National Equality March & Presidential Speech

It's happening right now. Today is also national coming out day. And President Obama gave a speech yesterday on the eve of this event. A busy weekend for gay rights.

National coming out day "is an internationally-observed civil awareness day for coming out and discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues" (wikipedia). And today is also the day of the National Equality March which comes just as the Hate Crimes law (Matthew Sheppard Act) is about to be signed into law, and just before Congressional hearings on repealing DADT are going to take place.

Last night President Obama gave a speech on the eve of the march at an HRC event (the largest US lgbt rights org) and discussed many things. The whole speech was about 25 minutes, but this 6 minute clip of the middle section of the speech is where he mentions Hate Crimes, inclusive ENDA, DADT, DOMA, & Immigration/Aids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsnNyKQoFUk&feature=player_embedded

Some people have criticized the march effort because they felt the time and resources could be better used elsewhere. My opinion is that rallies & marches can help motivate people, and build strong networks & connections, and that they are worthwhile if people return to their home districts & get to work there so that the fight for equality happens on both the national & local levels.

Issues: 

Comments

I'll try to update this post with more pics as friends are uploading them on facebook & elsewhere.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o43Iu0JZgTU&feature=player_embeddedThat is just one of many speeches that you can find on youtube, but as a screenwriter I thought his way with words sent a strong & heartfelt message.  Here is a partial list of speakers:

NAACP chairman Julian BondAcademy Award winning screenwriter for the movie <em>Milk</em> Dustin Lance BlackGay rights activist & protege of Harvey Milk:  Cleve JonesLt. Dan ChoiMother of the late Matthew Shepard: Judy ShepardActress Cynthia NixonMusician/Performer Lady GagaStuart ApplebaumRichard AvilesJarret BarriosMarsha BotzerStaceyann ChinTanner EfingerHawaii Board of Education Member Kim Coco IwamotoMichelle LopezRobin McGeheeDavid MixnerNicole-Murray RamirezChloe NobleTobias PackerReverend Troy PerryNew York City Council Speaker Christine C. QuinnLos Angeles Council Member Bill RosendahlBabs SipersteinMaxim ThornUrvashi VaidDerek WashingtonFalls Church City Council Member Lawrence WebbKit YanKip WilliamsSherry Wolf

 More coverage of the march:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33265863/ns/us_news-life/Here is the speech by Julian Bond, head of the NAACP:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiHxMhVA5GA&feature=player_embedded

rather than starting another thread that is more about a statewide issues rather than an orange county issue (although I'm sure there are many in OC interested in the 2010 senate race), I thought I'd share a link here with a write up I did about said race & how it relates to lgbt equality & other progressive issues:http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/notes/jake-gellar-goad/a-beacon-in...(if I was making a whole new thread I'd recreate it, but it is simpler in this case to forgo the formatting and just provide the link)------------I wanted to add this update: http://bluenc.com/elaine-marshall-question-thread-now-open#new Leave
any questions you have for Secretary Marshall regarding her run for
Senate and her positions on the issues in this thread. You can either
leave questions in advance, or participate tomorrow at 7pm. 

 

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