Gov. Schwarzenegger: Sign the marriage bill now!
The Task Force, Inc., is urging California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (pictured) to sign a marriage equality bill passed Friday by the state Senate. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno and sponsored by state partner Equality California (EQCA), cleared the Assembly on June 5.
Through our partnership with EQCA, the Task Force Foundation has been working to build support for marriage equality in California. We have five full-time organizers in California who have helped establish a coalition of more than 45 organizations that support marriage equality, and since 2004, we have spent more than $500,000 in organizing, training and supporting these efforts.
[ Read the full statement ]
[ Learn more about Equality California ]
|
|
|
A matter of familia: Christine Chávez fights for LGBT rights
“(You) can’t champion equality for your own people when you tolerate discrimination against others.”
&mdash Christine Chávez
When you ask Christine Chávez (pictured) why she fights for LGBT rights, she will tell you it’s all about familia. While growing up, she understood it well when she saw her grandfather, legendary civil rights pioneer Cesar Chávez, marching for LGBT rights before there was widespread acceptance of our movement. She believes marriage equality is not only a civil rights issue, but an issue of familia. She educates the Latino/a community about the importance of supporting the freedom to marry for Latino/a same-sex couples, which in California comprises more than 40 percent of all same-sex households.
In a recent op-ed she authored in the San Francisco Bay Times, Chávez stated that a person “can’t champion equality for your own people when you tolerate discrimination against others.”
The Task Force is proud to honor Christine Chávez at the Los Angeles Leadership Awards on Sept. 30. We hope you’re able to join us for this wonderful event.
[ Get event details and purchase tickets here ]
|
|
|
ENDA hearing marks a watershed moment
“It’s taken nearly 10 years of intra-community debating, arguing, protesting and plain old nasty stubbornness and intransigence to make trans-inclusion non-negotiable in ENDA. I am personally proud of the Task Force’s leadership here — in 1999, we said we would oppose ENDA unless it included all of us. (Yes, and thanks to a big and heartfelt shove from transgender leaders.)
“We were told it would never happen, that we were hopelessly politically correct, out of touch with reality and basic politics. We were told it was immoral to slow down passage of a much-needed gay rights bill. (Damn, why didn’t we realize that Dick Armey and Trent Lott really loved the gays, it was just the trans folks they hated?) Little by little, outright opposition and sneering shifted to lip service, which shifted to grudging acceptance, which shifted to solid embrace.”
— Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Inc.
[ Read and respond to the full blog entry ]
[ Visit the ENDA Action Center ]
|
|
|
The Trevor Project launches “Don’t Erase Your Queer Future” campaign
The Trevor Project, the nonprofit organization that operates the nation’s only around-the-clock suicide prevention helpline for LGBT and questioning youth, this week announced the launch of “Don’t Erase Your Queer Future,” a new online social marketing campaign designed to expand and broaden the resources available to LGBTQ youth vulnerable to emotional distress and suicide.
The overall goal of the campaign is to prevent suicide by promoting a culture that honors LGBT achievement while encouraging queer youth to seek support when needed. The organization has established a new Web site (www.donteraseyourqueerfuture.org) as the focal point of the campaign, the launch for which is timed to coincide with National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 9–15).
[ Learn about “Don’t Erase Your Queer Future” ]
[ Connect with the Trevor Project ]
|
|
|
