a video on why it's time for a change.

If you missed National LGBT Health Awareness Week, read about it on Equality North Carolina's blog.

Equality Maryland follows the attempt of a House representative to impeach Attorney General Gansler for Gansler's opinion supporting marriage equality.

Equality California meditates on Cesar Chavez' legacy to all of us.

Empire State Pride Agenda swept the blogs last week.

Equality Florida urges members to take action to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by signing on to a letter to Senator Bill Nelson.

And the Federation made it possible for thirteen LGBT families from across the country to take part in the White House Easter Egg Roll!
read on

Friday Wrapup

Tennessee's Grand Division blog thinks about activism.

Want to phone bank for ENDA? TransOhio tells you how.

Equality North Carolina discusses Lambda Legal's latest report on health care for LGBT people. (Spoiler: it's not good.)

Empire State Pride Agenda gives an update on GENDA campaign.

Equality California posts the thoughts of a volunteer field worker.

Equality Florida covers the weird "family-friendly" film bill out of Tallahassee.

Indiana Equality has some upcoming media trainings. read on

Week Two of the Prop. 8 Trial

If you haven't been following the trial (especially since it won't be on YouTube, you should check out one of the many liveblog covering the trial.

• The Prop. 8 Tracker comes from the Courage Campaign.


• Progressive blog, Firedoglake has analysis, videos, and a Twitter feed.
• Towleroad also has analysis of the issues, including background on the presiding judge.


• Pam's House Blend hosts a Twitter feed and legal analyses from NCLR lawyer, Shannon Minter.

read on

Prop 8 Trial Starts in San Francisco, Unseen

The Federal Supreme Court has blocked video coverage of the trial on Prop. 8. Marriage equality opponents have argued that video coverage on YouTube would keep them from receiving a fair trial. Civil trails have been recorded and posted before, but the people who supported Prop. 8, who supported bigotry, want to stay anonymous and hidden.

The video is being streamed to other rooms in the courthouse. The stay on live streaming will expire on Wednesday.

read on

LA Times Editorial Trivializes Harvey Milk Day Victory

reprinted with permission from the California Ripple Effect (EQCA's blog)



In the past our community has counted on the Los Angeles Times editorial board to have our back. Last year they calmly and rationally made the case against Prop 8 to their readers, but this morning we awoke to a shocking and inexcusable editorial criticizing Gov. Schwarzenegger’s historic signature making Harvey Milk Day a reality in California:

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger's lame-duck status may have given him the courage to sign some controversial bills that we wish he hadn't...

…By taking a grown-up political fight to schoolchildren, Leno's bill will only add to the hysteria surrounding gay rights, proving to conservatives that proponents really are eager to teach homosexuality in the schools. Schools have an obligation to teach history, but they shouldn't be used as a platform for a political agenda. Although Milk deserves recognition as a gay-rights pioneer, there are more appropriate ways to honor him. At times like this, we miss the days when Schwarzenegger lacked a backbone.

Not only does this editorial miss the point of Harvey Milk Day, it’s insulting.

The only ones using schools as a platform for a political agenda are anti-LGBT extremists who try to make easy targets of our community’s most vulnerable, in this case LGBT students. These people have actually fought against anti-bullying and nondiscrimination protections for students, have tried to systematically erase the contributions of LGBT people from history books, have tried to clamp down on students’ free speech and association rights and have exploited student-led Day of Silence demonstrations to promote grown-up led, vicious hate rallies at public schools targeting LGBT students and allies.

Furthermore, Harvey Milk Day does not mandate any changes to the curriculum at all. It simply encourages schools to offer appropriate commemorative exercises. Let’s remember that California has some of the most generous parental opt-out laws in the country. Parents can take their children out of just about any lesson whatsoever they find objectionable. Let’s also remember that the campaign that passed Prop 8 routinely lied about this fact to scare parents into supporting a vile amendment that had absolutely nothing to do with our schools.

During that time period, the GSA Network documented a marked increase in anti-LGBT bullying. LGBT schoolchildren are already at much higher risk of bullying and suicide because anti-LGBT grown-ups have already taken this political fight to them.

With all due respect, members of the editorial board, we are not the ones trying to politicize classrooms. We are not the ones waging our battles on the backs of vulnerable youth. Harvey Milk Day, as well as a number of nondiscrimination and safe schools bills that EQCA has helped to pass, make sure that LGBT students are safe to learn, grow and be themselves and that other students learn the value of diversity and the cost of violence.

At a time when the same people who took away marriage in California are again using schoolchildren as pawns to further their anti-LGBT agenda in Maine, lying about anti-bullying curriculums in California and about the so-called “consequences” of the freedom to marry, we really should be able to count on one of the country’s most esteemed newspapers to cut through the spin and look at the facts.

You can share your opinion, too and send a letter to the editor. read on