8/14/09

LGBT LiberAction's QUEER LOVE FEST 2009

DALLAS KISS IN!

ON SATURDAY AUGUST 15th AT I PM THE DALLAS LGBT COMMUNITY WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONAL KISS IN. THE KISS IN WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE WEST END AT LAMAR AND ELM IN THE ROSA PARKS PLAZA.

Set for 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 15 our Queer love fest is to include women kissing women, men kissing men, free queer hugs, signs, placards and even a Queer kissing booth!

If you haven’t met that special someone yet, maybe lady luck will smile upon you when you win one of our fabulous prizes while playing our Queer kiss-in games, and of course meeting the love of your life too! There will be something for everyone whether it’s sporting the wonderful Queer kissing booth, smoochin’ yo honey or handing out flyers and Queer chocolate kisses to passers by.

So often our voices are silenced because of our sexuality. We are bullied and beaten into the closet. By holding a queer kiss-in we are asserting our right in a very celebratory and fun way to unabashedly love someone of the same gender.

So come OUT, and Share some LOVE!

For more info please visit: www.queerliberaction.org
Queer LiberAction lgbtliberaction@gmail.com

Boss Demanded Pictures of Genitalia Employee Refused and Fired!

This almost to bizarre to be true.

Unfortunately for transgender people this is the profanity of reality.

A transgender woman was fired after refusing to show pictures to prove she had sexual reassignment surgery {SRS) to her employer.

Lets brake this down to digestible bites.

You go to work a Xtra Mart Monday morning and John the station owner tells you to give him pictures of your Virgina or Penis or whatever is between your legs.

"OK" you respond "No problem" and go into the bathroom and snap some pictures on your Cell phone.

I Don't think so. Not just hell no but Huck No.

Full story at the PGN-The Philadelphia Gay News. Phila gay news.http://bit.ly/rYDkA

Center For Artistic Revolution~Arkansas Contact Our Legislators


A message from the Center for Artistic Revolution.

Arkansas is a key state in the fight for ENDA!

There are three votes in play here. Please call them today to ask for their support.

Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat, though fairly conservative on many issues, voted for the hate crimes bill. Please call him at 501-324-6336 to support S 1584.

Senator Blanche Lincoln, also a Democrat, has cosponsored a previous bill with sexual orientation and gender identity, and voted for the hate crimes bill. Please call her at 501-375-2993 to support S 1584.

Representative Vic Snyder, also a Democrat, voted yes on the hate crimes bill and on ENDA in 2007. According to Wikipedia, while in the Arkansas legislature, Snyder stepped into one of his earliest legislative controversies when he attempted to repeal the state's aged "Sodomy Laws". Ultimately, however, his efforts failed, and the sodomy laws stayed in effect until the state Supreme Court struck it down in Jegley v. Picado in March 2001. Please call him at 501-324-5941 to support HR 3017.The other three Arkansas Representatives, Marion Berry, John Boozman, and Mike Ross, all voted against ENDA in 2007.

Representative Marion Berry (D - 01) 202-225-4076 Representative John Boozman (R - 03) 202-225-4301 Representative Mike Ross (D - 04) 202-225-3772

Thanks to The Bilericio Project

8/13/09

ENDA For The Record : Key Senate Supporters and LGBT Statements

Kelli Anne Busey
August 13, 2009

Transgender people have come to dread/rejoice the nearly annual introduction of gender inclusive ENDA bills.

Like Charlie Brown we have ENDA'ed up on our backs the past decade after Lucy steals the Football. Immobile we were then compelled to endure the attempted revisionism and assimilation efforts by the same organizations and politicians who had made grandiose statements of support only to stand by and quietly as we lay bleeding on the sidewalk of life.

Graphic but true. So here are some statements of the key people involved in introducing and supporting S. 1584 in 2009.

Just for the record.

Senator Kennedy;

"The promise of America will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act brings us closer to fulfilling that promise for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens. I'm proud to join Senators Merkley, Collins and Snowe in introducing this important legislation," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

HRC;
"We are thrilled the Senate has introduced, for the first time, an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that will protect the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We applaud the leadership of Senators Merkley, Collins, Kennedy and Snowe and look forward to working with them to pass these critical protections," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

LCCR;
"The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights strongly supports ENDA. We believe that civil rights should be measured by a single yardstick, which means that workers should be hired or fired based on performance and qualifications, not on immutable characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. For too many Americans, this principle has little meaning, and this long overdue legislation will finally close a major gap in our nation's civil rights laws," said Wade Henderson, President of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).

NCTE;
"We are so pleased that Senators Merkley, Collins, Kennedy and Snowe continue to take a lead role in advancing the rights of LGBT people. This bill will ensure that protections against workplace discrimination are extended to all Americans including the transgender community. There is no reason why people should lose their livelihood because of who they are. This bill is a major step toward fairness," said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

NGLTF;
"ENDA reflects the core US values of fairness and ensuring everyone is allowed to participate on a level playing field in the workplace. People recognize that our nation as a whole benefits when everyone is allowed to contribute their talents and skills, free from discrimination, which is all ENDA seeks to do," said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund.

Task Force ~ We never backed down from our Transgender Inclusive ENDA commitments [unlike some others who have]

The ENDA heat has been turned up!

The Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund's latest fund raising effort is being led by 'L' Word's Daniela Sea who played Moira Sweeney a woman who transitioned into Max Sweeney, a transgender man, who had this to say.......

>Snip<

..."And the Task Force is one of the few organizations that will always fight for the “T” in LGBT. They won’t back down. They won’t compromise to get a bill passed that doesn’t include protections for trans folks."

>Snip<

You won't get a argument from me on that count.

Please support the Task Force as they do the indispensable grass roots ground up hard work that will get ENDA passed!

The Task Force Action Fund

Text of S. 1584: Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009

This version: Introduced in Senate. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the Senate for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill available as of Aug 13, 2009 on the GovTrack.US website.

S 1584 IS

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1584

To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

August 5, 2009

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BURRIS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. DODD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. KERRY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KOHL, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A BILL

To prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009’.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to address the history and widespread pattern of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by private sector employers and local, State, and Federal government employers;

(2) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, including meaningful and effective remedies for any such discrimination; and

(3) to invoke congressional powers, including the powers to enforce the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and to regulate interstate commerce and provide for the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article I of the Constitution, in order to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.