News report from Sunday’s rally to protest Pastor Charles Worley, who recently preached the idea that gays and lesbians should be put in concentration camps with electrified fences until they died.
Today is Harvey Milk Day
Today is “Harvey Milk Day,” a day of honor for the slain gay rights activist, which is officially recognized by the State of California and celebrated worldwide. Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians to be elected to public office when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He and Mayor George Moscone were shot and killed by former Supervisor Dan White at City Hall on Nov. 27, 1978. While Milk served only 11 months in office, he was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city. The ordinance extended employment protections to gays and lesbians in San Francisco, and became a model for anti-discrimination legislation throughout California and the nation. In 1978, Milk campaigned across the state of California against Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative. Had it passed, Proposition 6 would have banned gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights, from working in California’s public schools. The proposition was defeated in the November 1978 election in part because Milk successfully appealed to Californians’ basic sense of fairness. Despite his short career in politics, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr for gay rights, and has been referred to as “the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States.” Legislation designating Milk’s birthday, May 22, as a day of “special significance” in California, was passed in the state legislature in 2009 and signed into law by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2009, Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Later that year, Milk was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Milk, born on this day in 1930, would have been 82. (source)
From Minnesotans United for All Families campaign: “Freedom”
Join with the Minnesotans United for All Families campaign:
www.mnunited.org
www.facebook.com/mn4allfamilies
www.twitter.com/mn4allfamilies
www.pinterest.com/mn4allfamilies
Zach Wahls on IN THE LIFE
Staff Sargeant discharged under DADT reinstated
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) announced today that U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Anthony Loverde, who was discharged under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 2008, has been reinstated and will return to active duty in May.
Loverde is only the second service member welcomed back to the Armed Forces after the September 2011 repeal of DADT. (Petty Officer Jase Daniels, another SLDN client, was previously reinstated as a linguist in the U.S. Navy.)
Loverde, 31, joined the Air Force at age 20. Before being discharged, he was an expert at calibrating weapons systems and oversaw cargo loads for more than 60 flights into Iraq. “I am honored and humbled to return to the service of my country and the job I love,” Loverde said. “I am grateful to my legal team and all of those in the armed forces who helped to facilitate this reinstatement. I am eager to take the oath and get to work.”
Movie “Bully” will be released with PG-13 rating
The MPAA has lowered the R rating, given for some language, for the film BULLY to a PG-13 in time for the film’s April 13th expansion to 55 markets.
The scene that has been at the forefront of the battle with the MPAA, the intense scene in the film that shows teen Alex Libby being bullied and harassed on a bus, has been left fully intact and unedited. BULLY director Lee Hirsch felt editing the scene was not an option, and subsequently refused to do so, since it is too important to the truth and integrity behind the film.
This decision by the MPAA is a huge victory for the parents, educators, lawmakers, and most importantly, children, everywhere who have been fighting for months for the appropriate PG-13 rating without cutting some of the most sensitive moments.
Hirsch made the documentary with the intent to give an uncensored, real-life portrayal of what 13 million children suffer through every year.
(source)
Prop 5 rejected by Anchorage voters
With 90 percent of precincts reporting, it appears that 58 percent of Anchorage voters rejected Proposition Five a measure that would have ensured protections for LGBT people.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, the “equal rights ordinance that was far and away the most controversial and emotional component of this spring’s election.”
Apparently, many of the people who voted no on the measure were told that they could register on the same day, which is incorrect (you need to register 30 days prior), so many of those votes could get invalidated. Stay tuned for a final vote tally.
North Carolina: 60% oppose Amendment One
Sixty percent of people in North Carolina oppose a proposed constitutional amendment which would ban gay marriage in the state, a new poll has found.
While only 38 percent of respondents to an Elon University Poll released Monday said they support gay marriage, a majority (60%) said they are opposed to Amendment One, while 32 percent said that they favor the amendment. A majority of respondents (67%) favor either marriage (38%) or civil unions (29%) for gay couples. Only 29 percent say gay couples deserve no legal recognition.
Voters will decide on the measure during North Carolina’s May 8 primary.
If approved, the amendment would bar North Carolina from recognizing the relationships of gay and lesbian couples with marriage, civil unions and possibly domestic partnerships.
Omaha passes LGBT employment protections
From The Republic.com: The Omaha City Council has just approved a city law by a vote of 4-3 protecting LGBT people from employment discrimination.
The proposal, put forward by Councilman Ben Gray, would apply to employers, employment agencies, job training programs, labor groups, public accommodations and businesses that contract with the city. It also would provide exemptions for religious organizations.
A similar proposal failed to pass in October 2010 on a 3-3 vote. Nebraska’s anti-discrimination laws and federal regulations don’t extend protection to gay and transgender people.
The Human Right Campaign reacts via press release.
“Omaha is a world class city that now joins the ranks of other major American cities standing strong for fairness,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “The city council should be proud for affirming the principle that what matters is how you do your job, not who you are.” HRC is proud to have partnered with Equal Omaha in advocating for the ordinance. The organization activated its local members and supporters as well as provided local leaders with strategic advice and financial support. HRC also provided data from its workplace project that shows 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies have their own policies against sexual orientation non-discrimination and nearly half cover gender identity.”
Tracey Gold – Kirk Cameron’s ‘Growing Pains’ co-star – stands up for LGBT equality
‘Growing Pains’ co-star Tracey Gold, made famous by her portrayal of Carol Anne Seaver on the 1980s classic, spoke out in support of equality on Sunday after her TV brother and fallen teen idol Kirk Cameron told CNN’s Piers Morgan that being gay is “unnatural,” “detrimental” and “ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
On Twitter, Gold posted “I am a strong supporter of the #LGBT Community, and I believe in equal rights for all. #NOH8 #LOVE”