COLAGE News Blog

Support ENDA- Take Action Today! Jun 26 09

Introduced earlier this week, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It creates express protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people similar to those available under existing federal discrimination laws for other protected classes of workers.

Did you know that:
In 38 states you can be fired from your job if you are transgender, and in 30 states you can be fired from your job if you are lesbian, gay or bisexual?

Clearly, the bill also impacts COLAGErs and our families because of the important security it provides when we know our parents and loved ones can't lose their jobs based merely on the fact of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

As a member of the COLAGE Community, please take action today to help for the swift passage of ENDA.

1. Call your representative by dialing theU.S. Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121. Identify yourself as a constituent and tell them to share this message with your elected officials: "As a person with a _______ parent/As a ______ person and a member of Representative ___________'s constituency, I would like you to please tell Representative _______ that I would like him/her to become a cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. ENDA would ban discrimination against all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace. Can you tell me whether or not Representative _______ has cosponsored the bill?"

2. Schedule a meeting with your member of Congress or his or her staff in a district office. Many representatives are home during August so its an ideal time to meet your elected official. Ask other members of your COLAGE Chapter, school, faith community or family to join you. During the meeting, tell your personal story and ask for the support of your Congresspeople for ENDA. You can find a list of district offices here.

3. Write a positive letter to the editor expressing support for ENDA. Call on your Representative and Senators to fight to pass an ENDA that includes all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and provide heartfelt reasons (like a personal story) for why it is the right thing to do.

For more information go to www.unitedenda.org. If you want to learn more, or have a story about how workplace discrimination has impacted you and/or or your family, contact Meredith Fenton, COLAGE Program Director.

Submit to Just For Us Jun 26 09

Just For Us - Call for Submissions
Issue 21.2, Fall 2009
Deadline for Submission- July 29th, 2009
Deadline for Intent to Submit- July 6th, 2009
Focus on Faith and Spirituality

JFU is the only publication dedicated to the words, thoughts, pt montara lighthouseopinions, and experiences of people with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parent(s)-and we want to hear from YOU!

The next issue of JFU will focus on the topic of faith and spirituality, and the role they play in the lives of COLAGErs of all beliefs, be it an organized religion, paganism, agnosticism or atheism. Faith and spirituality are complex topics and impact governmental policies that affect LGBTQ families. They are for some COLAGErs a source of community and support while, for others, they are a cause of strife or challenge. For many, our beliefs and practices are used as vehicles for change and acceptance

We are looking for articles, poetry, interviews, art, and more from youth and adults who have (or had) one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender, and/or queer parent/s. The following are just a few topics that you could address:

What roles do faith and spirituality play in your everyday life?
What do faith and spirituality mean to you?
How has being a COLAGEr impacted your decision to either practice or not practice a religion? What are both positive and negative experiences you have had with religious institutions or beliefs as a COLAGEr?
An account of a personal journey to reevaluate the roles faith and spirituality play in your life;
How faith and spirituality can be used as a form of inclusion and exclusion for people with LGBTQ families;
Discussion on why you affiliate with a certain belief and how it's affected your world view.

Submissions may take several formats-share your personal stories, essays, interviews, poems, (two-dimensional) artwork, and ideas. We will work with you to make sure your story is told in your own words, the way you want it-you, the contributor, have final approval of your piece before it goes to print. You can submit a finished piece or let us interview you-it's up to you. Please limit your pieces to 500 words or less.

Let us know ASAP if you would like to work on a piece for Just for Us by July 6th (just tell us the basic format and focus for your proposed piece). The deadline for submissions is July 29th, 2009. Please send all questions, comments and submissions to jfu@colage.org. We can't wait to hear from you!

Take Action: Safe Schools in North Carolina Jun 19 09

Take Action Today- please call or write your state senator to voice your support of the School Violence Prevention Act in North Carolina.

School Violence Prevention Act

The NC House will debate and vote on SB 526, the School Violence Prevention Act during their session Monday night at 7:00 PM. The vote Monday night will make or break our effort to pass effective and inclusive anti-bullying protections, and it will be the toughest yet.

The bill would add language such as this: Bullying or harassing behavior includes, but is not limited to, acts reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, academic status, gender identity or expression, physical appearance, sexual orientation, or mental, physical, developmental, or sensory disability, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics. to the state education code.

In the committee meeting on Tuesday, the leading opponent of the bill in the House, Minority Leader Skip Stam (R-Wake) said same-sex parents are "more dangerous than second-hand smoke." Stam also "argued that explicitly protecting gay kids from bullying would lead to pedophilia and gay marriage," WUNC public radio reported. Obviously, COLAGE condemns these bigoted and false statements and invites you to take action to support the bill. Please share your story of how as a youth or adult with LGBTQ parents, you have been impacted by school bullying and safety issues and why you believe this bill would create safer school environments for ALL students.

Take Action NOW by clicking HERE.

Georgia Supreme Court Issues Positive Decision for COLAGErs and their Father Jun 18 09

COLAGE is thrilled that the Georgia Supreme Court has issued a positive decision in this case for which COLAGE submitted an amicus (friend of the court) brief.

The Georgia Supreme Court tossed out part of a Fayette County court's decision that kept a divorced gay father from allowing his children to interact with his gay friends, according to a ruling today from the state Supreme Court. In the ruling, Justice Robert Benham wrote the high court acknowledges that trial courts have the discretion to "limit a parent's exposure of the children to certain people, if it can be shown that the children would be adversely affected."

In this case, the Supreme Court justices rejected Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards' ban on having the gay father bring his gay friends around his children. Edwards is one of several candidates who have been nominated to fill a seat on the state Supreme Court after Chief Justice Leah Sears steps down at the end of June.

"The blanket prohibition against exposure of the children to members of the gay and lesbian community who are acquainted with husband is another matter," says today's opinion. "There is no evidence in the record before us that any member of the excluded community has engaged in inappropriate conduct in the presence of the children or that the children would be adversely affected by exposure to any member of that community."

Hannibal Heredia represented the gay father, Eric Mongerson, in an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court and said the order created an unreal living situation for his client.

The opinion by Benham further states: "The prohibition against contact with any gay or lesbian person acquainted with husband assumes, without evidentiary support, that the children will suffer harm from any such contact. Such an arbitrary classification based on sexual orientation flies in the face of our public policy that encourages divorced parents to participate in the raising of their children…and constitutes an abuse of discretion." As a result, "we vacate the blanket prohibition against exposure of the children to husband's gay and lesbian acquaintances."

The ruling stems from the 2007 divorce of Eric Duane Mongerson and Sandy Kay Ehlers Mongerson. The couple was married 21 years and had four children. Custody of the three minor children was awarded to Sandy Mongerson, and Eric Mongerson was granted limited visitation. Eric Mongerson and his attorney argued their case before the state Supreme Court in January. Read SoVo's coverage of the hearing here, including an interview with Eric Mongerson.

In February, Lambda Legal filed a brief on behalf of Eric Mongerson, stating "that restrictions on custody arrangements should not be determined based on sexual orientation and that no evidence exists that contact with gay acquaintances of their father is harmful."

COLAGE joined the brief in an amicus since we know that children are able to establish the best relationships with their parents when they are able to be open and authentic with their kids. We know that there would be no inherent harm in allowing the kids to interact with their gay father's community and applaud the Supreme Court for throwing out the custody stipulation that limited Eric Mongerson's parenting rights.

Read more about the case and the decision by clicking HERE.

President Obama Releases Pride Month Statement Jun 1 09

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA