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(No Ratings Yet) Many of you watched the arrest of Lt. Dan Choi on the White House gates on March 18, 2009. Also arrested was the heroic Captain James Peitrangelo. Rachel Maddow covers Captain James Peitrangelo in her conversation about President Obama being a “fierce advocate” in a clip from her show last year.
 There is a growing concern with the lack of progress on the federal level in regards to LGBT equal rights. Yes, we got hate crimes legislation, but the reality is that passed in the last Congress and we just needed a President to sign it (Thanks President Obama). However, passing such a law that provides additional resources to investigate a violent or biased crime against someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, is a very low bar when it comes to being treated equal by our government. There is so much more pain in our lives caused by unjust laws. The recent arrests of Lt. Dan Choi and Captain James Pietrangelo at the White House gates reminds us of that.
The LGBT community needs employment protections, the right to serve in our military, the right to bring our loved ones to immigrate from another country, and the right to marry the one we love and have it recognized by the Federal government. At the begining of the Obama Adminstration, the early critical LGBT voices were targeted, yet sweeping by calling for all of these laws to get enacted. Such voices included The Dallas Principles (the inspiration for Act on Principles) and even the Human Rights Campaign with their No Excuses campaign echoing the “No Delays. No Excuses.” tagline for The Dallas Principles. AmericaBlog’s John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay started the “Don’t Ask. Don’t Give” campaign to pressure the Democratic National Committee and the White House to fulfill their promises, and other powerful LGBT voices from the blogosphere joined inlcuding Andy Towle (from Towleroad), Pam Spaulding (from Pam’s House Blend), Bil Browning (from Bilerico), and Michaelangelo Signorile (from SiriusOutQ). Robin McGehee, Kip Williams, David Mixner, and Cleve Jones called for the National Equality March in October with the demand “Full Equality Now”, while many of the larger national organizations lacked the vision and inspiration and sat on the sidelines as the movement passed them by. Obama was criticized in the press relentlesly as his “Fierce Advocate” and “urgency of now”, fizzled into a “fierce urgency of whenever”. Many from established organizations including those embedded with the Obama Administration defended the inaction by claiming that the growing voices that were asking for our equality were just being impatient, politically naive, and unsophisticated. The defenders of the Administration’s inaction were wrong then, and they are wrong now. The infamous Don Lemmon CNN interview with Lt. Dan Choi, Dan Savage, Michelangelo Signorile, and Hilary Rosen showed the movement, and showed the spit that was only going to get larger. Nate Silver from fivethrityeight.com now reports that the 2010 election doesn’t look so good for Democrats in the Senate. (hat tip: David Mixner)
So we are going to be dealing with an even tougher enviroment after the midterm elections. Now we must demand full equality and get those items that were promised to us during the election including the Repeal of DADT, and the Repeal of DOMA. ENDA and UAFA in addition need to be passed by Congress and Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid. We also must remember the lesson learned, “Those who told us to wait will not be listened to again.”
(No Ratings Yet) In continuation with my effort to share some civil rights music on this blog every Friday night, here is a powerful song entitled “Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child” from the 1939 movie “Way Down South”. This version is from the late 60’s early 70’s from an unknown artist. A haunting vocal for those who look to be equal.
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Greeting and gratitude Direct Actionists!!! On Friday around 4:36 you made history by ensuring that the LGBT community was represented ON STAGE at the March For America – the largest immigration reform rally in history. As you know, we called the Center for Community Change (CCC) that morning to find out which LGBT groups were speaking, only to get the run around and dismissed by an overworked press person who said the matter was closed. Well, thanks to you, no matter is closed anymore – ever. By 6:30ish – after the call went out for a phone zap on CCC — we were talking to key folks at CCC who clearly understood. And by Sunday around 3:30, a LESBIAN LATINA COUPLE were on-stage speaking our words: “We will no longer hide in the shadows!!!” Lisbeth Melendez, the ED of Unid@s (the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgered Human Rights Organization), received the call on Friday inviting someone to speak. They had raised the issue too with the National Immigration Forum (a bigger player than CCC), but it took you and Friday to make the deal. Huge kudos go out to Marissa Graciosa, Immigration Campaign Coordinator at CCC, and their Executive Director, Deepak Bhagava who, with your help, made this happen. They stood up for what is right, though maybe we hit them a bit rough. Some of our callers clearly upset the staff at CCC, and while that’s unfortunate, the seriousness of the matter called for drastic action. Although friendships are no reason to avoid accountability, to the contrary, they may justify some discretion in tone. The plea for fast action did say they were friends, and it does matter. (Please email thank you’s and any apologies to: [email protected]). But our presence on that stage was no small deal. Because our friends stood up for us, we have already changed the stage inside and out and the USCCB (US Conf. of Catholic Bishops) was there to witness it. Sporting medical masks with “GAY IMMIGRANT” in big pink letters on it, were many other friends like Robin McGeehee of GetEqual, and Dan Choi (sans mask), and LOTS of members of Immigration Equality, as well as Out4Immigration, Make the Road, FIERCE, and almost the whole New York Bus Load which marched to the WWII Memorial and then together to the Mall chanting: “Let Us Speak” “Hey Hey Ho Ho, Homphobia’s Got to Go” and “We’re Here, We’re Queer, You Are Not Alone”. On the way, we passed the Washington Monument where Zoe and Chris and others were holding a community Vigil for bi-national couples and handing out rainbow-colored wristbands with “UAFA Passage 2010.” It was GREAT to connect and hug a human person whom I had only known via email, as all virtual organizers understand! Upon arrival, we joined the Rally like all the other groups and a huge rainbow flag arrived towering amongst the American flags and the Capital in the distance. There’s almost nothing like it. According to some reports, a smaller group went further and stood at the stage chanting: “Let Us Speak. Let Us Speak. Let Us Speak!” Supposedly some “seasoned immigration activists” later deployed this as “foolish.” But the CCC did not alert us that we were being represented, and there was still a point to be made to the cadre of speakers (and coalition partners) at the stage. That point was clear after our people spoke. According to ED Melendez of Unid@s, they approached the stage around 2:30 and waited an hour or so, during which NO SPEAKER mentioned us. After our representative — Marcela Aguilar Gonzalas — spoke with her partner Ana at her side, evidently, almost every other speaker mentioned “sexual orientation” or “lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered.” That is the point. I could cry writing this because we left around that time to eat, unaware this was about to happen and missed it. So my joy started when I received a call from GetEqual, Donald Hitchcock, who said we had done it. We had spoken. A lesbian, bi-national couple, representing a LGBT GROUP had SPOKEN ON STAGE. Today I got all the details and confirmation. I also heard from some friends at CCC that they are as thrilled as we are with the outcome. They not only “heard us and listened” but they respected our taking action. This is what friendship in politics really means. The more Direct Actionists (DAs) that speak up, the more this will be true. We are right, and have waited too long to call these questions. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Love, Tif p.s. Stand by for the Schumer letter and action. It’s just the beginning. DAs Rock!!! p.p.s. Photos are available at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=218146&id=584103635&l=e293f7ab92 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=218146&id=584103635&l=e293f7ab92
Join The New 212 Campaign: 212 212 Members of Congress Who Voted No on Healthcare Reform to Vote Out of Office -by Tommy News House Passes Healthcare Reform Measure By Narrow 219-212 Tally Please Save This Message and Pass it On! Today begins a new campaign. 212 A Campaign to Vote The 212 Members of Congress who voted against Health Care Reform out of office! The final tally, which adhered almost entirely along party lines, was 219 “yes” votes and 212 “no” votes. Not one Republican voted for the bill. Not One! • 219 Democrats voted for the legislation. That’s the exact same number of Democrats who voted yes on Nov. 7, when the House first took up its version of the bill. • All 178 Republicans voted no. Back in November, only 176 Republicans voted no. On Sunday, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.), who previously cast the lone GOP vote in either chamber for any version of the legislation, opposed the bill. The GOP also added to its no tally because, since the November vote, Rep. Parker Griffith (Ala.) switched parties to become a Republican. He initially voted against the bill as a Democrat in November. • 34 Democrats voted no, a drop from the 39 who opposed the first vote. • Three Democrats who voted yes on Nov. 7 are no longer in office, one having died and two others having retired since that vote. That left just 216 Democrats in office who voted yes Nov. 7. • Eight Democrats switched from no to yes: Reps. Brian Baird (Wash.), John Boccieri (Ohio), Allen Boyd (Fla.), Bart Gordon (Tenn.), Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Betsy Markey (Colo.), and Scott Murphy (N.Y.). • Of those switchers, four were freshman lawmakers facing likely tough re-elections: Boccieri, Kosmas, Markey and Murphy. • Five Democrats switched from yes to no: Michael Arcuri (N.Y.), Marion Berry (Ark.), Daniel Lipinski (Ill.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.) and Zack Space (Ohio). • Of those switchers, two — Arcuri and Space — are from the class of 2006, facing tough reelections. • Had the other four Democrats who are no longer in office been here Sunday, and had they voted the same as on Nov. 7, the final tally would have been 222-213. House Vote 165 – H.R.3590: On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act An act entitled The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. March 21, 2010 H.R.3590: On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendments Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Here is the list: No Votes (212) Did Not Vote (0) Present (0) Did Not Vote (0) Present (0) Source: – http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/111/house/2/165
(No Ratings Yet) Can you say genius? dramatic? over the top? and powerful? Thanks to Alan Bounville of QueerRising for sharing his very simple yet powerful action in solidarity with Lt. Dan Choi and Captain James Pietrangelo’s action at the White House. Watch the video until the end, you won’t be disappointed.
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