HRC's Equality Days Reception

Last night, I had the great pleasure of joining HRC Las Vegas and other LGBTQ community organizations at their evening reception at Equality Days here in Carson City. As you can see below, we had some very special guests joining us.





And after the presentation, the legislators started arriving! I'll tell you more about that later. ;-)

Thoughts on Las Vegas AIDS Walk & HRC Family Picnic

(Also at Stonewall)







In the almost year since I've been living in Las Vegas (actually Henderson, but close enough!), I've been trying to get more involved in the community and be of good use. That's why I joined Stonewall. That's why I'm more than happy to help out with voter registration. But hey, it's not always all political for me. Sometimes, it's good just to go out, walk, and help raise awareness (and some cash... Seriously, chickens don't work here) for AFAN and what they're doing here in Las Vegas to help people living with HIV/AIDS and help prevent new cases of HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is still a major problem in our state and in our country, and it affects everyone. That's why it's important not to forget what we're facing and why we need to stay aware and keep fighting it. There may be new and better treatments available to help people live with HIV/AIDS, but it's not an easy life and it's still a powerful, incurable virus that leads to painful diseases.

However, it is preventable. And that's what AFAN is also doing, in addition to caring for people in our community with HIV/AIDS. That's why I was glad to walk with our Stonewall Team and Harry Reid's Team yesterday. OK, OK, I guess we did make it just a little political... And fun, too. The walk in Downtown Las Vegas was great, as we had live bands, street performers, and much more!

And afterward, the fun continued. HRC Las Vegas did its second annual Family Picnic right after AIDS Walk so we could all eat, drink (water, that is... It was HOT!), and be merry. And for all of us in the LGBTQ community, it was also nice to mingle and celebrate our "pre-PRIDE warm-up". We also saw some great friends of Stonewall visit, like Clark County Democratic Party Chair Roberta Lange, Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Fabulous) and Secretary of State Ross Miller (D-Awesome). We've seen plenty of progress on the state level, like SB 283 domestic partnerships, and hopefully we'll see more progress on the national level, like passing ENDA and repealing DADT.

And of course, this is why we all need to reach out to our family, friends, and neighbors to GET OUT THE VOTE! We can't expect any progress if we don't have allies in Congress, so it's imperative that we make sure progressives turn out and vote for the Democrats who will keep making change happens. That's why I was so glad to see people come to our Stonewall/Harry Reid (I bugged them yesterday about starting an "LGBTQ for Reid" group, and hopefully we'll see one soon!) booth and register or re-register (which is necessary when one moves) to vote. And as you can see in our photos, we did a pretty good job with voter registration!

So thanks to all our friends for coming over, joining us in the walk and in the picnic, and really making yesterday a big success! And if you want to join us again this next weekend for PRIDE, there's still time to sign up to volunteer for Friday's parade and/or Saturday's festival. Hey, why would you want to miss out on the next great fabulous party in town! :-D

Obama Shouldn't Wait... And We Won't Wait

So President Obama spoke at the HRC dinner tonight. Apparently, he had some nice words for us.

President Obama gave a rousing, well-rounded speech to an audience of LGBT people and their advocates in Washington, D.C. tonight, stating right up front, "I am here with you."

At the 13th Annual Dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, and on the eve of the National Equality March, the president acknowledged that equal rights for LGBT Americans was taking longer than expected, but promised that during his administration, we will see an end to employment discrimination, the end of discharging LGBT soldiers from the military, and recognition of same-gender relationships in the United States.

The president took particular care to remind the audience that the "American" part of LGBT American is the most thing to consider. Mr. Obama said, "it's important to remember that all the important things that affect the lives of Americans ... our families, our relationships, healthcare ... are also important to LGBT Americans."

That's nice. So when will we see action? I feel Unite the Fight is onto something.

So why do I feel disappointed?

Obama declared "there are still laws to change and hearts to open" and described discrimination as "painful and heartbreaking." He added that "We cannot and will not put aside issues of basic equality" and that he is standing with us against those "who would enshrine discrimination into our constitution." [...]

"I appreciate that many of you don't feel that progress has come fast enough," he said. "It's important to be honest amongst friends . . . It's not for me to tell you to be patient . . . I will say this. We have made progress and we will make more."

After acknowledging that we are impatient, after admitting that progress has been slow, after ignoring Maine and Washignton state, he stuck to a theme of incremental progress without a commitment to any timeline, gave himself credit for allowing gays and lesbians to play with Easter eggs on the White House lawn and then dressed it all up in beautiful language hoping yet again to distract us from the fact that the speech lacked any real content.

". . . do not doubt the direction we're headed and the destination that we will reach." But how will we get there? Convince me I shouldn't doubt!

If you want to see for yourself and decide, you can watch Obama's HRC speech at The Blend. It just seems to me like he offered yet more of the same. When will we see DOMA and DADT repealed? When will ENDA become law? When will we see full federal equality?

Sure, rolling easter eggs is nice... But it doesn't pay the bills, offer health care benefits, or offer legal protection to our families. When will we see full federal equality?

Remembering Stonewall is nice. Telling sentimental stories about our families is nice. But come on, we are under attack and our very lives are at stake. When will we see full federal equality?

We can't wait any longer. We simply can't afford to. We need action, dammit!







We don't just need words. We need action! And regardless of whether President Obama wants to act, we need to act!

While I appreciated Obama's nice words for our LGBT community tonight, I'm not settling for anything less than real action. I hope he joins us in taking action. But again, I won't be holding my breath. None of us should. We need to get working and keep working until we have full federal equality.

So President Obama Will Be Speaking at the HRC Dinner...

Karen Ocamb just found this news.
The New York Times' Caucus Blog has more:

President Obama will speak to a gathering of gay rights activists this weekend, a day before thousands of people are expected to march on Washington in a demonstration calling for greater legal protections for gays, lesbians and transgendered Americans.

Mr. Obama’s appearance on Saturday at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights advocacy group, represents a significant show of support for gay rights at a time when many prominent gay and lesbian activists have been questioning the president’s commitment to their issues.

Many gay rights activists have become increasingly vocal about their frustration over what they see as tepid support from Mr. Obama. While the president has professed support for overturning the ban on gays in the military and called the law that precludes federal recognition of same-sex marriages discriminatory, he has not engaged on gay rights issues as actively as some had hoped.

Heh. Isn't that an understatement?

OK, OK, I know that Obama and Congressional leaders have plenty on their plate right now with health care, the economy, and climate change/energy. But come on, shouldn't they at least make more of an effort to include some time to deal with the major civil rights issues of our time? If they have time for bank bailouts, they can make time for us.

Even our good ol' Senator Reid knows that it's time to get moving on LGBT equality. I just hope that President Obama meant what he said last winter in being a "fierce advocate" for equality.

Come on, The "Offense on Our Marriages" Act is still on the books. Good soldiers are being unfairly discharged for simply being honest and coming out of the closet. LGBT workers in the private sector can still be "legally" fired for coming out in as many as 43 states. Oh, and let's not forget that we have special elections next month in Washington and Maine that could very well decide the fate of hard-earned legal rights for LGBT families in those two states!

This weekend would be a great time for the President to speak up, especially on the weekend of the march. It would be sad if we had to declare that Lady Gaga is doing more for LGBT equality than the President our community worked so hard to elect.

HRC Sez: Repeal DOMA Now!

Good news on the DOMA front. Human Rights Campaign looks to be getting serious about repealing DOMA. They're now starting a campaign to make it happen.

50,000 of you took our survey on how the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) harms families. And with Congress back in session this week, we personally delivered your responses – and thousands of heartfelt comments – to help build the case for repealing this discriminatory law. Now is the time to really put the pressure on and tell Congress it’s time to Repeal DOMA Now (which is coincidentally the name of our new campaign).

In the past year, tens of thousands of loving same-sex couples have legally been married in Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. And with new laws soon to take effect in New Hampshire and Maine, thousands more will surely join them. Enacted in 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act purports to allow states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

DOMA also creates a federal definition of “marriage” and “spouse” for the first time in our country’s history. This is an unprecedented intrusion by the U.S. Congress into an area traditionally left to the states. Marriage is defined as a “legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and spouse is defined as “a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” Marriages that do not fit this description are not eligible for any benefits offered by the federal government. Under DOMA, even same-sex couples lawfully married under the laws of their states are ineligible for numerous rights, benefits, and responsibilities, including those related to Social Security, immigration, family and medical leave, joint taxation, federal employee benefits and many more.

If you want to get started, go to HRC's action page and send a letter to our Congresscritters asking them to give married LGBT families the same federal rights and responsibilities they provide to married hetero families. As I've explained before, DOMA really has no legal ground to stand upon. Either it will eventually be overturned in the courts or Congress will do its job and get rid of this heinous "law" now. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York) will be introducing the bill next week, so let's whip some real support for it in Congress to make it happen!

HRC Statement on the Passing of Sen. Kennedy

(Also at Stonewall)

In full:

The Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese released the following statement today on the passing of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA):

"The nation has lost its greatest champion and strongest voice for justice, fairness, and compassion. The loss to our community is immeasurable. There was no greater hero for advocates of LGBT equality than Senator Ted Kennedy. From the early days of the AIDS epidemic, to our current struggle for marriage equality he has been our protector, our leader, our friend. He has been the core of the unfinished quest for civil rights in this country and there is now a very painful void. Our hearts go out to the Kennedy family."

I still can't believe he's gone. He was always a strong advocate for so many of us who felt we had no voice in Washington. I just wish his legacy won't be forgotten and his life's work won't be for naught.