Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 22nd, 2011
TODAY’S AGENDA:
Rally for Love and Marriage: Albany, NY. The New York legislative session has been extended, and a lot of issues are coming down to the wire in the New York Senate: rent laws, capping property taxes for homeowners, tuition increases at state universities, and marriage equality. Tentative deals have been reached on all of those issues except one. Guess which one:
But the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, said that his caucus had not yet decided whether to bring to a vote the most contentious issue facing the Legislature: A bill introduced by Mr. Cuomo and approved by the Democratic-controlled Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Thirty-one state senators have endorsed the marriage measure, one vote short of the number needed to pass in the 62-member senate.
Empire Pride also wants all New Yorkers to call their senator’s office right now. Their simple click-to-call tool couldn’t be easier. And especially, contact these Senators and register your support for marriage equality. Most of these Senators are being aggressively targeted by National Organization for Marriage and other anti-gay groups.
Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. of Howard Beach (518) 455-2322, addabbo@senate.state.ny.us (declared yes)
Senator Gregory R. Ball of Putnam County (845) 279-3773, gball@nysenate.gov (declared no)
Senator John Flanagan of Long Island (518) 455-2071, flanagan@senate.state.ny.us (declared no)
Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. of Suffolk County (516) 882-0630, fuschill@senate.state.ny.us (leaning yes)
Senator J. Kemp Hannon of Nassau County (516) 739-1700, hannon@nysenate.gov (declared no)
Senator Shirley Huntley of Jamaica (518) 455-3531, shuntley@nysenate.gov (declared yes)
Senator Andrew J. Lanza of Staten Island (718) 984-4073, lanza@senate.state.ny.us (leaning no)
Senator Betty Little of Glens Falls (518) 743-0968, little@nysenate.gov (leaning yes)
Senator Mark Grisanti of Erie County (518) 455-3240, grisanti@nysenate.gov (undecided)
Senator Stephen M. Saland of Poughkeepsie (845) 463-0840, saland@nysenate.gov (undecided)
Those in this list who have declared their support for marriage equality are under withering attack by NOM and other anti-gay forces. Don’t forget to show them your appreciation.
Pride Celebrations This Weekend: Anchorage, AK; Antwerp, Belgium; Augusta, GA; Barcelona, Spain; Baton Rouge, LA; Berlin, Germany; Casper, WY; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Columbia, SC (Black Pride); Dublin, Ireland; Durango, CO/Four Corners; Harlem, NY; Houston, TX; Knoxville, TN; Lexington, KY; Lisbon, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Mexico City, DF; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; New Orleans, LA; New York, NY; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, NE; Oslo, Norway; Outer Banks, NC; Panama City, FL; Paris, France; Prince Albert, SA; San Francisco, CA; Santa Fe, NM; São Paulo, Brazil; St. Louis, MO; St. Petersburg, FL; St. Petersburg, Russia; Seattle, WA; Valencia, Spain and Wichita, KS.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
Gwen Araujo’s Trial Ends In Hung Jury: 2004. Gwen Araujo, a transgender teen, was murdered at a party two years earlier in Newark, California, by four men after they discovered she was transgender. One of the men, Jaron Nabors, confessed and led police to her grace site in exchange for a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter. He also testified against the other three: Michael Magidson, 22; Jaron Nabors, 19; and José Merél, 22. Unable to agree on a verdict, the first trial ended on this date with a hung jury and a mistrial, forcing a retrial of the three suspects.
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ODAY’S BIRTHDAY:
Jimmy Somerville: 1961. The Scottish pop singer had his moment in the sun in the 1980s as lead singer with the synth pop group Bronski Beat (those of us of a certain age might remember “Smalltown Boy”) and the Communards. After the Communards split in 1988, he embarked on an off-again on-again solo career. His most recent album, 2009’s Suddenly Last Summer
Jai Rodriguez: 1979. He was the “culture vulture” for Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He’s has also done some acting and some singing. In 2002, he created his own musical cabaret show, titled “Monday Night Twisted Cabaret,” which ran at New York gay club xl for a year. In 2005, he created and performed his own one night stage show, “Jai Rodriguez: xPosed,” told the story of Rodriguez’s life and struggle to come out to his religious family.
If you know of something that belongs on the agenda, please send it here. PLEASE, don’t forget to include the basics: who, what, when, where, and URL (if available).
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Timothy (TRiG)
June 22nd, 2011
In cool news from Slap, Exodus International may soon lose charitable status in Canada.
TRiG.
Priya Lynn
June 22nd, 2011
Jim, haven’t heard about Uganda in a while, perhaps you could give us a status report in one of these daily agendas.
Jim Burroway
June 22nd, 2011
Actually, I had an update just yesterday.
Priya Lynn
June 22nd, 2011
Oh, I don’t know how I missed that. Thanks.
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