Posts Tagged ‘gay marraige’

Hawaii Legislature Approves Civil Unions Bill

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

The fate of same-sex unions in Hawaii now lies with Republican Gov. Linda Lingle after the Hawaii State House of Representatives voted to approve the everything-but-marriage unions on April 29th. The State Senate previously approved civil unions on January 22nd in a veto-proof majority of 18-7. Gov. Lingle has not indicated whether she will approve or veto the bill. She has until July 6th to decide.

If the measure becomes law, Hawaii would become one of six states — along with California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington — to grant essentially all the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without authorizing marriage itself.

While no large-scale rallies are planned from either side of the issue, civil union supporters and opponents will be lobbying Gov. Lingle with personal messages via handwritten letters, emails, and phone calls in hopes of influencing her decision.

Tags: gay marraige, hawaii, politics
Posted in Blog | 1 Comment »

Speak OUT! Stand OUT! Shell OUT!

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

In Tuesday’s election, the GLBTQ community was hit with yet more adversity. Rather than wallow in the disappointment, it is time for all people no matter their orientation to stand up and be heard! The question is how? These three steps will help in taking our message to the society at large: SPEAK, STAND, and SHELL!

Speak OUT! Conquering our fears of judgment is no easy task. However, our families must know, our friends must know, the person in the store must know! It is time to correct those who would think of us otherwise and make sure they understand WE ARE GOOD with our lives and they should be too. We must be seen in our daily lives the same way anyone is seen. We cannot allow people to assume that everyone is heterosexual. By correcting them or clarifying your identity they will stop thinking that we are the exceptions and just see us as part of the common fabric that is our world.
Stand OUT! It doesn’t matter if its email, phone, or handwritten notes. Let elected officials know that we are not going to be forgotten or dismissed. Join a grass roots organization, local gay community center or even an online community to stand up and be counted. Now more than ever affiliating is easy. Try www.broadwayimpact.com, or www.talkaboutequality.org. It is important that people we don’t even know see us and realize that we will not go away quietly.
Shell OUT! We live in a world that values and respects the dollar, so use it to our advantage! Spend your money in targeted places. Support GLTBQ owned and GLBTQ supportive businesses. We are members of the community, but we always recommend our clients patronize businesses that support our community fully! The more we choose to spend with these companies over those that either ignore us or worse yet intentionally discriminate against us, the stronger our voice becomes.

We are the strongest voice for our rights that we will ever find. We must each take the lead by example and speak for those who still do not feel safe or accepted. Now is the time to be counted. You can choose the approach that is right for you, but choose to be an active participant in our community. We will all benefit for each others efforts.

Tags: equality, gay marraige, gay rights, politics
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March On Washington

Monday, October 19th, 2009

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On Sunday October 11, we not only launched Get Gay Travel, but we also participated in the March for Equality in Washington DC. Under the wing of Broadway Impact (an organization we support) we joined with 1400 people from the Broadway community and its fans in making the trek to DC. I have heard estimates of 200-250 thousand people marched and attended the rally. It was a beautiful sun filled afternoon with temps hovering around 70degrees. As the march began, a rainbow appeared in the blue sky as if to say that we were being watched and encouraged from above. The march was energetic and filled with a feeling of community. Walking in front the White House with pride flags waving the feeling was empowering. We then walked from the White House to the steps of the Capitol Building where we all gathered for the rally.
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With Speakers from Cynthia Nixon to Lady Gaga to Cleve Jones, and performances from the Washington DC Gay Mens’ Chorus to the cast of Hair the feeling of community and inclusion just built and built. It would have been impossible to feel anything less than pride in oneself and the community we have. So often it is difficult to feel as if we are all part of one community. We socialize separately, and often separate ourselves from each other by labels. On this day, with all these people we were one voice and being there we all felt the power we have when unified.
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Looking back on that day, and how we all felt, I could not be more proud of our decision to create Get Gay Travel. We rallied to call for a safe environment for all people no matter what their sexual identity may be and how perfectly that fits into why we created GGT. After all when we decide to spend our money or make ourselves visible, it is important that we do so with respect to our community and support each other.