Sunday, June 1, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Yesterday was a monumental day for our movement. The California Supreme Court handed down an historic decision that makes the state the second in the nation to establish marriage equality.
This is a remarkable moment for the state of California, and a long-awaited day for this case’s plaintiffs and their families. The California Supreme Court has made clear that same-sex couples in committed relationships and their families deserve the same level of respect afforded to opposite-sex couples.
Before this decision, California and many other states have said that same-sex couples had to be barred from marrying in order to preserve traditional marriage. Yesterday, the California Supreme Court invalidated this claim. The justices affirmed what we’ve known all along: that allowing same-sex couples to marry poses no threat whatsoever to any opposite-sex marriage.
The court has strongly declared that excluding GLBT people from marriage isn’t necessary for anyone’s benefit. The court came to this conclusion for several reasons. First, all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person of his or her choice. Second, from an equal protection perspective, it is unacceptable to have one institution—marriage—for one group of people and a second institution—domestic partnerships—for another group.
This decision strengthens California families. The ruling handed down yesterday states affirmatively that being denied the dignity of marriage does “real and appreciable harm” to these couples and their children. None of us aspire to enter into a civil union or domestic partnership. Marriage is the only institution that truly recognizes our relationships and protects our families.
The court has done its job by ensuring that the state constitution provides the same rights and protections for everyone. We also have the support of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said: “I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling.” He also stood by his decision to not support the amendment.
We congratulate and commend the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Heller Ehrman, the Law Office of David C. Codell, Equality California, Our Family Coalition and, of course, the courageous plaintiff couples and their families who looked to the courts to defend their rights.
This is certainly an occasion to celebrate. However, our work is far from over. In fact, we are gearing up for one of the most intense battles we’ve faced in years.
We must continue to fight to protect yesterday’s hard-won victory.
HRC has set up a special fund – the HRC California Marriage PAC – to direct 100 percent of your contribution today to the fight against the anti-marriage ballot initiative in California. To learn more, visit https://secure.ga3.org/03/caequalpac.
Marriage equality opponents in California are determined to put a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality on the November ballot. Our right-wing opponents are building a $10 million war chest for a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality in California.
HRC has already devoted significant resources to educating voters on the mean-spirited efforts of the right-wing to make discrimination the law of the land in California.
HRC is part of the Equality for All coalition working to defeat this ballot measure. This year, HRC provided six full-time staff members and $100,000 to Equality for All, a large and diverse coalition of civil rights, faith, choice, labor and community of color organizations working to stop and defeat any ballot measure that would deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry in California.
The California Supreme Court did its job by siding with basic fairness. In November, it will be up to California voters to do the same. With your support, we can help them make the right choice.
Have a great weekend!
Warmly,
P.S. Before this California Supreme Court decision came down, I had planned to talk to you this week about the release of the HRC Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index, which, for the first time ever, rates the nation’s hospitals on a set of baseline standards of patient care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care. It’s a tremendous resource and I am immensely proud of it.
Here are statements from California Members of Congress in response to the state supreme court ruling in favor of marriage equality. Following the ruling yesterday, we posted statements from Speaker Pelosi, DNC Chair Howard Dean and Gov. Schwarzenegger.
We'll post additional statements here from members of the California congressional delegation as they come in:
Congresswoman Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D):
This is the right decision for California and I hope the rest of America will follow suit. Marriage is a civil right. When we withhold it from one segment of the population we are doing a disservice to the principles of fairness and equality upon which our country was founded. I will continue to work in Congress to achieve this level of equality on the issue of marriage as well as related issues like the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, a policy that is preventing otherwise fully qualified men and women from serving their country in the military and by doing so damaging the readiness of our Armed Forces.
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D):
Like many Californians, I am thrilled by this morning’s decision by the California Supreme Court to overturn the ban on same sex marriage. This is a historic day for the State of California and for the tens of thousands of gay and lesbian couples whose love for each other is just as real as that of any other couple. Although today’s ruling is significant, we still face challenges ahead. So, while we are jubilant in the wake of this news, we must also remain committed to ensuring that today’s court decision becomes a reality.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D):
I applaud the California Supreme Court’s decision today to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. This is the defining civil rights issue of the decade and the justices appropriately recognized the importance of not discriminating against those wishing to commit to a familial relationship. As a State Senator, I was honored to officiate at over twenty weddings for gay and lesbian constituents. It is encouraging that the four-judge majority included three Republican jurists, perhaps signaling the end of marriage equality being used as a partisan political wedge.
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (D):
The California Supreme Court ruling says loud and clear that California will not tolerate second-class families. We are all created equal. As a champion for civil rights, I welcome this ruling.Now we must make every effort to preserve justice by defeating the anti-marriage ballot initiative this November.
The decision by the California Supreme Court is marvelous news for all opponents of discrimination. We are one step closer to full equality and one step away from a policy determined by bigotry. I’m sure the right-wing extremists will wage a tough, nasty fight this November to try to undo this decision, but I’m confident that the people of California will come down solidly on the side of human rights.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D):
California has a history of leading the nation on important issues and this ruling is certainly in keeping with that history. I applaud the ruling which makes it clear that the state constitution provides the same rights and protections for everyone.
This is a momentous day for the State of California and for those who value family rights and civil rights for all. Once again, California has stepped up and been a leader in protecting equal rights for all of its citizens. This decision will strengthen families across the state and ensure that gays and lesbians in committed relationships will be able to enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples. Providing rights to gay and lesbian couples through a separate system of domestic partnerships, while a step forward, is not enough. Today’s decision affirms the fundamental American principal of equality for all.
Here's a great video from YouTube video blogger Castro in the Streets that provides an interesting, eyewitness account from San Francisco on the day the California Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is unconstitutional. The video includes reactions from everyday people celebrating the decision throughout the day around San Francisco, including at LGBT Center that our John Lake reported from today. This video is worth watching in its entirety - and there's a nice shoutout at the end of the video to the Equality for All coalition that HRC is a part of to defeat the state constitutional marriage amendment that would undue the Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality.
Following the California Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality in the state, Ellen, who has been in a relationship with actress Portia de Rossi for about four years, announced on her talk show yesterday that she's going to get married:
Well! That's de Rossi, that's DeGeneres, that's De-Lovely!
(BTW - Ellen says she's registered at Crate & Barrel.)
Here are statements from California congresswomen Barbara Lee and Lois Capps in response to Thursday's California Supreme Court decision that reversed a lower court decision and ruled that same-sex couples have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples under the state constitution. Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Lee, an openly gay member of Congress, also issued a statement celebrating the decision. Her statement is included below:
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA):
California has a history of leading the nation on important issues and this ruling is certainly in keeping with that history. I applaud the ruling which makes it clear that the state constitution provides the same rights and protections for everyone.
Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA):
This is a momentous day for the State of California and for those who value family rights and civil rights for all. Once again, California has stepped up and been a leader in protecting equal rights for all of its citizens. This decision will strengthen families across the state and ensure that gays and lesbians in committed relationships will be able to enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples. Providing rights to gay and lesbian couples through a separate system of domestic partnerships, while a step forward, is not enough. Today’s decision affirms the fundamental American principal of equality for all.
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI):
Like many Americans, I'm elated by today's California State Supreme Court ruling that laws excluding gay and lesbian couples from the right to marry are unconstitutional. There will be more legal and political challenges ahead as we continue our march toward full equality for all Americans. But today is a day to savor the moment and recall what Dr. King often preached, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
HRC's Director of Corporate Relations John Lake was in San Francisco yesterday as the California Supreme Court issued its ruling that opened the doors for marriage equality in the state. John, who was flashed his trademark smile at a celebratory afternoon rally at San Francisco's LGBT Center, sent us a report from the scene at ground zero - and reminds us that the battle against anti-gay conservative efforts to undo the court's decision through a constitutional amendment is not yet over:
[Photo: John Lake with CA Assemblyman Mark Leno]
What a memorable day it has been in California!
I am so excited t hat I was able to be here, in my home state, as our Supreme Court ruled on the side of equality and granted same-sex couples from San Diego to the Oregon border the right to marry. Given that nearly one in every eight Americans resides in the Golden State, this is truly a day to celebrate as a huge milestone in our fight for equality!
Of course, I was glued to CNN this morning at 10:00, hoping for some good news. I was profoundly disappointed when they mistakenly reported that the court had ruled against the city of San Francisco. But then the phone started ringing and the blackberry buzzing – CNN had it wrong. WE HAD WON! Later in the day I saw Joe on the same network explaining the implications of the victory – what a proud moment for my state and for our movement.
San Francisco is Ground Zero in the state’s marriage fight and tonight there was a boisterous gathering to mark the victory at our LGBT Community Center – an estimated 1,000 people showed up. A friend who is active in the community told me he took off work early – because he just felt he needed to be there to share the big win with those who are fighting the fight.
The crowd at the LGBT Center in San Francisco.Several of our leaders in the fight spoke, including State Assemblyman Mark Leno (pictured above, on the right), Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors, NCLR’s Kate Kendell, and Ambassador James Hormel, who put it well when he said that “marriage” is now a word “firmly planted in the LGBT vocabulary.” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, a loyal and steadfast straight ally in our fight, called the ruling a “triumph of courage, leadership, and family.”
The couples who were the subject of the triumphant lawsuit – and put their very relationships up for judgment – were given the longest ovation of the night. Many were clearly overcome with emotion. Shannon Minter and Terry Stewart, key attorneys in the case who argued on behalf of equality, spoke eloquently about the far-reaching implications this ruling will have. There is a palpable sense that even though San Francisco has been down this road before – with Mayor Gavin Newsom’s heroic efforts in 2004 – that that this time we really won and we aren’t going back.
This couple was standing on Market Street in front of The Center, holding this flag. Honk if you're proud!The 800-pound gorilla in the room, however, was the fact that simultaneous to this celebration of equality, right-wing organizations are counting the signatures that could place a measure on the ballot in November to amend the California constitution and take away the very rights that the highest court has now affirmed. Most speakers tonight concluded their remarks with a reminder that the battle now moves to a different front – it is now a political fight to make sure that bigotry doesn’t win the day in November. We have to make sure that this ruling lasts, so that California becomes the left coast bookend to Massachusetts and furthers the spread of equality throughout the country.
As a citizen of California and for the sake of all committed gay and lesbian couples, I hope we can do it!
John with Linda Scaparotti, a member of HRC's San Francisco Board of Directors.After a round of cheers and bubbly to celebrate today's landmark California Supreme Court marriage decision, HRC hoists a new flag over our Washington, DC headquarters to mark the occasion:
We posted these as updates on our earlier post announcing that the California Supreme Court had ruled in favor of marriage equality, but we wanted to make sure you saw the response statements of Speaker Pelosi, DNC Chair Howard Dean and California Governor Schwarzeneggar to the decision:
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:
I welcome the California Supreme Court's historic decision. I have long fought against discrimination and believe that the State Constitution provides for equal treatment for all of California's citizens and families, which today's decision recognizes.
I commend the plaintiffs from San Francisco for their courage and commitment. I encourage California citizens to respect the Court's decision, and I continue to strongly oppose any ballot measure that would write discrimination into the State Constitution.
Today is a significant milestone for which all Californians can take pride.
Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean:
The Supreme Court of California today took a step forward in the long march toward protecting equal rights under the law for every American.
This should not be a matter of politics or partisanship; it is a matter of protecting the rights and dignity of all American families.
California Gov. Schwarzenegger:
I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.
Community Notice From Equality California:
On Thursday, May 15, the California Supreme Court will rule on the California marriage case that asks the state to end its ban on marriage for same-sex couples.
Join EQCA and our coalition partners as we gather the community in a statewide Celebration of Love and Family to mark this historic day. We are optimistic about a positive decision from the Court, but regardless of the outcome, we will gather to celebrate our love and vow to work together to achieve equality.
Please bring a California flag and your pride. Families are welcome and encouraged to attend.
Read more about the marriage case.
Here is a sampling on events to be held around California following the ruling. The full list is here.
So what will you do when the Court rules?
As the anticipation builds among certain GLBT culture and style watchers (*ahem*) for the return of those four Manolo-and-Marc clad Sex and the City women to the screen on May 30, Cynthia Nixon, who plays fiery lawyer Miranda Hobbes, announced during an interview with a British newspaper that she fancies the idea of marrying her girlfriend, Christine Marinoni (Huffington Post):
"If it becomes legal I think we would," says Cynthia, who still lives in the Upper West Side neighbourhood where she was born. "It's something my girlfriend is interested in and it was not something my boyfriend ever was.
"I think that to get married to her would be a little act of rebellion. It's like if you've never had the vote and then you get it you're going to run out there and vote.
"I always avoided marriage in the past and was always very wary of it. I felt like it was potentially a trap. People sometimes want the party, the gifts and the public celebration of this big love - they're excited about that rather than about the lifetime commitment. So I always steered clear of it." [...]
She says: "I started dating my girlfriend in January 2004 and the press got wind of it around the September.
"There was a lot of attention and it was crazy. I said I was romantically involved with a woman, but I wasn't going to talk about it until everybody calmed down.
"I never felt like there was an unconscious part of me that woke up or came out of the closet. There wasn't a struggle or an attempt to suppress. I met this woman and I fell in love with her.
"In terms of my sexual orientation, I don't really feel that I changed. I don't feel any different than I did before. I don't feel like there was some hidden part of myself that I wasn't aware of.
"I had been with men all my life and I had never met a woman I had fallen in love with before. But when I did, it didn't seem so strange. "I don't define myself. I'm just a woman in love with another woman."
Well, you go Cynthia. We like the sound of that.
(And I like the look of this, PS:)
[And how fortunate were we to have Sarah Jessica Parker's hubby Matthew Broderick at the HRC National Dinner last year? Looks like we were right on the money in giving him the Ally for Equality award, because according to SJP in the latest New York magazine, Broderick likes to josh around with a nice squad of gay pals. Ummmmm... let me know if there are ever any openings, hun....]
This article from Religion and Faith Director Harry Knox was crossposted at BeliefNet's Casting Stones blog.
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The dust is settling on the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the quadrennial legislative meeting held April 23 – May 2 in Fort Worth.
I am heartbroken, as are my colleagues at HRC, by the spiritual violence done to lesbian and gay people by the United Methodist Church, the denomination in which I once pastored, my parents were married, my nieces and nephews baptized, and out of which my beloved grandmother was buried last June. Delegates voted to retain language in the Discipline, the law book of the denomination, which says homosexuality “is incompatible with Christian teaching” and let stand a Judicial Council decision that allows local pastors to exclude individuals from membership – a gross departure from established practice in the denomination founded by John Wesley, who said, “If your heart beats with my heart give me your hand."
But now that the lump in my throat has settled along with the dust, I’m taking a closer look at what happened at General Conference and seeing some opportunities I believe we advocates for GLBT justice should take advantage of.
In a typically schizophrenic way, the United Methodist Church called people like me sinners while also calling in a very clear and forceful way for protection of our civil rights. The denomination sees no irony there; it doesn’t recognize itself as abusive with its smack-hug behavior. But that is finally not as important to me as the fact that its pronouncements about our civil rights give LGBT-affirming people (there are many) within the denomination something positive to do between now and the next general conference in 2012 – namely, advocate in the name of the United Methodist Church for passage of a fully inclusive Employment Non-discrimination Act and Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
In separate votes, the church committed itself to working for civil rights protections for LGBT people and explicitly rejected discrimination against transgender people, thanks to the prophetic personal witness of Rev. Drew Phoenix, the transgender pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Therefore we expect and call on the Bishops of the United Methodists Church and local UMC pastors to speak out publicly in support of ENDA and the hate crimes bill. And have we at the Human Rights Campaign got a deal for them! There is no need for bishops or local clergy to wonder how to get involved. They can do so by being part of Clergy Call 2009.
Clergy Call 2009 is a year-long educational effort to facilitate faith-based mobilization within congregations and local communities. The effort builds on Clergy Call 2007, where the HRC Religion & Faith Program brought 230 religious leaders from all 50 states to Washington, D.C. Beginning this summer, HRC will support faith-based trainings throughout the country with a particular targeted emphasis on transgender education in 40 communities. The trainings will lead into the national Clergy Call event May 4-5, 2009 and will propel faith leaders to organize and advocate locally for GLBT equality.
Through the educational resources available through Clergy Call 2009, local church leaders can educate themselves and their parishioners about who transgender people are, their needs, and how to advocate for basic civil rights protections. Bishops of the Church can find the resources they need for being part of our massive lobby day on May 5, 2009 in which clergy will again engage members of Congress on behalf of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members and their families.
We will be reaching out to United Methodist clergy and their bishop shepherds to urge them to live into the clear call to advocacy issued by the General Conference. Please let us know at religion@hrc.org if you know of clergy – Methodist or not – who should be involved in Clergy Call 2009.
Harry Knox, Director
Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Today's Associated Press article by David Crary on the release of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) has already been picked up by over 150 mainstream media outlets across the country (like CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, USA Today, Advocate) and gay blogs like Towleroad, JustUsBoys and Queerty.
Earlier today, Joe Solmonese and GLMA executive director Joel Ginsberg held a media conference call to discuss the release of the HEI.
You can download the recorded mp3 of the call here (9 MB; sorry the file is so HUGE) or just use the player below:
Today the Arizona House of Representatives voted 33-25 to put a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage on this year's statewide ballot in November.
The measure now moves on to the state Senate, where legislators will decide whether to hold a vote on the amendment. A similar ban was defeated at the polls in 2006.
Joe Solmonese issued this statement today:
The Human Rights Campaign is proud that many fair-minded House members fought valiantly to defeat this harmful and unnecessary amendment. We will continue to work with our legislative allies to defeat this amendment as it moves to the state Senate.
This was crossposted today at the Huffington Post.
In our national debate on health care - we need to remember that in America, health care is a right, not a privilege. Too often that's not true for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and inconsistent hospital policies often result in discrimination and inadequate health care for GLBT patients and their families.
Too many times, a gay man has been unable to comfort his partner, a transgender person has been ridiculed instead of treated, or a lesbian mom has been barred from seeing her child at the hospital. These are real-life situations that play out every day in healthcare settings across the country--with devastating consequences.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association are taking steps to reform the health care industry by releasing a nationwide survey -- the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI) - that for the first time ever will rate the nation's hospitals on a set of baseline standards of patient care for GLBT Americans.
This is the first step toward establishing a nationwide set of standards to reduce discrimination and ensure quality hospital-based health care.
Eighty-eight hospitals from across the country were surveyed on criteria such as patient non-discrimination, hospital visitation, decision making, cultural competency training and employment policies, and today we're joined by some of the industry's leaders in this arena--the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
We modeled this survey after our successful Corporate Equality Index, which rates corporations based on equality standards for GLBT workers. Today, as a result of the Corporate Equality Index, over 50 percent of the Fortune 500 offer benefits to same-sex partners -- up from just a handful in 2000. We expect the HEI to achieve similar results in the healthcare community by calling attention to discriminatory practices and, over time, establishing a "gold standard" of policies to ensure equality of treatment.
The HEI is an important step in the right direction. Because at what can be the most trying and difficult times in the lives of GLBT Americans, the failure to provide protections can be devastating. Ken Johnson knows too well how the lack of national standards can lead to discrimination and inadequate care. Today, Ken, a lawyer who lives in Northern Virginia, shared his story, which tells first hand what's happening each and every day to GLBT Americans in emergency rooms across the country - and why we need better policies:
James E. Massey and I met on January 28, 2000. On June 28, 2003, we were united in a covenant ceremony, at National City Christian Church's Howland Center, in Washington, D.C. We subsequently registered as domestic partners in the State of California. On November 19, 2004, we finalized the adoption of our son.
On June 15, 2006, I received a call from one of James' co-workers, who said that James had collapsed at a CVS drug store near their Southwest D.C. office and had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. I then called 911 and was told that based on the location of the drug store, it was likely that James had been taken to Howard University Hospital. I then called a family friend and ask her to pick up our son from pre-school, while I went to Howard.
When I arrived at the emergency room at Howard, I asked the nurse at the desk whether James Massey had been brought to the hospital by ambulance. The nurse asked who I was and I explained: "My name is Ken Johnson and I am James Massey's domestic partner." The nurse replied that she could only release information to Mr. Massey's immediate family. I replied that Mr. Massey and I had been partners for over six years; that we lived together; that we had registered as domestic partners in the State of California; that we had executed wills and powers of attorney on each other's behalf; and that we had adopted a son together. The nurse's response to me was: "You're just the friend; I can only release information to immediate family members."
I waited for the nurse to leave the station and I walked into the emergency room and began looking behind each curtain to see if I could find James. (At the time, I did not care about invading other patients' privacy. I needed to find my partner and my son's father.).
When I found James, a doctor and a nurse were working on him. James was lying unconscious in a hospital bed. He was bleeding from his nose and mouth. The doctor asked who I was and I said that I was James' partner. The doctor explained that James had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage; that his condition was critical; and that they were going to move him to the intensive care unit. The doctor said that I could ride on the elevator with them and James to the ICU, but then I would have to leave.
When we arrived at the ICU, I told James that I loved him. I then left James' room, according to the doctor's instruction.
At our covenant ceremony, I took James to be my life partner, "for better for worse,
for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death." At the ceremony, I promised James: "I'm not leaving, no matter what."
I did not want to leave James' hospital room because I did not want him to die alone. But I knew that if I wanted to see him again and be involved in making decisions about his health care, that I would have to drive to our home in Fairfax County, Virginia, so that I could get our wills, living wills and powers of attorney.
After a few minutes, my friend arrived at the hospital and I asked her to drive me home. Due to traffic, it took us about two and a half hours to drive to my home; get the wills, living wills and powers of attorney; and drive back to the hospital. While we were gone, decisions were made about James' health care that did not consider his wishes, as reflected in the living will that he had signed. When I returned to the hospital with our wills, living wills and powers of attorney, I was allowed to be involved in making decisions about James' health care and to spend the night in James' room. The next day, June 16, 2006, James died.
Today HRC President Joe Solmonese and Joel Ginsberg, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, leaders in the healthcare industry and hospital executives will announce the release of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), a first-of-its-kind survey to rate the nation’s hospitals on a set of baseline standards of patient care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Americans.
The absence of federal protections, inadequate state laws and differing hospital policies often results in discrimination and inadequate health care for GLBT patients and their families. Too many times, a gay man has been unable to comfort his partner, a transgender person has been ridiculed instead of treated, or a lesbian mom has been barred from seeing her child at the hospital.
The HEI is modeled after the successful Human Rights Campaign Foundation Workplace Project’s Corporate Equality Index, which rates corporations based on equality standards for GLBT workers and has lead to over 50 percent of the Fortune 500 offering benefits to same-sex partners today, up from just a handful in 2000.
Solmonese and Ginsberg will be joined by representatives from participating hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. Administrators and physicians from these facilities will describe the barriers to quality care that GLBT patients and their families experience as a result of the lack of national protection, discriminatory hospital policies, inadequate state laws, or healthcare providers’ insufficient training on the unique health issues faced by the GLBT community.
There will be a media conference call today at 1 p.m. EST to announce the release of first annual Healthcare Equality Index.
The full Healthcare Equality Index report can be downloaded at www.hrc.org/hei.
WHO: Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Joe Solmonese
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association Executive Director Joel Ginsberg
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Author of HEI, Tom Sullivan from Human Rights Campaign Foundation
WHEN: Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at 1 p.m. EST
**NEW CONFERENCE CALL NUMBER: 866/687-4018 CONFIRMATION ID: 47274202
Now back in our Washington, DC headquarters, HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse gives his review of the opening Camp Equality that was held in Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend:
This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in HRC’s very first Camp Equality™ in Fort Lauderdale. I arrived on Friday to have meetings and watch the last-minute logistics fall into place. On Saturday morning, fifty participants showed up eager to learn more about how to make a difference in campaigns. They represented a tremendous diversity – gay and straight; black, white and latino/a; young and old; even my grandmother.
Our campers learned all about blogging (http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2008/05/hrcs-camp-equal.html), canvassing, phone banking, recruiting and retaining volunteers, and how to talk to folks about this November’s anti-marriage ballot initiative. On the second day, the campers chose a Camp Equality™ leadership team to help keep them informed about volunteer opportunities, and I got goosebumps hearing the candidates give their speeches. After just one day of training, their presentations about why we need to defeat Florida’s anti-gay constitutional amendment were so powerful.
I know that our investment in these two days and the twelve additional Camp Equality™ trainings we have scheduled will make a tremendous difference in November. HRC’s work to provide real campaign skills to dedicated supporters of equality around the country is really amazing.
I was joined in Fort Lauderdale by Field Team staff Sultan Shakir and Toby Quaranta (pictured, top left), who have been working tirelessly for weeks planning and recruiting for this training, and by our resident videographer Charlie Nordstrom. I’m looking forward to seeing the video, which I’m sure Charlie will turn into a great two-minute recruitment piece for future Camps. Of course, the Camp Equality™ program would not be possible without the vision of HRC’s leadership and the support of everyone in the organization.
HRC's Sultan Shakir, Charlie Nordstrom, Marty Rouse and Toby Quaranta with Marty's grandmother, Edith.Special thanks also go to our organizational partners for this first Camp Equality™ - Florida Red & Blue, Fairness for All Families, Equality Florida, the ACLU of Florida, Dolphin Democrats and Florida Young Democrats.
To read more about this weekend’s Camp Equality™, check out the article in today’s South Florida Sun-Sentinel at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbequality0512sbmay12,0,5491565.story.
For more photos from the Ft. Lauderdale Camp Equality:
Day 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2239100&l=9c9e6&id=6201298
Day 1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2238904&l=227e5&id=6201298
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2238906&l=d61e0&id=6201298
HRC is joining with Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to urge Washington University to reconsider its plans to award an honorary doctorate to longtime GLBT rights antagonist Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the conservative advocacy group The Eagle Forum, at the school’s May 16 commencement ceremonies in St. Louis.
PFLAG, HRC, GLBT activists and concerned students, faculty and alumni are encouraging members and supporters of the GLBT community to send a clear message to Washington University Chancellor Mark Stephen Wrighton at wrighton@wustl.edu asking the university not to support anti-gay hatred by honoring Phyllis Schlafly.
FACEBOOK USERS: You can also join a special Facebook group created in opposition to Schlafly. The group currently has over 1,000 members.
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UPDATE: A group of 14 professors at the Washington University law school have sent a letter to Chancellor Wrighton urging the University to cancel its plans to award Phyllis Schlafly with an honorary degree. Here's an excerpt from the text:
Let us be clear. We are not talking about mere political disagreements - including her most famous political success, the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. Although many of us promoted the amendment, we readily acknowledge that reasonable people can disagree over the question whether - particularly in light of the existing Equal Protection Clause - a specific constitutional amendment was the ideal way to pursue the objective of equality, to which this University is firmly committed.
Our objection to honoring Ms. Schlafly instead stems from the fact that she has devoted her career to demagoguery and anti-intellectualism in the pursuit of her political agenda. She has berated scientific inquiry; apart from her particular stance on the Equal Rights Amendment, she has demonstrated a lack of concern for - and sometimes outright bigotry toward - not only women, but gays and lesbians; and she has led campaigns to undermine the independence of the judiciary.
Read the full text of the letter here.
On tonight’s The Agenda with Joe Solmonese:
· Paul Rudnick, playwright
· John Heilemann, New York magazine
· Mary Bonauto, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders
· Rabbi Denise Eger & Rev. Joe Hoffman on Clergy Call 2009
· Vicki Eaklor, author and GLBT historian
Tune in live from 6 – 8 p.m. eastern every Monday on XM channel 155. Download clips here on Back Story and at www.hrc.org/TheAgenda every Tuesday.
This weekend, the Ohio Democratic Party held its state convention in Columbus. HRC Regional Field Director Stu Rosenberg and Terry Penrod, a member of HRC's Board of Directors, were on hand to talk politics with state leaders and discuss the GLBT community's involvement in this year's elections. Here's a quick report sent to us from Terry:
On Saturday, HRC Regional Field Director Stuart Rosenberg and I attended the Ohio Democratic Party State Convention. The Convention is where everyone in Ohio Democratic politics come to network, discuss, and plan for the 2008 Ohio elections.
Activists and elected officials from all over the state attend. The Human Rights Campaign was a major sponsor of the Convention, and was the exclusive organizational sponsor of the Ohio Democratic Party LGBT fundraiser that took place during the Convention.
Major Ohio elected officials came to the LGBT fundraiser or to the Human Rights Campaign information table at the Convention to express their support for equality in Ohio.
Special thanks to James Winnett, LGBT Caucus Director for the Ohio Democratic Party, who helped make the Human Rights Campaign and its members feel fully welcome by the Ohio Democratic Party. James has done a great job of building LGBT outreach in the state. We at the Human Rights Campaign look forward to working with James in electing a fair-minded president, additional fair-minded congresspersons, and a fair-minded state legislature in Ohio in 2008.
[Photo (L to R): HRC Board of Directors member Terry Penrod; Governor Ted Strickland; HRC member Brock Fortman; Brock Leonti; HRC Board of Governor M. Mason; HRC Regional Field Director Stuart Rosenberg; James Winnett, Ohio Democratic Party LGBT Caucus Director.]
Back Story - Weekend:
Camp Equality, HRC's 2-day interactive training program that combines lectures, discussions, and real-life simulations to help the GLBT community make a significant impact in the 2008 elections, will be held in 13 cities across the country this summer. This new program from the Human Rights Campaign will help participants learn how to organize a successful grassroots presence in campaigns and teach best practices for becoming valued campaign volunteers. Here's a report we just received from the kickoff Camp Equality that was held in Ft. Lauderdale:
Many progressive groups came together in Ft. Lauderdale, FL this weekend to take part in a historic grassroots training effort. HRC’s Camp Equality™ brought together the ACLU, Dolphin Democrats, Florida Red and Blue, Equality Florida, the Florida Young Democrats, candidates, and many other progressive groups to get the training needed to affect real political change in Florida.
Florida is not only an important battleground state for Presidential politics, but we are also facing three amendments that could strip away important rights for all Floridians. One of the motivating factors from all involved was Amendment 2 [link], the so-called “Marriage Protection Amendment,” which would roll back domestic partnerships and rights vital for many families in Florida, especially those in the LGBT community.
Much of the first day dealt with the media and reaching out to constituencies more than just people in the LGBT community, through. Zoe Stout is a straight woman working with the ACLU who reminded us of the spirit of working together with a greater community and reaching out to, and speaking to, people who might be outside of our normal base.
Zoe was persuaded by her chapter president to chair the committee that will educate the public on the marriage amendment in Florida and is already working, on the first day of the event, to schedule a town hall meeting in Palm Beach County. She plans to use the information gained here to start her own blog toward the cause. In her own words “I understand the impact that this amendment will have on the straight community as well. It is unfair to everyone, so I had to take action.”
Zoe Stout.If there was ever a year for the LGBT community and their allies to get involved, it is this year. Be sure to find out when a Camp Equality™ is coming to your area and learn the skills to make a true difference.
HRC Regional Field Director Sultan Shakir and National Field Director Marty Rouse speak to the participants of HRC's first Camp Equality in Ft. Lauderdale.
