Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was that an amazingly gracious church who, on a hot, San Bernardino summer day, had 200 sweltering people emotionally overheated and packed into its hall with an AC struggling to keep up.

Or maybe it's because the California LGBT population has cannibalized its leadership to the point where no one is willing to take the unpopular stance of leading this wounded community made up of people that will bite anyone's head off who has a slightly different opinion from theirs.

Whatever you believe the reason to be, the Leadership Summit on Sunday was an utter failure. And we have no one to blame but ourselves.   Read More »

July 2nd could mark the beginning of the end to Prop 8, the controversial initiative that stripped California's LGBT population of the right to marry.

Why? Because on July 2nd, the first hearing of the federal case brought against Prop 8 by power team Ted Olson and David Boies will be heard in the North California U.S. District Court with the case assigned to Judge Vaughn Walker.

Even more dramatically, Olson and Boies, who have an amazing track record of winning cases, had requested a preliminary injunction against the initiative while the courts heard the merits of their case. In other words, this would have put the enforcement of Prop 8 in the Golden State on hold during the trial, consequently allowing same-sex marriages to occur again.

The hearing on July 2nd would've centered around the merits of the injunction, but Judge Walker had other thoughts in mind, calling recently for a move to “proceed expeditiously to trial."

“Given that serious questions are raised in these proceedings ... the court is inclined to proceed directly and expeditiously to the merits of plaintiffs' claims," the judge declared. “The just, speedy and inexpensive determination of these issues would appear to call for proceeding promptly to trial."

(See Case Document and Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Judge Walker's Order for Trial)   Read More »

My blog post from www.libertyhill.typepad.com on May 11, 2009

Like many of you, I go to several fundraisers per month.  I receive dozens of direct mail pieces.  All have a common message in the last six months. "Times are difficult but we'd appreciate it if you can find a tiny morsel more for our important cause."  Ok, so maybe not that timid, but you get the point.  Everyone feels obligated to somehow acknowledge the economic situation before asking for money for critically important work.

I'm a progressive working for economic and racial justice.  I'm a gay man fighting for marriage equality. The need for social change after 8 years of the Bush Administration has never been more dire. And the political opportunity with progressives in power from City Hall to Sacramento to the White House has never been greater. 

This is not the time for us to cut back our giving out of fear of what may happen or because our investments are down.  If we are employed or still have accumulated assets (admittedly somewhat less of them), this is the time to give and give more generously than ever. 

 If not now, when? 

As Angelenos who count immigrants both documented and undocumented amongst our friends and neighbors and The White House is calling for true immigration reform, if not now, when?

When more people than ever need access to affordable housing due to high unemployment, if not now, when?

When the basic civil right of marriage for gay and lesbian Californians can be won, if not now, when?

I will not give less in these hard times and I will ask you to join me in stretching further than ever.  The time is now.  Not two years from now when our investments bounce back.  Not six months from now when our property values rebound a little. 

"Change will NOT come if we wait for SOME OTHER PERSON OR SOME OTHER TIME" --Barack Obama

Not some other person or some other time.  It's you.  It's me.  Today is our day.  We need to dig deep and give our time and our money.  We will never see a bigger return on our investments in social change than investing big. Today.

From CBS News:

Forty-two percent of Americans now say same sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds. That's up nine points from last month, when 33 percent supported legalizing same sex marriage.

Support for same sex marriage is now at its highest point since CBS News starting asking about it in 2004.

See Unite the Fight's post on CBS News' earlier poll for comparison.

This reflects others polls, such as New Hampshire voters supporting marriage equality by 55% (which will hopefully send a strong message to New Hampshire's senate which will vote on a same-sex marriage bill tomorrow), as well as anti-gay Gary Randall's poll which indicated, to Randall's chagrin, that Washington state also supports full marriage equality by 43%.   Read More »

The first state in the union to issue civil unions to same-sex couples is now a step closer to issuing same-sex marriage licenses, possibly joining Connecticut and Massachusetts as the only states legalizing same-sex marriage.

Impassioned pleas came from supportive senators who went to last week's public hearing, where opposition claimed that straight marriage was like a cruise ship full of heterosexual couples, and that homosexuals followed the vessel in their tiny dinghies but wanted to get on the straight marriage ship, not carrying whether or not they sank it. The underlining theme of this metaphor, said a senator, was the appalling inequality, and what was most offensive was that the opposition felt this was acceptable, and on top of that, proclaimed it.

An alternate bill was presented to the floor stating that the issue should go to the people in a referendum instead of being decided by the legislature, urged by the belief that the legislature was moving too quickly on the issue. Opposing views claimed that it could be very expensive and referred to the millions and millions spent in California on Proposition 8, and that more pressing issues, such as the economy, needed the state's full resources instead of it being distracted by the marriage debate. This was countered that if same-sex marriage was approved by the people of Vermont, then the institution would have more sound standing and acceptance than if only approved by the legislature. This bill was voted down.   Read More »

According to many of the university's alumni, he is.

With the infamous lawyer's long track record, ranging from being the prosecutor that impeached President Bill Clinton to Solicitor General, and now his position as lead counsel for the supporters of Proposition 8, many who attended Pepperdine are not comfortable having Ken Starr as the current dean of the university. They feel his stance on Proposition 8 is "a disgrace."

So they've decided to take action. They've formed a Faceebook group, Pepperdine Law Alums in Support of Repealing Prop 8 and have addressed a letter to be sent to the dean.   Read More »

Though I appreciate everything that President Obama has done, everything he has said and everything he stands for, the time has come to put his money where his mouth is. The gauntlet has been dropped.

In many interviews during his presidential campaign (and some before), he's been quoted as saying that he supports full equal rights for gays and lesbians. The fact that he doesn't support gay marriage but still says he supports equal rights is a discussion for another time. What is occurring now? The Obama Administration is experiencing pressure from the rulings of two federal judges stating that the federal government cannot hide behind DOMA to avoid giving benefits to employees in a same-sex relationship. So if these judges are to enforce their ruling (which the plaintiffs in the case are pushing for because the rulings weren't mere statements, they require consequences), how will the president respond?

The president is swept up in a historical, economical crisis in which he needs both parties of Congress on his side in order to pull the country out from its mire. Because of this, many argue that the LGBT issue is not a priority. But I disagree. Without the rights and full protections that marriage laws provide, same-sex couples have higher expenses, less disposable income and as a result, less money flows through our dry economy. (Not to mention all the money put back into the economy from all those weddings.) But putting the economic crisis aside, when in the history of our country have civil rights taken a back seat to a temporary crisis? Never.   Read More »

In preparing this post, I can't but help use the first-person perspective because the impact that Camp Courage in Fresno had on me personally as a facilitator is so profound that distancing myself from it would, not only be difficult, but wrong in how I should communicate what needs to be told about the amazing change that is happening in Fresno, CA.

For the sake of time in telling this story, I first need to direct you to my Op-Ed on the first Camp Courage in LA so you can know what Camp Courage is and what it's about. This exact same model was brought to Fresno, but effectively expanded upon over the course of two days.

On Saturday morning, we facilitators anxiously waited for our pre-assigned group to arrive through the conference room doors, excited to know who we would be working with for the whole weekend. The expected 160 and more attendees were randomly divided into groups to help mix it up, and I was curious to see whom I and the rest of the facilitators would get. Many of us had either been to the energized Camp Courage in LA or had worked at several Camp Obamas, whose model Camp Courage has adopted. So we were expectant of the same amount of energy.   Read More »

Hollywood Protest against Prop 8, 11/22 2 pm (Protest)
Los Angeles, fight to invalidate Prop 8!
Come to Hollywood and Highland at 2 pm on Saturday, November 22nd, to protest against Prop 8. Bring signs and energy!

Because we will be in a highly visible and populated area, we ask that all attendees be respectful, not create vulgar signs, and not obstruct automobile or pedestrian traffic during our protest.
--Families are welcome--

Links for making signs:
http://www.kevinfurstdesign.com/
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/page/Downloadable+Protest+Signs


Location:
http://www.hollywoodandhighland.com/information_directions.php

Don't want to drive or look for parking?
METRO FROM UNION STATION: (810 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90012), take the Red Line North to Hollywood and Highland.

FROM NORTH HOLLYWOOD: Take Red Line South from North Hollywood (Lankershim Bl. & Chandler Bl., North Hollywood 91601)

BUS FROM WEST SIDE: Take the Rapid 704 to Hollywood and Highland.

BUS FROM WEST HOLLYWOOD: Take the Metro Local Line 2 to Hollywood and Highland.

BUS/METRO FROM BURBANK: Ride Metro Local Line 183 (SEPULVEDA-VENTURA) heading north to North Hollywood Red Line Station and follow North Hollywood directions.