Melanie Nathan; 8-30-2010

Sen. Kirstin Gilibrand had pledged to fight for the LGBT community and has often spoken quite loudly for LGBT equality.

However the frustration of the LGBT community cannot abate for what remain mere words. At A Fire Island event this past weekend,  a few donors strongly urged the Democratic party to do more on LGBT issues. According to Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out “While largely supportive of the senator’s work, there was palpable frustration with the pace in Washington for repealing Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell and passing ENDA.”  http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/08/10833/

Andrew Tobias, treasurer for the democratic party, made the case for supporting democrats in the upcoming elections, warning of the dire consequences for LGBT equality if Republicans win the House, Senate or both.

“Still,”  fellow blogger Besen asserts “think how much easier it would be to persuade LGBT voters to show up if ENDA had been passed or DADT repealed? The case AGAINST the more radical elements of the GOP is an easy one. However, the case FOR the Democrats is much more difficult and complicated to make. The Democrats have controlled Washington for two years and while there has certainly been progress on LGBT issues, the big prizes — other than hate crimes legislation — have so far been elusive.”

While this may be the case, it is my contention that very little pressure has been placed on our members in Congress even when President Obama has begged us to hold feet to fire.

The problem in my opinion is the self-marginalization that our community has succumbed to in response to the Bush ‘wedge issue’ political environment, preceded by the lets sneak in through the back door approach that followed Stonewall.

What we have done is carved a thinking that piecemeal legislation will serve us in the first place.  To date, it clearly has failed us and until we set our own standards a lot higher it probably will continue to fail us.

ENDA is a misdirected absorption of resources that we can no longer afford.  It has taken us off the path of a composite Civil Rights movement that should be seeking full equality for LGBT people under one Omnibus/ Civil Rights Amendment Bill.

Besen adds: “Fear will send many Democratic voters to the polls in November. However, scaring people into voting against the bad guys and Mama Grizzlies in the other party is not a long-term strategy. The Democrats, particualrly on LGBT rights, have to sharply define who they are, what they stand for and then fight like hell for their beliefs.”

I agree with Wayne on this, however find that our own community, save for a few voices, such as that of Todd Fernandez, Melanie Nathan, CD Kirven, and a handful more have yet to define what we truly stand for, in terms of a unified benchmark. See – http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

Do we stand for equal employment rights – well of course we do; do we stand for equal marriage rights- well of course we do; do we stand for a repeal of DADT, well of course we do. But what the hell are we doing fighting for each such right separately – we should be a one goal stop minority, – and our quest – One Hundred Percent Equality on every issue in respect of which our Constitution purportedly stands at the helm.

Plain and simple – we are a CIVIL RIGHTS Movement and we demand our FULL Civil Rights.  The ONLY way this can happen is via our inclusion (sexual orientation, et al,) in the Cvil Rights Statute.

While Wayne says that “prominent conservatives are speaking out in favor of marriage equality, the Dems have no more excuse to be timid. Whatever cover they felt they needed to be bold, they now have, thanks to Ken Mehlman, Ted Olson and even Glenn Beck.” I find little relevance with such assertion save to say marriage equality per se has served as nothing more than a red herring to detract form Civil Rights in general.

Marriage equality is a natural flowing concomitant of Full Civil Rights. We as a community have made the mistake of focusing only on Marriage, albeit a tremendously important fight and one that must continue.  We can only continue in its fight for as long as we detract from its religious significance and focus our advocacy talking points on “We Demand our Equal Civil Rights Now!”

So to Fund raising and support for democrats I say we ought not hold back our dollars; we must continue to fund our friends,  our only friends. When we can come out as a community with fully competent leadership at the helm of a ‘one stop’ movement, powerful enough to demand full equality and to hold our electeds accountable , maybe we will then found our true champions in Congress who will see less of the career risks and more of standing up for what is right.

Note: Written by Melanie Nathan, with Love and Respect for our Brothers at TWO  (Truth Wins Out)- thanks for encouraging the conversation and for your amazing work.

Melanie Nathan
Private Courts Inc.
Mediation, Human Rights, & Advocacy
nathan@privatecourts.com

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

Related articles by Zemanta

• GLAA OF D.C. Candidate Ratings for 9/14 Primaries (lezgetreal.com)
• Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
• LGBT Equality: It’s the Economy, Stupid (gayrights.change.org)
• Call to Congress: No More Friends, Senator Gillibrand – Only Advocates! (lezgetreal.com)
• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan; 8-30-10-

Editors say Qadita.net will be the first Arabic website to include a section on gay and lesbian writing, including reviews of Arab gay-oriented cinema and literature.

Two prominent Israeli-Arab literary figures yesterday launched www.Qadita.net, an Arabic-language politics and culture website they say will tackle issues widely considered taboo in the Arabic press, according to Israeli news HAARETZ.

The site’s editors are author Ala Hlehel and Anton Shalhat, a journalist and culture critic.

Hlehel said quality will be the sole determining factor for featuring items on the site. “We’ll post controversial texts that touch on social and cultural sensitivities,” he said. “The margins of freedom of the press in Arabic are shrinking under political and social tension from the whole Arab-Islamic scene, with its suffocating effect on free creation.”

Hlehel said yesterday that the site is aimed at “restoring the written word as the center of content in Arabic discourse and returning cultural texts as the focus of the Arab literary, cultural, political and societal experience.”

This will be the first Arabic website to include a section on gay and lesbian writing, he said.

“That section will be featured prominently on the home page,” he said. “It will include texts written by Arab gays and lesbians who, naturally, will publish anonymously.” He said the section would include reviews of gay-oriented cinema and literature in the Arab world and beyond.

The Full article here…

Reblogged by Melanie Nathan
Article by Maya Sela at
HAARETZ.

The Education Committee of the Tel Aviv municipality is the first in Israel to require city schools to integrate learning content to change stereotypes about gays, lesbians and gender identity. The program will start next January.

The Education Committee o yesterday approved unanimously the proposal to integrate the Hoshen curriculum into every school.

Hoshen is a professional organization working on education to change existing stereotypes about sexual orientation and gender identity through information and activities within schools.

The upcoming school year will begin a pilot of 10 schools, which will include working with consultants, teachers, administrators and with students.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• One Year After Gay Center Attack, Tel Aviv Studies Berlin Model of Tolerance (lezgetreal.com)
• Tel Aviv Remembers LGBT Center’s Bloody Day (lezgetreal.com)

On Tuesday of last week, we were the first to report that we had uncovered suspect information and then proceeded to report the facts regarding the Lawsuit brought by the Gay Couple in Wyoming.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 13 by David Shupe-Roderick, 25, and Ryan W. Dupree, 21, is the first legal challenge in recent memory to Wyoming’s law defining marriage as being a contract solely “between a male and a female person.” The couple, who are representing themselves, filed the lawsuit after the Laramie County Clerk’s Office refused three times to issue them a marriage license. That’s unequal treatment, they said, and they’re asking U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to stop the state from enforcing any laws that block gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage. “We determined that a lawsuit was the only possible way for them to get to recognize us as people,” Shupe-Roderick said. “I think it’s time that Wyoming lives up to its title. You know they call themselves the Equality State? Well, they’re not so equal.”

Lezgetreal investigated further and found that all was not as it seemed. We reported that the Plaintiff Shupe had in fact been involved in prior law suits that were suspect and revealed some startling details. Now more has come to light.

Shupe-Roderick, 25, served 4 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary after he, his brother, and their two girlfriends left Cheyenne in a rental car in January 2004. When they didn’t return the rental car on time, the rental company contacted police. Two days later, Shupe-Roderick – then known as Gerald Shupe — was arrested in Arkansas after being pulled over for an illegal lane change.

After being sentenced, Shupe-Roderick unsuccessfully requested a reduction in his prison sentence on the grounds that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his prescribed medication when he took the rental car.

Lezgetreal has been contacted by parties close to source as well as information from local authorities and now received further verification through the investigation of other media outlets.

Gerald David Shupe-Roderick, aka Gerald Shupe, now asking to be called David- is currently being prosecuted for falsifying state documents. Last October, he applied to become a notary public, and he allegedly certified on his application form that he wasn’t a convicted felon.

The lawsuit also alleges Shupe-Roderick used a fake same-sex union certificate from Massachusetts to obtain a Wyoming driver’s license.

Shupe-Roderick has also been a plaintiff in court as frequently as he has been a defendant. Besides the gay marriage case,  says the Billings Gazette. “He’s filed five other lawsuits in the past three years. In one, he accused prison guards of sexual misconduct, and in another, he accused a would-be business client of assault and breach of contract. He has also sought $16,398 in loans and debts from his former employers/roommates and asserted that Bank of America unlawfully refused to release $5,107 from his bank account. All of those cases were eventually dropped or dismissed.”

There is yet a  fifth case is pending in federal court in which Shupe-Roderick is suing “Wyoming Child Support Services” — an apparent reference to the Wyoming Department of Family Services — for allegedly intercepting a $643 federal tax refund. Shupe-Roderick had previously paid child support to his ex-wife to support their 5-year-old son, but in 2009 he agreed to give up his parental rights in exchange for dropping all child support obligations.

It has also been alleged that Shupe has two other children with yet a second woman.  Likely the Gay behavior of a man who is so upset he cannot marry a same-sex partner who he told LezGetReal he has known for a mere year! It would seem also that Dupree has a neurological problem and one can only wonder if Mr. Shupe, adept at lawsuits, is using the younger man, to further his personal agenda.

Shupe-Roderick and Dupree, 19, are now not answering our calls and e-mails – at first so willing to respond. Shupe told us he did not expect the attention this has received and that was only last Tuesday.   I can only imagine how much more they have received since.

After granting several interviews to reporters, Lezgetreal being the first, on Monday, after news of the suit came out, the couple has stopped talking to reporters and gay-right activists.

On Tuesday, Shupe-Roderick said he and Dupree were prepared to handle the spotlight. But he said they were surprised that their lawsuit was receiving so much publicity.  “I kind of assumed that it would just be a quiet lawsuit,” he said.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• More to The Wyoming Lawsuit Story – Outing the Wyoming Plaintiff (lezgetreal.com)
• Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)
• More to The Wyoming Lawsuit Story – Outing the Wyoming Plaintiff (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (lezgetreal.com)
• Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (topix.net)
• WYOMING: Gay Couple Challenges Ban On Same-Sex Marriage (joemygod.blogspot.com)

London:- Conservative Crispin Blunt, who is prisons minister in the coalition government has disclosed that he is gay and that he has separated from his wife.

Blunt said he had “decided to come to terms with his homosexuality”. In a statement, he said the move was “difficult” for his family and hoped for their “understanding and support”.

He married Victoria Jenkins in September 1990 in Kensington and they have a son (born August 1994) and daughter (born March 1992). His niece is Golden Globe-award winning actress Emily Blunt^[.  Blunt’s voting record in Parliament had previously been broadly unsympathetic towards gay rights.

He has been MP for Reigate since 1997, before which he served in the Armed Forces for many years.  The 50-year old – a junior minister in the Department of Justice – has two children.

He announced his separation from his wife Victoria in a statement on the Conservative Home website, saying he had “explained the position” to his family. “There is no third party involvement but this is difficult for his immediate and wider family and he hopes for understanding and support for them,” the statement said.

As prisons minister, Mr Blunt is responsible for penal policy and finding savings in the prisons budget as part of this autumn’s departmental spending review.

He hit the headlines last month when he called for rules banning comedy gigs, parties and other recreational events being held in prisons to be relaxed – which No 10 immediately ruled out.

Apparently a local commented – everyone in the local party likes him and it’s a courageous thing to do. It’s really a private matter for him.

By Melanie Nathan
This pattern of anti-gay votes and campaigns leading right to the gay watering hole is becoming too much!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tory prisons minister Crispin Blunt stuns MPs by revealing he’s gay… (topix.net)
• BRITAIN: Anti-Gay Tory MP Crispin Blunt Leaves His Wife And Comes Out (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Tory MP Blunt reveals he is gay (bbc.co.uk)

Ari Zavaras Leave Women's Labias alone!!!

DENVER – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado are calling on officials at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) to immediately end a new type of degrading body cavity search in which correctional officers force prisoners to open their labia, and, according to some reports, even to pull back the skin of their clitorises.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve as the Executive Director of the Department of Corrections and to work with the 6700 corrections professionals who are dedicated to public, employee, and offender safety,” says Ari Zavaras, the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections in his message online.  “In keeping our mission of public safety the Department of Corrections is committed to employing best practices and evidenced based programs to ensure that public funds entrusted to the Department produce the best results for all Coloradoans.”

(My comment – Public Funds to belittle and torture women? Zavaris you should be ashamed of your department !)

In a letter sent this week to  to Zavaras,  the ACLU says the searches – which occur even when guards have no particular reason to suspect concealment of contraband – raise grave concerns under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In its letter, the ACLU says that while courts have upheld visual inspections of prisoners, forcing women to hold open their labia for inspection on a routine basis is gratuitous and constitutes unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain and humiliation.

“Given that prisoners at DWCF are already subjected to a strip search policy designed to uncover contraband, this new policy adds little to the search procedure other than additional humiliation and suffering,” said David Shapiro, staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. “Prisoners have a constitutional right to be free from pointless and humiliating searches.”

Experts on mental health care in prison have estimated that as many as 80 percent of women who are in jail or prison have been the victims of domestic violence and physical abuse prior to their conviction, a reality that compounds the infliction of pain caused by the needless body cavity searches. According to the ACLU’s letter, courts have found that the previous sexual abuse suffered by many female prisoners increases the trauma caused by invasive strip searches and heightens the constitutional violation. Indeed, the ACLU has received letters in recent weeks from prisoners at DWCF who complain that being forced to comply with the new search policy – under the threat of being doused with pepper spray – exacerbates prior sexual trauma.

The ACLU’s letter also charges that body cavity searches also may have occurred after prisoner visits with their lawyers. Not only are the searches unwarranted after such visits because of the low probability that an attorney would ever agree to smuggle narcotics or weapons into a prison, but they also could deter prisoners from meeting with their lawyers, compromising legal representation.

The ACLU also asserts in its letter that DWCF’s new policy could jeopardize the safety of communities across the state of Colorado by undermining the rehabilitation of prisoners and compromising the Colorado Department of Corrections’ stated goal of “assist[ing] offenders’ successful re-entry into society” and “reduc[ing] the likelihood of future victims.” The ACLU’s letter charges that prisoners have refused visits from friends and family in order to avoid post-visit searches.

“The fact that these searches deter visits can have a devastating impact on prisoners’ families, especially for prisoners’ children, who can only see their mothers during visits,” said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado. “Also, exacerbating mental illnesses through traumatic body cavity searches decreases the likelihood of re-entry into the community and could well lead to higher rates of recidivism.”

A copy of the ACLU’s letter is available online at: www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/letter-colorado-department-corrections-challenging-degrading-body-cavity-search-pol

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Colorado Prisoners Forced to Spread Labia for Cavity Search (womensrights.change.org)
• “Labia Lifts” Terrorize Female Prisoners [Cruel And Unusual] (jezebel.com)

Suddenly Laura Bush loves Gay marriage, Elizabeth Haselhof has tea with Melissa  and now supports same-sex marriage – then Rekers gets caught with rentboy  and the right wing is exposed for its ex-gay fraud- and now we have the RNC remnant from the Bush Era, the actual architect of the anti-gay Republican hate campaign, co- creator of the  wedge issue that targeted a minority community, used gays and lesbians as battle bullets,  coming out as a homosexual?

My G-d what is the world coming to? I ask!

Ken Mehlman, who headed the Republican National Committee between 2005 and 2007, has come out in an interview with the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder: Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview stating that he had grappled with this side of himself for over 43 years.

He agreed to answer a reporter’s questions, he said, because, now in private life, he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage and anticipated that questions would be asked about his participation in a late-September fundraiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the group that supported the legal challenge to California’s ballot initiative against gay marriage, Proposition 8.

What a mindless mongrel if I may. You mean to tell me that this man was not having sex or fantasies of sex with men for the best part of those 43 years?  Who was he fantasizing about not being able to marry? George W. Bush?  Was there ever a rentboy between 2005 and 2007?  Come out Come out wherever you are? Was there a suspicious mama?  A phony fiance?

Is this guy short of money? Does he want to sell a book; I for one am not buying! Sorry Mehlman but you hurt my feelings, not to mention the harm to the LGBT community; and it will take a lot more than you “being happier” for me to get over it.

More and more years of Bush and his taking down of this country – and you did it in the name of us Queers?

Known as the Great Conciliator and a reputation for being most forgiving, I cannot wrap myself around your dishonorable conduct.  Now that I find out he is Jewish too – I ask the big question. Oy Vey Why?

You knew exactly what you were doing and how it impacted millions of lives.  You took an entire minority on the ride of its life, sacrificing your brethren like lambs to the slaughter.

“Here take this one’s rights while I continue to indulge in my CON-fusion!”

What makes it all so much worse for me is that like me, Ken Mehlman is Jewish.  While I can understand the pressures of a nice Jewish existence – including the expectations of his Momma Judith and Pappa Arthur, Ken Mehlman has not lived my ideal of what it means to be a good Jew- close to the Torah and its expectations of social justice – and WHAT ABOUT the mitzvoth!

He has not only betrayed the LGBT community but fueling the all white gay hating Christian existence certainly could not have served his Bar-mitvah covenant.

Go here to see Ken Mehlman on Charlie Rose – do not forget to throw up as in vomit. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/155

MelanieNathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Maggie Gallagher On Ken Mehlman (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman Comes Out Of The Closet (lezgetreal.com)
• Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman Confirms in Interview: I’m Gay (towleroad.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan; August 27, 2010

On August 13 a Gay couple filed a Federal lawsuit in Wyoming alleging they had been refused a marriage license three times.

However this week upon investigation LezGetReal delved further into the background of the Plaintiffs and noted that Gerald David Shupe-Roderick has been in trouble with the law; conducted prior  jailhouse lawyer self representing lawsuits and was arrested by police in May of this year on allegations of document fraud.

When asked, the County Clerk Debbye Balcaen Lathrop said she never met with Shupe-Roderick or Dupree on the issue and could find no one in her office who knows anything about denying a marriage license to the men.  ”We’re totally in the dark about this,” Balcaen Lathrop said, adding she didn’t know how her office would respond if it received such an application. It hasn’t happened in the nearly 16 years she’s been in office, she said.

In the meantime  in an interview with FresnoBee Shupe-Roderick  stated “I’ve tried to kind of not rock the boat, so to speak, but there comes a time in everyone’s life when there are things that are wrong and you have a moral duty to stand up and you have to advocate for what’s right,” Shupe-Roderick said Tuesday. “I think Ryan and I agree that this is something that is wrong, and it’s something that needs to be changed.” (To FresnoBee)

Implicit in this statement is that this Plaintiff is a first time Plaintiff – as if he has never stood up for his rights before. The facts denote the contrary.

By Melanie Nathan.
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)
• Gay Couple Challenges Wyoming’s Marriage Law (towleroad.com)
• Exclusive First Interview -Wyoming Gay Couple File Federal Lawsuit (lezgetreal.com)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fort Bragg paratroopers celebrate Women’s Equality Day (charlotte.news14.com)
• Paycheck Fairness Act: Obama Pushes For Equal Pay For Women (huffingtonpost.com)

Melanie Nathan; 8-25-2010 -

Tonight there is a“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) – Reception & Panel Discussion at the LGBT Center in New York – Location at the LGBT Community Center of NYC, Room 301, 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY- presenting the first New York appearances by Katie Miller (now Yale ‘12) and Jonathan Hopkins (West Point ‘01),  Both  recently discharged , due to DADT.

Knights Out – LGBT West Point Alumni and Allies

Related articles by Zemanta

• Top Ten Ranked West Point Cadet Resigns Over Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (lezgetreal.com)
• New Face on DADT- Breaking Video Katie Miller in Her own Words (lezgetreal.com)
• Rachel Maddow’s Powerful Interview with Cadet Katie Miller (lezgetreal.com)
• DADT Coverage by Lez Get Real Prompts Call from Active Lesbian & Gay Service Members (lezgetreal.com)

Governor Frudenthal of Wyoming

A Wyoming gay couple is asking a federal judge to stop that state from enforcing any laws that prevent gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage.

David Shupe-Roderick and Ryan W. Dupree of Cheyenne have filed a federal lawsuit, on their own, and without legal representation; challenging a Wyoming law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman.

In their suit they say the Laramie County Clerk’s Office refused to issue them a marriage license and as result violated the couples rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.

The Editors at Lezgetreal have read the brief  filed by the Plaintiffs, who are self representing, and believe that this case could be treading on difficult water without the help of professional representation.

David was born and raised in Wyoming and told me that “this has been a long time coming for Wyoming. We had approached private lawyers who are unable to help us. There seems to be a lot of fear in Wyoming because this is the place where a very bad hate crime occurred. This is where Mathew Shepard was murdered. We believe we need to do this especially in his memory.”

We have already received hate mail when local groups found out what were doing.  We fear for our physical safety and although my boss at the fast food restaurant where I am assistant manager thinks we are so brave, he also thinks we are stupid – because our safety is at risk. Ryan and I have been together for over a year. We want to get married. We do not want special treatment; we want our State to treat us the same way as other”

A group  Wyoming Focus Group sent a hate letter to the Wyoming Press.  Lezgetreal has obtained a copy of the letter. It says, that the lawsuit seeks to “molest the sanctity of marriage in Wyoming.”  David notes that this was the more pleasant part of the letter.

The Wyoming law defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, and the couple has asked U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to overturn the law.

Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg declined comment Tuesday, saying he hadn’t reviewed the lawsuit yet.

Wyoming pdf of complaint re marriage David & Ryan

Melanie Nathan Added:
IMPORTANT UPDATE; See
Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gay Couple Challenges Wyoming’s Marriage Law (towleroad.com)
• Wyoming:- Marriage Equality Probably Does Not Need A Jailhouse Lawyer (lezgetreal.com)

MELANIE NATHAN
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Rape Against Lesbians Reward Perpetrators (lezgetreal.com)
• SA Corrective Rape Accused Bail set at $68.00 as Soccer Masks the Truth (lezgetreal.com)
• OUTRAGE: South Africa – Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Released on Bail (lezgetreal.com)
• Shock Photo as Lesbian Warrior Tells of yet Another Corrective Rape Victim (pinkbananaworld.com)
• SA Corrective Rape Accused Bail set at $68.00 as Soccer Masks the Truth (pinkbananaworld.com)
• OUTRAGE: South Africa – Brutal Rapist of Lesbian Soccer Player Released on Bail (pinkbananaworld.com)

CA Legislature Officially Endorses Repeal of DOMA

Equality California-sponsored resolution puts State of California on record supporting repeal of so-called “Defense of Marriage Act”

Sacramento – Today, the California State Senate approved a joint resolution, AJR 19, calling on the U.S. Congress and President Obama to immediately repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which explicitly forbids the federal government or any federal agency from recognizing state-sanctioned marriages between same-sex couples. Introduced by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D – Santa Monica) and sponsored by Equality California, the joint resolution was passed by a bipartisan vote of 22-12.

“The Defense of Marriage Act prevents the federal government from recognizing the relationships of loving same-sex couples, even when the states where they live recognize their relationships,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “We’re proud of the California legislature for making the state’s opposition to DOMA official state policy. Now we must overturn this discriminatory federal law and pave the way for the marriages of same-sex couples to be recognized at the federal level.”

Under DOMA, which passed in 1996, married same-sex couples are refused the same federal rights and responsibilities as their heterosexual counterparts, resulting in inequitable and unfair implementation of federal laws governing a range of issues such as housing, immigration, tax and inheritance. A repeal of DOMA would result in the federal government recognizing legal marriages of same-sex couples, just as it currently recognizes legal marriages of heterosexual couples.

“President Obama has called this law abhorrent in the way it denies more than 1,000 federal rights to same-sex couples,” Assemblymember Brownley said. “Congress must act now to overturn DOMA, which is rooted in irrational and unfounded prejudice. Married same-sex couples deserve equal access to these benefits.”

Currently, there are eleven nations that recognize marriages between same-sex couples, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Five states in the U.S. grant same-sex couples the right to marry, including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as Washington, D.C.

For more information about Equality California-sponsored legislation, please visit www.eqca.org/legislation.

“EQCA works tirelessly to pass California Resolutions and endorsements to support and influence legislation in Congress.” Melanie Nathan  nathan@privatecourts.com

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed over 60 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

Related articles by Zemanta

• IRS Issues New Policy For California Domestic Partners – Retroactive Refunds (lezgetreal.com)

The media is buzzing about the new film “The Kids Are All Right”, which premiered earlier this month.  Its release was exciting for me because for the first time I saw characters who closely reflected my family’s makeup, though the rest of the story, not really.  I too have two mothers and a sperm donor who I contacted when I turned eighteen.  The outcome was different and far less drama surrounded my family when I was finally able to contact and meet my donor, though there were still plenty of surreal moments.  The reaction to the film has been extremely varied, from people thrilled to see representation of a lesbian-headed household, to those who see the events depicted in the film as reinforcement of the notion that children need to know and live with their biological mother and father.

Growing up in Massachusetts through the marriage equality debate in 2004 and all subsequent movements, I have long been combating false beliefs that LGBTQ people should not get married or raise children.  I have lesbian mothers and I have a sperm donor.  This in no way has made me less of a person, daughter, woman, or friend.  To me, what makes a good parent is dedication to raising and loving a child.  The number, gender, or sexuality of the parents does not determine the ability to help a child grow into a compassionate and kind person.  To tell the truth, I feel lucky to have grown up with the knowledge that my mother put a great deal of time, money, and thought into having me.  I have never doubted that I am loved because I know how much my mother wanted to have a child and did everything she could to have me.

While I understand that some people believe that the married, heterosexual, biological family is the only valid familial model, I refuse to let this stereotype go unchallenged.  I have two mothers, only one of whom is biological, and no father.  Rather than somehow leaving a negative affect, my family has helped me become a more open, loving, passionate, and socially aware individual.  Growing up I was surrounded by many wonderful adult role models, some of whom were male.  Of course I thought about my sperm donor, who he was, why he donated, what it would be like to meet him.  The reason for me was never about searching for a parent I had lost or a piece of me that was missing, it was about meeting and thanking the person who enabled Cathy and Nancy, my mothers, to become parents.

I had never met another person with a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or even queer parent until I was thirteen.  That summer my family went to Provincetown, Massachusetts for Family Week where I participated in workshops provided by COLAGE.  COLAGE is the only national youth-driven network of children, youth, and adults with LGBTQ parents.  I would not be writing this if I had never come to know COLAGE and the others with LGBTQ parents I met through COLAGE.  That summer I found my center and my political voice.  Through the years COLAGE has helped me become a better advocate for myself and my family.  This summer I am an intern at COLAGE and I am assisting in the distribution of the Donor Insemination (DI) Guide.  The DI Guide is part testimonials and part advice focusing on the questions and concerns of donor-conceived children and their families.  I have been able to watch the DI Guide go from an idea to a tool for families.

It has been almost three years since I began the process of contacting my sperm donor.  Four months after I turned eighteen I had the name and address of my donor and within the year I learned I had two half-sisters who shared the same donor.  I think the most incredible part of meeting my donor and half-siblings was putting an end to the mystery.  After years of playing around with different scenarios in my head, or coming up with the reasons that Harvey Fierstein was my donor, I lost mystique but gained very real new friends and family.  Now family gatherings include my two sisters, two of their siblings, our collective six lesbian mothers, and our donor and his wife.  Certainly we are still getting to know each other, but there is an undeniably authentic connection between all of us.

Along with identical chins, my half-sisters and I have followed very similar paths.  One sister, who is four months older than me, was a sophomore at Smith College as I began my first year at Mount Holyoke College.  The schools are both women’s liberal arts colleges and twenty minutes apart. Together we met our other donor sister in March 2009.  It turned out that this new sister is from a town ten minutes from my own, that we have mutual acquaintances, and I had heard about her a year before I met her.  At a drama festival at her high school I met a guy who had taken the girl in town with lesbian mothers to her senior prom the previous year.  In my favorite “small world” story, my sister and I took the same guy to our senior proms.  I do not look like anyone in my family, but I do look a lot like her.  The photos, both of us wearing blue dresses, are just incredible.  Thankfully, we did not both date “our” prom date.

Meeting my donor and my new extended family did not alter my relationship with my parents.  They were completely supportive of my desire to contact my donor and they were with me when I met him.  I did not begin this adventure to seek a father and, though my donor is a wonderful person and a part of my life now, he is not my father.  I have two parents and that is enough for me, but I am thrilled to have him as part of my growing family.  For some people, family is a rigid concept.  For me, family is not limited by genetics or living in the same home.  My family is filled with moms, grandparents, half-siblings, friends, cousins, and a sperm donor.  It may seem unfamiliar to some, but this is my family and together we are more than all right.

-Emily McGranachan

Emily McGranachan ’12  – Love Makes a Family

Hometown: Georgetown, Massachusetts

Emily McGranachan found her voice at the age of 13 while attending the COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) Family Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Its “life-changing lessons” gave her “a sense of empowerment.”

As a resident of Massachusetts, McGranachan often heard people debate what rights her family should have. Now a guest speaker with the Freedom to Marry Tour, she has shared her story and “introduced people to a child of a same-sex household” on several radio stations nationwide.

McGranachan has also worked to encourage tolerance and activism on a local level, serving as president of her high school Civil Rights Team and as a volunteer at a family homeless shelter through Horizons for Homeless Children. “These children inspire me,” she said. “In return I do my best to teach them kindness and compassion by being a positive role model.”

COLAGE is an organization, created in 1989 by the children of several lesbians and gay men who felt a need for support. Though its membership is not necessarily LGBT-identified, COLAGE’s focus on the issues of LGBT parents’ families makes it a de facto part of the LGBT community. There are 52 COLAGE chapters in the United States of America, 2 chapters in Canada, and one European chapter.  COLAGE is run and operated by children (of all ages) who have a lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) parent or parents. Older Colagers mentor younger members. They prepare them for any challenges that a child may have, having same sex parents. Members are open with each other and any topic can and is discussed. COLAGE teams each summer with Family Pride and holds its annual Family Week in Provincetown on Cape Cod. There, hundreds of gay families come to enjoy the summer and the kids attend COLAGE meetings and workshops.

COLAGE is based out of San Francisco, California and has small number of paid staff. Its executive director is Beth Teper who has a lesbian mom and today is an advocate for children who have same sex parents.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Confessions of a Sperm Donor: Hundreds of Kids (abcnews.go.com)
• With the web, curiosity and luck, sperm donor siblings connect (cnn.com)
• Gay Marriage’s Biggest Supporters: Children of Gay Parents (politicsdaily.com)
• “The Kids Are All Right” on DADT (lezgetreal.com)

A federal judge has ruled against graduate student Jennifer Keeton, who refused to read material about counseling gays because, she asserted it would increase her exposure to a community that goes against her beliefs.

U.S. District Judge Randal Hall ruled that Augusta State University’s requirement was “academically legitimate.” His ruling allows the school to expel Keeton if she doesn’t follow the remediation plan. Reports the Editors at the Advocate.

The Judge said said the case “isn’t about pitting Christianity against homosexuality, but rather the constitutionality of the school’s requirement.

Psychologists have expressed  that the ruling is appropriate – citing the fact that integral to the training of a Psychologist is to keep personal views separate from professional duties.  One always has the right to refuse a client and refer them to someone else.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Alliance Defense Fund Has Anti-LGBT Grad Student Case In Michigan Tossed (lezgetreal.com)
• Second ‘I don’t want to counsel gays’ lawsuit struck down by the courts (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Judge Rules Against Antigay Grad Student (advocate.com)

Oakland, California – The Small Business Action Committee (SBAC) – an organization run by paid Meg Whitman endorser Joel Fox and right-wing “birther” James Lacy – has launched yet another round of false attacks against Jerry Brown.

Brown and Whitman are facing off for the California Governorship in the 2010 November elections.

“There are no surprises in this ad, just the same debunked distortions of Jerry Brown’s record,” said Brown campaign spokesman Sterling Clifford. “Joel Fox sold out to Meg Whitman and is trying to sell lies and distortions to California voters.”

Fox and the SBAC accepted $10,000 from Meg Whitman in March of 2010, two days before the SBAC formally endorsed Whitman in a press release that included a quote from Fox.

Despite an overwhelming consensus that Meg Whitman’s claims about Brown’s record as Governor are false, the SBAC repeats the same falsehoods. The facts are that Brown decreased government spending as a percentage of State GDP, cut the state budget, and out-performed every governor who followed when it came to job creation.

Just who is it funding this most recent attack on Brown? Voters don’t know, because the SBAC refuses to disclose the interests who funded the million-dollar ad buy. Is it the same Texas oil companies funding Proposition 23? Only Joel Fox knows, and he isn’t saying.

We do know, however, who runs the SBAC with Fox. In addition to Fox, the SBAC is run by James Lacy, a well-known right-wing activist who is also a co-founder of the United States Justice Foundation, which has filed multiple lawsuits challenging President Obama’s citizenship.

“I’m sure neither Meg Whitman nor Joel Fox want to admit their ties to ‘Birthers’, but there it is.” Clifford said. “This ridiculous ad is right on the level of Lacy’s absurd demands for the President’s birth certificate.”

Meg Whitman Associated with Birthers

Meg Whitman on LezGetReal

Whitman Spends Big On CA Gov Race, But Nets Little Return

Written on 3 Aug, 2010 in 08/03/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire Meg Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, is seeking to parlay her fortune into political office, and so far, the billionaire has spent $99 million to try and reach that goal. Meanwhile, Jerry Brown, her… (Continue reading)

Meg Whitman Barks Pit Bull Talk

Written on 21 Jul, 2010 at 3:47

WOOF WOOF  By Melanie Nathan  7-21-10 Meg Whitman is analyzed by Melanie Nathan via Fox interview. My analysis  – Judge for yourself – please do not import my thoughts.  Share your own these are mine….A mile a minute a voice like a… (Continue reading)

California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, A-DRAG

6-10-2010  Melanie Nathan. Meg Whitman a Drag in Auction Bid for California – This is a parody video in which Sordid Lives’ Dr. Eve and Brother Boy discuss masturbation to thoughts of California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg… (Continue reading)

Power Seller ‘OUTS’ MEG Whitman’s as a Pumper-Dumper

Written on 5 May, 2010 at 0:37    5-4-10 -MELANIE NATHAN A Power Seller on Ebay wrote a comment on Level the Playing Field and it caught my attention. The reason I am posting it without reservation, is because when I read it, it not only made… (Continue reading)

MEG Whitman CEO of California – Blinded by H8….

Written on 7 Apr, 2010 at 2:52

Lesbians, LGBTQI Let’s go Viral! 4-6-10; Melanie Nathan; Many  websites are springing up to expose Meg Whitman for who she is; and while this is indeed a great way to counter her GoliathVideo – Meg-a-Tar or Termin-a-Tar – What the &*&$% burp is the Difference?

Written on 23 Mar, 2010 at 2:21 in

Meg Whitman,  Campaigns for California Governor & Finds Fierce Foe Melanie Nathan; 3-22-10;  While Meg Whitman is set to ‘plop‘  200 million bucks into political ads (imagine how many kids in Africa that could feed; or homeless in California sheltered, or… (Continue reading)

Meg Whitman’s Insidious Spending Inspires Tool for True Democracy

Written on 8 Mar, 2010 at 22:52  Further, I am throwing up – from an LGBT perspective; imagine this billionaire spending her own $200 million dollars so that she can attain the governorship of California, to effectively veto any LGBT necessary legislation and hence our progress… (Continue reading)

Anti Gay Marriage, Meg Whitman, Mega Blitz to Buy the State of California

Written on 21 Feb, 2010 at 22:13  By Melanie Nathan 2-101-10.  San Francisco. Meg Whitman, the pro Prop 8 Republican Gubernatorial wannabe, who landed in CEO butter a mere six months before EBAY went public, is now using those very consumer dollars- and an estimated 150 million of… (Continue reading)

By Tracy Emblem: 08-21-10 -  (Guest of  Melanie Nathan)

In 1948 President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981 proclaiming that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”

Following the President’s order, desegregation and integration of blacks in the armed service met with resistance despite being a major civil rights victory for African-Americans. For the next twenty years, our country went through similar desegregation, culminating in repealing the separate but equal laws and bans against interracial marriages which were enacted in several states.

Compare President Truman’s proclamation of equal opportunity and treatment in the military to today’s efforts to repeal the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy imposed by Congress. This discriminatory practice is tantamount to silent segregation of gay and lesbian personnel and puts them at continued risk to lose their jobs and all of their benefits.

The Palm Center, a University of California, Santa Barbara-based think tank that studies controversial public policy issues reports that as of June 2009, twenty-five countries including many NATO members, allow military service by openly gay personnel. These countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

In February, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen told Congress they support repealing the ban.  Later in May, the House of Representatives voted 234-194 to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by the end of the year.

Instead of employing sound leadership, the Pentagon is dragging its feet. A subjective “survey,” costing the U.S. taxpayers $4.4 million was e-mailed to non-deployed active service members. The survey asked biased assumptions such as:

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, how, if at all, will it affect your willingness to recommend to a family member or close friend that he or she join the military?

Have you been assigned to share bath facilities with an open bay shower that is also used by a Service member you believed to be homosexual?

If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are working with a Service member in your immediate unit who has said he or she is gay or lesbian, how, if at all, would your job performance be affected?

Never mind that an individual’s sexual orientation has nothing to do with the quality of his or her job performance. Forget that gay and lesbian personnel have been serving side-by-side on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, the “survey” was intended to portray the gay and lesbian community as sexual predators.  Completely missing from the survey were important questions which would help establish that the gay and lesbian service members are treated in a discriminatory manner. Some LGBT advocates say the survey was intentionally designed and distributed in a manner to provide credence to and justification for continuing the discriminatory policy.

It does not take a “survey” to enforce civil rights. The survey should not be used as justification to frame military policy where gay and lesbian personnel are already working side-by-side. In fact, desegregation should be much easier than it was almost 50 years ago because everyone is already working together, and on the battlefields, all blood is red, no matter whose blood is shed.

Since the “Don’t Ask” policy was enacted, over 13,500 service members have been discharged losing countless hours of training and talent. Its time we demand an end to a policy which forces men and women to lie so they can continue to “honorably” serve our country.

We are all Americans. On November 11, “My Patriots Pride” organization is calling upon LGBT Veterans and straight allies around the country to stand up and march against this discriminatory policy nationwide.

You can sign up for an event in your community at www.MyPatriotsPride.org

Tracy Emblem is an attorney and was a Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 50th district, in North San Diego County. Emblem ran in the 2010 Democratic Primary but lost to Francine Busby. She continues her fight as an avid proponent of Civil Rights Rights for All.  This is the third Article Tracy has written for Lez Get Real.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal : Let’s Update the Report Card (lezgetreal.com)
• Over 70% of the Military Says…Let Gays Serve Openly (lezgetreal.com)
• Military Spouse DADT Survey Hits The Net- Pretty Much The Same Problem As The Last One (lezgetreal.com)
• Military Spouse DADT Survey Hits The Net- Pretty Much The Same Problem As The Last One (topix.net)
• Parents of Murdered Soldier: Repeal DADT (advocate.com)

This Blogger is Fuming With the White House – accusing Bloggers of being too critical

Last week,  The Equality Federation met with the White House Staff on LGBT Issues.  It appears the White House is consoling our community with:

1.  DADT “probably later” (employment for 15,000, out of 30 million of us).
2.  ENDA is too hard.
0.  UAFA didn’t even come up it appears.

Here at Lez Get Real, I have been talking about CIVIL RIGHTS for a year now. Its not even in the White House Lexicon – not to mention the current puny shove off we have now received; yet another slap across the face!  Inadvertently Mr. president you Staff have made the case for an Civil Rights Amendment.  That is the only way to FULL equality.

Todd Fernandez, who has joined me to plead for our community to take Equality to the next and imperative level of a  demand for our Civil Rights through an Omnibus Amendment to the Civil Rights Act, and he asserts “our Equal CIVIL RIGHTS is a missing dream – somehow overlooked by a mixed-race President and our entire movement!!!???”

According to reports of the meeting, one Administration official said: “When you are frustrated, you should speak out and hold our feet to the fire.”

Well yes Sir; and then to have the gall to criticize the gay bloggers who are doing just that – yours truly included!

When Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and liaison to the LGBT community, took questions from the audience, he expressed frustration at the often intense criticism levied, particularly by bloggers, against an administration that is “99 percent supportive of your issues.

As far as I am concerned we have only just began Mr. Bond.

This Gay Blogger says: – Quite frankly I do not see the support of our issues. Where is the action?  They can support our issues for the next 10 years – Hooray! That’s it? Thank you and no thanks.

I say the White House has  just dug its grave with the Gay community. We will now accept nothing less than our FULL CIVIL RIGHTS. This Blogger is willing to go to word –war with the  White House – CIVIL RIGHTS are our demands!

Gay and Lesbian Bloggers have a right to be angry – we will get the crowds shouting!We are doing as you say – Holding your feet to the fire!  Show us the burn or it will get hotter!

To  hell with ENDA -DADT and DOMA  your dangling carrots for what?  For stand alone bills – legislation -  To Hell with business as usual – piecemeal is over!  .   This is a call for the Big Guns -  No more flailing piecemeal for them to throw back at us with now -then never then- maybe’s!!! I am sick of my rights being your TOY Mr. President! You have a duty to uphold the Constitution and you are failing us plain and simple.

We need to have you all call the White House and tell them NOW about the American Equality Bill. They do not even know this grassroots piece of legislation is in existence.

This Lesbian Blogger is ANGRY!

Please PRINT AND MAIL, or FAX (WH FAX: 202-456-2461) this flyer:

http://bit.ly/PleaseFileAEBmailer

To:

BRIAN BOND
Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Liaison to the LGBT Community
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

For free on-line fax: faxzero.com, or rapidfax.com (both can be done online without a landline phone).

If you want to complain directly about this pathetic agenda for our equality call:

BRIAN BOND: 202-456-1414. WH switchboard will put you to his voice mail.

They won’t know what the American Equality Bill is yet – but they’ll figure it out.

They don’t seem to know what Civil Rights are either.

Let’s remind them.

The American Equality Bill Project  (ACT ON PRINCIPLES)

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
Senior Political Editor
Lezgetreal

Related articles by Zemanta

• White House aide meets with LGBT media – no news, lotsa spin (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Launching of The American Equality Bill a ” Amending the Civil Rights Act (topix.net)
• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)
• The New LGBT Civil Rights Movement is Taking to the Streets (lezgetreal.com)
• A July Day to Remember – While We Seek Basic Civil Rights (lezgetreal.com)

MELANIE NATHAN
nathan@privatecourts.com

Melanie Nathan; 08-16-10

Many of  our readers have asked that we spread the word.  I only wish there were more we could do, at a time when we must wonder if life means so little especially if a woman?

Given Cultural and religious beliefs one may be apt to think, ‘well that is the way it is;’ however we have seen too much of oppression of women in the name of religion and cultural belief and that is all it is – violence and flagrant  disregard for the lives of women.

Seen often as mere chattels and under command, for a use, of body mind and soul,  we must speak out for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43 year old mother of two, was convicted in May 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men and received 99 lashes as her sentence. Despite already having been punished, she has now been further convicted of “adultery” and she and sentenced to death by stoning.

She is currently being held on death row in Tabriz Prison, north-west Iran, and faces imminent execution. Around July 7th , following international protests, officials in Tabriz asked the head of Iran’s judiciary to agree that her sentence of stoning to death be converted to execution by hanging.

On 10 July, the head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights said that her case would be reviewed, although he affirmed that Iranian law permits execution by stoning.

On 14 July Sajjad Qaderzadeh, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son, was summoned to Tabriz’s Central Prison, and is believed to have been questioned by Ministry of Intelligence officials who possibly threatened him not to give further interviews about his mother’s case.

It is clear Sakineh remains in grave risk… PLEASE sign this petition which calls on the Iranian authorities to clarify her current legal status, demands that the authorities enact legislation that bans stoning as a legal punishment, and eliminates other forms of the death penalty for “adultery” such as fogging or imprisonment.

Sign Petition: http://freesakineh.org/

If you have not signed this or sent a note to Secretary Clinton now is the time.

I wish I could do more – I will promise though, that on Friday night I will Pray on my Sabbath in my Synagogue for the life of a sister and the goodwill of her children.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bernard-Henri Lévy: Sakineh Must Not Be Stoned (huffingtonpost.com)
• Ashtiani outrage spurs Iran to commute stoning sentences to hanging (guardian.co.uk)
• Iran stoning sentence woman asks to be reunited with her children (guardian.co.uk)
• Iranian woman accused of adultery on scant evidence still facing death penalty (politics.ie)

Melanie Nathan: August 16, 2010.

But we want marriage now – in terms of our current constitutional right.

Ninth Circuit has granted the stay yes we are angry BUT the good new it expedites the appeal and the entire process…

“Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED.

The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal.

This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening brief is now due September 17, 2010. The answering brief is due October 18, 2010. The reply brief is due November 1, 2010. In addition to any issues appellants wish to raise on appeal, appellants are directed to include in their opening brief a discussion of why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing. See Arizonans For Official English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 66 (1997). IT IS SO ORDERED. [7441574] (JS)“

The Ninth Circuit has asked for opening briefs by September 17th and that parties must discuss why the appeal should not be dismissed due to lack of standing.  Also, the schedule for the briefs are similar to what Plaintiff attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies requested.  And oral arguments should begin by the end of this year.

So it’s not what we wanted, at this time, and yes we were headed for the aisle on Wednesday; but at least we will be closer to getting the journey’s conclusion.  I for one  believe in the unconstitutionality of the Prop 8 Vote, just as as Judge Walker ruled in his Judgment which overturned the the 2 % of Californians who were swayed by Gay Hate dollars – (and Only at that moment in TIME-) that Gays and lesbians should be denied their rights.

The stunning legal team  for the equal right to marry include the  brilliant lawyers of the City & County of San Francisco.  We have a fact-based district trial court decision that overwhelmingly explains why Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  And we know that are winning.  Actually may I opine – we have won – they just have us on hold; pending appeal.  (URGH – it really should be the other way around. Are they afraid of another 18,000 of us? What harm have we done.  Probably lower divorce rate than our heterosexual counterparts.)

The  good news in California is we are now on the Fast track; NCLR’s Shannon Minter: The delay is very hard on couples, but the case now positioned about as strongly as it possibly could be for our side.”

What the hell can they come up with to change this – because if the do it would open the door to a State proposition vote where I bet a lot more than 2% of Californians would love to Vote against the right to bear arms – I mean after all – look at all those automatic weapons out there – they are killing our kids – what could be more harmful than that?

“I am extremely disappointed that couples will have to wait even longer to get married. It’s unfair and unfortunate. But I am confident that we will restore the right to marry once and for all,” says Geoff Kors of EQCA (Equality California)  who does well to express his disappointment that marriages are on hold at this time.

I cannot accept that  same-sex marriages would be stayed during the period of time where a Court of such esteem has held it unconstitutional.   It should be the other way around. We should be allowed to marry pending a different outcome, from a non-expedited process!!

Kors explains, “This means that, regrettably, same-sex couples will have wait longer to get married and are still being denied their fundamental right to do so.

This is not the end – far from it. The appeals process still needs to play out, and the court is expediting the process. The case is expected to be heard in December.

We need to work together to do what it takes to ensure a favorable outcome.
Here’s what you can do:

Email the Governor and Attorney General and urge them to stand strong against the attacks they are receiving from anti-LGBT groups.

Make a donation to elect a governor and attorney general who will refuse to defend Prop. 8 in court.

Volunteer in your area. We are building on the majority support we have, which is so critical to winning marriage back, either in the court or at the ballot box.

Imagine if President Barack Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Team Democrat would come out now and have the courage to repeal The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)  that restricts marriage between one man and one women, on a Federal level.

It would be an imperative correction of a bad bad mistake, at this point.  Senator Feinstein of California had the courage to VOTE no on DOMA.  Congressman Barney Frank believes DADT and ENDA should be repealed before he signs on to Congressman Jerold Nadler’s  House repeal Bill – The Respect for Marriage ACT.

Wake up and shake things up AMERICA – Now is the time.  No DOMA and we can sponsor our bi-national spouses for immigration; we can stop the exile of our citizens and The FEDS will show the STATES that it can get rid of legislated inequality via repeal legislation.

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts

Related articles by Zemanta

• BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Court Grants Stay Of Prop 8 Overturn Pending Appeal (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Federal Appeals Court Grants Stay of Prop 8 Decision (towleroad.com)
• Ninth Circuit Issues Interim Stay in SSM Case (volokh.com)
• Ninth Circuit: Marriages on Hold (advocate.com)
• Judge Walker’s ruling today: NCLR Explains Same-Sex Couples in California May Not be Able to Marry On AUg 18 (lezgetreal.com)
• Prop 8 Plaintiffs File Motion With Ninth Circuit, Jerry Brown Once Again Pushes For Same-Sex Marriages To Resume (towleroad.com)
• Prop 8: Will the Real Appellants Please Stand Up (towleroad.com)
• Video: LGBT Clergy Protest against NOM in Clayton, MO (lezgetreal.com)

Three Montreal rabbis became the latest signatories yesterday of a statement by already signed by  Orthodox Rabbis in the US calling for the acceptance of Jewish gay men and lesbians into synagogues.

The document is the result of a debate between Orthodox rabbis, educators, mental health professionals and gay Jews worldwide. The full title is “Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community”.

Signed by 150 Orthodox rabbis worldwide before reaching Canada, speaking to CBC News, Adam Scheier, Rabbi of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation and president of the Montreal Board of Rabbis said: “We have wonderful members of our community in our congregation who are gay, and come to us anticipating and expecting to be welcomed into our community.”

According to the Montreal Gazette, the statement begins: “All human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (kevod haberiyot).”

It continues, “Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.”

The document also states that the issue of whether or not sexual orientation is genetic or environmentally generated is irrelevant when it comes to how LGBT people should be treated.

Though the document is generally agreed to be progressive, dissenting voices have complained that it does not include discussion of gay marriage. This omission may seem short of dealing with the hottest issue however that is not what the tone of the document requires- rather that it is incumbent upon Jews to treat each other with acceptance and to be welcoming, impacting dignity and respect.

The first statement tacitly applies to relationships, albeit no mention of the physical acts of sex,  which seems irrelevant for the purpose of the acceptance.  relationships are also to be respected.    I believe in time orthodox Rabbis will marry same sex couples to fully welcome them as equal Jews.

Related articles by Zemanta

• U.S. Orthodox Rabbis Urge Community to Accept Gays, Lesbians BT (lezgetreal.com)
• Are Orthodox Jews Coming Around On Homosexuality? (queerty.com)
• 150 Orthodox Rabbis sign pro-gay statement (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Orthodox attitudes to gay people shift | Mordechai Beck (guardian.co.uk)
• Orthodox rabbis sign statement supporting homosexuals (jta.org)

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Gay and Lesbian Couples will NOT be getting licenses today to get Married. People have been Lining up outside the Courthouse since early this morning. If there is a likely immediate appeal there may only be a small window of opportunity only – because the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals may issue a STAY based on an appeal of the stay! However the Judge has avoided that by setting Stay lift for 18th.

San Francisco, Today Federal Court  Judge Vaughn Walker agreed with Attorneys for Plaintiffs in the recent Perry v. Schwarzenegger case which overturned Proposition 8,  that a STAY of the immediate resumption of same-sex marriages in California, would do more harm than good.

This is released at the same time that the Judge formally  enters his Judgment overturning California proposition 8.

The Judge, having reviewed briefs from interested Parties, ruled to lift the temporary stay, refused a long term STAY; and has opened the door for marriages to commence immediately in California.

The Stay is lifted with EFFECT AUGUST 18th 2010

Order:- “None of the factors the court weights in considering a motion to stay favors granting a stay.  Accordingly, proponents’ motion to stay is DENIED.  The clerk is directed to enter judgment forthwith. That judgment shall be STAYED until August 18th at 5pm…at which time all persons under their control or supervision shall cease to apply or enforce Proposition 8.”

UPDATED  According to National Center for Lesbian Rights in a subsequent Release this means: In practice, this means that the proponents of Prop 8 have a chance to file a motion for stay with the Ninth Circuit, and the Ninth Circuit has a chance to grant or deny that motion, but it must do so by August 18. If it does not, marriages will automatically start again at that time.

The Plaintiffs’ and Plaintiff Intervenor’s in their joint opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ motion for a stay pending appeal, under  case no. 09-cv-2292 vrw, provided vigorous opposition to the motion for the stay of same sex marriages, stating:

“After a full and fair trial on the merits of Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims,” on August 4, 2010, Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates Plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights and they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8.”

The Court ruled in its Judgment to the Trial that Plaintiffs are entitled to entry of judgment permanently enjoining enforcement of that unconstitutional enactment.  As the Court also explained in its initial ruling, “California has no interest in waiting and no practical need to wait to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” (Page 128 of the Prop 8 original Judgment)

“The arguments on which the motion to stay was attempting to stop Gay Marriage-  “fly in the face of the detailed and thorough findings,” made by Judge Vaughn Walker, asserted the Plaintiffs in their opposition to the Stay.

Relief for the stay to remain in effect would have required an extraordinarily high burden of proof.

Proposition 8 proponents and the Defendants  failed at trial to show how same-sex marriage could cause any harm and tried to use those same adjudicated arguments to justify a stay of the immediate licensing of marriage that would in effect have denied Californians their Constitutional rights to equality in marriage.

The STAY would have been more harmful to society than if marriages did not commence immediately.

If the Judge did not throw out the stay, he would in effect be ruling against himself as the Defendants failed to provide any compelling reason why marriages should not commence immediately.  One cannot simply use the de facto (factual) right to appeal vs. the de Jure (the law) standing of same-sex couples who would like to marry now.

Think about the 18,000 already married before the law changed.  There is not a single instance of how these marriages have impacted society in a detrimental fashion so even if Judge Walker’s ruling were overturned by SCOTUS – in the future – there would be no harm in adding another 18,000 plus to our ranks.

Couples have been lined up since earlier today to Marry and Local television has been keeping us on the edge of our seats through the morning wait.

EXPECT Appeals….

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

@oblogdeeoblogda

MAIN PICTURE: Picture Press Conference Dennis Herrera
San Francisco City Attorney

Related articles by Zemanta

• Prop 8 Appeal Process & Timing (lezgetreal.com)
• Michele Bachmann, Steve King Back Resolution Against Prop 8 Ruling (lezgetreal.com)
• BREAKING NEWS Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 is OVERTURNED (lezgetreal.com)
• Critical California Frontier – Prop 8 & this November (lezgetreal.com)
• American Bar Association Backs Gay Marriage (lezgetreal.com)
• BREAKING NEWS Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 is OVERTURNED (pinkbananaworld.com)
• BREAKING -Prop 8 Hate Want to Dissolve the 18,000 California marriages (lezgetreal.com)

San Francisco – Same Sex couples are arriving at the San Francisco Court House – waiting for the Ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker on the Stay of their right to marry as ruled by the same Judge in Perry v. Schwarzenegger this month.  The ruling will be announced at anytime from 9.00 am this morning.

If the Judge lifts the Stay, pending appeals, couples will start to marry immediately. We have had word from the Court that  IF and just as soon as the STAY is lifted they are ready to issue licenses.

California local TV stations are preparing for the ruling, as Cameras and activists start to arrive at the Court house, in yet another chapter of the struggle for equality by same-sex couples.

The Plaintiffs’ and Plaintiff Intervenor’s in their joint opposition to Defendant-Intervenors’ motion for a stay pending appeal, under  case no. 09-cv-2292 vrw, provided vigorous opposition to the motion for the stay of same sex marriages, stating:  “After a full and fair trial on the merits of Plaintiffs’ constitutional claims,” on August 4, 2010, Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates Plaintiff’s due process and equal protection rights and they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8.” per the Plaintiff Brief.

If the Judge does not throw out the stay, he would in effect be ruling against himself as the Defendants failed to provide any compelling reason why marriages should not commence immediately.  One cannot simply use the de facto (factual) right to appeal vs. the de Jure (the law) standing of same-sex couples who would like to marry now.

Melanie Nathan 08-11-10

I’m Getting Married in the morning..ding dong the bells are gonna chime…tra lalala

Melanie Nathan – 8-11-10

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Morrison & Foerster LLP filed a request for a temporary restraining order today on behalf of their client, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, seeking to block the Air Force from discharging him under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the discriminatory law barring gay and lesbian service members from serving openly and honestly.

The filing in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho, seeks a court order preventing the Air Force from discharging Lt. Col. Fehrenbach, arguing that the government cannot establish that his continued service on active duty hinders “morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion.”

The General Counsel’s Office to the Secretary of the Air Force confirmed to Morrison & Foerster and SLDN that the Air Force Personnel Board recently reviewed Lt. Col. Fehrenbach’s case and has sent a recommendation to Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley’s designee.

According to Air Force regulations, had the Board recommended to retain Lt. Col. Fehrenbach no further action would have been required by the Secretary or his designee (AFI 36-3206 Chapter 6.10 and Chapter 6.10.1).  Although SLDN and Morrison & Foerster understand the Secretary has delegated his authority to act on the Board’s recommendation, Secretary Donley has the power to step in and retain Lt. Col. Fehrenbach.  Without action by the Secretary, the Board’s recommendation is expected to stand and Lt. Col. Fehrenbach could be discharged within days.

“I have been waiting more than two years for the Air Force to do the right thing by letting me continue to proudly serve my country,”  Says Lt. Col. Fehrenbach, “ To say that I’m disappointed with where things stand would be a monumental understatement.  I have given my entire adult life to the Air Force that I love.  I have deployed six times and risked my life for my country.  In the two years that I’ve been sitting at my desk rather than inside my jet, I’ve offered to deploy numerous times.  I’m ready, willing, and able to deploy tomorrow, but I’m barred from deployment, because of this unjust, discriminatory law.  Meanwhile, moms and dads, sons and daughters, and my friends go back for the third, fourth, fifth deployments. While our country is engaged in two wars, my service is needed now more than ever”

Capt. Derek White, an Air Force spokesman, said that Fehrenbach’s case was under final review by the Air Force secretary, Michael Donley, and that until a final decision was reached, the Air Force would have no comment.

Lt. Col. Fehrenbach will reach his 20-year retirement in September of 2011; just 13 months from now.  He has been on desk duty at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho awaiting the results of more than two years of investigations and discharge  proceedings.  If Lt. Col. Fehrenbach is discharged, he will lose his retirement benefits.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

More Information:

AWARDS/DECORATIONS:

Meritorious Service Medal

Air Medals (9 total / 1 for Heroism)

Aerial Achievement Medal

Air Force Commendation Medals (5)

Navy Commendation Medal

Air Force Achievement Medals (2)

USAF Outstanding Unit Awards (2) with Valor

Kosovo/Afghanistan/Iraq Campaign Medals

Korea/NATO/Global War on Terror Service Medals

Strike Fighter Instructor of the Quarter, 2004

Information Manager of the Quarter, 1994

Company Grade Officer of the Quarter, 1994

FLYING EXPERIENCE:

2180 TOTAL FLYING HOURS

1487 FIGHTER HOURS

1238 F-15E HOURS

400 COMBAT HOURS

500 INSTRUCTOR HOURS

88 COMBAT MISSIONS

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Melanie Nathan: August 10, 2010

Republican representatives are backing a resolution that condemns a federal judge’s ruling that struck down California’s gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The resolution was introduced Tuesday by Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, POLITICO.COM reported.

Representatives Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Steve King of Iowa and John Fleming of Louisiana joined Smith in unveiling the measure as lawmakers returned from their August recess for a special one-day session.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s 136 page ruling delivered on Wednesday declares Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional. Republicans have been quiet on the issue, perhaps because this is no longer the wedge issue it once used to be. More people our favoring Same-sex marriage, such as Laura Bush.

In announcing the resolution, Smith said he opposes gay marriage because it dilutes heterosexual marriage.  What a fool  I would be willing to wage my pinkie ring on my belief that these  gay haters failed to even read the case, the judgment and especially the evidence – that showcases there is no fact or science to  back this assertion.

As Mike Airhart stated so eloquently in TWO Truth Wins Out

“As lawyer David Boies points out to CBS News, Perry vs. Schwarzenegger dealt a serious blow to the junk science of the ex-gay movement. Challenged to produce empirical evidence of the inferiority and changeability of homosexual orientation, the Christian Right defenders of Proposition 8 failed — because their “science” doesn’t exist.”

Bachmann said that Walker’s ruling is another example of a “judge substituting his moral pronouncement under the guise of constitutional law.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said he supports the resolution.

Smith insisted that he was not playing politics by introducing the resolution, which is mostly symbolic and not expected to reach the House floor.

“I just think it’s wrong,” Smith said, then added that he felt the majority of Americans believe they should be allowed to vote on the issue.

Groups opposed to gay marriage – including the Family Research Council (FRC) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) – have renewed their calls for a federal ban on gay marriage. Such a measure would outlaw the institution in the five states and the District of Columbia where it is legal.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda

Related articles by Zemanta

• Prop 8 Appeal Process & Timing (lezgetreal.com)
• Fiorina Against Walker Ruling v. Boxer Supports Prop 8 Judgment (lezgetreal.com)
• American Bar Association Backs Gay Marriage (lezgetreal.com)
• Michele Bachmann Riding Spotlight To Front Of Republican Party: Watch Her Greatest Hits (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)

Melanie Nathan Posted on 8-10-10

The American Bar Association, the nation’s leading legal organization, today passed the following resolution:

“RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry.”

“With this action, the American Bar Association has affirmed the principles upon which this nation was founded—that every American is vested with certain inalienable rights and that all Americans are created equal,” said Chad Griffin, Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights. “The ABA’s action is significant in that it represents a broad consensus among scholars and practitioners of the law. The ABA is the nation’s leading legal organization and is the one charged with recommending judges and setting national standards for attorneys. This case is not about ideology or politics, and the ABA’s resolution underscores that. Rather, Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a case grounded in fundamental constitutional law and precedent, including equal protection under the law and due process.”

“By approving a resolution in support of marriage equality, the ABA has confirmed what the federal courts, the state’s chief executive and the state’s chief law enforcement officer have determined in Perry v. Schwarzenegger—that excluding gay men and lesbians from marriage violates their constitutional right to due process and equal protection and causes significant harm to them and their families,” Griffin added, referring to the Governor and Attorney General.

»Don’t miss The June 15 Condemnation Of Israel – The Worldwide Ignorance – The San Francisco Board Of Supervisors – The Sentinel Opinion – Sign Petition

The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the organization that launched the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case and brought together attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies (who opposed each other in arguing Bush v. Gore) to lead its litigation. Last week, the Chief Judge of the Federal District Court, Northern District of California issued a 136-page ruling that found that California’s Proposition 8, which stripped gays and lesbians of their right to marry, was unconstitutional, citing its denial of the constitutional protections of equal protection under the law and due process, among other findings.

The City and County of San Francisco, led by City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, are supporting the plaintiffs’ team as co-counsel, with a specific focus on the negative impact Proposition 8 has on government services and budgets. (San Francisco Sentinel)

For full trial transcripts of the trial as well as legal filings, click here.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@prvatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda

Dear Dr. King:

Good afternoon! I urge you to denounce the National Organization for Marriage’s relentless obsession to derail the LGBT community’s efforts to obtain civil protections for their children and families. Please understand the same people that requested your presence at their anti-gay rally are some of the same people that fought against a holiday in the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tremendous work for human rights. Please lift the secular veil used to disguise blatant bigotry from a group twisting God’s biblical message of love into monstrous hatemongering.

For me, your comments on Saturday at the National Organization for Marriage’s anti-gay rally were very painful to me as a person and as a parent. It was reported that you stated: “Supporting gay marriage will lead to genocide and the extinction of the human race” and this comment has no sound civil or social foundation. But, your comments do assist in furthering the objective of second class citizenship for LGBT Americans and assist with the persecution LGBT citizens in a culture war waged against my community by groups like the National Organization for Marriage. You can’t defend marriage from love but you can use marriage restrictions as a tool to spread hate.

Unfortunately, this type of prejudicial endeavor has had tragic consequences on my community that include high LGBT teen suicide or vicious hate crimes. The National Organization for Marriage’s use of your lineage as a weapon in their oppression arsenal to set back civil gains made by the queer community in our pursuit for marriage equality is truly disheartening. Your aunt and uncle were apostles of peace and were aware of the spiritual connection required in denouncing hateful rhetoric used to publicly degrade a minority group in order to further a devout political agenda. I must say I’m heartbroken by your words and cut deeply by your association with this mean spirited group. Humanity is bound to love and inhumanity is chained to hate. The truth carries the power to determine the difference between a federally protected personal belief and unjust mandate of law.

In the words of your uncle, who has inspired my efforts as an activist:

“I never intend to adjust myself to the viciousness of mob rule. It may be that the salvation of the world lies in the hands of the proclaimed maladjusted – in the midst of injustice proclaim; Let judgment run down like river waters and righteous like a mighty stream. As maladjusted as President Lincoln, who envisioned a nation with no separation of those living freely and those who are oppressed. That all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

In the words of Jesus Christ; “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you and do good to those who hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you.” N.O.M. is using your family’s name in a horribly painful way and members of your family were known to actively fight against discrimination of the LGBT community. N.O.M.’s requesting your attendance was a transparent effort to weigh down the LGBT civil rights movement. My community’s struggle is a civil rights pursuit because anytime a country allows a majority to use the law to oppress a minority then that is a matter of civil liberty. Our struggle is the same struggle faced by African Americans during the civil rights movement. Loving vs. Virginia made interracial marriage legal and in that case the bible was used as a tool to bend the law to further discriminate against the African American community. The bible is being used in that same way to oppress my community now.

My plea is that you give me an opportunity to change your heart and open your mind to our plight. You have a rare opportunity to right a wrong and I pray to God that you will take it. As an African American you understand the ugliness of hate and the pain of discrimination. This is not a battle of heterosexual against homosexual, but a struggle of justice against injustice.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to our discussion!

Sincerely,

C.D. Kirven, Co-founder of Get Equal Now

Original Source

San Francisco -I have lived in California for over 25 years and have never felt a stronger need than now to endorse candidates and donate dollars to those who have historically shown support for LGBT equality.  The stakes are especially high as we head to this mid term election in the midst of LGBT disappointment with Congressional representatives, leadership  in D.C.

However, we must stand by our Pro gay and lesbian (LGBT)  candidates seeking our support in California, in the most vigorous and active way possible, especially in light of the Prop 8 overturn and its pathway to SCOTUS – including the possible 2012 Ballot measures that may further the pendulum swing!

While many are tempted to teach the Democrats a lesson this election, I am asking you all to give this  chance to Senator Boxer and other local representatives – to show even stronger leadership when it comes to our rights.   Regardless, we cannot and should not allow our loyalty to subside simply because we are disappointed with the big picture.  As I have said before this would not be a mere shot in the toe, but rather a bullet to the head, given all the work that pro candidates have done on behalf of our community.

Now is the time to lend you support. California is a frontier and gay, lesbian, transgender  and gender identity rights the last of the Civil rights that must be attained.

These candidates specifically must succeed if we are to sustain a  pro LGBT California – not forgetting the influence on  a National basis:-

So lets promote -

Senator Barbara Boxer incumbent Senator for California
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris for Attorney General
Mayor Gavin Newsom for Lieutenant Governor
AG  Jerry Brown for Governor

San Francisco DA, Kamala Harris sent this e-mail to supporters today:- 

Last week’s decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger was nothing short of monumental. And it highlights yet another reason why the stakes in this November’s election are so great.

In District Court, neither the governor nor the attorney general was willing to put the state of California in the position of defending Prop. 8, and this played a key role. This becomes even more critical as the case moves to the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

As your attorney general, I promise I will never defend the anti-LGBT Proposition 8 in federal court. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my opponent, who promises to put the full weight of the state of California behind a defense of the discriminatory amendment.

I am proud to have the endorsement of Equality California’s Political Action Committee, which works vigorously to elect candidates who stand 100 percent with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

That’s why I ask you to give generously to Equality California’s PAC today.

Whether we defeat Prop. 8 in the courts or at the ballot box in 2012, the stakes this November could not be higher.

Will it be Governor Jerry Brown using the bully pulpit in the fight for equality, or Governor Meg Whitman, who speaks out in strong favor of Proposition 8?

Will we elect candidates to statewide and legislative offices who will stand with us in this civil rights struggle?

Every dollar that you contribute today will be spent to elect a slate of elected officials who will join in our work to restore the freedom to marry, both at the ballot box in 2012 and in the courts, so please support the Equality California PAC today.

In solidarity,

Kamala Harris
San Francisco District Attorney &
Democratic Nominee for
Attorney General

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
www.lezgetreal.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
Face Book Mel

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Kamala Effect – Kamala Harris for California Attorney General (lezgetreal.com)
• Lady Gaga Celebrates Prop 8 Victory with a Song (lezgetreal.com)
• Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (lezgetreal.com)
• Senator Boxer Nurtures LGBT Support Through Prop 8 (pinkbananaworld.com)
• BREAKING NEWS Judge Vaughn Walker Rules Proposition 8 is OVERTURNED (lezgetreal.com)
• EQUALITY Advocates Support Kamala Harris for California Attorney General (lezgetreal.com)
• Action: If No Barbara Boxer in Senate Then NO LGBT Equality (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Boxer Leading Fiorina In Latest Polling, People Like Her Hair More Too (lezgetreal.com)
• Action: If No Barbara Boxer in Senate Then NO LGBT Equality (lezgetreal.com)
• Fiorina Against Walker Ruling v. Boxer Supports Prop 8 Judgment (lezgetreal.com)
• Prop 8 Proponents May Not Have Power to Appeal Judge’s Ruling (towleroad.com)

By Melanie Nathan,   8-09-10

The Long awaited Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010 (SB 3307) has passed the Senate, after a push by the ADA membership and other advocates, urging Senators to get the job done!  The Act, which passed the Senate unanimously now moves to the House where it is expected to pass.

This now makes a strong investment in our children’s future. It will provide local school districts with resources to improve the quality and nutritional value of meals served to students; require the USDA to strengthen nutrition standards for foods sold in vending machines, a la carte lines and school stores; and require the USDA to implement standards based on current nutrition science.

“If current trends continue, one in three children born since the year 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in their lives. In order to curb this epidemic, we need to promote healthy lifestyles at school, where our children spend a large part of their day. The passage of the Act has indeed put us that much closer to putting a stop to this dangerous epidemic. “  www.diabeteshealth.com

The Full Text of the Act can be found here:- http://ag.senate.gov/site/legislation.html and http://ag.senate.gov/site/ComLeg/s3307.pdf

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (S. 3307) Passes Senate (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• Lesbian Health – Traveling With Diabetes (lezgetreal.com)
• Senate passes bill to make school lunches healthy (sfgate.com)

Melanie Nathan – August 05, 2010-

It is no surprise that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina disagrees with Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn California’s gay-marriage ban.  Lez Get Real has been reporting Fiorina’s “bad for LGBT rights” bid for Senate and encouraging readers to support Barbara Boxer, regardless of our anger toward the Democratic Congress at this time.

Fiorina says California voters spoke clearly against same-sex unions when a majority approved Proposition 8 in 2008, indicating that to her way of thinking any oath to uphold the Constitution would be nothing more than a promise to uphold corporate by-laws – you know those clauses that one can change anytime deemed capitalistically appropriate.

Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday that California Proposition 8 was unconstitutional when it defined marriage as being between one man and one woman, casting and inadvertent shadow on the in-tact Federal legislation – The Defense of Marriage Act   (DOMA) and the desperate need for its repeal through the Respect for Marriages Act – (introduced into the house by Congressman Jerold Nadler  - still yet to garnish support of Rep. Barney Frank.)

California’s Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Democrats, support the Prop 8 ruling. They called it an historic step forward for equal rights. I hope that this will result in a stronger push for the Repeal of DOMA.  It is up to us in the community to hold their feet to fire and now is the time to express support for Senator Barbara Boxer whilst asking what she plans to do to take the repeal of DOMA further.

Fiorina is challenging Boxer in the Democrat’s bid for a fourth term in the Senate.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why Wait for SCOTUS- Imperative that Congress Repeal DOMA as a Matter of Urgency (lezgetreal.com)
• Action: If No Barbara Boxer in Senate Then NO LGBT Equality (lezgetreal.com)
• Boxer Leading Fiorina In Latest Polling, People Like Her Hair More Too (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan – August 5, 2010

U.S. Solicitor General Kagan, Elena Kagan was confirmed today by the Senate as the fourth woman to serve on the highest US court, The Supreme Court of the United States.

Kagan’s background unique background and  experience in all three branches of our government has “earned her place at the top of the legal profession,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Five Republicans voted in favor of Kagan’s nomination, with notably Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass, one of Kagan’s home state senators, voting against her; and fewer than the nine Republicans who voted for Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Obama’s first Supreme Court appointee.

Today’s yes votes included Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the lone Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to support Kagan when the panel recommended the nomination to the full Senate on a 13-6 vote. Other GOP yes votes came from Richard Lugar of Indiana, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Brown joined Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in introducing the former Harvard Law School dean to the Judiciary Committee, but he was carefully noncommittal during that appearance.

Kagan lost the vote of one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Kagan’s votes come as no surprise to Democrats and our LGR community alike, citing her as hard working and “superbly qualified; whereas Republicans bashed Kagan for her perceived liberal views on abortion and gun control.

Kagan’s confirmation may not mean much with regard to the  court’s philosophical make-up, as she  replaces retired Justice John Paul Stevens, part of a four-person liberal group that includes Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Obama appointee Sotomayor, who joined the court last year.

Chief Justice John Roberts leads a five-member conservative group that includes Antonio Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito; Kennedy is sometimes a swing vote in close cases and may well be the key to same-sex marriage’s fate in future  SCOTUS decision.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brown to Vote ‘No’ on Kagan Nomination (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)

No law may violate the U.S. Constitution. Our nation’s Founders established the courts to protect every American’s constitutional rights against discriminatory laws.

Breaking News: Today Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, has ruled in a  136 page landmark decision, Perry v. Schwarzenegger effectively overturns Proposition 8.

http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2010/08/eek-the-prop8-decision-is-here.html

This is a major Victory for same-sex marriage around the entire United States.  It may take the issue to the Supreme Court signaled by preemptive challenges already filed by anti gay marriage  proponents yesterday.

When Proposition 8 passed in 2008, the voters usurped an inherent right to equal treatment under the civil law, from same-sex couples. The LGBT community in California was astounded, shell shocked. The loss to the Gay community was profound and in essence sparked a still developing equality movement.

By the time vote day dawned, the sickening reality hit across California, and the USA that this State, progressive and innovative, had lost to a YES vote against civil rights, purchased by religious groups from outside California.  The LGBT advocates and equality, No on 8 soldiers had simply left it too late to out-gun the likes of the Evangelicals,  Latter Day Saints, and other anti-gay money that poured into California’s “Yes on 8” ads.

Prop. 8 unconstitutionally stripped away the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

An unprecedented federal court challenge was filed in May 2009, by unlikely team and pro equal treatment advocates, Theodore Olson with Co-counsel David Boies, who had previously faced-off in Bush v. Gore, to fight this highly publicized trial in January 2010 with argument presented June 16,  representing the two same-sex  couples , Kris and Sandy, Jeff and Paul, seeking their equal right to marry; and today  Perry v. Schwarzenegger,  speaks not only to California, but to all of the USA, to President Obama and Congress and to the rest of the World.

The fundamental constitutional right to marry which had been taken away from the plaintiffs, and tens of thousands of similarly situated Californians, has been restored.

The State of California  had rewritten its constitution in order to place gays and lesbians into a special disfavored category where the most intimate personal relationships are not valid, not recognized and second rate,  through the flick of pens by ill informed and misled voters.

“There is not a compelling governmental interest to put  the plaintiffs in a class like this and take away what the  Supreme Court has called a fundamental right, a right of  liberty, privacy, association, intimacy and autonomy, said Olsen in closing argument.

The  Full text of the JUDGMENT  can be found at

The Question is will the Mayor immediately  re-open licenses for same-sex couples in San Francisco and what path will other Counties take, as clearly this case heads for The Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
FaceBook:

Related articles by Zemanta

• California Judge Sets Date June 16 For PROP 8 Closing Argument (lezgetreal.com)
• California gears up for ruling on same-sex marriage (cnn.com)
• Prop 8 Closing Arguments Not to be Televised (lezgetreal.com)
• BREAKING -Prop 8 Hate Want to Dissolve the 18,000 California marriages (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan August 04, 2010-

According to Brian Leubitz -  at Prop 8 Trial tracker well, today is the day. Sometime this afternoon, we’ll get our decision in what will go down as one of the most anticipated decisions around these parts since…well…last year when the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8 but allowed the existing marriages to survive. In many ways, these are amazing days to be alive”

He defines in simple terms what we can understand from today’s ruling, when it comes down, ” what are we looking for today? How do we win? How do we lose? And what defines a win? Well, I said yesterday that I’m optimistic, but there’s more than one way to skin the cat here. So, let’s just go through them,…. read further – . I recommend reading his Article before the Judgment comes down, for a quick grasp of the impact of the ruling….

Lez Get Real will join in with  Breaking the News of the Judgment today, just as soon as it happens.

by Melanie  Nathan

Related articles by Zemanta

• Prop 8 Case Decision Expected TODAY (hrcbackstory.org)

Ronnie and Elior

One Sabbath earlier this year, a small group of young gay and lesbian Israelis all from Tel Aviv came to Marin County where I live, to my Synagogue, to pray. Two barely years older than my own, stood up to speak to our large congregation, concluding with many a tear in response to the harrowing account of that bloody day.

The Tel Aviv LGBT Center was a safe place for LGBT youth, their refuge, their playground; their home away from home – and perhaps for some, the only place that felt like home. One of our speakers spoke of being kicked out by his parents for being gay; while the other spoke of the acceptance by his father, a Rabbi. Some parents believed their sons and daughters were safe, in the celebration of their sexuality and never thought to worry that hate could come from within.

Yet on that day one year ago, friends and counselors lay bleeding on the floor, dead and maimed all because of the hate of one man, probably fuelled by others through whatever form of provocation, perhaps religious fervor of the extremist or perhaps confounding insanity; we do not know until the shooter is caught. However what we do know is that an attack on a LGBT Center is an attack on LGBT love.  It was a crime of rage ignited by hate.

Today 3,000 people joined a memorial march marking one year since the mayhem at a gay youth club in Tel Aviv. The marchers left Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Avenue and made their way to Meir Park carrying torches and banners reading “Homophobia is equal to racism.”

Israel is not unused to violence from its enemies and people are probably more prepared than we anywhere in the world to deal with shocking realities when they occur; however when I interviewed the teens who had been there that day, they said nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.

“The murder shows the contemptuous attitude toward the gay community,” Ayala Katz, mother of Nir who was murdered in the attack. “With all the emotions and sadness and yearning for Nir, I also have enormous optimism that we will be able to talk to all. Only dialogue will bring us all, Israeli society, to a different place.”

Noa Raz, activist and counselor, who accompanied the teens to the USA that visit, went to the aid of the wounded and dying as did Elior Chen and Ronnie Klein, (pictured) who both ran down to the Center after hearing about the shooting, saying they will never be able to forget what they saw and felt;  the overwhelming breach of the bounds of their special safe space and how their own faith has stood at the helm of their passion to continue to be openly gay and lesbian regardless of religious extremists.

Elior comes from an orthodox background and Noa, deeply religious and fervently determined to prayer with her “Tiffilin” (daily practice usually reserved for men only) asserting her equality as a female Jew. Elior, Ronnie and Noa have recently entered into marriages with their respective partners.

While the organizers of the march called for donations to assist those left disabled after the hateful attack, the heart wrenching memorial was marred by the knowledge that the Israeli Government has failed to provide support for the victims of the deadly day, especially those injured and maimed, as they do not recognize this tragedy as ‘hate crimes.’

This caused a stir at the memorial itself when people heckled the Education Minister, who was the only government official present and speaking in support of LGBT education.

Israel is one of the few countries that has marriage equality under its civil law. Yet MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) asserts “The fact that those injured in the attack are not recognized in Israel of 2010 as hate crime victims, and are not supported by the State, is proof of the inadequacy of Israeli society,” to Ynet on Saturday.

by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• New Clues in Tel Aviv Youth Gay Center Murders (lezgetreal.com)
• One Year After Gay Center Attack, Tel Aviv Studies Berlin Model of Tolerance (lezgetreal.com)
• Jerusalem Pride (lezgetreal.com)
• Tel Aviv Announces Gay Tourist Promotion (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan 7-28-10;  Statement of principles issued by rabbis and educators = Torah  calls for acceptance, reports the Israeli news H’aaretz.

Dozens of Orthodox rabbis and educators have signed what they call a “statement of principles” regarding the acceptance of gays and lesbians within the Orthodox community.

The Reform Jewish Movement does not view the religious Laws as referenced below in the same strict sense as the Orthodox Rabbis and hence are unlikely to share the precise viewpoint as expressed in the Statement below. Its is most important for me as a Jewish lesbian, raised in the Orthodox tradition and now practicing according to the Reform tradition to note that with my depth of understanding of the Jewish religion and tradition, I am overwhelmed with joy with much of the conclusions reached in this statement. I am proud of these Rabbis who have have had the courage to come forward and make these statements. (For those who cannot understanding how meaningful this is,  a good analogy would be the US Catholic Bishops coming out with a statement similar to this.

The statement, initially drafted by Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, was prepared over the last months:-

Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community

We, the undersigned Orthodox rabbis, rashei yeshiva, ramim, Jewish educators and communal leaders affirm the following principles with regard to the place of Jews with a homosexual orientation in our community:

1. All human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (kevod haberiyot). Every Jew is obligated to fulfill the entire range of mitzvot between person and person in relation to persons who are homosexual or have feelings of same sex attraction. Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.

2. The question of whether sexual orientation is primarily genetic, or rather environmentally generated, is irrelevant to our obligation to treat human beings with same-sex attractions and orientations with dignity and respect.

3. Halakhah (meaning Jewish Law from Torah)  sees heterosexual marriage as the ideal model and sole legitimate outlet for human sexual expression. The sensitivity and understanding we properly express for human beings with other sexual orientations does not diminish our commitment to that principle.

4. Halakhic Judaism views all male and female same-sex sexual interactions as prohibited. The question of whether sexual orientation is primarily genetic, or rather environmentally generated, is irrelevant to this prohibition. While halakha categorizes various homosexual acts with different degrees of severity and opprobrium, including toeivah, this does not in any way imply that lesser acts are permitted.  But it is critical to emphasize that halakha only prohibits homosexual acts; it does not prohibit orientation or feelings of same-sex attraction, and nothing in the Torah devalues the human beings who struggle with them. (We do not here address the issue of hirhurei aveirah, a halakhic category that goes beyond mere feelings and applies to all forms of sexuality and requires precise halakhic definition.)

5. Whatever the origin or cause of homosexual orientation, many individuals believe that for most people this orientation cannot be changed. Others believe that for most people it is a matter of free will. Similarly, while some mental health professionals and rabbis in the community strongly believe in the efficacy of “change therapies”, most of the mental health community, many rabbis, and most people with a homosexual orientation feel that some of these therapies are either ineffective or potentially damaging psychologically for many patients.

We affirm the religious right of those with a homosexual orientation to reject
therapeutic approaches they reasonably see as useless or dangerous.

6. Jews with a homosexual orientation who live in the Orthodox community confront serious emotional, communal and psychological challenges that cause them and their families great pain and suffering. For example, homosexual orientation may greatly increase the risk of suicide among teenagers in our community. Rabbis and communities need to be sensitive and empathetic to that reality. Rabbis and mental health professionals must provide responsible and ethical assistance to congregants and clients dealing with those human challenges.

7. Jews struggling to live their lives in accordance with halakhic values need and deserve our support. Accordingly, we believe that the decision as to whether to be open about one’s sexual orientation should be left to such individuals, who should consider their own needs and those of the community. We are opposed on ethical and moral grounds to both the “outing” of individuals who want to remain private and to coercing those who desire to be open about their orientation to keep it hidden.

8. Accordingly, Jews with homosexual orientations or same sex-attractions should be welcomed as full members of the synagogue and school community. As appropriate with regard to gender and lineage, they should participate and count ritually, be eligible for ritual synagogue honors, and generally be treated in the same fashion and under the same halakhic and hashkafic framework as any other member of the synagogue they join. Conversely, they must accept and fulfill all the responsibilities of such membership, including those generated by communal norms or broad Jewish principles that go beyond formal halakhah.

We do not here address what synagogues should do about accepting members
who are openly practicing homosexuals and/or living with a same-sex partner.
Each synagogue together with its rabbi must establish its own standard with
regard to membership for open violators of halakha.
Those standards should be applied fairly and objectively.

9. Halakha articulates very exacting criteria and standards of eligibility for particular religious offices, such as officially appointed cantor during the year or baal tefillah on the High Holidays. Among the most important of those criteria is that the entire congregation must be fully comfortable with having that person serve as its representative. This legitimately prevents even the most admirable individuals, who are otherwise perfectly fit halakhically, from serving in those roles. It is the responsibility of the lay and rabbinic leadership in each individual community to determine eligibility for those offices in line with those principles, the importance of maintaining communal harmony, and the unique context of its community culture.

10. Jews with a homosexual orientation or same sex attraction, even if they engage in same sex interactions, should be encouraged to fulfill mitzvot to the best of their ability. All Jews are challenged to fulfill mitzvot to the best of their ability, and the attitude of “all or nothing” was not the traditional approach adopted by the majority of halakhic thinkers and poskim throughout the ages.

11. Halakhic Judaism cannot give its blessing and imprimatur to Jewish religious
same-sex commitment ceremonies and weddings, and halakhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging practices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couple-hood. But communities should display sensitivity, acceptance and full embrace of the adopted or biological children of homosexually active Jews in the synagogue and school setting, and we encourage parents and family of homosexually partnered Jews to make every effort to maintain harmonious family relations and connections.

12. Jews who have an exclusively homosexual orientation should, under most circumstances, not be encouraged to marry someone of the other gender, as
this can lead to great tragedy, unrequited love, shame, dishonesty and ruined
lives. They should be directed to contribute to Jewish and general society in
other meaningful ways. Any such person who is planning to marry someone of
the opposite gender is halakhically (legally)  and ethically required to fully inform their
potential spouse of their sexual orientation.

We hope and pray that by sharing these thoughts we will help the Orthodox community to fully live out its commitment to the principles and values of  Torah and Halakha as practiced and cherished by the children of Abraham, who our sages teach us are recognized by the qualities of being rahamanim (merciful), bayshanim (modest), and gomelei hasadim
engaging in acts of loving-kindness).

(as of 7/26/10)
Rabbi Yosef Adler  Rabbi Howard Alpert Rabbi Joshua Amaru Rabbi Elisha Anscelovits Rabbi Hayyim Angel, Rabbi Marc Angel, Rabbi Maurice Appelbaum, Mrs. Nechama Goldman Barash
Rabbi Avi Baumol, Rabbi Benjamin Berger, Rabbi Dr. Shalom Berger, Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman
Rabbi Scot Berman, Rabbi Todd Berman, Rabbi Yonah Berman, Rabbi Kenneth Birnbaum
Dr. David Bernstein, Rabbi David Bigman,Rabbi Yitzchak Blau, Rabbi Nasanayl Braun,Dr. Erica Brown, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, Rabbi Dr. Michael Chernick,Dr. Aubie Diamond, Ms. Yael Diamond, Rabbi Mark Dratch, Rabbi Ira Ebbin, Rabbi Rafi Eis,Mrs. Atara Eis,Mrs. Elana Sober Elzufon Rabbi Yitzhak Etshalom Rabbi Dr. Shaul (Seth) Farber Ms. Rachel Feingold Rabbi Yoel Finkelman Rabbi Elli Fischer Rabbi Mordy Friedman Rabbi Jeffrey Fox Rabbi Aaron Frank
Rabbi Aharon Frazier Rabbi Avidan Freedman Rabbi Barry Gelman Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
Ms. Anne Gordon Rabbi Mark Gottlieb Rabbi Uri Goldstein Rabbi Benjamin Greenberg Mrs. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg Rabbi Zvi Grumet Rabbi Dr. Charles Grysman Mrs. Lori Grysman
Rabbi Alan Haber Dr. Aviad Hacohen Rabbi Tully Harcsztark Rabbi Benjamin Hecht Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot Rabbi Jason Herman Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld Rabbi Josh Hess Rabbi Fred Hyman Rabbi Eytan Kadden Dr. Daniel Kahn Rabbi Moshe Kahn Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky Rabbi Elliot Kaplowitz Rabbi Jay Kellman Rabbi Aryeh KlapperDr. Yosef Kleiner Mrs. Judy Klitsner Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner Rabbi Jeff KobrinDr. Aaron Koller Rabbi Barry Kornblau Dr. Meesh Hammer Kossoy Rabbi Binny Krauss Mrs. Esther Krauss Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz Rabbi Zvi Leshem Rabbi Daniel Levitt Rabbi Norman Linzer Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin Rabbi Dr. Haskel Lookstein Rabbi Asher Lopatin Ms. Adina Lubar Rabbi Chaim Marder Rabbi Joshua MaroofRabbi Dr. Adam Mintz Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Nagen (Genack) Mrs. C.B. Neugroschl Rabbi Itiel Oron Rabbi Ephraim Osgood Rabbi Yossi Pollak Ms. Ellisa Prince Dr. Caroline Pyser Rabbi Daniel Reifman
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Rabbi Avi Robinson Rabbi Chaim Sacknovitz Rabbi Noam Shapiro
Rabbi Yehuda Seif Rabbi Murray Schaum Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger Rabbi Adam Schier
Ms. Lisa Schlaff Rabbi Yehuda Septimus Dr. Shai Secunda Dr. Moshe (Simon)Shoshan Rabbi Yair Silverman Rabbi Sydney Slivko Rabbi Jeremy Stavitsky Rabbi Adam Starr Rabbi Chaim Strauchler Rabbi Yehuda Sussman Dr. Harvey Taub Dr. Mark Teplitsky Rabbi Joel Tessler
Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner Rabbi Jacob Traub Rabbi Zach Truboff Mrs. Dara Unterberg
Rabbi Michael Unterberg Rabbi Dr. Avie Walfish Dr. Dina Weiner Rabbi Ezra Weiner
Ms. Sara Weinerman Rabbi Ari Weiss Rabbi David Wolkenfeld Rabbi Elie Weinstock Rabbi Neil Winkler Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz Rabbi Alan Yuter Rabbi Josh Yuter Dr. Yael Ziegler Rabbi Dr. Stuart Zweite

And while Jewish law cannot “give its blessing and imprimatur to Jewish religious same-sex commitment ceremonies and weddings,” their communities should “display sensitivity, acceptance and full embrace of the adopted or biological children of homosexually active Jews in the synagogue and school setting,” the statement said.

Fortunately many of us gay and lesbian Jews have been married by our Reform Rabbis under the Chupah and we have beautiful ketubahs (religious contract)  to prove it.

By Melanie Nathan © Photo 2, and 3.
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Arrest Made of Woman at Western Wall While Carrying a Torah (lezgetreal.com)
• Jerusalem’s Deputy Mayor To Protest Gay Pride Parade With “Faux Donkey Parade” (lezgetreal.com)
• University of Virginia Study Shows Children Adopted By Lesbians And Gays Are Well Adjusted(lezgetreal.com)
• Why Women Will Never Be Orthodox Rabbis (beliefnet.com)

Melanie Nathan; July 28, 2010 – UAFA Supportive Resolution On  Wilton Manors

Although he must remain in anonymous a resident in Florida, in a same-sex binational relationship, separated by thousands of miles from the love of his life,  made his impact on the hopeful passage of UAFA, the federal legislation that would give bi-national couples equality under the current  immigration law.  The Florida town, Wilton Manor passed a Resolution in support of the Uniting American Families Act , after the Mayor had been approached by the binational and it was placed on the Council Agenda.

From all Bi-nationals to the Mayor Gary Resnick, the binational community is grateful and we all look forward to your town as a future destination.

The City of Wilton Manors is approximately two square miles in area and is located in Broward County, Florida, just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale.  Wilton Manors is often referred to as the “Island City” because its boundaries primarily follow the North and South Forks of the Middle River. Ideally located within minutes of the beach and downtown Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors is quickly becoming the “place to be” in South Florida.

The City is nearly 100% built-out and embraces the vision of a “sustainable urban village.”   But what use would such be without recognizing that every American has an equal right to live in happiness with the person of their choice, whether of the same gender or not!

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Thank you to out4immigration.org for all your efforts in mobilizing grassroots.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Wilton Manors, Florida Puts Resolution Supporting UAFA on Agenda (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan -7-28-10 – A  federal  Judge issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the Arizona SB 1070 controversial Immigration Law legislated in Arizona. The law was set to take effect on Thursday this week.

The Law was clearly a political ploy instigated and implemented by a previously unknown obscure  Republican politician, Jan Brewer, appointed Governor of Arizona.  The law also served to take attention off the current problem facing the legislature in Arizona.   The ploy has cost this Country much in the form of  exacerbating racial tensions as well as scaring millions of undocumented foreigners currently hoping for Amnesty in the USA.

Brewer has also taken attention off the issue   of Employers who often take advantage of what is often termed “illegal Immigrants ” in Arizona.

Related articles by Zemanta

• BREAKING: Judge Blocks Part of Arizona Law — By: Daniel Foster (corner.nationalreview.com)
• Louisville Groups to Protest AZ Immigration Law (lezgetreal.com)
• Taboo’s ‘One Heart, One Beat’: A powerful condemnation of Arizona’s SB1070 (crooksandliars.com)
• Judge expected to rule on AZ 1070 today (dailykos.com)

Nelson Mandela Bay - Port Elizabeth

Melanie Nathan – 7-27-2010.  Port Elizabeth, a small magnificent seaside resort in the Eastern Cape (Ciskei) Area of South Africa,  has celebrated its long overdue gay and lesbian film festival. The ‘Port Elizabeth Gay and Lesbian Film Festival’ saw visitors come from different parts of South Africa to see the selection of lesbian, transgender and gay films that were carefully selected reports ” Frank Malaba from http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/port-elizabeth-celebrates-gay-and-lesbian-rights

“We wanted to pick films that would appeal to the broader lesbian, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender’ (LGBT) community. One of the films of interest to the audiences might be a lesbian film called ‘I can’t think straight’ set in the Middle East. It will be a great film because South Africa is a multicultural society and this film explores the elements of diversity”, said a spokesperson for the event.

Apparently transport to the event has caused attendance problems as is often the problem for any event held far from the target audience, in this case the local surrounding townships , now perceived as suburbs, but once considered the nucleus for The Group Areas Act, which separated people of different racial classifications.  However such an event may attract unwanted violence if actually held in a township where gays and lesbians tend to be ostracized through cultural beliefs.

Port Elizabeth is a beautiful seaside resort town, renowned for its surf and pure sandy coastline.  It serves as a stop along the famous “Blue Train” Garden Route to Cape Town.  Having lived there for 13 years of my childhood I remember the “Windy City,” with much fondness, as well as the suffering of the township people.

It is truly sad to me that the people once victimized by the Afrikaner apartheid government now victimizes a minority, – who happen to have a sexual orientation that goes against the cultural Xhosa grain.

While I believe the festival may open eyes serve the community on an educational level, I would hope that the chosen will speak to these differences. That in fact they would inform those with misgivings about LGBT people and rights.

People who happened to walk past the venue did seem to be interested, although the entrance was free or by donation, most of them were too shy to walk through the doors, says the Malaba. An undertone of uneasiness reigned in the local area.  I would suggest, that they were fearful rather than simply shy.

South Africa has taken bold steps in the recognition of gay rights, becoming the only country in Africa to legalize gay marriage in 2006, and to include sexual orientation in its Bill of Rights.  However, very little has been done to enforce hate crimes against lesbians who have been the subject of endemic rape attacks coined there as “corrective rape occurring most often in the Townships.”

The PE GLFF is a much needed tool in the education about gay and lesbian rights in Port Elizabeth and hats off to them for making this bold statement, whichever way it turns out.

“Jolly Good Show- as we would have said way back when!”

Port Elizabeth was named Algoa Bay, when the 1822 British Settlers landed and formed a Colony.  The Area is now referred to as Nelson Mandela Bay – as this is the area where Madiba Mandela, a Xhosa, was from.

Note: Picture depicts the Beach known at a time when it was “whites only”

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
@oblogdeeoblogda
See us on FaceBook

From a pale hotel room in Cambodia, they tell their story.  From a low-rent apartment in San Diego, they tell their story.  From a couch in East Berlin, they tell their story.  It turns out that they aren’t so average after all. They are gay, yes, but unlike most couples, their life together is threatened because they are from two different countries. Tony is American and Thomas is German. As a gay couple, they are excluded from immigration rights in the US. And in this exclusionary law, their story begins.

They met and fell in love in 1993.  After a year and a half traveling through Africa and the Middle East together, their lives were joined.  Permanent.  Committed.  Both in their early twenties, they couldn’t imagine that equal rights for American gay men and lesbian women would be too long in coming.  So, they started stringing together temporary solutions to their immigration problem.

First, a student visa.  Thomas gave up his career in banking in Germany, and settled into a new life as a Community College student in San Diego.  To stretch out his time on the visa, he took class, after class, after class.  Seven long semesters, making a round-about path to an AA.  He was proud to graduate as Valedictorian when he finished his Associate’s Degree.  But that meant his time was up.

In the meantime, they have tried every possible avenue to allow Thomas to stay in the US legally.  They formed a gay and lesbian political organization to fight for rights for bi-national couples.  They tried to find a sponsor for a work visa for Thomas.  They entered Thomas in the Green Card lottery every single year. Sitting in their tiny apartment in San Diego in 2002, Tony and Thomas tell us about all of these failed efforts.

One thing they don’t tell us about is when, out of desperation, they considered a fraudulent marriage to a woman.  It is Laurelle, their long-time friend, who tells us about this.  She shares her willingness to marry Thomas, her devotion to her dear friends, to do anything to keep them in the country.  But the risks are great.  More daunting than facing prison, deportation, and enormous fines, if Thomas married Laurelle, they would all three have to live a lie.  Briefly, for a fleeting few weeks, these risks seemed like they might be worth it.  In the end, it is Tony who says no.

So, Tony and Thomas embark on their next strategy for staying together: moving to Germany.  But before they go, they have to say goodbye to their life in California.   Tony’s mom Freda and step-dad Ken are heartbroken.  But brave. We meet them in their living room and they tell us their story.  They too are a bi-national couple.

Torn from their family in California and battling to come home, they can only wait outside its borders, hoping for equal rights to be granted.  Now, at age 40, they live their lives as nomads, perpetually traveling the world.  They have little left but the road.  And an angry kind of hope. Follow their 16-year journey of immigration struggle and exclusion.

A Film chronicles this horrendous inequity and the journey of this couple; Directed by Prof. Lisa M Nunn, PhD Director/Producer of “Excluded” Professor of Sociology, University of San Diego. In a comment to lez Get real Professor Nunn said, “I am glad to hear that you think the movie might be a useful tool for education and advocacy.  Please do keep in touch. I know how much it means to Tony and Thomas to hear from people who truly understand their difficult situation.  Thanks for your encouraging words. ”

Watch the movie online for free at:  www.excludedthemovie.com
and follow Tony and Thomas on their travel blog as they roam the world:  www.contemporarynomad.com/blog

Per Melanie:

PLEASE Ask Congress and Obama to support UAFA  (The Uniting American Families Act) as a stand alone BILL in this small window of opportunity.  It is time to show why RELYING on being included in CIR is tenuous to say the least. There is plenty of evidence at this TIME to prove this…. Also please how about a special VISA -? See my Petition and SIGN. (Change.org – Melanie Nathan Special Bi-national Visa Petition)

By, Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Launched- Citizen Non-Citizen – a Stunning Account of Immigration Inequality (lezgetreal.com)
• A Heart Breaking Life with No Hope for Americans Caused by Gay Rights -Lame US Congress (lezgetreal.com)
• SCREAM: President Obama Act Now for Binational Same Sex Couples (lezgetreal.com)
• Immigration Reform Framework -Inclusion of Permanent Partners Angers Hispanic Groups (lezgetreal.com)
• New Breakthrough VIDEO: A Year Since Shirley Tan Gave Testimony at Senate Judiciary for UAFA (lezgetreal.com)
• Excluded – a Bi-national Couple Living as Nomads (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Understanding the Flip Flop – Congressman Gutierrez and UAFA in Immigration Reform (lezgetreal.com)
• The State of California Passes Historic Resolution in Support of UAFA Same-Sex Couples Rights to Immigration equality (lezgetreal.com)
• Excluded – a Bi-national Couple Living as Nomads (lezgetreal.com)
• SF Weekly – Stunning Report on Same-Sex Couples & Immigration Plight (lezgetreal.com)
• Immigration Reform Proposal – Mentions Intent to Include Permanant Partners (lezgetreal.com)

Two of The Young Israeli Youth Impacted by Last Years Attack

Melanie Nathan – 7-27-2010 - A march will be held Saturday night in Tel Aviv  (July 31^st) to mark the one-year anniversary of a shooting attack in a Tel Aviv gay youth center that left two dead and 13 injured.

The march will start at the corner of Rothschild and Nahmani streets (near the youth center ) and end at Gan Meir, where a rally will be held with the families of the victims, Nir Katz 26, and Liz Trobishi, 16, the injured and members and counselors of the gay youth center.

Reposted from Haretz (Noah Kasharek)  - Ayala Katz, the mother of Nir Katz, who was a counselor at the center, and chairwoman of Tehila, a support group of parents of members of the gay and transgender community, will speak at the rally.

Next month a delegation of youth injured in the shooting will join Tel Aviv municipality officials and possibly Israeli police officials in Berlin to meet with representatives of Maneo, a group that provides support for gay and bisexual men who have been victims of violence, members of the Berlin police, German members of parliament and officials in the Berlin municipality.

The visit is sponsored by Maneo and is taking place in cooperation with the Tel Aviv municipality’s gay center.

Adir Steiner, Tel Aviv municipality’s coordinator of activities for the gay community, says the purpose of the trip is to learn the Berlin model for preventing and dealing with anti-gay violence.

The Berlin model has been adopted by other European cities, like Barcelona, Steiner told Haaretz. It is based on cooperation between Maneo and the authorities, particularly the police, which has two liaison officers to the gay community to deal with homophobic crimes, he said.

Steiner said if the model is adopted in Israel, Hoshen, a group working to change stereotypes about homosexuality and bisexuality and that trains professionals in matters pertaining to the LGBT community, would take the role of Maneo.

“Perhaps if we had started the project a few years ago, we would have documented manifestations of homophobia by the killer, who has not yet been caught, in cooperation with the police, and we might have identified him before the murder. Homophobia, like all hatred, begins small,” Steiner said.

The chief of the Berlin police has reportedly invited Israeli police officers to take part in the delegation, particularly the Tel Aviv district youth officer. The Israel Police said they have not yet received an official invitation.

Next Weekend I will Post my Exclusive Interview with the two Youth Above – to Honor the Victims of the Attack.   Please revisit LGR for this.  B’Shalom… Melanie Nathan

NOTE The Shooter has not been found by Israeli Authorities.

Related articles by Zemanta

• New Clues in Tel Aviv Youth Gay Center Murders (lezgetreal.com)
• ISRAEL: Police Uncover Clue About Tel Aviv LGBT Youth Center Attack (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Thousands take part in Tel Aviv gay pride parade (topix.net)
• Tel Aviv Announces Gay Tourist Promotion (lezgetreal.com)
• Free Sgt Shalit Now – Thousands March for 12 days to Jerusalem (lezgetreal.com)

Mel Nathan (plus 20lbs) , Dan Choi, Shirley Tan June/2009

I am no military woman, and never have been, but I have been an activist in the LGBT community for a while now. Like many others who become activists, I became one as a result of my personal experiences as a lesbian and a wife after actions by my government affected the life of my family in an adverse way just because I was a lesbian.

So I’ll admit right off, my reasons for becoming an activist were very selfish; I became an activist because I was fighting for the very life of my family.

As many of you also know, I am also a writer and editor with Lezgtreal.com. However the reporting on the issues surrounding the repeal of DADT on LGR, is not my beat so to speak and there are others on the site who have a far greater understanding of those issues and from a more personal experience then I do. One of them is LGR’s publisher, Dr. Paula Brooks and another is LGR political editor Bridgette LaVatoire.

Paula’s perspective on DADT comes from that of the daughter of a multi-generational military family and her passion about repealing DADT is fueled by the unjust career of her same-sex wife, a former member of the US Navy, a hero who had served bravely as a fighter pilot, who quit the service over DADT. Paula’s perspective may well be a concomitant of her memories of her wife, who, weak and dying, a mere three weeks before passing away from cancer, insisted Paula drive her the 100 plus miles to speak to her Congress Person about repealing DADT; one final time, long before DADT repeal became a cause-celeb. When it comes to matters concerning DADT she is passionate, formidable and I have always been impressed.

I have also been very impressed by the activism of Lt Dan Choi, and have personally been a fan of his since he first ‘outed’ himself on the Rachel Maddow show about a year ago, and then fought for the DADT repeal cause.

I met Dan a year ago at SF Pride when we were both backstage at the event and I felt an immediate connection. Here was this like-minded kindred soul who had given up so much, the way I had done, to follow the promise we had made to ourselves in our fight for equality. For me the passion to change the inequality for others, considering myself still lucky in my iniquitous mess, was a vow that I could not break, at whatever cost and for no reward other than equality for all. I thought I saw that same thing in Dan as well.

However over the past couple of days, I have read the reports surrounding the discharge of Lt. Dan Choi.

Yesterday, I read the article, “Lt. Dan Choi Discharged- Why Won’t He Admit It?” In that article, Dan was asked to explain why he had not made his June 29th discharge public for nearly a month.

After reading the piece, it seemed rather odd to me that a month had gone by and Dan had not made his discharge public. I too thought, for the man who has become the face of DADT repeal, letting people know about an event like his discharge under DADT should have been a pretty important event to Dan as well. As an activist why did he not immediately inform the LGBT community, all who have invested in his journey and had eyes on his every move.

So while not my beat, I began to look for my own answers. I first asked Dr. Brooks what was up with all of this?

She told me she thought, in her opinion, Choi had probably turned “pro” and the reason for not saying anything about the discharge might stem from the fact the uniform was a pretty good prop and to wear the uniform after you are discharged, is a federal crime. She also told me she has been trying to get him to clear up some questions she had about financial issues for better then a month.

Later I found out that Dan Choi has an agent. (Gotham Artists).

This led me to question why an agent? Activists put the cause first – they struggle financially, are able to fund their own activism or are openly paid via non-profits with Board responsibility at their helm; they don’t need agents.  And they do not make deals for their activism that involve making money.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that people should not get support for expenses in their activism, however I never ever dreamed I would need an Agent for my activism or for the speaking engagements I have done freely around the issues I speak about.

Agents do not work for free, they are in business to earn commissions. Now while I am barely known in comparison to Dan, I could not imagine ever offering 10 percent of my equality fight, in dollars, to anyone.

Later, as I looked even further into this story, an LGBT student at Texas Tech University told me that when the school had asked for Choi to be a speaker, they were told by Choi’s agent, they needed to be paid 7000 dollars up front to get him there. When they could not come up with the money, Choi apparently refused to speak.
So far I’ve not been able to confirm this, but if this is true, as a fellow activist, I feel that all the good of bringing attention to DADT and its repeal to the public attention should not have this kind of quid pro quo attached to it.

I also have to think, that if this is true, it takes Dan Choi out of the realm of pure activist, could this mean he has taken himself down the road of profit maker for activism?  If he is charging to be a motivational speaker, he must  come clean to the community and separate his DADT activities from his speaking career quest.  He owes us that!  But would that serve a profit making quest?

I am disturbed by these possible developments and would like to invite Dan to show some accountability to our community.

I have taken huge financial hit for my activism- call me stupid – and I have suffered the consequences in many ways, too embarrassing to describe. I have not charged a cent to anyone who has asked me to provide personal advocacy services, because to my way of thinking I am being an activist when I approach a Senator for a private Bill or a Congressman for the release of a detainee.

Hence as a known fellow activist for LGBT rights, I feel qualified to ask Dan these questions on behalf of our community. I hope he gets back to all of us with the answers.

I Ask – Why Did Choi  reveal his Discharge on the Maddow Show a month after it happened?   Why did Dan Choi wait a month to tell us he had been discharged? Why did the activism and arrest in Vegas continue while we did not know he had been discharged?  Look at all the Choi news since June 29th – Look at Choi’s website – No dates when he tells of discharge? It is ODD!  What about GetEqual – did they know?  Where is the Press release?  If it was kept quiet for so long, why?  Was it about the money? Is there something else we do not know? Are these manouevers designed to get Choi a higher asking price?

UPDATE :   Ten minutes after posting, – A reader has just confirmed one of the questions by referring me to this site:-  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wakeupamerica2010/2010/07/04/what-does-equality-mean-to-you

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Dan Choi Discharged From Military On 29 June (lezgetreal.com)
• Lt. Dan Choi Discharged- Why Won’t He Admit It? (lezgetreal.com)

Inviting Random  Arrests and Banishment of Undocumented Residents

LINCOLN, NE – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU Nebraska filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of landlords, tenants and employers in Fremont, Nebraska challenging a discriminatory law that seeks to banish persons alleged to be undocumented immigrants from rental homes in the 25,000-person town. The law also mandates that businesses performing work in Fremont enroll in an error-ridden federal program for verifying work status. Like the recently passed law in Arizona, the Fremont law invites racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear “foreign.” The group will file a motion shortly requesting that the court block the law from going into effect while the case is litigated.

The ACLU’s lawsuit charges that Fremont’s law is at odds with the clear constitutional mandate imposing a uniform federal immigration enforcement system and has a discriminatory effect on those who look or sound “foreign.”

“This law encourages discrimination and racial profiling against Latinos and others who appear to be foreign born, including U.S. citizens,” said Amy Miller, Legal Director of ACLU Nebraska. “We’re going to do all we can to make sure this extreme law, which would lead to individuals losing housing and jobs because of their appearance and language accent, never goes into effect. Nebraska doesn’t need a law on its books that like Arizona’s, is completely out of step with American values of fairness and equality.”

The Fremont ordinance, which passed on June 21 and is scheduled to go into effect on July 29, requires prospective renters to provide the Fremont Police Department with information about their citizenship or immigration status prior to renting any home. Employers are required to check the status of would-be hires using E-Verify, a flawed federal electronic verification program that Congress has repeatedly declined to make mandatory.

U.S. citizens who have family members who cannot prove their immigration status are worried about the impact the law will have on their ability to live together as a family, and employers are concerned that the error-ridden employment verification program will force them to turn away lawfully authorized workers. Residents of the town have already felt the discriminatory impact of the law.

Mario Martinez, a U.S. citizen of Mexican descent who lives in Fremont, is studying for his bachelor’s degree and working part-time to support his family. His wife is a legal U.S. resident from Mexico and they have a young child together. He has lived in Fremont for over 13 years and is profoundly disturbed by the hostility towards Latinos in the town and worries that he and his family might be evicted from their home as a result of the ordinance.

“Fremont feels like a completely different town now,” said Martinez. “I’m as much a part of this community as anyone but now I get hostile looks from people like they want me to get out and my wife has been told to go back to Mexico because of her accent. I’m so disappointed that a law like this could have passed here. I always thought in this day and age laws are meant to prevent discrimination, not encourage it.”

The controversy over the Fremont law has been closely watched across the country, and the ACLU’s challenge is the latest in a national fight against discriminatory laws like the one recently passed in Arizona requiring police to demand “papers” from people they stop who they suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S.

“Divisive ordinances like these tear communities apart,” said Jennifer Chang Newell, staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “It’s time to stop promoting discriminatory policies like these so that we can come together to find a national approach to immigration.”

The ACLU has successfully challenged local anti-immigrant laws across the country, including in California, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Attorneys on the case, Martinez v. Fremont, include Newell and Tanaz Moghadam of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Miller of ACLU Nebraska and Nebraska trial counsel Alan Peterson of Lincoln and Michael Nelsen of Omaha.

The complaint in support of a preliminary injunction and permanent injunction can be found at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/martinez-v-fremont-complaint

Melanie Nathan:  “Imagine sitting in a Restaurant Bar and watching World Cup Soccer – and waving a Mexican Flag- ALL people in the BAR would according to these laws be “detainable” and the local police could have license to raid. Stepping on the toes of ICE and FEDS.  What is going on in America today?”

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Arizona Effect – It Spreads Like a Disease from State to State…. (lezgetreal.com)
• ACLU Sues Nebraska Town Over Immigration Regulations (blogs.wsj.com)
• “Two Hearings Today on Arizona Immigration Law” and related posts (talkleft.com)
• U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Arizona Empolyer Sanction Case for Review (lezgetreal.com)
• SHOCKING Utah Emulates Nazi Strategy (lezgetreal.com)
• Ricky Martin, Eva Longoria, George Lopez Speak Out on Racist Arizona Law (lezgetreal.com)
• Nebraska Town Votes to Banish Illegal Immigrants (nytimes.com)
• Montana Couples Sue State For Domestic Partner Protections (lezgetreal.com)
• Act & Rally for Immigration Reform and Against Arizona’s SB 1070 (lezgetreal.com)

7-22-10  Melanie Nathan -
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit in a Denver federal court today against the sheriff of Jefferson County in Colorado arguing that he unjustifiably and illegally imprisoned a Colorado resident for 47 days last year with no charges pending against him simply because federal immigration officers suspected that the man was in the U.S. in violation of federal immigration laws.

“Without any legal authority whatsoever, Sheriff Ted Mink imprisoned our client and kept him in legal limbo for 47 days with no charges pending, no opportunity to see a judge and no opportunity to post bail,” said Mark Silverstein, Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado. “Our fundamental constitutional values prohibit depriving any person of liberty without due process of law.”

Luis Quezada, the ACLU’s client, was arrested and taken to the Jefferson County Jail where he was held for three days in May 2009 for failing to appear in court on a traffic charge. He promptly resolved the traffic charge, and the county court judge ordered him released.

Quezada was not released, however, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent the jail an immigration detainer advising that it was investigating whether Quezada was violating immigration laws. An immigration detainer instructs a jail or prison to hold a particular detainee an additional 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) after the detainee’s release date. The detainer states that its purpose is to provide adequate time for ICE agents to determine whether to take the detainee into federal custody and begin formal deportation proceedings. Yet after the 48 hour detainer expired, the Jefferson County sheriff continued to unlawfully hold Quezada for an additional 47 days.

When ICE finally took Quezada into custody in mid-July 2009, the agency immediately allowed him to be released on bond while he defended himself in immigration court.

“By allowing Mr. Quezada to post bond and be released, ICE determined that our client poses no danger to the community and is not a flight risk. Those same facts existed when our client was originally detained,” said Dan Williams, an attorney with the law firm of Faegre & Benson and cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Colorado. “No right is more firmly ingrained in our Constitution and our understanding of freedom than the right not to be left in jail indefinitely without charges filed or an opportunity to post bail, yet that is exactly what happened here. This lawsuit seeks to compensate Mr. Quezada, and we hope that it will serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement throughout Colorado to stop this lawless deprivation of liberty.”

The ACLU of Colorado has received multiple complaints of similar cases in which Colorado jails held suspected immigration violators without legal authority. To address the recurring issue, the ACLU of Colorado wrote to all Colorado sheriffs in the fall of 2008, advising that any legal authority of an immigration detainer expires after 48 hours. The ACLU also asked Colorado sheriffs for copies of any written policies instructing jail deputies on how to proceed when the jail receives immigration detainers. The Jefferson County attorney responded that the sheriff’s office had no applicable written policies.

ICE routinely issues immigration detainers to law enforcement agencies around the country as part of part of ICE enforcement initiatives involving state and local police such as the 287(g) program, Secure Communities and the Criminal Alien Program. In addition to causing racial profiling and harming public safety, those initiatives raise the risk that agencies and officers will face increased claims for damages as a result of cases like Quezada’s.

“ICE is issuing detainers by the thousands in an attempt to use state and local police and sheriffs as adjunct federal immigration officers,” said Omar Jadwat, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. “However, police officers and jailers are always required to obey the Constitution and simply cannot imprison a person in this way, even if an immigration detainer exists. States and municipalities open themselves to liability when they treat ICE detainers as if they were sentences imposed by a court.”

Attorneys on the case, Quezada v. Mink, include Jadwat of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project; Silverstein and Taylor Pendergrass of the ACLU of Colorado; and Williams of the law firm of Faegre & Benson.

A copy of the complaint can be found at: www.aclu.org/immigrants-rights/quezada-v-mink-amended-complaint-and-jury-demand

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
see me on FaceBook

Related articles by Zemanta

• ACLU Accuses JeffCo Sheriff Ted Mink Of Unlawfully Imprisoning Suspected Illegal Immigrant For 47 Days (huffingtonpost.com)
• SHOCKING Utah Emulates Nazi Strategy (lezgetreal.com)

Hitler Started Campaign Against Jews With Lists

The ACLU site has re-posted this Article Originally posted on Huffington Post.

Utah may be diving head-first into a “race to the bottom” with Arizona to make the state as frightening as possible for people who look or sound “foreign.”

Last Monday, a group calling itself “Concerned Citizens of the United States” issued a list of 1,300 Utah residents it claims are illegal immigrants. The list of Hispanic names, birth dates, workplaces, addresses, phone numbers and Social Security numbers was sent to law enforcement agencies and news media demanding that those included be deported immediately. Women who are pregnant are noted along with their exact due dates, and the list specifies that steps should be taken for their immediate deportation. The names of children are also included in the list.

The accuracy of the list is dubious, reflective of the myth-making that often fuels anti-immigrant sentiment. By Wednesday, at least two women on the list and contacted by the The Salt Lake Tribune reported that they were actually in the country lawfully.

In a letter accompanying the list, the unidentified authors chillingly state that they have been observing the individuals in “our” neighborhoods, streets, stores, schools and public welfare buildings. They claim additional information was obtained through infiltrating the “social networks” of those identified. New lists are promised on a continual basis, presumably until every last “illegal” has been hunted down and many thousands of innocent people have been spied on and harassed by vigilantes.

Notably, these anonymous “Concerned Citizens” make no effort to account for their own identities or the legality of their collection and dissemination of personally identifiable information.

On Friday, state officials announced they have identified two Utah state workers who illegally accessed state databases to help compile this list. They’ve been put on administrative leave. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff promised an “immediate, aggressive, formal investigation.”

The ACLU of Utah commends the swift action of Gov. Herbert and AttorneyGeneral Shurtleff in responding to investigate the release of private information once the list became public. It was critical that many senior state officials and legislators spoke out againstthe breaches and intimidation tactics. These security breaches also make clear that the government must do a better job of restricting access to and protecting databases containing such highly personal information.

While this list is a disturbing new development, this apparently private action is symptomatic of what has been frequently condoned by government – This  racial profiling, is swelling beneath the tourist-friendly, family-values face that Utah presents to the rest of the World and nation. State legislators have promised to introduce a bill modeled on Arizona’s S.B. 1070 in the upcoming legislative session, drawing encouragement rather than discouragement from the Justice Department lawsuit challenging Arizona’s law. In 2008, Utah passed an omnibus anti-immigration bill, S.B. 81. Arizona’s new law has Utah and some other states wondering how they can copy it and make things even worse, and Gov. Herbert has signaled that he will sign yet another ill-conceived immigration bill.

Hopefully Utahns realize, as their leaders now seem to do, that the list went too far. The anonymous compiling of personal information and the watchful, spying eyes of vigilante groups is cowardly and antithetical to long-established American ideals of liberty and individual sovereignty.

In a few weeks, Gov. Herbert is convening a roundtable of Utah legislators and community leaders to discuss immigration. This is the right time to responsibly address the intimidation and rising fears of a significant and diverse part of Utah’s population.

Rather than follow Arizona’s lead to the bottom, Utah can shift course to reclaim its reputation for compassion, integrity and a respect for all.

AND YES it has started….

Utah officials said they have identified at least two state workers who apparently accessed confidential documents to create a list of 1,300 purported illegal immigrants that was mailed to law enforcement officials and the news media.

Gov. Gary Herbert said the employees work for the Department of Workforce Services, which administers food stamp programs and other public benefits. The employees have been placed on administrative leave, and the state attorney general will determine whether to file criminal charges.

“It’s a very small group. The people we’ve identified certainly have some strong political opinions and seem to be frustrated with some of the issues around immigration,” said Kristen Cox, executive director for the department. “I think it’s an immense hypocrisy to talk about taking people to task for being illegal and doing so by breaking the law.”

Posted By Melanie Nathan

Related articles by Zemanta

• Utah Attorney General Weighs In On Immigration (npr.org)
• Utah AG: Leaked list of immigrants ‘like a hit list’ (cnn.com)
• 2 state workers blamed for Utah immigrant list (msnbc.msn.com)
• Utah Illegal Immigrants List Leakers Identified (huffingtonpost.com)
• Utah gov: Only 2 responsible for immigrant list (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

By Melanie Nathan  7-21-10

Meg Whitman is analyzed by Melanie Nathan via Fox interview.

My analysis  – Judge for yourself – please do not import my thoughts.  Share your own these are mine….A mile a minute a voice like a man a closet lesbian….  She speaks for the world – she is right never wrong- she is borderline!

She is so-pro Prop8 – She is anti gay marriage, but will support second class citizenry for LGBT couples by supporting Civil Unions. Hey Meg we have that anyway except its called Domestic Partnership. Wanna give that a new name?   She is so full of herself – she clearly will not allow another soul to speak their piece – so if she gets to be governor and autocrat shall be holding the pen that dooms the next California day.

She does not allow anyone else to talk or have HER stage.  N o other can lift their leg high enough to pee on her tree.  The interviewers trying to engage in conversation; but she keeps cutting them off and will not allow any voice other than her own.

She is condescending and does not like women.

Watch Out California- she is carved of stone…… see for yourself

Related articles by Zemanta

• Meg Whitman Sold Porn And That’s (Apparently) A Bad Thing (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, A-DRAG (lezgetreal.com)
• Meg Whitman Was for Gay Rights Before She Was Against Them [Politics] (gawker.com)
• Was Meg Whitman’s Software Pirated from Mitt Romney’s Donors? [Rumormonger] (gawker.com)

Constance McMillen, the famed and courageous overnight Lesbian Icon, n who sued her school district over its ban of same-sex prom dates has accepted an offer to settle the case.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing Constance McMillen filed notice Monday in U.S. District Court to accept a judgment offer from the Itawamba County School District to pay $35,000, plus attorney’s fees.

“Back in March, we sued the public high school in Fulton, Mississippi, for canceling the school prom rather than allow Constance McMillen to attend with her girlfriend and to wear a tuxedo. You may remember that school officials then invited her to a “prom” that only Constance and a handful of students attended while the rest of her class partied at a secret prom several miles away. Quite a reminder of how cruel kids, and school officials, can be.

After getting an initial ruling from the federal judge that the school district had violated Constance’s free speech rights, we pressed ahead with the lawsuit. And yesterday, the school agreed to have judgment entered against it. This isn’t just a settlement, it means that the district is held liable for violating Constance’s rights — in other words: they caved.” (ACLU  Website)

As part of the agreement, the school district also said it would follow a policy not to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity in any educational or extracurricular activities.

The ACLU said the case is precedent-setting because the district is the first in Mississippi to implement a policy banning discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I’m so glad this is all over,” McMillen said in a statement Tuesday. “I won’t ever get my prom back, but it’s worth if it changes things at my school.” (BBC  and  SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press Writer Reports)

A call to the school district in north Mississippi seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit in March when the district canceled a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School after McMillen asked to bring her girlfriend to the event and wear a tuxedo.

The ACLU sought an injunction to force the district to hold the prom. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson refused the demand, but he said in a March 23 ruling that the district had violated McMillen’s rights.

District officials said in the offer that they didn’t believe McMillen’s rights had been violated by anything they had done. The defendants in the case were district superintendent Teresa McNeece, Itawamba Agricultural High School principal Trae Wiygul and Rick Mitchell, assistant principal at IAHS.

The ACLU said McMillen was harassed by students after the prom was canceled. McMillen and the ACLU also said there had been a scheme in which she was sent to a “decoy” privately sponsored prom while her classmates attended a dance at another location.

“I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly,” McMillen said.

McMillen eventually transferred from IAHS to a school in Jackson, Miss., to graduate this past spring.

Her case gained national attention and she was featured on television shows and served as a grand marshal for New York’s Gay Pride Parade, A guest on Ellen Show, who provided her with a $35,000 scholarship, an appearance at NCLR, San Francisco’s Annual Dance and anniversary often known as the Lesbian Prom  among numerous other events in which she participated.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Lady Gaga Sends a Message to Constance McMillen (lezgetreal.com)
• Lesbian teen accepts Miss. school district’s offer (sfgate.com)
• Lesbian teen accepts Miss. school district’s offer (msnbc.msn.com)
• Lesbian Prom Activist Constance forced to Change Schools (lezgetreal.com)
• Questions For Constance McMillen LGBT Prom Teen (lezgetreal.com)
• Constance McMillen Looks Forward to NYC Pride Parade and White House Reception (lezgetreal.com)

Melanie Nathan 7-20-2919

Moments ago, Elena Kagan’s nomination moved one step closer to “Justice”, ( SCOTUS)  passing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with one Republican vote by Lindsey Graham.

Despite Jeff Sessions,  the Republcan  ranking member and his usual nonsensical rants, the controversial, yet “safe”  Obama nominee Elana Kagan is now on to the next step.

Elena Kagan (pronounced /ˈkeɪɡən/; born April 28, 1960)^[2] is the Solicitor General of the United States and a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kagan was born and raised in New York City. After attending Princeton, Oxford, and Harvard Law School, she completed federal Court of Appeals and Supreme Court clerkships. She began her career as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, leaving to serve as an Associate White House Counsel and later policy adviser under President Bill Clinton. After a nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which expired without action, she became a professor at Harvard Law School and was later named its Dean.

She was appointed Solicitor General by President Barack Obama on January 26, 2009. On May 10, 2010, Obama nominated Kagan to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy from the impending retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens at the end of the Supreme Court’s 2009–2010 term.^[4][5]

Related articles by Zemanta

• OBAMA Picks Kagan for SCOTUS (lezgetreal.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan -7-18-10

San Francisco- A federal administrative judge has rejected claims by a lesbian former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs office in Oakland that she was fired after she spoke out against anti-gay harassment and a hostile work environment, Reports Matthew Bajko from The Bay Area Reporter Online .

In her comments to Bajko, Ann Williams, a California resident, who In June 2008 was dismissed from her job as a veterans service representative with the regional VA office, said: “I am so shocked by the decision and the blatant inaccuracies and biases the judge demonstrated,”

Williams, who represented herself in the case, told the Bay Area Reporter. “She had to bend over backwards to support her decision that I was not discriminated against. In fact she insinuates I was a racist and was as bad as the guy who was discriminating against me and I deserved what I got.”

Williams had filed the lawsuit with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after she was dismissed from her job as a veterans service representative.  Her allegations in the lawsuit ranged from co-workers sabotaging her performance records to anti-gay verbal taunts and threats of violence against her due to her sexual orientation.

Administrative Judge Caitlin A. Schneider ruled that not only had Williams failed to prove she had been subjected to a hostile work environment as outlined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also that she had failed to show that the ill treatment stemmed from her being part of a protected class under federal law, such as age, race or sexual orientation.

Having been told (inaccurately it turned out) by VA officials that she could bring an EEOC complaint based on sexual orientation, Williams said she had no reason to think she had to prove her ill treatment was due to a different protected category.   After having her claims rejected by the EEOC judge, Williams questioned if the agency would be equipped to handle sexual orientation based complaints should a federal pro-LGBT Employment Non-Discrimination Act be passed into law.

“With ENDA the whole point is to put sexual orientation under Title VII. Who enforces Title VII? The EEOC. If they don’t protect people now, they aren’t going to protect gay people either,” she said. “Something has to be done with the EEOC. You can’t take seriously their mission to enforce Title VII.”

There is another case pending before the same Court with similar facts, involving a straight women -  Lez Get Real will keep you posted as well.

My assertion is that this speaks yet again to the desperate need for inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity  in the Civil Rights Act, begging for an amendment to assert full LGBT equality on every level.  (See the new grass root release of The American Equality Bill 2010)

The Judge;

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

Related articles by Zemanta

• Breaking First Release -THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL (lezgetreal.com)
• Breaking First Release -THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL (pinkbananaworld.com)

Melanie Nathan   7-17-10

A Michigan-based gay rights foundation has given more than $400,000 to a California seminary to help craft formal liturgies for the Episcopal Church to bless gay and lesbian relationships, reports Kevin Eckstrom from Beliefnet, an online spirituality focused blog.

“The Episcopal Church still officially considers marriage between a man and a woman, reflected in the marriage rite of its Book of Common Prayer. Many dioceses, however, unofficially allow priests to bless same-sex relationships and even marriages.

Because the church puts a high value on scripted liturgies, many same-sex couples want their own marriage/blessing rite since many bishops are reluctant to use the traditional husband-wife marriage liturgy for same-sex unions.”

Again it would seem while this overtly sounds like a blessing – it reflects the classic marginalization to which we have all become accustomed – but then of course we must yield to the right of any Spiritual organization or religious group to its autonomy and freedoms of expression.  It becomes a matter of personal belief and is up to the individual to make their own decisions – for many this may well be a welcome opportunity to be blessed in the church that may otherwise have shunned them completely.

To my way of thinking if we had full equality in the US and around the World – perhaps the religions would evolve accordingly – you  evolutionary interpretation – hit a chord?

By Melanie Nathan.
Going to the Beach in Northern California today….. brrrrrrrrr
Going to the City Tonight – San Francisco – covering Nightlife!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Foundation Donates $400K For Episcopal Gay Liturgies (huffingtonpost.com)
• Foundation Donates $400K for Episcopal Gay Liturgies (beliefnet.com)