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  Many of you might be tired of pushing for LGBT equality, after all this is Pride Month, can’t we just kick back and relax and enjoy ourselves? It is important to pace ourselves so you can stay in the struggle for full LGBT equality until it is finally achieved. You might find it disheartening that some of our LGBT advocates are going to the Obama Pride reception at the White House. But the game is changing, where this kind of “cocktail party” cozying-up to the White House from our national LGBT “leadership” will no longer be overlooked. Dignity can not be bought, nor should it be sold. You are part of a stronger face of LGBT activism, so listen to Willie Nelson and Sinead O’Conner and “Don’t Give Up.”
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HELLO ACTIVISTS FOR FULL LGBT EQUALITY NOW! TO EMPOWER A PEOPLES’ CAMPAIGN for LGBT EQUALITY NOW, we are humbled to present the 1st DRAFT of THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL. The AEB will put “sexual orientation and gender identity” in all federal civil rights (non-discrimination) laws equally along with ‘race, color, sex, national origin and religion” to end discrimination against LGBT people everywhere in: employment, housing, access to credit, all public places (restaurants, hotels), all government buildings (schools), and all federally funded programs (adoption, health care, and many more). A Community Conference call hosted by EqualityGiving.org is tentatively set for JULY 4th, Noon, ET, to explore this topic further. Presented here is the context and content of the AEB. To join the conversation and for updates, please go to: http://bit.ly/AEBnow. THE US CIVIL RIGHTS CONTEXT: JUNE 11, 1963 On this day, June 11th, in 1963, President Kennedy delivered an historic speech calling for the social consciousness and law that, one year later, on July 2, became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents. We cannot say to 10 percent of the population that you can’t have that right; that your children cannot have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go into the streets and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that.” … “We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore the fact that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.” (see http://bit.ly/AEBjfk63) CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL They are called “CIVIL RIGHTS” because of their transcendent quality and inherent basis in natural law. They are incorporated in many movements and the ideals they represent are captured in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Constitutions around the Globe. In the United States, civil rights concepts are embedded in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” They are also reflected in the promise of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This is ALL WE SEEK. UNITED STATES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS THE BODY OF LAW developed in the United States to effectuate these inherent human rights is popularly known as “The Civil Rights Act of 1964″. The ‘64 CRA, and subsequent additions, are effectively the “Group Policy” in America dedicated to ending discrimination in many aspects of community life based on the traits of “race, color, sex, national origin and religion”. The vast areas of life covered include: employment, housing, access to credit, all public places, all government buildings (schools), and all federally funded programs (adoption agencies, health programs, and many many more). (For a brief history of the legislative process that passed the CRA in one year with strong bi-partisan support see http://bit.ly/AEB-64CRAhis). LGBT CIVIL RIGHTS: MEANS INCLUSION IN THE GROUP POLICY INEVITABLY, the task ahead involves expanding US Civil Rights laws to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” – traits that are equally inherent to our being. Traits that have resulted in untold pain and suffering on generations. Traits, which if not easily concealed, would surely have brought our country to riots long ago. SINCE AT LEAST 1924 — LGBT people have been working for recognition of their Civil Rights. (http://bit.ly/AEBlgbtHIS). Yet we have STILL NOT YET begun in earnest THE CAMPAIGN for equal inclusion where we rightfully belong. Clearly, the insidious nature of discrimination has deprived a century of activists of their rightful sense of entitlement. NOW OUR TIME HAS COME. TO MOVE THIS CAUSE FORWARD, today we offer a DRAFT of THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL: One Bill to amend ALL EXISTING CIVIL RIGHTS Laws to EQUALLY INCLUDE SO&GI. ONE BILL to provide EQUAL PROTECTION from Discrimination for LGBT Americans. ONE BILL to create a TRUE MOVEMENT for FULL CIVIL RIGHTS for ALL AMERICANS. THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL INTRODUCTORY NOTE Today, June 11, 2010, We the People resolve to end legal discrimination against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered peoples of the United States of America. Toward that purpose, We submit The American Equality Bill to amend the full collection of our Country’s Civil Rights Laws, beginning with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” equally along with the existing traits of “race, color, religion, sex and national origin.” With the passage of this Bill, We will have protected the basic human dignity of LGBT people through out America to have a job, a home, enjoy public places, access credit and use government programs and buildings, without fear that their true nature could jeopardize their pursuit of happiness. With passage of this Bill, We the People will have completed the work of Martin Luther King and Bayard Rustin. With the passage of this Bill, We the People will have completed the work of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. May it be recognized that the People of 2010, resolved to end legal discrimination against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered peoples of the United States of America and towards that ideal, to pass The American Equality Bill forthwith. THE AMERICAN EQUALITY ACT SHORT TITLE. PURPOSE. FINDINGS OF LEGISLATIVE FACT. A. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY. Sec. 1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e, is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited basis’ for discrimination in employment. a. The following definitions shall be added at the end of §2000e: (p) The term “gender identity” means the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. b. Sections 2000e-2(a)-(d), §2000e-2(h), §2000e-2(j), §2000e-2(l), §2000e-2(m), §2000e-3(b), 2000e(g)(2)(A), §2000e-16(a), and §2000e-16(c), are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” appears to include after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”. c. Construction (1) Dress and Grooming Standards- Nothing in this Act shall prohibit an employer from requiring an employee, during the employee’s hours at work, to adhere to reasonable dress or grooming standards not prohibited by other provisions of Federal, State, or local law, provided that the employer permits any employee who has undergone gender transition prior to the time of employment, and any employee who has notified the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition after the time of employment, to adhere to the same dress or grooming standards for the gender to which the employee has transitioned or is transitioning. (1) Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later. Sec. 2. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. §2302, is amended to clarify that discrimination based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are prohibited basis’ for discrimination in federal employment. a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e. b. Sections 2302(b)(1)(A) and 2302(d)(1) are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” appears by including after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”. c. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later. Sec. 3. The Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-16a et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited basis’ for discrimination for certain government employees, with respect to their public employment. a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e. b. Section 2000e-16a(b) is here by amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability” occurs by inserting after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”. c. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later. Sec. 4. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §2611, is amended to clarify the following definitions: (7) Parent – The term “parent” means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter. For purposes of this statute, the term “in loco parentis” includes but is not limited to an individual who is a defacto or psychological parent of the child. (12) Son or daughter – The term “son or daughter” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, a child registered as a “dependent” or similar classification under the employer’s domestic partnership policy, or a child designated by an employee and his or her domestic partner as a “dependent” or similar classification pursuant to a municipal, state or federal domestic partnership registry, who is— (A) under 18 years of age; or (13) Spouse – The term “spouse” means a husband or wife, as the case may be. For purposes of this statute, the term “spouse” includes a person designated a domestic partner under the employer’s domestic partnership policy, an employee’s civil union partner, a spouse from a domestic or foreign marriage, and a domestic partner registered pursuant to a municipal, state or federal law. B. FAIR HOUSING. Sec. 1. The Fair Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §3601 et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited basis’ for discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, real-estate related transactions, and the provision of brokerage services. a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e. b. Sections 3604(a)-(b) are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,” c. Sections 3604(c)-(e), 3605(a), and 3606 are amended to every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”. d. Section 3605(c) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or familial status” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”. a. Section 3608(e)(6) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”. C. PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION. Sec. 1. Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000a et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited basis’ for discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation. a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e. b. Sections 2000a(a) and 2000a-1 are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”. c. Certain Shared Facilities. D. USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES. Sec. 1. 42 U.S.C. §2000b, is amended to [...] Brooklyn, New York Pride and Night Parade Saturday June 12, 2010 Brooklyn Pride kicks off bright and early on Saturday, June 12 for a day filled with runs, scavenger hunts, entertainment and more. • The Multi-cultural Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s more than your usual street fair. All day entertainment is on the main stage inside the Park, while vendors and non-profit organizations line Prospect Park West. Visit the Kids Space, from 12 to 4 p.m. • This year Brooklyn Pride has also teamed up with POGO Events to present The Amazing Brooklyn Race: Brooklyn Pride Edition – Part Scavenger Hunt, Part Obstacle Course and all Brooklyn! A series of gay-themed clues leads you and your team around Brooklyn hunting for items as well as performing physical and mental challenges. The race involves a gay-themed photo scavenger hunt, a “detour” and a “roadblock.” Entry fee is $35 per participant in which $10 of every ticket will be donated to Brooklyn Pride, Inc. Form your own team or sign up individually. To sign up and to learn more about The Amazing Brooklyn Race, go to The Amazing New York Race and click on “Brooklyn Pride” under the “Calendar” section. • The Night Pride Parade kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Fifth Avenue, for the first time ever. Come cheer on the amazing floats and marchers as they make their way up Fifth Avenue. “Brooklyn Pride is so excited to be hosting this week of fantastic activities,” says Rolan. “The organization grows every year, and the community support and pride has been unmatched. Only Brooklyn can do it like this!” For more information on Brooklyn Pride’s programs and this year’s festival, visit www.brooklynpride.org. Long Island, New York Pride in Huntington Sunday June 13, 2010 http://www.liprideparade.com/ Rally Parade & Festival We welcome all groups and organizations on Long Island and surrounding areas to participate in this display of pride and respect for our community. -Step off takes place at the Municipal Parking lot on Gerard St. opposite the Huntington Post Office at 1PM. The Rally starts at Noon at the same place. -The Parade continues down Main Street turning left onto Prime Ave into Heckscher Park and Pride in the Park! RALLY Get ready for Pride Day at our 20th annual Rally. Speakers, Music and entertainment will be provided for your pleasure. PARADE SUNDAY, JUNE 13, 2010 at 1PM FESTIVAL The Festival in the Park is the crown jewel of the Pride Day Celebration. Celebrating the spirit and vitality of the Long Island GLBT Community, the festival truly has something to offer everyone. Featuring all-live entertainment, food courts, community information booths, vendors of all kinds and much more. The festival is free for everyone to attend, with no admission charges. Families can enjoy our “PRIDE KIDDIE KORNER”-Clown, Face Painting, FREE for the kids ! Enjoy the “WALK OF PRIDE ” – 20 years of Long Island Pride Parades Rally 12:00 pm; Parade Kick off at 1:00 pm; Festival 1 pm to 5 pm Map, Directions,and More information Here: http://www.liprideparade.com/
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