Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry to Hold Interfaith Candlelight Vigils in Maine Tonight

On Sunday, November 1, faith leaders from the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine will hold interfaith candlelight vigils in communities across the state to remind people of all faiths to vote NO on Question 1.

WHO: Faith leaders from the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine

WHAT: Holding interfaith candlelight vigils in communities across the state to remind people of all faiths to vote NO on Question 1.

WHEN: Sunday, November 1 (Times vary, see below)

WHERE:

Brewer, from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM, at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, 21 Holyoke Street;

Machias, at 5:00 PM, at Centre Street Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, 9 Center Street;

Augusta, from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta, 69 Winthrop Street;

Auburn, from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM, at the First Universalist Church of Auburn, 169 Pleasant Street on the Spring Street Lawn;

Brunswick, from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM, on the Brunswick Mall, Maine Street;

Portland, from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM, at the Williston-West Church, United Church of Christ, 32 Thomas Street;

Kennebunk, from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM, at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 114 Main Street.

Crossposted via Pam's Houseblend.

Sky West Airlines Accused of Discrimination by Gay Employee

Gilbert Caldwell an employee of SkyWest airlines, is claiming the company is treating him and his legally wed partner differently than other married employees.

SkyWest refuses to give them the same employee benefits that his straight married coworkers enjoy. Caldwell is forced to pay a fare for his spouse under the "companion" program for friends, even though his straight married coworkers are allowed to have their spouses fly for free.

SkyWest claims to be an "equal opportunity employer"; however their diversity statement on their website only covers race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. There is no mention of sexual orientation (Examiner).

Mr. Caldwell and his partner have been together for 34 years and were legally married in the state of California. Even though proposition 8 bans same-sex marriage in California, the Supreme Court has upheld the existing 18,000 same-sex marriages that have already taken place.

Tell SkyWest that gay couples should be treated no differently, and that their practice and non-discrimination policy must reflect that. Let them know that their continued denial of benefits is not only socially irresponsible and ethically wrong, but also bad for business.

SkyWest Airlines
444 South River Road
St. George, Utah 84790
Ph. (435) 634-3000
Fax: (435) 634-3105

E-contact for Corporate Office.

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

Please feel free to share any links to queer or queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is queer in nature.

Open Forum: Halloween and the Trans Community

Scores of transgender people who are beginning the coming out process have used Halloween as an opportunity to be cross-dressed in public for the first time. The idea is that everyone is dressing up, and many people who are cisgender dress as the opposite sex, making it a safe opportunity for a trans person to express their gender identity while also not fully disclosing it.

Have you or anyone you know used Halloween as an opportunity to explore your gender variance or identity? Do you think this is a good tactic for coming out or do you feel it only furthers the social stigma and fear that trans people are somehow "lying" and "masking" their identity?

Action Alert: No On 1 - Call for Equality

The No On 1 Protect Maine Equality campaign has been working hard to identify marriage equality supporters across the state. Now, just weeks before the election, they have made our list of likely NO on 1 voters who we need to turn out to the polls-- and it just happens to be the number of votes we need to win.

If you've got a phone and an internet connection, you can be a part of the massive Get Out The Early Vote program. It only takes two hours to make a difference.

To get started, sign up for a training and call shift. Or, if you've already done a training, sign up for a call-only shift here.

Crossposted via Pam's Houseblend.

No On 1 Ad: The Choice is Clear

No On 1's new ad lets voters know that we have a choice, keep LGBT families in the dark and silent, or to promote equality and justice for all people. The choice is clear, vote NO on question 1.

October 31st GLBT Icon: B.D. Wong

October is GLBT history month and the Equality Forum has selected 31 diverse icons who represent the GLBT community. Each day of the month a new icon will have a clip about them and we will be making that available to our readers.

Word of the Gay: "Bitch's Christmas"

The term a "Bitch's Christmas" refers to Halloween, October 31st which has become a gay holiday of sorts filled with drag and costume parties.

Los Angeles: Where Were You When Equality Died?

This November 4th marks one year after millions of LGBT Californian's lost their right to marry when proposition 8 passed. The fight for equality is far from over and activists from Equality Network in conjunction with OUTWest plan to march for the upcoming battle to bring marriage equality back to the ballot. Pending on the results from the No on 1 Referendum in Maine, the spirit of the event will either be celebratory or somber and angry.

Los Angeles, California
Nov 4th at 7 PM
Vermont & Santa Monica Red Line Metro Station Plaza.

"No to Hate Crimes" Day of Action

Tonight starting at 9pm through to 9pm on Saturday, an internet campaign created by Act on Principles is happening to demonstrate worldwide support for ending hate crimes.

For just two minutes of your time this October 30th, take a moment to light a candle and stand in silence. You can be together with big or small groups in your public square, in your neighborhood, in front or your city hall or you can be in your room in front of your altar.

Then, take a of photo of the candle you light and post it as your Facebook or other social networking profile pic for the next 24 hours. This is to make a further visual statement saying NO TO HATE CRIMES.

Light a candle. Be silent for 2 minutes. Remember those hurt and lost to us by hate crimes. Stand and say NO TO HATE CRIMES.

No On 1 Get Out the Vote for Marriage Equality Video

Maine's No on 1 Protect Marriage Equality has released a new video urging people to get out and vote!

Organization Spotlight: Maryland Black Family Alliance

The Maryland Black Family Alliance is a coalition of Black families and leaders, and people of many faiths that stand for fairness, justice and equality for all families.

Hillarious Video on Gay Conversion Therapy

Current TV's Bryan Safi explores the world of gay conversion therapy on his show 'That's Gay' putting a funny spin on a scary and disturbed movement.

Candidate for Virginia Attorney General: "Homosexual Acts Are Wrong"

Ken Cuccinelli (R) running for Attorney General in Virginia has declined to promise whether he would uphold the states nondiscrimination policy enforced by his republican predecessor.

“My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong,” said Cuccinelli, according to the Virginian-Pilot. “They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society,” he said (Advocate).

He is currently leading his democratic opponent Steven Shannon in the race.

Contact Ken Cuccinelli and tell him his comments are wrong and offensive. Attorney Generals are elected to serve and protect all citizens including GLBT Virginians.

Campaign Headquarters:
10560 Main Street
Suite 218
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-766-0635

E-Contact Form, twitter contact.

October 28th is National Comprehensive Sex Education Call In Day!

October is Sex Ed Month of Action and organizers from Advocates for Youth, Catholics for Choice, Choice USA, Law Students for Reproductive Justice, NARAL, Planned Parenthood, SIECUS, Sierra Club, and Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom are joining forces to tell Congress it's time to finally get rid of failed abstinence-only programs and fund comprehensive sexuality education.

You can find information and tools for organizing a Call-In Day here. You can also sign on to a petition in support of the REAL Act which would authorize funding for comprehensive sexuality education.



This is a crucial moment for comprehensive sex ed. For the first time in a while we should have the support in the White House and Congress to de-fund abstinence-only programs and support real, accurate education about sex and sexuality. However, politicians in DC are continuing the same old fight despite overwhelming evidence that ab-only doesn't work. Electing people who say they agree with us is only the first and easiest step in bringing about political change. The real hard work comes after elections, when advocates need to hold officials accountable, push them to support our issues, and create a climate where that's the most expedient political move for them to make. The time is now: let's finally make federal funding for comprehensive sexuality education a reality!

Call 1-888-423-5983 to reach your Senators’ office.

Crossposted via Feministing.