On December 20^th Join the Impact invited this nation’s LGBT community and it’s supporters, to join together for a candle light vigil called Light up the Night for Equality.  This vigil was a peaceful gathering held in remembrance of the 18,000+ marriages that took place in California, the Civil rights that Proposition 8 and other initiatives like it around the country have stripped from us, and in honor of those rights that will one day be again.  All over the nation the LGBT community joined together to be seen and make an impact.  I am proud to say that we here in Fresno WERE able to make an impact and be counted amongst the thousands to stand up for our rights and make a difference.

I know that it would possibly give us more weight, more credibility, more support if I could unequivocally argue that the marriage equality movement is a direct comparison to the civil rights movements of the past, but I can’t.  What I can say is that I have never felt more moved to do whatever it takes to make sure that all of my gay brothers and sisters are treated equally under the law.

Growing up in Mississippi, the belief that race segregation was a thing of the past was essentially a joke.  I can remember hearing stories from my mother about the race riots and efforts for and against segregation.  But in my mind, I asked as she spoke of this “past;” has it ever really changed?  I knew that the African-American community wasn’t dealing anymore with the blatant aggressive attacks of public beatings and dogs being released on them just for speaking up for their desire to be treated equally.  But, there was and STILL IS, segregation.  In the schools, in the neighborhoods, in the friend groups that exist and in the basic places people shop and entertain themselves – individual efforts of segregation cannot be legislated away.

Frank Rich nails the problem with President Elect Barack Obama's choice to deliver the invocation at the inaugural, in his article for the New York Times.

Throughout the campaign my overwhelming fear was that Barack would sell out like so many before him, and with his choice of homophobe Rick Warren to deliver the invocation, my fears began to see the light of day. I hope it doesn't carry that much weight, I hope it was a stupid oversight, but stupid and thoughtless it was, none the less. Barack's lame excuse of "bringing people together" and "welcoming diversity" not only does not apply to this choice, it condescends to all LGBT Americans. Let's hope it's not indicative of things to come. Read Frank Rich's article by clicking on the following link...

NYT - Frank Rich - "You're Likable Enough, Gay People"

It began on a Sunday morning after he greeted a group of gay rights protesters outside his church. In a spontaneous move, Franklin decided to invite the group into the morning service and asked their leaders to speak to his congregation.

A video from that morning shows Franklin onstage with the protest leaders. "I just want them to know they're not our enemies and I don't feel that from them in that," Franklin tells his congregation.

"As a person who has served on a forum with Pastor Franklin I know his conviction and I know your conviction as a church and I only ask you to respect my same conviction and ask that we work together for a better Fresno," said Robin McGehee with the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

The next day, Franklin received an e-mail from the man who had threatened him.

"He said, 'I saw what you did by inviting those protesters onstage," Franklin recalled. "Maybe you're not as homophobic as I thought. You're not going to hear from me any longer. And you can tell the mayor I won't bother him either.'" 

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/503597.aspx

A monumental victory was reached this last week, when a needle exchange pilot program was approved by the Fresno County Board Of Supervisors. This success comes after a very long and difficult struggle to get the program started. The following is the report from The Fresno Bee...

By Barbara Anderson / The Fresno Bee

Intravenous drug users can legally receive clean hypodermic needles in exchange for dirty ones in a pilot program approved Tuesday by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. The one-year program, which includes substance-abuse counseling, will allow members of the Fresno Needle Exchange to move off the street and into a building where they can dispense clean needles without fear of arrest.

"We can reach so many more people," said Dallas Blanchard, who has been dispensing clean needles to injection drug users for 13 years.

This video takes all the anti-gay rhetoric and blows it away, in a very clear, mannered and often humorous way. Share it with anyone who still isn't "getting it". 

(San Francisco, California) California Attorney General Jerry Brown told the state Supreme Court Friday that it should invalidate Proposition 8, the voter approved amendment to the state constitution that bans same-sex marriage.

In a brief submitted to the court Friday, Brown’s office said the measure should be invalidated because it deprives people of the right to marry—an aspect of liberty that the Supreme Court has concluded is guaranteed by the California Constitution.

“Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification,” Brown’s brief said. Click HERE  to read the rest of this story...

United Nations — Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

In all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding declaration _ which backers called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with any-gay discrimination. More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution. Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review. Click HERE to read the rest of this story...

"The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions"

Check the rest of it here

President Elect Barack Obama is creating controversy over his choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation on January 20th. Warren, a pastor and friend of Obama's, stands in direct opposition to such things as gay rights, women's choice and stem cell research. Personally, my one problem with Obama is  the depth of his "faith" platform, which is detailed on his website. When will the day come in America when faith and religion are pointedly excluded from politics? Maybe never. Read the story HERE

By Lisa Miller / Newsweek Published Dec 6, 2008 From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists.

The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653

 

The Transgender Law Center in San Francisco is looking for transgender people and their allies in the Fresno/San Joaquin/Bakersfield/Coalinga area. We hope to facilitate a meeting with area legislators to introduce them to their transgender constituents and allow them to learn about issues facing transgender people in their district.

We’re looking for trans-identified people in the 20^th Congressional district (to see if you’re in this district, look at this map: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=CA&district=20).

We’re hoping to gather a group of trans people from this area who would be willing to meet with legislators and talk about their experiences. The Transgender Law Center will be facilitating the meeting and will provide training on legislative visits prior to the meeting. We’re hoping the meeting will take place sometime in February in the local office. Training would take place sometime in January.

If you are interested in taking part in the visit, or know of a person or organization who we should contact to reach out to transgender people in the area, please email me at intern@transgenderlawcenter.org.  

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Morgan Weinert / Policy Intern / 415-865-0176 http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/

Watch Jon Stewart be nothing but logical and reasoned, while the self serving Mike Huckabee spews nonsense and avoids details...

The volunteer opportunities will be staggered throughout the day, but the length of the entire day will be from 9am-10pm, see details below. All activities will be overlapping, so as long as you see something you’re interested in, hopefully offering your day to service will be worth it.

If you CAN NOT TAKE OFF WORK OR SKIP SCHOOL, come before or after. If you don’t want to donate the whole day - do what makes you feel comfortable.

Time: 9am-12pm
Place: Gay-Straight Alliance Network, 928 North Van Ness Avenue, Fresno
What: Office cleanup & clerical
Questions: Robin McGehee - robin@gsanetwork.org or call 559-268-2780

Time: 10am-2pm
Place: Wesley UMC, 1343 E. Barstow, Fresno
What: Make lunch bags to deliver to "tent city" or El Dorado Park
IMMEDIATE NEED: Need someone to set up - food/kitchen logistics, and be the contact person on the day of the event

Time: 12pm-4pm
Place: meet at Wesley (see above), head to Downtown or Central Fresno
What: Deliver food and litter pick-up
Questions: Robin McGehee - robin@gsanetwork.org

Time: 1pm-2pm
Place: CSUFresno, Women’s Resource Center - ask for USP meeting
What: United Student Pride at Fresno State will be collecting and donating non-perishable food items to the Bulldog Pantry, drop off your food and attend the 1p-2pm meeting. Questions: MiSFiT@dragonpack.com

Time: 4pm-8pm
Place: Wesley UMC (see above)
What: assemble grocery bags for needy families - check out facebook for supplies needed
Questions: The Facebook event is listed at
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?/event.php?eid=51500636984 where you will find the list of what goes into the grocery bags and other, upcoming volunteer opportunities. Or, email jenrink@mac.com

Time: 6pm-10pm
Place: meet at Wesley UMC (see above) and at 6:30pm, drive over to Christmas Tree Lane on Van Ness Avenue in Fresno
What: Each year there is lots of trash left on Van Ness and surrounding areas by viewers of Christmas Tree Lane - we’d like to organize our group to sight-see, but also work to pick up trash during the event - so, bring some trash bags, gloves if you’d like, etc. Walk begins promptly at 7PM. Questions: Jason Scott @ 559-862-4559 or email, ca-fresno@marriageequality.com

All About Care is in severe need of funding, and facing a critical situation if they can't raise enough money to stay afloat. In the current economy we're losing lots of businesses, let's not lose such a vital helping hand to the community as well. All About Care / Camp Care offers support and services to those dealing with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Click HERE to make an immediate donation online...

The following statement is from Cynthia Karraker, who operates All About Care/Camp Care...

"Hello friends of All About Care / Camp Care. All About Care offers daily support to women, children, & families. Due to the quietness of HIV/AIDS many people think their support is no longer needed, but in reality we need them more now than ever. I'm very proud to share that quite often it is our assistance  that makes the difference in the lives of those we serve.

As many of you know, Camp Care is very unique and we offer a life-changing experience to children and their families  whose daily struggles often diminish both their desire to be well & their ability to lead a rich productive life.  We offer a nurturing, loving, fun filled Camp intertwined with programs and education that inspire our children & families to become more self- confident, as well cooperative with their medical care.  There is a strong healing of spirit & lifelong friendships that take place at Camp with both Campers & Volunteers alike." 

 

 Best Gay Love Stories- New York City                                            Fall In Love in a City Of Dreams / Composition of Stories       Author: Brad Nichols                                                          Review By: Leon Velasco / Rating: One Thumb Up

 

The collected stories are very descriptive and clearly explain the surroundings that you can imagine the areas and envision the crowds of people. You find yourself drawn in by the authors of each story. However being that this was my first collect stories book, I really didn’t care for the break in stories and starting another one. Some leave you wanting to read more. I came across a sad ending so if you’re like me, a hopeless romantic, grab a box of tissues for the second story. Some stories leave you feeling warm and gooey inside. 

Many of you have asked how you can help and although I KNOW this is a very tight economic time for many, one of the major ways you can help is by helping us, personally, offset the cost that some of us have taken on while doing this work. If you do decide to give or, If you have already contributed - either by giving when you picked up signs at the GSA Network office, offering to pay for City Hall rental fee, giving $20, $40, + to cover other event needs - THANK YOU! This work could not continue to get done without you.

I HATE to ask for money, but please remember we WERE NOT funded by the NO on 8 efforts - so, all cost have been either paid for by donations over the course of the campaign OR, by individuals who have been willing to foot the bill - in hopes, that some of the cost would come back to them.

Here are the remaining expenses to get us through the rest of the year - if by the Grace of Generosity we are able to collect more than the amount listed below - the account will be managed by me and held for future event spending or donated to LGBT Center planning for the Fresno/CV region - (I AM DETERMINED TO SEE THIS HAPPEN) - So, if you are willing & able to help by contributing financially - here are the details....

I have set up a www.paypal.com account - you can either go to that site directly, or go to www.gayfresno.com and click on the Donate Now button - at paypal.com, go to send money, put in the email CVGSANETWORK@GMAIL.COM, the amount and click "services/other" - should be that easy, but who knows - Paypal does charge a transaction fee (about $1 for every $25)

What the hell are we afraid of? Especially those of us who are affected by Prop 8? Looks like the two biggest things are religion and black Americans.

As soon as Prop 8 passed and protestors took to the streets, a debate came up which raged long before Prop 8 and may likely go on forever.  Does the battle for gay rights compare to the black civil rights movement? A new phrase popped up before Prop 8's passing, but became particularly prominent after the votes were counted, "Gay Is The New Black". It's been on countless protest signs, discussed in the media and adorned the cover page of a recent edition of The Advocate.  Then it came out that the vast majority of black voters in California voted Yes on 8. There was a lot of misunderstanding that followed, often blaming a host of reasons while neglecting the religious aspect. Then, as before, debates sprung up about whether the gay civil rights movement has a valid comparison to the black civil rights movement.

 

Written by Jay Matthew

As the music started at the World AIDS Day event here in Fresno (held annually in Fresno's Historic Tower Theater), people were already beginning to stream in. The event opened with two songs from Fresno's Gay Men's Chorus—both were really funny gayed-up versions of Christmas songs, the second of which was called "Coming Out On Christmas," which got everyone in the crowed laughing and clapping. The show then moved on to the issuing of an award to Elaine Jimenez-Obeso for her involvement in the community; Elaine accepted the award with tears in her eyes.

Afterwards Dr. Naiel Nassar came on stage and lectured about some of the medical things that have been tried and tested to stop, and also help prevent, the spread of AIDS and HIV infection, but have failed in the past. It was quite informative and also very shocking to hear how close they have come to finding a cure and/or vaccine. But at the same time, they are still so far off from achieving this goal.

Following Dr. Nassar’s speech, the event took a different route and turned into a showcase of varied performances; not all of which where relating to AIDS, but were nonetheless very enjoyable. We got to see FSU's Los Danzentes de Aztlan, the Brix Mercer Band, Kitty Karryall, Christina Lacomb, and Shannon Price of Exotica. The most entertaining and eye opening of them all was the mother and daughter dance team, Stella and Tiffiny O, who performed an African dance about AIDS in Central Africa. The performance is about a woman who finds out that she has AIDS and her husband doesn't care. The only one there to lift the mother’s spirits up and show her that she still is alive is her daughter. I have a feeling that the song they danced to means a lot to Stella because she is a victim of AIDS and moved here from Egypt to learn more about it. Not only has Stella learned about AIDS since coming here, but now she is out there making a difference. Stella also received “The Volunteer” award that night for all of her contributions to Fresno County. The night ended with a candle light vigil outside of the theater, one last song from Christina Lacomb, and then the reading of names for those who have lost their battle with AIDS.

World AIDS Day is held every year on December 1^st across the world. It all began in 1988 and served as an effort to strengthen global awareness and the challenges of the AIDS epidemic, which continues to spread across the world and affects everyone in all classes, races, genders, and sexualities. 1.2 million people in America are infected with HIV. In Fresno County alone there have been over 1,600 documented cases of AIDS, of which 865 of those people have died. The goal of Worlds AIDS Day 2008 is to make the promise—made by the United Nations in 2001 and 2006—of universal healthcare for HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010 into a reality, and to get the people of Fresno to take part in events pertaining to the awareness and prevention of AIDS in the community. The event was organized by a small group of people from various governmental and private organizations. World AIDS Day in Fresno has been held at the Tower Theater for the last 5 years, and has been going on for the last 20 years at varying locations across Fresno.

The World AIDS Day committee was comprised of the following people:
Jena Adams, Maria Baldovinos, Rachel Bowman, Erica Caudillo, Sam Chaparro, Stephanie Garcia, Toni Harrison, Kristin Haynes, Stella O, Jennifer Rincon, and Emily Rizzo

Contributing Agencies:
Centerforce, Fresno County Department of Public Health, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Rachel's Projects, and WestCare

If you would like to donate money to the next World AIDS Day event here in Fresno, it would be very much appreciated and needed; you can contact Stephanie Garcia at (559) 445-3434 or via e-mail at: StephanieGarcia@co.fresno.ca.us

"In two short months, the battle over California’s Proposition 8 went from double-digit opposition to passing with 52% of the vote on Election Day. Could the heartbreaking loss have been avoided? Depends on who you ask."

The more you read, the more you realize just how off track the No On 8 Campaign ran. Everything from not allowing volunteers to have discussions with those voting YES on 8 to the subject of children and families being off limits, as well as how the leadership of this campaign basically shut out all but their own. Read this article from The Advocate, which delves into the strategies of the No On 8 Campaign...Click here... The Advocate - Anatomy Of A Failed Campaign

Some photos taken at the World AIDS Day Event at the Tower Theater on December 1st. Photos courtesy of Cynthia Manuszak. Click on photos to enlarge...

 

A lot of discussion is going on concerning the strategies of the No On 8 Campaign, in the wake of the devastating loss on November 4th. As with any other political campaign in the history of the United States, any loss tends to focus on how the campaigns played their cards, and this one is no different.

There's also been a lot of backlash against those criticizing the No On 8 strategies, which is, of course, ludicrous. To move forward we have to analyze what went wrong, if we were even working in the right direction, and what we should do next. To criticize legitimate debate about the campaign is, in itself, working against the struggle for equal rights. Protest is never enough to solve complex miscarriages of justice. You have to understand how state and federal constitutions work, what it takes to overcome a majority prejudice, etc.

It may turn out that the Yes On 8 campaign, in putting the issue to voters after the California Supreme Court made the decision to legalize same sex marriage, has done themselves in. Their "amendment" may really be a "revision", which by the rules of the state constitution, can only be enforced through different methods.

The following story was printed in the Fresno Bee on November 29th and was written by Barbara Anderson...

The kitchen is an important place at The Living Room, a support center in Fresno for people who have the virus that causes AIDS.

People come to the center not only for counseling and peer support, but for hot lunches and sack lunches, and bags of food filled from a pantry that's stocked with everything from tuna and cereal to rice and beans and canned fruit.

Even before these tough economic times, food ran short by the end of the month for many of the clients at WestCare's The Living Room, who have an average income of $800 a month. "To some of our clients, a bag of rice and a bag of beans is life sustaining," said Toni Harrison , case manager.