Bloomberg, Quinn GLBT Leaders Meet

NYC Mayor Michael Boomberg facilitated a meeting with GLBT leadership for discussions about making marriage equity a reality in NY.

Also in attendance NYC’s first female, openly gay city Council Member, Christine C. Quinn (D) of the 3rd District.

A very in-depth piece can be found at Gay City News.

Photos:
Bloomberg: NNDB
Quinn: NY City Council

“OUT” of this World!

March 30, 2006
from advocate.com

George Takei becomes HRC spokesman

Star Trek veteran and Howard Stern Show announcer George Takei will make a six-city tour on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign, the organization announced Tuesday. Takei will discuss his life as a gay Japanese-American and… Read it?

Photo: georgetakei.com

I WAN’AN EASTER EGG!!!
2006 Easter Egg Roll in Washington DC
(Rain or Shine)

Join hundreds of other LGBT families as we fill the White House Lawn at the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 17, 2006! There is no more powerful way to change the national discussion around our families and our rights than to introduce ourselves to our neighbors on a grand scale. Join us in making history, having fun and showing off our amazing families to the country! The National Park Service will distribute free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 7:30am on Saturday, April 15, 2006. A maximum of five tickets will be issued per person.

Children of all ages can attend but there must be at least one child seven years old or younger and no more than two adults per group. Ticket holders are admitted to the South Lawn of the White House between 8am and 2pm on April 17.

Groups of about 250-500 ticket holders are admitted at 15-minute intervals. We need to be in line by Friday evening to be the first ones on the White House lawn so we can maximize our impact. This is a celebration of our families. We want to give our fellow citizens the opportunity to see us as real families, participating in a great American tradition on the White House lawn, rather than protesting from the sidelines.

From: NBJC e-mail newsletter- 3/31/06
White House photo by Paul Morse

5th Calif. Mayor Comes Out
by Mary Ellen Peterson,
365Gay.com San Francisco Bureau

(San Francisco, California) West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon ended months of rumor and speculation Wednesday night, coming out in a speech at city hall. The announcement came at the end of the annual State of the City dinner… read it?

HIGH CLASS BLOGS
It’s a good Friday! savvyplanners.com’s LGBT Weddings+ Blog is now listed with High Class Blogs in their Gay & Lesbian grouping. Their link is on the sidebar on the right.

Thanks to Paul for the nomination!

There was another “Ring of Fire”

The documentary of EMILE GRIFFITH is especially touching and may have links to anti-gay bias and tells a moving and incredible story. This, now retired, presumed gay, champion boxer ended up killing his opponent. He knocked Paret unconscious but he was still in a somewhat upright position against the ropes so the fight wasn’t stopped. Griffith threw another dozen or so devastating punches. Paret died a little more than a week later.

Some say that during the weigh-in before the bout, his opponent, BENNY PARET, called Griffith a “maricon” (“faggot” in spanish) refering to his alleged homosexuality. READ IT at Cinematical.

A poignant film that shows the rise and fall of this notable fighter. Worth seeing!

Photo: courtesy of Thomas & Co

American Culture Excludes Bisexuals
By Tara Maroney
Issue date: 3/30/06 Section: Focus
University of Connecticut Paper

“Author and editor, Ron Jackson Suresha came to campus to talk about the issue of bisexual invisibility. His presentation discussed the ways that bisexual culture is excluded from both heterosexual and homosexual conversation.

When former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey came out to the country while standing next to his wife, the media “avoided saying the B word,” Suresha said. Instead they said that he was gay, ignoring the fact that he had been married to a woman.
full story…

photo courtesy of obliquity

Mass. Out-Of-State Gay Marriage Ban Upheld

by Michael J. Meade, 365Gay.com Boston Bureau
March 30, 2006 – 10:21 am ET, Updated 11:00 am ET, 11:56 am ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) Gay and lesbian couples from outside Massachusetts were dealt a blow Thursday when the state’s highest court – the Supreme Judicial Court – let stand, at least for now, a 1913 law that prevents clerks from issuing marriage licenses to people from states where that marriage would be illegal.

story at 365gay.com

MEET TRANS ACTIVIST ELI R. GREEN

Issue Date: 03/30/2006, Posted On: 3/30/2006
“TransNation”
by Jacob Anderson-Minshall (Bay Windows)

Take the opportunity to meet FTM, Trans activist, scholar, educator: Eli R. Green in this intriguing article at Bay Windows (MA), New England’s Largest GLBT Newspaper. Thanks, Eli, for all that you do!

Check out Eli’s website: Trans-Academics.org

NJ May Be Next to Allow Marriage Equality

It was, perhaps, serendipitous to have chosen New Jersey as the new base for savvyplanners.com when expanding operations from Key West, Florida. Now, within ten months of our expansion, New Jersey is pondering embracing full-on marriage equity. When evaluating locations, Canada and Massachusetts were reasonably the first ones on the table. The move was prompted by our desire to grow and to service a growing number of clients in the northeast while strengthening our work in the Florida Keys. It is just possibly really good fortune that we came here when we did. We await the outcome.

“Canada was a first conversation. It was impractical and hugely expensive to basically re-launch a business in a foreign country. I started this business to be dedicated to serving GLBTQI people in the USA. I grew up in this state and am accustomed to its fair-minded attitude. It was funny and exciting that the discussion turned to New Jersey when we were researching additional locations. Two states in two just years is MORE than pleasing at this point! We had discussed about 10 different places and it’s wonderful to be back in my home state.”

-MW Savant, CEO

To hear an NPR audio story about NJ Marriage & the court, click here.