HRC Back Story

Today, on December 1, people around the globe renew the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS and recognize World AIDS Day.

First held on December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day is about increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education and reminding people that HIV has not gone away. Indeed, there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During the last year, some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 years old and are killed by AIDS before they reach age 35.

At HRC, we are committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS. We invite you to join us in a most exciting opportunity – a World Community Grid Team Challenge to support HIV/AIDS and other research. So many of us who care about this too-long-unresolved epidemic are looking for ways we can address this crisis. By simply participating in the World Community Grid, you can help those doing critical research access the resources they need to do their work.

Grid computing joins together many individual computers, creating one of the world’s largest “virtual supercomputers” with massive, fast computational power that far surpasses that of other stand-alone supercomputers. HRC has taken part in the World Community Grid since 2006. During that time, the HRC Team has contributed over 414 years of total run time, at a rank of 35 out of over 20,000 participating organizations.  The HRC Team alone donates 160 days of humanitarian research per calendar day.

HRC is challenging all teams on the World Community Grid to increase their participation and grow the amount of Run Time, which can be translated into years of research time and donated to vital humanitarian research. This is an easy way to volunteer and a way to give back, at no cost, during the Holiday Season and on World AIDS Day.

Here’s how it works:

• The World Community Grid initiative allows hundreds of thousands of volunteers to donate unused computing power to researchers around the world, using grid computing technology.
• Grid computing joins together many individual computers, creating one of the world’s largest “virtual supercomputers” with massive, fast computational power that far surpasses that of other stand-alone supercomputers.
• Projects are chosen by World Community Grid’s Advisory Board, an international group of experts specializing in health sciences, technology, and philanthropy. Only research conducted by public and nonprofit organizations is accepted.   All research results must be made public.
• With more than 400,000 members, over 1,000,000 devices and more than 194,000 years of run time – and growing – World Community Grid is enabling research to be completed faster than ever before.

What you need to do:

• If you already participate in the World Community Grid, all you need to do to join the HRC team is to  click on the web address below and then click on the “join now” button on the page that appears.
  http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/team/viewTeamInfo.do?teamId=LDRMH21ZP1 
• If you have not yet joined World Community Grid, just click on the link below. When you register, our team will be automatically selected for you. You will still need to download and install the World Community Grid software.
  http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/reg/viewRegister.do?teamID=LDRMH21ZP1

The World AIDS Day Challenge starts on December 1 and ends on December 31, 2008. Sign up right now and start making a difference! Get your friends and family members to join, too!

As Thanksgiving nears, I feel profoundly grateful to the people like you who've given their time, money, and passion to the cause of equality this year. Your energy is downright inspiring.

I also find myself uplifted by the amazing victories that we achieved on Election Day. But there is also no denying the blows we were dealt this month, with marriage bans in Arizona, Florida and California.
Historians will point to this election as a turning point in the long struggle for civil rights. Eight years of White House hostility toward LGBT Americans are finally over.

While HRC is working on many fronts to fight California's Prop. 8 and promote marriage equality across the U.S., I have a task for you today: talk to your family and tell them why marriage equality matters to you.

The conversation may be easy, or it may be hard. But in the wake of Prop. 8, a dialogue to change hearts and minds has never been more important.

If you need a place to start, we've developed four e-cards that you can send to friends and family to get the conversation going. Send e-cards now >>

You might want to talk about the person you love. Or about why it's so important for straight allies to support marriage equality. If you need more inspiration, I have a story for you.

Jan and DeAnn, who were married in California this August, had spent 8 years living next to Jon and

Brenda. They chatted about lawn care, skiing, and home repair, and DeAnn even taught their four children in spelling games and rounds of Old Maid once a week – but knowing the anti-gay stance of their neighbors' religion, Jan and DeAnn had decided never to discuss their personal life.
Brenda was in her yard when the limousine pulled up on Jan and DeAnn's wedding day. When she asked what the occasion was, they decided to tell Brenda they were getting married. They were shocked when Brenda immediately hugged them, burst into tears, and sobbed, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jan replied, "You never know if you're going to get a hug or a brick through your window." DeAnn said, "I was afraid of losing your children."

Then, Jan says, "We all cried, gave one last hug, and entered the limo with soaring spirits."
These are the stories we have to tell. This is the case we have to make: real people, real consequences. Too long, the discussion has been about the definition of marriage rather than the rights of marriage. Many people don't even realize that legally married same-sex couples are denied more than 1,000 different rights on the Federal level, including:

• visiting a partner or child in the hospital
• passing on property without taxes
• taking family leave to care for a sick child
• tax equality

One conversation at a time, America is changing and will continue to change. If we want equality to be the law of the land sooner rather than later, each one of us – LGBT or straight – must now answer the challenge by sitting down with our family and friends, educating them and listening to them in return.

Please accept my sincerest thanks for all that you have helped us accomplish this past year. And when you sit down to the Thanksgiving table tomorrow, think of all we could be celebrating in the coming years.

Warmly,

The same day a Florida circuit court ruled its ban on gay adoption unconstitutional, Candace Gingrich, HRC's youth and campus outreach senior manager, made an appearance tonight on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" to continue the dialogue on Prop 8 and the fight for marriage equality.  During her segment (#1 on the Countdown, BTW), Candace made the important point that allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry does not threaten anyone's marriage and is not something people have to fear.

Watch the video here: 

Candace also published a must-read letter to her brother Newt Gingrich that has been viewed over 260,000 times since it was posted on Huffington Post this past weekend:

I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O’Reilly on FOX News.  I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, “There you go, again.”

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked. 

The truth is that you’re living in a world that no longer exists.  I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as - and we embrace what it can be.   You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past. 

[...]

What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions.   That’s really so ‘90s, Newt.    In this day and age, it’s embarrassing to watch you talk like that.   You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it.

In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.

Today All Children - All Families, a program of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Family Project, held a press conference at the HRC building to launch a new awareness campaign aimed at increasing LGBT foster parenting and adoption.

All Children – All Families, launched in 2007, also seeks to enhance LGBT competence among child welfare professionals and educate LGBT people about opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents to waiting children.  Thirty-four agencies from across the U.S are currently participating in the initiative, and more than a dozen agencies are close to earning the seal of recognition.  Check out www.hrc.org/acaf for more information.

Today's press conference featured Ellen Kahn, HRC Foundation Family Project director; Janice Goldwater, Adoptions Together founder and executive director; Nathan Monell, CEO of Foster Care Alumni of America; and adoptive parent Daniel McNeil.

We've uploaded video of the speakers' full remarks:

Ellen Kahn and Janice Goldwater:

Ellen: We are unveiling a recruitment campaign aimed at the LGBT community. This is an innovative campaign that will be implemented nationally over the course of the coming year. We're starting in Washington, DC and we're partnering with Adoptions Together, an agency that has indeed done the work to be ready and welcoming and to really stand behind LGBT families who come in with an interest in adopting from foster care.

...There are an estimated 2 million folks in the LGBT community who are interested in adoption...if even 10% of that 2 million took a step and started exploring in more depth the opportunities in foster care/adoption - and had agencies standing with them and believing in them - we could actually solve a problem and, a year from now, we would not have 129,000 waiting children.

Janice: I'm here today to let you know that we need the LGBT community to come forward and consider adopting a child. I know that, historically, many people have not been welcomed in the adoption community and for this, I'm really sorry....My hope is that this campaign inspires those in the LGBT community to come forward who could be a resource for a child and say, "Yes, we are here. We can take a child into our family." Please know our doors are opened; children are waiting; and we need you.

Nathan Monell:

Our organization knows firsthand what it's like for people to grow up alone in this world....For people who grow up in foster care, that sense of being alone is always with them....

People have not spent time going to the GLBT community and said, "You'd make great parents. You'd do a really good job." And we need to be doing that and I'm really proud of this project for doing that.  Our organization is unabashedly supportive of this work because we know firsthand that any qualified parent is the best parent.  It doesn't matter the sexual orientation. That shouldn't be a part of the equation.   

Daniel McNeil:

I think the biggest obstacle that prevents people from becoming families like ours is homophobia. And there's homophobia, both on the inside and on the inside.  I think the first thing parents need to do - potential parents - is look at the homophobia on the inside. I've talked to lots of potential parents. We agonize like, "How do you know if you're going to be the right type of person to be a parent?" I don't have a magic answer - and there's lots of books. But I would say the guiding principle for me is that an adoption is basically a commitment to a child. And commitment means you're going to be there to love them; a commitment means you're going to be there for the long haul. And so if you can say, "Yes, I have the capacity to love. Yes, I'm willing to do the hard work to stick with all it takes to become a family," then you've already answered the most fundamental questions and you can launch forward.

...The most loving thing I've ever done as a person is become a dad... If this program, this new initiative, can help people envision for themselves becoming a family, then I'm really excited to be a part of that and help support and encourage that.

From the Miami Herald:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman Tuesday declared Florida's 30-year-old ban on gay adoptions unconstitutional -- a ruling state lawyers immediately said they would challenge.

The ruling sets the stage for Frank Gill, a gay man from North Miami, to adopt two foster children he has raised since 2004.

In a 53-page ruling, Judge Lederman said, ``It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent.''

Just in time for the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, today HRC Foundation released its 2009 “Buying for Equality” guide.  The guide is aimed at helping consumers businesses and brands that support the LGBT community.  The guide includes listings from a record 260 companies that received a perfect 100 percent score on our 2009 Corporate Equality Index, an annual report on company policies related to diversity & inclusion training, non-discrimination policies and access to healthcare for LGBT employees and their families.  To download or request a copy of the guide visit: www.hrc.org/buyersguide.

According to a Witeck-Combs/Market Research.com study, the buying power of the LGBT community is estimated to be $759 billion in 2009.  During difficult economic times, our nation’s businesses know that every dollar spent by consumers figures into the success of their organization. 

This is the fourth year the Human Rights Campaign has published the widely-popular “Buying for Equality” consumer guide.  The guide has been viewed and downloaded off of HRC’s website more than 275,000 times.  This year, HRC included businesses that did not respond to survey request over the past three years.  Each non-responder was provided a score of “?” and placed into the red section of the relevant buying category.  HRC looks forward to building positive, working relationships with these businesses and encourages readers of the Buyer’s Guide that contact these companies to report their responses to HRC.

Scores in the “Buying for Equality” guide are determined through scoring criteria in the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the only nationally recognized measure of LGBT workplace equality.  The CEI is the primary method for companies to evaluate their diversity efforts toward LGBT employees, customers, and investors.  To learn more about the CEI visit: www.hrc.org/cei

Additional background information on the 2009 “Buying for Equality” Guide:

“Buying for Equality” breaks companies and their products into easily distinguishable purchasing categories.  Some categories include:
• Apparel & Accessories
• Banking & Finance
• Eating Out
• Home & Garden
• Technology

Companies/products are divided based on their CEI score into red, yellow, and green sections so that consumers can easily determine which brands support GLBT equality.   
• Green (80-100): Consumers should make every effort to support these businesses.
• Yellow (46-79): Businesses/brands that have taken steps toward a fair-minded workplace, but there is still progress to be made.
• Red (0-45): Businesses/brands that have more work to do in furthering equality. If possible, make the choice to support a fairer company.
• Red (?): Businesses/brands that have not responded to the survey despite repeated attempts and whose policies are unclear.

The Human Rights Campaign recently released a list of the businesses and organizations that supported California’s Proposition 8, the discriminatory amendment passed on Election Day that eliminates the right for same-sex couples to marry in the state.  Although several Fortune 500 companies and organizations contributed to the No on 8 Campaign, no Fortune 500 companies were found to have contributed to the Yes on 8 Campaign.   The data was searched for donations derived directly from businesses and organizations, rather than from individuals or national advocacy groups.  To view the complete list of businesses and organizations who supported Proposition 8, visit: www.hrc.org/prop8supporters.

This letter from HRC's Candace Gingrich responding to her brother Newt calling Prop 8 protestors "gay and secular fascists" is cross-posted on Huffington Post:

Dear Newt,

I recently had the displeasure of watching you bash the protestors of the Prop 8 marriage ban to Bill O’Reilly on FOX News.  I must say, after years of watching you build your career by stirring up the fears and prejudices of the far right, I feel compelled to use the words of your idol, Ronald Reagan, “There you go, again.”

However, I realize that you may have been a little preoccupied lately with planning your resurrection as the savior of your party, so I thought I would fill you in on a few important developments you might have overlooked. 

The truth is that you’re living in a world that no longer exists.  I, along with millions of Americans, clearly see the world the way it as - and we embrace what it can be.   You, on the other hand, seem incapable of looking for new ideas or moving beyond what worked in the past. 

Welcome to the 21st century, big bro.  I can understand why you’re so afraid of the energy that has been unleashed after gay and lesbian couples had their rights stripped away from them by a hateful campaign.   I can see why you’re sounding the alarm against the activists who use all the latest tech tools to build these rallies from the ground up in cities across the country. 

This unstoppable progress has at its core a group we at HRC call Generation Equality. They are the most supportive of full LGBT equality than any American generation ever – and when it comes to the politics of division, well, they don’t roll that way.  18-24 year olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8 and overwhelmingly for Barack Obama.  And the numbers of  young progressive voters will only continue to grow.  According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning, about 23 million 18-29 year olds voted on Nov. 4, 2008 – the most young voters ever to cast a ballot in a presidential election. That’s an increase of 3 million more voters compared to 2004.

These are the same people who helped elect Barack Obama and sent a decisive message to your party.  These young people are the future and their energy will continue to drive our country forward.  Even older Americans are turning their backs on the politics of fear and demagoguery that you and your cronies have perfected over the years. 

This is a movement of the people that you most fear.  It’s a movement of progress – and your words on FOX News only show how truly desperate you are to maintain control of a world that is changing before your very eyes. 

Then again, we’ve seen these tactics before.  We know how much the right likes to play political and cultural hardball, and then turn around and accuse us of lashing out first.   You give a pass to a religious group – one that looks down upon minorities and women – when they use their money and membership roles to roll back the rights of others, and then you label us “fascists” when we fight back.   You belittle the relationships of gay and lesbian couples, and yet somehow neglect to explain who anointed you the protector of “traditional” marriage.    And, of course, you’ve also mastered taking the foolish actions of a few people and then indicting an entire population based on those mistakes.    I fail to see how any of these patterns coincide with the values of “historic Christianity” you claim to champion.

Again, nothing new here.  This is just more of the blatant hypocrisy we’re used to hearing.

What really worries me is that you are always willing to use LGBT Americans as political weapons to further your ambitions.   That’s really so ‘90s, Newt.    In this day and age, it’s embarrassing to watch you talk like that.   You should be more afraid of the new political climate in America, because, there is no place for you in it.

In other words, stop being a hater, big bro.

Good afternoon,

This week we observed Transgender Day of Remembrance, which provided us with a moment to stop and consider just how much this community has to fight for. Transgender members of our community are unsafe, preyed upon by ignorance and hatred. The fight for marriage equality and relationship recognition is crucially important, but until all of us can walk the streets without fear of violence, none of us are protected. I urge all of you to read the moving remarks delivered by Allyson Robinson, HRC Foundation’s Associate Director of Diversity, at a TDOR event in Orlando here.

Last weekend, hundreds of thousands in 300 cities nationwide gathered to express their hurt, anger and determination to win marriage equality in California and beyond. But to triumph against the forces of discrimination and hate, the LGBT community and its allies must continue to channel our feelings of discontent into action.

All of us struggle with disappointment over the outcome of ballot initiative fights in California, Arkansas, Arizona and Florida. We are all looking for what our next steps should be. At the Human Rights Campaign, we’re working nonstop to turn our disappointment into action by addressing the root causes of the Election Day loss and making the case for equality with people of all faiths and backgrounds.

We’re working to get our message out to living rooms across the nation. Early this week I taped an appearance on the nationally syndicated talk show Dr. Phil on the subject of same-sex marriage. The episode, which also features San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and attorney Gloria Allred, airs today. To learn more about the show and find your local listing, visit the Dr. Phil website.

This week, the California Supreme Court announced that it would take up the lawsuit to overturn the state’s discriminatory Prop 8. While we are awaiting the outcome of that lawsuit, HRC is taking a number of steps to turn the page on this situation and ensure that our community moves on to victory.

HRC has also outlined opportunities for LGBT people of faith to come out in their religious communities. To learn more, click here.

We’re encouraging our California members to help organize or and participate in town hall meetings across the state in the coming months. To get involved, click here to contact meeting organizers near you.

Building on our Election Day successes, which have opened up new doors in key states, especially the Northeast. Renewed energy and commitment from supporters of equality in the wake of our devastating losses will provide new opportunities to advance marriage equality and other recognition for committed gay and lesbian couples and their families. Click here to learn more about these hotspots.

The passage of discriminatory initiatives in California, Arkansas, Arizona and Florida has ignited the passion of thousands. Pledge to keep your anger and passion alive, and to work for justice until equality is the law of the land. And let us not stray from our own path toward justice by reducing a human rights movement to tactics of recrimination.

While major victories in the White House, Congress and state legislatures provide new opportunities, the passage of hateful ballot measures in four states makes clear the challenges ahead. Your support today will help us continue our fight to end discrimination and achieve marriage equality for all in this new environment.

Before I end today, I want to send thoughts and prayers to all those affected by the wildfires sweeping across Southern California. Please keep safe and hold your loved ones close.

Have a great weekend!

Warmly,

This article by Daryl Herrschaft, director of HRC's Workplace Project, was cross-posted on Advocate.com:

The old saying goes that every cloud has a silver lining. And on November 5, the day after California voters stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry, so many around the country were searching for one.

It is easy to get bogged down with all the negative news about California’s Proposition 8 -- the continuing bias against loving, committed gay and lesbian couples among communities of faith, who with breathtaking efficiency raised millions of dollars to enshrine discrimination into the Golden State's constitution; the now-discredited claims that people of color were the reason for the ban’s passage; and the lasting ramifications of those premature, divisive, and ultimately false assertions.

But when we brush aside that downbeat data, a strong ally to LGBT equality is there, and indeed, was there all through this fight and many others: corporate America. Although thousands of individuals, organizations, and businesses donated to the Yes on 8 campaign, not one Fortune 500 company is among those names. But on the opposite side, the side of fairness and basic rights, you’ll find some of the nation’s most successful and powerful corporate players. The popular vote was lost, but the steadfast backing of one important segment -- the nation’s largest employers -- remains.

As the author of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index and director of the Workplace Project, I have seen firsthand the business world’s expanding awareness of the unique issues facing LGBT people. I have witnessed the embrace of policies that accommodate our community’s needs. And now, I have seen corporate giants like PG&E, Apple, and Levi Strauss & Co. step into the fray around same-sex marriage in California to stand up for equal rights.

Business weighed in on this issue to an unprecedented degree. Why would these companies jump into what at first glance is an electrified cultural debate? After all, it's rare to see corporations with bottom lines at stake take an active role in such volatile political hotbeds.

The answer is one that businesses have known for decades: that LGBT equality is good for the bottom line. This is evident in edition after edition of the Corporate Equality Index. Every year, more and more businesses achieve a 100% rating based on their treatment of LGBT employees, consumers, and investors. This year, 260 businesses scored 100%. Just seven years ago, when the report was first issued, only 13 received the top rating.

Why would these companies stick their necks out for LGBT equality? Because diversity and inclusion are important aspects of the nation’s most profitable businesses’ core values. These values are critical to unleashing the power of people in order to create value for customers, employees, and shareholders. Inclusive workplace policies allow companies to attract and retain the most talented workforce possible, and the outreach they’ve done on behalf of equality throughout the years has shown that they support not only the lives of LGBT employees but also the LGBT community as a valuable and respected segment of our country.

With tools like the HRC Foundation’s Buying for Equality guide, LGBT consumers have flexed their purchasing power to reward companies that support our values and penalize companies that have failed to recognize our value and contribution to America. The development and use of these tools is even more vital in the aftermath of a devastating setback like Prop. 8. Instruments like the Buying for Equality guide help LGBT people and allies spread the message about companies that have earned our business and empower us to take a stand against those that have not.

The debate over Prop. 8 once again cemented the business world as a true ally for LGBT equality. American corporations have gone beyond the four walls of their headquarters, factories, and retail stores and made a firm commitment to equal treatment of LGBT people. The nation’s largest and most successful businesses are not just fostering inclusive and safe work environments-- they’re taking the fight for full equality to the streets and the halls of government. Though it may still be a struggle to capture 51% of the popular vote, same-sex marriage and other manifestations of equal rights have already won the vote of corporate board members and CEOs.

That is a significant accomplishment for LGBT people in the wake of a heartbreaking defeat. Moving forward, it is crucial that we build on these positive developments and further strengthen our relationships so that when the next Prop. 8 rears its ugly head, we can continue to leverage our alliance in the fight against discrimination.

HRC will hold a media availability on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. ET to unveil an innovative adoption awareness campaign targeting the LGBT community.  November is National Adoption Month, during which attention is focused on the thousands of children waiting to be adopted by loving parents.  The campaign is part of the HRC Foundation’s “All Children – All Families” initiative, designed to find permanent families for children by promoting fairness for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender foster and adoptive parents.

Ellen Kahn, director of HRC Foundation's Family Project talked about the campaign today:

This awareness campaign helps make the dreams of thousands of children come true by raising the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-adoptive families and encourage prospective parents to learn more about the children waiting in foster care.  With more than a half million children in the U.S. foster care system, we can take steps to support the efforts of courts, judges, attorneys, adoption professionals, child welfare agencies and advocates to finalize adoptions and find permanent, loving homes for children, giving them the opportunity to can grow, thrive and succeed.

Of the children in the U.S. foster care system, over 120,000 are awaiting adoption by loving, permanent families.  Agencies may purposefully or inadvertently close the door to qualified families through their practices.  Few agencies recruit LGBT adoptive & foster parents, and many LGBT people feel unwelcome or discouraged.  Similarly, members of the LGBT community may not be aware of the opportunities in domestic adoption and foster care, or they may not know of agencies that welcome their families.  We are working to break down the barriers that stand between thousands of loving, qualified LGBT adoptive parents and the thousands of children who are waiting for a family.

The “All Children – All Families” initiative, launched in 2007 by the HRC Family Project, works to ensure that all qualified prospective parents who wish to open their homes and hearts to children and youth have the opportunity to do so, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  The program seeks to enhance LGBT competence among child welfare professionals and educate LGBT people about opportunities to become foster or adoptive parents to waiting children.  Thirty-four agencies from across the U.S are currently participating, and more than a dozen agencies are close to earning the seal of recognition.  More information about the initiative can be found at www.hrc.org/acaf.

WHAT:  HRC to unveil the “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Family” adoption awareness campaign

WHEN:  Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. ET

WHERE: Human Rights Campaign Headquarters, 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.  Washington, D.C.  20036

WHO:  Ellen Kahn, director for HRC Family Project;  Janice Goldwater, executive director for Adoptions Together, member of “All Children – All Families” advisory board.  Adoptions Together, a Silver Spring, Md. based adoption agency, is a local partner in All Children-All Families.

Allyson Robinson, our associate director of diversity (pictured below), is in Orlando tonight to speak and take part in the National Transgender Day of Remembrance.  I thought I would post her prepared remarks for delivery:

As a minister for nearly a decade, I have stood over more caskets than I have the strength to recall at even my strongest moments.  I have stood over the caskets of people who had lived long, full lives that they devoted to the service of others, and over those of people who were cut down before their potential had begun to blossom.  I have stood before families and friends who were grieving parents, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, infant children.  My task at those moments, and my calling, were to speak—to say something that would honor the lives of the people in the caskets and allow healing to begin in the lives of those who had gathered to mourn and to listen. 

But that experience taught me the truth: words do not assuage grief, and cannot possibly do justice to the life and memory of a loved one lost.  It was, at times, almost painfully frustrating.  I have felt that same frustration as I have prepared to share this Transgender Day of Remembrance with you.  What can I possibly say that will help, or that will reverence our dead as they truly deserve?  The only words that arise naturally in my mind are questions.  Why do these things continue to happen?  When will it end?  How many more have to die at the hands of hate?  Questions, and an offering of profound, piercing regret:  I’m sorry.  I’m so, so sorry.  I’m sorry I didn’t come out sooner.  I’m sorry I didn’t speak out louder.  I’m sorry for all the things I could have done to make you safer, but didn’t. 

The Day of Remembrance reminds me that I’m one of the lucky ones, one of the privileged few in our community.  I have a wife and children and parents and friends who love, support, and encourage me.  I have meaningful work that allows me to preserve my sense of human dignity.  I have a roof over my head and I enjoy three square meals a day; I haven’t had to sell my body or my soul to obtain or preserve them.  I live in one of the few places in America where I can dine in a restaurant, shop in a store, or take my children to a public restroom without fear of being kicked out or having police summoned.  I have a community of faith that embraces me, values my gifts, and is fighting for my rights.  All of these things are blessings most people in America take for granted, but which no transgender person can. 

And yet despite my good fortune, like many of you, I’m afraid.  With the faces of those whose lives we commemorate tonight, and the sheer inhuman brutality they faced constantly in my mind, I look at strangers on the street differently.  I worry when I notice someone staring at me on the subway.  I get scared when I hear footsteps behind me in a dark parking lot.  I hug my wife and children tight when I get home each night and thank God I’ve made it.  The Day of Remembrance reminds me that in spite of the privilege that I have been given, I could be next.  This is the world in which we live.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

This moment, this very day, is one of the most crucial our community has ever faced, and how we live into this moment will determine the way of life for future generations of transgender people.  For some, it will make the difference between life and death.  But we stand at this crossroads not because of the path that lies before us, but because of the path that lies behind us.  We’re not here because for the first time in our history, legal protection against hate crimes and employment discrimination are within our grasp, or because someone who is not ashamed or afraid to speak our name is about to move into the White House.  We stand at this crucial juncture because of the people whom we memorialize tonight.  We stand here because of their integrity to embody the truth of who they were despite years of harsh social conditioning that told them to deny it.  We stand here because of their courage to live out that truth in full view of a world that is largely hostile to it, a world that at best doesn’t understand it and at worst doesn’t want to.  We have been given this opportunity by virtue of the lives they lived, and by virtue of the deaths they died.  History will judge us by our stewardship of the legacy they have entrusted to us. 

Tonight, let us recommit ourselves to that legacy.  Tonight, I recommit myself to it.  I will live more boldly and speak more loudly.  I will not allow myself or my community to be marginalized—dehumanized—by those who don’t understand us or don’t want to.  I will not allow hate to go unchallenged or ignorance to go uncorrected.  I will admonish allies should they waver and hold elected officials accountable to their commitments and to justice.  I will not allow myself to be distracted, deterred, co-opted, or deferred.  I will settle for nothing less than a country and a world in which our right to exist and our human dignity are enshrined in the law and respected in the public square.  And I will not rest until I can close my eyes, see the faces of Lawrence and Angie and Duanna and Lloyd and the others, and hear them whisper from somewhere beyond this world, “Well done.”

Today is the National Day of Transgender Rememberance, an annual commemoration to honor the lives of transgender people harmed or killed by violence. The day is also an opportunity to remind our nation of the urgent need for inclusive federal hate crimes protections.

HRC has produced a new video featuring Allyson Robinson, our associate director of diversity, to mark the occasion. Watch it here:

This morning, I ran across a story by Kim Murphy of the LA Times about the new mayor-elect of Silverton, Oregon - a transgender woman who goes by the name of Carla Fong.  Although she recently became America's first openly transgender mayor, residents of the town of 9,600 voted to replace the incumbent with Carla because of their familiarity with her work on the Silverton City Council and her promises to perserve the town's character:

Earlier this month, Rasmussen became America's first openly transgender mayor. His constituents say they elected him not for his looks, but because he promised to put a halt to the rapid development that has threatened Silverton's small-town charm.

"My first two terms, I was a very straight-looking guy," said Rasmussen, 60, a software engineer who has written on transgender issues. "Now, I writeunder the name Carla Fong, but basically I'm Stu in Silverton. Honestly, it would be too much trouble to retrain the whole town."

..."He's got a lot of supporters in this town. He's super-available, and he's so sensible," said Brenda Marks, who helps run a downtown artists co-op gallery that recently sold a photo of Rasmussen decked out as Marilyn Monroe. "He's not an alarmist; he's not an extremist."

BREAKING: (Press Release) The California Supreme Court today denied requests to stay the enforcement or implementation of Proposition 8, and at the same time agreed to decide several issues arising out of the passage of Proposition 8.

The court’s order, issued in the first three cases that had been filed directly in the state’s highest court challenging the validity of Proposition 8, directed the parties to brief and argue three issues:

(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?
(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?
(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

The court issued its order in three cases filed on behalf of a variety of parties, including same-sex couples who seek to enter into marriage despite the passage of Proposition 8, a same-sex couple who married in California prior to the adoption of Proposition 8, and a number of cities and counties whose officials seek to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Petitioners in each of these cases seek an order directing the relevant state officials to refrain from implementing, enforcing, or applying Proposition 8.

In response to the petitions, the Attorney General filed a preliminary opposition, in which he urged the court to assume jurisdiction over these cases to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of the issues. The proponents of Proposition 8 also responded to the petitions, seeking to intervene as formal parties in the action and also urging the court to accept the cases for decision. The court’s order granted the motion to intervene filed by the proponents of Proposition 8.

In its order, the court established an expedited briefing schedule, under which briefing will be completed in January 2009 and oral argument potentially could be held as early as March 2009.
Six justices — Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Carlos R. Moreno, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan — signed the court’s order, although Justice Moreno indicated that he would grant the requests to stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of these matters.

Justice Joyce L. Kennard would deny these petitions without prejudice to the filing in the Supreme Court of an appropriate action to determine Proposition 8’s effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before Proposition 8’s adoption.

Click here for the link to the official court order. (.PDF)

Former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee went on "The View" yesterday and, in discussing the horrors of segregation, implied that gays haven't really suffered enough to warrant calling their struggle a civil rights movement:

Today, Joe Solmonese issued this statement in response:

Unlike Governor Huckabee, we know that hate crimes tear into the fabric of our society and fragment communities because they target a group and not just the individual victim.  The purpose of our government, first and foremost, is to protect all of our citizens — whether they are black, Christian, gay or transgender.  From advocating that people with HIV/AIDS should be locked up to comparing gay sex to bestiality, Huckabee is merely a mouthpiece for homophobia.

For the last nine years, members of the transgender community have gathered together with families, friends, and allies at the end of November to mark the National Day of Remembrance.  Tomorrow, November 20, HRC will stand with our transgender brothers and sisters to observe the day that recognizes the lives of individuals who have been harmed or murdered for being who they are.

HRC has released a new video to honor this year's National Transgender Day of Rememberance. It begins with the shocking statistic that 43 people have been killed over the last two years due to violence based on their gender identity. Allyson Robinson, our associate director of diversity, is also featured in the video:

For people in the Washington, DC area, here are the details on the annual observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance in our nation's capital:

Thursday, November 20, 6:30 PM

Metropolitan Community Church
474 Ridge Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Green/Yellow Line, Mount Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center stop

Click here or call (202) 904-9969 for more information, to donate, or to volunteer.

So. There's a lot of buzz out there about what next steps the gay rights movement should take after the 2008 election results.  One thing is for sure, we're excited to see the signs of renewed activist energy at the grassroots level and we hope that it continues and strengthens.  As we saw this past weekend in cities across the country, there is a collective power in taking our message to the streets. 

HRC President Joe Solmonese gives a Q&A interview in the current issue of Metro Weekly, a Washington-DC gay publication.  In this interview, Joe looks ahead to working with the new adminstration to get key pieces of LGBT legislation passed - and talks about what the passage of Prop 8 in California means for the movement:

MW: What does the loss on same-sex marriage in California -- as well as Arizona and Florida -- plus the barring of adoption rights in Arkansas say about the state of GLBT issues in America?

On election night, our community felt the emotions of electing a pro-equality President and expanding our numbers in Congress and state houses across the country, but the next morning our hearts were broken as the dust settled and it was clear we lost the marriage ballot measures in California, Florida and Arizona as well as adoption in Arkansas. We all know that our marriages and families did not begin with a court decision and they will not end with a vote on a discriminatory amendment. Although we lost our battles in these states, we will not allow the lies and hate-the foundation on which our opponents built their campaign-to break our spirits. We are on the right side of history and the continuing movement in public opinion underscores that it is only a matter of time before we undo this loss and add more states to the march for equality.

MW: A number of rationales have emerged for the California loss -- minority voters supporting both Obama and Prop. 8, low turnout in some areas such as San Francisco, ''No on 8'' messages that avoided being too ''gay,'' etc. -- what do you think needs to be addressed among those in order to move forward in that state?

Anger directed at any group of people is completely misdirected. Have we directed our anger at white men, who voted for Prop. 8 51 percent to 41 percent? At rural people? At voters over age 49? Should we spray paint an assisted living facility? No. We must reject our instinct to lay blame at the feet of any group. There is no denying, as we pick ourselves up after losing this most recent, hard-fought battle, that we've been injured, many of us by neighbors who claim to respect us. But we are moving in the right direction. In 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22 by a margin of 61.4 percent to 38.6 percent. On Election Day, fully 48 percent of Californians rejected Proposition 8. Everything we've learned points to one simple fact: people who know us are more likely to support our equality.

Read the full interview here.

Today HRC announced that Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a leading international law firm, has been named the recipient of the 2008 “Ally of Justice” award.  The annual award recognizes outstanding contributions to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community through pro bono service to HRC.

“Through its contributions to the HRC and its own commitment to diversity, Akin Gump has been a model partner in the effort to advance equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals,” said Lara Schwartz, Legal Director of the Human Rights Campaign.

HRC General Counsel Rob Falk added, “The number of Akin Gump lawyers and offices around the country that have supported our work has been both amazing and gratifying.  Akin Gump has demonstrated incredible depth in its support for LGBT equality and their team has been integral to our organization’s success.”

“Akin Gump’s work with the HRC exemplifies the firm’s commitment to establishing a standard for service among the world’s leading law firms,” said Steve Schulman, Pro Bono Partner for Akin Gump.  “We attach a great value to diversity in the workplace and encourage our attorneys to take an active role in organizations that promote equality and understanding,”

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, founded in 1945, numbers over 900 attorneys in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  For additional information, please visit their website at www.akingump.com.

President-elect Obama's transition team has newly published their vision of support for the civil rights and LGBT community in a straightforward - and timely - plan outlined at Change.gov.

This series of supportive statements on key LGBT issues, including the full repeal of DOMA, is an encouraging sign that our community will indeed have a seat at the new administration's table:

Support for the LGBT Community:

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

The Obama-Biden Plan:

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. Barack Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. Obama also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: Barack Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: Barack Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: Barack Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. Obama will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: Barack Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. Obama will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. Obama also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. He will continue to speak out on this issue as president.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Barack Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

NOTE FROM CHRIS: My colleague Trevor Thomas reminded me that the above outline is identical to Obama's statement of support for the LGBT community that he posted on his campaign site months ago. In other words, President-elect Obama has been declaring his support for LGBT inclusion since the beginning of his campaign - and he's essentially reiterating his long-held vision for expanding LGBT rights now as he prepares to become the next president of the United States.  That's a great point to note. Thanks, Trev!

Another week has gone by - and yet another person has lost their life for being who they are.

HRC issued a statement earlier today on the murder of "Teish" Cannon, 22, who was shot and killed Friday night, according to local authorities in Syracuse, New York.  The alleged shooter, Dwight R. DeLee, 20, has been charged with second degree murder:

Cannon, 22, and his brother, Mark Cannon, 18, both of 404 Arthur St., were shot as they sat in a car parked in front of 411 Seymour St., where they had been invited to a party. The bullet grazed the left arm of Mark Cannon, who was in the driver's seat, and hit Moses Cannon in the chest, police said.

Police have charged DeLee, 20, of 420 Gifford St., with second-degree murder. DeLee went into the home at 411 Seymour St. to get the rifle after guests at the party started "making profane and vulgar comments in regards to the sexual preference of our two victims," police Chief Gary Miguel said.

"There was no previous argument between these individuals, there was no previous fight, there was no bad blood," Miguel said. "Our suspect took a rifle and shot and killed this person, also wounding his brother, for the sole reason he didn't care for the sexual preference of our victim. Isn't that sad? Isn't that a sad situation that that's the sole reason why?

The Human Rights Campaign learned this afternoon from sources working with the family that Cannon was a transgender woman and did not identify as a man.

Joe Solmonese issued this statement in response:

The senseless killing of Teish Cannon is a clear example of why we need to redouble our efforts on education and awareness aimed at ending hate violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.  We commend the Syracuse Police Department for its swift action in investigating this as a crime of hate. Hate crimes rend the fabric of our society and fragment communities because they target a group and not just the individual victim.  The purpose of our government, first and foremost, is to protect all of our citizens — whether they are black, disabled, Christian, gay or transgender.

This past Saturday, thousands of people from the Washington DC area joined together to protest California’s Prop 8, which ended marriage equality in the state.

Although at first I thought the crowd was between 1,000 and 2,000 in size, once we were on the move, it was clear that the number of the protest’s participants was at least double that. Departing from the U.S. Capitol reflecting pool, we began our march toward Lafayette Park, just adjacent to the White House. Along the way, hundreds of homemade signs declared “Now that I can't get married, are you better off?,” “Straight against H8,” and “Love is a Family Value.” One of my favorites was a sign that said “California – I still believe,” which featured a loving rendering of the Golden Gate Bridge. It resonated with me as someone who was in San Francisco working on No on 8 for the last two weeks of the campaign. While there, I saw so many reasons to believe that the state was full of people moved by this issue and personally hurt by the negative outcome – not just same-sex married couples, but regular Californians appalled by the idea of discrimination in their state’s constitution.

A torrential downpour began just minutes into the march. Some scattered to seek shelter, but I was surprised to see that the attrition rate was quite low. Undeterred, marchers continued to hold their now soggy signs, with marker ink streaming down the posterboard. The lucky few in ponchos, others with umbrellas turned inside-out by strong winds, we continued around the Washington Monument, across the National Mall, chanting mantras about the equal rights we need and deserve.

HRC was a ubiquitous presence at the Washington protest. Not only did I spot dozens of soaked HRC staffers and interns, I saw hundreds of HRC flags, shirts, hats, bags and pins. Overall, spirits were high, and protestors inspired, thrilled to be taking part in this historic day of massive nationwide protest against discrimination.