Police say 7 arrested for public intoxication; one man remains hospitalized with brain injury incurred during incident

Between 150 and 200 people gathered on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse Sunday, June 28 — the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion — to protest a police raid on a Fort Worth gay bar, The Rainbow Lounge, at about 1 a.m. that day. Gay Fort Worth City Councilmember Joel Burns told the protesters he has called on Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of harassment and police brutality against bar patrons during the raid. One man remains hospitalized with a brain injury after, witnesses said, several officers threw him to the ground while arresting him. TAMMYE NASH/Dallas Voice

Read the full story by clicking here: Rally In Fort Worth Over Gay Bar Raid

Read what people who were there had to say by clicking here: Eyewitness Accounts

By Kenneth R. Bazinet
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - President Obama launches a fence-mending offensive today with a deep-pocketed and well-organized gay and lesbian community divided over whether the White House is moving fast enough to keep its campaign promises to fight for gay rights. Obama invited hundreds of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to a first-of-its-kind East Room reception marking the 40th anniversary of the start of the gay rights movement.

"To me, today's event is more than just a reception honoring LGBT Pride Month," said Brian Bond, the openly gay deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in a message posted on the White House blog. "It is an opportunity for the Administration to provide the world with a snapshot of the real heroes across the country that do the day-to-day work fighting for equality," Bond added.

But the gathering also comes as many in the gay community are angered over seeing little movement toward doing away with the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, or the Defense Of Marriage Act which says states don't have to recognize same-sex marriages consummated in other states.

Obama plans to tell the group his administration is currently working on an effort to repeal DOMA. But there is still much anger among many in the gay and lesbian community over the language Obama's Justice Department used in a legal brief filed this month in support of the act. The Justice brief argued that DOMA should remain in force because heterosexual marriages are the "traditional and universally recognized form of marriage."

New York Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is attending the Obama event, called the Justice Department's legal brief "inexcusable," but said she is confident Obama's top legal minds are working on legislation to repeal DOMA. "I take President Obama and his administration at their word," Quinn told the Daily News. "If he says he is working to reverse DOMA, I believe him."

Polls show Obama received the support of more than 70% of openly gay and lesbian voters in the presidential election.

As much as LGBT Americans have against them in 2009, it seems almost insignificant compared to life in the 1960's. Social repression in the 1950's and before resulted in a wave of rebellion in the 1960's. LGBT Americans migrated to larger cities, and established a sizable population in Greenwich Village, NY.  The city had laws against homosexuality in public and private business, but policing all places of business was a strain on authorities. Since there were few places LGBT people could gather safely, bars were the hangouts.

A harsher crackdown on homosexuality began with the approach of the 1964 World's Fair. Wanting the city to appear pristine, the mayor ordered authorities to clean up the streets. Police worked to entrap homosexuals as often as possible, posing undercover in parks and public places. Raids on gay bars were frequent. Police seized alcohol, lined up customers and demanded IDs. Men dressed in full drag were immediately arrested. Women not having at least 3 pieces of feminine clothing on were arrested. Bars were so used to the procedure that they often kept more alcohol hidden, sometimes in a car down the street, so they could re-open. Homosexuals were arrested simply over a perception they could become disorderly. Coming out in 1969 was virtually unthinkable.

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Gay Fresno is happy to help sponsor The Fresno Skittles, a local LGBTQ softball team. The skittles play other teams locally at the Regional Sports Complex , located 1707 West Jensen , on Jensen just past West Avenue. Their games are an hour in length. The game schedule is:

June 3, 2009 8:00PM - June 10, 2009 6:00PM - June 17, 2009 7:00PM - June 24, 2009 8:00PM - July 1, 2009 6:00PM - July 8, 2009 8:00PM - July 15, 2009 BYE (no game) - July 22, 2009 7:00PM - July 22, 2009 9:00PM

We encourage all to come to the games to show support for this local LGBTQ team.

Seen some wild outfits in Pride parades over the last few years? As Pride month comes to a close, check out a slide show of some of the wild attire of Pride participants by clicking HERE

Farrah Fawcett died today, losing her battle with cancer. Read the story HERE

Michael Jackson also died today, the apparent result of a cardiac arrest which resulted in a coma. Read what there is of the story at this point HERE

A second article can be found HERE

LGBT Community of the Central Valley,

My name is Chris Jarvis and I'm beginning a project which requires the participation of the Central Valley's LGBT community. "The Project", as I'm currently calling it, involves documenting the history of the LGBT community in Fresno and the Central Valley.  I feel we may lose our history if it's not recorded. While the scope of the project will be determined by the information I find, I hope to at least focus on the Central Valley from the 1950's to the present. 

At this early stage, I'm unsure what the result of this effort will be. My hope is to end up with a written history as well as a short film. The written portion of the project may end up in the form of a book, or at the very least, a series of essays or articles. The short film is something I am equally passionate about, and hope to submit to film festivals. I can't anticipate at this point which parts of my research and interactions will be included in the film portion of my plan. This project is a labor of love and passion on my part, and offers no financial compensation for participation. I'm doing this on my own, at my own expense and labor.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 marked the one year anniversary of the brief legalization of same-sex marriage in California. Same-sex couples and their supporters met at the historic Water Tower in downtown Fresno to renew their vows and take group photos. The celebration continued throughout the night at the popular North Tower Circle club and bar where guests were offered complimentary flowers, appetizers, champagne, & cheesecake courtesy of various organizations in the community that support marriage equality. It was a well planned event complete with entertainment by singer Lily Dale Murray and Andalee's Eastern Sun Dancers.

The history of The North Tower club and bar was a common topic as guests who hadn't been to the club since its reopening in October of 2008 spoke of the hate inspired arson that literally burned the club to the ground, and remarked at how the establishment has flourished since then. Couples came from all over to share their stories and in that intimate setting, the tales of love, marriage, hurt, pain, and redemption caused one to remember exactly why we as a community continue to come together. One couple drove out from Lemoore and told the story of how they met only two years ago. When asked why they chose to get married the gentleman replied, “We felt like it was now or never, you never know when you are going to get an opportunity like this again.”

These are the photos taken during the Anniversary Party at The North Tower Circle on Wednesday, June 17th. These are not the full size files. If you would like a copy of any of the pictures seen here in their full size format, please copy the pictures (right click and save to your computer) then email them to Chris Jarvis at ckjarvis@pacbell.net and full size copies will be returned to you via email.

(San Francisco) After a lesbian was barred from visiting her partner and giving advice about her treatment at a Fresno hospital, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights sent a letter to the hospital today urging that it adopt policy changes respecting same-sex relationships.

“We just couldn’t believe this was happening to us. This was the nightmare that we hoped we’d never have to live through,” said Teresa Rowe, who grew up in Clovis, California, but now lives in the Bay Area with her partner of four years, Kristin Orbin.

Read the rest of this story HERE

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed, and the California Legislature is considering, draconian cuts to all types of HIV-related funding in the near-bankrupt state.

In the worst-case scenario, which is still not off the table, slashes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program could result in thousands of Californians who make less than $41,600 per year losing access to the state-provided drugs that suppress HIV and keep them alive.

In the apparent best-case scenario, not all HIV drugs would be available via ADAP and patients would have to pay part of the cost of the ones they could get. That is problematic because some HIV-positive people have developed resistance to some HIV drugs, and need access to the full arsenal of therapies to stay alive.

Click HERE to read the rest of this story...

Watch video of the rally by clicking HERE and HERE

Following is the list of winners of raffle prizes offered by Gay Fresno this year at the annual Fresno Pride Festival. We will be contacting the winners about getting their prizes to them. If you are a winner and you think we may not have the information to contact you, please use the ABOUT US page to contact us.

We thank all the local businesses who generously donated for our raffle, and encourage all our readers to patronize these businesses. You may visit their various websites by clicking on the links provided in the list below.

CANDLE HOLDER / The Brass Unicorn ($29)
Sheyna Mooney

$25 GIFT CERTIFICATE /  Irene's Cafe
Jacob Posey

$25 BAR GIFT CERTIFICATE /  The Red Lantern
Anthony Paredes

$25 BAR GIFT CERTIFICATE / The North Tower Circle
Courtney Roger

$40 GIFT CERTIFICATE / Chase Flower Shop
Dennis Harris

$50 GIFT CERTIFICATE / Four Seasons Tanning
 Matt Cornell

$50 GIFT CERTIFICATE / Mark & Son Repair
Jessika Ceballos

$200 GIFT CERTIFICATE / Michael Craighead Stables
(FIVE HORSE RIDING LESSONS)
Lori Todd

$15 certificate for Tower Health
Sarah Conway

Pictures from the Fresno Pride Parade 2009. The North Tower Circle & Red Lantern parade float, with special guest Andrew Christian and his troup of underwear models. PHOTOS BY DAVID SCOTT.

Lee Morris, co-owner of the Express nightclub, has released the following statement to explain their absence from the Fresno Pride Parade this year...

The Express formerly (Déjà vu) NO FLOAT IN PARADE reason

Rumors are abounding, and you know how that happens, when you don’t have the facts.

The reason the Express did not have a float in the parade this year is the Fact that Hertz/Penske Truck rental in Fresno did not have a replacement truck for us since the one we reserved broke down. We spent two days calling around the central Valley for a truck, and none were available.

Thus the Reason for our last minute drop from the Parade. We were not prepared to do anything else at last minute, our staff and many friends of the club worked on our float since Jan as we always do, sewing costumes, building props and gathering the supplies, all by the way is still in my living room and backyard.

We all were so disappointed that we could not b e there, but we will next year as we will have a plan B in place just in case. Even though the Express was not there with a Float we were there in Support and Spirit, and we will be a major sponsor of the Pride Parade in 2010, as we have been since we took over the old Express building in 2003,

Thank You for your support over these last

6 years and looking forward to many more

Lee Morris

Co-Owner

Express Nightclub.

We've uploaded all video from the 19th Annual Fresno Pride Parade to our Gay Fresno YouTube Page

Click on the link to visit the page. 

Pictures from the 19th Annual Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade, held in the Tower District on Saturday, June 6th. Photos by Chris Jarvis.

A complete video of the Pride Parade will be posted shortly on Gay Fresno's YouTube page...check back...

At this point, we're all justified in any disappointment we might have over President Obama's current reluctance to address the civil rights of LGBT Americans or "Don't Ask Don't Tell", but at least we have a President who recognizes and addresses us in a genuine way. In honor of Gay Pride Month, President Obama has released an official proclamation.  

To read Barack Obama's statement click on the following link...Presidential Proclamation - LGBT Pride Month

In May 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating state funding for California's HIV/AIDS programs. If approved by legislators, the cuts would mean the loss of vital programs that save thousands of lives. Take action now-- join the fight against HIV cuts! Visit this website for information: STOP THE HIV CUTS

Please join us in Sacramento on Wednesday, June 10, to protest on the steps of the Capitol against the elimination of state funding for HIV programs! Buses will be traveling from Los Angeles and San Francisco. For more information click HERE

All Over the Guy

Rated R / Director Julie Davis / Starring Dan Bucatinsky—Richard Ruccolo -Sasha Alexander—Adam Goldberg

Review by Leon Velasco / Rating: Two Thumbs Up

This movie is a great light comedy of attraction, awkwardness of dating and getting to know each other, gay or straight.

“4 friends – 3 guys – 2 couples… you do the math”

I loved how it gives you a sense of rollercoaster context, you want to root for the under dog but you want to choke the under dog to give up and cut his losses and search else where. It also can make for a fun date movie or a night in with your partner and a bowl of popcorn.

A contemporary romantic comedy about the universal for that one true love, All Over the Guy, centers on an unlikely pair of two twenty-somethings, Eli (Dan Bucantinsky) and Tom (Richard Ruccolo), who are thrown together by respective best friends. They do everything they can to not fall for each other, but ultimately it’s in the small moments of truth – the talk among trusted friends and the fear between new lovers- that the two ultimately find their way to a love that will last.

Special appearances by Andrea Martin—Joanna Kerns—Christina Ricci - Lisa Kudrow—Doris Roberts

My partner Joshua Ross and I were the first couple to arrive in the sign in station for Selma carpool.  The group there was very kind, supportive and welcoming as we walked up to the booth. Everyone as they arrived was very friendly and accepting of us although we all had never met before. As we carpooled to Selma the group we traveled with was very anxious to get there although we were all still a little half asleep.

At the pep rally, Joshua and I found the speakers to be very motivational and emotionally moving. A few moments we found ourselves choking back on our tears of joy and inspiration. The unity of love, faith and hope that our efforts can and will make a difference at a pivotal point for history.

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This is a picture of a car from our side that was keyed after the Jim Franklin rally on Sunday in front of City Hall. If anyone has any information about the incident please contact us here at Gay Fresno through the ABOUT US page.

Many more MITM videos have been added to our YouTube site, many available in High Definition. Visit our YouTube page here... Gay Fresno - YouTube

(AP)  New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed into law a bill making the state the sixth in the nation to allow gay marriage.

Legislators approved the measure earlier Wednesday, incorporating religious protections at the governor's behest.  Lynch had promised a veto if the law didn't clearly spell out that churches and religious groups would not be forced to officiate at gay marriages or provide other services.

The Senate passed the measure Wednesday, and the House - where the outcome was more in doubt - followed later in the day. The House gallery erupted in cheers after the 198-176 vote.  "If you have no choice as to your sex, male or female; if you have no choice as to your color; if you have no choice as to your sexual orientation; then you have to be protected and given the same opportunity for life, liberty and happiness," Rep. Anthony DiFruscia, R-Windham, said during the hourlong debate.

New Hampshire's law takes effect Jan. 1. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow gay marriage, though Maine opponents hope to overturn that state's law with a public vote.  California briefly allowed gay marriage before a public vote banned it; a court ruling grandfathered in couples who were already married.  New Hampshire opponents, mainly Republicans, objected on grounds including the fragmented process that required three bills.

"It is no surprise that the Legislature finally passed the last piece to the gay marriage bill today. After all, when you take 12 votes on five iterations of the same issue, you're bound to get it passed sooner or later," said Kevin Smith, executive director of gay marriage opponent Cornerstone Policy Research.

Lynch, a Democrat, personally opposes gay marriage but decided to view the issue "through a broader lens."  Lynch said he would veto gay marriage if the law didn't address churches and religious groups.  The revised bill added a sentence specifying that all religious organizations, associations or societies have exclusive control over their religious doctrines, policies, teachings and beliefs on marriage.

It also clarified that church-related organizations that serve charitable or educational purposes are exempt from having to provide insurance and other benefits to same sex spouses of employees. The earlier version said "charitable and educational" instead of "charitable or educational."

The House rejected the language Lynch suggested two weeks ago by two votes. Wednesday's vote was on a revised bill negotiated with the Senate.  The vote was supporters' last chance this year in New Hampshire.

This is some of the video from our local protest at Sundays "Still Standing in the Middle For Marriage", a rally organized by Jim Franklin of the Cornerstone Church to celebrate the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8, which stripped same sex couples in California of the right to marry. See these videos and much more by visiting our YouTube page at... YouTube - Gay Fresno

After all kinds of distortion by the local media as to what actually occurred at Sunday's "Standing In The Middle For Equality" rally, the Fresno Bee comes around to, kind of, admitting that they all got the numbers wrong. As someone who WAS THERE and talking with others who WERE THERE, it's hard to imagine how the numbers could have been so vastly over estimated. I find it incredibly insulting that virtually all local media vastly overestimated the crowd, even saying it was equal to Meet In The Middle attendance on Saturday, given that anyone with at least one eye in their head could easily discern the difference. Meet In The Middle's crowd was MASSIVE by any stretch of the imagination, a crowd compiled and dedicated over months of organization, effort and support. Sunday's crowd was little more than a last minute, word of mouth church group.

Should we also mention that Saturday's Meet In The Middle rally, a rally organized in response to the CIVIL RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS BEING STRIPPED BY A SIMPLE MAJORITY, is being blandly compared to Sunday's rally, a rally of GLOATING, SELF CENTERED, PREJUDICED ANTI-AMERICAN BIGOTS? Gee, I think I just did...

Maybe there's something else going on here... Read the Fresno Bee's step back to reality, here: Fresno Bee Article

(Be aware that virtually all media reports about this event have been somewhat skewed, especially in terms of attendance. Franklin's event came nowhere near the amount of people at MEET IN THE MIDDLE, although several media outlets are representing it that way. We estimated the turnout for Franklin's camp at around 300-400, far from estimates of "thousands" which, due to the acceptance of anything published on the internet, were widely accepted, rather than actual reporting.)

Although I have a great deal of respect for the local media, who have remained steadfast in their dedication to covering the LGBT movement in the Central Valley for equal rights, their coverage Sunday night of the chaos that ensued during our protest of the Jim Franklin rally at Fresno City Hall earlier in the evening was nothing short of a whitewash. While the event was inundated with dozens of media cameras, everything reported on the local news Sunday night reveals nothing close to what actually transpired there.

Each channel covered our protest, but just barely, and concentrated on statements made from the Cornerstone camp. Let's be clear here, the story, the ONLY story in this battle, is that a minority group of California citizens had their equal civil rights stripped away from them simply because a majority of Californians and a shameful Supreme Court allowed it to happen. The story here is the lack of equality of millions of Americans in the year 2009. Simply put, the story here was the PROTEST.

There were two groups present to protest. One was organized through Gay Central Valley and was intended to be a confronational, loud disruption and counter to the Cornerstone event. The other protest was organized with Courage Campaign support as well as local activist Robin McGehee. This group chose to be a peaceful, loving and faith based protest, which remained on the other side of the street from the Franklin event, locking hands in a circle while singing and praying.

(It should be noted that members of this faith group went so far as to verbally disassociate themselves from members of our group during our shout outs across the street, stating to the Franklin  crowd, "They don't speak for us." I spoke to Robin after the event and we each support the other's right to speak out in different ways. Robin feels that our methods of confrontation can ultimately be used against the movement by the opposition, and I believe that using faith or religion in any manner in the debate simply reinforces the notion that this is about religion, instead of civil rights, and that can be used against our movement by the opposition.)

(What's especially disturbing is the reaction of some of the LGBT Organizations in regards to tonight's event. Some are calling it "pointless" and "devisive", since it doesn't gel with their plan of quiet opposition. Most of those making negative comments online were personally nowhere near the event, and relied on word of mouth or shoddy internet and local news reports for the "truth" of the event. Highlighting this are groups who believe that only a pre-plotted, prescribed and worst of all, non confrontational "activism" are the way forward. Let's continue to tell each other that it's better to weave ourselves into the web of mythology that is Christianity, than it is to deal with the issue of equal civil rights as what it is, an issue of CIVIL RIGHTS. Mythology, which includes Christianity, has NOTHING to do with the conversation.)