On Sunday, June 28, at least two groups of radical queer activists demonstrated against other contingents participating in the 2009 Pride Parade in San Francisco. Members of the International Jewish Solidarity Network marched and protested Zionist presence at the Pride Parade. The activists challenged the presentation of Israel as "diverse" and "pro gay" as they marched with banners that read "No Pride in Apartheid" and "Queer Jews Reject Israeli Injustices." Another group staged a die-in in front of Gavin Newsom's float at the annual Pride Parade to protest cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention, queer youth programs, and other vital services. Newsom's float was forced to stop during the demonstration. Gavin Newsom is currently campaigning to become governor of California in the 2010 election.

Video | Photos: 1 | 2 | "No Pride in Apartheid at the Pride Parade!‏" announcement

2009: 6th Annual March for Transgender Pride | Past Pride Coverage on Indybay: 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

The 6th annual Trans March took a different route than in years past, starting at Dolores Park where several thousand people gathered, and forming a march that traveled through the Mission district. The excitement was still high as the group neared the announced ending point at 26th and Valencia, where one contingent took Cesar Chavez Street continuing to an after-party at El Rio while a smaller subgroup kept on marching through the city.

This year's march marked San Francisco's sixth year since the event began in 2004 when it was first established to honor Gwen Araujo, a young transgendered woman who was brutally murdered in Newark, California in November of 2002.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Previous Indybay Coverage: 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008

Gay shame held a protest at the San Francisco LGBT Center on June 25th, just days before the city's Pride Celebration and March. Photos

Gay Shame wrote: "Does today’s mainstream LGBT movement make you feel like you’re lost in an alternate reality? Perhaps even another dimension? Do the things groups like the HRC fight for cause you to feel as if you’re going the wrong way backwards through time? Does the thought of straight ally Gavin Newsom’s ascendancy to governor give you vertigo?

"With corporate sponsors such as American Express, Bank of America, US Bank, Wells Fargo, AT&T, Comcast, Macy’s, Bechtel, Clorox, Lennar and Morgan Stanley, the current agenda for the Center is one of cold, consumeristic capitalism. Instead of being a Robin Hood-esque pipeline that feeds cash into programs that actually serve the community as a whole, the Center invests their corporate largesse into creating and nourishing a queer consumer/entrepreneur culture."

Read More | Gay Shame SF website

On June 11th in Tel Aviv, a group of queer Israeli activists (backed by Palestinian-Israeli LGBTQI co-operative preparation) protested the cynical use of gay rights by a conservative American group called StandWithUs (SWU). The activists disrupted an event called I-Pride, organized by SWU, exploiting queer issues to advance and support Israel’s existence as an apartheid state and its occupation over Palestinians. The queer activists have also pointed out SWU collaboration with homophobic organizations such as Christians United For Israel, and homophobic individuals such as Gary Bauer and John Hagee who has stated that Hurricane Katrina happened for the city’s “sinful homosexual rally.” SWU’s presentations of all Palestinians as killers, Islam as the enemy of the west, and SWU pressure to fire and censure academics who are critical of Israel, were also denounced by the activists in the event.

At the event panelists and speakers preferred to focus on liberal issues inside Israel and showed total disregard for human rights violations by Israel. They presented the gay Palestinian community as suffering mostly from the Palestinian society ( not from Israel’s brutal occupation) and as being in need of a western salvation embodied in Israel’s apartheid regime.

Haneen Maikey, an organizer for Al-Qaws ("Rainbow") - for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, has commented that “the patronizing and arrogant attitude towards the Palestinan LGBT community, the use of our struggle and speaking in our name are not new phonomena. What is worrying is the easiness in which a right wing and racist pro-Israeli agenda is presented as a celebration pride and rights which is designed to present Israel (in collaboration with local gay Israeli organizations) as an oasis of liberalism and tolerance. This is a cynical use of gay issues for political gain, as human rights violations that are committed by Israel hurts all Palestinians-regardless of gender and sexual preference.”

Inna Michaeli, a member of Coalition of Women for Peace, and a feminist lesbian activist stated “I’m not surprised that our struggle for gender and sexual freedom is used as a propaganda tool at the hands of radical right wing groups from America. What is left to ask is where is the shame of gay organizations in Israel who claim to speak in our name, and whether from a total silence on human rights violations, they are moving now to a complete co-operation with the American radical right.” Read more

Flyer - Queer activists confront StandWithUs I-Pride | iPride: Stand With Us’ Pro-Israel Gay Fraud | "Israel Truth Campaign" Commemorates Land Day with New Billboard | first independent palestinian lgbtq organization! | Rainbow over Palestine | ASWAT

The 17th annual Santa Cruz Dyke March takes place on Saturday, June 6th, the night before Pride. Frootie Flavors, Beaver Fever and Lisa Pawlak are featured at the 2:30pm rally at the Town Clock. There will be a march around 6pm, followed by an after party. Read more

2008: Dykes Rally and March in Santa Cruz without Sponsors or Permits

On May 30th, thousands of marriage equality activists came to Fresno from throughout the state to protest the Supreme Court decision on proposition 8. A 15 mile march for civil rights by about 100 marriage equality activists who walked in the scorching valley heat from Selma to Fresno started the day. 3,000 people were waiting for them when they arrived at Fresno City Hall. Organizers of today’s Meet in the Middle rally chose Fresno because of the need to shift public opinion in the Central Valley on the marriage equality issue. Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, won by a wide margin in Fresno and other valley towns.

Photos and Audio

Previous coverage: Statewide Forces to Rally In the Middle Of California for LGBT Equality

At 10am on Tuesday May 26th, in a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court's ruled in favor of Proposition 8 banning future same-sex marriages but upholding existing same-sex marriages. In the one dissenting opinion, Judge Moreno stated "This could not have been the intent of those who devised and enacted the initiative process. In my view, the aim of Proposition 8 and all similar initiative measures that seek to alter the California Constitution to deny a fundamental right to a group that has historically been subject to discrimination on the basis of a suspect classification, violates the essence of the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and fundamentally alters its scope and meaning."

California Upholds Proposition 8 Gay Marriage Ban, Leaves 18,000 Same-Sex Marriages Intact | PDF Of Decision: Strauss vs. Horton, S168047 | PROP 8 UNHELD 6-1 | Judge Moreno's Dissent | Gay Marriage Advocates Likely to Seek Another Ballot Vote | Feminist Majority Coverage | ACLU Coverage | Supreme Court Perverts Power of Initiative Process | California Was The Future

Street actions to protest discrimination are taking place throughout the day in California and elsewhere in the nation. Most actions took place at 6pm, but immediate action upon the announcement took place in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and Palo Alto. In San Francisco, police arrested more than 150 protesters for blocking the intersection of Van Ness and Grove near City Hall shortly after the ruling was announced.

Fresno: Photos
Santa Cruz: Photos
Palo Alto: Photos 1 | 2
San Francisco: Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Coverage Of Arrests Near SF City Hall
Los Angeles: AJLPP Statement | Press Conference At Gay and Lesbian Center
Sant Barbara: Photos
San Diego: Video | Over 4,000 Rally | Over 70 Activists Occupy San Diego County Clerk’s Office

On Saturday, May 30th, a rally of California-wide advocates for national LGBT equality will be held in Fresno. Organizers chose Fresno for its location in the middle of the state and because California's Central Valley population is more representative of "middle-America" attitudes. They say that the struggle for full equality for gays and lesbians has to be won in towns like Fresno, and not just in LGBT-friendly metropolitan areas.

San Francisco | Palo Alto | Santa Cruz and Watsonville | Salinas | Monterey | Hollister | Day of Decision | Meet in the Middle | Rage about prop8? Its White Night Time | How to Protest the Prop 8 Decision

MarriageEquality.org | Previous Indybay Coverage

On May 18th, concerned community members and mental health providers gathered to protest the handling of the American Psychiatric Association’s revision of so-called “Gender Identity Disorder” in its 5th revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The APA has been criticized for a number of moves regarding the revision, including the appointment of Kenneth Zucker, an outspoken reparative therapist of gender variant children, as head of the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group.

Organizer Danielle Askini said, “We demand that evidence-based medicine and scientific literature be the focus of how sexual and gender minorities are considered. That includes work in related fields of behavioral science, bioethics, and philosophy of science.”

Andrea James, also an organizer, stated, “We believe trans health services can be provided without diagnosing gender identity and expression as disordered. We believe any clinical distress may arise from attempts to suppress, shame, or cure nonconforming gender expression and can be resolved through clinically proven social and/or medical options.”

The protest began at 6:00pm at 4th & Howard in San Francisco’s South of Market District in front of the Moscone Center where the APA will hold its annual conference.

Read More with Photos | Event Announcement

GID Reform Advocates | Transgender and Gender Queer Panelists Address Therapists, Mental Health Practitioners

The Santa Cruz County Task Force for LGBTIQ Youth presents the 12th Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards on Saturday, May 16th at Scotts Valley High School. There will be a community resource fair at 5:00pm, dinner beginning at 5:30pm, and the Awards Ceremony beginning at 7:00pm. A community dance with DJ Eko follows the show.

The Queer Youth Leadership Awards is dedicated to hosting the QYLA in schools across Santa Cruz County, and are excited to announce that the QYLA has now taken place in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville and will soon take place in Scotts Valley. Read more

Audio: T4CW: 5.11.09 Queer Youth Leadership Awards

Previous coverage: Students and Teachers Speak Out to Make SVHS a Safe Space || 10th Annual QYLA || Young, Queer Latina Leader Comes Full Circle || 1st Annual Watsonville Pride Celebration a Huge Success

On the warm evening of Tuesday, April 21st at 6pm, over 110 therapists, mental health practitioners, and therapists-in-training across the Bay Area filled Namaste Hall at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) to hear directly from transgender and gender queer clients and consumers of therapy and mental health services. Trans Clients Speak: A Transgender Educational Panel for Psychotherapists and Mental Health Practitioners created a rare opportunity for transgender and genderqueer people to speak about their helpful, insulting, insensitive, uplifting, pathologizing, plaguing, empowering, and healing experiences with therapists.

Among a multiplicity of important stories and statements, the four panelists addressed: why they've accessed mental health services, what has been supportive, what was harmful, and their ideal vision of therapy services for trans folks to come. Panelists addressed specifics such as: how to create respectful forms; making waiting rooms and offices more inviting to trans folks; the negative impact on the therapeutic relationship when therapists act as gatekeepers to hormones and surgeries; and a desire for therapists to give up assumptions around trans and gender queer identities and sexualities.

Several panelists spoke about their desire for non-trans-related therapy, just like non-trans clients receive. Inspired by the event, several audience members shared with event organizers ways they are now in the process of creating new programs and respectful practices in their organizations. Read more

40th anniversary of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot | transgendered day of remembrance

LGBTQ people and allies eagerly await the California Supreme Court decision that will either reject or affirm anti-gay Proposition 8. Marriage equality activists say that if the court rules to only uphold the existing same sex marriages, but allows the rest of Prop 8 to stand, it will not be a victory. Many are calling for a return to the streets with direct action and civil disobedience if discrimination is written back into the California Constitution. The California Supreme Court must rule within 90 days of March 5, 2009, when they heard the case, meaning a decision is expected at the latest by June 3.

In anticipation of an earlier decision, lesbian/gay/bi/trans activists and allies left Berkeley, California for a 100-mile walk to the state capitol in Sacramento on March 25.  The event began with a rally on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall at Noon on March 24 with speakers, including a representative from Supervisor Tom Ammiano's office and gay rights activist Cleve Jones. The day's event included inspirational music and dancing by the Raging Grannies and Brass Liberation Orchestra on the steps of the California Supreme Court buidling.

Marchers began their trek in earnest on March 25 building bridges with local communities and enlisting former antagonists to help repeal the ban on same-sex marriages.  The march was initiated by the direct action group One Struggle One Fight, and supported by a range of organizations including the LGBT labor alliance Pride At Work and the group And Marriage For All, which coordinated No On 8 outreach among LGBT people of color.

More than 50 people from 10 cities and towns signed up to participate in the peaceful event, including 78-year-old Dolores Huerta, the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, and Robert Moore, a 28-year-old gay Mormon who encouraged everyone interested in civil rights to join the cause. The group walked through both large and small cities on the way to the capital, entering bustling suburbs like Walnut Creek and small Delta towns such as Locke. The march culminated in a day of action in Sacramento on Monday, March 30, to demand the repeal of Proposition 8 and spotlight the need for better health care and immigration rights for all people.

March to Sacramento Arrives in Capitol | Why We March | Prop 8 D-Day Call to Action | One Struggle One Fight | Day of Decision | Pride At Work

On Thursday, March 5th, legal arguments took place in the California Supreme Court regarding an attempt to overturn 2008's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples, civil rights organizations, and the state Attorney General’s office argued that if the initiative process is used to take a fundamental right away from a persecuted minority, no one in California is safe.

The court has 90 days to issue an opinion, but Equality California thinks that a decision will be issued sooner. That organization says, "...(R)egardless of how the court rules we all have to continue working to educate Californians about the importance of the freedom to marry. And that means we need you and everyone in our community to fight for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender folks win or lose." Report from Equality California | Photos from March 4th Rally in SF's Castro: 1 | 2 || Photos from Eve of Justice Rally in Palo Alto 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

On Friday, March 6th, Rebecca Kaplan will host a Speak Out for Marriage Equality in Oakland's City Hall. On Saturday, March 7th, a Fundraiser for Marriage Equality Litigation will take place at Rhythmix Cultural Works, at 2513 Blanding in Alameda, from 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Many who are opposed to marriage will gather for a Gay Shame meeting on Saturday, March 7th at 5:30pm at Modern Times Bookstore, at 888 valencia street at 20th Street in San Francisco.

National Center for Lesbian Rights | Equality California || Some of Indybay's Past Coverage: Demonstrators Holding Candles Shed Light on Struggle for Marriage Equality | Legal Brief Filed to Nullify Marriages as Gay Rights Marchers Arrive at Supreme Court | Couple Marches Through California to Repeal Prop. 8 | Prop 8 Before State Supreme Court

In an open letter to the Lesbian and Gay community sent during his campaign, president-elect Obama promised, "I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans." On January 10th, three South Bay activist groups came together to lead a rally calling on Mr. Obama to hold true to his word.

In his letter to the LGBT community, in which he asked for their votes, Obama stated that he does not believe the federal government should stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples, including the right to civil marriage. On Saturday, South Bay activists gathered signatures to remind the soon-to-be president that he stated he supports the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and that he also committed to working for repeal of the " Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy that affects gays in the military.

At the forefront of the rally was concern that hate crimes against the LGBTI community do not carry federal punishments. Participants expressed outrage and deep concern over a vicious and brutal hate crime that took place in the San Francisco Bay Area recently, when a Richmond resident was targeted because of her sexual orientation. Obama has said that he would place the weight of his administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw such hate crimes. Demonstrators held a moment of silence for the victim who is known to the public only as "Richmond Jane Doe". The organizers of Saturday's event had made a wishing well bucket and passed it amongst rally participants raising close to five hundred dollars to help the woman and her family relocate and recover.

Local elected leaders spoke out for LGBTQI equality at the rally, the Rainbow Women's Chorus belted out songs of dignity, and the Raging Grannies emceed the event leading the group in a song against LGBTQI hate crimes to the tune of "America the Beautiful" entitled, "Oh Beautiful for Hate-Free Skies".

Read more | South Bay Against LGBTQI Hates Crimes | Elected Leaders Speak Out for LGBQTI Rights | Join the Impact San Jose

SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Diversity Center’s Latino Outreach program will hold a presentation of the “Assessment of the Latino Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community of Santa Cruz County” on Thursday, January 15th, at 5:00pm at the Diversity Center (1117 Soquel Ave). This report will present what Latino LGBT people have identified as their issues and needs and how one can better support them as service providers, family, friends and teachers.

This is the second Latino LGBT needs assessment. The first was conducted in 2003 by Triangle Speakers. The survey was developed to implement culturally appropriate programming by understanding the social realities, needs and issues affecting Santa Cruz County Latina/o lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community.

The report confirms that the Latino LGBT respondents “experience discrimination not just based on gender and sexual orientation, but also based on their ethnicity and skin color." The report concludes that “while Santa Cruz County is generally known as a progressive and accepting community, it is not immune to the powerfully homophobic and racist environment and sentiments that encompass American culture.” Read More

see also: January 17: Triangle Speakers Training

In the early evening of December 20th, LGBT activists lit up the night for marriage rights in gatherings throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area. In San Francisco, protesters demonstrated with a candlelight vigil in Union Square crowded with holiday shoppers, while in the South Bay city of San Jose, activists chose CineArts theater as the location for their rally. CineArts Theater is owned by Cinemark, whose CEO donated to the Yes on 8 campaign.

Alan Stock, who is a Utah Mormon, gave $9,999 to support the proposition that bans gay marriage in the state of California. Yet he is benefitting from his company's screening the documentary about Harvey Milk, a man who fought against the repression of gays and lesbians. Demonstrators in San Jose passed out flyers Saturday night, encouraging moviegoers to see the film elsewhere. At another theater in the Cinemark chain, CineArts in Palo Alto Square, activists have been putting flyers on cars in the theater parking lot.

The handouts remind movie viewers that they should not let Cinemark profit from Harvey Milk's legacy. As an expression of their outrage, activists created the flyers with phrases such as "No Milk for Cinemark Theaters" and "Don't Let Bigoted Bullies Steal Your Milk Money". Cinemark Theaters is a chain that includes CineArts, Century and Tinseltown theaters.

Read More With Photos | See the Movie Milk but NOT at CineArts | Candlelight, Camera, National Action | Vigil in downtown San Jose | Join the Impact