COLAGE News Blog

Action Alert: Changes to FMLA impact Trans People and their Families Dec 18 08

COLAGE wants to share this action alert from our friends at the National Center for Transgender Equality:

I wanted to make you aware of some changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that could impact the lives of transgender people. The FMLA was enacted in 1993 to ensure that employees would be able to take unpaid leave from work in certain circumstances related to medical care for them or their families. The emphasis on medical privacy in the original FMLA is especially vital for transgender people.

However, on November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor published final regulations for the FMLA that erode medical privacy and could have long-lasting adverse effects on transgender people when they take effect as planned on January 16, 2009. These new regulations appear to be part of the Bush Administration's final effort to enshrine ideologically driven policies in advance of the Obama Administration taking office.

As we at COLAGE know, many states do not protect against gender-based employment discrimination. These new regulations give employers excessive access to transgender people's medical records, leaving our family members vulnerable to transphobic employers. Regulations that impact LGBTQ parents privacy can threaten the financial security and well-being of our families.

Write to your Member of Congress and ask them to repeal these harmful regulations. Find out more through the National Center for Transgender Equality.

NEWS- UN: General Assembly to Address Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Dec 12 08

As the world celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the UN General Assembly will hear a statement in mid-December endorsed by more than 50 countries across the globe calling for an end to rights abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity. COLAGE joins the coalition of international human rights organizationsto urge all the world's nations to support the statement in affirmation of the UDHR's basic promise: that human rights apply to everyone.

Nations on four continents are coordinating the statement, including: Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, France, Gabon, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. The reading of the statement will be the first time the General Assembly has formally addressed rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"In 1948 the world's nations set forth the promise of human rights, but six decades later, the promise is unfulfilled for many," said Linda Baumann of Namibia, a board member of Pan Africa ILGA, a coalition of over 60 African lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups. "The unprecedented African support for this statement sends a message that abuses against LGBT people are unacceptable anywhere, ever."

The statement is non-binding, and reaffirms existing protections for human rights in international law. It builds on a previous joint statement supported by 54 countries, which Norway delivered at the UN Human Rights Council in 2006.

"Universal means universal, and there are no exceptions," said Boris Dittrich of the Netherlands, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights program. "The UN must speak forcefully against violence and prejudice, because there is no room for half measures where human rights are concerned."

The draft statement condemns violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also condemns killings and executions, torture, arbitrary arrest, and deprivation of economic, social, and cultural rights on those grounds.

"Today, dozens of countries still criminalize consensual homosexual conduct, laws that are often relics of colonial rule," said Grace Poore of Malaysia, who works with the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. "This statement shows a growing global consensus that such abusive laws have outlived their time."

The statement also builds on a long record of UN action to defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In its 1994 decision in Toonen v. Australia, the UN Human Rights Committee - the body that interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), one of the UN's core human rights treaties - held that human rights law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Since then, the United Nations' human rights mechanisms have condemned violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including killings, torture, rape, violence, disappearances, and discrimination in many areas of life. UN treaty bodies have called on states to end discrimination in law and policy.

Other international bodies have also opposed violence and discrimination against LGBT people, including the Council of Europe and the European Union. In 2008, all 34 member countries of the Organization of American States unanimously approved a declaration affirming that human rights protections extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.

So far, 55 countries have signed onto the General Assembly statement, including: Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay, and Venezuela. All 27 member states of the European Union are also signatories.

COLAGE urges the United States to become the next country to sign onto the General Assembly statement. Please write to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Assistant Secretary Brian Hook, and the US Ambassador to the UN, Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad, asking that the United States join its colleagues from around the world in speaking out against the torture, arrests, violence, discrimination and stigma faced by so many people everywhere because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Take action and learn more on the website of our friends at IGLHRC.

Action Alert: Tell Congress to Help Families in Need Dec 11 08

Join COLAGE in asking Congress to suspend time limits in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program as part of the economic stimulus legislation currently under consideration. Cutting families off TANF, the national assistance program for impoverished families with children, at a time of high and rising unemployment violates fundamental social justice and human rights principles and will further strain other safety net resources already taxed to the breaking point.

At COLAGE, we recognize that families with single parents, LGBTQ parents, and poor families of all types will be hit hardest during these economic times, especially with cuts being made for education and job training. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, food stamp caseloads have increased dramatically in recent months. The Center also projects that the number of poor children could increase by between 2.6 and 3.3 million as a result of the recession.

Congress rightly recognizes that jobless workers need the safeguard of extended unemployment insurance benefits. So too, do TANF recipients at risk of losing their benefits at this tenuous economic moment, need to continue to receive these benefits.

Write to your senators and representatives urging them to remember the most impoverished families in the economic stimulus package by suspending the time limit on eligibility for TANF benefits for at least two years or until the economy has fully recovered.

Please act soon. Congress will be acting very shortly on the economic stimulus package. Act now by submitting an e-mail to your legislators through the action center of our friends at Legal Momentum.

State Commission Recommends Marriage Equality for New Jersey Dec 10 08

The New Jersey Civil Union Commission has just issued its final report, proclaiming the civil union law a failure, citing "overwhelming evidence" that will never provide equality with the passage of time, and recommending to Governor Corzine and the legislature that they enact a marriage equality law "expeditiously because any delay in marriage equality will harm all the people of New Jersey."

COLAGE staff member Meredith Fenton and Speak OUT member Caitlin MacIntyre were two of the individuals to provide testimony to the Commission representing the impact of marriage in/equality on youth and adults with LGBTQ parents.

You can read the entire report of the Commission online here.

Our friends at Garden State Equality also invite you to take action! Use their online action center to send an email to Governor Corzine and New Jersey state legislators.

Marriage Equality Event in Sacramento Dec 9 08

WHAT: Post Prop 8 Community Forum - Moving Forward Town Hall
CO-SPONSORED BY: Marriage Equality USA, Equality Action NOW, Greater Sacramento Stonewall Democrats, COLAGE

WHEN: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Day without Gay
TIME: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
WHERE: Sierra II Center, 2791 24th ST, Sacramento, CA 95818
WHO: Sacramento & Yolo Counties LGBTIQ Communities & Allies
COST: FREE!

FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT: Christine Allen coordinator@marriageequality.org, Laurie McBride Liberal-values@comcast.net, or Tina Reynolds tina@equalityactionNOW.org

Share your COLAGEr Experience - Looking for youth and adults who have both LGBTQ and Straight Parents Dec 9 08

COLAGE Wants to Hear From You:
Participate in a Survey
Help other Youth and Adults who have a parent coming out

* Were your biological parents married/together before (or even after) one of them came out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ)?

* Do you (or did you) have both one or more straight parent/s and one or more LGBTQ parent/s?

If this is you- please help COLAGE with out new resource for queerspawn in mixed orientation families! The guide will feature tips and resources for COLAGErs who have one or more straight parent/s and one or more LGBTQ parent/s. We hope this will help them navigate homophobia within their families, divorces, going through the coming out process of a parent, and more. Your feedback and experiences will help others who are in your same shoes or are just beginning to feel and experience much of what you did and perhaps still do!

Please answer the following questions in 150 words or less and email your responses to, paulie@colage.org by Monday December 15th. We will include excerpts and quotes from all the completed surveys in the resource guide in order to highlight the diverse voices of our community.

First Name and Last Initial:
Age:
Where do you live?:
Who is in your family?
How and when did you find out that your parent/s is LGBTQ?
Do you remember your initial reactions? Questions? Feelings? What were they?
What is the biggest challenge you have faced because you have one or more LGBTQ parent/s?
Has your straight parent/s been supportive? In what ways?
What type of advice or “words of wisdom” would you pass on to other’s whose family is or has “come out of the closet”?
What would you tell parents who are about to tell their kid/s that they are LGBTQ?
Do you happen to come from a military family/community? If “Yes” how did or does this impact your experience?

*Feel free to include extra comments about your experience, things you wish you had known or other stories that might help another youth or adult in a similar situation:

Thanks so much for helping COLAGE!

Breaking News: Iowa Supreme Court to hear Marriage Equality Case Dec 8 08

On Tuesday morning, December 9th, beginning at 10am Central Time, you can watch history unfold - live - as the Iowa Supreme Court hears oral arguments in a case that could bring marriage equality to the heartland. Six Iowa couples are asking the court to recognize their relationships by affirming the right of lesbian and gay couples to marry.

"The case, Varnum v. Brien, could make Iowa the first state in the Midwest to legalize gay marriage," University of Iowa law professor Angela Onwuachi-Willig told USA Today.

You can watch the case unfold live online via the website of the Iowa Supreme Court.

For more information about this case and other efforts to secure LGBTQ equality in Iowa, visit One Iowa online.

If you are a youth or adult with LGBTQ parents from or living in Iowa who might be interested in activism opportunities related to marriage equality, please contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director to join COLAGE's Speak OUT network.

CA Action Alert- Ask your Legislators to Repeal Prop 8 Dec 5 08

Proposition 8 eliminated the right of California couples to marry the person they love. The CA Legislature voted twice in recent years to provide marriage rights to all California couples, only to be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenagger. As the LGBTQ community pursues various strategies to overturn Prop 8 and to continue to advocate for marriage equality, you can make your voice heard today with your election officials.

Our friends at Equality California are sponsoring two resolutions in the CA Legislature. These resolutions, if passed, will make it official state policy that Prop 8 should be overturned.

Take action now!
Already, over half a million Californians have used the EQCA action center to have their voices be heard. Will you please join them?

Though the Legislature cannot overturn Prop 8 with these votes, it can lead by example and stand firm on the side of equality. The resolutions declare that because Prop 8 dramatically revised the Constitution, it is invalid. Constitutional revisions must first be approved by a two-thirds vote in the Legislature before going to voters. A slim majority should not be able take away the equal protections of a minority.

This is a critical time, as the courts consider the cases litigation organizations such as the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU have filed and the voices of thousands of youth and adults with LGBTQ parents and the entire LGBTQ community and our and allies.

To read the responses of COLAGE young adult leaders to the passage of Prop 8 and our thoughts about the election, please visit our November release on the issue.

Breaking News: Poll Shows that a Majority of Americans Favor Legal Protections for LGBT People Dec 4 08

A new survey conducted by Harris Interactive in the wake of the passage of and protests against California's Proposition 8 reveals that majorities of Americans favor a broad range of policies and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

The Pulse of Equality survey, commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), shows that majorities of Americans favor either marriage or civil unions/domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, as well as gay- and transgender-inclusive hate-crimes laws and non-discrimination laws, and allowing openly gay service members to serve in the armed forces, while a majority opposes laws that would ban adoption by qualified gay and lesbian couples.

According to the Pulse of Equality telephone survey among 2,008 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, conducted from Nov. 13-17, 2008, Americans support key policy proposals that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

To learn more about this grandbreaking new Poll, visit GLAAD's Website.

COLAGE Partners with American Primitive Film Dec 3 08

For immediate release
December 3rd, 2008

COLAGE is pleased to partner with Cape Cod Films on their new project American Primitive.

American Primitive was written and directed by Gwen Wynne, an adult COLAGEr, who has created a beautiful narrative film based on her own experiences with her father coming out to her and her sister in the 1970s.

"Rarely do youth and adults with LGBTQ parents get to see our lives reflected authentically on the Hollywood screen" commented Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director. "We are so proud to support this project that illustrates the coming out story of one family through the eyes of a COLAGE adult, Gwen Wynne. Especially in a time when our families are being debated and voted against across the country, films like American Primitive help portray the genuineness, the love, and the struggles of our families."

"I wish COLAGE existed when I was growing up. It's an incredible organization with a mission I very much believe in. I'm thrilled that the film American Primitive and our production company Cape Cod Films is partnering with COLAGE to bring this movie's story and its ultimate theme of love and acceptance to people throughout the world," shared Gwen Wynne, the director and writer of the film.

The exciting ensemble cast feature talents including Susan Anspach (Five Easy Pieces, Play It Again Sam); Adam Pascal (Rent); Tate Donovan (The O.C., Damages); Stacey Dash, (Clueless); Josh Peck (The Wackness, Drake & Josh); and James Sikking (Ordinary People, Hill Street Blues).

Shot on location and set in the early 1970’s Cape Cod, American Primitive addresses the conflicting issue of place of family and same-sex relationships in our culture. This seminal issue is still with us today—witnesses the heated demonstrations that have taken place all over the U.S. since the November 4 elections protesting laws prohibiting same-sex marriages.

Told mostly through the eyes of high school student Madeline who, along with her widower father, Harry, and younger sister, move to the Cape. Madeline's emotional journey parallels the country's loss of innocence and a time period when American society was redefining its national identity as well as personal views. Gender and sexual identity preoccupied the citizens of America. Like many in the country, Madeline and Harry, daughter and father, find themselves tackling ideas of sex and identity - topics that seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue in the early 70s but were actually still taboo in both traditional familial and personal settings.

Ms. Wynne reflected, "I wrote American Primitive because I had never seen or heard a story about growing up in a gay household from a teenage girl's perspective. With the film I tried to create a story that ultimately underscores the complex meaning of love and friendship and family. I'm hoping the film will shed light on a very emotional issue that so many people in our country shroud in silence and shame."

The film completed its first run of test screenings on Cape Cod last month at Cape Cinema in Dennis, MA. Stay tuned for information about special screenings for the COLAGE community in Boston on December 18th at Harvard Law School and San Francisco and the film's upcoming debut at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth, and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer parents. We build community and work toward social justice through leadership development, youth empowerment, education and advocacy. www.colage.org

American Primitive is a new upcoming release from Cape Cod Films. Cape Cod Films, LLC is a film production company that has been created to champion emerging filmmakers and tell stories that are often suppressed in our culture – both narrative and documentaries. Its mission is to challenge audiences with the essential questions of our time. www.capecodfilms.com