Outrage in Texas
Maybe we were wrong …
Forty years later, when reading about the events surrounding the Stonewall riots, we’ve all thought something like, “boy, we’ve come a long way …” Police don’t raid gay bars for no good reason anymore, do they? Police don’t beat up gay people without any apparent fear of repercussion, do they? And the police chief wouldn’t use the gay panic defense to support the actions of his officers, would he?
Apparently so. Recently, in this season where the world’s gay community is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, that’s exactly what happened in Fort Worth, Texas. And one man is still in the hospital with brain injuries as a result.
You can read more about it in The Daily Dish from the Atlantic
And be sure to check out columnist and activist Dan Savage’s take on the issue
The good news is that internal affairs has launched an investigation into the raid and the Fort Worth PD has suspended joint operations between Fort Worth police and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for the time being. This article from the Fort Worth Star Telegram details some of the events that have been happening in the wake of the raid.
I guess we still can’t let our guard down. These cops, based upon the eyewitness accounts, were no less brutal and no less homophobic than their bretherin from 40 years ago. Sure, this probably wouldn’t have happened today in New York or California, but what about West Virginia? If the police should happen to come into your bar in a manner such as this, you should stay out of their way, do exactly what they tell you to do, and don’t give them any reason to want to hit you. On the flip side, get out your phone and take plenty of pictures and videos. You may not be able to fight back in the moment, but you can make sure people know that in this day and age, the whole world really is watching.
08/11/09 — an update: In light of TABC report, raid at Fort Worth gay bar looks uglier
Speak Out-Talk to Delegate Webster
Carrie Webster, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee and a Democrat from the House of Delegates 31st District in Charleston, will be online Wednesday morning with the Charleston Gazette to answer your questions about issues before the Legislature.
The live chat with Webster will begin at 9:30 a.m.
District 31 is commonly regarded as the “minority” district, as it was created to add racial and ethnic diversity to the legislature. Webster’s district is arguably the largest GLBT district in the state.
Come on out and ask Carrie a question.
The link is: http://www.wvgazette.com/Multimedia/chat/200903200356
Without Hope, the Us’s Give Up – Harvey Milk
“On the Declaration of Independence, it is written,
“All Men Are Created Equal”. No matter how hard you try,
you can never erase those words”
Milk. The latest film from Focus Films staring Sean Penn in a movie about the life and death of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay publicly elected official to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Originally the owner of Castro Camera, a camera shop in San Francisco’s predominantly gay district, the Castro, he first ran in 1973 unsuccessfully. His campaign met with opposition from the gay political establishment in San Francisco as he was labeled as ‘theater’ due to his loud, brash, outspoken style earning media attention and votes (although not enough to win). He campaigned in the next two election cycles and dubbed himself as the ‘Mayor of Castro Street’ led the gay political movement in fierce battles against anti-gay initiatives. Milk was elected city supervisor in 1977 after San Francisco reorganized its election procedures to choose representatives from neighborhoods rather than through city-wide ballots.
“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”
After serving 11 months with the Board of Supervisors and being responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance in San Francisco, on November 27, 1978, Mayor George Moscone and Milk were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned and wanted his job back. Both Milk’s election and the events following his assassination demonstrated the liberalization of the population and political conflicts between the city government and a conservative police force. (from Wikipedia)
In 2008, we have an uphill battle, especially in West Virginia. However, think about it. Harvey Milk was killed fighting for equality. Fighting for your right to love your partner, your right to be free from discrimination in the workplace and in housing, your right to live your life free from fear.
There are countless warriors that have come before us in the struggle for equal rights. People who have been beaten, kicked and murdered demanding the respect that we deserve. It’s up to us to lift up their names and carry the torch..to prove that they are not in vain, that their work lives on until we are all free. Gay Rights requires more of you than attending a Pride Parade or a Drag Show. We need you on the ground. You owe it to the Harvey Milks, the Matthews Shepards, to every teenager in school who contemplates suicide because of their sexuality.
DO YOUR PART!
Lesbian Couple Fighting to Keep Adopted Child
The Daily Mail reports
The state Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of a same-sex couple in Fayette County fighting a judge’s order that the baby girl they’ve been raising since birth should be removed from their home and placed in one with a married man and woman.
Kathyrn Kutil and Cheryl Hess argue that Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake exceeded his authority and violated their constitutional rights by ordering that the 11-month-old be immediately transitioned into a “traditional” home.
They say the judge has effectively excluded them as potential adoptive parents of the child simply because of their sexual orientation.
and
“I think I’ve indicated time and time again, this court’s opinion is that the best interest of a child is to be raised by a traditional family, mother and father,” Blake said. “Now, that’s this court’s opinion as to what a typical West Virginian would feel and what the typical attitude is of the West Virginia Supreme Court, a traditional family.”
Follow that?
Judge Blake believes that ‘tradition’ is more important that a child being placed with a loving couple with a long history of being foster parents, who happen to be of the same sex.
The child was placed with a potential ‘traditional’ foster family who four days later notified DHHR that they were not interested in adopting the child. The child was returned to Kutil and Hess after a motion for an emergency stay of Judge Blake’s order, so the girl was returned to them.
In their petition, the couple argues that at least one of them should be considered as a possible adoptive parent.
“It is absolutely nonsensical for DHHR or the circuit court to remove the infant from the only home she has ever known simply because the court believes traditional families are the best environment for a child and as DHHR now appears to be attempting to avoid scrutiny by advocating for the removal of the child,” the petition says.
The 20th World Aids Day – Monday, December 1,2008
World AIDS Day’s Charleston events will start with YogAid, a yoga seminar led by instructor Dan Connery. A gentle session appropriate for all skill levels, donations will go toward Covenant House and a children’s AIDS organization. 5:00 PM at Asbury United Methodist Church, 501 Elizabeth Street
Join us for a short program lifting up the impact of AIDS on the Mountain State and its people. Poetry, motivational message. 6:00 PM at Asbury United Methodist Church, 501 Elizabeth Street
Candlelight Procession from Asbury to the Living AIDS Memorial Garden, a vigil, memorial service, and refreshments. 6:30 PM from Asbury United Methodist Church, 501 Elizabeth Street to the Living AIDS Memorial Garden, 1600 block Washington Street East
Americans must be reminded that HIV/AIDS does not discriminate. With over 1 million HIV-positive individuals living in the U.S., and approximately 40,000 new infections occurring every year, the U.S., like other nations around the world, is deeply affected by this disease.
Show Online Support for World AIDS Day
By now, we’ve all come to realize that HIV/AIDS does not discrimnate based on race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation . Being so easily preventable, awareness and education are the two major battles we must fight against this disease. Social Networking utilities such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace allow anyone to show support for World AIDS Day very easily, reaching and encouraging other friends to do the same…and it goes on and on and on. We’re going to cover how to quickly show your support for World AIDS Day the three aforementioned Social Networking SItes.
- Join the numerous HIV/AIDS support networks such as:
- Update your Status Message to include a link here or to World AIDS Campaign
- Change your facebook profile picture to the HIV Awareness Red Ribbon
Link
- Tweet about World AIDS Day by including #WAD08 in your posts. This allows trackers to follow all WAD supporters on Twitter.
- Example:JakartaToday: Today is World AIDS Day. HIV has reportedly infected about 33 million people globally, two million of whom are children under 15. #WAD08
- Change your Twitter UserIcon to one showing support for the cause:
Myspace
- Update your Status Message to include a link here or to World AIDS Campaign
- Change your facebook profile picture to the HIV Awareness Red Ribbon
Link
Welcome to The Rainbow Report
Welcome to The Rainbow Report!
This is a new project for Rainbow Pride and we are excited for the opportunity to inform, educate and entertain the GLBT community of West Virginia and its allies. We are starting out slow and we are hoping to grow with more reporters. Right now our site is in real time. This means as we post articles they are viewable to you the reader!
Three reporters and the Chairman of Rainbow Pride of West Virginia make up the editorial board of The Rainbow Report. They are:
Charlie Rouse, Chairman of Rainbow Pride. He will be chiming in every week with his opinion and political news and events relevant to the West Virginia GLBT Community.
Dave web designer and blogger will be writing about online action for the GLBT community and on events of interest to the local community. David also works to design our parent site http://pridewv.org.
Caroline Starr, local lady about town, activist, mom, and sister in pride will be covering our Charleston Beat section and Lez B Friends. The Charleston Beat will focus on local events and be the society page for GLBT Charleston. Lez B Friends will focus on issues and information to the Lesbian Community of West Virginia.
Jeremy Elswick, A.K.A. Milla Rich, will be covering the state drag circuit. Our resident friend and diva will provide a colorful review of female impersonation in West Virginia.
Do you have a talent for writing? Would you like to submit a weekly, monthly or quarterly article to The Rainbow Report?
We are currently looking for people to write about the following regions and/ or topics:
Morgantown Beat
Wheeling Beat
Parkersburg Beat
Beckley, Bluefield and Southern WV
Central West Virginia (Fairmont, Clarksburg)
Eastern Panhandle (Charlestown, Martinsburg, Harpers Ferry)
If you would like to write for us or have an idea for a recurring article send us a email at rainbowpridewva@yahoo.com.
The Fight for Equal Rights in West Virginia
West Virginia Code states the following:
§5-11-2. Declaration of policy.
It is the public policy of the state of West Virginia to provide all of its citizens equal opportunity for employment, equal access to places of public accommodations, and equal opportunity in the sale, purchase, lease, rental and financing of housing accommodations or real property. Equal opportunity in the areas of employment and public accommodations is hereby declared to be a human right or civil right of all persons without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness or disability. Equal opportunity in housing accommodations or real property is hereby declared to be a human right or civil right of all persons without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, blindness, disability or familial status.The denial of these rights to properly qualified persons by reason of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness, disability or familial status is contrary to the principles of freedom and equality of opportunity and is destructive to a free and democratic society.
Which group is missing from this? Yea. Us.
As the religious ideologues in West Virginia gear up the fight against gay marriage citing the ‘family’, gays in West Virigina have real issues to worry about: the very real possibility of losing a job or denied housing (outside of Charleston) due to their. The rally against gay marriage in West Virginia is nothing more than a distraction.
We’ll win this fight but we need your help! Stay tuned for information on how to become involved in this important legislation.
Join the Impact Rally
This past Saturday, a diverse group of LGBT and LGBT supportive West Virginia citizens met in Charleston to stand in solidarity with 300 other cities across the United States at exactly the same time to protest the passing of California’s Proposition 8.
An effort started by JointheImpact.com, local supporters of LGBT rights leveraged tools like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to quickly mobilize an incredibly diverse group to peacefully assemble in request of equal treatment.