Tag Archives: fight back

The Importance of LGBT PRIDE: Celebrating Diversity and Promoting Equality

REMINDER: The Importance of PRIDE: Celebrating Diversity and Promoting Equality

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Just a reminder for those who need it right now. *cough* Wilton Manors *cough”.

LGBT Pride, an annual celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, holds immense significance in today’s society now more than ever.

PRIDE promotes acceptance, fostering inclusivity, and advocating for equal rights. By raising awareness, celebrating diversity, and empowering individuals, LGBT Pride catalyzes positive change.

  1. Fostering Inclusivity and Equality: LGBT Pride serves as a powerful symbol of inclusivity and equality. By organizing parades, festivals, and educational events, Pride brings together people from diverse backgrounds, encouraging dialogue and fostering connections. These celebrations allow LGBT individuals to connect with allies and support networks, creating a sense of solidarity and unity. Moreover, Pride events raise awareness about the challenges faced by the LGBT community and advocate for equal rights. They provide an opportunity to engage with policymakers, promote legislation that protects LGBT rights, and drive social change. By highlighting the importance of equal treatment under the law and advocating for policies that ensure fairness, LGBT Pride contributes to building a more just and inclusive society for everyone.
  2. Empowering Individuals and Celebrating Diversity: LGBT Pride empowers individuals by providing a platform for self-expression and celebrating diversity. In a society that often marginalizes and silences LGBT voices, Pride events offer an inclusive space where individuals can embrace their authentic selves without fear of judgment or discrimination. It fosters self-acceptance, resilience, and pride in one’s identity, helping individuals to overcome the challenges they may face. By celebrating diversity, Pride encourages people to embrace their unique identities, challenging societal norms and fostering a more inclusive understanding of human sexuality and gender. This empowerment not only benefits the individuals but also positively impacts their communities by promoting a culture of acceptance and respect.
  3. Promoting Acceptance and Combating Prejudice: LGBT Pride plays a crucial role in promoting acceptance and combatting prejudice. For many years, members of the LGBT community have faced discrimination, marginalization, and oppression due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. Pride events provide a platform for individuals to come together, share their stories, and celebrate their identities openly. By creating a sense of belonging and community, Pride fosters understanding and challenges the stereotypes and stigmas associated with the LGBT community. It sends a powerful message to both LGBT individuals and the wider society that love and acceptance should prevail over discrimination and hate.

LGBT Pride plays a vital role in promoting acceptance, fostering inclusivity, and advocating for equal rights. By combatting prejudice, fostering dialogue, and empowering individuals, Pride celebrations create spaces where the LGBT community can be visible, celebrated, and respected. Through its emphasis on acceptance, equality, and diversity, LGBT Pride serves as a powerful force for positive social change, fostering a more inclusive and equitable society for all. It is essential to continue supporting and participating in Pride events to ensure that progress toward acceptance and equality continues.

FLORIDA take note: THIS is what PRIDE is all about. There is also one more aspect of PRIDE not mentioned: Courage. Something that seems to be lacking in the state as PRIDE celebrations are being canceled and neutered left and right.

It’s Time For LGBT+ & Allies To Get Serious and OFFICIALLY BOYCOTT FLORIDA

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THIS IS SERIOUS! – If you aren’t boycotting Florida you are only helping DeSantis.

It has been over one year since Florida Governor Ron Desantis and his GOP-controlled Government set the original “Don’t Say Gay” law into motion. In that one year, it has been expanded to the point that surpasses the damage done by Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children Campaign” in the 1970s and is more in line with Vladimir Putin’s “LGBT propaganda laws” in Russia.

So two questions: Why is the LGBT+ community in Florida not fighting back? And why is there not a full-blown boycott of Florida by the LGBT+ community and our Allies? No companies have moved. No conventions were canceled. No pressure is put on the state whatsoever.

Excuses have run the gambit of “Oh it doesn’t affect me personally” (It does) and “Boycotts and protests don’t work.”(Some do.) to “What about all the LGBT businesses won’t they will be hurt?”(LGBT+ and Allies who live in Florida should only shop LGBT+ and Ally businesses and support them during a boycott.)

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law has surpassed Anita Bryant’s heinous “Save our Children” campaign against us in the 1970s because those issues were electoral decisions. So we had the power to vote. But now Florida is under an anti-LGBT dictatorship and we have no other recourse at this point but to cut it off.  Cutting off money is the best card we hold in a very weak hand right now. And it must be played.

The LGBTQ+A community MUST stand up and fight within the state also. But protests have been few and blowback within the state minimal. Case in point. Over the year Wilton Manors in Fort Lauderdale which has the largest community in the state has had only one “High Heel” protest march and has caved to DeSantis and has signed onto mot allowing drag queens “not performing” at PRIDE.

That IS NOT PRIDE.

Even the state group Equality Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition made a call for action and a boycott over a month ago. It has largely been ignored.

“As an organization that has spent decades working to improve Florida’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place to live work and visit, it is with great sadness that we must respond to those asking if it is safe to travel to Florida or remain in the state as the laws strip away basic rights and freedoms,” Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said in a statement.

Florida makes over 40 billion dollars each year on tourism alone. Let’s take our LGBTQ+ and ally money away. Any loss to the state is a win for us.

So sorry Flori-gays. You have dropped the ball. You don’t seem to understand that your inaction and passiveness have paved the way and emboldened 16 other red states to establish “Don’t Say Gay” laws because there is no major pushback in Florida. The Human Rights Campaign won’t save you and they have once again proven their uselessness also.

It is time for the rest of us to take over and organized.

It’s time to get serious and fight back.

WE ARE OFFICIALLY CALLING FOR A LGBTQ+ and ALLY BOYCOTT OF FLORIDA TOURISM AND PRODUCTS.

Florida companies apart from Disney who now stand in solidarity (even though they helped start it all) need to stand up, events and conventions need to be canceled and we all need to fight back. Regardless if we live in the state or not.

In the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s some of us have fought till bloody. In Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the majority are sipping Bloody Marys at Sunday brunch doing nothing.

We have lost over 40 years of progress in Florida and it’s well past time we fight back.

To quote the unknown lesbian who was arrested at the Stonewall riots and when shoved into the paddy -wagon shouted: “Why don’t you guys do something?”

Please sign onto this Boycott of Florida and share it widely.

Thank you:

Will Kohler – Editor and Activist

May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

May 17th. – International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

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May 17 is recognized as the International Day Against Homophobia, and Transphobia. (IDAHOT), which is a global awareness day observed annually to draw attention to the discrimination and violence faced by the LGBTQIA+ community.

The day aims to coordinate international events to garner support for the respect of lesbians, gays, and transgender rights worldwide.

The day was first celebrated in 2004, and it was initially known as the International Day Against Homophobia. Since then, it has evolved to encompass the experiences of all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals.

Various events, such as rallies, conferences, and cultural events, are held worldwide to mark the day. People come together to raise awareness about issues that affect the LGBTQIA+ community and discuss ways to combat discrimination and promote acceptance.

By May 17, 2005, as a result of a year-long campaigning effort, 24,000 people worldwide, and well-known international organizations like ILGA, IGLHRC, the World Congress of LGBT Jews, and the Coalition of African Lesbians, had signed the appeal to support the IDAHO initiative.

Organizations in more than 70 countries in the world now include the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia as part of their annual mobilization plan. In some of them, the Day has become the major focal point of action.

IDAHOT has now been officially recognized by the EU Parliament, Spain, Belgium, the UK, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, and Brazil. It is also recognized by numerous local authorities across the world, such as the province of Quebec or the city of Buenos Aires.

Please do your part.  Now more than ever. PLEASE  stand up and speak out against Homophobia and Transphobia wherever and whenever you see it.

We need to now more than ever.

Pride Organizers Are Cancelling Drag Queens Ahead of Festivals. Cowards.

COWARDS – Pride Organizers Are Cancelling Drag Queens Ahead of Festivals.

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PRIDE was born out of activism and to show everyone who we are. Excluding Drag Queens goes against everything PRIDE stands for.

Organizers of Pride festivals and parades in mostly conservative states where there’s been a broader push targeting LGBTQ+ rights have been under increasing pressure to censor or cancel their events.  They’re taking steps like editing acts and canceling drag shows in order to still hold their annual celebrations . But should they?

Most Pride organizations are busy “doing their homework” and investigating how legislation popping up around the country may impact their events, said Ron deHarte, co-president for the U.S. Association of Prides.  (Who knew?)

This year, the Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast in Port St. Lucie, Florida has reacted to possible legislation, canceling a planned gay pride parade and restricting other events to people 21 years and older.

Meanwhile, organizers in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Franklin, opted not to include drag performances in their Pride celebrations so they can work with local officials to get other events permitted.

But the question is should they change or cancel these PRIDES or should they stand up against these fascist rules and opinions and include drag queens and let the chips falls where they may.

The founders of Pride meant for the events to include everyone and take our power by showring everyone how proud we are to be where we are and how we will fight for our rights,

Rolling over and excluding drag queens does not do that.

PRIDE was born out of activism. Not by being lily-livered fraidy cats who have no clue what real activism is and are causing our past LGBT+ heroes to spin in their graves.

Study Shows There Was over 600 LGBT Rights Protests Between 1965 to 1973.

Study Shows There Was Over 600 LGBT Rights Protests Between 1965 to 1973.

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Where are the protests today that we so desperately need?

A recent report published jointly by OutHistory and Queer Pasts, documents more than 600 LGBT direct actions, stated Marc Stein, a gay man who’s a history professor at San Francisco State University and the study’s lead researcher. 

For the nine years studied, Stein and his research team identified 646 direct action events, averaging 72 per year. The study cites more than 1,800 media sources from the 1960s and 1970s, the release noted. According to these sources, more than 200,000 people participated in these protests and nearly 200 were arrested.

The report includes lists of the cities, states, and months that featured the largest number of LGBTQ direct actions, along with the protests that featured the largest number of participants, the largest number of arrests, and the longest sustained actions during the period studied. The 20 largest actions involved more than 1,000 participants, the release stated.

San Francisco is at the top of the list, with 148 documented protests during the nine-year period, according to the study. It’s followed closely by New York City (142), Los Angeles (93), Washington, D.C. (43), and Chicago (40). Berkeley ranks seventh with 21. Other California cities on the list are: Kern River (near Bakersfield), with 13, and Sacramento (3). 

Perhaps its time that we all moved away from the computer and protest again.

OFF OF THE KEYBOARDS AND INTO THE STREETS!

Multiple Protests at Chelsea Piers Over DeSantis Visit Adds To FULL #LGBT+Ally Boycott of the Piers Businesses

Multiple Protests at Chelsea Piers Over DeSantis Visit Adds To FULL #LGBT+Ally Boycott of the Piers Businesses and Venues

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Well Chelsea Piers NYC had their chance to cancel the Ron DeSantis visit to speak at the extreme right wing Jewish Leadership Conference led by the The Kapos For Nazi’s Fund The Tikvah Fund and they refused to cancel the event.

So we are are TOTALLY CANCELLING The Chelsea Piers. Every venue. We gays love to ice skate you know, and eat out. Especially in Chelsea. Which is our Gayborhood. DURING RIDE MONTH, BUT the Chelsea Pier’s spit in our face and now they must pay the price.

Hundreds of LGBTQ rights activists at their supporters gathered outside New York City‘s Chelsea Piers on Sunday holding signs like ‘Transphobia is not kosher’ and ‘Say Gay’ to protest the venue’s hosting of a Jewish Leadership Conference featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a guest speaker.

“DeSantis is clearly trying to raise money here in New York City for that speculative presidential bid,” New York State Senator Brad Hoylman told Bloomberg News at the protest. “He’s stirring up a hateful set of the Republican party, who want to see LGBTQ people erased from textbooks, schools, if not daily public life entirely.”

All LGBT New Yorkers, friends, and allies should participate against ALL businesses within the complex. ALL LGBT and LGBTQ friendly events should cancel any reservations at any Chelsea Piers venue

They obviously don’t care for us unless it’s for our money.

Lets make them pay for that.

Carolyn Maloney this am at Chelsea Piers for the arrival of the event planners and guests at 8:00 am protest

Jeff Sessions and the DOJ Set To Reject LGBT Workplace Protections Under Title VII

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According to sources from the Washington Blade, Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department intends to file a friend-of-the-court brief that would affirm the view of the three-judge panel on the Second Circuit who  in April determined Title VII doesn’t prohibit anti-gay discrimination in the case of Zarda v. Altitude Express which alleges  Donald Zarda, who has since passed away  was fired from his job in 2010 for being gay.

Such a brief would reverse a position under former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder asserting discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited under Title VII. In a 2014 memo, Holder wrote the Justice Department will no longer assert Title VII’s prohibition on gender discrimination “does not encompass gender identity per se (including transgender discrimination).”

The current case is under review at the request of Lambda Legal has agreed to reconsider the ruling “en banc,” or before the full court.

James Esseks, director of the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project, states that filing such a brief would be going out of its way to undermine LGBT rights.

“This would be a gratuitous and extraordinary attack on LGBT people’s civil rights,” Esseks said. “DOJ would be reaching out to offer its opinion on these issues, since they are not a party to this case. That’s not championing LGBT people, it’s working affirmatively to expose us to discrimination. But fortunately, whether the Civil Rights Act protects LGBT people is ultimately a question for the courts to resolve, and not for the attorney general. We are confident that the courts will come to the right decision here.”

Even though the Justice Department brief would be restricted to an interpretation of law related to employment, it could have implications for other federal laws barring sex discrimination in housing and education and seems to be at odds with the position of the Education Department.

If you think this is not an all out war against the LGBT community.  Think again.

Stephen Schwartz Pulls Wicked from North Carolina

B’way Composer Stephen Schwartz Bans WICKED, All Other Works From Being Put On In NC Over Anti-LGBT Law

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Stephen Scwartz Pulls Wicked from North Carolina

Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz who has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003) is refusing to allow any of his musical productions to be put on in North Carolina because of its recently passed anti-LGBT law HB2 and is asking all other Broadway composers and agencies to do the same.

Via BroadwayWorld.com

“To my fellow theatre writers and producers: As you no doubt know, the state of North Carolina has recently passed a reprehensible and discriminatory law. I feel that it is very important that any state that passes such a law suffer economic and cultural consequences, partly because it is deserved and partly to discourage other states from following suit.

“Therefore, I and my collaborators are acting to deny the right to any theatre or organization based in North Carolina to produce any of our shows. We have informed our licensing organizations and touring producers of this, and I’m happy to say have met with compliance and approval from them.

“In the 1970’s, I, along with many other writers and artists, participated in a similar action against apartheid in South Africa, and as you know, this eventually proved to be very effective.

“If you are in agreement, you may want to join me in refusing to license our properties to, or permit productions of our work by, theaters and organizations in North Carolina until this heinous legislation is repealed.

“Thank you for considering this.”

An important lesson for North Carolina: No one mourns the wicked.

 

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OKLAHOMA Allows Corporal Punishment For Disabled Students

OKLAHOMA: Religious Liberty Bill Scraped After Amendment To Post “We Discriminate” Signs Introduced.

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Oklahoma

 

Earlier this year, GOP Republican state Rep. Chuck Strohm introduced his ‘Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act’ (HB1371).

If passed, this would allow businesses to deny services to customers if they felt that such services were ‘against the person’s religious beliefs’.

The Bill looked all but set to pass, that is until one Democratic legislator fought back in the most billiant way possible.

Emily Virgin ( a Democratic member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. introduced an amendment to the bill that added a caveat stating that if you were planning on refusing to serve LGBT people on religious grounds, then you must display a public notice to this effect.

‘Any person not wanting to participate in any of the activities set forth in subsection A of this section based on sexual orientation, gender identity or race of either party to the marriage shall post notice of such refusal in a manner clearly visible to the public in all places of business, including websites. The notice may refer to the person’s religious beliefs, but shall state specifically which couples the business does not serve by referring to a refusal based upon sexual orientation, gender identity or race.’

Yesterday, it was announced that the bill has stalled.  For it to return to the House, it would need to be added to another bill,

Virgin has indicated that if that happens, she would act again.

BRAVA REP. EMILY VIRGIN!  We need more Democrats like you.

Philadelphia Gay Basher Kathyrn Knott Hit Victims and Called Them “Faggots” – Read the Affidavit of Probable Cause

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The Three Faces Of Hate

 

Now that Kathryn Knott, Kevin Harrigan and Philip Williams have been charged with the crime, an affidavit of probable cause describing the incident has been made available by the court describing what happened to the two gay men were attacked in Philadelphia.

According to that document, the incident began when “words were exchanged” between the two groups of people, with suspect Kevin Harrigan allegedly calling the victims “faggots” several times before a “heated argument developed.” The affidavit also alleges that Knott screamed “faggots” at them and hit one of them in the face.

Read the affidavit below:

 

 

Affidavit of Probable Cause, Harrigan/Williams/Knott, 9/23/14