"Craig and Shane were holding hands when they fell victim to a brutal hate crime off Sydney's Oxford Street in 2007. The image of Craig's shattered face on the cover of the local newspaper called Sydney's queer community to action, and the couple were nominated leaders of the 2008 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade. The hardest year of this young couple's lives is documented through endless surgeries, physical and psychological recovery and their struggle to plan for their future. But at its heart, Holding Hands reveals that even in the worst circumstances, we can all create positive change."
"A group of transgender women are violently beaten and left for dead. After regaining their consciousness the violated vixens turn deadly divas and with their new-found confidence and courage, slice their way to vengeance. A homage to the exploitation/revenge films of the 70's and 80's, this film sets out to create a new and unique genre called -- transploitation. Loaded with titillating dialog, bodacious bods and extreme violence, this revenge-fantasy proves that it takes more than balls to get even."
During the 2009 battle over Anchorage Ordinance 64 — which would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to the Municipality of Anchorage’s equal rights code — one thing we heard from the opposition again and again was that there was no “proof” that discrimination was a problem that needed to be addressed. So this fall, a group of concerned community members and organizations came together to brainstorm how to compile this kind of information about the LGBT community in Alaska—both so that we can provide policymakers with accurate information, and so that we ourselves more fully understand the needs of our community. Thus, the Alaska LGBT Community Survey Task Force was born.
I will be serving as Project Manager for the survey, so please also feel free to reach out to me by phone at (907) 263-2006 or by email at scarpenter@akclu.org about any questions you may have.
Shelby Carpenter is the LGBT Public Policy Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, and is Project Manager of the Alaska LGBT Community Survey Task Force.
Sara Boesser writes from Juneau.
A wonderful thing happened in Juneau, Alaska, last night.Sara referred to a story in today's Juneau Empire, "City extends senior citizen sales tax exemption to same sex couples" by Sarah Day. The story begins:
It brought to my mind the famous 1969 poster, "What if they gave a war and nobody came?"
What happened is, for the first time in Juneau history, a GLBT-positive ordinance came up for hearing,...and with no discussion by Assembly members, it passed unanimously. It will become law in 30 days.
Willie Anderson of PFLAG was the only one to speak — for the ordinance. Willie, myself, my parents, and two plaintiffs for the 2005 Alaska state G/L benefits lawsuit (Maureen Longworth and Lin Davis) were in the audience. But we didn't speak.
Can you believe it?! It was exactly 20 years ago I and many of you spoke for the first time before our assembly seeking an equal rights ordinance. And that was a roaring controversy, with multiple meetings hours long for people on both sides to pound away. And we didn't win then. We compromised, for a tiny step forward instead.
But now...20 years later...we didn't even have to speak. But I could feel all of us, all of you, all of our energy of years past, in the room.
Thank you all, so much, for everything you've done — we've done — together.
We have moved mountains to get to this point. And oh — how sweet it is!
The senior citizen sales tax exemption will now apply to same-sex domestic partners, allowing the city code to comply with the Alaska Constitution.Congratulations, Juneau!
The city code previously allowed those 65 and older an exemption on city sales tax. Their spouse, regardless of age, could also receive the exemption. The wording in this code excluded same-sex domestic partners, which is unconstitutional. While same-sex marriage isn't legal in Alaska, a 2005 state Supreme Court ruling stated Alaska's Constitution prohibits excluding a specific group of people from benefits like this.
So the city had two options - include same-sex domestic partners or cancel the sales tax exemption for all seniors.
by Mel Green / Crossposted at Henkimaa
Update: The DADT report will be posted at THIS LINK about 10:15 AM Alaska time.
The Pentagon Working Group's comprehensive report on gays/lesbians in the military and the possible repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell will be released today. According to the Washington Post's Federal Eye blog, the report will be officially released today at 2:30 PM Eastern time — 10:30 AM Alaska time:
The report's release caps nine months of research by [Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C.] Johnson, [Army Gen. Carter F.] Ham and a 66-member team that met with more than 40 groups representing gay and lesbian troops, gay veterans, military spouses and the same-sex partners of closeted gay troops.Some findings of the report have already been publicized after leaks in the Washington Post earlier this month. Among them:
According to a survey sent to 400,000 service members, 69 percent of those responding reported that they had served with someone in their unit who they believed to be gay or lesbian. Of those who did, 92 percent stated that their unit's ability to work together was very good, good, or neither good nor poor, according to the sources.The report's coauthors — Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Army Gen. Carter F. Ham — along with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen are scheduled to testify Thursday, December 2, before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Combat units reported similar responses, with 89 percent of Army combat units and 84 percent of Marine combat units saying they had good or neutral experiences working with gays and lesbians.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), announced today that Lady Gaga released an online video message directed to her supporters and followers to push for repeal in the senate lame-duck session. Re-tweet Gaga now: RT @LadyGaga A message from Gaga http://bit.ly/g8cI68Here's the video:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
202-224-6665 (DC)
877-829-6030 (toll free)
or write:
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski
709 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) World AIDS Day [Dec. 1, 2010] theme: Universal Access and Human Rights
Avert.org
2) Listen: Gay Grandma Tells Love Story
Los Angeles, Advocate, November 25, 2010
3) Lesbian cadet who quit seeks return to West Point
Findlay, Ohio, Associated Press, November 26, 2010
4) German Zoo Attempts to Re-Orient Gay Vultures
Germany, Time, November 26, 2010
5) A journey for her peers
Houston, Houston Chronicle, November 19, 2010
6) The kids are all right? Not according to the lesbian lobby
The Independent, November 23, 2010
7) High Suicide Risk, Prejudice Plague Transgender People
Live Science, November 19, 2010
8) Marines most resistant to openly gay troops
Oceanside, Calif., Associated Press, November 27, 2010
9) Dawn of the flexisexual: The new word for the women who refuse to play it straight
Daily Mail, November 27, 2010
10) TSA Screening Reveals Transgender People's Experiences for All of Us
Huffington Post, November 24, 2010
11) Thank God I’m Gay
South Florida Gay News, November 23, 2010
12) Going Legal in Russia ~ St. Petersburg holds first sanctioned gay pride demo
St. Petersburg, Russia, Gay City News, November 24, 2010
13) F to M trans anchor says "It get's better"
Denver, Colorado, 9News
14) Kimpton most visible hotel group among gay, lesbian travelers
USA Today, November 26, 2010
World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1 to remember those we have lost to HIV/AIDS, to honor those still living with the disease, and to commemorate the theme of universal access and human rights.
Events including candlelight vigils are scheduled in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. Click through on the city names to RSVP organizers about your intentions to attend.
Anchorage
