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 For the first time in a decade, on March 26th and 27th, the Supreme Court will hear two cases about LGBT equality. Their rulings on these two cases will likely direct same gender marriage laws for the next decade(s). The cases are ably handled by two civil rights organizations: The ACLU LGBT project and the American Foundation for Equal Rights.
We all understand the importance of our marriages being valid everywhere. We know of the problems that occur when you travel or relocate and suddenly you are not considered married. Loving Everywhere is a connection to the 1967 Loving v. Virginia case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that interracial marriages should be valid everywhere. At that time the majority of Americans opposed interracial marriage (while today most Americans support same gender marriages). At that time, contrary to today, interracial couples legally married could be imprisoned just by moving to a state that did not allow such marriages. When President Obama was born in Hawaii to an interracial couple, their marriage was illegal in many states. The purpose of Loving Everywhere is to inform justices of the need for our marriages to be recognized everywhere, not just by the federal government or a few states. The personal touch of a picture and a thoughtful letter has a unique impact. Go to LovingEverywhere.com to get the names and address and start writing! Remember, the cases will be heard at the end of March. Please tell your friends and family to do the same!
We are delighted to announce that Juan has written a book about LGBT equality, and it is now available. We think that you will find it to be an indispensable guide for every person interested in reaching legal equality and for anyone who wants to understand why equality matters.
“You have certainly tackled a HUGE and BROAD topic and done a marvelous job.” “It is a compendium/combination of all of the following: an Op Ed, a manual, encyclopedia article, memoir, pep talk.” “The book will be a wonderful resource to anyone who cares about achieving full equality.” “It may be the first book that tells the unvarnished truth!” “It is definitely an easy read since the chapters are only two or three pages long!” “I’m impressed.” “Such a terrific project, book, contribution!!!!” “It is a very logically constructed book and an easy read.” You can review the table of contents and full information about the book here. The book is available now in paperback (from the publisher, from Amazon, and elsewhere worldwide) for $14.99 and in iBooks ($9.99) as well as Kindle ($9.99). If you believe, like we do, in giving copies of interesting books to friends, coworkers, members of your association, etc. you can get multiple copies of the paperback at 20% dicount by entering code LDQBYR43. This book is up-to-date and gives advice on how each and every person can help to reach equality simply by voting, or encouraging others to vote, in the election next month. This is actually Juan’s second published book. His first one was about computers (written in Spanish while he was in his twenties.) Quite an evolution! BOOK EVENTS There are already several events organized to talk about the book and signing copies. Miami – October 9 and 12 Philadelphia – October 17 Washington DC – October 18 New York – TBA Stanford University – November 1. If you are interested in any of these events or want to arrange one in your area, please contact [email protected] Happy reading! www.GayAgenda2012.com
We just completed a detailed analysis of Obama and Romney’s positions on equality: www.eQualityGiving.org/2012-Presidential-Election It’s an easy-to-read table. Clicking on the headers gives you full details on their positions. President Obama is clearly pro-equality. A superficial reading of the analysis may give you the impression that Mitt Romney is “not so bad” on our issues. In reality, as the Log Cabin Republicans knew when they fiercely opposed him in 2008, Romney is clearly anti-equality. On many issues, Romney may appear to be neutral, but his statements reveal that he:
The real issue is not that a Romney presidency would halt our movement towards equality for four years. In reality, it would halt us for a generation or more, or even take it backwards, because of his clearly stated intention to appoint ultra-conservatives to the Supreme Court, like Justices Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito. To show that he is very serious about it, Romney has appointed Robert Bork as the chair to his Judicial Advisory Committee. As you know Robert Bork was nominated for the Supreme Court, and he was so extreme that he was voted down by the biggest margin ever on a nomination to the Supreme Court. Check our analysis here: Tell others, so nobody gets fooled: Romney is anti-equality. A vote for him will set back our rights for at least a generation.
The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell takes effect today. It is a very good reason to celebrate and to thank the large number of people and organizations that worked tirelessly for 17 years to see this day. TODAY WE ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE EQUAL
Why didn’t the Index rise to 16% as expected for reaching the goal? Read below. STILL OUR SERVICEMENBERS WILL NOT BE TREATED EQUALLY The DADT repeal legislation that passed Congress last December was significantly different from the Military Readiness Enhancement Act introduced earlier in two important ways:
Furthermore, article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice has not been revoked by Congress (despite requests from the Military). This article forbids any act of sodomy (whether among people of the same gender or not). Equality in the military will require Congress to act again, otherwise a future administration could ban LGBT members from serving by using a directive from the Department of Defense—without need for an act of Congress or even an Executive Order from the President. If Congress doesn’t act, another venue that can bring equality is the successful lawsuit that the Log Cabin Republicans are pursuing with the intention to proving, to the Supreme Court if necessary, that discrimination of LGBT people in the military is unconstitutional. MONITORING PROGRESS To monitor progress, we have created After DADT; this is a resource that lists 49 pending issues for LGBT servicemembers to be treated as equals. Check the list of 49 pending issues for LGBT equality in the military. While we celebrate today as an important day for LGBT equality, we need to continue to fight for full legal equality… including, still, in the military.
Don’t miss the sixteenth panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. This is the final panel. You can hear this panel live today Thursday, March 31, 2011 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm EDT (3:00 pm to 4:00 pm PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel.
In our final panel today, we bring you three people who are Thinking Bigger and Acting Differently to advance LGBT equality in three very different ways. Please allow us to keep you in suspense about who the three great panelists actually are. Can you guess? PANELISTS - First Panelist: A fearless Member of Congress who will use a DIFFERENT approach to BIG legislation for LGBT equality. - Second Panelist: A person, whom you may have not heard of yet, who is creating a BIG organization with a DIFFERENT approach to LGBT issues like never seen before. - Third Panelist: A person who came out two years ago and went BIG time in a DIFFERENT way to help change the law. QUESTIONS MODERATOR
Don’t miss the fifteenth panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. You can hear this panel live this Sunday, March 27, 2011 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm EDT (4:00 pm to 5:00 pm PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel.
You will hear from our youth… their own perspective… their own voice. You will hear from next generation donors. You will hear from four of the authors of The Dallas Principles. What has been the impact two years later? You will hear from the webmaster and users of Act On Principles… an innovative platform to do whip counts and focus our efforts to reach lawmakers to pass LGBT equality legislation. Do not miss this panel! PANELISTS LGBTQ EQUALITY THROUGH FILM
VOICES OF YOUTH
NEXT GENERATION OF GIVERS
THE DALLAS PRINCIPLES
ACT ON PRINCIPLES
Don’t miss the fourteenth panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. You can hear this panel live tomorrow Friday, March 25, 2011 from Noon to 1:00 pm EDT (9:00 am to 10:00 am PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel. Click to post now an open question for the panelists.
Among the topics to be discussed: - What are the current areas of focus for major donors? - How do donors make choices between issues and organizations? - How do they measure impact and evaluate success? - How do they balance giving for political campaigns and non-profits? Panelists - Ron Ansin, Founder, Ronald M. Ansin Foundation - Joanne Herman, Author, Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not - Alix Ritchie, Founder, Provincetown Banner - Paul Yandura, Cofounder, Scott+Yandura Question Moderators - Leslie Payne, Senior Director, Arabella Philanthropic Advisors - Steve Rothaus, Journalist, Miami Herald
Don’t miss the thirteenth panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. You can hear this panel live this Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm EDT (3:00 pm to 4:00 pm PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel. Click to post an open question for the panelists.
An emotionally charged issue discussed by a religiously diverse panel of clergy, activists, and writers.
Panelists:
- Reverend Dr. C Welton Gaddy (Baptist), President, Interfaith Alliance
- Amber Khan (Muslim), Board Member, Muslim Advocates
- Rabbi Jack Moline (Conservative Jewish), Agudas Achim Congregation
- Sarah Posner, Author, God’s Profits, Associate Editor, Religion Dispatches
- Ari Geller, Vice President, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications - Donna Red Wing, Executive Director, Grassroots Leadership
Don’t miss the twelveth panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. You can hear this panel live this Sunday March 20, 2011 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm EDT (2:30 pm to 3:30 pm PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel. Click to post an open question for the panelists.
The panelists are: - Julie Davis, Executive Director, Face Value Project at Harvard - Patrick J. Egan, Ph.D., Asst Professor, Political Science, New York University - Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Ph.D., Lecturer and Director, Human Rights and Social Movements Program, Harvard Kennedy School - Phyllis Watts, Ph.D., practicing psychologist and President, Wild Swan Resources The question moderator is: - Roberta Achtenberg, Commissioner, US Commission on Civil Rights
Don’t miss the eleventh panel of eQualityThinking, the free, open, virtual convention for LGBTQ equality. You can hear this panel live tomorrow Wednesday March 16, 2011 from Noon to 1:00 pm EDT (9:00 am to 10:00 am PDT) Click to get the dialing information for this eQualityThinking panel. Click to post an open question for the panelists.
The panelists are: - Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) - US Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) The question moderators are:
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You will hear from five filmmakers whose films are likely to have an impact on people’s perception of LGBT.
