Feature Archives

November 20th was the 8th Transgender Day of Remembrance. An observation of the day was held on Sunday, November 19th in Oakland's Preservation Park. Photos: 1 | 2 Organizers highlighted the fact that many transgendered women have been assaulted on the streets near Preservation Park. This event was also a way to let neighbors know that there is a trans community outside of San Francisco. At least two prominent killings of trans people have occurred east of San Francisco in recent years- those of Gwen Araujo in Newark and Alfred Dibble in Stockton.

On November 7th, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 83, or "Jessica's Law." It adds extra punishments, retroactively, for Registered Sex Offenders (RSO's). One provision of the law says that RSO's cannot live within 2,000 feet of a park or school. This portion of Prop. 83 was blocked by a judge the day after the election, pending a November 27th hearing. Critics of the residency requirement point out that it would force RSO's to move to rural areas, where those at risk of offending again might not find the services they need or government monitoring that Prop. 83 requires. Although it was named after a little girl who was raped and killed, Jessica's law does not distinguish between violent sex offenders and those who were convicted of more minor offenses, such as indecent exposure or public urination.

The nation’s first bill to address use of panic strategies, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act (AB 1160), was signed into law on September 28th by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill was written by Assemblymember Sally Lieber and sponsored by Equality California. It puts California firmly on record as opposing a defendant’s use of societal bias against their victim in order to decrease their own culpability for a crime.

Saturday, August 26th was the 5th Annual Sistahs Steppin' in Pride celebration. This East Bay Dyke March and Festival started at the Lake Merritt pillars at 11am, with the march leaving at noon. The free community celebration continued that afternoon in Snow Park's Sistah Village (on Harrison between 19th and 20th Streets). There were vendors, a children's area, elder space, and more. Photos and audio

A number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and allied activists, scholars, educators, and other community members have written down a new vision for securing governmental and private institutional recognition of diverse kinds of partnerships, households, kinship relationships, and families. They hope to move beyond the narrow confines of marriage politics as they exist in the United States today. They have written a statement, in which they outline the principles that they believe should influence strategies, and they want more people to sign on to show their endorsement of the statement.

On Monday, July 10th, the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco heard oral arguments in Woo v. California and five other cases that will decide whether excluding same-sex couples from marriage violates the California Constitution. Last spring, a San Francisco Superior Court Judgeheld that California's exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage discriminates on the basis of sex and violates the fundamental right to marry under the California Constitution. A decision from the Court of Appeal is expected to come in October.

Estee Slaughter representatives gave away thousands of “RealityfoldTM” sleep masks at SF Pride on Sunday, June 25th. The black mask, which is emblazoned in gold with the ES logo and “Make the Occupation Disappear," includes text that explains the connections between the company Estee Lauder, the destruction of Palestinians' homes, and World Pride 2006. The representatives were told by SFPD officers to stop distributing the masks. Also that day, Senior Unlimited Nudes activist Tortuga Bi Liberty was told by police to "cover up" when he was picketing and handing out leaflets at Pride while in the nude.