ACLU of Florida : No place for discrimination in Gainesville

There is no place for discrimination in Gainesville.

Join the ACLU of Florida and Equality is Gainesville's Business in our fight against discrimination.

The far right has targeted Gainesville with its anti-gay agenda, and is trying to repeal human rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. This effort, which targets one of the most progressive cities in Florida, is part of a broader attack aimed at taking away protections from discrimination for LGBT people in Florida and throughout the nation. We must stop this effort and send the clear message: discrimination stops here!

Click Here to Check out volunteer opportunities, and get involved in ACLU of Florida and Equality is Gainesville's Business campaign to end discrimination.

No Discrimination Against Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

Amnesty International USA
No Discrimination Against Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

On March 6, 2009, Senator Kyl (R-WI) introduced an amendment to the Omnibus bill that would deny Palestinian refugees from Gaza resettlement protection. The US is not likely to resettle this population in 2009, and therefore, the amendment is not only discriminatory but also unnecessary. Contrary to 30 years of extending protection to refugees on the basis of need, the Kyl amendment seeks to discriminate against an entire group based on nationality alone. Tell your Senator that this discriminatory amendment must be defeated.

Take Action! Send your Congress person a message via Amnesty International USA

The 17th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet - May 2, 2009

The 17th Annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet - May 2, 2009

2009 Press Release!

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee has opened ticket sales for the annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet, which will be held on Saturday, May 2, at the Sheraton Brookhollow (3000 North Loop West), 6:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. Tickets are $50 in advance ($60 at the door) and can be purchased through Ticketweb at the Unity Committee website, www.htuc.org. Tickets are also available at Vanity: A Trans-formation Studio (1440 Yale, 832/767-3252), the Heights boutique.

Proceeds from Unity Banquet ticket sales support the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund. The Unity Committee will present two scholarships at the banquet to trans-identified students pursuing higher education. The Rudd Scholarship application is available at the Unity Committee website. The application deadline is March 16.

Scott Turner Schofield, the Atlanta-based transgender performance artist, is the 2009 Unity Banquet keynote speaker. During the banquet, representatives from other local transgender groups will make presentations about their work. These groups include Helping TransGenders Anonymous, STAG/Some Transgenders Are Guys, Transgender Foundation for America TG Center, Tau Chi chapter of Tri-Ess, the Society for the Second Self, and Texas Association for Transsexual Support,

Unity Banquet sponsors (as of February 19) are Charles Armstrong Investments, Houston GLBT Political Caucus, Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, Phyllis Randolph Frye, Zukowski Center for Plastic Surgery, Denise O’Doherty, and Legacy Community Health Services.

Unity Banquet sponsorships are available at a range of levels, from $75 to $2,000 to underwrite the Brenda Thomas Education Table, named in honor of Thomas (1943-2006), the activist and educator and longtime Unity Committee executive director. Interested individuals and companies may contact the committee via www.htuc.org.

A silent auction held during the banquet will raise additional funds to support Unity Committee programs.

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee is the nonprofit consortium of area trans organizations. In addition to the Unity Banquet, Unity Committee projects include Unity Month in April and Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. Committee representatives frequently speak to schools, businesses, and organizations.

“Disordered” No More: Challenging Transphobia in Psychology, Academia and Society

IFGE 2009 Conference Workshop Presented by
Joelle Ruby Ryan, Ph.D Candidate, Julia Serano, Ph.D. and Kelley Winters, Ph.D.

Transgender people have long been the whipping boy/girl for all of society to use as a source of revenue and those who question this maginalized. Challenging the continued transgender subordination and the associated industries profiteering are three scholars who's dissertations debunk and and expose the lies that have empowered profiteers and rendered helpless us who must live authentically or die.

Online report compiled by Lynn Conwayfound here.

Trans News Updates: 3-9-09 Compiled by Lynn Conway

Amazing Grace

A dear friend shared this with us this morning. What a wonderfull way to start a Sunday!

Thanks to Renee at Gender Power

Unforgivable ; Republican Governors play politics with Poverty

Our country is in real trouble right now, with unemployment spiraling out of control. President Obama's stimulus plan provides money to expand unemployment assistance. But a group of Republican governors, led by Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, is trying to score political points by blocking that assistance from reaching the people who need it. It's cynical and disgusting.

These governors are playing with people's lives. They're trying to further their political ambitions while showing they could care less about the fate of everyday folks--even in their own state.

Please join me in calling them out and forcing the media spotlight on them. I just signed ColorOfChange.org's open letter demanding they do the right thing. Together, we can help make sure that in times of hardship folks get the assistance they need. It only takes a moment:

colorofchange.org

It's incredible. President Obama's stimulus package provides money for states to extend unemployment benefits for people in dire need of help, but a handful of Republican governors--Bob Riley of Alabama, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Rick Perry of Texas, Sarah Palin of Alaska, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana--are putting politics over people.

All six governors have threatened to turn down these funds. Four are 2012 presidential contenders, and they all have a vested interest in seeing Obama fail. They're attacking the President's policies to increase their own profile and cozy up to the most die-hard conservatives. They also claim that taking the stimulus money would leave their states in debt when it runs out in three years. But that argument rings hollow--state legislatures could reduce benefits to pre-stimulus levels at that point.

While these governors posture, Black folks suffer the most. In all of these states, Black unemployment is at least twice that of Whites--and in Louisiana and Mississippi, the two Blackest states in the Union, the unemployment rate among Black people approaches three times that of their White neighbors.

Please join me in telling these Republican governors to stop putting their personal and political interests above the good of all their states' citizens. Demand that they accept all of the stimulus money designated for unemployment benefits. And please ask your friends and family to do the same by passing this message on.

colorofchange.org