Feature Archives

On May 18th, concerned community members and mental health providers gathered at 4th & Howard in San Francisco in front of the Moscone Center 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 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. The event begins with a community resource fair at 5pm, followed by dinner and an awards ceremony. A community dance with DJ Eko follows the show.

On Tuesday, April 21st, 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.

A rally and march of California-wide advocates for national LGBT equality was held in Fresno on Saturday, May 30th. The California Supreme Court issued its ruling on Prop 8, banning gay marriage, earlier in the week. Organizers chose Fresno for its location in the middle of the state and because the Central Valley is more representative of "middle-America." They say that the struggle for equality has to be won in towns like Fresno and not just in LGBT-friendly metropolitan areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Anticipating a California Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8 that could come as early as this month, lesbian/gay/bi/trans activists and supporters 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 Tuesday, March 24 followed by symbolic march to the State Supreme Court Building. It ended with a rally on the steps of the capitol on March 30. Meanwhile, many activists are calling for a return to the streets and civil disobedience on Prop 8 D-Day if discrimination is written back into the California Constitution.

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. Lead counsel Shannon Minter 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. Several events related to same-sex marriage are planned for the next few days.

On January 24th, the "March For Life" took place in San Francisco. Tens of thousands of people who oppose abortion and gay rights converged on San Francisco for a march down the Embarcadero. Several hundred counter-protesters showed up to denounce the right-wing message of the marchers. The Bay Area Coalition for Reproductive Rights (BACORR) had called on supporters of human rights to protest the “Walk for Life," which was led by religious conservatives.