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?

Rev. Norman Van Manen is visiting MCC Anchorage for the next ten days as a pastoral candidate. The community is encouraged to meet Rev. Van Manen during the Sunday and Thursday services, and to view his educational and pastoral history.

The Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage, a GLBT-inclusive church, has been without a pastor since Rev. Johnathan Jones resigned in May, after four years of service.

“While MCC Anchorage has done a good job in keeping the church together since we’ve been in transition,” wrote Rev. Matthew Moak, the new Vice-Moderator, “the needs of the church have grown and we are headed in a new direction. A direction filled with hope, unity and love.”

Rev. Norman Van Manen will speak at MCC for two Sunday worship services. “What Shall I Cry?” is his sermon title for Dec. 7, and “Let’s Rejoice” is the topic on Dec. 14. The Sunday service begins at 2 p.m. and there is a time for fellowship after the service. 

Rev. Van Manen will also speak at Soul Food, MCC’s mid-week dinner service, on Thursday Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. A $6 donation is requested for the meal. After this week, Soul Food will take a break for the holidays and will resume on January 9, 2009.

Vice-Moderator Rev. Moak will speak on “The humility in Christmas” for the Dec. 21 Sunday service. The community is invited to join MCC for a Christmas Eve Carol and Recital Service on Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. MCC meets at 7208 Duben Ave. in east Anchorage.

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Meet and greet pastoral candidate Rev. Norman Van Manen at MCC Anchorage: 

Visit MCC Anchorage’s web site and MySpace page.

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?

Today is World AIDS Day. Four A’s in Anchorage and Juneau, and IAA in Fairbanks, are holding candlelight vigils and celebrations of life tonight in honor of the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

In Anchorage, join Four A’s at the Alaska Wild Berry Theater for the Annual World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil at 6 p.m., and a free showing of Rent at 7 p.m.

In Juneau, Four A’s is sponsoring Free HIV testing at the UAS Cafeteria from 12 to 3 p.m. and a Candlelight Vigil and Reception at the Baranof Hotel, at 5:30 p.m.

In Fairbanks, Interior AIDS Association (IAA) is celebrating their 20th anniversary and World AIDS Day at the UAF Salisbury Theatre with dance and theater performances at 6:30 p.m., followed by a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m.

While we have come a long ways since 1988, there is still much more to be done!

We have much to be thankful for this year. To help us celebrate, there are two free LGBT Thanksgiving meals in Anchorage this week: Thanksgiving Eve at Mad Myrna’s, and Thanksgiving Day at the Community Center.

On the Eve of Thanksgiving, join EVE’S Family and Friends for a GLBT Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Wednesday Nov. 26 at Mad Myrna’s. The dinner begins at 5 p.m. and is free. The Thanksgiving menu includes turkey, spiral ham, prime rib and all the trimmings. Just bring a friend and be hungry.

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Anchorage (GLCCA) is hosting an open house on Thanksgiving Day, and a complete Thanksgiving meal will be served from 2 to 4 p.m., with desserts out until 6 p.m. Join the LGBT community in giving thanks for having such a great facility, and sit down to a good meal and friendly conversation.

Besides two free Thanksgiving meals in the company of LGBT Alaskans and our friends, what else are you thankful for this year?

Monday, December 1, marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, when individuals and organizations around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. While we have come a long ways since 1988, there is still much more to be done to fight the disease and its stigma.

AIDS organizations in Anchorage and Fairbanks are holding candlelight vigils on Dec 1, along with celebrations of life.                                                 

On World AIDS Day, the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) holds events and activities to create awareness and educational opportunities for the community. This year’s theme is Paint the Town Red: Wear the Original Ribbon. They’re distributing free red ribbons for everyone to wear on December 1.

Over 200 organizations and businesses will have cans full of free red ribbons beginning November 25. Check the list of Anchorage locations and pick up your ribbons today. To have a paint can of ribbons at your business or organization, contact Chrissy at Four A’s.

On Monday, Dec 1, join Four A’s at the Alaska Wild Berry Theater (5225 Juneau Street) for the Annual World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil at 6 p.m., and a free showing of Rent at 7 p.m., with live entertainment by TBA Theatre.

On Dec 1, the Interior AIDS Association (IAA) is celebrating their 20th anniversary and World AIDS Day at the UAF Salisbury Theatre. The evening includes dance and theater performances and a speaker starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m.

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.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska wants your stories of LGBT discrimination in Alaska.

According to our recent survey, 44% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Alaskans and their allies believe that discrimination is the most pressing social problem affecting their lives personally. Now that we know the numbers, we need your stories to make your experiences real to the people who are in a position to change the law.

In 1989, Identity Inc. published Identity Reports: Sexual Orientation Bias in Alaska, a thorough and eye-opening study that documented incidents of discrimination, violence, and harassment against LGBT people living in our state. It has been almost twenty years since anyone has collected similar testimony. While a lot has changed, we know that anti-LGBT discrimination and harassment persists. This is your opportunity to tell us how.

Share your story with us. Help us make Alaska a fair and equitable place to live.

Send your testimony to Tiffany McClain, LGBT Public Policy Coordinator, ACLU of Alaska

The Mormon Church is a major player in organizing and funding Prop 8, a proposition to eliminate same-sex marriage in California. As of October 28, Mormons accounted for 46 percent of the total support for Prop 8, according to MormonsFor8.com.

Much of the Mormon money has been funneled into ad campaigns that are narrowing the gap between Prop 8’s passage and failure. Two months ago, it looked almost certain that Californians would reject the measure, feeling it stripped citizens of an important civil right.

But a series of commercials now in heavy rotation claim that if Prop 8 is defeated, the pleasures of same-sex marriage will be taught in public schools, although education experts reject this claim. And the checks continue to flow in from the church.

The Mormon Church also funded Alaska’s constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage in 1998.

But divisions have emerged in the Mormon community about the church’s role in the fight over Prop 8. Laura Compton, a married mother of two boys, started MormonsForMarriage.com to give Mormons who support same-sex marriage a way to know that “You are not alone. We especially want people who may be feeling estranged from the fellowship of their local congregations to know that they are not alone.”

Mormons disagree with the Church’s involvement in Prop 8 for different reasons — some believe in marriage equality, some think the money on the campaign should have been spent on social welfare projects, and others believe in the separation of church and state. 

Meanwhile, the NO on 8 campaign created a video on Mormons taking away civil rights that are granted by the California Supreme Court:

Gov. Sarah Palin wants a federal ban on same-sex marriage, but gay and lesbian Alaskans support the right to get married.

An unknown number of gay and lesbian couples from Alaska have been legally married in California since the state Supreme Court struck down their ban on same-sex marriage. Although not valid in Alaska, the marriages are recognized by several states and countries. 

Will the right to marry be taken away by California’s Proposition 8? 

When the California Court granted gay and lesbian couples the right to marry on May 5, LGBT Alaskans celebrated the news.

“LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT,” Shelly commented, and Koukla wrote, “Finally! I would love to be in San Francisco tonight.”

Alaskans Together for Equality and the ACLU of Alaska gave official statements supporting the decision, PFLAG Anchorage and Identity, Inc. added their statements, and many LGBT Alaskans sent their personal reactions on the impact of this historic event.

“It is a great day for humanity that this important state Supreme Court acknowledged that gay and lesbian Americans are due the same rights under the constitution as other Americans,” said Tim Stallard of Fairbanks, writing for Alaskans Together.

We knew the decision would be challenged, and Alaskans began donating money to support marriage equality.

“This good news definitely impacts us personally as Alaskans,” said Marsha Buck of PFLAG Juneau. “Way to go California! I’m sending off several personal checks to make certain this decision is not overturned in November.”

“I intend to give more money to our side in that campaign than to any in my life,” said Sara Boesser, author of Silent Lives: How High a Price?

A few weeks after the decision, the Juneau Pride Chorus collected donations for Equality For All during “Songs for the Soul,” their 10th Anniversary Spring Concert.

Alaskans also held two Equality For All: NO on 8 fundraisers and set up a state donation page for the NO on 8 campaign.

The Anchorage LGBT community Celebrated the Summer of Love with rumba dance lessons and a gay and lesbian newlywed game at Mad Myrna’s.

Juneau residents Jumped the Broom in Solidarity and Celebration of Love and Marriage at a wedding party hosted by a lesbian couple who were married (again) in California, eighteen years after their original non-legal wedding.

Many individual Alaskans donated to NO on 8, and Elias Rojas registered an Alaska Fundraising page to track our contributions. 

“Why should Alaskans care what happens in California?” Elias wrote in his letter to Alaska’s LGBT community. “Simply put, [Prop 8] will not only eliminate the right to marry by same-sex couples in California . . . but it will also be an extreme step backwards for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community’s efforts to achieve civil equality in Alaska and across the country.”

Prop. 8 is unfair, unnecessary and wrong. Special interest groups behind Prop 8 have engaged in a deceptive campaign to confuse voters. Nearly every major newspaper in California, and a broad range of groups and leaders representing teachers, nurses, seniors, business and labor, oppose Proposition 8.

The polls are close. We can save this basic human right, for California and for all of us.

Support marriage equality – Ask your friends and relatives in California to vote NO on 8 on Tuesday, and donate to NO on 8 today: Alaska Fundraising page for NO on 8. 

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This post is in honor of Write to Marry Day. Please join bloggers around the country and around the world on Wednesday, October 29 to blog in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples and against California’s Proposition 8. 

Check out the many wonderful Write to Marry posts listed on Mombian.