The Pittsburgh City Paper explores the frustration of the County Human Relations Commission with the slow pace of the Onorato Administration around domestic partner benefits.
Is anyone really surprised? After 7 years, really?
It won't happen until the next Administration. Onorato doesn't want to use the political capital on this issue when he's potentially gearing up for a statewide race where gay votes and gay issues won't matter. That's my prediction. It isn't on his radar and the HRC is powerless.
Energy is better spent pressing Fitzgerald and Flaherty to commit to the issue.
John DeBartola from the Keystone Alliance/Gaylife Newsletter wrote to the Trib earlier this month. He forecasts introduction of 4 pieces of pro-LGBTQ legislation: marriage, civil unions, hate crimed and non-discrimination legislation.
Both [Senator] Leach and [Rep.] Cohen have agreed to submit their respective bills for marriage equality and civil unions on Feb 7. Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, and Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery County, might also have their respective bills (nondiscrimination and hate crimes) in place.
I think this aggressive stance is commendable. We all anticipate a Metcalfe sponsored anti-marriage equality bill to be introduced and suck up a lot of resources. Keeping our allies and our agenda high profile reminds us all that we do not have to capitulate to the forces of homophobia and simply beat back these foes.
I was unable to attend the Progressive Summit and learn more, but I anticipate updates emerging from other sources soon.
From Autumn Sandeen at Pam's House Blend comes discouraging news about transwomen and transwomen employed by the State losing employment protections under a new executive order which DOES extend protection based on sexual orientation.
Another stark reminder of why we need to keep our queer umbrella over everyone and not succumb to the temptation to toss our transgender sisters and brothers overboard in the name of a "baby step."
Please read Autumn's diary. Ohio today could be a rollback in Pennsylvania on some other issue tomorrow under Governor Corbett's Administration. We must be vigilant.
I'm not sure we can go too wrong with any of these candidates for Allegheny County Chief Executive. I see domestic partner benefits on the horizon for Allegheny County employees (we are thiiiiiis close) which will pretty much seal the deal in terms of our region being a true leader with regard to equality.
This is more important than ever when a local elected state official wants to write discrimination into the Commonwealth constitution. We need to rally local Democrats in the House to stand up to this hate and insist they focus on our economy, healthcare, environment and so forth. A strong ally in this office will prove valuable in this regard.
There is also the inevitable march of non-discrimination ordinances through Pennsylvania's municipalities. Allegheny County's LGBTQ community needs to shore up our base so we can assist our sisters and brothers in Washington, Westmoreland, Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Greene, Fayette and so forth. It is their turn so we owe it to them to elect a County leader who will lead on our behalf.
Some day, we'll seat more LGBTQ folks at the tables, alongside our champion Bruce Kraus. For now, we must insist that the women and men we do elect represent our community in their roles.
January 11, 2011?Councilman Bruce A. Kraus announced today that he will be seeking a second term as a representative on Pittsburgh?s City Council. The primary election will be held on May 17, 2011.
In a letter to constituents, Councilman Kraus cited?among other accomplishments?a few examples of the many successes that he has had in his first term:
?Protecting libraries in our district?we will soon see a renovation of our South Side branch library. In addition, efforts are underway to bring a new state-of-the-art library building serving Knoxville, Carrick, and our other Hilltop communities
?Responding to our neighbors? needs more efficiently with the opening of our Hilltop District Office on Arlington Avenue
?Working to reduce gun violence through responsible gun ownership legislation that requires reporting lost and stolen guns
The Councilman promised to continue to focus on keeping neighborhoods safe, clean, and green and to continue improvements to his constituents? quality of life.
?It has been an honor and a truly rewarding experience to represent our neighborhoods on City Council,? Kraus said. ?I am pleased to have been able to follow through on my campaign commitments and proud of what we have been able to accomplish.?
In his first term, Kraus served two years as chair of the Committee for Public Safety and currently chairs the Committee on Public Works. Among his legislative accomplishments were the passage of numerous bills focused on safe and clean streets and improved quality of life for residents and businesses alike.
Bruce Kraus was first elected in 2007 with 55% of the vote in the Primary Election and 86% in the General Election.
District 3 of Pittsburgh?s City Council includes the neighborhoods of Allentown, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Beltzhoover, Knoxville, Mount Oliver City, Saint Clair, the South Side Flats and Slopes, and parts of Carrick, Mount Washington, and Oakland.
Openly gay, newly minted intern Daniel Hernandez is credited with saving the life (LezGetReal) of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords when she was shot Saturday in Tucson, Arizona.
Hernandez is a Junior at the University of Arizona and a member of the City of Tucson?s Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.
Follow the link for compelling video interview with Hernandez. I don't want to go on at length about this "gay" angle, but it is important to acknowledge him for his heroism and to remind us that all human beings are capable of great courage literally under fire.
This quiet story has popped up on all the major gay blogs, an example of the sad irony that a gay Latino man stepped forward in Arizona to literally stop the lifeblood of a community leader from flowing away. He held her hand. Her stayed by her side. He did everything an American is expected to do. In Arizona a state that assails his community on a regular basis.
Hernandez, who confirmed that he is gay in an interview with Instant Tea on Sunday morning, is a member of the City of Tucson Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.
?She?s been a great ally to the LGBT community,? Hernandez said of Giffords during the brief interview across a bad connection.
According to the Arizona Republic, Hernandez was standing about 30 feet from Giffords during the ?Congress on Your Corner? event outside a Safeway store near Tucson. When the gunshots began, Hernandez ran toward them and began checking the pulses of people who?d been hit. When Hernandez got to Giffords, he used his hand to apply pressure to the entry wound on her forehead. He pulled her into his lap and held her upright so she wouldn?t choke on her blood. Hernandez used his hand to apply pressure to the wound until someone brought clean smocks from the meat department of the grocery store.
He stayed with Giffords until paramedics arrived, then climbed into an ambulance with her. On the way to the hospital, he squeezed her hand and she squeezed back
On a related issue, I got a little note from Lt. Dan Choi asking for support to have Daniel Hernandez invited to the State of the Union address. If you think that's fitting, join the Facebook group here.
America is stronger because of men like Daniel Hernandez.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Hernandez as the one who was rescued, instead of Congresswoman Gifford. Our apologies for the error.
I missed this in the Trib Review. To be fair, the online edition is unclear whether it is a local piece or a reprint (there's a byline and a tagline). But "he" takes a closer look at the pursuit of the institute of marriage for the LGBTQ community in the context of "anti-marriage" movements of the past.
Of course, the lunacy of the bohemian free-love shtick should have been obvious from the get-go. For instance, when Michael Lerner, a member of the anti-Vietnam War "Seattle Seven," did marry, in 1971, the couple exchanged rings made from the fuselage of a U.S. aircraft downed over Vietnam and cut into a cake inscribed in icing with a Weatherman catchphrase, "Smash Monogamy."
Today Lerner is a (divorced and remarried) somewhat preposterous, prosperous progressive rabbi who officiates at all kinds of marriages -- gay and straight -- and, like pretty much the entire left, loves the idea of open gays becoming cogs in the military-industrial complex.
He also rightly identifies the socio-economic divides that threaten to undermine attempts to act cohesively right here in Western Pennsylvania.
The gay experiment with open bohemianism was arguably shorter. Of course, AIDS played an obvious and tragic role in focusing attention on the downside of promiscuity. But even so, the sweeping embrace of bourgeois lifestyles by the gay community has been stunning.
Now I'll admit I'm a bourgeois lifestyle gay woman. I just try to be aware of it and use my privileges to help. I realize how hollow that rings, but I also genuinely do think he's right now .... the divide is here. I've talked about it before so I won't rant here, but as we move into a post-DADT world we are going to see this playing out more and more often in the national debate. Organizations are now pegged as Gay, Inc (by me, too) and inside/outsider status seems to change daily. Organizations are struggling to reconcile the different agendas and priorities, but also the shifting cultural differences within the gay community. Setting aside those who oppose marriage in general, there is a very strong middle sector of the LGBTQ community who are much more concerned with their jobs, their housing and their healthcare. Marriage equality could help, but it seems to drain resources from efforts that could help much sooner and much more concretely and not be grounded in your identity as one-half of couple, rather than your identity as an American citizen.
Many of my conservative friends -- who oppose both civil unions and gay marriage and object to rampant promiscuity -- often act as if there's some grand alternative lifestyle for gays. But there isn't. And given that open homosexuality is simply a fact of life, the rise of the HoBos -- the homosexual bourgeoisie -- strikes me as good news.
I share the belief that as gays gain power and influence, it can be good. It can also cut them (us?) off from some of discriminations that power and influence (and affluence) buffer.
The challenge we face here in Western PA is that we don't have a leader who bridges these worlds. The only place where this barrier may come down is at the bars, but we've moved past the time when bars are "the" institutions for the community. With that comes the price of addiction, risky sexual behavior, isolation, and an insular, if somewhat safe, worldview. We haven't yet moved to a place where there's a replacement here in Pittsburgh. There are organizations who try and achieve moderate success, but ... no leader.
That's going to be the necessary next step to galvanize Western PA's LGBTQ community to face down Darryl Metcalfe and push back against forces that perhaps strip us of existing rights and protections. Finding someone to inspire, to effectively reach across the socio-economic divide and to live transparently will be a challenge. Finding someone to unite the leaders of their factions and harvest their energies will be even more challenging as no one cedes power, even perceived power, without a fight.
I guess the challenge is to decide whether the fight is best fought within the community or beyond.
I wrote this piece for Lez Get Real which includes the official statement from Chick-Fil-A corporate along with my analysis of what this whole sordid mess means for Pennsylvania. Thanks to Lez Get Real for the chance to bring a national audience to a regional/statewide issue.
The story has gone viral and generated a lot of folks ire. On my Facebook page alone, over a dozen friends spontaneously pledged to walk away from their love of the pickle/chicken combo to show solidarity with the LGBT community. And those are local dollars. That's pressure on the local franchises to pay close attention when and if Metcalfe introduces his amendment.
So surf on over for the gory details and see what kind of impact a stupid decision on the part of one little franchise can have on the movement for equality. And call your State Rep!
Bram Reichbaum from The Pittsburgh Comet alerted me to an exchange between City Councilors Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess during the pension plan bailout meetings.
Kraus: "I am neither a Republican, a racist nor am I rich." Points out that Burgess never has supported gay lesbian & transgendered legislation and so doesn't want to hear implications of such out of him, and wants the Clerk to look up the record so he can read it tonight. "Speak about that, Rev. Burgess."
Burgess: "I am sorry that Mr. Kraus is upset about my conversations about poor and low-income families." Says not attacking personally. Thinks he's been consistent supporting equal rights.
Having worked in Reverend Burgess' district for nearly five years, I can state unequivocally that LGBTQ families and inviduals live there. I am equally comfortable stating that there are many low income, working class LGBTQ families among them. Reverend Burgess likes to posture himself as the defender of the oppressed, but only certain oppressions fit under the umbrella.
I believe Bruce Kraus is right and that Burgess has NOT consistently supported equal rights. I used to think capitulation to his base was acceptable, but not when he uses gay stereotypes to isolate the courageously openly gay member of Council. Burgess won't even sign on to support PrideFest. He would not co-sponsor legislation in support of HB 300, only agreeing to vote for it. He clearly wants to have it both ways --- warrior for equal rights, but only so equal.
What the hell this had to do with the penion plan is anybody's guess but kudos to Bruce for calling Burgess on the carpet for his hypocrisy. The homophobia on Grant Street is rampant and we need more champions to call it out, especially when it is tossed around for filler during a filibuster. I think the gays should continue to call out men like Burgess whose hypocrisy contributes to the isolation and alienation of LGBTQ folks living in his district and throughout the City.
Allentown may soon become the first municipality in the Lehigh Valley to offer medical benefits to partners of gay employees, whether active or retired.
Under a domestic partnership bill before council, partners of gay employees would be eligible for health benefits as long as the couple can illustrate they live together and are jointly responsible for household finances.
Many private companies and institutions in the Lehigh Valley, such as Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call, offer similar benefits, as does the city of Philadelphia.
It appears it might make headway with some support from the local council and a sort of generalish "no comment" from the Mayor
The bill, introduced on Dec. 15 and slated for a final vote as early as next month, has broad support among council members, who say gay couples deserve the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.
"This is about fairness and equality," said council President Michael D'Amore, one of the driving forces behind the bill. "Gay employees' inability to get married in this state should not preclude them from getting health benefits."
Mayor Ed Pawlowski has yet to reveal his position on the measure, saying it's "under review."
This is the argument I've made over and over with regard to Allegheny County. There are hard-working public servants who are treated like second-class citizens by our County government simply because they are gay. What's worse is that government is the bastion of health enforcement through the County Health Department so they should be setting the bar high, not cowering behind labor-management relations as a cover for a failure to act.
Unfortunately, LGBTQ persons will still be held to a higher standard of proof than heterosexual couples, many of whom are not even required to produce a marriage license for some employers.
In order to qualify for the benefits, the employee and partner must provide the city with at least three documents that show that they are living together and are jointly responsible for basic living expenses. Acceptable documents include mortgages, leases, utility bills and joint bank accounts, according to the bill.
This is a sore spot with me. It can be challening to meet these criteria, based on the ignorance of the utility companies or simply the frustrating number of hurdles. Verizon told me they had to actually literally disconnect all of our services, open a new account, CHARGE US to keep our number and come out to the house to get the DSL reconnected. That's a lot of inconvenience (and expense) to meet a standard.
I think one form of proof and a sworn affidavit is more reasonable. Yes, it will be abused just like heterosexual couples abuse marital benefits every day in much, much greater numbers.
Still, it is progress for Allentown. Here's hoping Allentown's leadership inspires Allegheny County.
