Celebrate LGBT History Month
During National Suicide Prevention Week (September 4 – September 10, 2011), The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth rolled out a great suicide prevention campaign.
To learn more about the Trevor Project visit: www.thetrevorproject.org
The One Anchorage Campaign yesterday had a community meeting at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
KTUU reported on the meeting.
There is a chance Anchorage voters may have the final say on an equal rights law come April. Equality Works has launched its One Anchorage Campaign, a push to garner enough support and signatures to get an equal rights initiative on the next ballot.
The initiative would make it against the law for an employer or owner of public housing to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It is the same issue that caused an uproar in 2009 when the Anchorage assembly passed an equal rights ordinance after hearing hundreds of people testify. The ordinance was later vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, an out Democrat from Wisconsin, announced today that she would indeed run for the U.S. Senate and make a bid to become the first openly gay senator in American history.
Joe Solmonese, outgoing president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Baldwin would be a great leader for equality.
“Tammy Baldwin’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate is monumental for both the state of Wisconsin and the country’s LGBT community,” Solmonese said. “Tammy has proven herself as an effective legislator over the course of her 13 years in Congress and this campaign will be a top priority for the Human Rights Campaign.”
Baldwin is a strong supporter of LGBT equality – scoring a 100% in HRC’s Congressional Scorecard every year she has served in Congress. In addition to her strong record on civil rights, Baldwin’s work has also focused on jobs and the middle class. HRC will be mobilizing members to volunteer for and contribute to the campaign beginning with an email alert launching today, Solmonese said.
“Tammy’s election to the U.S. Senate will make history. Added to her long list of firsts, Tammy will be the first woman to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate. Her commitment to equality for all Americans is matched only by her commitment to the people of Wisconsin,” he said.
Read more and watch her video announcement about Tammy’s historic campaign.
The One Anchorage campaign filed an application this morning with the Anchorage Municipal Clerk’s Office to place an initiative on the April 2012 ballot asking voters to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Alaskans in the same legal protections already provided to women and minorities in employment, housing, and public businesses.
Arliss Sturgulewski, a former state senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate is the Initiative Sponsor and Co-Chair of the One Anchorage Campaign. Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles is the Alternate Sponsor and campaign Co-Chair. Other Sponsors include Alaska Constitutional Convention delegate Vic Fischer, former First Alaskans Institute President & CEO Janie Leask, the Rev. Michael Burke of Anchorage’s St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and leaders of Alaska’s LGBT community.
“In Alaska, we have a live and let live attitude,” said Sturgulewski “However, under current laws, a woman could be fired from her job solely because she is a lesbian. No one should live in fear that they can be fired for reasons having nothing to do with their job performance.”
Co-sponsor Rev. Burke added: “In Anchorage, we believe that all residents should be treated fairly and equally by our laws. This initiative ensures that gay and transgender Alaskans who work hard and play by the rules will have the exact same legal protections as other Anchorage residents.”
In 2009, the Anchorage Assembly passed a very similar ordinance by a 7-4 majority, but the Mayor vetoed it.
Alaska’s LGBT community has been working since then to address the absence of federal, Alaska, or local laws protecting them against discrimination. Leaders of the campaign include Alaskans Together, the statewide LGBT advocacy organization; and representatives of groups such as Identity, Inc., Anchorage’s LGBT organization/Community Center; the ACLU of Alaska; and PFLAG (Parent and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
The Municipal Clerk’s Office has 10 days to review and approve the Application and issue Petition Booklets. Campaign supporters will have 90 days to collect necessary signatures of registered voters needed to place the initiative on the ballot.
