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Planning has begun for what could become the largest LGBTQIA event in history! Grassroots Equality Network (GEN) has signed on over 20 locations to participate in a marches and rallies calling for an end to discrimination, as well as provide the tools for the community to use to continue to fight in their own backyard.
This event will take place on June 28th 2009. GEN is working with a number of grassroots community organizations as well as a number of Gay Pride organizations to plan and fund each event.
GEN expects there to be many more locations that will sign on, leading to there being one in every state and many around the world.
This event is one of many events being planned by Grassroots Equality Network to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which marked the first major uprising against homosexual discrimination. If you are interested in volunteering please visit http://www.milliongaymarch.org If you would like to sponsor the event, please email sponsor@milliongaymarch.org
Million Gay March
Planning has begun for what could become the largest LGBTQIA event in history! Grassroots Equality Network (GEN) has signed on over 20 locations to participate in a marches and rallies calling for an end to discrimination, as well as provide the tools for the community to use to continue to fight in their own backyard.
This event will take place on June 28th 2009. GEN is working with a number of grassroots community organizations as well as a number of Gay Pride organizations to plan and fund each event.
GEN expects there to be many more locations that will sign on, leading to there being one in every state and many around the world.
[MEDIA not found]
This event is one of many events being planned by Grassroots Equality Network to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which marked the first major uprising against homosexual discrimination. If you are interested in volunteering please visit http://www.milliongaymarch.org If you would like to sponsor the event, please email sponsor@milliongaymarch.org
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More than 2,000 gay men, lesbians and their allies took back Vancouver's West End on Sunday, shutting down Davie St and marching to demand an end to gaybashings and the violence that continues to target our community accord to Xtra.com. The march comes just weeks after Vancouver's latest high profile gaybashing that left a 62-year-old man in hospital with severe brain damage. Shawn Woodward, 35, is facing one count of aggravated assault.
Ritchie Dowrey is "still lying voiceless and non-responsive," his friend Lindsay Wincherauk told the crowd assembled at English Bay. "Our dear friend will never be the same again. "If this crime is not punished accordingly, we all lose something," Wincherauk added to loud applause. "We must be the voice because at this time Ritchie cannot speak for himself. So each one of us must ensure that his voice never goes silent."
Vancouver has seen five gaybashing trials in the last eight years. Only once has the Crown sought a hate crime designation, Herbert pointed out, asking the crowd to send Crown a message that gaybashings must be treated as hate crimes and stiffer sentences sought.
"The Vancouver Police Department will continue to aggressively investigate all instances of hate-motivated violence," promised inspector John deHaas of the police department's diversity section. And if there is evidence of hate motivation, the police will ask the Crown to pursue the case accordingly, deHaas added. "Gaybashings must stop. The underlying homophobia must be eradicated. It is a cancer," deHaas told the crowd to much applause.
BC's attorney general still fails to recognize gaybashings as hate crimes, noted lesbian MLA Jenn McGinn. "The attorney general needs to be pressed to recognize them as such."
2,000 Rally in Vancouver
More than 2,000 gay men, lesbians and their allies took back Vancouver's West End on Sunday, shutting down Davie St and marching to demand an end to gaybashings and the violence that continues to target our community accord to Xtra.com. The march comes just weeks after Vancouver's latest high profile gaybashing that left a 62-year-old man in hospital with severe brain damage. Shawn Woodward, 35, is facing one count of aggravated assault.
Ritchie Dowrey is "still lying voiceless and non-responsive," his friend Lindsay Wincherauk told the crowd assembled at English Bay. "Our dear friend will never be the same again. "If this crime is not punished accordingly, we all lose something," Wincherauk added to loud applause. "We must be the voice because at this time Ritchie cannot speak for himself. So each one of us must ensure that his voice never goes silent."
[MEDIA not found]
"Having rallies like this tells people our community is no longer going to suffer in silence," said Denise Norman, whose cousin Aaron Webster was brutally gaybashed and left to die in Stanley Park in 2001. Three people were eventually convicted of manslaughter in Webster's case. Crown counsel did not seek a hate crime designation for any of them.
Vancouver has seen five gaybashing trials in the last eight years. Only once has the Crown sought a hate crime designation, Herbert pointed out, asking the crowd to send Crown a message that gaybashings must be treated as hate crimes and stiffer sentences sought.
"The Vancouver Police Department will continue to aggressively investigate all instances of hate-motivated violence," promised inspector John deHaas of the police department's diversity section. And if there is evidence of hate motivation, the police will ask the Crown to pursue the case accordingly, deHaas added. "Gaybashings must stop. The underlying homophobia must be eradicated. It is a cancer," deHaas told the crowd to much applause.
BC's attorney general still fails to recognize gaybashings as hate crimes, noted lesbian MLA Jenn McGinn. "The attorney general needs to be pressed to recognize them as such."0
A string of attacks against gay people in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood over the past two months has fueled a bubbling stew of emotions in the community. Residents demonstrated their strong sense of concern at a Saturday night march and rally against the targeted violence. A crowd of about 300 people gathered for a candlelight vigil and march against hate at the Plymouth Pillars Park at Boren and Pike overlooking downtown Seattle. The crowd rallied in occasional drizzle before marching up Capitol Hill, down Broadway and through the heart of Pike/Pine. As the march progressed, chants brought onlookers out of bars and restaurants and even managed to bring David Schmader's performance of Straight to a halt as the crowd marched up Pike in front of the Annex Theater.
The latest attack came a week ago near 13th Avenue and Columbia Street, about a block from the Seattle University campus. Forty-one-year-old Jerry Knight was on his way home when two men confronted him. And now he says the horror of that weekend might always haunt him. "I remember being hit hard, where I fell and my hands were bruised falling directly on the ground," he said Saturday in an interview.
He acknowledges it could have been worse. "I am grateful," he says. "I am grateful I did not wake up in the hospital. I am grateful I am not in a coffin. I know that, and honor that." He says he was attacked by two men as he walked home alone in the early morning hours. The assault was first reported online by The Stranger newspaper.
Knight says he had come from a party, and was wearing a sailor's outfit. That could have made him a target. He says he doesn't specifically remember what happened leading up the assault - but he does remember the expletives and anti-gay slurs being yelled at him. "As of now, there's feelings of shame, of guilt," he says. "What could I have done to not put myself in that position? Did I encourage this? And was I strong enough?" After he stumbled back to his apartment that night, Knight did something to remind himself to be angry later on. "I took a photo of myself before I washed myself up, because I knew that this will anger me," he says.
Even in a relatively gay-friendly city such as Seattle, Knight wonders if gay men and women should ever let their guard down. "I live in a bubble. I forget that around the world ... this happens to people for a multitude of reasons. It was a surprise, absolutely." So many emotions after one violent moment - that's why the Saturday rally is so important to him.
"Violence against anyone - gay, whatever it may be - we need to come together and stand up and say we're not going to tolerate this," Knight says. Police don't have much to go on, since there's no description of the suspects. But Knight, who tries to find strength in the wake of something so terrifying, says karma will eventually find his two attackers. "I don't understand homophobia - I don't. I'm puzzled over what is their mindset, and hopefully they realize that this is not OK."
Be Careful In Seattle
A string of attacks against gay people in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood over the past two months has fueled a bubbling stew of emotions in the community. Residents demonstrated their strong sense of concern at a Saturday night march and rally against the targeted violence. A crowd of about 300 people gathered for a candlelight vigil and march against hate at the Plymouth Pillars Park at Boren and Pike overlooking downtown Seattle. The crowd rallied in occasional drizzle before marching up Capitol Hill, down Broadway and through the heart of Pike/Pine. As the march progressed, chants brought onlookers out of bars and restaurants and even managed to bring David Schmader's performance of Straight to a halt as the crowd marched up Pike in front of the Annex Theater.
The latest attack came a week ago near 13th Avenue and Columbia Street, about a block from the Seattle University campus. Forty-one-year-old Jerry Knight was on his way home when two men confronted him. And now he says the horror of that weekend might always haunt him. "I remember being hit hard, where I fell and my hands were bruised falling directly on the ground," he said Saturday in an interview.
He acknowledges it could have been worse. "I am grateful," he says. "I am grateful I did not wake up in the hospital. I am grateful I am not in a coffin. I know that, and honor that." He says he was attacked by two men as he walked home alone in the early morning hours. The assault was first reported online by The Stranger newspaper.
Knight says he had come from a party, and was wearing a sailor's outfit. That could have made him a target. He says he doesn't specifically remember what happened leading up the assault - but he does remember the expletives and anti-gay slurs being yelled at him. "As of now, there's feelings of shame, of guilt," he says. "What could I have done to not put myself in that position? Did I encourage this? And was I strong enough?" After he stumbled back to his apartment that night, Knight did something to remind himself to be angry later on. "I took a photo of myself before I washed myself up, because I knew that this will anger me," he says.
Even in a relatively gay-friendly city such as Seattle, Knight wonders if gay men and women should ever let their guard down. "I live in a bubble. I forget that around the world ... this happens to people for a multitude of reasons. It was a surprise, absolutely." So many emotions after one violent moment - that's why the Saturday rally is so important to him.
"Violence against anyone - gay, whatever it may be - we need to come together and stand up and say we're not going to tolerate this," Knight says. Police don't have much to go on, since there's no description of the suspects. But Knight, who tries to find strength in the wake of something so terrifying, says karma will eventually find his two attackers. "I don't understand homophobia - I don't. I'm puzzled over what is their mindset, and hopefully they realize that this is not OK."0
Protest Today !
Thousands of gay-marriage supporters plan to take to the streets Saturday to protest gay-marriage bans in California, Arizona and Florida.
California's Proposition 8, which passed 52.2% to 47.8%, "eliminates (the) right of same-sex couples to marry."
Proponents of same-sex marriage say its passage has only energized the gay rights movement. Activists are using a grass-roots network of websites, e-mails and text messages to coordinate protests in about 300 cities — from Fayetteville, Ark., to Omaha.
"This narrow loss has awakened Godzilla," says Fred Karger of Los Angeles, who runs the website Californians Against Hate (http://californiansagainsthate.com). "I think this loss in California … is the greatest thing that could have happened" because it spurred activism in the gay-marriage movement.
His site highlights contributors to Proposition 8 and lets users search public records for names.
On Wednesday, artistic director Scott Eckern at California Musical Theatre in Sacramento, the state's largest non-profit musical theater company, resigned amid protests. "I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings," he said in a statement. "It was not my intent."
Andrew Pugno, a spokesman for the Yes on 8 campaign, says he has received hundreds of e-mails from people complaining about "retaliation for their support of Prop 8," including threats to them and their families.
Three lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 have been filed in the state Supreme Court. The Yes on 8 campaign plans to respond by Monday, arguing the measure was constitutional, Pugno says.
"It is very disturbing that the No on 8 campaign continues to challenge the right of the majority to speak on this issue," he says. "The election is over. The majority spoke."
Stuart Gaffney, a plaintiff in the case that led to the state Supreme Court's May ruling, says the proposition was immoral, and plans to rally in San Francisco on Saturday. "The rights of a minority shouldn't be taken away by a popular vote," he says.
Bryant Tan, 28, a San Francisco philanthropist, attended a few No on 8 fundraisers before the election but wasn't very active. When he learned about the protests through Facebook after the measure passed, he decided to join. "I've seen so many people — gay, straight … people of all kinds of backgrounds — really get activated" by its passage, he says.
An Important Message - Please Read & Act In Your City
