The author of the Op Ed in the NY Times had stumpbled upon the first moments of the Stonewall Riots while on leave from the military as a recently graduated from West Point.
“A prominent Stonewall myth holds that the riots were an uprising by the gay community against decades of oppression. This would be true if the “gay community” consisted of Stonewall patrons. The bar’s regulars, though, were mostly teenagers from Queens, Long Island and New Jersey, with a few young drag queens and homeless youths who squatted in abandoned tenements on the Lower East Side.
I was there on the Saturday and Sunday nights when the Village’s established gay community, having heard about the incidents of Friday night, rushed back from vacation rentals on Fire Island and elsewhere. Although several older activists participated in the riots, most stood on the edges and watched.”
Read the rest at the NY Times. Definitely an interesting account about a time in history we celebrate today.
Representative Barney Frank, joined by Reps. Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis, introduced an inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) - which would extend the existing federal law prohibiting employment discrimination to protect people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Today marks an important day for supporters of fairness and equality.
ENDA would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It creates express protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people similar to those available under existing federal discrimination laws for other protected classes of workers.
Passage of this critical legislation would help ensure people are allowed to participate on a level-playing field in the workplace; ENDA lifts up the core American values of treating people fairly and giving everyone a fair shake.
Currently, Oregon joins 11 other states and more than 100 localities that have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination protections, covering nearly 40 percent of Americans. Additionally, more than 150 of Fortune 500 companies have enacted nondiscrimination policies protecting LGBT workers. These advancements have helped to protect workers in many places, but many more remain unprotected. Passing ENDA will go a long way to rectify this inequity.
We look forward to the day when LGBT people no longer have to fear the loss of their jobs based on their sexual orientation or their gender identity. When that day comes, America will have taken another step forward in assuring justice and equality for all.
A group of Mormons - who have been forced to leave the Mormon church for questioning its practices - have called publicly for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the “Mormons”) to cease advocating harmful practices against gay people. The Mormon church has advocated practices, including electroshock aversion therapy, to turn gay people straight, even though every major American medical association condemns such practices as harmful and destructive.
The group also believes the Mormon Church used disinformation in its multi-million dollar political effort to pass Proposition 8 in California.
The DPO GLBT Caucus has confirmed that Oregon’s entire Democratic Congressional delegation, including Representative Kurt Schrader, will be signing on as original co-sponsors of United ENDA.
Thanks for your support, Kurt!
Anyone who thinks voting Democratic makes no difference … isn’t paying attention.
The DPO GLBT Caucus has confirmed that Oregon Democratic Representatives David Wu, Peter DeFazio, and Earl Blumenauer will all sign the United Employment Non-Discrimination Act - barring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity - as original co-sponsors.
Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue of basic employment fairness!
Representatives Schrader and Walden have yet to show their support for this bill.
Schrader: Jon Stern (legislative assistant in D.C)
Main: (202) 225-5711
Fax:(202) 225-5699
Walden: Nathan Ray (legislative assistant in D.C)
Main: 202-225-6730
Fax: 202-225-5774
LGBT community champion Representative Earl Blumenauer’s office has advised the DPO GLBT Caucus that he intends to sign onto United ENDA as an original co-sponsor.
Thanks for your leadership, Earl! We hope Oregon’s entire congressional delegation joins you.
Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) will re-introduce the Employment Non-Discrimination Act this Wednesday, in a version which fully includes the LGBT community by reference to both sexual orientation and gender identity. This legislation will be a foundation stone for LGBT equality in America.
Please call your House Representative and Senator, now, and ask them to co-sponsor this bill.
The Oregon Department of Justice has released the report of its investigation into allegations made regarding Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Beau Breedlove.
The DOJ found “no credible evidence” to support any of the allegations against the Mayor.
In a growing wave of support for LGBT equality, 77 U.S. House Democrats joined today in urging the President to repeal the policy which bars GLBT Americans from serving openly with dignity in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Former Senator Sam Nunn led the opposition to President Bill Clinton’s effort to allow LGBT Americans to serve with dignity in the U.S. Armed Forces. This Sunday, on Meet The Press, Sam Nunn back away from his former position, and says it’s time to take another look at the DADT policy, acknowledging the GLBT soldiers serve honorably in the military right now.
