The week of February 6-11, 2011 will highlight a series of advocacy events designed to draw attention to equality issues. 

At a press conference scheduled for Feb. 14 in the lobby of the State Capital in Harrisburg, two bills will be introduced: Pa?s Marriage Equality Bill by Sen. Daylin Leach and Pa?s Civil Union Bill by Rep. Mark Cohen. Then meetings will be scheduled with legislators, concerned citizens and LGBT-rights advocates throughout the day, followed by a Marriage Equality Rally at the Dauphin County Court House in Harrisburg.

 

Interfaith breakfasts in support of marriage equality will be held in Philadelphia on Feb. 9 and Harrisburg on Feb. 11. In Allentown a same-sex marriage celebration will take place Feb. 12. Performances and drag shows will be held across the state. In Harrisburg a reading of The Laramie Project (which deals with the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming) will be performed at the Rose Lehman Theatre-Harrisburg Area Community College on Feb. 17 and 18.

This is from the Keystone Alliance/Gaylife Newsletter which credits OutOnline, but I can't find the original source material.

Two other pieces of equality legislation are in the wings:  expansion of hate crimes protections and expansion of anti-discrimination protections.  Personally, I think those are the better first steps, but it will be interesting to see what happens with a civil unions bill in a Republican controlled state. 

Pam's House Blend has a take on the Congressional call to extend veteran benefits to LGBT military families for those discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

From Lez Get Real, a tough to read post about bullying on college campuses.

The Post-Gazette's Dennis Roddy makes an interesting career move.

Bitch Media has the scoop on the GOP's decision to drop a measure redefining rape so as not to use use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion.  (You've got to follow the link to the amazing political satire by The Daily Show).

Maria from 2 Political Junkies highlights a county judicial decision that a minor girl was not mature enough to make a decision about abortion.  The inevitable conclusion is that she was mature enough to carry a pregnancy to term and make a mature decision about what comes next. She also lost her appeal and her case is before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 

Interesting that while [Judge Phil] Ignelzi was fairly vague to the League of Women Voters and the Steel City Stonewall Democrats while running for election (because, you know, it would be "inappropriate and unfair" to get too specific), the group People Concerned for the Unborn Child determined that he was anti choice and endorsed him -- in fact, he was the only candidate who they endorsed for that seat

Huh. Another example of Western PA Republicans in Democrat clothing.

The City Paper's Lauren Daley talks with Judith "Jack" Halberstam from USC about an upcoming discussion on queer and gender theory.

Finally, I urge you to read Jane's story, part of a new survey on the real lives of transgender men and women in the United States.