Some things that might peak your interest ...
The Mayor's LGBT Advisory Committee had their first meeting on Tuesday around 8:30 AM. I had previously contacted the individuals I had been advised (ha ha) would be serving and they basically sent me the exact sentences back in their various confirmation email messages. We can expect a press release "soon" with all the juicy details.
Confirmed advisors thus far are Scott Stegman, GLCC; Kathleen Schneider, local attorney; Susan Haugh, Dreams of Hope; and Amanda Rubio, local attorney and member of the Pittsburgh Human Relations Commission.
Unconfirmed but mentioned by several of the persons above is that long-time LGBT activisit and local attorney Elise Delong will be serving as the committee chair.
The remaining members of the committee have not responded to my inquiries either way, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This group is far more diverse than I expected. I am very surprised about that. It isn't perfect. Three attorneys seems a bit much. There may be three individuals from the arts community. I don't see any potential representation from the human services community which is a bit odd. And I'm not sure everyone actually lives in the City -- we'll check that out once the announcement in finalized. Nonetheless, I am confident that each of these persons will seek out or create opportunities for us, the LGBT residents of Pittsburgh, to connect with them.
Now we need to see if the Mayor will use this resource wisely. It would be nice to move on to fresh topics, eh?
Moving on ...
Ohio is making Pennsylvania look bad. I mean it was bad enough that Iowa is like the gay mecca of the US now, but Ohio moved a non-discrimination bill out of the House before Pennsylvania could pull it off. Now if you get worked up with the Browns have a better record than the Steelers, this should really piss you off. Piss you off to get you to pick up your phone and call your legislator?
How about this ... if you think Pennsylvania should be a little ahead of the curve on gay rights, here's what you do ... join Steel City Stonewall Democrats. Membership can be as low as $15 for families with limited disposable incomes. This group is in the throes of so much good work that the meeting agendas are ubelievable. You can pick your poison -- unseat an anti-gay County Councilperson who voted against the non-discrimination ordinance, tackle judiciary races and learn how redistricting determines if Mike Doyle or Tim Murphy represent you in Congress, help plan a picnic, go to lots of picnics, meet Independent candidates, just tons of stuff.
Join. Don't let Ohio win. Seriously.
I'm a little disenchanted with frenemies. I'm just saying. Pittsburgh politics is like West Mifflin High School circa 1987. Sometimes being the nerdy girl who reads novels in study hall is not such a bad thing.
So we've got the next two months of show topics and guests lined up for Sister ShOUT. They include: Dykes on Bikes, the Dyke March, three interesting political candidates, Gay Yoga, Vegetarianism, Get out the Vote, and much much more. You can always fling us a suggestion. Or call us. It is all good.
