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  This arrived in AOP’s inbox from a new organization GetEqual. I thought I would share. Dear ActOnPrinciples, “Whether you’re a ten-year-old from Arkansas or the President of the United States, all of us can do more! … It’s time to take action!” – Will Phillips It is 2010 in the United States of America, and nearly every day we see reminders of a simple, sad fact: LGBTQ people are not equal. Since 2008’s momentous election, many of us feel like we have been waiting, waiting for our hope to be rewarded. But while our president has declared himself a “fierce advocate for equality,” we have seen little in the way of real progress. Instead, we’ve heard only empty promises — not just from elected officials, but from our own leadership, who urge patience and claim to know “best” how to attain equality for all. We’re tired of waiting to be treated as equals. We’re tired of watching the rights of LGBTQ people being trampled, ignored, put on hold or stripped away. The time for waiting is over. Now is the time to act. While our movement has made progress in visibility and various protections, as too many of us know first hand, we are still not equal. More than 30 states have banned same-sex marriage, including two where it was previously allowed. LGBTQ soldiers are still being pushed out by the thousands, and amazingly, in the majority of states it is still legal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender expression. Everywhere across this great country, people are no longer willing to stay silent, and they’re standing up to boldly demand change. Last October, more than 150,000 individuals joined us at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. under the simple, powerful message of full federal equality. Just weeks later, 10-year-old Will Phillips, from West Fork, Arkansas, refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance because he decided that its claim of liberty and justice for all means nothing if LGBTQ people are not included. And the list goes on. Over the last year, people in Mississippi, New York, Virginia, Ohio, California, Texas, and many other communities across the U.S. have risen up, pushed back, and spoken out for equality. It’s bold actions like these that have inspired us to launch a new initiative – GetEQUAL. Thank you for standing for equality. Get out. Get Active. GetEQUAL. -Robin McGehee and Kip Williams
Kerry Eleveld reports:
Then Congressman Frank clarifies his statement was misunderstood to The Hill:
It all comes down to three basic questions:
It has been over 1 year since President Obama’s Inauguration and DADT is starting to slip beyond the midterms. If you were one of those who said, “Give President Obama a break he’s only been in office a week/month/6 months/year.” then you have some explaining to do. Read Kerry Eleveld’s reporting from The Advocate here. And read Congressman Barney Franks clarification in The Hill here. Read AmericaBlogs take here.
Read the entire post by clicking below. http://www.davidmixner.com/2010/03/lgbt-community-being-liked-is-not-a-strategy.html#more
Gays again sidelined at NYC St. Patty’s Day Parade (New York City) There was no wearin’ of the pink once again in (last) year’s St Patrick’s Day Parade down Fifth Avenue. For 19 years the Ancient Order of Hibernians which organizes the parade has barred Irish gay groups from marching. Send / Share The city’s highest ranking gay politician, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, boycotted the parade again this year. Quinn was at the White House where President Barack Obama welcomed the Prime Minister of Ireland. Last year, Quinn missed the parade to attend David Paterson’s swearing in as the new governor. The year before she was in Ireland where gays marched openly in the parade in Dublin. Before leaving for Washington, Quinn said she hoped to talk with the President about LGBT issues. As she did before last year’s parade, Quinn attempted to set up a meeting between the Hibernians and gay representatives and again this year the conservative Catholic men’s group ignored the invitation. The Hibernians claim the parade is a private, religious procession in order to to justify keeping LGBT groups out. In the early 1990s, the parade committee used the argument to defeat a discrimination claim brought by the NYC Human Rights Commission. A federal judge ruled that the organization could bar the gay group on the grounds of religious freedom. The New York parade is the nation’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but gays are also rejected at marches in other cities, including Boston More: Take Action: NYC Saint Patricks Day Parade sends Message of Hatred and Intolerance Take Action: NYC Parade sends Message of Hatred and Intolerance Take action and pass this message on. GLBT Irish have again been forbidden to participate in a parade which is supposed to celebrate their heritage and culture. Contact New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg here: www.MikeBloomberg.com Phone: (212) 639-9675 City of New York City Contact New York Governor David Paterson here: http://www.congress.org/bio/id/6992 State Capitol Contact NBC and other Media here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/?command=org_pages&org_id=559 Website: www.msnbc.com/news Contact the Ancient Order of Hibernians Here: Greater Gospel Temple Aoh http://www.aoh.com/officers.html AOH President John Meehan Jr New York City residents should call 311 and register a complaint. ST PATRICK’S DAY To the Editor: There, just about everyone who was asked signed pledge cards affirming their boycott of the Fifth Avenue parade. Signers included Irish and Irish-American community activists, labor leaders, and some elected officials, as well as LGBT people of every stripe. But we were disturbed to find some marchers at St. Pat’s for All, including some elected officials, who planned to march in the homophobic parade too. Electeds like Mayor Bloomberg have frequently joined in both – claiming to support queers in Queens, and then marching in the anti-gay – and much more public – Manhattan parade alongside conservative, religious-right homophobes. It’s a shameful trick, but it works for them as long as queers only notice what happens in Queens, and homophobes focus on Fifth Avenue. That’s why it’s so important for us to confront homophobia where it still marches, at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan. The parade is a major political and cultural event, broadcast nationally. The message of hate it carries matters very much. At least three queer youth have already been killed this year by other kids who were taught to fear them, and religious vitriol is gaining acceptance around the country. To challenge the systemic homophobia that’s still wreaking violence on our communities, we have to leave our safe spaces and confront homophobes in the spaces they control. All are welcome to join Irish Queers in protest at the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade – March 17th, 11a.m. at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. More: Contact NBC and other Media here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/
Speaker Pelosi, we have been promised a vote on ENDA in the House in March. And we mean to get it. Tomorrow is lobby day for ENDA, and a couple hundred people are expected in DC to go talk to their legislators person to person. For those of you who are not going to DC for the ENDA lobby day tomorrow, you can support the hundreds of people in DC by dialing the phone. My request is that you call Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office at 202-225-4965 and ask that she move ENDA (HR3017) to a vote. This is serious. We have one chance to move ENDA forward before the mid-term elections, and this is it. Meanwhile, the LGBT community is laboring under high unemployment and underemployment, a large wage gap, and persistent harassment, <a href=”http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Policy-Discrimination-index.html”>as shown by a slew of studies</a>. Chairman George Miller, of the House Committee on Education and Labor, where ENDA is currently awaiting markup, is ready to go. Rep. Barney Frank, lead sponsor of ENDA in the House, is ready to go, and wants a vote in March. Our problem now is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Call and demand that she move ENDA (HR3017) to a vote. 202-225-4965. More here: http://bit.ly/cFHUTl
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As usual, the AmericaBlog and the Advocate are doing some great reporting. I wish Representative Frank could figure out his story on if/when/how DADT will be repealed and where the Obama Adminstration stands on said repeal.
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