San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders
Gay Marriage Press Conference Transcript
September 19, 2007


Mayor Sanders: "With me this afternoon is my wife, Rana.

"I am here this afternoon to announce that I will sign the resolution that the City Council passed yesterday directing the City Attorney to file a brief in support of gay marriage [with the California Supreme Court].

"My plan, as has been reported publicly, was to veto that resolution, so I feel like I owe all San Diegans an explanation for this change of heart.

"During the campaign two years ago, I announced that I did not support gay marriage and instead supported civil unions and domestic partnerships.

"I have personally wrestled with that position ever since. My opinion on this issue has evolved significantly -- as I think have the opinions of millions of Americans from all walks of life.

"In order to be consistent with the position I took during the mayoral election, I intended to veto the Council resolution. As late as yesterday afternoon, that was my position.

"The arrival of the resolution -- to sign or veto -- in my office late last night forced me to reflect and search my soul for the right thing to do.

"I have decided to lead with my heart -- to do what I think is right -- and to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice. The right thing for me to do is to sign this resolution.

"For three decades, I have worked to bring enlightenment, justice and equality to all parts of our community.

"As I reflected on the choices that I had before me last night, I just could not bring myself to tell an entire group of people in our community that they were less important, less worthy and less deserving of the rights and responsibilities of marriage -- than anyone else -- simply because of their sexual orientation.

"A decision to veto this resolution would have been inconsistent with the values I have embraced over the past 30 years.

"I do believe that times have changed. And with changing time, and new life experiences, come different opinions. I think that's natural, and certainly it is true in my case.

"Two years ago, I believed that civil unions were a fair alternative. Those beliefs, in my case, have since changed.

"The concept of a 'separate but equal' institution is not something that I can support.

" I acknowledge that not all members of our community will agree or perhaps even understand my decision today.

"All I can offer them is that I am trying to do what I believe is right.

"I have close family members and friends who are members of the gay and lesbian community. These folks include my daughter Lisa and her partner, as well as members of my personal staff.

"I want for them the same thing that we all want for our loved ones -- for each of them to find a mate whom they love deeply and who loves them back; someone with whom they can grow old together and share life's wondrous adventures.

"And I want their relationships to be protected equally under the law. In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships -- their very lives -- were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife Rana.

"Thank you."

See link

-Delia Rimer-

CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES...

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS...

CALL THE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA...

CALL THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE..

The racist ways of the Old South aren't dead and they are alive and well in Jena, LA.

From SeattlePI.com:

It's still about race in Jena, La.

AMY GOODMAN
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST

Last week in Detroit, the NAACP held a mock funeral for the N-word. But a chilling case in Louisiana shows us how far we have to go to bury racism. This story begins in the small, central Louisiana town of Jena. Last September, a black high school student requested the school's permission to sit beneath a broad, leafy tree in the hot schoolyard. Until then, only white students sat there.

The next morning, three nooses were hanging from the tree. The black students responded en masse. Justin Purvis, the kid who first sat under the tree, told filmmaker Jacquie Soohen: "They said, 'Y'all want to go stand under the tree?' We said, 'Yeah.' They said, 'If you go, I'll go. If you go, I'll go.' One person went, the next person went, everybody else just went."

Then the police and the district attorney showed up. Substitute teacher Michelle Rogers recounts: "District Attorney Reed Walters proceeded to tell those kids that 'I could end your lives with the stroke of a pen.' "

It wouldn't happen for a few more months, but that is exactly what the district attorney is trying to do.

Jena, a community of 4,000, is about 85 percent white. While the black community gathered at a church to respond, others didn't see the significance. Soohen interviewed Jena town librarian Barbara Murphy, who reflected: "The nooses? I don't even know why they were there, what they were supposed to mean. There's pranks all the time, of one type or another, going on. And it just didn't seem to be racist to me." Tensions rose.

Robert Bailey, a black student, was beaten up at a white party. Then, a few nights later, Robert and two others were threatened by a white man with a sawed-off shotgun, at a convenience store. They wrestled the gun away and fled. Robert's mother, Caseptla Bailey, said: "I know they were in fear of their lives. They were afraid that this man was going to shoot them, you know, especially in the back, running away from the scene."

The next day, Dec. 4, 2006, a fight broke out at the school. A white student was injured, taken to the hospital and released. Robert Bailey and five other black students were charged ... with second-degree attempted murder. They each faced 100 years in prison. The black community was reeling.

Independent journalist Jordan Flaherty was the first to break the story nationally. He explained: "I'm sure it was a serious fight, and I'm sure it deserved real discipline within the school system, but he (the white student) was out later that day. He was smiling. He was with friends ... it was a serious school problem that came on the heels of a long series of other events ... as soon as black students were involved, that's when the hammer came down."

The African American community began to call them the Jena Six. The first to be tried was Mychal Bell, 17 years old and a talented football player, looking forward to a university scholarship. Bell was offered a plea deal, but refused. His father, Marcus Jones, took a few minutes off from work to talk to me: "Here in LaSalle Parish, whenever a black man is offered a plea bargain, he is innocent. That's a dead giveaway here in the South."

Right before the trial, the charges of attempted second-degree murder were lowered to aggravated battery, which under Louisiana law requires a dangerous weapon. The weapon? Tennis shoes.

Mychal Bell was convicted by an all-white jury. His court-appointed defense attorney called no witnesses. Bell will be sentenced on July 31, facing a possible 22 years. The remaining five teens, several of whom were jailed for months, unable to make bail, still face attempted second-degree murder charges and a hundred years each in prison.

Flaherty, who grew up in New Orleans, sums up the case of the Jena Six: "I don't think there is anyone around that would doubt that if this had been a fight between black students or a fight of white students beating up a black student, you would never be seeing this. It's completely about race. It's completely about two systems of justice."

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco gained national prominence during Hurricane Katrina. There's another hurricane that's devastating the lives of her constituents: racism. The families of the Jena Six are asking her to intervene. The district attorney says he can end the boys' lives with his pen. But Blanco's pen is mightier. She should wield it, now, for justice for the Jena Six.

Contact the U.S. Deparment of Justice:

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

 

AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Phone: 202-514-2000

Office of the Attorney General: 202-353-1555

Contact the Governor of the State of Louisiana

Office of the Governor
Attn: Constituent Services
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004

EMAIL CONTACT FORM
Phone: 1-866-366-1121

The U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.house.gov

The U.S. Senate
http://www.senate.gov

~Matt Comer~

Originally posted at InterstateQ.com

Below are some great news updates from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute and GayPolitics.com

Bronx gay youth remain on the "down low" Fearing they will be targeted because of their sexual orientation, many LGBT youth in the Bronx choose not to come out. "It is a hidden demographic here," said Zachariah Hennessey, a program director at the Bronx Community Pride Center. "[Homosexuality] is very much on the down low." New York Daily News (8/21)

No movement on rights, despite Uganda group's plea Uganda is refusing a call to make homosexuality legal and offer equal rights to gays and lesbians from the group Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda, whose members wore masks at their first press conference to protect their identities. Saying homosexuality was "unnatural," Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said the group's charges of police brutality and rights violations were untrue. BBC (8/17)

Calif. Senate has marriage on its agenda A measure to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples in California is on the state Senate's agenda, but may not get a full vote in the current session due to a larger dispute over the budget, according to this article. If the bill, which cleared the state Assembly in June, does gain Senate approval, it is likely to be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 365Gay.com (8/20)

South Africa, away from home, turns back on gay rights South Africa apparently has prioritized its link with antiwestern Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in votes against two gay organizations receiving United Nations accreditation over its gay-friendly constitution and laws, according to columnist James Kirchick. The Guardian (London) (8/21)

Gays and lesbians now covered by Charleston, W. Va. anti-discrimination regs Charleston Gazette (W.Va.) (8/21)

~Matt Comer~

Humpty Dumpty, Legal Scholar
originally posted at InterstateQ.com

In a brief filed in the Rhode Island same-sex divorce legal case, the Family Research Council quotes the Humpty Dumpty character from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

From The Providence Journal:

The Family Research Council, based in Washington, D.C., and the Rev. Lyle Mook, of South Kingstown, filed a response brief, saying, "This court is being requested literally to ignore the true meaning of 'marriage' that has defined the institution for centuries throughout the world."

The brief, written by Alliance Defense Fund lawyers and Middletown lawyer Laura C. Harrington, then quoted from the Lewis Carroll book in which Humpty Dumpty says: "When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."

"Appellants and their supporting cast have taken the Humpty Dumpty approach to the term 'marriage,' nowhere defining what they mean by it, obviously assuming it means something other than a union of a man and a woman, and using it with a malleability never contemplated by the judicial decisions they cite," the brief said. "This is unequivocally true for Rhode Island. 'Marriage' in Rhode Island is not ambiguous and only means the union of one man and one woman — no more and no less."

Meanwhile, Humpty Dumpty has been busy, furiously packing all his belongings in Wonderland, moving into a brand new office building in Rabidly Anti-Gay Ville. Dumpty's "Humpty Dumpty Marriage Defenders and Associates Legal Fund" office will open in September.

______________________________________

New Fragrances Capture Lifestyle of 'The O.C.'

August 17, 2007 by Wire Report, OUTlet News-Media in Fashion & Trend Edit This

(NewsUSA) - First came the wildly popular TV series, "The O.C.," then came the ringtones, wallpaper, buddy icons and music compilations.

And now, to make the O.C. lifestyle complete, there are signature fragrances - The O.C. for Her and The O.C. for Him - inspired by the show.

Set in the affluent, harbor-front community of Orange County, Calif., "The O.C." lets the rest of us live the life of the privileged, if only for an hour a week. Millions of viewers tune into the show to follow the glamorous lifestyle of its captivating characters.

The new fragrances, created by AMC Beauty, a marketer of licensed personal care products, capture the seductive Newport Beach lifestyle. Like the show, the fragrances are all about "the self-expression of today, what's hip and what's new," according to AMC Beauty.

In The O.C. for Her, top notes combine juicy mandarin and florals. Middle notes of hibiscus, tuberose, jasmine and freesia, with accents of white peach, guava and nectarine lead the way to a foundation of white amber, vanilla and clear musk, creating a scent that is ideal for either day or night.

The O.C. for Him begins with a fresh scent of mandarin, citron and bergamot. The middle consists of a masculine yet fragrant combination of lavender, rose and jasmine laced with spicy accents of black pepper. An accord of golden amber and clear musk blended with patchouli and other sensual woods concludes the fragrance.

____________________________________

Dallas church denies funeral for gay Vet

August 15, 2007 by Matt Comer, OUTlet News-Media in Religion Edit This

A non-denominational church in Dallas, Texas, has denied the family of a deceased gay Navy veteran space in their building for a memorial service, 24 hours before the service was to take place.

Cecil Howard Sinclair, age 46, was a veteran of the first Gulf War and died last week from a heart attack. Sinclair's sister, Kathleen Wright, says the officials at the High Point Church knew Sinclair was gay before offering space in their building and only withdrew the offer after church officials saw the published obituary listing Sinclair's partner as a survivor, according to the Associated Press.

The Reverend Gary Simmons, pastor of the church, said that no one there knew Sinclair was gay church members were putting together a photo montage which included photos of Sinclair and his partner embracing and kissing. Simmons said the obituary was not a part of the church's decision to withdraw the offer of hosting the memorial service.

"Even though we could not condone that lifestyle, we went above and beyond for the family through many acts of love and kindness," Simons said.

Wright calls the church's statements about the photo montage a "bold faced lie." She said there were no pictures of men embracing or kissing.

Simmons, the brother-in-law of internationally known televangelist Joel Olsteen, told his congregation that the "decision was not based on hate, or discrimination, but upon principle and policy" and that "We cannot glorify homosexuality as a lifestyle," according to EDGE Boston.

After being refused the space at High Point Church, the family held the memorial service at a local funeral home.

___________

TTYL,

Matt Comer

Hi everyone,
Here's some promising news from www.pinknews.co.uk.
-Delia


15th August 2007
Gemma Pritchard

Thailand, one of the world's most tolerant countries towards transvestites and transsexuals, may soon allow people who have had a sex change to officially alter their title.

A proposal which would allow transgender men or women to choose how they are addressed is being considered by the country's National Legislative Assembly, to support an anti-discrimination provision in the draft constitution, according to AP.

Wiroon Tangcharoen, an assembly member who is also rector of Srinakharinwirot University, said he supported the move and did not believe it would affect room assignments in university dormitories, where students are segregated by sex, The Nation newspaper reported.

Students wishing to live with members of their adopted gender would have to produce medical certificates proving they had undergone sex-change operations.

"The university has nothing against male transsexual students staying in female dormitories on the campus," he said.

Even though Thailand is widely tolerant of gays, transvestites and transsexuals, who have regular presence on TV, in movies and the entertainment business, many face family pressure, social prejudice and domestic violence.

Three years ago, a college in the northern province of Chiang Mai designated a bathroom for the exclusive use of the school's 15 cross-dressing students.

Dubbed the Pink Lotus Bathroom, the facility at the Chiang Mai Technology School featured four stalls, but no urinals. On the door was a sign with intertwined male and female symbols.

The transvestites — who had to wear male attire at school but were allowed to sport feminine hairdos — had annoyed female students when using the women's bathrooms, and faced harassment in the men's facilities.

Hi everyone,

Here's a story I wanted to share. Originally posted by Activist Queer Folk.com - pass it on.

love,
Delia



SUMMARY: Brett Conrad and Patrick Atkins met in college and were together for 25 years, until Patrick had an incapacitating stroke and his parents stepped in.

The horrifying case of an Indiana gay couple separated after one partner's incapacitating illness makes clear the necessity of partners obtaining legal directives for each other to the extent the law allows.

Brett Conrad and Patrick Atkins, both 47, met in college and were together for 25 years. Atkins was CEO of his family's company, Atkins Elegant Desserts; Conrad, a waiter. They shared a house and bank accounts; both men's names were on their home's deed. In March 2005, traveling on business, Atkins suffered an aneurysm and then a stroke that rendered him unable to care for himself.

Atkins' deeply religious parents took over, refusing to recognize the men's relationship or even to let Conrad see him. Conrad has spent two years trying to win guardianship of his partner.

On June 27, an Indiana appellate court ruled that Conrad could have visitation rights. The Atkinses have petitioned the court to reconsider its ruling.

"Unmarried couples -- it doesn't matter whether straight or gay -- ought to have documents in place that address whom they want to make health care decisions, generally a durable power of attorney and an advance health care directive," Conrad's lawyer, Jeffrey Dible of Indianapolis, told Gay.com.

"If you don't have them, you are at the mercy of state law, which usually favors blood relatives."

Indiana courts have so far sided with the Atkins family, even while noting that "it is in Patrick's best interest to continue to have contact with Brett, his life partner of 25 years."

"Given the Atkinses' lack of support of their son's personal life through the years and given his mother's astonishing statement that she would rather that he never recover than see him return to his relationship with Brett, we are extraordinarily skeptical that the Atkinses are able to take care of Patrick's emotional needs," wrote Chief Judge John G. Baker in the appellate court's ruling.

At one point, the court noted, sympathetic hospital staffers were sneaking Conrad onto the premises to see his partner.

Jeanne Atkins, Patrick's mother, "testified that no amount of evidence could convince her that Brett and Patrick were happy together," the opinion read.

The case's growing publicity "just seems to inflame things," Dible told Gay.com

"I hope that you will share this story with your friends and encourage them to avoid purchasing Atkins products," wrote Karen Celestino-Horseman, a former Indianapolis city councilwoman, on Bilerico.com.

The Atkinses -- who run regular Christian prayer meetings at their dessert company -- have the right as guardians to dispose of his and Conrad's house, even though it is owned jointly. A lower court gave Conrad one third of the pair's checking account, but gave the parents most of the other assets, which were in Patrick's name.

Atkins, meanwhile, now lives at his parents' home. He is "able to walk, dress, bathe and feed himself with some help, to read accurately but understand only 25 percent of what he read, and to engage in simple conversations," according to the court. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)

Last night, the Human Rights Campaign and the Logo Channel held the first-ever Presidential forum to address specifically LGBT rights and equality.

The HRC/Logo Presidential Forum was broadcast live on the Logo Channel and on Logo's website. Numerous nationally-known bloggers "live-blogged" the event, almost word-for-word, for those who couldn't get access to the television broadcast or to the internet broadcast.

All-in-all, six Democratic candidates participated in the talk-show style forum: Barack Obama, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, Bill Richardson, and Hillary Clinton.

There has been plenty of conversation and dialogue on the forum from around the 'net and we'll attempt to give you some summary of it and some links for further reading.

USAToday:
"The unusually relaxed and personal forum, held in a Los Angeles studio that looked like a talk-show set…

The questioners, including singer Melissa Etheridge, pulled no punches in trying to make the candidates feel their frustration over their inability to marry and other issues."

Queerty:
"While most of the candidates whored themselves a bit, we have to admit we're pleasantly surprised with how the forum's played out. No new issues were raised, but we got a good long look at the major issues facing gay communities - and heard where the candidates stand, or don't stand, on our civil rights…

One of the most intriguing questions posed came from Jonathan Capehart, who asked Obama how he'll deal with homophobia in black communities. Like all good politicians, Obama made sure to reference an earlier reference to fighting homophobia in black communities. He also betrayed his straightness when he described gays as a "political football," an analogy that went over our heads."

NY Post:
"All the candidates decried what they characterized as Republican attempts to use the debate over gay marriage to distract Americans from other issues."

Huffington Post:
"Although they reiterated their support for a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay servicemen, as well as their backing of a federal ban on anti-gay job discrimination, few appeared ready to stray from their carefully crafted statements on gay marriage."

Pam's House Blend:
Pam responds to and writes up a summary of Bill Richardson's big screw up, possibly the biggest mistake of any candidate all night. In response to a question from Melissa Etheridge, Richardson said being gay is "a choice." Later in the evening, Richardson's campaign put out a clarification and Richardson spoke personally to Pam.

InterstateQ.com: 
In a post-HRC forum teleconference with supporters, Barack Obama spoke on the night's events and set a priority list for how he would achieve LGBT equality, saying he was "thrilled to participate today" in the forum.

Video from the Forum:
The Logo Channel has uploaded video to their website, showing each candidate and their talk time. Go to http://visiblevote08.logoonline.com/2007/08/10/video-the-presidential-forum/ to watch all the clips.

Some Personal Commentary from Matt:
I put up some personal commentary, related to my favored candidate, John Edwards. Check it: http://www.interstateq.com/archives/2263/

In relation to the availability of the Forum to all people in the LGBT community, I also spoke shared some feelings on class and how that played into who really got to benefit from the Forum: http://www.interstateq.com/archives/2262/

Okay... I think that is all for now.

~Matt Comer

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT InterstateQ.com
http://www.interstateq.com/archives/2259/

I'll be watching the HRC Presidential Debate tonight via visiblevote08.logoonline.com (we don't get LOGO here in North Carolina).

I'll definitely be writing up my responses.

I think it will be interesting to see how all the candidates respond to the various issues. This is the first time in history that the LGBT community has been able to have a debate specifically and totally centered on our issues - the issues that we have to live with day in and day out. It will be one of the first times in history that candidates will have to face an audience primarily made up by those people who are consistently and intentionally placed within a rank of second class citizenship and who deal with all the legal, systematic discrimination and denial that goes hand-in-hand with their membership in such a group.

I have a bet that Edwards will continue to do his "non-answer" answers, even though I can appreciate and respect the journey he says he's been on. I have a feeling that Clinton will, once again (as always), use her usual, coined and pre-written statements on how she is against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. As for Obama… let's just hope his performance on the marriage question isn't as bad as it was during the CNN/YouTube debate.

And that, my friends, is the crux - the very catalyst - for why this HRC/LOGO debate even exists: As a friend of mine said in an email to me earlier, this debate would not even be a possibility if not for the one LGBT issue on the minds of so many people during this current election season.

What issue, you ask?

Marriage.

If not for this issue - an issue so firmly recognizable to so many Americans - we would not have this debate.

The debate over marriage equality is one that brings up a lot of emotions and sometimes raises some tempers, but it is this issue that has become so large that it has enabled our community to come to the forefront.

And even after all this, all the major candidates remain on the side of those who push a "Separate, But Equal" philosophy. If the situation in New Jersey isn't enough to show us that "civil unions" do not work, then I guess we are all lost. Except us gays, of course. We know what works and what won't work. But we are the minority.

Expect much more commentary later tonight and into tomorrow.

And for what might really be the reason why you chose to read this particular post: A conversation with Barack Obama. I'll be listening in on a conference call with Obama and others following the debate. I'll write down what I hear, what I liked, what I didn't like and what maybe rubbed me the wrong way. More for later… for sure.

------------

Be sure to check out InterstateQ.com later tonight/early tomorrow morning. for the latest follow-up on the debate and the tele-conference with Senator Barack Obama. I'll re-post here as well, but probably not until later tomorrow afternoon.

Talk to ya'll later!
Matt Comer

When EqualityMySpace was first started two years ago, the MySpace profile was only a test subject to see how well a group of people could use social networking sites like MySpace.com to gather, network and support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQI) youth and their allies and supporters. In the first few days of EqualityMySpace's existence more than 800 people became "friends," or members, of EqualityMySpace.

In the past two years, EqualityMySpace has continued to grow and has become an overwhelming success. Now, with more than 12,100 "friends," EqualityMySpace is among some of the largest online networking efforts for LGBTQI youth and their allies and supporters.

Founder Tully Satre planned from the very beginning to create something much larger and much more visible not only in the online world, but also in the community, nation and world. Satre's organization, The Voice Project, is now becoming a reality.

The Voice Project for LGBTQI Equality, Support & Inclusion (TVP) carries the same basic mission and purpose of its project EqualityMySpace.

The Voice Project is a national, web and community-based organization that ensures the dignity, equality, and rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and intersex (LGBTQI) youth are protected, and celebrated. The Voice Project will commit to connecting the nation's LGBTQI and straight allied youth and organizations that are striving towards equality. They are found in all nations and strive to be effective through education, advocacy, organization, networks, resources, fundraising, and outreach programs.

The time has now come to debut The Voice Project to the world. Please visit our website, temporarily located at http://voiceproject.interstateq.com. Take a look around and see what is there, what is missing and what you want to see added. Go to the TVPforum (http://voiceproject.interstateq.com/forum/), register for an account and take part in a community discussion on Where we should be going and What we should be doing.

The success of The Voice Project depends on EqualityMySpace and what all of you want to accomplish. Twelve thousand people is a huge number... and with that number comes power. We can band together to make a real difference.

Will you help to create our vision, our direction and our future?

The Voice Project http://voiceproject.interstateq.com
TVPforum http://voiceproject.interstateq.com/forum/

Discussion: Where Should We Go, What Should We Do?

You and only you have the power to make this a reality... and with as large as we are now, just imagine the possibilities! We can make a real difference and you can be a part of it!

~Matt Comer~