The activists represented organizations from all over Illinois and were gathered in honor of Harvey Milk Week of Action. Their press release comes via Facebook.

As part of a broad strategy to gain a vote on ENDA this year, a group of Chicago activists have been arrested after a sit-in in Senator Richard J. Durbin’s office. The sit-in was initiated due to the Senator’s lack of response regarding a pledge that a coalition of activist groups sent to the Senator for signature. The pledge (in its entirety below) affirms his commitment to a transgender-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and forceful advocacy of the bill before the Media and Senate. The ‘form letter’ response received from the Senator via email did state his support for ENDA, but does not mention transgender protections as part of the bill he supports:

In each of the last several Congresses, I have joined Senator Ted Kennedy as an original cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This measure would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Specifically, it would make it unlawful for employers to discharge or refuse to hire any individual, or limit any individual’s employment opportunities, based on that person’s sexual orientation.

The activists arrived in Senator Durbin’s office at noon during a protest in support of ENDA that was taking place in front of the Federal Building. With Pledge in hand they arrived and stated they would not leave until the Senator signed the pledge. The Senator was not in the Chicago office and when the group asked to speak to the Senator via phone, they were told “that is not possible.” They refused to leave until the pledge was signed. The staffer then called the Federal authorities to have them removed from the office.

“I am here because we can no longer sit around and wait for our rights to be handed to us by politicians, we must demand our rights from them,” said Lindsey Dietzler of LGBT Change and one of those arrested. “We have to be here to fight for those who are forced to remain invisible and deny who they are just to make a living. I want Senator Durbin to know that until there is full federal equality for every queer citizen, no one in this country is free.”

The activists arrested are: Andrea Crain, Kevin Connaghan, Lindsey Dietzler, Roger Fraser, Judy Heithmar, Brent Holman-Gomez, Nik Maciejewski, Rachael McIntosh, Corrine Mina, Michael Oboza, Samantha Pajor, Sherry Wolf, Danelle Wylder.

“The LGBTQ community has stepped up to the plate and done our part. We gave votes, money, and countless hours of volunteer work to elect a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and put a Democrat in the White House,” said Andrea Crain of Join the Impact Chicago. “We have lobbied our representatives and educated the public. We were told to wait until after the health care bill passed, and it has passed. We did our work, now Senator Durbin must do his!”

We call on the community to stand in solidarity with those who have been arrested by signing our petition asking Senator Richard Durbin, the second highest ranking Senator in the Senate, to become a forceful advocate for an ENDA vote this year: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/PASS-ENDA-NOW. Please also contact Senator Durbin at his office at (312) 353-4952 and tell him to help get ENDA passed this year!

Full disclosure: I’m friends with several of these activists, but had no prior knowledge of the planned sit-in.

She's a Cynner

The Goonies may have been “Good Enough” for Cyndi Lauper, but the pop music icon thinks the world of her lesbian sister and the whole LGBT community. After using her Celebrity Apprentice stint as a platform to promote her True Colors Fund and her new Give A Damn Campaign to promote awareness of LGBTQ issues, she’s now announced that she is going to be opening a new LGBTQ homeless shelter in Harlem.

That definitely makes us like her a lot more than some other Celebrity Apprentices.

According to recent studies, 40% of homeless youth self-identify as LGBT. Cyndi wants to change that. According to the do-good hub Tonic.com:

The True Colors Residence, which is slated to open in 2011, will offer a safe haven for LGBT youths between the ages of 18 to 24 who need a place to stay while they get back on their feet. It will be the first permanent residence in Manhattan for LGBT homeless young adults.

Because LGBTQ youth are more likely to face violence and discrimination, especially in homeless shelters, they have special needs and may benefit from a separate dedicated facility–certainly since most homeless shelters are operated by religious institutions. However New York City has no LGBTQ-focused homeless shelters. Cyndi’s True Colors Residence will fill this void.

After her stint on The Apprentice, Cyndi is going to be getting to work with her True Colors Fund raising the lion’s share of the $11Million price tag.

I’d say that’s good enough for me!

Check out Give a Damn and the True Colors Fund. And watch Cyndi and Team Tenacity still going strong on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice on NBC.

When his desires wouldn’t abate, his family, his wife and his in-laws convinced him to undergo electro shock therapy to cure him. After many treatments and with no guarantee of success, Rick opted out of this unusual treatment and ended his marriage. But he says later it was the kick in the pants he needed to help him to chase his own rainbow colored dreams.

He moved to Sacramento, CA to find the man who he would eventually spend 35 years with. Along with his partner, Rick formed the Association for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) to provide social interaction and to promote pro-gay action.

They group provided a place for people to feel good about being gay and to accomplish pro gay activities. One such activity was to raise awareness about STDs like gonorrhea or syphilis which were very common but were little understood by gay men or even by their doctors.

The pair eventually moved to San Francisco and became involved in the gay scene. Having acquired a law degree, Rick became well known as the “go to” guy if you got busted by the police for what were punishable offenses back in the day. Often times, people arrested for what was considered lewd behavior pleaded down to a lesser crime in order to reduce the risk of being found out and losing work. Rick convinced people to not “plead out” their cases but to go to trail. Eventually, the court system figured out that they weren’t go to win any of these cases so the police stopped targeting gay men.

Rick later ran against Harvey Milk for Supervisor seat in 1977 and lost. He will be portrayed by in the upcoming film “Milk” by Stephen Spinella, an openly gay actor known for his role in Angels in America and Spring Awakening on Broadway.

Listen as we talk with Rick about the horrors of being electrocuted in attempts to change your sexuality, working for gay rights in America at a time when being gay as illegal and where we are all headed in our fight for sexual diversity.

You have the right to remain fabulous- Feast of Fools.
[Originally posted on 08.28.08]

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When his desires wouldn’t abate, his family, his wife and his in-laws convinced him to undergo electro shock therapy to cure him. After many treatments and with no guarantee of success, Rick opted out of this unusual treatment and ended his marriage. But he says later it was the kick in the pants he needed to help him to chase his own rainbow colored dreams.

He moved to Sacramento, CA to find the man who he would eventually spend 35 years with. Along with his partner, Rick formed the Association for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) to provide social interaction and to promote pro-gay action.

They group provided a place for people to feel good about being gay and to accomplish pro gay activities. One such activity was to raise awareness about STDs like gonorrhea or syphilis which were very common but were little understood by gay men or even by their doctors.

The pair eventually moved to San Francisco and became involved in the gay scene. Having acquired a law degree, Rick became well known as the “go to” guy if you got busted by the police for what were punishable offenses back in the day. Often times, people arrested for what was considered lewd behavior pleaded down to a lesser crime in order to reduce the risk of being found out and losing work. Rick convinced people to not “plead out” their cases but to go to trail. Eventually, the court system figured out that they weren’t go to win any of these cases so the police stopped targeting gay men.

Rick later ran against Harvey Milk for Supervisor seat in 1977 and lost. He will be portrayed by in the upcoming film “Milk” by Stephen Spinella, an openly gay actor known for his role in Angels in America and Spring Awakening on Broadway.

Listen as we talk with Rick about the horrors of being electrocuted in attempts to change your sexuality, working for gay rights in America at a time when being gay as illegal and where we are all headed in our fight for sexual diversity.

You have the right to remain fabulous- Feast of Fools.

Check out our sponsors:

Steamworks Gym, Sauna and Baths.
Visit Steamwork’s website and register to get a discount
on your next visit. Enter “Feast of Fools” on the promo
code field to get the special discount.

Hotel Mark Twain
Gay Friendly. Bear Friendly. People Friendly.
Call direct at: (415) 673-2332
and ask for the FEAST rate.

Featured Music:
Rachael Sage – Blistering Sun: Amazon | Site

RSS FEED | SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
SUBSCRIBE ON: GOOGLE

On today’s show we’ll be talking to gay activist Andy Thayer of the Gay Liberation Network about the legacy of Matthew Shepard, why and how do people take action, and why it’s not a good idea to align yourself with any one political party if your goal is social change.

And of course, we’ll be pontificating the impact of republican Mark Foley and his non-sexual sex scandal.

If you live in Chicago:
• FRIDAY OCT 6, 7-9pm: Sam Kosha of the PGLO (Persian Gay & Lesbian Organization) speaks about the international movement for GLBT rights in the MIddle East. Gerber Hart Library, 1127 W. Granville.

• SATURDAY OCT 7, BEGINS AT 8PM: The 8th Annual Matthew Shepard March and Rally for LGBT Freedom. March begins and ends at the corner of Halsted and Roscoe, with a screening of a film about gay liberation in Eastern Europe.

• Visit the Gay Liberation Network’s website to learn more.

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Violet Nine – Any Wonder: iTunes | Amazon | CD Baby

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