A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Today is December 10, International Human Rights Day. Today is also “Day Without a Gay.” We are asked to call in ‘gay’ to work, not contribute to the economy for one day, and spend the day helping others. 

Day Without a Gay includes:

1. An economic Boycott. For one day, do not go to work (if possible) and do not buy anything. The LGBTQ community contributes $700 billion per year to the U.S. economy, but we don’t get the same rights as other citizens. Stop contributing to the economy for one day.

2. A day of Volunteering. Get out there and help a local gay rights group.

3. A day of Visibility. There are many ways to increase visibility for LGBT rights on Dec. 10. For example, wear a white knot for marriage equality (“because everyone should be able to tie the knot”) and pack your lunch instead of buying it.

What are you doing for Day Without A Gay?

Recent LGBT Alaska-related items on the web:

“Among closed-minded straights, [sissy] is a devastating insult,” says the Advocate Magazine. So they give The Sissy Awards to the “biggest irritants” of the year. The winners of the 2008 award: Sarah Palin and John McCain. The announcement lists the anti-gay positions of the former running mates, including Gov. Palin’s refusal to sign the National Coming Out Day proclamation submitted by Alaskans Together. The Advocate points out that “Anita Bryant was also a former beauty queen and … a TV-ready smile can hide lots of homophobia.”

Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Family is a new awareness campaign to encourage LGBT families to consider adopting children. HRC unveiled the effort as part of its “All Children – All Families” initiative.

Gay and lesbian parents are currently raising 4% of the nation’s adopted children, about 65,500 kids. The highest number of these families are in New England, the mid-Atlantic and the West Coast – and the highest percentages of gay and lesbian adoptive parents are found in Alaska, California, Massachusetts and New Mexico, according to PageOneQ.

RSVP Vacations announced a new all-gay Seattle to Alaska cruise on Holland America’s ms Westerdam, on August 23 – 30, 2009. The cruise departs from Seattle and sails to scenic Glacier Bay, with stops in Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. The Seattle departure means they won’t be partying at Myrna’s with us in Anchorage, but SEAGLA will have more gay tourists to meet and greet. 

The Anchorage Daily News posted a Compass editorial by the president of a fringe Alaska Family group, complaining that far right issues, like anti-choice and anti-gay legislation, are not “fringe” issues. He is “willing to fall on the sword” for these causes, but does not consider this “radical.” To prove his (il)logic, he compares putting anti-gay discrimination into the U.S. Constitution to ending slavery in the British Empire! 

Join the Impact, the group that promoted the nationwide prop 8 protest, is coordinating an ongoing series of national LGBT events through February 12, the annual Freedom to Marry Day. The goal is to keep LGBT issues in the media, keep the momentum going within our community, and keep having discussions about gay rights with more and more people. 

Some of their ideas are individual actions, like sending a postcard to Obama, wearing a white knot and participating in Day Without a Gay. Other events (LGBT Food Drive, Light Up the Night and the DOMA protest) require planning. 

Which actions do you want to do in Anchorage, Fairbanks and/or Juneau? 

LGBTQ Food Drive – now through Dec 20: With the first national LGBTQ Food Drive for Equality, we will reach out not only to those who have worked alongside us, but to organizations and individuals that fear us and oppose our cause by donating to *faith-based* food pantries. 

Day Without A Gay – Dec. 10: On December 10, which is International Human Rights Day, don’t call in sick to work, call in “gay” and donate your time to community service. Day Without A Gay lists local volunteer organizations that need your help. (Don’t see your favorite Alaskan LGBTA non-profit on the Day Without A Gay Alaska page? Send them the link so they can get on the list before Dec 10.)

Light Up the Night – Dec 20: On December 20th, join us again for a nation-wide demonstration, Light Up the Night for Equality. Hold a peaceful candlelight vigil in the commercial center of your city, in memory of the rights taken away and in support of the 18,000 marriages in legal limbo.

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) National Protest – Jan 10, 2009: DOMA states that a) states don’t have to recognize same-sex unions from other states, and b) the federal government will not recognize those marriages, even if the state does. With DOMA in place, we cannot have full marriage equality. 

Project Postcard: Make an impact on the next presidency. Send Barack Obama a postcard from your town asking him to follow through on his promises around equal rights.

Wear a White Knot: The White Knot is the symbol for marriage equality. It takes two traditional symbols of marriage – white and tying the knot – and combines them in a simple way to show support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry. Wear the knot and tell people why you are wearing it.

Which actions do you want to do?

Alaska contributed to the nationwide Join the Impact protest on Nov. 15, and we have the pictures to prove it!

The Anchorage rally was held at the Atwood Building, outside Gov. Palin’s local office. Watch Stef’s video clips of the Anchorage protest.

Some of the links below are reposted from the Anchorage protest article and Fairbanks protest article, because several people wrote to ask where they could see more photos.

Photo sets of the Anchorage protest

from Perpetual Emptiness (aka lilyfluffbottom): Anchorage, AK 11/15/08

and from Join the Impact: the Alaska page.

Photos of the Fairbanks City Hall protest are posted on the Facebook page Protest Prop 8 in Fairbanks.

Thanks for the photo and video links, and a big “Thank you” to everyone who participated!

This issue isn’t going away, so stay tuned for more national marriage equality news and events.

“Jump the Broom” celebrated love and acceptance with over 130 supporters on Oct 5th in Juneau, and $1300 was raised to help keep marriage legal and equal in California. Our $1300 doubled into $2600 when it was matched by another donor on arrival in California. Beyond that, some of you donated on line, and the total generated was well over $3000.

Today is the 10th annual International Transgender Day of Remembrance, commemorating transgender people who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 inspired the Remembering Our Dead web project and a candlelight vigil.

Unfortunately, another trans person was murdered just this week for being trans and gay, Teish Cannon of Syracuse, New York.

Others being remembered this year as part of Transgender Day of Remembrance include Lawrence King of Oxnard, Calif., a 15-year-old boy who liked to wear women’s clothes and was shot in the head by a fellow classmate; Simmie Williams Jr., 17, shot in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. wearing women’s clothes; and Angie Zapata, 18, of Greeley, Colo., brutally murdered by a 31-year-old man who became enraged when he learned that she was a biological male.

Locally, MCC Anchorage held a Transgendered Day candle lighting service last Sunday.

Richard LaFortune, a Native Alaskan member of the Yup’ik tribe, spoke yesterday at Washington State University about ‘two-spirit people,’ American Indians with both a male and female spirit. LaFortune helped organize the International Two Spirit Gathering, an annual gathering of LGBT Native people that occurs in late August.

Check out the video of the Anchorage, Alaska ‘Join the Impact’ rally protesting the passage of Prop 8! The rally was held on Nov. 15 at the Atwood Building, outside Gov. Palin’s local office. 

Thanks to Stef for taking this video. Watch his other clips of the Anchorage protest.

Democrat Mark Begich defeated Republican Ted Stevens to become Alaska’s new senator!

“We are jubilant at the Begich headquarters!” said Stef Gingrich, a campaign volunteer. 

When Mark Begich was on the Anchorage Assembly, he was the principal sponsor for the temporarily successful effort in 1993 to add sexual orientation to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, according to Gingrich. He also helped to obtain funding for Out North. 

As Mayor of Anchorage, Begich spoke at the Pride Conference, visited the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Anchorage (GLCCA), and came to the Celebrating Diversity Parade and Pride on the Parkstrip. This year, he read the Anchorage Pride Day proclamation from the stage, his son standing next to him. 

In 2005, when the Alaska Supreme Court ordered the state and the Municipality of Anchorage to offer benefits for employees with same-sex partners, Begich supported the ruling and implemented the benefits for city personnel.

Begich promotes Diverse-City events that “combat bias and promote a respect for diversity,” including sexual orientation. He appointed members of the LGBT community to the Equal Rights Commission, and has several members in his mayoral administration. 

Many LGBT Alaskans worked on or contributed to Mark’s senate campaign, and 90% of us voted for him, according to a Bent Alaska poll. He also has the support of the Human Rights Campaign, a national equal rights group.

In contrast, Senator Ted Stevens usually voted against us. Stevens, who was recently convicted on all seven felony counts in his corruption trial, had a mostly anti-gay record, voting twice for banning same-sex marriage, and voting against adding sexual orientation to job discrimination and hate crimes legislation. Stevens received a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign in 2006 and 2004.

Congratulations to Senator Begich and to all who worked on his campaign!

About 110 supporters of same-sex marriage protested Prop 8 in front of Sarah Palin’s Anchorage office on Saturday, Nov. 15, driving from as far as Seward and Wasilla to participate in southcentral Alaska’s Join the Impact rally.

Two men carried signs with photos of their California wedding, and two women brought copies of their marriage certificate. 

The first group of protestors arrived at 9:30 a.m., to coincide with the 10:30 west coast/ 1:30 east coast protests in the nationwide event. The main Anchorage protest began at noon.

“The turnout and energy at the demonstration today was great,” said organizer Stef Gingrich. “I thought it really took off when people started marching and chanting. It was very inspiring… we got a lot of good reactions.”

The march was spontaneous, perhaps an effort to stay warm in the light snow and hail. The protestors marched from the Atwood Building to Fourth Avenue, carrying a big rainbow flags. They marched through Town Square to the park in front of the old city hall, then took a long detour to the current Anchorage City Hall. They chanted as they walked, and two marchers beat on Eskimo drums. When they returned to the starting point, the protestors set off again on a longer circle.

Several who could not attend sent messages of support, saying they were ‘there in spirit.’ They hung posters in the windows of their home or car.

We also received a message from Scotland. “A small group in Edinburgh, Scotland march

ed and protested outside the US Consulate General in solidarity with our friends in the US,” wrote Rev. Johnathan, former pastor of MCC Anchorage. “Afterwards a few of us had coffee and I shared with them the political climate in Alaska. We are with you!”

Alaska contributed to the nationwide protest, and we have the photos to prove it!

Here is a photo album from Elias: Anchorage Equal Rights Rally/No on Prop 8 Protest, a gallery from Blue-in-AK: Anchorage Proposition 8 protest, a set from Yksin: Protesting Prop 8, Anchorage, AK, 15 Nov 2008 and set from Perpetual Emptiness (aka lilyfluffbottom): Anchorage, AK 11/15/08.

The Anchorage Daily News wrote a story about it, although they underestimated the number of protestors:

“In Anchorage, between 50 and 100 people gathered in front of the downtown Atwood Building holding signs in support of same-sex marriage. Some chanted “Gay, straight, black, white – marriage is an equal right.” The group marched to nearby City Hall, then back again to the Atwood Building, which houses many state offices, including the governor’s when Sarah Palin is in Anchorage.

“No citizens have the right to vote away other citizen’s rights,” said organizer Stef Gingrich, in a later phone interview.

“In Fairbanks, about 30 people showed up in below-freezing temperatures and stood in front of City Hall for about 45 minutes, said organizer Kristen Magann.”

Both Channel 11 and Channel 2 reported the protest on the local news. (Does anyone have links for these clips?)

Photos of the Fairbanks City Hall protest are posted on the Facebook page Protest Prop 8 in Fairbanks, and the Daily News-Miner has a story.

Our protests were also news outside of Alaska. The Denver Post mentioned both the Anchorage and Fairbanks protests, and the Los Angeles Examiner linked to the ADN story.

Were you there? Share your story of the protest in the comments.