| January 8, 2012 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
RAINBOW CAFE Youth group January meeting will be a FUN bowling event… we did this during the summer and it was great, so now we’re doing it again for the winter… January 8th at Fairlawn Lanes.
Click on the link above for all the details…
| January 18, 2012 | ||
| 8:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
Our next chapter meeting will be
on Wednesday, January 18th at 8pm
For more details, please visit
http://meeting.BergenPFLAG.org
| January 14, 2012 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 6:00 pm |
Lambda Legal invites you to attend:
Marriage Equality,Take the Power
a conference on Legal Protections and Financial Health for the LGBT
Community
Saturday January 14, 2012
11am to 6pm
Rutgers University Paul Robeson Campus Center
350 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Newark, New Jersey
Come be informed, entertained and inspired.
Get expert information about how to protect yourself and your family.
Learn about life insurance, second parent adoptions, wills, health care
proxies, hospital visitation and tips for surviving today’s tough economy.
Hear about Lambda Legal’s marriage lawsuit in New Jersey, meet some of the
couples involved with the case, and find out how you can participate.
This is a free community event that will address some of the particular
needs of LGBT people of color.
Lunch will be provided and children are welcome.
Please RSVP by completing the online registration form. For more
information, contact Aron Cobbs at 212-809-8585.
Please spread the word about this event by forwarding this email to your
networks and posting the attached flyer in the community.
Aron Cobbs
Community Educator
Lambda Legal
120 Wall Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10005
212-809-8585 x281
http://www.lambdalegal.org
Lambda Legal: Making the Case for Equality
One senator does his homework, and READS reports when they are referenced in his committee hearings…. and then discredits FoF statements.
http://www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/senator-franken-skewers-anti-gay-distortions-doma-hearing
Currently no discrimination protections exist for LGBTs in Turkey. Indeed, the law does not even provide a framework through which discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity might be determined.
Next month, Turkey’s government will begin drafting a long-awaited new constitution designed, according to Prime Minister Erdogan, to protect “everyone’s life-style, belief, language, culture and ideas.” But, Amnesty International warns, that’s not quite true as the rights of Turkey’s LGBT community will not be included.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/amnesty-calls-on-turkey-to-protect-its-lgbt-citizens.html#ixzz1SCG5vXjH
| May 19, 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
Hudson Pride Connections Center launches New Jersey’s first ever Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) Program for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Seniors
Jersey City, NJ, May 17, 2011–
Hudson County’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) seniors will finally be receiving much needed social, recreational, educational, and support services through Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders – SAGE! On May 19, 2011, Hudson Pride Connections Center will officially launch its SAGE Program – the first of its kind in New Jersey.
“The opportunity of being a SAGE affiliate will help guarantee that we will build our capacity to deliver high quality programs to GLBT elders in the Hudson County area,” said Nancy Caamaño, Hudson Pride Connections Center’s Executive Director. “The funding we received from the Hudson County Department of Community Development to launch this program shows us that our local municipalities are aware of our community’s needs,” Caamaño added.
Hudson Pride Connections Center will launch this program with a celebration on May 19th. Carol Wilson, the Director of Health and Human Services of Hudson County, will say a few words about the importance of offering services to our seniors. The evening’s festivities will also include bingo, a dance party and swing dance lessons. The event will take place from 6pm – 10pm at Hudson Pride Connections Center, located at 32 Jones Street in Jersey City, NJ.
“I am so excited to welcome our new affiliates to SAGE, and to see SAGE’s work expanding into regions where we have not previously had a presence,” said Michael Adams, Executive Director, SAGE. “The continuing growth of SAGENet shows that communities across the country are turning an increased awareness of GLBT aging issues into action.”
Hudson Pride’s SAGE program will provide GLBT seniors with a safe space to socialize, learn about important health issues, receive information about ensuring their financial well-being, and to connect with other GLBT seniors. SAGE will also offer educational workshops and trainings to service providers about the needs of GLBT seniors and how to provide appropriate and sensitive services to them.
Hudson Pride Connections Center, a 501c3 community benefit organization founded in 1993, exists to bridge the gap in services and respond to the unmet needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender community, as well as HIV positive people of any orientation or identity, through supportive social services, prevention, outreach, advocacy and development trainings for other service providers, to educate, empower, and unite all of our communities. For more information, visit: www.hudsonpride.org
Aaron McQuade, GLAAD’s Deputy Director of News and Field Media
http://glaadblog.org/2011/05/16/some-amazing-progress-being-made-in-sports/
For the last week, I’ve been meaning to write an update on some of the sports projects we’ve been working on here at GLAAD, and some of the positive work towards creating and cultivating an LGBT-inclusive atmosphere in the world of competitive athletics. And every time I sat down to start writing – like clockwork – something else happened.
On Monday, I wanted to write about how wonderful our meeting was with MLB executives a few weeks ago. Then HRC released Sean Avery’s pro-marriage PSA. I wanted to write about both of those, then Philadelphia 76ers forward Mareese Speights tweeted the f-word at a friend of his. I wanted to write about those three, then NC State basketball star CJ Leslie tweeted that he didn’t want gay people in the locker room. Then Speights realized his mistake and offered a heartfelt apology. Then an NHL agent made some anti-gay comments about Avery’s marriage video. Then Leslie apologized. Then Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Harris posed for the NOH8 campaign. Then Charles Barkeley reitterated his support for marriage equality and said that the world of pro sports is ready for an openly gay athlete (if they’re good enough.) Then the New York Times profiled (our friends) Ben Cohen and Hudson Taylor and their respective efforts at eliminating anti-gay attitudes from sports. Then Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts came out.
Seriously.
So I’m drafting my outline last night, and I’m trying to figure out whether I’m going to be able to tie all this stuff together – or whether I’m going to spend all day today writing 19 different blog posts about all these various sports stories – and naturally, one more story breaks.
First, came the airing of this GLSEN/Ad Council PSA against anti-gay bullying, featuring NBA players Grant Hill and Jared Dudley…
And as you can see from Grant’s decision to take a stand – and Charles Barkley’s, and Sean Avery’s, and Nic Harris’s, and Hudson Taylor’s and Ben Cohen’s and Rick Welts’s, etc. – we are at an amazing and historic moment when it comes to acceptance and inclusion in the world of sports.
The culture of athletics is moving forward. And nobody – not that NHL agent, certainly not the folks who sent homophobic messages to Grant Hill – is going to stop it.
I can only hope I have to do another one of these ”wide world of sports”-style posts next week. (cue the end music)
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2011/05/15/20110515phoenix-suns-rick-welts.html
May 15, 2011 04:14 PM
Associated Press
.
NEW YORK – Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts revealed to the public that he is gay in a story posted on The New York Times’ website Sunday, saying he wants to break down one of the last significant social barriers in sports.
Welts’ declaration is the latest development on a subject that has gained attention in the sports world recently, after Lakers star Kobe Bryant’s use of a gay slur on the basketball court and NHL player Sean Avery’s public support of same-sex marriage.
Welts talked to NBA commissioner David Stern, WNBA president Val Ackerman, Hall of Famer Bill Russell and Suns guard Steve Nash before discussing his sexual orientation with a reporter from the Times, the newspaper said. All of them offered Welts their support.
“This is one of the last industries where the subject is off limits,” the longtime executive told the paper. “Nobody’s comfortable in engaging in a conversation.”
The Suns did not offer a statement Sunday when contacted by The Associated Press. Messages left with Welts’ public relations team were not returned.
Welts is one of the most prominent figures active in sports to openly declare that he is gay, although there has yet to be an active player in the NBA, Major League Baseball or the NFL to make such a statement. Some athletes have done so after their playing careers.
The 58-year-old Welts, who began his career as a ball boy for the Seattle SuperSonics, spent several years with Stern in the league office. He was the architect of the All-Star Weekend and helped raise the NBA’s profile before leaving for the Suns’ front office.
Welts told Stern about his sexual orientation during a meeting in New York last month. The next day, Bryant responded to a technical foul by calling referee Bennie Adams a “faggot” during the third quarter of a game against San Antonio — touching off a firestorm of controversy and underscoring the taboo nature of the subject in sports.
The Lakers star was fined $100,000; Bryant has since offered multiple apologies.
Also last month, Atlanta Braves coach Roger McDowell allegedly made homophobic comments, crude gestures and threatened a fan with a bat before a game in San Francisco. McDowell served a two-week suspension and also apologized for his remarks.
Then there was Avery, the outspoken New York Rangers agitator, who offered his support for same-sex marriage in a video as part of the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign.
Hockey agent Todd Reynolds tweeted that it was “Very sad to read Sean Avery’s misguided support of same-gender marriage.’ Legal or not, it will always be wrong.” Damian Goddard, who hosted a show on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, tweeted his support for Reynolds and was fired.
Among the only people Welts opened up to were his parents and younger, only sibling, Nancy — although Stern said he had a feeling his friend was gay. Stern even telephoned Welts after his longtime partner, Arnie, died from complications of AIDS in 1994.
Now, after all these years, Welts has decided it’s time to come out of the shadows.
“What I didn’t say at the time was: I think there’s a good chance the world will find this unremarkable,” Stern told the Times, recalling their meeting in which Welts revealed he was gay. “I don’t know if I was confusing my thoughts with my hopes.”
Welts said he told Nash because they hold each other in high professional regard. According to the newspaper, Nash was tipped off about what Welts wanted to discuss and was surprised only because he thought everyone already knew that Welts was gay.
“I think it’s a shame, for all the obvious reasons, that this is a leap that he has to take,” Nash said. “Anyone who’s not ready for this needs to catch up. … He’s doing anyone who’s not ready for this a favor.”
=====
Rick Welts, Phoenix Suns show they are true leaders
CEO announces publicly he is gay; NBA should be more proactive in breaking down social barrier
by Paola Boivin, columnist – May. 15, 2011 11:36 PM
The Arizona Republic
.
Midway through Sunday night’s Bulls-Heat playoff game, a public-service announcement for the NBA’s “Think Before You Speak” campaign appeared, featuring the Suns’ Grant Hill and Jared Dudley.
In it, the players react to a youth calling another’s basketball skills “gay.”
Hill: “Using ‘gay’ to mean dumb or stupid – not cool.”
Dudley: “Not in my house. Not anywhere.”
Hill’s Twitter account was immediately slammed with bigotry.
“I love you man, that thing was gay tho . . . ”
“U Gay for that commercial”
“You gay for that s – - t . . . ”
Great spot.
Ugly reaction. Which makes what Rick Welts, the Suns president and chief executive officer, decided to do Sunday even more impressive. He announced publicly he was gay.
Welts, who was unavailable for comment, told the New York Times that “this is one of the last industries where the subject is off limits. Nobody’s comfortable in engaging in a conversation.”
He wants to change that.
Are you listening, NBA players? Time to follow the Suns’ lead.
If this news sounds like a non-story to you, in a perfect world you would be right.
This is hardly a perfect world. Thirty-four days ago, Kobe Bryant called out to an NBA referee and then muttered back-to-back F-words, one being a homophobic slur.
The next day, he issued a statement that was nearly as troubling: “My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings toward the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”
You call that an apology? The gay community needs a voice in the NBA better than that one.
This is the league with a superstar who muttered a homophobic slur. Good for Commissioner David Stern and the $100,000 fine he issued Bryant.
And this is the league where, four years ago, a retired star, Tim Hardaway, said he hates “gay people” after another former player, John Amaechi, admitted he was gay.
So good for you, Rick Welts, for sharing your story so others entering the sports arena feel comfortable doing the same.
“What he did is extremely significant,” former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano said. “I think it’s going to take a while to realize that. But here’s a real person with a real face taking a stand.”
Giuliano, the CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and former president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), reached out to Welts several years ago when Giuliano was doing research about homophobia in sports.
“He gave me good advice,” Giuliano said, “about being subtle but not confrontational.”
At the time though, Welts wasn’t ready to come out.
It’s easy to see why.
Homophobia is prevalent in professional locker rooms. Slurs loom like airborne viruses.
Tolerance comes with education and life experiences. Many players spent their youth in a cocoon of around-the-clock basketball. Their knowledge of the gay community is drawn from peer banter and irresponsible television.
Welts knew this. He grew up around the game. He started his career as a Seattle SuperSonics ball boy and worked his way up the NBA career ladder, always well-regarded by his peers. It was Welts who – as the league’s director of national promotions – created NBA All-Star weekend, featuring a slam-dunk contest and an old-timers game.
He later moved on to the Suns, where he supervises all business operations and oversees the club’s interest in the management of the US Airways Center and the WNBA’s Mercury.
He is as approachable and likable an executive as you’ll meet.
Yet for all the conversations we’ve had, we never discussed “that.”
“It wasn’t talked about (around the NBA),” he told the Times. “It wasn’t a comfortable subject. And it wasn’t my imagination. I was there.”
Know this: Homophobia exists around the league, but don’t count the Suns among the offenders. This team is one of the more forward-thinking around.
It’s not just Hill and Dudley, but also Steve Nash, who has long been an advocate of equality and has referred to himself as “a citizen of the world.”
On ESPN.com he recently shared his frustration about a rash of suicides by gay teens because of bullying.
“If we can move beyond just monitoring but get to education and talking about it,” Nash told the site last October, “hopefully we can begin to eliminate some of the pain we’re inflicting on each other.”
The Suns are leaders. It’s time for the rest of the NBA to follow suit.
Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2011/05/15/20110515phoenix-suns-rick-welts-leaders.html
A similar article can be seen at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/sports/basketball/nba-executive-says-he-is-gay.html
In his new memoir Transparent, CNN news anchor Don Lemon reveals that he is gay. “Today I chose to step out on faith and begin openly living my own truth,” he said in an official statement.
While Lemon has never made a secret of his orientation at work (many of his CNN co-workers and managers have long been aware that he is gay), he joins national television news anchors and hosts like Rachel Maddow and Thomas Roberts who have publicly acknowledged being gay.
“I think it would be great if everybody could be out,” Lemon told the New York Times. “But it’s such a personal choice. People have to do it at their own speed. I respect that. I do have to say that the more people who come out, the better it is for everyone, certainly for the Tyler Clementis of the world.”
Tyler Clementi is the Rutgers University student who died by suicide last fall.
“I think if I had seen more people like me who are out and proud, it wouldn’t have taken me 45 years to say it,” Lemon said, “to walk in the truth.”
GLAAD applauds Don Lemon for sharing his story and wishes him continued success.
http://blog.glad.org/2011/05/i-was-smiling-inside-all-way-home.html
Editor’s Note: Please enjoy this inspiring guest post from Wayne, the father of Nicole, a transgender teen. They are quickly becoming influential advocates for Maine’s transgender community, and you will understand why after you read this.
Nicole and I had a very special day on Friday, May 13. My wife Kelly and I are so proud of her. Prior to the Joint Standing Judiciary Committee’s vote on LD 1046, a bill to repeal part of the Maine Human Rights Act to prevent transgender people from using appropriate restroom facilities, we were invited to speak to the Democrats on the committee for about 30 minutes before they voted. Nicole did a great job.
When we arrived in Augusta and she saw the capitol building she got very nervous and scared.
“We are going there?” she asked.
I said, “Yes that is where all of the laws are promulgated and passed into law. Don’t worry, I will be with you and just remember to just be yourself and everyone will love you.”
We parked and walked into the lobby to wait for GLAD attorneys Jennifer Levi and Janson Wu and a couple of lobbyists. Nicole went to the restroom while we were waiting and after about 20 minutes I asked Jennifer to check on her. She was in a great deal of pain from a nervous stomach. After another five minutes I went in to tell her we had to go. She came out looking pretty bad; I was ready to pull the plug. She said she still wanted to go, so we went to our meeting.
I started to tell our story and quickly suggested they ask Nicole what she experienced and how she felt. She had the lawmakers’ full attention. She talked about the good times, what it was like to be a young, out transgender child and how it quickly changed. She talked about the bullying and harassment that she has experienced. She talked about why trans kids only want to go to the bathroom and visit with their friends and why it would be so harmful for trans kids if this bill were to pass. She explained that she currently uses the girl’s bathroom and locker room at her current school without any problems. She ended with explaining how hard it was to have to be stealth, to have her dad live in another town, and how difficult it was to understand what adults were so afraid of, when her peers have no problems with trans kids.
What a rewarding experience to see her finally have a voice. As she talked she became more and more confident and I became more and more proud of her. I could not help think that this might help make up for some of the pain and abuse that she has had to endure.
We went to the work session to wait for the committee vote. We were pulled out a number of times to talk to other key leaders. She did a great job every time. At the end of the day, the vote was 8-5 that LD 1046 “ought not to pass.” I believe that Nicole helped move votes in our favor.
She told Jennifer that it was one of the best days of her life – she got to miss school, the vote was favorable, and she got a Snickers bar.
We walked out of the capitol building holding hands, and she smiled and said, “Daddy maybe I should be an attorney like Jennifer, or governor to help make sure we help people.”
I smiled and said, “Sweetie, you can do anything you want. You are a special girl and all you have to do is work hard and never give up.” She stopped and said, “I love you Daddy.” I was ready to cry, but I had promised her I would not cry that day.
We got in the car and she immediately fell asleep. I do not think either one of us slept the night before. As we were driving home, I thought maybe what we are going through is meant to be, maybe this experience will provide her with the energy, the resolve and the motivation to do great things. I was smiling inside all the way home. As I started to calm down and reflected on the morning’s events, I reminded myself that Nicole is still a little girl who will have many hopes and dreams and my job is to make sure she has a chance to explore the many options before her. In the end I just want her to be a happy and well-adjusted young adult who has the confidence and basic skills to do whatever she wants to do with her life. As we rolled into into our driveway I felt good, relaxed and hopeful.
Posted by GLAD at 9:45 AM
Anonymous said…
You’re a wonderful father sir! I myself and I know many of my friends yearn to have a father like you who supports their child whether LGBT or straight. Your daughter is going to be very thankful to have a dad who just does the right thing! Hopefully you’re an inspiration to all the fathers out there who believe machismo and not openmindendness is the way to go! Anyways kudos to you sir you’re a hero!
May 17, 2011 11:14 AM
