Nonprofit Profiles
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Homophobia and Transphobia in Sports
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Marriage Equality as a Small Business Innovator
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The Unacknowledged Victims of the Victims of Homophobia
Help Defeat Maine's Anti-Gay Ballot Initiative on Marriage
Published August 13, 2009 @ 04:11AM PT
In many ways I guess you could say that Maine is the new California. Conservative activists - fueled in large part by Maine's Catholic Church - have placed an initiative on the state's ballot that would repeal marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples in Maine. It's almost like rehashing Proposition 8 all over again.
Except this time, we can win.
Maine Freedom to Marry, the coalition behind stopping this anti-LGBT madness, has just relaunched their Web site and is urging people on all fronts to take the pledge and oppose what in Maine will become known simply as question "1". Voting yes on question 1 will strip away the civil rights of gays and lesbians to get married in Maine (boo!). Voting no on quesiton 1 will keep those rights in place (yay!).
What does taking the pledge against 1 mean? Well, from Maine Freedom to Marry's snazzy new Web site...
On May 6, 2009 Maine ended discrimination in marriage for same-sex couples. This victory was the result of thousands of people who came forward to support marriage for all Maine families. The legislature and Governor followed the people's lead and passed this landmark legislation.
But the fight is not over. Opponents of marriage equality want to turn back the clock. They are working to place a measure on the ballot - modeled after California's Prop 8 - to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry in Maine.
This November, voters will be asked:
"Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?"
Answer: Vote NO on 1.
Now I think that's a pledge we can all make.
Daniel Radcliffe Says No To LGBT Suicide
Published August 10, 2009 @ 06:30AM PT
When it comes to celebrity support for LGBT rights, Daniel Radcliffe is giving everyone a run for their money. Two weeks ago Radcliffe gave an interview to the UK's Attitude magazine, where he talked about how much he loathed homophobia, and the people that foster it. Now he's giving a major donation to one of our favorite organizations, The Trevor Project, to combat suicide among LGBT youth. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.
The Trevor Project announced today that Radcliffe would be joining its circle of major donors, to help support the organizations work among LGBT youth. Trevor works on a number of different issues, from combating violence against LGBT youth to fostering education programs that spotlight issues facing LGBT youth. They are perhaps most famous for their Trevor Helpline, a 24-hour suicide hotline for LGBT youth. That Help Line provides an invaluable service for LGBT populations, and the organization has said that call volume to the suicide hotline is up more than 300 percent since last year. Wow.
Maybe that's one reason why Radcliffe wants to support the organization so badly. There's perhaps never been a more critical time to deal with the issue of LGBT suicide, especially among young people. Here's what Radcliffe said in announcing the donation:
It's extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top three killer of young people, and it's truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. I deeply hope my support can raise the organization's visibility so even more despondent youth become aware of The Trevor Helpline's highly trained counselors and Trevor’s many other resources. It's vitally important that young people understand they are not alone and, perhaps even more important, that their young lives have real value.
LGBT lives have real value. What a message for the most famous 20-year-old in the world to proclaim loudly. For more information on The Trevor Project, check them out here.
Miss Do-Gooder Says No to Intolerance
Published August 05, 2009 @ 01:17PM PT
What do you get when you fuse fashion with philanthropy and a commitment to eliminating homophobia in the classroom? You get Miss Do-Gooders brand spanking new T-shirt, which not only declares zero tolerance for homophobia and intolerance, but backs up that pledge by making sure that every T-shirt purchased forwards some proceeds to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Miss Do-Gooder is a fun fashion venture from California that has already released T-shirts championing animal rights and the fight against illiteracy. Or, in other words, she's just a modern day superhero out to "kick the butt of one injustice at a time."
We heart our progressive T-shirts here at change.org. Especially when they send proceeds to organizations we love, like GLSEN. Here's what GLSEN's Executive Director, Eliza Byard, had to say about the new T-shirt campaign from Miss Do-Gooder:
With this wonderful new design, Miss Do-Gooder continues to represent a cool way that people can show their support for important causes, such as GLSEN's goal of ensuring that every child is safe in school.
Making schools safer. Rooting out homophobia. Stamping out intolerance. Now there's a fashion craze worth getting behind.
Assessing the State of LGBT Characters on Television
Published July 27, 2009 @ 01:28AM PT
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has released their third annual Network Responsibility Index, surveying the state of LGBT characters across the span of television. The results show that two premium cable channels certainly know how to get their gay on, while two major television networks languish far behind in the amount of LGBT representation they feature in their programs.
Home Box Office (HBO) and Showtime take the cake this year for being the most inclusive networks when it comes to spotlighting LGBT characters in their shows. For HBO, GLAAD showed that 42 percent of its total programming featured content relating to the lives of LGBT folks. Showtime also showed a respectable number - albeit far behind HBO - with 26 percent of its programming featuring LGBT content.
This all makes sense when you think about the shows on both of these premium channels. True Blood (HBO), The L Word (Showtime), Entourage (HBO), The United States of Tara (Showtime), The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (HBO), and Weeds (Showtime) all covered LGBT issues or had LGBT characters. And it makes a difference in terms of the quality of programming, at least according to Rashad Robinson, a senior media staff person at GLAAD. Here's what he told the AP: "Television shows that weave our stories into the fabric of the series present richer, more diverse representations."
NBC and CBS were on the opposite sides of the spectrum. Despite being the network that aired possibly the most popular LGBT sitcom ("Will & Grace"), GLAAD found that NBC only had about 8 percent of its programming reflect LGBT issues. CBS faired even worse, scoring a staggeringly low 5 percent. Guess it's a little hard to work in an LGBT storyline on The Unit (another ramification of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?).
For more information, you can check out GLAAD's "TV Gayed" page on their Web site. Ironically, the AP article that we're linking to throughout this post even scooped the GLAAD Web site, so there's no link yet available for the 2009 Network Responsibility Index. Once it's updated on the GLAAD Web site, we'll put a link here.
UPDATE: Here's the release from GLAAD.
Celebrating 100 Years of the NAACP
Published July 08, 2009 @ 06:17AM PT
Next week, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (perhaps more commonly known by the acronym NAACP) will hold their Centennial Convention, marking 100 years as an organization dedicated to pursuing civil rights across the country.
In recent years, the NAACP has become a crucial player in the debate over marriage equality. In particular, NAACP chairman Julian Bond has become one of the strongest and most supportive allies for LGBT rights. In 2005 he told an LGBT gathering in Virginia:
The lessons of the civil rights movement of yesterday … is that sometimes the simplest of ordinary everyday acts, of taking a seat on a bus, of sitting down at a lunch counter, of applying for a marriage license, sometimes these can have extraordinary consequences, can change our world.
Pretty damn cool. But that statement is eclipsed by Bond's comments last year in the wake of Proposition 8's passage in California:
Black people, of all people, should not oppose equality, and that is what gay marriage is. God seems to have made room in his plan for interracial marriage, and he or she will no doubt do the same for same-sex marriage.
The NAACP also joined a host of civil rights organizations and businesses in calling for Proposition 8 to be overturned, with current NAACP President Benajmin Jealous saying:
The NAACP’s mission is to help create a society where all Americans have equal protection and opportunity under the law. Our Mission Statement calls for the ‘equality of rights of all persons.’ Prop. 8 strips same-sex couples of a fundamental freedom, as defined by the California State Supreme Court. In so doing, it poses a serious threat to all Americans. Prop. 8 is a discriminatory, unprecedented change to the California Constitution that, if allowed to stand, would undermine the very purpose of a constitution and courts - assuring equal protection and opportunity for all and safeguarding minorities from the tyranny of the majority.
It's hard to say what the next 100 years will bring. Here's hoping that it doesn't take another century before marriage equality is real all across this country. But no matter how long it does take, it's clear that the NAACP will be there as an ally. Happy 100 years, NAACP.
Fighting Homophobia in Virtual Communities
Published July 02, 2009 @ 05:59PM PT
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has launched a cool new project that's ripe for the digital age: it's a campaign to combat homophobia in virtual communities. From Facebook to XBox message boards, homophobia won't have any hiding grounds. Here's a quote from Rashad Robinson, GLAAD's Senior Director of Media Programs:
As more and more people turn to virtual communities to connect with each other and for entertainment, we need to ensure these spaces are LGBT-inclusive and safe for our community – right now that’s not always the case. Our new project and work with leading tech companies aims to both educate users on the impact of homophobic remarks and put sustainable policies in place that make the experience fun and inclusive for everyone.
It's a hefty task, as it involves monitoring everything from comments on blogs to company message boards. It will also involve making sure that online forums allow their users to be open about who they are. For instance, earlier this year XBox Live was found to suspend users for using the word "gay," even if it meant that the users were describing their identity. XBox Live has since changed the policy, but the hiccup was certainly a reminder that adding filters with certain words or phrases screened into them isn't a catch all for addressing homophobia.
For more information on GLAAD's program, go here. Also worth noting is that in two weeks, GLAAD will be hosting a panel event in Silicon Valley with some of the country's leading game and software companies on virtual homophobia. Way to stay ahead of the 21st century, GLAAD.
The Curious Case of School Districts Blocking Gay Rights Websites
Published May 19, 2009 @ 01:21PM PT
Earlier this year we wrote about the Nashvillle, Tennessee school district, and how they were blocking access to certain Web sites within their public schools. Those certain Web sites weren't adult-oriented, pornographic or scandalous; rather, they were the Web sites for LGBT rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Marriage Equality USA and others. A school district blocking access to organizations working for equality and civil rights? That can't be a good thing.
The ACLU agrees. Today they announced a lawsuit against the Knox County Schools and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools for blocking students from accessing the Websites of organizations working for the rights of LGBT people. Public schools, after all, shouldn't be in the business of discriminating against LGBT people, or censoring information promoting equal rights from their students.
Here's some goods from the lawsuit:
Not only does defendants’ blocking policy discriminate on the basis of content in violation of the First Amendment, the policy further constitutes unlawful viewpoint discrimination. Under the defendants’ policy, students may access websites that promote anti-gay views and that advocate that persons should change their sexual orientation through so-called “reparative therapy,” but not the web sites of organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, which is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States working to achieve equality under the law for LGBT persons.
One of the worst parts about this injustice is that students can access Websites for radical and extreme anti-LGBT groups, like Peter LaBarbera's "Americans for Truth About Homosexuality," or the "National Organization for Marriage." But they can't access sites like the Human Rights Campaign or GLAAD, which offer information on anti-bullying campaigns, coming out, creating safe spaces, hate crimes, and the like.
In short, the twisted Tennessee policy prevents students from accessing information that can be beneficial to their safety. And it exposes students to right-wing hatred while denying access to sites that promote equality. Tennessee students deserve better.
