GLAA Forum

March 3 - Kameny gravesite ceremony

According the the Washington Blade:

A grave site ceremony for the late gay rights leader Franklin E. Kameny will be held March 3 at D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery, organizers of the event announced on Wednesday.

“All friends, family and the public are welcome to observe the interment for Dr. Kameny at historic Congressional Cemetery,” the announcement says. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

According to the Blade the plot will be located next to that of Leonard Matlovich.  The cemetery is located at 1801 E. Street SE, Washington DC

(via DCGayEtc)

GLAA testifies Tuesday against Prostitution Free Zone Amendment Act

GLAA will testify against Bill 19-567, the Prostitution Free Zone Amendment Act of 2011, at a hearing today, January 24, before the D.C. Council Judiciary Committee. Our testimony is here. The text of the bill, introduced by Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, is here. The hearing notice is here. Also testifying against the bill will be the local ACLU, DC Trans Coalition, The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, Best Practices Policy Project, and Human Rights Watch. Thanks to my colleagues who reviewed GLAA's testimony, especially GLAA President Miguel Tuason who helped with the research.

Sign our petition against PFZs here.

GLAA membership meeting tonight

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington DC holds twice mnthly membership meetings.  Tonights meeting will be at a new location: the 2nd floor community room of the Reeve Center, 14th and U Streets NW just one block from the U Street/Cardozo Metro stop.  The meeting starts at 7pm.  Among the topics for tonights meeting are the 2012 elections project, planning for candidate ratings in the Ward 5 special election, testimony on B19-567 Prostitution Free Zone Amdendment Act of 2011, and a status report on B19-11 Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2011.  Come and meet our new slate of officers for the coming year.

GLAA officers for 2012

Greetings from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.
www.glaa.org
www.glaaforum.org (blog)
www.DCGayEtc.com (news aggregator)

Friends,

The following officers were elected for 2012 at GLAA's regular meeting on December 13, 2011:

President: Miguel Tuason
Vice President for Political Affairs: Rick Rosendall
Vice President for Administration: Kevin Davis
Secretary: Alison Gardner
Treasurer: Gary Collins

Congratulations and thanks to these volunteers, whose terms begin on January 1. Brief bios of our 2012 officers can be found online at:
http://www.glaa.org/officers.shtml

Many thanks to outgoing president Mitch Wood, who kept us on a steady keel through three terms that saw our greatest achievement — the enactment of civil marriage equality in D.C. — and a renewal of our longstanding commitment to working in coalitions, not to mention the rollout of our latest policy brief, "Agenda: 2012," online now at:
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012pdf
News release at:
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012rel

We look forward to working with you in the new year to keep our city at the forefront of the fight for LGBT equality.

Best,

Rick Rosendall

Metro Weekly: GLAA sets policy agenda

John Riley at Metro Weekly reports on the launch of GLAA's 2012 Elections Project:

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA), a nonpartisan political organization for the LGBT community and the oldest continuously operating one of its kind in the country, released its "Agenda: 2012" guide to local LGBT issues, along with the group's candidate questionnaire, Dec. 19.

The guide is a policy brief that serves as a summary of the major actions the organization has deemed necessary to improve the lives of LGBT residents in the District. The guide is divided into six subject areas: marriage and family, public health, public safety and the judiciary, human rights, youth and seniors, and consumers and business. The items outlined in the guide are the result of feedback from a number of LGBT activists and organizations, according to Richard J. Rosendall, GLAA's vice president for political affairs....

Specific agenda items include defending civil-marriage equality, maintaining the domestic partnership law, improving collection of data in both the health care and crime statistics as they relate to sexual orientation and gender identity; providing LGBT-inclusive culturally competent training to law enforcement officers, government employees, employers and social service providers; and measures aimed at combating the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Newer items addressed in the brief include removing the prohibition of surrogacy agreements in the District, defending the District's needle-exchange program and medical marijuana law, opposing the implementation of prostitution-free zones, allowing for the issuance of new birth certificates for people undergoing gender transition, and expanding anti-bullying efforts in D.C. public and charter schools to protect sexual-minority youth.

"People always say, 'Now that you have marriage equality done, what's left?'" says Rosendall. "This policy brief is the answer to that."

Update: Riley also reports on the Dec. 8 hearing at which Bob Summersgill and I testified in favor of a bill to allow same-sex couples who were married in D.C. but live elsewhere to get a divorce, which is a problem in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages. As Councilmember Phil Mendelson, the bill's author, tells Riley, there is no sign it will cause controversy on Capitol Hill. It would be peculiar indeed if Congress would get upset over letting gay couples divorce after it did nothing to overturn our law allowing them to marry in the first place.

GLAA releases D.C. Council candidate questionnaire, LGBT policy brief

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
www.glaa.org
www.glaaforum.org (blog)

For Release:
Monday, December 19, 2011

Contact: Rick Rosendall
202-667-5139

GLAA releases D.C. Council candidate questionnaire, LGBT policy brief

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., today launches its 2012 Elections Project and releases both its questionnaire for D.C. Council candidates and its policy brief on local LGBT issues in Washington, D.C., "Agenda: 2012." This updated compilation of local advocacy on a wide range of issues is intended for candidates for public office in the District as well as journalists, activists, and the general public. "Agenda: 2012" is online, in both PDF and HTM formats, at:
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012pdf
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012htm

GLAA's D.C. Council candidate questionnaire is online at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2012/cqprimary.shtml

GLAA's Elections Project 2012 main page is at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2012/election2012.shtml

The "Agenda: 2012" policy brief is divided into six broad subject areas: Marriage and Family, Public Health, Public Safety and Judiciary, Human Rights, Youth and Seniors, and Consumers and Businesses. It is prefaced by a two-page Action Item Summary listing specific actions GLAA seeks from D.C. officials. Included are 87 footnotes to provide documentation and to facilitate further investigation of the issues raised.

The following are some of the actions GLAA seeks from D.C. Councilmembers:

• Remove the prohibition on reproductive surrogacy laws in the District.
• Defend clean needle exchange and medical marijuana.
• Oppose Prostitution Free Zones (PFZs), which facilitate anti-transgender profiling.
• Pass Bill 19-585, The Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment Act of 2011, to resist Homeland Security intrusion into local policing.
• Improve LGBT-related data collection and reporting on health and crime.
• Allow for the issuance of new birth certificates for individuals who undergo treatment related to gender transition.
• Expand and enforce anti-bullying efforts in all D.C. public and charter schools.
• Ensure equal Medicaid spousal impoverishment protections for same-sex partners.

How dare you call me stupid

Someone sent the following email message to GLAA this morning:

You stupid homosexual pervert Bastards are in league with Satan and will have to give an account of your miserable and Satanic lives when you pass away and stand before the Great God and Judge Jesus Christ for being homosexual pervert Bastards. Lev 18:22-24 states that homosexuality is an abomination before God.

I thanked him for sharing.

Kameny in Combat

(Photo by Kay Tobin Lahusen, NYPL Digital Library)

My latest column describes my first experience of Frank Kameny's combative style when I brought him to Villanova University to debate gay rights in 1978:

In response to the charge that gay people flaunted their sexuality, Frank pointed out that when you see a visibly pregnant woman in public, "you know exactly what she's been doing in bed." This was my introduction to Frank's penchant for provocation and for turning the tables on our opponents. He assailed their biased assumptions and disarmed them with reason and wit.

"I fought in front-line combat for my country," Frank thundered. As a citizen and patriot he demanded equality under the law — "no more, but not one whit less." He easily won the vote on our resolution opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

For his appearance at Villanova, Frank requested only travel and lodging costs, which were covered by our modest honorarium. The Political Union's officers took him to dinner beforehand at the Conestoga Mill. Frank wore a "Gay Is Good" button, and as we left the restaurant the manager wished Frank good luck. It dawned on me that Frank carried into battle the dreams of untold quieter gay people like that restaurant manager.

Over the next 33 years, I often observed Frank's fearless and iconoclastic way of challenging dogma. He said that anything that has lasted long enough to become a tradition deserves to be questioned. He declared, "The world needs more and better blasphemy." He called celibacy unnatural. He told homophobes who cited Scripture, "Your God may disapprove of homosexuality, but my God considers it a blessing."

After Congress vetoed D.C.'s first attempt to repeal its sodomy law as part of the Sexual Assault Reform Act of 1981, Frank shouted at a community meeting that repeal should be attached to every bill the District passed until we rid ourselves of "this damnable law!"

Read the whole thing here.

Note: Kay Lahusen, who took the photo of Frank used above, is the widow of famed lesbian activist Barbara Gittings. I have enjoyed many conversations with her in recent years, including in the aftermath of Frank's passing.

Frank Kameny, Best of DC

The Blade will publish its Best of DC issue on October 28. GLAA will run this ad as a tribute to Frank Kameny, who is being mourned across the LGBT rights movement for more than half a century of pioneering activism.

September 30 - DC Center Fall Reception

The DC Center will hold its Fall Reception on Friday September 30th at the Sofitel Hotel, 806 15th Street, NW starting at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $75. To purchase your tickets, click here.

In related news, the Center announced today that I (Rick Rosendall, for those who can't read the small print below these blog entries) will be one of its honorees at the Reception, along with Sheila Alexander-Reid, Frank Kameny, and Earline Budd. I am humbled and honored to be recognized and included in such fine company.

Fan mail

The following message was left on GLAA’s voicemail by a man with a drunken redneck voice (not that there is anything wrong with that):

What y’all are doin’ is totally wrong. And I think y’all should just get rid of your little organization, because, uh, y’all don’t deserve rights. And, uh, I can tell you one thing, if you want to act like animals you’ll be treated like animals, okay? So get rid of your little organization, okay, make America better, and probably we won’t be in this economic struggle and all these troubles we’re havin’ in America. Oh, and yes, I am prejudiced, if you can’t already tell. ‘Cause gay men know everything, they can probably tell that I’m prejudiced. Okay? Get rid of it, just get rid of it, and make America good for once. All these other countries make fun of us because we allow fags to run around our streets. That’s like lettin’, that’s like opening up a zoo and letting all the animals run around New York. It’s stupid, alright? It’s dangerous, and we don’t need it here in America. Alright? Thank you for listening to this wonderful message. Have a blessed day and may God bless you. ‘Bye.

Thank you for sharing.

June 24 - 6:30 - 9:00 pm - Rosendall on SiriusXM Left with Mark Thompson

I am heading at noon today to Jersey City to help a dear friend celebrate his 55th birthday on Saturday. Since I'm heading that way, I'll also be joining my friend Mark Thompson in his satellite radio studio in NYC this evening for his program Make it Plain. That's at SiriusXM Left, channel 127, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm on June 24. Join us for a lively discussion of political and social issues. Call in at 866-99-SIRIUS.

Busy day

This morning I am preparing for a noontime panel discussion on marriage equality organizing, which is being hosted by the American Psychological Association at 750 First Street NE. I will represent GLAA, and there will be reps from Equality MD and Equality VA. A good day for it, since we’re all awaiting developments in Albany. I hope to post more items later this afternoon. In the meantime, for the latest news on developments in NY, Google on "gay marriage New York."

GLAA to Safeway: Moving forward with D.C.'s LGBT community

From: Richard J. Rosendall
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 10:37 PM
To: 'greg.teneyck'; 'donna.maxwell'; 'henry.bash'; 'steve.neibergall'; 'brian.dowling'
Cc: Andy Litsky
Subject: To Safeway: Moving forward with D.C.'s LGBT community

Dear Safeway Executives:

We in the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance followed with interest the news stories on local websites such as Metro Weekly concerning the recent incident in the Safeway store in Southwest D.C. in which a cashier used an anti-gay epithet to insult gay customers Jason Morgan and Brendan Harrington. The right attitude was expressed by Craig Muckle, manager of public affairs and public relations at your Eastern Division, in announcing that the offending employee had been terminated: ''This goes against everything we believe and practice in terms of serving and welcoming our customers, and in being a part of the diverse communities we are privileged to serve.''

To convey how impressed we are with your corporate response so far, let me describe how we got involved. On Thursday evening, June 16, I sent an action alert to GLAA's email list consisting of our friend and fellow activist Andy Litsky's email urging a firm response by Safeway executives. One of our community's most respected members, Deacon Maccubbin, told me that he and his husband Jim Bennett had sent you a message. Twelve minutes later he sent me this follow-up:

"About 10 minutes after sending my own emails to the 4 Safeway executives, I got a call from one of them (not sure who because it was a bad cell connection). He first apologized, said the whole incident was terribly embarrassing for Safeway, assured me that the offending employee has now been terminated and additional steps are being taken with the acting assistant manager who was on duty at the time (who allegedly failed to mention the matter to any supervisor until 2 days had lapsed)."

It is hard to remember such a fast response from another business under similar circumstances. Your response contrasts markedly and favorably, for example, with that of a supermarket from a different chain in East Orange, New Jersey, after a similar incident. In that case, which I learned about from a friend who lives in that area, those who complained about a violent anti-gay threat by an employee were met with complete unresponsiveness from corporate executives. Of course we have the D.C. Human Rights Act (DCHRA) on our side here, but it is always preferable to deal with enlightened executives.

GLAA has succeeded best by building constructive relationships. Since our founding in 1971 we have been involved in virtually every legal advance for LGBT people in our city; but as an active stakeholder in the city you can appreciate that the District’s diverse communities are our most powerful instruments of progress. Outsiders came here last year seeking to divide us along lines of race, religion, and class over the issue of marriage equality, and their attempts to inflame our electorate failed miserably. We are naturally eager to preserve what the good people of Washington have made possible here.

It is in that spirit that I'd like to offer a few suggestions for moving forward in the aftermath of last week's incident. You should conduct a thorough review of your procedures and training with the purpose of (1) preventing similar incidents; (2) fostering a respectful and tolerant environment; and (3) ensuring that should a similar event occur in the future, you have a clear process in place to handle it properly. This starts with LGBT-inclusive diversity and sensitivity training and materials, and continues with clear staff directives as well as supervisory and evaluative follow-through. You should also communicate with your customers by prominently placing posters from the D.C. Office of Human Rights in all of your District stores spelling out people's rights under DCHRA. Here is a link:
http://tinyurl.com/dcrightsposter

An additional way to emphasize your continuing commitment to non-discrimination and your respect for our diverse community, if I may suggest it, might be to consider a charitable donation. Several service-oriented groups based in our community come to mind in that regard. Here are their names and email addresses (and this is by no means an exhaustive list):

Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL)
http://www.smyal.org/contact.php
SupporterInfo@smyal.org

Metro Teen AIDS
http://metroteenaids.org/?page_id=32
chughes@metroteenaids.org

Transgender Health Empowerment
http://www.theincdc.org/contact.html
info@theincdc.org

The D.C. Center
http://www.thedccenter.org/supporters.html
contact@thedccenter.org

Again, we appreciate your constructive response to the incident in the Southwest D.C. store after the initial mishandling of it. Together we can keep D.C. the special place it is, and help make it even better for all of its residents. Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Rick Rosendall
Vice President for Political Affairs
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, DC 20013
(202) 667-5139 (voicemail)
www.glaa.org

Update: We have received the following response from Greg Teneyck at Safeway:

Rick:

Thanks very much for reaching out to us with your comments and thoughtful suggestions. They are very much appreciated. I can assure you that we will be considering them in our response to the incident and in our ongoing relationship with the LGBT community.

Greg

Update 2: Frank Kameny sent this response:

Excellent.

In my own local Safeway, on MacArthur Boulevard. my relevant background is known to the entire management from the supervisory managers down through the checkout clerks to the stock people. They are invariably cordial.to me and to the people who live in my house, with no trace of negativism or homophobia.

I suppose there are occasional rotten apples in every barrel, but this one employee in Southwest certainly is not typical of my Safeway experience, and Safeway itself seems to be handling the situation well.

Frank Kameny

Gay Pride Festival

Have a great Pride Weekend.  And stop by the GLAA booth (Y-131) on Sunday to learn what we've done to win LGBT rights during the last 40 years and how you can help.

June 9 - D.C. Statehood Teach-In on West Lawn of U.S. Capitol

ACLU of the Nation's Capital is organizing a D.C. Statehood "Teach-In" on Thursday, June 9 on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, from noon to 9 pm. GLAA will be participating. Here's the info:

Raise Taxes, Cut Services? Why Those Choices?

A cash strapped, revenue hungry D.C. Government --- like so many governments, at all levels --- is struggling with a projected budget gap reaching into several hundred million dollars. The solution on the table is to increase income, by raising taxes and cut costs, by eliminating services.

Yet many have argued, over the years that the answer to our revenue-expenditure gap rests with a change in the structure of government --- Statehood for D.C. That view prompted Dr. Andrew Brimmer, a former Member of the Federal Reserve Board to proclaim in 1984, that the question was not could D.C. afford to be a state, but more appropriately, could we afford not to be a state.

As part of this year's D.C. Statehood "Teach In," scheduled for June 9th, on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol, this matter will again be explored by a panel of experts. The Teach In runs from Noon to 9:00 p.m., and the expert panel will present at 6:00 p.m. From Noon to 4:00 p.m., there will be multiple tables set up, designed to assist congressional staffers and educate the public on the financial impact of our current Home Rule status. From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. will be testimonials in words and music, from veterans, those concerned with reproductive freedom, gun control advocates, those fighting for decent, affordable housing and against homelessness and others, bringing to life that impact. Following the expert panel presentation, there will be an exciting musical presentation from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. The Teach In will conclude at dusk with a candle light vigil, illuminating the night sky, from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. The entire Teach In is free and open to the public.

Follow the link above for more information.

June 4 - Capital TransPride 2011

GLAA is a proud sponsor of Capital TransPride 2011, which is being held Saturday, June 4 at the Metropolitan Community Church from 10AM – 5PM. That's at 474 Ridge St, NW, a few blocks east of the Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center Metro on the Yellow and Green lines. The keynote speaker is renowned surgeon Dr. Marci Bowers. We hope to see you there.

We have prepared a flyer describing some of GLAA's past and present efforts on behalf of transgender rights and our coalition-based approach. Download "GLAA on Transgender Rights."

A Rapture Reminder

Since the Rapture is scheduled for 6pm that gives you time to attend the birthday celebration for Frank Kameny this Saturday. Mark your calendars for this event and don't be left behind.

Video: May 2 hearing on anti-bullying bill

Thanks to Charlie Watson, we have YouTube video clips from the May 2 hearing on the Bullying and Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011. The text of my testimony for GLAA is here. My testimony in the first clip, above, begins at 8:32. [For those re-posting this without proper credit, I am Rick Rosendall, GLAA Vice President for Political Affairs.]

The testimony of Alison Gill of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) begins about ten seconds into the second clip, below. The third clip in Charlie's three-part excerpt is here. Charlie's excerpts total 37 minutes. The full video of the hours-long hearing is here.

April 26 - Special Election in D.C.: Don't forget to vote!

Special Election Day is almost upon us. Above are GLAA's ratings in the Tuesday, April 26 Special Election for At-Large D.C. Councilmember. To see the candidates' responses to GLAA's questionnaire, or to view their ratings point breakdown, click here. For more information from the Board of Elections and Ethics on the special election, click here.

Update: Tim Craig reports that the D.C. Councilmembers who have endorsed Sekou Biddle have been mostly silent and inactive in the race — and one, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, has even made a robocall for rival candidate Vincent Orange. Several of the councilmembers said that they had done all that Biddle had asked of them, which doesn't appear to have been much. It would be rather pathetic if Biddle lost due to a lackluster get-out-the-vote effort.

Alliance of fighters

My latest column uses GLAA's 40th anniversary as a jumping-off point for thoughts on fighting bigotry:

How to respond to bigotry was demonstrated by one of the recipients of GLAA’s 2011 Distinguished Service Awards presented on April 20, the Right Rev. John Bryson Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Washington. He described an encounter he once had with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who accused Chane of being clearly unfamiliar with Leviticus given his support for gay rights.

Chane replied by pointing out that Museveni was wearing a jacket made from different types of fabric; that one of Museveni’s guards had a tattoo; and that another had a body piercing -- all violations of Leviticus. He told Museveni to examine himself before faulting others, whereupon Museveni quickly changed the subject to international development. You can imagine the cheers this anecdote won from the crowd at GLAA’s reception.

My partner Patrick, an African who recently visited family in Uganda, loved this story when I called him to recount it. He knows that slanders by the likes of Museveni must be publicly challenged, including the lie that homosexuality is un-African and was imported by Westerners. Patrick himself witnessed indigenous forms of homosexuality as a teenager in villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Read the whole thing here.

GLAA endorses Bully Free DC

GAY AND LESBIAN ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
P. O. Box 75265, Washington, D.C. 20013
(202) 667-5139
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Kwame Brown, Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Chairman Brown:

GLAA, which was founded 40 years ago today, is pleased to support Bully Free DC and Bill 19-0011, the Bullying and Intimidation Prevention Act of 2011. We commend Councilmembers Michael Brown, Harry Thomas Jr., and all of the co-introducers and co-sponsors of this important bill. As I stated last November 29 in testimony on the previous legislation, GLAA has been working on this and related issues since we persuaded the D.C. Board of Education in May 1972 to prohibit discrimination in the public schools on the basis of sexual orientation.

We believe that comprehensive anti-bullying legislation should apply to D.C. Public Schools, D.C. Public Charter Schools, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the D.C. Public Library, and the University of the District of Columbia. We are aware that the charter schools tend to object to any restrictions being placed upon them, but schools receiving public funds should be expected to abide by public policy.

The District has a good bit of history on this subject. Responding to efforts spearheaded by GLAA in 1999 (here and here) and 2000 (here and here), then-School Superintendent Arlene Ackerman issued a directive prohibiting harassment and sexual harassment on March 29, 2000. It was not until February 2002 that hearings were held on a proposed rulemaking to fulfill the directive’s promise, at which then-GLAA President Bob Summersgill testified. In March 2001, Mr. Summersgill wrote on behalf of GLAA to then Board of Education President Peggy Cooper Cafritz to alert her to the omission of several protected categories from the D.C. Human Rights Act (DCHRA) in a “Notice of Final Rulemaking” on D.C. Public Charter Schools. The Board subsequently corrected the omission.

Bring your camera to GLAA's 40th anniversary reception April 20

Friends,

The final preparations are in place for GLAA’s awards reception at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Wednesday evening. The awards are ready, the champagne is chilling, and the programs are printed. All that’s needed is your presence.

Just one thing: we don’t have an official photographer. So if you’re a shutterbug, please bring along your camera and take some snaps of the festivities, then send them to us and we’ll load a selection of them on our Flickr page.

Thanks, and we’ll see you Wednesday evening to celebrate 40 years of smart, effective activism for LGBT people in the nation’s capital.

Best,

Rick Rosendall
VP for Political Affairs
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance

Please join GLAA's 40th anniversary awards reception

Wednesday, April 20 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Washington Plaza Hotel
10 Thomas Circle, NW

Featuring a presentation of the 2011 Distinguished Service Awards to:

• Bishop John Bryson Chane
• Sharon Farmer
• David Friedman
• Theodore “Teddy” Guerrant
• Ronald King
• David C. Ward

For biographical descriptions of our honorees, see:
http://www.glaa.org/dsa/

Minimum Donation: $50
Sponsors: $75 (1 ticket)
Patrons: $125 (2 tickets)
Benefactors: $250 (3 tickets)
Distinguished Sponsors: $500 (5 tickets)
Underwriters: $1000 (8 tickets)

To make your donation online through PayPal, go to:
http://www.glaa.org/anniversary/

Or R.S.V.P. to equal@glaa.org or 202-667-5139.

All tickets will be held at the door.

DCGayEtc Now in Testing Mode



What is DCGayEtc? It fills a niche in the web strategy of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington DC. GLAA's main web site is GLAA.ORG. There you find a record of our official documents connected with our current efforts, from testimony to information on our elections project, as well as our online archive. Our blog is GLAAFORUM.ORG, launched in 2009. There you will find commentary, notices of events relating to the fight for LGBT rights, plus occasional entries on sports and entertainment that prick our interest. The blog is where we let our hair down a little; except where noted, opinions expressed there are those of the individual bloggers.

DCGayEtc joins these as a place where the LGBT community can get involved. By checking the feeds from other LGBT advocacy groups and of equality opponents, we compile a list of suggested items for the site. This offers a convenient way to sort through the vast array of online information and to find information from local groups that may not post frequently. Visitors can upgrade items from the upcoming news onto the front page. Once registered (free), members can suggest online postings that should be included. Though we have not finalized our policies on allowable comments, GLAA seeks to foster an intelligent forum for discourse. The posting of spam will not be allowed.

The site is now in testing mode, and we welcome ideas on how it can be improved. Please contact us at Webmaster@DCGayEtc.com. Though our focus will be primarily on DC area organizations, we welcome suggestions about sites that should be scanned regularly for content. Sadly, Facebook does not work well with others, so groups that provide their content via Facebook cannot be accessed automatically. However we encourage the posting of individual links through the submit page.

And please join us Wednesday for our 40th Anniversary Reception and 2011 Distinguished Service Awards presentation. Tickets are still available online and can be purchased at the door. Our annual reception along with membership dues are our primary source of revenue that sustains our fight for equality.

April 30 - TICKET GIVEAWAY / Kylie Minogue at GMU Patriot Center

GLAA is giving away a pair of tickets to see Kylie Minogue at George Mason University’s Patriot Center on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 7:00pm.

Simply visit http://glaa.org and join our mailing list to enter for your chance to win. Only emails received between now and April 25 (11:59pm) will be eligible for this contest. Current members, please submit your email address again to trigger your entry. One winner will be chosen at random and notified by email no later than April 27th. Made possible through the generosity of the 9:30 Club. 

Good luck.

GLAA to Councilmembers: Sign Mendelson's letter to Congress opposing vouchers

GLAA sent the following message to D.C. Council members on Sunday evening:

Dear Councilmember:

Mr. Mendelson is currently circulating among you a letter to the Hill opposing pending congressional legislation that would re-impose a taxpayer-funded voucher program for religious and other private schools in the District of Columbia. The Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) urges you to sign on to this joint letter as quickly as possible, since the House is scheduled to take up the relevant legislation in the next day or two.

I have attached copies of the letters that GLAA and a dozen other local grassroots organizations sent to the House and Senate on March 22 protesting this legislation. (Since these letters were sent, Metro DC PFLAG has also become a signatory.)

I believe our March 22 letters speaks for themselves. Each of our groups has its own perspectives, but we are united in opposing this latest voucher scheme both because it is a gross violation of the fundamental principles of home rule and because it would fund schools dedicated to religious indoctrination that are constitutionally entitled to disregard the protections provided by the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 (DCHRA).

Each of you is on record against vouchers for schools that ignore the DCHRA. The people of the District of Columbia are behind you, and we welcome this opportunity for you to add your own voice as well by signing Mr. Mendelson's letter.

p.p. Craig Howell
Mitch Wood
President
Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance

Attachments:

www.glaa.org/archive/2011/jointletter2houseopposingdcvouchers0322.pdf

www.glaa.org/archive/2011/jointletter2senateopposingdcvouchers0322.pdf

Thanks to Craig Howell for taking the lead on this for us.

GLAA's policy on school vouchers is here.

Biddle, Weaver earn top spots in GLAA's At-Large ratings

GLAA conducted our ratings meeting last night for candidates in the April 26 special election for At-Large D.C. Council. Here are the results:

Candidate	Party	Rating
Sekou Biddle (Incumbent)	Democratic	5.5
Bryan Weaver	Democratic	5.5
Patrick Mara	Republican	4
Alan Page	Statehood-Green	4
Vincent Orange	Democratic	3.5
Joshua Lopez	Democratic	2.5

To view a candidate's questionnaire responses, click on the name above. For an explanation of the ratings, click here. For the points breakdown, click here. The three candidates not listed above did not return a questionnaire and were rated solely on their known record on LGBT issues; each received a rating of 0.

Spring fever

Forgive me if this is a light-blogging week. In addition to the arrival of spring, GLAA has our ratings meeting on Tuesday evening for At-Large D.C. Council candidates in the April 26 special election, for which I have to prepare. Plus other matters are pressing. We'll blog as we can.

April 20 - GLAA anniversary reception invitation

Invitations like this one are going into the mail today. Please join us on April 20 at the Washington Plaza Hotel to celebrate GLAA's 40th anniversary and honor this year's Distinguished Service Award winners. You can read about our honorees here. Reserve your tickets online via PayPal here. Thanks!

April 20 - GLAA's 40th anniversary awards reception

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.
P.O. Box 75265, Washington, D.C. 20013

For Release:
Sunday, February 20, 2011

Contact: Rick Rosendall
202-667-5139

GLAA Announces 2011 Distinguished Service Awards

to be presented at 40th anniversary reception

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., is pleased to announce its 2010 Distinguished Service Award recipients. GLAA presents awards to local individuals and organizations that have served the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The awards will be presented at GLAA’s 40th Anniversary Reception on Wednesday, April 20 from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, NW.

GLAA’s 2011 Distinguished Service Award recipients are:

• Bishop John Bryson Chane
• Sharon Farmer
• David Friedman
• Theodore “Teddy” Guerrant
• Ronald King
• David C. Ward

Eulogy for Jeff Coudriet

Eulogy for Jeff Coudriet
by Richard J. Rosendall
Foundry United Methodist Church
Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Good morning.

[Ad-libbed to Councilmember David Catania, the previous speaker, who had noted that the gay speakers were bringing up the rear: “Regarding bringing up the rear, David, let me remind you that after the miracle of the Wedding at Cana, the wedding guests marveled that the best wine had been saved until last.”]

Rev. Snyder, Rev. Coudriet, the rest of Jeff’s family, Mayor Gray, Chairman Brown, Councilmember Evans, other councilmembers, public servants, friends:

First, as a marriage equality activist, I want to say how gratifying it is to be in a gay-affirming church whose congregation voted overwhelmingly to perform same-sex weddings. I know Jeff would appreciate that detail.

Jeff Coudriet was President of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance for three terms from late 1992 through the end of 1995, when he became President of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.

At different times in his career Jeff worked for Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D.C. Councilmembers Sharon Ambrose and Jack Evans, and the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. He was also a board member of the Logan Circle Community Association and an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Ward 1. He served on the board of the local ACLU. He represented D.C. on the Electoral College in 1996.

Jeff was my immediate predecessor as GLAA president, and his was a tough act to follow. He had greater youth, better looks, and more equanimity. Things that made me angry would merely provoke Jeff's wit. He was a keen observer and his quips seldom missed their mark.

Mindy Daniels, who was Jeff's immediate predecessor as GLAA President, writes, “He was the first person I knew that owned a laptop, and he brought it to GLAA meetings when he served as secretary.” His embrace of new tools helped prod the rest of us. Just as he was finishing his last term as GLAA president, we launched our first website.

Jeff knew a lot about this city and the members of its political class, and he had definite points of view. He emailed me last summer when he was working on several candidates' responses to GLAA's questionnaire, and inevitably he shared his opinions of some of the people running. But I won’t share those comments with you, because, to paraphrase Falstaff, discretion is the better part of an awful lot of things. Remarkably, though, every politician who showed up here today was one of Jeff’s favorites.

February 16 - Memorial service for Jeff Coudriet

Councilmember Jack Evans' office provides the following details of the memorial service for our esteemed friend and colleague Jeff Coudriet:

A memorial service for Jeff Coudriet has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 16 at 11:00am at Foundry United Methodist Church (1500 16th Street, NW) in Washington, DC. All are welcome.

A funeral service will also be held on Saturday at 1:00pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 701 West Main Street, in Endicott, New York.

Jeff’s family will be there, as will Mayor Gray and of course Councilmember Evans and Jeff’s coworkers. We hope you can join us as we celebrate the life of this remarkable activist and public servant who left us too soon.

Obits: The Washington Post, The Washington Blade, Metro Weekly.

(Photo by Henry Lisner)

Metro Weekly obit for Jeff Coudriet

Yusef Najafi at Metro Weekly writes about activist extraordinaire Jeff Coudriet, who died on Saturday from lung cancer at the age of 48:

Coudriet was prominent in the local LGBT community for his contributions in helping to repeal D.C.'s sodomy laws. Most recently he worked as committee clerk for Jack Evan's Committee on Finance and Revenue. Prior to that, Coudriet was the director of operations at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulatory Administration.

''He was really quite an inspiration and taught me a lot about being an activist and getting laws passed,'' said local gay activist Bob Summersgill, who first met Coudriet in 1991 when he was getting involved with the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance (GLAA). ''He was always very very funny. He had a very quick wit and he turned anything around and joked about it.''

Coudriet even used humor to offset the severity of his illness. In one example, he posted a picture of fake lashes on his Facebook page, writing ''when the going gets tough, the tough get new eyelashes! f*ck chemo!''

In a statement released on Feb. 5, Evans mourned Coudriet's passing.

''It is impossible to put into words the contributions Jeff made to our city and its residents,'' Evans said. ''My staff and I share the grief and extend our condolences to Jeff's family and friends, and deeply mourn his passing.''

(Photo by Henry Lisner)

Jeff Coudriet dies; former president of GLAA & Gertrude Stein Democratic Club

Friends,

It is with great sadness that I pass along the news that Jeff Coudriet, former President of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (three terms from 1992 to 1995) and the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, has died.

At different times in his career Jeff worked for Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), D.C. Councilmembers Sharon Ambrose and Jack Evans, and the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. He represented D.C. on the Electoral College in 1996. He was smart and funny and wise, and it's hard to believe he's gone.

We will pass along information about a funeral/memorial service when we get it. In the meantime, if you have memories of Jeff that you would like to share, please send them to me (equal at glaa dot org) and I will compile them for a remembrance on GLAA’s website.

As one sample of his work as GLAA President, here is a link to his testimony on D.C. sodomy law reform from January 1993 (thanks to Bob Summersgill).

Rick Rosendall
Vice President for Political Affairs
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.

(Photo of Jeff Coudriet on Nov. 4, 2008. Copyright © Joel Lawson. All rights reserved.)

Update: The Blade reports. And Jeff's friend Susie Cambria reports that Jeff's family has announced details of services:

The funeral is being held in Endicott, NY on February 12 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. Calling hours will be held from Noon to 1:00 pm. Services follow at 1:00 pm. Services in Washington will be held February 16 at 7:00 pm at Foundry Methodist Church.

@mikedebonis tweets, "Jack Evans' office says details aren't yet final for Jeff Coudriet's memorial service. Will update soonest." So hold on. We'll update as soon as we get a confirmation. (Twitter's strong point is its speed. That's also its weak point.) More from DeBonis here.

Here are reports from Borderstan and Georgetown Dish.

Bryan Weaver posts a tribute here.

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal in D.C. marriage equality case

(Newlyweds Rocky Galloway and Reggie Stanley with daughters Malena and Zoe, March 9, 2010, at Human Rights Campaign headquarters. Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)

WaPo reports:

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to revive a lawsuit intending to allow a voter referendum on the District's same-sex marriage law.

Local courts have said the District's Board of Elections and Ethics was justified in denying attempts by opponents of same-sex marriage to put the issue to a vote. Without comment, the justices said they would not review the latest decision upholding the board's decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The board has contended that such a ballot initiative would, if approved, violate the city's Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. A judge agreed, and the appeals court by a 5 to 4 vote upheld the ruling.

The challenge was led by Bishop Harry Jackson, a D.C. resident who is pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville. He and other opponents, represented by a conservative legal group, said it should not be up to officials to decide when public initiatives are allowed.

The D.C. appeals court majority said that the board "correctly determined that the proposed initiative would have the effect of authorizing" discrimination.

This result is a vindication for GLAA, which persuaded the D.C. Council to pass a law in 1979 barring discriminatory ballot measures. That prohibition played a key role in defeating Bishop Harry Jackson and his anti-gay cohorts in their efforts before the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics and lower courts to place D.C.'s marriage-equality law on the ballot.

Now Jackson's only recourse is to the U.S. Congress. We who have followed the matter closely are fairly confident about the situation despite the new Republican majority in the House. First, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was unable to get even half of his GOP caucus to support his efforts against us in the 111th Congress. But even if he has better results this time, the Senate will block it. And failing that, the President will veto it on home-rule grounds. The chances of both houses of Congress mustering the 2/3 vote to override a veto are slim. And even if Congress did succeed in imposing a ballot measure on the District of Columbia, numerous polls suggest we would win. In addition, D.C. voters resent congressional interference in our local affairs, so if Congress forced a ballot initiative on D.C., we could expect a several-point jump in the polls in favor of equality just because of that. I discussed all this in a column a few months back.

If need be, the Campaign for All D.C. Families, which GLAA proposed in December 2004 and which was organized a couple of years ago as an independent organization by a coalition of LGBT groups and community leaders, is in place and can ramp up as needed to fight any ballot measure. But it is unlikely to come to that. Meanwhile, public support for civil marriage equality rises with every passing year, and the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples by the D.C. Marriage Bureau continues.

In short, D.C.'s marriage equality law is as secure as any in the country. Congrats to all who have been part of this effort, including the diverse array of leaders GLAA honored last year. And thanks again to all the D.C. elected officials who stood firm with us, as well as the staff at the D.C. Attorney General's office and the members and staff at the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. Looking at the news photo of Rocky Galloway and Reggie Stanley again, and considering the import of this ruling, brings tears of joy all over again. Hooray for us.

AP reports here. Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog comments here. A timeline on D.C. marriage equality prepared by Bob Summersgill and me is here. GLAA's Families Project page, which has links to relevant briefs and testimony, is here.

Update: Pam Spaulding reports here, with a quote from HRC President Joe Solmonese. The Advocate reports here. Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly reports here, including quotes from Bob Summersgill, leading legislative strategist on D.C. marriage equality.

January 21 - deadline on nominations for GLAA’s 2011 Distinguished Service Awards

Friends,

We invite you to submit nominations for GLAA’s annual Distinguished Service Awards, which will be presented at our 40th anniversary reception on April 20, 2011 (more details to come).

Please send us suggestions for individuals and/or groups that you feel have given distinguished service to Washington’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. This can be political, cultural, or charity work, professional or volunteer. GLAA’s officers will review all the suggested names and decide on this year’s honorees. Each year we find an embarrassment of riches. We ask that you email us your nominations (including a brief description of their service) no later than Friday, January 21.

A list of past GLAA honorees can be found at:
http://www.glaa.org/resources/awardshistory.shtml

Please email your suggestions to us at equal@glaa.org

Thanks!

Rick Rosendall
VP for Political Affairs
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC

GLAA ratings for general election candidates

Here is GLAA's ratings ad for the general election. It will appear in next week's Metro Weekly, with a similar ad appearing in the Blade. For details on our ratings, click here.

Thanks to GLAA Secretary Miguel Tuason for his crisp and appealing design work.

Ward 1 Statehood-Green candidate wins +7.5 GLAA rating

Nancy Shia, who won the Statehood-Green nomination for Ward 1 Council member on a write-in vote, has earned a +7.5 GLAA rating. In her questionnaire responses she agreed with GLAA on the issues, and provided a good deal of substance. We were impressed with her record of personal involvement in a number of our issues, including support for marriage equality; support for the Medical Marijuana Treatment Initiative; observing, photographing and challenging police abuses; and training activists on how to defend themselves against overly aggressive or illegal law enforcement tactics.

Her points breakdown is as follows: +2 on the yes/no, +3.5 on substance, +2 on record, and 0 on championship, for a total rating of +7.5 (the possible range being +/- 10 points).

Shia's questionnaire is online at:
www.glaa.org/archive/2010/cqshia.pdf

The other candidates for Ward 1 Council are Democratic incumbent Jim Graham, who earned a +10 rating; and Republican challenger Marc Morgan, who earned a +6.5. GLAA's October 13 news release on our ratings is at:
www.glaa.org/archive/2010/generalratings.shtml

GLAA will post Shia's rating on our main website by Thursday morning, and will include her in our ratings ads in the October 28 issue of Metro Weekly and the October 29 issue of The Washington Blade.

Catania, Graham, Mendelson get perfect +10 ratings from GLAA

GLAA has released its ratings for candidates in the November 2, 2010 D.C. general election:

Gay and gay-supportive officeholders topped the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA) candidate ratings for the November 2 general election. At-Large Independent Councilmember David Catania, At-Large Democratic Councilmember Phil Mendelson, and Ward 1 Democratic Councilmember Jim Graham all earned perfect scores of +10. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, running for Mayor, earned +8.5. Ward 3 Democratic Councilmember Mary Cheh, who submitted a revised questionnaire, increased to +8.5 from the primary. Ward 6 Democratic Councilmember Tommy Wells earned +8.5. Ward 1 Republican challenger Marc Morgan, who submitted a revised questionnaire and information about his LGBT-related record, increased to +6.5. Ward 5 Democratic Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. earned +6.

By contrast, two candidates who did not respond to the questionnaire received negative ratings on the basis of their records. Independent At-Large candidate Richard Urban earned -3.5, the lowest score of any candidate this year, for his outspoken opposition to marriage equality and for starting an organization years ago to teach abstinence-only-until-marriage to D.C. students with public funding. Ward 6 Republican candidate Jim DeMartino earned -0.5 for his publicly stated opposition to marriage equality.

Congratulations and thanks to our allies who earned high ratings. Here are links to the online versions of GLAA’s ratings and points breakdown pages:

News release and ratings:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2010/generalratings.shtml

Points breakdown:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2010/generalratingsbreakdown.shtml

To view each candidate’s questionnaire responses, click on his or her name in the ratings listing.

Top GLAA-rated candidates win Democratic primary races; NOM crushed

[Updated 3:15 PM, with DCBOEE results from 1:04 PM] After a long election night marked by delays caused by new voting machines, the results from the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics show that in every Democratic primary race, the candidate with the highest GLAA rating won. And every candidate supported by the National Organization for Marriage was soundly trounced.

Here's the list of Democratic nominees: Vincent Gray for Mayor; Kwame Brown for Council Chair; Phil Mendelson for At-Large Council; Jim Graham for Ward 1 Council; Mary Cheh (unchallenged) for Ward 3 Council; Harry Thomas, Jr. for Ward 5 Council; and Tommy Wells for Ward 6 Council. In races that GLAA did not rate candidates, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a close ally and champion of the gay community, easily won the nomination for another term as D.C. Delegate to Congress; and Mike Panetta won his race to continue as Shadow Representative.

"You did well," WRC-TV reporter Tom Sherwood said to me around midnight at the victory party for Council Chairman and now mayoral nominee Vince Gray. Yes, indeed. Of the NOM-backed candidates, Mayoral candidate Leo Alexander received less than one percent of the vote; Ward 5 Council candidate Delano Hunter, the intended beneficiary of a heavy direct-mail campaign by NOM, was defeated 62 to 20 percent; Ward 6 Council candidate Kelvin Robinson, an opponent of marriage equality who ran away from NOM in recent weeks, was defeated 75 to 25 percent; and (as Bob Summersgill notes in the comments) Douglass Sloan, who received a late NOM endorsement, was defeated 90 to 9 percent. Thus, in every race with a challenger who opposed gay equality, that challenger was overwhelmingly rejected by District voters in favor of a gay-affirming candidate.

Also, At-Large Council candidate Michael D. Brown, who was gay-friendly but relied on voters confusing him with Councilmember Michael A. Brown in his challenge to Councilmember Phil Mendelson, was defeated 63 percent to 28 percent. Mendelson, of course, is the pro-gay champion who steered the marriage equality law to passage, and who won a perfect +10 rating from GLAA.

Let's see how Bishop Harry Jackson, Rev. Anthony Evans, Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown try to spin the voters' utter repudiation of their effort to punish D.C. legislators who support equality for same-sex couples and their families. In the meantime, congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who worked to defeat the homophobes. And condolences to openly gay At-Large Democratic Council challenger Clark Ray, who came in a distance third with 9 percent of the vote.

Congratulations also to the Republican and Statehood-Green nominees. Alas, Statehood-Green mayoral candidate Faith, though unchallenged, got fewer votes (179) than the write-ins (264).

(Photo of Democratic mayoral nominee Vincent Gray by Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press)