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LESBIAN PENS 2ND MEMOIR OF RECOVERY, "LEAVE THE LIGHT ON" FOLLOWS SUCCESSFUL "BLACKOUT GIRL"

Jennifer Storm | Leave the Light on | March 15, 2010

LEAVE THE LIGHT ON
A Memoir of Recovery and Self-Discovery
by Jennifer Storm

Young addict reveals her harrowing and ultimately victorious journey
‘post-recovery’

Review of “Blackout Girl”: “Readers who have suffered the debilitating after-effects of childhood sexual abuse or faced a descent into additions like the ones that [Jennifer] Storm details, will find much to empathize with here.” – Rachel Pepper, Curve Magazine

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Church Responds to New Law

Kate Boulden | CNN | March 6, 2010

Catholic Charities cuts benefits for new workers’ spouses to avoid D.C.‘s new same-sex marriage law.

To view the whole story, click here

REP. STARK TO HOLD PRESS EVENT ON LEGISLATION TO OPEN MORE HOMES TO FOSTER CHILDREN

Representative Pete Stark | PFLAG | March 10, 2010

Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) is hosting a panel discussion on the “Every Child Deserves a Family Act.” Panelists will include foster children who will discuss their experiences in the foster care system, parents who have been prevented from adopting their foster children because of state laws prohibiting gays, lesbians and bisexuals from adopting, and experts on foster care and LGBT family issues.

WILL STREAM LIVE ON MARCH 11 AT 1:30 PM: click here

D.C. gay couple caps a momentous first by tying the knot

Washington Post | Monica Hesse | March 9, 2010

They met in grad school. Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were assigned to debate opposing sides of the same issue in a constitutional law class at the University of the District of Columbia, and both were so nerdily over-prepared — typical Washingtonians — that the other member of their group decided the debate was a draw.

Young felt the attraction first. Throughout the semester, she found excuses to pass Townsend fliers for the political activist group that she belonged to on campus; she was devastated when she later found those fliers left behind after class. She would go to watch Townsend shoot hoops, even though she hates sports.

Readers react to photo of two men kissing

Washington Post | Andrew Alexander | March 9, 2010

Powerful photographs can have lasting impact, and a Post photo of two men kissing is an image that many readers can neither forget nor accept.

The photo, which ran on the newspaper’s front page and online last week, captured Jeremy Ames and Taka Ariga kissing outside D.C. Superior Court on the day that the District began accepting license applications for same-sex marriages.

First gay marriages in District performed

Washington Post | Ann E. Marimow and Keith L. Alexander | March 10, 2010

There were yellow roses, champagne toasts and tiered cakes.

There were tuxedos, lace dresses and Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

This D.C. watershed moment was bursting with pride and happiness. Yet it was also tinged with memories of political struggles and legal battles.

On Tuesday, the District for the first time issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples, some of whom married in ceremonies across the city — from a D.C. Superior Court chamber to a Unitarian church in Northwest.

Author Justin Reed Early to Receive National Network for Youth’s Golden Pen Media Award

National Network for Youth | January 4, 2010 | Los Angeles

Justin Reed Early, author of StreetChild: An Unpaved Passage will be honored at the National Network for Youth’s Annual Awards Dinner on January 26, 2010 with the prestigious organization’s annual Golden Pen Award.

PALM CENTER ISSUES KEY RECOMMENDATIONS ON GAY BAN TO PENTAGON WORKING GROUP

The Palm Center | February 17, 2010| Santa Barbara, CA

(Santa Barbara, CA) — The Palm Center has released eight key recommendations to the Pentagon Working Group on gays in the military. These recommendations are intended as a first step in providing full support to the Working Group and acknowledging the importance of a thorough and timely process.

EVENTS RELATED TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY BEGINNING 3/3 IN DC

DC Marriage | March 2, 2010 | Washington, DC

COUPLES, SPOKESPEOPLE AVAILABLE, LIST OF RELATED EVENTS AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES BELOW

Gay Marriage Is Legal in U.S. Capital

New York Times | Ian Urbina | March 4, 2010

WASHINGTON — It was cold and drizzling outside the City Courthouse just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, but no one seemed to mind among the same-sex couples waiting for the chance to apply for a marriage license.

“This is a dream come true,” said Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, as she smiled ear to ear and held up her ticket indicating she was first in line with her partner of 12 years, Angelisa Young, 47. “We wanted it so bad.”

HHS Awards Major Grant to SAGE to Create First-Ever National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders

New York, NY | SAGE | February 10, 2010

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Administration on Aging have awarded Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders (SAGE) a three-year, $900,000 grant to create the nation¹s only national resource center on LGBT aging.

Joanne Herman, author of "Trangender Explained For Those Who Are Not," talks business with DiversityINC

DiversityINC | Joanne Herman | February 2010

You’re Trangender? You’re Fired!

In much of the country you can be fired just for being transgender. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, only 37 percent of Americans live in areas that explicitly ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression. For others, legal proceedings may be the only way you can establish your rights. This means that revealing your transgender status could have the same result as that experienced by Sarah Blanchette and Diane Schroer.

To read this full article, click here

THE BEST AT DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT: ANNOUNCING THE 2010 DIVERSITYINC TOP 50 COMPANIES FOR DIVERSITY®

DiversityINC | February 23, 2010 | Washington, DC

DIVERSITYINC CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF ITS CORPORATE INDEX WITH 2 DAYS OF EVENTS IN WASHINGTON, DC MARCH 9-10

February 23, 2010 (Washington, D.C.) ­ DiversityInc, the leading source of information on diversity management will announce The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® on March 9, 2010 as part of its two-day event March 9th and 10th in Washington, D.C.

D.C. begins licensing same-sex marriages

Washington Post | Keith L. Alexander and Ann E. Marimow | March 4, 2010

Just sitting down at a desk at the marriage bureau at D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday was too much for Angelisa Young. She cried so hard that she eventually had to bury her face in her fiancee’s chest.

About a half-hour later, Young and her partner, Sinjoyla Townsend, who met 13 years ago in a Constitutional Law class at the University of the District of Columbia, became the first same-sex couple to apply to be married in the District as the city officially joined five states in allowing gay marriage.

Courage Campaign Institute responds to Complaint and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order by Prop 8 supporters

Courage Campaign | January 20, 2010 | Los Angeles

Jacobs: “The Courage Campaign Institute will continue to focus our energy on this historic trial and the rights and protections at stake for loving, committed same-sex couples. ‘ProtectMarriage.com’ can continue to expend time, energy and resources on a logo. Frankly, I think that says a lot about our respective priorities.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Courage Campaign Institute responded this morning to a complaint and temporary restraining order delivered yesterday by lawyers for ProtectMarriage.com and announced it will continue to refuse to remove a logo on their Prop 8 Trial Tracker website that parodies the ProtectMarriage.com logo.