Sunday, 6 October 2013 – 5:19 PM
| Comments Off on A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013
Bent Alaska’s blog will continue in hiatus indefinitely; but the Bent Alaska Facebook Group on Facebook is thriving — join us! A long-overdue update from Bent Alaska’s editor.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008 – 5:33 AM
| Comments Off on Come Out and Vote Video Contest
How will you Come Out to Change the Future?
October 11th is National Coming Out Day. In this crucial election year, National Coming Out Day is a chance for you to make a difference. When you Come Out, you can change the hearts and minds of those in your life; when you Come Out to Vote, you can change the whole country.
We have the right to live our lives openly and honestly and to walk down our streets without fear of hate. We have the right to equality and to live free of discrimination. We have the right to have a voice in our government. How do we gain and protect these rights? We have the right to vote. Your vote is your voice. America needs to hear you! Vote!
About the Contest
We invite you to create a short video telling the world how you will Come Out and Vote to make a difference in the hearts and minds of your friends, family, classmates, co-workers and country.
Key HRC staff will review the video entries. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. and will have the opportunity to be on XM radio’s show The Agenda with HRC President Joe Solmonese. The winning video will also be featured on HRC’s website, YouTube channel, and Facebook and MySpace pages.
Entrants must be at least 18 years old at time of entry and may submit one video during the contest period, September 15, 2008 to October 20, 2008.
Criteria
All videos must be 2 minutes or less.
Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 25.
All videos should be free of copyright materials.
The video may not explicitly support or oppose a specific candidate.
Submissions can be either by an individual or a group, and can be sponsored by an organization or corporation.
Each individual or group is limited to one submission.
All entries must be received by 5:30 PM (EST) on October 20, 2008.
Alaskans Can Make a Difference in California – Help Defeat Prop. 8
I’m writing to ask you to join me in participating in a very important campaign. This time the campaign is not in Alaska, it’s in California. The campaign is to defeat Prop. 8, the constitutional amendment that would eliminate marriage rights to same-sex couples in California.
Why should Alaskan’s care what happens in California?
Simply put, it will not only eliminate the right to marry by same-sex couples in California, one of only two states in the country who have legalized same-sex marriage, 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.
A recent California field poll shows that 55 percent of likely voters are against Prop. 8. This is very encouraging and definitely a testament to the hard work that is being done in California to defeat this measure. Having been in the trenches doing this work trying to defeat similar constitutional amendments across the country, I know that these polls tend to overstate our support by at least 5 – 8 points so the race is really a statistical dead-heat.
The opposition is raising millions of dollars and has started to out raise the LGBT community and our allies by a 3-2 margin. The opposition just received another 5 million dollars from the Mormon Church. You may remember the Mormon Church and their involvement in Alaska during the 1998 campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Alaska.
The LGBT movement has a real fight ahead of it and the California campaign needs our help.
I support the No on Prop. 8 campaign because I believe that this is an unfair and divisive amendment that will have long-term implications for not only Alaska’s LGBT community but also the LGBT movement as a whole. This proposition must be defeated.
Because this is so important, I am making a $500 personal contribution to this campaign. Please join me by making a contribution today for $1000, $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can afford. Whatever you can send will IMMEDIATELY be put to use to contact voters directly.
ALASKANS CAN HELP DEFEAT PROP. 8 and send a strong message to the rest of the country that every American should have the right to marry.
Sincerely,
Elias Rojas
P.S. – After donating please feel free to pass this e-mail along to your own list of family and friends so that others can support the No on Prop. 8 campaign. I have created an Alaska Fundraising webpage so we can track how much we can raise as a community to help support the campaign. Feel free to customize this e-mail and forward it to your friends. Share the following link (http://eqfed.org/equalityforall/fundraising/erojas2001-669616) so their donations can be credited to this Alaskan fundraising effort.
Related Articles:
Backers of California same-sex marriage ban are out-fundraising opponents
Sunday, 5 October 2008 – 7:20 AM
| Comments Off on PFLAG Juneau wins $1,000 in Pride Foundation Raffle
Over 2,500 people entered the Raffle With a Twist, telling Pride Foundation which non-profit organization is their favorite and hoping to win some money for them. Here are the winners of the 2008 Raffle:
Rainbow Center of Tacoma is the grand prize winner of $2,500!
In addition, the most nominated organization from each of our five states will receive $1,000 for their work. The following received the most nominations for their state:
Wednesday, 1 October 2008 – 7:15 PM
| Comments Off on Stonewall Democrats Respond to Palin Accusations on Sexual Orientation
Vice Presidential Candidate Wrongly Argues that Sexual Orienation is a “Choice”
Washington, DC – Today, the National Stonewall Democrats issued the following statement in response by accusations from Governor Sarah Palin that sexual orientation is a choice:
“John McCain chose a poor running mate, but he did not choose his sexual orientation. This is another example of why we need a pro-equality President like Barack Obama in the White House. For Governor Palin to suggest that individuals randomly choose their sexual orientation based on nothing but a whim is wrong and it repeats the talking points of the anti-gay special interests which continue to control the McCain/Palin campaign and the Republican Party. ” – Jon Hoadley, Executive Director
Governor Palin asserted that sexual orientation is a choice – a fact disputed by the majority of the scientific community – in a response to a question posed by Katie Couric of CBS News. Couric asked Palin to comment on her views regarding sexual orientation in light of revelations that Governor Palin’s church continues to promote harmful “converstion therapy” for gay Americans.
Palin responded: “But what you’re talking about, I think, value here, what my position is on homosexuality and you can pray it away, because I think that was the title that was listed on that bulletin. … And you know, I don’t know what prayers are worthy of being prayed and I don’t know what prayers are going to be answered or not answered. But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay, and I love her dearly, and she is not my ‘gay friend,’ she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn’t a choice that I have made. But I’m not going to judge people.”
CBS News released the interview portion quoted above late Tuesday evening.
A PATTERN OF DISCRIMINATION
– As Governor, Palin currently supports the efforts of radical activists to strip Alaska residents – specifically state workers – of the most basic domestic partner benefits.
– It was only when the Alaska Attorney General warned Palin that the Republican position of stripping domestic partnership benefits was unconstitutional (in light of a recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling) that Palin reluctantly vetoed legislation that would have defied the court ruling. Palin quickly moved on to support an alternate strategy to strip domestic partner benefits by placing an anti-equality amendment onto the state ballot.
– When Alaska had the opportunity to extend the freedom to marry to all Alaskan couples, Palin joined with radical efforts to scapegoat same-sex couples in order to scare voters on this issue. In 1998, Palin championed a constitutional amendment that deeply discriminated against same-sex couples in the Alaska constitution. The passage of this amendment, with the full support of Palin, kicked-off a wave of discrimination by encouraging Republicans and radical activists in other states to place similar measures on state ballots for the next decade to come.
An Anti-Equality Advocate from Day One
– The FIRST piece of legislation signed by Governor Palin was done at the request of radical, anti-LGBT groups.
– Palin squandered over $1.2 million of taxpayer money to place an anti-LGBT “vanity” vote before voters at the request of radical anti-LGBT activists – including Focus on the Family, the Concerned Women of America and the Family Research Council. The ballot language asked voters if they supported Republican efforts to strip existing benefits for LGBT state employees. As a non-biding initiative, the measure had no influence on Alaska law. As the only question on the ballot, Palin willingly wasted over $1.2 million in state money to promote the talking points of anti-LGBT activists.
MCCAIN/PALIN: A TICKET SQUARELY AGAINST EQUALITY
– The McCain/Palin ticket SUPPORTS anti-marriage amendments pending before voters in Arizona, California and Florida. In fact, when asked by the Family Research Council to star in an anti-LGBT ad in 2006, Senator McCain said yes. When Arizona voters rejected his pleas by defeating the initiative, Senator McCain again offered his name to efforts to once again place an initiative on the Arizona ballot in 2008.
– The McCain/Palin ticket OPPOSES the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
– The McCain/Palin ticket OPPOSES federal hate crimes legislation.
– The McCain/Palin ticket OPPOSES the Uniting American Families Act, which would unite families headed by same-sex couples where one spouse is an American citizen.
– The McCain/Palin ticket OPPOSES the repeal of the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy which has dismissed over 12,500 servicemembers. At a time when our military asks Americans for their service, the McCain/Palin ticket believes that millions of Americans should be barred from offering their patriotism simply because of who they are.
National Stonewall Democrats is the national voice of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied Democrats, with more than 90 local chapters across the nation. Stonewall Democrats works to elect more pro-equality Democrats regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity – and to improve the Democratic Party on issues important to LGBT Democrats.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008 – 12:11 PM
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Modeled after Black and Women’s History Month, GLBT History Month highlights annually the achievements of 31 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender Icons—one each day—with a free video, bio, bibliography, images and other resources. Take the weekly Trivia Challenge each Friday, starting October 10, and the Rainbow Challenge at the end of the month.
Wednesday, 24 September 2008 – 12:01 PM
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The ACLU of Alaska released the preliminary results of their 2008 LGBT Community Interest Survey today:
Discrimination a Persistent Problem for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alaskans, says American Civil Liberties Union
ANCHORAGE, AK, September 24, 2008 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska released a report today revealing that many of the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) residents still live in fear of discrimination. The report shares the initial findings of an on-going survey of LGBT Alaskans.
A majority of respondents agree that discrimination is the largest problem they have personally faced as LGBT people living in Alaska. Some report having been harassed on the job, even fired, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. But unlike other minorities who have been historically discriminated against, there are no significant state or local laws to shield them from such prejudice.
“The survey shows that LGBT people want the same thing as most other Americans. They want to be able to provide for themselves and their families without worrying about being refused or fired from a job because of who they share their lives with,” said Tiffany McClain, the ACLU of Alaska’s LGBT Public Policy Coordinator. “But in the state of Alaska they have no legal recourse if they suspect unfair treatment from an employer, landlord, or creditor.”
Responses to the survey have been collected via e-mail, online, and in person and include participants from Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. So far, 26% of respondents report having experienced discrimination or harassment in the workplace and an additional 18% have faced these obstacles outside of work. When the lack of legal recognition of their partnerships and families is counted as a form of discrimination, the proportion of LGBT people who have suffered the consequences of discrimination is even higher.
“We know that Americans are fair and favor equal treatment and ending discrimination,” said Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska. “As Alaskans hear about the families of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends, neighbors, colleagues and relatives, they will want to see an end to workplace discrimination, and will support the right to visit a sick loved one in the hospital, or to protect the needs of children in LGBT families.” The initial survey findings can be found at http://www.akclu.org/AKCLU_LGBTresults.pdf
We would like to invite anyone who doesn’t feel as if their voices are being adequately represented to complete a survey and encourage their friends to complete one as well.
This work is supported by generous grants from the Pride Foundation and the Tide Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr Fund, the Gill Foundation, and other anonymous donors.
Thursday, 18 September 2008 – 5:14 AM
| Comments Off on Resources on the “ex-gay” movement
The gay community held an all-day vigil to counter the “ex-gay” conference in Anchorage last weekend, plus a seminar with gay-affirming clergy and mental health professionals, and presentations by Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out.
Parents, friends and family members who have questions about “reparative therapy” and the ex-gay movement are invited to join PFLAG‘s support meeting, Thursday Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.
Learn about “ex-gays” and the “ex-gay” movement from those who know it best:
Beyond Ex-Gay – an online community for those who have survived ex-gay experiences
Ex-Gay Watch – dedicated to monitoring the ex-gay movement
Truth Wins Out – fighting right wing lies and the “ex-gay” fraud
These civil rights groups have information on the ex-gay movement and tools to help local communities deal with the ex-gay events in their towns (links go to ex-gay pages):
PFLAG – Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
Soulforce – Freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious & political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has made history as the first mother to be on the Republican presidential ticket, and she has the potential to bring a new perspective on issues that impact America’s children to Washington and the White House. Indeed, since her introduction to the nation last week, Governor Palin has talked passionately about her family and her commitment to her five children. Unfortunately, however, little is known about her specific policy positions on issues impacting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kids, their parents, schools and families. An event taking place on September 13 in Anchorage, however, could provide an important opportunity for the Governor — and other moms and dads who also serve as elected leaders — to weigh in on one of those issues . . . and take a strong stand for all families.
On Saturday, Anchorage will play host to the latest meeting of the “ex-gay” organization known as Love Won Out. The group, which proclaims that lesbian and gay youth can be “cured” of their sexual orientation, will be meeting at Abbott Loop Community Church. Ahead of the conference, however, Palin’s own church, Wasilla Bible, has promoted the meeting, saying in a letter to congregants that, “You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality.”
The truth, however, is that Love Won Out is about anything but the unconditional love for, and acceptance of, LGBT kids. In reality, it is a dangerous, harmful “reparative therapy” program that has been condemned by the American Psychological Association and that has a tormenting impact on many of the young people who attend.
Governor Palin needs to know the truth about Love, and America’s parents and families need to know what Governor Palin thinks about harmful, anti-gay conferences that preach an anti-gospel doctrine of changing our kids, rather than embracing them.
Earlier this year, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) brought mothers, fathers and families from around the country to Orlando, Florida, for the most recent Love Won Out Conference. Their experiences, captured in a moving video documentary, showcase just how dangerous these conferences can be.
One after another, young people arrived at the conference with tears in their eyes and parents stoically marching them into the event against their will. The sight of supportive parents, carrying signs with slogans such as “We love our gay son just the way he is,” were answered with smiles, outreached hands and silent but obvious “thank yous” from the kids being told they were somehow “less than” because of who they love. Inside the conference, organizers told these young people – who had the courage to simply be who they are — that who they were just wasn’t good enough. Outside, loving parents stood tall to remind them that yes they were.
On Saturday in Anchorage, the same story, with different kids, will play out again.
It is unfair, at this point, to assume that Governor Palin endorses so-called “ex-gay” therapy like that espoused by Love Won Out. Most Americans, after all, can probably empathize with being part of a group, movement or congregation that they don’t agree with 100% of the time. But Saturday’s event in Anchorage provides an important opportunity for the first GOP mom on the party’s presidential ticket to make clear that she, as a mother and a public servant, will not condone, either explicitly or implicitly, such attempts at dividing our families and hurting our kids. She should seize that opportunity — as should lawmakers of both parties — and stand up as boldly and outspokenly for all of our kids as much as she has for her own.
Monday, 8 September 2008 – 10:40 PM
| Comments Off on Out in Alaska’s Adventure Tours for Gay and Lesbian Travelers
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner published this great story about Out in Alaska, Tim Stallard’s successful business taking gay and lesbian visitors on wilderness adventures in Alaska.
Read the story, then visit Out in Alaska and check out Tim’s exciting tours.
Fairbanks tour guide finds niche in gay, lesbian market
Matt Hage
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Our basecamp among the fireweed of Bulldog Cove was right out of an Alaska postcard.
Behind us sat a freshwater lagoon hemmed in by jagged peaks covered in a lush carpet of green. The view from our beach overlooked the coastal Bear Glacier. Waves crashed against the twisted sea stacks that cut the cove off from the rest of Resurrection Bay, about 20 miles from Seward. It was picture perfect; exactly what you want if you are a traveler paying a pretty penny for a guided Alaska experience.
I was one of a dozen guests on a week-long tour with Out in Alaska, a Fairbanks-based guide service that specializes in adventurous trips for gay and lesbian travelers. Our 10-day itinerary began with three-days of sea kayak touring in Kenai Fjords National Park and the charter boat had just dropped our gang on the beach. Guide and company owner Tim Stallard was earning his paycheck, zipping around the beach to help clients setup tents, making sure the kayaks were secure and erecting a tarp for the camp kitchen. This definitely wasn’t his first rodeo; Stallard moved around camp, taking care of
challenge after challenge while keeping his cool. To watch him calmly explain how to set-up a tent for the fifth time or answer 101 questions about bear attacks was to witness superhuman patience.
“Guiding takes a tremendous amount of patience, which luckily I seem to have,” Stallard said, noting he expects many questions on his trips; most of his clients are gay men from big cities whose outdoor experience measures little to none.
Roughing it doesn’t seem to score very high with that demographic and Stallard is usually taking clients on their first big outdoor adventure. For Ronnie Ventura and Bob deLuna of New York, this would be their first camping trip. Ever. Thomas Gardiner, an Englishman who is now living in New York, said this was something he hadn’t done for a very long time and never in big wilderness. Californians Jeremy Marble and Joe Dintino were a bit more experienced with the outdoors. Dintino enjoyed telling his “bears in camp” story from Yosemite National Park just after Stallard had given assurance to a sleep-deprived guest.
Mylissa Denny from Austin, Texas was fresh out of the Army where she had done plenty of sleeping on the ground, mostly in Afghanistan overlooking Tora Bora.
“Looks like I’m the token lesbian,” she said, introducing herself at camp.
She was the only woman on the trip roster, which might prove awkward for a week-long tour where you don’t know anyone else. But not here on the beach of Bulldog Cove.
“It’s always good to have a lesbian around to do the heavy lifting,” Gardiner joked, much to the delight of Denny.
It became apparent that the ice has already been broken and the crew is already fast friends.
“And you’re the token straight guy,” Denny said, referring to me just when I was wondering where I stood with this eclectic group.
It was also apparent that nobody was going to be out of the loop throughout our journey, which began on the waters of Resurrection Bay and culminated with a backpacking trip into Denali State Park.
About Out in Alaska
Stallard’s Out in Alaska is the culmination of over a decade of experience managing outdoor recreation projects. In the mid-1990’s, he took over the student-run Outdoor Adventures at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Stallard had some big ideas for a major overhaul of what was a small closet space with a checkout desk for ratty sleeping bags and miss-matched skis. Within a few years he turned the office into a proud outdoor program that allowed students from all over the world to rent high quality equipment and sign up for guided trips that would get them out in Alaska. Many of the trips offered were his own creations, including our adventure to Bulldog Cove.
“I used to bring UAF students out here,” he replied when I asked how he knew about the place.
Stallard’s UAF program took hundreds of students backpacking along Kesugi Ridge in Denali State Park, which is also the second part of this week-long Out in Alaska adventure.
Even though Stallard came from a family steeped in business sense, he didn’t take a turn down that road until graduate school.
“My dad is a successful entrepreneur, so I always knew it is possible to create your own opportunity, work for yourself, and even create jobs for others,” he said.
Having spent several years in the world of outdoor recreation and instruction, Stallard made the decision to study business and make a go of his own guiding company when an opportunity for graduate school surfaced.
“There were already a number of guiding businesses around Alaska so I would need to offer something unique,” he said. “About that time I read that the gay and lesbian segment of the USA travel market was estimated to be around $55 billion. Niche travel of all sorts was growing in popularity and nobody was offering trips specifically for gay travelers in Alaska, so I had my idea.”
Stallard completed his Master of Business Administration with three years of night classes and launched his niche business in the fall 2004. He credits his initial success with a strong web presence, some carefully placed advertising and networking at a few travel trade shows. Out in Alaska took off with four scheduled trips the following year. After the 2006 travel season, Stallard’s venture was almost breaking even. “But I was getting busier and busier and could no longer continue to work a day job and develop my business,” he said. “This was a moment of blind faith; I could cut my losses of money invested and stick with the safety and benefits of my regular job or quit and develop my business further.”
He jumped. And he jumped far. His 2008 listing holds a dozen adventures, from the Brooks Range to Katmai National Park to Fjords of the Kenai Peninsula. Most of them filled way in advance. The trips are not limited to gay and lesbian individuals, nor do they have limits on experience level. Stallard’s business is geared to urbanites who have little to no experience in the wilderness. Anyone who can handle a computer and the Internet can make a reservation on his Web site, www.outinalaska.com, and sign up for an adventure.
The trip
Sea kayaking from a basecamp could be the perfect trip option for novice wilderness travelers in Alaska. Paddling a tandem kayak for a 10-mile tour was just about perfect for our crew. And when the seas began to pick up on the third day, we cut our tour short and headed back to the protection of the cove. Our water taxi even stopped by to check on us while out making another pick-up.
We made it back, and life in Bulldog Cove was easy, but plans for the upcoming hike reminded us we weren’t done working. Backpacking in the Alaska Range in August, as we were preparing to do in our next leg of the excursion, is a whole different story. As a whole, this group was out to push themselves. It’s a good thing. Our tour was a 17-mile section of the popular Kesugi Ridge Trail system. An initial three-mile climb up the Little Coal Creek Trail took us to a high alpine wonderland, complete with hooting Arctic ground squirrels, boulder-strewn cascades and crystal tarns as clear as the mountain air. Stallard’s guests were in awe as the setting sun cast its rays on our camp during dinner. Little did we know this light show was the precursor to a violent night of big wind, rain and hail. Everyone’s tent-pitching skills where put to the test as the storm came out of nowhere. Once again, Stallard was working hard, checking in on each tent after taking care of the cook tarps in a torrential rain. Sitting tight to wait out this storm with a couple boxes of wine was not an option up here. Tomorrow we would have to hike in this car wash. For a minute I wondered if there would be any casualties, but laughter from a distant tent gave confidence that this crew was going to be all right.
Our final morning in Denali State Park dawned cold and wet. The entire crew crowded the cooking area, huddled over steaming cups of coffee in their rain jackets. Stallard worked the small camp stove to keep the coffee thermos filled and bring water to boil for morning hot cereal. Our camp high on Kesugi Ridge was now in the clouds and a hanging mist entrapped us in a shroud perfect for hypothermia. But even in the steady drizzle, Stallard’s guests remained in the highest spirits. Cheerful sing-song calls of “g’morning” went around camp. Searching the bear-proof food kegs for hot cocoa, my wet hands struggled with the lid.
“Ask Mylissa, she’ll get that open for you,” Ventura chided with a grin.
Denny put down her own steaming mug and motioned for me to hand it over. She effortlessly clicked the lid and handed me the cocoa bag.
Conversation swirled around the hissing stove, but a lot had changed in the past week. For the first time in their lives, these travelers got to partake in one of the great traditions of wilderness travel. Spend enough time with any group in any wilderness and the morning conversation invariably turns to toilet talk. It was inspiring to see this collage of folks from urban America hilariously sharing their bathroom adventures while scarfing instant oatmeal from a plastic bowl in the rain. It was a sure sign of complete immersion: They were backpackers. Stallard’s work here was done.
Well, almost done. Stallard actually had a lot more work in front of him. My time with Out in Alaska was done, but he and his seven guests were on the hunt for a few large pizzas and pitchers of beer in the Denali National Park area. Stallard planned to see the last of his clients off a couple days later in Fairbanks and almost immediately start preparing for the arrival of the next crew for a weeklong adventure on the world-famous Yukon River. But Stallard has no regrets about the pace; he recognizes that he has a job that many would dream of having.
“My office is the great outdoors,” he said. “I get paid to visit spectacular areas of Alaska.”
But the job can also be exhausting and Stallard admitted by August he is looking forward to things slowing down in the winter. To do this work means that he forfeits his own summer. But, he said, it’s worth it.
“My guests continually remind me of how special Alaska is and how lucky I am to live here.”
Token straight guy Matt Hage works as a magazine photographer based in Anchorage.
The very real consequences of DADT repeal; seeking survivor benefits for same-sex partner of Alaska shooting victim; waiting on SCOTUS decision about whether it will hear Prop 8 case; and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
In this month’s “Ask Lambda Legal” column, Lambda Legal answers a question about the federal government’s longstanding ban against donations of blood from men who have sex with men (MSM).
Alaska Pride Conference 2012 kicks off on October 5 with a First Friday showing at Tref.Punkt Studio of Love is Love, a photographic exhibit of LGBT couples from across the state.
United for marriage: Light the way to justice. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 26–27, in two cases about freedom to marry. Please join us on Tuesday, March 26, at the federal courthouse in Anchorage (7th & C) in a circle united for equality.
Pariah, a critically acclaimed film about a 17-year-old African-American woman embracing her lesbian identity, will screen at UAA on Friday, November 2, and will be followed by a discussion on acceptance in honor of Mya Dale. The event is free and open to the public.
