Can you believe that "Big Queer Rally" wasn't an overwhelming hit as the official title for Saturday's rally? I think it is pretty catchy myself. It certainly has been drawing in the visitors using various fundie, wingnut search tems.
Anyway, we had a meeting tonight. Here's the latest scoop.
City Council President Doug Shields is on the agenda. I have him lined up to knock the message out of the house.
There will be several opportunities for you to get involved right there, including signing petitions and contacting your County Councilpersons RIGHT THERE about this upcoming vote on January 15, 2009. So bring your cell phones, PDAs and Blackberries.
There may be free coffee. Courtesy of Starbucks. It is what they do. Because they care. If you want to donate something free for 300+ people, bring it on.
Big Queer Emcee, Gab Bonesso, is prepping some good stuff for you. She plopped herself down at the meeting and demanded a "warming tent" (which she got) so you know this woman is ready to kick some ass for gay equality. Be prepared to be amused. And pissed off. Apparently, she's bringing a shark and a 90 year old imaginary British woman as props. Only at a Big Queer Rally does that seem entirely appropriate. Almost necessary.
The best thing about tonight? These seemingly random people came to the meeting to help. Because they care. They are angry and they care enough to do something about it. I've been blabbering on about them all night long. People care.
If you'd like to do a little something extra, show up at 1 PM to volunteer. We need folks to handle the advocacy table, make sure the guest speakers get to where they need to be and be a time keeper. Someone has to watch the coffee table. There's stuff to handout and directions to the bathroom that need to be circulated. Someone has to guard the warming tent. You don't have to talk or know anything about politics or be part of any formal group to join this impact, baby. Just care. Bring your anger and yourself down to Schenley Plaza on Saturday.
Allegheny County Councilwoman Amanda Green will be attending the Big Queer Rally on Saturday to address the crowd about her proposed ordinance to extend civil protections in housing, employment and public accomodations to LGBTQ residents of Allegheny County.
Good news. That makes the County (Green), City (Kraus) and the State (Wagner) heard from. Hopefully, our other allies will attend.
A group of folks who attended the recent advocacy training have taken the initiative to promote advocacy to the attendees by distributing postcards. That's an awesome grassroots effort. I hope you'll be there to fill out a postcard and be part of the difference.
Speaking of awesome, I just saw a KDKA report that Al Franken has been certified the winner of his Senate race.
Big Queer Rally -- 6 days away. Are you ready? Got your signs? Pulled out your long johns in case it is chilly? Got your chant ready to go?
Latest updates: Unfortunately, Lynn Cullen cannot attend but she sends her best wishes. On a bright note, State Representative Chelsa Wagner (and newlywed spouse of longtime LGBT ally Khari Mosely) is attending. Chelsa is a co-sponsor of HB 1400 which takes anti-discrimination protection to the state level. Other speakers to be announced. I also had word from a group of local women that they are planning some advocacy efforts during the event, so that's all exciting.
People are asking about the hearing. ANYONE can speak at the hearing if you register in advance. You do not need to get approval from anyone in the LGBT community. You are a resident - you get to talk. To do that, In order to speak at that hearing, one must register with the County Clerk, John Mascio: via e-mail(JMascio@alleghenycounty.us), or by phone (412-350-6495)
It is great that people are interested. Make the call and get on the agenda. Share your story by all means.
Speaking of stories, I received this via email today in the promotional materials for the Delta Foundation's Spark fundraiser set for Friday night.
The work of the Foundation has grown this celebration of diversity from a short parade through the blocks of Shadyside to a week of events throughout Pittsburgh that culminates downtown. Liberty Avenue is shut down for the weekend for the now annual outdoor concert and celebration PRIDE IN THE STREETS on Saturday evening, followed by the PRIDE PARADE and festival on Sunday.
This is at best an exaggeration and at worst ... well, you know. Pittsburgh's original PrideFests were actuallly held downtown along with the parade. The rallies were at Point State Park. They moved up to Mellon Park, to Schenley Park and then to Shadyside. Then, under the leadership of the GLCC, the event was held on the North Shore for several years during which time the parade moved right back downtown and through the heart of the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
I was dismayed when I read this. PrideFest is the culmination of the hardwork of many, many people over the past 30 odd years. No one person or institution can lay sole claim to that rich heritage. Delta should be more careful and accurate when describing our activist legacy in order to raise money for their future projects. It is fine to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, but it is ill-advised to take credit for their successes.
I hope Delta will issue a statement clarifying the very hard work of hundreds of anonymous volunteeers that have dedicated themselves to PrideFest in the years before Delta took it over. To acknowledge their triumphs takes nothing away from the accomplishment of the Delta Foundation and to do otherwise, tarnishes the organization's credibility.
So when you are being thankful for PrideFest's current level of success with your LGBTQ donations, be sure to thank the GLCC, the Lambda Foundation, the Pittsburgh Leathermen, the Softball League, GLENDA and many, many other organizations that have been part of our Pride history.
Here's to the next phase of PrideFest. And a thanks to all of those who have made it possible.
My name is Sue Kerr and I plan to keep on blogging. I know, I know. This comes as a great shock and will undoubtably send tidal waves plowing through the Burghosphere. Epic poems will be composed by the likes of Tony Norman, Sally Kalson and Mike Seate. Mighty political entities will tremble in their offices at the implications that an average of 100 people a day, mostly bloggers, will read my opinion on their doings. They will continue to ignore my requests for comment. The continuation of the blogosphere as we know it bodes well for Pittsburgh. People with hip monikers like David, Maria, Bram, and Christopher (and Potter) will get their own tee shirt lines and maybe some stickers, too. Gatherings of powerful bloggers in the secret recesses of Finnegan's Wake will plan conquests and strategize the takeover of the MSM.
And some day, the Cutting Edge will remember that a lack of pseudonyms does not make for a lack of interesting and relevant local blogging.
Just received confirmation that City Councilman Bruce Kraus, Pittsburgh's first openly gay elected official, will be speaking at the rally on January 10 and addressing County Council on January 15.
I also see the email notices starting to spiral out and about. I hope you have those dates circled on your calendar. We need you! Spread the word.
We caught her latest comedy show the other night. It was called "The Mentally Ill Comedy Show" and I'm not sure if I violated my social work code of ethics by attending, but the biting social commentary and zippy anti-hate-fest jokes balanced it all out. For me. Plus, I actually got a table and my beverage was refilled three times (it was Coke, calm down).
Host John McIntire demonstrated why off-the-cuff suits this well-dressed fan of the local homos. He handles hecklers, admirers and sloshy drunks with aplomb and moves on. Plus, he was nattily dressed in a suit with a pink tie and had some good new material (new to me at least). My personal opinion is that John is at his intellectual and funny best when he is directly playing off other people (a la talk show or cabaret) because he is so friggin fast on his feet. I miss John the talk show host even as I enjoy laughing along with John the comedian.
Davon was new to me comedian. I don't know where he came from, but his timing and delivery indicate lots of hard work. He was the token non-gay comedian. I would pay to go see him headline. He is also now BFF's with Ledcat because of the snappy Batman baseball cap I picked up for her. At Target. You are welcome, Davon. Does BFF mean you'll friend us on Facebook and invite us to your next show?
Stoopid works the dayshift at The Square Cafe and serves a mean glass of juice. His delivery was the perfect juxtaposition to Davon ... more laid back and slow and very funny. I was impressed at his deft delivery on the gay material. He wears controversial material well and I'm looking forward to seeing him again.
John Pridmore is one of my new Facebook friends. What I like bestest about John is that he responded to my call for people to contact their County Councilpersons about the upcoming ordinance vote. Then, I discovered he can imitate Edith Bunker. Imitate in a sick, perverted way. Plus, he was fine when I corrected his 1970's pop culture reference (Edith was not raped on the subway. She was nearly raped in her house. She saved herself. Edith's friend, female impersonator Beverly Lasalle, was murdered during a mugging on the show in one of the most powerful TV episodes ever). I believe that John is the reincarnation of my deceased friend (also gay, also named John) because the first time I saw him, I was blown away by the same energy they share. My John would never get on stage, but he was sidesplitting with impersonations. So, John, you are on my radar. :-)
What can I say that hasn't been said before about Ms. Gab Bonesso? She's real funny. She's going to emcee the upcoming Big Queer Rally. She made me squirm in my seat. I'm hoping for a chance to see more of her gay themed material although someone who tells abortion and labia jokes is pretty up there on the charts of edgy humor. Plus, she did Wolverine which should be on YouTube it is so fucking funny. YouTube it, Gab. Keep putting these shows together and make sure you do full sets because I like seeing your new stuff. Go to http://www.gabbonesso.com for a daily update on the life and times of Gab Bonesso, her BFF Phinny the great white shark and the other members of her motley crew, including lover Joe Biden. Yeah, Gab hooked up with Joe Biden. It seemed weird at first, but he looks kind of cute carrying Phinny around.
In short, a great show. I left feeling slightly violated but in a good way.
That title reflects exactly how creative I feel this morning. I had weird dreams all night in which I was a character in the soap opera, The Young & The Restless only the other characters included a ghost, Jim from Taxi and Freddie Prinze, Sr. I kept asking everyone to marry me (they all wore red pullover sweaters over a white tee shirt) and nobody would. I did help find the missing little girl who had built herself a snow cave with the help of the ghost (help with the cave, not the finding). Then Ana woke me up.
So ... Happy New Year, correspondees! :-)
In the Post-Gazette, there's a warm-intended letter to the editor from Amy Bucciere of Center "reframing" the issue of gay marriage.
The legal system of rights, tax breaks, inheritance, etc., of two people united as a family is an institution often called civil union. Historically, marriage and civil union have been considered one and the same.
The unconscious melding of these two institutions -- one religious, one legal -- no longer works and unfairly sets religious leaders and gay rights supporters against one another. Each group is often caricatured as extreme, hateful and prejudicial in defending their own reasonable and worthy points of view.
I challenge legislators to reframe the question. Marriages, granted by religious institutions, and civil unions, granted by the government, must be teased apart. To "marry" or partner, each couple, regardless of sexuality, will appeal to both their religious institution and their governmental institution to sanction the pairing.
This way, religious freedoms and civil rights are fully intact according to our long-held and vitally necessary edict -- the separation of church and state.
Amy's intentions are noble, but I'm not she has been paying attention as I think the church-driven anti-marriage group is very much in favor of religious social structures being fused into the American legal system. It is how they want to continue to exert power and control, especially over people who don't agree with them.
I think there should be a distinction between partnerships and marriage. Some people live intentionally without the institution of marriage. They deserve a word, too, as much as they deserve the freedom to marry. I also deserve a word and that same freedom. Marriage comes bestows more than 1,000 federal and state rights on a couple. That's the kind of equality I'm talking about.
Speaking of partnerships, the PG's Rich Lord takes a look back at 2008 in terms of City functionality. He uses the following as a soft example of one success of Mayoral/Council partnership. Ahem.
By contrast, registry of domestic partnerships, including long-term gay relationships, passed council and won the mayor's signature. There was no rush to register. In the second half of the year, just four couples signed up, according to city Personnel Department records.
How sad that this sets the tone for City triumphs for the year. The office of Bruce Kraus told me that six couples, four LGBT and two heterosexual, have registered but perhaps Rich and I checked into this at different times. What Lord probably had edited from his story by some snippy editor is the sentence explaining that the City Personnel Department did not inform couples previously registered with the City (as employees) of the new opportunity. There's the lack of "follow through" as cited by City Council President Doug Shields. The Mayor signed the bill, got the carefully orchestrated photo op (just the right balance of white gay male supporters) to enhance his queer street cred and then proceeded not to renounce his opposition to civil unions. Meanwhile, he sets up plans for an Advisory Board but refuses to answer any questions about it. Quite a triumphant moment for our City in terms of political achievement (not) and gay rights (ha).
Over at the City Paper, long-time supporters of the queers (in a fair and balanced way), Marty Levine writes up the latest goings on at the County level. As reported earlier, the County is facing some an opportunity to provide basic civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community. Levine focuses in on efforts by the wingnuts and their head wing, Ms. Diane Gramley, to undermine support of the ordinance based on fear and ignorance. The quotes from County Councilman Michael Finnerty and Matt Drozd do not give me much hope for the power of logic and reality to persuade.
One of the defections is Scott Township Democrat Michael Finnerty, who now says state law "gives adequate protection and we don't have to start to single out another group or groups." Finnerty says his mind was changed by "a lot of the e-mails I have seen" from constituents, "especially from church groups." Those opposed to the measure outnumbered those in favor approximately 30 to 3, he says. "I got phone calls from businesspeople who don't want to have this gender expression [included], to be held to that. People could put in a job application, turn around and sue" over a spurious claim of gender-expression discrimination.
"People's human rights are always a high priority ? don't get me wrong," says county Councilor Matt Drozd, who pulled his co-sponsorship of the legislation. But he added, "This is not a high priority now. This will take us more time and take away from the pressing issues this county faces. Roads that aren't repaired. Bridges that aren't repaired. People who are losing their homes. Let's talk about them." He labeled the move "controversial" and said it required further study.
OK, as I'm quoted saying later in the article, Finnerty is just WRONG that existing law is good enough. And Drozd ... when exactly does human rights become a high priority --- when the tanks rolls? I mean, WTF? People are losing their homes, but there are plenty of gay people who can't get a home in the first place.
Here's what Drozd probably meant to say, but just got so excited that anyone from a newspaper called him that he forgot. "I'm concerned that my constituents who are part of the LGBT community (he probably wouldn't include Q so I'm just trying to be accurate) may be experiencing discrimination or treated unfairly when they seek the same basic rights as any other family -- the security of employment, a safe place to live, etc. Discrimination - in any form - hurts the fabric of the entire community and I think this issue warrants close attention from my colleagues." <this is a made up quote in case you didn't get that>
So, the glove has hit the floor my dear friends. Do we wait until the tanks roll and all the bridges are fixed to get on Matt Drozd's radar or do you get yourself down to the Big Queer Rally on Saturday, January 10 from 2 - 4 PM to make a statement about what's on your radar, especially come election time?
