By Melanie Nathan, san Francisco, February 3, 2010, –  The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, started today, with events planned through Sunday at Sheraton Dallas Hotel.  

This conference is starting on his very day when I broke this story “Shocking Reality” - many of my readers called Senator Schumer’s office only to be shunned off with comments such as “Oh yes, Melanie Nathan’s article is just an opinion piece… and said that Senator Schumer is a sponsor of UAFA anyway…. “ 

Well, well as if we did not know that and if  so why not then include us? Is that a message that we should pursue UAFA as a stand alone only?   We will be looking for answers…     That said, my source was informed of this directly by the Senator himself. 

I am hoping that when the conference attendees get together and realize that the entire movement is screwed by lack of cohesive planning,  and piecemeal legislation, our brothers and sisters will, ‘carpe diem’ and all come to a simple conclusion – 2 words “OMNIBUS BILL.”   Amend the Civil Rights Act to include all Americans.   This rediculous state of affairs with a Senator sponsoring a bill and then possibly thwarting its progress through an alternate venue, is illustrative of my point…. piecemeal be damned – we want our CIVIL RIGHTS and now.  “The Color of my skin Senator, is GAY!!!”

The Creating Change conference at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel downtown will feature Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran who faced discharge after announcing on television that he is gay.  They seem to be focusing a lot of attention on DADT because Lt. Dan Choi will be speaking.  This is great and hopefully more Americans will be reached through further visibility. ( I am not sure how much more visible Dan can get in our community.)

Also on the agenda this week: gay marriage, which will probably be top of mind among conference attendees. In California, a trial is under way seeking to overturn that state’s voter-approved measure that bans same-sex marriage – a case that could make its way to the Supreme Court.   

Other sessions will feature workplace equality, HIV in older adults and creating safer environments for gay youth.  They will also explore aging issues among gays and lesbians and homophobia in nursing homes and extended-care facilities, according to the spokesperson Sue Hyde.  Great! But…. 

I researched interviews and comments with Task Force’ the organizers - noting some basic information in  articles in Dallas Press, including  The Dallas Morning News  and then also the Task force Press Release about the Conference  which I quote below:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey will present the annual State of the Movement address at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, in which she will present a vision for the year ahead in the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. 

Just a week after President Obama delivered his State of the Union address, 2,000 LGBT activists will converge in Dallas, Texas, for the 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, Feb. 3-7. Activists will strategize on how to advance LGBT equality and acquire the skills needed to build the political power of the LGBT community in 2010 and beyond. 

“This is a critical and exciting time in our struggle for LGBT equality,” says Carey. “Having 2,000 LGBT rights supporters come together to plan and strategize is an unparalleled opportunity to create change.”

 The State of the Movement address is an opportunity to take stock of the past year and lay out a plan to move forward in the year ahead. It is one of the most anticipated events of the Creating Change conference. Carey will address critical legislative issues specifically affecting the LGBT community, including passing an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Other broader areas of focus will include the need for access to quality/affordable health care and racial and economic justice-related issues. Carey’s State of the Movement address will take place on Friday, Feb. 5, at 1:45 p.m. (CST) in the Dallas Ballroom of the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas.  

I was unable to find any publicity that specifically referred to the three most important things our community could possibly address right now, especially given the fact the Conference, according to its Executive Director (above),  will be an unaparalleled opportunity to strategize.    I am hoping these issues are in the State of the Movement Address – and if not that those at the Conference make the most of the opprtunity for transparent, reflective, remedial and productive co-ordination of efforts.  Its not a race to the finish line, my friends, its an opportunity for a hole in one!  

The Course…  

1. Piecemeal Legislation is working against us; our limited resources are too wide spread, affecting zero result;  

2. The need for a comprehensive and cohesive plan where we work to accomplish the repeal of DOMA – the inclusion of Sexual orientation in the Civil Rights Act;  

3. Immigration Reform for Gays and Lesbian spouses/ DP’s etc.  

My contribution to the Conference is breaking of the news about Senator Schumer’s Bill – that gay and lesbian immigration reform will be excluded from the Bill, just as it was by Guiterrez in the House Bill for comprehensive immigration reform.  My suspicion is that this fact may have been well known to some, yet not revealed.   The imprtance of this revelation is a call out to the entire LGBTQI community and America that this is unfathomable.  I dont give a continental brick about long term strategies, I want my inequality recognized for exactly what it is and NOW!!  So the 2,000 of you there in Dallas – pick up your courage and go for the BIG one!!

 Maybe my preceding , SHOCKING REALITY- article could help change Schumer’s stance – even though Senator Schumer’s staffers are informing callers that my article is merely an opinion piece.  I can tell you that it was the Senator himself who told my source that this was his plan.  

Wake up you guys at the conference – forget the bits and pieces and talk about CIVIL RIGHTS for us…..   Once same is accomplished everything else that smacks of LGBT discrimination will fall into place – because the law will then require, via one bill, that we be treated equally.  

How much louder can I yell..” THE   COLOR  OF   MY   SKIN   IS   GAY!”

Conference details : What: The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change  When: Today through Sunday at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel Highlights: Speakers include Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Rea Carey, executive director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Kai Wright, a writer and editor, will moderate a panel of youths.  Cost: Full conference rate $350; daily rate $75

 

 Posted by Melanie Nathan,  

 nathan@privatecourts.com
www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com  
 www.privatecourts.com 

 @oblogdeeoblogda – I Twitter too! 

Related articles by Zemanta

• First DADT Hearings In a Decade Scheduled for February (lezgetreal.com)
• Jerrold Nadler v. Barney Frank = LGBT UNITY? (lezgetreal.com)

08/19/09 – From ButchVoices.com:

Butch Voices is a grassroots organization dedicated to all self identified Butches, Studs, Aggressives, other similar identities, and their Allies. We, at Butch Voices, feel it is important to bring together our diverse communities, build bridges, make connections, and use our collective voices to gain better understanding of each other and promote positive visibility. We are holding the first Butch Voices Conference on August 20th – 23rd, 2009 in Oakland, California. The conference will be held at the Marriott City Center Hotel Complex in downtown Oakland.

Keynote speakers for the event include:

* Jeanne Cordova, Feminist Butch/Activist,/Publisher & Author
* S. Bear Bergman, Author/Theatre Artist/Gender-Jammer
* Malkia “Mac” Amala Cyril, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice

Scheduled workshops include a panel discussion on Stud/Butch images in the media moderated by filmmaker Cheryl Dunye (Stranger Inside, The Watermelon Woman). Other conference events will include a meet and greet, networking dinners, evening entertainment, a spoken word performance, and a night of karaoke fun.

To find more information on the conference including workshops and presenters, please vist ButchVoices.com.

The World Outgames is a quadrennial event that aims to address the mind, the heart and the body of LGBT community all over the world. They were held for the first time in Montreal, Canada, in 2006 with more than 18,000 participants from 111 countries. This year, the event is going to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from July 25 to August 2.

The program includes 34 sports tournaments, 17 official parties, several LGBT themed art shows and exhibitions, an international choir festival, a tango festival, a film festival, a leather festival and a number of special performances featuring cabaret, theatre and opera, and the Love of Freedom – Freedom to Love Human Rights Conference.

OutCities is part of the program. It’s a cultural feast, an international collaboration with LGBT artists from different parts of the globe: Antwerp, Mexico City, Tel Aviv, Rio de Janeiro and Aarhus (a Dannish city) will fill the streets of Copenhagen with music, installations, events and performances on gender, identitu and diversity.

Visit www.copenhagen2009.org for complete program information. Tickets to all parties except the Grand Opening are now on sale. For more information about the parties and tickets, click here. If you can’t make it to Copenhagen, The next edition of Outgames will be held in 2013 in Antwerp, Belgium.

Lezzie is half-closeted Brazilian Philosophy High School teacher writing on everything she has the opportunity to read, listen to and see (as a good Gemini).You can find out more about here by checking her profile at http://lezgetreal.ning.com/profile/Boudecca.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA—February 10, 2009— The 5^th Annual HRC Arizona Gala Dinner committee will unveil artist’s donations for the annual fundraiser event during the March Downtown Phoenix First Friday Art Walk and Annual Art Detour Weekend. Artist and owner of The Chocolate Factory, Hector Ruiz has generously donated studio space to display the distinctive art auction collection that will help raise funds for Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Arizona, the local committee of the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization. The donated works will be on display March 6 – 8 at Hector’s studio located at 1105 NW Grand Avenue in Phoenix.

Lara Taubman, eminent freelance international curator and art critic, is creating the exhibition of prized works donated to HRC Arizona for the 2009 fundraiser. The annual black-tie gala takes place on Saturday, March 21, 2009 and features renowned speakers, honorable guests and entertainers to help raise critical funds necessary to continue HRC Arizona’s efforts to end discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community and achieve fundamental fairness and equality for all. Tickets for the gala dinner and silent art auction are available www.boxofficetickets.com/hrc.

“This year’s HRC event will feature downtown Phoenix artists, a small but vibrant community of diversity and fearlessness whose art work reflects the complexity of the social and political situation of the city while engaging the distinctive design and architectural communities, downtown development and the visual art that is made many times in these renovated, historic buildings,” said Lara Taubman, Honorable Curator for HRC Arizona Gala. “For individuals, who support development through the arts or the support of their local businesses, the HRC event is more than a silent auction to support the worthy HRC cause, it also supports the downtown Phoenix community by spreading the word and giving exposure to artists who similarly believe that art is a tool that can create communities.”

Ms. Taubman is the Southwestern correspondent for internationally acclaimed art journals such as Artnews, Contemporary, Modern Painters and Sculpture magazines and has written for numerous others. She has curated exhibits at the Heard Museum for Native American Art, the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and also creates exhibits worldwide. She recently closed a three-year exhibit of Abstract Expressionist Art curated through the Art in Embassies Program in the United States Embassy residence in Bucharest, Romania.

Assisting Ms. Taubman are Honorary Auction Co-Chairs for the 2009 HRC Arizona “Believe” Gala Dinner Claudine Sanchez and Jon Westbrook. In addition to the artwork, there are various items in the silent auction including exciting travel, healthy, beauty and various services packages that will be showcased online at http://hrcazdinner.org/index.php/auctions prior to the dinner. To make donations, contact the Co-Chairs for information at auction@hrcarizona.org. Corporate sponsorships are also available.

HRC contributed over $150,000 in Arizona in 2008 to its advocacy of equal rights. This included funding the NO to Prop 102 campaign in addition to providing dedicated, experienced staff to work with the campaigns of local candidates supportive of equality and with allied organizations.

To attend the 5^th Annual HRC Arizona Gala Dinner, visit www.boxofficetickets.com/hrc for tickets or call 800- 494-8497. Individual tickets are $200 if purchased before February 14, 2009 and $250 if purchased after this date. Student tickets are available for $100 with a school ID. Visit phoenix.hrc.org for more information about HRC Arizona and www.hrcazdinner.org for updates about the dinner.

ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN - The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC seeks to improve the lives of GLBT Americans by advocating for equal rights and benefits in the workplace, ensuring families are treated equally under the law and increasing public support among all Americans through innovative advocacy, education and outreach programs. HRC works to secure equal rights for GLBT individuals and families at the federal and state levels by lobbying elected officials, mobilizing grassroots supporters, educating Americans, investing strategically to elect fair-minded officials and partnering with other GLBT organizations.

Lezzymom has two kids and a wonderful partner. Her political commentary has appeared on C-Span and CSPAN.org. Visit her Lezzymom blog for more of her insights.

The Equality Forum, a gay and lesbian educational and cultural event that usually draws as many as 75,000 people to Philadelphia each spring, became the latest victim of the national economic down turn when last month Philadelphia officials announced that the event would lose its funding from the city.

Malcolm Lazin, executive director of the Equality Forum, said the loss of the city’s $115,000 contribution, about 13 percent of the weeklong events total budget, will force reductions in promotion and advertising and added that the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual community, which voted overwhelmingly for Mayor Nutter, feels the funding cut is not only “grossly unfair” but counterproductive for the city.

The Equality Forum began almost 17 years ago as a pride festival and has grown into a weeklong extravaganza, with lectures, workshops and symposiums on issues affecting the LGBTI community, as well as parties and rallies involving 75 regional, national and international LGBTI organizations.

City commerce and convention officials have worked for almost 10 years to attract their share of the gay and lesbian tourism market, worth $70 billion annually nationwide and statistics from the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation show that a typical LGBTI tourist in Philadelphia spends $230 a day during the Equality Forum.

A spokesman for Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter did not refute that the event brings tourism to the city but said that the city, which is facing a mammoth budget deficit, simply couldn’t afford to fund special events when libraries, pools and fire protection services are also being targeted for funding cuts.

The Mayors office also said that the Equality Forum is not being singled out and is among other events the city will not help underwrite this year; the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Day Festival have also lost their funding from the city.

This year’s forum runs from April 27 to May 3 and while some events and parties, including the “international equality dinner,” have cover charges, most forum activities are free.

In total, the budget for the event is about $900,000, with about $200,000 coming from the state and smaller amounts from marketing sponsors and foundations. The loss of the city’s $115,000 contribution puts the organization in a difficult position because it has committed money for speakers, venues and other services.

The Summit is focused on addressing lesbians, bisexual women, queer women, and transgender people. We welcome all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) communities, and our important friends and allies, nationally and internationally.

We will come together to rebuild a multi-issue, multicultural women’s health movement focused on long-term strategic goals for lesbian/bi/queer women’s health and wellness that is reflective of the diversity of our community.

San Francisco, California March 6th-9th
For more information or to register check out National Lesbian Health Summit

Queers United is the activist blog uniting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersexual, Asexual community & straight allies in the fight for equality http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com

Join us in Shelton, CT for the
Same Love, Same Rights®
Wedding & Family Expo!

Held at the beautiful Courtyard by Marriott , in Shelton, CT.
780 Bridgeport Ave
Shelton, CT 06484

Celebrate, Connecticut!!

RainbowWeddingNetwork.com has added a new GLBTQ Expoto it’s 2008 Event Calendar, in honor of the recent CT Supreme Court landmark decision.

RainbowWeddingNetwork.com & the Same Love, Same Rights® team proudly join in the excitement regarding the CT Supreme Court decision to transform civil unions into full marriage rights for same-sex couples! This historic moment deserves an ongoing, jubilant celebration!

Join Us Sunday December 7, 2008 at our upcoming GLBTQ Wedding Expo hosted by the Courtyard by Marriott in Shelton. Meet face-to-face with wedding professionals who share in your joy and are ready to work with you and your partner as you plan Your Special Day. Wedding coordinators, officiants, invitation companies, jewelers, DJs and Entertainment Companies, Travel Agents, Reception Venues, Limousine Companies, Legal Representatives and Real Estate Professionals and much, much more!

Spotlighting over 40 screened, gay-friendly businesses plus Informative Presentations, Samples, Tips and Trends, the Same Love, Same Rights® GLBTQ Wedding Expo promises to be an elegant event to bridge couples with the resources they need to make their Dream Wedding a reality. Advocates and allies are also welcome! -The Expo is designed as a celebratory occasion and also a powerful networking opportunity. Join us December 7th from 12:30-3:30 to meet other Equality Advocates in your area working everyday on behalf of marriage and family rights throughout Connecticut and the nation.

Free to Attend!

See you on December 7th!

All details at www.SameLoveSameRights.com