In the News:

Federal aging report explicitly includes
      LGBT elders
The religious right and the Foley affair
In the states: Wisconsin
Communities of faith
First openly gay congressperson dies
Celebrating style in Los Angeles
Community housing needed

Federal aging report explicitly includes LGBT elders

The long-awaited Final Report of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), released by the Administration on Aging, marks a milestone in the fight for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) elders. Months of intensive organizing, including the Task Force-convened Make Room for All diversity summit last December — a counterpoint to the WHCoA — and town hall meetings held around the country have paid off in the explicit inclusion of LGBT elders in the report.

Resolution 34, for example, includes the following implementation strategy: "Expand the definition of minority populations to include — gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders [sic] and seniors with disabilities, and increase federal funding to NIH, CDC, Title 3 and other federal agencies to reduce health disparities and promote health promotion programming for all minority populations."

"We refuse to sit on the sidelines and watch as the needs of our community go ignored," said Amber Hollibaugh (pictured), a Task Force senior strategist and the nation’s premier specialist on LGBT aging issues. "Our community's inclusion in this final report reflects this unwavering principle."

[ Learn more about the Task Force's work on aging issues ]

[ Read the Final Report ]

The religious right and the Foley affair

"A telltale habit of extremism is its refusal to look in the mirror." — Task Force board member Hans Johnson (pictured) on the role of the religious right in the Foley affair

[ Read Johnson's full commentary ]

In the states: Wisconsin

Dave Noble, the Task Force’s political director, is on the ground in Wisconsin working on the campaign against a ballot measure that would ban civil unions and marriage equality.

Communities of faith

Clergy for Fairness, an ad hoc coalition of clergy and religious leaders from diverse traditions, encourages faith leaders to get involved in efforts to defeat discriminatory anti-marriage ballot initiatives this November.

[ Read more ]


Please join the Empire State Pride Agenda and the Task Force on
Oct. 25 for the People of Color Multi-Faith Roundtable: an Interfaith Perspective on Ministry to LGBT People of Color — the Challenges of Interlocking Oppressions.

Organized by Pride in the Pulpit, a Pride Agenda program, the roundtable is designed to provide mutual support and capacity-building for people of color in communities of faith that currently (or would like to) provide ministry, support and advocacy for LGBT people. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will be held at the Interchurch Center, located at 475 Riverside Drive (corner of 121st Street) in New York City. For more details, contact the Rev. Dámaris E. Ortega at 212.627.0305 or dortega@prideagenda.org, or visit www.prideagenda.org.

First openly gay congressperson dies

Gerry Studds, a former member of the House of Representatives and the first openly gay member of Congress, died Saturday at the age of 69.

[ Read the PageOneQ story ]

Celebrating style in Los Angeles

Join Macy's, the Task Force and Out magazine on Nov. 2 in Los Angeles for a celebration of style featuring models wearing the hottest looks from the I.N.C. International Concepts men's fall collection.

Community housing needed

If you're in the New York City area, Sarah Reece, a member of our Organizing & Training team, has temporarily relocated to the New York City office until Nov. 15. As a part of our partnership with MassEquality, she will be working closely with our New York organizing team as they ramp up the latest Volunteer for Equality campaign to save same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

Reece (pictured) needs smoke-free and cat-free community housing for a minimum of 7–10 days, and ideally for the duration of her work in New York City. Please contact her at 646.358.1475 or sreece@theTaskForce.org if you or someone you know can host her.

Contact Us       Donate

www.theTaskForce.org